Whats Burma realy like

Police blogger revealed

The identity of a police constable whose internet
diaries lifted the lid on modern-day policing has been revealed for the
first time by the BBC.

Stuart Davidson risked dismissal from his job to write The Policeman's Blog.

He has told BBC One's Panorama that officers were often
stuck doing paperwork and chasing targets, and not out arresting
criminals.

Police and government officials say they accept there is too much bureaucracy involved in the job.

Not even the 36-year-old's closest colleagues knew he
was responsible for the blog, which was written under the pen-name of
PC David Copperfield and has received over one million hits since he
started it.

'Waste of time'

In his blog Mr Davidson outlined the "madness" of his
target-driven duties in a place he called Newtown, which he has now
disclosed was Burton-on-Trent.

Speaking openly for the first time, he told Panorama he was frustrated with bureaucracy and paperwork.

"The public think that we solve burglaries, the public
think that we're actually on patrol accosting thieves and people who
are up to no good," he said.

"But what we actually do is attempt to meet government statistics by solving trivial crime."

Staffordshire police said analysis showed officers spent
62% of their time out of the station, but it accepted they have to deal
with too much bureaucracy and they're working to change it.

Mr Davidson, who received two commendations during his
four years in the force, said about 80% of what he did "was a waste of
time".

"I thought nobody else can be doing things that are so insane," he said.

"But it transpires that there are thousands and
thousands of other police officers out there doing exactly the same
kinds of things

Quitting force

"It depends on the nature of the offence of course, but
you arrest somebody and it'll take you the rest of the shift - say
eight to 10 hours - to deal with that if it's even remotely
complicated."

Mr Davidson said he was sometimes tempted not to make an arrest because processing it would mean so much time off the street.

He is quitting the force in Britain to join the police in Canada.

Panorama filmed with Mr Davidson over six months, including his last days on the force.

It also spoke to other officers up and down the country
who feel their job is being undermined. They said they believed the
very foundation of police work - that of preventing crime - is being
undermined.

And all of them spoke of their frustration at the sheer volume of paperwork.

"We are never there on the streets to provide
reassurance, to provide a deterrent and to prevent people from becoming
a victim of crime," a former officer told the programme.

Many of their concerns were supported by the Chief
Inspectorate of Policing's interim review into policing in England and
Wales, which was published last week.

The views are also echoed in responses to a
questionnaire distributed to 2,000 beat officers across the country by
the Police Federation, which represents 140,000 officers.

The Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Sir Ronnie
Flanagan, said police officers in England and Wales are bogged down in
red tape and "excess bureaucracy" must be cut to free up police time.

Discretion

Mr Davidson's blog was dismissed last year by Tony McNulty, Minister for Security, Counter-terrorism, Crime and Policing.

But Mr McNulty told Panorama that he had shifted his
position and, while he did not concede everything that Copperfield said
was true, things could be improved for officers.

He also said that, while targets are crucial for
accountability and measuring performance, they should not get in the
way of officers doing their job effectively.

"I want there to be accountability, I want there to be a
robust performance framework... but I do not want that getting in the
way of effective policing and crucially restoring some discretion to
the frontline".

Panorama's Wasting Police Time will be broadcast on BBC One on Monday September 17 at 2030 BST.

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Thirteen Ways to be a Green Photographer

I remember sitting in a lecture and being amazed at the beautiful printed landscapes of the Peak District that had been taken by the lecturer. Then being equally amazed at his next statement. I no longer make images of landscapes as they are being trashed and I feel it is wrong ethically (he was referring to the fact that it encourages tourism) I was impressed with his stance to say the least. But it has led me to consider how “Green” my photography is in a digital world when I found this article on PopPhoto

The good news: Digital photography has taken huge amounts of chemicals
out of our waste stream, including bleach and silver, not to mention
millions of plastic-coated prints. The bad news: Digital sucks down a
lot of electricity and requires new equipment, which consumes lots of
resources and creates considerable eco-impacts, usually far away. Here
are a few things all photographers can do to be greener.

1. Watch the Power Meter

With digital, you'll need to keep your power consumption under control
if you don't want to warm the planet: Every kilowatt-hour you use
produces about 1.4 pounds of the greenhouse gases that cause global
warming. Choose Energy Star-certified equipment, and turn off or put to
sleep your computer, display, printer, and scanner when you can. Invest
in a power meter like the Kill A Watt to keep tabs on your usage -- you
may be in for unpleasant surprises.

2. Choose Your Power

A digital studio, including your Mac Pro computer, your Epson Stylus
Pro 3800 printer, and your Nikon D80 charger, will consume hundreds or
thousands of kilowatt-hours of electricity a year. Make sure that power
is coming from renewable, non-carbon-polluting sources. Through your
utility, switch to wind, hydro, or other sources; it may cost a little
more, but rebates can help with that, and you're making a difference
where it counts, at the source.

3. Recycle Everything

A digital studio will still produce paper waste -- it makes up about a
third of our trash. Recycle every scrap; making a ton of paper from
waste requires about two-thirds less energy than from wood pulp.
Recycle ink cartridges (office stores and online retailers will give
you credit for empties) and, when necessary, electronics. Electronic
waste has harmful metals and chemicals; give it to a recycling plant
that will salvage for useful parts and not just dump it in a landfill.

4. Shoot Locally

Transportation accounts for one-third of the average American's "carbon
footprint" -- the CO2 and other greenhouse gases that contribute to
global warming. If you're typical, you're responsible for about 15,000
pounds of CO2 a year. One round trip to shoot Maui's jungle could
account for half of that.

5. Offset Your CO2

Can't stay home? Can't get your computer, scanner, and printer off the
grid? You can help offset your footprint by buying carbon credits via
companies such as CarbonFund.org and NativeEnergy. Your money will help create renewable-energy sources and meet other conservation goals.

6. Conserve Energy

The basic energy tips you're practicing in your nonphoto life will work
in the studio, too. Using compact fluorescent bulbs and taking a degree
or two off the thermostat in winter (and adding a degree in summer)
will save energy and keep hundreds of pounds of CO2 out of the
atmosphere.

7. Unplug It All

Rechargers and other equipment left on standby create phantom loads
that waste megawatts every year. Unplug rechargers and power down
anything you're not using that has a little green or red light on it.
You'll save money and keep CO2 out of the atmosphere.

8. Watch the Chemicals

Processing in a darkroom? Use chemicals less harmful to the
environment, such as Kodak's Xtol and other ascorbate (vitamin C)
developers. Manufacturers say quantities you use at home can be
disposed via your sewer. Check silvergrain.org for nontoxic solutions.

9. Find Greener Options

Explore recycled papers such as Red River Paper's Green Pix, use
rechargeable batteries (NiMH is better than NiCd), and, if you print a
lot, buy ink in bulk rather than blowing through plastic cartridges.
Extra credit: Get a solar-powered battery charger.

10. Be a Responsible Consumer

Vote for the environment with your wallet: Ask camera, paper, and film
manufacturers about environmental efforts, from recycling to energy use
to materials.

11. Shoot the Change You Want in the World

It's not just how you shoot, it's what you shoot. Think about how your
images can represent solutions or illuminate a new angle on an
environmental problem.

12. Spread the Word

Small steps add up when millions join in. Tell two friends about your
new, greener way of looking at photography. They'll tell two friends,
and they'll tell two friends, and so on, and so on, and so on...

13. Make It Last

A long-lived camera is environmentally friendly. Do your research, buy
great stuff, and treat it right: It takes a great deal of materials,
energy, and pollutants to make a new camera, and pretty much zero to
keep your current one in tip-top shape.

RELATED ARTICLES
Assignment: Earth Portfolio

New Networks for Conservation Photographers

Inside the Green Studio

2 Ways to Shoot a Landscape

Edward Burtynsky's Silent Persuasion

Phones for the Photojournalist and Documentary image maker

I have been testing a couple of phones a Sony Ericsson K810i which has quite a powerful camera at 3.2 mega pixies and providing you use it within its limitations it provides reasonable quality images, especially for web and urgent news.

The other and at the moment my favourite is the Fujitsu Siemens Loox T830 the built in 2 mega pixies camera is not up to much but as a photojournalist who has a camera with him 99% of the time this is not a problem for me.
It has a voice recorder that you can use to record telephone conversations ideal for interviews.

It also has:
Video recorder
Video phone
Push email
All the things you get on Windows Mobile
Sat Nav

The Sat Nav is also a bonus as it allows you do embed location information into the images as well

As well as my favourite, the software I have put on is Pocket Phojo, this allows me to attach my Nikon D2x and plug it into the Smart Phone and upload pictures via FTP to anywhere I want. It connects to 3G networks and WiFi hotspots and any other that is open. as soon as i have taken an image on the camera this combination of phone and software uploads it as soon as it is taken. Pre captioning and image editing can also be done prior to upload too.

Now that is an awesome phone for a photojournalist or documentary photographer

Some accessories I have brought so far for it is an in car charger and a solar powered Freeloader
for charging the Loox T830 in remote places like in a field! The Freeloader also powers up mobile phones as well and you can get disposable one shot batteries for a couple of pounds if there is no sun or I am in a heavy urban environment. I also intend to get a rugged weatherproof case for it too like the Otterbox 1900

Update 1st September 2007
There is also an extended battery available which will make the Loox T 830 last an extra 140% taking it to 8-10 hours continuous talk time and another one that's a slimline one and will give you an extra 20%
as well as dual sim cards so if you can't get 3G network on one service provider you can switch to another

My D2X lasts for a considerable time on its own rechargeable battery and I also have a spare, this combination should allow me to keep shooting from just about anywhere

While the K810i will cover me for the 1% that I don't have my camera

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Mobile tools for reporting

THE pen may be mightier than the sword but Fairfax is betting the multimedia-enabled mobile phone is the mightiest implement of all.

The company has launched an ambitious plan to put an iMate Jasjam mobile device in the hands of every reporter and photographer at its Herald and Age publications, as well as Fairfax Digital, to enable them to file video, audio, still images and copy on the fly.

The plan is largely aimed at generating video and other rich media material to populate the company's smh.com.au and theage.com.au websites as Fairfax reinvents itself as a digital media company and audiences and advertisers migrate to the internet.

It could eventually be used to generate material for the former Rural Press publications following the two companies' merger, and Southern Cross' metropolitan radio stations including 2UE, 3AW and 4BC, which Fairfax hopes to acquire.

Fairfax online editor-in-chief Mike van Niekerk said 12 reporters and photographers were using the devices at present, but the plan was to give all staff training and access to them.

"We are still trying to understand how best these kinds of tools can be used in the newsroom," he said. "We tested an earlier model a year ago and we've been using it purely within the online editorial breaking news team. Now we're buying a lot more of these ones and making them available through the newsroom."
Fairfax would not say how many staff could be affected, but a source from the Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance estimated the plan could involve 400 reporters and photographers.

At the recommended retail price of $1300 per device, the move could cost the company more than $500,000 before data charges and training costs are taken into account.

Mr van Niekerk said a Fairfax Digital reporter used a mobile device to conduct a video interview with a witness to an accident in the Sydney suburb of Kogarah earlier this year, in which a woman was killed when a car ran into a crowded bus stop.

"The reporter was on the scene within 20 minutes," Mr van Kiekerk said. "That video, which was actually quite dramatic and newsworthy, was on the site within 15 minutes of the reporter arriving at the scene of the accident."

Web-quality video, stills and audio of live incidents, press conferences and sit-down interviews can be captured on the devices, but photographers are also using them to file print-quality images taken with high-resolution digital cameras.

"You'd probably find two years down the road that everyone would have something like this," Mr van Niekerk said. "They're an all-in-one reporting tool."
It's unclear if staff can be forced to use the technology.

According to the MEAA, once staff have been given training on how to use the devices, they can be asked to file multimedia material but the company may not use the technology to reduce staff numbers, or as leverage to deny promotions.
Mr van Niekerk said: "We'd like for reporters to have the training and the skills to be able to (file in as many media as possible)."

News Limited is running limited tests of similar technology in its Sydney metropolitan dailies.

Nationwide News photographic manager Steve Grove said staff in the Canberra bureau of The Australian were using the pocket-sized Canon TX1 camera to file video and stills for the web.

He said high-speed mobile networks were crucial to moving the amount of data required: "It's also about the uniqueness of the video."

Dallas Morning News new media producer David Leeson told newspaper publishers at the recent PANPA conference that new content formats were still developing to meet online demands.

Mr Grove said edited first-person interviews, in the vein of ABC television's Australian Story, were one possible format.
source: The Australian

Test post

Hi all ignore this post

Why documentary photographers and photojournalists should protect their privacy online and how

Picture this:
A controversial and major political social group suddenly decides to have their annual outdoor event down the road from you. You start to think things over and wonder if you can get access to cover the event without getting lynched by the group, you have done work for other political social groups that blatantly oppose the group you are now considering.

Normally this would not be a problem, but you are aware that due to the group’s reputation, they do check out who is who. It is here that the fun starts; I can type in my name to a search engine and it appears all over the web. I have also done research on the controversial group by visiting their official web site and non official sites. But I failed to stop to consider what my innocent little surf has just divulged about my computer and my location?

It is not unusual for a photographer to research material gleaned online from email and other sources, often on sensitive subjects. By mixing work and pleasure you are opening up to the world who and what you do. If part of your online life is compromised - all of it may be threatened. My Photography website has my name all over it and my home address with all the contact details to pinpoint to where I live and who I am.

If part of your online life is compromised - all of it may be threatened.

The answer is of course to have a dual identity with a false/second web site, but caution needs to be considered as your PC leaks information all over the place, the ideal would be to use a computer solely for the alias identity. This means all login’s email are kept separate, the site is built from the alias computer, all images are kept separate (remember the exif details and file naming etc. that are attached to your images when you make a picture, might need to be changed) all software registration needs to be under a separate identity, too so it is quite a head ache, What you can’t do is book your holiday stuff one minute with your real ID then go back to your alias in the next breath researching some dodgy individualall on the same PC.

You can use things like Virtual Privacy Machine or a live boot version of Linux to browse but your ISP will still stay the same.

Have a quick look at Browserspy or Showmyip to understand what website owners can find out about you using nothing more than your internet connection. Defending your privacy is not something that can only be achieved through the right software and a good firewall. Often your best defence is common sense and a canny understanding of hacking and criminal technique. Criminal networks are increasingly using 'social engineering' to trick internet users into divulging passwords and security information. In 2006, Myspace users who clicked on what they thought were legitimate links were actually carried to a criminal site designed to obtain personal data.

You probably have had the email asking to verify your details of from a bank you don’t use, but what about an email from the one you do bank with? A slip you make in your lunch hour on a social networking site or careless lack of interest from an email could see your money plundered and may therefore compromise months of painstaking research in to the barging or worse yet put you, your family at risk.

Bear in mind that you may not be the only person with a stake in your privacy and security. "When a reporter or photojournalist promises confidentiality to a source, he or she should be prepared to take whatever steps are necessary to make sure that the identity isn't revealed, whether deliberately or through carelessness.

Remember it’s not just computers that have identity, mobile phones, PDA, wallets/purses, mail and your rubbish and you, also need to be taken care of and you can still bump into someone who knows you for who you really are and blow your cover; it’s a small world. How small, quite a few years ago I was in the middle east with the military, no wars or conflict were happening then but I did bump into a neighbour from across the road who was on holiday, it can be that small…! How easy is it for an operator to search for a mobile phone number on their network and see who it is registered too?

Meanwhile, staff at an Orange call centre were found to have shared log-ins, meaning customer information could potentially have been accessed by unauthorised workers. When you think of social movements they have a large number of supporters that are not paid staff, how many work for utility companies, phone companies, councils etc. that may have access to finding your name or address to verify who you are and how you pay for the service and what bank!

Bear in mind that you may not be the only person with a stake in your privacy and security. "When a reporter or photojournalist promises confidentiality to a source, he or she should be prepared to take whatever steps are necessary to make sure that the identity isn't revealed, whether deliberately or through carelessness.

A series of remarkable challenges to the principle of freedom of online expression have been made in the US in the form of lawsuits known as 'cyberslapps'. This occurs when corporations or public figures attempt to intimidate or reveal the identity of people who criticise them online. These lawsuits tend to work because they target people who cannot afford the legal costs of opposing them. It will probably be happening in the UK sooner or laterThe subpoenas involved often require ISPs to reveal personal information.

According to cyberslapp.org, a coalition involving the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Public Citizen among others, ISPs may reveal your personal information in response to a subpoena before you know about the legal action.

Privacy International and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) state that the 'current privacy picture in the UK is decidedly grim' yes you heard ‘grim’. This is partly down to the electronic surveillance allowed under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA), which places an obligation on 'Communication Service Providers' to provide 'a reasonable interception capability'. In 2003 there were 1,983 warrants for interceptions issued in England and Scotland under the Act. Privacy International says these surveillance powers, coupled with moves towards a national ID scheme and weak Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation, mean the UK is the worst-performing western democracy in its 'surveillance league table'.

Your privacy and professional security may be vulnerable in ways that were scarcely imaginable just a few years ago. Do you think you can be traced by a simple document from your office? Most people would not think so. But the reality is that the US government managed to persuade many desktop printer makers to deploy technology that encodes documents (using tracking dots) in a way that identifies individual machines. According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, no law exists to prevent authorities from using the technology to compromise privacy. It also says that other governments are using the technology in surveillance operations.

While there are good reasons why journalists and photographers need to take even more care online, there are also ways they can take advantage of new services and technology to defeat the crooks and avoid surveillance. One way of combating laptop theft, for example, is subscription to a service that helps you recover your stolen computer when it is next connected to the internet.

See the Undercover service for Macs and the PCPhoneHome equivalent for PCs. A better way is to have the whole hard drive encrypted, with password access at boot up (see truecrypt link below regarding being forced for password retrieval)Another remarkable service that enables Mac users to detect unwanted outbound connections and 'network parasites' is Little Snitch.

Other helpful tools and sites are listed below.

Email
Most people are surprised about how vulnerable email is to eavesdropping and surveillance. While it is very hard for an 'outsider' to access your mail while it is in transit, your email is at risk at both ends of its journey.An 'insider', such as someone at ISP level or in one of the networks through which your email travels, can access and even edit email content.

Through 'social engineering', someone may gain access to your ISP account or access an unencrypted WiFi network. The recipient of the email may be equally vulnerable and any interception will access the 'plain text' content of ordinary email.One of the best things you can do, therefore, is to encrypt your sensitive email communication and one of the best solutions is the desktop package for home offices available from PGP. It is PC and Mac compatible and works with a range of popular email clients such as Microsoft Outlook 2007, Qualcomm Eudora 6.2 and Apple Macintosh's Mail.

Unencrypted WiFi
If you set up a wireless network and a wireless internet connection, then your router will probably give you an option of encrypted access. Use it. Unencrypted or poorly configured wireless networks are frighteningly common. "Most people who buy a WiFi router for home don't bother to set up strong encryption," says Stephen Doig. "When I turn on my laptop at home, I can see half a dozen other WiFi signals nearby, most of them wide open."You should also never use an unencrypted WiFi connection that you stumble upon by chance when you are on the move. These can be 'honey pot' networks that are left open with the aim of luring people into using a conveniently open connection. While your connection is free, your traffic will have no privacy.

Search engines
Most people are surprised to learn that all of the major search engines maintain a record of your search string history. If you have an account with a search engine (for example if you use Google's Gmail) then your history will be directly linked to your name. But even if you do not have an account, your history may be linked to your IP address.

In 2006, AOL accidentally disclosed the records of more than half a million users long enough for the data to be copied and made available from a variety of sources. Some companies defend the logging of search strings, claiming they are developing 'hyper personal' search results based on your interests. But privacy campaigners say the safeguards and privacy policies are far too lax.

Shock and horror
Major companies in the UK have been breaching data protection act

Mr Thomas, the UK’s information commissioner told the BBC there were concerns about internet search engines which keep detailed histories of each individual's online activity.
"We're leaving these electronic footprints right through our lives these days," he said.

The annual report also highlighted a recent glitch on the Medical Training Application Service website which left trainee doctors' personal details open to public view.

A total of 12 high street banks were guilty of discarding customers' personal details - including bank statements, cut up credit cards and loan applications - in unsecured bins outside their premises, the commissioner found. Source BBC
To avoid compromising your privacy:

• Do not put personal information in search strings. For example, do not search for your own credit card number or your address.
• Be aware that your search history will be logged to you personally if you create a search engine account. If you do create an account, modify your search behaviour and delete your search history if you can.
• Consider using other tactics such as blocking cookies or browsing anonymously (see below).

For more information on protecting your online search privacy, see the EFF page on search engine privacy.

Social networking
Networking sites such as Myspace and Facebook are grist to the mill for people involved in the media industry, but you need to maintain your caution to defend your privacy. Social network sites are increasingly being targeted by attackers who set up 'phishing scams' (see below). You need to configure your privacy settings carefully or avoid adding any sensitive information and be careful about how much you reveal to new 'friends'. A common 'social engineering' form of industrial espionage is to befriend someone online just long enough to get them to reveal insider information, the EFF says.

Phishing
The practice of defrauding people by tricking them into divulging access passwords to banking sites and other private information has seen phenomenal growth. The number of unique phishing sites detected by the Anti-Phising Working Group rose to 55,643 in April 2007. These phishing scams hijacked 172 different brands as cover.Typically these scams involve fake emails inviting people to change their passwords or PIN numbers either in direct response to the email or via counterfeit web pages. These attacks have grown in sophistication and complexity and sometimes involve very detailed counterfeit websites that mimic banks, credit card companies and other organisations. What surprises many people is that this counterfeiting can, and often does, involve a fake URL - in other words the URL that appears in the browser looks perfectly normal but, in reality, takes the user to a scam site. If you fall victim to these scams, your entire online identity can be put at risk. For information about how to spot phishing emails and fake websites see:
• Get Safe Online and follow the links to Avoid criminal websites.

• The Anti-Phishing Working Group consumer advice page.

Avoid monitoring and surveillance
Marketing firms monitor web use using 'cookies'. These are small text files that sites place onto your computer that can enable the site owner to monitor your web activity. Most are only accessible to those site owners who placed them; others can be used by marketing companies to track your general web browsing.While it is tempting to block all cookies in order to defend your privacy, cookie use is so widespread that many sites are difficult to use without them. EFF recommends configuring your browser to allow only 'session cookies'. This means that the useful cookies are enabled while the ones that can be used to track your history will expire at the end of your browsing session. But you must remember to quit your browser regularly. For more information about configuring your browser to disable cookies, see this EFF page.

If you do not set your computer to allow only 'session' cookies, then Stephen Doig recommends purging them on a daily basis using your own browser's tools. For more options for managing cookies see this page. But managing or blocking cookies does not hide your IP address from website owners.

One way to defend your work is to find a secure way to browse anonymously. Two of the best options are Tor and Anonymizer.
Both have plug-ins for Firefox browser that is considered less leaky than Internet explorer.

TrackMeNot is a lightweight browser extension that helps protect web searchers from surveillance and data-profiling by search engines. It does so not by means of concealment or encryption (i.e. covering one's tracks), but instead, paradoxically, by the opposite strategy: noise and obfuscation. With TrackMeNot, actual web searches, lost in a cloud of false leads, are essentially hidden in plain view. User-installed TrackMeNot works with the Firefox Browser and popular search engines (AOL, Yahoo!, Google, and MSN) and requires no 3rd-party servers or services.

How it worksTrackMeNot runs in Firefox as a low-priority background process that periodically issues randomized search-queries to popular search engines, e.g., AOL, Yahoo!, Google, and MSN. It hides users' actual search trails in a cloud of 'ghost' queries, significantly increasing the difficulty of aggregating such data into accurate or identifying user profiles. As of version 0.4, TMN's static word list has been replaced with a dynamic query mechanism which 'evolves' each client (uniquely) over time, parsing the results of its searches for 'logical' future query terms with which to replace those already used.

Journalists are also advised to view:
Hints and Tips for Whistle-blowers at
http://p10.hostingprod.com/ @spyb...lowers_hin.html

and Security and Encryption FAQ at
http://www.panta-rhei.eu.org/ pan...ndEncryptionFaq

Some more web sites worth visiting.
http://www.truecrypt.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TrueCrypthttp://
www.freeotfe.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FreeOTFE
http://www.cypherpunks.ca/otr/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Off...ecord_Messaging
http://www.securstar.com/ product...rivecryptpp.php
http://www.panta-rhei.eu.org/ pan...ndEncryptionFaq
http://www.panta-rhei.eu.org/ pan...thTorAndStunnel
http://tor.eff.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tor...nymity_network)

Yemen SMS news ban attacked by journalists

Today I see the first example of a Government blocking new technology for the delivery of news via SMS, I wonder how long it will be before they block the recording of it by Citizen Journalists?

Yesterday I put up a piece form the BBC about how Blair saw the media as a feral beast and said that "The arrival of web based news and blogs and 24 hour television news channels meant reports were driven by impact"
Also in May I did an article on how the UK Government and mobile phone suppliers met to look at how to shut down cameras and video on mobile phones "The Government , Your Mobile Phone and it's Criminal Tendency"

Government bans news sent to mobile phones by SMS message


Reporters Without Borders today condemned new media censorship in Yemen, where access to at least two websites has been blocked since the start of the year, in one case for three months, and the information ministry is now censoring the distribution of news to mobile phones by SMS message.


“It is disturbing that the Yemeni government is attacking new technology in this way,” the press freedom organisation said. “It never showed any open-mindedness towards the opposition media and these new arenas of expression offered a fresh opportunity for the media. The authorities have again demonstrated their determination to control news and information that is critical of them.”


The al-Shora website, which regularly posted opposition articles, was closed on 24 February. It was finally allowed to reopen on 23 May. The socialist website aleshteraki was similarly closed for a week, from 16 to 23 May. The government was worried by the fact that they were controlled by opposition parties. It was also concerned about their coverage of the fighting with the al-Houthi rebels in Saada province.


The information and telecommunications ministry has now banned several mobile phone news distribution services, including those proposed by the companies Nass mobile and Bela Qoyod mobile, on the grounds that they were not subject to sufficient control. The ministry nonetheless said that the authorities could offer such services.


SMS messages expressing criticism of President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s government had circulated in the weeks prior to the ban. The opposition parties denied being behind them. On 7 June, the government announce the start of a debate about a new press law, one concerning new media in particular.

Source: rsf.org

Also more on Journalism.co.uk

NowPublic

Colour managed web browser for windows

Apple have now produced their Saffarri browser for windows users.
This broweser reads the Colour profile ebeded in the images so it displays it correctley

More info here:
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=7-8740-9003

Media 'like feral beast' - Blair

Media 'like feral beast' - Blair
Tony Blair
Tony Blair leaves office at the end of June
Tony Blair has said the media can operate like "a feral beast" and its relationship with politicians is "damaged" and in need of repair.

The prime minister said relations had always been fraught, but now threatened politicians' "capacity to take the right decisions for the country".

The arrival of web-based news and blogs and 24-hour television news channels meant reports were "driven by impact".

Mr Blair also said newspaper and TV regulatory systems needed to change.


In these modes it is like a feral beast, just tearing people and reputations to bits
Tony Blair

In full: Blair's media speech

In a speech to the Reuters news agency on public life, he said the media world was becoming more fragmented, with the main BBC and ITN bulletins now getting half the audiences they had previously and newspapers fighting for their share of a "shrinking market".

He said fierce competition for stories meant that the modern media now hunted "in a pack."

"In these modes it is like a feral beast, just tearing people and reputations to bits, but no-one dares miss out," he said.

'Unravelling standards'

The result was that the media was increasingly "and to a dangerous degree" driven by "impact" which was, in turn, "unravelling standards, driving them down," he said.

Mr Blair, who will step down as prime minister on 27 June, admitted that New Labour's own attempts to "court" and "assuage" the media in the early days of his government may have contributed to the problem.

He said he had tried to have a dialogue with the media, through measures like on-the-record lobby briefings, monthly press conferences and the Freedom of Information Act.

But, he said: "None of it to any avail, not because these things aren't right, but because they don't deal with the central issue - which is how politics is reported."

He said people in public life, from politics to business, sport, the military and charities, found that "a vast aspect" of their job now was coping with the media, "it's sheer scale, weight and constant hyperactivity. At points it literally overwhelms".

And he said there was increasingly commentary on the news, which could prove "incredibly frustrating".

"There will often be as much interpretation of what a politician is saying, as there is coverage of them actually saying it," he said.

He said the relationship between public life and the media was in need of repair.

He added: "The damage saps the country's confidence and self-belief, it undermines its assessment of itself, its institutions and above all, it reduces our capacity to take the right decisions, in the right spirit for our future."

Mr Blair concluded his speech by saying he had made it "after much hesitation" and he expected it to be "rubbished", but it "needed to be said - so I've said it".

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Tony Blair has obviously been looking at NowPublic! But it is interesting to see if Crowd sourced Journalism and Citizen Journalism gets dragged into the firing line, Being independent Governments have less control over how and when we can publish news

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