Category Archives: Freedom

FREEDOM is a big word indeed, which has been used and misused since time began, I expect. How would you define it? Some might say that it is the capability of doing what one wants, without any interference. You are free to be who you are, to go wherever you want, you are free to make your own choices. You are also free to express your opinions, to say what crosses your mind, with no hindrance nor restraint. A-ha! Here things are not too clear, though, they start to become a bit (or a lot!) cloudy. If you have all the kinds of freedom you can think of, and so do I, and so do all the others, what happens when your freedom infringes on mine? If you can do all that what you want and you are an abuser, where is my right to be respected? You feel entitled to say whatever you wish because freedom of speech allows you to do that. Does this mean that I must tolerate your offensive words? Should I just keep quiet and let you persevere in a disrespectful behavior because you are free to speak? Sorry, you are not at least not to such an extent. Your freedom allows you to do and say what you want, but only provided you dont invade the boundary of my honor, of my well-being. If you dont agree with what I am saying, look at the despicable results of such wild permissiveness that is tearing the world apart. You have your beliefs, I have mine. You are free to follow yours but you are not free to offend mine. I have the right to be who I am and I expect to be accepted as such and treated accordingly. If you dont like me or do not agree with my creed, just walk away, look the other way, leave me alone. Today, open-mindedness and freedom have become synonyms for total acceptance of every kind of behavior, of vulgarity and immorality. If this is what modernity and progress have come to mean, there must be something wrong, somewhere. When, in the past, we had dictators and prevaricators, who compelled the weak masses to comply with their directives, we say that there was no freedom. There were the oppressors and the oppressed: a very clear line divided the two positions. Nowadays, in our modern society, we keep talking of equal rights for everybody. But, tell me, what kind of right do I have if my freedom to express my opinion ends up being attacked by the tongues, the pens or the movie camera of thugs whose aim is only to create friction, hatred, chaos? Should we believe that this free world of ours is better that the one of the past? Dr. Martin Luther King jr. had a dream, the dream of equality among human races, the dream of freedom for all human beings. I dont think he would have accepted the actual situation into his dream, in spite of the fact that many individuals (poor, nave souls!) are convinced that we have reached plenty of goals as human existence is concerned. We surely have a lot of technological gadgets and sophisticated stuff. But are we more available, understanding, lenient, loving, helpful, friendly toward those who do not belong to our circle, who live according to different habits, customs, religious creeds? I believe there is a lot of inner searching to be done, here. Each of us should honestly examine him/ herself and detect their own position. If we cannot compel or convince the opponents (often aggressors) to change their minds and their ways, we should at least do as much as we can to mend our personal way of being.

E-mail: elsafranco44@yahoo.com Blog: recreateyourlifetoday.blogspot.com

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Critical Thinking: Freedom... really?

Online freedom has suffered setbacks in many countries, but also some gains, amid the Arab Spring uprisings and political upheaval in parts of the world, a new study showed.

The report by the research group Freedom House found that 20 countries "experienced a negative trajectory since January 2011" as authorities used newer, more sophisticated controls to quell dissent on the Internet.

"The findings clearly show that threats to Internet freedom are becoming more diverse," said Sanja Kelly, project director at Freedom House and co-author of the report released Monday covering the period from January 2011 to May 2012.

"As authoritarian rulers see that blocked websites and high-profile arrests draw local and international condemnation, they are turning to murkier -- but no less dangerous -- methods for controlling online conversations."

The study found that Estonia had the highest level of online freedom among the 47 countries examined, while the United States ranked second.

Iran, Cuba, and China received the lowest scores and 10 other countries received a ranking of "not free" -- Belarus, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Bahrain and Syria.

The worst declines, according to the report, were in Bahrain, Egypt, and Jordan, reflecting "intensified censorship, arrests, and violence against bloggers."

It said online freedom was also hurt in Mexico "in the context of increasing threats of violence from organized crime," and in Ethiopia, "possibly reflecting a government effort to establish more sophisticated controls before allowing access to expand."

In Pakistan, the downgrade "reflected extreme punishments meted out for dissemination of allegedly blasphemous messages" and tighter censorship by regulators.

Improvements were cited in 14 countries, including some with "a dramatic regime change or political opening" such as Tunisia, Libya and Myanmar. But restrictions also eased in some other countries such as Georgia, Kenya, and Indonesia, where the report cited "a growing diversity of content and fewer cases of arrest or censorship than in previous years."

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Online freedom sees setbacks, a few gains: study

IRVINE, CA--(Marketwire - Sep 25, 2012) - The Fuel Freedom Foundation today announced the winners of its first college video competition, recognizing the work of three filmmakers from Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. The winning films are short segments that illustrate the severity of our oil addiction, and the urgency to develop cheaper, cleaner, American-made replacement fuels.

"These highly talented young artists have created powerful visual statements that show why we must open the transportation fuel market to competition from alternatives to gasoline, such as natural gas, ethanol and methanol," said Eyal Aronoff, co-founder of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Fuel Freedom Foundation. "We want to use all forms of media to spread the word, including high-quality, creative videos that will become viral and create an impact on the internet."

The winners of the Chapman University competition will be eligible to compete in a national college video contest. The Foundation also plans to hold Fuel Freedom video competitions for the general public.

The $5,000 Grand Prize was awarded to Jacob Taylor, whose two-minute video, "Fuel Freedom Campaign," received more than 13,000 views on YouTube. Taylor is an undergraduate at Chapman's Dodge College, one of the nation's premier film and media arts schools, located in Orange, CA. The two runners-up were Ryan Broomberg, a graduate film student, for his one-minute "Funny Dog Commercial for Fuel Freedom," and Brandon Wade, a 2012 MFA graduate, whose two-minute video was titled "Oil Makes The Myths Remix."The runners-up each received $2,500. Broomberg's video attracted more than 4,000 YouTube views and Wade's received more than 5,800 views.

The winners were determined based on formula that took into account virality, creativity, quality and accuracy.

About Fuel Freedom The Fuel Freedom Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to breaking the U.S. economy's oil addiction through the development of cheaper, cleaner, American-made replacement fuels. Americans could easily convert their cars to run on replacement fuels for gasoline, but outdated regulations and entrenched commercial interests stand in the way. The Fuel Freedom campaign aims to remove barriers to competition so that natural gas, methanol, ethanol and electricity can compete on equal footing with gasoline at the pump and at the dealership. Achieving Fuel Freedom will lower fuel prices, create jobs, spur economic growth, reduce pollution, and improve national and global security. For more information go to the Foundation's website at http://www.fuelfreedom.org; Facebook: FuelFreedomFoundation; and Twitter: @FuelFreedomNow.

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Fuel Freedom Announces Winners of First College Video Competition

An Afghan woman browsing the net at a public internet cafe in Kabul (Reuters)

Internet freedom is under threat in many countries as attacks on bloggers, restrictive laws, content manipulation and politically motivated surveillances are seen to be on the rise, says the US watchdog Freedom House.

In its report, Freedom on the Net 2012: Shifting Methods of Internet Control, the organisation says that despite these issues, efforts from civil society, tech companies and independent courts have helped improve the situation.

"The findings clearly show that threats to internet freedom are becoming more diverse," said Sanja Kelly, project director forFreedom on the Net.

"As authoritarian rulers see that blocked websites and high-profile arrests draw local and international condemnation, they are turning to murkier - but no less dangerous - methods for controlling online conversations."

The internet plays an influential role in modern society with nearly one-third of the world's population using it, the watchdog notes.

Governments are increasingly trying to control this influence by restricting the free flow of information and infringing on the rights of users through sophisticated methods and tactics which were previously found only in repressive environments.

Freedom House points out that tactics such "as instigating deliberate connection disruptions or hiring armies of paid commentators to manipulate online discussions" are becoming more common in many countries.

The report analyses issues in internet freedom in 47 countries focusing on accessibility, content limitations and denial of rights.

Estonia has been found to have the most freedom on the internet while the United States comes second. The United Kingdom has been ranked eighth below Germany, Italy and Philippines.

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Internet Freedom Under Threat, says US Watchdog

Internet freedom in the past two years has been threatened by attacks on bloggers, web content manipulation and restrictive laws regulating online speech, as well as other diverse threats, says a new study released by Freedom House on Monday.

The Freedom on the Net 2012: A Global Assessment of Internet and Digital Media report by the U.S.-based nongovernmental organization identified countries where the situation worsened, and said Russia was among the Countries at Risk group.

The findings clearly show that threats to internet freedom are becoming more diverse, Sanja Kelly, project director for Freedom on the Net at Freedom House, said.

The report said governments are responding to increased internet influence through seeking to control web activity, restricting the free flow of information, and otherwise infringing on the rights of users.

Freedom House claimed that the methods of control are becoming more sophisticated, and tactics previously evident in only the most repressive environments - such as governments instigating deliberate connection disruptions or hiring armies of paid commentators to manipulate online discussions - are appearing in a wider set of countries.

Regarding Russia, the report said that the internet is the last relatively uncensored platform for public debate in the country. However, it added, since January 2011, massive distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks and smear campaigns to discredit online activists have intensified.

After online tools played a critical role in galvanizing massive anti-government protests that began in December 2011, the Kremlin signaled its intention to further tighten control over internet communications, Freedom House said.

Freedom on the Net 2012 identified key trends in internet freedom in 47 countries. Evaluating each country on the basis of barriers to access, limits on content, and violations of user rights, it said that Estonia had the biggest degree of internet freedom among the countries examined, followed by the United States.

Iran, Cuba, and China had the smallest degree of internet freedom, with eleven other countries receiving a ranking of Not Free. They included Belarus, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, and Thailand.

Twenty of the examined countries experienced a negative trajectory in internet freedom since January 2011, with the greatest declines registered in Bahrain, Pakistan, and Ethiopia.

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Threats to Internet Freedom More Diverse - Freedom House

The freedom of speech and expression is recognised in international law as a basic human right.

It is recognised under the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNUDHR) and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Besides the UNUDHR and ICCPR, freedom of speech is also an integral part of the European Convention on Human Rights, American Convention on Human Rights and African Charter on Human and People's Rights.

Meanwhile, Article 10 of our Federal Constitution guarantees Malaysians the right to freedom of speech, entitling citizens to such freedoms as are not otherwise restricted under law by the government as it deems necessary or expedient in the interest of: the security of the country; friendly relations with other countries, public order or morality; and protecting parliamentary privileges and providing against contempt of court, defamation or incitement to any offence.

Many democratic countries guarantee and defend almost unrestricted freedom of speech, while a number of countries recognise that right but apply a range of legal restrictions and others simply deny any freedom of speech.

In practice, freedom of speech is not an absolute right in any country and is subject to limitations, as with libel, slander, obscenity, copyright violation and incitement to commit a crime.

Article 19 of ICCPR states that "everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference" and "everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice".

But importantly, that same article goes on to say that the exercise of these rights carries "special duties and responsibilities" and may "therefore, be subject to certain restrictions" when necessary for "respect of the rights or reputation of others" or for "the protection of national security or of public order, or of public health or morals".

In the last 12 years, UN human rights bodies have adopted resolutions that condemn "defamation of religion" as a violation of human rights.

The first of these resolutions, introduced in 1999, makes it clear that defaming any religion in any way is unacceptable and must be forbidden.

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RELIGION: Freedom of speech not absolute

September 25, 2012 - 12:16 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Internet freedom in the past two years has been threatened by attacks on bloggers, web content manipulation and restrictive laws regulating online speech, as well as other diverse threats, says a new study released by Freedom House on Monday, September 24, RIA Novosti reported.

The Freedom on the Net 2012: A Global Assessment of Internet and Digital Media report by the U.S.-based nongovernmental organization identified countries where the situation worsened, and said Russia was among the Countries at Risk group.

The findings clearly show that threats to internet freedom are becoming more diverse, Sanja Kelly, project director for Freedom on the Net at Freedom House, said.

The report said governments are responding to increased internet influence through seeking to control web activity, restricting the free flow of information, and otherwise infringing on the rights of users.

Freedom House claimed that the methods of control are becoming more sophisticated, and tactics previously evident in only the most repressive environments - such as governments instigating deliberate connection disruptions or hiring armies of paid commentators to manipulate online discussions - are appearing in a wider set of countries.

Freedom on the Net 2012 identified key trends in internet freedom in 47 countries. Evaluating each country on the basis of barriers to access, limits on content, and violations of user rights, it said that Estonia had the biggest degree of internet freedom among the countries examined, followed by the United States.

Iran, Cuba, and China had the smallest degree of internet freedom, with eleven other countries receiving a ranking of Not Free. They included Belarus, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, and Thailand.

Twenty of the examined countries experienced a negative trajectory in internet freedom since January 2011, with the greatest declines registered in Bahrain, Pakistan, and Ethiopia.

Authorities in Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Uzbekistan, and China imposed new restrictions after noting the key role social media played in the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, it said.

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Freedom House: Azerbaijan’s Internet freedom vulnerable to deterioration

Estonian flag

Residents of Estonia have the most freedom to do what they want on the Internet, with the U.S. ranking second among 47 countries examined by a group that pushes for democratic freedoms worldwide.

However, residents of several countries have experienced attacks on bloggers, politically motivated surveillance, government manipulation of Web content and regulations focused on online speech, said Freedom House, which issued a report on Internet freedoms Monday.

Twenty of the 47 countries have less Internet freedom now than they did in January 2011, with Bahrain, Pakistan, and Ethiopia seeing the greatest declines, according to the report.

"We are seeing an increasing number of governments trying to limit free speech online," Sanja Kelly, project director of the study, said during a forum in Washington, D.C.

A number of governments in the Middle East have restricted Internet freedom since the Arab Spring movement that began in late 2010, she said. "They saw what kind of consequences can happen when people organize with social media," Kelly said.

In 14 countries, the governments are hiring people to comment online and drown out unpopular posts. This is one of the more "worrying trends" the study found, Kelly said.

The study found new laws or directives passed since January 2011 in 19 of the 47 countries to restrict online speech, violate user privacy, or punish people who post content deemed objectionable or undesirable.

In 26 countries, at least one blogger or Internet user has been arrested for content posted online or sent by text messages. In 19 countries, a blogger or Internet user was tortured, beaten or has disappeared apparently in response to their online posts, the study said. In five countries, an activist or citizen journalist was killed in retribution for posting information that exposed human rights abuses.

But the study reports what Kelly called a positive development in Internet freedom. In several countries, Internet activists and technology companies have fought against restrictive laws, she said.

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Study: Estonia, U.S. have most Internet freedom

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - Sep 24, 2012) - Newspapers Canada will release its seventh annual National Freedom of Information (FOI) Audit today at the Sunshine Summit in Calgary.The launch of the 2012 report coincides with the beginning of Canadian Right to Know Week.

The annual FOI audit reviews the performance of Canadian governments with respect to their access to information regimes.As such, it provides the public the opportunity to see the degree to which our governments are in compliance with their own FOI legislation, as well as facilitating comparisons among jurisdictions.

"The annual FOI audit represents an important tool for protecting the public''s right to access government information," said John Hinds, CEO of Newspapers Canada.

"Municipalities continue to perform fastest in the audit, easily outpacing the senior levels of government," noted Professor Fred Vallance-Jones, the National FOI audit''s lead researcher. "Thirty years after the Access to Information Act was passed, the federal government seems stuck in a rut of delays and can''t get out of the 50 to 60 percent range when it comes to completing requests on time."

The FOI audit compares the performance of government and various public institutions across Canada.To obtain the data for the audit, a team of researchers requested the same information from the federal and provincial government, as well as a selection of municipalities.

The FOI audit was done in collaboration with Fred Vallance-Jones, associate professor of journalism at the University of King''s College, and his team.

The 2012 Newspapers Canada FOI Audit is now available at http://www.newspaperscanada.ca/public-affairs/freedom-information.

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Seventh Annual National Freedom of Information Audit Released Today

Monday, September 24, 2012

Fourteen years ago the First Amendment Center took a distinctly musical turn.

Our Nashville-based center decided to take advantage of its presence in Music City and organized a charitable event focusing on free speech and music.The concept was simple: Music is free speech with a melody; this new Freedom Sings project would feature songs that had once been censored or challenged.

The first Freedom Sings concert in 1999 at the Bluebird Cafe included Jonell Mosser singing Annie Had a Baby, Bill Lloyd performing Good Rockin Tonight, Steppenwolfs John Kay on The Pusher, Beth Nielsen Chapmans rendition of Societys Child, and many more.

We havent missed a year since. The Freedom Sings concerts even spawned a road show, which has traveled to Americas campuses and communities for the last decade, including a performance last week for the Associated Press Media Editors in Nashville.

This years Freedom Sings concert, Oct. 3 at the Bluebird, will benefit The Contributor, a newspaper published by the homeless community in Nashville. The show will focus on the years 1972-1974, which weve collectively tagged The Watergate Years.

As we researched music from those three years, we were surprised at how apolitical popular music had become. The strident anti-war anthems of the late 1960s were gone, and only a handful of songs seemed to focus on the turmoil of the times. This was a period in which the nation was still trying to extricate itself from Vietnam, we had our first taste of the oil crisis and the presidency was embroiled in scandal. And yet pop songs largely avoided all of those issues.

This years Freedom Sings focuses less on censored music and more on the songs and artists that broke new ground, addressing new topics in new ways.These include Superfly, Curtis Mayfields take on inner city life, Merle Haggards, If I Can Make It to December, Paul Simons poignant American Tune and Randy Newmans Sail Away.

These were years in which spirituality was welcome on the record charts. George Harrisons Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth), the Doobie Brothers Jesus is Just Alright, and Stevie Wonders Higher Ground were three examples. This was also an era in which artists pushed the envelope in terms of gender roles, including David Bowies Rebel, Rebel, and the New York Dolls Personality Crisis.

The list of guest artists who are scheduled to appear represents a wide range of genres.Guests will include Mark Volman of The Turtles, Walter Egan, Lari White, Gretchen Peters, Kim Richey, Bill Lloyd, Ashley Cleveland, Danny Flowers, Don Henry, Craig Krampf, Jonell Mosser, Jason White, Joseph Wooten, Gordon Kennedy, Rick Brantley, Barry Walsh and Dave Paulson.

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Freedom Sings to celebrate ‘The Watergate Years’