The videos of both my speech and my interview at the Berlin Freedom of Expression Forum have been taken down. This is not an accident. All the other speeches and all the other interviews are still there. Both series have been renumbered to hide the fact that someting has been removed.
Given that my talk was about censorship and exclusion of whistleblowers, and the lack of genuine freedom in western societies to explain an alternative policy narrative, it is hard for words adequately to describe the apparent behaviour here. The full title of the event was “Censorship and Freedom in Traditional and New Media: The Revolution of Media as a Tool of Freedom of Expression “.
I have written to the organisers to ask what is happening. It is conceivable there is an innocent explanation, though the removal from different places of both the speech and the interview seems hard to explain. Once I hear back from the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy I will let you know. I do not intend to let this lie.
Craig
We need to elect decent representatives not lobby fodder.
Where can we see the video of the missing speech
Dammit, I’d earmarked them to watch later. Has someone downloaded them so we can host them elsewhere?
Not surprised. We live in less of a democracy than the lands the West always moans are not democracies. Would love to see both if you can post them.
I bet you don’t get a reply to your email.
Have you seen this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usVsj_u2ITQ&feature=bf_prev&list=UUpwvZwUam-URkxB7g4USKpg&lf=plcp
My cached version says :
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H.E. Ambassador Craig Murray (Former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan, Blogger) – Interview conducted by Arion Thoksakis, James Davies and Magdalena Pietrzak
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Are the people who conducted the interview known to you? Can they be asked about WTH is going on?
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Why not the organisation a call: Tel.: +49 (0) 30 2360 7680
I had also earmarked it to watch later. I have also emailed the ICD, for what it’s worth. Looking for the video on Google resulted in a missing page (the cached version merely linked to this blog),two bad links, and a selection of irrelevant Murrays. But let us not prejudge the issue. There may be a perfectly rational explanation for the video’s first being removed from Youtube, apparently by the ICD, and then, much later, the link itself being deleted from the ICD site. I shall be intrigued to see what it is. And I am happy to witness that the link and the live video were both there yesterday.
In a recent blog about the media, I had created a link with your 2 videos which I had watched – see http://nomadron.blogspot.com/2012/03/fighting-big-brother.html
I have now E-mailed the Institute and asked for an explanation………
Aaaahhh! Light begins to dawn. What else was Craig doing in Berlin, eh? Peruse the following, my lords and ladies, if you will…
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http://www.uznews.net/news_single.php?lng=en&sub=&cid=31&nid=19325
1984
Ronald Young:
I don’t know if this is still the case, but last night I was getting “page does not exist” for the page with your link here. Google had however cached it. Good blog, btw. Will read again.
Craig, were you able to make copies of the videos before they were taken down?
For the record:
The former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, has also roundly criticized the relationship between Germany and the Karimov regime in Uzbekistan.
Speaking at the High Level Hearings on Uzbekistan, held in Berlin on 1 March, Murray said that Termez was the first military base Germany had taken over beyond its own borders since the end of World War II.
“It is ironic that Germany’s first overseas military base is being used to reinforce the totalitarian system in Uzbekistan,” said Murray.
He also revealed his contempt for the hypocrisy of European and particularly German politicians who try to justify their cooperation with Karimov by citing dubious ‘progress’ in Uzbekistan’s approach to human rights.
It would be more honest, Murray said, if politicians in the EU and Germany admitted that they cooperate with Karimov because of the military base in Termez which is essential to them in supporting their military campaign in Afghanistan.
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Uznews.net (author not credited)
14.03.12 05:16
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Well, hear, hear, but not very diplomatic…
I downloaded the videos (in paranoid anticipation of the outcome to be honest) and just tried to upload them to Youtube. Rejected as too long. Probably fair enough – I’m not a regular Youtube user so I’ve no idea what the upload limits are. I have the flv’s here, though, if there’s anywhere else I can upload them to.
I seem to remember one of the vids was 8 minutes. if so you should be able to increase your upload limit to 15 mins. No, I don’t understand a word of this, but you may:
http://support.google.com/youtube/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=71673
And what’s a DMCA notification? It’s a copyright thing. And a very good way of disappearing stuff posted on the interweb, I gather…
I think this is potential scandal for them, they will surely have to respond.
See the channels activity here,
http://www.youtube.com/user/icdchannel/feed?filter=2
Post a comment/complaint here,
http://www.youtube.com/user/icdchannel/feed?filter=1
Wayfarer – you’re a gem. Those flvs could come in handy.
Wayfarer,
Well done, obviously you know the lay of the land and are aware of the memoryhole.
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Could you torrent these and let us upload these for the sake of multiplicity of record?
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A link is now back pointing to a new upload at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUZTiAoaax4
i currently get “Video is being processed – check back in a few minutes
komodo your indefatigable tongues has once again lead you to the rotten smell of hypocrisy. Germany’s foreing relations, exactly due to this being their first overseas base for some time, are highly sensitive, especially when other NATO partners are talking about pulling out.
Great thinking, wayfarer, I’m sure somebody can advise on how to upload it. Once its somewhere secure, you have a nice little story to tell to the Spiegel, if they dare touch it.
I expect that the institutes funding was questioned, that strings were pulled. I also suspect that the bulk of their funds are from the public coffers and that the critic of an ex ambassador rankels somewhat, wagging his fingers at German acceptance to third Reich torture and largescale human rights violations, slavery against children and a perpetual campaign against all things Muslim.
I have only listened to half of the interview, so don’t know what it was especially that riled comrad de Maiziere, but you can be rest assured that the little red rooster has not lost his guile for top doown delivery, Thomas does not like it up him and must have intervened with your principled delivery.
Which has presented you with an opportunity to try and get this ‘scandal’ covered in Germany somehow. Hamburger Abendblatt, possibly der Spiegel, but I’m not so sure anymore, establishment and information is still something thats controlled. Maybe a newspaper from a neighbouring country, Danemark?, Sweden? Don’t try it in the CDU/CSU triangle, anything south of hanover wil not touch the story with a bargepole I think. There is a Nerlin underground, anarchists and rightleaning groups, grey wolfs and other militants, who would probably find a way of getting it heard and seen in Berlin.
Once you got the tape secure, the fact of its removal is the story and why de Maiziere?, what is it that the old commi has got going with Karimov?
We have learned in recent years to translate almost all of political life in terms of conspiracy. – John le Carré.
I’ve had personal experience of hidden hands. Last year I had two websites domain names redirected to a holding page saying that the sites were no longer available due to copyright infringement. One was clearly within the definition of fair use and the other had publicly available US Government data.
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Shortly after that my DNS service provider ‘accidentally’ deleted my DNS zones which had the effect of rendering my email addresses useless, they admitted this but said they were ‘unable to restore the records due to bad backup media’.
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Since then I have been banned from posting on a large number of sites, including all those where DISQUS and IntenseDebate provide the commenting service, I could create new id’s and go through proxies etc. but it’s just not worth it. In fact this is one of the few places left where I can post stuff. I hope it’s not a honey pot. Hey spooks, leave me alone! 😉
and it was the most viewed video of the icd list when watched a day ago
“Both series have been renumbered to hide the fact that someting has been removed.”
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Craig, if you mean the numbers on the top-left of the thumbnails, I think they’re just an artifact of the youtube system, i.e. it’s done automatically.
The main video is now back at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUZTiAoaax4 and is now live. No sign of the interview reappearing. I’d watched the first video but not yet the interview. What did you say in the interview? Can someone please upload that if it it isn’t out back up officially.
It seems to be back now at the bottom of the list.
Number 42:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUZTiAoaax4&list=PL40E07B72E759D5C6&index=42&feature=plpp_video
@Komodo – too much rigmarole to increase the Youtube limit – even if I half-understood it all.
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@Fedup – yep, I always download stuff I haven’t time to watch right away – never does to assume it’ll be there when I get back. I’m afraid I can’t torrent it – wouldn’t know where to start.
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Anyway, everyone, Anon has just pointed us all back to at least one fresh Youtube copy. Thanks for the link Anon.
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Though it might still be as well to start downloading, folks… :o) ;o)
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I’m no techie, but for those who want to know, I use Firefox and find the Downloadhelper addon is pretty good for saving a lot of onscreen videos – just a click or two to download most Youtube stuff.
has it reappeared here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUZTiAoaax4&list=PL40E07B72E759D5C6&index=42&feature=plpp_video
Didn’t get yer knob out did ya? Nah, seriously, smells a bit iffy – just like my knob coincidentally, taxi, taxi….. All the best.
DownWithThisSortOfThing You will do your best to keep going. I have had some trouble in our efforts to get an inquest on Dr Kelly as the law of this benighted country requires.
I recall an elderly Jewish lady in Jerusalem who had been through the mill. She said, touching her nose with a forefinger,’I can smell fascism’. The obliteration of Craig’s address on censorship and the exclusion of whistle blowers is a facet of fascism. It is now all about us. The 19 yr old with an Arab name who posted some words on Facebook about the 6 dead service personnel, who were part of an illegal occupation and war, was arrested and gaoled.
I define fascism as – the subjugation of the individual’s will and freedom by an overweening state.
Humanity withers, freedom of speech is stifled and the soul dies. Self preservation becomes a dominant drive.
The facilitation of murder by a state, and its cover up, is fascism too.