Excellent piece!

The rage is no longer against the machine(s).

The rage is, at long last, directed towards the correct place, unscrupulous and self-interested human leaders.

I can only hope that we, in North America are paying attention and can be watchful enough to make sure we do not find ourselves in the very same situation.

I do agree, Ed, that the Net has put a potentially awesome power into the hands of Joe and Jill SixPack, but let us not become complacent. It is very much under attack by powerful forces threatened by the medium.

I was puzzled, a while back, when the major media appeared to be giving much attention to blogging - even to have columns on it. Then it occurred to me that the idea was to steer away from the message board/forum format. A visit to a blogging link will show the vast majority of messages have no, or few, responses. In effect, there are millions of bloggers out there who are writing messages to themselves.

The media may give exposure to an active one occasionally - active but safe.

Ongoing Public Servants' Education: The F-case expands your knowledge of how catastrophic the corruption of public service, justice and whole Canadian society is and educates you on how to improve the lives of children and families in the need of government services, instead of intruding into lives of others and ruining them like ours. A minor case of gross negligence and nasty lies progressed into the most massive cover up, firmly guarded by officeholders, united in refusal to admit and learn from their wrongdoings. (fcase.blogharbor.com)

It is quite obvious that the powers have already recognized the potential of uncontrolled information in the hands of ordinary people amd will do anything to cut it back, or destroy it.

There have already been a number of attempts to curb the power of the Net, usually cloaked under so called "well meaning" actions, like "the elimination of pornography", or "terrorism", etc., all boiling down to information control in the name of goodness.

The elite can not tolerate any freedom of information, just as, at one time, they couldn't permit the release of religious scriptures into the hands of the unwashed populace, without the appropriate translation by the clergy.

Today the subject is economics, leading either to people, or elite power, supposed only be translated by the brainwashed clergy of our age, the economists.

When we were fighting the MAI, and information was leaking out from the talks every day and spread over the Net, one of the Canadian delegates, Toronto U woman professor, whose name I can't recall at this moment, Sylvia Something, was heard exclaiming :"Isn't there a way to stop these people?"

We had the whole text of the MAI in our computers months before Canadian MPs and the powers haven't forgotten the beating they took to the plans for corporate fascism, which is the same as the religious fascism in Iran, or Ireland.

I can well remember the days, when I would have been jailed, or shot for this short posting alone, in the name of "freedom and democracy", of course, and will fight for the rest of my life to prevent the resurgence of any kind of power elite giving orders on what I'm permitted to read and believe.

Ed Deak, Big Lake.

Dear Mr. Fisher (POC04746160),

I do not doubt that your perceive to be unjustly treated by the MCF, but please don't carry through with your threatened suicide.

Since you are a rational man, perhaps it is time for you to step back from the issue and re-examine at a later time.

Sincerely,

Michael Clift

PS. The Vancouver Crisis Centre is 604.872.3311. That number is answered 24 hours a day by a volunteer who will listen non-judgementally.

Ain't it the bloody truth.

Excellent posting by yourself this thread, Fait.

And the warnings about moves already underway to begin to interfere with and control the net, some of which has recently been in the media, are entirely well timed and appropriate. No greater fear have the ruling elites everywhere, than that ordinary people will get together widely and globally, and exchange views, and discuss appropriate courses of action and solidarity, bypassing state and ruling class control of the instruments of information and ideas. (It drives the Wingnuts here to distraction, and desparate misinformation peddling.)

I am hopeful, if not completely convinced, that out of these times now upon us, new understandings and formations of "the people" will be created and begin to move, and effect their times and societies in ways previously unimagined, including, and maybe even especiallyhere.

It is possible.

Dear Mr. Clift, I do not threat anyone, the proof: I was never charged with uttering threats, though a few times arrested and imprisoned for complaining. That Risk Assessment about me experts produced without seeing or speaking with me, in June 2000. And the Crisis Centre last answer at requests for help: "Please stop sending these! We are getting up to 4 or 5 a day! We operate a 24 hour phone line - we cannot help in this matter"! Thank you!", is from August 2000. Thank you for well-intended advice.

I visited Iran first in 1973 (then under the rule of the Shah) and was very impressed by the high rate of intellectual curiousity, literacy and multi-lingual abilities of its people — I could easily have stayed there. In Isfahan a young student came up to me on the street and asked if I would debate Sartre with him in French. It's so good to see this continue even under the cruel Mullahs.

If Fiat Lux has it right, and I think he hits the mark in his assessment of the need of power to control thought, and the ways and means by which power accomplishes that control, then this new medium is the first real hope for ordinary people to defend their revolutions against those who would betray them.

Mr Bush and his fellow travellers, just to use the most obvious example, maintain control of a free population by controlling television. They present false images while carrying out torture, election fraud, and secret police tactics, though such things are clearly no part of Western Democracy and would never be tolerated by their own people, if they knew.

I hope the Iranian people can succeed in defending this medium. I believe they are in a real war against those who would deceive and abuse them, and betray the very Revolution which might be the vehicle of their deliverance.

I hope we all can. Stand fast. Speak your truth. Lies can never prevail against the truth revealed by the ones who live it.

While not on the subject of Iran, the following is a good example of mind control by the corporate media. Has anybody seen this in any paper, or on TV?

Ed Deak.

The future of Canadian Postal Services goes on trial in Washington D.C.

OTTAWA, Dec. 12 /CNW Telbec/ - The future of Canada's public
post office will be decided by a private trade tribunal operating
from the World Bank headquarters in Washington D.C. The hearings
over our post office will run from December 12-17th.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) and the Council
of Canadians (the Council) are concerned that the tribunal, which
is looking at a complaint filed by United Parcel Service (UPS),
could issue a decision that has disastrous implications for
postal and other public services.

UPS is using Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) to demand financial compensation of $185
million CDN from Canada's federal government. This amount will
double if UPS wins damages to date.

UPS claims its investments are being limited by Canada's
publicly funded network of mailboxes and post offices. It
believes this network gives Canada Post an unfair advantage when
delivering parcel, express and courier services that are in
competition with private courier services.

"If UPS wins, Canada Post may opt to get out of the courier
business which would spell disaster for the longer term
financially viability of Canada Post. The corporation needs the
profits it gets from the courier business to provide universal
service," says CUPW National President Deborah Bourque.

Ottawa-based trade lawyer Steven Shrybman, who represents the
groups, says that the UPS case also spells trouble for other
public services because most compete at least to some extent with
the private sector. "If UPS succeeds, the case is likely to open
floodgates to claim by other US companies seeking to break into
the health care or water service markets in Canada," says
Shrybman.

Jean-Yves Lefort, trade campaigner for the Council of
Canadians, argues Canada must rescind these investment rules
adding "it is outrageous that NAFTA allows the future of Canadian
public services to be determined by a private arbitral tribunal
operating behind closed doors in Washington D.C."

For further information: please contact Joseph Zebrowski,
Communications Specialist, Canadian Union of Postal Workers
(CUPW), (613) 222-3952 (cell)

© 2005 CNW Group Ltd.

Fait,

Yes, I have previously heard of this-, if my memory serves, several months ago. Indeed, similar moves are underway as well involving water resources, agricultural products, our socialized medical system and US health corporations, as the soft wood lumber issue is already an attempt to dictate policy and control our forestry resource related issues.

It is again, one of those measures of the degree to which private corporatist, and especially US corporate interests, armed with the provisions of NAFTA, are attempting to dictate law and social policy to Canada, and extend their control over Canadian economic and political life, no doubt.

Despite the opportunist stance of Paul Martin making asserive gestures towards Washington in a national election, though it is still a good thing overall by way of elevating the issue and arousing Canadians, not really his intent I think, too few Canadians yet fully understand the implications of NAFTA and how it serves US Empire policy in controlling this country. We are already far down the rode of sliding under US domination, and there is a point at which that will only be able to be turned around by "unusual measures", almost certainly.

By lowballing the issue and not directly addressing it and raising the alarm unfortunately, much of our politicians and political appparatus, intentionally or not, are facilitating this handing over of the nation to Washington.

Listen to the boldness of our neocon wingers here, in their support and justification of this, and the NAFTA reality that underpins it. That traitors to the nation can be so daring and open says something about the safety of the environment they feel they are operating in-, that they can do so with impunity. It tells me that the process is already far along and there is insufficient popular wrathbeing manifest as yet, at this betrayal of the nation, already far along, to even act as a caution on these proUS-Canada "integrationist" types in our midst.

That needs to change, quickly. A national movement needs to quickly evolve, to pressure our collaborationist politicians to repudiate NAFTA, yesterday.(Amongst which group Martin, as an international shipping magnate as well as Liberal politician, has generally been considered and been more proccupied with maintaining good relations with the US/ NAFTA, interpreted by the likes of myself as subservient, relations.)

(Like repealing the GST, the Liberals as late as 1993 were once also going to repeal NAFTA. Both positions in that electoral aftermath which they simply dropped and themselves became advocates of.)

Trotting the issue out "just" at election time, more designed to impress immediate electoral outcomes than to actually do anything real about it, is not good enough. We see too much of that in this country, from all political parties which dominate the electoral process.

http://www.parl.gc.ca/36/2/parlbus/chambus/house/debates/013_1999-10-28/han013_1700-e.htm

From Hansard, on the history of the Liberal policy re NAFTA. Lots of such material out there. Coyote

You will notice that the UN wants to wrestle control of the internet away from the US and into the “world”. You can bet that many of member countries will want to be able to control it and not for anyone’s good. The Internet still depends on key nodules that if controlled can truly limit the effect that it is having.

China is certainly working hard to limit the flow of information on the net and passing through Shanghi recently they seem more interested in CD’s, laptops than Avian flu.

Lot’s of Iranians and Iraqis where I live and lots of interesting stories, my friend drove ambulances for Iranian army in 80’s and my Iraq butcher has a scar from a RPG on his head from the same war. Their stories are eerily similar to WWI vet stories.

The Iranian leaders know they are sitting on a boiling pot, you have a huge group of young people being held down by a small group religious radicals, plus many Iranians have relatives abroad and keenly feel what they are missing. If Iraq becomes moderate and non-threatening, then the Iranian leaders have lost their public enemy and they won’t have external threats to use for their own purposes.

Ed
Doesn’t the US postal system have similar setup to the Post Canada system for parcel delivery, which would mean that both countries would have the same advantage and muting the issue that UPS is claiming.

NAFTA was the dumbest thing we could have done.

It's not only in such places as China and Iran either, where there are "official" noises and moves to "control" the internet. In the US and here, largely due to pressure from Washington, officials in recent months (if not weeks, which I did not immediately recall) have been talking about "security concern" legislation to access and monitor people's email exchanges, as well as their internet use, in terms of the sites they visit etc..

Most of the immediate pressure here, of course, arises out of the same policy stream rationale as the "fighting terror" preoccupations of the Patriot Act and Homeland Defence that are so much of The Empire's obsession in these times. At least it lends itself as a credible excuse to begin to squeeze information and communication access to the public. Which, given the general anxiety of our State and ruling class interests to keep The Empire happy, is having a carry-over effect here in "the colony', with the same kind of talk coming out of CSIS.

And of course, there is the old shiboleth war on porn designed to silence critics as well. (Which they are perfectly capable of dealing with separately, by forcing content restrictions on "the business" of Internet Providers, be that their real intent. Imagine cold turkey, without some access to porn!! Scarey! So long as most politicians are male eh, not likely to happen. wink wink :-)

(Bantam rooster posturing with Washington on occassion, by our politicians, still does not alter the fact of our overall subservient relationship and economic, political and military vulnerability. I'm damned sure, though they will not be pleased of course, that Washington does not feel in any wise seriously threatened by this. All they have to do is threaten to close the border or apply another "surcharge", say if it goes on much beyond the election, and our political leaders will snap back into line quickly and smartly enough.)

Or even worse, just simply ignore us.

no,no,no Cayote, this is not coming from Washington. It is the UN.
The only frightening thing the US did, was when the internet masters wanted to make a xxx suffix Washington vetoed it. It wasn't the smartest thing to do I will admit.

Bailey wrote: "I hope the Iranian people can succeed in defending this medium. I believe they are in a real war against those who would deceive and abuse them, and betray the very Revolution which might be the vehicle of their deliverance."

Are you joking?

The Revolution has resulted in a tyrannical theocracy (there is no other kind). Nobody wants a return to the bad old days of the Shah and SAVAK, except maybe the Shah's whelp hiding out in Paris, but in this case, the Revolution demands another one forthwith.

The popular revolt against the Shah was taken over by the more Islamic parties and redressed as an Islamic revolution. Many of the non-Islamic revolutionaries ended up in prison under the Ayatollah regime.

The Shah could have headed off the revolt by easing up on dissent and allowing a limited democracy. But he was in to concerned about the fundamental Islamic threat.

A lot of the Iranians here in Vancouver were supporters of the Shah and had to flee when the Islamic Ayatollah took power.

Yammer; Not a joke at all. Hardly anybody gets two revolutions. If that revolution in Iran suceeded, then why are the people crying out in blogs for the freedom and justice they obviously thought would result?

And why are the mullahs who betrayed them so adamant that they must not be allowed to speak their truths in their blogs?

Please answer, I'm interested to hear your thoughts on this.

The revolution did result, as you say, in a tyrannical theocracy, but nobody sets out to make a revolution to achieve oppression. So what happened?

I believe the tyranny results from the betrayal of the revolution, not from the revolution itself. That had a very different purpose in the minds of the people.

They were religious people, so obviously they hoped the ideals of their religion would be part of their new society. This faith made them vulnerable to manipulation by opportunistic fundamentalists, who by lies and hatred stole power and built the horror that we see there now.

We in the west are in a similar position, we're very vulnerable to the exact same abuse by our own lying, hateful fundamentalists. They hope to achieve power over us to force us to live in fear and to forbid us to disagree in precisely the same way.