Archive for the ‘Censorship’ Category

Cubans Evade Censorship By Exchanging Flash Drives

concealment sends this quote from an article about evading internet censorship with the sneakernet: "Dissident Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez on Saturday told newspaper publishers from around the Western Hemisphere that 'nothing is changing' in Cubas ossified political system and that 'the situation of press freedom in my country is calamitous.' But Sanchez said underground blogs, digital portals and illicit e-magazines proliferate, passed around on removable computer drives known as memory sticks. The small computer memories, also known as flash drives or thumb drives, are dropped into friendly hands on buses and along street corners, offering a surprising number of Cubans access to information. 'Information circulates hand to hand through this wonderful gadget known as the memory stick,' Sanchez said, 'and it is difficult for the government to intercept them. I can't imagine that they can put a police officer on every corner to see who has a flash drive and who doesn't.'"

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Cubans Evade Censorship By Exchanging Flash Drives

Index on Censorship magazine launches new print edition

Public release date: 19-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Pam Cowburn pam@indexoncensorship.org 020-732-42533 SAGE Publications

London (19 March 2013). To celebrate more than 40 years as the world's most influential free speech magazine, Index on Censorship has launched a new print edition.

Index Chief Executive Kirsty Hughes said:

'The magazine's fresh new look reflects Index's increasingly international outlook and role in setting the agenda for freedom of expression. The magazine will continue to build on its unique literary heritage with intelligent content from the world's best authors, writers and thinkers, bringing readers the sharpest journalism, comment and analysis on the key free speech trends of the day.'

Index on Censorship will continue to publish ground-breaking serious journalism with an in-depth report on a pertinent topic or specific region in each issue. In addition, there will be up-to the minute news, opinion pieces and views from the ground. 'In Focus' will explore Index's global themes - from digital censorship, government censorship and surveillance to religious and cultural pressures, restrictive laws and access to information. There's interviews with high profile artists, activists and politicians as well as news of how Index is challenging censorship and supporting those on the frontline of the fight for free expression.

The magazine was designed by Matthew Hasteley, who said:

'Tackling a brief to modernize a magazine of Index's heritage is not a task you can approach without a great degree of care and respect. The magazine balances the weight of its past accomplishments with its current, ongoing struggle against censorship around the globe, and the design need to reflect that tension - honouring the gravity of its editorial content.'

The Magazine is published by SAGE, a leading independent academic and professional publisher. Global Publishing Director, Ziyad Marar said:

"We at SAGE are incredibly proud to publish Index's award-winning magazine. It perfectly exemplifies our belief that the free expression of ideas leads to healthy minds and healthy cultures. We hope this new design will ensure the range of important work we publish receives an even more engaged and wider readership. As one of this year's awards judges my personal sense of the hugely important contribution that Index can make has never been more strongly underscored."

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Index on Censorship magazine launches new print edition

Outspoken Kai-fu Lee details Chinese censorship

The well-known Chinese executive and censorship critic posts a list of how often his comments on social networks are deleted. It's a lot.

Kai-fu Lee, addressing the Abu Dhabi Media Summit in 2010.

Widely followed Chinese commentator Kai-fu Lee, a former Google and Microsoft executive, took to Twitter today to lay out just how often his blog posts get censored.

Turns out, it's quite often.

Lee, who ran Google's China division and founded Microsoft's China research lab before that, is now an investor in China. He speaks out regularly about censorship in China and recently encouraged his 30 million followers on the Chinese social-networking site Weibo to follow him on Twitter.

Today, Lee tweeted to those followers that his posts have been deleted dozens of times during the last year. Some 20 posts were censored in just the last few weeks when Lee was commenting on the news of thousands of rotting pig carcases floating in the rivers of Shanghai. He's also spoken out about the new Chinese government leaders.

The Chinese government has been particularly sensitive to discussions on the Weibo and Tencent social-networking sites about politics and the environment. Last month, Lee was banned for three days after using Weibo to complain about state controls over the Internet, something he referred to in his Tweet today as his "3-day silence."

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Outspoken Kai-fu Lee details Chinese censorship

Reporting from Moscow under strict censorship – Video


Reporting from Moscow under strict censorship
Former CBS Radio Correspondent Marvin Kalb marks the 75th anniversary of the CBS World News Roundup, describing his experience reporting from Moscow under st...

By: CBSNewsOnline

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Reporting from Moscow under strict censorship - Video

Media self- censorship

Assuming three things: that ethnic tensions between Indians and Africans are worsening; that a significant contributor (some would say the main contributor) is politics; and that mainstream mass media remain a legitimising conduit for racial rhetoric, is it time for media leaders to agree on self-censorship in their coverage of racially provocative statements/events?

We have come through a divisive and desperate Tobago House of Assembly (THA) election which will be remembered for Hilton Sandys Calcutta ship announcement, the failure of his PNM party to censure him in an unprecedented way, and the Governmentunder the banner of the Tobago Organisation of the People (TOP)milking it for all its political poison. And thats only one very recent event. We wait in trepidation for local government and general elections.

The country is at a crossroads, saturated with discontent and resentment. Trauma at the loss of political reins is raw among some Africans and translatesin uniquely Trinidadian termsas Indians taking over, which in turn draws from the equally unique Trinidadian proverb Indians have land and money; Africans have political power.

The present Government, meanwhile, promised a coalition that represents and treats equally with all peoples but quickly turned into a UNC Government consumed with old racial prejudices and a rabid desire to equalise government patronage by unethical means. That the UNC found a new face and voice to spew old prejudices born of self-hate has been a handful of salt in racial wounds.

All this is happening in a climate of exceptional violence, short tempers, unending cries for justice, and plenty, plenty guns. Is it time, then, for mass media to prevent circulation of news that can potentially incite that which I will not name but which most of us fear?

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Media self- censorship