New York police commissioner Raymond Kelly
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Internet is the new battleground against Islamist extremism because it provides ideology that could radicalize Westerners who might then initiate home-grown attacks, New York police commissioner Raymond Kelly said on Wednesday.
“The Internet is the new Afghanistan,” Kelly said, as he released a New York Police Department (NYPD) report on the home-grown threat of attacks by Islamist extremists. “It is the de facto training ground. It’s an area of concern.”
All bloggers, be warned! The war against the internet has begun…
And the postal service were a breeding ground for pedophiles. It’s time for him to educate himself on the issues.
Oh, Big Brother, save me! [insert dripping sarcasm]
Just another reactionary coward afraid to have his “ideas” challenged. So many self-assigned conservatives suppress free speech and discourse because they’re incapable of defending their own “values”.
This happens with every generation. The one before us was rock music and the one before that was knee high skirts. It’s the devils work I tell ya.
#5 every generation as chased after its own boogeyman it’s true, but unlike burning books, steamrolling cds, or banning films, that people passively read, listen to, or watch, censorship of the internet could actually kill freedom of speech because people speak in both directions on it
i know that more that a few people right here in these forums actually believe that because i think the “war on terror” was botched that in fact i support al queda — nevermind the fact that were i not too old to be worth much i’d be in afganistan alongside my fellow americans hunting for and hoping to kill obl myself.
but seriousl, how long before i am silenced?
My bung hole is also a terrorist training ground!
#6 Actually i think what you are trying to point out is that when you ban a book, you silence one author, when you censor the internet, you silence entire swaths of its population.
And once you allow the state to quash speech that it considers dangerous to the nation, to think that the state would not use its powers to quash speech that it considers dangerous to the state would be frighteningly naive.
That is why our constitution says that congress shall pass no law abridging freedom of speech — because freedom of speech is our best defense against tyranny.
I must say that conservatives very much like the idea of censorship when the conservatives are in power — I wonder how they would react if American right-wing websites were declared to be hate-speech and banned altogether? (Let us not forget that Timothy McVeigh considered himself to be a right-wing conservative.)
If I thought for a moment that this was just a recognition of the fact that the internet is one among many means of communication and that it warranted some level of monitoring to be aware of any terrorist activity on it, I might not be worried. However, I think it is obvious that the conclusion to be drawn from a statement such as this is that the internet needs to be censored and we need the ability to track people down and arrest them based on statements they make on blogs and such. One sec, someone’s knocking on my door. Be right back.
So where exactly does Kelly call for “censorship of the Internet”?
#8 – (Let us not forget that Timothy McVeigh considered himself to be a right-wing conservative.)
I also considered him to be a right wing conservative.
#11 – OFTLO
“#8 – (Let us not forget that Timothy McVeigh considered himself to be a right-wing conservative.)
I also considered him to be a right wing conservative.”
Passing strange indeed… maybe because he was a right-wing conservative is my guess.
#12 – Well Lauren… On this point, between us, there shall be no debate. Let the word ring forth from this time and this place… Timothy McVeigh was a right wing conservative. So it is said and so it shall be written.
(maybe I’ll even write it into that Atheist’s Bible I’m working on) 🙂
Oh, man. ‘Conservative conservative conservative”.
I suppose the people trying to get Global Warming Doubters thrown in jail are conservatives? Ever been to a demonstration with a bunch of college kids around when someone says something unpopular? The college kids are conservatives?
No, the problem is neither conservative nor liberal. The problem is ignorant blockheads and true believers.
(Grog, I figure all wars have at least three fronts, the one with the bullets, the one with the ballots, and the media. Rove strikes me as a sniper, waiting for the other side to make a mistake, and that gives the other side the initiative. Giving up the initiative in something as fast moving as the media was a mistake, all the opposition had to do was move faster and pump out more “bullets”, or talking points, and fractured Rove’s counter attacks where they could be defeated in detail. The Jihadists used the Western news media to boost morale and recruit. Bush, Rove, etc were unable to effectively nuetralize the Media 5th column forces. There is the defeat.)
#14 – Phillep,
I suppose the people trying to get Global Warming Doubters thrown in jail are conservatives?
Mind posting an article saying that anyone is actually doing this?
Terrorists who hatch plans over the internet are as stupid as those who do so over cell phones. The internet is already being monitored for all sorts of reasons, so calling it a bastion of terrorist activities is completely false.
Bottom line, the commissioner is a lousy cop if he really believes what he is saying. Free speech and communication over the internet actually prevent more terrorism than cause it.
That guy looks like someone you could meet at a bathhouse.
You need to raise your standards, girl.
More proof, as if any were needed, that our esteemed elites are more concerned about us getting uppity and thinking than actual terrorists, actually attacking.
After all, if terrorists attack, our beneficent protectors just get more power. Terrorists are their friends, that’s why they are so poor at catching them.
The witticism, “The pen is mightier then the sword” has merit because idea’s are dangerous, Duh! Where has this dufus Raymond Kelly been? This has been known for hundreds of years.
The previous answer to direct the dangerous energy of ideas into positives for society, was with education and socializing with like minded people. But since we now socialize by staying in tune with the latest culture trends, sitcoms, propaganda for news and trips to the Mall, all bets are off.
A very significant difference between capitalism and the USSR was the concept of private ownership; ownership inevitably means, the privatization of ideas, to develop and invest in as the privateer sees fit. Whereas with the USSR, ideas and property where communal, investment was directed away from self interests, instead directed to the state.
The USSR model appears to be what the US Government is directing its energies and resources towards, a post enlightenment, Neo-Stalinist state. The citizenry is the new danger and this danger has to controlled, soviet style.
Heaven help us, it’s only going to get worse. Can you say NSA, CIA, DoD ….