Clipmarks | zizzy's Censorship collection

Free Thought Radio Interview: Jeff Sharlett on the religious-right cult within the U.S. government

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 03:15:58 GMT

clipped by: zizzy
clipper's remarks: Not a conspiracy theory. Read the book. Listen to the Interview.

Author: "The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power," Jeff Sharlet, contributor to Harper's and Rolling Stones, will be interviewed about his new book exposing a religious-right cult with tentacles reaching into Congress

Direct download: FTradio_111_060708.mp3

Internet access & Net Neutrality: Slowing and Blocking Your Access to YouTube, Yahoo, Google, etc.

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 21:10:30 GMT

clipped by: zizzy
clipper's remarks:

We the customers of any internet company already pay huge tolls for the benefit of using the internet, a communications system that was not only not developed by [corporations]. We pay way too much for access to a technology that was developed for government use with our taxes. What the greedy bastards are trying to do is to extort companies like Google for the privilege of allowing their customers [to access and use their sites]. And ... it clears the way for them ... to indiscriminately make money from users with zero accountability for service.

The internet was founded on the concept of access for all ... net neutrality has at its core access to internet services at any time, to any place and with no restrictions or strings attached ,,, users and service developers have in principal equal rights to be online.

... net neutrality ... [at] its core [is] the very idea of being a sort of "penumbra" that implicitly protects every individual's civil rights in the digital r
Clip Source: culturekitchen.com
[Video]
For about 4 months now I have noticed the change in service : I will get to YouTube but the pages load as slow as molasses. Other times, if I'm doing a search in Google, the page will take forever to load
Today though, it's pretty obvious what's happening : I can't get into Google from my home connection. No Google. No Gmail. No YouTube. So I pinged people on Twitter and asked if anybody was having problems getting into Google
Erica G replied from Boston :

I'm on RCN in Boston and having trouble connecting to Yahoo and tinyurl this evening. # [...] And actually, thinking of it, for the past several weeks I haven't been able to load YouTube videos properly, either
[Video]
Companies like RCN and Comcast want to compete with Google especially in the music and video streaming business. As cable companies, they'd call that business synergy. So they'll invoke "consumer satisfaction" and "traffic management" as the reason to degrade service to YouTube or Google
[Video]
[Video]

Tags: internet, net neutrality, access, free speech

Why I Left America

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 10:12:23 GMT

clipped by: zizzy

Clip Source: www.bidstrup.com

"The really dangerous American fascist... is the man who wants to do in the United States in an American way what Hitler did in Germany in a Prussian way. The American fascist would prefer not to use violence. His method is to poison the channels of public information. With a fascist the problem is never how best to present the truth to the public but how best to use the news to deceive the public into giving the fascist and his group more money or more power... They claim to be super-patriots, but they would destroy every liberty guaranteed by the Constitution. They demand free enterprise, but are the spokesmen for monopoly and vested interest. Their final objective, toward which all their deceit is directed, is to capture political power so that, using the power of the state and the power of the market simultaneously, they may keep the common man in eternal subjection."

U.S. Vice President Henry A. Wallace, quoted in the

, April 9, 1944

Arab Ministers finally agree - on limiting press freedom

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 03:45:26 GMT

clipped by: zizzy
clipper's remarks: I love the Egyptian people. It is unfortunate they are burdened with a horrible government.

only tiny Qatar showed some reservation about the new rules. [note: the home of Al Jazeera]

The charter comes complete with sanctions in case any of the rules are violated. These start with a simple warning to the station in question, before graduating to the confiscation of material and equipment, financial and ultimately the permanent cancellation of the station's permit.

As an afterthought, the document also mentions "the citizen's right to knowledge."

The controversial document consists of 18 articles, and is the result of six months work by a committee of academics, some of whom have previously defended laws restricting journalistic freedoms in Egypt and demanded censorship on e-media.

Clip Source: www.menassat.com

CAIRO, Feb. 15, 2008 (MENASSAT) – "A mysterious, retroactive text, repressing freedoms," is how regional and international organizations have described a charter recently adopted by the Arab Ministers of Information. Entitled 'Suggested Guidelines and Principles for Organizing Sattelite TV in the Arab World

At Egypt's demand, the proposed charter was added to the agenda of a special summit of Arab Information ministers

It was agreed that all satellite TV should abide to the following conditions:

not to offend the leaders or national and religious symbols in the Arab world

not to damage social harmony, national unity, public order or traditional values

to conform with the religious and ethical values of Arab society and take account of its family structure

to refrain from broadcasting anything which calls into question God, the monotheistic-religions, the prophets, sects or symbols of the various religious communities; and

to protect Arab identity from the harmful effects of globalization

YouTube restores account of Egypt anti-torture blogger

Sat, 05 Jan 2008 06:28:50 GMT

clipped by: zizzy
clipper's remarks:

Abbas was a key player last year in distributing a clip of an Egyptian bus driver, his hands bound, being sodomized with a stick by a police officer -- imagery that sparked an uproar in a country where rights groups say torture is commonplace.

That tape prompted an investigation that led to a rare conviction of two policemen, who were sentenced to three years in prison for torture. Egypt says it opposes torture and prosecutes police against whom it has evidence of misconduct.

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

The video-sharing Web site YouTube has restored the account of a prominent Egyptian anti-torture activist

Wael Abbas said last week that YouTube had suspended his account and that around 100 images he had posted, including clips of police brutality, purported voting irregularities and anti-government demonstrations were no longer accessible

YouTube, owned by search engine giant Google Inc, said in a statement

Having reviewed the case, we have restored the account of Egyptian blogger Wael Abbas. And if he chooses to upload the video again with sufficient context so that users can understand his important message, we will of course leave it on the site

The statement did not clarify what would constitute sufficient context

Rights activists had complained that by shutting down Abbas's account, YouTube was closing a significant portal for information on rights abuses in Egypt just as Cairo was escalating a crackdown on opposition and independent media

YouTube suspends Egyptian anti-torture activist's account

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 16:10:42 GMT

clipped by: zizzy
clipper's remarks:

But in a comment on Hamalawy's post, Mostafa Hussein said that YouTube's terms of service prevent the posting of such videos:

Well, the message from youtube is that waelabbas violated their terms of use.

This is actually true if you take a look at it. It states that content should follow the community guidelines[1]. In these community guidelines, there is this statement saying "Graphic or gratuitous violence is not allowed. If your video shows someone getting hurt, attacked, or humiliated, don't post it."

Outside of Egypt, Stan Schroeder writing on Mashable, a site which covers social networking, questioned why Abbas' account was suspended when other videos of violence are on the site:

OK, why then can I find dozens of videos of people getting tasered by the police? If you ask me, a video of someone getting shocked with a high voltage weapon can definitely be described as graphic violence. And many will argue that the violence in such videos cannot be
Clip Source: blogs.guardian.co.uk
YouTube has suspended the account of Egyptian blogger Wael Abbas, who has been posting videos of cases of torture in his country. One of the videos he posted, of a Cairo man being beating and sexually assaulting, was credited with helping bring pressure on Egyptian authorities. That pressure led to three-year jail sentences for two of the policeman involved in the assault. Abbas has called the suspension of his YouTube account "by far the biggest blow to the anti-torture movement in Egypt", according to Amira Al Hussaini on Global Voices.
Amira has collected a good sample of reaction by Egyptian bloggers. Blogger Hossam El Hamalawy called the move by YouTube "un-bloody-believable" and said:
Wael's videos have been central in the fight against police brutality, and YouTube should be proud the Egyptian anti-torture activists have been using its channels in the current War on Torture

Worldwide Support for Jailed Egyptian Blogger

Thu, 15 Feb 2007 01:34:25 GMT

clipped by: zizzy
clipper's remarks: Worldwide demonstrations on 15 February

Clip Source: www.freekareem.org

Worldwide Demonstration in Support of Jailed Egyptian Blogger

February 12th, 2007

Latest press release -

NEW YORK– Demonstrators around the world will protest on February 15th against the continued imprisonment of Egyptian blogger Abdelkareem Nabil Soliman, a 22-year-old student arrested last November for criticizing the Egyptian government on his personal website. Protests will take place in New York City, London, Rome, Paris, Ottawa, Bucharest, Washington, DC, and a growing number of cities, in hopes of persuading Egyptian authorities to drop all charges against Mr. Soliman, also known by his online handle, Kareem Amer.

Kareem, the first person prosecuted in Egypt for Internet-based journalism, has stated that he believes that women and men should be treated equally; that Islamic extremism is hurting Arab society; and that freedom of expression is a fundamental human right. The Internet has made possible the dissemination of these ideals to a global audience. For that reason, some in Egypt evidently feel threatened by Kareem and others who, like him, are not afraid to speak their minds.

This is not the first time Kareem has been arrested. His writings also led to him being expelled from Egypt’s Al-Azhar University earlier in 2006. Since his arrest in November, he has been kept in solitary confinement and has been denied access to his lawyer and to his family. Several Middle Eastern human rights organizations have expressed concern for his life. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders have all condemned his arrest.

Media may contact Constantino Diaz-Duran, Director of the New York Free Kareem Coalition, by email at constantino@c-dd.com, or on +1 202-288-3328. More information can also be obtained at www.FreeKareem.org.

Tags: blogging, religion, islam, egypt, politics, women