Reader's Response Draft 3 (Edited Version)

Reader’s Response:

Who’s the true enemy of internet freedom- China, Russia, or the US?-

Morozov, E.

According to Morozov (2015) in ‘Who’s the true enemy of internet freedom-China, Russia, or the US?’, United States (US) despite being an advocate of internet freedom demanded to obtain internet information regardless of where it was stored as long as it was handled by US companies. This greatly offsets China’s policy in the blockage of foreign websites and Russia’s regulation which restricts the storage of surveillance data on servers inside the country.

US backing of internet freedom is indeed a mask to achieve her egotistic aims of increasing her internet sovereignty at the expense of violating civil and political rights of technology films and other nations.

In 2014, US, China and Russia were among countries that were marked as ‘enemies of the internet’ by Reporter Without Boarders, a distinction to highlight countries with the highest level of internet censorship and surveillance.

Despite the low level of internet censorship as compared to China and Russia, US had tried to propagate an extensive internet surveillance over technology films and other nations in the name of ‘internet freedom’. This is demonstrated in the article, where US demanded to bypass the legal procedures involved to obtain internet information from other countries as long as it was handled by US companies. Furthermore, US companies had also installed advanced network systems in other countries that were complex and costly to undo. Therefore, it is rather ironic for US to be supportive of internet freedom at one end and exploiting the political rights of other nations at the other.

In terms of economic purposes, US support of ‘internet freedom’ can be a cover for the rapid expansion of US Info-communication Technology (IT) companies in other countries to dominate the global IT sector. Referring back to the article, Google had even funded a $60million undersea cable connecting Brazil to Florida in order to promote connectivity between the two countries. Instead of the political reason of promoting a swift transfer of internet resources between the two countries, a possible reason for US to initial this project is to ensure her server stays relevant in other countries.

Referring to an online news report by Australian Broadcasting Corporation News (ABC News), US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Justice Department had even demanded Twitter to hand over user data without the acknowledgement of the users due to surveillance law. This had deeply violated the privacy of users of Twitter, whom every word was constantly monitored by the US authorities. In addition, US internet surveillance on Twitter users had violated the US constitution’s First Amendment which entitled citizens to the freedom of speech.

From the US perspective, the propagation of internet surveillance mainly brings about benefits for the nation. For instance, the omission of legal procedures in order to obtain internet data from other nations; globalization of US IT companies; deterrence against social unrest, child pornography and promotion of national security. However, propagation of internet surveillance by US may bring about mass surveillance worldwide, which violates the political and civil rights of other nations. It is also seemly impudent to demand every nation to disclose digital surveillance in order to promote internet freedom. These digital documentations are supposed to be highly confidential. Even if these digital documents are handled by US companies, the required legal procedures have to be done to prevent the leak of confidential information.

In conclusion, it may be difficult to put a definition on the degree of digital surveillance that nations shall impose, as that truly depends on the interest of the people involved. Nevertheless, US overbearing demands to propagate her internet surveillance over technology films and other countries is not acceptable. To build an ‘internet free’ society requires the cooperation between every nations and US self-centred ideology of building her digital empire in the name of promoting internet freedom is rather one-sided.

References

Morozov , E. (2015, Jan4). Who’s the true enemy of internet freedom - China, Russia, or the US?. The Guardian. Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/04/internet-freedom-china-russia-us-google-microsoft-digital-sovereignty

ABC News (2014, Oct8). Twitter sues US government claiming freedom of speech is being violated by surveillance laws. Retrieved from: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-08/twitter-suing-us-government-for-breaching-freedom-of-speech/5799666

Reader's Response: Who’s the true enemy of internet freedom- China, Russia, or the US?- Evgeny Morozov

Reader’s Response:

Who’s the true enemy of internet freedom- China, Russia, or the US?- Evgeny Morozov

Inferring to ‘Who’s the true enemy of internet freedom-China, Russia, or the US?’- Evgeny Morozov (2015), the author believes that United State despite being an advocate of internet freedom, had demanded to obtain internet information regardless of where it is stored as long as it is handled by US companies. This greatly offsets China’s policy in the blockage of foreign websites and Russia’s regulation which restricts the storage of surveillance data on servers inside the country.

In my opinion, United States backing of internet freedom is indeed a mask to achieve her egotistic aims at the expense of invading civil and political rights of other nations.

In 2014, United States, China and Russia were among countries that was marked as ‘enemies of the internet’ by Reporter Without Boarders, a distinction to highlight countries with the highest level of internet censorship and surveillance.

Despite the low level of internet censorship as compared to China and Russia, United State had tried to propagate an extensive internet surveillance over other nations in the name of ‘internet freedom’. This is demonstrated in the article, where US had demanded to bypass the legal procedures involved to obtain internet information from other countries as long as it is handled by US companies. In additional, US companies had also installed advanced network systems in other countries that are complex and costly to undo. Therefore, it is rather ironical for US to be supportive of internet freedom at one end and exploiting the political rights of other nations at the other.

In terms of economical purposes, I believe US support of ‘internet freedom’ is just a cover for the rapid expansion of US Info-communication Technology (IT) companies in other countries to dominate the global IT sector. Inferring from the article, Google had even funded a $60million undersea cable connecting Brazil to Florida in order to promote connectivity between the two countries. Is it really to ensure swift transfer of internet resources between the two countries or is to ensure her server stays relevant in other countries? The answer to this question is rather simple. Just like the saying,' There is no free lunch on this Earth.'  I believe there must be something up US sleeve for initialling this project. 

From the US perspective, the propagation of internet surveillance mainly brings about benefits for her own nation. For instance, the omission of legal procedures in order to obtain internet data from other nations; globalization of US IT companies; deterrence against social unrest, child pornography and promotion of national security. However, propagation of internet surveillance by US may brings about mass surveillance worldwide, which violates the political and civil rights of other nations. It is also seemly impudent to demand every nations to disclose digital surveillance in order to promote internet freedom. These digital documentations are supposed to highly confidential. Even if it is handled by US companies, the required legal procedures have to be done to prevent the leak of confidential information.

In conclusion, it may be difficult to put a definition on the degree of digital surveillance that nations shall impose, as that truly depends on the interest of the people involved. Nevertheless, US overbearing demands to propagate her internet surveillance over other countries is not acceptable. To build an ‘internet free’ society requires the cooperation between every nations and US self-centred ideology of building her digital empire in the name of promoting internet freedom is rather one-sided.

Reference

Evgeny Morozov (2015,Jan4). Who’s the true enemy of internet freedom - China, Russia, or the US?.The Guardian. Retrieved from

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/04/internet-freedom-china-russia-us-google-microsoft-digital-sovereignty

Outline of reader response

Thesis Statement:

United States backing of internet freedom is just a mask to achieve her egotistic aims.

Supporting Claims:

• As a means of America's globalization agenda, US companies had installed advanced network system in other countries that is complex and costly to undo.
• Instead of complex legal process involving bilateral treaties between the governments in order to obtain information sovereignty in other countries, the american government now wants to sidestep that completely and treat the handling of such data as a purely local issue with no international implications.

‘Who’s the true enemy of internet freedom-China, Russia, or the US?’ Summary

‘Who’s the true enemy of internet freedom-China, Russia, or the US?’ Summary

Inferring to ‘Who’s the true enemy of internet freedom-China, Russia, or the US?’- Evgeny Morozov (2015), the author believes that United State despite being an advocate of internet freedom, had demanded to obtain internet data regardless of where it is stored as long as it is handled by US companies. This greatly offsets China’s policy in the blockage of foreign networks and Russia’s regulation which restricts the storage of surveillance data on servers inside the country.

Reference

Evgeny Morozov (4Jan2015). Who’s the true enemy of internet freedom - China, Russia, or the US?.The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/04/internet-freedom-china-russia-us-google-microsoft-digital-sovereignty

DONE BY: NGOH JIE RUI, ZHENG DA

Paraphrasing & Summarizing Group Assignment

Paraphrasing and summarising exercises

DONE BY : JIE RUI, YE MIN, YU XI

1.       A3 Paraphrasing exercises

1.1   Exercise (1)

In this short excerpt from David Crystal’s English as a Global Language, take note of the way that power relationships rather than the number of speakers influenced Latin language use.

“Latin became an international language throughout the Roman Empire, but this was not because the Romans were more numerous than the peoples they subjugated. They were simply more powerful.”

Paraphrased sentence:

Inferring from David Crystal’s English as a Global Language, Latin had become an international language among the continents Romans had conquered not because of the higher amount of Romans ruling over the land; it is rather because the Romans hold greater power then.

1.2   Exercise (2)

As you paraphrase the following paragraph, present the “expected” general features of the nuclear reactors from Declan Butler’s “Nuclear power’s new dawn,” taken from Nature, 20 May, 2004 (Vol. 429, p. 238). “These new reactors would all operate at high temperatures, improving their efficiency. And they would include simplified safety features that do not rely on sophisticated backup experienced operators — all are, in principle, ‘meltdown proof’ and can cool themselves down in the event of an accident with minimal, if any, human intervention. . . . Experts agree that reactors will need to be a lot cheaper to run. And to sway a nuclear‐ averse public, the next generation of reactors will need to produce much less radioactive waste at terrorist‐proof facilities.”

Paraphrased sentence:

According to Nature (2004) (Vol.429, p.238), Declan Butler’s nuclear reactors may offer a greater performance as they operate at a higher temperature. In additional, requirement for skilled operators is eliminated as the reactors are expected to be able to cool down automatically, or with minimal human interference, in emergency situations. Lastly, the nuclear reactors can be expected to be cheaper and generate lesser radioactive wastes.

2.       B2 Examples of Summarized Texts

Example ii. Title: What do you think an appropriate title is for this paragraph?

Original Text: “Overall, the first two quarters have been profitable for the company. Nineteen of twenty departments report cutting costs at least twenty percent, and sales from fifteen departments have risen five percent, or about $5 million. Despite these positive developments, most department heads believe that they will not be able to maintain these levels for the remainder of the year.”

 Summary: While the first half of the year has been profitable, the next six months are not expected to be as lucrative.

Source: Retrieved from Purdue Online Writing Lab. (2013). Paraphrasing and Summary. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/976/1/

 Appropriate title:  

Financial performance of ABC Company

3.       B3 Summarising Practice

3.1   Exercise (1)

Title: Social problems in a diverse society “In any one nation, there are both very wealthy and very poor individuals and families. When sociologists conduct research on these disparities, they frequently analyse secondary data that originally were collected by the World Bank and the United Nations. These data focus on quality‐of‐life indicators such as wealth; income; life expectancy; health; sanitation; the treatment of women; and education for high‐ income, middle‐income and low income nations.”

Source: Kendall, D. (2004). Social problems in a diverse society (3rd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Summary:

All countries in the world are facing income inequality issue.

3.2   Exercise (2)

2. Title: English as a global language “Why a language becomes a global language has little to do with the number of people who speak it. It is much more to do with who those speakers are. Latin became an international language throughout the Roman Empire, but this was not because the Romans were more numerous than the peoples they subjugated. They were simply more powerful. And later, when Roman military power declined, Latin remained for a millennium as the international language of education, thanks to a different sort of power – the ecclesiastical power of Roman Catholicism.”

Source: Crystal, D. (1997). English as a global language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Summary:

Latin has become an international language to date as a reason of the influential power of Roman’s religious.

4.       Reporting

4.1   C1  Reporting Verbs

When incorporating information from an outside source, select verbs to convey your attitude towards the quotation and/or the author’s attitude towards the subject. The verbs in the list below can be classified according to their levels of certainty as certain, neutral or tentative. Some of them need to be followed by a “that (or noun) clause.” Here is one example: He implied that this work is not useful.

 Look at the list of reporting verbs. Do you know which verbs on the list below demonstrate certainty? Circle the verbs that should be followed by ‘that’.

 allege imply remark reject argue insist say examine assert discuss state propose believe mention suggest find claim note survey postulate comment observe write hypothesize

·         Verbs that demonstrate certainty are not highlighted

·         Verbs that should be followed by ‘that’ are the highlighted ones

4.2    Reporting exercise

Which of the verbs from the list above could be used to report the statement made by Tan in the excerpt below?

 Globalization has made an impact not only in business and politics, but also in people’s diet and the nature of food businesses. Large scale migration and foreign travel have been catalysts which have introduced new types of food and cuisines. According to Tan (2010), through travels abroad, Singaporeans have developed a liking for exotic and foreign cuisines and this has resulted in a wide range of restaurants being set up here to cater to their tastes.

·         Claim

·         Comment

·         Discuss

·         Observe

·         Remark

·         Say

·         Mention

·         State

4.3   C3 Reporting Information Practice

Example (1)

Title: Appropriate use of quotations in note‐taking

Original Text: “Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the final research paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes.”

Source: Lester, J.D. (1976). Writing research papers (2nd ed.). pp. 46‐47.

 Paraphrase: In research papers students often quote excessively, failing to keep quoted material down to a desirable level. Since the problem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to minimize the material recorded verbatim (Lester, 1976).

Source: Retrieved from UEFAP. Academic Writing. http://www.uefap.com/writing/writfram.htm

Summary: Students should only make a limited amount of notes in direct quotation in order to help minimize the amount of quotes used (Lester, 1976).

Lester (1076) asserts that students should only make a limited amount of notes in direct quotation in order to help minimize the amount of quotes used.

Example (2)

Example ii. Title: What do you think an appropriate title is for this paragraph? Original Text: “Overall, the first two quarters have been profitable for the company. Nineteen of twenty departments report cutting costs at least twenty percent, and sales from fifteen departments have risen five percent, or about $5 million. Despite these positive developments, most department heads believe that they will not be able to maintain these levels for the remainder of the year.”

 Summary: While the first half of the year has been profitable, the next six months are not expected to be as lucrative.

 Source: Retrieved from Purdue Online Writing Lab. (2013). Paraphrasing and Summary. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/976/1/

Purdue Online Writing Lab (2013) concluded that although the first half of the year has been profitable, the next six months are not expected to be as lucrative.

How I 'tries' to improve on my english

Even since young, English has always been a subject that I loathe a lot as I never seems to be able to do well in it no matter how hard I tries. A huge part of the reason is because I rarely converse in English with my friends and classmates but rather in Chinese which I am more comfortable in.It was only when I received my O level result for English subject that it struck me that it is time to buck up on my English.

In order to tackle my poor English (which it is still now), I have taken various steps to improve it, which includes:

1)      Learning by listening and watching

Instead of simply watching drama or listening to music, I will focus on how the actors/singers articulate his/her lines or use certain vocabulary that is totally alien to me.

2)      Journey entry for vocabulary that I stumbled upon

Upon hearing or learning of a new word, I will jot it down in a journey entry and write down a short definition for each of them.

3)      Practice make perfect

In layman terms, just converse and write more in English.

From the above three methods that I employed, I find that I does not stutter as much as before when I am conversing in English. Furthermore, I managed to have a greater vocabulary pool to choose from as compared to the past.

In conclusion, I will highly recommend these three methods that I have employed to improve my English to fellow amateurs that are trying to master their English as well. Not only is these three methods quick and effective but also circumstances that we are most likely to encounter in our daily routine or rather can try to practice in our daily routine.

(298words)