I completely agree with Collin. How is it possible that we can count on Austin Heap?!
Cheers, A On 3 December 2012 13:13, Collin Anderson <[email protected]> wrote: > 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 <[email protected]> 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 <[email protected]> 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. > > > -- > Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password at: > https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech >
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