Wednesday, February 17, 2010

A New Haven for Journalists

I'd always imagined that change in human society is conservative by default. That radical change can only happen under radical circumstances. Unfortunately, I've also seen that one should never underestimate human idiocy (see republican senators in the US).

In the middle of enormously counter-productive responses to the Financial Crisis that overwhelmed economies all over the world, we have Iceland. Iceland was probably the worst-hit in the chaos. Bankruptcy for the citizens, rioting in the streets; a little better than the worst that can happen.

These extreme circumstances, along with the role WikiLeaks played in uncovering the reasons for the hard fall the Iceland economy took have now led to the government proposing legislation which will make it a safe haven for free speech and journalism. Go ahead and read the articles linked in this blog post.

I'm no journalist, but I know the importance of keeping whistle-blowers safe.

EDIT: Pointed out by sid0; FAQ about the legislation. A must-read.

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