sábado, octubre 21, 2006

Internet Good for Democracy

Internet Good for Democracy
Restrictive regimes censor Web access

Alfredo Ascanio (askain)

Published 2006-10-21 14:25 (KST)

The Chinese government practices extensive Internet censorship. Web sites that can not be viewed in China include those related to controversial issues such as Tibetan and Taiwanese independence, as well as religious Web sites and major news organizations like the BBC and Voice of America.

Even Google and Yahoo conform to Internet censorship in China. The "Great Firewall" of China has become notorious.

The Chinese government is scared that a free Internet will undermine its power. Any sites that might be critical of its actions, like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are blocked.

China also maintains filters for the navigation on the internet and had prohibited Wikipedia, although seems that the negotiations have permitted their use restricted.

In Castro's Cuba, approval is needed before citizens can buy computers. This approval is almost impossible to obtain. Approval is also needed to sign up with the Communist country's Internet provider. The government claims that it does not block Web sites, but according to BBC reporter Stephen Gibbs, Web sites published by the regime's opponents are usually unavailable.

The Islamic government of Iran also wants to fight the influence of the Internet. Some Web sites have been blocked, like the BBC's Farsi service and in Sept. it was reported that major bloghost Persianblog had been filtered.

Iran wants to fight the influence of the internet and a way is to restrict the velocity of the navigation only to 128 kilobytes by second and even to limit the use of the wide band.Last week, Mr Ahmadinejad launched to fierce attack on the head of the state broadcasting organisation, IRIB, which there I am blamed for stokingpublic fears about inflation. Iran' s leading reformist newspaper, Shargh, was also closed last month.

Internet speeds in Iranian homes and Internet cafes have also been reduced. The aim of this is of course to hinder free exploration of the Web and to prevent political opponents from networking and expressing themselves.

In democratic countries it is clear that the Internet is needed to further education and science. Students and researchers the world over access Web sites to obtain information and make contacts with people who can help them. For example Simpapur that with its new program of wireless
connection, that calls Wireless@SG, permit in free form to incorporate to its population so that can sail to 512 kilobytes and in free form.

In non-democratic countries that censor the Internet, the fear is that online material will contaminate citizens and turn them against the regimes.

The Internet has already achieved considerable political significance in the free world.

An increasing number of citizens use it to learn about government policies and actions, engage in debate, contact elected representatives, and participate in online political campaigning. Some citizen journalism articles for OhmyNews fall into this category.

The Internet provides an opportunity for everyone in democratic countries to take advantage of new possibilities for political learning and action.

Some have argued that thanks to the Internet, politics is increasingly less centered around institutions like political parties, and more around issue-based group politics. Perhaps the debates surrounding Bush's policies in the United States can be taken as one such example of this.

  • CENSORING


  • ©2006 OhmyNews

    Other articles by reporter Alfredo Ascanio

    miércoles, octubre 18, 2006

    Para no olvidar...

    Un revolucionario arrepentido o ahora un oportunista más.

    Voting for U.N. Security Council

    Venezuela: Fight Is Against 'Owners of the Universe'
    Voting for U.N. Security Council seat continues on Oct. 19

    Alfredo Ascanio (askain)

    Published 2006-10-19 08:56 (KST)

    After further voting on Tuesday it has still not been decided whether Guatemala or Venezuela will occupy the fifth seat on the U.N. security council. There have been 22 rounds of votes so far and voting will be continued on Thursday.

    There are many who think that this is because Chavez's government has not achieved a consensus in the region.

    The proof of the lack of consensus is that many Latin American countries indicated that they would vote for Guatemala. Guatemala's supporters were Mexico, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Panama, Honduras, Costa Rica and El Salvador.

    Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, Bolivia and Cuba are suspected to have voted in favor of Venezuela, jointly with China, Russia, Iran, Belarus, Syria, Lebanon and some African countries. However, it is not possible to know for certain because it was a secret ballot.

    Chavez toured the world promising millions of dollars of support to a wide range of countries in an attempt to win support for Venezuela's bid. Bolivia, for example, received US$140 million in loans, scholarships, donations and agricultural machinery.

    In the final round of voting on Tuesday, when 120 votes would have been enough for either country to win, Guatemala received 102 and Venezuela 77. Twelve countries abstained, including Ecuador and Chile.

    In Venezuela Chavez's followers say that Venezuela received a good share of the vote in each round and "that for the Venezuelan politics is already a triumph."

    Guatemala has in fact received more votes than Venezuela in each round.

    This it is the second time that a vote for a place on the Security Council has gone into a high number of rounds. During the Cold War in 1979 when Cuba and Colombia were contending for the position, there were 155 rounds of votes over three months. In the end Mexico was elected by consensus.

    It was expected that a third Latin-American country would be put forward to break the deadlock, but in meetings on Wednesday no consensus country was found.

    Making reference to the United States's extensive support for Guatemala, the Venezuelan ambassador to the U.N., Francisco Arias Cardenas, has said that the fight for the Security Council seat is not against a "brother country" but against "the owners of the universe."

    The United States are anxious to ensure that Venezuela does not win the seat because Chavez hopes to use it to extend his international influence. The Venezuelan president has been vocal in his opposition to the U.S. foreign policy.
    ©2006 OhmyNews

    Other articles by reporter Alfredo Ascanio

    Cambry plays Rachmaninoff Momento Musical No.3

    En YouTube de arriba podemos deleitarnos con la pieza de Rachmaninoff Momento Musical No. 3. El pianista es Jonathan Oaul Cambry. Nació en Chicago en 1982.Comenzó a estudiar piano a los 3 años de edad y estudio con el profesor David Andrews por 16 años. Si les gusta Beethoven entonces pueden escuchar la Pathetique Sonata (primer movimiento):

  • Hacer Click Aquí


  • O bien también la Polonesa de Chopin:

  • Hacer Click aquí
  • lunes, octubre 16, 2006

    Singapur: paraíso de los internautas

    Singapur se convertirá a partir del próximo enero en un paraíso para los internautas, cuando se ponga en práctica el programa Wireless@SG (conexión sin cable en Singapur) diseñado por las autoridades y que hará de la ciudad-Estado un espacio con red inalámbrica.

    Desde entonces, sólo será necesario contar con un ordenador o un portátil para poder disfrutar de internet de forma gratuita desde centros comerciales, barrios de negocios y locales comunitarios. Navegar en la red a una velocidad de banda ancha de 512 kilobits por segundo en lugares públicos y sin ningún tipo de coste será una realidad a partir de enero de 2007, gracias a un experimento gubernamental que durará "al menos dos años", durante los cuales las autoridades pretenden que su población se zambulla de lleno en la "era digital". "No somos los primeros del mundo en ofrecer gratuitamente internet sin cable", ha dicho Dawn Lim, gerente de comunicaciones de la Agencia de Desarrollo de Comunicación de la Información (IDA, sigla en inglés). "Antes que nosotros ya lo han hecho ciudades como San Francisco, Filadelfia (ambas en EEUU) o Taipei".

    No obstante, ha añadido la responsable, "donde seguro que sí somos los primeros es en lograr unir a varios operadores para que los usuarios puedan permanecer conectados a internet sin interrupción,independientemente de dónde se encuentren". Actualmente numerosos lugares públicos de la isla ya ofrecen acceso a internet a todo aquél que tenga suscrito un servicio con alguna compañía de telecomunicaciones que provea ese servicio y, dependiendo de cuál sea ésta, el usuario puede "navegar" en unos u otros lugares.

    Pero Wireless@SG no sólo reducirá la tarifa de conexión a 0 dólares (si bien se tendrán que abonar gastos en caso de solicitar mayor velocidad), sino que cualquiera que tenga un portátil, un ordenador o una PDA podrá acceder a internet independientemente de con qué compañía se suscriba. La IDA también ha pensado en los turistas y empresarios que lleguen a Singapur para unos días ya que éstos podrán beneficiarse de la iniciativa en igualdad de condiciones. La red inalámbrica pasará de los actuales 900 puntos de conexión a 5.000 en septiembre de 2007.

    En el desarrollo de ésta participan los operadores SingTel, iCell y QMax, empresas que se han asegurado unos 19 millones de dólares de subsidios gubernamentales por apoyar la iniciativa. El primer ministro del país, Lee Hsien Loong, comentó respecto a Wireless@SG que "en la era digital, la cuestión de la conectividad es clave" y se comprometió para que el proyecto no deje de lado a los estudiantes con pocos recursos ni a los incapacitados y personas mayores. Para ello ya ha anunciado que a éstos se les darán herramientas básicas para navegar, así como subsidios para poder comprar ordenadores. Los responsables del plan esperan que de los alrededor de 50.000 usuarios que hay actualmente en la ciudad-Estado, se pase a 250.000 en los dos próximos años, en un país que cuenta con una poblaciób de algo más de 4 milllones de habitantes en un territorio inferior a los 700 kilómetros cuadrados.

    Este plan forma parte de un proyecto más ambicioso denominado "Nación Inteligente 2015" desarrollado por la IDA, en el que se han involucrado más de medio millar de ejecutivos y líderes empresariales del país. Su objetivo es estimular la competitividad económica y las comunicaciones de la información para la próxima década. Después de los 24 meses de prueba, que podrían ser ampliados si "el estado del mercado es propicio o los operadores ven un valor en extenderlo”, ha apuntado Lim-, la idea del gobierno es que internet continúe siendo "altamente asequible" para todos los bolsillos. EFE