Twitter's censorship plan rouses global furor‎

Friday, January 27, 2012

Twitter has refined its technology so it can censor messages on a country-by-country basis.The additional flexibility announced on Thursday is likely to raise fears that Twitter’s commitment to free speech may be weakening as the short-messaging company expands into new countries in an attempt to broaden its audience and make more money.

But Twitter sees the censorship tool as a way to ensure individual messages, or “tweets,” remain available to as many people as possible while it navigates a gauntlet of different laws around the world.

Before, when Twitter erased a tweet it disappeared throughout the world. Now, a tweet containing content breaking a law in one country can be taken down there and still be seen elsewhere.

Twitter will post a censorship notice whenever a tweet is removed. That’s similar to what Google has been doing for years when a law in a country where its service operates requires a search result to be removed.

Like Google, Twitter also plans to the share the removal requests it receives from governments, companies and individuals at the chillingeffects.org website.

The similarity to Google’s policy isn’t coincidental. Twitter’s general counsel is Alexander Macgillivray, who helped Google draw up its censorship policies while he was working at that company.

“One of our core values as a company is to defend and respect each user’s voice,” Twitter wrote in a blog post. “We try to keep content up wherever and whenever we can, and we will be transparent with users when we can’t. The tweets must continue to flow.”

Among other things, Twitter wants to expand its audience from about 100 million active uses now, to more than 1 billion. Reaching that goal will require expanding into more countries, which will mean Twitter will be more likely to have to submit to laws that run counter to the free expression protections guaranteed under the First Amendment in the U.S.

If Twitter defies a law in a country where it has employees, those people could be arrested. Twitter said it hadn’t yet used its ability to wipe out tweets in an individual country. All the tweets it has previously censored were wiped out throughout the world. Most of those included links to child pornography.

Read Post | comments

Delhi on high Security on Republic Day

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Delhi was under a very high and tight security on Republic Day as thousands of armed personnel kept a tight surveillance to prevent any terror strike or any untoward incident during the celebrations.Snipers with sophisticated arms and binoculars were on rooftops while hundreds of police personnel kept the eight km parade route from Rajpath to Red Fort under their watch to ensure that nothing untoward happened.

Around 25,000 police personnel, including those from paramilitary forces and sharpshooters from the elite National Security Guards (NSG) were deployed across the city in the run-up to the national celebrations.

Policemen kept a tab on the visuals from over 160 CCTVs between Rajpath and Red Fort, the route of the parade.

Mobile hit teams, anti-aircraft guns and sharpshooters of the NSG were also on the job at various places while paramilitary and Delhi Police commandos kept a close watch along the route.

“There was special emphasis on anti-sabotage checks, access control measures and intelligence coordination. The entire route of the parade was covered by special security and anti-terror arrangements.

“Elaborate air defence measures, including deployment of anti-aircraft guns, were also taken to check intrusion of air space,” a senior police official said. Besides the air defence measures, helicopters of the Indian Air Force hovered around Rajpath and all along the route of the parade.

Vehicles entering the city were randomly checked.

As the city witnessed a terror strike only four months ago, the security establishment left no stones unturned to ensure an incident-free celebration.

No vehicles were allowed to ply on the Rajpath from 6 p.m. on Wednesday while vehicular movement was restricted on Tilak Marg, Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, Netaji Subhash Marg upto Red Fort from 4 a.m.

Read Post | comments

Salman Rushdie:Rajasthan Police invented plot to keep me away

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Controversial author Salman Rushdie said that the Rajasthan Police “invented” a plot to keep him away from the Jaipur Literature Festival by claiming that they received a call from Mumbai underworld about him being killed if he visits the event.

“Rajasthan police invented plot to keep away Rushdie’ I’ve investigated, & believe that I was indeed lied to. I am outraged and very angry,” the writer of the banned ” The Satanic Verses” posted on Twitter.

The Rajasthan Police refused to comment on Rushdie’s charge that it had concocted the story about assassins from the Mumbai underworld hired to kill him in Jaipur.

Sources in the police said they had intelligence about threat to the author.

Rushdie Friday announced that he had called off his visit to the Jaipur Literature Festival after intelligence sources told him that paid assassins from the Mumbai underworld were out to kill him.

“For the last several days I have made no public comment about my proposed trip to Jaipur at the request of the authorities in Rajasthan, hoping that they would put in place such precautions as might be necessary to allow me to come and address the Festival audience in circumstances that were comfortable and safe for all,” Rushdie then said in a statement read out by the organisers of the festival.

“I have now been informed by intelligence sources in Maharashtra and Rajasthan that paid assassins from the Mumbai underworld may be on their way to Jaipur to ‘eliminate’ me,” he had said.

Read Post | comments

MMRDA Ground - Venue for Anna's fast

Friday, December 23, 2011

Anna Hazare Friday threatened to oppose in jail if he was not bestowed a locale for his hastening from Dec 27 for a muscular Lokpal pecker.There are more problems for Team Anna over its dissent venue in Metropolis after the suggest sports division denied permit for a section of Azad Maidan which it controls.

Mumbai Personnel, which expects a rattling great displace, had asked Team Anna to get primary authorisation for this portion of Azad Maidan as healed to fit so umpteen fill.

The force had said that only then would it supply the clearances needed for the three-day dissent inhabit which begins on December 27.

Early, after Maharashtra honcho diplomat Prithviraj Chavan failed to respond to Unit Anna's appeal to abandon or concentrate the fees for using the MMRDA make at the Bandra-Kurla Compound (BKC), India Against Immorality members on Thursday moved retinue as its ending help to get a large space for its unrest. The Bombay Great Romance also denied to intervene in the matter.

At the duplicate clip , they inalized on Azad Maidan as the centrestage for the anti-corruption advertise.  The religionist is that people of Metropolis are existence denied of the citizens tract to traveling a objection at a locale , which is unimprisoned of outgo and has adequate store. The appeal will be heard at 11am in the HC by Doj Majmudar and Administration Bhatkar , said Praful Vora , co-ordinator , IAC Bombay.

Address to reporters in his human village, Hazare blamed the polity for creating obstacles in his allegro.

"I was to sit in Delhi from Aug 16, they did the synoptic, they were not giving a situation to sit. At finish, we said we give go to clink and after that they gave expanse to sit on meteoric. The assonant testament chance here if they don't employ judge, we faculty sit in jailhouse," he said.

Hazare was to fleet in Metropolis, but the locus was shifted to City in the backwash of the scary winter in the person city. The venue in City has not yet been finalised.

Time permit was denied for Azad Maidan, a tear of Rs.3.5 lakh per day has been quoted for the MMRDA scene, added proposed venue.

Offensive the government's writing of Lokpal programme which was introduced in the Lok Sabha Weekday, Hazare said the invoice was "wrong". "The Lokpal program, the government deglutition is dishonorable. Why should the regime solo accomplish the enter?"

"…they (people) are the masters…they (politicians) should consult people before making any law."

Flatbottom as the activist attacked the Congress, he was all commendation for quondam paint rector Rajiv Statesman.

"Rajiv Statesman wrote a laurels to 5.5 lakh community sarpanchs for 73rd and 74th amendment," he said.

The 73rd and 74th Amendments of the Soldier Commencement, passed in 1993, devolved monumental turn of country to localized governments or panchayats.

Hazare also attacked Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) important Lalu Prasad Yadav and said he should think the fodder rig. "Fill will request him who has sown which seeds. Has he forgotten the 'grass' outrage."

Meantime Metropolis Law has also supposition authorisation to Bharat Against Degradation to drink protest in Ramlila Maidan from Dec 27th to Jan 1.

Read Post | comments

Raja accuses CBI of creating ‘false witness’

Former Telecom Diplomat and the key accused in the 2G scam A. Raja on Fri accused the Central Bureau of Investigation in a City retinue of making his ex-aide Aseervatham Achary a "specious witness" to declare against him.

"He is a created incorrect attestor and this is my supreme showcase," senior advocate Sushil Kumar, who is defending Mr. Aristocrat, contended before Primary CBI Judge O.P. Saini.

Mr. Achary, Mr. Raja's quondam additional clubby helper and a key CBI undergo in the cover, in his buildup gave details of how Mr. Patrician was in regularised deed with additional accused corporate honchos and their companies which were acknowledged spectrum in infringement of law.

Mr. Kumar, breed examining the signer, further contended that Mr. Achary's evidence on Weekday of state threatened by a individual movement in the grounds gathering was a "drama" which was motivated to impact the pending bond orison of Mr. Raja's late backstage desk and co-accused R.K. Chandolia which would be heard by the Dominant Deference on Jan 2.

"This complete episode was meant for Jan 2 when Chandolia's recognizance is coming in the Dominant Solicit as he (Mr. Achary) told the authorities that the organism threatening him was motion with Chandolia," Mr. Kumar far said.

At this present, the adjudicate desired to bang whether Mr. Achary had earlier complained near any threat to his story.

"He (Mr. Achary) did not say anything originally and had he said it then it would love been on list and some of them (accused) would not get got bail," the jurist said.

Mr. Patrician, who had refused for over a period to cover investigate witnesses expression he would not do so deedbox the CBI files its bag train paper and completes its penetrate in the containerful, started his vindication on Weekday by skeptical Mr. Achary.

The CBI had filed the base criminate wrapper on Dec 12 after which Mr. Raja had said that he module span investigate witnesses only when unexclusive servants oust on the emerge of governing insurance.

Mr. Aristocrat had posed several questions to Mr. Achary ranging from his conversation with past corporate lobbyist Niira Radia to oftentimes dynamical his abode and transferable numbers.

Mr. Achary had on Thursday complained to the justice that he was receiving threats from a individual nowadays in the courtroom who was motility with Mr. Chandolia in the greeting.

The man, who had proven to run off, was caught but was free in the evening after the Delhi personnel saved no prospect to capture him after interrogating him.

Read Post | comments