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Censorship (Madison Star Moon)
Madison Star Moon Sonny Cardona discuss bans, blocks, censorship, and chemtrails.

By: Madisonstar Moon

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Censorship (Madison Star Moon) - Video

President Obama has called outSony for craven censorship on a daythe Federal Bureau of Investigation formally announced that North Korea was behind the hacking of Sony Corp.

In a statement the FBI said that it has enough information to conclude that the North Korean government is responsible for these actions.

The bureau said that its investigation revealed links to other malware that it knows North Korean actors have used previously developed; that there was an observed significant overlap between the infrastructure used in this attack and other malicious cyber activity the government has previously linked directly to North Korea, and that the tools used in the Sony attack have similarities to a cyber attack in March of last year against South Korean banks and media outlets, which was carried out by North Korea.

We are deeply concerned about the destructive nature of this attack on a private sector entity and the ordinary citizens who worked there the FBI said in a statement. Such acts of intimidation fall outside the bounds of acceptable state behavior. The FBI takes seriously any attemptwhether through cyber-enabled means, threats of violence, or otherwiseto undermine the economic and social prosperity of our citizens.

At apress conferenceat the White House, President Obama didnt mince his words when it came to Sonys decision to pull the movie from cinemas, a move he called a mistake.

We cannot have a society in which some dictator some place can start imposing censorship here in the United States, the Commander in Chief said, while noting he was sympathetic on the circumstances Sony is facing.

Imagine if producers and distributors and others start engaging in self-censorship because they dont want to offend the sensibilities of somebody whose sensibilities probably need to be offended.

He added that the Government was considering a proportional response.

Sony responded to the Presidents remarks stating that he was mistaken in blaming the company, and instead pointed the finger at movie chains.

The movie theaters came to us one by one over the course of a very short period of time and announced that they would not carry the movie,Michael Lynton, CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment said. At that point in time, we had not alternative to proceed with the theatrical release.

Read more:
Cyberwar: Obama calls out Sony as FBI confirms North Korea was behind hack

I am not a fan of North Korea or its leader [How will US respond to Sony hack? Nation & World, Dec. 18]. Second, I am not a fan of imposed censorship. But, the reason we do not have imposed censorship in this country is because we exercise responsible freedom of speech.

Self-censorship is always important, both in personal and professional spheres. Making stupidly obnoxious films and calling them comedies seems to be a Hollywood expertise, and condoning this is a rejection of the idea of self-censorship.

When a company is insane enough to make a movie about the assassination of a real person and call it a comedy, and when proponents of free speech are insane enough to feel it is justified, then we have an example of the breakdown in social constraints.

Sony got, in my opinion, what it deserved.

Frank Mitchell, Seattle

Read more from the original source:
Sony got what it deserved in hack by North Korea

The Washington Post reports that Facebook has complied with a Russian government demand to block access to a page supporting Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny:

In a sign of new limits on Facebooks ability to serve as a platform for political opposition movements, Russian users appear to have been blocked from accessing a page calling for a protest in support of a prominent dissident.

In 2011, Facebook was hailed by opposition movements during the Arab Spring and in Russia as a powerful new tool to spread information beyond the control of repressive governments. That may no longer be the case, at least not in Russia. Russian Internet regulators said Saturday that they had sent Facebook a demand that it block access to a page calling for a demonstration in support of Alexei Navalny, the most prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

At the moment, the demand to block the page is being fulfilled by Facebook, Vadim Ampelonsky, a spokesman for the Russian Internet regulator, told the Interfax news service.

Facebook should be ashamed of cooperating with this demand for censorship by Russias repressive government, and should rescind that cooperation immediately. In fairness, the Post article quotes a Facebook spokeswoman to the effect that the company is studying the matter. But she didnt deny the Russian governments claim that Facebook has fulfilled its demand, and the site does indeed seem to be blocked for Russian users. If it turns out that the Russian government somehow managed to block the site without Facebooks cooperation and is now lying about that, I will be happy to correct this post. For now, however, the available evidence strongly suggests that Facebook did in fact fulfill the governments demands.

If the problem is that Facebook worried about Russian retaliation against its physical presence in Russia (the article notes that Facebook tries to comply with demands by governments in nations where it has such a presence), then it would do well to withdraw that presence, so as to eliminate that vulnerability.

Navalny is one of the leading domestic opponents of a government that has engaged in extensive repression at home, and committed gross violations of human rights and international law abroad. Particularly at a time when falling oil prices and the collapse of the ruble have potentially made the Putin regime vulnerable, Facebook and other western enterprises should not cooperate with its efforts to repress opposition speech.

Ilya Somin is Professor of Law at George Mason University. His research focuses on constitutional law, property law, and popular political participation. He is the author of "The Grasping Hand: Kelo v. City of New London and the Limits of Eminent Domain" (forthcoming) and "Democracy and Political Ignorance: Why Smaller Government is Smarter."

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Volokh Conspiracy: Facebook should stop cooperating with Russian government censorship

"This wouldn't even happen in China": George Yang. Photo: Andrew Meares

Chinese journalists covering the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 from Canberra are furious at what they see as Australian government control of the media.

On Sunday, two Chinese crews decided to chase Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss into a car park at the Australian Maritime Safety Authority after being denied access to an AMSA briefing attended by Australian media.

The crews held an impromptu interview with Mr Truss but have complained at being ''locked out'' of any chance to put questions to AMSA boss John Young. On Monday, AMSA posted a security guard at the front of its headquarters.

George Yang, the chief correspondent for Hong Kong's Phoenix Satellite Television, said he had been asked to prove his credentials while he prepared to do a cross from public land. ''This wouldn't even happen in China,'' Yang said.

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''It's been very frustrating, there seems to be a Chinese media blackout. It is unbelievable that this is happening in Australia. There are relatives in China who are devastated and looking for answers.''

In a statement, AMSA said the security guard had been posted ''to prevent media vehicles from blocking access to the building and to prevent unauthorised access.

''AMSA rejects any claims that we are treating members of the Chinese media any differently to others. Yesterday's media event was a pool arrangement organised in conjunction with the federal press gallery committee to allow access to the Rescue Coordination Centre whilst minimising disruption to the operations.

''Chinese media requested to join the pool but the request was declined by AMSA and they were advised to contact the press gallery committee to arrange access to the pool content, which was also made available on our website.''

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'This wouldn't happen in China': anger at Canberra