2008 Woodie Awards
Restrictions, headaches for soldiers
The Daily Barometer
Issue date: 5/17/07 Section: Forum
It would not be wrong to assume that on any given day college students visit at least one of the Web sites the United States government has decided to block from military personnel serving over seas last Friday.
The 13 Web sites the military has decided to block include: Myspace, YouTube, Photobucket, Metacafe, IFilm, StupidVideos, FileCabi, BlackPlanet, Hi5, Pandora, MTV, 1.fm, and live365 an Associated Press story reported.
So, how will this change their way of life?
If average citizens use these sites regularly just to stay in touch with people in their own town, imagine what the use MySpace is for troops.
"These actions were taken to enhance and increase network security and protect the use of bandwidth," said Col. Gary Keck, a Pentagon spokesmen.
If they are concerned about bandwidth, why was it not taken into consideration the amount of data that is transferred when e-mails are sent in bulk, usually with several pictures?
Additionally, if security is such a concern it's obvious the military still hasn't got the big picture yet.
Once a photo or video is sent to someone outside the watchful eye of Big Brother, it is subject to being posted to any of the sites the government has blocked in the first place. It seems yet another triumphant failure of security by the military and the government at large.
And what about when soldiers return home? Will they not distribute their experience of Iraq/Afghanistan anyway - what is to stop them?
MySpace is probably the easiest way to stay in contact with family and friends over seas. It is easier than keeping track of everyone's e-mail address and is a more efficient, reliable way to communicate.
As opposed to college students who check and re-check their profiles daily, a soldier serving in a battle-zone usually does not have this kind of leisure time, which is why MySpace is so great.
A soldier can send messages, comment, and post pictures for friends and family all in one stop.
Stripping the simplicity of communication by blocking sites like MySpace has the potential to further demoralize soldiers fighting an unpopular war on overextended tours.
We can only hope when we do not hear from our soldiers for weeks that they are holding strong and still alive.
---
Editorials serve as a platform for Barometer editors to offer commentary on issues both global and local, grand in scale and diminutive. The views expressed here are a reflection of the editorial boards majority.
The 13 Web sites the military has decided to block include: Myspace, YouTube, Photobucket, Metacafe, IFilm, StupidVideos, FileCabi, BlackPlanet, Hi5, Pandora, MTV, 1.fm, and live365 an Associated Press story reported.
So, how will this change their way of life?
If average citizens use these sites regularly just to stay in touch with people in their own town, imagine what the use MySpace is for troops.
"These actions were taken to enhance and increase network security and protect the use of bandwidth," said Col. Gary Keck, a Pentagon spokesmen.
If they are concerned about bandwidth, why was it not taken into consideration the amount of data that is transferred when e-mails are sent in bulk, usually with several pictures?
Additionally, if security is such a concern it's obvious the military still hasn't got the big picture yet.
Once a photo or video is sent to someone outside the watchful eye of Big Brother, it is subject to being posted to any of the sites the government has blocked in the first place. It seems yet another triumphant failure of security by the military and the government at large.
And what about when soldiers return home? Will they not distribute their experience of Iraq/Afghanistan anyway - what is to stop them?
MySpace is probably the easiest way to stay in contact with family and friends over seas. It is easier than keeping track of everyone's e-mail address and is a more efficient, reliable way to communicate.
As opposed to college students who check and re-check their profiles daily, a soldier serving in a battle-zone usually does not have this kind of leisure time, which is why MySpace is so great.
A soldier can send messages, comment, and post pictures for friends and family all in one stop.
Stripping the simplicity of communication by blocking sites like MySpace has the potential to further demoralize soldiers fighting an unpopular war on overextended tours.
We can only hope when we do not hear from our soldiers for weeks that they are holding strong and still alive.
Editorials serve as a platform for Barometer editors to offer commentary on issues both global and local, grand in scale and diminutive. The views expressed here are a reflection of the editorial boards majority.
Note: writers will not reply to comments.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
CJ
posted 5/17/07 @ 10:21 AM PST
I don't know if you have heard of such programs as yahoo mail, hotmail, gmail, etc. These are amazing programs in which you type in "addresses" that recipients designate, and you can type letters to these people. (Continued…)
Post a Comment
Comments by registered users are approved by default.