Sen. Lieberman Wants a "Terrorist" Flag On Blogspot.com Websites
Long-term lawmaker (and former Presidential candidate) Senator Joe Lieberman is taking the fight against terrorists to the series of tubes known as the Internet. But rather than whipping up another overbearing law like SOPA, Lieberman’s going straight to Google itself to hit the terrorists where it hurts: updated terms of use policies and content flags. Um, what?
The Verge pointed us towards Talking Points Memo, who managed to get ahold of a snail mail letter that Lieberman sent to Google boss Larry Page. Lieberman, apparently, is pretty miffed that Jose Pimentel – an accused lone wolf terrorist who allegedly planned to blow up various government buildings with homemade pipe bombs – has a blog on Blogger that advocated violence against the state and provided directions on how to create explosives. “As demonstrated by this recent case, Google’s webhosting site, Blogger is being used by violent Islamist extremists to broadcast terrorist content,” Lieberman wrote.
Lieberman’s upset that “Blogger’s Content Policy does not expressly ban terrorist content nor does it provide a ‘flag’ feature for such content,” and he wants those areas updated accordingly. Apparently, Joe doesn’t feel that posting bomb-making instructions and calling US buildings legitimate warfare targets would fall under Blogger’s existing ban on “Hate or Violence." We think he might be on to something: Blogger already has a "Nudity" flag, but no discrete "Graphic Furry Action" flag, which is obviously a glaring oversight. Google has yet to respond.
Comments
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Mighty BOB!
November 27, 2011 at 6:17pm
News flash: Old guy doesn't know how Internet works. More at 11.
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win7fanboi
November 28, 2011 at 8:06am
not just any old guy, a lawmaker who wants to decide what should be banned on the interwebs.
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Biceps
November 26, 2011 at 2:58am
Ever notice how much this jerk looks like Senator Palpatine from Star Wars?
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Bad Kharma
November 25, 2011 at 11:12pm
I heard that Lieberman and Gingrich were doing a centrefold for "The Men of Dementia" magazine.
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Teeebs
November 25, 2011 at 5:23pm
You can't have freedom of speech without some undesireable content. Once you go down that censorship slippery slope there is NO going back....
Joe needs to go! Maybe a nice day trip off a short pier.....
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bpstone
November 25, 2011 at 4:41pm
Google does nothing about the current reports they get. Adding another term is useless if they never do any damn thing about them.
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w2ed
November 25, 2011 at 3:52pm
Dear Joseph Lieberman:
The world does not need your kind of censorship idiocy. Please retire and go ____ yourself.
Signed,
Just another persn that has disliked you since the days of Mortal Kombat and Night Trap...
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compro01
November 25, 2011 at 1:59pm
Poster Compro01 wants a "nutcase" flag on Senator Lieberman letters.
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I Jedi
November 25, 2011 at 1:56pm
I think the true issue here is that no one is coming up with an innovative idea that works for all parties. I see Tumblr users and others calling their Congressman to bitch about SOPA, and I see Congress trying to enact legislation that I can already see would be harmful; yet, no middle party has come forward to actually offer any sort of ideas that would work for both web hosters, citizens, and the government itself. Besides, I think Joe Liberman is wrong. I remember going on the Internet a few years ago to look up how to make an atomic bomb. Why, because I was intrigued that the information was online for all to see, yet, I never planned to create one, and not that very many people can to begin with.
To conclude, I think that the man who talked about blowing up government buildings may have been out of his constitutional right to do so. It's fine to talk about how to make a bomb, but it becomes much more gray when we start adding bombs and specific buildings into the mix. There are certain things that we, as Americans, cannot say, such as things that slander others and ruin their reputation; however, I'm not quite sure where blowing up a specific building falls into, and he may now be subject to the patriot act if the F.B.I. and D.H.S. wants to pursue this matter.
Besides, everyone knows that if you mix equal parts of gasoline and concentrated orange juice, you get napalm.
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warptek2010
November 25, 2011 at 6:36pm
You can indeed find plans to build an atomic bomb. Why wouldn't you be able to find such plans? It's the fissionable material that is impossible for your average left/rightwing kook to acquire that makes the knowledge open.
I rememeber as a young boy in the 70's, my older brother having in his possesion a book entitled "The Poor Man's James Bond", where in it you could make all kinds of 'neat' (and highly illegal) things like homemade weapons from bombs, guns, throwing stars, flame throwers and the like. I doubt you'd be able to find that book in the library today.
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I Jedi
November 25, 2011 at 6:59pm
You misread what I said. I said I looked up how to make an atomic bomb, but said few could actually make one. :P
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win7fanboi
November 25, 2011 at 12:57pm
@ Mizufall... as the saying goes "I can explain it to you but I can't understand it for you."
Wondering when congress will be rid of these old morons. I am sure the new generation of congressmen will be more informed, just not sure if there moral fortitude will be on par or worse (if possible).
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nsvander
November 25, 2011 at 12:47pm
I am pretty sure that anyone who took a high school chemistry and physics class, already knows how to make explosives. Its not like its a secert on how it works.
Next up on Lieberman's list of flags, the periodic table of elements!!!
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Danthrax66
November 25, 2011 at 12:15pm
"advocated violence against the state and provided directions on how to create explosives" Pretty sure it's legal to do that. It isn't legal to actually commit those acts.
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Mizufall
November 25, 2011 at 11:30am
I wish our government official would hire someone with knowledge of how the internet works (pretty much any 16 year old will do) and consult with them before making fools of themselves.
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