Prediction: It won't be long before they figure out a way to close DU down

[BigBearJohn]

If * can get away with all the crap he's gotten away with so far,
his group will surely figure out some loophole with the patriot act
or some other way to close us down. I know a lot of you will scoff
at this comment, but I still shake my head in total disbelief over
what they have been able to do so far. I know this is pessimistic
but I had to say it. So call me "Chicken Little." God prove me wrong.

[HughBeaumont]

1. I'll seriously leave the country if that happens.

Then I'll KNOW that free speech is in flames as we know it.

Not likely to happen, though. Even these idiots aren't THAT insane.

[BigBearJohn]

7. and I will be right behind you -- maybe to New Zealand or Thailand

[radwriter0555]

12. I'm already leaving in June. Off to France to get away from this hole

of hell.

To be among civilized people.

[maveric]

30. Then we should really go "underground", to take back OUR country.

I serious. It may result in that.
I'll say no more about it.

[Hugin]

2. Not only do I agree with you...

I'll tell you how it will be done.

Provider Consolidation.

They won't shut-down DU per se... They'll make it
incredibly hard to get to once all of the Internet
Providers are under the umbrella of the media cartel.

Q.E.D.

[Hugin]

3. SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL ISP TODAY! n/t

[ashmanonar]

16. what local isp?

O.o

[Peak_Oil]

4. Naaah. It'll be a lawsuit by a MSM outlet for financial damages...

that will shut up the bloggers. They lose money because some blogger showed them up, prove financial damages, and sue.

[Hugin]

9. I agree with you except for one thing...

The media was corrupted using the method
I described...

They are one-trick ponies. What worked then
they'll try again.

[Mandate My Ass]

8. I agree

wireless technology will make this much easier also, IMHO.

[G_j]

21. Internet service launched by progressive nonprofit

note** The Mountain Area Information
Network (MAIN) is my local provider and they are great!! www.main.nc.us
They are now expanding.

(They also started a low power progressive radio station here that is quite awesome, check it out: www.wpvm.org you can listen online)

**************************
Internet service launched
by progressive nonprofit

A nonprofit nationwide Internet service has been launched to serve dial-up
Internet users who support media reform and the creation of a vigorous independent media.

Marketed under the name IndyLink, the service is aimed at value-conscious
Internet users who also want to avoid the commercial clutter and privacy
risks of corporate services such as AOL and Earthlink. IndyLink is a
service of the North Carolina-based nonprofit Mountain Area Information
Network (MAIN), which has been providing dial-up Internet access since 1996.
MAIN currently has more than 4,000 subscribers in western North Carolina.

"IndyLink gives dial-up Internet users the option of putting their dollars
where their values are, rather than having those dollars go to support a
corporate media system that is not serving the needs of a democratic
society," said Wally Bowen, a veteran media activist and founder of MAIN and
its low-power FM radio arm, WPVM, the Progressive Voice of the Mountains.

"The Internet-access industry has undergone mergers and consolidation like
other media industries, and the emerging business model is to harvest and
sell personal information while pushing more and more targeted ads at
subscribers," Bowen said.

"Because IndyLink is provided by a nonprofit organization, we don't rely on
advertising revenue to survive. This allows us to provide a non-commercial
'oasis' where subscribers can enjoy greater privacy protection and lower
cost," Bowen said.

"Creating a truly democratic media includes support for more non-commercial,
not-for-profit media," said Robert W. McChesney, a leading media scholar and
founder of the Free Press media reform coalition. "IndyLink is an excellent
example of how citizens can support nonprofit media with their Internet
dollars," he said. <http://www.freepress.net >

Launching a national dial-up service when the whole world seems to be moving
to high-speed cable and DSL may seem counterintuitive, said Bowen. "But our
marketing research shows that dial-up will be a viable option for
cost and privacy-conscious subscribers for years to come," he said.

Priced at $14.95 a month, IndyLink service is about 30 percent less than AOL
and Earthlink, while offering comparable spam and virus filtering and a
dial-up "accelerator" which can produce download speeds up to five times
faster than conventional dial-up service.

"IndyLink operates on the same telecommunications infrastructure used by
corporate ISPs, so our service is just as reliable. In addition, we have
one of the most experienced tech-support staffs in the Internet industry
because we provide living-wage jobs and turnover is low. We don't outsource
our tech support in order to take advantage of low-wage workers in
developing countries," Bowen said.

"For citizens wanting to support non-commercial Internet alternatives to
monopolistic telecom providers, IndyLink offers not only excellent and
affordable Web services, but represents a new and exciting direction for
21st-century public-interest telecom policy," said Rob Williams, president
of the media reform group, Action Coalition for Media Education (ACME).
<http://www.acmecoalition.org >

Via its homepage, IndyLink also offers a daily digest of progressive news
and information gleaned by IndyLink staff and volunteers from across the
World Wide Web.

"We believe the IndyLink homepage will quickly become a 'must see' stop for
progressive activists and citizens who are looking for news content
under-reported by mainstream media," Bowen said.

Information about IndyLink and its services can be found at
http://www.indylink.org . To contact IndyLink, email [e-mail] or
call toll-free 1-866-962-6246.

END
====
Here's the Asheville Citizen-Times story about our expansion:
http://www.citizen-times.com/cache/article/business/728...

& another MAIN connected project: www.SinclairWatch.net

-Sinclair Media Watch is a grassroots effort to evaluate local news coverage provided by WLOS-TV, the only broadcast television station based in Asheville, NC.

[Goldmund]

5. Only if we actually are threatening to him.

So far, he's been doing alright, don't you think?

[okieinpain]

6. oh, I don't believe that, not unless they can plant some child

porn.

[Bridget Burke]

10. How about Kitty Porn?

The Lounge is notorious for Cat threads...

www.kittyporn.org/

[Hugin]

11. Meow! ;) n/t

[flobee1kenobi]

13. outsource it

if the servers are on some little island-nothing they can do

[Walt Starr]

14. They'll stop it at the edge

Like China.

[okieinpain]

15. hahahahahahahahaha. I'm pretty sure hannity, rush, and ann(the man)

could spin it.

[moggie12]

17. Why bother?? Half the time we're sniping at our own...

If we were actually organizing on here -- , and people took the time to add their name to petitions, write the media, etc. -- then we'd be a threat. Right now we're mostly a debating society.

[whistle]

18. That's what Rex-84 is all about isn't it, shipping DUers off....

...to American gulags?

[TheOriginalAmerican]

19. "God prove me wrong."

I'm not God, but can I give it a shot?

John, there are groups that actually call for the overthrow of the US government. The main one would be the Communist Party. While they're not taken seriously as far as their ideology goes, their anti-war message has been influential. It might not have been as influential if others weren't already agreeing with them, but they they're still influential.

Michael Moore made a film which made Bush look really bad (and like some victimized martyr at the same time).

Bush has not managed to shut any of this down.

What makes you think that a message board is so important? I like to post on DU, but I need to tell you the truth. DU really isn't that important. You have to be important for the government to want to shut you down. :)

[Djinn]

20. Got to agree

there is virtually no fascist act that BUsh could pull off that would surprise me and I'm one of the most paranoid individuals around BUT no-one inside the White House gives a flying fanny about what is posted here.

DU is a cool place to hang out but it's membership wouldn't be more than a blip on the political radar even in Australia let alone the US - what's your population knudging up to know?

Seriously DU isn't a big deal to these guys

[ashmanonar]

22. DU has been in the msm.

so there must be some official interest. granted, the reason it was in the msm was a chickenshit reason...but it was there nonetheless. i'm fairly sure that the government monitors EVERYBODY. mail, chat, discussion boards, everything.

[BigBearJohn]

23. Not important? We convinced Boxer to stand up for us recently.

Didn't we play a part in the Gannon story?

Furthermore, since when did you have to be important
in order to have the * administration squash you?

[JNelson6563]

24. I disagree

This is a helpful tool to them in that a few trolls can come on and suddenly DU is a time/energy incinerator. People will spend huge amounts of time posting loooong replies, link compilations and endless word parsing efforts. Nothing would please the fascists more than to get even more Dems/non-fascists squandering such time and effort instead of more productive alternatives.

Just my .0125 worth--

Julie

[BigBearJohn]

25. Then why are we all here posting messages? Maybe I should just quit.

[JNelson6563]

28. There's a difference

between sharing info and the flamewars. Thought I had differentiated.

Julie

[BigBearJohn]

26. But wait a minute -- Didn't moveon.org generate MILLIONS of

campaign contributions???

[spanone]

27. I couldn't agree more. I bet they're scrambling as we type.

I'm sure we're considered security risks.

[MissMarple]

29. The genie is out of the box. She doesn't go back in.

According to chaos theory, we will find a way. Life happens.

[oasis]

31. We each know DUers from the state forums. We can plan a Million Man March

on CNN.

[BigBearJohn]

32. I would support that.

[DU GrovelBot]

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