Awareness: Freedom Day of South Africa

Today is the Freedom Day of South Africa which commemorates the first post-apartheid elections held in 1994. Millions of people participated in the elections which were the first non-racial national elections. This means that everyone of voting age of over 18 from any race group was allowed to vote. Previously, under the apartheid regime, had only limited rights to vote.

Considered a middle-income country, South Africa has one of the most developed infrastructures and stock exchanges in the world. The country is also well endowed with rich natural resources. It has the fifth largest income per capita in Africa.

South Africa has one of the most diverse ethnicities in the world. Almost 80% of its population has a black African ancestry, which is divided into various Bantu speaking groups. The country is also home to the largest communities of Asian, European, and racially mixed ancestry in Africa.

South Africa is a member of various international and regional organizations such as the Africa Union, Commonwealth of Nations, Antarctic Treaty System, Group of 77, South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, Southern African Customs Union, World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, Group of Twenty (G-20), and Group of Eight plus Five (G8+5).

We congratulate the people and government of South Africa led by Their Excellencies, President Jacob Zuma, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, Foreign Affairs and International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, and its Embassy in the Philippines headed by H.E., Ambassador Agnes Nyamande-Pitso, on the occasion of its Freedom Day. CONGRATULATIONS AND MABUHAY!

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Awareness: Freedom Day of South Africa

Google or the government: who’s really controlling our freedom online?

Its an apt time to reflect on online freedom. On 3 May its World Media Freedom Day and South Africa, which has just passed a bill severely restricting what the press can report on, celebrates its freedom day this weekend.

Together with a dash of reflection and a dose of predictions by Googles Eric Schmidt, what can we learn about where we stand when it comes to liberty in todays digital world? In the US, support for the recently passed CISPA bill has lately increased, Googles been slapped on the wrist for capturing illegal Wi-Fi data in Germany following previous antitrust bashing by the EU and Iran is moving ever closer to making its own version of the internet.

The internet and innovations around it have created important opportunities enabling people to spread information and ideas. Through the evolution of this form of media and communication we are given the power to hold organizations and governments adequately accountable. Though revolutionary as this might be, governments have found ways to sometimes exploit these powerful tools in attempts to fight hate-speech or establish security for example.

As the pendulum swings, some of these attempts often cross the line where content is censored or peoples internet activity is being monitored. Here, freedom refers to the boundary that exists between public and private, the citizen and the authorities. By valuing privacy, you value your privacy to make decisions without any higher-up censoring or dictating.

Former Google CEO and current executive chairman Eric Schmidt recently said that the internet brings freedom; freedom of speech, freedom of information and in some cases, as we have seen with the Arab Spring, revolution. In this article by the Wall Street Journal he warns us of the dark side that comes along with the internet.

Granted, hes speaking about the future, and half of Schmidts article does in fact sound like an extract out of Bradburys Fahrenheit 451. He suggests that the digital revolution, although suffering a few hiccups, will eventually overcome the future oppressors. He argues that autocratic regimes will start seeking tools to monitor citizens in an attempt to strengthen the force of digital police. These predictions though might not be as far-fetched as they seem.

Today Iran is probably the country using the worlds most sophisticated methods of censoring and controlling the internet. The country is planning on filling the used-to-be-YouTube gap with its own competitor namely Mehr. The Iranian minister has also announced the launch of an Islamic Google Earth. This came after fears were being raised labeling Googles satellite imagery and map service a spying tool of the West.

Despite Indias latest milestone in certifying the countrys first late night adult show, the worlds largest democracy has struggled to adapt to its overwhelmingly large populations online presence. Since the beginning of this month the Indian government and its agencies have started monitoring telecommunications and internet services, meaning that all modern forms of communication will be under the gaze of the authorities. The CMS or Centre Monitoring Services has set up a social media lab which monitors user activity on sites like Twitter and Facebook for example.

Google has just released its annual transparency report, with the internet giant reporting a total of 2 285 removal requests. Governments moving in this direction are discomforting yes, but they arent necessarily the ones we need to worry about the most.

Despite Schmidts freedom activist speeches, Google has been repeatedly fined by European data protection regulators. Earlier this week Google was fined over US$180 000 by German privacy regulators accusing the search giant of stealing WiFi data (again) using its Google Street View service.

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Google or the government: who’s really controlling our freedom online?

Press freedom still not living up to the law, seminar told

Home national Press freedom still not living up to the law, seminar told

Pravit Rojanaphruk The Nation on Sunday April 28, 2013 1:00 am

Anything negative about resigned Senior General Than Shwe is still taboo in Myanmar's media, said Aye Chan Naing. He added that the Myanmar government will soon introduce broadcasting laws and it's not certain as to what kind of restrictions will be made. The country's judiciary needs to be independent, while the law needs to be just, he said.

In Cambodia, while the constitution guarantees press freedom and freedom of expression, freedom of speech is still limited in reality, said Chhay Sophal, editor-in-chief of Cambodia News Online and a board member of the Cambodian Journalists' Council for Ethics.

"Legally speaking, the government respects the country's free press and freedom of expression, but in practice, the public voice is sometimes ignored or accused of being backed by the opposition - an excuse for government authorities to crack down."

Chhay Sophal said after the nightmare of the Pol Pot regime, the majority of Cambodians, who are farmers living in the rural areas, "seem to be completely debilitated through illiteracy, ignorance or fear of reprisal, and are disinclined to speak out in public, especially on politics."

"The urban [populace] feels freer and more ready to speak out, mainly on topics regarding the government's actions," Chhay Sophal added.

Gayathry Venkitsewaran, executive director of the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA), and a former Malaysian journalist, said Malaysia's press freedom may improve, but it would depend on the result in the upcoming general election next month.

"If there's a change in government, it will be a bit chaotic because [the media] will not know how to behave," Venkiteswaran told the audience in Bangkok last week.

Venkiteswaran said the region's latest press freedom index by Paris-based Reporters Without Borders indicated there was still a lot to be done, and added that the relatively high ranking for Brunei may reflect a lack of knowledge about the sultanate on the part of the organisation. Helping to develop knowledge of the region's press was one area where SEAPA could help, he said.

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Press freedom still not living up to the law, seminar told

Joe Williams pitches Battlefield baseball past Freedom-South Riding

With the Battlefield players mustache experiment earlier in the season a bit of a non-starter the Bobcats had more scruff than fluff junior left-hander Joe Williams has decided to see how long he can grow a curl out of the back of his cap.

Hes looking like the guy from Grease, junior catcher Nick Feight said.

Hey, if Williams, an effective pitcher up from last years junior varsity, keeps pitching like he did Friday night in a 5-3 win at Freedom-South Riding, the Bobcats will let him wear his hair however he wants with minimal razzing.

Williams went the distance, striking out five and walking none while relying on his trusty curveball. He also threw out a runner at home on a bunt attempt for the first out of the fourth inning after the first two Eagles had reached base.

Feight hollered Four! and Williams fielded the ball and fired home.

Play of the game right there, Williams said. They had all the momentum going up there and we just stole it from them on that play.

Battlefields win completed a regular season sweep in the series and enabled the Bobcats (14-2, 6-1) to pad its lead over Patriot (11-3, 4-2) and Freedom (11-3, 4-3) in the Virginia AAA Cedar Run District.

Burned by the bunt in past games against Freedom, Battlefield emphasized bunt defense in practice this week. The Bobcats were plenty opportunistic on the bases themselves, taking advantage of four walks, four errors, a wild pitch, two sacrifice bunts, a sacrifice fly and another flyout that moved a runner from second to third.

Three of the Freedom errors came in the sixth, when Battlefield scored three runs to stretch the lead to 5-1. Freedom senior ace Zach Newell left the mound that inning after the first two batters, junior Cameron Skaff and senior Daniel Tavenner, banged out hits, the latter an RBI triple.

Offensively when you get up, it kind of minimizes the things that they can do, Battlefield Coach Jay Burkhart said.

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Joe Williams pitches Battlefield baseball past Freedom-South Riding