[ErnestTU]

Beneath this are the Press Freedom rankings for 150 countries with populations in excess of 1 million. The methodology used by the authors, Freedom House, is given in the right hand column.

This survey of 194 countries and territories expands a process conducted since 1980 by Freedom House. The findings are widely used by governments and international organizations, academics, and the news media in many countries. The degree to which each country permits the free flow of information determines the classification of its media as “Free,” “Partly Free,” or “Not Free.” Countries scoring 0 to 30 are regarded as having “Free” media, 31 to 60, “Partly Free” media, and 61 to 100, “Not Free” media. The criteria for such judgments and the arithmetic scheme for displaying the judgments are described below. Assigning numerical points allows for comparative analysis among the countries surveyed as well as facilitating an examination of trends over time.

United States10 15

http://www.worldaudit.org/press.htm

[Soadiassy]

“We must salute the engines of press freedom, with Finland, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland at their head. We must also pay homage to the human rights activists, journalists and bloggers throughout the world who bravely defend the right to speak out. Their fate is our constant concern. We reiterate our call for the release of Liu Xiaobo, the symbol of the pressure for free speech building up in China, which censorship for the time being is still managing to contain. And we warn the Chinese authorities against taking a road from which there is no way out.

“It is disturbing to see several European Union member countries continuing to fall in the index. If it does not pull itself together, the European Union risks losing its position as world leader in respect for human rights. And if that were to happen, how could it be convincing when it asked authoritarian regimes to make improvements? There is an urgent need for the European countries to recover their exemplary status.

“We are also worried by the harsher line being taken by governments at the other end of the index. Rwanda, Yemen and Syria have joined Burma and North Korea in the group of the world’s most repressive countries towards journalists. This does not bode well for 2011. Unfortunately, the trend in the most authoritarian countries is not one of improvement.”
http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index-2010,1034.html

[womberte]

I'm beginning to think Europe is the armpit of the world. I dont know if its socialism that is causing it to rot at its core or what but it is indeed rotting. Today I read where Iran may be cutting off its oil and I didnt even care. I didnt even care if they replaced their supplier of oil which is odd for me as I tend to give a shit even for those at opposite ends of the spectrum. I'd rather not feel anything sometimes, I think.

[Konidurase]

I'm beginning to think Europe is the armpit of the world. I dont know if its socialism that is causing it to rot at its core or what but it is indeed rotting. Today I read where Iran may be cutting off its oil and I didnt even care. I didnt even care if they replaced their supplier of oil which is odd for me as I tend to give a shit even for those at opposite ends of the spectrum. I'd rather not feel anything sometimes, I think.

I worry about losing our freedom on the internet to get information.