Sillysoft Forums

[WhirlPlaid]

I typically don't get involved in political debates, but this article really freaks me out. The senate has voted to pass a bill that make the patriot act look like a walk in the park. The premise is to thwart terrorists, but it leaves the door open to be used on ANY citizen. My fear is it will be used on the Occupy movement and for all you teabaggers out there, don't feel too safe. Your freedoms have also been stripped .

It seems now to come down on one mans shoulders... Obama has the right to veto.

edited to add: My genuine fear is that Obama is also part of our corrupt government along with most Democrats and most Republicans in both the Senate and Congress. Our government is afraid of its citizens and fears an uprising which is why they have passed this bill. Obama, is probably gonna let this pass, and from there...no vaseline.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2011/12/05/the-national-defense-authorization-act-is-the-greatest-threat-to-civil-liberties-americans-face/

[kude]

[url]http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/11/reasons-to-wear-tinfoil-hats/
[/url]

go on, read the part about obama. Under warentless tracking.


edit:
Note, the house isn't mentioned. Just saying. I find it odd that I post a link to wired, only to find a quote from a writer from wired in your like whirly.

[Nimrod7]

I heard something about this in passing yesterday. Scary stuff.

[Drifter]

I've been following this story for a couple of weeks now, and it's not the only thing they (and not just Congress) have been cooking up.

When they try to outlaw the guns... be very scared, even if you're anti-gun.

[jesterme]

The militarization of the local police is what scares the shit out of me....

[Erebus]

In Italy we had several attempts at blocking some freedoms, and Italy itself under "Banana-Silvio" has becomed less and less liberal in the last 20 years.
Now we are under "financial crisis" and we are getting to know that only the poors and expecially the mid-class have to pay for it, since Politics and rich don't want to pay
We are also buying 150 nuclear aircafts that would alone fund half of the "economical maneuver" we will have to pay this year (and since we cannot have nuclear weapons, it also feels strange I know those aricrafts could also carry conventional ordnance, but it feels strange anyway ).
Also, more illiberal anti-freedom acts are about to be passed by the government, to stop/limit people freedom to demonstrate.

THis trend is about to go on in all European states. It really reminds me of the first years of 1900, and all the world (expecially the occidental world) is going culturally and socially BACK instead of FORWARD.

I hope it's only fears and that personal freedoms and social equity will win in the end.

[Drifter]

US President Barack Obama signs controversial NDAA into law

By Joe Gullo
Dec 31, 2011 in Politics

President Barack Obama signed the controversial National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law earlier today in Hawaii.

CNN reports Barack Obama "reluctantly signed a defense authorization bill, saying he was concerned about some in Congress who want to restrict options used by counterterrorism officials."

Even before the bill was signed by Obama, there were mixed feelings on NDAA.

The bill only has a 2 percent approval rating on a poll conducted by OpenCongress.com. Only 8 people support the bill out of 395 voters.

Another poll, of 397 people, conducted by PopVox gives the bill a 9 percent approval rating.

One of the more controversial aspects of the bill involves the ability for the president to detain United States' citizens.

According to The International Business Times, "The bill affirms and codifies the U.S. President's authority to indefinitely detain in military custody anyone, including U.S. citizens, suspected of terrorism or supporting terrorists."

In a statement released after the signing of the bill, Obama says, "I want to clarify that my Administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens. Indeed, I believe that doing so would break with our most important traditions and values as a Nation."

Even though Obama signed the bill he does not agree with everything that's included in the bill.

"I have signed this bill despite having serious reservations with certain provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation, and prosecution of suspected terrorists," Obama said.

CBS news reports, "If Mr. Obama violates any of the provisions in the bill, Congress could challenge the White House in court, which would have the final say in any dispute."

The $662 billion bill also includes tough sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program and allocates money for the military.

NDAA was sponsored by Howard McKeon Republican Representative from California. The bill was introduced on April 13th.


Reluctantly signed it my butt...

[Shockandawe]

What a joke.

[kude]

Actually, I read the bill in question, and while it wasn't the best... it wasn't as bad as these articles made it sound.

[Drifter]

True, it's been blown outta proportion, but why in the hell do they even need to pass anything like that?

You have a better chance of being struck by lightening than you do being harmed by a terrorist in the lower 48.

[BloodyMud]

Anybody that voted for or supports Obama should know what he said in 2008
and if they voted for Obama in doing so they agreed to his plan.

"We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded".
BHO (I think these were called brown shirts once now they're purple)

Perhaps soon the civilian national security force will be even more funded since he is in the process of defunding the military.

Should be no surprise that he might do so in the name of Defending us.
Since the days of JFK and then Carter FEMA camps have been prepared and employees employed to manage the numbers who would be detained without judicial or constitutional authority to insure federal control continues across the country during disaster.
It all depends on what the meaning of the word "disaster" is.

"The nine most terrifying words in the English language are:
I am from the Government and I am here to help"
Ronald Reagan

BTW
I'm a Tea Party person and I don't rely on the Government to keep me or my children or my wife safe.
I have a few houses and one of them is registered with the fire department because of all the ammunitions. I have land with lots of water.
Come and take it!

[blackj3sus]

[jesterme]

C'mon guys....it is for our safety.

Terrorists and stuff.

Dirka Dirka, Muhammad, jihad.

[kude]

Well no jester, Lest we forget this (Note: that's page two, the top line is pretty much my point)

[Drifter]

President Obama signs Executive Order allowing for control over all US resources

On March 16th, President Obama signed a new Executive Order which expands upon a prior order issued in 1950 for Disaster Preparedness, and gives the office of the President complete control over all the resources in the United States in times of war or emergency.

The National Defense Resources Preparedness order gives the Executive Branch the power to control and allocate energy, production, transportation, food, and even water resources by decree under the auspices of national defense and national security. The order is not limited to wartime implementation, as one of the order's functions includes the command and control of resources in peacetime determinations.

Section 101. Purpose. This order delegates authorities and addresses national defense resource policies and programs under the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended (the "Act").

(b) assess on an ongoing basis the capability of the domestic industrial and technological base to satisfy requirements in peacetime and times of national emergency, specifically evaluating the availability of the most critical resource and production sources, including subcontractors and suppliers, materials, skilled labor, and professional and technical personnel; - White House

Additionally, each cabinet under the Executive Branch has been given specific powers when the order is executed, and include the absolute control over food, water, and other resource distributions.

Sec. 201. Priorities and Allocations Authorities. (a) The authority of the President conferred by section 101 of the Act, 50 U.S.C. App. 2071, to require acceptance and priority performance of contracts or orders (other than contracts of employment) to promote the national defense over performance of any other contracts or orders, and to allocate materials, services, and facilities as deemed necessary or appropriate to promote the national defense, is delegated to the following agency heads:

(1) the Secretary of Agriculture with respect to food resources, food resource facilities, livestock resources, veterinary resources, plant health resources, and the domestic distribution of farm equipment and commercial fertilizer;

(2) the Secretary of Energy with respect to all forms of energy;

(3) the Secretary of Health and Human Services with respect to health resources;

(4) the Secretary of Transportation with respect to all forms of civil transportation;

(5) the Secretary of Defense with respect to water resources; and

(6) the Secretary of Commerce with respect to all other materials, services, and facilities, including construction materials.

(e) "Food resources" means all commodities and products, (simple, mixed, or compound), or complements to such commodities or products, that are capable of being ingested by either human beings or animals, irrespective of other uses to which such commodities or products may be put, at all stages of processing from the raw commodity to the products thereof in vendible form for human or animal consumption. "Food resources" also means potable water packaged in commercially marketable containers, all starches, sugars, vegetable and animal or marine fats and oils, seed, cotton, hemp, and flax fiber, but does not mean any such material after it loses its identity as an agricultural commodity or agricultural product.

Executive Orders created for national defense and national preparedness are not new in American history, but in each instance they brought about a Constitutional crisis that nearly led standing Presidents to hold dictatorial power over the citizenry. During the Civil War, President Lincoln halted freedom of speech and freedom of the press, while at the same time revoking Habeas Corpus and the right to a fair trial under the sixth amendment. During World War I, when Congress refused to grant Woodrow Wilson extended power over resources to help the war effort, he invoked an Executive Order which allowed him complete control over businesses, industry, transportation, food, and other economic policies.

In both cases, it was only after the death of each President that full Constitutional powers were restored to the citizens of the United States.

The economy of the United States is based on the free flow of resources, energy, and the rights of consumers to buy and sell as they see fit. Any interference in this economic process quickly leads to shortages, rising prices, and civil unrest. The purpose of President Obama signing this new Executive Order is yet unclear, however, it may coincide with information coming out of Israel yesterday that plans for a tactical or strategic strike on Iran are accelerating. Oil prices in Europe rose over $3 a barrel for Brent crude after the Israeli actions, and US oil prices rose $2 for WTI.

The Obama administration appears to be preparing for a long drawn out war in the Middle East, or at the very least, an expected crisis that will require the need to override Constitutional authority and claim dominion over all resources in the United States under the guise of national defense. With the rise in Disaster Preparedness growing for both individuals and states leading up to yesterday's Executive Order, the mood of the nation points strongly towards some event or disaster that will require massive preparations on a national as well as local scale.

[Drifter]

The CIA wants to spy on you through your TV: Agency director says it will 'transform' surveillance

• Devices connected to internet leak information
• CIA director says these gadgets will 'transform clandestine tradecraft'
• Spies could watch thousands via supercomputers
• People 'bug' their own homes with web-connected devices

By Rob Waugh

When people download a film from Netflix to a flatscreen, or turn on web radio, they could be alerting unwanted watchers to exactly what they are doing and where they are.

Spies will no longer have to plant bugs in your home - the rise of 'connected' gadgets controlled by apps will mean that people 'bug' their own homes, says CIA director David Petraeus.

The CIA claims it will be able to 'read' these devices via the internet - and perhaps even via radio waves from outside the home.

Everything from remote controls to clock radios can now be controlled via apps - and chip company ARM recently unveiled low-powered, cheaper chips which will be used in everything from fridges and ovens to doorbells.

The resultant chorus of 'connected' gadgets will be able to be read like a book - and even remote-controlled, according to CIA Director David Petraeus, according to a recent report by Wired's 'Danger Room' blog.

Petraeus says that web-connected gadgets will 'transform' the art of spying - allowing spies to monitor people automatically without planting bugs, breaking and entering or even donning a tuxedo to infiltrate a dinner party.

'Transformational’ is an overused word, but I do believe it properly applies to these technologies,' said Petraeus.

'Particularly to their effect on clandestine tradecraft. Items of interest will be located, identified, monitored, and remotely controlled through technologies such as radio-frequency identification, sensor networks, tiny embedded servers, and energy harvesters - all connected to the next-generation internet using abundant, low-cost, and high-power computing.'

Petraeus was speaking to a venture capital firm about new technologies which aim to add processors and web connections to previously 'dumb' home appliances such as fridges, ovens and lighting systems.

This week, one of the world's biggest chip companies, ARM, has unveiled a new processor built to work inside 'connected' white goods.

The ARM chips are smaller, lower-powered and far cheaper than previous processors - and designed to add the internet to almost every kind of electrical appliance.

It's a concept described as the 'internet of things'.

Futurists think that one day 'connected' devices will tell the internet where they are and what they are doing at all times - and will be mapped by computers as precisely as Google Maps charts the physical landscape now.

Privacy groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation have warned of how information such as geolocation data can be misused - but as more and more devices connect, it's clear that opportunities for surveillance will multiply.

Source

[n00less cluebie]

I assume you support Ron Paul, Drifter?

[Drifter]

No, not at all.

Honestly, thru discussions here in this forums I have changed my mind on countless political situations. So I'm just trying to forward the information that bothers me and let everyone else make their own decisions.

[n00less cluebie]

hmmm....ok then

Yes there are a lot of things wrong, but I see you putting most of the blame on Obama here....Who do you think would do a better job?

From what I remember, Bush was worse with this kind of stuff. . . .

[Drifter]

I have more problems with Cass Sunstein than I do Obama (the meat puppet). But they are in charge right now. Whoever replaces them I bet I will be speaking out against if they keep going in the same direction Bush did, and Clinton, and Bush Sr, and so on...

It's not about Obama or Bush, or Democrat, or Republican. We are back to King George III and the ruling class. And until everyone gets their heads outta their arses we are not going anywhere but downhill.

∞ Drifter shrugs ∞

I can keep my mouth shut, or you can open your eyes to the world around ya and realize things are not business as usual... I'd rather speak up and try and help my brothers and sisters. Remember history repeats itself...

[n00less cluebie]

Naw, I can respect an equal opportunity h8er. I would have been more skeptical if you had thought that Bush wasn't doing the same things if not worse...

[kude]

NSA Chief Denies, Denies, Denies Wired’s Domestic Spying Story
By Ryan Singel


[...]"Congressman Hank Johnson, a Georgia Democrat, asked (NSA chief General Keith)Alexander whether the NSA could, at the direction of Dick Cheney, identify people who sent e-mails making fun of his inability to hunt in order to waterboard them.

Alexander said 'No,' adding that the 'NSA does not have the ability to do that in the United States.' Elaborating, Alexander added: 'We don’t have the technical insights in the United States. In other words, you have to have [...] some way of doing that either by going to a service provider with a warrant or you have to be collecting in that area. We’re not authorized to do that, nor do we have the equipment in the United States to collect that kind of information.'"

Sorta expected, but still nice to hear I suppose... even if it's probably not true.[/url]