Thursday, December 9, 2010

U.S. to host 2011 World Press Freedom Day

The venue of Washington DC for this three day conference from May 1st to 3rd 2011 is Orwellian. The notion that the US supports Press Freedom is entirely discredited by recent events, and UNESCO should not be lending credence to US claims that it does, by allowing the US to host this event.

I am championing the suggestion that Iceland would be a much better venue for this conference than the US, and hope that UNESCO which organises this conference and others involved in its production agree.

Iceland has recently enacted progressive legislation that provides sweeping protection of freedom of the press, since Iceland following its own domestic problems now sees the merit in having the media better able to report truths, before falsehoods undermine nation states. Iceland is accessible from both Europe and North America, and I imagine that most attenders would be far more comfortable and far safer meeting in Iceland, than incurring all of the risks associated with being a journalist visiting the US these days.

U.S. Department of State Press Announcement

World Press Freedom Day Facebook Discussion

Anti Wikileaks lies and propaganda

Friday, December 3, 2010

World running out of new places to fish

The world's fishing industry is fast running out of new ocean fishing grounds to exploit as it depletes existing areas through unsustainable harvesting practices, according to a study published Thursday.

Scientific American