First Amendment

[Robert J. Tiess]

It was mentioned:
>>  the First Amendment to the United States Constituion
>>  was not in force in Israel.  I don't know whether that country as an
>>  equivalent to the First Amendment with guarantees of free speech, etc.

One site offering potential insight into the law in
Israel is http://www.israel.org/mfa/go.asp?MFAH000b0
Whether this is official and current, I do not know.

On a far broader note, the Internet extends to almost
every country; we all understand this, but we do tend to
interpret the medium locally, which is fine in some
ways but limited in others.  For immediate consideration,
there is the United Nations Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, a document recently celebrated in 1998 for
its 50th anniversary.  In that period, countries and
individuals were encouraged--and are to this day still
encouraged--to adopt the fundamental human rights
outlined in this document, which, specific to the area
of online user interests here, includes:

   Article 19.

	Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion
	and expression; this right includes freedom to
	hold opinions without interference and to seek,
	receive and impart information and ideas through
	any media and regardless of frontiers.

        Source:  http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

The international scope of this document offers true
universal appeal, as it's not specific to one country.
It is for any person believing in human rights everywhere,
including those of us online, as users or administrators,
or offline in public service roles.  These human rights
are not reserved for United States citizens; they are for
all of us, globally, to recognize, enjoy, and preserve.

For more on the Declaration and related information see:

 http://www.un.org [main site]
 http://www.un.org/rights/50/decla.htm [Declaration, 50th Anniversary.]
 http://www.unhchr.ch [High Commissioner for Human Rights home page]
 http://www.unhchr.ch/udhr/index.htm [Declaration: translations]

Also supporting the Declaration of Human Rights is the following more
recent document, dated March 8, 1999:

 Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals,
 Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally
 Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
 http://www.unhchr.ch/huridocda/huridoca.nsf/(Symbol)/A.RES.53.144.En?OpenDocument

These documents are well worth reading, if you haven't
had the opportunity, as they offer the broadest context
possible for engaging in a meaningful, unbiased
discussion of human rights, which, one would think,
exist and pertain every bit as much in cyberspace as
they do in the physical world.


Respectfully submitted,
Robert J. Tiess

rjtiess at warwick.net
http://members.tripod.com/~rtiess