<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div>off topic ? maybe not</div><div>please distribute!</div><div><br></div><blockquote type="cite">Dear friends,</blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">Right now, the US Congress is debating a law that would give them the power to<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">censor the world's internet -- creating a blacklist that could target YouTube,<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">WikiLeaks and even groups like Avaaz! <br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">Under the new law, the US could force internet providers to block any website<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">on suspicion of violating copyright or trademark legislation, or even failing to<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">sufficiently police their users' activities. And, because so much of the<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">internet's hosts and hardware are located in the US, their blacklist would clamp<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">down on the free web for all of us. <br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">The vote could happen any day now, but we can help stop this -- champions in<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">Congress want to preserve free speech and tell us that an international outcry<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">would strengthen their hand. Let’s urgently raise our voices from every corner<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">of the world and build an unprecedented global petition calling on US decision<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">makers to reject the bill and stop internet censorship. Click below to sign and<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">then forward as widely as possible - our message will be delivered directly to<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">key members of the US Congress ahead of the crucial vote: <br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><a href="http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_internet/?cl=1393071729&v=11162">http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_internet/?cl=1393071729&v=11162</a><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">For years, the US government has condemned countries like China and Iran for<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">their clampdown on Internet use. But now, the impact of America's new censorship<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">laws could be far worse - effectively blocking sites to every Internet user<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">across the globe. <br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">Last year, a similar Internet censorship bill was killed before reaching the US<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">Senate floor, but it's now back in a different form. Copyright laws already<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">exist and are enforced by courts. But this new law goes much further -- granting<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">the government and big corporations enormous powers to force service providers<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">and search engines to block websites based just on allegations of violations -<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">without a trial or being found guilty of any crime! <br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">US free speech advocates have already raised the alarm, and some key Senators<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">are trying to gather enough support to stop this dangerous bill. We have no time<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">to lose. Let's stand with them to ensure American lawmakers preserve the right<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">to a free and open Internet as an essential way for people around the world to<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">exchange ideas, share communication and work collectively to build the world we<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">want. Sign below to stop US censorship, and save the internet as we know it: <br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><a href="http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_internet/?cl=1393071729&v=11162">http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_internet/?cl=1393071729&v=11162</a> <br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">In the past months, from the Arab Spring to the global Occupy Movement, we've<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">seen first hand how the Internet can galvanize, unify and change the world. Now,<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">if we stand together, we can stop this new attack on Internet freedom. We've<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">done it before -- in Brazil and Italy, Avaaz members have won major victories in<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">the fight for a free Internet. Let's take the fight global, and mobilize to<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">defeat the most powerful censorship threat that the Internet has ever seen. <br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">With hope, <br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">Luis, Dalia, Diego, Emma, Ricken, Aaron, Antonia, Benjamin and the rest of the<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">Avaaz team <br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><br><br><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span></body></html>