With the prevalence and widespread availability of information online and offline, you would think that everybody by now would have access to timely and ignorance-busting knowledge, which hopefully would lead us all to wisdom. Or even something, anything, that remotely resembles that quality of being wise.

But obviously, having access to terabytes of information does not mean being free from ignorance and its siblings, bias and prejudice. And with these two hydras around, fear and insecurity can never be far behind.

Non-Social Blurb

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a Chinese government-supported think tank, is accusing the United States and other Western governments of employing social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, to promote political unrest in unfriendly states. The think tank is calling for a closer monitoring of these so-called social Web sites.

With China’s online population having surged past the 400 million mark to become the world’s largest, the country’s Communist government seems intent on preserving its control on how the Chinese people think and talk, including on the online world.

The organization cited instances of online networking sites being used by dissidents in China and Iran, for example, to voice their complaints and opposition to the ruling classes. Oppositionists also use the Internet to mobilize and organize protest actions.

Yes. It is always easier to curtail people’s rights than it is to give up some of the powers and privileges that come with being members of the ruling class. It is far easier to blame other governments for the ills that befell one’s country than it is to address the inequality among social classes, or focus a government’s attention and focus on getting rid of corruption.

There is no need for socio-political reforms. Why would anybody do that, when they can just easily blame the U.S. and other Western governments?

Australia, Too

Somehow, we have gotten used to China barring this and outlawing that — anything that threatens the ruling class’ reign. But a Western country, such as Australia, doing something that we normally expect from a totalitarian country, ruled by despots and unelected idiots?

Now that is something quite unnerving, to say the least.

Don’t mistake this corner, however, for an anti-Aussie basher. We love that country, that continent. And we also admire the published reason why the country’s government is seeking to install an Internet filter.

We applaud, in fact, the country’s campaign against child pornography, one of the worst evils the world has ever known.

What seems to bother some rights activists, however, is the Internet filter’s additional job description that calls for tackling “other objectionable Internet content.” These activists worry about who gets to define what “objectionable Internet content” is, and what would the criteria be.

It is good to hear therefore that Australia’s government delayed the installation of the online filter for a year at least in order to review what content should be restricted.

That’s all for the meantime, folks. Join me again next time as we keep on watching IT.