Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Will Obama Let the U.N. Seize The Internet?
IBD EDITORIALS ^ | November 26, 2012

Posted on 11/26/2012 4:12:39 PM PST by raptor22

Free Speech: The U.N. plans to control the tool that tyrants fear most — technology that promotes free speech and intellectual freedom — by imposing a global tax in the name of fairness. Think of net neutrality on steroids.

Elections have consequences, and one consequence of President Obama's re-election may be U.S. acquiescence to the administrative control of the Internet to the United Nations and journalist-jailing and Web-censoring regimes from Iran to Venezuela, complete with a global tax on its use.

The U.N.'s International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is holding the World Conference on International Telecommunications in Dubai from Dec. 3 to 14. U.N. member states, largely composed of Third World despots, will be meeting to update the ITU treaty arrangements for international communications.

The ITU last drafted a treaty on communications in 1988, before the dawn of the Internet as we know it, and many of the world's thugs seek to restrict its freedoms by imposing on it a global tax. The Internet was then primarily a university network, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was a mere 4 years old.

Today, the self-regulating Internet means no one has to ask for permission to launch a website, and no government can tell network operators how to do their jobs. The Internet freely crosses international boundaries, making it difficult for governments to censor or to tax.

Regimes such as Russia and Iran also want an ITU rule letting them monitor Internet traffic routed through or to their countries, allowing them to eavesdrop or block access.

Since at least 2004, the ITU has tried repeatedly to wrest power from ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the multi-stakeholder body created in 1998 to oversee domain names and addresses.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.investors.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Foreign Affairs; Government
KEYWORDS: facebook; google; ibd; icann; internet; itu; netneutrality; taxes; tyranny; unitednations
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-42 next last
To: DesertRhino

Darn Right! Every American is free to agree with Obama’s speeches.


21 posted on 11/26/2012 5:43:23 PM PST by haroldeveryman
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: rurgan
If the UN gets to censor the Internet , sites like this one will get banned

Maybe so but they won't be able to shut it down. Remember the letters BBS?

22 posted on 11/26/2012 7:00:52 PM PST by Bloody Sam Roberts ('Need' now means wanting someone else's money. 'Greed' means wanting to keep your own...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Bloody Sam Roberts
We'll definitely have to set up something that is out of the government's control. I was thinking of some kind of alternate way for all of us to communicate using cell phone towers , phone lines ,satellite , or other ways to create our own underground network that could be encrypted and secret similar to the TOR network. what do you think?
23 posted on 11/26/2012 7:23:38 PM PST by rurgan (give laws an expiration date:so the congress has to review every 4 years to see if needed)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

“As a self-proclaimed “citizen of the world”, Hussein “

How did this piece of puke get elected and then re-elected? It must be divine punishment. We are so screwed.


24 posted on 11/26/2012 9:02:51 PM PST by garjog (Heroes Died. Obama Lied.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: raptor22
Will Obama Let the U.N. Seize The Internet?

"Let?" I'm sure he'll do everything in his power to HELP! I mean, if your ideology is UN good, ANY anti-American scumbag tyrant organization good, US bad, sovereignty bad, what is there about this proposal not to like?

25 posted on 11/26/2012 10:32:53 PM PST by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: raptor22

I thought Obama would be better served having control of it himself. Why would he give up that power than might become essential to his rule?


26 posted on 11/26/2012 10:51:12 PM PST by tinamina
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Bloody Sam Roberts
Remember the letters BBS?

Yep, I wasted time on those before I wasted time on the 'net. With Vonage and other VOIP systems, the dial-ups could easily make a comeback - maybe a "FidoNet 2".

I have a new home-built Linux box that's got a bunch of ham radio software on it, but otherwise isn't doing much. Maybe I should dust off the old U.S. Robotics modem and see what's left out there. Last I looked, dial-ups were down to a list of 20 or so.

Perhaps a bunch of us FReepers should ponder this and come up with our own regional BBS list, run by us. Just as a temporary fall-back if this sort of idiocy moves ahead. It'd make a nice alternative comms network, and would give my land line a purpose again.

27 posted on 11/26/2012 11:08:29 PM PST by Charles Martel (Endeavor to persevere...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: raptor22
I sent a plea to resist all things U.N. to my Congressman and my Senator. My Congressman replied with a bit about supporting 2nd Amendment rights but also saying that the Arms Treaty was a good thing. I just kicked of this response to him:

Sir, I must admit to being a bit concerned about your response. You say you will protect the 2nd Amendment, but also lend validity to the U.N. Arms Treaty. I ask you to consider the make up of the group that is trying to exert its influence on a free people. The U.N. is a socialist entity and it continually puts some of the worst offenders of human rights on it's human rights council and its main purpose seems to bring equality to all the nations of the world. The inherent problem with this is that, instead of raising other nations up, it focuses on bringing the greater nations down. Time after time, "liberals" have cadged their policies and programs in words that sound oh-so benevolent and yet they turn out to be some of the worst banes to have been perpetrated on a free People. I do not know how involved or knowledgeable you are about all the policies of the U.N. or how they fall right in line with the far left wing of the party of Reid, Pelosi and Obama, but I urge you to look into all the nooks and crannies before supporting anything the U.N. proposes. The Arms treaty has far too much potential to put a wedge in the door to step on our Freedoms. Agenda 21 is a frightening proposition, which can only serve to pare away even more of the freedoms we have lost since FDR's New Deal, LBJ's great Society, and the current administration's seeming focused attempt to destroy our once great Nation. Add the U.N.s support for the dictators and terrorists of the world and anything that supports the U.N.'s pogroms is unacceptable. Sir, you ran as a strong Conservative and many of us believed you enough to put and keep you in office; please do not support anything that would give your constituency pause to doubt your conservative principles.

28 posted on 11/27/2012 5:51:47 AM PST by trebb (Allies no longer trust us. Enemies no longer fear us.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: rurgan
After "the shutdown" I intend on using HAM radio as the primary means of outside comms. After that, it will take time to set up anything like what we have today. But, it will come. You cannot kill an idea.

Using current infrastructure will be problematic. Resources would be better used setting up a system that works outside that.

29 posted on 11/27/2012 6:45:05 AM PST by Bloody Sam Roberts ('Need' now means wanting someone else's money. 'Greed' means wanting to keep your own...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: raptor22

I am more amazed every day. Do people think obama OWNS the internet? Has obama been declared a dictator possessing all powers? Or has it simply been accepted without saying it?


30 posted on 11/27/2012 7:09:42 AM PST by Terry Mross (I haven't watched the news since the election. Someone ping me if anything big happens.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Charles Martel; re_nortex; davetex; stevie_d_64; Bigun; YCTHouston; humblegunner; smokingfrog
Perhaps a bunch of us FReepers should ponder this and come up with our own regional BBS list, run by us. Just as a temporary fall-back if this sort of idiocy moves ahead. It'd make a nice alternative comms network, and would give my land line a purpose again.

This idea is a keeper, Charles. Dialup (I'm on dialup) works fine for texting and posting and e-mail, and only slows you down if you are addicted to banner ads, full-motion video blurbs for feminine-hygiene products, and websites that require you to enable Java scripting so they can push full-motion ads at you.

(Cricket is incessantly texting me to come in and buy a new smartphone because they're trying to send me full-motion ads .... I just laugh and delete. I got my Cricket phone because I want to talk to people, not stand under a Niagara of Minority Report advertising!)

Pinging some of our Texas amigos for future reference and possible interest.. .... some of them are IT-literate (okay, then, "IT megaliterate") and could make this work, and as you mentioned, TTY and texting work very nicely over 10 and 20 meters broadcast. There might even be a way to do it over GMRS (the 440-MHz "Citizens' Band Class A" of misty yore), or on Class D/11 meters CB on single sideband.

Pinging ....

31 posted on 11/27/2012 11:33:50 AM PST by lentulusgracchus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 27 | View Replies]

To: lentulusgracchus

http://www.southgatearc.org/news/august2009/universal_ham_radio_text_messaging.htm

Anyone know how this is supposed to work & equip involved?


32 posted on 11/27/2012 12:08:29 PM PST by smokingfrog ( sleep with one eye open (<o> ---)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | View Replies]

To: smokingfrog
I'm new to ham radio; just got my callsign last year. I haven't had much opportunity to dig into the packet digital text stuff.

Looks like certain radios support it directly, as with the old "pagers" and modern worksite walkie-talkies. Other services use repeaters linked to the internet so that radio users can squirt text messages wirelessly to an e-mail server. I'm not sure if that's an optimum solution, given the topic of this thread. As far as equipment, you'd probably need a computer with a sound card to process the digital tones, along with a connection cable to whatever radio you choose.

There are some ship-to-shore communications networks that could be of use, as they offer packet text-to-email capability (for a fee). So in addition to the material at the above link (such as winlink.org), have a look at www.shipcom.com and similar sites.

Also, search here for a post today by Varmint Al. He's got an extensive webpage on ham radio and this subject in particular.

One other thing - there are pre-configured Linux distributions loaded with lots of ham radio software; check out Harve's Hamshack and Shackbox Air.

33 posted on 11/27/2012 8:37:46 PM PST by Charles Martel (Endeavor to persevere...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: Charles Martel

It just so happens I looked at some of Varmint Al’s stuff today, but didn’t understand very much of it.


34 posted on 11/27/2012 9:50:51 PM PST by smokingfrog ( sleep with one eye open (<o> ---)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 33 | View Replies]

To: smokingfrog
This YouTube video is a good starting point.

Watch it all the way through, then read through this page.

35 posted on 11/28/2012 5:34:13 AM PST by Charles Martel (Endeavor to persevere...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 34 | View Replies]

Comment #36 Removed by Moderator

To: Charles Martel
Thanks for the link.

The use of radio has other applications as well for preppers. I prefer non-license Citizens Band (FMRS/GMRS/old Class "A", and Class D/11 Meters/40-channel CB). No paper handle or license for them to get hold of.

37 posted on 11/29/2012 4:04:05 PM PST by lentulusgracchus (Hanoi toy, McCain's their boy. (Hat tip to FReeper |neverdem|.))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: lentulusgracchus
Rest assured, few hams will be transmitting call signs if things really get bad. Most will probably go mobile as well, making it tougher for the FCC's band of rogue signal tracking guys to locate them. As for concerns of seizure; I'd leave an old Hallicrafters "boat anchor" for them to take, if they really want that hernia. The real radio meanwhile, will be a compact mobile rig.

There are lots of people learning the basics of shortwave listening these days, often paying more for transceivers just so they have transmitting capability if they ever really need it.

Check out the AR15.com "Outdoors" forum and Ham radio subforum. Those guys have an downloadable SHTF frequency list that they've developed.

38 posted on 11/29/2012 4:33:05 PM PST by Charles Martel (Endeavor to persevere...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 37 | View Replies]

To: lentulusgracchus
There might even be a way to do it over GMRS (the 440-MHz "Citizens' Band Class A" of misty yore), or on Class D/11 meters CB on single sideband.

Yeah, CB could be used just like HF for this, based on that PSK31 software in the Youtube link I posted above. Just gotta choose frequencies and figure out how to wire the sound card to the CB's mic jack. The computer and sound card generate the digital tone, based on what you type in. Could be an interesting (and relatively cheap) project.

39 posted on 11/29/2012 4:42:26 PM PST by Charles Martel (Endeavor to persevere...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | View Replies]

To: All


Help FR Continue the Conservative Fight!
Your Monthly and Quarterly Donations
Help Keep FR In the Battle!

Sponsoring FReepers are contributing
$10 Each time a New Monthly Donor signs up!
Get more bang for your FR buck!
Click Here To Sign Up Now!


40 posted on 11/29/2012 5:15:05 PM PST by musicman (Until I see the REAL Long Form Vault BC, he's just "PRES__ENT" Obama = Without "ID")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 39 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-42 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson