Websites strike back against online piracy bills

WASHINGTON: Wikipedia and Google joined hundreds of other websites Wednesday in a sprawling online protest against legislation in the US Congress intended to crack down on Internet piracy.

Wikipedia shut down the English version of its online encyclopedia for 24 hours to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) introduced in the House of Representatives and the Senate version, the Protect IP Act (PIPA).

Google blotted out the celebrated logo on its US home page with a black banner and published an exhortation to users to "Tell Congress: Please don't censor the Web!"

Like Wikipedia, social news site reddit also went dark, urging visitors to call their lawmaker or sign a petition opposing the House and Senate bills.

"These bills provide overly broad mechanisms for enforcement of copyright which would restrict innovation and threaten the existence of websites with user-submitted content," reddit said.

Culture and technology blog Boing Boing also took itself offline to protest what it called "legislation that would certainly kill us forever."

Reporters Without Borders shut down its English-language website for 24 hours warning that the bills "would sacrifice online freedom of expression in the name of combating piracy."

Blogging platform WordPress.com covered its home page with black banners with the word "censored" as did technology magazine Wired.

The popular Cheezburger humor network posted messages of opposition to the bills on all of its 58 sites, which include icanhascheezburger.com, FAIL Blog and The Daily What.

The draft legislation has won the backing of Hollywood, the music industry, the National Association of Manufacturers, the US Chamber of Commerce and other groups.

The Business Software Alliance has welcomed House efforts to curb software piracy but has said "valid and important questions have been raised about the bill."

The Senate is scheduled to vote on PIPA on January 24 but Republican House speaker John Boehner said Wednesday there was a "lack of consensus at this point" on SOPA, the House version, and it would need work in committee.

The bills have come under fire from digital rights and free speech groups for allegedly paving the way for US authorities to shut down websites accused of online piracy, including foreign sites, without due process.

"Right now, the US Congress is considering legislation that could fatally damage the free and open Internet," Wikipedia said in a message at its darkened website. "For 24 hours, to raise awareness, we are blacking out Wikipedia."

Other Web giants such as Twitter, Facebook and Craigslist declined to shut down for the day but expressed their opposition to the legislation.

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey urged his 1.8 million followers to tweet, email and call and "tell Congress NO."

Facebook said it takes online piracy and copyright infringement "very seriously" but the bills "are not the right solution to this problem, because of the collateral damage they would cause to the Internet."

US visitors to Craigslist were met with a message of opposition to the legislation and had to click on a link to continue on to the site.

The founders of Google, Twitter, Wikipedia, Yahoo! and other Internet giants said in an open letter last month the legislation would give the US government censorship powers "similar to those used by China, Malaysia and Iran."

"We oppose these bills because there are smart, targeted ways to shut down foreign rogue websites without asking American companies to censor the Internet," a Google spokesman said.

The White House expressed concern about the anti-online piracy bills in a statement over the weekend.

"While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response, we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet," it said.

News Corp. chief executive Rupert Murdoch, who backs the US legislation, accused the "blogosphere" of "terrorizing many senators and congressmen who previously committed" to supporting it.

"Nonsense argument about danger to Internet. How about Google, others blocking porn, hate speech, etc? Internet hurt?" he wrote on Twitter. (AFP) 

Wikipedia to shut for 24 hrs to stop anti-piracy act

NEW YORK: Wikipedia, the popular community-edited online encyclopedia, will black out its English-language site for 24 hours to seek support against proposed US anti-piracy legislation that Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales said threatens the future of the Internet.

The US service will be the highest profile name to join a growing campaign starting at midnight Eastern Time on Wednesday that will see it black out its page so that visitors will only see information about the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA).

The information will urge Wikipedia readers to contact their local congressman to vote against the bills. Other smaller sites leading the campaign include Reddit.com and Cheezeburger.

"This is a quite clumsily drafted legislation which is dangerous for an open Internet," said Wales in an interview. The decision to black out the site was decided by voting within the Wikipedia community of writers and editors who manage the free service, Wales said. 

The English language Wikipedia receives more than 25 million average daily visitors from around the world, according to comScore data.

The bills pit technology companies like Google Inc and Facebook against the bill's supporters, including Hollywood studios and music labels, which say the legislation is needed to protect intellectual property and jobs.

The SOPA legislation under consideration in the House of Representatives aims to crack down on online sales of pirated American movies, music or other goods by forcing Internet companies to block access to foreign sites offering material that violates US copyright laws. 

Supporters argue the bill is unlikely to have an impact on US-based websites.

US advertising networks could also be required to stop online ads, and search engines would be barred from directly linking to websites found to be distributing pirated goods.

Google has repeatedly said the bill goes too far and could hurt investment. Along with other Internet companies such as Yahoo, Facebook, Twitter and eBay, it has run advertisements in major newspapers urging Washington lawmakers to rethink their approach.

White House officials raised concerns on Saturday about SOPA saying they believe it could make businesses on the Internet vulnerable to litigation and harm legal activity and free speech.

"We're happy to see opposition is building and that the White House has started to pay attention," said Wales.

News of the White House's comments prompted a prominent supporter of the bill News Corp Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch to slam the Obama administration.

"So Obama has thrown in his lot with Silicon Valley paymasters who threaten all software creators with piracy, plain thievery," he posted on his personal Twitter account Saturday. (Reuters)

Rs 10 crore reward on Musharraf’s head, announces Talal Bugti

Just days ahead of former Pakistan president General Pervez Musharraf’s planned return to Pakistan from self-exile, a grandson of slain Baloch nationalist leader Akbar Bugti has put a bounty worth Rs. 101 million (USD 1,118,370) on the former military ruler’s head.

“We will give Rs. 1 million (USD 11, 070) in cash and a bungalow worth Rs. 100 million (USD 1,107,300) to anybody who kills Musharraf. And we’ll also provide him full security,” Shahzain Bugti told reporters at Pir Jo Goth in Sindh province on Sunday.

Akbar Bugti and several of his companions were killed in a military operation in Kohlu district of Balochistan in 2006.

The operation was ordered by Musharraf, who was then both army chief and President.

Speaking to the media after meeting the family of political leader Pir Pagara, who died recently, Shahzain Bugti demanded that Musharraf should be hanged.

“The gallows are ready for Musharraf. There will be serious consequences if the government does not arrest him upon his arrival,” said Shahzain, a senior leader of the Jamhoori Watan Party.

Shahzain alleged that Musharraf was responsible for killing hundreds of people.

“He not only killed my grandfather but also hundreds of innocent people during the Lal Masjid operation in Islamabad.

Clerics have declared him wajib-ul-qatal (fit to be killed),” he claimed.

Musharraf recently announced that he intends to return to Pakistan between January 27 and 30.

The former dictator, who has been living in Dubai and London since April 2009, said he would fly into the southern port city of Karachi with a group of supporters.

Indian army chief takes birthday row to top court

NEW DELHI: India's army chief has filed a lawsuit against the government in the Supreme Court asking for his birthday to be changed on official records to prevent him being forced into retirement.

In the petition filed on Monday seen by AFP, General V.K. Singh asked the Supreme Court to recognise his birthday as May 10, 1951, making him one year younger than his age shown on government records which state his date of birth as May 10, 1950.

Indian government employees have to retire at 62, which means Singh would leave service in May this year unless he wins his case in the Supreme Court.

The petition by the highly-decorated veteran of the 1971 war between India and Pakistan is the first such case in India of a serving army chief taking the government to court.

Calling the decision "a matter of honour and not tenure," Singh pressed the court to accept the date recorded in his school-leaving certificate as his correct date of birth.

The defence ministry has previously rejected Singh's claim twice, citing the date marked on his documents when he entered into public service.

Calls to the defence ministry went unanswered on Tuesday morning.

A source close to the case told AFP the general, army chief since March 2010, felt that the controversy had tarnished his public image, leaving him with little choice but to approach the court.


The unprecedented development has raised questions about the appropriateness of Singh's actions.

His predecessor, General Deepak Kapoor, told the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency that "an army chief going to court on personal matters is not good for the force or the nation as a whole."

But other retired officers said Singh had every right to take legal action. Former air force chief P.V. Naik told PTI: "I think it is a personal issue and he should do whatever he thinks is right." (AFP) 

License 'martyred' in battle for justice: Awan

ISLAMABAD: After being temporarily stripped out of his license to legal practice by the Supreme Court on Tuesday, Babar Awan said his license got 'Shaheed (martyred)' in the battle of getting justice on judicial murder of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Geo News reported.

In a message on social media website Twitter, Awan said: " After decades of fight for rule of law, supremacy of constitution, civilian rule and saving Bar Associations from TOHEEN E WAKALAT...today in the battle of getting justice on judicial murder of Shaheed ZAB,when my license to practice was 'shaheed'...."

On suspension of his license 'I raised my face to heaven and said to the bench Wallah hu khair ul raziqeen'. 

SC suspends Babar Awan’s licence temporarily

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has suspended the legal licence of Babar Awan temporarily, PNNI News reported.

The SC on January 05 had issued contempt of court notice to former Federal Law Minister Babar Awan during hearing of Presidential Reference regarding revisit of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto verdict.

“How can things move forward without respect for the judiciary,” Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry asked. “We are the issuing authority and have the powers to cancel [legal] licences as well.” The Supreme Court on January 05 put off the hearing of the ZAB reference and issued a second notice to PPP leader Babar Awan for contempt of court.

In its order, the apex court said: “Prima facie, we are of the view that the conduct of Dr Babar Awan is unbecoming of an advocate of the Supreme Court; therefore, we issue notice to him under Rule 30 of Order IV of the Supreme Court Rules 1980 to explain why his name not be removed from the Roll of the Advocates of this court.” 

Pakistan journalist working for US media shot dead

PESHAWAR: Gunmen on Tuesday shot dead a Pakistani journalist working with the Voice of America's Pashto language radio service as he prayed at a mosque in the northwest of the country, police said.


Mukarram Khan Aatif, a 43-year-old correspondent with Deewa radio, was attacked at a mosque near his home in Shabqadar town, Khyber Pakhtunkhaw province, 30 kilometers north of Peshawar.


Pakistan's umbrella Taliban faction claimed responsibility for the killing in a telephone call to AFP and threatened other journalists with the same fate.


"The two attackers came on a motorbike, fired bullets at Aatif in the mosque and escaped. He suffered bullet wounds to the head," local police officer Zahir Shah told AFP.


Another police official confirmed the incident.

"Aatif was hit in the head and rushed to a hospital in Peshawar. The prayer leader was also injured," said district police chief Nisar Khan Marwat.

Rahim Jan, a senior doctor at the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar said Aatif had succumbed to his injuries.

Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said the Islamist militia killed Aatif because he was "working for the Pakistani military and the United States".

"We warned him many times not to work for them, but he didn't accept our demand," the spokesman told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location, warning: "Many other journalists are also now a target."

According to press watchdog Reporters Without Borders, Pakistan was the deadliest country for the media in 2011 with at least eight journalists killed in connection with their work. (AFP)