EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF THOUGHT, CONSCIENCE AND RELIGION; THIS RIGHT INCLUDES FREEDOM TO CHANGE HIS RELIGION OR BELIEF, AND FREEDOM, EITHER ALONE OR IN COMMUNITY WITH OTHERS AND IN PUBLIC OR PRIVATE, TO MANIFEST HIS RELIGION OR BELIEF IN TEACHING, PRACTICE, WORSHIP AND OBSERVANCE.
in recent weeks the scapegoating and stereotyping of certain religions, while ignoring others, has descended into a witch-hunt. The fury with which the media and government has pursued Sheik al-Hilani, while blindly ignoring the fact that such ideas are in nearly all the 'holy' scriptures (including the new testament) is hypocritical beyond belief. Every weekend similar things are said by men in all varieties of mosques, churches (protestant & catholic) and synagogues. Perhaps we should have a mass-deportation of all these women-haters, including mysogynistic rap singers and corporate paedophiles? It is interesting to note that both the Sheik and the media have made potentially seditious statements which the Government has not acted upon, which only adds to the case for sedition laws to be scrapped. With free speech and freedom of religion comes certain responsibilities, a fact which unfortunately various religious and media institutions are unable to realise due to either the 'god' motive or the profit motive.
(John C)
The government attack on members of certain religions, especially Muslims, is very selective. Under Parliamentary priviledge politicians can say anything they like which is fine if used for good government but it is abused for base political gains. Freedom of expression for the general public, however, is being reduced due to the climate of fear which is used by government as a means of control. (Rick Simpson)
# ARTICLE 19. [fail]
EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF OPINION AND EXPRESSION; THIS RIGHT INCLUDES FREEDOM TO HOLD OPINIONS WITHOUT INTERFERENCE AND TO SEEK, RECEIVE AND IMPART INFORMATION AND IDEAS THROUGH ANY MEDIA AND REGARDLESS OF FRONTIERS.
On face value this would appear to be a right always upheld in Australia but, when we scratch the surface of reality, we finds things a little different. Recent amendments to federal legislation has seen restrictions placed on our freedom of expression and our ability to impart our opinions without interference. Federal agencies now have increased powers to listen in on telephone conversations and intercept email. Freedom itself is a concept open to varied interpretation. Certainly I am not free to express my opinions if, at the same time, I am fearful of those opinions being covertly intercepted and recorded. I am not free to express myself if I am fearful that to do so could result in my arrest. Engage in any Internet forum where the theme is that of challenging State or Corporate power and you will find an undercurrent of concern that Big Brother is watching, listening, and at any time may make its move. That is not freedom. It is the current way of life under a government that has injected fear and suspicion into the lives of every one of us � whether or not we acknowledge it.
- From June to September 2004, government officials �cleansed� computers which held copies of an original manuscript by former ONA analyst Andrew Wilkie. Wilkie had agreed with the Government�s instruction to remove some passages from the manuscript of the book Axis of Deceit after a lawyer hired to vet the book for sensitive content handed it over to the Attorney-General�s Department. Recipients of the draft book allegedly consented under some pressure to have their computer hard drive �cleansed�.
BANNED computer game Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure
Set in a city of the future, Getting Up features a world where freedom of expression is suppressed by a tyrannical city government.
Players battle the authorities to overthrow corrupt officials using only street fighting skills and graffiti.
BANNED [shut down]: Richard Neville website
Melbourne IT shut down the site after it received calls from the Prime Minister's office and the Australian Federal Police, through its agency called the Australian High Tech Crime Centre. Melbourne IT's chief technology officer, Bruce Tonkin, says the registrar acted only because Neville's site looked like the Prime Minister's real site and infringed on intellectual property rights.
Who's policing the web's thought police? asks Graeme Philipson. [SydneyMorningHerald - March 28, 2006]
- Why were the Australian Federal Police involved, when there is no suggestion that a crime was committed?
- Why was Neville not informed of the complaint and given a chance to respond before the site was closed down, as ICANN's guidelines state? (The International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is the body that polices such matters.)
- Why was Neville's site taken down when many other spoof sites remain in existence? (Have a look at http://www.whitehouse.org.)
- Most of all, what does it mean for free speech on the internet? This sort of thing only happens in China, doesn't it? With the connivance of companies such as Yahoo!, Google and Microsoft, which hide behind the excuse that they are merely conforming with Chinese law. Has an Australian law been broken?
===
- media concentration, attacks on the ABC.
note- media has become both more diverse but also more concentrated. peoples opinion are shaped subconsciously by what they see on the headline of the Heral-Sum or the Age. they are also influenced by mass-advertising
# ARTICLE 20. [passed]
(1) EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY AND ASSOCIATION.
to quote Orwell again- "some animals are more equal than others." Corporations have more of this freedom than do citizens, which raises the issue of the right of corporate power to control public space. Although regulated to an extent by government, these are not 'free' institutions and are not subject to public scrutiny, let alone subject to democratic control.
(2) NO ONE MAY BE COMPELLED TO BELONG TO AN ASSOCIATION.
- over the last decade or so Australians have in fact been COMPELLED to become the "ownership society" due to the starvation of the public sector. Of course nobody is holding a gun to your head and saying 'invest in property or the stock-market or else.' But if you have a superannuation fund it is quite possibly being used as 'Hot money' [e.g. Private Equity] which is in fact controlled by lawyers, investment bankers and managment consultants. Although many Australians would prefer not to be associated with such schemes, they have little option if they want a comfortable retirement.
# ARTICLE 21.
(1) EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO TAKE PART IN THE GOVERNMENT OF HIS COUNTRY, DIRECTLY OR THROUGH FREELY CHOSEN REPRESENTATIVES.
an absolutely essential right upon which all the others hinge, which is why we are here today. The essence of democracy is public participation and dissent, including extraparliamentary activity and civil disobedience. To ensure freedom and social progress, non-cooperation with and oppositiom to authoritarian regimes are not only the right, but the duty of all citizens.
(2) EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT OF EQUAL ACCESS TO PUBLIC SERVICE IN HIS COUNTRY.
(3) THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE SHALL BE THE BASIS OF THE AUTHORITY OF GOVERNMENT; THIS WILL SHALL BE EXPRESSED IN PERIODIC AND GENUINE ELECTIONS WHICH SHALL BE BY UNIVERSAL AND EQUAL SUFFRAGE AND SHALL BE HELD BY SECRET VOTE OR BY EQUIVALENT FREE VOTING PROCEDURES.
The Will Of The People is always open to abuse by authoritarian regimes and is often confused with majority-rule. Democracy is not majority rule - it is the ability of self-rule (responsibilty) coupled with accountability.
# ARTICLE 22. [fail]
EVERYONE, AS A MEMBER OF SOCIETY, HAS THE RIGHT TO SOCIAL SECURITY AND IS ENTITLED TO REALIZATION, THROUGH NATIONAL EFFORT AND INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ORGANIZATION AND RESOURCES OF EACH STATE, OF THE ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS INDISPENSABLE FOR HIS DIGNITY AND THE FREE DEVELOPMENT OF HIS PERSONALITY.
- undermined by Welfare-To-Work. Corporate and middle-class welfare will, however, go full-steam ahead.
- from July 1st, a person on $150,000 gets a tax cut of $120 a week while a jobless person with a disability will be on lower payments and face a tax rate which means they lose 60 cents in every dollar they earn.
- "economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for dignity and the free development of personality" are dependent upon a full education which includes a basic understanding of history, politics, philosophy as having intrinsic value in their own right, not as commodities for the market. This is the basis for a 'civilisation'. The forcing of schools and universities into a 'market' model will further ensure the undermining of these rights and the breakdown of society as humans become further atomised into individual consumers.