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Is an Obscure U.N. Agency Plotting a Global Internet Coup?

Nov. 27, 2012 6:00pm

Before joining the Blaze, Buck served as an officer in the Central Intelligence Agency, assigned to the Counterterrorism Center and Office of Iraq Analysis. He […]

Before joining the Blaze, Buck served as an officer in the Central Intelligence Agency, assigned to the Counterterrorism Center and Office of Iraq Analysis. He also served as an analyst for the NYPD Intelligence Division. He has field experience in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa. Buck has a B.A. in Political Science from Amherst College. He is a native of New York City, where he currently resides.

[ x ]

buck@theblaze.com

You’ve probably never heard of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), but as you are reading this on the Internet, it’s a safe bet that its ambitious plan for Internet regulation will affect your daily life if enacted.

And unless you think Russia, China and Iran are going to be a constructive influence on the Internet, the ITU plan would be a disaster for economic and political freedom.

That’s because the ITU believes the Internet needs a massive, unaccountable bureaucracy to manage the web– the most complex and evolving technological innovation in the world.

And for the world’s most important technological invention since perhaps Gutenberg’s printing press, the ITU can think of no better governing authority than a handful of U.N bureaucrats responsive to a vast array of national governments.

But this would never happen, you say? It must just be anti-U.N. fear-mongering from those flag-waving, 2nd Amendment enthusiasts like the folks at… Google and Facebook?

That’s right, when it comes to Internet regulation around the world, Silicon Valley and the United States web community are among the biggest freedom advocates. They have launched campaigns to inform the public that the U.N. takeover of the Internet is not the plot of a fiction novel. In fact, it will be discussed, promoted, and possibly voted on at the secret World Conference on International Telecommunications next month in Dubai.

All it would take is half of the member states in attendance– 193 “yes” votes– to modify the completely outdated 1988 International Telecommunications Regulations treaty, and then member states would be obligated to enact rules that would take away Internet control from the current group of engineering based, non-government, international organizations like the Internet Society and ICANN.

That loose conglomerate of Internet regulators (facilitators would be a more accurate world) would be pushed aside in favor of giving countries like Russia, China, and Iran a bigger say. Authoritarian, repressive regimes around the world could use the modified 1988 Telecommunications Treaty to alter the basic architecture of the web for their home countries, and change the way outside sites exchange information with their citizens.

We know some major figures on the world stage are excited at the prospect. Earlier this year Vladimir Putin told ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Toure that the Russian Federation hoped to establish “international control over the Internet using the monitoring and supervisory capability of the International Telecommunications Union.”

While the the ITU strenuously denies in public that it has any desire to meddle in core Internet facilitation functions like domain names, addresses, and numbering, it has simultaneously been preparing to mount its own public relation campaign for months. A series of leaked documents from internal ITU meetings apparently indicate that the leadership knows the public is smelling something rotten.

The ITU ideologues saw what happened in 2012 to far-ranging Internet regulations efforts like PIPA and SOPA, which were annihilated by the very web communities they sought to regulate. The ITU, it seems, is hoping to wage a more quiet Internet coup rolled out in stages and presented as nothing of concern.

However, based on the ITU’s own documents and the inclinations of some U.N. members states, we know the threat of treaty that regulates the world wide web is real. But why would half (or more) of the U.N. members states ever cast a vote that could derail the Internet’s progress? After all, with approximately two billion people using the Internet in their daily life, and half-a-million new users joining every day, the web as it stands now seems to function incredibly well. It has astronomically increased the speed and spread of information, created uncountable billions in revenue and dramatically increased productivity.

Alas, therein lie the problems. The success of the web is both a threat to dictatorships and an appealing target for the statists who want to siphon money from it to enlarge their own treasuries. The motivations differ depending on the nation-state, but those in agreement with the ITU plan want more individual control over the web. Some such as China and Russia would probably attempt to set up Internet structures that allow for balkanization of the web and greater control of information. Oppressive states recognize the pivotal role the web plays in the distribution of information, and the very real threat it can pose to undemocratic or even despotic regimes.

Money of course is also a big factor. Many countries see policies such as “sender-party-pays” as a means to bring revenue into their declining nationally controlled telecom companies. In effect, U.S.-based companies like Google and Facebook would have to pay a fee to whomever controlled the local network in say, China, for access to those customers. This would allow for massive redistribution of wealth schemes and enable cronies in some less scrupulous countries to amass tremendous fortunes on the backs of web innovators and entrepreneurs (who of course also oppose added operating expenses).

Socialists in Europe and developing world dictators alike could rejoice at the so-called “social justice” implications of all this. U.S. companies would have to pay continuous fees to repressive or underdeveloped societies. The ITU structure would also add massive cost burdens and censorship opportunities to a system that has–with minimal government interference in America–changed the world we live in for the better.

The web works so well precisely because it allows unfettered innovation and access. It’s full potential is far from being realized, and it has already opened the floodgates of knowledge and communication that was the stuff of fantasy only decades ago. Even if the ITU backtracks, or shifts its intent, it is imperative for all Americans– and really all web users– to understand the basic architecture of the system that has benefitted billions of us around the globe.

The freedom of the web can only be maintained if those online everyday will mobilize against U.N. regulation using the very technology they seek to defend.

Buck Sexton can be seen on TheBlaze TV weekdays at 7pm EST as a regular panelist on “Real News.”

Back to The Blaze »

Comments (52)

SUNTZU
Posted on November 28, 2012 at 1:39am
We cant have the NWO without control

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jst1425
Posted on November 28, 2012 at 12:51am
http://westerncivilizationandculture.blogspot.com/2009/05/hitler-myth-socialists-and-social.html

Does all this seem somewhat familiar to you…??

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jst1425
Posted on November 28, 2012 at 12:36am
During the Hitler years — in order to finance the party’s programs, including the war expenditures — every social group in Germany was mercilessly exploited and drained. White-collar salaries and the earnings of small businessmen were deliberately held down by government controls, freezes, taxes. Big business was bled by taxes and “special contributions” of every kind, and strangled by the bureaucracy. At the same time the income of the farmers was held down, and there was a desperate flight to the cities — where the middle class, especially the small tradesmen, were soon in desperate straits, and where the workers were forced to labor at low wages for increasingly longer hours (up to 60 or more per week).

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leonardo44
Posted on November 28, 2012 at 12:19am
between the reelection of Obama and the potential take over of the internet i’m just numb these days.

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- PATTY HENRY
  Posted on November 28, 2012 at 1:33am
  That’s why I say GOOD GRIEF!! all the time!
  Thank GOD I have Him to focus on, otherwise I’d feel like I’m in an inescapable bad dream!!!
  HANG ON… we’ll make it!! :)
  
  Report this comment
- 2getherWeStand
  Posted on November 28, 2012 at 1:58am
  Patty, it might also help if we called our senators. Currently, our senators are getting ready to vote on UNCRPD. Other UN treaties upcoming. Why any senator would would vote in favor of any of them is beyond me. We are a sovereign nation, last time I checked.
  
  Report this comment
jst1425
Posted on November 28, 2012 at 12:12am
First the economic depression..then the communications….Hitler assumed the title Fuhrer, or “Lord.”

DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT HERE IN WHAT USE TO BE AMERICA?

“…It was all due to the faith of one man! Yes, you who called us godless, we found our faith in Adolf Hitler, and through him found God once again. That is the greatness of our day, that is our good fortune!”

Do a little research on Adolf Hitler…STRIKING SIMILARITIES would you agree?

Are you scared yet…?

http://sitemaker.umich.edu/fascistpersonalitycult/adolf_hitler

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scubascott
Posted on November 27, 2012 at 11:39pm
@ 4XGRACE You are so right!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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TheWhiteFalcon
Posted on November 27, 2012 at 11:10pm
Ron Paul wasn’t kidding when he said “The internet will provide the alternative to the government/media complex that controls the news and most political propaganda. This is why it’s essential that the internet remains free of government regulation.”

That’s exactly why the liberals and dictators of the world want to strangle it. They hate freedom, and the Internet is exactly that. Take that away and freedom will be crippled.

Of course, Anonymous would likely crash the servers of any government who supported the treaty anyway.

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1911a1
Posted on November 27, 2012 at 11:07pm
well well well . Looks like we are going to finally get to play Cowboys and Commies afterall …. cant wait to send these UN Intruders packing back off to Europastan where they belong ! U.N. GET OUT !

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RamonPreston
Posted on November 27, 2012 at 10:58pm
The government wants control over EVERYTHING we say and do. Isn’t that why we fought a revolution back in 1776?

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- DissenterKnight
  Posted on November 28, 2012 at 11:32am
  If you look at it, in 1776 the Crown was LESS oppressive and invasive in the lives of its subjects than our government is now.
  
  Report this comment
Advection
Posted on November 27, 2012 at 10:56pm
The consequences for people currently living under oppressive governments is obvious, but consider this…

Poor country’s access to websites would be restricted as ISPs filtered them out in order to decrease costs. And it wouldn’t matter whether their government was oppressive or not; these poor people would still be blocked. In fact, they’d be more likely to fall under an oppressive government once they were in the dark. And they’d be more likely to remain poor.

This is sounding more and more like a liberal/progressive idea.

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mash4077
Posted on November 27, 2012 at 10:36pm
what obscure U.N. agency isn’t plotting some kind of coup? that’s the real story at that madhouse. U.N.= Utopian Nightmare

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- The-Monk
  Posted on November 27, 2012 at 10:51pm
  @mash4077
  
  You didn’t happen to attend the 1983 BMW MASH BASH in Harrisburg PA in 1983?
  
  I was there… were you?
  
  Report this comment
- jman-6
  Posted on November 27, 2012 at 10:52pm
  Know what you get when a bunch of collectivist, combined with arrogance and their moral relativist superiority god complex together? The church of Utopian Narccisism! Notice I labeled them little [g] gods not to be confused with the Great I AM!!
  
  Report this comment
- Wolfgang the Gray
  Posted on November 27, 2012 at 11:02pm
  “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’” – Ronald Reagan
  
  The only thing worse than that “I’m from the U.N. and we’re here to help.”
  
  Report this comment
bekhiet
Posted on November 27, 2012 at 10:31pm
The U.N. needs to go. We don’t need them for anything. Who the heck do these people think they are? How do we take a stand against this?

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jessieH
Posted on November 27, 2012 at 10:17pm
Let’s see, a couple pounds of C4 should do the job of shutting up these “illegal aliens”.

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TROONORTH
Posted on November 27, 2012 at 9:52pm
The U.N. is terrified of free speech especially as practiced in the West. It comes as no surprise that they want to control it. Just look at the lengths that the U.N. has gone to promote the lie of man made global warming.

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heavywx
Posted on November 27, 2012 at 8:36pm
Thats scary……..but then again so is this. CHECK IT OUT PPL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJDCxzKmROY&feature=related

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zoro51
Posted on November 27, 2012 at 8:31pm
de throne the UN now end the FILTH the marrxist communist socialist LOSERS deicating to the us or isreal.. ONE DAY THEY SHALL BE DISBANDED FOR GOOD…that day is coming soon,… they are nothing but WHORES

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- ScreaminEagle
  Posted on November 27, 2012 at 10:16pm
  Why are these people still in my country? UN GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!
  
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godot769
Posted on November 27, 2012 at 8:29pm
It is not what the UN can do (of the liberal traitors of of the US for that matter), It is that there are people who. either well meaning and stupid or evil and in need of a lead enema, are on this earth even thinking about such destructive ideas.

and remember we are only “4%” away from absolute mobocracy:(

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progressiveslayer
Posted on November 27, 2012 at 7:08pm
The UN needs to be removed from Amerika once and for all they’re nothing more than collectivists working on our destruction. However they’ll never be removed since our government doesn’t have a clue that we’re still a sovereign nation and the UN has no legal authority over us.

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- SendTheMeteors
  Posted on November 27, 2012 at 8:37pm
  Oh yeah. The UN again. Their latest plot to take over the world, right up there with Agenda Area 51. An organization that has absolutely no power over anything, is going to take over the internet. Yawn. And after that they’ll take over the world I guess and impose a One World Government. And we’ll all be enslaved. Sure, okay, whatever grabs your attention.
  
  Report this comment
- Lord_Frostwind
  Posted on November 27, 2012 at 8:52pm
  Your humor is sadly misplaced Meteor, while the batch of dithering idiots over at the UN would make an army of monkey typing at typewriters look efficient, they do have some serious delusions of grandeur. About all they would be able to accomplish is completely ruining the systems they are so desperate to control, but they don’t care about that, they want the power.
  
  It is a strange time when you find out the people you deride as crazy may simply be ahead of the curve. I myself really hate those times, but that doesn’t mean they don’t happen.
  
  Report this comment
- SendTheMeteors
  Posted on November 27, 2012 at 9:26pm
  Lord, I missed your point. So are you afraid the UN is going to take over the internet, or do you think this is a paranoid delusion?
  
  Report this comment
- GroverCleveland
  Posted on November 27, 2012 at 9:54pm
  Hey “SLAYER:” What are the ways in which “they” are “working on” our “destruction?” These are vague claims. How do you support them? What are the ways in which our own government endangers our “sovereignty?” Again, you’re making vague accusations, ambiguous claims without support. Can you just say, clearly and with reference to specific examples, what it is you’re afraid of? Tell us all, please: what is the nature of the threat?
  
  Report this comment
- progressiveslayer
  Posted on November 27, 2012 at 10:38pm
  GROVER This video is a compilation of several people’s opinion on UN agenda 21. Don’t be offended by the title I’m sure you’re above average intelligence. The current Marxist regime in the US is thinking of being a signatory to the UN small arms treaty,if this happens it will effectively strip us of our second amendment right.
  
  Report this comment
- progressiveslayer
  Posted on November 27, 2012 at 10:39pm
  GROVER I forgot the link last post so here it is.
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzEEgtOFFlM
  
  Report this comment
- SendTheMeteors
  Posted on November 27, 2012 at 10:41pm
  Grover, don’t hold your breath for an answer.
  
  Report this comment
- GroverCleveland
  Posted on November 28, 2012 at 1:06am
  SLAYER: The video is a ten minute collection of buzzwords. It is a string of bold warnings, ambiguous images and masonic symbols–it is not a coherent argument. “They want to do this, they want to do that.” Who are they? How are they undermining U.S. sovereignty? How are they a threat to your liberty? Hollow claims, brother, never hurt anybody.
  
  Report this comment
- Lord_Frostwind
  Posted on November 28, 2012 at 2:40am
  My point Meteor, is that a bunch of pencil pushers at the UN attempting to do something like this would be no surprise, possibly even a likely event. Based on their previous track record, I doubt their attempts at establishing control would be successful, and would likely end up crippling or damaging one of the greatest inventions of the modern era to the point it is a shadow of its former self. In essence, they will try to take control, but will only succeed in breaking the internet.
  
  Report this comment
GuruMeditation
Posted on November 27, 2012 at 6:50pm
The UN is NOT TO BE TRUSTED! It’s that simple.

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GBTVFan_Non_American_Overseas
Posted on November 27, 2012 at 6:48pm
If you want to know the kind of world leaders behind these regulations, you just need to look at the list of global leaders who endorsed Obama the last month…..

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GroverCleveland
Posted on November 27, 2012 at 6:39pm
No. No, no, no. There are some issues worth thinking about here. One is the idea of a “kill-switch” in the hands of a government agency. In short, this would be an agreement (by treaty) that governments around the world would have the right and the capacity to shut down digital communications and commerce should they in some way threaten order or security. It’s problematic, and not likely to be greeted fondly by liberal democracies (such as our own). Another issue is tariffs. The upcoming summit in Dubai will consider different ways to extract revenue from participation in digital commerce. Another issue is anonymity. Measures will be under consideration that would in effect make it mandatory for entities or individuals sending and receiving information over the internet to identify themselves. All these things are troublesome. But all technology (telegraph, radio) brings with it concerns over its use. There are two ways for YOU to respond. You can either fill this site with absurd posts about how socialist zombies are coming for your guns and your children–or you can get involved: learn how the U.N. functions as an international body, learn where your representatives and ambassadors stand on the issues, and voice your concerns directly to them. You can also run for office. The world is not as scary as you people make it sound. Chill.

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- jman-6
  Posted on November 27, 2012 at 10:41pm
  Its as simple as this; the majority I believe 72% in last poll of Americans don’t want to be part of the UN and actually want the headquarters moved to Europe! That’s not fear mongering that’s reasonable! And furthermore exactly how do a bunch of anti-American beuracrats benefit the American people?
  
  Report this comment
- Dr Vel
  Posted on November 27, 2012 at 11:40pm
  Are you related to the guy who abandoned the patent office in the 1800′s saying all inventions of importance had been invented/ I mean I do not believe it is possible you could be more full of it. By what authority does the UN cost me for the internet? By what authority does it tax? It already sucks billions from us for doing nothing to promote peace and endlessly backing anyone against the US. Taxes are for a government to maintain and preserve society, paid by members of said society. Each nation should take care of themselves. Only to correct aggression against the innocent should one nation interfere with another. If Germany attacks England other nations so inclined have the right to aid in their defense if so asked. The UN has an amazingly bad track record, as well including stopping evil violence by a nation against it’s people. Think POL POT. When did the UN do anything to stop the killing fields in Cambodia? NADA. Same over and over for decades. Total failure. What service has the UN provided to the world to justify taxing it? None! We already give them vast sums more than they deserve or even have a right to ask. The world will never know peace so long as a global entity as corrupt from within as the UN exists. Aid we give to Africa is taken by warlords to sell, buy arms, while the people suffer. Where is the UN? I would be most happy to hear the UN abandoned the US and moved to North Korea where they belong. Like minds should be together.
  
  Report this comment
- Dr Vel
  Posted on November 27, 2012 at 11:58pm
  When they line you up then tell me the world is not as bad as we think. You reap what you sow. By what authority does anyone have right to silence the people of the world? Or do you think an internet kill switch serves any other function? How do you live with such marginal cerebral activity as you exhibit? Spies get their info out and have been doing so far longer than any internet has existed. Meaning silencing the citizens is the root reason for such a switch. Only a people in misery would speak out in such a way as to cause a ruling entity to wish to silence them. If this is the case the ruling system has no right or authority since no government who crushes the lives of it’s citizens has any right to exist. All people should be free and no government has the right to silence them. Period, ever. Any government in this much fear of civil uprising is beyond any doubt evil and the root cause of said civil unrest. In any nation, with any people, at any time in the whole of human history. Few exceptions. If any ruling system was only working to improve the lives of it’s citizens no possible unrest could exist if the people were happy. The only exception to this is forces of evil working from within to destroy civil society, such as the progressives power grab here in the US. Death and destruction, misery and hell, has been the outcome every time in history. Yet they keep doing it. Now, our own government is in with said forces and little time remains. Have a nice day.
  
  Report this comment
- GroverCleveland
  Posted on November 28, 2012 at 1:22am
  DR VEL: You misunderstand. I’m merely pointing out what’s at issue. I think any comprehensive initiative aimed at reigning in digital communication–whether U.N. sponsored or not–would be clumsy, overly-constricting and doomed to failure. My point is, many of you are over-reacting. You see the boogeyman everywhere. Generally speaking it’s true that bureaucracy, whether national or global, is lame, bloated and a thorn in the sides of individuals. Nevertheless it is necessary. Nations must act in concert in order to do good. It is impossible for them to do so without an international facilitating body such as the U.N. This is not the eighteenth century. When the U.N. fails (you mentioned Pol Pot, and their are others: Pinochet, Baby Doc, Amin, etc.) it usually is a result not of the body’s ineptitude or “evil” intent, but its weakness. If a powerful nation has in interest in prolonging the tyranny of a dictator, and if that nation holds a veto power at the U.N., the U.N. cannot intervene. See how that works?
  
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- GroverCleveland
  Posted on November 28, 2012 at 1:47pm
  I wonder if you could be a bit clearer about how “progressives” here in the U.S. are working “from within” to “destroy civil society.” This is quite a bold claim, and it sits within your idiotic screed without evidence, without any sound premises. How, exactly, is society at risk from progressives? I imagine there are things about American life and politics that you hold dear, and that you believe those things are at risk–that they are marked for destruction under the agenda of some “evil” force you believe is enjoying some illegitimate power. But what are those dear things, exactly? And how are they at risk? And who is threatening them? And why? More importantly, what are you doing to confront the threats? Stocking up on ammo? Filling your bathtub with holy water? Why are traditional democratic means no longer enough for you? Have you ever written to congress, have you ever run for office, or even composed a thoughtful editorial for your local newspaper? Tell us–please, by all means, tell us! If the risk is so dire, why can you not name it clearly and directly?
  
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ginger100
Posted on November 27, 2012 at 6:37pm
Great, we need more regulations. I running down to the IRS tomorrow to have the chip installed in my forehead so the blaze can read my thoughts and censor me before I have a chance to type them out.

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ginger100
Posted on November 27, 2012 at 6:23pm
muwaaaaahahahahahahahah muwaaaahahahahahahahahahahahahaha yaaahahahahahahahahah

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4XGrace
Posted on November 27, 2012 at 6:20pm
There’s no place to hide from global Fascism especially when people are so stupid to believe the government line without question. We are so Fascist today it is hard really grasp how deep it goes. Left, Right and Center are Fascists in their own way. The main theme of the world today is all about control. Putting man in control of everything when really nothing is in man’s control. Man’s pride doesn’t allow him to see the lack of control. So what are you going to do? Trust God or trust man?

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Banter
Posted on November 27, 2012 at 6:13pm
The UN exists solely to steal our wealth and sovereignty. This is one of many active projects to do just that.

This regime will capitulate to more and more UN pressure on our policies.

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