What is Digg?60 Comments
- taylorhayward, on 10/11/2007, -4/+45How can expect ANYONE to be away from YouTube for 3 years and then reintegrate into society?
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -1/+25"They want it their way, and only their way. Well that's not how it works."
That's actually an incorrect statement. Members of the military are underneath seperate jurisdiction than citizens of this country. If you ever read a lot of the fine print during the course of those contracts for being in the military (I was for 4 years) - you'll realize that EVERYTHING you do is left up to scrutiny, including your sexual orientation and even your religion.
I'm NOT advocating that this is the right way to do this, I think its a tad extreme - BUT, it should be noted that the military is prevented from doing a lot of things not associated with the internet. Things like, giving interviews, talking on radio shows, etc. etc. Not being able to talk on certain mediums isn't a new thing - it's just spread to the internet. - vhold, on 10/11/2007, -2/+16I don't get how it's even a double standard.
I'm sure lots of companies that make beer don't let you drink beer while at work. McDonald's advertises on TV, but yet their employees probably can't bring in television sets and watch them at work. Would you consider that hypocrisy? Hopefully not. - buckvitulli, on 10/11/2007, -0/+14I just returned from doing comm work overseas and we blocked a great deal of websites everyday. People using the internet for videos and whatnot suck up bandwidth. We blocked youtube when it came out, google video and any other site that we see using up bandwidth.
We had to unblock ESPN though, the generals got upset about that one.
It's not about censoring, it's trying to keep people focused on the mission. And when you have a few hundred people on a small satellite link you run out of room fast. - tlgjames, on 10/11/2007, -1/+15As someone in the military, and was stationed overseas in a comm squadron, this only makes sense. Youtube, myspace, etc have long been banned on AF bases. It takes a lot of bandwidth for 100's of people to watch youtube, and it slows down the very limited pipes they have there.
Most AF people get around this by sending 10 meg files renamed to word documents or something.
You are still allowed to view youtube at home on your personal computers all you want. - swrostmore, on 10/11/2007, -6/+17DoD needs to control the flow of information into and out of Iraq. Most importantly out of Iraq. Therefore, a website which allows soldiers to upload video would be an ideal candidate for blockage. I don't understand why free speech nerds would get worked up about this, a soldier signs away his right to free speech when he enlists.
- All4not, on 10/11/2007, -0/+11It's not just for the military, but all the agencies and non-uniformed workers. They don't want people watching the stuff at work either.
- bimtott, on 10/11/2007, -2/+10"okay, so, here is your uniform, your weapon, and your tour of duty assignment. You're going to Iraq"
"Fine by me."
"Also, here's the details of how we'll give you money for college."
"great, thanks!"
"Oh, also, we've banned access YouTube on all DoD computers."
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" - hurleytime, on 10/11/2007, -2/+9As a frequent flyer/deployer in the USAF, I have no problem with the blocking of particular websites.
Even at my home base, Myspace (and recently YouTube) have been blocked. When I am at work, in my squadron, I don't need to be browsing videos of cats falling downstairs or messaging my friends about how my hair gets frazzled. Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) using government resources for unauthorized web browsing is an example of Fraud, Waste, and Abuse (FWA), just like taking notebooks, pens and pencils, and other resources from work for your own personal use.
Are there worse things to worry about? Sure, but when the classified networks go down because three hundred troops at a deployed location bottleneck the bandwidth to watch that cat fall down the stairs, the intel that some terrorists are planning an attack at the exact time I am planning to be flying over a particular location may not get to me.... and that would suck. - KanosWRX, on 10/11/2007, -2/+8The DOD blocks 100's of pages, and not just in IRAQ. They have block lists of internet sites to prevent workers from wasting time online. Granted I think taking a break every once in awhile is ok. Some people take it to the extreme and online browse pages like You Tube. Its not about information blocking. Lots of companies block pages like this and ebay to keep employees working. Why does everyone always make it seem like such a big deal. I used to work for the Army National Guard as a contractor and about a month ago they added You Tube to the block list, just like My Space is blocked.
- TubaTechno, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6I for one, welcome my new block list newcomer.
- CandidCanon, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6@cogitorax
Did you read the article? It said work computers. I can't access youtube from any of the DoD computers I've used in the states. It's an inflammatory and mis informative article. And if you think we are allowed to surf porn at work, you are a moron. Article buried. - inkhead, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4If we were not at war, and it came to the media's attention that government employees were using YouTube, taxpapers would start complaining about how their tax dollars are being wasted.
- TubaTechno, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5The same people that get worked up aren't in the real world yet, so they haven't had employers tell them what internet sites they cant' go to.....
- hellogoodbye, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4"Despite using YouTube as a recruiting and propaganda tool, the Defense Department has just banned access to the service from its overseas computers."
Stop complaining about soldiers not being able to use YouTube on military computers. They can use their own computers for that. I'm all for email, but if getting rid of YouTube speeds up our military's bandwidth, I have no problem with it. - awilliams91det, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4It is really just a bandwidth issue. A lot of first hand information does make it out of Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa, South America, Asia everywhere we are stationed as members of the Armed Services. We just shouldn't be posting at work, and should never be posting sensitive information. It is not censorship, just security. AFN, the official news broadcast of the Services is on YouTube. The Commanding General of USFK, the Korean Combined Command, has a podcast and dictated that itunes be loaded on the DOD computers here for us to all easily download it.
- sleze, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4I am not quite sure why having access to MySpace or YouTube is required for someone to do their JOB. They aren't banning soldiers from using the internet on their private time...just not while they are at work. I believe that MANY companies and agencies block access to websites that are only good for wasting time and have nothing to do with work.
Buried. - inkhead, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Actually I'm going to agree with the DoD on this one. The DoD uses YouTube to show civilians propganda about war. (not decided on this). However enlisted soliders signed a contract with the United States Government to CLEAR ALL media and published media before posting it or writing about it. The military hasn't always enforced it, but since about 6 months into the war with Iraqi YouTube has been banned. However people in Iraq would get around it with firewalls. My friend in the Army knows all about using proxies to get to the good stuff from Iraqi, even HE admits that there exists too many stupid soliders that post videos THAT SHOULD NOT BE POSTED. So far the stuff that has gotten the most attention is military videos: drug use, sex acts, and stuff that is gets people's attention. Soliders are a bunch of kids (most) that are looking to have fun. Unfortunately their job mandates otherwise.
This is just an official DoD communications that "officially" bans youtube. This means that before a person could do it, and not get in trouble with their commanding officer. Now soldiers don't have a gray area. THEY ALL KNOW that posting to youtube from the war zone, WILL result in punishment.
All it takes is one dumb solider to post something, that gets someone else's life ended. - bobcrotch, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5I give this 15 minutes before the radical left wing preteens come rampaging through here crying.
- Tricky, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Thank you for spamming "neocon *****". Banned.
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -3/+5"Your worthless smug opinion aside, everyone knows the REAL reason is to quell dissent.
They don't care if they surf for porn. Visit an amateur porn site like Watchers Web and take note how many commenter's on various posts are soldiers in Iraq. This is the exact reason armed forces radio is an all right wing propaganda network."
Yes, we're all mindless sheep and you've got it all figured out. This has nothing to do with eating up hordes of bandwidth. It has nothing to do with people being distracted during work, instead of doing their assigned jobs. Have you BEEN to Iraq? What? No? Are you apart of the armed services? What? No?
You don't have any idea what the reasoning behind this is - and it's obvious that you don't own your own business or work in a corporate office, because then you would probably have the intelligence to understand why this is actually a good idea and isn't about censorship.
On top of which, the United States Military doesn't have to adhere to the same rules and regulations as normal citizens (as I stated before). Were you in the Armed Services, or bothered reading something other than "radical-left-wing-conspiracy-*****-bush-administration-big-brother.com", you'd probably understand that this has nothing to do with the reasons you stipulated. - ras0ne, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2*****...myspace and youtube and all other wasting time websites are blocked from DoD networks. I should know, I've worked on them and those sites have been blocked for a long time now. It's just now getting to remote sites over seas because usually blocking BS is the least of our worries when we're over there.
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1No, seriously.
*****: there is no contradiction. - kaffein, on 10/11/2007, -4/+5So... rate their ads "appropriately."
USMC - http://youtube.com/watch?v=iOjn9_iAN-c
ARMY - http://youtube.com/watch?v=GlzdZqSVbJ4
NAVY - http://youtube.com/watch?v=8MorDCtBPR8 - swrostmore, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Enabler of what? Just because I think soldiers in Iraq have bigger problems than whether or not they can visit youtube.com, I voted for Bush? People like you give the left wing a bad name.
- swrostmore, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2"By not letting soldiers post or see videos and by cutting off the lines of communication between friends and family and those in Iraq, we are only pushing the war and its effects farther away from us."
Thats exactly why the DoD is doing this. It's not about bandwidth as some have suggested, it is about controlling the flow of information, to insulate the American public from the reality of on-the-ground Iraq. - jonnyq, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1the military has been monitoring communications of military personnel from overseas back to the states since the dawn of, like, carrier pigeons. This is not new.
- zeebusboy, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3How else are they going to keep 80+ percent of the troops convinced they're fighting in Iraq because Saddam was to blame for 9/11? But really, pick your scandal. How about the new one where massive numbers of our troops overseas had their ability to vote denied as part of Republican "caging" operations?
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/14/1426254
No, best to keep the troops in the dark to the highest degree possible. - Badtastic, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Yet another example of US-soldiers displaying extremely poor judgment (see video-link below)
This kind of ***** only helps to fuel a loss of respect for the US in the world. Very sad.
http://www.dumpalink.com/videos/Fighting_for_freedom-3e1b.html - hurleytime, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1A lot of that media that the Armed Services puts out are available from their respective websites, or on the AFN TV channels (both of which are available at pretty much any overseas .mil location)
- Badtastic, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Imagining for a second that these were Iraqi soldiers driving around in Iraqi occupied New Jersey.
http://www.filecabi.net/video/driving-iraq350.html
How would this make you feel towards the occupying Iraqi soldiers? - omgTHEPATRIOTS, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2well it certainly helps if coalition troops don't post videos of themselves acting like idiots.
this is for PR purposes and i can't say i blame them - CogitatorX, on 10/11/2007, -5/+6@mdhauke
Your worthless smug opinion aside, everyone knows the REAL reason is to quell dissent.
They don't care if they surf for porn. Visit an amateur porn site like Watchers Web and take note how many commenter's on various posts are soldiers in Iraq. This is the exact reason armed forces radio is an all right wing propaganda network.
So stop your disingenuous *****. - danarama, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1All that 'candid' video of soldiers with weed crops and stuff are intentionally released and distributed for propaghanda and underhanded PR things. Look at all the video on live leak they must have set up some sort of deal with the military media people.
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -2/+2Defense Department uses YouTube to reach civilians. YouTube is for civilians.
Where is the contradiction? - swrostmore, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1Bandwidth reasons my ass. Dudio is absolutely correct, this is about controlling the flow of information. I'm not complaining, this isn't anywhere close to being illegal or a scandal, but anyone who's not an idiot can see that the DoD is doing this for PR purposes and no other reason.
- JustinPM, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1Okay, beyond the whole idea that people in the military are held to a higher standard, bandwidth costs money. The more bandwidth you use, the more money you pay. Youtube and Myspace are huge bandwidth hogs with little beneficial use. Why not block it? By having them unblocked, the government has to pay a more expensive bill. This is the very definition of FWA (Fraud, Waste, and Abuse).
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1Yeah, but it's reality and liberals are dead-set against that.
- Midnitte, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1Couldn't users on said overseas computers just use a proxy server? =p
- CogitatorX, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2"free speech nerd"
Another damn enabler.
People like you are why we have a C Average, male cheerleader who's spent years clearing brush of a pig farm he bought in 1999 so he could fool people into thinking he is a cowboy. - Jekkonidae, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1I say YouTube should not allow the use of its services to the military, and delete all existing videos.
- Lasthorseman, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1Must be all those wonderful anti-neocon and 911 truth videos they don't want the soldiers to see!
- ilovethissite, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2But there's always
iFilm
Dailymotion
iMotion
Veoh
Metacafe
Google-Video - TubaTechno, on 10/11/2007, -5/+4Because MySpace is ALWAYs used for bad press, never for good press......you're an idiot. It's for bandwidth reasons.
- WiredLain, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1Do they ban access to WOW servers?
- Badtastic, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2When you see some of the videos produced by US troops in Iraq and posted online for the whole world to see, you realize why the Defense department needs to act and ban oversees computers from accessing sites like YouTube.
Examples:
http://www.libertyunites.us/video_us_soldiers_taunt_iraqi_children_with_water-134.html
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/U.S._soldiers_lead_Iraq_children_in_1214.html
http://www.evtv1.com/player.aspx?itemnum=6407
Problem is - this ***** doesn't go away. It will float around the Internet long after the Iraq war is over, continuously doing long term damage to the reputation of the US not to mention creating a negative perception of the US military. Whether we like it or not, modern warfare is deeply connected to imagery ( http://www.slate.com/id/1896 ) usually involving kids in distress. You can't win a war nowadays without also winning the media war and when your own soldiers (the few ones with poor judgment) post these kinds of videos, they basically screwing themselves, their comrades and country. - dudio, on 10/11/2007, -4/+3 I imagine they are banning access to it because of
fear of more negative press from uploads by the troops
(Soldiers playing in fields of Weed for instance) - leonbev, on 10/11/2007, -5/+3Makes sense to me! The Army puts out recruiting videos on YouTube saying how great the Army is, and then blocks actual soldiers from telling folks that they're total *****! Genius!
- UtopianComplex, on 10/11/2007, -3/+1It just further separates families and the public from the war. Myspace has became an important communication device, this is like telling soldiers they can no longer use phones. If we are fighting a war, we shouldn't just ship the soldiers off and let them fight while we are completely detached, as much as I would hate to be drafted and have a gut reaction against it at least it keeps us connected to the reality of what is happening.
By not letting soldiers post or see videos and by cutting off the lines of communication between friends and family and those in Iraq, we are only pushing the war and its effects farther away from us. We should have videos of soldiers feelings and experiences to ground us to what is happening, to keep us aware of what we are endorsing. By separating our soldiers from our population we only further the process of allowing the military to separate itself from the American psyche. War is a big deal, and if we arn't allowed to see the coffins, arn't allowed to see any action, and now are not even allowed to hear experiences from our soldiers, we don't get to see what a big deal it is. - vwgtiturbo, on 10/11/2007, -2/+0Wow, it's official. DIgg is full of morons...
The DoD blocks access to many sites from work computers (I spent 8 years in, and work on base still as a contractor). It has nothing to do with them wanting it only 'their way'. It's called "The internet is a huge waste of time and makes them unproductive". Not to mention the overseas aspect of bandwidth... When you only have a 256kb/s link powering an entire camp, the last thing you want is some schmoe cruising the web for mentos/coke videos.
Article buried as lame, inaccurate, inflammatory... you name it... -
Show 51 - 60 of 60 discussions
Browsing Digg on your phone just got easier with our enhancements to the 
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is