FBI arrest US activist for using Twitter in non-violent protest
Max Eternity - In yet another stunning act of domestic aggression, during the recent G20 summit in Pittsburgh, the Obama administration gave tacit approval for the FBI to arrest an activist for using the social network Twitter in communicating with other G20 protesters. This happens just a few months after the controversy over recent elections in Iran , which saw protesters in that country also using Twitter to communicate in solidarity and dissent. Ironically in that scenario, President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton and other top officials endorsed that effort.
Should the same rules apply in the US?
Prior to becoming President, Barack Obama was a civil liberties lawyer, causing many to believe that he would uphold the rule of law and rebuke the police-state policies of his predecessor, George W. Bush. However, with Obama administration already having giving immunity to large telecom companies that spied on US citizens under Bush rule, his refusal to release all of the Bush-era torture docoments and Obama's embrace of Bush's Patriot Act, it is becoming increasingly clear that the new president has every intention of carrying on with many of the same unpopular policies of the former White House resident. (click image to watch video)
Should the same rules apply in the US?
Prior to becoming President, Barack Obama was a civil liberties lawyer, causing many to believe that he would uphold the rule of law and rebuke the police-state policies of his predecessor, George W. Bush. However, with Obama administration already having giving immunity to large telecom companies that spied on US citizens under Bush rule, his refusal to release all of the Bush-era torture docoments and Obama's embrace of Bush's Patriot Act, it is becoming increasingly clear that the new president has every intention of carrying on with many of the same unpopular policies of the former White House resident. (click image to watch video)
Watch What You Tweet
by Amy Goodman
by Amy Goodman
The Oregonian - A social worker from New York City was arrested last week while in Pittsburgh for the G-20 protests, then subjected to an FBI raid this week at home -- all for using Twitter. Elliot Madison faces charges of hindering apprehension or prosecution, criminal use of a communication facility and possession of instruments of crime. He was posting to a Twitter feed (or tweeting, as it is called) publicly available information about police activities around the G-20 protests, including information about where police had issued orders to disperse.
While alerting people to public information may not seem to be an arrestable offense, be forewarned: Many people have been arrested for the same "crime" -- in Iran, that is. Read more.
While alerting people to public information may not seem to be an arrestable offense, be forewarned: Many people have been arrested for the same "crime" -- in Iran, that is. Read more.
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