Controversial Internet Kill Switch Passes

newsoxy ^ | Jun 28, 2010 | John Lester

[LRS]

Do I trust Repblicans because there is a “R” after their name? Hardly. Which is why the Tea Party is gaining such popularity. We going to have to pull the switch several times to kill this monster. (Of course, I have been fretting about this very same problem for decades, and worry that it is all too late...)

[surfer]

Of course...the GOP isn’t interested in our freedom they are just as much big government as the Dems...we need to vote ALL OF THEM OUT!!!

[ddk632]

Ministry of Truth = “Minitrue” ??

My wife recently acquired some puppies,

Maltese / Poodle = “Maltipoo”
Bichon Frise / Poodle = “Bijapoo”

(Can’t get me to say that if you put a gun to my head. If anyone asks, I say “ miniature Bichon and Poodle mix “ :)

I think our puppies may have been sent by Big Brother. I definitely see a connection.

Kidding aside, there is something about all the abbreviations going on these days Washington Mutual = “WaMu”, Washington Post = “WaPo”, etc., etc., that is eerily reminiscent of Newspeak.

I think I have to re-read 1984 also.

[KarlInOhio]

Back when Iran was smashing pro-democracy protesters last year, I suggested that what they needed were a bunch of wireless routers which could connect to each other self organize a replacement for the internet. Thousands of these could be produced and sneaked into Iran so they have a way of communicating which couldn't be shut down by their government. Little did I know that we would need the same thing here so quickly.

[Captain Kirk]

I like term limits but it would be a mistake to put too much stock in them. California has severe term limits but has it improved the legislature there? I don’t think so.

[Sicon]

so much of cyberspace is owned and operated by the private sector

I'm sure that's next on The One's list, after he takes over the oil industry and grants amnesty to illegal aliens...

[a fool in paradise]

Obama is the most “orwellian” President ever in the way he talks.

While people understand the TYPE of tyranny when we refer to "Orwellian" leader, what is really meant is the TYPE of leaders that Orwell WROTE about. Joseph Stalin and the Stalinists in the West are who he was calling out.

Barack Obama is a Stalinist.

[Centurion2000]

If Obama kills the internet, how is he going to get text messages with instructions from Soros?

[ShadowAce]

[Disambiguator]

Kidding aside, there is something about all the abbreviations going on these days Washington Mutual = “WaMu”, Washington Post = “WaPo”, etc., etc., that is eerily reminiscent of Newspeak.

You mean NuSpk?

[rfreedom4u]

America’s HAM radio operators had better start brushing up....

[KoRn]

I’m not so sure such a think could really work. They would need LOTS of cooperation from MANY people to even begin to ‘take down’ the internet.

[antiRepublicrat]

I’ve read the bill, but not had time to study it. I have yet to find a “kill switch” provision. The closest I can find is the one telling owners of critical infrastructure to implement their emergency plans. Here are the highlights from what I read:

Computer security management for federal agencies is highly fragmented. This is an attempt to get everybody on the same sheet, get them talking together, and have some top-down enforcement responsibility for security.

It requires that carriers in the infrastructure report security incidents to the government.

It mentions protecting the privacy and civil liberties of the people several times.

Promote security standards, etc., for the private sector, and provides for notification to them of known vulnerabilities and attacks.

Require owners of specifically listed critical infrastructure to develop and certify a response plan to attacks, and to implement that plan during times of emergency in the “least disruptive means feasible” to the operations. It also indemnifies owners for any results of having to take the action. This is what people probably think is the kill switch.

For reference, “critical infrastructure” is defined by the Patriot Act and means: “systems and assets, whether physical or virtual, so vital to the United States that the incapacity or destruction of such systems and assets would have a debilitating impact on security, national economic security, national public health or safety, or any combination of those matters.”

Develops risk management for the supply chain for the infrastructure (e.g., backdoors in the routers we buy).

Creates a task force of existing personnel to share knowledge on security, etc.

Talks about how to hire and train the right people.

A bunch of other educational and promotional stuff.

[antiRepublicrat]

The best mix breed name I’ve seen is “chiweenie” for a chihuahua/dachshund (weenie dog) mix.

OTOH, whatever happened to “mutt”?

[Vinnie]

I’m curious as to how this could be implemented.

I’m not aware of all trunk lines running through one central gov. installation.
Wouldn’t the gov. have to rely on private providers flipping a switch.

And if so, there is no need for the legislation.

[Bad~Rodeo]

Per CNET...

The bill would require that private companies--such as "broadband providers, search engines, or software firms," CNET explains--"immediately comply with any emergency measure or action" put in place by the Department of Homeland Security, or else face fines.

It would also see the creation of a new agency within the Department of Homeland Security, the National Center for Cybersecurity and Communications (NCCC). Any private company reliant on "the Internet, the telephone system, or any other component of the U.S. 'information infrastructure'" would be "subject to command" by the NCCC, and some would be required to engage in "information sharing" with the agency, says CBS4.