Pakistan Blocks YouTube 648
Multiple readers have written to tell us of news that Pakistan has ordered its ISPs to block access to YouTube "for containing blasphemous web content/movies." This follows increasing unrest in Pakistan over a Danish newspaper's reprinting of cartoons which depict Islam in a less-than-favorable light. The cartoons also sparked controversy when they were first published a few years ago.
Lucky they're not offended by the Bible (Score:1, Interesting)
Morocco tried to block YouTube once... (Score:5, Interesting)
The block didn't last long because so many people were (figuratively) up in arms about it. Given the amount of "non-offensive" material (i.e. in this case, material not criticizing the king), the government realized their own stupidity and realized it would be better to have a placated populous than risk unrest over such a small thing.
Are there parallels here? Possibly not, because I guess the blocks are for different reasons. However, it's not like a large amount of YouTube is about the comic or other representations of Mohammed, so... It will be interesting to see if the people cry out and how the government responds...
Dark ages are all theirs if they want (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:mTube (Score:2, Interesting)
Wait... what's that? All cultures are of equal value? Oh, OK. Sorry.
Re:Islam - Always Used to Getting its Own Way (Score:3, Interesting)
naah, it's worse than that. It gets its own way, in countries throughout the world where there is Sharia. Jeez, how many religions would like to have the government make laws in lock-step with their teachings? All of 'em! But Islam is not content with the countries whose laws and mores it already directly affects, it wants to control the 21st Century nations as well.
But I'm a glass-half-full kinda guy, so let's look at the bright side: There is no better incentive for the West to pursue alternate energy sources than the opportunity that represents to stem the tide of Islamic Imperialism.
Obligatory (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Cover Story (Score:5, Interesting)
As a Pakistani who has spent considerable amount of time in and out of the country, this blocking has absolutely nothing to do with "blasphemous content".
The reality is that right now in Pakistan there are serious allegations of vote rigging going around, the Military Junta in its usual dictatorial form has to find a cover story to block news about any vote rigging as they already do the same with the regular news media. They blocked the biggest Pakistani News TV being broadcast from Dubai, GEO TV, a few months ago over the news station airing reports critical of the current government.
I really doubt 90% of Pakistanis even care about the cartoons, this is really an excuse to hide under their real motivations, ie vote rigging.
There are tons of websites that can be stated as "blasphemous" however none of them are blocked, so why block youtube, especially at this point in time.
Reeks of a CYA cover story to me.
Re:Dark ages are all theirs if they want (Score:1, Interesting)
The Quran, virtually on every page, is a manifesto for religious intolerance. -- Sam Harris [skepticsan...dbible.com] 1. Don't bother to warn the disbelievers. Allah has blinded them. Theirs will be an awful doom. 2:6 2. Allah has sickened their hearts. A painful doom is theirs because they lie. 2:10 3. Allah has blinded the disbelievers. 2:17-18 4. A fire has been prepared for the disbelievers, whose fuel is men and stones. 2:24 5. Disbelievers will be burned with fire. 2:39, 2:90 6. Allah stamped wretchedness upon the Jews because they killed the prophets and disbelieved Allah's revelations. 2:61 7. Only those Jews and Christians who convert to Islam will be rewarded with heaven. 2:62 8. Allah turned the Sabbath-breaking Jews into apes. 2:65-66 9. If you believe in only part of the Scripture, you will suffer in this life and go to hell in the next. 2:85 10. Allah has cursed them for their unbelief. 2:88 11. The curse of Allah is on disbelievers. 2:89 12. Jews are the greediest of all humankind. They'd like to live 1000 years. But they are going to hell. 2:96 13. Allah is an enemy to the disbelievers. 2:98 14. Only evil people are disbelievers. 2:99 15. For disbelievers is a painful doom. 2:104 16. For unbelievers: ignominy in this world, an awful doom in the next. 2:114 17. "And thou wilt not be asked about the owners of hell-fire." (They are the non-muslims.) 2:119 18. Disbelievers are losers. 2:121 19. Allah will leave the disbelievers alone for a while, but then he will compel them to the doom of Fire. 2:126 20. "Who forsaketh the religion of Abraham save him who befooleth himself?" Cited in the Hamas Charter (Article 27) to condemn the idea of a secular state. 2:130 21. Those who reject the proofs, are accursed of Allah. 2:159 22. Those who die disbelievers, are cursed by Allah, angels, and men. 2:161 23. The doom of the disbelievers will not be lightened. 2:162 24. They will not emerge from the Fire. 2:167 25. Disbelievers will be deaf, dumb, and blind. 2:171 26. Those who hide the Scripture will have their bellies eaten with fire. Theirs will be a painful doom. 2:174 27. How constant are they in their strife to reach the Fire! 2:175 28. Believers must retaliate. Those who transgress will have a painful doom. 2:178 29. Kill disbelievers wherever you find them. If they attack you, then kil them. Such is the reward of disbelievers. (But if they desist in their unbelief, then don't kill them.) 2:191-2 30. Fight them until "religion is for Allah." 2:193 31. Those who fail in their duty to Allah are proud and sinful. They will all go to hell. 2:206 32. War is ordained by Allah, and all Muslims must be willing to fight, whether they like it or not. 2:216 33. Those who die in their disbelief will burn forever in the Fire. 2:217 34. Intermarriage is forbidden. 2:221 35. The disbelievers, they are the wrong-doers. 2:254 36. Disbelievers worship false gods. The will burn forever in the Fire. 2:257 37. Allah does not guide disbelievers. 2:264 38. "Give us victory over the disbelieving folk." 2:286 39. Those who disbelieve the revelations of Allah, theirs will be a heavy doom. 3:4 40. Those who disbelieve will be fuel for the Fire. 3:10 41. Those who disbelieve shall be overcome and gathered unto Hell. 3:12 42. Non-muslims will be punished by Allah for their nonbelief. 3:19 43. Those who disbelieve, promise them a painful doom. 3:21 44. "They [Christians and Jews] say: The Fire will not touch us save for a certain number of days. That which they used to invent hath deceived them regarding their religion." (The Fire will burn them forever.) 3:24 45. Let not the believers take disbelievers for their friends in preference to believers. 3:28 46. Allah loveth not the disbelievers. 3:32 47. Allah will punish
Re:Lets bring these people up to speed (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Lets bring these people up to speed (Score:2, Interesting)
Islam requires theocracy (Score:5, Interesting)
Now there can be liberal interpretations of Islam - where each individual needs to wage "jihad" against their own evil. But this is not the traditional stance, or even an obvious one just from reading Quran. It is an assimilation of the Christian idea that "the line between good and evil runs not between us and them, but through each of our hearts".
My problem with Islam is that when a person is externally forced to behave well, that might make the streets safer if done effectively, but that person is still not a good person. The evil within them is just biding its time, waiting for an opportunity. And no external enforcement by human beings is perfect. There will always be loopholes and opportunities to do evil.
Re:Lets bring these people up to speed (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Lets bring these people up to speed (Score:1, Interesting)
1.1 Male circumcision should now be recognized as an efficacious intervention for HIV prevention.
1.2 Promoting male circumcision should be recognized as an additional, important strategy for the prevention of heterosexually acquired HIV infection in men.
2.1 Male circumcision should never replace other known methods of HIV prevention and should always be considered as part of a comprehensive HIV prevention package, which includes: promoting delay in the onset of sexual relations, abstinence from penetrative sex and reduction in the number of sexual partners; providing and promoting correct and consistent use of male and female condoms; providing HIV testing and counselling services; and providing services for the treatment of sexually transmitted infections.
Nobody is saying that circumcision now makes you safe. That is your strawman. What they are saying is that it reduces the risk and for that reason it should be used as a preventative measure in certain areas.
US vs Europe, Muslims vs. Muslims (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm not sure why this is not the case in the US, maybe it is the lower density, or that the "homelands" are farther away. Or maybe you are simply better at integrating immigrants.
Re:Lets bring these people up to speed (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Lets bring these people up to speed (Score:5, Interesting)
Disclaimer: For those of you who suffer from sensitivity to "Too Much Information", now would be a good time to skip this post and continue on. All others, feel free to read on...
Personal anecdote: I'm uncircumcised. Still got my foreskin, and nobody's taking it from me. Does it serve a purpose? You betcha. I ended up snapping my frenulum several years ago. I simply bandaged it up for a few days, and it healed nicely. However, this required me to pull the foreskin back and keep it there for the duration.
Woooeeee... lemme tell you, sensitive doesn't even begin to describe it. Y'all circumcised guys might have grown used to it, since you "don't know any better" (assuming they cut on you at birth), but my glans was constantly rubbing, and it drove me crazy. I couldn't wait for it to heal, so I could cover it back up again.
For any gals that might be reading, my wife mentioned it must be like taking a dry cloth and rubbing against your clitoris all day long. Heaven forbid a dry finger come into contact with her clit... cotton or denim? Ha! There's reasons the foreskin and labia exist... and separating the sensitive bits from the irritants sounds like a good reason to me.
Re:God (Score:3, Interesting)
Sorry, but calling for violence against innocent people is in no way insightful, mods. And Mr. AC, consider this: if you'd slaughtered the thousands of religious leaders who have done no wrong, all that innocent blood would be on your hands... and you'd be no better than you make them out to be.
Re:Lets bring these people up to speed (Score:3, Interesting)
I've heard that HPV rates are lower in circumcised men.
A bit of Googling... Circumcision lowers risk of cervical cancer [usatoday.com]:
Re:Lets bring these people up to speed (Score:3, Interesting)
Unfortunately, if the US did that, the fundamentalists would use that as an excuse to attack the schools for being in collaboration with the Great Satan.
Ultimately, the only solution to fundamentalism is that the surrounding society deems it not acceptable. Education is essential in achieving this; however, it is by no means sufficient. It is perfectly possible to be well-educated and an evil fanatic.
Re:Lets bring these people up to speed (Score:5, Interesting)
Personally, I think we'd have a much better return on our investment if we took the money we're spending in Iraq and put it into building schools and providing learning materials in Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Palestine. While we're at it, let's bring some of their young men and women over here to our colleges. Based on how many times I was asked about whether or not it's hard to go to school in the USA, I bet they'd jump at the chance.
The only time I saw a Qu'ran while I was over there was when I visited a Mosque. People there read pretty much the same sorts things we do.
Re:Lets bring these people up to speed (Score:3, Interesting)
Also, you say in a post further down:
- The psychological impact of circumcision; R. Goldman 1999 [blackwell-synergy.com]
- Physical, sexual, and psychological effects of male infant circumcision: an exploratory survey;
GA Bensley, GJ Boyle 2001 [bond.edu.au]
Excecutive summary: neonatal circumcision hurts the kids.And finally, although circumcised men have lower risk for some infections and penile cancer, WHO states [who.int] that "some of these conditions are rare while others are uncommon or treatable, and routine neonatal circumcision is not currently recommended on medical grounds". Promoting circumcision is being considered by the WHO as a way of reducing the risk of HIV infections in countries in a particularly dire state, like South Africa. But again, it only reduces the risk, and does not in any way replace the use of condoms. Also, studies are still ongoing on this.
So there. Was there anything unclear?
Now that this has happened, how do we secure BGP!? (Score:3, Interesting)
Christianity (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Lets bring these people up to speed (Score:3, Interesting)
Sorry to be pedantic, but the concept seems funny to me. I do agree with you that circumcision is a complete non-issue compared to everything else that affects a child's life.