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The National Security Councils records office, which is coordinating the review, apparently intends to scour the book not just for classified material but for information implicating executive privilege a privilege that Mr. Trump and his lawyers have construed expansively in other contexts though executive privilege is decidedly not a permissible basis for prior restraint. The White House has sent Mr. Bolton a letter expressly warning him against publishing the book.

Of course Mr. Boltons case is unusual, and it is possible that public and congressional pressure will force the White House to review his manuscript promptly and fairly. (Prominent Republicans, for their part, seem to be focused on persuading Mr. Bolton to withdraw his book, or failing that, on limiting the books audience to the senators hearing the impeachment case against Mr. Trump.)

But the spectacle of White House censors deciding, without any real constraint, whether to permit a former government official to publish a manuscript critical of the president should nonetheless provoke alarm.

The necessary changes to this process have been obvious for years: Prepublication review should apply to fewer people and fewer secrets. There should be narrower submission requirements, clearer censorship standards, enforceable deadlines and a meaningful right of judicial review. Mr. Boltons case surely underscores the urgency of these reforms.

Its not just Mr. Boltons rights at issue here. Former government officials often have unique insights about the operation of government. When censors suppress these voices, they inflict a constitutional injury on the public as well. As Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for a unanimous Supreme Court in 2014, Speech by public employees on subject matter related to their employment holds special value precisely because those employees gain knowledge of matters of public concern through their employment.

Mr. Bolton is an unlikely standard-bearer for the publics right to know, having worked at the highest levels of an administration notorious for its hostility to the First Amendment. But everyone who values an informed public, and an accountable government, should be troubled that the fate of Mr. Boltons book is in the hands of the White House, and that government censors have so much control over what we will read, and when we will read it.

Jameel Jaffer is the executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. Ramya Krishnan is a staff attorney at the institute.

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We May Never See John Boltons Book - The New York Times

From time to time we hear that a totalitarian government has locked down Internet access for a part or all of their country. Normally, that is about all we hear about the situation. In the case of India, not normally thought of as a Totalitarian government, we have a unique opportunity to look at what they are censoring as they began to relax the total lockout of Internet services that was put into place in Jammu and Kashmir.

The lift of total censorship began on January 14th, when Internet Service Providers were ordered to install firewalls that would only allow access to 153 government-approved websites. As was pointed out by The Wire, No Mainstream News in List of 153 Whitelisted Websites Under Kashmirs First Govt Firewall. TheWire.in noted that Conspicuously absent from the list that includes Gmail, Netflix, Zomato, Oyo Rooms and Paytm are news and social media websites.

The order from the Principal Secretary to the Government, Home Department to the ISPs stated that the Internet shutdown was because there have been number of reports of the use of internet in cross border terrorism/terror activities, incitement, rumour-mongering, etc. as also misuse of pre-paid mobile connections by anti-national elements.

I would invite others to make relevant observations in the comments sections, or in your own publications linking back to this page. The list is intended to be a faithful representation of the new order, which can be found on the JK Home Office website as Home-05(TSTS) of 2020.

While the order has been commonly described as containing 300 URLs, there are a handful of duplicates, where a URL was included both with a trailing slash and without the slash. It should also be noted that there are a very large number of websites included by Top Level Domain, due to the inclusion of the TLDs: Ac.in (most academic institutions in India will be included here), Gov.in (most government offices and services in India will be included here), and Nic.in (most network infrastructure services from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is included here.)

It is curious how it was decided which websites to include and not to include. For example, why include Adidas and Reebok, but not Nike? Im sure the programmers are thrilled to see that Github and StackOverflow are included! What other observations strike you as interesting? Please comment or Tweet about them!

*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from CyberCrime & Doing Time authored by Gary Warner, UAB. Read the original post at: http://garwarner.blogspot.com/2020/01/how-does-government-censor-internet.html

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How does a government censor the Internet? A rare peek from Jammu and Kashmir - Security Boulevard

The New York Times took a break from flogging the impeachment circus to recently committing a true act of journalism, making the point that people become angry when a government of the authoritarian left suppresses important information.

The national socialist media normally champions the authoritarianism of China exemplified by their being impressed that they can build a hospital in six days.

China has a record of getting things done fast even for monumental projects like this, says Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations.

This authoritarian country relies on this top down mobilisation approach. They can overcome bureaucratic nature and financial constraints and are able to mobilise all of the resources.

However, the New York Times recently noted a downside to systems of centralized control: As Virus Spreads, Anger Floods Chinese Social Media.

The government usually keeps a tight grip on what is said, seen and heard about it. But the sheer amount of criticism and the often clever ways in which critics dodge censors, such as by referring to Xi Jinping, Chinas top leader, as Trump or by comparing the outbreak to the Chernobyl catastrophe have made it difficult for Beijing to control the message.

The condemnations stand as a rare direct challenge to the Communist Party, which brooks no dissent in the way it runs China. In some cases, Chinese leaders appear to be acknowledging peoples fear, anger and other all-too-human reactions to the crisis, showing how the party can move dramatically, if sometimes belatedly, to mollify the public.

The left is based on authoritarianism, but it cannot admit this basic truth. The authoritarian socialists in China cannot be honest with their people in normal, everyday matters. This destroys any trust the people have in their government, so even when it may tell the truth in an emergency, no one will accept this as the truth.

Thus, they are already behind the eight ball when it comes to these situations, making them far worse. There are times when government has an important role in society, but when it aggressively asserts control and is deceptive, this negates that role. They cant very well admit that they lied before, but they are being trustworthy now.

While they can use brute force to get things done, the same doesnt hold true for intellectual endeavors. Those take a meritocracy of sorts, the kind of thing authoritarianism tends to suppress.

While leftists secretly love authoritarianism, the stark reality of an emergency shows that freedom based societies are better prepared to deal with them. They can be honest with people because they had to do that in the past. They can also solve the problem faster because they are intellectually equipped to do so.

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The New York Times finally realizes that censorship and socialism are bad ideas in an emergency The New York Times finally realises that censorship...

Home and Away has responded to claims of censorship after cutting same-sex kissing scenes.

The soap recently aired the romantic scenes between Alex and her girlfriend Willow on New Zealand television, but those moments were cut from episodes that aired in Australia.

Related: Home and Away star praises shock death storyline after leaving the show

Fans in Australia have since taken to social media to share their confusion and disappointment at the missing scenes, one of which sees Alex kiss Willow in a bar, and another features a long emotional speech that also ends with a kiss.

In a statement (via ABC), Channel 7 claimed that it accidentally aired the wrong versions of two episodes in Australia due to "human error".

"As with any television show, numerous changes are made throughout the post-production process all the way up until final broadcast," the statement read.

Related: Home and Away star speaks out after shock death in 2020 season premiere

The network also said that "the final versions of those episodes" will be shown on its streaming service in Australia, 7Plus.

But needless to say, fans weren't happy when the scenes were initially cut:

Home and Away's UK broadcaster Channel 5 has confirmed to Digital Spy that the scenes will not be cut when it screens the episodes in the coming weeks.

A spokesperson told us: "This is not content that Channel 5 would remove."

Home and Away airs weekdays at 1.15pm and 6pm on Channel 5 (UK) and Mondays to Thursdays at 7pm on Channel 7 (Australia).

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Home and Away responds to claims of censorship after cutting same-sex kissing scenes - digitalspy.com

Paducah's Yeiser Art Center started 2020 with its annual Members Exhibition, putting local artists to the task of tackling censorship as YAC partners with the Carson Center to foster discussion around Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" and the NEA Big Read program.

"It's an incredible opportunity for growth, exchange, and interaction with new audiences," YAC Executive Director Lexie Abra Millikan said. "I hope that this exhibition opens up some conversations regarding censorship; who makes decisions about art that is exhibited? Why do they make those decisions?"

The exhibit features more than 50 works from a wide array of mediums, including painting, drawing, fiber, ceramics, sculpture, woodworking and mixed media, all from members of the YAC.

"It's important to recognize our members because they are incredibly talented," Millikan added. "The YAC was founded by artists and has only survived because of the continued support of artists. It's also important because it gives the community the chance to see artwork by people that they might not normally get to see."

An opening reception Saturday evening afforded the artists and the public an opportunity to come together to see the fruits of their efforts. Josh Morehead, the director of education and assistant director of development for the Carson Center, handed out awards for the exhibit.

Robert Shapiro's "Return to Eden" took home first place, Michael Terra's "Redacted" earned second and "Works By Female Artists Are Prohibited In This Edition" by Fred Reaves received third place. "Chicken, Chicken," a piece by Anthony Woodruff with Eli Riley, was named an honorable mention.

The YAC staff selected two pieces, Deb Lyons' "Some Of My Favorites" and Lu Colby "Sew or be Sewn," as its staff picks.

Other activities revolving around "Fahrenheit 451" and the Carson Center's NEA Big Read program can be found by visiting the performing arts center's website.

Works in the Members Exhibition will be on display at the Yeiser through Feb. 29.

Located at 200 Broadway, the gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $5 during regular opening hours, except Wednesday's when admission is free. Yeiser members always receive free admission to exhibitions.

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New Yeiser exhibit tackles topic of censorship in art - Paducah Sun