Big Brother: Obama Demands Access to Internet Records, in Secret, and Without Court Review – Tom Burghardt

(AntifascistCalling) – The Obama administration is seeking authority from Congress that would compel internet service providers (ISPs) to turn over records of an individual’s internet activity for use in secretive FBI probes.

In another instance where Americans are urged to trust their political minders, The Washington Post reported last month that “the administration wants to add just four words–‘electronic communication transactional records’–to a list of items that the law says the FBI may demand without a judge’s approval.”

Under cover of coughing-up information deemed relevant to espionage or terrorism investigations, proposed changes to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) would greatly expand the volume of private records that can be seized through National Security Letters (NSLs).

ISP filtering legislation on the way

(TheAustralian) – THE federal government hopes to introduce legislation to enable its controversial internet filter by the end of the year.

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said the legislation would be this year “sooner rather than later”.

A ‘Kill Switch’ for the State

(LewRockwell) – Two or more decades ago I wrote an article in which I suggested that, while the collapse of our civilization would ultimately prove beneficial to the productive purposes of society, the transition would, in the short-term, not be pretty to watch. The threat to the established order would be devastating, a challenge that would elicit the most violent and desperate efforts to defend the status quo. Wars, increased police powers, the enhanced regulation of and restrictions on alternative social systems, would become the norm. A society so constituted could well be symbolized as a faceless SWAT team member shoving his automatic rifle into the face of a cowering peaceful demonstrator.

Through the Wormhole: The Secret State’s Mad Scheme to Control the Internet – Tom Burghardt

(AntiFascistCalling) – Prussian military theorist Carl von Clausewitz once famously wrote that “war is the continuation of politics by other means.” A century later, radical French philosopher Michel Foucault turned Clausewitz on his head and declared that “politics is the continuation of war by other means.”

In our topsy-turvy world where truth and lies coexist equally and sociopathic business elites reign supreme, it would hardly be a stretch to theorize that cyber war is the continuation of parapolitical crime by other means.

Govt wants ISPs to record browsing history

(ZDNet) – Companies who provide customers with a connection to the internet may soon have to retain subscriber’s private web browsing history for law enforcement to examine when requested, a move which has been widely criticised by industry insiders.

The Attorney-General’s Department yesterday confirmed to ZDNet Australia that it had been in discussions with industry on implementing a data retention regime in Australia. Such a regime would require companies providing internet access to log and retain customer’s private web browsing history for a certain period of time for law enforcement to access when needed. Read More Here

Government Internet Censorship Begins In Stealth In New Zealand

(SteveWatson) – Infowars, Prisonplanet websites were mysteriously blocked at the same time as government filter was switched on

Cyberwar Scam Designed to Destroy Open Internet

(KurtNimmo) – On March 1, Ryan Singel, writing for Wired, accused the government of plotting to destroy the open and freedom-loving internet. Readers of Infowars and Prison Planet have known this for some time, but it is nice to know a quasi-establishment publication is now telling the truth and warning its readers about the threat to liberty posed by the government.

Video: Cryptome’s John Young on Alex Jones TV – The Internet is a Police State Surveillance Grid

Alex talks with John Young, webmaster of Cryptome, a website that covers news on freedom of speech, cryptography, spying, and surveillance. The ISP Network Solutions shuttered Young’s site earlier in the week after he posted a document summarizing Microsoft’s dealings with law enforcement agencies.

Stealth Treaty Seeks Strict Controls Over Internet

A sweeping international treaty to regulate how knowledge and creativity may flow on the Internet is now being negotiated. Haven’t heard of it? Funny thing, that’s exactly what the backers of the treaty want. The film, music, publishing and information industries don’t want a public debate about the issues or an open debate in Congress. So they have been working hand-in-glove with the U.S. Trade Representative to move U.S. policymaking offshore and throw a dark cloak of secrecy around everything. The next stop: draconian penalties for anyone who is accused of violating copyright law.

Secret copyright treaty leaks. It’s bad. Very bad.

The internet chapter of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, a secret copyright treaty whose text Obama’s administration refused to disclose due to “national security” concerns, has leaked. It’s bad. It says:

Net Neutrality Regulation vs. Internet Freedom

(C4L) – In a recent video interview, Congressman Ron Paul gave detailed answers to questions posed online by members of Reddit.com.  When asked to elaborate his position on network neutrality regulation, Paul responded that he did not know the details of the legislation, but that he was against regulation and this situation didn’t appear to be any different from those he was familiar with.

Net neutrality in Europe to be decided at dinner tonight

European telecommunications ministers could decide tonight whether to endorse a net neutrality clause in the long-awaited Telecoms Package.

Australian Law Proposal to Turn ISPs Into Copyright Cops

There’s a disturbing new development in Australia. A law proposal was disclosed to the public that would get ISPs to spy on the contents of all communications to monitor for compliance. Presumably, the amendments would get Australian ISPs to monitor their networks for p2p activity and hand all their information to copyright holders.

Hundreds Of ISPs Refuse To Go Along With Big Brother Spy System

Communications firms warn of unprecedented extension of state powers

That commenter on your blog may actually be working for the Israeli government

Straight out of Avigdor Lieberman’s Foreign Ministry: a new Internet Fighting Team! Israeli students and demobilized soldiers get paid to pretend they are just regular folks and leave pro-Israel comments on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other sites.

Britain leads world in police state survey

A recent survey from internet security consultancy, Cryptohippie, suggests that the UK is setting the pace in at least one area – though being classified as the West’s most repressive regime when it comes to electronic surveillance might not be a title that this government is entirely happy to wear.

Police State Study Ranks U.S. As 6th Worst In The World

A study designed to rank countries in terms of how aggressively they monitor their populations electronically, has placed the US as 6th and the UK as 5th on a global index.

MSM: Bill proposes ISPs, Wi-Fi keep logs for police

Republican politicians on Thursday called for a sweeping new federal law that would require all Internet providers and operators of millions of Wi-Fi access points, even hotels, local coffee shops, and home users, to keep records about users for two years to aid police investigations.