Category Archives: Freedom

MIAMI Cuba's Internet remains one of the least free in the world, suffering under "prodigious government regulation" that have left it with little access to almost anything except for email, the rights group Freedom House reported Thursday.

The number of Web sites blocked by censors has remained about the same since last year and the government still uses a "cyber militia" to attack dissidents, the Washington-based non-profit noted in its global Freedom on the Net report for 2013.

Branding Cuba as "not free," the report's 14-page chapter gave it an 86, with zero being the best and 100 the worst. Also on the "not free" list: China, Vietnam, Syria, Belarus, Sudan, Ethiopia, Burma and Pakistan.

Cuba "has long ranked as one of the world's most repressive environments for information and communication technologies," it said. "High prices, exceptionally slow connectivity, and prodigious government regulation have resulted in a pronounced lack of access to applications and services other than e-mail."

Only select government entities have benefitted from the ALBA-1 fiber optic cable that was turned on earlier this year, the report said, although the ultra high-speed cable had been expected to allow much wider, cheaper and faster access to the Web.

At least a dozen dissident bloggers were detained and one independent journalist, Calixto Martinez, whose reports appear on several online sites, was held without formal charges for six months. Even generally pro-government blogs were blocked when they crossed the official line of acceptable criticism, the report said.

Freedom House also reported that government censors blocked Cubans' access to phone numbers abroad for systems such as the U.S.-based Digalo sin Miedo - Say it Without Fear - once widely used by activists to publicize abuses.

The system allowed Cubans to call a U.S. number and record a brief complaint. A computer would then email an alert to those who had signed up for the service, such as exiles who support the dissidents or journalists who report on Cuba.

Government censors also tightened controls on access to the Web in the workplace - the vast majority of Cubans with Internet connectivity get it through their jobs in state agencies and enterprises - and continued to use computer-savvy supporters as foot soldiers in a "cyber war" against government critics, according to the report.

The "cyber militia," for instance, uses blogs or Tweets to accuse dissidents of cheating on their spouses or pocketing money meant for others, and send emails to journalists abroad pushing the Cuban government line but pretending to be simple citizens.

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Freedom House ranks Cuba's Internet as 'not free'�

A new bill aims to tighten surveillance powers that are granted by the Patriot Act to the National Security Agency.

In a rare display of bipartisanship amid the government shutdown, Patriot Act author Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., is poised to introduce a bill to tighten surveillance powers that are granted by his 2001 law to the National Security Agency (NSA) with help from Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

[READ: House Intelligence Chairman Considering NSA Reform Legislation]

Sensenbrenner and Leahy are circulating an outline of "The USA Freedom Act" to tighten Section 215 of the Patriot Act and end the NSA's bulk collection of U.S. phone call records, according to a copy of the outline obtained by The Hill.

If the bill were passed the NSA would only be allowed to collect data relevant to "an authorized investigation into international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities" of a foreign power, the outline stated. The bill would protect Americans from surveillance, requiring the NSA to discard online information about Americans and strengthen the prohibition against "reverse targeting" of Americans, which is a loophole to collect communications involving an American by monitoring the communications of a foreigner.

To reform the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), the draft bill calls for the creation of a privacy advocate to argue civil liberties concerns and appeal court decisions.

Transparency is a big part of the draft bill, which would make public all FISC opinions issued after July 2003 that contain a significant construction or interpretation of law. It would also increase the ability of Internet and telecom companies to disclose information about government requests. Companies including Facebook and Yahoo sued the government in September for the right to publicly disclose the amount of user data requests those companies receive from the government.

[ALSO: PATRIOT Act and FISA Under Fire in Senate]

Leahy is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, but the bill will face opposition from Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. She has proposed her own bill that adds oversight and transparency measures to NSA's programs, but would still preserve the surveillance.

The House will also be a difficult arena for the Freedom Act, where a proposed amendment to the defense appropriations bill that would have restricted the NSA's collection of phone records and metadata was narrowly defeated in July. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Mich., is also planning legislation to rebuild confidence in the NSA, but it might also leave the surveillance intact while adding transparency and oversight measures.

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'Freedom Act' in House, Senate Would Amend 'Patriot Act'

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Hundreds march for 'freedom' in Sudan

NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner Interview 12 of 13
NAACP Annual Freedom Fund Dinner of the NAACP Greater Hartford Branch. This Network is Funded by J. Stan and Nyesha McCauley. Additional support made possible by community volunteers. Be a...

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NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner Interview 12 of 13 - Video

Syria Freedom Fighters in Tafas Plan Final Liberation of City from Dictator Assad 1-Oct-13
Syria Freedom Fighters in Tafas Prepare to Liberate City and Region from Dictator Assad 1-Oct-13 || ????? ????? ??????|| ???? ?? ??? ???? ????? ???? ??...

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Syria Freedom Fighters in Tafas Plan Final Liberation of City from Dictator Assad 1-Oct-13 - Video

18+ Syria Rebels Bring Freedom Fight to Abaseen Square in Damascus 4 16 13 Abbassayyin Square
syria,Syria News 30 09 2013,Syria War 30 09 2013, Syria ?n Hezbollah 30 09 2013, Hezbollah News 30 09 2013, Hezbollah ?n Syria War 30 09 2013, syria war 2013,syria news,syria war,syria syria...

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18+ Syria Rebels Bring Freedom Fight to Abaseen Square in Damascus 4 16 13 Abbassayyin Square - Video

Freedom Day Sept 28, 2013

By: john astly lenijan

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Freedom Day Sept 28, 2013 - Video

The Freedom State
The Freedom State Presents Spring 2013 | Follow The Sun The Freedom State http://www.thefreedomstate.com.au Brought To You By: Dark Shadow Media http://www.darkshadowmedia.com Featuring: Model: Taylor...

By: Tyson Lloyd

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The Freedom State - Video

Basic robotic arm with three degrees of freedom
basic style of 3-motor arm, programmed by using C#, kinect is applied as the sensor.

By: tao johnson

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Basic robotic arm with three degrees of freedom - Video

Freedom Cia de Dança - Recomeço
Bailarino - Jefferson Xavier 2º Rio Grande Dance Festival.

By: Cristian Nunes Arrieche

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Freedom Cia de Dança - Recomeço - Video