Further Crackdown On Dissent As The Elite Prepare For Mass UprisingSpanish interior minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz yesterday announced in Congress planned reforms that would introduce harsh new punishments for those involved in organizing street protests that seriously disturb the public peace. A minimum jail term of two years could be imposed on thosefound guilty of instigating and carrying out violent acts of protest, and organizing such demonstrations through social networks would carry the same penalty as involvement in a criminal organization. We can expect to see such legislation enacted across the Western world, as governments prepare for the unrest that is inevitably going to spread and intensify as living standards plummet, due to the theft and corruption of the political and financial elite. Greece, Spain and Italy have all seen recent mass protests against austerity, and whilst last years riots in England were not overtly political in nature, they were certainly a reflection of a rotten system that has dispossessed a whole generation of young people, who have little hope of a productive or comfortable future. During the riots many suggested deploying the army on the streets, and there has been much talk of using water cannons and rubber bullets; this week it was revealed that the British police areconsidering the use of chemical agents to deal with rioters. How long will it be before such methods, sold on the pretense of being solely for use in violent riots, are used more generally against peaceful protestors and those engaged in acts of civil disobedience? We are also seeing a concerted effort by Western governments to restrict and control the Internet, which again reflects governmental awareness of, and preparation for, coming mass dissent and revolt. Increasingly draconian legislation is being proposed in all Western nations, with the British government currently planning to monitor all digital communications in real time to keep us safe from terrorists, of course. Whilst promoting violence is clearly unacceptable, recent four-year sentences handed down in England to two men who organized riots on Facebook (attended by no-one other than the police and the Facebook posters, who were promptly arrested) were blatantly out of proportion with the crimes committed. ncreased surveillance and harsh punishments for those who use social media to speak out of line, are both ways in which governments are attempting to quell the fomenting unrest creating a chilling effect on legitimate protest against the wholesale looting of our economies, and attack on our standards of living, by the banksters and their lackeys in government. This article first appeared at Resistance Radio. Brit Dee runs an independent online radio station called Resistance Radio, which broadcasts daily news, views and analysis challenging the lies of our corrupt political and financial leaders, and the controlled corporate media, at http://www.resistradio.com. linkwithin_text=Related Articles: 