And then they came for the Internet

P U L S E

Yes folks, what we have been fearing for some time may finally come to pass. The internet has provided wonderful opportunities to citizens to diversify their sources of information, and to journalists and activists to level the playing field. No one can control the narrative anymore, not even the Israel lobby.

Many people in power have been grumbling about this for some time. But few politicians were willing to take the risk to act against such a popular medium. It is unsurprising therefore that it took someone as shameless as Joe Lieberman, the man who has only ever saluted one flag–the Israeli flag–to propose a bill that gives the US president authority to ‘kill’ the internet. His model? Why, the great people’s republic of China course.

Most readers probably don’t know that Clinton’s Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Law of 1996 — the legislation that introduced such things as secret evidence, and detention without charge, thereby paving the way for the Patriot Act — was also proposed and rammed trough Congress by the Israel lobby. Don’t take this lightly. AIPAC is testing the waters. If it sees no opposition to the internet bill, it will put it on paper and three quarter of the senate will feel obliged to sign on the dotted line (as they invariably do).



And meanwhile the Lobby, which Chomsky claims doesn’t exist, has got 85 senators to affix their signatures to a bill endorsing Israel’s blockade of Gaza.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian