Are you feeling that sweet Olympic spirit yet? The Chinese authorities confirmed today that the 20,000 foreign journalists covering the Olympic Games will not have unrestricted access to the Internet during their stay. Kevin Gosper, the head of the IOC’s press commission, admitted today: “I also now understand that some IOC officials negotiated with the…
Showing all posts tagged censorship
A brave new world
Internet censorship is utterly normal in “repressive” regimes the world over. But welcome to the new reality in the “free” West: Internet service provider Embarq eavesdropped on the web surfing habits of 26,000 customers in Kansas without notifying them personally, as part of its test of new, controversial advertising technology that profiles users. What next?…
Onward Zionist soldier
It’s good to see that online Zionists are spending their time so fruitfully: A group calling itself the Jewish Internet Defense Force (JIDF) hacked into a Facebook group called,… “Israel” is not a country!… … Delist it from Facebook as a country!” early Sunday morning, erasing thousands of members’ names from the site. The JIDF was…
How not to help the Chinese, part 9
My following article appears in the Amnesty International Australia’s Uncensor campaign about human rights in China: Sport isn’t the only thing on the minds of multinationals in Beijing, writes Antony Loewenstein Human rights issues? What human rights issues? With only a few weeks until the start of the Beijing Games, this seems to be the…
Keeping girls “pure”
Saudi Arabia is one of the most gender-separated nations on earth. The idea, suggested by some leading Saudi bloggers, to “segregate the blogrolls on blogs for the links of female and male Saudi bloggers”, is a sign of religious insanity. One female blogger explains: …A number of bloggers have separated the blogrolls and posted them…
Communist Party enforcement
David Bandurski, Far Eastern Economic Review, July: They have been called the “Fifty Cent Party,” the “red vests” and the “red vanguard.” But China’s growing armies of Web commentators—instigated, trained and financed by party organizations—have just one mission: to safeguard the interests of the Communist Party by infiltrating and policing a rapidly growing Chinese Internet.…
The Beijing countdown continues
My following article appears in the Amnesty International Australia’s Uncensor campaign about human rights in China: It is time for Western human rights activists to pressure China in new ways, writes Antony Loewenstein With less than one month until the start of the Games, Beijing is trying to make itself more beautiful. Pollution is still…
Jewish self-love revealed
From fundamentalist Jews who fear progress: In unprecedented move, prominent Hasidic community allowed restricted internet use. ‘Internet has become popular but you should know many dangers lurk in it,’ community’s rabbi warns. A first-of-its-kind agreement between Belz Hasidic Court and the internet provider Rimon may soon enable Blez followers to subscribe to the “kosher” internet.…
The Algerian finger
The situation in Algeria: Any public concert in Algeria is organized by the Ministry of Culture, which has a monopoly on all professional concert equipment and large performance venues. The government also runs the country’s only official radio and TV stations. Some artists are thus not invited to perform, while others are blocked from singing…