26 Apr 2010 | Index Index, minipost
Stephen Conroy has come under fire for not revealing information about his recent discussions with the US State Department over Australia’s controversial mandatory ISP filtering plan.
US Ambassador to Australia, Jeff Bleich recently criticised Conroy’s plans on an Australian news programme, stating that “the internet needs to be free”. In a letter to Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, Liberal senator Sue Boyce criticises Conroy’s refusal to publicise any information, claiming that “[i]t is a deplorable situation when Australians have to rely upon the frankness of a foreign diplomat to provide information about bilateral discussions on a very important matter because relevant Australian ministers either dissemble or just refuse to say anything.”
26 Apr 2010 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized
The former editor of the Cameroon Express Germain Ngota, died in a Yaoundé prison last Thursday. Henriette Ekwee, a local union official, said Ngota suffered from high blood pressure and had not received adequate medical attention while in jail. He had been incarcerated since February with two other journalists accused “jointly forging a document with the signature of the Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic, Laurent Esso, with the aim of discrediting him”. Before his arrest, Ngota was investigating corruption allegations involving the state-run oil company and a presidential aide. Local sources claim officials used psychological and physical torture to force Ngota to expose his sources.
26 Apr 2010 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized
Tibetan monks were amongst the first to reach remote areas such as Yu Shu after the Qinghai earthquake. Their role in the massive relief effort has gone unrecognised by Chinese media and now they have been told to leave the area by the Chinese authorities. A statement issued by the Chinese State Council recommends the monks “return to their monasteries to ensure the high effectiveness and order of quake relief work.” The Dalai Lama, denied access to visit the disaster area has posted a message of mourning on his Facebook page.
26 Apr 2010 | Uncategorized
I’ve written a short blog explaining the potential effects of the UK’s Digital Economy Act to American readers of Dissent magazine.
If you think this only affects Internet users in Britain, think again. As with so much illiberal legislation, once mandated in one country, it begins to creep abroad. As Ian Brown, of the Oxford Internet Institute writes in the latest edition of the Index on Censorship magazine: “The European Commission has been secretly negotiating a new anti-counterfeiting treaty with the US, Japan and other developed nations that would mandate a three strikes policy.”
Read the rest here
