Tag Archives: freedom

21May/08

A Democratic Middle East?

US and the Middle East, Voices of Democracy, ,

By Nir Boms and Erick Stackelbeck
FrontPageMagazine.com | October 4, 2004

On Oct. 1, over 30 Middle Eastern American groups gathered at the Wardman Park Marriott Hotel in Washington, D.C., to discuss something that is only whispered about in their native lands: freedom.

The Middle Eastern American Convention for Freedom and Democracy, a conference organized by the Washington-based Center for Freedom in the Middle East along with a number of Middle Eastern American pro-democracy groups, had hundreds of participants representing a wide range of countries, ethnicities and religions.

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20May/08

Radio Free World

Voices of Democracy, , , , ,

 

July 13, 2004, 8:57 a.m.
Radio Free World
Liberty-starved countries see a boom in clandestine radio.

By Nir Boms & Erick Stakelbeck

Although it often seems like a solitary outpost of democratic sanity, the U.S. is not alone in waging the war of ideas.

Since 9/11, over a dozen privately owned, pro-democracy radio stations have emerged in freedom-starved countries like North Korea, Syria, Iran, and Cuba.

From the earliest days of World War II to its peak during the Cold War, clandestine radio played a critical role in the fight for liberty. Today is no exception. Continue reading →

14May/08

Gaza’s Internet War

Freedom and the Internet, Islam and Democracy, Middle East, Palestinian Authority, , , , ,

Islamic war on freedom of thought in Gaza should concern Israelis as well

Niv Lillian, Nir Boms

Published:   06.04.07, 09:08 / Israel Opinion

At 3 am, in the shadow of the ongoing fighting, a giant blast shook Allah al-Shawa’s Internet cafe in Gaza. The owner, who rushed to his business in order to examine the damage, found one computer in working order in the rubble and decided to check his e-mail.

A surprise awaited him: An e-mail message from a group calling itself “Islamic Swords of Justice” explained that the cafe was blown up because it and those of its type “divert the attention of an entire generation to other issues that are not Jihad or worship.” In other words, the e-mail charged that his Internet cafe was used for distributing abomination and pornography.

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14May/08

Orwellian Censorship

Freedom and the Internet, Iran, , , ,

By Nir T. Boms and Elliot Chodoff
Published November 10, 2006

“Ignorance is power,” wrote George Orwell in his famous book “1984,” referring to the information police that kept bad ideas from the eyes of good people. The rationale of the Big Brother has, unfortunately, often appeared throughout history. According to this approach, the only way to maintain the strength of an idea is to eliminate all suspicion or doubt. If one has no reason to question a belief, then that belief will remain, and if the absence of questioning can be sustained indefinitely, then the belief will be upheld indefinitely. Welcome to Iran. 

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