The longest place name is Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturi-pukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu - it's in New Zealand
|
|
|
Amnesty International warns that internet freedom is on a knife edge
HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP Amnesty International is concerned that governments are exerting too much control over digital communications, and on its fiftieth anniversary it has launched a campaign for greater liberty online.
The group said that increased demand for more freedom, most notably seen in the Middle East and North Africa, has recently combined with social media to offer opportunities for change. However, it cautioned that as swiftly as this has come about, so too might it be lost.
"People are rejecting fear. Courageous people, led largely by youth, are standing up and speaking out in the face of bullets, beatings, tear gas and tanks. This bravery - combined with new technology that is helping activists to outflank and expose government suppression of free speech and peaceful protest - is sending a signal to repressive governments that their days are numbered," said Salil Shetty, Amnesty International secretary general.
"But there is a serious fight-back from the forces of repression. The international community must seize the opportunity for change and ensure that 2011 is not a false dawn for human rights."
Amnesty International has produced a report that reveals there are restrictions on free speech in at least 89 countries. For example, Tunisia and Egypt recently tried to block internet access and mobile phone networks, while China has its Great Firewall, of course.
The organisation is asking that any firms that provide internet access, mobile phone services or social networking web sites respect human rights. It said that companies must not become part of any repressive moves from governments.
"In the 50 years since Amnesty International was born to protect the rights of people detained for their peaceful opinions, there has been a human rights revolution," Shetty added.
"The call for justice, freedom and dignity has evolved into a global demand that grows stronger every day. The genie is out of the bottle and the forces of repression cannot put it back." µ
Tags: Internet
Share this:
Share
I see four astroturfers, obviously employed by repressive governments like China, Syria, and Saudi Arabia, one poor Finn suffering from the usual Western problem of a crooked legal system, one post by Amnesty International, and nothing from the general public.
I despair for humanity's future.
Who ever voted for Amnesty International? Unelected shout-loudest wannabe dictators the lot of them. And the democracies cower before them.
"The organisation is asking that any firms that provide internet access, mobile phone services or social networking web sites respect human rights. "
They crack me up with that humor.
We may have liberty of speech, but in Finland we have illegal legal system. Our Eastern court has more complains than any other in the EU. Why? We have so called "Good-Brother" system. That means that if you are higher in society (powerful) you win your court cases no matter what. I tried to prosecute a judge deciding my case against the evidence and otherwise doing technically misjudgment and now my pension is flawed and I don't get any unemployment money at all, which punishment (from a missing mail, not my fault) should last max six months and that is now for the rest of my life. Fortunately Espoo city has not followed through so I live on social security, but can't get a job in Finland. NOBODY including Amnesty International is of any concern about literally thousands of Finns (5.3M citizens) being without human rights. Our government is the Mafia here. How's about that?
Yes, CHANGE is good. Demand CHANGE, that's the ticket. But don't ask what is meant by CHANGE, that is not important. Just know that when you want CHANGE, CHANGE you will get. And it is all for the best of society.
Whether Amnesty like it or not, Chinese law requires that people give up certain liberties. If you disagree with this, then you essentially believe that people should be allowed to break the law if the consensus holds that the law is *wrong*.
The trouble is that this opens a can of genetically modified superworms, because it means (for example) that the Pirate Party may be right. And that threatens the economic status quo in the oh-so-liberal West.
This is not a new phenomenon: it has been going on for as long as human societies have existed. And it always comes down to the same old argument: true "freedom" includes the freedom to do things that other people might not approve of.
It's been a bad year for dictators. Let's make next year even worse.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-9p62UrUHs