Great Fire Wall Of China Strikes Again: Web Access Blocked In Olympic China

July 31st, 2008 - by: danny

The Games have inspired other games….

WEB TO BE CENSORED IN CHINA

Beijing, China (AHN) – Chinese officials on Wednesday confirmed that journalists covering the Olympic Games will not have free access to Internet sites, as they will block some Websites.
A senior government spokesman said the Falun Gong spiritual group’s Website will be blocked. However, some unspecified sites will also be blocked to journalists.

More than 20,000 foreign journalists are expected to cover the Olympic Games in Beijing, which begin August 8. Many have already arrived in the capital and have begun working in press and broadcast centers provided by the organizers.

On Tuesday, several media personalities complained they were unable to access the Amnesty International Website, which released a report on China’s human rights record. Several news sites, especially those discussing Tibet and human rights are also not accessible, journalists said.

Amnesty International on Tuesday released a report saying China’s human rights record has deteriorated as the Olympic Games approach.

The human rights group released documents which accuse China of “re-education through labor,” the suppression of rights activists and journalists, and the use of arbitrary imprisonment.
Communist China has traditionally enforced tough Internet controls, but vowed to provide media with free access when it bid for the Games.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) pledged to look into the complaints.

LATERÃ¢â‚¬Â¦.

Some International Olympic Committee officials cut a deal to let China block sensitive websites despite promises of unrestricted access, a senior IOC official admitted on Wednesday.

Persistent pollution fears and China’s concerns about security in Tibet also remained problems for organizers nine days before the Games begin. China had committed to providing media with the same freedom to report on the Games as they enjoyed at previous Olympics, but journalists have this week complained of finding access to sites deemed sensitive to its
communist leadership blocked.

“I regret that it now appears BOCOG has announced that there will be limitations on website access during Games time,” IOC press chief Kevan Gosper said, referring to Beijing’s Olympic organizers.

“I also now understand that some IOC officials negotiated with the Chinese that some sensitive sites would be blocked on the basis they were not considered Games related,” he said.

Maybe the Cave-in KowTow can become an event.

On the other hand, China fears disruptions, groups using the Games to push their agendas and organize protests.
If you defend China’s position, let me know and I will post your views.

APPEAL FOR HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORING

Czech ex-president Vaclav Havel and Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu called on Olympic athletes on Thursday to speak up on human rights in China during the Beijing Olympics next month.

Havel, a human rights campaigner jailed by Communist rulers before their government fell in 1989, and the South African Archbishop Tutu said in an open letter the International Olympic Committee (IOC) should let athletes know about the suppression of liberties in China.

“It is necessary for all Olympians to be able to learn about the real situation in China and to point out human rights violations freely whenever and wherever, in line with their conscience,” the letter said.

FAIR DISSES CNN OVER IMPEACHMENT HEARING COMMENTARY

ACTION CALL FROM CENTER FOR RESPONSIBLE LENDING

“if your representative in Congress is on the House Financial Services Committee, Please call them now to stop unfair credit card practices and ensure responsible and fair terms for Americans. Tell them to support HR 5244 and oppose both the Hodes amendment and Castle substitute bill.

The House Financial Services Committee is voting on HR 5244, the Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights. This bill now largely mirrors, and in some aspects is stronger than, the Fed’s very positive proposals against unfair and deceptive credit card practices.

Opponents will try to pass a voluntary resolution instead.

* A vote for a voluntary resolution only is a vote on behalf of the credit card companies to kill the enactments tough new restrictions on abusive lending practices. With thousands of consumers being harmed by credit card practices, this is not acceptable.

* A vote for a voluntary resolution only is a vote to let the Fed off the hook. If Congress wants to ensure that the Fed does not weaken the rule, now or later, the Fed must see that Congress is serious about legislating. Congressional resolutions are a dime a dozen and not taken seriously.

* If members want to support the Fed resolution without killing H.R. 5244 — which is worth supporting — they can send a letter to the Fed or support a resolution IN ADDITION TO supporting HR 5244.

Your representative in Congress is on the House Financial Services Committee. Please call them now to stop unfair credit card practices and ensure responsible and fair terms for Americans. Tell them to support HR 5244 and oppose both the Hodes amendment and Castle substitute bill.”

Philadelphia fighting foreclosures

COMMENT ON HOUSING BILL BY ECONOMIST AND NY TIMES COLUMNIST PAUL KRUGMAN

“Financial regulation needs to be extended to cover a much wider range of institutions. Basically, the financial framework created in the 1930s, which brought generations of relative stability, needs to be updated to 21st-century conditions. Ã¢â‚¬Â¦

If the government is going to stand behind financial institutions, those institutions had better be carefully regulated – because otherwise the game of heads I win, tails you lose will be played more furiously than ever, at taxpayers’ expense.”

He also cautions:

“Proponents of expanded regulation, no matter how compelling their arguments, will have to contend with very well-financed opposition from the financial industry. And as Upton Sinclair pointed out, it’s hard to get a man to understand something when his salary – or, we might add, his campaign war chest – depends on his not understanding it.”

YOUR NEWS DISSECTOR INTERVIEWED BY RAZORCAKE MAGAZINE ON SUBCRIME MESS

DON’T COUNT YOUR EGGS….

Martha Older writes on the Housing Bill, sharing “skepticism and warnings from a tax-finance expert, printed yesterday on Marketwatch.com, a respected Wall St. Journal website for investors. Intended for individuals, the article’s called “Devil in the details: The hidden tax traps in the housing-rescue bill.” Even in outline form, It’s long and complicated. But as I personally interpret the information, it’s a case of don’t catch your eggs . . . because they still haven’t even been laid, let alone hatched. The URL is here.

Congratulations…..

To our intern and resident mermaid, Lauren McCabe, for winning a Conde Nast Traveler prize for the linked submission. The good news is she won. The bad —for us – she’s traveling on. They are sending her to Thailand for a well deserved adventure before she returns home to NOLA.

HOLLYWIERD STRIKES BACK AS PER THE SOMETIMES AUTHORITATIVE BOROWITZ REPORT

Britney, Paris Air Savage Anti-McCain Ad; Party Gals Slam Mac in Negative Spot

One day after Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz) broadcast an anti-Obama ad in which he compared the presumptive Democratic nominee to celebrities Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, the two tabloid mainstays fought back with an eviscerating anti-McCain spot of their own.

While Mses. Spears and Hilton said they had planned to remain on the sidelines during the 2008 presidential campaign, Sen. McCain’s negative ad “left us no choice,” the notorious party gals said today.

“We don’t mind John McCain going after us if he sticks to the facts,” Ms. Spears said at a New York press conference. “But we are sick of the distortions about our record.”

Ms. Hilton said that the McCain ad appeared to link herself and Ms. Spears to Sen. Obama, leading the casual viewer to conclude that the three of them had “the same energy policy.”

“Nothing could be further from the truth,” said Ms. Spears. “Both of us strongly favor off-shore drilling to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.”

Ms. Hilton said she was also “offended” by the implication that she and Ms. Spears favor a tax on electricity: “We have both been very clear on that issue.”

In their anti-McCain spot, the two starlets fight fire with fire, comparing Sen. McCain to the Joker from the smash-hit film “The Dark Knight.”

“It’s perfectly fair,” Ms. Spears said of the ad. “They both have pasty white faces and totally creepy smiles.”

PS: PARIS HILTON’S DAD SUPPORTS MCCAIN

“If a certain heir to a hotel-based fortune is rethinking his support of John McCain, it will be understandable.” But that’s another story…

Thank you for being here. Have a great weekend. I note the passing of July. We now officially enter the dog days of summer.

Your comments on this blog welcome. As always, with all its flaws, foibles, unintended typos and rushed forumulations, Danny Schechter is responsible for its creation and production.

Write: Dissector@mediachannel.org

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