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Are Marines Censoring Web Access for Troops in Iraq?
Gavin86 and others have submitted links to This Wonkette article (profanity warning) about the Marines Corps blocking access to some Web sites for their people in Iraq. This article was a follow-up to an earlier Wonkette post. Before I posted these links, I looked for verification of this problem but found nothing but links to Wonkette, so I cannot say for sure whether this is true. Hopefully, alert Slashdot readers (like you) will post confirmations if, indeed, there are any to be found. Meanwhile, if this is true, it's eerily reminiscent of an experience I had when I visited Saudi Arabia in January, 2004.
The Wonkette post contains this list of sites blocked and not blocked, allegedly sent by a Marine serving in Iraq:
I spent several hours in my Riyadh hotel room one evening checking sites suggested to me by Slashdot coworker Jamie McCarthy via IRC (which was not blocked by the Saudi filters). Among them were sites decrying Holocaust denial, which were blocked, although many sites espousing the old Protocols of the Elders of Zion antisemitic lies were not.
A number of sites that talked about human rights -- especially women's rights -- were also blocked. Sites that glorified Islam were, of course, fine. Interestingly, Jamie and I found that some (but not all) sites that were blocked when the 2002 Harvard Law School article, Documentation of Internet Filtering in Saudi Arabia, was released had been unblocked by the time of my visit.
And when I met with Eyas S. Al-Hejery, the man in charge of Saudi Arabia's Internet Serice Unit and told him about some of the blocked sites Jamie and I had found, including several innocuous Israeli government ones, he agreeably unblocked them.
I have no way of knowing whether Eyas reblocked those sites as soon as I left his country, but he told me more than once that he did not, himself, decide which sites should be blocked but only reacted to complaints from Saudi Arabia's infamous religious police and submissions from concerned citizens, which he said numbered up to 200 per day, total, while he only received a "trickle" of requests to unblock sites.
Now comes a big question: If the charges of Marine Internet blockage are true, will the Marines unblock incorrectly-blocked Web sites as quickly as Eyas did in Saudi Arabia?
But first, another big questions must be answered: Is the Wonkette story true? It's been up and spreading around the Internet since March 1st, and no official Marine spokesperson has bothered to either debunk it or admit that yes, the Marine Corps is blocking Web sites for political reasons.
It's going to be interesting to see if, here in a country where we supposedly hold freedom of speech dear, we expect our overseas troops to submit to the same sort of censorship that is an everyday thing in Saudi Arabia, a famous breeding ground for the Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism our Marines are supposed to be fighting against.
- Wonkette - "Forbidden, this page (http://www.wonkette.com/) is categorized as: Forum/Bulletin Boards, Politics/Opinion."
- Bill O'Reilly (www.billoreilly.com) - OK
- Air America (www.airamericaradio.com) - "Forbidden, this page (http://www.airamericaradio.com/) is categorized as: Internet Radio/TV, Politics/Opinion."
- Rush Limbaugh (www.rushlimbaugh.com) - OK
- ABC News "The Note" - OK
- Website of the Al Franken Show (www.alfrankenshow.com) - "Forbidden, this page (http://www.airamericaradio.com/) is categorized as: Internet Radio/TV, Politics/Opinion."
- G. Gordon Liddy Show (www.liddyshow.us) - OK
- Don & Mike Show (www.donandmikewebsite.com) - "Forbidden, this page (http://www.donandmikewebsite.com/) is categorized as: Profanity, Entertainment/Recreation/Hobbies."
I spent several hours in my Riyadh hotel room one evening checking sites suggested to me by Slashdot coworker Jamie McCarthy via IRC (which was not blocked by the Saudi filters). Among them were sites decrying Holocaust denial, which were blocked, although many sites espousing the old Protocols of the Elders of Zion antisemitic lies were not.
A number of sites that talked about human rights -- especially women's rights -- were also blocked. Sites that glorified Islam were, of course, fine. Interestingly, Jamie and I found that some (but not all) sites that were blocked when the 2002 Harvard Law School article, Documentation of Internet Filtering in Saudi Arabia, was released had been unblocked by the time of my visit.
And when I met with Eyas S. Al-Hejery, the man in charge of Saudi Arabia's Internet Serice Unit and told him about some of the blocked sites Jamie and I had found, including several innocuous Israeli government ones, he agreeably unblocked them.
I have no way of knowing whether Eyas reblocked those sites as soon as I left his country, but he told me more than once that he did not, himself, decide which sites should be blocked but only reacted to complaints from Saudi Arabia's infamous religious police and submissions from concerned citizens, which he said numbered up to 200 per day, total, while he only received a "trickle" of requests to unblock sites.
Now comes a big question: If the charges of Marine Internet blockage are true, will the Marines unblock incorrectly-blocked Web sites as quickly as Eyas did in Saudi Arabia?
But first, another big questions must be answered: Is the Wonkette story true? It's been up and spreading around the Internet since March 1st, and no official Marine spokesperson has bothered to either debunk it or admit that yes, the Marine Corps is blocking Web sites for political reasons.
It's going to be interesting to see if, here in a country where we supposedly hold freedom of speech dear, we expect our overseas troops to submit to the same sort of censorship that is an everyday thing in Saudi Arabia, a famous breeding ground for the Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism our Marines are supposed to be fighting against.
But can you speak for the Corps?
You see, what you fail to understand is that some sacrifices must be made in defense of our freedom. Sacrifices of our freedom.
Yeah, like in Vietnam, where we had to destroy villages in order to save them.
The Bush Administration is gonna protect freedom just like it protected New Orleans.
Opinions on the Twiddler2 hand-held keyboard?
Only a Republican can do this:
All that aside, much of the attitude is summed up as: "We protect Democracy, we don't practice it."
If someone is passing you on the right, you are an asshole for driving in the wrong lane.
Every modern military which provides it's soldiers with Internet access does so through at least two seperate networks. One network is always meant for internal traffic and protected communications between members, with access to the world wide web only being allowed for work-related purposes. As such, this network would be accessible primarily by personnel in leadership positions (not your average grunt) and are heavily monitored and filtered to avoid abuse. The second network is open to all members, and is only lightly monitored, and rarely filtered. As such, does it really matter that the "work-only" network which is inaccesible by the majority of members anyway happens to filter out some leftie websites? Especily when any member can go and log on to the public network, and access that same information without any filtering?
The US isn't the only country to do that, the Canadian, Brit and Aussie forces do it the same way.
Every time one of you "progressives" tries to explain "the facts" to us, we get a hell of a kick out of it. Guys coming back from leave have a great time exchanging stories about how they dealt with such situations. I don't know what's more fun: being accused of being a baby-killer, or being told that I'm a deluded idiot helping prop up the Corporate Hawk Faschist War Criminal Bush And His Evil Oil Syndicates. Either way, don't worry about offending us; we have a great sense of humour, and find you extremely amusing.
I disapprove of US politics and actions as well, but Belgium as a whole can shut the fuck up.
Never have I seen such an inconsequential country beat their tiny chest so much. File any war crimes lawsuits lately?
While I wouldn't neccesarily laugh at all veterans who oppose the conflict, I will laugh at many.
I'd certainly laugh at the ones who only joined "to go to college" thinking they'd never have to do anything. What kind of a nimrod joins an army expecting to never have to deal with violence? That's got a LOT of comedy potential right there.
Or the ones like Jeremy Hinsman, who suddenly become "consciencious objectors" because of "what they've seen". Even though what they saw consisted only of pots, pans, and the occasional toilet bucket that had to be emptied. They're certainly worth laughing at. How can you NOT laugh at someone who claims to have become opposed to violence as a result of washing dishes in a warzone?
Then there are the military families. Well, I can sum that one up in two words: Cindy Sheehan. The only way she could be more amusing is if she went out and got size 20 shoes and a red foam nose.
Granted, not all military families who oppose the war are as retarded as she is, and many do deserve respect and understanding. But losing a relative to the war does not give them some sort of moral high-ground, nor does it make their opinions any more correct. Does losing a relative to a car accident make you an expert on motorized vehicles?
Supporters of the troops? You know, saying "I support the troops" doesn't make you a supporter of the troops. Just like when the terrorists claim to beleive in the peaceful religious teachings of Islaam, it doesn't really mean their actions have anything to do with true Islam, or peace.
And your green beret link didn't work, so I'm not sure how to respond to that. However, a green beret would also fall under the category of "Iraqi war veterans", so you can just scroll up a bit and see my response to that one.
I also laugh at anyone who uses the word "progressive" to describe their beleifs, regaurdless of what their beleifs may be, simply because I get a kick out of envisioning just how much ego, ignorance, and attitude it must take to truly beleive that your beleifs are truly progressive. If conservatives insisted on refering to themselves as such I'd laugh at them too, but it's 10 times funnier when those with regressive beleifs do it.
Amazing you hippie democrats never seem to realize the truth in social and global liberty. The Constitution is a document that asses like you use as toilet paper when ever it's convenient to fight your hippie loving political battles, i.e. gun control. Neither you nor I are in any position to dictate what is or isn't Constitutional. If you really think you know how the world works and how actual policy is dictated and carried out and know how the US should be run then why post Anonymous Coward? Is it that you are afraid of what others might think of you? NEWS FLASH: I don't care what you or your hippie loving, grass smoking community thinks of the war. You aren't and were not over there. AND YES dumb ass, the Marine Corps is the ONLY branch of service that takes orders directly from the President. You think you took the moral high ground because you oppose the war? OOHH wait let me jump on the band wagon too. Let me guess, you pose around at the local coffee shops reading poetry looking like some emo-artistic-tourchered-soul, complaining on how the governments out to get us but your too much of chicken shit to pick up a gun and fight for something that means anything. Enjoy your latte you liberal. And if you should feel so inclined to supply me with your philosophy on how the US should be run or how it is run then please by all means educate me. Otherwise pop in another Cold Play CD and play with your razor blades.