Pentagon backs YouTube ban
p2pnet.net news:- The Pentagon, the famous US military HQ, is backing the decision made by US Forces Korea commander general B.B. Bell to ban YouTube, 1.fm, Pandora, MySpace, PhotoBucket, Live365, hi5, Metacafe, MTV, ifilm.com, Blackplanet, stupidvideos and filecabi..
Bell took the step because of alleged high levels of use on US Department of Defense computer systems.
Now, “Rear Adm. Elizabeth Hight, deputy head of the Defense Information Systems Agency, said the Pentagon needed to ensure bandwidth on its network of more than 5 million computers was not clogged by the use of those sites,” says Reuters.
“This network is critical for our effective and efficient and safe combat operations,” she’s quoted as stating.
“We use it for everything from ordering supplies to sending orders to providing logistics information, scheduling people to get on an airplane, scheduling goods to move from point to point,” she said.
But, “My 20-yr old niece is shipping out to Iraq today, fresh from boot camp,” said the Lab Rat in a p2pnet comment post.
He went on:
Banning these websites now puts additional limits for me to keep in touch with her. I am very much against the ban (and the war, for that matter). The soldiers are very careful not to give away any sensitive information, and they are usually censored, anyhow. But having the videos gives relatives like myself and the soldiers like my niece a way to see images and hear each other. Now that avenue has been removed.
It’s hard for me to believe that the world’s best-funded military isn’t able to provide decent bandwidth, and censorship is nothing new. No, I think the military is more interested in keeping its soldiers from seeing the anti-war videos and the videos put out by the war-ravaged Iraqis. But I feel the morale the military saves by doing so will be greatly overshadowed by the morale lost because soldiers are more out of touch with family.
Ed Markey, chairman of the House subcommittee on telecommunications and the Internet, wants the Pentagon to reverse the decision, says Reuters, adding:
“In a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates earlier this week, Markey said troops overseas had used many of the blocked sites to communicate with family and friends and that those contacts were critical for morale.
“But the Pentagon said many of the sites had already been blocked on military computers in Iraq and Afghanistan for more than two years and troops had many other ways of keeping in touch with loved ones.”
Also See:
ban YouTube – US Army censors MySpace, YouTube, May 15, 2007
Reuters – Pentagon defends move to block websites, May 17, 2007
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Tired of being treated like a criminal? They depend on you, not the other way around. Don’t buy their ‘product’. Do bug your local politicians. Use emails, snail-mail, phone calls, faxes, IM, stop them in the street, blog. And if you’re into organizing, organize petitions, organize demonstrations and then turn up on your local political rep’s doorstep, making sure you’ve contacted your local tv/radio station/newspaper in advance. Don’t just complain. Do something!
May 18th, 2007 at 8:28 am
in all honesty if email is left open they can send any type of media to and receive such media from family and friends.
live video/audio link may be a exception to this but they don’t state this has been blocked.
military internet should be for the military to use not recreational use.(what about load balancing as this would allow recreational use when and only if the bandwidth is available)