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The United Nations is considering whether to set up an inter-governmental working group to harmonize global efforts by policy makers to regulate the internet. Establishment of such a group has the backing of several countries, spearheaded by Brazil. At a meeting in New York on Wednesday, representatives from Brazil called for an international body made up of Government representatives that would attempt to create global standards for policing the internet - specifically in reaction to challenges such as WikiLeaks. The Brazilian delegate stressed, however, that this should not be seen as a call for a "takeover" of the internet. India,...

Do you believe in God? Every time I answer the question honestly I lose friends. Still I tell the truth: I don’t believe in God. I don’t believe in the evolution either. I just believe we don’t have enough knowledge to know the world yet. If you are still reading, I appreciate your tolerance. Glenn Beck’s answer to America’s troubles is turning to God. Where does it leave us: the non believers? Beck’s solution reminds me of my godmother, who is a nun in an Eastern Orthodox Monastery on the Balkans. When I visited her she answered every question...

Sanibel, Fla., was one of the first U.S. cities to endorse the Earth Charter nearly a year ago as a part of Earth Day celebrations. It was also the first U.S. city to withdraw its endorsement. This controversial document, promoted by Mikhail Gorbachev and Maurice Strong for a decade, is seen by many to be an effort to create a new "16 Commandments" to serve as the foundation for a new global religion. Sanibel citizens were not happy about the endorsement. Forty-two citizens and five former mayors signed an open letter, published in a local newspaper, demanding that the endorsement...

Last April, The Heritage Foundation released a WebMemo titled "The Dirty Dozen: 12 New Policies That Undermine Civil Society."[1] Seven months later, many of these policies being advocated by Congress and the President have moved closer to becoming law. In addition, several new issues have emerged that deserve illumination. Taken as a whole, these policies serve to undermine traditional families, devalue life and human dignity, and weaken civil society in American life. National PolicyMassive Expansion of the Welfare State. Within his first two years in office, President Obama will have increased spending on means-tested programs for the poor by 30...

Ignorance is a B.A. by: Jesse Masai, December 05, 2008 Americans, including elected officials, earn a failing grade when tested on American history and economics. The recently-released third Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) Report on Civic Literacy suggests there is an epidemic of historical, political and economic ignorance in America and that colleges ought to be the main part of the cure. “Fewer than half of all Americans can name all three branches of government, a minimal requirement for understanding America’s constitutional system,” reads the report referring to its test of civic literacy in which liberals score 49%, conservatives 48%, and...

You have to hand it to John McCain — his campaign ads are (inadvertently) the most incisive commentary on the death of Jeffersonian democracy ever broadcast. Superficially, they lambaste Barack Obama's worshipful crowds and messianic promises that a heavenly "light will shine down" on his candidacy. But what the ads really lampoon is what Vanderbilt Professor Dana Nelson calls Presidentialism: our paternalistic view that presidents are godlike saviors — and therefore democracy's only important figures. "The once-every-four-years hope for the lever pull sensation of democratic power blinds people to the opportunities for democratic representation, deliberation, activism and change that surrounds...

The Other Russia, a coalition of opposition groups, vowed Thursday that it would defy the authorities and press on with its March of Dissenters on Saturday. Moscow officials this month banned the march, which is meant to protest what opposition leaders describe as Russia's slide into the authoritarian abyss. United Civil Front leader Garry Kasparov blasted the city for trying to shut down the demonstration, citing federal law No. 54. "This is an absolute violation of our constitutional rights," Kasparov said. Kasparov, a former chess champion, spoke with other members of The Other Russia at a news conference at the...

A ramshackle plywood house on a plot worth hundreds of thousands of dollars on the edge of Moscow is at the center of a fierce battle that is pitting its residents and several federal officials against the seemingly omnipotent Moscow government. The outcome promises to show how far and for how long politicians are ready to support a real grassroots protest. The case could also help raise the status of the Public Chamber as a defender of public interests. "This is the barbaric persecution of us here. My mom had to be treated by doctors and is now resting at...

Traffic police stopped hundreds of drivers for document checks and purported traffic violations in western Moscow on Sunday, breaking up a protest of at least 1,000 drivers over the conviction of a fellow driver and the use of flashing blue lights and sirens on bureaucrats' cars. In all, thousands of drivers took to the streets across the country over the weekend to denounce VIP cars and the conviction of Oleg Shcherbinsky in the car crash that killed Altai Governor Mikhail Yevdokimov last year, said the rally's organizer, the Free Choice Motorists' Movement, a nongovernmental organization. Similar grassroots protests have been...

Thousands of drivers intend to honk their horns and jam streets on Sunday, while scores of other people plan to gather in protest on Pushkin Square and at other locations across the country. In a possible sign of things to come, the protests are being organized not by any political party but by grassroots organizations that are frustrated with the authorities and no longer feel they can count on the parties for help. The drivers aim to express their indignation over the recent conviction of a driver in the car crash that killed Altai Governor Mikhail Yevdokimov, while the others...

Iran's hardline Interior Ministry has decided to control and crackdown the NGOs by preparing a list of groups that it claims are planning to overthrow the Islamic regime. Conservative Qods daily has exposed a plan by the ministry to deal with Iranian NGOs. Based on Qod’s report, the Interior Ministry has accused some NGOs of misusing money, supporting members of the former government of Khatami and secretly communicating with foreign agents. During the last days of President Mohammad Khatami's reform government, Ashraf Boroujerdi, social affairs deputy at the Interior Ministry had stressed the existence of plans to fight NGOs and...

Described by Reporters Sans Frontieres as "the biggest prison for journalists in the Middle East" -- where, in the last six years, 41 daily newspapers have been banned -- Iran has long lacked a public forum for independent voices. But it hasn't been immune to the user-driven web revolution. In April 2003, Iran became the first government to imprison a blogger: Sina Motallebi of the popular weblog RoozNegar.com. (Despite anti-censorship public outcry, the Iranian government still uses extensive filtering to block out Internet content deemed inappropriate.) It seems that as the regime has tried to crack down on "immorality," dissent...

Russian MPs act to 'curb' NGOs Russia's lower house of parliament has backed in principle a bill that will give the state greater control over non-governmental organisations. In a 370-18 vote, the State Duma approved in the first reading the bill that would require all NGOs to re-register with a state commission. The bill's sponsors say the aim is to prevent money laundering and improve financial oversight. NGOs say it will significantly curb their activities. More than 1,000 NGOs have been urging the house to reject the bill. It is clear that the Kremlin is determined to crack down on...

Freeper Investigation: Original Intent and Constitutional Jurisprudence by Jean F. Drew English and Anglo-American law’s core principle is the opposition to abusive power as exercised by the state. As Dan Gifford writes in “The Conceptual Foundations of Anglo-American Jurisprudence in Religion and Reason,” “The law is not the law regardless if it be good, bad, or indifferent. There is a higher moral law, originating within ancient Jewish law, which requires individual responsibility for opposing evil and promoting goodness. It is from this basic tenet that English law and Anglo-American law embody the following principle: The individual has rights against the...

Democracy: As Cuba digs out from one of the worst hurricane sever to hit the island, Fidel Castro faces a new challenge to his tyranny. It’s not just the failure of Cuba’s infrastructure. It’s also what’s filling the void. That something is the use of technology as a lifeline to the construction of a civil society. As Hurricane Dennis slammed through Cuba, an interesting change happened: Cubans lost their fear of the state and provided minute-by-minute reporting about conditions by cell phone, e-mail or short-wave radio on the hurricane to their Miami brethren.

IDB YOUTH TO HOLD VIRTUAL FORUM ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP DURING MAY IN PREPARATION FOR FOURTH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS Young Entrepreneurs of the Americas: Forum for the Participation of Civil Society The Inter-American Development Bank will hold a series of virtual forums May 2-27 to promote a wide dialogue on the concerns of young entrepreneurs and business people have related to employment in Latin America and the Caribbean.All young people who would like to discuss and make recommendations on employment, competitiveness, business environments, education, technology, leadership, good citizenship, and democracy are welcome to participate. Members of the IDB Youth Network can...

Subject: Situation in Communist Cuba Date: April 20, 2005 at 10:18 pm PST A group of organizations inside Cuba are planning to have large demonstrations for democracy and human rights on May 20th 2005 in Havana, Cuba. Castro's crimes against humanity and democracy have to stop. Please talk to your congressman, newsmedia and others to support and protect this unprecedented demonstration in Cuba. The Assembly to Promote Civil Society in Cuba is a coalition of 365 independent civil society groups within Cuba, which can be truthfully called non-governmental organizations. All these groups – although having solicited official recognition, have been...

This week, over 200 protesters from the Russian Republic of Bashkortostan gathered in Moscow to call for the dismissal of Bashkir President Murtaza Rakhimov. Bashkortostan’s opposition accuses the president and the republic’s authorities of human-rights abuses and corruption. But its demands are likely to fall on deaf ears.

The US is turning on old friends in Europe, writes John Laughland. Before he denounced the "prevailing influence" of the US in the "anti-constitutional coup" that overthrew him, President Askar Akayev of Kyrgyzstan used an interesting phrase to attack those who were stirring up trouble in the drug-ridden Ferghana Valley. A criminal "third force", linked to the drug mafia, was struggling to gain power. Originally a label for covert operatives shoring up apartheid in South Africa before it was adopted by the US-backed "pro-democracy" movement in Iran in November 2001, the third force is also the title of a book...

U.S.-Backed Iraqi Exiles Return to Reinvent Nation Sat May 3, 2:58 PM ET Add Top Stories - The New York Times to My Yahoo! By DOUGLAS JEHL The New York Times This article was reported by Danny Hakim, Douglas Jehl and Michael Moss and written by Mr. Jehl. ?/td> Health Agency Took Swift Action Against SARS ?/td> Struggle to Go On After Club Fire ?/td> For the latest breaking news, visit NYTimes.com ?/td> Get DealBook, a daily email digest of corporate finance newsDealBook. Search NYTimes.com: Related Quotes PFEDJIANASDAQ^SPC 31.558582.681502.88930.08 +0.56+128.43+30.32+13.78 delayed 20 mins - disclaimerQuote Data provided by Reuters   ARLINGTON,...