The pure futility of it all: A Turkish court has again blocked access to the popular video-sharing Web site YouTube because of clips allegedly insulting the country’s founding father, according to reports Sunday. It was the second time Turkey banned the site because of clips deemed disrespectful to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. It is illegal in…
Showing all posts in June 2019
The Zionist creed
Gideon Levy, Haaretz, January 21: Has the daily mass killing in Gaza improved the security situation? No, it has only made it worse. Has it reduced the number of Qassams? No, it has led to their proliferation. So why are we killing? We need “to do something” and there needs to be “a price tag.”…
Occupation as a permanent state of affairs
Who said the New York Times, a supposedly “liberal” publication, isn’t still publishing one of its lead writers to continually call for an indefinite American presence in Iraq? This is what “serious” journalists do.
This is how we censor
China remains the world’s greatest internet censor. We very rarely gain insight into how this system works. One document has fallen into the hands of some Chinese bloggers and it makes for fascinating reading, revealing the detailed censorship orders from a government propaganda authority: 3. Web sites should only republish information from the Xinhua News…
Killing peace one step at a time
This is how a Middle East “democracy” behaves: Gaza City was plunged into darkness Sunday after Israel blocked the shipment of fuel that powers its only electrical plant in retaliation for persistent rocket attacks by Gaza militants. The Strip’s only power station is now closed and the UN has condemned the collective punishment. Meanwhile, some…
China’s darker side
China is preparing for this year’s Olympic Games but human rights appear not to be a priority. The regime can’t suddenly disappear beggars from central Beijing and local bloggers are revealing the extent of the problem: To the east of Zhengyangmen, there is an old railway station which used to be one part of Beijing-Shenyang…
The American begging bowl
Bush’s recent visit to the Middle East was an exercise in futility, resulting in little more than an escalation of violence in the occupied territories. But what about the two days spent in Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s most brutal regimes? Leading investigative reporter Greg Palast offers some thoughts: Let’s begin by stating why…
Getting close to a madman
Tom Hyland, The Sunday Age, January 20: Indonesians will judge Soeharto’s place in history. But we can judge the record of our leaders in their relationship with him. Soeharto was a mass murderer and a kleptomaniac. Just don’t expect Kevin Rudd to say it.
Corruption watch 101
The “war on terror” is a nice little earner: A Pentagon office that claims to monitor terrorist threats to U.S. military bases in North America — and was once reprimanded by the U.S. Congress for spying on antiwar activists — has just awarded a multi-million dollar contract to a company that employs one of Donald…
Be careful what you say
Israel has long censored material it deemed sensitive but the situation may soon become even worse: Israeli web culture is known for having an active talkback (web commenting) scene. Every major news site allows users to submit comments for every single one of its stories. Israeli culture at its best and worst thrives through discussions…