TomDispatch Blocked by State Department

[marmar]

from MotherJones:




TomDispatch Blocked by State Department!
— By Tom Engelhardt

| Wed Dec. 22, 2010 12:37 PM PST


I have a friend who sends a note every year in December, pleading with me to pen one upbeat, hopeful piece before the next year rolls around. Mind you, I consider myself an upbeat guy in a downbeat world and, for me, when it comes to pure upbeatness, you couldn't have beaten this week if you tried. This was when my Oscar came in—or the equivalent on the political Internet anyway. On December 7th, the State Department announced its brave decision to host UNESCO's World Press Freedom Day in 2011. ("We are concerned about the determination of some governments to censor and silence individuals, and to restrict the free flow of information…") Less than two weeks later, I learned that if you try to go to TomDispatch.com from a State Department computer, you can't get there. The following message appears instead:

"Access Denied for Security Risk (policy_wikileaks)

"Your requested URL has been blocked to prevent classified information from being downloaded to OpenNet."

OpenNet is what the State Department calls its unclassified Web system. Maybe it should now consider changing that name as it prepares for World Press Freedom Day. (Small tip to State Department officials: remember that TomDispatch is just as good a read at home as at work!) I'm sure this is all part of the Obama administration's fabulous sunshine policy, that "new standard of openness" the president embraced on his first day in the Oval Office. It's certainly part of the U.S. government's ridiculous attempt to bar its officials, contractors, and anyone else it can reach from the once-secret State Department documents that WikiLeaks is slowly releasing and that everyone else on Earth has access to. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://motherjones.com/mojo/2010/12/tomdispatch-blocked-state-department

[mrdmk]

1. Maybe TomDispatch is not pro-corporate enough for this administration

Or a better thought is there is a right-wing hack at the switch in the State Department. Somebody must like him/her in that position.