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Category Archives: Freedom

Christopher Webber – MediaGoblin, Blender, and Network Freedom in Graphics – Video

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Christopher Webber - MediaGoblin, Blender, and Network Freedom in Graphics
GNU MediaGoblin is a free software media hosting platform, comparative to a Flickr or YouTube/Vimeo that anyone can run. It also includes a 3D model type tha...

By: BlenderFoundation

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Christopher Webber - MediaGoblin, Blender, and Network Freedom in Graphics - Video

#Tong Kooi Ong blogs* A boost for media freedom

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FREEDOM of speech and freedom of choice are fundamental human rights that should be enjoyed by every man. In a democratic society, we also expect media independence and press freedom. Freedom of the press means freedom of communication and expression through mediums including various electronic media and published materials. Logically, this includes the right to a permit to print.

Indeed, freedom of the press is also about property rights. These properties are printing presses, auditoriums, billboards, radio equipment, computer networks and so on. Property rights is a necessary condition for market economies to work.

Yesterdays Court of Appeal decision rejecting the government's appeal against the High Court ruling that publishing a newspaper is a right, not a privilege, is commendable. The consistent decision delivered by both the High Court and Court of Appeal is a move in the right direction.

Intervening in the application for a publishing permit on the basis of limiting competition is a flawed argument. Monopolistic behaviour will only breed inefficiencies and deprive the public from the freedom of choice, and in this context, the access to more print options. It is also inconsistent with the new Competition Act.

Media owners should be given the right to compete on a level playing field. Let the newspaper fend for its own survival. It is time to stop protecting status quo and embrace a more inclusive economic and social policy for the sake of the country.

Tong Kooi Ong is executive chairman of The Edge Media Group. Feedback is welcomed at http://www.tongkooiong.com

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#Tong Kooi Ong blogs* A boost for media freedom

Sen. Patrick Leahy Officially Introduces The USA FREEDOM Act In The Senate

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Earlier this month, Sen. Patrick Leahy began circulating a piece of legislation called The USA FREEDOM Act. We knew what the legislation would do, but we didnt know any of the specifics until today.

The Hill reports that Sen. Leahy has finally introduced The USA FREEDOM Act, or the Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ending Eavesdropping, Dragnet-collection, and Online Monitoring Act, into the Senate this afternoon. The legislation, which enjoys 16 co-sponsors in the Senate, clocks in at 118 pages and seeks to reform both the NSA and the FISA court. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, otherwise known as the congressman who wrote the original Patriot Act, has also introduced sister legislation in the House with more than 70 co-sponsors.

The government surveillance programs conducted under the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act are far broader than the American people previously understood. It is time for serious and meaningful reforms so we can restore confidence in our intelligence community, Leahy said. Modest transparency and oversight provisions are not enough. We need real reform, which is why I join today with Congressman Sensenbrenner, and bipartisan coalitions in both the Senate and House, to introduce the USA FREEDOM Act.

So, what exactly does the USA FREEDOM Act do? First and foremost, it ends the bulk collection of Americans phone records under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. Currently, the NSA uses an interpretation of Section 215 handed down by the FISA court that allows it to indiscriminately collect Americans phone records.

Section 215 is not the only thing that needs reform and Leahy knows it. His legislation would also reform Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act a law that allows the NSA to collect Americans Internet communications without a warrant. Under the USA FREEDOM Act, there will be stricter limits placed on the kind of online communications that can be collected, and it will also require the NSA to obtain a court order prior to conducting back door searches looking for the communications of U.S. persons in databases collected without a warrant under Section 702.

The legislation would also improve oversight and transparency by reforming two key components of the intelligence community the FISA court and data request reporting. For the former, the legislation would appoint a public privacy advocate that would argue in favor of pro-privacy in front of the FISA court. As for the latter, the legislation would permit companies to publish the number of data requests they receive from the federal government. It would also require the government to report these numbers itself.

Finally, the USA FREEDOM Act would implement new sunset dates for both the FISA Amendments Act and National Security Letters to bring their expiration in line with the 2015 sunset date for Section 215. The reasoning is that Leahy believes having all three sunset in the same year will force Congress and the executive branch to address every part of the NSA and FISA in one go instead of having years between them.

Following 9/11, the USA PATRIOT Act passed the judiciary committees with overwhelming bipartisan support. The bill has helped keep Americans safe by ensuring information is shared among those responsible for defending our country and by enhancing the tools the intelligence community needs to identify and track terrorists, Sensenbrenner said. But somewhere along the way, the balance between security and privacy was lost. Its now time for the judiciary committees to again come together in a bipartisan fashion to ensure the law is properly interpreted, past abuses are not repeated and American liberties are protected. Washington must regain Americans trust in their government. The USA FREEDOM Act is an essential first step. I would like to thank Congressmen Conyers and Amash, Congresswoman Lofgren, Chairman Issa and others for working with us to draft this important legislation and encourage all my colleagues to support it.

Now, before you go off and petition your local lawmakers to pass this law, you might want to check out Sen. Patrick Leahys statement on his bill. Its an excellently written piece on how he feels about the NSA and what he hopes the legislation will accomplish.

[Image: Patrick Leahy]

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Sen. Patrick Leahy Officially Introduces The USA FREEDOM Act In The Senate

Freedom Act to End NSA Data Collection Introduced

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Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., is one of the sponsors of a bill that would end the NSA's bulk collection of Americans' communications records.

Patriot Act author Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy , D-Vt., introduced the USA Freedom Act on Tuesday with the help of some co-sponsors previously opposed to the bill's goal of ending the bulk data collection by the National Security Agency.

[READ:Did the White House Approve Surveillance on Merkel?]

The Freedom Act would end the NSA's bulk collection of Americans' communications records by amending Section 215 of the Patriot Act, making numerous amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and creating a privacy advocate to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, who could argue civil liberties concerns and appeal court decisions. The full text of the bill is available online.

Sensenbrenner was the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee when the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, occurred, and was one of the original authors of the Patriot Act. In a statement on Monday introducing the Freedom Act, Sensenbrenner said the surveillance powers granted to intelligence agencies in the Patriot Act have kept Americans safe "but somewhere along the way, the balance between security and privacy was lost."

"It's now time for the judiciary committees to again come together in a bipartisan fashion to ensure the law is properly interpreted, past abuses are not repeated and American liberties are protected," Sensenbrenner said. "Washington must regain Americans' trust in their government."

Since former NSA contractor Edward Snowden began disclosing government phone and email surveillance practices in June, members of congress have introduced a stack of proposals calling for increased transparency and oversight of the agency. In a statement on Monday Leahy said "modest transparency and oversight provisions are not enough."

[BROWSE: Editorial Cartoons on the NSA]

"The government surveillance programs conducted under the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act are far broader than the American people previously understood," Leahy said. "It is time for serious and meaningful reforms so we can restore confidence in our intelligence community,"

The highly anticipated bill to end the NSA's dragnet collection of phone records, and increase oversight, transparency, and accountability on domestic surveillance, is poised to set off another showdown in Congress between privacy rights and the national security needs of data surveillance. The House defeated by 12 votes a proposed amendment to the defense appropriations bill in July that would have restricted the NSA's collection of phone records and metadata, known as the Amash amendment because it was introduced by Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich.

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Freedom Act to End NSA Data Collection Introduced

[264] NSA Tapping the World, Unmasking ‘Anonymous’ and the Culture of Online Freedom Fighting – Video

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[264] NSA Tapping the World, Unmasking #39;Anonymous #39; and the Culture of Online Freedom Fighting
Abby Martin Breaks the Set on NSA Long Distance Eavesdropping, Unmasking Anonymous, Impunity for Genocide, Making Time to Reflect LIKE Breaking the Set @ h...

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[264] NSA Tapping the World, Unmasking 'Anonymous' and the Culture of Online Freedom Fighting - Video

Liberty and Freedom faculty members to take the field for a good cause

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It hasn't been the best of football seasons for Liberty and Freedom.

Yet, just as is the case in Allentown with Allen and Dieruff and many other area rivalries, the records don't matter. The two Bethlehem public schools get all pumped up for spirit week.

This year, there's a new event to boost those spirits in Bethlehem.

The Liberty and Freedom faculties will do battle in a flag football game at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium to support the Race For Adam Foundation.

Adam Recke, a freshman student at Freedom, has been battling a rare and deadly disease called Niemann Pick Type C.

The school district is uniting to rally around Recke and create awareness about his disease with what figures to be a special night.

This is reminiscent of last April's Allen-Dieruff alumni powderpuff game at J. Birney Crum Stadium to support the fight against pancreatic cancer.

And just as was the case with the older Canaries and Huskies, the teams involved want to put on a good show for a cause.

Joe Stellato, the Freedom boys basketball coach who helped to establish the popular student section called the "Riot Squad," was asked to coordinate the fundraiser.

"We've got some former athletes like Adam Bednarik and Dan Kremus, who used to play at Northampton, on our Freedom team and Liberty has some athletes on their side as well," Stellato said. "Some of the guys are in pretty good shape and some have been dropping like flies at the practices."

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Liberty and Freedom faculty members to take the field for a good cause

Freedom Honor Flight veterans gather for reunion

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LA CROSSE,WI -

Veterans who went on the Freedom Honor Flight in September gathered to share their memories on Sunday.

The Freedom Honor Flight organizers hosted the reunion at the La Crosse Center.

About 300 veterans and their friends and family came to the event to see a slideshow of all the pictures from the trip.

Organizers say they also opened the floor to vets to share stories about the flight or their time in the service.

They say it's a special time to see how important the trip is for so many of the veterans.

"This is kind of a closure thing for them, but they'll typically come here a month, month and a half after the flight and they'll say, 'Geez, dad or grandpa or grandma is more engaged now than he or she has been in years,' because they perk right up and suddenly they've got something to talk about and you put the nickle in and they talk for two hours about how they had the honor flight experience," said Freedom Honor Flight President Bill Hoel.

One of the Korean War veterans at the reunion said on the flight he felt appreciated and recognized for his service.

It's a feeling he says he's never had.

"Korea is known as the forgotten war, Vietnam unfortunately was acknowledged in a negative way. Korean War was, "Oh you were gone? Where were you?' There was no recognition, so this serves a very important ending," said Korean War veteran Irvin Yelle.

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Freedom Honor Flight veterans gather for reunion


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