Censorship Fight At Newspaper In China Grows — Voice of America BEIJING — Journalists and editors at an influential and often outspoken newspaper in China have gone on strike in protest of government censorship. The dispute involves a local propaganda official who allegedly called for changes to the publication’s annual New Year’s editorial to its readers. The standoff at the Southern Weekly newspaper is growing from an internal dispute into a national debate about government oversight of the media. The influential newspaper has long been known for its outspokenness and independent-minded efforts to cover the news in a country where information is a tightly controlled commodity. Read more …. More News On Chinese Protests Against Censorship China Censorship Protests Widen — Wall Street Journal In China, furor over censorship is spreading — Washington Post Supporters Back Strike at Newspaper in China — New York Times Chinese journalists in rare protest against censorship — CNN Chinese protest outside newspaper gates in rare censorship demo — NBC A Rare Free-Speech Fight Erupts Over China Censors — Bloomberg Businessweek China anti-censorship protest attracts support across country — The Guardian China newspaper journalists in rare strike — BBC China censorship row escalates to rare street protest — RT My Comment: This protest will be crushed …. but it is a trend of what is going to happen if the Chinese government does not loosen it’s control of the mass media. In short …. controlling the message of the press is no longer a guarantee that dissent and opposition can be stifled , there are just too many alternative sources of news and opini on that the Chinese can now access.
Photo: Ramzan Kadrov with Vladimir Putin. Wikipedia Chechen Newspaper Shut Down After Reporter Asks Putin A Question — The Guardian Leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, orders closure of paper after taking disliking to question asked by reporter in Moscow When Chechen journalist Bilkhi Dudaeva stood up and asked Vladimir Putin a question during the president’s annual press conference on Thursday, she probably thought she was doing her homeland proud. Instead, Dudaeva’s newspaper was shut down by the end of the marathon question-and-answer session, having caught the ire of Ramzan Kadyrov, the ruthless leader of Chechnya. Dudaeva introduced herself to Putin as a journalist from the newspaper “Kadyrov’s Path,” eliciting laughter from a group of reporters well versed in the Chechen leader’s powerful cult of personality. Read more …. My Comment: Life is also tough for Putin’s political opponents.
Iran Threatens To Close Strait Of Hormuz Over EU Oil Sanctions — The Telegraph A senior member of Iran’s parliament said on Monday the Islamic Republic would close the entry point to the Gulf if new sanctions block its oil exports, reiterating a threat made by officials a month ago that caused a temporary oil price spike. “If any disruption happens regarding the sale of Iranian oil, the Strait of Hormuz will definitely be closed,” Mohammad Kossari, deputy head of parliament’s foreign affairs and national security committee, told the semi-official Fars news agency. The threat came after European Union nations agreed on an oil embargo against Iran as part of sanctions over its nuclear programme. Read more …. Update #1 : Iran steps up threats to shutter Strait of Hormuz — USA Today/AP Update #2: Iran ‘Definitely’ Closing Strait Of Hormuz Over EU Oil Embargo — RT My Comment: Does this mean war?
President Barack Obama briefs the press on a new defense strategy as Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, prepare to offer remarks at the Pentagon, Jan. 5, 2012. Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter, members of the Joint Chiefs and service secretaries participated in the briefing. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo America’s High Tech Global War Machine: U.S. Military Strategy – Is It Really New? — Andrei Akulov, Global Research The idea of having an agile, high-technology, ready-to-move on short notice force is not new. It has been the same concept in force before the protracted land operations in Iraq and Afghanistan started. Correspondingly, the army’s strength grew by 65 thousand. So it’s mainly about going back to before the 9/11 numbers. The same thing applies to the Marine Corps. An increase in the size of special forces of all the services, the army in particular, is not new too. It’s a long-established tendency to boost first strike, intelligence and reconnaissance capabilities. In fact, this reduction is quite moderate compared to prior defense drawdowns in US history. President Dwight Eisenhower, for example, cut the defense budget by 27 percent after the Korean War. President Nixon cut it by about 30% percent after Vietnam, and defense spending was reduced by a whopping 35 percent after the end of the Cold War, though still remaining a heavy burden on the shoulders of American taxpayers that was hard enough to justify. Then defense expenditure skyrocketed by nearly 70 percent under the Bush administration. Even with $500 billion in reductions, the United States will continue to spend more on defense each year in the next decade than it did during the height of the Cold War and more than the next 10 countries combined. Read more …. My Comment: A critical assessment on the new U.S. military strategy.
Hat Tip : Theo Spark