This isn't just for US citizens, unfortunately:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCkCWxv3kUE&feature=related

It appears these Senate bills are being introduced as a means of ensuring "national security" by regulating or drastically curtailing private use of the internet.  Perhaps just a false alarm, blowing smoke.  I hope so.

A??? WHAT!!??

I hope ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) knows about this.

I can't take this seriously.  There might be a problem but the solution wont be to close down the internet.  Too many businesses rely on the internet now and who is going to make them bankrupt in an economic downturn?

And then they woke up

The bills are indeed introduced:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:S.778:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:S.773:

Does anyone really believe that in a global recession the US gov't is going to shut down the main engine of commerce for the country?  Ridiculous.

I just watched the youtube link and it was discussing options about cyber security, NOT shutting off the internet.  If you want to get your fill of wack-job paranoia for the day try reading the comments posted under the video. 

Thanks for a good laugh Hugh! 

The bill only has 3 co-sponsors so i don't think it's that serious. However, one of the sentences from the bill says:

"The President--
...
            (2) may declare a cybersecurity emergency and order the limitation or shutdown of Internet traffic to and from any compromised Federal Government or United States critical infrastructure information system or network;"

Although I believe, he doesn't need this bill to do that anyway.

Any further regulation of internet can only lead to greater government control.

Quote from: goldenangel on May 01, 2009, 19:33
However, one of the sentences from the bill says:

"The President--
...
            (2) may declare a cybersecurity emergency and order the limitation or shutdown of Internet traffic to and from any compromised Federal Government or United States critical infrastructure information system or network;"

Translation:  In the case of an emergency if the Pentagon or some other government agency is targeted by cyber terrorism the president can temporarily shut off internet traffic to that agency.

When I read this subject I though I killed internet but uploading too many crappy pictures to too many agencies. Thank God we can blame government for that :-)

Lisa,

I'm not much fun of conspiracy theories and I don't think the bill has any serious chance of being considered.
Just for the sake of argument, I believe "United States critical infrastructure information system or network" could be interpreted as any internet backbone.

BEWARE!!!...Big brother will be watching closely for bad microstock photos on the internet!!!   ...lol

I WILL KILL THEM IF THEY DO THAT! 

  Just imagine the mass exodus  of internet junkies leaving the US... It would take care of any over population problem... I think I would go to Canada though it might be too cold for my hubby in the winter...

If you consider that internet originally invented and used by the US military, way before any of us knew about it, then I suppose the government do have the clout to take it back.  Geesh, what are we all going to do? I guess we will have to spend more time at the local watching football again 

Rockefeller makes some valid though rather obvious points.  Increased regulation of "the internet" - however you define that term today - is inevitable.  But most of these politicians have such a limited understanding of the issue that they're not likely to accomplish much.  Any bills they pass will be impossible to implement, or completely ineffective.  No one is going to stop commerce on the internet.   Given the lobbying money that would be deployed against you, you might as well lay down in front of a freight train. 

Quote from: stockastic on May 01, 2009, 22:19
Rockefeller makes some valid though rather obvious points.  Increased regulation of "the internet" - however you define that term today - is inevitable.  But most of these politicians have such a limited understanding of the issue that they're not likely to accomplish much.  Any bills they pass will be impossible to implement, or completely ineffective.  No one is going to stop commerce on the internet.   Given the lobbying money that would be deployed against you, you might as well lay down in front of a freight train. 

I agree. Amazon is presently lobbying big to stop the state of New York from collecting sales taxes on internet purchases from out of state.

April's Fool?

Quote from: madelaide on May 01, 2009, 23:49
April's Fool?

Aha just a little too late

Quote from: HughStoneIan on May 01, 2009, 18:23
This isn't just for US citizens, unfortunately:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCkCWxv3kUE&feature=related

It appears these Senate bills are being introduced as a means of ensuring "national security" by regulating or drastically curtailing private use of the internet.  Perhaps just a false alarm, blowing smoke.  I hope so.

Typical US Senator bumbling moron..........the guy is just incoherent from start to finish. Probably doesn't even know how to use a puter.
Sure, shut down the internet.........saves inventing a time machine to take a peek at life in the Middle Ages.

It all started with steam engines and evolution generating creationists. People should never have been evolved from trilobites : it was all so peaceful there when we relaxed as limestone on the bottom of Pangea.   

Quote from: FlemishDreams on May 02, 2009, 01:17
It all started with steam engines and evolution generating creationists. People should never have been evolved from trilobites : it was all so peaceful there when we relaxed as limestone on the bottom of Pangea.   

Yup, and caves are cool too, lots of high ceilings to hang upside down , so much better than yoga or anything you pay to learn today . Life was certainly so much better before heating bills, tax returns,
and bloody electricity 

But seriously, I think all this is hot air. Remember those of you who are from Canada, your govt introduced Income Tax to finance WW2, and said it was going to be repealed when peace came.  Seems like your Revenue Canada still believes WW2 is never going to cease 

Quote from: batman on May 02, 2009, 01:25Life was certainly so much better before heating bills, tax returns, and bloody electricity 

Don't forget poverty and hunger. Everywhere they eradicated that, people have to spend fortunes on dieting aids, props, pills and waiste (pun intended) time on that tiring boring exercise and working-out thing.

Quote from: FlemishDreams on May 02, 2009, 01:31

Quote from: batman on May 02, 2009, 01:25Life was certainly so much better before heating bills, tax returns, and bloody electricity 

Don't forget poverty and hunger. Everywhere they eradicated that, people have to spend fortunes on dieting aids, props, pills and waiste (pun intended) time on that tiring boring exercise and working-out thing.

Oh don't get me started with hunger and poverty FlemishDreams. Here's the grand irony...
in 3rd world they can't even find a bowl of rice to eat, here we have models and anorexics starving themselves to look as skinny as them over there BY CHOICE.  Poverty? How about the rich folks paying for dieting programs to starve themselves, getting slimmer is driving them to poverty as well. lol.
Hey FD, good to know you're still alive and kicking and still liking it here at Tyler's CHeers I thought you decided to quit on us to do male porn 

Quote from: batman on May 02, 2009, 01:41Hey FD, good to know you're still alive and kicking and still liking it here at Tyler's CHeers I thought you decided to quit on us to do male porn 

Female porn is a bigger market. But for the adult market, you need a different brand, I have been told. batmandelights dot com is still free