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Russia Blocks Access to Major Independent News Sites

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Re: Russia Blocks Access to Major Independent News Sites

#91

Post by austerity »

saraid216 wrote: post #76
RomanPushkin wrote: post #60

I'm from Russia, and you know, average Russian didn't feel that major independent news sites are blocked. May be they're blocked, but we actually don't give a f..k about them. We have other independent news sites. So my position is like the West is trying to force hysteria. Please don't think that we don't have freedoms here. We have much more freedom that you can ever imagine. As well, we don't need to be protected…

This is from someone who's so accustomed to self-censorship that he can't even say "fuck". Right. I believe you.

Oh, they would be. In Russia, a state agency is tasked with finding and deleting swearing in user comments[1]

Also, as a russian I'd like to make it clear that RomanPushkin does not represent me.

1. http://rkn.gov.ru/press/p696/news24031.htm

Re: Russia Blocks Access to Major Independent News Sites

#92

Post by eps »

casualmuscovite wrote: post #85

Reporting from the trenches. Here in Moscow all 4 sites from the list [1] are being banned as of this morning. * ej.ru (assortment of articles by opposition writers) * kasparov.ru (chess grandmaster and one of the opposition leaders) * navalny.livejournal.com (possibly most prominent opposition leader as of late; mayor of Moscow candidate in 2013 mayoral election) * grani.ru (opposition newspaper) I'd have to agree w…

Isn't Navalni widely considered/painted as a paid US shill in Russia? I've seen him on TV and he didn't strike me as someone who'd put his life on a line for betterment of Russian governance, just in principle. His true motives are far from clear.

Re: Russia Blocks Access to Major Independent News Sites

#93

Post by twelve40 »

trekky1700 wrote: post #73
dangerden wrote: post #66

I'm from Russia. Yes, sure, it is a plan to control the media. Especially when Internet media are so popular. We still have access to all other western medias. It is pretty simple to compare the facts. Of course these happenings are tightly linked to the Ukraine crisis. I could say that western people also do not get the whole picture as national medias cover the crisis in a very biased way. One more time we see that…

I really don't see what every media outlet that isn't Russian state-controlled would have to gain from distributing "biased" journalism. We've seen raw footage released, we can read live tweets about what's happening and we can even communicate with people effected via the internet. The only side that seems to conflict with what's coming out of the region is the Russian side. I watched cellphone footage of troops wit…

What?? Russia has quite officially kept at least 10k troops in Crimea for the last 200 years, give or take. Maybe you can cross-check your breaking twitter news with, I dunno, wikipedia maybe?

Re: Russia Blocks Access to Major Independent News Sites

#94

Post by rjzzleep »

beedogs wrote: post #69
spenvo wrote: post #3

The greatest instrument used in the societal tragedies of the last century has (undoubtedly) been state delivered propaganda. Japan (Empire of the Rising Sun), Nazi Germany, Maoism (and the following Cultural Revolution), in America: Red Scare (age of McCarthyism, ending as a consequence of JMc.'s untimely death), the Red Peril (the predecessor of the Red Scare) -- the list goes on. The efficacy of those at the top t…

> We are witnessing (again [0]) a complete lack of attempted narrative on the part of the US/UK mainstream press. There isn't the slightest reason to not give this story ample coverage -- it is anti-Putin/Russia (which, we can all agree is the current fetish in the media), and it is absolutely newsworthy -- even by their standards (they covered when the Russia Today anchors quit and spoke-out). SO WHAT GIVES? This is…

ironically, the uk has already done that before they passed the bill. they blocked independent media coverage of iran, and not only blocked it, but also banned them from sky satellites. germans then banned the channel from astra, which was revoked after a court appeal. i don't know of any updates to the story though. been a while since i followed the story.

i find it particularly interesting, mainly because for the most part the population never even noticed.

we shouldn't really be so high and mighty. for all i know people over there oppose their bad practices, and over here people are defending them.

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/jan/20/iran-press-tv-l...

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/06/18/246851/press-tv-is-b...

Re: Russia Blocks Access to Major Independent News Sites

#95

Post by BugBrother »

mikeash wrote: post #38
Steko wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a good thing the Mongols didn't have modern _state delivered propaganda_, otherwise some real atrocities might have taken place in the areas they conquered.

Or An Lushan. Makes Mao look like a rank amateur. If propaganda is necessary to modern atrocities, what changed to make it so?

I shocked the educated English guy next to me at work, when I gave a reference to "The harrowing of the north".

Not exactly the most obscure part of English history, but still not well known. Control of information isn't new.

The fun part will all the Chomsky thing is that in my native Sweden, you have totally different influences on the news media than USA. E.g. left wing extremists have a large space, political discussion are often done by interviewing political left extremists (Gardell, Hubinette, Guillou, etc).

But you see lots of "manufactured consent", lots of head line news stories at BBC/NY Times just doesn't show up. Etc.

Re: Russia Blocks Access to Major Independent News Sites

#96

Post by adobriyan »

eps wrote: post #92
casualmuscovite wrote: post #85

Reporting from the trenches. Here in Moscow all 4 sites from the list [1] are being banned as of this morning. * ej.ru (assortment of articles by opposition writers) * kasparov.ru (chess grandmaster and one of the opposition leaders) * navalny.livejournal.com (possibly most prominent opposition leader as of late; mayor of Moscow candidate in 2013 mayoral election) * grani.ru (opposition newspaper) I'd have to agree w…

Isn't Navalni widely considered/painted as a paid US shill in Russia? I've seen him on TV and he didn't strike me as someone who'd put his life on a line for betterment of Russian governance, just in principle. His true motives are far from clear.

> Isn't Navalni widely considered/painted as a paid US shill in Russia?

He is. Just as Echo and the rest of our liberal fifth column.

Re: Russia Blocks Access to Major Independent News Sites

#97

Post by aldous »

RomanPushkin wrote: post #60

I'm from Russia, and you know, average Russian didn't feel that major independent news sites are blocked. May be they're blocked, but we actually don't give a f..k about them. We have other independent news sites. So my position is like the West is trying to force hysteria. Please don't think that we don't have freedoms here. We have much more freedom that you can ever imagine. As well, we don't need to be protected…

One could argue that jingoistic chest beating, on both sides of the divide is lamentable.Would we not do well to remember the unprecedented difference between our world today and that of the past; all our nations are more tightly entwined, economically, socially, culturally. Understanding and promoting this mutual dependence seems crucial and pressing to me. Can World Wars be won in this day and age? Is there any rational alternative to our peaceful mutual coexistence (a messy, muddled morass of a coexistence but one none the less). All this rampant 'nationalism' from all camps is dangerous, IMHO. Remember how the cosmopolitan european community was destroyed by World war 1 and a shift to nationalism, xenophobia and prejudice filled the void. Can we not learn from our collective past?

Re: Russia Blocks Access to Major Independent News Sites

#98

Post by aric »

siculars wrote: post #40

Here's an idea. Every organization that believes in freedom may consider repurposing their websites to allow access to censored sites. Let's say you're in Russia and instead of configuring a proxy you simply go to eff.org or nyt.com or columbia.edu and you go to a special page there that then lets you go to all the sites that are censored in that country. The net result is that that country would then need to censor…

That's a smart, strategic idea. Mainstream sites -- outside of Russia but that Russians still use often -- that are willing to stand in solidarity and risk being blocked would be dramatically important. Without outside support, the overwhelming majority of a Russian public will continue to become even more acculturated to censorship and a state's chilling effects. This is already the case. However, it will only get worse unless complacency reaches a tipping point of jolting awareness.

Needless to say, several organizations would be willing to maintain updated blocked (accepted) lists. The important part is not allowing a proxy to be abstracted from the main site; otherwise, isolated javascript would be the blocking target, which would defeat the effects ever being noticed.

Re: Russia Blocks Access to Major Independent News Sites

#99

Post by choult »

rjzzleep wrote: post #94
beedogs wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We are witnessing (again [0]) a complete lack of attempted narrative on the part of the US/UK mainstream press. There isn't the slightest reason to not give this story ample coverage -- it is anti-Putin/Russia (which, we can all agree is the current fetish in the media), and it is absolutely newsworthy -- even by their standards (they covered when the Russia Today anchors quit and spoke-out). SO WHAT GIVES? This is…

ironically, the uk has already done that before they passed the bill. they blocked independent media coverage of iran, and not only blocked it, but also banned them from sky satellites. germans then banned the channel from astra, which was revoked after a court appeal. i don't know of any updates to the story though. been a while since i followed the story. i find it particularly interesting, mainly because for the m…

I'd hardly call Press TV "independent" - it's state-funded and apparently strongly linked to the Revolutionary Guard - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Press_TV.

Your Guardian link describes Ofcom - the TV regulator in the UK - offering two alternatives to Press TV to retain its license in order to comply with the requirement that the license is held by the same entity as that providing editorial oversight. It also mentions that Press TV was fined for airing a clip of an interview carried out under duress. Regulation is not censorship.

Re: Russia Blocks Access to Major Independent News Sites

#100

Post by aric »

raquo wrote: post #52
siculars wrote: post #40

Here's an idea. Every organization that believes in freedom may consider repurposing their websites to allow access to censored sites. Let's say you're in Russia and instead of configuring a proxy you simply go to eff.org or nyt.com or columbia.edu and you go to a special page there that then lets you go to all the sites that are censored in that country. The net result is that that country would then need to censor…

They'll just blacklist every single one of these sites for enabling access to illegal materials and you won't even be able to read EFF from Russia. And if a Russian citizen creates a public proxy, they'll convict him on anti-terrorist charges. That'll deter the rest. I am not convinced that pushing Putin to exercise his dictatorial abilities is a good idea when his approval ratings among the general population are so…

> "They'll just blacklist every single one of these sites..."

That's the point: pressure. Outside sites willing to expose themselves to an 'iron curtain' is a true form of solidarity in this era where a world is more connected. Push-back is exactly how successful, peaceful movements are waged.

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