I second Amin's suggestion on the Small Media report; this Fox News article is deeply misinformed. More than anything I am surprised that any media source is still citing Austin Heap as a credible source, however, the author's track record of stories seems to explain a lot. Unfortunately, with comments like "satellite-to-satellite jamming," Mr. Heap seems to know less about international broadcasting than he did Internet censorship.
On Sat, Dec 1, 2012 at 2:38 PM, Amin Sabeti <aminsab...@gmail.com> wrote: > I think this report will be useful: > http://smallmedia.org.uk/sites/default/files/Satellite%20Jamming.pdf > > Sent from my iPhone > > On 30 Nov 2012, at 20:05, Joel Harding <joel.k.h...@gmail.com> wrote: > > I have some serious doubts if this is even possible. My thoughts are > that an antenna strong enough to hold up a flag would not be an > efficient radiating element. Wouldn't the wires be visible at the > base? Wouldn't there have to be some sort of a transmitter in fairly > close proximity? Is this just being fueled by conspiracy theorists or > is this actually being done? I don't recall seeing this before. > > New flagpoles in Iran spark rumors of clandestine satellite jamming > technology > > By Lisa Daftari > > Published November 30, 2012 > > > http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/11/30/new-flagpoles-in-iran-spark-rumors-clandestine-satellite-jamming-technology/ > > Flying the national flag usually signifies a display of pride or > patriotism. But in Iran today, it may represent something much more > sinister. > > Sources and blog postings from inside Iran say that what seem to be > simple flagpoles popping up all over Tehran and other large Iranian > cities are actually clandestine electronic antennas, which use > high-frequency waves to jam communications and block ordinary citizens > from Internet, TV and radio signals. Some Iranians think the > electronic emissions also may be hazardous to humans’ health. > > Tehran residents and communication experts report an increase in > jamming has coincided with the strategic placement of the towering > metal flagpoles, as the government continues its ongoing campaign to > block some 500 TV channels and 200 radio stations from outside Iran > deemed too Western-oriented. > > “Ever since 2009, the telecommunications masts have increased 10- to > 15-fold. It’s not clear where these masts are, but many in Tehran, > including myself, believe that these tall flagpoles recently placed > around the perimeter of the city are jammers,” said Shahin, a > 32-year-old Tehran-based blogger. The flagpoles are present in other > large Iranian cities but are most prevalent in the capital, Shahin > said. > > “The regime fears the Internet and satellites coming into the country > more than they do the opposition forces living here,” he added. > “That’s how we know they would do anything in their power, including > risking our health, to protect their existence.” > > During the 2009 post-election uprisings, Iranian protesters who took > to the streets turned to blogs and social networking sites like > Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to voice and organize their opposition > to the regime. Since then, the Iranian government has worked > diligently to block access to such sites. > > The jammer flagpole scheme “is very much in line with and fits the > pattern they have been demonstrating since 2009,” said Austin Heap, > executive director of the Censorship Research Center. > > “The shape of the flagpole lends itself to house such a structure. If > you notice the width of the pole decreasing as it gets taller, this is > consistent with the design principles for good omni-directional > broadcasting. … It’s a kill switch,” Heap explained. > > “It’s just the next step in controlling what comes in and out of the > country,” Heap said. “Iran is looking to become better at controlling > the dialogue.” > > The Iranian government has relied on two jamming techniques, according > to Heap. One is the more widely used “satellite-to-satellite” method, > in which waves are sent directly from one satellite to the other in an > attempt to overwhelm the broadcast signal. > > But foreign broadcast companies learned to work around that by > switching signals, turning the censorship campaign into a > cat-and-mouse game that requires more time and effort by the Iranian > government to block each channel. > > The flagpole jammers represent a second method, referred to as > on-the-ground or local jamming. That process involves sending > high-frequency microwaves over a larger area, saturating signals that > jam incoming signals. > > “This new type of jamming is a catch-all,” Heap said. “It is a > one-size-fits-all solution.” > > The increase in jamming has been noted by the United States and > European Union, both of whom announced new communications sanctions > and warnings against the Iranian regime in November. > > Since the 2009 uprisings, roughly $76 million of the total $11.5 > billion allocated to the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps has been spent > on cyber warfare, the Iranian government once reported. Iran’s cyber > police monitor the Internet, various websites, blogs and individuals > suspected of using circumvention tools designed to evade the censors. > > In early 2011, Iran unveiled plans for a “halal network,” or an > “Islamically permissible” intranet that would disconnect the nation > from the rest of the world. Such a service would automatically block > popular global sites and search engines like Google, Facebook and > Wikipedia. > > Other experts are more concerned about the health side effects of > these suspected flagpole jammers, and they cite a rise in cancer rates > in Iran as a possible result of the increased jamming activity. > > “A cancer tsunami is imminent,” Dr. Ali Mohagheghi, from Iran’s > Ministry of Health, admitted earlier this year. Mohagheghi urged > doctors to prepare for the coming “inundation” of cancer cases. > > “I’m not a doctor, but I’ll tell you it’s a one-to-one correlation,” > said Heap, who explained that the second type of jamming - the ground > jamming - emits a much higher degree of cancer-causing radiation. > > Those who have written about the flagpole jammers or hinted of their > connection with cancer rates have been seriously criticized, even > threatened with imprisonment. > > Masoomeh Ebtekar, head of Iran’s Environmental Organization, echoed > the idea of a “cancer tsunami” a few months later, to the > semi-official Mehr News agency. But she went further and connected the > increase in cancer cases to the jamming waves. > > The government quickly responded by accusing Ebtekar of circulating > rumors, and threatened to imprison her if she continued to speak about > the subject, according to the Boltan News site. > > Despite government pressure, the story has not disappeared, as doctors > and others continue to research the possible jammer-cancer connection. > > “New cases of pediatric cancer are growing at such an unbelievable > rate that one can only connect this crisis to the increase in > high-frequency waves,” said a pediatrician living and practicing in > Tehran. “One only has to pay a visit to MAHAK (a pediatric cancer > hospital) in northern Tehran to see how real this tragedy is,” she > said. > > “Of course the government doesn’t want these cases and these > statistics to be announced. It might cost them the regime.” > > > > Read more: > http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/11/30/new-flagpoles-in-iran-spark-rumors-clandestine-satellite-jamming-technology/print#ixzz2Djmyr1yN > -- > Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password at: > https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech > > > -- > Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password at: > https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech > -- *Collin David Anderson* averysmallbird.com | @cda | Washington, D.C.
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