Archive for the ‘internet/free speech’ Category

The reason this works is PETA types…

Posted: September 3, 2009 by datechguy in internet/free speech
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…are just so easy to annoy:

According to the Ada Evening News, the hometown newspaper of the Oklahoma-born singer (and avid hunter), Blake’s irreverent humor in his Twitter remarks ruffled a few PETA feathers. One PETA tweet which read: “Animal testing breaks hearts,” prompted Blake to respond: “Yeah, and bow hunting breaks their lungs!” Another PETA tweet which read: “There’s nothing funny about BBQing cats,” got this rapid reply from Blake: “Ha! Ha! Sorry but when you say it like that it, is damn funny! Ha!”

For a hunter like Mr. Shelton this is an incredibly easy shot.

Banned by PETA is going to sell a lot of extra country albums.

Three cheers for David Frum…

Posted: September 3, 2009 by datechguy in internet/free speech
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…and the rest of the men who signed this letter to Yale:

To the Editor:

Yale University Press, owned and operated by the University, has retreated into shameful censorship. The Press accepted for publication “The Cartoons That Shook the World,” by Brandeis Professor Jytte Klausen. But it deleted from her manuscript the actual cartoons. Why? Because the cartoons — which ran in newspapers and are available on the Internet — might lead to more violence.

The Press went even further, stripping out all depictions of Muhammed, such as a 19th Century painting by Gustave Dore. Why? Because Islamic law forbids depictions of Muhammed, and — there might be violence. Evidently Yale now excises from its books any content that might encourage someone to violence. And we all know what kind of “someone” the Press has in mind.

Yale’s shocking surrender to unknown potential belligerents drew scorn from the American Association of University Professors. Yale’s new policy, according to AAUP president Cary Nelson, is: “We do not negotiate with terrorists. We just accede to their anticipated demands.”

This disgraceful resort to censorship also violates Yale’s own explicit policy: “Above all, every member of the university has an obligation to permit free expression in the university. No member has a right to prevent such expression. Every official of the university, moreover, has a special obligation to foster free expression and to ensure that it is not obstructed.”

All Yale alumni have a vital stake in preserving a free press at Yale. We urge President Levin and the Corporation to immediately nullify the Press’s cowardly action. Yale should print Klausen’s book with all the censored material restored and distribute it to university bookstores around the world as a tangible reminder that a free press can never be taken for granted.

If you are a fan of free speech let me have a big AMEN to that. Via Atlas.

I don’t like this anti-debt ad

Posted: September 3, 2009 by datechguy in internet/free speech, opinion/news
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I hate the kid stunt stuff. We have a great arguments on the merits we shouldn’t do stupid kid stunt.

Of course as Doug Powers points out it’s better than this

or this

It’s videos like this that really makes us wonder about the president’s address to the kids.

I prefer this video from Reason (via Glenn).

It puts things in their soviet style historical context. Maybe this should be in the religion category. Instead I’m creating a new obamacult tag.

Update: Dan Calabrese this Steve Green is overreacting. It wasn’t too long ago that I would have agreed, myself I’m not worried if my kid had enough guts to be the only one when asked by his teacher who supported McCain in his particular class then he can handle this.

It’s been over a year since I checked out the free speech diva…

Posted: August 31, 2009 by datechguy in internet/free speech
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…known to everyone else in the world as Rebecca MacKinnon at the Rconversation blog. I must confess I’ve been thinking about my own issues but I thought I’d check up on how thing are going in China:

It ain’t pretty:

….the crackdown is broad and deep, and shows no sign of ending. In May, 20 civil rights lawyers who had defended Tibetans, Falun Gong members, and other politically sensitive clients were effectively disbarred. In July the licenses of another 53 lawyers were revoked. On the same day as Xu’s detention, security officials raided the office of Yi Ren Ping, a non-governmental organization dedicated to fighting discrimination, and confiscated all copies of its latest newsletter on grounds that they don’t have a publishing license. A number of people involved with a citizens’ effort to collect information about children who died in the Sichuan earthquake and raise questions about shoddy construction of schools have been arrested. Earthquate survivor He Hongchun was convicted for disturbing social order. Huang Qi, who reported online about the plight of children who died in the quate, went on trial this week for disclosing state secrets; the court’s ruling has yet to be announced. According to Human Rights in China a key witness was kidnapped and prevented from appearing in court to testify for Huang’s defence. Tan Zuoren, an activist who conducted an investigation into the reasons why so many school buildings collapsed in the quake, is scheduled to go on trial for state subversion next week.

Attacks on free speech and civil rights in China didn’t stop just because nobody decides to complain about them anymore. Our free speech diva isn’t going to keep quiet about it. She and maybe Jay Nordlinger will keep reminding us, although she will do it from the lion’s den.

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