We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Death Date Announced For The Internet

Click here if you wish to access this 8:40m video directly from YouTube.

This post represents a crucial battle in the war against real information being delivered to you via the internet. Trump's appointee, Ajit Pai, head of the FCC is launching another campaign to attack (reduce access to) information that the internet service providers like Comcast, Verizon, AT&T, etc, don't like or which don't see certain websites as providing sufficient profitable opportunities for them. After all, that is what America Inc. is all about: providing never-ending profits and power to our ruling capitalist masters. Because Pai has the votes on the FCC Commission, it looks certain that he will be able to transfer oversight from the FCC to the FTC which has extremely weak enforcement measures.
On December 14th the internet as we know it may be deceased. Cenk Uygur, the host of The Young Turks, tells you what you can do to stop it. ....

“Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai will reportedly seek to completely repeal net neutrality rules put in place under former President Obama, according to a Monday report.

Sources close to the matter tell Politico that Pai will seek to completely remove the net neutrality rules, which reclassified internet service providers (ISPs) as telecommunications companies and required them to treat all web traffic equally.

The FCC will reportedly vote on the plan in December, according to Politico.

Pai and other Republicans have argued the Obama-era FCC overstepped its authority with the regulations by reclassifying the ISPs as common carriers.

The FCC held a months-long open comment period on its proposal to repeal the rules after facing massive backlash after releasing its initial proposal in April.”


Here are some other posts that may interest you regarding this issue: