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When YouTube refused to take down a controversial video called "Innocence of Muslims" this summer, a small number of violent protests were sparked. Pakistani officials reacted by imposing a country-wide block of YouTube. According to the New York Times, YouTube was made available for only three minutes before Pakistani officials pulled the plug once more. According to other, unverified accounts, YouTube access may have lasted up to 90 minutes -- something which may be confirmed by Google's Transparency Report.
In addition to interior minster Rehman Malik indicating that the YouTube ban would be rescinded, Malik tweeted about a new effort to crack down on pornographic and blasphemous material. "PTA is finalizing negotations [sic] for acquiring a powerful firewall software to totally block pornographic and blasphemous material." he wrote on Dec 28. PTA is the Pakistani Telecommunications Authority.
Following Malik's hints that the ban would be repealed before New Year's day, access to YouTube flickered on for the first time in months -- even if only for a brief period of time. Shortly afterward though, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf reinstated the block, reportedly yielding to public pressure.
According to the NY Times, some prominent Pakistanis voiced concerns that blasphemous material still made available on YouTube, a discovery that should seem unsurprising to veteran YouTubers. Presumably though, officials may have expected their new "powerful" anti-porn and anti-blasphemy filters to block access to disagreeable areas of YouTube -- a feat which these technologies apparently failed to deliver.
It's unknown when or even if the ban will be lifted once again, but until then, Internet users in Pakistan will have to endure alternate methods of accessing YouTube such as VPN services or TOR.
User Comments: 54
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Puiu said:
If you don't like it don't watch it. I know religion is very necessary in our world but I can' help to find things like this idiotic and almost barbaric in nature with people responding with unnatural hate driven only by the need of the masses to have a reason to cause chaos in the name of the God they believe in...
When will religion step out of the Dark Ages and embrace the present and future?
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NTAPRO said:
Successful troll is successful
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If you don't like it don't watch it.Sometimes easier said than done.
"Go ask Alex, I think he'll know"! [image link]
(That's an intended pun, sung to the tune of the Jefferson Airplane's, "White Rabbit"
. I know religion is very necessary in our world but I can' help to find things like this *****ic and almost barbaric in nature with people responding with unnatural hate driven only by the need of the masses to have a reason to cause chaos in the name of the God they believe in...Nonsense! Religion performs two discreet functions. It enables the formation of tyrannical fundamentalist states, using "God", as the scapegoat. It grants individuals private refuge from tyrannical fundamentalist states. (Just remember though, for you own well being, don't pray to anyone other than the prevailing god in public).When will religion step out of the Dark Ages and embrace the present and future?Dude, small steps! Why the hurry? Actually, the Spanish Inquisition didn't formally end until 1834...:eek:The Inquisition was definitively abolished on July 15, 1834, by a Royal Decree signed by regent Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies, Ferdinand VII's liberal widow, during the minority of Isabella II and with the approval of the President of the Cabinet Francisco Martínez de la Rosa.Of course, "The Alhambra Decree", hung on a bit longer, until 1968....The Alhambra Decree (also known as the Edict of Expulsion) was an edict issued on 31 March 1492 by the joint Catholic Monarchs of Spain (Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon) ordering the expulsion of Jews from the Kingdoms of Castile and Aragon (not from the Kingdom of Navarre) and its territories and possessions by 31 July of that year.[1]The edict was formally revoked on 16 December 1968,[2] following the Second Vatican Council. Today, the number of Jews in Spain is estimated at 50,000.[3]
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When will religion step out of the Dark Ages and embrace the present and future?If you go out of your way to change religion, then you lose perspective of what it was you believed in the first place. Religious beliefs do not change simply because people want them too. Religious beliefs of today have become nothing more than a hundreds of rumors floating around and none of them are worth following. This is due to religious beliefs changing over the centuries and becoming useless.
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If you go out of your way to change religion, then you lose perspective of what it was you believed in the first place. Religious beliefs do not change simply because people want them too. Religious beliefs of today have become nothing more than a hundreds of rumors floating around and none of them are worth following. This is due to religious beliefs changing over the centuries and becoming useless.This reads as though you think "Religious beliefs" were substantially true in the first place. Religion is, has been, and always will be, unsubstantiated rumor and superstition. Well that, and a convenient way to hold the masses in check through fear of unprovable reward or punishment. Or as I like to call it, "the once and future B***S*** story". I'll be off now, to say my prayers to Odin, Ra, Zeus, and a few others.
Religion has always been a motivating factor for human cause of action, just or otherwise. And remember, no matter which side's army you ask in a war, God will surely be with them.
Or as Mick Jagger so eloquently put it,
"I watched with glee, as your kings and queens, fought for ten decades, o'er the gods they made". -
This reads as though you think "Religious beliefs" were substantially true in the first place.Yes, you are correct. That is my stance on the topic.
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1 person liked this |Yes, you are correct. That is my stance on the topic.Which of the olden, "paths of righteousness" should we embrace first, chastity belts for birth control, or human sacrifice for a good crop?
Here's the Wiki page on the Spanish Inquisition". Those techniques would get us headed back toward "good old fashioned family values"....
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1 person liked this |Which of the olden, "paths of righteousness" should we embrace first, chastity belts for birth control, or human sacrifice for a good crop?First off these examples are ridiculous. Secondly, I'm not gonna get into this with you. You did notice how short I made my last comment. I know there is nothing I can say to you to convince you otherwise, so I'm not even gonna try. You should do the same and not even try to convince me.
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First off these examples are ridiculous. Secondly, I'm not gonna get into this with you. You did notice how short I made my last comment. I know there is nothing I can say to you to convince you otherwise, so I'm not even gonna try. You should do the same and not even try to convince me.Are they really? I forgot this link on the last pass: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_inquisition
And this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_witch_trials
And this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusades
So, gee willikers Cliff, I doubt any of that will convince you of religion's "relative merit". Why would you be believing I'm thinking I could?
And for those of you who'd like to be a bit closer to their "god": [link]
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The major problem here is the fact that religion in that region is a dominating life philosophy. Used to keep ppl who are uneducated and poor under control. Its the "lifeline" for ppl who have nothing. They think, that if they suffer on earth that there is a reward for them in heaven. They need religion to keep going. Add on to it the fact that the people over there are normally part of a sect or clan and its disaster when something comes along and disrupts thier religious "peace".
The reason they dont want Youtube, is simple. If they see other ppl doing acts that go against thier personal religious beliefs, and not being struck down by thier God, they lose control. That is why. Period.
I guess the ppl in power in Pakistan must really fear the rest of the world because we get the benifits of education and the will to live out our lives as we see fit. Not shackled under some highly archaic belief structure that demands obedience to a unseen and unknowable entity that lives in the sky and grants wishes.....
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1 person liked this |I guess the ppl in power in Pakistan must really fear the rest of the world because we get the benifits of education and the will to live out our lives as we see fit. Not shackled under some highly archaic belief structure that demands obedience to a unseen and unknowable entity that lives in the sky and grants wishes.....The best part of the hype, (bamboozle(?)), is, there's nobody home to grant wishes. Yet, people believe if they don't get their wish, it was because God deemed them "unworthy".
And ex girlfriend explained it like this, "God answers all prayers, sometimes the answer is no"!:oops: To which I replied, "oy vey"!
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The present incumbent is as corrupt as any in the west. He over-ruled the restoration of access, not due to any religious conviction but to bolster his political standing with the un-educated masses who were incited to feverish levels by his presstitutes.
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Nothing good comes out of repression of the masses by closing their minds without their will. I'm not speaking on religion and nor do I care for any.
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Nothing good comes out of repression of the masses by closing their minds without their will. I'm not speaking on religion and nor do I care for any.
Huh?!
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m4a4 said:
Hahaha, some of you call religious people bigoted for believing in a "God" yet you sound just as bigoted as they do when you claim there can be no such thing. My faith in humanity is restored /endSarcasm
But seriously, ever thought about how scientifically impossible it would be for life to have formed from chaos? It makes intelligent design look pretty believable...
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m4a4 said:
But anyways, this is what happens when you let radical muslims (well anyone radical) run a country. You get freedoms taken away like they are children. I wouldn't be surprised if they are forcing their people from fleeing this absurdity...
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Man every time a topic hints the slightest bit of religion people start ranting.
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Man every time a topic hints the slightest bit of religion people start ranting.Now if you'll be so kind as to indulge me......"but wait, there's more"...!But seriously, ever thought about how scientifically impossible it would be for life to have formed from chaos? It makes intelligent design look pretty believable...
"On the 6th day God created man in his own image"! Have you ever wondered the degree of egomania, hubris, and self delusion it took to pen those words?
Go with Darwin, or go home! Even LaMarc, long ago dismissed as a crackpot: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamarckism succeeds in making more sense than "intelligent design".
So save the intelligent design "theory", for some people you might be able get over on with it. Like say the backwoods of Appalachia.
If you keep saying the words, "I'm made in God's image", over and over, it doesn't even provide an acceptable rhythm for pleasuring one's self.....(n)
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m4a4 said:But seriously, ever thought about how scientifically impossible it would be for life to have formed from chaos? It makes intelligent design look pretty believable...
"On the 6th day God created man in his own image"! Have you ever wondered the degree of egomania, hubris, and self delusion it took to pen those words?
And save the intelligent design "theory", for some people you might be able get over on with it. Like say the backwoods of Appalachia.
If you keep saying the words, "I'm made in God's image", over and over, it doesn't even provide an acceptable rhythm for pleasuring one's self.....(n)
And yet I still have to wait for your reply about "how scientifically impossible it would be for life to have formed from chaos?". You avoid that as if you have no logical answer...
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And yet I still have to wait for your reply about "how scientifically impossible it would be for life to have formed from chaos?". You avoid that as if you have no logical answer...The answer is rapidly "evolving" (pun intended), in the field of biochemistry. The Bible simply tells us, "because it happened". "Because", is an answer that really hasn't worked on me, since I was about seven. Accordingly, you have no proof of your point either.
Now, I could spend the rest of my evening in several ways.
One, investigate laboratory findings on the environmental and chemical conditions required for spontaneous protein synthesis.
Or two, find a bible to thump on until I think I know the answer to just about everything....:oops:
But, I'm going with what's behind "door #3", and that would be, in lieu of continuing this pointless diatribe on the validity of your superstitions, instead I'll check out the glorious biological triumph of the Caucasus and Ural mountain regions, naked Russian girls, in all their blue eyed, blond haired, long legged, small breasted, genetically recessive, glory.
I suggest you make "productive" use of your time and recite about a thousand, "Hail Marys".
If you get bored with that, produce a hypothesis about where the infinitely dense point of energy that became the known universe came from in the first place. Here's a start, "on the day Earth minus one, god created the blob that would later become the known universe, in his own image"! Amen to that, huh?
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m4a4 said:And yet I still have to wait for your reply about "how scientifically impossible it would be for life to have formed from chaos?". You avoid that as if you have no logical answer...The answer is rapidly "evolving" (pun intended), in the field of biochemistry. The Bible simply tells us, "because it happened". "Because", is an answer that really hasn't worked on me, since I was about seven. So, you have no proof of your point either.
Now, I could spend the rest of my evening in several ways.
Investigate laboratory findings on the environmental conditions required for spontaneous protein synthesis.
Or two, find a bible to thump on until I think Iknow the answer to just about everything....:oops:
But, I'm going with what;s behind "door #3", and that wold be, in lieu of continuing this pointless diatribe on the validity of your superstitions, and check out the glorious biological triumph of the Caucasus and Ural mountain regions, naked Russian girls, in all their blue eyed, long legged, small breasted, and recessive genetic glory.
I suggest you make "productive" use of your time and recite about a thousand "Hail Marys".
If you get bored with that, produce a hypothesis about where the infinitely dense point of energy that became the known universe came from in the first place. Here's a start, "One the day Earth minus one, god created the blob that would later become the known univrese, in his own image"! Amen to that, huh?
Hehehe, so you don't know. You could've just said that.
Here, let me help you understand how shaky your footing is: [link]
The article above actually summarizes everything I was just about to type. But lucky for you, this is easier :P
Lets just say that it takes more faith for you to believe that life was created by chance (what was it? Scientifically impossible to the power of 250 was the chance that would happen?), compared to an all powerful being creating everything needed (for you, I will call it scientifically impossible).
Have fun irrationally believing the first...
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Lets just say that it takes more faith for you to believe that life was created by chanceSo,."faith" IS the issue? And unless I'm misunderstanding you, "your faith is better than my faith". Spare me. Now run along and read the Book of Job. (Some people like it, although as mystical horse crap goes, I thought the "Harry Potter" stuff was much better).
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m4a4 said:So,."faith" IS the issue? And unless I'm misunderstanding you, "your faith is better than my faith". Spare me. Now run along and read the Book of Job. (Some people like it, although as mystical horse crap goes, I thought the "Harry Potter" stuff was much better).
I'm just pointing out that you have little to no footing to back up your attacks against religion. You say people who have faith in a divine being cannot be right because of Darwin's theory. But when I say you are the one who needs more faith in a "scientific theory", you all of a sudden get offended and back up. Good! I took a troll off guard...
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It will always boil down to what a individual believes. Regardless if that belief is true or not. Its PERSONAL. Yesterdays fiction is tomorrows fact. What one generation holds to be ironclad religious doctrine, the next calls tripe. You can both argue your points, but the reality is very simple. Its what you believe that you have to live by. If it makes you feel better about yourself and your life to believe in a being who lives in the sky and you join him when you die then thats on you. If you choose to believe that everything arose from pure chaos then so be it.
Right here in these posts is the clearest example of the differences in HUMAN opinion and belief. What one person believes, someone else will disagree with.
Personally, IF there is some magical being who grants wishes and holds me accountable after death, THEN I will believe in it as I will have confirmed it myself. Untill then dont you think its kinda silly to sit and argue something that none of you have personally witnessed? Your arguing a belief structure with only a book that has been rewritten well over seven times, and over mathmatical data.
Untill "God" makes an appearence on the 6 oclock news, isnt it all just supposition and wishful thinking?
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I'm just pointing out that you have little to no footing to back up your attacks against religion. You say people who have faith in a divine being cannot be right because of Darwin's theory. But when I say you are the one who needs more faith in a "scientific theory", you all of a sudden get offended and back up. Good! I took a troll off guard...As I pointed out, in Genesis, "on the 6th day, God created man in his own image"! (and then of course he rested, ostensibly after his crowning triumph, "man".
To rephrase that, "man deeply believes he's God's gift to the world". You epitomize that POV, and I'm happy to argue with you all night. As for me being, "taken off guard", that about fits with this rest of your bizarre level of unfounded, unwarranted, self satisfaction.
To so fervently pronounce faith in a "supreme being", to me just signals a lack of self worth as a species, and a complete lack of self confidence in one's ability to do the right thing for one's self, and the rest of the world.
You really lack skills in judgement, if you need to walk around asking yourself, "what would God want me to do in this situation". Or, if you walk around thinking, "God will forgive me for doing this". So no, I'm not ever buying a used car from you, whether it be figurative, "faith based", or literal.
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