A new executive order signed by President Obama today declared a “national emergency” related to sabotage attacks and commercial espionage on the Internet, and empowered the Treasury Department to impose massive sanctions on foreign suspects.
The order effectively brings foreign hackers and cyber spies into the same realm once reserved purely for terrorists and nuclear arms smugglers, a move the White House conceded was “broad brush.”
At the same time, officials insisted the move was necessary because of a “policy gap,” and that the Treasury Department needed to be empowered to sanction random hackers over future attacks.
Not that it’s only future attacks, as officials conceded likewise that this is an ex post facto law, which will empower the Treasury Department to impose sanctions on people accused of hacking attacks years ago.
Pretty soon they'll declare that if you roll through a stop sign or forget to use your turn signal you're a terrorist. Way out of control…oh, wait, it's all about "control," isn't it?
Has anyone tried to compile a list of all the on-going "National Emergencies" that are afflicting Uncle Sam? Has any declared "National Emergency" ever come to an end?
I sure wish I could get a hold of one of them handy-dandy National Emergency Magic Wands. I'd display it on the mantle right next to the Magic Legal Wand – the one Our Dear Leaders wave whenever they wish to legalize heinous crimes like mass murder and torture.
"….to sabotage attacks and commercial espionage on the Internet…"
the pot calling the kettle black!
after the US and israel sabotaged Iran's totally legal nuclear power program (and who know what else the US has sabotaged over the recent years via viruses and malware etc)
and the commerical espionage, hahaha, what malarkey! that's the straw that breaks the camel's back, as the US lectures others when the US itself is the biggest and most wicked spy on the face of our overheated and dying Planet, as wikileaks and snowden/greenwald have clearly shown, it's all about social control and commercial espionage (go ask china and brazil, just to start)