Iran: Death Penalty for Bloggers Considered

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THE IRANIAN PARLIMENT proposed an interesting way to control bloggers - kill them.  Such a proposal should make all bloggers in the U.S. glad about First Amendment protections.  The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights that expressly prohibits the United States Congress from making laws "respecting an establishment of religion" or that prohibit the free exercise of religion, infringe the freedom of speech, infringe the freedom of the press, limit the right to peaceably assemble, or limit the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment 
 
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Global Voices
July 4, 2008
Iran: Death Penalty for Blogging?

http://globalvoicesonline.org/2008/07/04/iran-death-penalty-for-%20blogging/

On Wednesday, Iranian members of parliament voted to discuss a draft bill that seeks to “toughen punishment for disturbing mental security in society.” The text of the bill would add, “establishing websites and weblogs promoting corruption, prostitution and apostasy,” to the list of crimes punishable by death.

In recent years, some Iranian bloggers have been sent to jail and many have had their sites filtered. If the Iranian parliament approves this draft bill, bloggers fear they could be legally executed as criminals. No one has defined what it means to “disturb mental security in society”.

Such discussion concerning blogs has not been unique to Iran. It shows that many authorities do not only wish to filter blogs, but also to eliminate bloggers!

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In America, bloggers do not face execution, but some complain of censorship.  A Phoenix blogger whose website exposed police misconduct recently had his home invaded by police while he was out of town.  Police placed his female roommate in handcuffs for three hours while they ransacked the blogger's residence and removed his computer and records.*  Senator Rockefeller stated that it would have been better if the Internet was never invented and introduced two bills to give the president czar-like powers over the Internet in America, including the power to shut it down.*  Apparently, many authorities find fault with freedom of press.

Cybersecurity is another major issue in the computer age.  President Obama announced a position for a cybersecurity coordinator, who will be named later.  The president made it clear that he intends the person who is appointed to that position to be a coordinator, not a czar.

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 May 29, 2009 — Network World — In a speech at the White House today, President Obama put forward his vision for protecting the nation’s critical IT infrastructure from attack, and announced the new office of Cyber Security Coordinator.

Obama Announces New Cybersecurity Direction

The individual to fill that role isn’t expected to be announced until next week. But Obama said the official will “have regular access to me" to advise on a wide range of cyber-security issues, from military cyber defense to coordinating federal security policies, to improving online privacy and civil liberties of Americans.

But the head of the Coordinator office will be more of an administrator for unified policy and a public voice for the White House and the federal government than a “czar,” the title bandied about for several months in the media as expectation grew the administration would create some sort of White House job for cyber-security.

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*Referenced news is available at NowPublic at http://NowPublic.com/duo

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Mary Neal
http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com