Monday, December 26, 2011

Just what the world doesn’t need; US politicians telling us what to read online

This is the inevitable push by the “war on terror” crowd who have no problems with war propaganda from our side – the glorious fighting machines of Israel, America, Britain or the West – but the evil enemy must be silenced: American congressmen are calling on Twitter to block Taliban propagandists from the micro-blogging site. Senators want to stop feeds which boast of insurgent attacks on Nato forces in Afghanistan and the casualties they inflict. Aides for Joe Lieberman, chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said the move was part of a wider attempt to eliminate violent Islamist extremist propaganda from the internet and social media. The Taliban movement has embraced the social network as part of its propaganda effort and regularly tweets about attacks or posts links to its statements. The information has ranged from highly accurate, up-to-the-minute accounts of unfolding spectacular attacks, to often completely fabricated or wildly exaggerated reports of American and British casualties. Twitter feeds including @ABalkhi, which has more than 4,100 followers, and @alemarahweb, which has more than 6,200 followers, regularly feature tweeted boasts about the deaths of “cowardly invaders” and “puppet” Afghan government forces. Taliban spokesmen also frequently spar with Nato press officers on Twitter, as they challenge and rebut each other’s statements. Twitter declined to say if the company had been asked to block the feeds by Mr Lieberman. Rachel Bremer, a spokesman for Twitter, said: “This isn’t something we’d comment on.

7 comments:

  1. It's not that far fetched to imagine the US going down THIS ROAD again.  By the way, DN! had a wonderul program on today about one of its famous VICTIMS.

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  2. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    To the point on this article. I have no problem with twitter feeds from Al Qaeda and the Taliban [with their usual trash talk about Shiites, Christian Crusaders, Jews, Hindus, Sufis, Afghan National Army, NATO, Europe, Turkey, Russia, India, Persians, Americans, Japanese, Australians, UN, etc.] It would be nice if they would state "affiliate of the Pakistani Army and Saudi Arabian government" in their press releases. More honest too.

    Mara, do you think terrorists and racists should have free and unfettered access to social networks for their anti western, anti Shiite, anti Sufi, anti Afghan, anti Indian, anti Atheist, anti Russian, anti UN propoganda?

    Maybe. But the world should launch counter information operations against the bigots and enemies of humanity.

    And Palestinians should remember well. The world will remember if they sided with GHQ and Saudi Arabia against the Afghans. And there will be consequences if they chose wrong.

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  3. Haqqani, Al Qaeda and the Taliban are all proxies for part [or more than a part] of the Pakistani Army General Headquarters, or GHQ; and Saudi Arabia.

    A retired 4 star general in the Pakistani Army recently publicly confirmed that Osama Bin Laden was protected by GHQ and Musharraf. [Hard to believe that the Saudis weren't at least partially in on it too, but that was not confirmed by the said 4 star Pakistani Army General.]

    Osama Bin Laden was a national asset of GHQ and Saudi Arabia between 1980 and 2011. Haqqani and the Taliban are proxies of GHQ and Saudi Arabia.

    The Palestinians have a stark choice before them:

    Side with GHQ and Saudi Arabia and their proxies--Haqqani, Al Qaeda, Taliban?

    Side with President Karzai's Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan [GIRoA] and the more than 320 thousand Afghan National Security Forces loyal to it. GIRoA is unanimously backed by the UN, as reinforced by many unanimously passed UN resolutions.  The UN unanimously created two organizations and have repeatedly and unanimously requested all countries to contribute to them:
    -UNAMA
    -ISAF
    ISAF consists of fifty some countries. Many other countries contribute to the ANSF with bilateral agreements. ISAF HQs were taken over by NATO.

    Among the muslim majority countries contributing to the ANSF are: Malaysia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, UAE, Bahrain [OK that is embarrasing], Qatar, Bosnia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo, Turkey.

    Among the countries supporting Afghanistan are the Stans of central Asia, Russia, Iran, India, US, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand.

    Palestinians have a clear choice. With GHQ and Saudi Arabia, or with the rest of the world. So far the Palestinian Authority and Hamas has chosen correctly. This is good. If they ever make the wrong choice, may heaven help them.

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  4. Your world fits too neatly into tidy little boxes.  Cave ab homine unius libri

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  5. Why should he? It's not like can understand what is said, is it?

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  6. The book is called the Lal Kitab, "A book to which an ignoramus refers for the solution of every difficulty." (Bhai Maya Singh, lexicographer)

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