The power of Television

Ah yes, the TV, probably the most powerful invention ever created. What makes me say that? Well just think about it: almost every person has one, they are relatively cheap, and with modern day technologies such as fiber optics, the Internet, satellite technologies and the old fashioned radio, you can watch your favorite movies and shows, find out the latest news anywhere and everywhere you go: in your car, on your laptop, on your pocket radio and even on your cell phone!

What most people don't realise is that television like any other technology, it is a two-edged sword, having both a positive and a negative aspect.

The positive aspects

Here are probably the best aspects of television:

• it helps people to learn about other cultures
• it gives family members of all ages an opportunity to spend time together watching their favorite shows, movies
• educational programs can teach people of all ages new things and even get them reading about subjects of interest they saw on TV
• people can socialize easier talking about their favorite TV programs
• you can be informed of what is happening around the world through news and documentaries

The dark side of television

As the saying goes "a picture is worth a thousand words" so I would like to end this article with this short film. Enjoy.

Security or Freedom?

Good question isn't it? Which one would you choose? While you decide keep in mind that you can only choose one. Not so easy isn't it? Try thinking harder. Being free, living your life the way you want it to or are you willing to give up some of your freedom for a false sense of security?

I'm from a country which has a rich communist past but I tell you these new measures of "security" taken around the world in the last years, especially in the US, are quite disturbing from my point of view.

Take the Patriot Act for example. It increases the ability of law enforcement agencies to search telephone, e-mail communications, medical, financial and other records, it eases restrictions on foreign intelligence gathering within the United States; expands the Secretary of Treasury's authority to regulate financial transactions, particularly those involving foreign individuals and entries; and enhances the discretion of law enforcement and immigration authorities in detaining and deporting immigrants suspected of terrorism-related acts. This act also expands the definition of terrorism to include domestic terrorism, thus enlarging the number of activities to which the US Patriot Act's expanded law enforcement powers can be applied.

In more simple words, if you have an argument with your neighbour for example, and he announces the authorities that you are a terrorist (your neighbour acting in revenge), your house can be searched without a warrant, the authorities can make a copy of your hard drive, they can wiretap your phone and so on. They can do all of this because someone suspected you of terrorism! This reminds me of the methods used by the Gestapo in Nazi Germany, the KGB in Russia, and Securitatea in my home country back in the communist days.

I understand the fact that a country without some sort of security is a dead one but isn't this to much? With the introduction of the biometric visas, the biometric drivers license system, biometric passports and the biometric microchip we (the average citizens) are monitored like cattle. Furthermore these technologies are not full prof. With the right amount of time and technological skill these security measures can be hacked. Trust me. Just google it, the brilliant minds of the members of 2600 and Defcon (and probably other hacker communities as well) can explain it better than I do.

Now if we pretend that they are full prof these methods of security raise other questions. If everything is biometrically controlled then how will the CIA for example will conduct future operations? After all if everything it's biometrically controlled, there is no place to run and no place to hide because everything is monitored. And furthermore what about ethics?

So what about you? I ask you again: What would you choose? Freedom or Security?

Is slavery a thing of the past?

Most of us probably think that slavery is long gone and it cannot exist nowadays, at least not in the western world.

Well, according to studies done by anti-slavery groups there are currently more slaves than at any time in history! It is believed that there are around 27 million people in slavery right now. Furthermore, this number does not include people who are not technically slaves but are in a form of servitude tantamount to slavery. A study done at Berkeley University estimates that there are around 10,000 slaves currently in the United states. [Source]

The origins of the word

The word "slave" has it's origins from the Byzantine Greek word "sklabos" which was the name for the Slavic people. The reason for this is that the Vikings used to capture the Slavs and sell them to the Romans as slaves. The term dates back as far as 580 AD as the Latin word "servus" was commonly used before that for all kinds of servants - enslaved or not.

Ancient Practice

Slavery is an ancient practice, it is referred to in man's earliest records such as the Code of Hammurabi (1760 BC), the earliest known law code - from Babylon. It is mentioned in the Bible and some of the ancient philosophers (including Aristotle) believed tat some men were born in a natural state of slavery, thereby making it moral to enslave that man. Slavery in those days was often the punishment for debt - once the dept was repaid, the slave might be released.

Modern forms of slavery

Nowadays slavery doesn't come in the obvious form in which one person owns another person(traditionally called "chattel slavery"). Practices that amount to slavery are:

• Bonded labour or debt bondage (for example migrant workers often become bounded labour to pay of those who smuggled them to the new country - they dare not break free for fear of being deported)
• Serfdom (this is when a person has to live and work for another on the other's land)
• Child slavery (forcing children to become soldiers, for example by the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda)
• Marital and sexual slavery (prostitution, forced marriage, including selling wives)
• Workers in developing countries (This one is in my opinion the most obvious form of slavery, foreign corporations open their factories in developing countries because "the labour is cheap". For example in Western European countries such as Estonia, Bulgaria and Romania a blue collar worker's monthly salary is about 250 US dollars (not enough for food for 1 month trust me, I know), but in some parts of Africa workers make 250 US dollars in 1(one) year!)
• Other forms of slave labour: where a worker "is kept in captivity" as a domestic servant, where passports are confiscated from migrant workers to keep them in bondage.

So next time when you hear about slavery, remind yourself of what have you had read here, who knows maybe one of your friends might be caught up in one form or another of slavery.