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The mistakes of each generation will just fade like a radio station if you drive out of range – Ani DiFranco

Jan 29, 2010 Comments Off

Save Wikileaks

The whistle blowing website Wikileaks has temporarily shut down because of a lack of funds.

The site, which has been a major irritant to governments and big businesses since it launched in 2007, says it cannot keep going without more public donations. Matthew Weaver, The Guardian.

For anyone who believes in open government and holding big business to account then dip into your pockets to support Wikileaks.

Dec 9, 2008 Comments Off

Scorpions Album Ban Controversy Continues

Septicisle I think misses the point heading his article Wikipaedia with Nirvana’s Nevermind and labelling it “Another erotic album pose?” and then Martin Lewis at Huffington Post writes take a good look at this 1969 album jacket for Blind Faith’s debut album (pictured Below). It might be the last time this image can be seen before it becomes the next image to be banned from the internet.

Both miss the point, neither will be banned, these album covers are not the same as an album titled “Virgin Killer” showing a pre-pubescent girl with her genitalia covered by a cracked glass motif.

I repeat if more of us were feminists then this particular controversy would never have happened – and no you don’t need to be a woman to be a feminist – in the words of Ani DiFranco why can’t all decent men and women call themselves feminists? Because there’s no way a feminist would have considered using such an image for an album cover.

Dec 9, 2008 Comments Off

Album Cover Censored

Censorship laws leave me in two minds, whilst I’m in favour of free speech, I find my belief put under pressure, and the album cover of The Scorpions 1976 album Virgin Killer is a case in point.

A decision by a number of UK internet providers to block a Wikipedia page showing an image of a naked girl has angered users of the popular site.

The blocked page of the online encyclopaedia shows an album cover of German heavy metal band Scorpions, released in 1976.

Internet providers acted after online watchdog the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) warned them its picture may be illegal.

The IWF said it was a “potentially illegal child sexual abuse image”. Source: BBC.

The album cover shows a naked pre-pubescent girl with a cracked glass effect hiding her genitalia which along with the albums title can surely only be interpreted one way.

You know if more of us were feminists then this particular controversy would never have happened – and no you don’t need to be a woman to be a feminist – in the words of Ani DiFranco why can’t all decent men and women call themselves feminists? Because there’s no way a feminist would have considered using such an image for an album cover.

Oct 24, 2008 Comments Off

2008 World Press Freedom Index

Reporters sans frontières 2008 World Press Freedom Index ranks the UK at 23rd along with Namibia and Hungary and below Jamaica and Costa Rica, the US fares even worse ranked at 36th – not quite the bastions of freedom that Prime Minister Brown and President Bush would have us believe. However as the Index compilers point out ranking is no indication of quality.

The full index of 173 countries is available here.

How the index was compiled

The Reporters Without Borders index measures the state of press freedom in the world. It reflects the degree of freedom that journalists and news organisations enjoy in each country, and the efforts made by the authorities to respect and ensure respect for this freedom.

A score and a position is assigned to each country in the final ranking. They are complementary indicators that together assess the state of press freedom. A country can change position from year to year even if its score stays the same, and vice-versa.

This ranking reflects the situation during a specific period. It is based solely on events between 1 September 2007 and 1 September 2008. It does not look at human rights violations in general, just press freedom violations.

To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders prepared a questionnaire with 49 criteria that assess the state of press freedom in each country. It includes every kind of violation directly affecting journalists (such as murders, imprisonment, physical attacks and threats) and news media (censorship, confiscation of newspaper issues, searches and harassment). And it includes the degree of impunity enjoyed by those responsible for these press freedom violations.

It also measures the level of self-censorship in each country and the ability of the media to investigate and criticise. Financial pressure, which is increasingly common, is also assessed and incorporated into the final score.

The questionnaire takes account of the legal framework for the media (including penalties for press offences, the existence of a state monopoly for certain kinds of media and how the media are regulated) and the level of independence of the public media. It also reflects violations of the free flow of information on the Internet.

Reporters Without Borders has taken account not only of abuses attributable to the state, but also those by armed militias, clandestine organisations and pressure groups.

The questionnaire was sent to Reporters Without Borders’ partner organisations (18 freedom of expression groups in all five continents), to its network of 130 correspondents around the world, and to journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. A scale devised by the organisation was then used to give a country-score to each questionnaire.

The 173 countries ranked are those for which Reporters Without Borders received completed questionnaires from a number of independent sources. Some countries were not included because of a lack of reliable, confirmed data. Where countries tied, they are listed in alphabetical order.

The index should in no way be taken as an indication of the quality of the press in the countries concerned

Hat Tip: Pickled Politics.

Feb 22, 2008 Comments Off

Wikileaks

On Open Democracy Felix Cohen reports.

Wikileaks, the shadowy but seemingly genuine service for hosting leaked government and corporate documents, suffered a serious setback, when a US court forced their internet provider to remove their address records from their servers.

As Felix also reports you can still access Wikileaks if you use the more arcane method of addressing, the dotted quads – 88.80.13.160.

I remain ambivalent towards Wikileaks, whilst its belief is laudable as stated below.

We believe that transparency in government activities leads to reduced corruption, better government and stronger democracies. All governments can benefit from increased scrutiny by the world community, as well as their own people. We believe this scrutiny requires information. Historically that information has been costly – in terms of human life and human rights. But with technological advances – the internet, and cryptography – the risks of conveying important information can be lowered.

However, by its very nature one can’t be sure of Wikileaks’ veracity. I guess the test of time will prove its worth.

Selected Posts from Around the Web

Earth Hour 27 March 2010
Rank Country Score
1. Iceland 1.50
Luxembourg 1.50
Norway 1.50
4. Estonia 2.00
Finland 2.00
Ireland 2.00
7. Belgium 3.00
Latvia 3.00
New Zealand 3.00
Slovakia 3.00
Sweden 3.00
Switzerland 3.00
13. Canada 3.33
14. Austria 3.50
Denmark 3.50
16. Czech Republic 4.00
Lithuania 4.00
Netherlands 4.00
Portugal 4.00
20. Germany 4.50
21. Jamaica 4.88
22. Costa Rica 5.10
23. Hungary 5.50
Namibia 5.50
United Kingdom 5.50
26. Surinam 6.00
27. Trinidad and Tobago 6.13
28. Australia 6.25
29. Japan 6.50
30. Slovenia 7.33
31. Cyprus 7.50
Ghana 7.50
Greece 7.50
Mali 7.50
35. France 7.67
36. Bosnia and Herzegovina 8.00
Cape Verde 8.00
South Africa 8.00
Spain 8.00
Taiwan 8.00
United States of America 8.00

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