internet rights vs human rights?

Brain fodder, I guess you might call this. Certainly it is an observation, personal but then it is my blog, so I guess my observations are the point.

Over the last few weeks I have noticed the following topics getting lots of heat across social media and blogosphere:

Note: I obviously don’t follow / read the entire web and am noting this observation from what I see.

• Obama
• Australian Internet Filter
• Twitter
• Financial Crisis
• Lots of new product / start-up releases
• green issues
• etc

Observation 1: these are all quite pertinent in their own ways. The US election was a significant moment in history. The internet filter is significant enough, but not nearly as significant as a black man sub 50 being voted US president. The Financial crisis rates pretty significantly for most people, although some might say the media is making hay while the sun shines, and overdoing the press on it.

Twitter, I love it, but of course it is just a tool, and while might be part of a new communication revolution (not my words) it isn’t something the world HAS to have.

Observation 2: several Bali bombers were executed (capital punishment) in Indonesia over the last week. This was covered in mainstream media but seemed to rate very lowly across social media.

So I started wondering, who do I follow, what blogs do I read etc, who are my close and not so close FB friends etc that not one really felt strong enough about a neighbouring country executing people as part of its justice system? No one was twittering or blogging, or attempting to use the ‘new media tools’ to comment on it.

I wondered some more, and wondered was it just that given all the time between all the different events relating to Bali all the emotional energy had already been spent? Or was it some form of political correctness?

I have been running it through my mind, I have looked around and there has been activity out in other channels;

The Irish Times has a fairly blunt evaluation of the situation Bali Executions, Blog Catalog has a mixed list of items relating to this and other executions around the world, and individual snippets the deeper I dig.

Underlying it all I am wondering why human lives and capital punishment don’t rate against climate change and internet filters? I wonder why our political leaders are hiding from the topic where possible, and there is no strong stance advocating a clear position for or against it?

[ still waiting for a reply from @turbullmalcolm - he seems more interested in censoring @kevinruddpm over a supposed lame conversation with Dubya ]

Seems everyone wants to let it lie. Doesn’t affect us, why get uptight about it? So the underlying question for me… is it true that most people care more whether they have internet access and modern gadgets versus an underlying horror at humans killing each other?

Does it matter? Is it more important to sign a petition to stop internet filters or to worry about interest rates over signing petitions to end capital punishment around the world?

My facts:

I care about us killing each other.

I care about internet clean filters.

I care about the environment and our planet.

I care that no one is doing much talking about modern horrors still being committed.

I worry that it seems the smattering of individuals in my social webosphere don’t seem to care about this versus whether they get faster or slower internet or a good cup of coffee.

Well that’s what ireckon – what about you?

I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.

Mahatma Gandhi

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