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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRussia Wipes Opposition Sites From The Internet
I dont even know if anyone is reading this anymore.
Russias general prosecutors office announced late Thursday that it was blocking the independent news websites Kasparov.ru, run by chess champion and self-exiled opposition figure Garry Kasparov, EJ.ru, and Grani. ru for inciting illegal activity and participating in unsanctioned protests. Prosecutors also banned anti-corruption activist Alexey Navalnys blog, by far the countrys most popular and a flashpoint for anti-Putin sentiment, on the grounds that posting to it violated the terms of his house arrest, which bars him from using the internet.
I dont even know if anyone is reading this anymore, read a post on Navalnys blog. The post said Navalnys wife, Yulia Navalnaya, and his Foundation for Fighting Corruption have been running the blog since Navalnys bail was revoked Feb. 28. Numerous Twitter users reported that LiveJournal, the service hosting Navalnys blog, and the Ekho Moskvy radio website, which reposted it, were entirely unavailable on some internet providers, though Russias internet registry said they had not been banned.
Russia passed a law late last year allowing prosecutors to ban websites that promote rioting, racial hatred, or extremism without a court order. The law also covers websites with foreign servers, which will be banned in Russia if their owner ignores a cease and desist letter. According to a list published by internet freedom activists, the only other websites to be banned under the law promote Islamic radicalism or white supremacism.
Russian President Vladimir Putin quickly moved to monopolize television, the majority of Russians sole source of news, in the early 2000s shortly after he took power, but for years was largely content to allow the countrys few dissenters space in print and online. After opposition activists bypassed an effective national media blackout through social and digital media to organize unprecedented demonstrations against him that catapulted Navalny to national fame, however, Russia began making steps to rein in the countrys few independent publications and passed a law allowing it to block websites on request.
The political crisis in Ukraine has seen the Kremlin escalate its efforts to assert control over the flow of information, with every major independent publication making surprise masthead changes under obvious political pressure. Thirty-nine employees of Lenta.ru, the countrys most popular independent news site, quit en masse Thursday after their owner unexpectedly fired its editor-in-chief. The founder of VK, Russias wildly popular Facebook clone, was forced out of the company in January by Kremlin-linked investors after pressure over his efforts to resist censoring opposition pages......
NuclearDem
(16,184 posts)Why Syzygy
(18,928 posts)Like other technology and communications companies, Google regularly receives requests from government agencies and courts around the world to remove content from our services or to review such content to determine if it should be removed for inconsistency with a product's community policies. In this report, we disclose the number of requests we receive from each government in six-month periods with certain limitations.
Governments ask companies to remove or review content for many different reasons. For example, some content removals are requested due to allegations of defamation, while others are due to allegations that the content violates local laws prohibiting hate speech or adult content. Laws surrounding these issues vary by country, and the requests reflect the legal context of a given jurisdiction. We hope this tool will be helpful in discussions about the appropriate scope and authority of government requests.
NuclearDem
(16,184 posts)Google complies with court orders or police requests barely over 50% of the time, and as far as I can see, the OWS, CPUSA, Green Party, GOP, and Freeperville websites are still up.
False equivalence.
Cali_Democrat
(30,439 posts)This is for Mother Russia!
MADem
(135,425 posts)ProSense
(116,464 posts)The Russian authorities have launched a full-scale onslaught on the few remaining independent media in Russia, blocking a number of internet sites in the Russian Federation, Amnesty International said..."The blocking of these sites is a clear violation of the right to freedom of expression. It is an unashamed attack on those who still dare to question the Kremlin-dictated narrative by providing independent, impartial information and offer a platform for free debate, said John Dalhuisen, Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at Amnesty International.
In the past months and weeks the Russian authorities have embarked on a campaign to stifle free media. It started with unofficial censorship and self-censorship, and quickly evolved into open gagging of independent media outlets. This is reminiscent of the Soviet-era jamming of radio stations.
The Office of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation ordered the blocking of several high profile sites for purportedly making appeals for illegal activity and participation in mass events, organized in violation of the established order.
The sites blocked include: Grani.ru, Kasparov.ru, EJ.ru, the blog of the opposition activist Aleksei Navalny on the Moscow Echo radio station website and the Livejournal.com website which hosts many popular blogs.
- more -
https://www.amnesty.org/en/news/russia-media-black-out-ahead-disputed-crimea-referendum-2014-03-14
stevenleser
(32,886 posts)are forced to either go silent or publicly take back that support.
Even the Bush administration did not shut down DailyKos or DU or Smirking Chimp.
Russia is now officially worse than the Bush-led Neocon version of America of 2001-2008
MADem
(135,425 posts)It's got to suck being on the wrong side of morality, dignity, human rights, equality and, of course, history.
Your last sentence is probably the only perverse "bright spot" (said snarkily, mind you). A leader has got to be a repressive, sucky asshole to push the memory of Porgie to the back pages!
SidDithers
(44,228 posts)Sid
jwirr
(39,215 posts)through the cold war with the USSR this sounds all to familiar.
MADem
(135,425 posts)He obviously made some good connections during his career, and while in East Germany, supposedly left behind an out-of-wedlock son, too (bit of Pootie gossip, that). Be interesting to see what's up with that kid....
jakeXT
(10,575 posts)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan_Act
UPDATED, 11:24 a.m.: The meeting's gotten less secretive. The Bilderberg website now lists the 2012 Bilderberg Meeting participants. Among them are Keith B. Alexander from the National Security Agency, H.R.H. Prince Philippe of Belgium, Harvard professor Niall Ferguson, China's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ying Fu, Russian chess grandmaster and activist Garry Kasparov, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, President of the Environmental Defense Fund Fred Krupp and entrepreneur Peter Thiel. See the whole list here.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/31/bilderberg-2012-global-le_n_1558788.html
stevenleser
(32,886 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)And by wooing, I don't mean romancing!
MADem
(135,425 posts)You are crabbing about the attendance of a Russian civilian at a conference attended by a number of other people from countries all over the world, from inside and outside governments where the guest list is published. That's the ENTIRE guest list, and here it is: http://www.bilderbergmeetings.org/participants2012.html
And your material is TWO years OLD.
So...what was that point you wanted to make? This has absolutely nothing to do with the Logan Act, which doesn't control a Russian chess player, so disabuse yourself of that chestnut straight away.
jakeXT
(10,575 posts)also a member of National Security Advisory Council
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Center_for_Security_Policy/National_Security_Advisory_Council
MADem
(135,425 posts)They obliterated his presence from the net. He's a defacto enemy of the state for daring to express disapproval with the Bear Riding, Fish Kissing, Tiger Hunter.
jakeXT
(10,575 posts)would be
https://twitter.com/Kasparov63
Pirate Smile
(27,617 posts)AverageJoe90
(10,745 posts)jakeXT
(10,575 posts)Garry Kasparov Gets Croatian Passport
The government said on Monday that Kasparov, who owns a house on Croatia's Adriatic coast, was granted a Croatian passport last week.
Croatian media have reported that Kasparov plans to run a chess academy in a coastal town and help introduce chess to Croatian schools.
Kasparov, 50, who first became World Chess Champion at the age of 22, has been a prominent opposition figure in Russia and a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin.
Croatian officials have praised Kasparov for his support for the country's struggle for independence from Yugoslavia during the bloody breakup of the former federation in the 1990s.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/garry-kasparov-croatian-passport-22748698
joshcryer
(62,276 posts)So not sure if this is relevant. He does appear to be highly anti-Putin so he will likely identify with anyone who criticizes Putin. Unfortunately the left tends to have a fascination with fascists like Putin on occasion.
MADem
(135,425 posts)You don't think Left Wingers follow nutcases just to keep track of what they're doing? I suspect you might be cherry picking.
He also follows James Wood, The Last Word with Laurence O'Donnell, Nate Silver, Ronan Farrow, Cory Booker, Dump Russian Vodka (an LGBT effort), Human Rights Foundation, Oslo Freedom Forum, and NPR On Point, to name a few.
I'd say his list of "follows" for Twitter have more to do with getting a wide range of views rather than following an ideological path.
ProSense
(116,464 posts)jakeXT
(10,575 posts)ProSense
(116,464 posts)jakeXT
(10,575 posts)http://www.thenation.com/article/175389/despite-his-politicized-trial-aleksei-navalny-still-divisive-figure-russia
In addition, Russia's opposition movement will surely want to use the successful experience and technology of the Euromaidan protests and, with the help and financial support of the West, try to carry out their own revolution in Moscow. The goal: to remove President Vladimir Putin from power and install a puppet leadership that will sell Russia's strategic interests out to the West in the same way former President Boris Yeltsin did in the 1990s.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/why-there-will-be-war-in-ukraine/495740.html
ProSense
(116,464 posts)jakeXT
(10,575 posts)ProSense
(116,464 posts)joshcryer
(62,276 posts)They have plenty of laws that they could arrest him on.
BeyondGeography
(39,375 posts)HipChick
(25,485 posts)He sure picked a winner...
Adrahil
(13,340 posts).....still waiting......
Very unfortunate for the Russian people. They had seemed to be getting away from this sort of thing.
Iliyah
(25,111 posts)that Putin has taken over all Russia's media. Something that most Libertarians/GOP would love to do here in the good USA. Also it appears that he will take over the Ukraine and probably appoint a President and thereby have those so called Russian elections ya'know the ones that will keep Putin in power forever. Any opposition will be silence including control of social media as well.
All the hoopla about America's 1st, 2nd, and 4th amendments that some here keep shouting about - hopefully will remain intact, but like Russia, if we allow certain fractions into power - say goodbye because it will only apply only a few.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)news source that provides valuable insight, even though it is run by the same Russian government that shuts down other websites because they criticize Putin.
7962
(11,841 posts)DeSwiss
(27,137 posts)"We just murder our opposition. "
...has to be the most bizarre attempt to defend Putin.
I mean, can you point to where people "murder" is being used to silence people on DU, Daily Kos, Fox or any other Internet site critical of any U.S. adminstration?
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)Because otherwise that's just a really lame attempt to deflect
NuclearDem
(16,184 posts)Sometimes the poisons work, other times they just horribly disfigure somebody.
Democratic and Republican politicians, staffers, or voters aren't being assassinated by the government for being opposed to whichever party is in power.
TwilightGardener
(46,416 posts)hrmjustin
(71,265 posts)Benton D Struckcheon
(2,347 posts)http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2014/03/12/europe-can-wean-itself-off-russian-gas/
(There was a DU thread about this, but I honestly don't remember it anymore; if someone can post the link to that, it would be appreciated.)
He sells the most primitive commodity imaginable, stuff to burn, and thinks that makes him powerful. In a few years, as more renewables come on stream and as alternate sources of gas and oil continue to be found, Russia will be irrelevant. Sanctions will hurt Europe in the short term, but they have the better hand to play on any time horizon that exceeds a couple of years.
It really is pathetic, how these leaders of countries that sell a single, primitive commodity on the world market think that should make everyone take notice of them. No one cares, except that these guys can irritate in the short term. In the long term, the world will spin on without their useless selves.
Cha
(297,323 posts)thank you.
MADem
(135,425 posts)Cha
(297,323 posts)And, here it is.. this is all we need to know.. just ask their supporters on DU..
"The Kremlin denies allegations of censorship or pressure on the media."
Don't read too much into the following.. he just wants to "influence".. ROFL
"He signed a law late last year allowing prosecutors to order providers to block access to sites deemed to have published calls for participation in demonstrations planned without the consent of the government. It took effect on February 1."
Putin's scared
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=4661670
MADem
(135,425 posts)Can you imagine such a thing?
Who in their right mind could support a despot like that?
Putin should be scared, he doesn't have 'right' on his side! And neither does anyone who backs that little toad...!
Cha
(297,323 posts)in Russia and concentrate on the part that he's sticking it to the USA so he must be okay .
MADem
(135,425 posts)....er...Snowden. So long as Snowden is in Russia, Pootie gets a pass. It doesn't matter if he shuts down the net over THERE, it doesn't matter if his surveillance programs make ours look amateurish; so long as Ed is looking out over Moscow through his rose colored glasses, Pootie is just alright with them.
If Snowden had cut a deal to stay in China, all things Chinese would get the soft-focus lens. "Oh, go on ahead and buy that plastic crap in Walmart...it's part of the culture!!" and "A little melamine in your food won't kill most people or pets...!"
If he'd done a runner to North Korea, now, that would have been interesting to hear the excuse-making!
AverageJoe90
(10,745 posts)It's clear that Putin's hypocrisy vis-a-vis the Ukraine seems to know no bounds. I never liked any of the far-rightists(on the contrary, I'd think they'd be just as dangerous as Putin if they got into power!), or Mr. Yushchenko(may have actually won a fair election but was still not much better than Yanukovich), but Putin isn't one to talk. Period.
Berlin Expat
(950 posts)"Foundations of Geopolitics". It pretty much spells out what the Russians up to.
Major downside - it's in Russian. This is the link to download it as a .zip file. If you can find a program that'll translate it, that might work for you.
http://translate.google.cz/translate?hl=en&sl=ru&u=http://www.alleng.ru/d/polit/pol043.htm&prev=/search%3Fq%3D%25D0%259E%25D1%2581%25D0%25BD%25D0%25BE%25D0%25B2%25D1%258B%2B%25D0%25B3%25D0%25B5%25D0%25BE%25D0%25BF%25D0%25BE%25D0%25BB%25D0%25B8%25D1%2582%25D0%25B8%25D0%25BA%25D0%25B8%2B%28%25D0%25B3%25D0%25B5%25D0%25BE%25D0%25BF%25D0%25BE%25D0%25BB%25D0%25B8%25D1%2582%25D0%25B8%25D1%2587%25D0%25B5%25D1%2581%25D0%25BA%25D0%25BE%25D0%25B5%2B%25D0%25B1%25D1%2583%25D0%25B4%25D1%2583%25D1%2589%25D0%25B5%25D0%25B5%2B%25D0%25A0%25D0%25BE%25D1%2581%25D1%2581%25D0%25B8%25D0%25B8%29%26client%3Dubuntu%26hs%3DgGe%26channel%3Dfs
joshcryer
(62,276 posts)You can read an English Language review here: http://www.4pt.su/en/content/aleksandr-dugins-foundations-geopolitics
Another review: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/OP294.pdf
No conspiracy theories necessary, he's following a new fascist model, it's pretty obvious.
William769
(55,147 posts)Go figure!
MADem
(135,425 posts)blackspade
(10,056 posts)This is about reclaiming territory.
And stifling opposition to the oligarchs.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)Answer: We don't give a fuck about freedom of expression and privacy inside Russia.
MADem
(135,425 posts)stevenleser
(32,886 posts)riqster
(13,986 posts)Thanks for posting.
Hekate
(90,714 posts)moondust
(19,993 posts)Speaking of information war, a couple days ago on DU I linked to an international law website that on March 5 had translated and published parts of the 1997 treaty between Ukraine and Russia. Article 8.2 of the treaty details some of the restrictions placed on Russian troops in Crimea. There was a link to the original Russian text of the treaty which was housed on the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. Apparently the Russian gov't decided it didn't want anybody to see the treaty and sometime between March 5 and March 13 the document was deleted! I searched high and low on Google for the full treaty with no luck. Then joshcryer found it cached on Google!
As Al Sharpton would say, "Nice try, but we got ya!"