Just how deep does the rabbit hole go?
Posts tagged censorship
Bahrain Jails Six Twitter Users for Insulting King
05 days ago
Source: http://advocacy.globalvoicesonline.org
Written by Amira Al Hussaini
Six Twitter users were sentenced to a year in prison each by a Bahrain court on May 15 for allegedly insulting King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa on the micro-blogging site.
According to the government-run Bahrain News Agency, the “six suspects” where charged in five different cases “related to the misuse of freedom of expression and defaming His Majesty the King on Twitter.” It added that the six were “charged [with] misusing freedoms of expression and opinion publicly and remanded…in custody ahead of their trial.”
King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa of Bahrain with US Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England. Released to the public domain.
F2C2012: Aaron Swartz keynote – “How we stopped SOPA”
04 months ago
F2C2012: Aaron Swartz keynote – “How we stopped SOPA”
Published on May 22, 2012
Aaron Swartz keynote – “How we stopped SOPA” at F2C:Freedom to Connect 2012, Washington DC on May 21 2012.
Please support #PDFTribute papers uploaded by academics in honour of Aaron Swartz are being scraped here: http://pdftribute.net/
Amber Lyon Interview on Next News Network
04 months ago
Source: http://nextnewsnetwork.com/
Amber Lyon, 3 time Emmy Award-winning Investigative Journalist, appeared on the Next News Network for an insightful interview with Gary Franchi. Amber reflects on her censorship by CNN, the business relationship between CNN and the government in Bahrain with the resulting propaganda, human rights abuses and much more.
See all the interviews, guests and share the information here at the Next News Network with your friends and social network connections. Follow the link on the main N3 (NextNewsNetwork) site to donate to support the efforts of freedom in journalism and reports such as this.
Related posts:
Counting Down because “Now is the Time”!
President Obama Has Turned Journalists into Criminals
Amber Lyon reveals CNN lies and war propaganda
CNN Journalist: Mainstream Media Takes Money from FOREIGN Dictators to Run Flattering Propaganda
Exclusive: CNN Exposed by former reporter Amber Lyon – Caught Producing “State News” in Bahrain
Former Reporter Amber Lyon Exposes Massive Censorship at CNN
How the NDAA Directly Threatens Average Americans, and How You Can Take Action Now
17 months ago
Source: http://amberlyonlive.com
By Amber Lyon
Posted on October 10, 2012
Amber Lyon: “Feel free to use the above photo to spread awareness”
Journalists rarely take a vocal stand against legislation in order to remain objective, but sometimes new laws are such an egregious assault on our basic rights to democracy and freedom that we have a duty to speak up.
This is the case with the National Defense Authorization Act, a relatively new law that gives the U.S. military the power to detain anyone without trial indefinitely, further criminalizing dissent and investigative journalism in the United States.
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What does the NDAA do?
The NDAA gives the federal government the power to behave like dictators and arrest any American citizen, or anyone for that matter, without warrant and indefinitely detain them in offshore prisons without charge and keep them there until “the end of hostilities.”
The American Civil Liberties Union, calls the law a “catastrophic blow to civil liberties”.
Obama lied to the public and said he would veto the NDAA’s indefinite detention clauses. Instead, he surreptitiously signed the NDAA into law on Dec. 31, 2011 while most Americans were distracted celebrating New Years Eve. Both Romney and Obama have publicly stated their support for the new law.
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“I’m not doing anything wrong, I don’t need to worry about the NDAA”
You do need to worry. The NDAA directly affects your everyday life because it is another violation of your rights to free speech, a fair trial. The NDAA also suffocates information that could expose the corruption that’s rapidly destroying this country and affecting you financially.
The NDAA will prevent some whistleblowers from coming forward with information and documents vital to the public good in fear the corrupt will pressure authorities to use the NDAA to detain the whistleblower indefinitely.
We need to reward, not instill fear in our whistleblowers. They are vital to the survival of this nation. If we don’t know what’s broke, how can we fix it? What if a government whistleblower had come forward before the start of the war to let the public know Saddam Hussein really didn’t have weapons of mass destruction in Iraq?
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Investigative Journalists could start being ‘disappeared’ under the NDAA
The NDAA frightens journalists because it turns us into criminals. There are no provisions within the law to protect journalists. As journalists, we take a vow to never reveal our confidential sources. If the U.S. government, or corrupt corporations pressuring authorities, want information on our confidential sources, the NDAA gives them the power to indefinitely detain us by saying the refusal to reveal sources is an act that is “aiding terrorists” .
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We are all ‘terrorists’
Another disturbing aspect of the NDAA is that it allows the government to imprison anyone suspected of or even associated with ‘terrorism’. This power is open to wide interpretation under the law and can and will be abused.
Who in the heck is a terrorist anymore? We’ve witnessed the U.S. government and Military-industrial complex mold the term ‘terrorist’ to their subjective and financial goals too many times to trust any use of that word. Even Nobel Peace Prize-winner Nelson Mandela was once considered a terrorist by governments worldwide and put on U.S. terrorist watch lists.
As Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges told Democracy Now, the term ‘terrorist’ is too loose so what the NDAA is really doing is setting up a legal mechanism to criminalize dissent.
“We saw an attempt to link the U.S. Day of Rage with Al Qaeda. Once they link you with a terrorist group, then these draconian forms of control can be used against legitimate forms of protest, in particularly the Occupy Movement,” Hedges said. Corrupt corporations can use the NDAA to pressure the government to crush banking protests, environmental protests, strikes… it’s a slippery slope.
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The NDAA will be used to crush protests
Possibly most disturbing is the NDAA’s power to crush all dissent and protests in the U.S., protests that are vital to free speech, change, the survival of democracy.
What will keep the government, possibly under pressure from banks, corporations and the Military-industrial complex, from starting to list various protesters and organizations as terrorists? What will happen when protesters stop voicing their concerns or hitting the streets because they fear they will ‘disappear’ under the NDAA?
The systematic crushing of dissent through NDAA-esque powers is already happening in this country. The family of U.S. Marine Veteran Brandon Raub, says he was kidnapped by law enforcement after posting anti-U.S. government statements on Facebook.
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We must rise up and take action to stop the NDAA before it’s too late. Here’s more information on the law and ways you can get involved:
Journalist Chris Hedges Sues the Obama Administration over the NDAA
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Additional Amber Lyon related posts can be found by following the links below:
Amber Lyon reveals CNN lies and war propaganda
CNN Journalist: Mainstream Media Takes Money from FOREIGN Dictators to Run Flattering Propaganda
Exclusive: CNN Exposed by former reporter Amber Lyon – Caught Producing “State News” in Bahrain
Former Reporter Amber Lyon Exposes Massive Censorship at CNN
JRE #273 – Amber Lyon, Brian Redban
Amber Lyon reveals CNN lies and war propaganda
07 months ago
Published on Oct 2, 2012 by RTAmerica
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad both delivered two of the most controversial speeches at the latest session of the United Nations General Assembly. And while the Israeli’s speech was aired in full on CNN, the Iranian’s address has been ruthlessly cut and the viewers have missed some very important points. What are the ramifications of this kind of selective reporting? RT’s Liz Wahl is joined by Amber Lyon, a three-time Emmy award winning journalist who suggests that sensationalism, hype and downright propaganda is being used to push America into a war with Iran.
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Related posts:
CNN Journalist: Mainstream Media Takes Money from FOREIGN Dictators to Run Flattering Propaganda
Exclusive: CNN Exposed by former reporter Amber Lyon – Caught Producing “State News” in Bahrain
Former Reporter Amber Lyon Exposes Massive Censorship at CNN
Philippines gags internet with ‘draconian’ cyber crime law
17 months ago
Source: http://rt.com
An office worker browses an on-line pharmacy in Manila.(AFP Photo / Jay Directo)
The Philippines has approved measures to prosecute users that post “defamatory” comments on social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook. They will be liable for a fine of 1 million pesos (US$24,000) or face up to 12 years in prison.
Websites that publish the material may also be shut down.
The cyber-law has been branded as ‘draconian’ and a serious violation of freedom of speech by rights groups.
“The cyber crime law needs to be repealed or replaced,” said Brad Adams, Asia director of the Human Rights Watch. “It violates Filipinos’ rights to free expression and it is wholly incompatible with the Philippine government’s obligations under international law.”
He stressed that while the bill was in action it will have a “chilling effect over the entire Philippines online community.”
The new legislation extends Philippines libel law, which has been previously contested by Human Rights Watch, into cyberspace.
Aside from prosecuting users who post material deemed offensive, the bill grants authorities the power to collate and retain information from people’s Facebook and Twitter profiles, as well as eavesdropping on conversations over Skype.
“Anybody using popular social networks or who publishes online is now at risk of a long prison term should a reader – including government officials – bring a libel charge,” Adams said. “Allegedly libelous speech, online or off-line, should be handled as a private civil matter, not as a crime.”
Exclusive: CNN Exposed by former reporter Amber Lyon – Caught Producing “State News” in Bahrain
07 months ago
The Amber Lyon story is just the latest in a series of articles that expose the total Joseph Goebbels like censorship rampant in mainstream media today. The first one I posted several weeks ago exposed how the NY Times basically just regurgitates whatever government officials tell them, while the other showcased how an NPR reporter covering D.C. had to leave and do her own thing out of frustration. This is precisely why alternative media sites are taking off. They provide the only outlets left for genuine journalism.http://www.amberlyonlive.com/
So back to Amber. Back in March 2011, CNN sent a four person team to Bahrain to cover the Arab Spring. Once there, the crew was the subject of extreme intimidation amongst other things, but they were able to record some fantastic footage. As Glenn Greenwald of the UK’s Guardian writes in his blockbuster article from today:
“In the segment, Lyon interviewed activists as they explicitly described their torture at the hands of government forces, while family members recounted their relatives’ abrupt disappearances. She spoke with government officials justifying the imprisonment of activists. And the segment featured harrowing video footage of regime forces shooting unarmed demonstrators, along with the mass arrests of peaceful protesters. In sum, the early 2011 CNN segment on Bahrain presented one of the starkest reports to date of the brutal repression embraced by the US-backed regime.
Despite these accolades, and despite the dangers their own journalists and their sources endured to produce it, CNN International (CNNi) never broadcast the documentary. Even in the face of numerous inquiries and complaints from their own employees inside CNN, it continued to refuse to broadcast the program or even provide any explanation for the decision. To date, this documentary has never aired on CNNi.
Having just returned from Bahrain, Lyon says she “saw first-hand that these regime claims were lies, and I couldn’t believe CNN was making me put what I knew to be government lies into my reporting.”
http://www.infowars.com/former-reporter-amber-lyon-exposes-massive-censorship…
Michael Krieger
Liberty Blitzkrieg.com
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Related posts:
Amber Lyon reveals CNN lies and war propaganda
CNN Journalist: Mainstream Media Takes Money from FOREIGN Dictators to Run Flattering Propaganda
Former Reporter Amber Lyon Exposes Massive Censorship at CNN
Former Reporter Amber Lyon Exposes Massive Censorship at CNN
08 months ago
Source: http://beforeitsnews.com
Amber Lyon: I saw first-hand that these regime claims were lies, and I couldn’t believe CNN was making me put what I knew to be government lies into my reporting.
I saw first-hand that these regime claims were lies, and I couldn’t believe CNN was making me put what I knew to be government lies into my reporting.
- Amber Lyon
The Amber Lyon story is just the latest in a series of articles that expose the total Joseph Goebbels like censorship rampant in mainstream media today. The first one I posted several weeks ago exposed how the NY Times basically just regurgitates whatever government officials tell them, while the other showcased how an NPR reporter covering D.C. had to leave and do her own thing out of frustration. This is precisely why alternative media sites are taking off. They provide the only outlets left for genuine journalism.
So back to Amber. Back in March 2011, CNN sent a four person team to Bahrain to cover the Arab Spring. Once there, the crew was the subject of extreme intimidation amongst other things, but they were able to record some fantastic footage. As Glenn Greenwald of the UK’s Guardian writes in his blockbuster article from today:
In the segment, Lyon interviewed activists as they explicitly described their torture at the hands of government forces, while family members recounted their relatives’ abrupt disappearances. She spoke with government officials justifying the imprisonment of activists. And the segment featured harrowing video footage of regime forces shooting unarmed demonstrators, along with the mass arrests of peaceful protesters. In sum, the early 2011 CNN segment on Bahrain presented one of the starkest reports to date of the brutal repression embraced by the US-backed regime.
Despite these accolades, and despite the dangers their own journalists and their sources endured to produce it, CNN International (CNNi) never broadcast the documentary. Even in the face of numerous inquiries and complaints from their own employees inside CNN, it continued to refuse to broadcast the program or even provide any explanation for the decision. To date, this documentary has never aired on CNNi.
Having just returned from Bahrain, Lyon says she “saw first-hand that these regime claims were lies, and I couldn’t believe CNN was making me put what I knew to be government lies into my reporting.”
After Lyon’s crew returned from Bahrain, CNN had no correspondents regularly reporting on the escalating violence. In emails to her producers and executives, Lyon repeatedly asked to return to Bahrain. Her requests were denied, and she was never sent back. She thus resorted to improvising coverage by interviewing activists via Skype in an attempt, she said, “to keep Bahrain in the news”.
In March 2012, Lyon was laid off from CNN as part of an unrelated move by the network to outsource its investigative documentaries.
“At this point,” Lyon said, “I look at those payments as dirty money to stay silent. I got into journalism to expose, not help conceal, wrongdoing, and I’m not willing to keep quiet about this any longer, even if it means I’ll lose those payments.”
Amber Lyon, I salute you.
Please forward this post to everyone you know. I for one want to live in a country with some real and free press. Not some CIA propaganda arm that pretends to be a reliable source of news.
Read Greenwald’s excellent article here.
In Liberty,
Mike
Delivered by The Daily Sheeple
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Always sad to see true investigative reports put down over doing a fine job and replaced with script readers approved by D.C. By the way, although the article may read “Former Reporter”, I think not. Maybe the title should read “Former CNN Reporter Gets Promoted In The Eyes Of We The People For Showing True Integrity”.
Related posts:
Amber Lyon reveals CNN lies and war propaganda
CNN Journalist: Mainstream Media Takes Money from FOREIGN Dictators to Run Flattering Propaganda
Exclusive: CNN Exposed by former reporter Amber Lyon – Caught Producing “State News” in Bahrain
Sri Lankan police shut down opposition news sites for ‘false and vulgar reports’
010 months ago
Source: http://www.rawstory.com
By Agence France-Presse
Sri Lankan police Friday shut down opposition news websites, accusing them of carrying “false and vulgar reports”, months after imposing censorship on news alerts issued by mobile phone companies.
Seven media organisations, including the Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association, condemned the closure of the Lanka Mirror and Lanka X News offices located within the same building in Colombo.
“A group of 25 officers from the police Criminal Investigation Department sealed the offices and nine employees were arrested,” the media organisations said in a joint statement. “We condemn this deadly assault on media freedom.”
The Sri Lankan defence ministry said the news organisations were shut down after officials obtained a court order to carry out searches and seize equipment.
Rights groups and employees said one website was the official news organ of the opposition United National Party (UNP), while the other website was also closely linked to the UNP.
Google reports ‘alarming’ rise in government censorship requests
111 months ago
Source: http://www.cnn.com
By John D. Sutter, CNN
(CNN) — Western governments, including the United States, appear to be stepping up efforts to censor Internet search results and YouTube videos, according to a “transparency report” released by Google.
“It’s alarming not only because free expression is at risk, but because some of these requests come from countries you might not suspect — Western democracies not typically associated with censorship,” Dorothy Chou, a senior policy analyst at Google, wrote in a blog post on Sunday night.
“For example, in the second half of last year, Spanish regulators asked us to remove 270 search results that linked to blogs and articles in newspapers referencing individuals and public figures, including mayors and public prosecutors. In Poland, we received a request from a public institution to remove links to a site that criticized it. We didn’t comply with either of these requests.”
In the last half of 2011, U.S. agencies asked Google to remove 6,192 individual pieces of content from its search results, blog posts or archives of online videos, according to the report. That’s up 718% compared with the 757 such items that U.S. agencies asked Google to remove in the six months prior.
This is a work in progess, a self learning tool and fun little project. Please excuse the slow development as it seems the needed proper time is always lacking. It is my hope that the combination of content and links to other sources of information in this simple blog may help awaken a few of the sleeping masses and encourage and inspire others to initiate their own research, ultimately for each person to be a light to help awaken others. Opinions expressed belong to me, myself and I. Also, a big thank you to all that take the time to visit, it is appreciated :)
