Nonprofit corporation proposes 'White List' to halt unlawful blacklisting

The Wisdom Fund, a Virginia based nonprofit corporation, has proposed the following rules to counter Internet blacklists that stifle free speech.

1 - Establish a "White List" for nonprofit corporations.

2 - Require Internet Service Providers to forward mail from those on "White List" to its intended recipients without hindrance.

3 - Penalties and lawyer fees for noncompliance.

Lior Leser, an attorney whose "practice focuses on helping companies build solid Web 2.0 Legal platforms", advised The Wisdom Fund that blacklists are "shutting down free speech."

Multiple "White Lists" exist, but they're not used widely, it's not clear how one gets on them, and there are no penalties to ISPs for not using them.

Nonprofit corporation’s email server blacklisted by barracudanetworks.com

ACLU of Virginia
530 East Main Street, Suite 310
Richmond, VA 23219


REQUEST FOR CASE REVIEW: STIFLING FREE SPEECH ON INTERNET
Nonprofit corporation’s email server blacklisted by barracudanetworks.com

On December 5, 2011, The Wisdom Fund (TWF.ORG) was informed by Heller Information Services, Inc. (HIS.COM — our Internet Service Provider since 1995) that our email server had been blacklisted by Barracuda Networks, Inc. (BARRACUDANETWORKS.COM).

This had the effect of limiting our email to the 3000+ regular readers of our news reports, and dozens of others with whom we communicate on as needed basis.

We believe this is a free speech issue affecting all nonprofits, the facts are not in dispute.

The Wisdom Fund is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) corporation registered in the Commonwealth of Virginia, employee identification number 54-1755689.

We have several email lists ranging from less than 100 to about 3000. On average, we send less than one email daily to 3000 recipients. This list was developed over the past 15 years. Other, smaller, more recent lists, are utiltized to communicate on specific issues with others.

All of our mailings include an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribes are handled by a third party — ethreesoftware.com, whose software we use to send bulk email. The process is automated — subscribes and unsubscribes are controlled by ethreesoftware.com.

Prior to July 29, 2011, we used different software, Intellimerge, for bulk email and to handle unsubscribes. This process was only partially automated, hence the move to ethreesoftware.com.

Our reading of PUBLIC LAW 108-187--DEC. 16, 2003 is that we are exempt from this Act — the Act applies to the transmission of unsolicited commercial electronic mail via the Internet. Our mail is non-commercial, nevertheless, we attempt to utilize the best practices of the Act.

The blacklisting by barracudanetworks.com is stifling our right to free speech, and seriously impacting the operation of The Wisdom Fund.

We have had no response from Barracuda Networks’ agent, Dean Drako, to our letter of December 9, 2011 — sent Certified Mail, Return Receipt.

This is the latest in our continuing battle to keep our emails reaching our readers. Paul Heller of Heller Information Servicess and I have devoted considerable effort over the past few years to get email past Yahoo, Google, and other gatekeepers.

The issue may come under the jusrisdiction of the Federal Communications Commission which has been reviewing “net neutrality” issues. However, the courts may be better equipped to handle free speech issues.

We request your help. Relevant documents are attached.

Enver Masud
President, The Wisdom Fund

The Wisdom Fund wrongly accused of SPAM, suspends mailings

We've been accused of spam, blacklisted by Barracuda, and have suspended mailings to our list members. For all we know, accusations of spam may be coming from those who want to shut us down.

The Wisdom Fund is a registered nonprofit corporation (EIN # 54-1755689) established in 1995. Our email is non-commercial. The SPAM Act does not apply to our mail.

Nevertheless, we attempt to follow the Act. Our mailing list was developed over 15 years using a variety of methods. Lately, we moved to Direct Mail, all Subscribe and Unscubscribe requests are handled by http://ethreesoftware.com, and in the last few months we've been placing the Unsubscribe link prominently at the top of our mail — we used to place it at the bottom.

There's a guide to the FCC rules at http://business.ftc.gov/documents/bus61-can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business. The actual text of the Act is at http://www.ftc.gov/os/caselist/0723041/canspam.pdf.

However, while the Act applies to senders, Internet Service Providers are apparently exempt from it, and they do not differentiate between commercial mail and non-commercial mail. They blacklist non-commercial mailers using the same rules they use for commercial mailers.

Anyone on our mailing list can complain they've received SPAM, and ISP's may blacklist any account based upon mere accusations — just three in one year may be enough. Apparently, there's no law that prevents ISPs from blacklisting anyone.

The sender is guilty unless proven innocent.

Proving yourself innocent can be a very lengthly process. Over the years, we've had to fight this battle with Yahoo and others http://twforg.blogspot.com/2010/06/net-neutrality-our-experience-with.html.

It's very time consuming, and unless one has an ISP battling with you, it may be a losing battle.

Our ISP since 1995, Heller Information Services, has been very accommodating, but there's a limit to the time and expense they will incur on our behalf.

One begins to wonder if the U.S. is any different from those authoritarian regimes we accuse of censorship.

Enver Masud

Founder and CEO
The Wisdom Fund
TWF.org

Report: The $16 trillion bailout

Senator Sanders: "As a result of these GAO reports, we learned that the Federal Reserve provided a jaw-dropping $16 trillion in total financial assistance to every major financial institution in the country as well as a number of corporations, wealthy individuals and central banks throughout the world."

In a nutshell: sharia or Islamic law

The definition of justice, according to Dr. Robert D. Crane, founder of the Center for Civilizational Renewal, is respect for human rights, which were formulated six centuries ago by Islamic scholars.

These rights, says Dr. Crane, are: "the right to life and personal integrity (haqq al haya), to family and community existence and cohesion at all levels of human society (haqq al nasi), to equal opportunities in accessing ownership of the means of economic production (haqq al mal), to political freedom for self-determination both within and among nations (haqq al hurriyah), to human dignity (haqq al karama, including freedom of religion and gender equity), and to education, knowledge, and freedom of expression (haqq al ilm)."

Regarding separation of Church and State, according to Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, author of Islam, a Sacred Law, Islamic jurists recognized this concept centuries before the Europeans, and divided the body of Shariah rules into two categories: religious observances and worldly matters. The first they observed to be beyond the scope of modification. The second, subject to interpretation, cover the following:

1. Criminal Law: This includes crimes such as murder, larceny, fornication, drinking alcohol, libel.

2. Family Law: This . . . covers marriage, divorce, alimony, child custody, inheritance.

3. Transactions: This covers property rights, contracts, rules of sale, hire, gift, loans and debts, deposits, partnerships, and damages.

"One of the most sensible definitions of the purposes of the Shariah," according to Imam Feisal, was given by Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah who said:

"The foundation of the Shariah is wisdom and the safeguarding of people's interests in this world and the next. In its entirety it is justice, mercy and wisdom. Every rule which transcends justice to tyranny, mercy to its opposite, the good to the evil, and wisdom to triviality does not belong to the Shariah . . ."

According to Imam Feisal the sources of Shariah are, in order:

1. The Quran - God's Word revealed to Prophet Muhammad.

2. The Sunnah - practice and teachings of the Prophet.

3. Ijma - consensus of those in authority.

4. Qiyas - reason, logic, and opinion based upon analogy.

Imam Feisal describes seven other methods for deriving Islamic laws. These seven, plus ijma and qiyas, are collectively known as ijtihad or interpretation, and/or opinion based upon reason and logic.

Several schools of Shariah have evolved: Shafii, Hanbali, Hanafi, Maliki - the orthodox schools, and Jafari - the Shiite school. The Zaydis and Ibadis also have their own schools.

"Classical international law, reputedly invented by the Spaniards Vittorio and Suarez, borrowed the concept of inalienable human rights from Islamic law," according to Dr. Crane.

If it's wisely implemented, shariah may better nurture and protect society than does Western law which is subject to the whims of lawmakers.

Enver Masud
Founder and CEO
The Wisdom Fund

Report: Norway oil interests push Kenya into Somalia proxy war

Fact Check: IAEA report on Iran's nuclear program

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) "aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons to additional states while ensuring fair access to peaceful nuclear technology under international safeguards (audits and inspections).

"There are two categories of parties to the treaty -- nuclear weapon states (NWS) and non-nuclear weapon states (NNWS). Under the treaty, NWS are defined as the five states that exploded a nuclear device before January 1, 1967 (United States, Soviet Union [now Russia], United Kingdom, France, and China)." Iran is a non-nuclear weapon state.

The following examines the November, 8, 2011, IAEA report, "Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement and relevant provisions of Security Council resolutions in the Islamic Republic of Iran," with respect to specific provisions of the NPT. . . .

With 30,000 dead, what do faith leaders and human rights activists who pushed for war on Libya say now?

The end of Zein al-Abidine Ben Ali's rule in Tunisia's "Jasmine Revolution" on January 14, 2011 rang alarm bells across the Middle East. The U.S. seized the opportunity to put an end to Col. Gaddafi's rule in Libya -- with the help of hundreds of U.S. faith leaders, human rights activists, neocons, and the news media.

On March 14, 2011, in a letter signed by faith leaders and hundreds of others (see letter for names, affiliation), The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, appealed to President Obama "to create a coalition that will impose as quickly as possible a no-fly zone for all Libyan military aircraft over the full extent of northern Libyan airspace".

Surely, these faith leaders knew that a no-fly zone is a euphemism for war.

"On 17 March, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1973. And within 42 hours an attack on the troops of the Libyan government, aimed, according to the British Defence Minster William Hague, at killing the Libyan leader, had begun."

Resolution 1973 was illegal under the UN Charter. The Libyan government did not have a representative present at the meeting at which the UN resolution was passed. There was no determination made that measures not involving the use of force had failed.

The attack on Libya was not a Just War as described both by Catholic doctrine, and in an analysis by the Christian Evangel Society. Similar restrictions on war exist in Islam.

On June 20, 2011, a letter signed by 40 former senior officials who served under President George W. Bush was released by the Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI) -- a two-year-old neoconservative group that is widely seen as the successor to the more-famous -- or infamous -- Project for the New American Century (PNAC).

The FPI urged Congress: "The United States should be leading in this effort, not trailing behind our allies. We should be doing more to help the Libyan opposition, which deserves our support. We should not be allowing ourselves to be held hostage to U.N. Security Council resolutions and irresolute allies."

US/NATO intervention exceeded the parameters originally set forth by UN Security Council resolution 1973, which authorized the international use of force to establish a "no fly" zone over Libya and to protect civilians; the UN resolution made no mention of regime change or government overthrow, though this clearly was NATO's main objective from the beginning. The Security Council also called for a Libyan arms embargo, a stipulation that NATO ignored by arming the Libyan rebels.

On September 16, 2011, the National Transitional Council was recognised by the United Nations as the legal representative of Libya, replacing Gaddafi's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.

On October 20, 2011, with US/NATO and Qatari forces siding with the rebels in a civil war (now you know why Al Jazeera's coverage was one-sided), Col. Gaddafi was captured alive after his convoy was attacked by NATO warplanes. He was beaten and killed by the rebels the same day.

When his convoy was attacked, according to reports, Gaddafi was traveling under a negotiated truce, and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was informed of the "White Flag" truce negotiated and agreed to by Libya's NTC while visiting Libya on Wednesday October 19.

The National Transitional Council puts Libyan losses at 30,000 dead (given Libya's population of 6.42 million, this is the U.S. equivalent of 1.4 million dead) and 50,000 wounded", and much of what was said to justify the war -- genocide... Gaddafi is "bombing his own people"... save Benghazi... African mercenaries... viagra-fueled mass rape -- has proven to be a lie.

Gaddafi seized power in 1969 in a bloodless coup by overthrowing King Idris who had achieved power with British backing in 1949. After trying for more than 20 years, US/NATO led forces finally got rid of him.

Amnesty International has called for an independent inquiry into the alleged, 1996 massacre of 1270 prisoners in Abu Salim prison -- an estimate mostly based on the account of a single former inmate (Hussein al-Shafai -- now "living in the United States, where he has applied for asylum").

Investigators from CNN and other organizations found no evidence of mass graves at the supposed site -- only some animal bones.

When they pushed for war, faith leaders and the news media, did not report that Libya ranked first in Africa (53 globally) on the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) Human Development Index -- ahead of Saudi Arabia at 55, Iran at 70, South Africa at 73, Jordan at 82, Egypt at 101, Indonesia at 108, India at 119, Afghanistan at 155. They also did not report that according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Libya has the largest proven oil reserves in Africa".

In a just world, the warmongers would be held accountable for their criminal attack on Libya and the killing of Col Gaddafi. Instead the rush is on to strip Libyans of their wealth.

What do faith leaders and human rights activists who pushed for war on Libya say now?

Enver Masud
Founder and CEO
The Wisdom Fund

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Rate your news media on their coverage of the US/NATO backed civil war in Libya

Rate your news media on a scale of 1 to 10. Assign 2 points for each of the five facts below that you previously knew (1 point for partial knowledge). The resulting total is an indication of how well your news media covered the US/NATO backed civil war in Libya.

Libya Ranks #1 on the Human Development Index: According to the United Nations Development Programme, Libya ranked first in Africa (53 globally) on the Human Development Index -- ahead of Saudi Arabia at 55, Iran at 70, South Africa at 73, Jordan at 82, Egypt at 101, Indonesia at 108, India at 119, Afghanistan at 155.

It is reported that Libyans receive free housing, education, health care, substantial cash when they marry, and overseas education if they qualify.

Largest Oil Reserves in Africa: According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Libya has the largest proven oil reserves in Africa".

Program to Privatize Oil: On February 21, 2011, five days after the Arab Spring broke out in Libya, Qaddafi launched a new program to privatize all Libyan oil to every citizen of Libya, initially providing $21,000 to every Libyan from a total of $32,000,000,000 in the Year 2011, so that the health, education, transport, and some other ministries could be abolished and individual Libyans could use the profits of their own investments, including from oil ownership, to obtain the relevant services.

This, Gaddafi said, is the best way to eliminate corruption, including the theft of Libyan oil by foreign oil companies, and to decentralize governmental power.

Great Man-Made River Project: The Great Man-Made River Project, begun in 1984 by Col. Gaddafi, has been called the 8th Wonder of the World. It supplies fresh water to the cities of Tripoli, Benghazi, Sirte and elsewhere.

The U.S. threatened to nuke this "chemical weapons factory". Foreign companies covet the fresh water.

Gaddafi Seized Power in Bloodless Coup: Muammar Gaddafi, aka Col. Gaddafi, seized power in 1969 in a bloodless coup by overthrowing King Idris of Libya -- Idris achieved power with British backing in 1949.

Links to sources at The Wisdom Fund — http://www.taf.org/News/Y2011/1024-Gaddafi.html

Five things you may not know about Muammar Gaddafi

"Libyans awake from a ludicrous nightmare: Gaddafi achieved nothing in his 42-year rule," David Gardner wrote yesterday in the Financial Times. Others have expressed similar sentiments. Here are the facts:

Libya Ranks #1 on the Human Development Index: According to the United Nations Development Programme, Libya ranked first in Africa (53 globally) on the Human Development Index -- ahead of Saudi Arabia at 55, Iran at 70, South Africa at 73, Jordan at 82, Egypt at 101, Indonesia at 108, India at 119, Afghanistan at 155.

It is reported that Libyans receive free housing, education, health care, substantial cash when they marry, and overseas education if they qualify.

Largest Oil Reserves in Africa: According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Libya has the largest proven oil reserves in Africa".

Program to Privatize Oil: On February 21, 2011, five days after the Arab Spring broke out in Libya, Qaddafi launched a new program to privatize all Libyan oil to every citizen of Libya, initially providing $21,000 to every Libyan from a total of $32,000,000,000 in the Year 2011, so that the health, education, transport, and some other ministries could be abolished and individual Libyans could use the profits of their own investments, including from oil ownership, to obtain the relevant services.

This, Gaddafi said, is the best way to eliminate corruption, including the theft of Libyan oil by foreign oil companies, and to decentralize governmental power.

Great Man-Made River Project: The Great Man-Made River Project, begun in 1984 by Col. Gaddafi, has been called the 8th Wonder of the World. It supplies fresh water to the cities of Tripoli, Benghazi, Sirte and elsewhere.

The U.S. threatened to nuke this "chemical weapons factory". Foreign companies covet the fresh water.

Gaddafi Seized Power in Bloodless Coup: Muammar Gaddafi, aka Col. Gaddafi, seized power in 1969 in a bloodless coup by overthrowing King Idris of Libya -- Idris achieved power with British backing in 1949.

Rate your news media on a scale of 1 to 10. Assign 2 points for each of the five points above that you previously knew (1 point for partial knowledge). The resulting total is an indication of how well your news media covered the US/NATO backed civil war in Libya.

Are Libyans awakening from a "ludicrous nightmare", or does the death of Gaddafi mark the beginning of a new era of imperial exploitation? We'll soon know.

Taliban seek probe into 9/11 attacks

KABUL (PAN): On the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in the United States, the Taliban reiterated on Saturday their demand for an independent and impartial investigation into the incident. . . .

Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said the movement had long been seeking a neutral probe into the incident. "But the US and its allies are responding to our logical demand with airstrikes and attacks."

America's Libyan rebels

In 1991, three hundred and fifty Libyans - Trained by the CIA to topple President Ghaddafi, arrived in the United States. Twenty years later, they returned to "liberate" Libya.

In 1990, operating out of neighboring Chad, when a new government less sympathetic to the U.S. mission was formed in Chad, a new home was needed for these rebels.

The rebels were flown to the U.S. from Kenya where they were temporarily housed.

The rebel leader, Col. Khalifa Haftar spent much of the past 20 years in suburban Virginia, and was reported to be the leader of a contra-style group based in the U.S. called the Libyan National Army.

Upon Col. Haftar's return to Libya a few weeks ago, military command of the rebel tribes was "fiercely contested" between General Younes and Col. Haftar.

General Younes, who defected from the Libyan regime in late February, was "shot and killed in circumstances that remain unclear".

Presumably, the three hundred and fifty Libyans - trained by the CIA to topple President Ghaddafi, returned to Libya with Col. Haftar.

Presumably, Libyan rebels, with American accents shown in crowd scenes from Libya, include some from the contingent of three hundred and fifty Libyans trained by the CIA to topple President Ghaddafi.

‘9/11 Unveiled’ presented to the chairman of The 9/11 Commission

Washington, DC — Former 9/11 Commission Chairman Tom Kean and members of the Bipartisan Policy Center's National Security Preparedness Group were, today, presented with copies of “9/11 Unveiled.”

Mr. Kean is co-chair of the National Security Preparedness Group (NSPG) which which released a new report — “Preventing Violent Radicalization in America.”

Following brief remarks by Mr. Kean, Peter Bergen (NSPG member and Director of the National Security Studies Program at the New America Foundation), and Peter Neumann (Founding Director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at King's College London and BPC Visiting Scholar) offered brief comments on the report, and engaged in a discussion moderated by Siobhan Gorman, Intelligence Correspondent for the Wall Street Journal.

During the question and answer period, I rose to support Mr. Neumann’s recommendation for engaging with Muslim communities, and asked “which Muslim communities?” I added that groups such as the NSPG, and those in the US government, tend to engage with those Muslims who agree with them, and shun those that don’t. Dialog with only those who agree with you is not very effective.

I then handed copies of “9/11 Unveiled” to Messrs Kean, Nuemann, Bergen, and to Ms. Gorman. The book is a free download at TWF.org.

The event was filmed, and should be available for viewing later at the Bipartisan Policy Center.


Enver Masud
Founder and CEO
The Wisdom Fund

Jury rejects state charges against 7/7 Ripple Effect’s Muad’Dib

Muad'Dib (aka Anthony John Hill) found not guilty after jury watched films on 7/7 and 9/11. Pentagon employee, April Gallop, injured on 9/11 has been denied trial in the United States.

On May 12, at Southwark Crown Court in London, a jury returned and declared Muad'Dib innocent of attempting to "pervert the course of justice".

The jury watched a Muad'Dib film, The Ripple Effect, and heard in-depth discussions of both 7/7 and 9/11.

Mr Hill claimed that these were, in fact, false-flag attacks carried out for the purpose of providing a pretext for invading countries in the middle east in order to control their natural resources.

This is, perhaps, the first time such allegations of false-flag terror attacks have been made in front of a jury that apparently found them credible, and acquitted the accused.

Pentagon employee April Gallop's case filed in the United States has been denied a hearing before a jury.

On March 15, 2010, a Federal Judge in the Southern District of New York dismissed the complaint filed by Pentagon employee April Gallop and her son against Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Richard Myers and as-yet unidentified government and military officials named as John Does.

Ms. Gallop's appeal has been dismissed by the United States Court of Appeals in New Haven, Connecticut.

The United States government has vigorously opposed open examination of what really happened on 9/11.

Posted by Enver Masud

Samaa TV, Pakistan, contradicts U.S. account of Bin Laden

Samaa TV, News Beat With Fareeha Idrees: Muhammad Bashir, a neighbor, claims that one helicopter arrived and dropped off 10 or 12 persons on the roof of "Osama's" house. About 20 minutes later, three helicopters came. The one that had dropped off the Pashtun speakers exploded. Two other helicopters came, but did not land. The neighbors went into the house, looked around, the army arrived about 20 minutes later. He questions how Bin Laden could have been taken, since the only helicopter that landed exploded.

The video is in Urdu.

Exposed: The Abbottabad, Pakistan Affair

Is Bin Laden dead? Probably. Was he killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan? Possibly. Was he the 'mastermind' of 9/11? No, and his death is a distraction from more important issues.

Report: 9/11 mastermind, Bin Laden, assassinated in Pakistan

In 1976, President Ford issued Executive Order 11905 to clarify U.S. foreign intelligence activities. The order was enacted in response to the post-Watergate revelations that the CIA had staged multiple attempts on the life of Cuban President Fidel Castro. ("U.S. policy on assassinations," cnn.com, November 4, 2002)

Section 5(g), entitled "Prohibition on Assassination," states: "No employee of the United States Government shall engage in, or conspire to engage in, political assassination."

"China holds that the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of any country should be respected," said Jiang Yu, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, according to Xinhua news agency. ("China blasts US government for operation that killed Osama," ibtimes.com, May 5, 2011)

More than a year ago, I wrote: "We suspect that when bin Laden is 'killed,' we'll just have to trust the folks that lied us into war to confirm they got him."

Is Bin Laden dead? Most probably. Was he killed in Abbotabad, Pakistan? We don't know. Was he the "mastermind" of 9/11? No.

President Obama announces death of Osama bin Laden

The US FBI has long held that they have no hard evidence that Osama bin Laden was responsible for 9/11. Others believe that he died long time ago.

Pentagon 9/11: Attorney charges U.S. officials with war crimes

CNN, Piers Morgan Tonight: Jesse Ventura on war, 9/11 ...