tagged w/ Government Censorship
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(Reuters) - Chinese social networking websites that provide Twitter-like services have suddenly reverted to testing mode and access has been spotty amid reports of a government clampdown.
Although Twitter has been banned for more than a year in China, Chinese Internet companies have been quick to fill the void, providing microblogging services that allow users to post frequent updates and follow other posters.
On Wednesday, NetEase.com Inc's microblog (t.163.com) was inaccessible. A notice said the site had been down since 7 p.m. on Tuesday and was under maintenance.
What upsets me is that if this were to happen here, there would be more people upset about their inability to tweet than the infringement on their civil rights...to tweet.(Reuters) - Chinese social networking websites that provide Twitter-like services have... more
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While campaigning for president, Barack Obama promised that if elected, he would make his administration the most transparent ever. But on some important issues, his administration has produced information only after government watchdogs and reporters have spent months pressing for its release, and in some cases suing for it.While campaigning for president, Barack Obama promised that if elected, he would make... more
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A new Pew Research Poll released Thursday found that a vast majority of scientists -- some 77 percent -- say that claims the Bush Administration suppressed research reports that didn't align with Administration's point of view are true.
The survey polled more than 2,500 scientists in collaboration with the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
"Most scientists had heard at least a little about claims that government scientists were not allowed to report research findings that conflicted with the Bush administration’s point of view," Pew wrote. "And the vast majority (77%) says that these claims are true. By contrast, these claims barely registered with the public – more than half heard nothing at all about this issue. Only about a quarter of the public (28%) said they thought the claims were true."
Strikingly, perhaps as a result of the perceived Bush Administration stance, very few scientists identified as Republicans. Just six percent of those polled said they identified as Republicans, with 32 percent self-identifying as independent and 55 percent saying they consider themselves Democrats.
Only nine percent of scientists identified as conservative.
The poll found some deep gulfs between scientists and the public.
"Most notably, 87% of scientists say that humans and other living things have evolved over time and that evolution is the result of natural processes such as natural selection," Pew writes. "Just 32% of the public accepts this as true."
"Both scientists and the public overwhelmingly say it is appropriate for scientists to become active in political debates about such issues as nuclear power or stem cell research," Pew adds. "Virtually all scientists (97%) endorse their participation in debates about these issues, while 76% of the public agrees."A new Pew Research Poll released Thursday found that a vast majority of scientists --... more
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Chinese removed the word "communism" and cut away from live coverage when he mentioned dissent.
Xinua news agency retained the full text in English but edited what they considered rhetoric in the translation.Chinese removed the word "communism" and cut away from live coverage when he... more
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The court's first major broadcast indecency case in 30 years tests whether the government can ban these "fleeting expletives."
Chief Justice John G. Roberts and Justice Antonin Scalia made clear that they strongly support the drive to keep the F-word and the S-word off broadcasts during the hours when children and families are likely to be watching.
Roberts, who has two young children, said families who watch a Hollywood awards program should not have to hear foul words. It is different, he said, if a live sports broadcast picks up a foul word in the background.
A federal appeals court in New York threw out the ban and the government appealed to the Supreme Court.
Fox TV took the lead in challenging the FCC's policy because it had broadcast several of the awards programs that figured in the crackdown.
"At the end of the day, you are regulating the content of speech," said Washington lawyer Carter Phillips. He said the court should block the FCC's new policy, either because it is arbitrary or because it violates the 1st Amendment. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg also said the court needed to consider the free-speech issue. That is "the big elephant in the room," she said.
The government's policy will remain on hold until the high court rules in the case. The FCC has authority to regulate speech on broadcast radio and television stations, but not the Internet, cable and satellite TV.The court's first major broadcast indecency case in 30 years tests whether the... more
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The government detained a Darfur journalist working for a Sudanese daily two weeks ago and have held him incommunicado ever since, said the newspaper's publisher Saturday.
Nurredin Braima, 35, was detained on Oct. 11 after he translated comments from a displaced Darfurian woman into Arabic at a press conference for a visiting Qatari diplomat in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, said Salah Kajam, publisher of the daily Freedom Bells.
The comments were not known, but Kajam speculated the detention was part of a broader government crackdown against journalists and Darfurians to prevent them from speaking about the crisis.
"We believe they did not like the statement of the woman whatever she said and which he volunteered to translate in all honesty," said Kajam. "The sole crime of this man is that he helped a woman whose crime is that she does not speak Arabic."
There has been no contact with the journalist since the arrest and no charges filed, said Kajam.
A government official said Braima was detained for causing a commotion in the room during an official visit. The official did not provide further details and spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
More than 2.5 million people have been displaced in Darfur and up to 300,000 killed since ethnic African groups rebelled against the Arab-dominated national government early in 2003.
Kajam said Braima is a member of the southern Sudan People's Liberation Movement, with which the paper is affiliated.
The SPLM partnered with the north to form a joint central government in 2005 after a peace deal ended a 21-year war between the two sides. But mistrust still runs deep between the two, and implementation of the peace deal has been sluggish.
Kajam said he decided not to print his daily on Thursday after security officials visited his print shop late the night before and removed seven articles and opinion pieces about Braima's arrest.
Sudan has around 30 independent daily papers. But national security concerns are often cited when acting against journalists, and the Darfur crisis remains a sensitive issue. The government detained a Darfur journalist working for a Sudanese daily two weeks ago... more
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