Imprisoned Saudi blogger and democracy activist Fouad Al Farhan – an inspiring person with whom I spent time in his country last year – has been allowed to make contact with the outside world. Saudi Jeans explains: Detained Saudi blogger Fouad al-Farhan has been allowed to make a phone call to his wife yesterday, FreeFouad.com…
Showing all posts tagged blogging
Spielberg…from Shanghai
The Chinese blogosphere speaks: After Steven Spielberg withdrew as artistic director for the Beijing 2008 Olympics, it is not surprising to read angry words towards him in the Chinese press, both on- and off-line. But are there other Chinese who think differently on this issue? Shanghai-based scholar and cultural critic Wang Xiaoyu (王晓渔) published the…
The dual challenge
Major internet companies are starting to realise that their collusion with repressive regimes is biting them on the arse: More Chinese dissidents sue Yahoo! Of course, China appears to be in the middle of a sexual revolution, so perhaps internet censorship isn’t on the minds of many citizens.
Mainstream beware
Zogby International polling reveals that the American public aren’t too fond of the mainstream media: Two thirds of Americans – 67% – believe traditional journalism is out of touch with what Americans want from their news, a new We Media/Zogby Interactive poll shows. The survey also found that while most Americans (70%) think journalism is…
Getting around censors
Malaysians go to the polls on March 8. Much of the country’s mainstream media is seemingly content to publish propaganda masquerading as journalism. All is not well in the country’s democracy: A Malaysian government minister has accused bloggers, who have been writing avidly on upcoming elections, of being cowards and warned they are being monitored,…
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My latest column for New Matilda is about China’s crackdown on internal dissent and its fear of the internet: Although China is also battling a seemingly unsurmountable pollution problem, the regime appears determined to ignore Western calls for greater openness. “Why can’t China accept that dissent and argument are part of being a normal country?”…
Station your killers elsewhere
African bloggers discuss the possibility of American military bases on the continent. (For the record, they’re universally opposed to the idea.)
Don’t post those full frontal shots
China continues its eradication program of the internet: News from the Ministry of Public Security is that 13 Chinese ministries have been taking a joint action since last month to regulate online order, with the emphasis being given to the cleaning out of such content as candid snapshots, nude pictures and “unhealthy” adult literature. During…
The Orwellian censorship of Wikileaks
The following article appears in today’s edition of Crikey: Internet censorship is something we normally associate with countries such as Iran or China, but increasingly Western governmental and legal authorities are aggressively restricting the ability of users to view information unimpeded. Such is the story with Wikileaks, one of the most essential websites launched in…