Cybersecurity Act coming your way…

[FNA209]

Hold on to your hats- it’ll be a wild ride.

Snowe and Rockefeller have proposed a bill which, for all intent purposes, will give the Feds control of the internet. Some main points of the bill:

One provision allows the President to declare a cyber emergency, shut down the internet, and access almost any cyber-information. The President may:

“declare a cybersecurity emergency and order the limitation or shutdown of internet traffic to and from any compromised Federal government or United States critical infrastructure information system or network” (Sec. 18(2))”

The term “United States critical infrastructure information system or network” includes federal, state and local governmental, and non-governmental systems or networks. In other words, everything. (Sec. 23(3))

I don’t know about all of you, but if there is a terrorist attack or something, I just as soon be able to see more information than the canned government messages.

Another provision allows the President to:

“shall have access to all relevant data concerning such networks without regard to any provision of law, regulation, rule or policy restricting such access. (Sec. 14(b)(1))”

It also grants the Secretary of Commerce “access to all relevant data concerning [critical] networks without regard to any provision of law, regulation, rule, or policy restricting such access.” This means he or she can monitor or access any data on private or public networks without regard to privacy laws.

So I guess they can search the internet and mine whatever data they want- without that pesky requirement to get a search warrant. Nice to see we will suddenly have to have the government watching everything we do and, if they find information of a crime, they can use that against you.

There’s a lot more in there. Some of it is very vague and, depending on how you view our government and your level of trust in that government, you can see it may or may not lead to some excessive measures and interfere with the free exchange of information.

I just wonder why we had the intense battle over the Patriot Act because people interpreted it would be abused by the Feds and that the Feds could use it to violate rights and laws. Remember?

People said the government intercepting possible terrorist communications was a bad thing- it was a violation of privacy. Providing immunity for companies who gave information to the government was a bad thing.

This piece of crap bill looks like it'll expand the government's ability to do the same for everyone. And since the government can pick and choose which over companies they want oversight, I'd think they will violate everyone's privacy.

Yet because Obama and his minions in Congress want to stifle dissent and don't want negative information, we have something that is now okay and the government should be allowed to do just that.

Where is the outrage now?

[Flanker]

Yawn. Do you really think this is going to be used to crack down on "dissent?" Do you think Obama's evil minions are going to be coming on here and shutting down Officer.com or anti-Obama message boards?

This is simply a response to the growing threat of cyberattacks from nations like China, Russia and from private hackers. Your reaction to this is akin to the overreaction of crazy libs who thought Bush was going to turn America into a police state with the Patriot Act.

[FNA209]

Yawn. Do you really think this is going to be used to crack down on "dissent?" Do you think Obama's evil minions are going to be coming on here and shutting down Officer.com or anti-Obama message boards?



Yes, I do- I believe they will do just that at some point. And once passed, this act can just as easily be misused by the other side when they regain power. Right now, I don't trust the One and his Congress to not mettle in my life. I think they have already proven they will happily do so. In 2112, I won't trust the Reps either.



Your reaction to this is akin to the overreaction of crazy libs who thought Bush was going to turn America into a police state with the Patriot Act.



That sums up most of my problem with this. Where is all of that "overreaction of crazy libs" now? This act is just as bad as any facet of the Patriot Act. Some are strangely quiet.....

[Stormy]

Yawn. Do you really think this is going to be used to crack down on "dissent?" Do you think Obama's evil minions are going to be coming on here and shutting down Officer.com or anti-Obama message boards?

This is simply a response to the growing threat of cyberattacks from nations like China, Russia and from private hackers. Your reaction to this is akin to the overreaction of crazy libs who thought Bush was going to turn America into a police state with the Patriot Act.

I agree with FNA209. This is the 'quiet before the storm'. And, the storm is scheduled for the summer of 2009. By Nov, 2009, you'll see a major chamge in the US. Take this FWIW. ;)

[Stormy]

Yes, I do- I believe they will do just that at some point. And once passed, this act can just as easily be misused by the other side when they regain power. Right now, I don't trust the One and his Congress to not mettle in my life. I think they have already proven they will happily do so. In 2112, I won't trust the Reps either.



That sums up most of my problem with this. Where is all of that "overreaction of crazy libs" now? This act is just as bad as any facet of the Patriot Act. Some are strangely quiet.....

Here's another bill to worry about. Monsanto is trying to pass a bill forbidding open polinating seeds, but instead to push their gentically modified seeds. GM seeds do not pollinate, and mus be re-seeded every year. On top of this, all private gardens, which do not comply with this law, should it pass, will be illegal;

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Aprl 6, 2009

I've gotten a new wave of questions about H.R.875, the bill that's generating fear all over the Internets. The reality is that H.R.875's a pretty decent bill overall, BUT it's not going to pass. So let's talk about reality instead of paranoid internet myths.

A new food safety law could come from a few different committees in the House or the Senate, but it's pretty clear by now that it's going to start in the House Energy & Commerce committee. That committee has already had several food safety hearings, whereas the Senate's had none (I think) and the House Ag committee had their first one last week. They key players in the Energy & Commerce committee are Rep. Waxman, Dingell, and Stupak. If you want to give some input into the upcoming food safety legislation, call their offices. Waxman: (202) 225-3976; John Dingell (202) 225-4071; and Bart Stupak 202) 225 4735.

Our friends Waxman, Stupak, and Dingell have, until now, favored Dingell's bill HR 759. However, because that bill contains provisions about drugs, medical devices, and cosmetics in addition to just food, I think they are going to kill that bill and introduce a new one that is very similar to HR 759's food provisions but with increased traceability requirements. HR 759 leaves the FDA intact and calls for increased inspections (at least once every 4 years). To pay for the increased inspections, the bill charges food manufacturers "user fees." The bill also requires farms to keep electronic records and gives the FDA the authority to call for a mandatory recall.

Congress is on a 2 week recess this week and next, and they'll be back in action on April 20. That's when this new similar-to-HR 759 bill will be introduced and debated. So if you hear any more HR 875 rumors, tell whoever's spreading them to leave Rep. DeLauro alone and instead call the offices of Dingell, Waxman, and Stupak.

The Ag committee has had one hearing on food safety and I think they might be interested in introducing their own bill. The Senate's expected to work on the bill S.510 either later this year or perhaps even next year. So food reform is happening but not in a very speedy way.

food.change.org/blog/view/an_update_on_food_safety_reform