<div dir="ltr">Hello Norbert Klein and All,<br><br>This is a case in point. Within the existing legal structure, a "collective" has opted for legal action. Good. <br><br>But on the Internet, WITHOUT the legal framework, with no declared list of rights, flash this news in a few blog posts, post it in a few mailing lists, pick up a banner here and there and you will find whole communities from around the world plunging into affirmative action. May be even the Government of Japan would pay swifter attention, sooner than it takes the legal process to send a directive to set right the disparity<br>
<br>That is the beauty of the Internet Model. We don't have to declare rights to open a door for the proponents of greater control to volunteer to concede/guarantee/arbitrate/enforce such rights that the Civil Society declares. <br>
<br>Tell me who is going to concede/guarantee/arbitrate/enforce Rights before you begin discussing rights.<br><br>Sivasubramanian Muthusamy<br>India<br><br><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Sep 9, 2008 at 11:02 PM, Norbert Klein <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:nhklein@gmx.net">nhklein@gmx.net</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">Let me also come in here. I am not sure if it is acceptable how I try to enter<br>
into this debate: I think it is not clear what the purpose of the draft is –<br>
at least it is not clear to me. Of course, in terms of intended procedures, I<br>
know. But...<br>
<br>
We seem to be caught in a philosophical debate – about individual or<br>
collective rights.<br>
<br>
A few days ago I read in a Japanese mailing list that people in the three very<br>
different communes of Ayabe, Shoubara, and Yukichou, in different regions of<br>
Japan, have organized and try to start legal action because of the poor<br>
Internet connection they have: while a lot of tasks of public administration<br>
are offred by the authorities online (often requiring broadband access to<br>
handle huge documents) – they are disadvantaged. Others are disadvanaged<br>
because educational programs offered to the public cannot be accessed<br>
reasonably (again: broaband access required) and as a result the people are<br>
educatinally deprived, compared to the majority of the citizens in the<br>
country etc.<br>
<br>
I do not have many more details – but I imagine that the people who feel<br>
excluded from what is offered to the society in general do not much argue if<br>
they claim individual or collective rights – they are just motivated to get<br>
over their deprivation, which many individuals felt, some individuals<br>
articulated, and finally a "collective" is trying to get their situation<br>
brought up to the general standard in their society, by legal action.<br>
<br>
The debate whether claims are always made in terms of "my individual right"<br>
even when they are made by a group of individuals who may or may not consider<br>
this as a group right, has no commonly shared answer – neither throughout<br>
history, nor in all possible localities.<br>
<br>
Do we have to get it philosophically clear, or do we want to point towards<br>
some directions which might be solved by some joint legal activities<br>
(different in diffeent situaios)? If we want to work towards both anyway –<br>
might it then be possible to avoid the unsolved philosophical basis?<br>
<br>
<br>
Norbert Klein<br>
Open Institute/Cambodia<br>
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</div></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/sivasubramanianmuthusamy">http://www.linkedin.com/in/sivasubramanianmuthusamy</a><br>
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