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Belarus Bans Use of Foreign Websites
bs0d3 writes "A new law in Belarus prohibits people from using 'foreign' websites. The law requires that all companies and individuals who are registered as entrepreneurs in Belarus use only domestic Internet domains for providing online services, conducting sales, or exchanging email messages. The tax authorities and the secret police are authorized to investigate violations."
You have no idea what an "oppressive regime" is unless you have actually lived in one. The Patriot Act is the big bad boogeyman people use to support their far flung generalizations against the US for partisan reasons. The US citizens have not lost a single right guaranteed by the constitution or Bill of Rights and the right to be anonymous is not mentioned in any of these founding documents. There is a difference between privacy and anonymity. The ham fisted Patriot Act was a sloppy and rushed attempt to convince the general US public that the government was doing something to prevent further attacks after 9/11. And the public was demanding this action from the government. The world tends to hold the US to a much higher standard then any other country in the world in an effort to support a party line that does nothing but criticize US actions in any possible way. The US, like other countries, has it's problems but they are not as extreme as the people who denigrate anything associated with the US. The candidates in the upcoming elections support US reductions in both military and foreign aid and that is the most beneficial position the politicians have come up with for years. The US is already slowly withdrawing from the deliberations that concern the Palestinians and Israelis, they did not lead the charge in Libya and the US involvement only became necessary because none of the NATO countries were able to take down the air defense system. they have no intention of providing any help to the people in Iraq who started fighting one another the very first day the US left, they have offered only the generic diplomatic statements concerning Syria and Egypt, and their response to Iran's recent threats has been limited to the announcement that the US will not allow Iran to stop commerce in the Straits of Hormuz. When the US leaves Afghanistan and the natives start killing one another the US will not offer them any help either, they had their chance just like the Iraqis to implement positive changes and wasted it. The US is finally realizing there are no benefits when dealing with foreign countries on topics outside of commerce.