'Philanthropic dynamo' took '05 donation from shady Internet firm
Los Angeles Times Apr 13, 08 11:56 CDT
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Hillary Clinton's strong public stance against the crackdown in Tibet flies in the face of her husband's past fundraising ties in China, reports the LA Times . At the crux is a 2005 speech the former president gave for which he received an undisclosed donation to his charitable foundation—from Internet giant Alibaba.
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Chavez takes unsuitable cartoon off air, tells kids to watch 'Baywatch' instead
Times (UK) Apr 9, 08 11:41 CDT
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Hugo Chavez has bumped pudgy Homer Simpson from Venezuela's airwaves, reports the Times of London, opting instead for the decidedly more fit and furry David Hasselhoff. The dysfunctional Simpsons were deemed "inappropriate" for kiddies watching the morning TV lineup, but were replaced with the entirely, er, wholesome "Baywatch Hawaii."
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Bearak arrested for violating pseudo-censorship laws
New York Times Apr 7, 08 12:47 PM CDT
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New York Times reporter Barry Bearak and a British journalist were freed on bail today by Zimbabwean authorities, who arrested them last week for covering the country's presidential elections without government approval. Bearak was released to a clinic; he was injured in jail when he fell 7 feet from his bunk to the concrete cell floor.
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73 F-bombs spice up testimony; unamused judge wants $29K
Philadelphia Inquirer Apr 7, 08 12:38 PM CDT
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A CEO's foul-mouthed deposition could cost him and his lawyer $29,323 for making a "spectacular failure" of legal proceedings, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. "I've never seen anything like this" in 30 years, said a judge of Aaron Wider dropping 73 F-bombs in 12 hours. Wider and his counsel, who split ways on court order, are appealing.
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Official story of foreign-incited riots is playing well at home
Christian Science Monitor Apr 2, 08 1:46 PM CDT
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China's media outlets have been getting their information about the recent unrest in Tibet solely from the state-controlled news agency, Xinhua. As a result, most Chinese citizens are buying the government's handling of what has been portrayed as mob violence plotted from abroad—when it's been covered at all, the Christian Science Monitor reports.
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Press visit disrupted by crying Tibetans
Financial Times (UK) Mar 27, 08 11:37 CDT
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Tibetan monks burst into a carefully choreographed Chinese media event yesterday, breaking the image of restored calm China had hoped to project. China had allowed a small group of foreign reporters into the region, but even as one monk at Lhasa’s Jokhang Temple was expounding on the return to normalcy, 30 younger monks burst in, shouting “We want a free Tibet!”
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Todou.com is among those warned, 25 sites closed
Reuters Mar 20, 08 8:25 PM CDT
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China shuttered 25 video-sharing websites today and warned numerous others, as authorities moved to enforce stricter controls on online content announced late last year, Reuters reports. Chinese video heavyweight Tudou.com was among those that received a warning to eliminate pornographic and political material. "We're working hard to upgrade our systems to catch everything that needs to be caught," said Tudou’s VP.
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Cry supporting independence prompts threat of censorship
Times (UK) Mar 7, 08 4:45 PM CST
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Beijing says it will toughen restrictions on visiting artists performing in China in response to Bjork's onstage expression of support for Tibetan independence, the London Times reports. “We shall never tolerate any attempt to separate Tibet from China and will no longer welcome any artists who deliberately do this,” said a Culture Ministry statement.
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Bottles cut from music video; critics cite moves toward religious law
Independent (UK) Feb 28, 08 6:47 PM CST
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Singer Aslizen Yentur thought it was a joke when Turkey's top music channel axed shots of a wine bottle-laden table from her video. It wasn't, and now Turkey's broadcasting watchdog is drafting a bill to make scenes that encourage drinking illegal—supposedly to align with EU norms, the Independent reports. But critics charge the government is really trying to steer Turkey toward religious populism.
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Measure takes aim at the 'Great Firewall
of China'; would inject web into trade talks
Ars Technica Feb 28, 08 2:33 PM CST
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The EU is out to hack down the Great Firewall of China, Ars Technica reports. A new proposal would classify the web censorship China and other oppressive regimes employ as a trade barrier, an approach its creator calls “unusual, but effective.” The measure already sailed through the European Parliament 571-38, and now awaits European Council confirmation.
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Info-starved population gets creative to bypass government's gags
Christian Science Monitor Feb 13, 08 1:17 PM CST
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Never shy about censorship, Burma has cracked down even more since September's monk uprising—no small event in a country that ranks 164th out of 168 on the Press Freedom Index. But information-starved citizens are finding creative ways to circumvent an extreme government that bans even benign news about soccer team losses, the Christian Science Monitor reports.
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Aim is to punish illegal file-sharing, but privacy concerns abound
Associated Press Jan 23, 08 6:58 PM CST
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AT&T is considering steps to filter the Internet traffic it provides in order to stop illegal file-sharing, the AP reports. CEO Randall Stephenson, speaking to the World Economic Forum today, likened the company's role as passive participant in copyright infringement to witnessing a crime: "It's like being in a store and watching someone steal a DVD. Do you act?"
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Ministry says 'young minds' are being 'perverted'
Associated Press Jan 23, 08 4:00 PM CST
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China took down 44,000 porn websites last year, arrested 868 people, and penalized 2,000 others. The Public Security Ministry said today that Internet pornography has “perverted China’s young minds,” the AP reports. Porn and paid sex are illegal in almost all forms in the country; the crackdown involved the seizure of cash and film equipment.
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Calls them 'spiritual opium'
Reuters Jan 17, 08 12:03 PM CST
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China is cracking down on its booming, billion-dollar online game industry, which is seen as “spiritual opium” that threatens to hook the Chinese people, Reuters reports. The government today said it plans to regulate “undesirable” elements out of the game, which 41 million Chinese played this year. “The whole industry is marginalized by mainstream society,” one senior official said.
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