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Indybay Feature

Petition : Stop Censoring IndyMedia from Google News

by Babylonian
Please endorse the 'Stop Censoring IndyMedia from Google News' Petition
censorship.jpg
Dear Google:

Recently you removed IndyMedia from your list of indexed news sites. We believe that this is an unfair decision, specifically in light of your own policies (stated in the Google news FAQ - http://www.google.com/help/about_news_search.html), which profess that pages are not included or excluded based on political ideology.

IndyMedia is arguably one of the most popular sources of alternative news on the Internet. Just as there are dozens and perhaps even hundreds of individuals asking for its removal, there are thousands more upset that this form of censorship has occurred. Indeed, the individuals requesting IndyMedia's removal had a specific agenda, one in which voices of opposition are unimportant, and should be silenced. It is our belief that all sides should have their opinions heard, and that sources such as IndyMedia provide
necessary balance.

We humbly ask you to reconsider your decision, and once again include Indymedia in your list of indexed sites. Variation in perspective, sources, and editorial approach are what makes Google news a useful resource.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned
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Comments (Hide Comments)
by Tim
First off, Indymedia wasn't censored from google because they are a bunch of evil Jew-loving capitalists, but because the site, to put it nicely, lacks journalistic quality. Items are often enough just plagiarized entirely from some other source. When they aren't, there's no fact checking. Indymedia might be a good place to find pictures and reports of the latest protest and where to gather for the next black bloc rally, but it is not a good site for responsible journalism.

Second, this is a dumb post because if you type in "Indymedia" in google news search you will find Indymedia. It was put back in the index a while back.

Tim
by Tim
I guess I might be mistaken - apparently the old entries will still be there, but nothing new will be added. It was my impression that they would be removed.

In any case, Indymedia is a site that censors based on ideology, not on facts or quality. It shouldn't be on Google News - FreeRepublic.com, similar to Indymedia, except opposite to it, shouldn't be there either, and from a quick search it doesn't seem to be.

Tim
by vty
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1. Google's immortal cookie:
Google was the first search engine to use a cookie that expires in 2038. This was at a time when federal websites were prohibited from using persistent cookies altogether. Now it's years later, and immortal cookies are commonplace among search engines; Google set the standard because no one bothered to challenge them. This cookie places a unique ID number on your hard disk. Anytime you land on a Google page, you get a Google cookie if you don't already have one. If you have one, they read and record your unique ID number.

2. Google records everything they can:
For all searches they record the cookie ID, your Internet IP address, the time and date, your search terms, and your browser configuration. Increasingly, Google is customizing results based on your IP number. This is referred to in the industry as "IP delivery based on geolocation."

3. Google retains all data indefinitely:
Google has no data retention policies. There is evidence that they are able to easily access all the user information they collect and save.

4. Google won't say why they need this data:
Inquiries to Google about their privacy policies are ignored. When the New York Times (2002-11-28) asked Sergey Brin about whether Google ever gets subpoenaed for this information, he had no comment.

5. Google hires spooks:
Matt Cutts, a key Google engineer, used to work for the National Security Agency. Google wants to hire more people with security clearances, so that they can peddle their corporate assets to the spooks in Washington.

6. Google's toolbar is spyware:
With the advanced features enabled, Google's free toolbar for Explorer phones home with every page you surf. Yes, it reads your cookie too, and sends along the last search terms you used in the toolbar. Their privacy policy confesses this, but that's only because Alexa lost a class-action lawsuit when their toolbar did the same thing, and their privacy policy failed to explain this. Worse yet, Google's toolbar updates to new versions quietly, and without asking. This means that if you have the toolbar installed, Google essentially has complete access to your hard disk every time you phone home. Most software vendors, and even Microsoft, ask if you'd like an updated version. But not Google.

7. Google's cache copy is illegal:
Judging from Ninth Circuit precedent on the application of U.S. copyright laws to the Internet, Google's cache copy appears to be illegal. The only way a webmaster can avoid having his site cached on Google is to put a "noarchive" meta in the header of every page on his site. Surfers like the cache, but webmasters don't. Many webmasters have deleted questionable material from their sites, only to discover later that the problem pages live merrily on in Google's cache. The cache copy should be "opt-in" for webmasters, not "opt-out."

8. Google is not your friend:
Young, stupid script kiddies and many bloggers still think Google is "way kool," so by now Google enjoys a 75 percent monopoly for all external referrals to most websites. No webmaster can avoid seeking Google's approval these days, assuming he wants to increase traffic to his site. If he tries to take advantage of some of the known weaknesses in Google's semi-secret algorithms, he may find himself penalized by Google, and his traffic disappears. There are no detailed, published standards issued by Google, and there is no appeal process for penalized sites. Google is completely unaccountable. Most of the time they don't even answer email from webmasters.

9. Google is a privacy time bomb:
With 150 million searches per day, most from outside the U.S., Google amounts to a privacy disaster waiting to happen. Those newly-commissioned data-mining bureaucrats in Washington can only dream about the sort of slick efficiency that Google has already achieved.



by STOP CENSORSHIP ON THIS PRO-FASCIST SITE
u stupid paranoiacs, typical mentally retarded
nazi-antizionists, u see "zioshmazi" under yer bed.

but now u're right, anti-jewish capitalists created
anti-zionism, because of "jewish competition".

u better stop censoring THIS fascist site
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