13 Jul 10 | Index Index, minipost
Hollman Morris, an internationally-renowned Colombian journalist, has been barred from entering the United States to take up a fellowship at Harvard University. His visa application was denied after he was placed on a Patriot Act no-fly list. Morris has previously been publicly lauded by the State Department and Human Rights Watch. His writing has been published around the world, and he has been received by the Pentagon, National Security Council, and the US ambassador in Bogota. The ban is thought to relate to Morris’ interviews with Colombia’s Farc guerillas, although critics have claimed that it stems from the Obama administration’s proximity to Colombia’s President Álvaro Uribe, whose government has long been criticised by Morris.
25 Jun 10 | Index Index, minipost
Heather Murdock, a US journalist, has been expelled from Ethiopia. Local reports suggest her work as an investigative journalist in the restive Ogaden province was the reason for her expulsion. There have been a number of recent skirmishes between government forces and the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF). Murdock had been working for the broadcaster Voice of America (VOA) covering the aftermath of the general election. The Ethiopian government has recently enacted anti-terrorism legislation which empowers it to expel journalists which portray rebel groups in a favourable light and the authorities have been blocking of Voice of America’s website and jamming of its radio service in recent months.
25 Jun 10 | Index Index, minipost
On 23 June, Viacom’s $1bn lawsuit against YouTube was thrown out by a US judge. The entertainment company had raised the claim citing widespread copyright infringement by the Google owned video hosting site. However, in his summary judgment, District Judge Louis Stanton held that Youtube was protected by the “safe provision” in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act because they had swiftly removed all offending videos when prompted.
23 Jun 10 | News and features, Volume 39.02 Summer 2010
Talk radio is the right-wing’s battleground for the soul of the USA, but Joe Queenan isn’t listening
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