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[Ed note: Some important context for this submission appears in this c|net article: Internet sites to protest Trump Admin's net neutrality plan
A group of activists and websites including Imgur, Mozilla, Pinterest, Reddit, GitHub, Etsy, BitTorrent and Pornhub are planning a campaign Tuesday to draw attention to an upcoming FCC vote that could radically reshape the way the internet works.
[...] Tuesday's campaign is the latest effort by activists to dissuade the FCC from repealing Obama-era rules that effectively classified internet service providers as utilities. The classification, known as Title II, forced companies like Verizon, AT&T and Comcast to treat all internet traffic equally. Last week, protesters marched outside Verizon stores around the US.
Earlier, a handful of tech trailblazers -- including Vint Cerf, a founding figure of the internet Steve Wozniak, a co-founder of Apple; and Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web -- posted an open letter on Tumblr criticizing the proposed repeal of net neutrality.
"The FCC's rushed and technically incorrect proposed order to abolish net neutrality protections without any replacement is an imminent threat to the Internet we worked so hard to create," the letter said. "It should be stopped."
Imagine if all sites defaulted to, say, dial-up or ISDN speeds unless they paid extra for full-speed internet. The large, incumbent sites on the net could easily absorb such costs. Smaller, new, or niche sites (such as SoylentNews) could not afford to pay for faster access. If this is not what you want, then contact the FCC and/or your elected representatives and let your view be heard.]
takyon writes:
Ajit Pai jokes with Verizon exec about him being a "puppet" FCC chair
On Thursday night in Washington, DC, net neutrality advocates gathered outside the annual Federal Communications Commission Chairman's Dinner to protest Chairman Ajit Pai's impending rollback of net neutrality rules.
Inside the dinner (also known as the "telecom prom") at the Washington Hilton, Pai entertained the audience with jokes about him being a puppet installed by Verizon to lead the FCC.
Pai was a Verizon associate general counsel from 2001 to 2003, and next week he will lead an FCC vote to eliminate net neutrality rules—just as Verizon and other ISPs have asked him to.
At the dinner, Pai played a satirical video that showed him planning his ascension to the FCC chairmanship with a Verizon executive in 2003. The Verizon executive was apparently Kathleen Grillo, a senior VP and deputy general counsel in the company's public policy and government affairs division.
The speech was apparently not supposed to be public, but Gizmodo obtained footage of Pai's remarks and the skit. You can watch it here.
The vote is currently scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 14. The FCC and Federal Trade Commission announced that they will work together to punish ISPs that don't keep their promises (assuming they make any).
Previously: Washington DC Braces for Net Neutrality Protests Later This Month
FCC Plans December Vote to Kill Net Neutrality Rules
FCC Will Reveal Vote to Repeal Net Neutrality This Week
Comcast Hints at Plans for Paid Fast Lanes after Net Neutrality Repeal
More than a Million Pro-Repeal Net Neutrality Comments were Likely Faked
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Freeman on Tuesday December 12 2017, @06:30PM (1 child)
And yet, Jesus said to give unto Caesar that which is Caesar's and unto God that which is God's. It was an eloquent response to a question meant to entrap Him. In essence, He supported being a good citizen. So long as that didn't involve going against God's will. So, a Christian in the South, being part of the Underground Railroad would be what God wanted. A Christian not paying their taxes isn't. He didn't have much to say on the issue of politics, but he did have quite a bit to say about Hypocrites. Which we seem to have plenty of in Congress. Definitely not a Christian quote, but "wretched hive of scum and villainy" comes to mind when thinking of Congress.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 5, Insightful) by meustrus on Tuesday December 12 2017, @06:49PM
Actually, saying to give unto Caesar that which is Caesar's was still a revolutionary answer. Part of the context is the money changers in the temple. Jesus effectively said that your Roman currency was no good to God, asserting that a good Jew must be primarily invested in the local Jewish economy in order to pay the requisite religious tributes. It is a rejection of the Roman economy and a statement that one cannot become Roman and still keep God's law; the two must be forever separate.
As for the hypocrites, you can't really apply what Jesus said to politicians. Local politics was dominated by murderous unelected state officials like Herod and Pilate (both left a Roman historical record far more brutal than the partial stories told in the Bible), so nobody needed to be told how evil they were. No, Jesus was speaking of the religious leaders who did such things as integrate themselves and the temple (the literal house of God) with occupying Rome. Leaders who used their power over Jews to deal with the (cruel and murderous, not to mention religiously unclean) Romans for personal benefit.
A more fitting target would be evangelical leaders. Pat Robertson and his ilk may profess the Second Coming, but just like the Pharisees before them would persecute and murder the literal son of God to maintain their political power if that's what it came to. By throwing their support behind liars, thieves, philanderers, and rapists, they may as well have done so. "Just as you have done to the least of these, you have done to me."
If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?