Australian public adamant on brining the “Great Aussie Firewall” down
The “Great Aussie Firewall” is the name of an Internet filter that has been proposed for the purpose of making the island country amongst the strictest internet regulators amongst the democratic nations of the world.
This internet filter would actually manage to block at least 1300 websites that have been prohibited by the government. The incorporation of this filter is being opposed by civil rights activists, consumers, engineers, politicians and internet providers. The bulk of the sites that are going to be banned through the use of the filter include sites that have excessive violence, child pornography, advocate terrorism and give out instructions on crimes and drug abuse.
The capital city witnessed hundreds of people protesting against the “Great Aussie Firewall.” One of the organizers of the protests, Pearson Smith said “This is obviously censorship.” Smith is also an officer for over a dozen face book groups that are opposing the filter.
The actual list of the websites that have been prohibited by the government have not been made public. They are not even subject to legal scrutiny. This gives the lawmakers a chance to promote their own online agendas with no one there to keep a check on them. Pearson went on to say “I think the money would be better spent in investing in law enforcement and targeting producers of child porn.”
Internet providers are protesting because they believe imposing this filter would slow down browsing speeds. There is also a growing concern regarding whether the filter would be able to meet the intended objectives. This is because all the illegal material is actually traded on peer-to-peer networks and chats. These areas are not covered by the filter so how does the Great Aussie Firewall intend to put an end to illegal content like child pornography?
A spokesman for Electronic Frontiers Australia said “People don’t openly post child porn, the same way you can’t walk into a store in Sydney and buy a machine gun, a filter of this nature only blocks material on public Web sites. But illicit material … is traded on the black market, through secret channels.”
The communications Minister Stephen Conroy said in defense of the “Great Aussie Firewall” that “This is not an argument about free speech; we have laws about the sort of material that is acceptable across all mediums and the Internet is no different. Currently, some material is banned and we are simply seeking to use technology to ensure those bans are working.”
Bangladeshi voters skeptical over coming elections
Bangladesh finds itself amidst an ironic situation which gives rise to many fears. For the first time in seven years the country is going to witness democratic elections. The irony of the situation is that the two major candidates are both former prime ministers and both of them have charges of corruption leveled against them.
The majority of voters are skeptical regarding the outcome of the elections and whether it will be able to bring about any resolve. Bangladesh is currently yearning for change but the people seemed to have lost their faith in the candidates that are running the elections.
Bangladesh experienced its last democratic elections back in 2001. The country has a history plagued with military rule and the coming elections are being taken as a positive step towards the restoration of democracy.
Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia are the two rivals fighting for the top spot. Sheikh Hasina has been in and out of power since the last fifteen years. Her political career is tainted with mismanagement, charges of corruption and numerous protests.
Throughout much of Bangladesh’s political history we can identify a pattern running through. While one party would win the elections and take over the ruling seat the other would stage protests in the streets in an attempt to overthrow the elected regime. This pattern has led the country ungovernable to quite an extent.
Both the candidates vying for the top spot were behind bars last year on charges of corruption. The candidates had accused the charges as being politically motivated scandals aimed at ruining their reputation and managed to get free on bail.
This past Saturday supporters of the two parties collided in violent clashes which left more than eighty five people injured across three districts. The Chairman of the National Election Observation Council said “There is lot of apprehension whether the [election] losers will accept the result.”
The last election attempts were made in January 2007 in Bangladesh. They were however cancelled and what followed was weeks of violent rioting between the supporters of the two parties. As a consequence a state of emergency was declared in the country and an interim government backed by the military was put in force. Now, moments away from the next democratic elections the Bangladeshi’s are concerned what consequences it may have on the prevailing situation of the country.