[p2p-research] e-protests and e-repression, Aug-Dec 2008
Andy Robinson
ldxar1 at gmail.com
Fri Sep 11 08:55:35 CEST 2009
More to follow soon...
* IRAN: Attack on "immoral" websites
* GLOBAL: Protest over removal of Facebook breastfeeding photos
* BURMA: Technology and protest
* CROATIA: Facebook-organised protests "fizzle"
* US: TurboTax withdraws price hike after protest
* ISRAEL: Turkish hackers hit Israeli sites over Gaza blockade
* TAIWAN: Student movements go high-tech
* SAUDI ARABIA: Using the Internet to create a culture of dissent
* RWANDA: Arrest protests go online
* INDIA: Anti-Novell protesters manhandled at free software event
* BRAZIL: Protests against internet crackdown
* US: The Internet in Proposition 8 protests
* ARMENIA - GEORGIA: Bloggers protest church demolitions
* INDONESIA: New law to require ID checks at cybercafes
* KENYA: Mobile phones banned over school uprisings
* KOREA: Blogger arrested over beef protests
* COLOMBIA: State seeks to suppress news coverage of indigenous revolt
* US: YouTube removal of McCain videos sparks concern
* TAIWAN: Online protest targets US institute
* US: Woman changes name to URL in animal rights protest
* US: "Terrorists benefit" from wiretaps
* UK: "Extreme porn" bill sparks protests
* NEW ZEALAND: Protest over man jailed for refusing to remove web postings
* CHINA: Effective use of blogs
* KOREA: New media and protest
* INDIA: Vigil against software patents
* SAUDI ARABIA: Online protest over Jeddah redevelopment
* MEXICO: Role of Facebook in massive protests
* US: Backlash against ad tracking
* MALAYSIA: Anti-government news site banned
* GLOBAL: Newspapers cry foul over Google-Yahoo deal
* GLOBAL: Facebook redesign meets protest
* CANADA: Copyright bill meets web activism
* VIETNAM: Govt protests Chinese postings
* US: Viral wolf video hits Sarah Palin
* AUSTRALIA: Support fades for net censorship plan
* AUSTRALIA: Indigenous community posts video in protest at "intervention"
* RUSSIA: Soldier sent to Siberia for YouTube rap
* US: Bailout protests reach cyberspace
* GLOBAL: Web brings new weapons of war, terror, protest
http://www.rferl.org/content/Tehran_Ramps_Up_Campaign_Against_Immoral_Websites/1360082.html
Tehran Ramps Up Campaign Against 'Immoral' Websites
Iranians flock to Internet cafes in Tehran.
December 15, 2008
By Farangis Najibullah
The Iranian authorities, who admit to blocking access to over 5 million
websites, have decided to take additional measures to restrict Internet
access and crack down on bloggers.
Iranian news agencies recently quoted Tehran prosecutor Said Mortazavi as
saying those behind irreligious and immoral websites would be "harshly
confronted."
The prosecutor's office has set up a special department to deal with
Internet "crimes." Mortazavi said a team of Internet experts along with two
officials would identify and block websites that "do not follow religious
principles and are immoral."
RFE/RL's Radio Farda has reported that intelligence services would also take
part in the campaign.
Earlier this month, Esmail Jafari, a blogger from the southwestern city of
Bushehr was sentenced to five months in prison. He was found guilty of
antigovernment publicity and disseminating information abroad.
According to Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based media rights groups,
at least two online journalists, Mojtaba Lotfi and Shahnaz Gholami, are
currently being detained in Iran.
Gholami, an editor of the "Azar Zan" blog, was charged with jeopardizing
national security.
In October, an adviser to Iran's chief prosecutor said more than 5 million
antisocial and immoral websites have been blocked and are no longer
accessible in the country.
Most recently, an Iranian dating website, "Hamsarchat," was fined and banned
after being accused of promoting prostitution.
The popular website, which claims to be "Iran's most complete spouse-finding
website," has been taken to court following a complaint from Tehran's public
prosecutor.
Growing Internet Presence
With some 20 million people with access to the Internet, Iran is one of the
biggest Internet users in the Middle East. And despite all the blocks,
filtering, and other restrictions, blogging is becoming increasingly
popular.
According to media reports, there are some 65,000 bloggers in Iran, most of
whom try to stay away from political issues, focusing instead on social,
art, family, and other safer topics.
But the popularity of the Internet, especially, among young people, and its
impact on society is obviously a source of concern for the Iranian
authorities.
Some Iranian leaders have warned that the West is trying to provoke a
"Velvet Revolution" in Iran using the Internet.
Alongside Iranian music, news, and political websites, they have also
blocked access to popular foreign sites such as YouTube and Facebook.
However, according to Said, a blogger in Tehran, the authorities' "old
method of filtering is not working anymore." Said tells Radio Farda that
"with simple software or proxies, you can avoid any filter."
In the meantime, Iran's authorities and religious leaders are themselves
trying to use the Internet to get their message out.
>From clerics in the holy city of Qom to President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, they
have set up personal websites to promote their ideas to the public.
RFE/RL's Radio Farda contributed to this report
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article5417278.ece
December 31, 2008
Protest as Facebook removes breastfeeding photos
As part of a Facebook users' rebellion against the site, a group blitzed it
with breastfeeding photos, some of which were taken down
Mike Harvey, Technology Correspondent
Alpha Mummy: Facebook needs to grow up
A mass online protest movement is gathering pace after Facebook banned some
breastfeeding photos from the social network site.
Angry mothers even picketed the Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto,
California, in a live "nurse-in" to complain about a ban on photos of
mothers suckling their children that exposed too much of the mother's
breast. Hundreds of women have had their pictures removed without warning
and have been informed that they may be barred from using the site.
More than 80,000 people have joined a Facebook petition group "Hey Facebook,
Breast-feeding is not Obscene" with hundreds joining every hour. More than
11,000 women from around the world have also taken part in an online
"nurse-in" protest on Saturday by posting more breastfeeding pictures. The
protest's organisers reported that many have since had these photos removed
from the site.
Facebook has said that it has no problem with breastfeeding but photos that
showed nipples or aureolae were indecent and had to be removed.
Barry Schnitt, a Facebook spokesman, said the website takes no action over
most breast-feeding photos because they follow the site's terms of use.
"We agree that breast-feeding is natural and beautiful and we're very glad
to know that it is so important to some mothers to share this experience
with others on Facebook.'' But, he added, some photos were removed to ensure
the site remains safe and secure for all users, including children.
"Photos containing a fully exposed breast - as defined by showing the nipple
or areola - do violate those terms on obscene, pornographic or sexually
explicit material and may be removed," he said in a statement. "The photos
we act upon are almost exclusively brought to our attention by other users
who complain."
Patricia Madden, from San Jose, had a photograph of her breastfeeding her
daughters Zoe and Isobel removed from the site. The birth doula, who
encourages new mothers to breast-feed, was photographed by her husband while
feeding in the bathtub.
"It's amazing to me that we're living in a world where people are upset by
this,'' she said. "You can't see my nipples. It's completely legal to
breast-feed in public. Breast-feeding is completely natural and healthy.
They took off the photo, without my permission," she told the San Jose
Mercury News.
The live protest in Palo Alto, under the banner of the Mothers International
Lactation Campaign, attracted a handful of mothers and supporters who
picketed peacefully, armed with suckling children and placards.
It is legal to breastfeed in public in most states in America and in many
countries around the world including Britain but Facebook's terms of service
give it the right to remove content that it deems it to be inappropriate.
Campaigners say that breastfeeding is natural and healthy and should be not
bracketed with pornography. Facebook's stance demeans and stigmatises women,
they say.
Heather Farley, 23, of Provo, Utah, said she was surprised when Facebook
took down two photos of her nursing her 6-month-old daughter, one of which
was her profile picture. She became of the protest's organisers. She said:
"Where I live, I can breast-feed in public or private, and there are laws
that say it's not obscene or lewd or indecent. If I can do it in public, why
can't I do it on Facebook?"
Censoring such images, she said, reinforces stigmas that discourage mothers
from a healthy, natural practice. Angry at the site, but not wanting to lose
her online friend network by unsubscribing, she decided to take action.
The online petition on Facebook, which has more than 120 million members
around the world, has sparked a furious debate with more than 1,500
discussion topics on the petition's homepage. Most comments are supportive
but some ask why, if breastfeeding mothers don't like being censored on
Facebook, they don't join another free site which does allow them to post
their pictures.
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/technology/705156/80000-protest-facebooks-breastfeeding-ban/?rss=yes
80,000 protest Facebook's breastfeeding ban
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
104 days 3 hours 38 minutes ago
By ninemsn staff
Breastfeeding mothers have launched an online protest against Facebook after
images of them suckling their babies were removed from their profiles
without warning.
More than 80,000 people have joined the Facebook petition group "Hey
Facebook, Breast-feeding is not Obscene" after hundreds of women were warned
they could be barred from the site if photos showed too much of the mother's
breast, The Times has reported.
One mother, Heather Farley, of Utah, became one of the protest organisers
after two photos of her nursing her six-month-old daughter were removed.
"Where I live, I can breast-feed in public or private, and there are laws
that say it's not obscene or lewd or indecent. If I can do it in public, why
can't I do it on Facebook?" she said.
A Facebook spokesperson claimed that some photos were indecent and had to be
removed to "ensure the site remains safe and secure for all users".
"Photos containing a fully exposed breast — as defined by showing the nipple
or areola — do violate those terms on obscene, pornographic or sexually
explicit material and may be removed," Barry Schnitt was quoted as saying in
a statement.
But Mr Schnitt also said most breast-feeding follow the site's terms of use
and the photos removed were mostly photos other users had complained about.
"We agree that breast-feeding is natural and beautiful and we're very glad
to know that it is so important to some mothers to share this experience
with others on Facebook," he said.
http://www.radionetherlands.nl/thestatewerein/otherstates/tswi-081206-internet-myanmar
Technology and protest in Myanmar
By Dheera Sujan
05-12-2008
An ordinary telephone SIM card costs just two US dollars in Bangkok. In
Myanmar, less than an hour away by plane, it costs 1800 US dollars. This in
a country where a surgeon is lucky to take home 100 US dollars a month.
Yet there are more mobile phones in the towns and cities of this closed
country than its army led government would like. And mobile phones were key
instruments in the organisation and news dissemination of last September's
pro democracy protests led by monks - illustrating exactly why the leading
Junta fear the access to the outside world that technology offers.
The September protests were caught by the countless mobile phones of
ordinary people or shot at great risk by the hidden video cameras of
undercover reporters and sent out of the country within minutes through the
internet. Smuggled video tapes found their way to mainstream media around
the world.
Mobile video footage of a Japanese journalist shot at close range
Scenes of violence shown on Al-Jazeera
Unprecedented coverage
For a few days Burmese monks led civilian protesters on the streets of
Yangon, and the international community watched, electrified by the
unprecedented images of a country that had remained behind its own bamboo
curtain for years. At first, the Myanmar government was paralysed with
indecision. Then it did what most feared it would - it called in the troops.
And still the cameras rolled, still the images were loaded onto YouTube. A
Japanese cameraman, shot at point blank range by a soldier, troops shooting
into crowds of civilians, police beating monks with iron bars, and dragging
off peaceful demonstrators holding banners.
Having their story told
The world was watching Myanmar for the first time in decades and the Burmese
people, forcibly isolated for so long, were exultantly aware that they were
not forgotten. "It's almost an existential desire for the Burmese to have
their story told," says one journalist who has written and reported from the
country for more than 20 years. She was there during the protests last year,
and she was there when the retribution came.
Just a few weeks ago, the government of Myanmar apprehended leaders of the
protests, monks, journalists, and bloggers and sentenced them to up to 65
years in prison. The bloggers were accused of violating the Electronics Act
which regulates electronic communications.
The sentences are breathtakingly harsh, and they send a clear message from
the government - that it will brook no opposition from within during the
run-up to the elections planned for 2010. But there is also a hidden message
in the single-minded way people who sent images of human rights violations
out of the country have been hunted down: that the government too can use
technology to its own benefit. People have been traced through their email
and mobile phones and internet servers have been examined for "improper
use".
Cat and mouse
The government has even mined the very same images of the violent put-down
of the demonstrators to locate the shops, doorways and homes where people
may have taken the footage and then made group arrests to find the
photographers.
But as the journalist says, "it's a cat and mouse game. The government
blocks the technology in one way and people find alternatives to go around
it. There are proxy servers springing up all the time...it won't stop. The
people will always find a way of making their voice heard. It's always been
that way in Burma."
http://www.croatiantimes.com/index.php?id=2070
08. 12. 08. - 12:00
Anti-government Facebook protests fizzle
Croatian Times
Anti-government protests organized on Facebook fizzled Friday when roughly
3,500 people turned out for a demonstration that organizers hoped would draw
60,000.
About 2,500 people gathered in the capital, Zagreb. Several hundred turned
up in Croatia's second-largest city, Split, and a few hundred more in five
other cities to protest government austerity measures.
"It's easier to click a mouse, in the safety of your home, than show up in
public," said Jaksa Matovinovic, a spokesman for the group that organized
the protest.
Still, the protests demonstrated that online social networks have began to
have some political impact in this former Yugoslav republic, where only 2 in
5 households have access to the Internet
Younger generations are well-versed in the Internet, but gaffes by some
politicians reflect Croatia's relative computer illiteracy.
Speaker of parliament Vladimir Seks called the social networking Web site
"Facebok." Opposition lawmaker Mato Arlovic, spoke of "emajl" - enamel in
Croatian - when he meant e-mail. And former Interior Minister Ivica Kirin
called YouTube "Jubito" in a widely played clip posted on that site.
The Facebook group, called "Tighten your own belt, you gang of knaves,"
criticized Prime Minister Ivo Sanader's measures to fight a potential
financial crisis, saying they would hurt the average Croat while politicians
and the rich would be unscathed. It also blames the government for failing
to fight crime and corruption.
"Only united we are becoming a force that no one can ignore," the group's
leader, Josip Dell Olio, told the crowd in Zagreb.
Recent police questioning of two members of Facebook groups critical of the
government signalled that politicians may not be prepared for a new,
cyberspace opposition.
Irate Croat politicians still sometimes place calls over critical stories in
traditional news media, and occasionally, stories are being pulled or
changed as a consequence.
Although there are few formal restrictions, Croatia still has some ways to
go in shedding its authoritarian past, first imposed by communism and then
by the nationalist forces that ruled the ex-Yugoslav country in the 1990's.
http://www.wcpo.com/content/news/localshows/dontwasteyourmoney/story/TurboTax-Withdraws-Price-Hike-after-Protest/8dbDygXP2UuHoNVDnHUO3A.cspx?rss=809
TurboTax Withdraws Price Hike after Protest
Reported by: John Matarese
Email: jmatarese at wcpo.com
Last Update: 12/15/2008 6:19 pm
TurboTax has been the number one do it yourself tax program for years
....because it's easy to use, provides great support, and is so affordable.
But that affordability may be a thing of the past, according to some people
who have looked at the newest version for the 2008/2009 filing season.
Online Complaints force Reconsideration
If you're a TurboTax user, you may be amazed by the angry reviews the newest
version is getting at Amazon.com and various online blogs.
But the good news: Turbotax is now reversing at least some of its latest new
fees....because of all the online outrage.
Why are so many users unhappy?
For starters, TurboTax is raising the price of its popular deluxe version
from $45 to $59. That was enough to anger many veteran users.
But more controversial: It was also planning to eliminate free sharing among
family members. In the past, you could use one version to prepare taxes for
up to 5 family members.
The Power of the Internet
But Turbox has now reconsided and is withdrawing that plan after online
protests, which demonstrates the power of the internet. In addition, it's
adding free e-filing this year, so the price hike is not as bad as it
appears.
But my advice? If you dont like the new price, consider H&R Block's TaxCut,
TaxAct (free or paid versions), or other programs. And read online reviews
before purchasing a program: They'll tell you a lot about changes in each
program.
'The good news is that as you prepare for April 15th, you have a lot of tax
prep options...And if one software program has become too expensive, you
have time to find another, so you don't waste your money.
I'm John Matarese.
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/12/416253.html
redhack team attacks 16 israeli websites in protest at israeli war crimes
rednblack unity | 29.12.2008 00:18 | Palestine
a group of turkish militant hackers known as the red hack team have launched
a cyber attack on israeli sites as a protest against the israeli attacks
against the people of gaza. the sites have been hacked with a militant
anti-israel, anti-U$ slogan in english and in turkish as well as militant
images and a video.
the message on the targetted sites read as follows :
ISRAEL, now you are doing the same genocide to palestine that Hitler has
done to you.You killed the 230 innocent civil people.
Do you think that you won't pay for this? One day all peoples of world will
wake up and when they wake up they will destroy your state and the USA ,you
trusted, on your heads which you built upon blood and betrayal . you, the
zionist state, will pay for this sooner or later !
People of israel, stop your states fascism ! do something about your
Palestinians brothers
Israelis and Palestinians are brothers,
The murderer is zionist Israel and the USA,
Down with fascism, down with zionism
Long live peoples of world resistance
Long live communism
Long live RED HACK
Real hack is the hack which is for the world's people
We are disaster for the rich
here are links to the sites hacked so you can see for yourself what
occurred,
followed a mirror of the site targeteted should it be repaired.
http://cpm-israel.com/
mirror :
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462482/
http://israel.elisegal.co.il/
mirror :
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462529/
http://guetta.co.il/
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462437/
http://news.z10.co.il/
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462552/
http://israel.z10.co.il/
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462552/
http://salom.elisegal.co.il/
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462531/
http://roymusic.co.il/
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462508/
http://z10.co.il/
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462503/
http://bromide.co.il/
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462492/
http://nevehagar.co.il/
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462485/
http://kmisgav.co.il/
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462462/
http://orit-signon.co.il/
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462453/
http://ninnun.co.il/
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462454/
http://food4pets.co.il/
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462435/
http://artzieli.co.il/
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462436/
rednblack unity
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2008/11/21/2003429206
Student movements go high-tech
By Hung Chen-ling 洪貞玲
Friday, Nov 21, 2008, Page 8
“Hello, this is XXX, coming to you live from Taipei. We are going to
broadcast a three-party talk live around half past 12. We are currently
doing some technical tests, so please stand by ...”
These familiar opening lines did not come from a TV program or a full-time
reporter, but from the student demonstrators at Liberty Square in Taipei,
who transmitted information to everyone with Internet access. Not only is
this a historical change for Taiwan’s student movements, it is also
challenging the prejudice and distortions of mainstream media in reporting
dissenting opinion.
It is not an overstatement to view the demonstration as a “high-tech student
movement.”
At the beginning, between 400 and 500 students were mobilized overnight
using the Internet to a rally staged in front of the Executive Yuan, where
the students expressed their dissatisfaction with alleged police brutality
during the recent visit by Association for Relations Across the Taiwan
Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) and the Assembly and Parade Law (集會遊行法)
that is said to have violated the protesters’ freedom of speech. While
reporters were still covering anti-Chen demonstrations at the Grand Hotel
and Grand Formosa Regent Taipei where a massive police presence was
stationed, students had already sent out messages about their sit-in
protests on the Internet.
After being moved from the Executive Yuan by police, students regrouped at
Liberty Square to protest. It was amazing that in addition to rain shelters
and generators, tables and chairs, four to five computers were set up in a
row at the venue. The young generation is not only familiar with Internet
technology, but also able to broadcast news live in Chinese, English and
Japanese and send information thousands of kilometers away. The 24-hour live
broadcast became a live, uncut reality show of the student’s demands.
They told the public: “Whatever mainstream media outlets cannot or are not
willing to do, we will do by ourselves. We will be our own media.”
High-tech social movements initiated on the Internet have existed for a
while. The Internet allows non-government organizations and local
communities to effectively form alliances across borders. In particular,
when an issue comes up, the Internet can help further discussion and
communication between organizations, or even mobilize people with a
particular position in an attempt to change the development of the issue.
Another example is the Internet mobilization of Chinese people around the
world in protest of assaults and killings of ethnic Chinese women in
Indonesia.
Last year, up to 20,000 residents of Xiamen City in China’s Fujian Province
were mobilized through cellphone text messages and through the Internet to
protest against the construction of a chemical plant in the city.
More importantly, the Internet serves as a mouthpiece for disadvantaged
groups.
The Zapatista Army of National Liberation is a revolutionary group in
Chiapas, Mexico consisting of grassroots farmers who suffered from the North
American Free Trade Agreement, and who were besieged by heavily armed police
forces. However, this grassroots resistance gained international support
after uploading locally gathered information onto the Internet.
Images circulated on the Internet of masked guerillas left a deep impression
on many people. In addition, this revolutionary movement and the way it is
voicing its opposition have been described as the first “post-modern”
movement by the New York Times.
The way the aforementioned social movements used the real-time,
interactivity and far-reaching high tech of the Internet can all be found in
the student demonstration on Liberty Square. Using the Internet, the student
demonstrators connected to all of Taiwan and implemented deliberative
democracy to make their voice heard.
Let this serve as a warning to both the establishment and its bureaucrats
and mainstream media outlets: Passive inaction and selective or distorted
reporting will no longer convince the public because the government and the
mainstream media are no longer the only sources of news.
Of course, it cannot be denied that a successful movement needs not only
technology, but also the power of discourse and organization as a foundation
for its broadcasts. This is the challenge facing student movements when they
are trying to overcome the external obstacles to getting their voices heard.
Hung Chen-ling is an assistant professor at National Taiwan University’s
Graduate Institute of Journalism.
TRANSLATED BY TED YANG
http://www.nowpublic.com/world/online-tools-amplify-culture-protest-where-there-none
Online tools amplify a culture of protest where there is none!
by astroleni | November 8, 2008 at 10:34 am
44 views | 2 Recommendations | 1 comment
Today 70 Saudi activists launched a two-day hunger strike via Facebook to
protest the detention of 11 human rights activists who have been held in
Saudi Arabia for months - some for almost two years - without charge.
Operating under oppressive restraints of freedom of expression and assembly,
the activists' defense team and supporters have harnessed the power of
online tools to amplify their voices and calls for justice.
Calling for the release - or fair and public trails - of detainees is
incredibly restrictive under the absolute monarch. In July 2007, the
Mabahith, Saudi secret police, arrested five women who were peacefully
demonstrating for the release or trial of their relatives detained for over
two years without trial. Operating under oppressive restraints of freedom of
expression and assembly, the activists' defense team and supporters have
harnessed the power of online tools to amplify their voices and calls for
justice.
Under Saudi law, one can be detained for up to six months (and up to 60 days
in solitary confinement) without a formal sentencing or trial. Once in
custody, detainees are "commonly the victims of systematic and multiple
violations of due process and fair trial rights, including arbitrary arrest
and torture and ill-treatment during interrogation," according to Human
Rights Watch.
"We are trying to introduce a culture of protest where there is none.
Without the Internet, this wouldn't have been possible," said Mr.
al-Qahtani, an organizer of the hunger strike in an interview with Canada's
Globe and Mail.
A combination of few freedoms to assemble, express or associate oneself
publicly, reasonably high internet connectivity, and a 60% population under
the age of 30 has made it possible for this unprecedented event to occur
online. Word is quickly spreading in online chat rooms, social networks and
the blogosphere.
World media is reporting on this unprecendented act of civil disobedience.
Watch an exclusive video interview with Saudi journalist Ebtihal Mubarak
about the hunger strike at http://hub.witness.org/en/SaudiHungerStrike.
WITNESS' online channel for human rights video, the Hub, was fortunate
enough to attain the only video interview on this subject, due to its strict
adherence to safety and security issues for participants.
Read more about it on the Hub blog:
http://hub.witness.org/en/blog/facebooking-a-hunger-strike
Visit the Facebook Protest Page:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=45829380308
Listen to an audio interview with one of the people participating in the
protest: http://hub.witness.org/en/node/11279
Though this is not the first human rights-related campaign from the region
on Facebook (see WIRED's "Cairo Activists Use Facebook to Rattle Regime"),
it is notable because it's the first one of its kind in Saudi Arabia to get
around repressive laws by harnessing power and the ubiquity of the internet
to gain attention and hopefully change policy.
I hope you'll share this info with your online colleagues who may have more
room to cover this story online or continue to look to WITNESS and the Hub
as a source of stories and information about the challenges and struggles of
people all over the world and ways in which they are confronting them face.
Sincerely,
Suvasini Patel
Communications & Outreach Manager/WITNESS
Tel: 718-783-2000 ext. 316|suvasini at witness.org
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheGlobeAndMail-Front/~3/445040411/
Saudi hunger strikers risk arrest for protest
• Article
• Comments ( 14)
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SONIA VERMA
>From Friday's Globe and Mail
November 6, 2008 at 10:17 PM EST
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Mohammad al-Qahtani rose before dawn, kissed his
children and prayed before embarking on the most radical act of his life: He
skipped breakfast.
The professor of economics is among a group of 64 Saudis staging this
conservative kingdom's first public hunger strike, denouncing the detention
of nearly a dozen political prisoners.
To outsiders, the two-day protest might seem tame, but in a country where
political parties, civic organizations and public rallies are strictly
banned, the strikers could face arrest for dissent.
“Yes, we are afraid,” Mr. al-Qahtani, 43, said, “but to get our message out
we are willing to take the risk.”
He admits, however, their risk is a calculated one.
The protest, which ends Friday, was timed to coincide with the weekend here
so strikers could fast in hiding or in the safety of their own homes.
Recruitment was also kept low-key, with organizers using online networks
such as Facebook to enlist supporters and talk to each other.
“We are trying to introduce a culture of protest where there is none.
Without the Internet, this wouldn't have been possible,” Mr. al-Qahtani
acknowledged.
Saudi's state-controlled media have not reported on the strike, although the
story is beginning to capture headlines in the international press.
The protesters' demands centre on the cases of 11 prisoners who are being
held in Jeddah and Riyadh jails without charge.
Strikers are demanding the Saudi government give the prisoners fair, public
trials or set them free.
Nine of the detained men, who were arrested in Jeddah in February, 2007,
were accused of supporting terrorism and sent to solitary confinement
without formal charge.
Human-rights groups say they were jailed for pressing for political reform.
The most high-profile prisoner is Matrouk al-Faleh, a political science
professor at Riyadh's King Saud University, who was arrested in May after
publishing a report criticizing conditions in Saudi jails.
He was previously jailed in 2003 after calling for a constitutional
monarchy, but was subsequently freed by King Abdullah when he assumed the
throne in 2005.
In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Mr. al-Faleh's wife, Jamila, said
she didn't think the hunger strike would change her husband's fate.
“It won't solve our problem, but at least I feel there are others who are
standing with us,” said Ms. Al-Faleh, who is only allowed to visit her
husband once a week and says his health is declining.
Government officials canvassed by The Globe said they were unaware of any
protest but, hypothetically speaking, said hunger strikes are against the
law.
They declined to comment on the cases of the 11 men in detention.
With the government effectively ignoring the protest, it was unclear what
kind of impact it would have.
The activists, mostly young, prominent Saudis – lawyers, writers, professors
and journalists – hold positions that would likely insulate them from harsh
prosecution.
Some hoped their protest would encourage others from all walks of Saudi
society.
Others described their participation as personal victories.
“I see the hunger strike as my little personal gesture to the detainees,”
wrote Ahmed al-Omran, a popular Saudi blogger known as Saudijeans.
“I don't know what it would mean to them or if they even know about it, but
it certainly means something to me. It means that I do not accept
injustice,” he wrote.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200811180566.html
Rwanda: Protests Against Kabuye's Arrest Go Online
Edwin Musoni
18 November 2008
Kigali — Thousands have signed various online petitions posted on the
Internet calling for the release of Director of State Protocol Rose Kabuye
who was arrested ten days ago in Germany.
<
Kabuye was on November 9, arrested in Frankfurt, following the contentious
indictments by the French Judge Jean Louis Bruguiere.
The Judge alleges that she was involved in the shooting down of Rwanda's
former president, Juvenal Habyarimana's plane in 1994. She was arrested
while on official state business.
The online petitions are calling for the immediate release of Kabuye, they
also attack the French and Germany governments for their collective abuse of
the principle of Universal Jurisdiction.
Some of the petition letters read in part that Kabuye is considered a hero
and a liberator in ending the 1994 Tutsi Genocide that was observed and
supervised by the French.
The letters also express suspicion that the arrest is politically motivated
by the French government and calls upon Rwandans, their friends and
supporters from across the world to protest it.
One of the websites http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/freerosekabuye calls
on Rwandans to see the action of France as another war on them.
Another website, www.petitionspot.com/petitions/RoseKabuye, states that
"upon signing the petition, you are strengthening this effort in gaining
true rights, and strengthening the freedom of a world wide community."
The petitions are expected to be produced and presented to the French
Embassies around the world as a sign of the world communities' intolerance
for justice.
http://playingwithsid.blogspot.com/2008/11/boycott-novell-protesters-man-handled.html
Boycott Novell Protesters Man-handled at National Conference on Free
Software 2008
Here is blow by blow account of trouble that brewed up on the second day of
National Conference on Free Software 2008 in Cochin university. The
activists put up posters against the Novell Corp (the main sponsor of this
event) at the Free Software exhibition complex.
The organisers called up Kochi police and man handled Anivar Aravind a
former student of the Cochin University and a well known free software
activist.
Update: Adding few more pictures
These images are captured using mobile phone cameras by Arky and few others
(names withheld for privacy and security concerns).
CUSAT Open Air Auditorium
Earlier in Day
Anivar, Hiran and Unni working on the posters and the handouts for the
protest.
Peaceful Protest After the Incident
Pictures of peaceful protest outside the CUSAT Open Air Auditorium after the
man handling incident. Later Joy Job Kulaveli and Sri. Chandramohankumar
Registrar, CUSAT, demanded the protesters to leave the place, (in a very
undemocratic and arrogant manner), and the protesters left peacefully.
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2008/11/16/brazil-flash-mob-protest-against-digital-crimes-bill/
Brazil: Flash mob protest against Digital Crimes Bill
Sunday, November 16th, 2008 @ 11:05 UTC
by Paula Góes
Brazilian bloggers and netizens took to the streets of São Paulo to protest
against the Digital Crimes Bill, which typifies the cyber-crimes punishable
by law and stipulates penalties accordingly. They claim the law has so many
flaws that, instead of punishing real criminals, it might end up deeming as
crime trivial conduct when surfing the Internet. Proposed by senator Eduardo
Azeredo, the bill has passed through the Senate, has proceeded to the House
of Representatives and has been labeled as urgent, which means that voting
might happen at any time.
Over 50 bloggers, students and netizens participated in the flash mob last
Friday at Avenida Paulista, one of the city's most important avenues and
financial centers. The protest was organized through blogs and mostly
twitter. Lúcia Freitas reports:
A postos, mostramos nossos cartazes. alguém de dentro do ônibus acena.
Pessoas param nas calçadas de ambos os lados. Motos e carros buzinam. Ao
comando, viramos para o outro lado (ímpar) da avenida. Os fotógrafos fazem
farra. A gente diz em alto e bom som: Não!
Put in place, we showed our posters. Someone waves at us from inside a bus.
People stop on both sides of sidewalks. Motorcycles and cars honk their
horns. At the command, we turn to the other side of the avenue.
Photographers enjoy it. We say in loud and clear voices: No!
In fact, due to bad weather and terrible traffic, many people only managed
to get there late. Political Scientist Sérgio Amadeu [pt] says that these
late comers demanded to be part of the protest, so a quick decision was made
for another performance, this time attended by over 100 people:
Bom, como uma manifestação auto-organizada ela resolveu se auto-constituir
de novo. A flashmob virou uma refreshmob.
Well, as an auto-organized protest, it decided to reproduce itself again.
The flashmob became a refreshmob.
Photo by Paulo Fehlauer who also has a video showing the protest at Avenida
Paulista
On the day before, a public hearing was held in Brasília and some bloggers
took the time to attend the debate (see a video and twitter reactions). They
had their mouths closed with sellotape to protest against the
over-surveillance on the Internet that the bill may bring if approved.
Daniel Padua [pt] was there and said it had a positive outcome as the case
against was very well laid by both specialists and members of parliament:
A força dos argumentos foi uma surpresa pros defensores do projeto, que
acabaram soando ridículos e despreparados - como no caso do delegado da PF
(alguma coisa Sobral) - que apresentou uma história na qual a PF tinha os
IPs de suspeitos de pedofilia, mas só conseguiu prender 1/5 deles pela falta
de um processo jurídico adequado, e foi questionado pelo deputado Paulo
Teixeira: “bom, a PF tinha os IPs, não? então se vocês já conseguem os IPs
das pessoas, porque precisam desse projeto de lei?”
The strength of the arguments (against the bill) was a surprise for the
project supporters, who ended up sounding silly and unprepared - as in the
case of a police officer who had a history in which the police had the IPs
of suspected pedophiles, but only managed to arrest 1/5 of them because of
the lack of an appropriate legal process. He was questioned by parliament
member Paulo Teixeira: “Well, the PF had the IPs, right? So if you already
get people's IPs, what do you need this bill for?”.
Marcelo Träsel [pt] says that a battle was won but the fight goes ahead. He
unveils whose interests are in fact behind the bill:
Porque no fim das contas é disso que se trata: os bancos estão tentando
impor uma legislação estúpida para deixarem de assumir a responsabilidade
por tornar seus sistemas de transação eletrônica mais seguros. Afinal,
garantir a segurança de dados custa dinheiro. E dinheiro é o que os bancos
deram, coincidentemente, para a campanha a senador de Azeredo e muitos
outros deputados. Estão pouco ligando se vão emperrar o processo cultural ou
o avanço da inclusão digital no Brasil.
At the end of the day this is it: banks are trying to impose this stupid law
so that they don't have the responsibility for making their electronic
transaction systems more secure. After all, ensuring data security costs
money. And money is what the banks have, coincidentally, donated to Senator
Azeredo's and many other [politicians] campaigns. They don't care if it will
paralyse the cultural process or the enhancement of digital inclusion in
Brazil.
According to João Carlos Caribé [pt], this public hearing, virtually the
first open debate about the bill, was made possible through liaising by the
organizers of an online petition [pt] in defense of freedom and progress of
knowledge on the Brazilian Internet. It has been signed by over 121,400
citizens, which is not much, considering Brazil's nearly 200 million
population. Gabriel Sadoco [pt] writes about it at this Saturday's blog
carnival [pt] about politics and says that people should not be so apathetic
regarding this and others issues:
E a esses brasileiros que não se incomodam com o que acontece no seu país.
Que preferem assistir as tragédias do jornal antes da novela das oito e só
servem pra fazer peso no mundo, acordem para a realidade e comecem a
protestar, porque você ainda tem direito a isso. Não ao vigilantismo.
Privacidade e liberdade pra todo mundo!
For those Brazilians who do not care whatever happens in their country, who
prefer to read the tragedies in the newspaper before the eight o'clock soap
opera and are only good to put weight on the world, wake up to reality and
begin to protest, because you still have the right to do so. Say no to
surveillance. Privacy and freedom for everyone!
Mário Amaya [pt] has designed the poster that many bloggers have been
carrying with them, which can be downloaded and printed out. He is also the
designer of many of the online banners that have spread on the blogosphere.
Freedom on the Internet
http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=8211
Join the Impact: taking social network activism (and LGBTQ rights) to the
next level
by: jonpincus
Thu Nov 13, 2008 at 23:01:57 PM EST
Kate X Messer's Young gay marriage activist leads national protests on 365
Gay profiles Seattle Amy Balliett, who started up the Join the Impact web
site after a blog post and email by her friend Willow Witte. Amy's 26, and
her day job is as a search engine optimizer. It's also an excellent history
of the start of the movement:
By Monday morning, a plan had emerged: Cities around the country would
organize their own efforts to coordinate a synchronized protest for Sat.,
Nov. 15, 10:30 a.m. PST. The movement became officially global with hits
from the UK and France, and by Nov. 11, over one million visitors had come
to the site.
Across the country, posts on Craigslist, bulletins on MySpace, and emails on
ListServs with titles like "Meet at City Hall next weekend!" and "Upset
about Prop 8? Here's what YOU can do about it," began to buzz with notice of
the upcoming national protest.
Nancy Scola's Once a Local Legal Battle, Is Prop 8 On Its Way to 'Net-Fueled
Cultural Moment? on techPresident puts Join the Impact in context: "Its
success is reminiscent of Columbia's anti-FARC movement launched on Facebook
that spawned protests all over the world." Yeah, really. jonpincus :: Join
the Impact: taking social network activism (and LGBTQ rights) to the next
level I don't mean to slight the other LGBTQ rights activism going on out
there. Equality Utah's brilliant idea of reaching out to LDS leaders by
taking them at their word and asking them to co-sponsor civil unions in Utah
presents the church with an opportunity. At the same time the fiasco at
the El Coyote press conference, the sticky situation for Sundance, and the
artistic director of the California's largest musical theater stepping down
in the wake of reaction to his $1000 donation ("He said his sister is a
lesbian in a domestic partnership, which he understands to carry the same
legal rights as marriage") all show the strength of the various boycott
movements. Still, Join the Impact, with its Wetpaint wiki and social
network focus, is the one that has me most excited.
In Towards a rebirth of freedom: activism on social networks back in July, I
suggested
The experiences from Get FISA Right and other social network activism
campaigns are much more broadly applicable. As Cheryl Contee says, a lot
of people "aren't as concerned about, say, FISA or impeachment. They want
jobs" - or an end to wars and institutionalized violence, voting rights,
affordable food, different commencement speakers, marriage equality ....We
did a fairly good job of taking notes as we were going, and so hopefully
there's a lot for people to build on; still, there's much more to be said.
Indeed. Observing the incredible organizing skill of the Millennials who
have grown up with these technologies it becomes abundantly clear how we
were just scratching the surface. My reaction is consistently "wow, that's
kind of how I'd have approached things but they've done it much much better
than I would have." It starts with their positive and inclusive mission
statement; a brief excerpt:
Our movement seeks to encourage the LGBTQ community not to look towards the
past and place blame, but instead to look forward toward what needs to be
done now to achieve one goal: Full equality for ALL. We stand for reaching
out across all communities. We do not stand for bigotry, for scapegoating,
or using anger as our driving force. Our mission is to encourage our
community to engage our opposition in a conversation about full equality and
to do this with respect, dignity, and an attitude of outreach and education.
Well said. Then compare-and-contrast Get FISA Right's prototype Fifty-state
strategy and List of Senator-specific Facebook groups with Join the Impact's
main page (with a list of states + DC + International as well as the
navigation on the left), and individual cities -- complete with embedded
Google maps and links to Facebook groups. Or check out their Twitter
update directing people to a customizable press release template.
To be clear, I'm not dissing our accomplishments with Get FISA Right (GFR);
we prototyped approaches like the 50-state strategy and use of SaysMe.tv,
and GFR and the Voter Suppression Wiki together clearly had a big influence
on Wetpaint wiki activism. We continue to be used as an example of the
power of social networks by people as diverse as Hillary Clinton's Internet
expert Peter Daou and Music for Democracy founder Bear Kittay, and with
discussions like What shoud Get FISA Right do now? starting up we're about
to test Ari Melber's and my theories about reactivating net movements. More
on GFR soon.
Still, Join the Impact has taken things to another level, and as we go ahead
on GFR we'll be looking to them for inspiration. It's not surprising: for
me, and the generally-older crowd that's been involed in Get FISA Right and
the Voter Suppression Wiki, social network sites are with rare exceptions
recently-learned behavior that typically isn't integrated fully into our
lives. By contrast:
"For me it's second nature," says Balliett of social networking. "It's my
job. I think: Need to organize an event? Use the Internet. Throw a party?
Use Evite. Technology offers a platform on which to hold the conversation.
It's also given a platform for us to rally together and organize."
As I said in email to a couple of folks my age, "I feel old. But in a good
way."
The Seattle protest's at Volunteer Park this Saturday. Festivities start at
10:30 a.m., the rally and margh begins at noon, and there are speeches at
Westlake Center at 2. See you there, I hope! And if you're not in the
Seattle area, check out the wiki. There's probably a protest near you.
http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSTRE4AB8RC20081112
U.S. gay marriage fight takes to the Internet
Wed Nov 12, 2008 4:34pm ES
By Peter Henderson
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The rejection of gay marriage by California voters
has unleashed a hurricane of protest on the Internet, with some supporters
venting their anger and others planning national demonstrations.
Amy Balliett, 26, used her lunch break last Friday to start a website --
www.jointheimpact.com -- to call for coordinated action across the United
States this weekend.
In a few days, more than 1 million people have visited her site and dozens
of marches and meetings are now planned for 1:30 p.m. EST (1830 GMT) on
Saturday.
By the evening jointheimpact.com was created, it was visited 10,000 times.
By Sunday, there were 50,000 visits per hour and the computer running the
site crashed. It has moved computers twice since in an effort to keep up.
"Why do we have to wait for someone to step up and say let's do a protest?"
Balliett remembered thinking after her friend, Willow Witte, posted a blog
about California. "Over email we decided to do it."
California's Supreme Court opened the way to gay marriage in May, putting it
among a handful of states, provinces and European countries that allow
same-sex couples to marry.
But after a $70 million-plus campaign, a measure to ban gay marriage in
California passed in a vote held alongside the U.S. presidential and
congressional elections on November 4, stunning a community that had
expected its first major ballot box win.
Balliett's plan is to create an educational dialogue but others have diverse
goals or are simply speaking out as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, text
messages, blogs and websites buzz with protest about the vote in California.
Members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community say they
were hurt deeply and want to bring their civil rights argument -- that
same-sex couples deserve the same treatment as others -- to a national
audience.
"It took the rights being taken away from people to really get across that
it's not a California issue. It's a nationwide issue," said Brandon
Williamson, who was about to start his own protest website when he found
Balliett's and joined forces as publicist.
'IT'S MASSIVE'
Gay marriage is legal in two U.S. states, Massachusetts and Connecticut,
where court-approved same-sex weddings began on Wednesday. But dozens of
states have laws that limit marriage to a man and a woman.
This month's election also saw bans on gay marriage pass in Florida and
Arizona, while Arkansas stopped gay couples from adopting children.
This is not the first time gay marriage proponents or their adversaries have
used technology. Both sides of California's Proposition 8, the gay marriage
ban, used websites and more.
But the ability of the Internet to organize grass-roots movements has been
especially clear since the ban's passage.
Balliett, whose job is publicizing websites through searches, says she has
never seen anything like it. Civil rights campaigners agree.
"It's massive," said Scott Robbe, a gay rights veteran based in Wisconsin,
adding that election campaigns from Howard Dean to Barack Obama had paved
the way for the civil rights movement to use the Internet on a massive
scale.
Balliett directs volunteer organizers to start MySpace and Facebook sites
for their own cities but the Internet action is about more than her efforts.
The Facebook group "1,000,000 Million Strong Against Newly Passed Prop 8"
has about 68,000 members, for instance. The group's creators identify
themselves as high school students.
(Editing by John O'Callaghan)
http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=27839
Armenian bloggers protest destruction of Armenian churches in Georgia
27.11.2008 17:59 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian bloggers gathered at the Georgian Embassy in
Yerevan today to demand that demolition of the Armenian cultural heritage be
stopped and those guilty be punished.
The protesters were carrying posters of Norashen church and banners reading
“Save Armenian churches in Georgia”, “Republic of Georgia not Europe still
Asiatic” and a small coffin with an inscription “The newborn Georgian
democracy. This newborn democracy is dead already” on it.
What is happening to Armenian churches in Georgia is nothing but genocide of
our cultural heritage, according to historian Samvel Karapetyan. A crime has
been committed and those guilty should be punished by the international
court, he said yesterday.
Over 650 Armenian churches are situated in the territory of Georgia, most of
them already appropriated or destructed by the Georgian side.
On November 16, Georgian monk Tariel Sikinchelashvili instructed workers to
raze to the ground the graves of Mikhail and Lidia Tamamshevs.
This barbarian act outraged Armenians, who demanded to let the graves in
their place. However, Father Tariel responded with harsh statements.
Upon arrival of representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church and
parliament member Van Bayburt, the Georgian monk said he just wanted to
replace the gravestones to “clean under them.”
---------------------------------------------------
Internet cafe users to verify identity
Jakarta Post - November 22, 2008
Jakarta -- Head of Indonesian Internet Cafe
Association's Supervisory Body Judith Monique said
Saturday the government should require all internet
services users to verify their identity.
"There needs to be a log for users, such as a guest
book, at every warnet (internet cafe) so as to
provide investigators with leads whenever
cybercrime surfaces," Monique said, as quoted by
Antara news agency.
The National Police Cybercrime Unit head Edy
Hartono concurred, adding that the police had
already planned on ordering internet cafe owners to
set up user logs with detailed identity
information.
"To date, most internet cafe operators only
register net billing information and user IDs.
Since these can be easily manipulated, it creates a
conducive environment for criminals," Hartono said.
He added that the police had stepped up measures in
publicizing the 2008 Law on Information and
Electronic Transactions (ITE), particularly among
the internet provider community.
According to legal expert Edmon Makarim, the ITE
law allows easier access for the police in
investigating cybercrimes.
"Under the ITE, digital evidences are deemed valid
in any investigation of alleged internet misuse,"
Makarim said.
---------------------------------------------------
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/07/23/2311544.htm
Kenya bans mobile phones to stem school riots
Posted Wed Jul 23, 2008 7:43am AEST
The Kenyan Government has banned the use of mobile phones in schools in a
bid to stem a string of deadly riots that have rocked the country.
"I am banning the use of mobile phones by our students in our schools,"
Education Minister Sam Ongeri told parliament.
The ban, which takes effect immediately, comes a day after police charged
dozens of students with arson after weekend riots that left at least one
student dead and several injured.
Officers charged several students on Monday over the burning down of hostels
and other violence that had shut down 20 secondary schools across the
country, said police spokesman Eric Kiraithe.
"We will continue arresting the students for the crimes they commit," said
Mr Kiraithe.
More than 300 secondary schools have gone on strike in Kenya over the past
month, while students have destroyed properties worth millions of shillings
as they protest poor living conditions and bad management.
Mr Ongeri said mobile phones had been used to coordinate the riots, which he
blamed on widespread political incitement and drug abuse.
"We cannot afford careless actions; we cannot afford a carefree attitude. If
we don't have discipline in our schools, life will be chaotic," he told
reporters.
-AFP
http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2008102057938
Protest Leading Fugitive Arrested in Seoul
OCTOBER 20, 2008 08:44
A deputy leader of an online community against President Lee Myung-bak was
arrested yesterday on the charge of leading illegal street demonstrations.
Baek Eun-jong, 55, was apprehended by the Jongno Police Station in Seoul.
“We arrested Baek yesterday," a police spokesman said. "He had been hiding
in the (Buddhist) Jogye Temple for more than 100 days. We will send him to
an arraignment hearing for his involvement in illegal protests.”
To evade police, Baek sought safety at the temple on July 5, along with
fellow fugitives. He ventured out Saturday to join a demonstration at
Cheonggye Plaza and got arrested.
The goal of the street protest, meanwhile, changed from blasting U.S. beef
imports to urging action on the economic downturn. Over the last two months,
they had not held a rally.
A total of 1,100 members of leftist groups held a demonstration at the plaza
Saturday, criticizing the Lee administration for the national economic
crisis. They said recent tax cuts will help only the top one percent of the
income bracket and blasted the police crackdown on protestors as
undemocratic.
Authorities said the latest protest was an overture for continuing
demonstrations to topple the administration by highlighting the hobbling
economy. The protesters plan to launch a new organization this coming
Saturday.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Rest_of_World/South_Korea_jails_man_for_internet_lies_during_beef_protests/rssarticleshow/3631392.cms
South Korea jails man for internet lies during beef protests
23 Oct 2008, 0910 hrs IST, AFP
SEOUL: A South Korean court has jailed a man who spread false Internet
rumours that police raped a demonstrator during protests against US beef
imports, officials said on Thursday.
In the latest legal action against Internet rumour mongers during the
protests, court officials said the man was sentenced to 10 months in prison
plus two years' probation and ordered to perform 160 hours of community
service.
The court said the man used a fake identity to join a website and posted two
articles alleging police had raped one participant in the protests, which
rocked the country a few months ago.
"He was fully aware that his post was untrue, but he even went so far as to
fabricate pictures to support the false argument, posing a great danger to
society," the court said in its judgement.
Internet postings fuelled the mass protests, which began in May after Seoul
lifted a ban on US beef imports. The ban had been imposed in 2003 over fears
the meat was infected with mad cow disease.
The rallies died down after Seoul negotiated extra safety conditions for the
imports.
Courts have punished several groups and individuals for breaking the law in
various ways during the sometimes violent rallies. The demonstrations took
on an anti-government flavour and rocked the administration of President Lee
Myung-Bak.
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/97848
COLOMBIA: PRINT PAGE
AUTHORITIES SUPPRESS COVERAGE OF INDIGENOUS PROTESTS
At least one person was killed and more than 130 were wounded during
indigenous demonstrations last week in several departments in Colombia. But
with multiple press freedom violations being committed, you would be
hard-pressed to find out what's going on.
Indigenous community media groups in the department of Cauca complained
recently that several of their websites have been blocked, and a local
community radio station has reported suspicious power outages - at a time
when indigenous communities have been protesting to protect their
fundamental rights, reports the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP), IFEX
member in Colombia.
Thousands of indigenous Colombians, mainly in the southwest and northwest,
mobilised last week on a five-point plan. It calls for the reestablishment
of their territorial rights as laid out by the Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights, and rallies against the Colombian free-trade deal with the
U.S., Canada and the EU and the increasing militarisation of the country by
the government and paramilitaries.
As part of the protests, indigenous groups blocked several roads last week,
including the Pan-American Highway, the country's main north-south
thoroughfare, in at least four locations between Colombia's third largest
city, Cali, and the city of Popayán, 135 kilometres to the south.
But they were met with a repressive response. Violent clashes broke out
between protesters and security officers on 14 and 15 October, when officers
attempted to reopen the highway, allegedly firing into the crowds and
assaulting them with tear gas and hand grenades. According to the National
Indigenous Organisation of Colombia (ONIC), the clashes have resulted in one
death and more than 130 people injured, many gravely.
On the same day, the websites of the Association of Indigenous Councils of
Northern Cauca (ACIN) and the Cauca Regional Indigenous Council (CRIC), two
of the main organisations that have been mobilising through their own media
channels, went out of service, reports FLIP.
CRIC told FLIP that its website was down for more than 12 hours until staff
temporarily transferred it to another server. CRIC said, "It's very
coincidental that the website crashed at exactly the same time that the
demonstrations began." The websites of both CRIC and ACIN have previously
been down during demonstrations.
Several radio stations had their power cut while they were broadcasting
information about the demonstrations. La Libertad radio station, based in
the municipality of Totoró, says power outages are common in the area.
"However, it appears suspicious to us because this has happened several
times when we are broadcasting this type of information," La Libertad said.
Sources in Cauca told FLIP that they believe the obstruction of the
independent media outlets may be aimed at preventing the dissemination of
allegations of excessive use of force by security forces during the
demonstrations.
Meanwhile, journalists who have been covering the demonstrations have
expressed concern over their safety. "We are in the line of fire," one
journalist told FLIP.
According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), foreign journalists have been
stopped and questioned and even expelled for "taking part in political
activities". Julien Dubois, a French journalist planning to document the
protests in Cauca Valley, was detained on 13 October, expelled the next day
and banned from Colombia for five years.
Colombia has a long tradition of community, citizen-based media projects
that consistently present an alternative narrative to the corporate media.
They are linked to a broader network of national, alternative media (such as
Indymedia-Colombia and SICO, among others). But as concluded at
International PEN's recent World Congress in Bogotá, their perspectives are
rarely heard through mainstream channels, which often give an unfiltered
voice to the official authorities.
The mass media have been mainly echoing the government's perspective: that
the protests have been infiltrated by "destabilising forces" - the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The accusations have been
denied by protesters.
"The (Álvaro) Uribe government continues to make the unsubstantiated link in
an attempt to avoid any dialogue with the communities. This fact does not
come through in any of the coverage whatsoever, leaving the audience in a
permanent state of being misinformed," said Mario A. Murillo, a respected
professor at Hofstra University in New York, who has been documenting the
protests on his blog in Colombia.
"The government's claims... have almost become conventional wisdom in the
last few days because of the capacity of the Uribe administration to set the
agenda, present its arguments to domestic journalists with indignation and
authority, and come off as the victim once again," he added.
In some respects, the indigenous groups have defied the odds and have been
successful in gathering support on an international level, and getting other
rights groups to take notice. An open letter demanding an international
mission go to Colombia, addressed to Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper,
has already garnered more than 150 signatures, including some from Canada's
First Nations groups.
In the meantime, at least 12,000 indigenous people started a march from La
Maria, Cauca to Cali on 21 October to continue to pressure President Uribe
to address their concerns. They have vowed to continue marching to Bogotá if
he doesn't show. Despite talks over the weekend with three ministers and the
promise by Uribe to buy land for the indigenous peoples, there was no deal
made between them and the government.
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) recalls that the
protests occur within a general context of grave, systematic and repeated
violations of the rights of indigenous peoples in Colombia. According to
FIDH, in the last month, 29 indigenous persons were killed in the country,
and over the past six years more than 1,240 indigenous persons have been
murdered and at least 53,885 displaced.
Visit these links:
- FLIP: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/97745/
- RSF: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/97757/
- International PEN: http://tinyurl.com/5ourg7
- Mario A. Murillo's blog, with "Media Representations of Popular
Mobilizations Ignore the Movement's Message": http://mamaradio.blogspot.com
- Statement by President Uribe (15 October): http://tinyurl.com/6czykk
- FIDH: http://tinyurl.com/6ojjsd
- ACIN: http://nasaacin.org
- CRIC: http://www.cric-colombia.org/
- ONIC: http://www.onic.org.co/
- Indymedia-Colombia: http://colombia.indymedia.org/
(Photo: Demonstrators blocking the Pan American Highway last week clashed
with security forces. Luz Edith Cometa/nasaacin.org)
(22 October 2008)
http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/article_28583.shtml
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2008/10/22/colombia-indigenous-protests-and-murders-under-media-blackout/
Breaking: Colombia: Indigenous Protests and Murders Under Media Blackout
By Juliana Rincón Parra
Oct 23, 2008, 19:48
>From Colombia, the indigenous groups in the Cauca department have made an
international SOS to call attention on their plight. They accuse the armed
forces of opening fire with live ammunition during their marches along the
main highways in the country, killing and injuring indigenous protesters.
The government keeps stating that the live fire comes from indigenous
members or confabulated guerrilla infiltrated within the armed forces to
create chaos, and calling these protesters terrorists. The indigenous groups
are marching to ask, among other things, for justice for the thousands of
Indigenous Colombian people murdered in the past years, including community
leaders.
>From Colombia, the indigenous groups in the Cauca department have made an
international SOS to call attention on their plight. On their website,
cric-colombia.org they explain how they have been protesting the human
rights abuses they have been victim of, represented by the murder of one of
their community leaders by hit men and the death threats on other regional
and community leaders and spokespeople. They have requested a public
audience with the Government Officials, and have been protesting since
October 12, demanding the protection of their human rights and making the
government live up to the promises of the signed treaties of the past.
However, it is said that armed government forces, have shot live ammunition
at the protesters, leaving 2 dead and more than 60 indigenous members
injured. On this blog post on the indigenous community site they show
pictures of the protest and the injuries some have sustained as well as the
list of those injured up to October 14th. On October 15th, the armed forces
opened fire once again on the protesters, killing one and leaving 39
injured. They have also blocked the roads and ambulances can't get in to
help those who are hurt and needing assistance. (Links in Spanish unless
otherwise noted)
They write:
"la fuerza publica entró disparando con armas de largo alcance y ya hay 3
heridos mas de gravedad. la fuerza militar entro ya al territorio de dialogo
y negociación.
Se solicita de manera urgente que organismos internacionales frenen esta
violencia. tambien a los pueblos inigenas que refuercen el personal que esta
siendo atacado."
The armed forces came in shooting with long range weapons and there are
already 3 other persons seriously injured. The military forces have barged
into the territory of dialogue and negotiation.
We urgently request international organizations to stop this violence. Also
for the indigenous communities to get more people to back those who have
been attacked.
The indigenous community has been sending emails and posting on their
website[es] updates on the situation.
The following video was posted last week by user nasacin, including
cellphone and video camera images from the manifestations, clips showing
shot indigenous community members, a soldier speaking about the differences
between the Mob Control ESMAD and the armed forces, stating that the armed
forces are to keep the peace, and the ESMAD is the one in charge of defusing
violent situations. However, when asked who it is that is shooting with
rifles, the soldier doesn't answer.
Blogger Alejandro Peláez last week wrote of how foreign media is reporting
on the indigenous protests, but local media hadn't published anything at
all:
Las noticias son hechos, y para escribir sobre hechos toca salir del
escritorio, entrevistar personas, buscar en archivos, viajar al monte . Las
masacres, por ejemplo, son hechos. Pero en este país los medios cubren este
tipo de hechos con diez años de diferencia y ahí ya no son noticia, son
historia. En este momento, como lo cuenta AdamIsacson (sí, un gringo
sentando en Washington D.C.), hay serios disturbios en el Cauca y El Tiempo
ni lo anota. Tal vez presenten una crónica completísima dentro de diez años.
Chévere.
News is facts, and to write about facts you have to get out from behind your
desk, interview people, search the archives, head out into the mountains.
Massacres, for example, are facts. But in this country the media covers this
type of events with a 10 year difference when they are no longer a news
story, but history. In this moment, as Adam Isacson (yes, a gringo sitting
in Washington D.C.) reports, there are serious disturbances in the Cauca,
and El Tiempo doesn't even have a note on it. Maybe they'll present a full
chronicle of it in ten years. Great.
In Gacetilla Colombiana, a Digg style application for Colombian news,
posters have been linking foreign news as an alternative for those who are
under the “media blackout” on this event, in particular to a major foreign
news chain's video [en] where a citizen media recording shows what could be
an armed but hooded person dressed in green with a rifle going moving
through the mob squad and shooting at the indigenous protesters as the
members of the mob squad move to let him pass. In the blog “Lets Change the
World”, Decio Machado posts the email chain sent out by the Indigenous
groups, the means through which most Colombians have found out about the
crisis. The Selvas.org blog also posts updates on the situation, how
indigenous groups are all marching towards a main city called Cali and
blocking the Panamerican Highway and other roads with 10 000 people,
including cane pickers, farmers women and children.
In the national blogging award winner Tienen Huevo blog, they write
outraged at the fact that at the same time there is an ethnocide going on in
the streets of Colombia, trying to reach Cali, while a fashion and makeup
expo is taking place, with people more concentrated on clothing and fashion
shows than the indigenous situation.
The government has responded to the accusations of opening fire on the
indigenous protesters by saying that they have orders not to shoot, so it
must've been an inside job, someone infiltrated from the indigenous
communities among the police in order to cause panic and bad feeling.
Bacteria Opina blog has a caricature of the situation where two indigenous
protesters comment that in spite of marching with “indigenous malice”, a
phrase used to determine the ability to make do with whatever is doled out
their way, the government is accusing them of being an “indigenous milicia”.
The government has issued statements saying that these indigenous protests
are infiltrated by guerrillas and are terrorist activities, statements the
indigenous communities refute absolutely on their blog.
These other videos online on YouTube show the indigenous community's past
struggles,
Colombia
________________________________________
Breaking: Colombia: Indigenous Protests and Murders Under Media Blackout
By Juliana Rincón Parra
Oct 23, 2008, 19:48
>From Colombia, the indigenous groups in the Cauca department have made an
international SOS to call attention on their plight. They accuse the armed
forces of opening fire with live ammunition during their marches along the
main highways in the country, killing and injuring indigenous protesters.
The government keeps stating that the live fire comes from indigenous
members or confabulated guerrilla infiltrated within the armed forces to
create chaos, and calling these protesters terrorists. The indigenous groups
are marching to ask, among other things, for justice for the thousands of
Indigenous Colombian people murdered in the past years, including community
leaders.
>From Colombia, the indigenous groups in the Cauca department have made an
international SOS to call attention on their plight. On their website,
cric-colombia.org they explain how they have been protesting the human
rights abuses they have been victim of, represented by the murder of one of
their community leaders by hit men and the death threats on other regional
and community leaders and spokespeople. They have requested a public
audience with the Government Officials, and have been protesting since
October 12, demanding the protection of their human rights and making the
government live up to the promises of the signed treaties of the past.
However, it is said that armed government forces, have shot live ammunition
at the protesters, leaving 2 dead and more than 60 indigenous members
injured. On this blog post on the indigenous community site they show
pictures of the protest and the injuries some have sustained as well as the
list of those injured up to October 14th. On October 15th, the armed forces
opened fire once again on the protesters, killing one and leaving 39
injured. They have also blocked the roads and ambulances can't get in to
help those who are hurt and needing assistance. (Links in Spanish unless
otherwise noted)
They write:
"la fuerza publica entró disparando con armas de largo alcance y ya hay 3
heridos mas de gravedad. la fuerza militar entro ya al territorio de dialogo
y negociación.
Se solicita de manera urgente que organismos internacionales frenen esta
violencia. tambien a los pueblos inigenas que refuercen el personal que esta
siendo atacado."
The armed forces came in shooting with long range weapons and there are
already 3 other persons seriously injured. The military forces have barged
into the territory of dialogue and negotiation.
We urgently request international organizations to stop this violence. Also
for the indigenous communities to get more people to back those who have
been attacked.
The indigenous community has been sending emails and posting on their
website[es] updates on the situation.
The following video was posted last week by user nasacin, including
cellphone and video camera images from the manifestations, clips showing
shot indigenous community members, a soldier speaking about the differences
between the Mob Control ESMAD and the armed forces, stating that the armed
forces are to keep the peace, and the ESMAD is the one in charge of defusing
violent situations. However, when asked who it is that is shooting with
rifles, the soldier doesn't answer.
Blogger Alejandro Peláez last week wrote of how foreign media is reporting
on the indigenous protests, but local media hadn't published anything at
all:
Las noticias son hechos, y para escribir sobre hechos toca salir del
escritorio, entrevistar personas, buscar en archivos, viajar al monte . Las
masacres, por ejemplo, son hechos. Pero en este país los medios cubren este
tipo de hechos con diez años de diferencia y ahí ya no son noticia, son
historia. En este momento, como lo cuenta AdamIsacson (sí, un gringo
sentando en Washington D.C.), hay serios disturbios en el Cauca y El Tiempo
ni lo anota. Tal vez presenten una crónica completísima dentro de diez años.
Chévere.
News is facts, and to write about facts you have to get out from behind your
desk, interview people, search the archives, head out into the mountains.
Massacres, for example, are facts. But in this country the media covers this
type of events with a 10 year difference when they are no longer a news
story, but history. In this moment, as Adam Isacson (yes, a gringo sitting
in Washington D.C.) reports, there are serious disturbances in the Cauca,
and El Tiempo doesn't even have a note on it. Maybe they'll present a full
chronicle of it in ten years. Great.
In Gacetilla Colombiana, a Digg style application for Colombian news,
posters have been linking foreign news as an alternative for those who are
under the “media blackout” on this event, in particular to a major foreign
news chain's video [en] where a citizen media recording shows what could be
an armed but hooded person dressed in green with a rifle going moving
through the mob squad and shooting at the indigenous protesters as the
members of the mob squad move to let him pass. In the blog “Lets Change the
World”, Decio Machado posts the email chain sent out by the Indigenous
groups, the means through which most Colombians have found out about the
crisis. The Selvas.org blog also posts updates on the situation, how
indigenous groups are all marching towards a main city called Cali and
blocking the Panamerican Highway and other roads with 10 000 people,
including cane pickers, farmers women and children.
In the national blogging award winner Tienen Huevo blog, they write
outraged at the fact that at the same time there is an ethnocide going on in
the streets of Colombia, trying to reach Cali, while a fashion and makeup
expo is taking place, with people more concentrated on clothing and fashion
shows than the indigenous situation.
The government has responded to the accusations of opening fire on the
indigenous protesters by saying that they have orders not to shoot, so it
must've been an inside job, someone infiltrated from the indigenous
communities among the police in order to cause panic and bad feeling.
Bacteria Opina blog has a caricature of the situation where two indigenous
protesters comment that in spite of marching with “indigenous malice”, a
phrase used to determine the ability to make do with whatever is doled out
their way, the government is accusing them of being an “indigenous milicia”.
The government has issued statements saying that these indigenous protests
are infiltrated by guerrillas and are terrorist activities, statements the
indigenous communities refute absolutely on their blog.
These other videos online on YouTube show the indigenous community's past
struggles,
Federico Ruiz posts a play-by-play ping-pong match style summary of events
up until Saturday:
los indígenas decretan un paro, el gobierno lo declara ilegal, los indígenas
se toman la panamericana, el gobierno manda a una fuerza especial
antimotines de la policía para que desbloqueen las carreteras, más indígenas
se suman a las movilizaciones, el procurador de la nación dice que va a los
diálogos, el presidente dice que está muy ocupado para ir a resolver el
problema, los de la policía intentan desbloquear la carretera a las malas,
los indígenas dicen que no se van porque les tienen que arreglar sus
problemas y cumplirles los compromisos que les habían hecho hace como 15
años y que están en ese link que es una “carta abierta al presidente”, entre
tanto en las protestas matan a un indígena y hieren como a 10 según las
informaciones de El Tiempo, pero que en realidad no son 10 sino 90 según lo
dicen los indígenas, y los de la policía dicen que en la manifestación o en
el paro hay infiltrados de la guerrilla, los indígenas dicen que no, y justo
luego los indígenas descubren que si hay un infiltrado pero que justamente
es policía y que tenía unos panfletos de las farc y unas armas para
encochinar a los indígenas, y por si fuera poco, justo llega el defensor
regional del pueblo, o sea un representante del gobierno, y dice que “la
Fuerza Pública se ha excedido en el uso de las armas de fuego”.
The indigenous groups decree a strike, the government declares it is
illegal, the indians take the panamerican, the government sends a a special
force of riot police to unblock the highways, more indians join the marches,
the nation's procurer states they are going to dialogue about this, the
president says he is too busy to go solve the problem, the police tries to
unblock the road the “bad” way, the indians say they are not leaving because
the government has to keep their promise to solve their issues as stated in
a 15 year old treaty, that there is an open letter to the president,
meanwhile in the protest an aboriginal is killed and 10 are injured
according to El Tiempo [ed note. national newspaper], but really they aren't
10 but 90 according to the indigenous organizations, the police state that
in the march and strike there are people infiltrated from the guerrilla, the
indigenous people say there aren't, and just then the indians discober that
there IS someone infiltrated, but that he is from the police force and had
some FARC (Colombian Armed Forces) pamphlets and weapons to incriminate the
natives, and if it weren't enough, the regional defender for the people, a
government representative, comes and says that the “Armed Forces have
exceeded themselves in the use of fire weapons”.
EDITED to add:
The organization who sent in the recording of the hooded shooter among the
mob squad team have uploaded it online with other images of the protests.
The images of the shooter amongst the mob squad, shooting at protesters
starts at 1:44. They also add images of President Uribe calling military
leaders to ask about the murders of the protesters, to which the military
replied it was a shrapnel wounds from a pipe bomb and wasn't a bullet
injury.The indigenous people are also shown with segments of a handmade
grenade full of metal pieces and ball bearings they claim the armed forces
are using against them.
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9117240&source=rss_news
Update: McCain protests YouTube's removal of his campaign videos
GOP candidate says YouTube acted too quickly to comply with copyright
notices that are 'without merit'
By Heather Havenstein
October 15, 2008 (Computerworld) Republican presidential candidate John
McCain is accusing YouTube LLC of acting too quickly to comply with
copyright infringement notices by yanking his campaign videos.
McCain's campaign sent a letter Monday to YouTube parent company Google
Inc., protesting YouTube's removal of unnamed videos from the site after
receiving take-down notices claiming copyright infringement under the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The McCain camp goes on to suggest
that YouTube set up a special process for reviewing the legal merit of
take-down requests for YouTube accounts associated with candidates or their
campaigns.
The letter asserts that numerous times during the campaign, YouTube removed
videos that do not violate the DMCA, but instead are examples of fair use of
material because the videos included less than 10 seconds of footage from
news broadcasts. The use of material from news broadcasts is protected as
fair use under the DMCA, McCain's letter claims, because the videos are
noncommercial uses of the material, the material is factual and brief, and
the videos don't affect the market for the allegedly infringed material.
"Overreaching copyright claims have resulted in the removal of noninfringing
campaign videos from YouTube, thus silencing political speech," according to
the letter.
Despite the "complete lack of merit in these copyright claims," YouTube has
removed McCain's campaign videos immediately upon receipt of the take-down
notices, the letter goes on to note.
"It is unfortunate because it deprives the public of the ability to freely
and easily view and discuss the most popular political videos of the day,"
according to the letter. "Nothing in the DMCA requires a host like YouTube
to comply automatically with the take-down notices, while blinding itself
from their legal merit."
The McCain campaign went on to propose that YouTube commit to a full legal
review of all take-down notices on videos posted from accounts controlled by
political campaigns and candidates.
"Surely, the protection of core political speech and the protection of the
central role of YouTube has come to play in the country's political
discourse is worth the small amount of additional legal work our proposal
would require."
In a letter sent yesterday to the McCain campaign, YouTube said that
performing a substantial legal review of every DMCA take-down notice that it
receives is not a "viable solution."
It is not possible because of the scale of YouTube's operations, the letter
said. "Any such review would have to include a determination of whether a
particular use is a 'fair use' under the law, which is a complex and
fact-specific test that requires the subjective balancing of four factors,"
the letter said. "No number of lawyers could determine with a reasonable
level of certainty whether all the videos for which we receive disputed
take-down notices qualify as fair use."
In addition, YouTube does not have the required information about the
content in user-uploaded videos, such as the source of the content and
ownership rights, to make the determination as to whether a take-down notice
includes a valid claim of infringement, YouTube said.
"Moreover, while we agree with you that the U.S. presidential
election-related content is invaluable and worthy of the highest level of
protection, there is a lot of other content on our global site that our
users around the world find to be equally important, including by way of
example only political campaigns from around the globe at all levels of
government, human rights movements and other important voices. We try to be
careful not to favor one category of content on our site over others."
Mike Masnick, president and CEO of IT research firm Techdirt, noted that it
is rare to see politicians delving into the fair use issue.
"This is impressive and somewhat unexpected," he noted in a blog post. "It's
certainly not an issue you'd expect to see raised by a presidential
candidate (of either party). I'm sure the McCain campaign recognizes that
YouTube is completely within its legal rights to automatically pull down the
content, but in sending this letter the campaign is suggesting that,
specific to videos put up by either political campaign (the letter cc's the
Obama campaign), that YouTube take into account fair use."
He further noted that the real issue has nothing to do with Google or
YouTube, but in the way the DMCA itself is structured.
"Since it provides clear safe harbor for a recipient of a take-down notice
if they take down the content, it's a reasonable business decision to simply
take down the content and then follow the proper procedures for letting the
uploader file a response notice," Masnick wrote. "While it certainly would
be nice for YouTube to take into account fair use before deciding whether or
not to pull down the content, the real problem is with the law itself, and
the incentives it puts in place for any recipient of such a letter."
He suggested that McCain or Democratic candidate Barack Obama push to have
the legislation changed so that DMCA explicitly notes that recipients of
take-down notices can keep their protection under fair use if they refuse to
take down content because they believe the content in question is a fair use
of the material.
The DMCA has taken center stage in the $1 billion copyright infringement
lawsuit filed against Google by Viacom last year alleging that YouTube
violates Viacom's copyrights by showing unauthorized video clips.
President Bush signed into law yesterday a bill aimed at bolstering
protection of intellectual property like software, films and music by
raising penalties for infringement and creating a national "IP czar."
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2008/10/16/taiwan-an-online-protest-against-american-institute/
Taiwan: An online protest against the American Institute in Taiwan
Thursday, October 16th, 2008 @ 08:26 UTC
In September, Taiwanese artist Chen Chieh-jen started a website against the
American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) called, “I suspect that you intend to
stow away to the U.S.”.
When he was invited to attend New Orleans Biennial, he went to the AIT to
apply for a U.S. non-immigrant visa (business/tourist visa) at 12:45pm on
September 23, 2008. When he delivered his application documents, he was told
that there was an error in his document. He asked what the error was, but
the officer yelled at him arrogantly, “Come here! Do you want to argue with
me? I suspect that you intend to stow away to the U.S.”
After the accident, he left the AIT and claimed,
我當然要拒絕被這樣的羞辱，更不會再去申請美國簽證。
I surely reject this kind of humiliation, and I will never apply for a U.S.
visa again.
Moreover, he invited others to share their experience if they faced a
similar situation. He said,
我相信這個世界總是被點點滴滴的緩慢改變，我誠摯地邀請有類似經驗的人，無論是親身經歷、身旁朋友的經驗，或是你曾目擊的過程，都希望你能在這個部落格上留下你的見證。當這許許多多的經驗聚集起來時，或許能幫助我們想：我們為什麼會被如此對待？我們可以如何改變它？
I believe this world will be changed slowly, little by little. I sincerely
invited people who have has a similar experience, either your own experience
or your friends' experience or what you have seen, to write down your
testimony in this blog. These gathered experiences may help us think: why
are we treated this way? What can we do to change the situation?
There are many people leaving message in his blog supporting his protest.
“usa ng” is one of them.
我很好奇為什麼有人會認為：用粗暴的語言和態度對待一個文件沒有填妥的簽證申請人是合理態度。
I am curious about why some people think it is reasonable to use abusive
language and attitude toward a visa applicant when his or her document has
some errors.
“Anonymous” thought U.S. government needs to clarify what these official are
empowered to do,
美國政府賦予簽證官員懷疑簽證者有偷渡嫌疑，卻沒有賦予官員有污辱人的權力。官員有權拒簽，卻不能口出惡言。
The U.S. government empowered these officials to suspect applicants as to
whether they intend to stow away to the U.S. However, these officials are
not empowered to humiliate visa applicants. These officials have power to
reject an application, but they should not use abusive language.
In his blog, some people shared their sad stories about the consequences of
their failures applying for U.S. visas. “Juliet” talked about what the AIT
official said when her visa application was rejected before her grandpa in
the U.S. died.
爺爺在美國病危… 面試官只花了3分鐘看我的文件, 還是把我的資料退回. 我用”英文”說明這位親人已經是”美國公民” 只是想看我一面而已.
我當時在台灣有工作, 也不打算當個無業遊民. 面試官回了我一句話: Then you can ask airline company to send
your grandfather back … 我只冷冷的回他一句話: You're heartless (你沒心干的) 就走了. 3天後我的爺爺去世,
我自從1997年就再也沒有再見過他.
My grandpa in the U.S. was about to die… the official spent three minutes
reading my document but returned it. I spoke in “English” and told the
official this relative of mine was a “U.S. citizen,” and what he hoped was
to see me again. I have a job in Taiwan, and I do not plan to be homeless.
The official said, “Then you can ask the airline company to send your
grandfather back.”… I told him without any emotion, “You're heartless,” and
left. Three days later, my grandpa died, and I had not seen him since 1997.
“Luka's” mother did not get a visa to attend her wedding ceremony in the
U.S., and “Luka” does not think AIT's reasons for rejecting her mother's
application are convincing.
我剛和美國公民結婚. 一年當中,幫我媽媽申請了三次觀光簽證…第一次是AIT懷疑我會跳機,連帶拒絕我媽媽的觀光簽證申請, 面試時一個問題都沒問媽媽,
就被拒了…第三次,媽媽帶著我美國結婚證書正本,證明我在美合法性. AIT在不到三分鐘的面試當中, 說”你已經有被拒的紀錄,規定就是不行,
下一位!”…我老公以美國公民身份請美國參議員發函至AIT, 詢問到底要怎樣才能讓我媽來美國…AIT回覆美國參議員,說我媽媽無法提供跟台灣社會上,
經濟上, 家庭上足夠的聯繫(Tie), 所以無法通過. 可是AIT面試時完全乎略我媽媽在台灣有其他兒子, 女兒, 孫子的事實…只教條式認定,
喪偶的單身女子, 無工作, 無大存款, 等於”想偷渡”. 就這樣, 上星期六我們過了一個沒有女方家長的婚宴…
I just got married to a U.S. citizen. In the past year, I helped my mother
apply for a tourist visa three times… but her application was rejected
mercilessly. For the first time, AIT suspected that I would stow away and
rejected my application. My mother's application was rejected too without
asking her any questions… For the third time, my mother brought my marriage
certificate issued by U.S. government to prove that I am staying in the U.S.
legally. However, within three minutes, AIT said, “you have a record of
being rejected, so I cannot issue you a visa. Next!”… My husband, a U.S.
citizen, asked a senator to send a letter to AIT inquiring what we could do
to let my mother come to the U.S… AIT replied to the senator and said my
mother could not provide enough social, economic, and family ties with
Taiwan, so they could not issue her a visa. However, AIT ignored that my
mother had other sons, daughters, and grandchildren in Taiwan… Based on
their understanding, a single woman whose husband has died, without a job,
and without impressive savings equals “having intention to stow away to the
U.S.” As a result, last Saturday we had our wedding ceremony without my
mother…
Some stories are less sad but full of angry. “Akemi” criticized that AIT
officials misuse their power.
這位先生，他竟然告訴我，如果我不告訴他我要上班，他就不讓我過關…就這樣我就莫名其妙的在一個外人威脅下在一大堆陌生人面前宣示說，好啦我一定會快點找工作，來換取我的美國簽證。
This official told me that if I did not tell him I will start to work, he
will not let me pass…As a result, I was threatened by a stranger and made a
claim in front of a group of strangers such as, “ok, I will try to find a
job soon,” in order to get my U.S. visa.
“Anonymous” tried to analyze why applicants have so much psychological
stress when going to AIT.
美國的資料顯示,台灣人辦美簽被拒絕的比例約是4-5%,但卻有那麼多人對美簽有那麼多“害怕辦不過“或是不滿的情緒,顯 示這當中不只是refusal
rate的問題,而是在過程中是否受到合理的對待? 是否在辦的過與半不過之間我們可以找到一套合理的標準,而不是主觀的,情緒性的判定。
Data presented by the U.S. government shows that the refusal rate of
Taiwanese applicants is 4-5%. However, there are so many people afraid that
their application will be rejected or who are angry with the process. These
complaints indicate that it is not only about the refusal rate, it is about
whether applicants are treated reasonably, and if there is an acceptable
standard for accepting or rejecting applications instead of the officials'
objective and emotional judgment.
On the other hand, some people, including “anonymous“, reflected on how the
Taiwanese government issues visas for foreigners.
除了新聞播出的外籍配偶面談常被刁難與問一些隱私問題外…（在越南）當地人為了辦
來台簽證要花好幾天輾轉搭車到市區,然後在門外排好幾天的長龍,進去申辦也會被刁難,不見得一次拿得到簽證,所以仔細想想,我們跟美國其實也是5步笑百步.
In addition to the difficulties and privacy issues faced by many foreign
spouses of Taiwanese in the media… (In Vietnam,) it takes locals several
days to take buses to downtown, and then they need to line up for several
days outside the embassy. After they enter the embassy, they are also
interrogated and may not get their visa if they only try once. If we think
about this, what our government does to foreigners is similar to what the
U.S. government does to us.
http://www.kmov.com/topstories/stories/kmov-national-news-081014-woman-url-name.1106b9bbf.html
Woman changes name to URL to protest
10:03 AM CDT on Tuesday, October 14, 2008
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) -- You can call her CutoutDissection.com, Cutout for
short, but just don't call her Jennifer.
The former Jennifer Thornburg -- whose driver's license now reads
Dissection.com, Cutout -- wanted to do something to protest animal
dissections in schools.
The 19-year-old's new name is also the Web address for an anti-dissection
page of the site for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, where she
is interning.
"I normally do have to repeat my name several times when I am introducing
myself to someone new," she told The Asheville Citizen-Times. "Once they
find out what my name is, they want to know more about what the Web site is
about."
The Asheville High School graduate who's working in Virginia said she began
opposing dissections in middle school after a class assignment to cut up a
chicken wing made her uncomfortable. She helped create a policy at her high
school that allows students who object to dissections to complete an
alternative assignment.
Despite her legally changing the name, she said most of her family members
still call her Jennifer.
"It will take me a while," said her dad, Duane Thornburg, who lives in
Daytona Beach, Fla. "She's still Jennifer to me. I understand why she's done
it. Believe it or not, I totally respect it."
A CD showing the treatment of animals before they are dissected finally
convinced him to support his daughter's cause, he said.
http://rinf.com/alt-news/surveillance-big-brother/terrorists-benefit-from-us-wiretaps/2348/
Terrorists benefit from US wiretaps?
Friday, February 1st, 2008
Top US computer security experts believe terrorists can derive huge benefits
from the Bush administration’s domestic wiretapping program.
The six experts warned that the US domestic spying program houses vital
information in data centers which can be penetrated, putting national
security at risk.
By diverting the flow of so much domestic data into a few massive pools, the
administration may have “[built] for its opponents something that would be
too expensive for them to build for themselves,” said the IT gurus.
“A system that lets them see the US’ intelligence interests…[and] that might
be turned to exploit conversations and information useful for plotting an
attack on the United States,” they explained.
The top security experts say although the top secret data is buried in
’secure’ rooms within the US National Security Agency’s highly classified
facilities, Washington’s past security breaches indicate that this system
could also be penetrated.
They also add that the FBI’s poorly-designed surveillance technology relies
on a ‘primitive’ system which creates a ‘real risk’ of an insider attack.
Months after the September 11 attacks, President George W. Bush secretly
authorized warrantless eavesdropping by the National Security Agency;
Washington claimed it to be a ‘vital weapon against terrorism’.
SBB/AA
This entry was posted on Friday, February 1st, 2008 at 7:31 pm and is filed
under Surveillance, Civil Liberties & Human Rights News . You can follow any
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or trackback from your own site.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/pandora/pandora-bondage-protest-set-to-spice-up-the-commons-967685.html
Pandora: Bondage protest set to spice up the Commons
By Henry Deedes
Tuesday, 21 October 2008
The photographer Ben Westwood's campaign against the Home Secretary, Jacqui
Smith, is stepping up a notch.
Two months ago, I reported that Westwood, the son of the fashion doyenne
Dame Vivienne, was planning a protest against the Government's Criminal
Justice and Immigration Act 2008, which will come into force in the new
year.
Part of the Act will outlaw anything which might be considered "extreme
pornography". This means that a Westwood book of erotic photographs will
become illegal as of 1 January 2009, and anyone caught in possession of the
work could theoretically receive a three-year jail sentence.
Today, Westwood, above, will begin his protest against the Bill with the
help of a "chain gang" of models and activists from the Consenting Adult
Action Network (CAAN) in what promises to be a lively demonstration. The
models will be "bound and gagged" and dragged through the streets of central
London.
The festivities will kick off at noon at Westminster Tube station, in full
view of the House of Commons.
Police have apparently already been in touch with the organisers to ensure
that Westwood is planning a peaceful protest. Meanwhile, the photographer
says he is making an important stand for human rights. "The Government gets
away with murder when it comes to legislating about our sexual behaviour
because we are a strait-laced nation," he says. "Far too many of us are
embarrassed talking about sex."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_pornography
The consultation stated "it is possible that such material may encourage or
reinforce interest in violent and aberrant sexual activity to the detriment
of society as a whole" but also that they do not have "sufficient evidence
from which to draw any definite conclusions as to the likely long term
impact of this kind of material" and that there was an "absence of
conclusive research results as to its possible negative effects".
The consultation cited the case of Graham Coutts who killed Jane Longhurst,
suggesting a link between violent pornography and the murder. Coutts had
previously accessed websites that offered such pornography, although he had
been practicing erotic asphyxia for five years before exposure to such
material, and had told psychiatrists in 1991 that he feared his thoughts may
lead to criminal behaviour.[13]
The Government also wishes to criminalize possession of the material in
order to attempt to reduce the risk of children coming into contact with it.
The consultation cited a study which reported "57% of all 9-19 year olds
surveyed who use the Internet at least once a week had come into contact
with pornography online", but it did not distinguish between different forms
of pornography, and the government has no plans to criminalize all
pornography for the same reason.
In discussing the 2006 quashing of the conviction of Coutts, Jane
Longhurst's purported killer, a barrister supporting the backlash stance
observed [14] observed:
"Lord Hutton's judgment points out that Coutts had engaged in breath play
sexual games with previous partners years before he started to use internet
porn. The Judge commented that if the same Defendant guilty of the same
conduct been tried before the same jury, but without the evidence that he
used internet porn, the jury would have been very likely to accept that he
did not intend to kill. It is hard to escape the conclusion that the Judge
thought the evidence that Coutts used porn prejudiced the jury and led to
unfounded assumptions about Coutt's intent. What this judgment shows is that
the obsession with criminalizing the users of porn will further prejudice
juries and lead to miscarriages of justice."
In September 2007 the Government published a Rapid Evidence Assessment by
Catherine Itzin, Ann Taket and Liz Kelly, investigating "the evidence of
harm relating to exposure to extreme pornographic material".[15] This was
criticised in a statement signed by over forty academics as being "extremely
poor, based on contested findings and accumulated results. It is one-sided
and simply ignores the considerable research tradition into "extreme" (be
they violent or sexually explicit) materials within the UK's Humanities and
Social Sciences." [16]
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4733438a11.html?source=RSSnationalnews_20081020
Protesters call for release of contempt prisoner
Monday, 20 October 2008
Supporters of an Auckland-based American businessman jailed after failing to
remove material from his website are staging a protest outside Mt Eden
prison this afternoon.
Vince Siemer is serving a six month jail term for contempt of court after
failing to remove the material relating to Auckland accountant Michael
Stiassny.
Siemer's supporters say he was jailed unlawfully on an unproven allegation
of defamation.
The protest calling for his release is planned for 3.30pm.
Siemer had filed court action in order to be released from jail until he
appeals the sentence later this month, but the Supreme Court dismissed his
application on Friday.
- NZPA
http://www.clntranslations.org/article/35/workers-fight-to-save-their-union-activists
Effective use of internet blogs
Another remarkable feature of this case has been the effective publicity
work carried out by union members and – in particular – an “advisor” (guwen)
to the union, Mr. Zhang Jun, the husband of fired union activist Liu
Meizhen. Zhang Jun has used an internet blog to accumulate and distribute an
impressive collection of documents in support of the OWYTU struggle.
http://blog.sina.com.cn/youyudzhongguoren
As the Shangdong Evening Press article (available for download above) points
out, Mr Zhang Jun himself has played a unique role in this struggle. We have
never before heard of an “advisor” representing a Chinese trade union in
negotiations with management and with upper levels of the ACFTU. In this
very complicated case, the Fushan District Trade Union has behaved
ambivalently in relation to Zhang. The district union recognizes Zhang as a
negotiating partner, but at the same time tries hard to publicly discredit
him. Zhang does enjoy some support from the national ACFTU, and this surely
influences the local Fushan union’s treatment of him. Given Zhang’s novel
role in this saga, it is worth wondering whether in future this might be a
way of involving actors from outside the ACFTU and the government in trade
union negotiations.
At the time when this posting is uploaded the struggle is still continuing.
http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?at_code=434706
Candlelight 2008: New Media and Korea's Protests
OhmyNews Forum examines the latest role taken on by online communities here
Ida Grandas (jezaky)
Email Article Print Article
Published 2008-06-28 16:23 (KST)
The 4th OhmyNews Forum was held at Seoul's Digital Media City, June 27.
©2008 OhmyNews Nam S.Y.
When the candlelight vigils started in Seoul in May, it was not flags of
labour unions that were seen at the front lines, but the flags of the
Internet community Agora. It was not the big newspaper and broadcasting
companies that people turned to to get information about what was going on,
but to webcasts, blogs, and Internet communities.
On Friday, citizen reporters, "broadcasting jockeys", members of Internet
communities and bloggers gathered at the OhmyNews' fourth International
Citizens Reporters' Forum held in Nurtikum Business Tower in Seoul. Under
the theme "Candlelight 2008," they discussed how the candlelight vigils are
changing the media leadership in Korea. The forum was broadcast live over
the Internet, and netizens could participate through an online forum.
Before the candle light vigils, Afreeca, a popular Korean web-portal for
web-casting, and Agora, was mainly used for entertainment. People published
videos for fun and discussed topics as food, celebrities and music. But
during the last two months, Afreeca have become the main platform for
webcasting the protests and the members of Agora has been organizing
themselves to participate in the protests.
Furthermore, the number of visitors to citizen journalist sites such as
Afreeca and OhmyNews have been steadily increasing. On the days of the
largest protests, OhmyNews even reached up to the same numbers of visitors
as the big newspapers in Korea.
Many panelists in the forum pointed out that the vigils have changed the
definition of what is news and who is a reporter. With simple equipment,
such as a camera and notebook, anyone can blog and broadcast.
"I am not a professional journalist. I don't want to become one either,"
said Na Dong-hyuk, a broadcasting jockey for RK paradigm. When the candle
light vigils started, Na observed how media was only scratching on the
surface of the events. He felt that there was a need to show more and
started a webcast diary. Many times, he found himself present when no other
media was present.
Jin Joong-kwon, professor at Joong'ang University, and broadcasting jockey
of live webcasts from New Progressive Party, was observing how people who
were are passive views of the webcasts turned into active participants of
the protests.
"The low resolution made people feeling closer to what was happening," he
said, "It stimulated people's feelings."
Online communities have played a similar role. Kwak Min-jung, member of
Internet Beauty Cafe, felt that she had to take a stand after she had
followed the discussion of her community.
"Before, I've never participated in any demonstration. I was never
interested in social issues," she said. "Now, I don't go home for days, I
sleep in the streets, I don't wash."
Participation of online communities, webcasting, and blogs are creating a
more bottom-up culture, making people active instead of only following
leaders. As a result, the leadership of media is changing. Instead of
waiting for the traditional media to change, people are taking things in
their own hands.
The webcasting during the candle light vigils have also affected traditional
media. Ko Jae-yul, reporter at the weekly magazine SisaIN, explained how the
young reporters of his magazine wanted to start webcasting, too. First, the
idea seemed not in line with the fact that SinsaIN is a weekly magazine. But
once they started webcasting, the visits of their web page increased and
they met many of their readers who had positive comments in the streets.
"The competition between the netizens and the news can lead to an
improvement of democracy in Korea," Oh Yeon-ho, founder and CEO of OhmyNews,
said. He pointed at that new media shouldn't replace old media, but instead,
they should borrow from each other.
"The candlelight republic is changing the way of participating," said Oh.
http://www.linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=2008-08-25-011-35-NW-LL
Protest Against Software Patents - Candle Light Vigil at Bangalore
Aug 25, 2008, 00 :02 UTC (0 Talkback[s]) (2318 reads)
(Other stories by Sandip Bhattacharya)
"The issue was to send out a message against vested interests in the
government and industry who are clandestinely trying to legalise software
patents in India even after existing legislation disallowed it."
http://www.noooxml.org/forum/t-93970/norwegians-leave-their-standards-body-in-protest
Norwegians leave their Standards Body in protest
zoobab 1 Oct 2008, 22:57 +0100
13 members of the TC in Norway has left their Standards Body in protest.
They say that the Standards Body has lost its credibility in the IT area.
Remember that Standards Norway was voting Yes with the support of only 2
companies (Microsoft and Statoil), and against the will of the rest of the
technical committee (read our previous article "Norway: 21 "No", 2 "Yes" and
Microsoft still gets its way?"). Here is also a list of irregularities of
the broken Norwegian process.
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/529686-saudi-residents-set-up-web-protest-over-65mn-plan
Saudi residents set up web protest over $6.5mn plan
by Andy Sambidge on Tuesday, 02 September 2008
CITY PROTEST: Residents in Jeddah are fuming over plans to redevelop their
districts. (Getty Images)
Residents in a district of Jeddah have created a web forum to voice
complaints about a series of new developments that they fear could leave
them out of pocket.
People in the city's Al-Nuzlah district fear the projects valued at SR25
million will force them to sell their properties for what they claim is
inadequate compensation.
The Jeddah Municipality has signed a contract with the Jeddah Development
and Urban Recreation Company to develop several districts in the southern
parts of the city, including Khuzam area, Al-Nuzlah, Al-Sabeel and
Al-Qurayyat districts.
Now, residents have set up the forum - www.nozla.com - which talks about a
“war against the municipality”, according to Arab News on Tuesday.
Locals filed a complaint with the Municipal Council on Monday demanding more
information about the details of the plan and what alternative housing
options will be provided, if any, to the displaced residents.
Because many of the residents lack the deeds of the land that their houses
are built on, compensation would be for an amount based on the equity of the
land, but excluding the value of the land itself.
http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2008/sep/02/nation/chi-mexico-facebook_avilasep02
Archive for Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Mexicans add modern tool to ancient art of protest: Facebook
Online hub of protests still has limited reach
By Oscar Avila
September 02, 2008
MEXICO CITY -
The protest is an art form in Mexico. Load up a bus by offering a meal or a
few pesos as an incentive, arm the troops with signs and bullhorns, and find
a strategic plaza or street for maximum attention or disruption.
But with outrage bubbling after the kidnapping and murder of a teenage boy,
a 27-year-old teacher has found a new way to rally Mexicans, a modern tool
known here by its English name: Facebook.
On a whim, America Aleman organized an anti-crime march on her Facebook
page, the same one she uses to send party invitations to her 1,000
“friends.” In just two weeks, her event page added tens of thousands of
supporters on the social-networking site, and Aleman became a regular on
Mexico’s largest media outlets.
The Mexico City power brokers behind a competing march were so impressed by
Aleman’s cyber-organizing that they asked to combine efforts and installed
her on the steering committee for a candlelight march Saturday that drew
more than 100,000 in Mexico City.
Although only a fraction joined via Facebook, Aleman’s efforts show how
similar sites such as MySpace can hold sway in developing democracies.
Earlier this year, those sites fueled “One Million Voices Against the FARC,”
a series of marches against the leftist Colombian rebel group.
But some scholars worry that the Internet, rather than promoting democracy,
can end up placing power in the hands of elites with online access. The
majority of Latin Americans would find themselves shut out.
Only about 1 in 10 Mexican households, for example, has Internet access
compared with about 55 percent of households in the United States, according
to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the U.S.
Census Bureau.
But in Mexico City, Aleman said she was moved to act after 14-year-old
Fernando Marti, the son of a retail magnate, was abducted on his way to
school. Marti’s body was found weeks later, stuffed in a car’s trunk.
Much of the initial grief came from other young Mexicans, posting videos on
YouTube and sending messages through Hi5, a Web site popular in Latin
America.
Armed with her pink Apple laptop, Aleman told her Facebook friends: We have
to do something. Aleman, who had once been assaulted at gunpoint, created a
page touting a nationwide mobilization planned for this Sunday.
With Facebook, users get word when their “friends” join an organization or
plan to attend an event. If they are curious, they can access the event page
and sign up themselves. With one click, they can spread the message to their
own contacts.
Informality is a key
Aleman’s march eventually merged with this past Saturday’s event, but the
Facebook page became a multimedia forum for dialogue. Participants have
posted videos, photos and news articles, including one showing that Mexico
is the most vulnerable nation for kidnapping.
“That is unacceptable,” one participant lamented.
The news is supplemented by Aleman’s e-mails to participants, in which she
urges them to attend. ”Porfa,” she says, a casual way of saying por favor,
or please.
“I don’t want to get this message out in the ‘formal’ way. We want to do in
the way we young people talk, the slang, etc. That way, it comes off as
real,” she said. “We need to get the youth to be part of it because we are
the most cynical of all Mexicans.”
But the Internet mobilization has reinforced the undertones of class behind
the march, which specifically responds to a spike in kidnappings in Mexico
City. Those kidnappings often target rich Mexicans who can afford to pay
ransom.
“We have poor women dying in [the border city of] Ciudad Juarez, but we
don’t see national protests for them,” said Arturo Alvarado, a sociologist
at the College of Mexico who specializes in security and democratic
development. “This protest, and this issue, originates from the middle class
and bourgeois, the ones affected by kidnappings.”
Luis Gomez, a political scientist at the National Autonomous University of
Mexico, added: “Every individual, in terms of human rights, has the same
value. Nevertheless, in this country we are used to seeing more pressure
when this happens to an elite.”
And then there is the question of whether Internet protests are an
empowering tool or yet another way to exclude those Latin Americans. For
every Mexican contemplating an iPhone purchase, like Aleman, many more are
trying to find their next meal.
In Venezuela, for example, President Hugo Chavez played the class card when
university students organized a series of protests, relying heavily on chat
rooms and text messages. They were nothing but spoiled little rich kids, he
said.
Internet as complement
But in Colombia, blogger Juliana Rincon said Facebook played an empowering
role in the anti-FARC effort because opponents of the rebel group were given
space to debate the issue and post links defending their positions. The
movement also gained strength as it added support from abroad, including a
simultaneous protest in downtown Chicago.
Still, Rincon was realistic about the potential and limitations of the
Internet.
“I’m not sure how ‘democratic’ it really was,” Rincon said by phone from the
Colombian city of Medellin. “Yes, anyone can register their opinion but, for
someone living in the countryside, they generally don’t have the tools or
knowledge to fully participate.”
Aleman defended Facebook organizing and said Internet cafes were making the
messages more accessible to the general public. She said the Internet can
complement the activists who are passing out fliers at subway stations.
“I thought if I could go out there to protest, with one more person, that it
would be fine,” Aleman said. “Thankfully, that ‘one other person’ has become
thousands more.”
oavila at tribune.com
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/01/BU6812K321.DTL
Backlash against ISP ad tracking for profit
Anick Jesdanun, Associated Press
Monday, September 1, 2008
(09-01) 04:00 PST New York -- It sounded like a winning proposition - free
money - for Internet access providers. By tracking their subscribers'
personal Web surfing habits, they could help deliver ads targeted to the
consumers' interests, and claim a share of the burgeoning online advertising
market dominated by Internet search companies.
But those efforts to sniff out consumers' interests are running into the
ditch.
A slow-building privacy storm moved in on NebuAd Inc., the Redwood City
startup that can facilitate the Web tracking. And its potential partners,
the Internet service providers, failed to make the case that they should be
in the ad business at all, rather than simply being the pipes that pass
Internet traffic back and forth.
One by one, cable and telephone companies that had conducted trials using
NebuAd's ad-serving system have indefinitely suspended expansion plans. In
interviews, executives at the Internet access providers blamed an
unfavorable climate as Congress considers tightening federal oversight.
"A bunch of them have dropped (NebuAd) like hot potatoes," said Gigi Sohn,
president of the advocacy group Public Knowledge.
Annmarie Sartor, a spokeswoman for broadband provider CenturyTel Inc., said
the company was ready to proceed until "Congress started questioning
privacy."
"We were going to launch this summer," she said. "The trial, from our
viewpoint, was successful."
Bresnan Communications LLC, the Washington Post Co.'s Cable One Inc. and
Knology Inc. also have ended trials without immediate plans to move forward,
joining the previously disclosed suspensions by Embarq Corp. and
WideOpenWest. Charter Communications Inc. dropped plans for a summer pilot
because of the scrutiny.
Although NebuAd claimed late last year that Internet providers representing
millions of customers run NebuAd's system, it's unclear how many, if any,
partners remain.
NebuAd, whose chief executive, Bob Dykes, spoke freely with the Associated
Press about its plans several months ago, declined to comment for this
story. Spokeswoman Janet McGraw said via e-mail, "We do not have any
specific business updates at this point."
The system works with Internet service providers to scan customers' Web
traffic for patterns. Then NebuAd determines which advertisements are likely
to interest those customers.
The thinking is that Internet users are more likely to pay attention and
find advertising less annoying if the pitches are relevant to them. For
Internet service providers, the rise of NebuAd means they could share in ad
revenue now going mostly to the networks of Web sites affiliated with Google
Inc., Yahoo Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Time Warner Inc.'s AOL.
Yet questions have emerged about how well its partner Internet service
providers are informing subscribers and getting their consent, and whether
the ISPs need permission from Web sites as well.
Complaints about NebuAd largely failed to get much attention until Charter,
the nation's fourth-largest cable access provider, began notifying customers
of its planned trial. A House subcommittee took notice and held a hearing in
mid-July, after a similar one in the Senate.
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/2046580
Malaysia bans anti-government website
11:11PM Friday August 29, 2008
Source: Reuters
Malaysia has pulled the plug on a popular news portal often critical of the
government, sparking protests from a resurgent opposition.
Malaysia's telecoms watchdog ordered internet providers to block access to
Malaysia Today (www.malaysia-today.net) website because it posted comments
that could incite the country's multi-racial society, a government official
said on Friday.
Home (Interior) Minister Syed Hamid said Malaysia Today's editor Raja Petra
Kamaruddin had ignored warnings from the watchdog to abide by the law.
"We do not intend to curtail people's freedom or right to express
themselves. Everyone is subjected to the law, even websites and blogs," the
Star newspaper on Friday quoted him as saying.
It is believed to be the first time such curbs have been used against a
non-pornographic website. Malaysians have been flocking to the Internet for
independent news as an alternative to tightly controlled mainstream media.
The ruling came as Anwar Ibrahim was sworn in on Thursday as a member of
parliament and took his seat as the new opposition leader.
His return following an enforced 10-year absence could curtail the
government's ability to form policy as well as step up confrontations
between the government and the opposition.
The opposition derided the website ban as another example of power abuse by
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's government.
It also ran contrary to the government's pledge to keep cyberspace
uncensored, said Lim Kit Siang, leader of the Democratic Action Party, part
of Anwar's opposition alliance.
"This is merely the first step in a comprehensive and reprehensible attempt
to curb the access of conscientious Malaysians to the Internet," Anwar's
Parti Keadilan Rakyat said.
Raja Petra said the move came as a surprise to him.
"I didn't think that they would go ahead because their own charter
guarantees no-censorship," he said. "This is the first time they officially
blocked my website."
Raja Petra has drawn a huge fan base as well as lawsuits for publishing
articles and sensitive documents on his website.
Last week, police raided his house and seized a laptop, a scanner and some
documents, domestic media said.
The website was not available in Malaysia on Friday, but a message directed
readers to a mirrored site (http://mt.harapanmalaysia.com/2008/) which could
be accessed.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/09/15/financial/f042631D00.DTL
Newspapers cry foul over Yahoo-Google ad deal
Monday, September 15, 2008
(09-15) 06:27 PDT PARIS, France (AP) --
The World Association of Newspapers says it opposes a pending deal on
advertising between Yahoo Inc. and Google Inc. The Paris-based group wants
European and U.S. regulators to block the deal on antitrust grounds.
WAN says the agreement would reduce the cost of paid search advertising and
lower revenues for newspapers' and others' Web sites, which receive payment
from the online giants.
WAN says it fears the deal would give Google "unwarranted" market power in
parts of the online ad business. Yahoo expects the deal to generate $800
million in annual revenue.
Yahoo and Google say the deal only affects North America, but WAN alleged
Monday that European newspapers would be affected.
The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the deal.
http://venturebeat.com/2008/09/10/as-facebook-rolls-out-new-redesign-25-million-users-are-already-protesting/
As Facebook rolls out new redesign, 2.5 million users are already protesting
Eric Eldon | September 10th, 2008
Facebook’s new design will begin to fully replace the old one today,
although its not clear which users will be forced to use it, first. Until
now, users could opt to use the old design, instead.
The company says that nearly a third of its 100 million monthly active users
have already joined the new profile. Meanwhile, a series of protests groups
have sprung up. The three largest ones that I’ve seen total 2.5 [Since I
published a couple hours ago, the number has risen to 2.7] million users.
You can check them out here, here and here.
What’s more, application developers are complaining because Facebook has
taken away a “recently used applications” feature from the new site.
Instead, users have to manually create their own set of bookmarked
applications (see screenshot). More than 95 percent of users have installed
applications — and many love them. So its weird to see Facebook making
another move that potentially makes it harder for applications to be found.
The redesign has already placed all applications into a “box” tab within the
user profile page, whereas applications lived within the profile page on the
old design.
[Update: On the developer front, Facebook has just introduced a new part of
its interface where users can see the icons for applications in the lower
left-hand side. It's not done redesigning the new site, it says.]
While I’ve personally really liked the new profile — it helps me find
interesting information faster, as it intends to do — I’ve also been
concerned that this is not what most people care about. Most people seem to
care about looking at profile pages, playing with apps, etc. As I wrote in
June: “Is Facebook’s redesign aimed at Silicon Valley, not everywhere else?”
Facebook realizes that its long-term value lies in becoming an engaging
social platform, because users will keep coming back to engage with
applications and content. But that means Facebook actually has to observe
and respond to what users want, versus its current modus operandi of telling
them what they want. Facebook needs to facilitate development, heed
user-feedback, and launch features based on that. That’s what Google does
algorithmically with its search results, and after all, Facebook did at one
point want to be the “next Google.”
But in spite of that aspiration, it seems that sometimes Facebook pays more
attention to its publicity than user data, which is ironic since in doing so
it is actually generating a lot of bad press.
This is illustrated with Great Apps, a status it bestows on its favorite
third party applications. Facebook is treating the Platform as a publicity
opportunity, highlighted with selecting Great Apps, which by and large
exclude many of the most popular applications on the Platform. Popular
applications are a reflection of what users want. Great Apps is just PR.
In sum, Facebook is once again betting that it knows best. That worked with
the news feeds, which also saw massive protests when introduced in 2006.
Betting big didn’t work with Beacon, though, an advertising feature that
showed you what your friends were doing on other sites. After a loud,
press-driven outcry, Facebook pulled back on the feature without even
rolling it all the way out.
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/09/05/f-online-protest.html?ref=rss
The rise of Facebook activism
Last Updated: Tuesday, September 9, 2008 | 11:14 AM ET Comments46Recommend80
By Paul Jay, CBC News
More than 90,000 members have joined a Facebook group protesting the
federal government's copyright bill since it was started in December.
(Associated Press)
Copyright reform must have seemed an unlikely hot-button issue in the winter
of 2007 — that is, until 50 protesters arrived at Industry Minister Jim
Prentice's constituency office in Calgary in December.
They were there to voice their complaints about the government's plans to
introduce a bill that would, among other changes, allow copyright holders to
place digital locks on content, thus preventing copies from being made.
The small protest got a huge boost when, in a matter of days, 20,000 people
joined a group protesting the rumoured legislation on the popular social
networking website Facebook.
In part because of the opposition, the introduction of the legislation, Bill
C-61, was delayed until June.
The group, which now has more than 90,000 members, was the brainchild of
University of Ottawa professor Michael Geist, an outspoken critic of both
the substance of the bill and what he says is the government's lack of
public consultation on the issue.
After 7,000 new members joined the group within days of the government's
introduction of the bill, Geist said it was the beginning of a new wave of
political activism on the internet.
"What we've seen over the past 24 hours has been nothing short of
remarkable," he said. "Literally tens of thousands of Canadians are speaking
out with an element of shock that the government would introduce this
legislation in the manner that it has."
Protest spawns imitators
Geist's group stands as one of the most successful examples of "Facebook
activism" — tapping into the ready-made structure of online social networks
to make joining a group as quick as a click of a button.
Its success has spawned imitators in the last year aimed squarely at the
telecommunications industry.
The federal New Democratic Party, for example, seized on public discontent
over changes to text messaging fees at Bell and Telus to start their own
online petition. Their Facebook group protesting the changes has since
attracted more than 37,000 members.
And a petition on a website called ruinediphone.com protesting Rogers
Communications' data rates for Apple's iPhone attracted 56,000 people in
just two weeks and, along with other protests, was able to influence Rogers
to come out with new rates.
The success of these petitions in attracting and bringing together large
groups of people brings up a larger question: how much weight should
government, businesses and other Canadians give a protest that's as easy to
join as a click of a button?
Telecommunications analyst Mark Goldberg thinks the relative ease of adding
a name to a protest group or petition undermines the credibility of these
groups.
"In the old days, businesses used to operate on the assumption that if they
got one angry letter from a customer, it meant there were 10 more people out
there who likely felt the same way," said Goldberg, who also writes a blog
called Telecom Trends.
"But with an online poll, you have no idea how many people it represents.
Does an online vote represent 10 people, or does it even represent half a
person?"
Potential for abuse
The question came up eight years ago in an altogether different manner after
then-Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day proposed tying federal
referendums to petitions that could attract the support of three per cent of
voting Canadians.
Comedian Rick Mercer, then a host of CBC's This Hour Has 22 Minutes, deftly
ridiculed the proposal when he announced an online petition to change Day's
name to "Doris." That petition attracted more than one million people and
garnered international attention.
This Hour Has 22 Minutes' poll had little quality control to determine
whether people were who they said they were, but that was ultimately the
point: tying anything to a petition, particularly one done online, was
asking for abuse of the system.
In theory, attaching a petition to a social network like Facebook mitigates
this problem, since while it would be relatively simple to create a fake
alias using a web mail account, it is more time-consuming to create and fill
a fake Facebook account. While there have been numerous reports of fake
Facebook accounts, the general consensus is that the social network provides
a more reliable structure to judge whether an online petition represents
real protest.
"If you have 50,000 Facebook members, you probably have close to 50,000
frustrated people," said Goldberg. "While I'd be cautious of reading too
much into it, it does suggest for a government or a company that they have a
public relations issue."
Goldberg also questions just how effective Geist's protest and the NDP text
messaging protest really have been. In the case of the copyright bill, the
federal government did eventually introduce the legislation and the
Conservatives are expected to follow through if they win the Oct. 14 federal
election. In the case of the text messaging fees, the government decided
against interfering with Bell and Telus, despite the NDP protest.
"These petitions have been popularized, but I'm not sure they've been
legitimized," Goldberg said. "They may have made their sponsors feel good
about themselves, but I'm not sure they've led to many changes."
Geist says his petition has had an impact, however, in that government
officials are now aware that there is tangible group of people opposing
copyright reform.
"They are obviously aware of both the group and the advocacy that has arisen
from it. I am not sure if they track the postings on the group, but surely
the response that the group has helped foster has captured their attention,"
he wrote to CBC News in an e-mail.
Petitions lead to further activism
Interestingly, it was a flawed petition that has been most influential: the
ruinediphone.com petition was undermined because it initially allowed people
outside of Canada to add their names to the list, yet it remained
instrumental in getting the message of dissatisfaction to Rogers.
Ryerson University communications professor Greg Elmer said an online
petition alone is not particularly influential, but it can be an effective
jumping-off point to further activism.
"What really impressed me about that group was how quickly it split off into
local chapters and into further activism," said Elmer. "People didn't want
to just press a button, they wanted to get together and strategize."
Geist himself thinks petitions are less important than the local activity
and individual actions that follow.
"While a petition can be an effective method of demonstrating interest in an
issue, I believe that the internet allows us to go far beyond the petition,"
he wrote.
Likewise the ruinediphone.com site became a focal point for frustration with
the cellphone industry in general even after Rogers lowered its rates,
according to Graham Fair, a 31-year-old from Vancouver who became the
spokesman for the site when its founder wished to remain anonymous.
Elmer said he sensed a similar shift in approach among activists when he
attended the Personal Democracy Forum in New York City in June.
"There's a real move away from the symbolic act, the 'click here' or 'post
comment here' style of activism. What we're seeing now is a call for a
greater commitment."
It's that commitment to further activism that gives these online petitions
their real teeth, said Elmer.
"There's still a huge divide between the real world and the virtual world,"
he said. "But when you look at the copyright protest, it wasn't just names
on a list, it was people showing up in Prentice's office. I think that
really cemented that these were real people and this was a real issue."
Geist said online and offline activism play off each other and spawn a more
far-reaching kind of protest. For that reason, he expects these kinds of
protests to grow in popularity.
"This is the tip of the iceberg," he wrote. "I think we will see far more
online activism and all organizations — both business and government —
working to respond to the online activity."
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0909/p99s01-duts.html
Vietnam protests hawkish Chinese Web postings
Chinese officials have confirmed that plans posted online for an invasion of
Vietnam do not reflect Beijing's official position. But the postings are
heightening tensions at a time when China seeks to gain control of oil-rich
regions in the South China Sea.
By Jonathan Adams
from the September 10, 2008 edition
The Hanoi government has complained to Beijing about postings on Chinese
websites that detail plans for an invasion of Vietnam. Chinese officials
have dismissed the posts as the ramblings of a hypernationalist minority.
But the diplomatic flare-up is seen as an indication of rising tensions
between the two nations over the potentially oil-rich South China Sea.
There, China has been pressuring Western oil firms to cancel joint
exploration projects with Vietnam in waters that Beijing also claims.
The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that the invasion plans have
been posted on the popular Chinese web portal Sina.com and at least three
other websites. Analysts interviewed by the SCMP characterized the posted
"invasion plans" as the work of kooks, with little military value.
The supposed plans detail a 31-day invasion, starting with five days of
missile strikes from land, sea and air and climaxing in an invasion
involving 310,000 troops sweeping into Vietnam from Yunnan, Guangxi and the
South China Sea. The electronic jamming of Vietnamese command and
communications centers is mentioned, along with the blocking of sea lanes in
the South China Sea....
"Vietnam is the strategic hub of the whole of Southeast Asia. Vietnam has to
be conquered first if Southeast Asia is to be under [China's] control
again," the plans say. "From all perspectives Vietnam is a piece of bone
hard to be swallowed."
The SCMP added that Vietnamese officials were baffled that the postings
remained online after they registered their complaints, since Beijing can
easily block any Web content that has been brought to its attention.
The Straits Times, a Singapore daily, reported that Chinese officials have
assured Vietnam that the postings do not reflect Beijing's official
position.
The web postings come as China and Vietnam are squaring off over exploration
projects in the South China Sea in areas that both claim. In July, Beijing
had warned the American oil giant ExxonMobil to scrap an exploration deal
with Vietnam, reported the World Tribune. The report suggested that Vietnam
had a better case for its claim to potentially oil-rich fields off its
coast. But China is flexing its growing political muscle by asserting its
claim to nearly the entire South China Sea.
A Hong Kong newspaper says Beijing's diplomats have threatened retaliation
if ExxonMobil goes ahead with a preliminary agreement with the Vietnamese
state oil firm PetroVietnam. The deal covers exploitation in the South China
Sea off Vietnam's south and central coasts, according to the Sunday Morning
Post....
The Hong Kong newspaper quoted unidentified sources saying Exxon Mobil was
confident of Vietnam's sovereign rights to the blocks it was now seeking to
explore. But it is clear that ExxonMobil could not dismiss China's warnings
out of hand given the rapidly increasing Chinese market for crude oil and
oil products....
Last year, Chinese media targeted an agreement between Vietnam and BP near
the Spratlys maintaining that those islands had been an "indisputable part
of Chinese territory since ancient times." The Spratlys, like other island
groups in the region, are uninhabited rocky outcroppings and coral but are
in an area that may contain large oil and gas deposits.
Reuters reported that China and Vietnam are actually cooperating in oil and
gas exploration in the Gulf of Tonkin off Vietnam's north coast. But in
waters further south, the two sides are at odds. The territorial dispute in
southern waters led British oil giant BP to scotch its plans for exploration
there.
Once united by their communist ideology, relations between Vietnam and China
cooled in the 1970s, particularly when Vietnam invaded Cambodia in late 1978
to oust the Beijing-backed Khmer Rouge regime. Partly in retaliation, China
invaded Vietnam a few months later, as detailed by Global Security. The two
sides fought a nasty one-month border war that left tens of thousands dead
before Beijing retreated. Border clashes continued throughout the 1980s.
That history helps explain Vietnam's sensitivity to public "invasion plans"
on Chinese websites, no matter how bogus they might be.
In the past two decades, relations have warmed as both countries moved ahead
with pragmatic market reforms, despite several ongoing territorial disputes.
In addition to the Spratly and Paracel islands in the South China Sea, the
countries are also battling for influence over neighboring, resource-rich
Laos. A commentary in the Asia Times argued that Laos is likely to
increasingly tilt toward China, despite the landlocked country's
historically close ties to Vietnam.
Laos is of increasing strategic importance to both China and Vietnam, two of
Asia's fastest growing countries. Vietnam's interests lie primarily in
securing its long land border with Laos and developing greater access to
markets in Thailand. For China, Laos provides a growing avenue to export
products to wider Southeast Asia, particularly from its remote and
less-developed, landlocked southwestern regions....
Some analysts here predict that the balance of influence inside the ruling
Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) could soon shift in Beijing's favor,
as senior Lao leaders fade from the political scene and younger, more
market-savvy cadre lacking experience in the communist revolutionary period
assume positions of power.
http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/sarah-palin-wold-hunt
Political Wolf Hunt Protests [Edit]
Defenders of Wildlife Against Sarah Palin
1,062 Views - Click for Gallery
This is one bad arse viral video from the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund.
The commercial denounces, in VERY graphic form, that Sarah Palin promotes
aerial wolf hunting in Alaska. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential
nominee, has been supporting this act of ‘cruelty’ as the state’s governor,
and DWAF are hoping this video makes people aware of that.
“Have you ever heard of aerial hunting? It’s a brutal practice<” DWAF says.
“Wolves are shot from low-flying aircraft or chased to exhaustion, then
killed at point-blank range.
Governor Sarah Palin, the Republican nominee for Vice President, promotes
this barbaric practice, exploiting a loophole in the Federal Airborne
Hunting Act to allow private wolf killers to shoot down wolves using
aircraft. We have to get the word out about this!”
The wildlife group is expanding the reach of the provocative ad. Starting
this week, the promotional campaign which had been limited to certain
markets in Florida, Michigan and Ohio will now air in Colorado, Virginia and
Wisconsin. The reach is expected to get broader and broader and broader.
Via: secure.defenders.org
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2229495/support-fades-australian-net
Support fades for Australian net censorship plan
Opposition parties and ISPs warn that “daft” plan will hurt Australia’s
economy
Written by Iain Thomson in San Francisco
vnunet.com, 30 Oct 2008
The Australian government’s plans to censor all web content at the borders
of the country look in danger of coming unstuck.
The Australian Labour government has pledged to filter all internet content
coming into the country in order to stop illegal material entering the
country. But a coalition of internet service providers (ISPs) and opposition
politicians looks set to sink the plans.
"I think it's really quite misguided," Senator Ludlam of the Green Party
told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Calling the plan “daft”, the Green Party has indicated it will stop the
proposals going ahead by withdrawing support for the measure.
ISPs are also up in arms about the proposals, which they say will slow down
Australia’s already slow internet speeds to a crawl.
Businesses too are protesting that the move will hamper their efforts to
build an effective online marketplace for Australia’s goods.
"I will accept some debate around what should and should not be on the
internet," said Labour Party Communications minister Senator Conroy.
"I am not looking to blanket-ban some of the material that it is being
claimed I want to blanket-ban, but some material online, such as child
pornography, is illegal."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/09/30/2378528.htm
Arnhem Land community protests against intervention
Posted Tue Sep 30, 2008 10:05pm AEST
• Map: Milingimbi 0822
An Arnhem Land community has launched a protest against the federal
intervention by posting a film about a traditional dance ceremony on the
internet.
The film, Common Ground, was shot in the remote Arnhem Land community of
Milingimbi.
Community elder Lapulung Dhamarrandji says the film aims to teach the world
about Yolgnu culture.
He says the Government's reasons for the intervention do not apply to remote
communities and they want a return to self-management.
"'The Rivers of Grog'... is in the cities like Darwin and other places like
Katherine and Alice Springs - that doesn't affect places in the remote,
isolated communities."
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_3030156.html?menu=news.quirkies
Soldier sent to Siberia after protest rap
A young Russian soldier who made a rap video about poor conditions in his
barracks has been sent to Siberia.
Lieutenant Vitaly Efremov took the YouTube approach to complaining after
becoming frustrated with the state of his accommodation near St Petersburg.
But his video incurred the wrath of army leaders after it was posted on
RuTube - the Russian version of YouTube.
He has now been posted to Ussuriysk, a windswept Siberian town, reports the
Daily Telegraph.
Lieut Efremov made his video in the style of US rapper Eminem's letter to a
frustrated fan, Stan.
His version is a letter to the Russian defence minister, Anatoly Serdyakov,
in which he complains about everything from broken showers and dilapidated
barrack rooms to faulty equipment and poor pay.
In between Lieut Efremov's list of woes, there are bursts of Dido's Thank
You. The British singer appeared as Stan's long-suffering girlfriend in
Eminem's video of the song.
The footage includes the semi-naked soldier walking through corridors and
taking a shower in a filthy bathroom.
Lieut Efremov's rap complains that no progress has been made on granting
cheap credits to professional soldiers who want to buy their own home.
http://story.australianherald.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/3a8a80d6f705f8cc/id/412057/cs/1/
US bailout fuels protests in streets, online
Australian Herald
Sunday 28th September, 2008
(IANS)
Even as lawmakers laboured to break the impasse on Bush administration's
$700 billion plan to rescue giant Wall Street firms to solve the financial
crisis, the bailout has spontaneously inspired street protests in the US and
outrage gone viral across the web.
Protesters argue that they would want the Congress to protect millions of
ordinary American citizens on the verge of losing their homes due to poor
lending practices of creditors instead of handing out public money to big
investment companies responsible for ruining the economy in the first place.
An Indian American, Arun Gupta, too was enraged on learning the details of
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's bailout plan with taxpayer funds.
Publisher of an alternative newspaper, The Indypendent, he sent an e-mail to
some politically active friends in New York, which resulted in protests
against the bailout in New York and at scores of other locations in the
country Sep 25.
'I couldn't sit back while this plan gets rammed through Congress,' Gupta
was quoted in the media as saying.
He now works with the online group, truemajority.org, and is expecting
hundreds to join a novel protest planned near Wall Street in Manhattan.
Protesters intend building a pile of 'citizen junk' that the government
should also purchase in front of the iconic bull sculpture.
Besides street protests, the Internet is now the site of numerous petitions,
debates bordering on rants, and satire about the treasury secretary's plan
and its potential consequences. Vociferous critics spanning the political
and ideological spectrum in the country demand that Congress amend, scale
back, or scrap the plan altogether.
Much of online rage takes the form of signatures on petitions and electronic
letters to members of Congress. One Independent Senator, Bernie Sanders, is
circulating a popular one on the left-leaning blog Huffington Post.
The 1.9-million member Service Employees International Union is also
circulating a sign-on letter to Congress that says point blank: 'No deal. No
blank check.' Another website, StopTheHousingBailout.com argues: 'A bailout
tells responsible Americans that they are suckers.'
A right-wing blogger urges Republicans to vote against the bailout, since
'God himself couldn't have given rank-and-file Republicans a better
opportunity to create political space between themselves and the
administration'.
Biting satire is the way of buymyshitpile.com, where users are posting
pictures of their personal junk next to the tagline: 'Hey Washington, can
you buy my bad investments, too?' The total asking price of the 'pile'
submitted by users-which includes horse shit, baseball card collection, and
an 'Immagrent', has crossed $7 billion as of Saturday.
Social networking sites are not immune to the new virus. The Facebook group
'Just Say No to the Government Bailout' has over 300 members now.
On YouTube, there is a bailout-related group called the Young Turks, whose
news-style segment, 'This Is How The Bail Out Will Screw You', has had more
than 25,000 page views.
'The public outrage out there is really enormous,' said Independent
presidential candidate and populist consumer advocate Ralph Nader on a TV
programme, calling the Bush proposal 'a double standard between the guys at
the top and the people who are going to have to pay the bills'.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=web-brings-new-weapons-of-war
August 18, 2008 | 2 comments
The Web Ushers In New Weapons of War and Terrorism
Protesters, terrorists and warmongers have found the Internet to be a useful
tool to achieve their goals. Who will bring law and order to cyberspace?
By Dorothy E. Denning
Dorothy E. Denning
Courtesy of the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, Calif.
More from this In-Depth Report
• Features How I Stole Someone's Identity
• SciAm Magazine Privacy In an Age of Terabytes and Terror
• Features International Report: What Impact Is Technology Having on
Privacy around the World?
• From the In-Depth Report Technology's Toll on Privacy and Security
In the early days of the Internet, optimists projected that it would usher
in an era of unprecedented peace and prosperity. Maybe this will happen yet,
but currently the net is proving to be a powerful tool in the hands of
criminals and terrorists. On top of the rising number of globally based
online thieves bent on stealing our identities and money, a growing cadre of
state and nonstate actors are adding Internet weapons to their traditional
arsenals that can be unleashed in cyber attacks.
The appropriation of cyber weapons emerged in the 1980's when hackers began
using computer viruses and worms as platforms of protest. One of the most
damaging attacks was the infection of NASA's computer network with the WANK
(Worms Against Nuclear Killers) worm in 1989. At the time of the attack,
antinuclear activists were protesting the launch of a space shuttle that
carried the Galileo spacecraft—the Jupiter-bound space probe was powered by
a radioisotope thermoelectric generator fueled with radioactive plutonium.
The protestors failed to stop the launch, but it took a month to eradicate
the worm from NASA's computers, costing the space agency an estimated half
million dollars in wasted time and resources.
The introduction of the Web in the 1990s brought with it new forms of
digital protest, including defacements of Web sites with political and
social messages and denial-of-service (D-o-S) attacks that disrupt access to
target sites by flooding them with useless traffic. Often, the activists
claim credit for their attacks. Although many are the work of lone
individuals or small teams, groups such as the New York City–based
Electronic Disturbance Theater (EDT) sponsor massive online "Web sit-ins,"
during which participants flood target sites with traffic at a specified
time. EDT's early actions in the late '90s were designed to support the
Zapatista rebels at war with the Mexican government, but their later attacks
were motivated by other causes, such as the March 2008 Web sit-in against
nanotech and biotech firms, because "their science is driven by the war [in
Iraq] and drives the war."
Many cyber attacks are the work of patriotic citizens who hack to defend
their countries, although they are not under the command and control of
their governments. Chinese hackers have been among the most active,
frequently defacing Taiwanese, Japanese and U.S. Web sites—the latter, for
example, in response to the accidental bombing of their embassy in Belgrade
during the Kosovo conflict in 1999 and the spy plane incident in 2001. U.S.
hackers retaliated against Chinese sites. Pakistani hackers have hit Israeli
and Indian Web sites over the conflicts in the Middle East and Kashmir,
respectively. Russian hackers have been slower to engage in political
protests, but their D-o-S attacks against Estonian Web sites in 2007 over
the moving of a Soviet-era war memorial showed their ability to mobilize and
shut down targeted Web sites, including those of banks. Soon, every
interstate conflict, however minor, may be accompanied by some form of
hacker war that is beyond the control of ruling governments.
Hackers have also aligned themselves with terrorist groups, including al
Qaeda and the global jihad associated with it. After U.S. forces invaded
Afghanistan in late 2001, a group of Pakistani hackers calling themselves
the al Qaeda Alliance Online started defacing U.S. government Web sites with
messages praising Osama bin Laden and condemning the U.S. invasion. That
group disappeared, but others have taken its place, launching cyber attacks
against U.S. and other Western sites in response to such incidents as the
war in Iraq, publication of the Danish cartoons satirizing the prophet
Muhammad, and the U.S. treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. This
"electronic jihad" is promoted on jihadist Web forums that coordinate the
attacks and distribute information and software tools for hacking. The
attacks have not been serious enough to warrant the label "cyber terrorism,"
but the potential is there for causing considerable damage against critical
infrastructures such as power grids and oil and gas systems.
Although most of the conflict-related cyber attacks taking place today
appear to originate with nonstate actors, governments have been blamed for
launching some of them. China especially is fingered, but the Kremlin was
accused of being behind the Estonian assault. Whereas the Chinese and
Russian protest attacks were most likely the work of patriotic hackers
operating on their own, it is possible these governments supported their
efforts, or at least turned a blind eye. Regardless, most major governments
are developing a cyber warfare capability, though details remain closely
guarded secrets. If there is a silver lining, it is that cyber warfare may
produce fewer casualties than conventional conflict as well as damages that
are more quickly repaired. Instead of bombing a telecommunications hub and
killing those in the vicinity, the objective of disrupting enemy
communications on the battlefield might also be achieved through a cyber
attack. Although a cyber attack, say against a power generator or military
communications hub, could lead to casualties, in the near term, at least,
physical weapons are far more lethal.
Addressing the cyber attacks against U.S. targets has been a challenge.
Clearly, we need to defend our networks and computers, but this is not a
problem the government alone can solve any more than it can defend our homes
and offices from burglars. Rather, it requires knowledge and diligence on
the part of each of us, along with considerable support from industry, such
as more secure software. Industry efforts such as Microsoft's Trustworthy
Computing Initiative help, but much remains to be done.
Government can help in four areas: defending its own networks; establishing
and enforcing the law in cyberspace; promoting security through regulation
and incentives; and funding research and education in security. Of these,
the U.S. government has most effectively met the latter objective, perhaps
because it is the easiest to accomplish. It has also been successful
creating cyberspace law, though enforcement has been problematic owing to
the difficulty of tracing and investigating cyber attacks, especially when
they cross international borders. Yet effective law enforcement is critical
for deterrence.
As for defending its own networks, many government agencies continue to
flunk security assessments or succumb to cyber attacks, so there is ample
room for improvement. Although the government has helped promote security in
the private sector, it has generally avoided regulation, which in the end
may become necessary, at least for software that controls crucial
infrastructural and life-critical systems.
The White House's Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative, a
multiagency, multiyear plan established in January by the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security, may address some of these needs. The plan calls for the
government to set up a National Cyber Security Center to coordinate and
integrate information for protecting U.S. networks and promoting
collaboration among federal cyber groups. The jury is still out, however, on
whether the initiative will be up to the task of strengthening the nation's
cyber security posture.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)
Dorothy E. Denning is professor of defense analysis at the Naval
Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif.
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