Sadly, many of the countries below that repress bloggers are the same nations I feature in my book, The Blogging Revolution: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has just released a list of the ten worst countries in which to blog. Topping the list is Burma, followed closely by Iran, Syria, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam,…
Showing all posts tagged China
The right to offend, strip and shout
The issue of internet censorship is one that has long fascinated me. It’s a subject, though, that defies easy definition. People in different countries view the question of governmental censorship very differently. It’s a relief, therefore, to read the results of this new global study that finds almost universal support for an open and free…
Just try saying no for once
Following the recent criticism of the local Zionist lobby sending journalists and politicians on free trips to Israel, today’s Canberra Times features an interesting piece by Joe Wakim, founder of the Australian Arabic Council and a former multicultural affairs commissioner: If we are going to blow the whistle on undeclared overseas junkets by our MPs,…
We shouldn’t be grieving for the death of newspapers
My following article appears today in Online Opinion: As a journalist who spends the vast majority of my life online, the seemingly never-ending debates about the future of the media and newspapers can be exhausting and predictable. The same mantras are heard over and over again. Where will the news come from when newsprint dies?…
The US will remain king
Noam Chomsky is asked on Democracy Now! how he sees the American empire over the next decades: Prediction in human affairs is a very low—has very little success, too many complications. The United States, I think, will come out of the economic crisis, very likely, as the dominant superpower. There’s a lot of talk about…
The technology has a long way to go
Veteran China watcher Rebecca MacKinnon both acknowledges the power of the internet in the Communist nation but also its profound limitations: A new form of highly networked authoritarianism is emerging in China. Call it “Cybertarianism.” It’s not uniquely Chinese, but understanding how the Internet is mediating the relationship between state and society in China can…
Everyone is vulnerable
Welcome to the face of 21st century terrorism: A vast electronic spying operation has infiltrated computers and has stolen documents from hundreds of government and private offices around the world, including those of the Dalai Lama, Canadian researchers have concluded. In a report to be issued this weekend, the researchers said that the system was…
Police state 2009
And to think we hope China will save us from economic ruin (though shame about the authoritarianism): Addressing the National Peoples Congress, China’s leaders attempted to put the best possible face on the deepening economic crisis. Wen assured delegates that 8 percent growth was achievable, promoted the regime’s stimulus measures and announced new social welfare…
Define: bravery
We salute you: Index on Censorship today announces the shortlist for the 2009 Freedom of Expression Awards. The awards, presented in association with the Economist, the Guardian, Bindmans and the Robert Gavron Trust, honour those who have furthered the cause of freedom of expression and battled censorship around the world. Prizes are awarded in five…
An offensive stance
The following letter appears in today’s Sydney Morning Herald: Your editorial oversimplifies the reasons the Australian Jewish News rejected the Jeffrey Halper advertisement (“With friends like these ”¦“, March 13). Halper does not just campaign against Israel’s bulldozing houses. He campaigns against the existence of Israel as a Jewish state, as he did on ABC…