U.S. Government Slips Through China Internet Censors With New Technology

Good one, But will anyone have the Gonads to implement it?


Foxnews
The U.S. government has figured out how to bust through Internet censorship filters in order to deliver news and other vital information via e-mail to people in countries like China, according to a recent report.

The official report from the Broadcasting Board of Governors detailed successful testing the agency conducted last year as it tried to slip data into inboxes in Hong Kong and China. The testing involved technology known as Feed Over e-mail, or FOE, to bypass traps the Chinese government has in place to screen out unwanted Internet content.

According to the report, first obtained and published by the nonprofit GovernmentAttic through a Freedom of Information Act request, the technology "performed well in all tests." BBG confirmed the report's authenticity to FoxNews.com.

Experts behind the testing said this information weapon probably could not have done much good in a situation like that unfolding in Egypt, where the government was flat-out blocking Internet access in response to the political unrest.

"If there's a blackout ... nothing works," BBG Director of Information Security Ken Berman said.


But the agency's testing demonstrated that, at least in China, it can be used effectively to transmit everything from RSS feeds to downloadable files to proxy web addresses which users can access to browse an uncensored version of the Internet.

Venezuela seeks to regulate Internet with media bill

Disturbing it is, that just this week alone there has been so many instances of countries wanting to censor the internet.
China As usual, not only censors the internet at all times they do it even more when they do not like what is going on in the world.
And now Venezuela is headed in the same direction.
All understood in a Communist country, it is just the way they are.

But then the U.S. Would also like to perform a little censorship Smackdown.



(Reuters) - Venezuela plans to include the Internet in a law that regulates the media, under a proposed bill presented to parliament on Thursday that the opposition claims will result in censorship.

Manuel Villalba, a lawmaker from President Hugo Chavez's Socialist Party, said the law was aimed at protecting citizens.

"Nowhere is the restriction of access to the Internet suggested. There should just exist protection of citizens' moral and ethical honor," said Villalba, who heads the National Assembly's media commission.

The bill proposes applying limits on content in "electronic media" according to the time of day, with adult content reserved for programing after midnight.

Such limitations already are in place for TV and radio programing. It was not clear how they would be applied to the Internet

The bill also proposes allowing the government to restrict access to websites if they are found to be distributing messages or information that incite violence against the president. Chavez frequently accuses the opposition of plotting to kill him.

Chavez has been criticized by media freedoms groups for forcing an opposition TV station off the air and taking away the licenses of dozens of radio stations

China blocks news websites ahead of Liu Xiaobo Nobel award

Well since China is blocking free speech,will we see Wikileaks and Anonymous target their Systems?
Probably not.


Guardian.co.uk
The news websites of the BBC, CNN and Norwegian state broadcaster NRK have been blocked on mainland China the day before Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo is to be awarded the Nobel peace prize.

Attempts to access the three broadcasters' websites today were unsuccessful, with the message "Internet Explorer cannot display the web page" appearing on the screen according to the news agency AFP.

The ceremony honouring Liu – who is serving an 11-year sentence for "inciting subversion" – is due to take place in Norway's capital Oslo tomorrow.

Pakistan to monitor Google and Yahoo for 'blasphemy'

Whats that , Did they say for Blasphemy ?



ahhhh that's a shame , think of all the stuff they will be Missing !




BBC
Pakistan will start monitoring seven major websites, including Google and Yahoo, for content it deems offensive to Muslims.

YouTube, Amazon, MSN, Hotmail and Bing will also come under scrutiny, while 17 less well-known sites will be blocked.

Officials will monitor the sites and block links deemed inappropriate.

In May, Pakistan banned access to Facebook after the social network hosted a "blasphemous" competition to draw the prophet Muhammad.

The new action will see Pakistani authorities monitor content published on the seven sites, blocking individual pages if content is judged to be offensive.

Chavez Denies He's Trying to Control Internet

Hugo may deny it but he still has the power to do so , and if the political climate in Venezuela gets heated enough , it is likely he will !



CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez denied that the government plans to impose controls on the Internet, saying Sunday that his administration aims to increase Web access rather than limit it.

Earlier this month, Chavez sparked concerns of a possible crackdown on Web sites critical of his government when he called for regulation of the Internet and urged prosecutors to act against Noticiero Digital, a site popular among his opponents.

Chavez has become increasingly critical of social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook and says adversaries use them to deceive the public.

On Sunday, speaking during his weekly television and radio show, the socialist leader said the government has inaugurated 668 Internet centers in much of the country that offer Venezuelans access to the Web, and his administration plans to spend close to $11 million this year to build 200 more.

Still, Chavez also told his audience that government critics often use the Web "to generate panic," and said such actions "cannot be permitted."

He announced plans to counter such online criticism by launching his own Web page and becoming a cyber-activist himself: "I'm going to have my Internet trench, my trench for the battle."

The number of Internet subscribers climbed to more than 1.5 million last year in this politically divided South American country of 29 million -- up from about 273,000 nine years ago -- according to Chavez.

He said roughly 35 percent of all Internet users get access to the Web at government centers.

Afghanistan bans coverage of Taliban attacks

"The government should not hide their inabilities by barring media from covering incidents,"

Censorship will not work in favor of the Afghan Government !
Not when the Taliban are as media savvy as they are .


KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan on Monday announced a ban on news coverage showing Taliban attacks, saying such images embolden the Islamist militants, who have launched strikes around the country as NATO forces seize their southern strongholds.

The announcement came on a day when the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) fighting the Taliban reported six of its service members had been killed in various attacks.

Journalists will be allowed to film only the aftermath of attacks, when given permission by the National Directorate of Security (NDS) spy agency, the agency said. Journalists who film while attacks are under way will be held and their gear seized.

"Live coverage does not benefit the government, but benefits the enemies of Afghanistan," NDS spokesman Saeed Ansari said. The agency summoned a group of reporters to announce the ban.

The move was denounced by Afghan journalism and rights groups, which said it would deprive the public of vital information about the security situation during attacks.

"Such a decision prevents the public from receiving accurate information on any occurrence," said Abdul Hameed Mubarez head of the Afghan National Media Union, a group set up to protect Afghan journalists, who often complain of harassment by authorities.

"The government should not hide their inabilities by barring media from covering incidents," said Laila Noori, who monitors media issues for Afghanistan Rights Monitor, the country's main liberties watchdog. "People want to know all the facts on the ground whenever security incidents take place."

The Afghan government banned reporting violence for a single day during a presidential election last year, but otherwise had not had formal restrictions on filming security incidents. However, journalists have occasionally been beaten by security forces while filming at the scene of incidents in the past.

Chinese Web sites close amid tightening controls

More Censorship from the Big hand of Chinese Communism ! Soon the people of China may not have the Internet at all ! ( Unless they launch cyber attacks on the U.S. , Then internet Be O.K. With Commie Controllers ! )

Asociated press / NPR
Two more Web sites dedicated to social networking went offline in China on Tuesday amid tightening controls that have blocked Facebook, Twitter and other popular sites that offered many Chinese a rare taste of free expression.

China's crackdown on social networking sites began in March, when Chinese Web users found they could no longer visit YouTube shortly after video appeared on the site purporting to show Chinese security officials mistreating Tibetans.

The blockages continued through the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square demonstrations and the recent ethnic riots in Xinjiang, with homegrown and overseas micro-blogging and photo-sharing sites among those targeted.

Though cutting off access to sites can often be traced to a specific trigger — such as the June 4 Tiananmen anniversary — experts say the fact the sites are not coming back online shows the harsh measures are part of a long-term strategy to pare back the power of the Internet and silence some voices finding expression here.

"I am especially pessimistic about this fall and next spring," said Wen Yunchao, a well-known Chinese blogger based in Guangzhou in south China. "I expect they will be more and more restrictive because they have yet to come up with a good way to manage the Internet. They are aware that it has this great power and they are afraid of it."

....

Words Censored by China’s Largest Search Engine

I know their Communists but Damn , Talk about being Paranoid ! when you Can't even look up the Phrase "Chinese Communist Party " In the Communist Country Of China ! You Might Have some issues !
epoch times


New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV) recently obtained a list of politically “sensitive” words monitored or censored by China’s largest Internet search engine, Baidu.com, as well as internal documents governing Baidu’s censorship operations. Topping the list is the phrase “Chinese Communist Party.” Phrases such as “withdrawing from the Communist Party” and “disintegrating the Communist Party” are also censored.

On May 4, NTDTV reported 13 categories of politically sensitive words, including those related to “counterrevolutionary” activities, human rights and appeals, the Tiananmen Square Massacre, Falun Gong, ethnic and race relations, military secrets, and organ harvesting.

Under the category of counterrevolutionary activities, censored phrases include “withdrawing from the Communist Party,” “end the rule of the Communist Party,” “dictatorship,” “one-party system,” “human rights in China,” “tyranny,” “ruling government,” and “brainwashing.”

In the Falun Gong category, other than words directly related to the practice, phrases such as “Nine Comentaries,” “The Epoch Times,” “Gao Zhisheng,” and “kidney harvesting from live people” are also on the list.

In addition, there is a special category for words related to the sale of harvested organs. This category shows the Communist Party’s fear of the consequences of harvesting Falun Gong practitioners’ organs while they are still alive.