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NEWS AND VIEWS THAT IMPACT LIMITED CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT

"There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with
power to endanger the public liberty." - - - - John Adams

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Police block the Internet - Jordan joins the growing list of nations controlling the news



Jordan blocks 254 news websites
The government of King Abdullah II of Jordan hates that "radical"
freedom of speech and the press stuff.


Police State  -  The Jordanian government said that it had blocked 254 unlicensed news websites, 16 of them in the previous two days, using powers under a 2012 law criticised as a threat to freedom of expression.

Fayez Shawabkeh, head of the Press and Publication Department said: "16 local news websites were blocked in the past two days after carefully examining their situation.

"This brings the total number of sites the PPD blocked recently to 254, while 111 sites have obtained licences."

On June 3, authorities said they would block nearly 300 out of 400 local news websites "for failing to obtain the necessary licensing," under last year's controversial legislation reports France 24 News.


Government Control of the Internet.
Also see our article:  1984 - U.S. Military blocks access to the Internet.

The law gave the government powers to regulate "electronic publications," requiring them to register with the PPD and obtain a licence.

It stipulates that the chief editors of news websites must be members of the Jordan Press Association, giving the government the right to censor content and hold journalists liable for comments posted on webpages.

The PPD has insisted "the decision does not seek to restrict freedoms," and that "the objective is to organise the work of these websites."

"I call on all local news websites to correct their status in line with the law. Operating outside the law, which we will continue to apply, will not be in their interest," Shawabkeh warned.


Journalists accuse the government of seeking to control who can publish news.

One of the sites blocked in the past two days is 7iber, Arabic for "ink".

Its editor, Lina Ejeilat, told AFP 7iber was an interactive website that published reports and features from contributors, and said it should not be covered by the legialation.

"We are a blog and definitely not a news website," she said.

Shawabkeh disagreed, saying that "7iber is registered at the trade and industry ministry as a news website and posts news and political analyses about Jordan, which means that the law applies to it".

The PPD's decision drew renewed criticism of Jordan from international human rights watchdogs, as well as from journalists, activists and the main opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, who saw it as an attempt to impose censorship.


Down with King George III
Americans did not like being "subjects" of a King who was simply a dictator and killer in fancy dress.
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On July 9, 1776, after the Declaration of Independence was read to Washington's troops at the current site of City Hall, local Sons of Liberty rushed down Broadway to Bowling Green, where they toppled the statue. The fence post finials of cast-iron crowns on the protective fence were sawed off, with the saw marks still visible today.
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According to folklore, the statue was chopped up and shipped to a Connecticut foundry under the direction of Oliver Wolcott to be made into 42,088 patriot bullets at 20 bullets per pound (2,104.4 pounds). The statue's head was to have been paraded about town on pike-staffs, but was recovered by Loyalists and sent to England. Six pieces of the lead statue are preserved in the New-York Historical Society; one in the Museum of the City of New York as well as two in Connecticut (estimated total of 260/270 pounds).

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