THE FREEDOM ASSOCIATION

The Myth of Overpopulation

From the Christian scaremongers of 200 AD to contemporary Malthusians who talk about “fossil fuel depletion”, population reductionists have been wrong, wrong, wrong in their predictions of future doom. In his response to the Optimum Population Trust, Brendan O’Neill says it is time we exposed the prejudices that they disguise as “scientific fact”.

In the year 200 AD, there were approximately 180 million human beings on the planet Earth. And at that time a Christian philosopher called Tertullian argued: “We are burdensome to the world, the resources are scarcely adequate for us… already nature does not sustain us.” In other words, there were too many people for the planet to cope with; we were bleeding Mother Nature dry. Tertullian warned we would face great hungers and crises if any more “burdensome” people were born. READ MORE.

Sri Lanka presidential challenger vows press freedom

Yesterday, Sri Lanka's former army chief launched his manifesto for the January 26 presidential elections, promising greater press freedom and a battle against rampant corruption.

Sarath Fonseka, 59, the main opposition challenger to President Mahinda Rajapakse, said he would scrap the press council which is empowered to shut down news organisations and would introduce a freedom of information act.

Fonseka has already announced he would, if elected, introduce laws to amend the all-powerful executive presidency and revert the country to a parliamentary democracy within six months. READ MORE.

Tim Black reflects on a decade of unfreedom

A DNA database of five million people; thousands of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders dished out in place of justice; the extension of pre-trial custody from a draconian seven days in 1997 to necessity-defying 28 days; a de facto suspension of habeas corpus not seen since the French Revolution got up the noses of William Pitt the Younger’s aristocrat-only administration in the 1790s. The list of attacks on our liberty goes on. It’s a narrative of anti-freedom that characterises the decade. READ MORE.

The expanding Big Brother State: e-Borders

When you go abroad you will be forced to give the government:

• The contact numbers of the places where you are staying 
• The addresses of where you will be staying
• Your vehicle number
• The credit card number you used to pay for your trip
• Details of other people in the party

This data will then be shared with the Inland Revenue and Secret Services for up to 10 years. This data will also be used to determine whether you travel (green light), are subject to further questioning (yellow light) or are detained and taken into custody (red light).

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Eroding our Civil Liberties is not the way to Counter Terrorism

In this response to British counter-terrorism policy Kyle McCurdy promotes adherence to long term strategies over short term responsive tactics, an approach that would pose less risk of neglecting civil liberties and government accountability.

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