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In his work on political theory, [English philosopher David Hume] describes the paradox that, in any society, the population submits to the rulers, even though force is always in the hands of the governed.
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Ultimately the governors, the rulers, can only rule if they control opinion -- no matter how many guns they have. This is true of the most despotic societies and the most free, he wrote. If the general population won't accept things, the rulers are finished. Noam Chomsky, PFRM: Hume's paradox The Prosperous Few and the Restless Many (Interviews with Noam Chomsky) Copyright 1994 by David Barsamian

"The deputy attorney general of California commented at a conference that anyone who attacks the state, even verbally, becomes a revolutionary and an enemy by definition. Ex-FEMA head Louis Guiffreda quoted in "Hidden threats -- Part 2", Geoff Metcalf, WorldNetDaily.com, May 11, 1998

Treatment of dissident opinion, incidentally, follows a similar model in our more libertarian era. False and ridiculous charges are no real problem; it is the unconscionable critics who reveal unwanted truths from whom society must be protected. Deterring Democracy Copyright 1991, 1992 by Noam Chomsky. Published by South End Press. Chapter 12: Force and Opinion Segment 19/20, 6. The Untamed Rabble

"The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth becomes the greatest enemy of the State." -Dr. Joseph M. Goebbels

The Democrats, the AFL-CIO, the teachers union, big business PACs, the trial lawyers, the big bankers, the foreign-aid lobbyists, the big media, and the establishment Republicans want to dance on my political grave. The Fed, the Education Department, and the UN are anxious to join in. They can't stand even one person telling the truth. And they're terrified when that truth gains the people's support. Congressman Ron Paul's TV Gaffe, By Congressman Ron Paul - House of Representatives, April 26, 2002

We Don't Need No Stinkin Constitution...... -- IronHead Henry Hyde says constitution no longer relevant and the record of his statement is expunged!!

The "establishment" males of a Japanese macaque troop remain calm and detached when shown a novel object, and thus do not risk the loss of their status. It is the females and young animals who explore new areas and experiment with new objects. The obvious parallels to human behavior have been noted by several writers, but most explicitly and persuasively by Tiger (1969) and Tiger and Fox (1971). -Edward O. Wilson, Sociobiology, THE ABRIDGED EDITION, (Cambridge & London: THE BELKNAP PRESS 1980), p. 140 & 141.

Throughout history every time a new medium of communications has made it easier, faster, and cheaper to convey ideas and information, it opens up wonderful new possibilities from a civil libertarian's perspective for strengthening individual freedom ...... At the same time though, for those who have a more authoritarian or more paternalistic point of view, what we see as a wonderful brave new world, they see as a frightening terrifying new world. It's dangerous, all those people getting to communicate with each other ...... every time there is a new medium of communications developed, very shortly there-after there is an immediate call for censorship. And cyberspace is no exception. ...... suddenly we had in congress, a very strong call in congress for censoring it. And unfortunately that law the Commuincations Decency Act or CDA was signed by President Clinton in February. [emphasis added] -Nadine Strossen, national Chairperson of the ACLU, speaking at the 1996 Libertarian National Convention, broadcast on CSPAN I, July 5, 1996 ~12:30 PM EST

"It frightens me. ... there is a generation growing up with this new tool, a powerful, powerful tool of communication. Perhaps one of the most powerful we have ever known and we haven't really looked at it yet to see what its implications are." -Honourable Lloyd Axworthy, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Paris, France, July 30th, 1996.

Possession of an unauthorized modem in Burma, ruled by a right-wing military dictatorship who nullified a 1990 election to remain in power, is punishable by 15 years in prison. -NWI German Journal, 10-04-97, 5:47pm EST

Authors of emails and Internet postings that contain racist or xenophobic material may face criminal charges under a proposed European treaty that is dividing the Internet and law enforcement communities. ... "This proposal could potentially outlaw free speech," said Malcolm Hutty, general director for Campaign Against Censorship on the Internet in Britain, or CACIB. Move to Ban Net 'Hate Speech' Draws Praise, Concern, Fri Feb 22,12:46 PM ET

. . . Both Crossan and Mack say Jesus' ideas are similar to those of the Cynics of the age. These were men who believed not in nothing, as the word now implies, but in the rejection of the standard beliefs and values of society. And so, contrary to the times, Jesus taught radical egalitarianism. He also demanded itinerancy [constant travel] of his disciples. Believing that such wanderlust subtly spread subversion, the Romans had him crucified. -Jesus Christ, Plain and Simple, by RICHARD N. OSTLING, TIME, January 10, 1994, p. 38 & 39

A central question of the modern era is when, if ever, the state may act to interdict the content of communications. ...One critical element is seditious libel, the idea that the state can be criminally assaulted by speech, "the hallmark of closed societies throughout the world," legal historian Harry Kalven observes. A society that tolerates laws against seditious libel is not free, whatever its other virtues. In late 17th century England, men were castrated, disemboweled, quartered and beheaded for the crime. Through the 18th century, there was a general consensus that established authority could be maintained only by silencing subversive discussion, and "any threat, whether real or imagined, to the good reputation of the government" must be barred by force (Leonard Levy). "Private men are not judges of their superiors... [for] This wou'd confound all government," one editor wrote. Truth was no defense: true charges are even more criminal than false ones, because they tend even more to bring authority into disrepute. Deterring Democracy Copyright 1991, 1992 by Noam Chomsky. Published by South End Press. Chapter 12: Force and Opinion Segment 19/20, 6. The Untamed Rabble

...this State Security agency [setup under provisions of the so-called "PATRIOT ACT"] will be given the old FBI power under the 1942 Seditious Publication Act. ... It will give this agency the ability to label publications as "seditious" and to prevent their publication and transmission thereunto by both print and electronic means.
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Even the truth regarding government activities or operation can be deemed seditious and its dissemination to the public prevented. ... Life Magazine from 1968 to 1972 was formally declared a "seditious publication" by the FBI because of its photo expose' of the horrors of Vietnam. They were showing a lot of dead and twisted American bodies. The FBI considered this "anti-patriotic" and "seditious" because it was fomenting unrest and thus aiding those who didn't want to see US involvement in the war. From the United States of America to the National Security States of America by Al Martin, ~Oct. 12, 2001 [1]

When NATO missiles destroyed the Serb Radio-TV building, killing civilians inside, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the attack was necessary to shut down Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's "propaganda machine." But Serb Radio-TV was relaying pictures of the extent of devastation NATO bombs were wreaking on civilian infrastructure, and people. Not soldiers, and police, but old ladies, and children, and, well, people who looked like you and me. It made people in the West wonder whether bombing was the answer. It made them ask questions and squirm in discomfort and wonder about the war's morality.
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And one thing you can't have is the public going soft on you. No sir! You don't want a repeat of what happened to former president Lyndon Johnson. When he looked out his window in 1968 to see hundreds of thousands of protesters, he knew, then and there, the Vietnam war was lost. Our Masters of Propaganda by Stephen Gowans, November 12, 2001

Israelies blow-up "Voice of Palestine" radio station in Ramallah this weekend, station still broadcasting locally. -CNBC banner, January 21, 2002, 11:49:33

KABUL: A US warplane dropped at least two bombs on the Afghan capital Kabul in the early hours of Tuesday morning, sparking a large fire in the southeast of the city, residents said. One of the buildings targeted was the office of the Qatari-based satellite television channel, Al-Jazeera, which has broadcast video-taped messages from alleged terrorist Osama bin Laden and his deputies since the September 11 atrocities in New York and Washington. US plane bombs Kabul, al-Jazeera offfice targeted, THE TIMES OF INDIA, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2001

Israeli tanks and troops staged a massive raid into Gaza City, blowing up a local television and radio transmission center and seriously wounding two people, Palestinian security sources said. ... Thursday February 21, 9:36 AM, Israeli tanks raid Gaza City and blow up TV center; four killed in south

Justice Dept. may file first charge related to WTC. One suspect may be charged with "seditious conspiracy" -CNBC banner, November 9, 2001, 11:10:27

THR [The Hollywood Reporter]: How much do you think your remarks on the Sept. 17 show -- when you said that the U.S. launching of missiles from 2,000 miles away was "cowardly" -- had to do with your show being axed?
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[host of "Politically Incorrect," Bill] Maher: One hundred percent. ... After 9/17, it was like I didn't really exist anymore. We went from very few promotions to none.
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THR: Before Sept. 17, had the network ever asked you to tone down your opinions?
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Maher: Yes. There were four or five times. I don't want to go through the things I said because I don't want to dig up all the old graves. But yeah, there were times. They didn't say it directly, but they told my producers, and my producers said to me, "They really think that that was inappropriate." Dialogue with Bill Maher, Fri Jun 28, 3:21 AM ET, Scott Collins

Scott Ritter was the UN's top weapons inspector in Iraq until 1998, when he resigned claiming President Clinton was too easy on Saddam. Now he says the dictator doesn't seem to have weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and that trying to oust Saddam is "extremely dangerous." ... My goal in Baghdad was to facilitate a debate here in the United States on America's policy toward Iraq, a debate that's been sadly lacking. We're facing a critical moment in American history and I believe this is something that has to be more thoroughly looked at. ... I've been called a spy of Israel since 1996, and since I made my documentary film in 2000 the FBI has investigated me as an agent of Iraq. The FBI has also opened up an investigation into my wife calling her a KGB spy. So there is this form of harassment taking place. Exclusive: Scott Ritter in His Own Words, The former weapons inspector explains his switch from getting up Saddam's nose to picking fights with Bush, BY MASSIMO CALABRESI, www.time.com Saturday, Sep. 14, 2002

I just received two e-mail messages this morning that I find very encouraging. One was from one of the organizations that want Texas to be an independent nation. These groups range from intelligent, sober, and respectable to just plain lock-me-up-crazy. I don't know which this is. They complain that the FBI has begun leaning on providers to dump their website. They're not happy about it, but they're not very intimidated, either. They're determined to get back up into cyberspace again. L. Neil Smith, The One Percent Solution, THE LIBERTARIAN ENTERPRISE Number 146, November 5, 2001

iraradio.com, the web site which archives all Radio Free Eireann broadcasts, has been taken down because the web service provider was threatened with seizure of their assets if they continued to host "terrorist" radio programs. Travis E. Towle, the Founder and CEO of Cosmic Entertainment Company, which put up IRARADIO.COM, was told by their internet service provider, Hypervine, that they had been "strongly advised" to take the web site down.
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A Hypervine representative read Mr. Towle a statement that, under an Executive Order recently signed by President Bush, the newly created Office of Homeland Security can seize all assets "without any notice and/or any real un-reasonable evidence of any company or person that helps, supports, or does anything that can be called or labeled terrorism or is found to be connected to terrorism in any way or means possible." Hypervine is a subsidiary of the New York based Skynet.
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update: it seems that this (mostly) is not a hoax. www.iraradio.org and www.allewislive.com have been taken down, although http://www.ouramericas.org/ is still running with no notice of this event. Three Political Websites Downed After Government "Homeland Security" Threat

N+N:Reprise: Treatment of dissident opinion, incidentally, follows a similar model in our more libertarian era. False and ridiculous charges are no real problem; it is the unconscionable critics who reveal unwanted truths from whom society must be protected. Deterring Democracy Copyright 1991, 1992 by Noam Chomsky. Published by South End Press. Chapter 12: Force and Opinion Segment 19/20, 6. The Untamed Rabble

Poet Ezra Pound was tried for treason in 1945 for broadcasting "propaganda" from Italy during WWII. In essence, what got him into the most trouble is that he exposed the inner workings of the world government/banking complex. -LRW

ALSO RELATED:

THE BIGGEST ONE: Media's Role from NEXIALIST N+E+W+S,

Space Law and the internet. Rant included.

THE BIGGEST ONE: Info Wars from NEXIALIST N+E+W+S,

NOTES:

[1] AL MARTIN is America's foremost whistleblower on government fraud and corruption. A retired US Navy Lt. Commander and former officer in the Office of Naval Intelligence, he has testified before Congress (the Kerry Committee and the Alexander Committee) regarding Iran-Contra. Al Martin is the author of "The Conspirators: Secrets of an Iran Contra Insider" (2001, National Liberty Press, $19.95; Toll FREE order line: 1-866-317-1390) His column "Behind the Scenes in the Beltway" is published regularly on Al Martin Raw: Criminal Govt Conspiracy (http://www.almartinraw.com) return

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