Stephen Lendman
Powerful interests in America threaten alternative sources of news, information and opinion.
Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter and You Tube announced plans for a joint Internet censorship database on the phony pretext of eliminating “extremist content.”
Their scheme threatens media and speech freedom, likely aiming for sanitized online content only, independent views censored, threatening writers like myself and many others.
Reporting and opinions diverging from mainstream views risk being labeled “fake news” or “extremist content,” a slippery slope toward undermining First Amendment rights altogether.
The above companies and other IT ones agreed on a code of conduct, pledging they’ll work with the European Commission (the EU executive body) to “sanction (and) criminalize individual perpetrators (of) hate speech” online.
The EU threatened “non-legislative” action if online “fake news” and “hate speech” aren’t removed in 24 hours – censorship legislation to follow if the “non-legislative approach” fails.
The new database is expected to be operating by early 2017 – complicit IT companies collaborating against online speech and media freedom.
On Tuesday, tech giants involved said they “hope this collaboration will lead to greater efficiency as we continue to enforce our policies to help curb the pressing global issue of terrorist content online” – meaning whatever America’s deep state wants censored.
Pre-WW II Louisiana governor, senator and presidential aspirant Huey Long said fascism will arrive here “wrapped in the American flag.” In his book “Friendly Fascism”, Bertram Gross described a slow, powerful, “drift toward greater concentration of power and wealth in a repressive Big Business-Big Government,” Big Brother alliance.
In the 1930s, famed investigative journalist George Seldes saw it coming, expressing concern over “merchants of death” weapons and munitions makers, saying the “healthfulness of the(ir) business depends on slaughter. The more wars,” the more profits.
Novelist Sinclair Lewis said it’ll come during hard times, led by a charismatic, self-styled populist champion exploiting human misery.
Norwegian sociologist/mathematician Johan Galtung correctly predicted the 1979 Iranian revolution, the Soviet Union’s dissolution, various economic crises and the 9/11 attacks.
He now anticipates the demise of America’s imperial project by 2020, its global preeminence ended, fascism taking hold, resulting from endless US wars, along with unsustainable economic, social, military and political contradictions, its government headed for collapse, led by a “strong leader” – Trump.
Yet “(i)f he manages to apologize deeply to all the groups he has insulted and turns foreign policy (away) from US interventions (and endless) wars, a major revitalization” is possible…We’ll see,” said Galtung.
