Arrgh! where's me razor blades and me electric fire, I'm off for a bath?
Dutch Foreign Minister Calls for Online FreedomDutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Uri Rosenthal has called on the world to support bloggers and cyber-dissidents. The appeal comes on the eve of the 2011 Online Freedom conference, which will be opened by US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton.
h/t MarenOn the Facebook page ifreedom2011, the minister wrote that internet access is an integral part of freedom of expression. The ifreedom2011 page urges users to sign an online petition calling for the release and protection of six bloggers from Egypt, Syria, Vietnam, Thailand and Cuba:
Alaa Abd El Fattah (Egypt)
Maikel Nabil (Egytp)
Razan Ghazzawi (Syria )
Nguyen Tien Trung (Vietnam)
Chiranuch Premchaiporn (Thailand)
Yoani Sanchez (Cuba)Concern about the fate of these bloggers and others is being questioned by Dutch embassies, within the EU and among those with bilateral contacts with the countries involved. Minister Rosenthal also raised the issue during a recent visit to Egypt.
Respect
According to Mr Rosenthal, internet freedom is under pressure in a growing number of countries. “Online espionage activities, blockades and propaganda, as well as intimidation and persecution in ordinary life are a threat to internet freedom.”The 2011 Online Freedom Conference is the starting point for an international coalition of countries, business and social organisations to fight for internet freedom. However, that does not mean that anything goes. “Respect for human rights must go hand in hand with respect for the interests of citizens, governments and society.”
Duplicity
The conference’s goal is not undisputed. Opponents point out that the involvement of US Secretary of State Clinton exposes the duplicity of the initiative. In the US, there are numerous measures in place that restrict internet freedoms. For example, the activities of whistleblower website WikiLeaks are considered “subversive.”Still, freedom of expression on the internet is gaining international attention. Last week, European Parliament approved a fund of 125 million euros to promote internet freedom outside the European Union. With this money, internet journalists, bloggers and activists can be trained on how to deal with censorship and online assaults. Radio Netherlands Worldwide
Further reading: Clinton and Rosenthal should practice what they preach
8 comments:
"And there are more worrying developments that seriously threaten precisely that open internet that Secretary Clinton wishes to see. Two American legislative proposals are currently under consideration in Congress. These acts (SOPA and PIPA) focus on enforcing intellectual property rights through the blocking of websites based on US court orders."
http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/
clinton-and-rosenthal-
should-practice-what-they-preach
TYVM
http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/
six-million-dutch-euros-web-freedom
http://www.dutchdailynews.com/
hillary-clinton-visits-
the-netherlands-to-
promote-internet-freedom/
http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/
six-million-dutch-euros-web-freedom
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at the conference that she is worried about the growth of dictatorial regimes' grip on the internet, and about the blockades they impose.
http://www.dutchdailynews.com/
hillary-clinton-visits-
the-netherlands-to-
promote-internet-freedom/
In her keynote speech, Sos Hillary Clinton called internet freedom one of the defining issues of our time: “It is our global responsibility to secure human rights in cyberspace.”
No comment.
I hate to be a merchant of doom, nor do I want to sound like I'm lecturing, but putting it in its simplest terms, the planet is fucked.
We are past the tipping point and there is no going back.
The world's three largest polluters, US, China, India, they are not going to change their ways by any means.
When ''the jury is still out'' as to whether to planet is 4.6 billion years old or 12,000 years old, what chance has climate change got?
I think in your lifetime Maren, you will witness the virtual end of civilisation as we know it.
That's surmising you can find a bit of high ground, because most of the Netherlands will be under water by then. As will vast swathes of land in other countries around the globe.
It doesn't bode well when within the next two decades they are predicting an ice free North Pole in the summers. It's only two meters thick now.
But its not just the rise in sea levels that will be the concern. As the planet warms, eco-systems, many of them interdependent, will collapse totally and the ensuing effects will be catastrophes of biblical proportions.
If you look at the graph regarding global population, (since creation) then I think you can apply that kind of curve to global warming.
You might think my choice of web page to demonstrate this, rather odd. but the world population graph is accurate enough. Not only that, there are some doozies on the same page.
Check out the ''World population since creation'' graph, it's pearler.
Like I say, and don't forget more than half the population of the world's greatest polluter believe this shit, what chance has climate change?
A funny thing to be writing at 8:00 PM, but then this time of day. not long risen, is when the words flow the easiest.
Bring your own razor blades and electric fire.
http://ldolphin.org/popul.html
OT
http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/
freedom-expression-debate-laid-
bare-zuma-art-vandalism
That's a bit philosophical, having just fallen out of bed.
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