Ramifications of Telecom Bill

[Mark_Poole@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Mark Poole)]

     Allan Woods raised a good issue, about the provisions to prosecute 
     anyone transmitting what could be considered obscene in the new 
     telecom bill - namely, where does it stop?
     
     I saw this as a sig a few months ago, and my memory is weak, and it 
     may be lacking in the exact wording:
     
                I said nothing when they came for the pirates, 
          because I had no stolen software,
                 When they came for the pornographic purveyors, I 
          kept quiet because I didn't have any dirty pictures,
                And I was silent again when they came for the 
          encryption-phreaks because I thought I had nothing to 
          hide,
                And when they came for me, there was no one left 
          to speak up...
     
     This quote is, of course, a bastardization of the famous lines 
     referring to what happened when no one objected to the rise of a 
     certain political power in Germany.
     
     I agree with Allen, that this is may not the place to discuss it, but 
     it may affect how we converse with each other on this list. For 
     example, what if a thread was to start about vintage stereo nude shots 
     from the 1890's?  Would the words we use to describe the images 
     trigger some sort of alarm at the NSA?  What if some of these images 
     were on a web site - and someone thought they were "obscene?"  Could 
     the owner now be prosecuted under a federal statute?
     
     This bill chills the notion of Freedom of Expression to the bone.
     It is cloaked under the guise of "we got to protect our children," but 
     does nothing to make the parent responsible for their own child.
     
     I don't think children should be exposed to "adult themes" either, but 
     there are other methods.  The voluntary movie ratings system, for 
     example.
     
     Oh, well, I guess I'll go back to saying nothing...
     
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     Mark Poole               |  Mark_Poole@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
     The ants find kingdoms in a foot of ground -William Rose Benet 
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