The Right To Be Forgotten
Amidst countless and quintessentially human pursuits to make a mark and be remembered, the European Union is fighting for quite a different ideal: “the right to be forgotten.” They are not talking, of course, about the desire to eradicate individual deeds and accomplishments from our collective memory, but rather about the need to protect individuals from the endless and potentially dangerous annals of Internet memory. The EU has confirmed this week that legislators are working on proposals for instituting acceptable privacy settings for websites, particularly targeted at huge servers like Google and Facebook. The goal is to require user permission for releasing or retaining any private information and enforce the right of individuals to have personal information permanently deleted from databases.
One of the issues at hand is perhaps inherent in the growth of the internet: websites such as Facebook make the world seem like a very small place, but with this worldwide membership comes a discrepancy between the policies of the country in which the website is based and the countries in which it is being used. The European Union is arguing that many sites with servers outside the continent, Facebook included, are not adhering to EU legislation. Additionally, Justice Commissioner Vivian Reding acknowledges that a number of the current privacy policies themselves are outdated, many of which have been in place since 1995—nine years longer than Internet giant Facebook has been in existence. Rapid advances in technology have made it difficult for legislation to keep up with the constant generation of threats to privacy.
The EU’s assertive stance on this privacy issue is certainly not an anomaly; such concerns have been prevalent in the United States as well. Though the U.S. government has demonstrated some reluctance to inhibit the progress of successful businesses and has not typically placed as much emphasis as the EU on the need for individual privacy, regulators in Europe and the United States are now trying to work together to align their policies regarding such issues. U.S. regulators tend to place a great deal of value on freedom of information, but the fact that some online databases retain personal information even when users attempt to delete their accounts certainly poses a threat to the individual. Social networking sites might seem like harmless fun, but when you pressed the button to initially activate your Facebook account, did you really think you were making an intimate lifelong commitment? Because someday you might want to forget Facebook, but Zuckerberg & Co. aren’t ready to forget you.
- Nora Curry
News Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/17/us-eu-internet-privacy-idUSTRE72G48Z20110317?pageNumber=1
Image Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/18/online-privacy-right-to-be-forgotten_n_837489.html
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The Return
Former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide is expected to return to Haiti on March 18, 2011, two days before the country’s presidential election. “Lethal Weapon” star Danny Glover arrived in South Africa last Wednesday to escort the politician to his homeland.
This marked the end of Aristide’s second exile to South Africa since 2004. The former priest was primarily exiled to Venezuela in the 1990s after he became Haiti’s first democratically elected president. After he assumed power in 1994 and subsequently in 2000, he fled the country “under American pressure as rebels closed in on the capital,” according to the New York Times.
Aristide’s new government in the 1990s overthrew the 30-year dictatorship of Jean-Claude Duvalier who was exiled to France for over two decades. Recently, the former dictator returned to Haiti while the judicial system there made plans to possibly charge him with human rights violations during his years as the country’s leader.
However, Duvalier was not the only leader responsible for corrupt government. Although Aristide was a popular politician among the poor, his rule as president has been tinged with polarization. The poor regard him as their hero, and his colleagues regard him as their nemesis.
In addition to many of Haiti’s public figures, the U.S. government was not happy about Aristide’s return to Haiti. The government believed that Aristide’s return would be a harsh blow to Haiti’s political climate. With the political crisis that Haiti faced during the first round of voting in December, the U.S. has been in contact with the South African government to delay Aristide’s arrival until after the elections.
President Obama called Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s president, but was unable to plead his case. Haiti issued Aristide his diplomatic passport weeks before his departure. On Thursday, South Africa bid him and those among his entourage, including actor Danny Glover, farewell.
Aristide said that he hopes to work in education when he arrives in Haiti, but American officials are unsure of his intentions.
Former first lady, Mirlande Manigat, is also known as a mother of Haiti. She was once an antagonist of Aristide. Now, she anticipates Aristide’s arrival and his contributions to education in Haiti.
A sign hangs up near the airport, “You have your mother, now your father is coming.”
Information Source: HYPERLINK "http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/18/world/americas/18aristide.html" http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/18/world/americas/18aristide.html
"http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2690420/posts" http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2690420/posts
"http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/16/2118783/aristide-expected-return-to-haiti.html" http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/16/2118783/aristide-expected-return-to-haiti.html
Image Source: http://topuspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/4f3c8_aristide_new_pho.jpg
-Kerri Byam
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How Far We’ve Come
On March 19th, 2011, the United States, along with British and French forces, unleashed a near 110 missile assault on Moammar Gadhafi's military strong holds near Misrata and Tripoli. This was done to enforce the UN’s decree of a “no-fly” zone over Libya and to protect civilians and protesters against a dictator who explicitly indicated he would bomb his own people.
On March 19th, 2003, the United States, along with United Kingdom contingents, began the initial war assault on Iraq. This war was helmed under the guise of securing weapons of mass destruction from Suddam Hussein (that were never found) and "liberating" the Iraqi people from tyranny.
Despite all the political pitfalls that plague our country(and there’s a new scandal every day), the United States of America is not what it was eight years ago. Our responses are similar, but our reasons for military action are moving in the right direction.
Just look at the facts.
-Kate Conte
Article Source(s): http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/war-in-iraq-begins
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/03/19/libya.us.missiles/index.html
Image Source: http://www.n24.de/media/import/dpainfoline/dpainfoline_20100428_13/jpeg-14793800DADD22DC-20100428-img_24662134originallarge-4-3-800-375-0-2923-1912.jpg
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