recent posts to the Church of Virus forum http://www.churchofvirus.com/bbs Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:45:13 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.churchofvirus.org/bbs/index.php?board=63;action=display;threadid=43546;start=0;msg=174675 Being a guy, just had to post this story .... for the story

Cheers

Fritz


A troupe of midriff-baring dancers offends Muslim sensibilities at the World Basketball Championships

Source: The Globe and Mail
Author: Anita Elash
Date: Friday, Sep. 03, 2010



First the Red Foxes dance troupe heated up the World Basketball Championships in Ankara wearing leopard-print hot pants and bras.

Then they covered up with leggings and baggy T-shirts. Finally, during matches played by the host country – Turkey – the dance troupe from Ukraine disappeared altogether.

Although government officials in Turkey say they had nothing to do with the Red Foxes’ disappearance, the incident has sparked a controversy over whether scantily clad dancers should be allowed to perform at the tournament during games played by teams from Muslim countries.

It has also prompted speculation that the Turkish government, which is led by a party with an Islamist past, is trying to impose Muslim values in a country that is constitutionally secular.

“It’s crazy,” a former member of the Turkish national basketball team who asked not to be named for fear of government retribution told The New York Times. “In a secular country like Turkey, they shouldn’t have to do that.’

Although Turkey’s people are almost entirely Muslim, the country itself straddles Europe and Asia and has been officially secular since the founding of the Turkish republic in 1923. As a result, tension between secular and Muslim values is a constant theme in the country’s politics. Muslim women, for example, recently fought for the right to wear the head scarf at Turkish universities.

The Red Foxes have faced those contradictions since the beginning of the tournament, sponsored by the Fédération Internationale de Basketball, or FIBA. They performed in micro-mini skirts and midriff-baring tops this week at most of the games played by the six teams in Group C at the world championships, including one game played by Turkey.

They have been absent, however, from Turkey’s last three games. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife, who wears the head scarf, attended one of those games. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was at another.

The Red Foxes perform their usual routine during a game between Ivory Coast and Greece in Ankara.

The dance team’s coach, Elena Rozhkova, said her team was pulled for “political” reasons.

A spokesman for Turkey’s Sport and Youth Directorate said she knew of no ban on cheerleaders at games played by Turkey. But the speculation is that government authorities asked the Red Foxes not to perform at games attended by officials of the ruling AK Party, which has its roots in political Islam.

“I think it was planned. It was not coincidence,” Nagehan Alci, a columnist for the daily newspaper Aksam, told The New York Times. He added that the AK Party rejects the Islamist label and speculated that the Prime Minister would not be happy with the decision.

“He’s a conservative, but he’s also a democrat,” Ms. Alci said. “It would be harmful if he was involved in limiting people’s freedom of expression.”

After learning that the Iranians had been offended by an earlier performance, the Red Foxes covered up.

Turkey’s rulers were not the only ones to apparently find something objectionable in the Red Foxes. The dance troupe also made what it called “special arrangements” for its performances at games played by Iran.

During a routine at an Iran game early in the tournament, one athletic young dancer pulled her legs through a basketball hoop and, hanging upside down, did the splits. The Iranian political delegation seemed upset by the performance, prompting some in the crowd to stand in front of them and block the dancers from view.

For Wednesday’s match between Iran and the United States in Istanbul the dancers put on black leggings and loose-fitting white T-shirts, but Iranian officials stood up and left the arena shortly before the routine started.

Patrick Baumann, FIBA’s secretary-general, said the dancers had made the changes out of respect for the Iranians.

“It is a balance between respecting the culture and making sure basketball delivers all the pace, excitement and entertainment that goes with the world championship,” he said. “If it needs a little bit of adjustment, that is fine with us.”

But a FIBA statement said the group had nothing to do with any decision to pull the dancers from Turkey’s games.

“The dancers will continue to perform at other games in Ankara involving other countries,” the statement said. “The dancers bring much fun and joy to fans watching games and help to create a vibrant, happy atmosphere in the arenas.”


]]> heroldwa@storm.ca (Fritz) Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:11:06 +0100 http://www.churchofvirus.org/bbs/index.php?board=69;action=display;threadid=42443;start=69;msg=174674 Okey everyone ... wave to the nice man ...so he can get it right !

Cheers

Fritz

PS: thx to 18010 for the heads up

Harper government monitoring online chats about politics
Correcting what it calls 'misinformation'

Source: 1130 News
Author: Sheila Scott
Date: May 23, 2010



OTTAWA (NEWS1130) - The Harper government has been monitoring political messages online, and even correcting what it considers misinformation. One local expert says the government is taking things too far.

Under the pilot program the Harper government paid a media company $75,000 to monitor and respond to online postings about the east coast seal hunt.

UBC Computer Science professor and President of the BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association, Richard Rosenberg, says it seems unnecessary for the government to be going this far.  "The government has a lot of power, that it feels the need to monitor public bulletin boards, or places where people express views and then to respond to that, seems to me going beyond a reasonable action the government should be taking."

Rosenberg says knowing that the government is monitoring certain topics online could result in people being more careful with their identities when they're posting about political issues on the internet.

He says it's the first time he's heard of this happening in Canada.]]> heroldwa@storm.ca (Fritz) Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:53:03 +0100 http://www.churchofvirus.org/bbs/index.php?board=69;action=display;threadid=42443;start=69;msg=174673 Can we avoid the media dissolve into the US of A? And should we ? or does this have nothing to do with it.

Cheers

Fritz

Margaret Atwood takes on ‘Fox News North’

Source: The Globe and Mail
Author: Jane Taber
Date: September 1, 2010



Margaret Atwood is criticizing Stephen Harper over what she sees as his dictatorial approach to regulating the airwaves.

The literary icon has signed an online petition aimed at keeping a “Fox News North” channel off the air in Canada. But it’s not the idea of a right-wing television station she’s objecting to. Rather, the prolific and celebrated writer doesn’t like the Prime Minister’s style of governing.

“Of course Fox & Co. can set up a channel or whatever they want to do, if it's legal etc.,” she told The Globe and Mail in an email. “But it shouldn't happen this way. It's like the head-of-census affair – gov't direct meddling in affairs that are supposed to be arm's length – so do what they say or they fire you.

“It's part of the ‘I make the rules around here,’ Harper-is-a-king thing,” she wrote.

Her involvement sparked a debate on Twitter with conservative blogger Stephen Taylor and Sun Media’s Ottawa bureau chief, David Akin, Tuesday night. Both men say she is accusing the Sun – which is seeking to launch a right-wing TV channel – of “hate speech.”

“So disappointing you would put your name to what is an anti-free speech movement,” Mr. Akin said. “You’re smarter than that.”

The petition is being circulated by an online advocacy group called Avaaz. It is calling on Canadians to “Stop Fox News North.” More than 34,000 people has so far signed the petition, which says:

“Prime Minister Harper is trying to push American-style hate media onto our airwaves, and make us all pay for it. His plan is to create a ‘Fox News North’ to mimic the kind of hate-filled propaganda with which Fox News has poisoned U.S. politics. The channel will be run by Harper’s former top aide and will be funded with money from our cable TV fees!”

It applauds “the CRTC’s refusal to allow a new ‘Fox News North’ channel to be funded from our cable fees.” The Prime Minister, the petition says, should “immediately stop all pressure on the CRTC on this matter.”

There have been reports that Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission chairman Konrad von Finckenstein’s job is in jeopardy over this. The Prime Minister’s Office denies that any pressure is being applied.

The idea of a right-wing news channel in Canada gained traction when Quebecor hired Kory Teneycke, Mr. Harper’s former director of communications, as its vice-president of development. Quebecor owns Sun Media and its desired new channel, to be called SunTV, has been dubbed “Tory TV” and “Fox News North” by its critics.

So far the CRTC is opting not to allow the channel a Category 1 license, which would give it preferred status on the television dial.

Ms. Atwood's concern is not with the network’s proposed agenda. Instead, she’s worried about potential interference by the Harper government.

“Some people signing the petition object to the expected content. I object to the process,” she told The Globe. “It's the [prime ministerial] pressure on yet another civil servant that bothers me. These folks are supposed to be working for the taxpayer, not the PM.”

Some in the blogosphere are objecting to her decision to sign the petition. Mr. Taylor, for example, is questioning whether the author believes “Sun Media is in the biz of broadcasting hate speech.”

Like many Tories, Mr. Taylor also takes issue with the government funding of the CBC. As such, he asked Ms. Atwood: “Is the CBC and its compulsory funding essential to ‘free speech’ or against it in your view?”

But the author held her own, firing back with a quip about Munir Sheikh, who resigned as head of Statistics Canada over the government’s changes to the census.

“Naughty Stephen,” she said. “We're not talking about the CBC but about the coercion of an arm's length person, like Census head.”

Update The CRTC has scheduled a public hearing on SunTV's license application for Nov. 19 in Gatineau, Que.


Latest Comments

18010
        
9/1/2010 3:31:47 PM
Margaret Atwood is criticizing Stephen Harper over what she sees as his dictatorial approach to regulating the airwaves.
.

Just watch the CaVeRs squeeeeeeeeeel
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Vitamin D
        
9/1/2010 3:34:52 PM
It isn't so much that Harper is acting like an autocrat. He is. It's how he's been getting away with it that is so disturbing.
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18010
        
9/1/2010 3:36:30 PM
Margaret Atwood is criticizing stephen harper over what she sees as his dictatorial approach to regulating the airwaves.
.
.
Go get the fascists Margaret.

Under the Fascist regime of the harper Gang, Canada is quickly becoming a country in the world where people in fact could lose their life for posting items disagreeing with great fat leader. I truly don’t want Canada to ever become like one of those places.


The harper minority government has been monitoring political messages online, and even correcting what it considers misinformation. One local expert says the government is taking things too far.

Under the pilot program the harper minority government paid a media company $75,000 to monitor and respond to online postings

http://www.news1130.com/news/national/article/58287--harper-government-monitoring-online-chats-about-politics
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Liberal cash envelopes
        
9/1/2010 3:36:39 PM
I guess she only approves of the CRTC's dictatorial control over the airwaves. She obviously doesn't believe in diversity of opinion either. SunTv should sue her for slander. She avoids the question about the CBC. typical socialist .....
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ProVertias
        
9/1/2010 3:36:47 PM
Atwood is another left wing nut who are threatened by freedom of speech. All is ok with the world so long as it's only their point of view.
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Liberal cash envelopes
        
9/1/2010 3:38:09 PM
Is there an online petition to stop public funding of the CBC? Can someone here start one?
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Son of a Pig and a Monkey
        
9/1/2010 3:39:32 PM
Moderator's Note: Son of a Pig and a Monkey's comment was not consistent with our guidelines and has been removed.
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Toronto_Tax​_Guy
        
9/1/2010 3:40:51 PM
"Margaret Atwood is criticizing Stephen Harper over what she sees as his dictatorial approach to regulating the airwaves."

I'm forced to pay for CBC whether or not I want that and she has no problem.

A new channel comes along that you have to actually choose whether or not you want and that's dictatorial?

MY dictionary must be really out of date since it seems to indicate the reverse of what Ms. Atwood is saying.
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18010
        
9/1/2010 3:40:58 PM


time for all true Canadians to Stand up and Fight for Canada and her democracy. time to end Canada's still a Minority reign of terror on Canadians freedoms and rights.

Just say NO to harper's Gang of Canada haters.
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Bankruptbab​y
        
9/1/2010 3:41:02 PM
Hahaha,
Free speech is the socialist's enemy. Is she going after these comment boards in the Globe and Mail next?

This channel will not cost taxpayers $1B + annually like the CBC. Opposite - they will pay net tax. Awesome, this will lessen the debt burden on the children that all already enslaved in the older generations trillion of debt.
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]]> heroldwa@storm.ca (Fritz) Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:46:00 +0100 http://www.churchofvirus.org/bbs/index.php?board=5;action=display;threadid=43505;start=1;msg=174672 Why do I suspect this is really dirty business tricks to beat up a successful company, Just like the big 3 did to Toyota. But I don't believe it 'DOG', so what could I know ... "just pass me another one".

Also check out:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rim-looks-for-allies-in-spats-with-foreign-governments/article1686170/

Cheers

Fritz

UN says RIM should share data

Tech chief says governments have legitimate security concerns that should not be ignored

Source: The Globe and Mail
Author: Raphael G. Satter - London — The Associated Press 
Date: Thursday, Sep. 02, 2010 11:20AM EDT

An Indian man checks his handset at a shop in Hyderabad, India

BlackBerry's Canadian manufacturer should give law enforcement agencies around the world access to its customer data, the U.N. technology chief said, adding that governments have legitimate security concerns that should not be ignored.

Hamadoun Toure, secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union, said officials fighting terrorism had the right to demand access to users' information from the maker of the BlackBerry – Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM-T46.660.160.34%)

“Those are genuine requests,” he told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday. “There is a need for co-operation between governments and the private sector on security issues.”

RIM is embroiled in parallel disputes with at least five countries – India, Indonesia, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates – over concerns that the smart phone's powerful encryption technology could be used as a cover for terrorism or criminal activity.

Civil libertarians have argued that the controversy is fuelled by authoritarian governments' frustration over their inability to eavesdrop on BlackBerry-using citizens.

Blackberry service is designed from the ground up for secure communications. RIM says it complies with all legal requests for data – such as phone logs – even it is unable to provide anyone with the text of e-mails sent by people using its corporate service.

Governments in the U.S. and Europe have largely made their peace with encryption technology, but officials in Asia and the Middle East have demanded that RIM modify its practices to allow them wholesale access to BlackBerry e-mails as they're being transmitted.

On Thursday, Indian officials widened their security crackdown, asking all companies that provide encrypted communications – not just RIM – to install servers in the country to make it easier for the government to obtain users' data. That could potentially draw companies such as Skype and Google into the flap.

RIM has effectively thrown up its hands, saying the way the Blackberry system is designed prevents anyone except its clients from decrypting communications. The impasse has sent the company's share price plummeting.

A company representative in London did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment on Mr. Toure's remarks.

Mr. Toure's organization is responsible for co-ordinating the use of the global radio spectrum, promoting international co-operation in assigning satellite orbits, and establishing standards for the telecommunications industry. The little-known body also serves as a global forum for discussion of cutting-edge communications issues.

The agency has no independent regulatory power, but Mr. Toure's comments are a barometer of sentiment among the agency's 192 member states, which are expected to re-elect him to a second term later this year.

Mr. Toure was in the British capital to drum up private investment for an effort to spread broadband coverage across the globe. He has argued that hooking developing countries up with high-speed Internet access can have huge additional benefits, boosting education, business, health care and other issues.

Mr. Toure has gathered business and political leaders to form a Broadband Commission for Digital Development, a high-profile group devoted to lobbying governments for broadband-friendly regulations. The commission delivers its report to the United Nations later this month.

In the interview, Mr. Toure also fielded questions about network neutrality and allegations of Iranian interference with foreign satellite broadcasts.

Mr. Toure declined to explicitly say whether he backed network neutrality, the principle that Internet service providers should treat all Internet traffic equally. Some service providers argue that, having invested billions on their networks, they should be allowed to manage Internet traffic as they see fit – for example by giving priority to their own content, preventing applications such as file-sharing from hogging bandwidth, or creating premium services that charge more for faster access.

Mr. Toure expressed opposition to attempts to create a two-tier Internet with fast and slow lanes, telling companies they should focus on “ensuring that the best quality signal is offered to anyone, including your competitors.”

He also said talks between satellite provider Eutelstat and the Iranian government were ongoing following allegations that Iran had jammed foreign signals following its disputed presidential vote last year.

Western media said Tehran had obstructed their broadcasts to choke off coverage of the unrest that followed President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad's re-election to a second term, and the European Union has taken its case to Toure.

Mr. Toure said the parties have been in talks at his office in Geneva as recently as Monday, but would not reveal any details.

“We don't see it as a big crisis,” he said. “It will be resolved.”
]]> heroldwa@storm.ca (Fritz) Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:33:29 +0100 http://www.churchofvirus.org/bbs/index.php?board=63;action=display;threadid=43545;start=1;msg=174671
Enjoyed that.

Mark Twain had it right! (Mark Twain sought only ham, eggs and scenery, “a fragrant pipe and a contented heart”.)



Walter

PS--I've been retired for about 6 years now after working as a pharmacist for 30 years.

Just the ham and eggs is about all I require, although a fragrant pipe is sometimes enjoyed.

The actual fragrance emanating from said pipe might seem unusual to Mr. Twain were he still with us. 



]]> wlwatts@cox.net (Walter Watts) Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:49:27 +0100