[Valashi]

Civilian Inmate Labor Program
http://www.army.mil/...pdf/r210_35.pdf
^Thats from the Military's website if you didnt notice
Edit: I'll mention FEMA camps in addition to this comment, if you have no idea what they are, do some searching, most recent news would be out of California and the tent citys

The GIVE Act
-Originally required volunteer service for 18-25 citizens (Was amended and required portion removed from original bill. After which there were attempts to amend it back in.)

Government Control of Internet
http://www.cdt.org/headlines/1196

I'll add more later if they sound like good discussion topics, but this will probably be enough for now.

Briefly discussed these in my political science class, want to hear other opinions as well

This post has been edited by Valashi: 18 April 2009 - 08:32 PM

[LeVentNoir]

I love them. Too bad they will never apply to me.

[Kenadian_2006]

LeVentNoir, on Apr 18 2009, 09:42 PM, said:

I love them. Too bad they will never apply to me.

I dunno what there is to like about the internet one, unless you've got a hard on for excessive executive power.

[Dennis Von Bremen]

The Civilian Inmate Labor Program seems like a Holocaust type of thing, Prison Work camps run by the military? Seriously?

Give Act, meh... it's not that bad (compared to the other two) though I must say, how is it volunteering if you are forced to do it? Anyway, it's not that big of a deal because if you are planning to go to College you probably need some volunteer hours anyway, or at least it helps.

Internet one, stupid and invasion of privacy/free speech, etc.

This post has been edited by Dennis Von Bremen: 18 April 2009 - 07:50 PM

[NewPoseidon]

The civilian inmate labor program isn't that strange of an idea.

Quote

This regulation provides guidance for establishing and managing civilian inmate labor programs on Army installations. It provides guidance on establishing prison camps on Army installations. It addresses record keeping and reporting incidents related to the Civilian Inmate Labor Program and/or prison camp administration.

Military bases occasionally require low-skilled labor, and civilian prisons could provide it. It could become dangerous only if used en mass, or if civilians become housed at the bases permanently.

More info on the GIVE act here: http://edlabor.house...orating-v.shtml. Perhaps this will end up being another inefficient government "assistance program," but perhaps not. It depends entirely upon how it is implemented. With the mandatory requirement removed from the bill, it is likely innocuous, however.

The Cybersecurity Bill, meanwhile, should concern the average citizen. It would grant the executive branch sweeping authority to control the web, including the ability to ignore web property rights to access information deemed valuable for national security. It also grants the president the authority to "shut down" the internet in the event of an emergency.
Not a great idea, in my opinion. The Bush administration didn't do much for cybersecurity, so perhaps we're overcompensating. At the very least, this bill should be stymied to prevent the right from fabricating bogus rumors about Obama spying on god-fearing white people.

[Mack Truck]

NewPoseidon, on Apr 19 2009, 01:01 PM, said:

At the very least, this bill should be stymied to prevent the right from fabricating bogus rumors about Obama spying on god-fearing white people.

You can't be serious.

[Lamuella]

Valashi, on Apr 18 2009, 09:30 PM, said:

Civilian Inmate Labor Program
http://www.army.mil/...pdf/r210_35.pdf
^Thats from the Military's website if you didnt notice
Edit: I'll mention FEMA camps in addition to this comment, if you have no idea what they are, do some searching, most recent news would be out of California and the tent citys

why did you mention the FEMA camps in relation to this? What do they have to do with the military using manual labour from prison inmates?

[xoindotnler]

Hmmm i thought i had a FEMA link in my singature.

[Valashi]

Lamuella, on Apr 18 2009, 09:56 PM, said:

why did you mention the FEMA camps in relation to this? What do they have to do with the military using manual labour from prison inmates?

because the civilian inmate labor document mentions it can be used in any federal building, and mentioned the FEMA camps because they are federal facilities. I would think this leaves room for abuse but wanted to let people know of them.

This post has been edited by Valashi: 18 April 2009 - 09:02 PM

[Lamuella]

Valashi, on Apr 18 2009, 11:02 PM, said:

because the civilian inmate labor document mentions it can be used in any federal building, and mentioned the FEMA camps because they are federal facilities. I would think this leaves room for abuse but wanted to let people know of them.

used in any federal building. In other words prison labor could be used to build FEMA camps.

It specifically says that it ONLY USES INMATES.

"With a few exceptions, the Army’s Civilian Inmate Labor Program is currently limited to using inmates from facilities under the control of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP). Section 4125(a), Title 18, United States Code allows the Attorney General to make available to other Federal agencies the services of Federal inmates and defines the types of services inmates can perform. The FBOP provides civilian inmate labor free of charge to the Army."

This post has been edited by Lamuella: 18 April 2009 - 09:13 PM

[Lamuella]

xoindotnler, on Apr 18 2009, 11:01 PM, said:

Hmmm i thought i had a FEMA link in my singature.

you do. It's a broken link, and even if it wasn't I can tell by the title that it's missed the point. Emergency facilities to be used in the case of natural disasters are only "concentration camps" in the minds of the foolish.

There are more serious things in this world to worry about.

[Fokker Aeroplanbau]

I don't like it... But then again, I was never into that whole Siberian death camp gestalt anyhow.

[Valashi]

xoindotnler, on Apr 18 2009, 10:01 PM, said:

Hmmm i thought i had a FEMA link in my singature.

I would be interested in knowing what the article was about... but it is very speculative.

[Shinpah]

Valashi, on Apr 18 2009, 09:30 PM, said:

The GIVE Act
-Originally required volunteer service for 18-25 citizens (Was amended and required portion removed from original bill. After which there were attempts to amend it back in.)

I am curious as to how anyone can require you to volunteer

[Valashi]

Shinpah, on Apr 18 2009, 10:21 PM, said:

I am curious as to how anyone can require you to volunteer

Unfortunately it was worded that way originally, but was eventually removed.

http://www.washingto...l-41889742.html

[Dennis Von Bremen]

Shinpah, on Apr 18 2009, 10:21 PM, said:

I am curious as to how anyone can require you to volunteer

Well... in Germany they put you in jail if you don't do some sort of national service. So I am guessing they would jail you if you refuse. But yes, it wouldn't really be volunteering then but National Service. In Turkey it's a lot worse, they jail you for decades for refusing to join the military, a choice for alternative services isn't even offered.

[Fokker Aeroplanbau]

Turkey can't afford to go soft though, so there's an actual reason there... Germany though? Ya rite, I think that has more too do with the healthy unemployment compensations no one feels the need to do more than chill... Get a nice union job from mid morning to midday, rinse, wash and repeat.

[Foggers]

Quote

The Cybersecurity Act of 2009 would, for example, give the President unfettered power to shut down Internet traffic in emergencies.

Then how would we know there was an emergency? I'm guessing most people here use the internet to look at the news.
Besides it sounds ridiculous. The internet can never be shut down. Don't they realise it became sentient years ago?

[Dennis Von Bremen]

Fokker Aeroplanbau, on Apr 18 2009, 11:11 PM, said:

Turkey can't afford to go soft though, so there's an actual reason there... Germany though? Ya rite, I think that has more too do with the healthy unemployment compensations no one feels the need to do more than chill... Get a nice union job from mid morning to midday, rinse, wash and repeat.

The Russians might invade Germany though. :lol:

As for Turkey, I am sure if they got rid of conscription they would still have plenty of troops simply because most Turks want to be there anyway mostly due to pressure from family to join the military proudly. Either way, no one should ever be forced to join the military and kill, not by any individual and not by any government. If they want to do alternative national service as well and make it mandatory then that's ok I suppose but ideally I would get rid of it all.

This post has been edited by Dennis Von Bremen: 18 April 2009 - 10:14 PM

[Arcturus Jefferson]

Have these been passed or is it more from the Congress crank file that never made it out of committee?

/we've got bigger fish to fry
//like our national debt