STOP THE INTERNET KILL SWITCH!

Dear Friends,

Have you heard about the “internet kill switch”? It gives governments the technical or legal power to cut off their entire country’s internet access, and it’s no longer just a pipedream of dictators, but a very real threat to all of us who use the internet around the world.

Egypt used it last week, Austria’s already got it, the U.S. has a law drafted to establish it, while other governments across the globe are testing to see how easily they could plunge their country into an information blackout. And they can do it one of two ways: either by creating the legal authority that gives them the power to demand that the internet service providers (ISPs) operating in their country shut down, or by configuring a “switch” that controls their country’s entire internet infrastructure.

Just because we use the internet everyday, doesn’t mean we always will be able to do so. A global movement of internet users can help stop our governments (democratic and authoritarian alike) from acquiring an internet kill switch, but only if we act fast. Add your name to our global "Stop the Switch" petition, which we'll deliver to those countries considering the switch and globally to the United Nations, which is meeting soon to discuss freedom of speech online:

https://www.accessnow.org/Stop-the-Switch

From Australia to Zimbabwe, we see how vital access to the internet, both on computers and mobile phones, is for people to freely express themselves. An internet kill switch puts your ability to communicate with friends and family online in jeopardy by placing control over the internet firmly into the hands of your government, who may not necessarily have your interests and rights in mind when they flip the switch.

With the U.S. just a few votes away from giving President Obama and any of his successors ultimate control over the country’s internet access, imagine what is being considered in other countries across the world. We need a global internet uprising to protect our rights, and we are starting at the top with the United Nations. Please join our call before the internet kill switch becomes the global norm:

https://www.accessnow.org/Stop-the-Switch

As online communication becomes an increasingly important part of all aspects of our lives, governments have sought to censor, filter, surveil, and now, shut off access to these vital tools. Just imagine if your government decided to switch your internet -- and you -- off.

In Egypt, using powers granted to Mubarak under emergency law, the government was able to shut off the internet with a couple of phone calls to each of the internet service providers (ISPs) operating in Egypt. Egyptians employed innovative work-arounds to avoid the shutdown like using international dial-up, but do we really want to resort to that? Lets draw a line in the sand as governments around the world race to acquire an "internet kill switch."

Governments habitually put their own survival above the well being of their people. The only real deterrent to the internet kill switch is us -- a global movement for digital freedom; please join the international campaign to “Stop the Switch!”


https://www.accessnow.org/Stop-the-Switch

With hope,
The Access Team

P.S. If you missed our live web symposium last week on The Middle East, The Revolution, & The Internet, you can watch it at: https://www.accessnow.org/policy-activism/press-blog/The-Middle-East-The-Revolution-And-The-Internet

P.P.S. You can also read Access' open letter to Vodafone's CEO here: https://www.accessnow.org/policy-activism/press-blog/open-letter-from-access-to-the-ceo-of-vodafone

For more information on the internet kill switch see:

http://opennet.net/blog/2011/01/egypt%E2%80%99s-internet-blackout-extreme-example-just-time-blocking

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/02/05/INO91HHD7P.DTL

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/global-net-crackdown-to-shatter-utopian-internet-experts-20110204-1ag3i.html?from=smh_sb

http://www.renesys.com/blog/2011/01/egypt-leaves-the-internet.shtml

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20029282-281.html

GOODBYE KITTY!

Finally, they got her...



But still, you know that you You Can Never Have Enough Hello Kitty

NMA.TV - Yellow Fever Update

Here is another hilarious update from Next Media Animation TV:



"Irresponsible depictions of Asian Women as sex objects, means Yellow Fever is rising at an alarming rate in the west....Some guys with Yellow Fever simply choose to move to a foreign country."

Via Yellow Fever on the rise? NMA.TV

Tokyo's 7-Story Sex Shop

Here is a good look at Akihabara's well-known, 7-story sex shop m's:

North Korea's Youtube & Twitter Hacked!

Hackers celebrate North Korea heir's birthday

Sat Jan 8, 2011

"(Reuters) - Hackers have attacked North Korea's official Youtube and Twitter accounts, posting a cartoon showing Kim Jong-il's heir apparent driving a sports car into a crowd of starving countrymen."

And here is that video:



UPDATE: S. Korean hackers trade cyber blows with N. Korea

(AFP) – 1 day ago

SEOUL — "Computer hackers from South and North Korea are waging an apparent propaganda battle in cyberspace, less than two months after their militaries traded artillery fire across the tense sea border.

Users of the South's popular website dcinside.com have claimed responsibility for hacking into the North's Twitter account and its official website, and leaving messages denigrating the ruling Kim family.

A separate and now deleted posting on YouTube showed a cartoon of Kim Jong-Un -- youngest son and heir apparent of leader Kim Jong-Il -- mowing down ordinary people in a fancy sports car.

It was apparently posted to mark Jong-Un's birthday Saturday."

Continued...


See also:

New North Korean Videos

North Korean Karaoke - 'Anarchy in the DPRK'

Japan's Birthday Parties For Pets

For a country that has more dogs and cats than children, in a way, it seems only natural to have many overly pampered pets and even a pet fashion week right?

Well, now get ready for Japan's traditional Shinto Shrine pet birthday parties:




See also:

Cooking With Dog: Japanese Cooking Videos

Funny Japanese TV Commercials for Softbank

Triumph's 'Welcome To Japan' Bra

Remember the Japanese Solar-Powered Bra and the Japanese Husband Hunting Bra? Or how about the Japanese Hole In One Bra? Well Triumph Japan has done it yet again with their recent release of the all-new "Welcome To Japan" bra:



COME ON DOWN!!!

Banksy: Exit Through The Gift Shop

Now for something completely different - earlier this year, Banksy directed and starred in Exit Through The Gift Shop. A very funny movie about an amateur film maker who attempts to create a documentary about street artists and then, encouraged by Banksy, becomes one himself with some incredible results! Watch this film before it gets taken down. Here is part one:

TsuShiMaMiRe - "Sex On The Beach"

Here is Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re recently performing "Sex On The Beach" live at The Double Wide Bar in Dallas, Texas:





To find out more about this very popular band, please visit the TsuShiMaMiRe Official Website

New North Korean Videos

In case you missed it, North Korea launched a quite popular Youtube Channel earlier this year. Since then they have uploaded many interesting videos, including this recent one featuring some of the DPRK's very cute and very talented "Genius Kids":

Coming Soon: Battlefield North Korea

Recently filmed in HD, here is a good slow-motion look at Kim Jong Il and his well-dressed military:



Remember: "North Korea is Best Korea"



FLASH NEWS UPDATE: The Dear Leader was very recently seen at a soccer match in Pyongyang.

FLASH NEWS UPDATE #2: President Obama was recently injured while playing in a basketball game.

Coincidence?

Engrish Interviews with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz

Here are some very amusing Engrish interviews of Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz by three Japanese comedians during the recent Tokyo premiere of Knight and Day:



Via Daily Motion

Tea Party 3D News by NMA.TV

Next Media Animation now brings us another hilarious update on the recent Tea Party primary wins in the US:

Pedobear Warning by CA Police

California Police Issue Real Warning About Satirical Internet Creation Pedobear



In case you’ve been living in an Internet-free cave, Pedobear is a character made popular by the 4chan image forums that is frequently displayed or referenced when someone is being a little too weird about children on the Internet and basically amounts to one big Internet in-joke, in no way supportive of pedophilia. Despite this, California’s San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department issued a “public safety information bulletin” describing the dangers of Pedobear.

The Californian sheriff’s office didn’t get the memo that the people who make mention of Pedobear are Internet nerds, not actual pedophiles (surely if real pedophiles identified themselves with such a symbol, it would be a godsend to law enforcement.) They released a pamphlet (unintentionally) humorously entitled “A Seemingly Innocent Menace: An Introduction to ‘PEDO BEAR.’” A news station even reported on the “menace” in the segment in the video above.

Continued...

Okinawa Gaijin Party in the USA!

Via FG here is very cool Okinawa GAIJIN rendition of Miley Cyrus' Party in the USA:

Australian Election Taiwan News CGI Report

Taiwan's Next Media Animation just released this very funny and accurate CGI report on the upcoming election in Australia:



See more at NMA World Edition

North Koreans in Japan - AlJazeera News

Here is a very interesting short news documentary by Al Jazeera English on the North Korean community currently living in Japan:

Sarah Palin Taiwan News Update Animation

Well, once again, Taiwan's Next Media Animation has released another hilarious hit with their recent news update on Sarah Palin: