RIM Blocks Porn on BlackBerry Smartphones in Indonesia...

All hail to the Anti-Pornography King, TitS!

TitS (aka Tifatul Sembiring) has seemingly won the battle with RIM. RIM have not only agreed to block pornography from their BlackBerry Smartphones, but they have gone even further by simply adopting the filtering system developed by the Nawala Project.

This filtering system blocks out all content that is considered to be not only pornographic, but that content that is considered to be related to gambling, phishing / malware, and SARA (this is a term that relates to anything involving religion, ethnicity, race, or inter-group relations). The filter is very broad, which means that many Indonesians will not be able to access sites through their BlackBerry devices that are harmless.

It must be pointed out that the Nawala project is an Indonesia created open-source filtering service that has been in operation since 2009. It is the filtering service of choice for all of Indonesia's telecommunications providers, and it is the one that is being touted by the Ministry of Communication and Information.

The use of the Nawala Project filtering system by RIM is a cost-effective way of meeting the demands for a porn filter from the Minister for [Mis]Communication and [Mis]Information. It is cost effective because it is open-source and it is free. Although, it would seem that Irwin Day, Deputy Head of Public Relations at the Nawala Project, is contemplating that RIM might make some financial contribution to the ongoing development of the technology.

What's next? Well, the porn filter issue was really only a pre-cursor to a much larger battle in TitS' war against RIM. The Minister wants a server, or at least an aggregator, to be built in Indonesia. The rationale is a simple one; Indonesia is the biggest user of RIM BlackBerry devices in Southeast Asia and has earned the right to have the server / aggregator built in Indonesia. For Indonesian subscribers, the belief is that a server here will reduce BlackBerry tariffs. In contrast, the Minister wants the RIM server here because he believes that it will make it easier for his Ministry to track corruption and terrorism suspects and their communications.

If RIM stands true to form then it would be reasonable to expect them to fold on that demand as well. I wonder how long it will be before RIM and its Managing Director for this part of the world, Gregory Wade, are announcing their plans to build a server in Jakarta?

If TitS is giving all his praise to Allah for allowing him a victory in the filter battles, then one can only imagine how much beside himself he will be when RIM announces that it is building a server in Indonesia. It might just be enough to send him into the arms of Vicky Vette and another happy ending!

Then again, one day, and perhaps one day soon, TitS will realise that for all his small victories in battles on the war on porn that he is fighting a losing fight. Internet pornography will always be there as will those with an appetite for it and the desire to develop mechanisms to access it. The porn industry is very much like Medusa's head in that for every snake you cut off, another one grows back in its place (I am sure someone is going to want to argue the point about severing Medusa's head altogether, right?).

Schapelle Corby -- The Innocence Side...

I have written frequently about the plight of Schapelle Corby (image from here). And, I must admit from the outset that I am not convinced the girl is innocent. Nevertheless, there are those very passionate people who are convinced of Schapelle's innocence and they are going all out to prove their case. I admire their passion and conviction and the commitment to the Corby cause.

There are a lot of believers out there in Schapelle Corby's innocence. I list them here and I encourage you to read and get a feel for what the alternatives are to the guilt that was established in a Bali court that saw Schapelle Corby sentenced to 20 years jail.

I have always held that the sentence was too harsh, even by Indonesian standards, but believe that it was harsh because the case was handled so very poorly from the outset.

I remain unconvinced of her innocence, but, that said, it is worth reading what those who support her innocence have to say in order to get n overall understanding of the pros and cons of this case. I would also be interested in becoming involved in an innocence project style project if one was to come together.

Here are the links.

1. The Truth About Aussie Gold;

2. The Corby Case - Part I;

3. The Corby Case - Part II;

4. On My Honour;

5. Free Schapelle;

6. Corby and the Bali Police;

7. Rodent Millenium;

8. Foreign Prisoner Support Service;

9. Free Schapelle.net;

10. Schapelle Corby;

11. The Hidden Truth Report (Very Interesting and Worth the Read);