As you might expect, the economic decline of a nation into rule by a handful of corrupt oligarchs will have many other negative repercussions. One of these is a loss of civil rights and freedoms that many of us have taken for granted. Reporters Without Borders puts out their Press Freedom Index every year, and the 2014 ranking came out today. It was not a good showing for the USSA. Specifically, the U.S. registered one of the steepest falls of all nations, down 13 slots to the #46 position. As the screen shot shows, just above Haiti and just below Romania.
More coverage from the AFP:
Paris (AFP) – Conflicts continued to weigh heavily on the media last year but press freedom was also under increasing threat from abuses by democracies like the United States, Reporters Without Borders said Wednesday.
In its annual World Press Freedom Index, the Paris-based media rights watchdog warned of the “growing threat worldwide” from the “tendency to interpret national security needs in an overly broad and abusive manner”.
The United States was singled out
for its pursuit of intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, the conviction of
WikiLeaks informer Bradley Manning and the secret seizure of phone
records from the Associated Press.
The group, known by its
French acronym RSF, said the United States had suffered “one of the most
significant declines” in press freedom last year, dropping 13 places to
46th in the 180-country index, wedged between Romania and Haiti.
“Countries
that pride themselves on being democracies and respecting the rule of
law have not set an example, far from it,” RSF said.
Repeat after me: USA! USA!Full article here.
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