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Censorship Your Rights Online

The Great Firewall of .... Kuwait? 54

Posted by timothy from the permissionism-strikes-again dept.
first axiom writes: "The BBC is running a story on Kuwait shutting down 50 internet cafes for allowing access to pornography. While this number might seem trifling compared to China's thousands shut down, Kuwait is a country smaller than New Jersey, with about 2 million people. However, it's one of the best-connected countries in the Middle-East, and sometimes it's interesting to see someone on *this* side of the political fence (an ally or 'strategic partner' of the U.S.) pull a stunt like this."
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The Great Firewall of .... Kuwait? More

The Great Firewall of .... Kuwait?

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  • Last time I checked (admittedly, about the time of Desert Storm) the Kuwaiti Gov't was a hereditary dictatorship - only family members allowed citizenship/vote, women not allowed to vote at all. What some Arab countries call "democracy" most Americans would call "cronyism".
    • "sometimes it's interesting to see someone on *this* side of the political fence"

      I was wondering that myself. I was under the impression that they were a muslem country or islam country. I heard from friends that were over there during desert storm that they could nto get porn magazines and that people could get in serious trouble (i.e. hand cut off or execution) for little things like stealing. Whoah and adultry is somthing that you really dont want to do over there. Many of the coutries over there are not friendly to gays. I'm not sure why those people hate so much of so many things.

  • This kind of stunt is what happens when religion becomes a driving force in government.

    Fundamentalist governments are bad whether they are Muslim or Christian. It isn't the religion, it's the zealotry.
  • "It's interesting to see someone on *this* side of the political fence (an ally or 'strategic partner' of the U.S.) pull a stunt like this."

    This isn't about silencing free speech, It's about protection of minors. Does anyone think that it's fair use that computers in public places ought to be able to have some guy jacking off while the kid next to him is playing counterstrike? Especially in that type of (primarily) unstable environment?

    The US does this too. I worked in a Cybercafe for a year and a half, and we were paid a visit by the police on two seperate occasions about minors having access to inappropriate material.

    Trust me, this has nothing to do with "free speech".
  • and sometimes it's interesting to see someone on *this* side of the political fence pull a stunt like this.

    Oh no worries, I'm sure America will find a reason to put them on the *other* side of the political fence.

    Since after all, Iraq & Saddam were on *this* side of the political fence 20 years ago, and Afghanistan was a friend (The enemy-of-an-enemy kind of friend) what, 10 years ago?

    THEN it will be safe to call them dictators or barbarians or something.

  • Kuwait and the US (Score:1, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    The US interest in Kuwait has everything to do with oil and nothing more. Don't fool yourself into thinking that there's anything else in common here.

  • Ugly American (Score:5, Insightful)

    by gmhowell ( 26755 ) <gmhowell@gmail.com> on Tuesday May 14, 2002 @11:15PM (#3521868) Homepage Journal
    No wonder we USians get shit upon so much. It's not our place to be the moral police of the world. It's not our place to dictate to others. We left Europe (most of us) precisely to avoid that kind of shit. Unfortunately, since at least Madison, we've had to deal with bringing our great and wonderfulness to all the world.

    I'm no great believer in PC, moral relativism, or all that crap. But I do believe in staying out of other people's damned business so long as it doesn't affect me. If Kuwaitis have a problem with this, let them revolt. I'd consider helping them. But if they aren't willing to sturm and drang on their own, why should I care?

    Being able to go to JennaJameson.com is not some great right. Being able to espouse differing political views IS. Try to understand the difference.
    • I agree with staying out of the business of other countries as long as those countries are Democratic. Non-Democratic governments by their very nature violate and supress the rights of human beings and operate in total violation of the laws of God and Nature.

      All governments operating without the consent of he governed must be removed from power as soon as possible. A government that operates without the consent of the governed does not have a right to exist.

      When you say "people who are slaves to fascist governments deserve it because they don't revolt", that's exactly the same as saying "women who are raped deserve to be raped because they don't fight back." That's the kind of thing Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party would say. You are a horrible monster. Maybe if you're ever brutally raped and murdered, you'll use your dying breath to recant your evil, ignorant ways and die with some modicrum of humanity. I doubt it, though. You sicken me.
  • and sometimes it's interesting to see

    someone on *this* side of the political fence


    LOL....

    +5 TROLL!!
  • >someone on *this* side of the political fence
    >(an ally or 'strategic partner' of the U.S.)
    Taliban government and mojaheds troups, were
    also U.S. allies, so what? Being on *this* side
    of the political fence does not automatically
    mean being good, you know. Or... wait,
    isn't it what your TV is bullshitting at you?

  • Kuwait not MY side of the fence (Score:5, Informative)

    by KilBee ( 414914 ) on Wednesday May 15, 2002 @04:39AM (#3522369) Homepage Journal
    It's actually well known that kuwait is one of the most oppressive countries in the middle east. Yes, more oppressive than Iraq, at least as far as domestic policy. This is true now and it was true in 1991.

    Some may say they are on "our" side of the fence. But if they mean "On the slashdot side of the fence" that's totally wrong.

    This article should come as a surprise to no American, and if it does, maybe some need to read a little more history.
  • If you really thought the Gulf War was about democracy and not oil, you've got a lot of growing up to do. That whole bit about Freedom was just PR.

    PS: The subject comes from Michael Moore's TV Nation. They were trying to find the slogan that best summarized the goals of the Gulf War.
  • Kuwait on our side -- the only reason they could be considered as an 'ally' is their connection with OPEC. Our interests in 'human/civil rights' extend only as far as our business concerns. Our government, and its propaganda machine, are very near-sighted when it comes to doing business with other nations. It has already been noted here Kuwait's oppression of women, which we conveniently overlooked when we jumped in and saved their contry from being the next Iraqi territory. Americans should always keep their eyes and ears open and not immediately accept what their government is spoon-feeding them.....
  • I wonder if anyone in the government has a pc with access to these "objectionable" sites... Only to "see what's out there" of course... :o)
  • sometimes it's interesting to see someone on *this* side of the political fence

    People, please don't reply to this article. It's an obvious troll, selected by the Slashdot only to generate a slew of indignant replies, and not to inform or generate informative discussion.

    Think about it -- why was this submission selected, over the hundreds of other submissions Slashdot gets each day? It's absolutely no secret to anyone with a newspaper that Kuwait is a backwards, repressive regime, and pointing it out is hardly "News for nerds." I believe it was selected only because of the "troll-hook" at the end, designed to allow us all to engage in the type of useless political bashing that results in a little heat, and no light.

    Don't feed the trolls, people.

  • I suppose that will eliminate Kuwait from my travel guide. Who in their right mind wants to visit a country where pr0n is illegal?

  • It's funny, you know. When a mean, nasty, opressive country like Iraq, or Cuba, or China puts up firewalls, it's not a surprise. They're the enemy after all, the bad guys, they're supposed to do bad things.

    But as soon as an American ally does something like that, it's a big shock, because the Americans only deal with free, open, happy countries that love each other and everyone else, right?

    Come on, Kuwait is only an ally because they have oil. If the US didn't need Kuwait's oil, Iraq would have taken them over long ago and no one would've given a damn. They're still an Islamic state, and they still behave according to their beliefs. Just because the US is willing to look the other way to get cheap oil doesn't mean they're the nicest people on the planet. Conversely, just because the US doesn't like a country doesn't mean it's all that bad.

    Kuwait isn't on the same side of the political fence, they're on the same side of the economic fence. Their behaviour (which is their choice, whether we agree with it or not) should come as no surprise. Let's stop listening to what CNN has to say and actually learn something, shall we?

    --Dan
    • Agghg. The US doesn't need that damned oil. We can get plenty of energy between & including the two oceans we border, it's just that we happen to have disproportionally large number of disproportionally greedy people. That's all, and until that changes, we'll never be cooler than anybody else.

      For reference, see the US oil companies and our large reserves under Texas. Next, look up all of the alternative energy sources available. Then, if you tell me we still need that oil, I'll smack you with a fish.
      • Hate to tell you, but the reserves under Texas aren't nearly enough to last as long as people claim. There's more oil in Northern Anberta than in all of the US, and more offshore from BC than in Alberta. Well, maybe I don't hate to tell you. The sooner these reserves start running out, the sooner we stop polluting, and then everyone wins.

        Oil companies and politicians that are funded by them love to go on about how oil will last us forever and ever.

        Oil companies and politicians are also the reason that no one is going forward with any great speed towards alternative energy sources. Big Oil needs that oil to keep its stranglehold on the economy and keep making ludicrous amounts of money. Politicians need to keep their campaigns funded, so they need Big Oil. The US government needs oil so politicians can get that money. Voila. US needs oil.

        Sure, it's an artificial need, but that's hardly important in the real world.

        --Dan
  • First of all, the ONLY reason that this "repressive" government is there is because they are good friends with the US Government who is willing to defend them against any "civil disobedience". As long as the US Government has a strong role to play in Kuwaiti politics and tolerate all sorts crap for cheap oil, the electors don't have the right to complain. America is after all a democratic country, and you CAN tell your government what to and what not to do.. right?
    Secondly, it's a cultural thing as well, western values and morals are not always the same as eastern values and morals. It does not always necessarily mean that one is better than the other, it's just the societies' history have determined a different set of values that has been agreed upon or imposed upon society. As time progresses, and society changes, so will their values.

    I'd also like to point out that one of the first sex manuals was actually written by Arabs. It's not the Muslim Arab Raghead thing that is the problem, it's those damn dictatorships sponsored by hypocritical foreign powers.
    • We also don't really elect our governors. The vast bulk of us don't like those who do. At least my friends, anyway.

      No sex manual was ever written by a Muslim.

  • Push your elected officials to mandate an accelerated conversion of our economy to anything but fossil fuel for power. Hydrogen, space powersats, whatever.

    While this won't turn these countries into democracies automatically, their authoritarian, repressive regimes will fall if the US doesn't prop them up with both military aid and the dollars extracted from us at the gas pumps. If we aren't burning oil, that part of the world will fade into the obscurity it deserves until they can get it together enough to figure out something that they can sell besides oil.

    While these regimes will probably be replaced by others equally authoritarian or worse, this will be self-inflicted and there's no real reason why any of us should give a shit. People do have the right to whatever form of self-government they choose. Even if the choices are fucking stupid.

    Those with brains and guts over there can choose to fight or escape.

    We can welcome those who wanted to escape to a "free" world, it's precisely the ones with brains and guts who provide us (any industrialized country) with the kind of immigrants we want.

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