Received this email from Spirit of America today:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SPIRIT OF AMERICA RELEASES ANONYMOUS BLOGGING GUIDES IN ENGLISH,
ARABIC, CHINESE, AND PERSIAN

Spirit of America has launched the BlogSafer wiki, available at http://www.blogsafer.org. BlogSafer contains a series of guides on how to blog under difficult conditions in countries that discourage free speech.

LOS ANGELES, California – January 7, 2006 – Spirit of America’s
BlogSafer wiki hosts a series of targeted guides to anonymous
blogging, each of which outline steps a blogger in a repressive regime
can take, and tools to use, to avoid identification and arrest. These
range from common sense actions such as not providing identifying
details on a blog to the technical, such as the use of proxy servers.

“A repressive regime trying to still free speech first goes after and
shuts down independent print and broadcast media,” said Curt Hopkins,
project director of Spirit of America’s Anonymous Blogging Campaign.
“Once that is done, it turns its attentions to online news sites. As
these outlets disappear, dissent migrates to blogs, which are
increasing geometrically in number and are simple to set up and
operate.”

In past several years at least 30 people have been arrested, many of
whom have been tortured, for criticizing their governments. This trend
is likely to increase in the coming year.

The five guides that are currently on the wiki serve bloggers in the
following countries:

– Iran (in Persian)
– China (Chinese)
– Saudi Arabia (in Arabic–also useful for other Arabic-speaking
regimes such as Bahrain, Egypt, Syria and Tunisia)
– Malaysia (in English–also applicable to neighboring Indonesia and
Singapore)
– Zimbabwe (in English–applicable to English-speaking Africans as
well as aid workers)

These countries were chosen because they are representative of the
kinds of repressive tactics that have been used in the past several
years against bloggers. These include filtering, interrogation,
torture and imprisonment.

The guides are a synthesis of all currently available information on
the subject of anonymization. They have been edited for non-technical
readers, translated into the languages of the target areas and posted
on the wiki. Bloggers can use the wiki format to expand, edit and
change the current guides to reflect a closer knowledge of the
changing situation in their countries. Others may use the guides, and
the other resources provided, to translate the guides into other
languages or create new guides specific to their countries’
situations.

The wiki will provide a work and communications space for those
bloggers around the world seeking to speak the truth as they see it
and those in freer countries who wish to support their fellows
bloggers.

Spirit of America’s mission is to extend the goodwill of the American
people to assist those advancing freedom, democracy and peace abroad.
We provide support to those on the front lines: American military and
civilian personnel and people who call to Americans for help in their
struggle for freedom and democracy.

Spirit of America is a 501c3 nonprofit supported solely through
private-sector contributions. We do not receive funding from the
government or military. 100% of your tax-deductible donation is used
for the purpose you choose. For more information and to support Spirit
of America and this and other projects, visit the web site at
www.spiritofamerica.net.

Interview Contact: Curt Hopkins, Anonymous Blogging Director, Spirit of
America
Telephone: (541) 729-4146
Email: curt.hopkins@spiritofamerica.net
Blog Safer wiki: http://www.blogsafer.com

Anonymous Blogging blog: http://anoniblog.blogharbor.com

Spirit of America Anoniblogging project page:
http://www.spiritofamerica.net/projects/104

Spirit of America
12021 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 558
Los Angeles, CA 90025