Censorship

[CptSternn]

Recently, people have been focusing on government censoring history, claiming it was to appease a minority, where as in reality they did so to hide their own past.

This being said that type of behaviour is becoming commonplace in many societies today. In fact, an article off the wires today has a nice bit on this practice in the states today.

Bush, Defense Dept. get 'Muzzle' awards

http://news.**********/s/ap/20070410...1DZJRJUnvMWM0F

RICHMOND, Va. - The Bush administration and the Defense Department are among the winners of the 2007 Jefferson Muzzle awards, given Tuesday by a free-speech group to those it considers the most egregious First Amendment violators in the past year.

The Bush administration appears on the list, compiled by the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, for its efforts to discourage, modify and sometimes censor government scientists' reports and studies to be more in line with the administration's political policies, notably on global warming, the center said.

"The number of major scientists who have come forward and indicated they were constrained by the administration viewpoint is quite worrisome," center director Robert M. O'Neil told The Associated Press. "There have been similar concerns arising in other areas but we wanted to focus specifically on climate change as the most invaded or intruded area."

The Defense Department won a Muzzle for its covert investigations of organizations that conducted peaceful anti-war protests, most of which were against military recruitment for the U.S. wars in
Iraq and
Afghanistan, the center said. Created in 2003, TALON (Threat and Local Observation Notice) also monitored e-mail messages among members of anti-war groups. Its activities were uncovered last year after the
American Civil Liberties Union filed numerous Freedom of Information Act requests.

"We recognize that our government appropriately gathers information," O'Neil said. "Anything related to genuine terrorist activity is of legitimate concern, but we're troubled when it extends to innocuous groups that oppose the war."

In citing the Bush administration, the free-speech center noted testimony from Philip Cooney, the former chief of staff for the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Cooney publicly answered questions before the
House Government Reform Committee about 181 changes he made to three government climate reports, and defended many of the changes.

Questions were raised about Cooney's qualifications, including that he was an oil-industry lobbyist before working for the Bush administration. He left in 2005 to work for Exxon Mobil Corp.

Other winners of the 16th annual awards include the Ohio General Assembly for enacting a state-level version of the Patriot Act, which requires state job applicants to answer a six-question survey about potential terrorist activity or affiliation; and U.S. Rep. Pete King, R-N.Y., for calling for a criminal espionage investigation of The New York Times because of its stories about the federal government's surveillance of international financial transactions.

The targeting of "a newspaper that truthfully brings to light an information-gathering or -seeking program, to me, is frightening," O'Neil said. "The Times (held the story) for a year to make sure it was accurate and assess the potential impact. Rep. King never acknowledged any of these mitigating circumstances; he just charged right in."

The Charlottesville, Va., center awards the Muzzles annually to mark the April 13 birthday of its namesake, the third president and free-speech advocate.

A Muzzle also went to the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its "politically correct and arbitrary policy" on athletic team logos. The
NCAA allowed the College of William and Mary to keep its "Tribe" nickname, but required it to remove the two feathers from its logo. At the same time, Florida State University was allowed to retain its war-painted Seminole mascot, largely because the Seminole Tribe supports the school's use of its name and symbols.

"What's problematic is that it differentiates based on acquiescence that can be obtained from some tribes and penalizes those that don't have identifiable tribes," O'Neil said.

Other Muzzle winners included Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher, for blocking access to some liberal-leaning Web sites from state-owned computers while permitting access to conservative Web sites; the Maine Bureau of Liquor Enforcement, for banning the sale of three specialty beers because they had labels depicting bare-breasted women and a label showing Santa Claus drinking; and Florida's Miami-Dade County Public School Board for banning the children's picture book "A Visit to Cuba" from school libraries after a parent complained that the book was insufficiently critical of life in the communist nation.


Is anyone else bothered by the fact a government would silence historians, scientists, and any other groups who publish facts and data that discount the administrations claims?

[CptSternn]

I spoke of the new Al Jazeera in a few other threads and their capabilities. Turns out there is a reason most Americans don't know about them - due to political pressure they have been kept in the dark about most of this...

Al-Jazeera big, but not in U.S.

http://news.**********/s/ap/20070417...tZRHNccU6s0NUE

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Al-Jazeera's English language television has in its six-month existence gained strong viewership across Europe, in parts of Asia, Australia — and even Israel, according to executives and local companies that carry it.

But no major cable or satellite provider in the U.S. is carrying the channel, a decision the network blames on political pressure. U.S. carriers, however, say there is simply no market.

Nearly 100 million households worldwide receive Al-Jazeera's English service, almost half as many as CNN, station executives say. Since January, it has been broadcasting news to 550,000 Israeli homes on Yes TV, the country's largest cable provider.

"It's extraordinary that while the rest of the world is happy to watch us ... the U.S. stands in splendid isolation," said Al-Jazeera English managing director Nigel Parsons at the station's headquarters in the Persian Gulf state of Qatar.


The whole article is worth the read. This explains in some part why Americans tend to be on the other end of many arguments worldwide - as I have said time and time again, American news is censored. When a truly counter-point type of news appears such as this, they keep it from the people and, as I also have said time and time again, go after it's credibility when they can't fight the message.

The correspondence from AJ are former NBC/BBC/CBS/AP/etc - all well known, western news correspondents. If you can get it in your area, or have broadband, check them out - they have footage and interviews I promise you that you will NEVER see in western news outlets.

[KontanKarite]

I've already stated my view on censorship.

Fuck censorship.

[DarkHeartedDemoness]

Originally Posted by KontanKarite

I've already stated my view on censorship.

Fuck censorship.

So, I had this shoulderbag in high school that I decorated myself and on one side, I wrote "Ban Censorship!"

I thought I was funny.

[Vako]

I hesitated to contribute to this thread because of who it was started by, but back in the day I saw something that said "There's nothing decent about censorship".

I thought that was kind of clever.

[KontanKarite]

For a second there, I thought you guys were being sarcastic. LoL!

[Drake Dun]

I ******* hate ****-brained censoring ******** who try to ******* stop us from saying things like "****", "****", and "*****". Who the **** are they to decide which ******* words we can use?

Drake

[dark_dragon_of_ice]

Fill in the gaps time =p.

[CptSternn]

Since they can't win the war, they now are trying to hide that fact from the troops. So, in efforts to hide the truth from those out there on the battlefield...

http://news.**********/s/ap/20070514...qrgQKIXMTMWM0F

Defense Department blocks some Web sites

DENVER - Soldiers serving overseas will lose some of their online links to friends and loved ones back home under a
Department of Defense policy that a high-ranking Army official said would take effect Monday.

The Defense Department will begin blocking access "worldwide" to YouTube, MySpace and 11 other popular Web sites on its computers and networks, according to a memo sent Friday by Gen. B.B. Bell, the U.S. Forces Korea commander.

The policy is being implemented to protect information and reduce drag on the department's networks, according to Bell.

"This recreational traffic impacts our official DoD network and bandwidth ability, while posing a significant operational security challenge," the memo said.

The armed services have long barred members of the military from sharing information that could jeopardize their missions or safety, whether electronically or by other means.

The new policy is different because it creates a blanket ban on several sites used by military personnel to exchange messages, pictures, video and audio with family and friends.

Members of the military can still access the sites on their own computers and networks, but Defense Department computers and networks are the only ones available to many soldiers and sailors in
Iraq and
Afghanistan.

Iraqi insurgents or their supporters have been posting videos on YouTube at least since last fall. The Army recently began posting videos on YouTube showing soldiers defeating insurgents and befriending Iraqis.

But the new rules mean many military personnel won't be able to watch those achievements — at least not on military computers.

If the restrictions are intended to prevent soldiers from giving or receiving bad news, they could also prevent them from providing positive reports from the field, said Noah Shachtman, who runs a national security blog for Wired Magazine.

"This is as much an information war as it is bombs and bullets," he said. "And they are muzzling their best voices."

The sites covered by the ban are the video-sharing sites YouTube, Metacafe, IFilm, StupidVideos, and FileCabi, the social networking sites MySpace, BlackPlanet and Hi5, music sites Pandora, MTV, and 1.fm, and live365, and the photo-sharing site Photobucket.

Several companies have instituted similar bans, saying recreational sites drain productivity.

Note to date, they block news channels, except for Fox, they block many newspapers, and now, since they can't block the internet, they will just block sites with videos, news, and messaging.

Reminds me of the scene in Good Morning Vietnam when Robin Williams character finds the 'censoring' room and is enraged to find that half of all the news he is supposed to be reporting is being marked out with red marker as it is 'unacceptable' to inform the troops of the real situation on the ground, or at least was deemed so by the powers that be at the time.

Seems once again history is repeating itself.

[Edward Strange]

I remeber that bit!

"And in other news a BOMB DIDN'T GO OFF TODAY!"

That made me very cross to say the least.
I remeber hearing about the dastardly Chinese government banning and censoring information to do with China's past.
Cultural revolution and other nasty things they would rather be swept under the rug.

Terrible business.

What makes me just as miffed is when the truth does get spread around and no-one does anything about it.

A -million- people marched on London against the war in Iraq. Fat lot of good that did.
Bloody boys in their bubble.

[CptSternn]

Following up on this thread...

Former Bush surgeon general says he was muzzled

http://news.**********/s/nm/bush_surgeongeneral_dc

http://news.**********/s/ap/20070711...tt63vJO5ms0NUE

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The first U.S. surgeon general appointed by President George W. Bush accused the administration on Tuesday of political interference and muzzling him on key issues like embryonic stem cell research.

"Anything that doesn't fit into the political appointees' ideological, theological or political agenda is ignored, marginalized or simply buried," Dr. Richard Carmona, who served as the nation's top doctor from 2002 until 2006, told a House of Representatives committee.

"The problem with this approach is that in public health, as in a democracy, there is nothing worse than ignoring science, or marginalizing the voice of science for reasons driven by changing political winds. The job of surgeon general is to be the doctor of the nation, not the doctor of a political party," Carmona added.

Carmona said Bush administration political appointees censored his speeches and kept him from talking out publicly about certain issues, including the science on embryonic stem cell research, contraceptives and his misgivings about the administration's embrace of "abstinence-only" sex education.

Carmona's comments came two days before a Senate committee is due to hold a hearing on Bush's nomination of Dr. James Holsinger as his successor. The administration allowed Carmona to finish his term as surgeon general last year without a replacement in place.

Gay rights activists and several leading Democrats have criticized Holsinger for what they see as "anti-gay" writings, but the White House has defended him as well qualified.

U.S. surgeons general in the past have issued influential reports on subjects including smoking, AIDS and mental health.

"Political interference with the work of the surgeon general appears to have reached a new level in this administration," said Rep. Henry Waxman, a California Democrat who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to which Carmona testified.

"The public expects that a surgeon general will be immune from political pressure and be allowed to express his or her professional views based on the best available science," he said.

Carmona said he was politically naive when he took the job, but became astounded at the partisanship and manipulation he witnessed as administration political appointees hemmed him in.

Bush in 2001 allowed federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research, but only with heavy restrictions that many scientists condemn as stifling.

Carmona said the administration prevented him from voicing views on stem cell research. Many scientists see it as a promising avenue for curing many diseases. But because it involves destroying human embryos, opponents call it immoral.

Carmona said he was prevented from talking publicly even about the science underpinning the research to enable the U.S. public to have a better understanding of a complicated issue. He said most of the public debate over the matter has been driven by political, ideological or theological motivations.

"I was blocked at every turn. I was told the decision had already been made -- stand down, don't talk about it," he said.

Carmona testified with two predecessors, Dr. C. Everett Koop, who served under President Ronald Reagan, and Dr. David Satcher, named by Clinton but whose term ended under Bush.

Carmona said some of his predecessors told him, "We have never seen it as partisan, as malicious, as vindictive, as mean-spirited as it is today, and you clearly have worse than anyone's had."



To date, this is yet another official who points out the bush admin has stifled free speech and told scientists to change their findings to fall in line with their ideology. In fact, the past 3 SG's were all there together to express outrage at the bush admin.

It speaks volumes that the SG from the past three presidencies spanning decades would come forward with this sort of protest.