Importance Of Being Free: How Are Twitter & Facebook Being Prosecuted in Christian West & Islamic Middle East

Governments of the ‘Free’ World are using psuedo-free technologies like Twitter and Facebook with draconian laws like NDAA to draw out dissidents and reactionaries.

NGOs backed by Western regimes used social media for regime changes. | By Joep Bertrams, The Netherlands – 1/18/2011 12:00:00 AM; source & courtesy – cagle.com

ven while the media of Christian-West has trumpeted how Western technologies like Twitter and Facebook brought down regimes in the Islamic world, Western media has limited the coverage of social media’s impact in its own backyard.

Further Intimidation

The signing of the NDAA by Obama is a gigantic steps towards further intimidation of US citizenry by its own Government. Already armed with extraordinary powers, pervasive technology and a secret-plus-uniformed police force of 40 lakhs, the further legislation points towards another round of intimidation.

The hounding of the Australian Julian Assange across the world, by Yumm-Rika is stuff which fills the annals of State persecution in the West over the last 1000 years. Bradley Manning’s inhumane solitary confinement, naked for most of a year has not drawn the ire of the Free World.

Facebook and Twitter have been fnded by the US Treasury department through the Federal Reserve, via its various franchisee banks. | Cartoon By Bob Englehart, The Hartford Courant – 5/23/2012 12:00:00 AM; souce & courtesy – msnbc.com

Justice & Freedom

Encroachments on media and individual freedom has occupied minds across the world.

Even in India.

Is it time to do some quantitative numbers on how governments across the world are trying to control social media.

Indian news-consumers, inward looking, are sated with mass-produced news churned out by Western news agencies – like Reuters, Bloomberg, etc. Some Indian news outlets go further and syndicate content from CIA-controlled media like New York Times.

Western Media Controls

While the booking of a case and questioning of two girls for eight hours drew the ire of India’s Supreme court, what was happening in the US? Brandon Raub, a US marine was ‘committed’ for ‘psychiatric’ evaluation by FBI and CIA – on the basis of his Facebook posts.

In Mumbai, India, these policemen have been suspended for prosecuting one case. Indian courts sprang to cartoonist Aseem Trivedi’s bail application. EVM-activist Hariprasad found Indian courts sympathetic.

That reminds me of Vikram Buddhi.

Vikram Buddhi languishes in an American prison because he said George Bush murdabad (meaning Death to George Bush) on the internet – in support of Iraqi Muslims. Hardly any Indians have supported Vikram Buddhi even now after being in prison for nearly 5 years now.

While the brutal killing of the American diplomat at Benghazi has stunned the West,  the horrific dagger-sodomization of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya was met with glee in the West.

China has funded and promotes its own social media – competing with Western media, | By Paresh Nath, The Khaleej Times, UAE – 10/8/2012 12:00:00 AM| source & courtesy – cagle.com

Rocking in a Free World

More than 2 crore people (20 million) face the American Justice system each year. With more than 2 crore people (20 million) in either prison, on parole, probation or facing prosecution.

Nearly a 100 countries in the world have a population that is lesser than the number of US citizens in prison, on parole or probation, or under prosecution by the State.

Every 11th person of working age in the US is either in prison, parole, probation or being prosecuted for some offence caused to the State.Every 11th person of working age in the US is either in prison, parole, probation or being prosecuted for some offence caused to the State.

Social Media In The Free World

Most people are not aware that secular Great Britain, has prosecuted, fined, imprisoned nearly 5,000 people in the last three years for making ‘insensitive’ comments on social media.

When form overwhelms function. Is medium reall-ly becoming the message. | By Peter Nicholson, The Australian, Sydney, Australia – 8/6/2012 12:00:00 AM; source & courtesy – cagle.com

Are Indians able to see the Christian link in secular Switzerland, which is afraid that a third mosque in Switzerland will change the national character of Switzerland?

Or an Angela Merkel confirms on television that multi-culturalism has failed? Denmark is willing to pay Muslims money to emigrate out of Denmark?

A two-and-a-half year legal battle over a “joke” posted on Twitter that landed its author with a criminal record returns to the high court on Wednesday in front of the most senior judge in England and Wales.

Paul Chambers, an unemployed former trainee accountant, is appealing against his conviction for tweeting that he would blow up Doncaster’s Robin Hood airport unless it reopened so he could fly to see his new girlfriend.

Lord Judge, Mr Justice Owen and Mr Justice Griffith Williams. It brings the number of judges and magistrates who have considered Chambers’ case up to nine, spread over seven days in court since his tweet on 6 January 2010.

During snowy weather, Doncaster’s Robin Hood airport had closed, threatening to derail Chambers’ plans to fly to Belfast to meet Sarah Tonner, a woman he had met on Twitter. He tweeted on the publicly accessible feed: “Crap! Robin Hood airport is closed. You’ve got a week and a bit to get your shit together otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high!!”

Chambers was convicted and fined £1,000 on a charge of “sending a public electronic message that was grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character contrary to the Communications Act 2003″.

He has since won the support of Twitter-using comedy stars including Al Murray, Graham Linehan and Stephen Fry in his fight against his conviction and they have helped raise about £30,000 to cover legal costs.

After the tweet was spotted by a member of staff at the airport, Chambers was arrested and convicted by a district judge at Doncaster magistrates court in May 2010. After the verdict, Chambers said the tweet was “like having a bad day at work and stating that you could murder your boss, I didn’t even think about whether it would be taken seriously”.

An appeal at the high court in September 2010 failed and a subsequent appeal in front of two high court judges in February 2012 ended inconclusively when the court took the unusual step of ordering the appeal to be rerun.

Chambers has argued that the conviction was “a steamroller to crack a nut”. He will be represented by crime and civil liberties barrister John Cooper QC and Sarah Przybylska.Lawyers for the Crown Prosecution Service argued: “The message was posted at a time when the potential threat to airport security was high. It was capable of being read by members of the airport staff and members of the public as a threat to airport safety and public safety.”

In dismissing his first appeal in September 2010, judge Jacqueline Davies said the message was “menacing in its content and obviously so. It could not be more clear. Any ordinary person reading this would see it in that way and be alarmed”.via Twitter joke case returns to high court for fresh appeal by Paul Chambers | Law | guardian.co.uk.

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Commentary on Indian Foreign Policy

Why are India’s Foreign Policy analysts producing raddi*. Do they realize that paper is produced after cutting down a lot of trees.

A un-appetizing masala-mix of bias, prejudice, ignorance. Maybe, even a sense of inferiority. | Cartoon by Sandeep Adharyu; on 19 December, 2010; source and courtesy - cartoonistsandeep.com. | Click for larger image.

Indian Foreign Office is remarkably risk-averse and conservative. With honourable exceptions, it spends much of its time thinking up reasons and excuses to not take a particular step, not change direction, not go down a path that seems obvious to everybody else but the ministry of external affairs (MEA). (via Pacific partners | The Asian Age).

Is a 2ndlook needed

Malik-bhai, even a cursory examination of India’s Foreign policy establishment will show that your statement is based on ignorance – if not on prejudice and bias.

The thinnest diplomatic corps

For one, you should know, being a foreign policy maven, that the IFS is the thinnest diplomatic corps for any G20 country. Compared to less than 1,000 IFS diplomats that an ascendant India has, declining Britain has a diplomatic crops that numbers 15,000.

Secondly, if you do look at the three different foreign policy regimes (what 2ndlook calls FP-One, FP2 & FP-III to remember easily) that India’s external relations apparatus has made in the last 60 years, you will appreciate that it is second to none in the world.

One hand clapping

The one other thing, that you will appreciate is that relationships are based on reciprocity. The fact that India may find it advantageous, beneficial, useful, right, et al, does not mean that we will have a positive relationship with any other government. Equally, the other government must see some advantage and benefit.

At best India can take an initiative – but there must be response from the other side. If not equal or proportional, at least symbolic.

Part of the problem

Malik-bhai your carping about ‘lost opportunities’, especially with Western nations is part of the problem.

Not a solution – or even any direction.

*PS – raddi in Hindi means waste paper – usually sold away to recyclers on a per kg basis.

The table below presents a matrix to map outcomes, objectives, alliances and policies that Indian foreign policy has used in the last 60 years. As can be seen, Indian FP-One, FP2 and FP-III were rooted in the global realities of that time – and based on Indian needs and requirements of that time.

	FP-One (1950-1970)	FP2 (1970-2000)	FP-III (2000-Now)
Leverage	Nehru’s charisma	Indo-Soviet Alliance	Indian economic power
Key Achievements	Decolonization Third World dialogue India heard at world forums	Defence production gathers steam Soviet technology used for oil exploration 1971 Bangladesh War	FP not influenced by armament purchases Armament vendors instead of alliances Un-committed to any super-power
Key Failures	Defence unpreparedness Relationship with neighbours deteriorate Tibet lost to China UN interventions	Foreign policy influenced by Soviet line Economic interests neglected Limited access to Western technology, economy, finance	China, Pakistan relations not stable Over engagement with West Global initiatives (like NAM) impaired.
Key Features	Indian interests secondary Global situation in focus No Super-power tilt	Indo-Soviet alliance stitched NAM acquires traction Indian interests acquire importance Super-power interventions rejected.	Indian interests paramount FP-III depends less on Super-power coat-tails Issue based engagement with P5
Key Persona	JL Nehru	Indira Gandhi AB Vajpayee in Janata Party govt (1977-1979). Rajiv Gandhi	AB Vajpayee Manmohan Singh
Key events	Nehru-Eisenhower dynamics Hungarian Uprising Suez Crisis	1971 Bangladesh War Pokhran Atomic blast MNCs brought to heel; IBM, Coke thrown out	Indo-US Nuclear deal India Vietnam alliance in South China Sea G20 inclusion

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Escape to the West @Indian Taxpayers’ cost

An intimate connection with the country: Nehru with Kamala Nehru (to his right) and Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit and other family members. Photo: The HIndu Photo Library

An incident towards the end of his life illustrates the strength of his involvement. The family was at the breakfast table at Teen Murti House. A visiting nephew said the country was in a mess, its problems would never be solved and he, for one, was getting out to settle abroad. Nehru who had remained silent suddenly spoke in a rage, ‘Go where you like, but if I am born a thousand times, a thousand times I will be born an Indian.’ (via The Hindu : FEATURES / SUNDAY MAGAZINE : The family perspective).

Chickens come home to roost

After pushing English language, Western Socialism, Soviet Style-Economic Planning, American Technology, what else could have happened in the Nehru household.

For many decades now, the ruling elite in India has created ways and means to ensure that they have ‘passport’ to the West – so that they could ‘escape to the West.’

The elite has captured to system - and are making the poor pay for their 'needs'!

 

Not that it matters

It is not the loss of these people to the West that hurts. It is the blatant abuse of tax-payer money to create a system that churns out products that are acceptable to the West. Not the needs of the people who pay for the system.

What rankles is when the NRIs and the RNIs (Resident Non-Indians) when they gang up to exploit the ‘desis’ – and then turn around and condemn and envy the same desis who have supported them, lauded their success – without envy and toiled for their own success.

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Public debt imperils world economy

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has warned that the world’s 30 leading industrialized economies will see their indebtedness grow to 100% of output in 2010, a near doubling from the percentage 20 years ago. (via Public debt imperils world economy – International News – livemint.com).

Till the fat lady sings

The debt spiral is not ended yet.

Like the Dubai crash shows, the world economy is not yet out of the woods. Struggling firms, in the face of a weak consumer and industrial markets, may just keel over. A domino effect may set off yet another round of closures, bankruptcies, mergers, and defaults.

More importantly, are Western Governments. With public debt (read that as Government debt) exceeding 100% of GDP for every Western Government – Ireland at more than 1000%, Britain at nearly 200%, US at more than 100%, they are the vulnerable soft-spot of the global economy.

I want more

The shopping bill for Western welfare state is not going away – except up. Welfare bills are getting more ambitious – and the domestic lobbies want more ambitious schemes. High cost economies are being protected by barriers and stockades.

Run … hide … but you can’t turn your back

The political constructs of the West have hit a wall – and there is no way but down! Since the West is busy hiding elephants in the room, the need for a different political ideology remains unaddressed.

An ideology like भारत-तंत्र Bharat-tantra.

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