Fresh Picks
03 Mar 2006 07:55 GMT
Blogger Black Out in Pakistan For Bush Visit
International Bloggers Community reports blackout
All weblogs on blogspot.com are not accessible from Pakistan to coincide with US President George Bush visit to the region, according to reports earlier today.
Blogger Neha Viswanathan from Globalvoicesonline.org reported a blackout that prevented users in Pakistan
to see her weblog, and reported the issue to her online community earlier today.
Rebecca MacKinnon, founder of the same group confirmed that according to her information " for people currently located in Pakistan, it may not be possible to access any blogs on blogspot.com, because it appears that the Pakistani government might have ordered local ISP's to block access to all URL's with blogspot.com. However if you are in the UK you will not be affected and you will be able to access everything, because this blockage would be implemented at the ISP (internet service provider) level. "
Blogger Angelo Embuldenya suggests a hack to get around the blockage "there are 6 nodes on nyud open and near to users in Pakistan (4 in
India, 2 in Lebanon) " he says "and these aren't nodes that aren't likely to go down. You could view the network of operational nodes here:
http://mapcenter.in2p3.fr/planetlab/ .All you need to do is append the url like: your blogi.blogspot.com.nyud.net:8080
or yourblog.blogspot.com.nyud.net:8090"
he suggests.
PDM
www.globalvoicesonline.org
http://opennet.net
Dont Just Blog it
International Bloggers Community reports blackoutAll weblogs on blogspot.com are not accessible from Pakistan to coincide with US President George Bush visit to the region, according to reports earlier today.Blogger Neha Viswanathan from Globalvoicesonline.org reported a blackout that prevented users in Pakistanto see her weblog, and reported the issue to her online community earlier today.Rebecca MacKinnon, founder of the same group confirmed that according to her information " for people currently located in Pakistan, it may not be possible to access any blogs on blogspot.com, because it appears that the Pakistani government might have ordered local ISP's to block access to all URL's with blogspot.com. However if you are in the UK you will not be affected and you will be able to access everything, because this blockage would be implemented at the ISP (internet service provider) level. "Blogger Angelo Embuldenya suggests a hack to get around the blockage "there are 6 nodes on nyud open and near to users in Pakistan (4 inIndia, 2 in Lebanon) " he says "and these aren't nodes that aren't likely to go down. You could view the network of operational nodes here:http://mapcenter.in2p3.fr/planetlab/ .All you need to do is append the url like: your blogi.blogspot.com.nyud.net:8080or yourblog.blogspot.com.nyud.net:8090"he suggests.PDMwww.globalvoicesonline.orghttp://opennet.net
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Pakistani bloggers have been reporting this week that the Pakistani government has started blocking local access to the blogging tool Blogger.com. Blogger.com, along with its companion domain blogspot.com, is one of the most widely used blogging tools in Pakistan. Because of the government's decision to block the site, many Pakistani bloggers are now unable to update their blogs.

Bloggers are debating whether the move by the Pakistani government is a sign of a long-term online censorship campaign, or a temporary move to prevent potentially embarrassing blog coverage of U.S. President George W. Bush's visit to the country this weekend.

"Truth is — it may have very little to do with Bush's visit," writes Indian blogger Neha Viswanathan on the Global Voices email list, run by the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School. "The anti-Bush protest has hardly found a voice online. I really do think this might be the first of other blocks. This might be on a very experimental basis to see how far they go. The Pakistani govt has hardly had any dialogue with bloggers at all. "

"The other theory is of course the one on Danish cartoons- which is likely," she continues. "But there is so much content on that outside of the blogosphere (the limited one at Blogspot) that it doesn't' seem to fit together. I wouldn't be surprised if the govt of Pakistan comes up with an IT censorship policy."

Other bloggers see a more direct connection with the Bush visit. "I have communicated with several bloggers and friends back in Pakistan," writes UAE-based Pakistani blogger Omer Alvie. "So far there's no resolution to this problem. Bush's visit in Pakistan is resulting in protests, a strike in Lahore and curfew areas in Islamabad. The feeling among bloggers is this is all rather suspect. Neha, might be right this might be on experimental basis. I feel this a a ''sic'' precursor to what the government can do in the future."

To date, the Pakistani government has offered no comment on the decision to block online access to Blogger.com.