(C) Kapok Tree Diplomacy. Mar 2012. All rights reserved. Jeff Dwiggins. Free Content
Like the morning fog that settles across San Francisco Bay, the technological haze that permeates our society is clearly palpable during my morning commute to the Pentagon. About 50 human ‘techno drones’ stare into their smart phones and various personal technology devices for nearly the entire 75 minute bus commute, relationally disconnected and seemingly oblivious to their fellow travelers or anything else for that matter. And who can blame them? They have a job to do. And so do I. We are stars of our own personal Truman Show, watching a version of real life unfold before our very eyes while thousands of online marketers, friends, employers, government agencies and total strangers curiously watch our every move.
Of course, each individual Truman Show is just a little bit different. Exactly how are all of us spending our time online? Simon Kemp of Social Media Today notes that the global online population of over two billion users spends 22% of their time social networking, 21% doing searches, 20% reading content, 19% reading emails or communication, 13% on multi-media sites, and 5% doing online shopping.[1] Kemp says the average person in the U.S. spends 32 hours per month online including eight hours per month on Facebook alone.[2] Based on what I see every day, I think those numbers are extraordinarily low. Read more
Blind Man’s Bluff: Kazakhstan’s Mirage of Compliance with International Obligations to Uphold the Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Assembly and Association
“Blind Man’s Bluff: Kazakhstan’s Mirage of Compliance with International Obligations to Uphold the Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Assembly and Association” by Kapok Tree Diplomacy
© Kapok Tree Diplomacy. May 2011. All rights reserved. Jeff Dwiggins.
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Section One – The Right to Freedom of Expression
ICCPR Principles and Obligations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), though not legally binding, declares that “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression … and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers” (Art. 19).The ICCPR, which Kazakhstan ratified in 2006 (UN Treaty Collection), expands upon this definition and binds state parties “in accordance with its terms and with international law” (Steiner, Alston and Goodman (SAG) 152). Treaty obligations are to be governed by the Vienna Convention’s Article 26 fundamental principle of pacta sunt servanda which states, “[e]very treaty in force is binding upon the parties to it and must be performed by them in good faith” (Dunoff, Ratner & Wippman (DRW) 58). Article 19 of the ICCPR declares: Read more
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