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[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

FREE SPEECH IN THAILAND: WACC SCHOLAR TAKES ON MEDIA GIANT AND PRIME 
MINISTER IN FREEDOM OF SPEECH CASE
By Sean Hawkey
Thaksin Shinawatra, in Thailand, has a lot in common with Silvio Berlusconi 
in Italy. Both are dominant media and telecommunications tycoons, both are 
Prime Minister of their country, both are billionaires, each is reputed to 
be the wealthiest man in their country, and both stand accused of serious 
conflict of interest between their political post and their massive media 
business interests. Supinya Klangnarong, a WACC scholar, is locked in a 
legal battle with Thaksin Shinawatras Shin Corp in what is becoming a 
landmark case on freedom of speech.
Read the full article here:
http://www.wacc.org.uk/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1673

See the WACC-run blog on the case:
http://www.shincorpvsupinyaklangnarong.blogspot.com

MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD: INDEPENDENT PRESS IN MYANMAR
By Khuensai Jaiyen
Me and my sidekick Saengjuen Sarawin, who started Independence in 1974 as a 
wall newspaper and ten years later as a printed paper, were both born with 
big noses. We were curious, inquisitive and full of questions from Day One. 
More than that, we were bad speakers but, fortunately for us, acceptable 
writers. Armed with ball points, books and a printing press, a property of 
the Shan resistance that was fighting against Rangoon, whose present leader 
Gen Than Shwe, has just been ranked No.2 after North Koreas Kim Jong-Il, 
as the worlds worst dictators, we were given in 1984 the tough job to 
prove that the pen was indeed mightier than the sword.
Read the full article here:
http://www.wacc.org.uk/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1622

OPEN CONTENT SHOULD BE KING: COPYRIGHT AND DIGITAL JUSTICE
By Ralf Peter Reimann
Content is king, says the slogan, and content - texts, pictures, audio 
files and video streams -is the hot commodity of the information society. 
In the early days of the net, content was free, but this is changing. What 
should we do about it?
Read the full article here:
http://www.wacc.org.uk/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1672

GET A LIFE: TURN OFF YOUR TV
by Tom Cowin
An estimated five million people took part in TV Turn-Off Week organised 
recently by the International Turn Off TV campaign in the US and the 
International Campaign Against Television, White Dot. The campaign is 
supported by groups such as the American Federation of  Teachers, the 
American Medical Association and the Association of Library Services to 
Children.
Read the full article here:
http://www.wacc.org.uk/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1593


WEBMASTERS BUILD A NEW CHURCH ONLINE
TRANSYVANIAN CONFERENCE
By Sean Hawkey
As churches are finding it increasingly difficult to get 'bums on pews', an 
emerging new breed of church leader is bringing millions to church. They 
administer pastoral care on a one-to-one basis and in group sessions, 
provide religious and educational information and services, run diaspora 
and administrative services. Best of all, from the point of view of the 
Churches, they are engaging with ever-increasing numbers of the most 
elusive and high-potential group - youngsters. The unlikely heroes for the 
Churches are webmasters.
Read the full article here:
http://www.wacc.org.uk/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1615

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Taking the side of justice and human dignity in media,
and promoting diverse media ownership,
WACC works for the right to communicate
especially in situations of censorship and oppression.

World Association for Christian Communication,
http://www.wacc.org.uk