Zoulcolm X: July 2008

Friday, July 25, 2008

The Revolution Won't Be Internetized

Gil Scott Heron has an amazing poem from the early 70s states that "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" .. in places like Sudan, it won't be televised and it won't be internetized either.

Many sudanese youth have joined the Facebook group "Unblock Youtube In Sudan Now" and expressed their disagreement with the blocking. and many helped by posting proxies and IP addresses that are not tracked by the National Telecommunication Corporation.
Still nobody knows the reason behind NTC's blocking for youtube, some would assume it's because of pornographic videos, in other words it's blocked for moral reasons. but why does Youtube have porn in it? well, it doesn't, Youtube team removes any video with sexual content, but I guess it can't define arabic text, but reporting abuse or "Flagging" a video is enough to have it removed. NTC filtering system works in a similar way, it searches keywords from the title, tags, or even the comments to block certain pages/videos on Youtube or anyother website, I've seen this happen before. but why blocking the entire website now? without even explaining why, I think it's just another attempt to suffocate freedom of speech, specially in times like these, with the international court after Omar, they don't want someone with opposition to the official story about how every sudanese citizen supports Omar. they don't want us to see the documantries that have been posted lately about the "ghost houses" created to tourture individuals who didn't support the "salvation revolution", and with the elections coming, they don't want any anti-kizan* campaign, which is something not allowed on local newspapers, and the national TV is on their side 24/7, but Youtube, facebook, and blogs give a free space for the truth, and this is what THEY fear the most.
this is not a moral issue, it is political. they have always profited from ignorance, and web 2.0 is against ignorance and those fascists really hates it, so I won't be surprised if they blocked facebook or myspace next. if they did, we'll have to do more than just creating a group on the web.

To open Youtube use this proxy: https://www.megaproxy.com/freesurf/
you can also open it by typing this IP address: 208.65.153.253
and watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8eDuH1SCQ0

* Kizan is a nickname for the National Islamic Front and the ruling party the National Congress members.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Youtube Blocked in Sudan

Update: 23/4/2010 (two years later)

Youtube was blocked by the Sudanese National Telecommunication Corporation, which is known for blocking porn websites, and controversial religous websites, hacking websites, etc .. but Youtube? why would they block it? Youtube is known for it's "report abuse" system, no unapropriate materials find its way to it, even the videos with sexual/violent content are not allowed for -18 users, so why would the Sudanese government block it?(yes, I believe the government is after this and it's not a conspiracy) what else other than it's freedom of speech services? I know what this fascist regime hates the most? no, not technology, they fear those who are able to use this technology. I was intending to upload a video I'm supposed to get soon from a friend who got it from a relative working for the military, the video shows extreme tourture commited on those who were prisoned at the 10th of May events, did someone upload it before I do? It's been moving from phone to phone by bluetooth for a while, even though I didn't see it till now but people are talking. The governemnt managed to prevent local newspapers from mentioning Kajbar Dam atrocities before and arrested many activists.
what's next? Will they block blogs? facebook? myspace?

I live in a fascist regime, do you?

Yes you do if these 14 points applies to your country..

· Powerful and Continuing Nationalism. Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.

· Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights. Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of 'need.' The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.

· Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause. The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial, ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.

· Supremacy of the Military. Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.

· Rampant Sexism. The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.

· Controlled Mass Media. Sometimes the media are directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media are indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.

· Obsession with National Security. Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.

· Religion and Government are Intertwined. Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.

· Corporate Power is Protected. The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.

· Labor Power is Suppressed. Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.

· Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts. Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.

· Obsession with Crime and Punishment. Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.

· Rampant Cronyism and Corruption. Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.

· Fraudulent Elections. Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

Zoulcolm X

Friday, July 25, 2008

The Revolution Won't Be Internetized

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Youtube Blocked in Sudan

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