A bill was passed in December by the United States Congress that will attempt to censor Arab news media worldwide (not just what is broadcast in the USA). Very few people and news stations have noticed this bill until now. The noticing of this bill comes just a few weeks after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a speech supporting internet freedom. This raises the question of double standards to many people.
The bill plans to use sanctions against Arab media outlets that supposedly promote "anti-American" and "terrorist" views. The problem here, as some have pointed out, is that there are a lot of gray areas in the Arab media. The other problem is that the language of the bill is very vague in what it deems to be "anti-American" and "terrorist" rhetoric. The fear is that the bill could be used to easily attempt to censor any Arab news that criticizes US foreign policy or does normal, non-biased interviews with public figures that the US deems to be "terrorists".
Whatever happened to the old bourgeois liberal and conservative belief that foreigners have the right to express their views freely in their own countries? I guess basic human rights come second when compared to the hegemony of NATO propaganda.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
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