Category Archives: Transhuman News

MOGADISHU

U.N. agencies, the Somali government and the Somali journalists' union are working to address the problem of censorship and the threat of violence against journalists in Somalia.

So far this year, at least three journalists have been killed and three more seriously wounded in the country.

Abdirizak Ilmi, a local TV journalist, was the latest victim.

Unknown gunmen shot Ilmi at close range outside his Mogadishu home. He survived but suffered severe wounds.

'Become a peaceful nation'

The government said its time to address the safety of journalists.

Mustafa Duhulow, Somalia's Minister of Information, said, As you are all aware, Somalia is moving forward to become a peaceful nation. Therefore, this is the best time to address all the challenges, such as impunity, safety of journalists and understanding the need to develop Somali media, as each countrys development depends on how free its media are."

Journalists in Somalia have been meeting with key partners to discuss their security concerns.

Recently, representatives from the United Nations, Somali government and Somali journalists union jointly expressed their concern over attacks on the media.

Original post:
Safety of Journalists in Somalia a Major Concern

Blog

Many governments exercise censorship to prevent the spread of ideas they do not like. Our blogger, Shaun Matsheza, say why he thinks that African society loses out because of excessive censorship.

"When you tear out a man's tongue, you are not proving him a liar; you're only telling the world that you fear what he might say." George R. R. Martin: A Clash of Kings

In Africa, many governments censor their citizens or deny them access to information - in the name of maintaining political dominance and strengthening their grip on power.

It's unfortunate that censorship did not remain in the past era of traditional printed media. The first official act of Internet censorship in Africa occurred, according to research done by Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI), in February 1996 when the Zambian government removed a banned edition of The Post from the newspaper's website by threatening to prosecute Zamnet, the country's main Internet Service Provider (ISP).

Many other examples have occurred since... In April 2011, Uganda's Communications Commission (UCC) quietly ordered ISPs to block Facebook and Twitter for 24 hours in light of a Walk to Work protest against spiraling food and fuel prices in the country. In 2012, South African authorities attempted to censor Brett Murray's painting 'The spear'. Throughout the years, the Zimbabwean government has passed legislation inhibiting the freedom of speech, particularly the now unconstitutional Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA).

Few governments like to have their ideology questioned. It's the same with individuals. It's only natural for human beings to set up a defense reaction when presented with new, strange and/or extravagant ideas. We always find ways to avoid them by saying such an idea is foolish, "no good" or simply illogical. Ruling regimes are no different and they particularly detest any ideas that do not toe the line. So we can easily see how the threat of any social change related to politics, economics or religion can easily lead to censorship and propaganda by those in power.

Censorship is essentially a negative process; it is inhibitory and restrictive of action. It derives its force largely from fear and the threats of power. All forms of social taboos are designed to do just this. They furnish the individual with guideposts in his thinking, which keep him within the boundaries set by the dominant power. Where it exists, censorship greatly inhibits creativity and innovation.

In his essay 'On Liberty', John Mill makes an excellent argument for freedom of thought and freedom of expression. He believes that when restricted, it's the whole society, and not just the silenced individual, that stands to lose.

Humans are not perfect. We get things wrong. And we can never be 100% certain that we have something entirely right. Our best hope of improving our opinions is to make them public, so that others may show us our errors. By having open discussion and challenging each other's ideas, our understanding can grow. As Mill says,"to have a belief without knowing the reasons for it is no way to hold a belief; the belief may be true, but it is held as a prejudice."

Read more here:
Africa: Censorship in Africa - We All Lose

3 hours ago

In his graduation research, computer science student Krzysztof Okupski has developed software to encrypt messages with the Bitcoin network. Using his software, it costs around 50 cents to send an A4 page of text. This easily accessible and low-cost method can provide an attractive option for dissidents to avoid censorship, so they can send messages unhindered across national borders. Okupski graduates on 1 December.

Bitcoin is a virtual currency that can be used at increasing numbers of places to make online payments. In fact Bitcoins are unique pieces of code that are calculated by computers. The basic principle is that the system has no central organization or regulators to control the currency. At present the exchange rate of the currently fluctuates around 300 euros for one Bitcoin.

Okupski has developed two programs: one that posts messages and another to read them. If you want to post a message, the first program converts the text into Bitcoin transactions. The underlying principle is similar to the idea that a succession of payments are transferred to someone, and you have agreed with them that one euro represents an A, two euros represent a B etc. The recipient can then 'see' which word the sender meant to transmit, using the received amounts.

Many options

But in Okupski's case, the way the method works is a lot smarter. "The program that posts the messages creates a million Bitcoin accounts, free of charge, after which money is transferred backwards and forwards between those accounts", explains Boris Skoric, TU/e researcher and supervisor of Okupski. "The number of different accounts, and the fact that you can divide an amount of money into multiple parts, offers a lot of options. The currency itself is extremely small; one Bitcoin consists of 100 million 'Satoshi', and all amounts are expressed in Satoshi. The program that posts the messages converts them into a chain of transactions, and sends them out into the Bitcoin network."

Identifier

Because all Bitcoin transactions are public, the second program is able to convert the chain of transactions back to text. All that's needed is an 'identifier', through which the program knows where it has to start 'reading' the transaction. The principle is similar to tuning an antenna to the right frequency. The only charges involved are the administration costs that have to paid to the Bitcoin network for each transaction. These are around 50 cents for an A4 page of text. There are no real costs to be paid because senders simply recirculate money within their own accounts.

Anonymous

This method allows uses to avoid censorship, because anyone with an internet connection can use Bitcoin. In other words, no government that allows citizens to use Bitcoin can censor messages that are posted in the transaction chain anywhere else in the world. Only the sender is traceable. "Even if only your account number is known by the Bitcoin network, it's still possible in theory using the IP address to trace the owner of an account", says Skoric. "But the readers of messages are always totally anonymous."

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Bitcoin lets users avoid censorship