Dana Gabriel
opEd News
Monday November 19, 2007
The United Nations control freaks seek to micro-manage all aspects of our lives, and this includes the Internet. Many have used the Internet as an instrument of truth to counter the spin, lies, and disinformation spewed by the mainstream media. That is not to say that everyone in the alternative media can be trusted, and furthermore, the Internet is also being used to spread government propaganda. The mainstream media and government are so intertwined, and often the media simply parrots and toes the line. In many cases, the Internet gives the other side of the story with different points of view which encourage critical thinking on important issues of the day, where as the corporate media caters to the dumb-downed public. More and more people are moving to the web for their source of news and entertainment, and in the process are abandoning television and newspapers altogether. Even with all its imperfections, the Internet is truly one of the last havens of free speech and offers an alternative to the corporate-controlled media. Attacks are coming from all directions, and there is a desire by some to shut down the Internet under its current format, and curb, control, and further restrict its access.
The Internet has become a vast worldwide infrastructure which more and more people rely on in their everyday lives. It is a free market of ideas and creativity, and has accelerated our capacity to share information. In the process it has challenged the mainstream media's monopoly on news gathering and has lead to unpopular legislation being defeated that might not have been otherwise. That is not to say that you should believe or trust everything you read on the Internet, but there are many creditable and well-researched sites and archived news information. The Internet has become a force in politics, and no where is that more apparent than Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul's campaign. It has been used to rally grassroots support and volunteers, and raise substantial amounts of money. There is also a lot of fear-mongering surrounding the net as many are warning that it is struggling to survive under the strain of technical limitations. There has been much speculation that Internet 2, which is used by universities working side by side with government and industry, could replace the current format. The Internet of today poses a threat to any illegitimate government, and the stage is being set to hand over its control to the United Nations.
The UN wishes to end U.S. control of the Internet, and at the same time silence many who oppose its agenda of world governance. At the 2006 World Summit on the Information Society, the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) was created as a permanent standing body. The Internet of today is run by a non-governmental organization, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which has the task of managing the assignment of domain names and IP addresses. They do not decide who can and cannot access the Internet, and there is a genuine fear that shifting ICANN control over to the UN could facilitate censorship of the web. The IGF recently met in Brazil, and is being used by the UN to achieve control of the Internet in an effort to standardize legislation and fund their world government through a series of global taxes. The UN has talked about keeping the world safe from SPAM, cyber crime, terrorists, increasing Internet access to the third-world, and instituting a global e-mail taxation system. A ban on taxing the Internet in the U.S. recently received a seven year extension. Some are warning that UN control could lead to a slower and more expensive Internet. Any challenges and problems that face the Internet cannot be solved by the UN or any another global entity. That is not to say that the Internet is perfect the way it is now, but I would take the status quo over UN control. By controlling the Internet, the UN could severely restrict information, silence free speech, and quell dissent. China's massive censorship of the web is the UN model. The Heritage Foundation said of UN control of the net, “it would give meddlesome governments the opportunity to censor and regulate the medium until its usefulness as a vehicle for freedom of expression and international competition is crippled.” An Internet governed and managed by the UN would represent a serious threat to our freedom, sovereignty, economy, and security.
China has been leading the charge to further globalize Internet control, their technological capabilities have further enabled them to track and restrict access and they have exported such tools to other countries. Companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo are also accomplices in Chinese Internet censorship, and their involvement and complacency illustrates how this could be achieved anywhere. Recently, Yahoo settled a case with two Chinese journalists who were jailed for ten years as a result of information of their on line activities provided to Chinese authorities. Google is hypocritical as they state that Internet censorship is a threat to their business, yet censor their own website in China. Asia director of Human Rights Watch, Brad Adams said, “When companies like Yahoo, Microsoft, and Google decide to put profits from their Chinese operations over the free exchange of information, they are helping to kill that dream.” Many western computer companies are providing filtering equipment to the Communist Chinese government, and are aiding to suppress free speech and political activism, which is leading to the further control and management of information. In China, there are divisions inside the police department whose task is to delete any information they find harmful that could challenge the system and impede social stability. Chinese President HU Jintao said that Internet cultural units need to, “take on the responsibility of encouraging development of a system of core socialist values.” There is no room for dissenting voices, and thus access to many political websites has been blocked or is content-censored. Bloggers are being targeted, and any breaking news that has not been reported by the official government media is also blocked and censored. Thousands of Internet cafes have been closed, and there are even pop-ups that worn users not to access unapproved sites. Amnesty International campaign director Tim Hancock said, “The Chinese model of an Internet that allows economic growth but not free speech or privacy is growing in popularity, from a handful of countries five years ago to dozens of governments today who block sites and arrest bloggers.” There is an agenda by some to further tighten surveillance and restrict access to the Internet around the world.
Many other countries besides China are filtering Internet content in areas of politics, religion, and sex. Any effort to curb hate speech could constitute a ban on any speech the government disapproves of or fears. In late September, a bill was introduced in Australia's Parliament that would give the police the power to control which sites can and cannot be accessed. In Malaysia, there are new rules where by bloggers can be held without trial indefinitely. Many bloggers are being prosecuted using terrorism laws. Much of the control aimed at the Internet centers around terrorism, with the aim of preventing terrorists from using it as a tool to further achieve their goals. A definition of the terrorists could include anyone who criticizes the government. With the advent of the alternative and independent media, and bloggers alike, the days of media blackouts are a thing of the past. In many cases, they are breaking more stories than the mainstream media. For many, the Internet is the only true source of uncensored news and opinion. The battle for the Internet rages on with freedom of speech hanging in the balance. In his article, 'What The Chinese Style Internet Will Look Like,' PrisonPlanet.Com reporter Paul Joseph Watson said, “The new Internet will be nothing more than an electronic police state, merely acting as a tool for authorities to track down and incarcerate dissidents who dare question the government.”
The United Nations is undermining our sovereignty, independence, and security. They seek to control the environment as well as the oceans of the world through the Law of the Sea Treaty. The U.N. wishes to institute a global ban on guns, and the disarming of the population can only be seen as tyrannical. It is not surprising that they also wish to control the free-flow of information on the Internet as it has been used as a weapon in the info war and has sparked a mass awaking. Many are using the Internet as a resource tool that has lead to countless research and investigations that demand real answers. This is exactly why the global elite want the Internet controlled, much like it is in China. It would mean the end of free speech on the web, and any site that criticizes the government. The days of the Internet as we now know it are numbered.Printed from: http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/november2007/191107_b_Internet.htm
