|
|
 |
|
| |
|
|
ExamForce :: Article Archive :: Newsletter Article
 The Cert Times: IT Edition Article Archive
|
| The Ends Justify the Stomping of Heavy Boots (B1N@RY N@T10N (A.J. Axline)) |
In response to the question "What's going on in this country?", Hunter S. Thompson once wrote, "Never ask that question unless you already know the answer."
So, fess up: are you really surprised to learn of the existence of a bill that would give the President the authority to shut down any private network or system "in the interest of national security"? This is such a non-story, it belongs right up there with the headlines "More Violence in the Middle-East," "Thousands Die in Drought-Induced Famine," and "Oprah Eats Belgium."
Before anyone decides to get their knickers (figurative and personal) in a twist, please note that the US Government has always possessed the ability to disconnect, destroy, manipulate, monitor, and tap dance on any private network anywhere in the country, as long as it's "in the interests of national security." In fact, private networks are pretty much the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what the US Government has done, can do, and will do to ensure that the "interests of national security" are served.
Here's a playful example: In 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, forcing over 100,000 Japanese Americans into internment camps. Over half of those imprisoned were children. Most of these Americans were only given 48 hours to evacuate their homes, which were extensively looted after the former owners were carted off to the camps. Later that year, Executive Order 9095 was signed by President Roosevelt, creating the "Office of the Alien Property Custodian" and giving it full authority over "alien property interests."
If, after reading that last sentence, you feel like having one of those decontaminating 'Silkwood' showers, you're in good company.
(Punchline: in the end, 10 people were convicted of spying for Japan during WWII. All of those convicted were Caucasian.)
Just to add a celebrity flavor, since most of us don't actually pay attention to anything unless there is a celebrity involved, George Takei of Star Trek fame was sent to an internment camp with his parents in 1942. Isn't that something?! I'm A.J. Axline, and this has been a Hollywood Moment Tonite!
A more current example of what your government will do to keep the nation clean and tidy: the Bush Administration top-secret "torture memos" outlining ten acceptable techniques that can be used on someone who constitutes a threat to "national security." These ten techniques are (in no particular order):
- Attention Grasp
- Walling
- Facial Hold
- Facial Slap
- Cramped Confinement
- Wall Standing
- Stress Positions
- Sleep Deprivation
- Insects Placed in a Confinement Box
- The Waterboard
All of these attractions will be coming next summer to your local Six Flags Amusement Park. Bring the kids! Facial Slap your mother-in-law!
My friends, please understand that there is absolutely nothing, NOTHING that the US Government can't and won't do to feed the ambiguous shibboleth that is "national security" in this fine year of 2009.
In his final HBO show, George Carlin suggested that Americans don't have rights; they have privileges, a loose collection of urban legend-esque freedoms that can be taken away in an instant if the kitchen gets a little too hot for the government to handle. It was true in 1942; it was true sixty years later when the Patriot Act was passed in 2001; and, it is just as true today, no matter who is living in that big-ass house on Pennsylvania Avenue.
A.J. Axline
B1n@ry N@t10n
|
|
|
Posted by
nam on 28/09/2009 10:37 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ExamForce, Inc. is not sponsored by, endorsed by, or affiliated with Cisco Systems, Inc. Cisco®, Cisco Systems®, CCDA™, CCNA™, CCDP™, CCNP™, CCIE™, CCSI™, the Cisco Systems logo, and the CCIE logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks, including those of Microsoft, CompTIA, and Citrix are trademarks of their respective owners.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
