Moralism Sucks - Authority Abused Again

Thanks to Mark at Boing Boing for bringing this disturbing video to our attention, via "The Agitator." The piety of fundie moralists is sickening, and it seems, potentially lethal. But we all knew that. Problem is: religious fundamentalism has slowly infiltrated virtually all aspects of American life and infrastructure. No where is this more the case than in local police departments. Sure, this girl has a bad mouth. But really!



Policing
9-1-1

Banned in Bahrain?

The Parliament in Bahrain is asking the government to BAN the upcoming performance of Lebanese Diva Haifa Wehbe, according to this article in the BBC today.

Wehbe, the only Arabic artist to open for 50 Cent, is apparently too sexy for the fundamentalist-dominated Bahraini legislature. Good thing we're not talking Madonna here. Though Wehbe has a lot of fans in the Gulf country, and has promised modest dress, Bahraini MPs are not satisfied. Now this is just exactly why I could never live in a theocracy, or fundamentalist-dominated democracy for that matter. I confess to having problems with the overly pious. Want to see for yourself what the row is all about? Check out this video to see the scandalous performance!



Haifa Wehbe
Bahrain

Court Gives Domain Back to Wikileaks

In the post below, The Author complained about the increasing exercise of government and corporate control over the Internet. Again, a bad thing. Well, in a moment of clarity the judge in the Wikileaks case that I cited in the last paragraph has reversed his decision and given the anonymous whistleblower's site back its domain name. Sweet. A good thing. And such quick turnaround. Very impressive. Read about it here.

Internet Blocking Pervasive & Spreading

So you think the Internet is open and free? Think again. Evidence is mounting that virtually all governments and many ISPs are blocking content, restricting access and generally trying to slow and control the evolution of The Net. A bad thing. A very bad thing for democracy, for citizen oversight and journalism, and for freedom of research and speech.

So just how pervasive is this trend? Well, we all know about the dictatorships around the world that are so frightened by free expression they've clamped down on Net access. China, N. Korea and a variety of conservative Muslim countries all block many sites and significant portions of Net content. Read the Economist article on the subject here. And then there's US Cable provider Comcast, blocking streaming video sites at peak hours in the name of preserving bandwidth. Enhancing profit and annoying supposedly valuable customers is more like it. Read about recent Comcast hearings at this site.

And for really cool, interactive maps highlighting countries that block various kinds of content including social network sites, check out Open Net's fine mapping page. You'll be blown away by the data. And check out the organization's blog here. I'm adding this important site to my blogroll.

The news that Japan is planning to control all non-corporate news sites is particularly unwelcome and distrubing. After all, the rest of the free world just doesn't expect this kind of behavior from a country with such sterling high-tech roots. But then again, Japan also has the most robots on the planet - which some citizens and politicians seem to prefer to resident immigrants according to news reports.

The Wikileaks shutdown and US Air Force block (source) on any sites with the word "blog" in their title brings this trend home, to the "...land of the free and home of the brave." Well, not free enough to provide open access and not brave enough to embrace blogs it seems. Now that's a disappointment.

Wikileaks, a website that allows whistleblowers to post government and corporate documents anonymously, was shut down recently after a concerned Swiss bank got a dummie federal judge to abandon the constitution. Their principal concern? The site was uncensorable. In other words, out of their control. So much for promoting transparency in our workplace, government and society at large. The ACLU & EFF have come to the rescue with a number of other concerned parties (source). In an even more stupid and insidious move, the US Air Force has determined that blogs represent a threat to the readiness of our servicemen. Uh huh. Like I'm buying that. Read the WIRED report about it here.

Big Brother FCC Plays Moral Police

You've got to be kidding. The Federal Communications Commission is seeking a $1.4 million fine against ABC, Disney's home network, for depicting a woman's buttocks in a 2003 episode of NYPD Blue? Read about it here. Jeez, female nudity, I'm shocked. After all, the human body is a dirty, shameful thing. Right? Well according to the FCC, we're just not adult enough to make that decision for ourselves and grab the remote control if we're offended and change the freaking channel. Yea, uh huh.

So let me get this straight. The FCC is populated by pious Neanderthals that want to take us back to the Victorian age by censoring our airwaves. The FDA is populated by physicians who decry valuable stem-cell research and believe that the proper approach to PMS is prayer and the answer to teenage pregnancy is abstinence. The EPA is populated by pseudo-scientists who deny species extinction and global warming; and the BLM and Forest Service are populated by bureaucrats determined to give away our natural resources to greedy ranchers and timber companies. Now that's obscene. Like killing over 100,000 Iraqi civilians and 4,000 young American GIs for oil. Sickening.

While we're talking about obscenities on the airwaves, let's take a look at what one network is doing to promote pornography during primetime. Check it out, then contact your member of congress and remind them that adult citizens don't need the Feds telling them what to watch on TV. And tell the radical, fundamentalist Christian right that censorship, denial and destruction don't sqauare with your values. Isn't it time to get the American Taleban to shut the hell up?