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Saudi Arabia Bans Facebook
gandhi_2 sends in a brief Associated Press piece on Saudi Arabia's blocking of Facebook. "An official with Saudi Arabia's communications authority says it has blocked Facebook because the popular social networking website doesn't conform with the kingdom's conservative values. ... He says Facebook's content had 'crossed a line' with the kingdom's conservative morals, but that blocking the site is a temporary measure." Some reports indicate that at least some individual Facebook pages can be reached from inside the kingdom. There hasn't been an official announcement; the source noted above requested anonymity. Earlier this year when Pakistan and Bangladesh banned Facebook, it was over particular content — cartoons of Mohammed — and the Saudi ban may prove similar once more details emerge.
... and nothing of value was lost.
(in either direction, IMO)
For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
.. what websites all these backwards countries ban and block?
We get it. They're against anything that lets people speak publicly against Islam supremacy.
Ya, until they can either blackmail or threaten FB into compliance.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
A little AI and a routine to overlay an abaya on any image that looks remotely female and all is well.
Have gnu, will travel.
over 300%
President Obama suggested the Republican party might wish to propose a similar act.
and nothing of value was lost?
Ok, a million jokes about facebook aside:
The internet will only be free when we make it free by technical means. While there are little projects here and there to provide anonymity, there's nothing large scale, trivial to use, and adopted by the masses in high volumes.
Web browsers authors could change the future of the world here. If they would build such tech into web browsers as easy as checking a prominent preference button it could make a huge difference in the ability of governments to repress their people.
It wouldn't even have to be perfect! Maybe the CIA and KGB can find you, but if you just raise the bar for *everybody*, that alone would contribute greatly to avoiding the future where every group in power anywhere gets to thrust their morality down everyone else's throat.
Anonymous speech is the only speech that is guaranteed to be free from retributions. Yes, it can be abused, but that is the cost of ANY freedom.
Yet more proof that religious folk are vulnerable to the creation of oppressive sociopolitical groups. It doesn't matter that (obviously) many folks in Saudi Arabi want to access Facebook. The powers that be say they can't, in the name of "God". Tell me how a group of atheists, or better yet, agnostics, could ever create something so ridiculous? Seriously, give me one example.
I think FB should ban all countries that ban it, so in case they change their minds, they'll have to apologise before getting access back.
Until facebook can be used to transport oil, I don't think the rest of the world will notice.
Great! Now my female friends will stop getting disturbing (albeit poorly written) random friend requests from horny Arabs in these countries.
Of course this is all but pointless with the number of free and for pay VPNs and proxy servers. Hell, I'll even create a "shared" ssh account on my linux server and folks can just SOCKS5 to their hearts' content.
***this just in...Saudi bans the Internet****
Shit......
I'm not one to shed a tear for facebook but maybe ISPs should block Saudi Arabia entirely from the internet. See how they feel about censorship then.
From TFA:
He says Facebook's content had 'crossed a line' with the kingdom's conservative morals
But the contents of Facebook, and the web in general, are created by millions of people,
yet the article is written as if Facebook's contents are created by one person organisation.
Blocking access to content from such a huge number of people (regardless of how inane a lot of it is)
is like sticking your fingers in your ears (and everyone else's) and humming.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40166219/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/
Why? Who knows. Does it really matter?
Well, I live in one of those internet black holes, myself. Tunisia. In Tunisia, Youtube, Dailymotion, and many sites were, since 2007, blocked due to "offensive" content (read: politically dissident). What that caused was two things, mainly: More dissidence, and the banalisation of proxies. Right now kids in elementary schools know how to fiddle with proxies and DNS settings to get around the blockade, and despite the govt's sincere efforts, we still watch our vids on youtube (http://www.tekiano.com/net/web-2-0/2-7-1719/youtube-15eme-site-le-plus-visite-en-tunisie.html French blog, sorry). At some point, FB was blocked too, but this nearly caused a riot (Yes, people didn't riot because of a tax increase but they started getting angry when they couldn't play Farmville). This, of course, tought our gov't one thing: being all official about blocking FB is an open invitation to a riot. Thus, they decided to do it diferently and now they block Tunisian IPs from certain pages with... delicate content. (this, I guess, was done hand to hand with Facebook's teams). I do not expect the Saudi gov't to hold on their bloackade for too long, they should play it the smooth way and learn rom their fellow retarded govts.
Like
If enithin kan gow rong it whil. (Murfey)
No, the difference is that Iran stones women, Saudi Arabia beheads them. Both agree that Facebook is immoral though.
Negative moral value of force outweighs the positive value of good intentions.
...nothing of value was gained?
Isn't it when you make your entire facebook profile private no one can see it? Right? Regardless if you have an account or not? So if this is the case why do stories keep popping up about law enforcement busting people and stuff like this countries scanning profiles? Am I retarded? Even if you have your profile private except for friends, people can still see what you post? If so someone tell me how, I want to troll private facebook accounts!
If I am right, and you cannot see anything on a private profile, then this is just poor decisions by idiots, and we shouldn't be giving them the time of day by putting stories like this on the front page... Don't want people to see what you are doing, what you are thinking, and everything else that makes social networking sites what they are, then make your shit private! Or just don't use them at all... Also I blame religion!
Visit my Forums?
...I wipe my ass with the Qur'an and SA's stupid conservative laws. Muhammad was a stupid pedophile and if SA didn't have oil we would have carpet bombed that shithole eons ago.
Next election, I'm going to support the most xenophobic, bloodthirsty candidate I can find.
Becouse that's what you are.
everyone,
I am a saudi who lives in saudi and here is my point of the story.
Saudi's (communications and information technology) has a solution of the shelf that blocks pornographic sites automatically (we got VPN so dont worry we get our pr0ns).
This solution keeps its own database and that external database messes up sometimes and blocks stuff that should be blocked. google and secondlife were blocked before and were unblocked. Further more, political website and radical islamic websites are blocked as requested by the government for national security.
facebook's url that was blocked today was (www.facebook.com/home.php) but if you use (www.facebook.com) it works perfectly. so it apparent that the blocking was due to a mess up in the database of the off the shelf solution.
any questions? :D
Banning the Facebook, banning the BlackBerry
Seriously though, if they're going to start banning things in their country, we should do the same and ban them from things in our country... yes, yes OK, I know RIM is Canadian... so let's only ban them from one thing right now...
Let's start with Airplanes.
Your turn, KSA...
1. He's pointing out some hypocrisy.
2. He's posting at -1 because he offended some Apple fanboys with an opinion.
A state Islamic and Mohammad approved replacement was already announced,
BurkaBook
Can't post a link in Arabit (thanks to Google translate).... Slashdot eats UTF-8 - sad, sad!
Well I read that Facebook's Saudi Arabian servers kept crashing when people searched for the name Mohammed, so its probably for the best.
If you are there, why are you putting energy into anything besides GETTING OUT OF THERE?
Today I've discovered that The Pirate Bay website is blocked in Italy. Previously the italian providers were forced to configure the DNS to resolve it as 127.0.0.1, but that was easy to circumvent. Now, the IP is totally unreacheable from Italy. To look at TPB one has to use a proxy, a tunnel, etc.
A similar measure is in force for unauthorized gambling sites.
I don't gamble and I don't care too much for torrents, but the very idea that my government decides which sites I can visit and which I cannot sends a cold shiver down my spine.
When they came for the leechers...
The first step is for religiously ruled societies to be isolated from the worldwide network and harm their economy and civil stability. The second step is for them to lose economic clout (mostly due to fossil fuels being obsoleted). Eventually, this will make it untenable for them to ignore their international relations as they become increasingly dependent on global goodwill. All theocracies are going to be dead within one or two generations, and (pardon the pun) God willing, so will religion.
Unfortunately, all this will be hard to accomplish in the case of the United States, because there the problem of religion is a somewhat different one: The government does not *need* to impose religiously inspired censorship on the network, because the majority of the population is already too deeply entrenched in religion to be educated. In some sense, the US needs the opposite of what Iran, Saudi-Arabia and China need: Not more power to the people, but just a term or two of a government telling the idiots "STFU, we know what's best for you; here's your free healthcare, here's your free secular education; that wasn't so bad, was it?"
it has blocked Facebook because the popular social networking website doesn't conform with the kingdom's conservative values. ... He says Facebook's content had 'crossed a line' with the kingdom's conservative morals, but that blocking the site is a temporary measure.
Department of redundancy department, located in the department dealing with and otherwise handling redundant departmental affairs dealing with both redundancy and departmental redundancy.
They ban everyone for every reason unless and until they are given a reason why not.
The major difference between them (Wahabi) and the Taliban is that the Saud family have had money since the fifties.
I find the same mechanisms of oppressive paternalism are also occurring in North Korea, Burma(Myanmar) Indonesia,
Same (un)reasoning attitude.
Same appeal to the irrational.
Same hatred/fear of everything and everybody.
MSBPodcast.com The opinions expressed here are my own. If you don't like 'em... Think up your own stuff.
First off, a little disclaimer:
Westerners often tend to conflate Wahhabism with Islam, but that is a critical mistake that undermines any clear understanding of the Middle East and Islam itself. The movement has taken Islam from being an unquestioned powerhouse of intellectual and cultural innovation to being perceived as a force of stagnation. Islam is not the problem, the cultural baggage that it is presently burdened with is the issue. Wahhabism itself is only a few centuries old, and in that time it has deeply undermined the perception of Islam in the Western world, and undermined the social, intellectual and economic development of those countries where it has taken root.
It's why women went from being the closest advisors to the Prophet himself, to being deeply despised and treated as subhuman in certain corners of the Islamic world. The najib, the bourqua, the many, many restrictions on women - these came from outside of Islam, and were integrated into the narrative of what Islam is about. Many in the West fail to understand that Wahhabism and the myriad of ancient tribal customs that were given an opportunity for resurgence are not found in the Qu'ran.
One can find the seeds of Wahhabism. The passages and the bits of text that would inspire such an interpretation, but to say it is a legitimate part of Islam would be false. (Wahhabists would strongly disagree. ;) )
But Wahhabism is a factor that must be dealt with regardless of how legitimate it is. So here we find ourselves looking at its biggest proponent - and it's largest victim - Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia has siphoned its oil wealth off to fund the lifestyle of countless princes vaguely related to the royal family, while the rest of the young-skewing country faces unemployment and poverty.
The ruling class has tried to embrace the radical Wahhabist interpretation of Islam and use it as a uniting force in the country, while accumulating for itself the material pleasures of modernity purchased with the natural resources of the nation. It hasn't really worked. It's resulted in the aforementioned elites living the high life, while the impoverished masses watch the encroachment of western culture they are taught to despise.
It's a nation ruled by oppression and undermined with a deep-seated cognitive dissonance regarding technology, culture, religion and how it all interacts on a moral and practical level.
It's a climate that is intellectually bankrupt, as it crushes new ideas while longing for the modernity it simultaneously craves / despises. It wants to mesh 16th century mores with 21st century technology. So far it has operated under the illusion that such things are possible, as the country has simply purchased what it desires from the West. But it doesn't develop much of anything on its own. The culture of Wahhabism silences innovation. It creates an environment where fear, oppression, absolutely pathological misogyny are entrenched in the social and legal fabric of the nation.
Saudi Arabia has tried to improve its position by having students study overseas, but they quickly become deeply alienated from the world that stands so far apart from the one they come from. Ideally, the men (and they are almost always men) would return with new ideas and new perspectives. But they so often end up bitter radicals. They see how their nation is widely perceived as a backwards ocean of sand that is valued for its oil and little else. Furthermore, the Western world they encounter is full of temptations they have been groomed to hate, but the promise of economic prosperity they cannot hope to find at home.
The home they return to is a stifling environment of institutionalized corruption (the name Saudi Arabia literally means "Arabia that belongs to the House of Saud"), intellectual stagnation where new ideas are deeply frowned upon, and constant reminders of the morally corrupt world they've left behind.
What hope is there for a country like that?
Even if they didn't come back a
Marxist != Totalitarian Communist
Capitalist != Fascist
Stalin was not a Marxist. He was a totalitarian murderous dictator who claimed to be a Marxist. Just like Hitler wasn't a Christian, even though all of his soldiers had "Gott mit uns" or "God is with us" engraved on their belt buckles. Corrupt leaders will exploit whatever ideology is necessary in order to stay in power.
Why are mineral wealth and cultural wealth inversely proportional?
...but the fact is right now Wahhabism and Islam are basically one. You can paint a nice picture of theory of how they are separate ideals, but the REALITY is that Islam and Wahhabism are for all practical purposes, the same thing. It's one thing to proclaim what the printed description says. That's the problem when you live in an ivory tower. You don't see reality.
Here's the bottom line. A criminal Muslim has more weight than the most pious infidel, in their mindset. If you cannot see that, you are more blind than a bat.
> Marxist are atheists in a technical sense, but they display the same amount of blind fanaticism as religious people.
So how do we know which atheists are true atheists? I mean, you seem to want to take it beyond not believing in any god(s) to not believing too much in anything (how far can you believe that, really?). If anything can be a "god" of sorts now, how do I know that you're actually an atheist? Maybe you belong to the cult of Slashdot or something?
Also, you're ignoring the minor fact that they purged (i.e. killed / disposed of) religious folks precisely because they were afraid of the "blind fanaticism" you decry. They didn't think that the "opiate of the masses" was a good thing, you know. Moreover, it's still going on in China. But you don't exactly hear that in the news very often that people are being killed for their religion. Well, except for Falun Gong. They do make the news occasionally, but they're hardly the only religion oppressed.
Eventually, the arabs will run out of oil, and other countries will have all the oil (like the huge amounts in the upper mid west, Alaska & the gulf). When those idiots run out, their "power" will disappear and they can go back to being the idiots they were until the early 20's when oil was discovered there. The west set them up with all that oil, and what have we gotten from it? 70 years of trouble!
On the other hand, they have the right to participate in public executions with human rights violators (not of, with)
But such "entertainment" is always part of islam, of course. It's close to the only allowed form of entertainment (which is why it is the only allowed use of sports stadia, for example, according to "the muslim students" (taliban in arabic))
You treat women like crap so yes, I will put you on the same level.
(Sometimes the West's attitude towards women isn't anything to be proud of but it's still a damn sight better than yours)
If anything can be a "god" of sorts now, how do I know that you're actually an atheist?If anything can be a "god" of sorts now, how do I know that you're actually an atheist?
Somebody above answered that: "portraits of the prophets everywhere, worship rituals, religious processions (with mandatory attendance), holy scripture and a priest class"
And your probably somebody's bitch.
I love responding to my overly-religious relatives when they start spouting fucking nonsense with "Even the devil can quote scripture, right? How do I know you're not the devil right now?"
No, it doesn't shut them up, because they're FUCKING IRRATIONAL. But, it does provide some levity for the rest of the family. :)
I feel fantastic, and I'm still alive.
I feel sorry for the Saudis.
In Israel it would never happen.
filtered version of facebook.com...
You pick the battles you think you can win. You leave others to "fight" another day. That's the way things work. Grow up!
> No, it doesn't shut them up, because they're FUCKING IRRATIONAL.
And so are you. All humans are.
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
Tyranny of this sort should be rewarded in the manner exemplified by Hassan-i Sabbh. But the people of Saudi Arabia won't rebel against this bullshit in any meaningful way, so it's not my concern.
I write sci-fi for metalheads
Can we now please do this in America?
Yes, I know it sets a bad precedent, but it's friggin' FACEBOOK!
This was actually a German tradition. It was on belt buckles even in the first world war. It was not something Hitler started. He just didn't see a reason to change an old army tradition.
Similar to the upcoming US election results
Bush will hold King Abdullah's hand while Obama bows to him, and everything will be OK.
Facebook has deleted the International Burn The Koran Day group today.
The page was active earlier today before the ban was lifted.
Maybe the Saudis demanded that Facebook delete groups from Facebook that were against the practice of Islam.
South Park is created by a small group of people who create and distribute provocative material for entertainment and occasionally social commentary.
Facebook is a platform where millions of individuals can write anything they want to their friends, and the content isn't created by Facebook, it's created by the users. Sure, Facebook occasionally encourages people to publish information that isn't necessarily limited to the choices the conservatives approve of (Interested in: Women. Status: It's Complicated. Politics: Anarchist Religion: Rastafarian) etc. But it's not the kind of thing that's pointed at the owners individually.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
I say bollocks. I just opened FB here in Riyadh and it works fine. There were some glitches yesterday, but otherwise all is well.
I think the establishment would have many upset Saudis if they were to block FB.
WTR nothing lost both ways if FB access is blocked, I'd go on the limb here and say that this would apply for the whole planet.
Please meet the world. Yep, you're backward.
All the closed societies suddenly get in contact with the other ones (open or closed) at all levels at once with the popularization of the internet. It's probably creating some drastic changes of perspectives there, in all layers of society.
Religious inquisition bastards probably suddenly feel they might end up hung from a tree by their own people on a medium time frame (order of half to 2 decades I would guess). Think of exposing former Stasi members at the collapse of GDR, but the the softness of inter-human relation in the tribal Bedouin society.
They will block this for their life, and will scramble more and more plugging the holes.
In addition, those countries (the Muslim ones) missed/postponed their demographic transition, so there are plentiful new generations to bring change there.
And the decline of the production of oil is SA, which is expected in a similar time frame might oil (ha, ha) the process...
Is Allah weak?
Why Muslims are hell bent on protecting Allah from human rant?
I'd like to buy homeland for our 10 million people. http://twitter.com/mahadiga
Hey content-restricting countries, wanna be safe? How about just blocking the entire internet? That'll make sure no online information you don't want people to read will be available.
I am not devoid of humor.
Next election, I'm going to support any Muslim candidate I can find.
Fixed for clarity. That's what you meant, isn't it?
Yeah, thanks for that, I guess, you really contributed now didn't you?
I feel fantastic, and I'm still alive.