Monthly Archives: February 2014

Netizens abusing press freedom

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There is too much press freedom and freedom of expression in Malaysia that many have failed to appreciate and are abusing it.

GEORGE TOWN: If there is no press freedom in Malaysia then how is it that netizens keep slamming the Barisan Nasional federal government for anything and everything, asked Centre for Political Awareness (CPA) president Huan Cheng Guan.

Huan was commenting on the Malaysias press freedom hitting a historic low in the 2014 World Press Freedom Index of 147 out of 180 countries.

He said even an innocent reference to kangkung by the Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak had been distorted to make international headlines.

If this is not a clear evidence of free press and freedom of expression, what else can it be? asked Huan said his statement to FMT here today.

Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Christophe Deloire had said the World Press Freedom Index was a reference tool based on seven criteria: the level of abuses, the extent of pluralism, media independence, the environment and self-censorship, the legislative framework, transparency and infrastructure.

I would ask Reporters Without Borders to relook the situation in Malaysia. The truth is there is too much press freedom and freedom of expression.

Many failed to appreciate it, indeed have been abusing it, said Huan.

He criticised DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang for practising double standard and being absent-minded in his habitual haste to blast Malaysias press freedom index.

He said Kit Siang had forgotten that it was his son, Guan Eng, and other DAP members, including Teresa Kok, who have been fervently suing the media and activists for reporting issues.

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Netizens abusing press freedom

Reporters Without Borders Spotlights Major Decline In Media Freedom In US

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The 2014 World Press Freedom Index spotlights major decline in media freedom in the United States. The US has been listed along with countries such as Central African Republic and Guatemala in the Index, which was published on Wednesday by Reporters Without Borders (RWB).

The United States has gone 13 positions down to 46th in this year's index, which covers 180 countries.

RWB head of research Lucie Morillon said: "This year, the ranking of some countries, including democracies, has been impacted by an overly broad and abusive interpretation of the concept of national security protection."

Several factors, including armed conflicts, political instability and national security, restrict media freedom in many countries, according to the Index.

In countries where the rule of law prevails, security arguments are misused as grounds for restricting freedom of information. "Invoked too readily, the protection of national security is encroaching on hard-won democratic rights," the France-based non-profit organization noted, referring to the recent developments in the U.S.

"The trial and conviction of Private [Chelsea] Manning and the pursuit of the National Security Agency analyst Edward Snowden were warnings to all those thinking of assisting in the disclosure of sensitive information that would clearly be in the public interest," RWB says.

Both American and British authorities "seem obsessed with hunting down whistleblowers instead of adopting legislation to rein in abusive surveillance practices that negate privacy, a democratic value cherished in both countries."

The United Kingdom is ranked 33rd, three places down, distinguishing itself by its harassment of The Guardian.

In August last year, US Army Private Manning was sentenced to 35 years in jail for handing classified US government documents to the Wikileaks website.

American authorities charged US whistle-blower Edward Snowden with espionage and theft of government property after he stunned the world last year by leaking details of several secret mass electronic surveillance programs run by the United States.

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Reporters Without Borders Spotlights Major Decline In Media Freedom In US

European Parliamentarian Vows to "Fight to the End" Child Euthanasia Law

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Luca Volonte Says Measure is a Step Backwards For Society Rome, February 14, 2014 (Zenit.org) | 102 hits

A prominent member of the Council of Europe criticized yesterdays decision in Belgium that extended the countrys euthanasia law to children under the age of 18.

In an interview with Avvenire, Luca Volonte, Italian member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, has been one of many opponents of the new law, calling it a step in the wrong direction.

We are at a point of no return, the law in favor of euthanasia for children is a step backwards to the beginning of the 20th century, when the culture of statewide eugenics provoked the appalling tragedies that we all know, Volonte said.

The Italian politician, who participated in prayer vigils against the law, has now thrown his support behind a petition carried out by CitizenGo that will be presented to King Philippe of Belgium, urging him to not sign the controversial measure.

Volonte said the law invents an alleged consensus by children from 4-5 years old, while suggesting that such a consensus was only made by pressure from a commission of experts examining the request for euthanasia.

Everyone knows that before 10 years old, children havent even grasped the concept of death, many pediatricians and child psychologists have said so; many of whom, and not by chance, have opposed the law, he said.

Despite the overwhelming support for the law in Parliament, Volonte expressed his hope that the voice of the Belgian people will overcome. The Italian politician said that recent polls indicated that 55% of the Belgian population is against the law. In short, Belgian society has reawakened, he said.

Regarding the petition campaign that will be sent to the king, Volonte said that King Philippe can send the measure back to parliament. This shameful law, he said, was imposed by a majority that, above all, in a few months, will not be there any more. If the measure is sent back, the Belgian Parliament will most likely be unable to pass a new measure prior to elections.

Volonte, who is also chairman of the Dignitatis Humanae Institute, also raised the possibility of international pressure against the law, which he said, goes against the eugenics practices that have been banned by the United Nations.

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European Parliamentarian Vows to "Fight to the End" Child Euthanasia Law

Eco-friendly Lawrence Avenue seniors building to officially open

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Orangeville Banner

The county is set to officially unveil what its chief building officer Mike Giles is calling the most eco-friendly commercial building in Dufferins history.

Without question, Giles said of the new seniors apartment building located at 40 Lawrence Ave. I believe it is. I dont know of any that would be any more (eco-friendly).

The county will host the official opening ceremony for the Lawrence Avenue Apartments on Thursday (Sept. 9), inside the second floor common room at 11 a.m., followed by refreshments and a tour of the facility.

During that tour of the three-floor, 30-unit apartment building, visitors will be given the chance to see how some of its environmentally friendly features work first-hand.

Equipped with geothermal heating, every unit has its own independent furnace, so that when windows or a patio door are opened, each units heating or cooling system automatically shuts off.

That is relatively new in most places actually. We dont want to be heating cold air from outside, Giles said. It saves a lot of energy.

Fitted with solar power on the roof, Giles said the panels are expected to conserve 30 to 35 per cent of hot water heating costs, while its insulated concrete floor has pretty much double the insulation of a normal building. In addition, the heating ventilating recovery system will refresh air inside the building three times an hour, Giles added.

Last but not least, the apartment building features a tri-sorter for garbage, recyclables and compost, one of the first of its kind in Dufferin County, Giles added.

You push a button whether it is garbage, recycling or compost, he said. I dont know of a building that has a chute for compost.

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Eco-friendly Lawrence Avenue seniors building to officially open

Morning Report: Dana White says Ronda Rousey is the biggest star the UFC has ever had and will soon be paid like it

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While UFC president Dana White reminds us Alistair Overeem and Cris Cyborg are very well cemented on his bad side, women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey seems to exist on a whole other plane of existence.

Speaking with media at UFC headquarters in Las Vegas Thursday, White says Rousey is MMA's biggest star by a mile and that she's about to be paid like it, via Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole:

"She's the hugest superstar," White said of Rousey, who will defend her belt against Sara McMann at UFC 170. "I'm going to go out and say she's the biggest star we've ever had."

White said depending on how the pay-per-view results do on Feb. 22, Rousey, in just her third UFC fight, could break into the company's top 10 all-time in terms of career earnings.

If Rousey's managed to achieve that premier status chiefly off a single rivalry bout with Miesha Tate, what sort of business could she manage fighting Cyborg? Still No. 1 in quite a few women's pound-for-pound rankings, Cyborg continues to insist competing at 135 pounds could do irreversible damage to her body. According to White, who, at one point challenged the room to defend Cyborg's claims of being free of performance enhancing drugs, seems to think her and Rousey don't even exist in the same universe.

"Ronda's never cheated, ever," White said. "She's an Olympian. She's a world champion who has not only defended her [expletive] title, but I asked her to go back-to-back and she [expletive] did it. Coming straight off filming two [expletive] movies, a training camp. This girl, the other thing with this girl? She gets the [expletive] flu, gets sick, run down, [expletive] like she's going to die, and she still [expletive] trains through camp.

"I've got a big 6-foot-8 [expletive] musclehead whose rib hurts and won't [expletive] fight dos Santos. This chick does two movies back-to-back, fights, comes back in [expletive] camp, films 'The Ultimate Fighter,' [expletive] does all these appearances and all this other [expletive]. She's a [expletive] rock star. She's never cheated. She's done all these great things. She's an Olympian and she has to answer questions about Cyborg [expletive] Santos?"

If you're holding your breath for Rousey-Cyborg, that's your cue to go ahead and exhale.

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Morning Report: Dana White says Ronda Rousey is the biggest star the UFC has ever had and will soon be paid like it

Iris Rainer Dart on Beaches at Signature

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Beaches is what Iris Rainer Dart is best known for, and if its all she ever did, her career would have reached an enviable high tide.

The 1985 novel followed an urchin showgirl and an aristocratic tyke, best girlfriends for life till death claims one of them too soon. The book begat the 1988 Hollywood hit with Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey, a multi-hankie picture immortalized by a modest little tune called The Wind Beneath My Wings.

Now Beaches is washing ashore again as a brand-new musical starting Tuesday at Arlingtons Signature Theatre. That might give you the impression that Dart has been a re-purposing one-hit wonder, but multi-purposing is more like it. Dart turns out to be a showbiz kid from way back a tap dancer, a sitcom writer, even an old hand at musical theater lyrics.

I have written in every format but fortune cookies, cracks Dart, whose early professional gigs were writing for Sonny and Cher.

Start with musicals, since song and dance have brought Dart to town. Dart, 69 and petite, her hair in dark bangs and her wrists adorned with bracelets, is writing the lyrics for Beaches to a new score by emerging composer David Austin. Shes also co-writing the script with Thom Thomas, based on her novel rather than the movies screenplay (by Mary Agnes Donoghue).

Only three years ago, Dart had another project on Broadway. The People in the Picture, based on Darts Jewish European forebears, starred Donna Murphy and featured music by Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Mike Stoller. But its mixed reviews were part of why she wanted to premiere Beaches away from New York.

It was pretty high pressure, Dart says. She praises the low-key atmosphere at Signature, which she describes as safer I wish Id had that for the other show.

Her first musicals? Hardly. In the 1960s, Dart dashed off varsity shows at Carnegie Mellon (then the Carnegie Institute of Technology). Her composing partner was Stephen Schwartz, soon to be famous for Godspell and eventually the box-office titan of Wicked.

To hear her talk, it sounds like musicals have always been the goal. She was a child actor growing up in Pittsburgh, and as a teen she taught tap classes to help pay for her own dance lessons.

Shes turning 70 next month, so Mara Davi now playing what audiences will think of as the movies Barbara Hershey role (even though the characters name and back story are different in the book and musical than in the movie) asked what she could give the writer. Dart asked for a tap session.

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Iris Rainer Dart on Beaches at Signature