Also on today’s menu:
Dolphin Warriors …
And Lethal Fruit
Reporters participated in a “background” teleconference yesterday in which the information was embargoed until today, and the names of those speaking were withheld, attributable only to “senior administration officials.” It is not unusual for reporters to receive embargoed material ahead of public announcements, but when the subject of the briefing is keeping the internet open, withholding the names of those speaking seems odd.
In announcing a “Declaration for the Future of the Internet,” officials spoke of a rising trend of “digital authoritarianism” where some states act to repress freedom of expression, censor independent news sites, interfere with elections, promote “disinformation,” and deny their citizens other human rights.
The declaration states, “We intend to ensure that the use of digital technologies reinforces, not weakens, democracy and respect for human rights; offers opportunities for innovation in the digital ecosystem, including businesses large and small; and, maintains connections between our societies.”
The “DFA,” as the agreement is termed, is an agreement the United States and 60 “partners” from around the globe reached “to work together to protect and fortify the multistakeholder system of Internet governance and to maintain a high level of security, privacy protection, stability and resilience of the technical infrastructure of the Internet.” They pledged “to ensure that the Internet reinforces democratic principles and human rights and fundamental freedoms; offers opportunities for collaborative research and commerce; is developed, governed, and deployed in an inclusive way so that unserved and underserved communities, particularly those coming online for the first time, can navigate it safely and with personal data privacy and protections in place; and is governed by multistakeholder processes. In short, an Internet that can deliver on the promise of connecting humankind and helping societies and democracies to thrive.”
Among the goals:
Human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the well-being of all individuals are protected and promoted;
All can connect to the Internet, no matter where they are located, including through increased access, affordability, and digital skills;
Individuals and businesses can trust the safety and the confidentiality of the digital technologies they use and that their privacy is protected;
Businesses of all sizes can innovate, compete, and thrive on their merits in a fair and competitive ecosystem;
Infrastructure is designed to be secure, interoperable, reliable, and sustainable;
Technology is used to promote pluralism and freedom of expression, sustainability, inclusive economic growth, and the fight against global climate change.
Reaffirm our commitment that actions taken by governments, authorities, and digital services including online platforms to reduce illegal and harmful content and activities online be consistent with international human rights law, including the right to freedom of expression while encouraging diversity of opinion, and pluralism without fear of censorship, harassment, or intimidation.
Dolphin Warriors …
Some odd stories caught our attention, as well. The Guardian reports that the U.S. Naval Institute, in reviewing satellite imagery of the Russian naval base at Sevastopol harbor, found that two dolphin pens had been moved to the base in February at the start of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. According to the story, Russia has a history of training dolphins for military purposes, using the aquatic mammal to retrieve objects or deter enemy divers.
Ukraine had also trained dolphins at an aquarium near Sevastopol in a program born out of a Soviet-era scheme that fell into neglect in the 1990s. During the cold war, both the U.S. and the Soviet Union developed the use of dolphins whose echolocation capabilities allow them to detect underwater objects such as mines. The U.S. has spent at least $28m maintaining its own troops of dolphins and sea lions, according to the story.
Dolphins are not the only ocean creatures the Russian military may have trained. A beluga whale spotted off the coast of Norway in 2019 was believed to be trained by the Russian navy. Fishermen reported a beluga whale wearing strange harnesses, which may have held cameras, harassing their boats, pulling on straps and ropes from the side of boats.
And Lethal Fruit
Even more bizarre was former President Donald Trump’s argument that fruit is deadly and requires a firm response. Vanity Fair reports that Trump, in a deposition last October that was filed in court on Tuesday, argued that tomatoes, pineapples, and bananas are dangerous weapons that can take a person’s life.
The former president, when questioned as part of a 2015 lawsuit brought by a group of activists who alleged the Trump Organization’s chief of security, Keith Schiller, hit one of them on the head while they were protesting outside of the company’s Manhattan headquarters, claimed that his campaign had received a threat that day. “They were going to throw fruit,” Trump said. “And you get hit with fruit, it’s — no, it’s very violent stuff. We were on alert for that.” He told the crowd, “If you see someone getting ready to throw a tomato, just knock the crap out of them, would you?”
When asked about his call for violence, Trump responded, “I think that they have to be aggressive in stopping that from happening. Because if that happens, you can be killed if that happens. … To stop somebody from throwing pineapples, tomatoes, bananas, stuff like that, yeah. It’s dangerous stuff.”
Please Support Our Efforts
The News Café is a virtual meeting place where we discuss the news of the day: local, statewide, national, and international.
An offering by the Liberty Independent Media Project, the News Café does not rely on advertising, as most media outlets do, freeing us to provide an independent focus on events and cultural issues. The project instead relies on direct monetary support from donors and subscribers, as well as providing news to other media outlets.
If you like what we’re doing, and want to see more local news you will not find elsewhere, please give what you can.
Subscriptions to this newsletter are available for as little as $5 per month. Subscribers can share their knowledge, thoughts, and questions about any topic, and we may select some of those subjects for more in-depth analysis.
If you’re unable to pay but still want to receive all of the free public posts in your in-box, click the Subscribe button and select a free subscription.