A nuclear-free Middle East is a dream for us all. The elephant in the room has always been Israel, protected by the US and Western powers because, well, it’s the Jewish state. Don’t disturb the Jews. This news therefore is a little surprising but hopeful: The United States accepted Arab demands to pressure Israel over…
Showing all posts tagged China
Why Beijing is the new ruler of the brutalised world
Sri Lanka one year after the end of armed hostilities remains a hostile place. Peace is but a distant dream, especially for the Tamils, investigative journalists or anybody else who dares seriously challenge Colombo’s rule. And how did Sri Lanka win the war? One answer: China.
ABC TV broadcast on internet freedom and anti-censorship
I recently debated in Sydney on the motion that governments shouldn’t censor the internet. ABC TV broadcast the discussion and our team included a robust explanation on the principles of free speech. An edited version of the debate was broadcast tonight on ABC Radio National Big Ideas:
As long as Israel remains an American obsession, things will decline badly
Josh Landis @ Foreign Policy thinks that Russia is looking at the Middle East with added interest and I wonder why: So long as America’s No. 1 foreign-policy goal in the region is to hurt Iran and help Israel, Russia will be drawn back into the region and a new Cold War will take shape.…
Why internet censorship is a fool’s paradise
My following article is published today by the Sydney Morning Herald/Age online: We live under the illusion that governments can protect us from the evils of the world. Paedophilia, extreme violence, lessons in self-harm and suicide, race hatred and terrorism. We have every right to expect governments to monitor hate and terror sites and arrest…
Debating why the internet should not be censored
The following article by Erik Jensen appears in today’s Sydney Morning Herald: Governments should not censor the internet. The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, disagrees and the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, broadly supports his position. But two journalists and the head of government affairs for Google in Asia strongly agree with the proposition. “We have to…
Radio New Zealand interview on Israel and blogging
I was interviewed this weekend on Radio New Zealand National Saturday Morning with Kim Hill on issues of Israel, Zionism, Jewish identity, blogging and internet censorship. It was a long interview (over 40 minutes) and offered a rare opportunity to explore key areas of Zionist responsibility for occupation in Palestine and why blogging and journalism…
Google opens the door (slightly) on its filtering process
A welcome sign of transparency by Google – and far better than most other web companies – but there’s a long way to go. For example, what are the cosy deals between Google and governments who simply don’t like certain material and want it removed from YouTube? Google Inc. has set up a new tool…
The real problem with Mt Everest
News flash! (from a world I’m currently inhabiting): Nepal and China agree Mount Everest is tall – but each have their own idea of just how tall. According to the Kathmandu Post, the neighboring nations met this week in Kathmandu to end a long-standing feud over the height of the famous mountain, which resides along…
How Beijing doesn’t trust its citizens to think for themselves online
The New York Times explains just one example of how China’s internet censorship regime works in reality: Jiaozuo, a city southwest of Beijing, deployed 35 Internet commentators and 120 police officers to defuse online attacks on the local police after a traffic dispute. By flooding chat rooms with pro-police comments, the team turned the tone…