Here we go - News Censorship

[FrenchieGirl]

Re: Here we go - News Censorship

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/3096660/China-milk-scandal-lawyers-threatened.html

China milk scandal lawyers threatened

Chinese lawyers seeking redress for infant victims of poisoned milk say they are facing growing official pressure to abandon the efforts.

Last Updated: 2:43PM BST 28 Sep 2008

Human rights activists and lawyers have responded to the crisis in which at least 53,000 children have fallen ill and four died by offering to help the parents. They are considering launching legal actions against the dairies or officials who failed to disclose the problem as it emerged over the summer.

But they said that due to the government's sensitivity over the health scandal, officials in some provinces have put pressure on them to give up their campaign.

"About two dozen of the lawyers have called these past days to say they want to quit the volunteer advice group," said Li Fangping, a Beijing lawyer who helped organise the group soon after news of the poisoning by the chemical melamine surfaced.

"Some of them said that they or their offices were told they'd face serious repercussions if they stayed involved."

The pressure has by no means deterred all the lawyers to drop out, and nor does that pressure appear to have been uniformly intense. Even after the departures, the group has about 120 lawyers ready to give free advice.

But the rash of warnings suggests the government does not want lingering political and legal fallout from the milk scandal.

"I'd guess they see this issue as just too sensitive for lawyers and court cases," said Zhou Shifeng, a volunteer lawyer from Beijing.

"When the interests involved are too powerful, they will devise ways to get lawyers to quit, not necessarily direct orders."

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Here we go - News Censorship

Source: http://asiaedintorni.blogosfere.it/2008/09/la-cina-imperdonabile.html

La Cina imperdonabile
Pubblicato da Enzo Reale alle 18:53 in Current Affairs

Lo scandalo del latte cinese adulterato ? pi? grave di quel che si possa pensare, non tanto per le conseguenze di per s? evidenti quanto per le cause che lo hanno prodotto ed i comportamenti che lo hanno reso cos? clamoroso. Jim Yardley e David Barboza, in questo reportage, mettono insieme una serie di elementi schiaccianti sulle azioni ed omissioni di uno stato autoritario in materia di salute pubblica. Ne esce un quadro devastante per un regime troppe volte perdonato dall'occidente:

Barely a month ago, China?s staging of the Beijing Olympics demonstrated how the Communist Party could mobilize its authoritarian political system. But the international scandal now unfolding over China?s contaminated dairy products is demonstrating, again, the weaknesses of that system.

Officials now acknowledge that China?s leading dairy companies ? including the Sanlu Group, the worst offender in the scandal ? were exempted from mandatory government inspections.

Non ? vero che le autorit? siano venute a conoscenza del problema soltanto in questo mese di settembre. Erano stati numerosi e ripetuti i segnali del disastro che si stava producendo:

Fu Jianfeng, an editor at one of China?s leading independent publications, Southern Weekend, recently used a personal blog to describe how his newsweekly discovered cases of sickened children in July ? two months before the scandal became public ? but could not publish articles so close to the Games.

Even earlier, on June 30, a mother in Hunan Province had written a detailed letter pleading for help from the food quality agency, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. The letter, posted on the agency?s Web site, described rising numbers of infants at a local children?s hospital who were suffering from kidney stones after drinking powdered formula made by Sanlu.

Hundreds of miles north, the health bureau in Gansu Province was also facing an unusual outbreak of sick infants. The Gansu Health Bureau spokesman, Yang Jingke, said his agency sent an urgent report in July to the Ministry of Health in Beijing describing how local hospitals were reporting high numbers of babies with kidney stones. Mr. Yang, speaking at a news conference this month, said all the babies had taken the same brand of formula. He said the Ministry of Health responded that it had attached ?great importance? to the problem and would investigate. But nothing happened.

Il segreto di Pulcinella:

Some dairy farmers interviewed this week in Hebei Province said it was an open secret that milk was adulterated, although many claimed they did not know that melamine was being used. Some dairies routinely watered down milk to increase profits, then added other cheap ingredients so the milk could pass a protein test.

Mr. Zhao said quality testers at Sanlu took bribes from farmers and milk dealers in exchange for looking the other way on milk adulterated with melamine. ?In this business, bribery keeps everyone silent,? he said.

Il problema ? nella natura del regime:

?These after-the-fact administrative measures miss the point,? wrote Arthur Kroeber, managing director of the Beijing-based consultancy, Dragonomics, in a recent note to clients. He said the problem was rooted in the Communist Party?s continued involvement in pricing control, company management and the flow of information.
?The party views control of all three as necessary to its rule,? he added. ?Further major scandals are thus inevitable.?

Altri dettagli di una criminale serie di negligenze e censure:

Sanlu had first received complaints about its powdered baby formula last December, according to state media. By March, the company had hired private companies to test its milk powder for contaminants. Yet Sanlu never issued any public warnings and never stopped promoting its products. On May 18, days after the devastating earthquake in Sichuan Province, the company made a much-publicized donation of $1.25 million worth of baby formula for infants orphaned or displaced by the catastrophe.

Ulteriori prove che il governo sapeva tutto e ha volontariamente occultato la verit?:

The emphasis was on promoting good news about the Olympics. But the scandals in 2007 over the safety of Chinese food and drug exports complicated this agenda. A huge pet-food recall in the United States was traced to Chinese animal feed adulterated with melamine. At home, Chinese consumers were alarmed over a bad-pork scare.
Propaganda officials responded by issuing rules that required domestic publications to obtain permission before publishing any articles about food safety and other politically delicate subjects.

La Cina ? piccina.

 

[Giuseppe]

Re: Here we go - News Censorship

Sfortunatamente, la Cina non ? sola per quanto riguarda la pessima abitudine di imprenditori criminali nella adulterazione di alimenti di largo consumo.

Proprio in questi giorni, in Italia, una associazione a delinquere finalizzata all'adulterazione di olii per uso alimentare umano ? stata scoperta dalle forze di polizia nella regione Lombardia. I membri di questa associazione acquistavano olio di semi vari e lo miscevalano con sostanze coloranti in scantinati e laboratori privi dei minimi requisiti igienico-sanitari e al di fuori di ogni controllo, per poi rivenderli a ristoranti e negozi come oli d'oliva extra-vergine.

Non ? il primo caso di questo genere.

E' gi? da tempo nota la propensione di molti marchi di oli cosiddetti ''d'oliva'' di acquistare dall'estero miscele di oli di varia provenienza per poi rivenderli come di produzione nazionale.

La recente scoperta di una estesa rete di sofisticazione di prodotti caseari in Italia, che coinvolgeva la rivendita di formaggi da tavola anche nella grande distribuzione, non ? passata inosservata presso la pubblica opinione gi? abbastanza colpita dal rialzo astronomico dei prezzi di pane e pasta che in un anno sono saliti di oltre il 25 per cento.

Io quindi non sarei cos? sorpreso della situazione emersa dopo la scoperta della melamina nel latte cinese.

E neppure tanto allarmato.

Proprio perch? la scarsit? dei controlli non solo sui prodotti finiti ma anche sui semilavorati ? tale da rendere l'acquisto quotidiano dei beni di largo consumo una sorta di roulette russa: ci andr? bene questa volta?

Gli sforzi dei nuclei di polizia investigativa sono lodevoli ma l'esiguo numero di uomini e l'insufficienza dei mezzi a disposizione rende questo lavoro una guerra senza possibilit? di vittoria: le associazioni criminali sono pi? forti, pi? protette e possono contare su una rete di funzionari corrotti che spesso certificano come adatti al commercio prodotti potenzialmente pericolosi.

La realt? dei fatti ? questa: la situazione alimentare in Italia non ? buona (per dire come un noto showman italiano), e complessivamente i rischi alimentari e ambientali (prodotti da un uso sconsiderato del territorio e delle risorse idriche) sono tali da porre una seria ipoteca sul futuro dei nostri figli.

Per questo ? urgente che l'opinione pubblica torni ad essere ''cittadinanza informata'' utilizzando ogni mezzo disponibile per combattere contro una economia che sfiora volentieri il crimine, libera com'? da controlli e severe pene, cercando di costruire reti di informazione indipendente, basate anche sull'internet, nonch? sforzandosi di utilizzare gli strumenti di chi gi? si ? messo a disposizione per contrastare la disinformazione dei mezzi di comunicazione tradizionali, ormai controllati in regime di quasi-monopolio da un unico ''padrone''.

 

[Diane Morin]

Re: China - Tainted milk

Re: China - Tainted milk

Attention News Editors:
<!-- RELATTN END --><!-- RELHEAD START -->China - Financial weekly closed for three months for reporting on a public bank

<!-- RELHEAD END --><!-- RELBODY START -->
MONTREAL, Sept. 29 /CNW Telbec/ - Reporters Without Borders todaycondemned a three-month ban slapped on financial weekly China Business Post,accused of having broken the law in an article on the Agricultural Bank ofChina. Elsewhere, the Propaganda Department is still keeping tight control overnews linked to the toxic milk scandal. An investigative journalist has beengagged from reporting on the issue since July to avoid embarrassment duringthe Olympic Games. "While there is growing concern about the international banking crisisand the toxic milk scandal, it is appalling for local and national officialsto try to censor media who are only trying to carry out their job of informingthe public." "We call for the lifting of the temporary ban on the China Business Postand for the end to censorship of the milk scandal. Without these steps, thecredibility of government promises of transparency will again be tainted", theworldwide press freedom organisation said. The China Business Post, which sells 400,000 copies weekly, was suspendedfor three months on 8 September by the press and publications bureau of InnerMongolia in northern china, where it is licensed. Following negotiations, the newspaper was able to appear as usual on11 September, but the 18 September issue was banned. This sanction followedcomplaints from leading officials in Hunan, southern China and from theAgricultural bank of China. The weekly in July accused the Changde, Hunanoffice of the public bank of poor management of assets. According to the authorities, the Beijing-based weekly violated aregulation that bans the media from publishing an investigation into an eventin a province other than that in which it is licensed. The authorities alsoconsidered that the China Business Post should have questioned theAgricultural Bank of China before carrying the article. Officials in InnerMongolia justified their decision by citing other investigations by thefinancial paper which reportedly violated the same rules. Press magnate, Bruno Wu, owner of the title through the Sun Media group,told the Financial Times, that there had been an "abuse of administrativepower". He told the paper's staff on 24 September that he had decided tosuspend publication of the weekly indefinitely to protest against thedecision. A source at the paper also told Reporters Without Borders that anappeal had been lodged with the competent authorities. At the same time, the Propaganda Department has strengthened its controlover the information available in the media and online about the contaminatedmilk which has caused at least four deaths and made thousands of other Chinesechildren ill. Several Chinese journalists have said that it is becoming more and moreobvious that the authorities in July prevented an investigation into the toxicmilk coming out so as not to tarnish China's image before the Olympics. He Feng, a journalist on the weekly Nanfang Zhoumo, was censored in Julywhen he had obtained worrying information about the public health effects ofthe milk produced by the Sanlu company. Again, on 13 September, an article byHe Feng on the responsibilities of milk companies was pulled by the weekly'smanagement. A Propaganda Department circular of 12 September warned that it was inthe interests of media and websites to limit publication of articles orcommentary on the milk products scandal. Finally, the Chinese Human Rights Defenders revealed that economist, QiYanchen, who had already been imprisoned from 1999 to 2003, had been summonedby police after he criticised the authorities' management of the scandal in aninterview with Radio Free Asia.</PRE><!-- RELBODY END --><!-- RELCONTACT START -->
For further information: Katherine Borlongan, Executive Director,Reporters Without Borders Canada, <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = SKYPE /><SKYPE:SPAN onmouseup="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,1,'0',true,16,'',0);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" class=skype_tb_injection onmousedown="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,2,'0',true,16,'',0);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" id=softomate_highlight_0 onmouseover="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,1,'0',true,16,'',0);" title="Call this phone number in Canada with Skype: +15145214111" onclick="javascript:skype_tb_doRunCMD('call','0',null,0);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseout="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,0,'0',true,16,'',0);" IamRTL="0" context="(514) 521-4111" durex="789" skypeaction="call" skypeid="0"><SKYPE:SPAN onmouseup="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'0',1,1,16,0);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" class=skype_tb_imgA onmousedown="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'0',2,1,16,0);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" id=skype_tb_droppart_0 onmouseover="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'0',1,1,16,0);" title="Skype actions" style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(file://C:/Users/Dian/AppData/Local/Temp/Low/__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache/e70d95847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506/static/inactive_a.compat.flex.w16.gif)" onclick="javascript:skype_tb_SwitchDrop(this,'0','sms=0');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseout="javascript:doSkypeFlag(this,'0',0,1,16,0);" skypeaction="drop" skypeid="0" skypesms="0"><SKYPE:SPAN class=skype_tb_imgFlag id=skype_tb_img_f0 style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(file://C:/Users/Dian/AppData/Local/Temp/Low/__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache/e70d95847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506/static/famfamfam/CA.gif)"></SKYPE:SPAN></SKYPE:SPAN><SKYPE:SPAN class=skype_tb_imgS id=skype_tb_img_s0></SKYPE:SPAN><SKYPE:SPAN class=skype_tb_injectionIn id=skype_tb_text0><SKYPE:SPAN class=skype_tb_innerText id=skype_tb_innerText0> (514) 521-4111 </SKYPE:SPAN></SKYPE:SPAN><SKYPE:SPAN class=skype_tb_imgR id=skype_tb_img_r0></SKYPE:SPAN></SKYPE:SPAN>, rsfcanada@rsf.org</PRE><!-- RELCONTACT END --><TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=LineBreak width="100%" height=1>

</TD></TR><TR><TD class=LineBreak width="100%" height=1>

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/September2008/29/c9380.html

 

[tropical]

Re: Here we go - News Censorship

#62:
"Officials now acknowledge that China?s leading dairy companies ? including the Sanlu Group, the worst offender in the scandal ? were exempted from mandatory government inspections."

#63:
"Proprio perch? la scarsit? dei controlli non solo sui prodotti finiti ma anche sui semilavorati ? tale da rendere l'acquisto quotidiano dei beni di largo consumo una sorta di roulette russa: ci andr? bene questa volta?

Gli sforzi dei nuclei di polizia investigativa sono lodevoli ma l'esiguo numero di uomini e l'insufficienza dei mezzi a disposizione rende questo lavoro una guerra senza possibilit? di vittoria: le associazioni criminali sono pi? forti, pi? protette e possono contare su una rete di funzionari corrotti che spesso certificano come adatti al commercio prodotti potenzialmente pericolosi."

 

[JJackson]

Re: Here we go - News Censorship

Issa - and his reporting of the rumour of Mubarak's ill health - had the dubious honour of being used by me as an example of the power of the rumour mill in a society without a free press (in the thread on the NAMRUs) and by Shanon in the opening post in this thread. It is now getting some MSM press which might apply a little more pressure than the just the criticism in the local media. Unfortunately it is the BBC rather than WaPo, as the US administration are Mubarak's backers only pressure from this source is likely to have any leverage.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7644547.stm


<TABLE class=storycontent cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=2>Egyptian editor verdict condemned


</TD></TR><TR><TD class=storybody><!-- S BO --><!-- S IIMA --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=226 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>

Campaigners have demonstrated against the jailing of Ibrahim Eissa

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA --><!-- S SF -->
Press freedom activists have condemned Egypt for jailing a newspaper editor who printed rumours about the health of its 80-year-old president.
The Committee to Project Journalists expressed dismay at how the judiciary was used to "settle scores" with those critical of President Hosni Mubarak. The editor, Ibrahim Issa, received a two-month jail sentence on Sunday. The court said reports in his newspaper, al-Dustour, were likely to disturb public security. <!-- E SF -->
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Full story at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7644547.stm

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: Here we go - News Censorship

Skype Messaging Surveillance found in China

Beijing (China) - A group of computer security researchers and human-rights activists based in Canada at the University of Toronto recently found a gigantic surveillance system in China that is being utilized to monitor and archive Internet text conversations that contain politically charged wording.

The system is capable of tracking text messages that are sent by TOM-Skype customers. TOM-Skype is a joint venture between eBay and a Chinese wireless provider.

This discovery puts the heat on the Chinese government?s capabilities when it comes to monitoring and filtering on the internet. This isn?t the first time this topic has sparked controversy- a prime example is during the Beijing Olympics. Chinese researchers have estimated that there are over 30,000 individuals responsible for policing the internet and monitoring online traffic, websites and blogs for political and other offending content in what is called the Golden Shield Project, or also the Great Firewall of China.

The Canadian activists of Citizen Lab stumbled upon the surveillance operation last month. They stated that a cluster of eight message-logging computers in China held over a million censored messages. They examined the text messages and were able to reconstruct a list of words that were restricted.

Researchers have concluded that the word list mainly includes words that are related to the religious group Falun Gong, Taiwan independence, and also the Chinese Communist Party. Among the words are milk powder, earthquake, and democracy. Currently Chinese officials are getting flack for the way they handled earthquake relief and also chemicals that have tainted milk powder).

The list also works as a filter for the restriction of text message conversations. The encrypted list of words within the TOM-Skype software block the transmission of these words and then a copy of the message is forwarded to a server. The Chinese servers are capable of retaining personal information about the individual who sent the messages. Chat conversations between Tom-Skype users and Skype users from outside of China are also recorded. At this point the system has only recorded text messages and Skype caller identification but has not recorded any of the Skype voice content.

Within the last two months the servers were able to archive over 166,000 censored messages from over 44,000 users, states a report that was published on the Information Warfare Monitor website at the University of Toronto.

Researchers were able to download, and then analyze copies of all of the surveillance data because the Chinese computers were not configured properly, thus leaving them accessible by third parties. The researchers had no idea who was responsible for the operation of the surveillance system, but believed that it was the Chinese wireless firm, and felt that there was a strong chance they were working in cooperation with Chinese police.

Independent executives from the instant message industry feel that this discovery is scary, and that it is also an indication as to where the future of computers and communications tracking technologies is headed.

Pat Peterson, Vice President for technology at Cisco?s Ironport group that is responsible for providing messaging security systems told the NY Times ?I can see an arms race going on?, ?China is one of the more wired places of the world and they are fighting a war with their populace?.

The Chinese government does not stand by themselves in efforts to maintain strict internet surveillance. In 2005 the New York Times reported that the National Security Agency was also monitoring huge volumes of both telephone and internet communications that were coming into the United States. This was all part of a surveillance program that was designed to prevent and monitor for terrorist activity, which was approved by President Bush following the attacks of September 11, 2001.

The Canadian researches pointed out that their discovery contradicts a public statement that was issued by Skype executives in 2006 when they were accused of filtering content in Skype conversations. The company swore that all conversations were not only private but also protected.

In the April 2006 official Skype blog post, the company said TOM does operate a text filter on the client side that filters words from text chats. This filter blocks the word and according to Skype is done before it is encrypted for transmission. Skype added that, ?Calls, chats and all other forms of communication on Skype continue to be encrypted and secure.?

On Wednesday the Citizen Lab researchers issued a report that detailed the data that was found on the servers. Ronald J. Deibert, associate professor of political science at the University of Toronto told the New York Times ?We were able to download millions of messages that identify users,? and ?This is the worst nightmares of the conspiracy theorists around surveillance coming true. It?s ?X-Files? without the aliens.?


The recent discovery shows users just how public their information is when texting, using the internet, and any other mass communication method.

http://www.tgdaily.com/html_tmp/content-view-39577-108.html

 

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Here we go - News Censorship

"Breaching Trust," China?s TOM-Skype platform

October 02, 2008

Our OpenNet Initiative (ONI) colleagues at the Citizen Lab have released a major investigate report, Breaching Trust: An analysis of surveillance and security practices on China?s TOM-Skype platform, by Nart Villeneuve (Psiphon Fellow, Citizen Lab, Munk Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto), with a foreword by ONI Principal Investigators Ron Diebert and Rafal Rohozinski.
Nart Villeneuve provides an overview of the findings on his blog
(he's answering questions on a subsequent post):

Our investigation reveals troubling security and privacy breaches affecting TOM-Skype?the Chinese version of the popular voice and text chat software Skype. It also raises troubling questions regarding how these practices are related to the Government of China?s censorship and surveillance policies.
The questionable security practices of TOM-Online led to the disclosure of millions of records containing personal information regarding mobile phone accounts, SMS messages, and the usage of TOM-Skype. However, this disclosure also confirms that TOM-Skype is censoring and logging text chat messages that contain specific, sensitive keywords and may be engaged in more targeted surveillance.
These findings raise key questions. To what extent do TOM Online and Skype cooperate with the Chinese government in monitoring the communications of activists and dissidents as well as ordinary citizens? On what legal basis is TOM-Skype capturing and logging this volume and detail of personal user data and communication, and who has access to it?
Full Report (mirror)

Major Findings
? The full text chat messages of TOM-Skype users, along with Skype users who have
communicated with TOM-Skype users, are regularly scanned for sensitive keywords, and
if present, the resulting data are uploaded and stored on servers in China.
? These text messages, along with millions of records containing personal information, are
stored on insecure publicly-accessible web servers together with the encryption key required to
decrypt the data.
? The captured messages contain specific keywords relating to sensitive political topics such
as Taiwan independence, the Falun Gong, and political opposition to the Communist Party
of China.
? Our analysis suggests that the surveillance is not solely keyword-driven. Many of the
captured messages contain words that are too common for extensive logging, suggesting
that there may be criteria, such as specific usernames, that determine whether messages are
captured by the system.
​

The New York Times has covered Breaching Trust in a story by John Markoff.


http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/node/4710

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: Here we go - News Censorship

They could change the keywords?

 

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Here we go - News Censorship

They could change the keywords?

Easily.

The above people changed keywords to demonstrate how it works

 

[Commonground]

Re: Here we go - News Censorship

So CS Lap Management Update: Both moderated Personal Blog "blog" and are not allowed to mention economic, political, social ... State Hanoi Release Management Agency Electronic Information ...Bao Viet
Wednesday, 10/4/2008, 12:02:00 AM

Newsletter central RFA day Monday-Friday, said State CSTV recently launched additional measures to xiet information.

RFA newsletter, said CS Viet Nam is officially out for the "Department Management Play Thanh, TV and electronic information," placed under its management of the Ministry of Information - Communications, and has the function of building defined management information on the Internet, including the "Regulations on management of personal blog."

According to information published in the newspaper in the country, the official with the Ministry of Information - Communications said that the electronic information sector is "new, sensitive, do not let the liquid management." However, also according to the of this, with that posted on VietNamNet, the management "to ensure not let liquid developed at the same time, but not limited to the development."

Especially, the state newspaper Ha Noi Moi today 2-10-2008 posts, excerpts:

"... The morning of 2 / 10, in Hanoi, Ministry of Information and Media held a press conference launch the activities of the Department of Management of Broadcasting and television and electronic information.

Mr. Do Quy Doan, Deputy Minister of Information and Communication said, functions and mandates of the Department is assisting the Minister of Information and Communications perform the function of state management and content and techniques on field of radio and television (PT, TH), activities provide content information on the electronic environment, especially on the Internet.

At the same time, the agency also is advised of the Minister in the planning, direction, guidance, the implementation of activities in the development of PT, and the electronic information by the way, the policies of the Party, the law of the State ... (...)

Mr. Luu Vu Hai, the Director said, before the eyes are focused on a number of major tasks such as building the text of the order to improve the management newspapers, PT, TH; substance Raise of the management techniques, reviewing standards, standard industry experts, focused on the cable services in particular, the pay in general; Construction Organization regulations, implemented a number of public service delivery PT, the Ministry of the Management Committee and will be implemented from 2009 ... "

Thus, according to news Ha Noi Moi, the state will manage information for all television (TH), radio (PT), and now is electronic Blog. That is, muzzled the country.

http://74.125.93.104/translate_c?hl...art=40&usg=ALkJrhgq359d3mUQ3Yx56_IxyJzrLv8Ivg

 

[JJackson]

Re: Here we go - News Censorship

<TABLE class=storycontent cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=2>Egypt leader pardons media critic


</TD></TR><TR><TD class=storybody><!-- S BO --><!-- S IBYL --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=466 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=bottom>By Christian Fraser
BBC News, Cairo
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

<!-- E IBYL --><!-- S IIMA --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=226 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>

Mr Eissa's paper argued Egypt had a right to know about Mubarak's health

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA --><!-- S SF -->
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has pardoned a newspaper editor sentenced to jail for publishing an article questioning his state of health.
Ibrahim Eissa was last month given a two-month jail sentence for printing pieces a court said were likely to disturb public security.
Al-Dustour's editor-in-chief is one of the president's more outspoken critics. Mr Mubarak issued the pardon on Armed Forces Day "to affirm his concern for freedom of opinion", state media said. <!-- E SF -->The 80-year-old also wanted to ensure there was "no feud between him as president and any Egyptian citizen", the Mena state news agency added.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7656022.stm
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

[JJackson]

Re: Here we go - News Censorship

Vietnam this time. It seems their is some, presumably spurious, correlation between those countries that have human BF cases and those that have less than fully free press.

<TABLE class=storycontent cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=2>Vietnam sends journalist to jail



</TD></TR><TR><TD class=storybody><!-- S BO --><!-- S IBYL --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=466 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=bottom>By Nga Pham
BBC News

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

<!-- E IBYL --><!-- S IIMA --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=226 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>

Nguyen Viet Chien was defiant in court


</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA --><!-- S SF -->
A court in Vietnam has sentenced a journalist to two years in jail for his reporting on a major corruption case. Nguyen Viet Chien, 56, insisted he was innocent minutes before judge Tran Van Vy delivered the verdict. Another journalist who had pleaded guilty was deemed to have served out a suspended sentence and freed.

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7671079.stm

 

[Giuseppe]

Re: Here we go - News Censorship

Economic Recession is currently gripping most of EU member states. Italy is one of the affected by the crisis.

Several unrests happen these days around the country: students, researchers, teachers, journalists.

A widespread feeling of an impending authoritarian sway of the cabinet is common among people, particularly those involved in public services.

The image represented below depicts one of the few independent newspaper survived in Italy after the rise of an oligopolistic media system, that is at risk of default due to cutting in public finance expenditure for small non-profit organizations, after a recent budgetary law.

The first page announces: ''They would close us.'' (They: the government)

<table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From Flock Photos</td></tr></tbody></table>

 

[Giuseppe]

Re: Here we go - News Censorship

Reuters AlertNet - MSF forced to leave the island of Lampedusa, Italy, after six years of activities

MSF forced to leave the island of Lampedusa, Italy, after six years of activities

31 Oct 2008 16:23:00 GMT
Source: Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) - International
MSF International - Website: http://www.msf.org
Reuters and AlertNet are not responsible for the content of this article or for any external internet sites. The views expressed are the author's alone.

"It is unacceptable that while MSF medical teams are able to respond to the same needs in many different contexts, also in very difficult and tense situations, we are practically forced to stop our medical and humanitarian assistance on the territory of a European state," said Loris de Filippi, MSF Operational Manager in Italy.


MSF has been forced to make this decision after the Italian Interior Ministry refused to sign a new Memorandum of Understanding.

The Ministry has also failed to provide the necessary authorization to allow the MSF team to continue working adequately.

MSF has provided free emergency medical screenings for migrants who arrive by boat on Lampedusa, south of Sicily, since 2002.

MSF teams have visited 4,550 migrants since 2005; of these 1,420 were seen between January and October, 2008.

MSF's presence on the island is necessary due to the high numbers of people landing on its coasts every year - only in 2008 more than 20,000 people - with regional health authorities there not providing medical services.

"It is unacceptable that while MSF medical teams are able to respond to the same needs in many different contexts, also in very difficult and tense situations, we are practically forced to stop our medical and humanitarian assistance on the territory of a European state," said Loris de Filippi, MSF Operational Manager in Italy.

MSF expresses concern about the lack of medical screening at the harbour of Lampedusa after its departure, particularly since its medical staff have noted an increase over the years in diseases linked to the migrants' difficult travelling conditions (shock, hypothermia, skin burns, etc).

The population has also changed dramatically compared with previous years as more people are arriving from war zones or countries affected by droughts such as Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan and Ethiopia (30 percent).

Also remarkable is the increase in the number of women (12 percent) and children (8 percent).

In addition, MSF has noticed more pregnant women among the passengers (151 since the beginning of the year).

For these reasons, MSF recommends that adequate health assistance for migrants at their landing be guaranteed at the harbour of Lampedusa and asks the Italian government to revise its decision and allow MSF's medical team to restart its medical activities.

MSF works in Italy, Malta and Greece to provide access to health care and medical assistance to migrants landing at the southern borders of the European Union.

Only selected MSF documents are posted on Alertnet. For a complete selection of MSF news, please visit the MSF International website
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
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​

<cite cite="http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/MSFIntl/122547036247.htm">Reuters AlertNet - MSF forced to leave the island of Lampedusa, Italy, after six years of activities</cite>

 

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Here we go - News Censorship

Journalists Warn Against Growing Culture Of Intimidation In Fiji

Friday: October 31, 2008

(Pacific Freedon Forum)

Leaders in Fiji's interim government should respect and safeguard the right to freedom of expression as enshrined in the islands' constitution, says the Pacific Freedom Forum.




The PFF says the current push by Fiji's interim Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum to force disclosure on a letter to the Editor published in the Fiji Times is fuelling an ongoing campaign of intimidation against the media in Fiji.

The Pacific Freedom Forum are a regional and global online network of Pacific media colleagues, with the specific intent of raising awareness and advocacy of the right of Pacific people to enjoy freedom of expression and be served by a free and independent media.

"Seeking a court order to force a newspaper to divulge information given in the assurance that the source of the information would be kept confidential seems a bit heavy handed," says PFF chair Susuve Laumaea.

"Coming as it is following the forceful and inhumane deportation of two newspaper publishers from Fiji, the court order seems to perpetuate the culture of threats and intimidation that our colleagues in Fiji have been subjected to since the overthrow of the country's elected government in December 2006," added Laumaea, who hails from a newspaper background in Papua New Guinea.

PFF co-chair Monica Miller, a Samoan radio journalist and past president of the Pacific Islands News Association encouraged the AG to make use of existing public complaint procedures on media practice, via the Fiji Media Council.

"We urge the interim Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum as well as interim Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama to respect the people's right to express themselves freely without fear or intimidation," said Miller.

"We know Fiji has serious issues to deal with and we the members of the Forum respectfully submit that our colleagues in Fiji should be able to report fearlessly and responsibly.

"We do not think that securing a court order to force a newspaper to divulge its sources augurs well for media freedom in Fiji or for any other Pacific island nation for that matter," she says, "and we support the role of all AGs in the region to ensure that the rule of law exists to protect -- not to abuse -- the freedom granted by our Pacific constitutions."

Miller and Laumaea were responding to a Fiji Government statement on October 24 which stated that Sayed-Khaiyum had asked the Fiji High Court to charge the Fiji Times newspaper for contempt.

It follows the publication of a letter to the editor by the newspaper, supposedly critical of the recent High Court decision on the appointment of the interim government now running Fiji.

Sayed-Khaiyum also wanted the Fiji Times to reveal the full details of the author of the letter.

http://www.pacificmagazine.net/news...ainst-growing-culture-of-intimidation-in-fiji

 

[Giuseppe]

Re: Here we go - News Censorship

Websites and broadcasters 'to be banned from reporting matters of national security' - Telegraph

Websites and broadcasters 'should be banned from reporting matters of national security'

Police and security agencies should be given legal powers to ban media reporting on matters of national security, MPs have recommended.


By Christopher Hope, Home Affairs Editor
Last Updated: 3:31PM GMT 10 Nov 2008

The Intelligence and Security Committee is proposing that the Government should be able to gag newspapers and broadcasters from reporting on news stories that are deemed to be against the national interest.

The plans are understood to be contained in the committee's annual report which is due to be published in the new year.

The committee is thought to want to recommend an overhaul of the DA-notice system, under which the Government can request that information regarding military missions, anti-terrorist operations at home and espionage are not publishe.

The unprecedented clampdown was hinted at in the committee's last annual report.It said: "The Committee believes that the role of the media is more important than ever in the fight against terrorism and that this responsibility must be taken seriously by all concerned."

The current system for handling national security information through DA-Notices, and the Agencies' relationships with the media more generally, is not working as effectively as it might and this is putting lives at risk.

"We recommend that the Government engage with the media to develop a new, effective system, with a view to protecting intelligence work, operations, sources and criminal prosecutions, whilst ensuring that the media continue to report on important matters of public interest."

The Cabinet Office replied that it was in talks with the media about changes "to ensure that the DA-Notice system takes account of the increased terrorist threat and global, 24-hour nature of news reporting".

The committee is highly regarded in Government. It receives secret briefings from MI5, MI6 and GCHQ and is seen as being highly influential in forming policy.

No one was available for comment from the committee, which is chaired by former foreign office minister Kim Howells and comprised of MPs from all parties.
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​

<cite cite="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3416905/Websites-and-broadcasters-to-be-banned-from-reporting-matters-of-national-security.html">Websites and broadcasters 'to be banned from reporting matters of national security' - Telegraph</cite>

 

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Here we go - News Censorship

Indonesia pushes Wordpress for blogger's identity; Canadians beat up redheads

Via the Jakarta Post: Govt to pressurize Wordpress into disclosing blogger's ID.

The Department of Communication and Information has sent a formal request to blog hosting site Wordpress to cooperate in the investigation of a blogger allegedly behind a blog containing a comic of Prophet Muhammad.
Telecommunication Technology director general Cahyana Ahmadjayadi said legal processing was to continue regardless of the blog's shutdown.
"This is considered as a cybercrime," Ahmadjayadi said, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.
"Even in its terms of services it's clear that hate speech isn't allowed," he said, adding that he is confident the identity of the blogger would eventually surface.
"If Wordpress declines to disclose the blog owner's identity, we will trace the person ourself," said Ahmadjayadi, referring in particular to the National Police's digital forensic lab.
​

But it's not a simple issue of repressive Indonesians versus free-spirited bloggers. What happens if such a post leads to someone's being hurt or killed?
It's just happened here in British Columbia thanks to Kick a Ginger Day, a half-witted online prank that led to some redheaded kids being assaulted by their classmates. The BC Teachers' Federation is highly angry, and I don't blame them.
http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/ckbetas/2008/11/indonesia-pushe.html

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: Here we go - News Censorship

How can followers of one religion in one country demand the imposition of their religion against a company in another country, in this case WordPress.com of Redwood City, California?

.

 

[tropical]

Re: Here we go - News Censorship

How can followers of one religion in one country demand the imposition of their religion against a company in another country, in this case WordPress.com of Redwood City, California?
.

#78:
"... comic of Prophet Muhammad.
Telecommunication Technology director general Cahyana Ahmadjayadi said legal processing was to continue regardless of the blog's shutdown.
"This is considered as a cybercrime," Ahmadjayadi said, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.
"Even in its terms of services it's clear that hate speech isn't allowed," he said"

___

Respect from other religious beliefs, must be the first postulate of an neutral publishing blogg/blogger, as it is respect for racial, etc., items also.

That's why the cited blogg was quoted with the "hate speech" classification in the netiquette/cybercrime of the afected country.

Remember that some other newspapers stupid irespectfull cartoon released in few countries years ago inflamed the situation worldwide.
With more recent news, the above are the best example that paper/net work agitation can be an dangerous pusher.
What is "joking" for some irespectfull blazed humans, for others can be a deadly spiral ...