links for 2008-02-11

• Hong Kong netizens protest nude photo ‘white terror’ at Global Voices Advocacy
  John Kennedy brings us photos and videos of the latest free speech protest in Hong Kong - netizens are concerned that the frackas over obscene photos will lead to a strengthening of police power and eroding of privacy and internet freedoms.
  (tags: hongkong internet privacy freespeech porn)
• Asia Sentinel - Naked Edison Chen and Friends Light Up the Web
  "In a city where casual obscenity, barely concealed prostitution and vulgarity abound, the reaction seems more in line with busting a serial killer or going after triad bosses."
  (tags: hongkong porn internet privacy freespeech)
• The Standard - Internet sex pix saga picks up steam
  The Edison Chen sex photos now get auctioned on the mainland where nobody is getting arrested for them... netizens protest, demand release of arrested man and police apology for overstepping their power.
  (tags: hongkong porn privacy internet china freespeech chineseinternetresearch)
• EastSouthWestNorth: The Rights and Powers Behind Three Photographs
  A mainland perspective on internet photo scandals, free expression rights and state power.
  (tags: china chineseinternetresearch media journalism photos freespeech privacy porn hongkong)
• Asia Times Online :: Racy photos strip heart-throb's image
  Justin Mitchell sums up the Hong Kong Edison Chen sex photo fracas and points out (via Roland Soong) that despite HK police efforts to stop the spread of the photos, even Xinhua has posted some.
  (tags: china hongkong media porn privacy freespeech chineseinternetresearch law)
• The legality of water-boarding is a moving target. - By Dahlia Lithwick - Slate Magazine
  "What we are hearing now from senior Bush administration officials is that if the president thinks someone looks kinda like a terrorist and the information sought from him seems kinda worth getting, it will be legal to torture him."
  (tags: bush torture humanrights outrageous u.s.a. u.s.policy)
• Ari Emanuel: My Brother the Superdelegate and Why I Don't Trust Him to Pick the Next President - Politics on The Huffington Post
  "After the democracy-snubbing arrogance of the Bush years, the last thing Democrats should be doing is wavering on our democratic principles on these issues. No super-power granted to superdelegates. And no backroom fudging on Florida and Michigan."
  (tags: u.s.a. vote2008 democracy)

Comments

[Charles Liu]

Isn't HK's descency board run by citizen volunteers, in order to represent "community standards"?

Sounds like instead of protesting, people should sign up and volunteer their time, instead allowing the right wing HK Christians to decide what "community standard" really is.

[mahathir_Fan]

"After the democracy-snubbing arrogance of the Bush years, the last thing Democrats should be doing is wavering on our democratic principles on these issues. No super-power granted to superdelegates. And no backroom fudging on Florida and Michigan."

I cannot believe that this author even have the nerve to bring this up under the banner of democracy.

First of all, if you really live in a free democracy, states are not supposed to organize primaries for your political party. All political parties are private entities. They need to hold their own little elections to decide amongst their own members who to represent them at their elections - not through some state government organized elections.

When states hold such primaries on behalf of the Republicans or the Democrats, they effectively divided the market share of the voters to just these 2 parties.

Does Hong Kong government help the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong(DAB) party hold Hong Kong wide elections in Hong kong to elect leaders for key position in DAB? Does the Hong Kong government help the League for Social Democrats hold Hong Kong wide elections in public schools, public libraries to elect people to key position in the party?

No and No. There is absolutely no reason for US State governments to involve themselves in election primaries for both Republican and Democrat parties. It should be constitutional illegal. There is no legal justification for this behavior.

[Charles Liu]

And I learned while we diss the Chinese with stuff like "party cadre" - guess what a "super deligate" is?

That's right, party cadre.