three notes
Nov. 23rd, 2011 01:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
solarbirdI used to post about politics a lot here. I don't, anymore; after the whole Obama domestic spying/torture/arbitrary-arrest/indefinite imprisonment without trial support, and the arbitrary-execution executive-power-extension debacle, I gave up for a while. But lately, I have been more active on Twitter, and echoing that on Facebook. I don't want to be one of those people who dumps her Twitter feed on LJ, tho'.
That said, a few relevant notes from right now:
If you can't get to anti-SOPA/anti-internet-censorship website http://americancensorship.org, try http://americancensorship.heroku.com/ instead. The former is working for me on AT&T but not Comcast; the latter is working on Comcast. I am really hoping this is a technical issue with domain name server propagation. This is reasonable, as the DNS records were updated on Tuesday, according to whois.
If you don't know what SOPA is, catch the fuck up.
Separately, the NYPD's beatdowns of journalists include beatdowns of NYPD-credentialed journalists. They've also admitted arrested people for the apparent crime of covering the protests. Berkeley PD, by contrast, prefer beating down former US Poet Laureates.
My nightmare scenario is that OWS gets declared a terrorist organisation. This can be done by executive decision and cannot be appealed. Then anyone associated with it or who has provided "material support" for it can be arbitrarily arrested, imprisoned forever, or even executed without evidence or trial, also all by executive decision. I do not think this is likely. But it is possible, which is an obscenity.
I hope you guys have finally realised I wasn't ever joking about the US police state.
That said, a few relevant notes from right now:
If you can't get to anti-SOPA/anti-internet-censorship website http://americancensorship.org, try http://americancensorship.heroku.com/ instead. The former is working for me on AT&T but not Comcast; the latter is working on Comcast. I am really hoping this is a technical issue with domain name server propagation. This is reasonable, as the DNS records were updated on Tuesday, according to whois.
If you don't know what SOPA is, catch the fuck up.
Separately, the NYPD's beatdowns of journalists include beatdowns of NYPD-credentialed journalists. They've also admitted arrested people for the apparent crime of covering the protests. Berkeley PD, by contrast, prefer beating down former US Poet Laureates.
My nightmare scenario is that OWS gets declared a terrorist organisation. This can be done by executive decision and cannot be appealed. Then anyone associated with it or who has provided "material support" for it can be arbitrarily arrested, imprisoned forever, or even executed without evidence or trial, also all by executive decision. I do not think this is likely. But it is possible, which is an obscenity.
I hope you guys have finally realised I wasn't ever joking about the US police state.
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no subject
Date: 2011-11-23 04:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-23 05:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-23 03:10 pm (UTC)As for the terrorist declaration: I think it's at least somewhat likely. Right now the executive/Democratic power base is testing out the OWS movement to see if they're useful, if they can be exploited. If they decide the answer is no, I suspect what we've seen so far in police action will seem like child's play.
no subject
Date: 2011-11-23 05:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-23 04:01 pm (UTC)The United States can (and WILL) seize 50% of your foreign assets. Gone. Not tax them (they'll do that, too, and charge you a penalty) but SEIZE them. They are no longer yours.
Gotta stop those terrorists, dotcha know.
no subject
Date: 2011-11-23 05:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-26 05:10 am (UTC)