The Raging Tech

Human Rights Violations in China

Hi. Did you know that me, being able to sit here and write whatever I want, and you, being able to sit there and read it, is a freedom? I’m sure most of you know that already, because you’ve sat through History class and you know about our various freedoms from the Bill of Rights. Or if you’re in another country besides the US, you probably have your own freedoms if you’re able to read this.

But right now, in China, you can’t read or write just anything you want. China PROMISED that before the Olympics they would clean up their act. They would stop punishing and imprisoning peaceful dissidents. But instead of following-through on that promise, they’ve instead imprisoned more people, including journalist Shi Tao.

Do you know who lead the Chinese government to Shi Tao? Yahoo! did, by turning over information to their government, just to protect their relations with China.

What can you do to stand up against Human Rights Violations, such as Shi Tao’s 10 year prison sentence for sending an e-mail?

You can urge your U.S. representatives (local and state) to put pressure on the Chinese government to release Shi Tao and others who have been wrongfully imprisoned for speaking their minds.

Secondly, you can e-mail Yahoo! and call for them to be more responsible with users’ data and privacy. They should not have released Shi Tao’s information to the Chinese government. Yahoo is based in the U.S., with locations around the world. There is no reason why they should have to give up data on servers that were probably located on U.S. soil.

Finally, you can post on your own blog about Human Rights violations around the world, there’s still time today to join Bloggers Unite for Human Rights, on May 15th, 2008.

Rate this:

2.5

Tags: china, human rights, olympics, Shi Tao, unite, violations

Decision 2008: LOLObama or Presidential CATidate?

I saw this on Digg this morning and it made me laugh. Barack Obama just has this way of carrying himself, like he’s a real person. He doesn’t seem to have that air about him most politicians seem to have. He fits that picture in my head of a regular American who got fed up and got involved in the political process to change things. I don’t know if he’s going to be a good president or not, because everyone makes promises during election campaigns, and not everyone keeps them. All we can do is weigh the candidates and see who we think will be the best for the job.

Here’s a LOLCat-esque picture with Barak enjoying some fajitas:

Rate this:

2.5

Tags: Barack Obama, funny, LOLCats, picture, Politics

Rock the Vote: Presidential Primaries Tomorrow

Tomorrow millions of Americans will get up off their lazy humps and decide on their party’s presidential candidate. One of the biggest noise-makers this year is the competition between Barack Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton. It’s been a trash-talking, mud-slinging campaign, but it’s important that you go out and vote tomorrow for the primaries.

It’s been neck-and-neck so far, and neither candidate has enough delegates to secure it all for November. If you are not already registered to vote, it may be too late to vote in the primaries tomorrow, but you can still make a difference in November, so be sure to register to vote.

If you’re not familiar with each candidate’s policies, be sure to check Wikipedia under each candidate’s names, and look for an unbiased comparison chart listing major hot topic issues. Most of these things can be found at RockTheVote.org, but you can find your own sources. That’s the best thing about voting - it’s your choice. Make your own opinions, no matter what anyone else tells you.

Don’t know if you’re registered to vote? Check out your State Board of Elections web site, and often times it can tell you if you’re registered to vote already. I had sent in my card months ago, but I wasn’t sure until I checked this morning on their site. Also, the SBOE for your state is a good place to look up polling locations.

Get out tomorrow and vote!

Rate this:

2.5

Tags: democracy, presidential primaries, rock the vote, vote

Bloggers Unite: Blogger’s Union on the Horizon?

Slashdot covered an interesting article by the Columbia Journalism Review about the possibility of blog authors (or “Bloggers,” if you will) unionizing in light of the recent Hollywood screenwriter’s strike by the Writer’s Guild of America. There is a lot of debate but not a lot of legislation in congress right now about the rights of bloggers.

So, that being said, do you think there should be an association, guild, or even a union formed to protect bloggers? Do you consider blogging a legitimate form of journalism?

I think a union or guild of sorts for professional bloggers would be useful; We could standardize on things like a Blogger Code of Ethics. We could help other bloggers find work and experienced bloggers could help train young bloggers on the tricks of the trade. Unions aren’t just about striking for better treatment or standing up for rights, it’s also a place just for people of a trade to help each other. In this digital age, blogging is already become a real-life, living-earning trade.

Rate this:

2.5

Barack Obama for Change

Look, I’m by no means going to turn this into a political blog, or blog all year long about Barack Obama and how you should vote for him, because that’s not why you came here. I will, however, keep up with the elections and what’s going on. For this post only, because this is my personal blog, I’d like to endorse a candidate: Barack Obama.

You may have noticed in a previous post that I had mentioned I was supporting a candidate financially and that he shall remain nameless. Well, now you know! So, why Obama, you might ask? I have, until recently, lost a lot of hope in America. I have had thoughts of moving to Canada or Europe one day, because some days I’m just not feeling patriotic. When I hear Obama talk about change, and hope, and health care, and being better Americans, and that change needs to happen both in Washington and in every American.

Some people don’t like Obama strictly on his views on gun control, abortion, gay marriage, and the other “talkable” issues, but I’d rather have someone who’s for more rights than for taking them away. I’m not for those things, but I’m not for our government controlling them either.

Barack Obama is a passionate orator, and his political record seems pretty clean, albeit briefer than others. I’ve heard several people say that Obama lacks political experience to run the country; I’d say that’s better than having someone stuck in their old ways, full of corruption or their own agenda. I want a president who makes me proud to be an American - someone who inspires and leads us and brings this nation back together.

I think my soap box rental is up, so I’m going to step down and return it. In the meantime, check out my fund-raising page:

The Raging Tech for Obama - My official fund-raising goal is just $1,000. It’s all managed by Obama for America 2008, so don’t think any of it is going in my pocket. Also, it’s just called The Raging Tech for Obama, but that’s me as a blog author, not the business entity.

Rate this:

2.5