No more bad news

[Watser?]

The US military is blocking troops from using certain websites for sharing photos, video clips and messages.

A memo from General BB Bell, US Forces Korea commander, says use of YouTube, MySpace and 11 other popular sites via US military portals will be blocked. link (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6655153.stm)

and
Iraq's interior ministry has decided to bar news photographers and camera operators from the scenes of bomb attacks, operations director Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf said on Sunday (local time).

His announcement was the latest in a series of attempts to curtail press coverage of the ongoing conflict, which has already attracted criticism from international human rights bodies. link (http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200705/s1921675.htm)

[California Tanker]

As to the former, they are not prohibiting soldiers from using those sites, or from posting material to them. They're just not letting them use the military networks to do it. Reasonable enough, social networking sites are often blocked in ordinary commerical offices as well.

NTM

[Watser?]

Hmmm, yeah.

So all the soldiers have to do is go to an internet cafe in say downtown Baghdad

[California Tanker]

No, they just use the local commercial computer network which is piped to their accomodations and use their laptops. Usually satellite based, we'd have the interpreter recommend a local ISP, and gang together a group of ten-twenty per order and hook ourselves up. The major expense is the satellite dish, but if you get enough people together, the cost isn't too horrible. At worst, just sell the dish to the unit which is coming in to replace you.

NTM

[Dingfod]

I knew that from huntress's blog.

[peepnklown]

They could use Saddam’s connection.