Archive for the ‘internet/free speech’ Category

You know we never heard about this kind of thing actually happening…

Posted: May 8, 2009 by datechguy in internet/free speech, opinion/news
Tags: ,

…when president Bush was in charge:

Sixteen-year-old Ashton Lundeby’s bedroom in his mother’s Granville County home is nothing, if not patriotic. Images of American flags are everywhere – on the bed, on the floor, on the wall.

But according to the United States government, the tenth-grade home-schooler is being held on a criminal complaint that he made a bomb threat from his home on the night of Feb. 15.

Is there a chance that this kid is actually connected to the bad guys? Its not impossible or is it likely that he is being hacked? I don’t know but something smells.

Boyce said the Patriot Act was written with good intentions, but he said he believes it has gone too far in some cases. Lundeby’s might be one of them, he said.

“It very well could be a case of overreaction, where an agent leaped to certain conclusions or has made certain assumptions about this individual and about how serious the threat really is,” Boyce said.

Because a federal judge issued a gag order in the case, the U.S. attorney in Indiana cannot comment on the case, nor can the FBI. The North Carolina Highway Patrol did confirm that officers assisted with the FBI operation at the Lundeby home on March 5.

“Never in my worst nightmare did I ever think that it would be my own government that I would have to protect my children from,” Lundeby said. “This is the United States, and I feel like I live in a third world country now.”

As Classical Values from where I found the story says:

I think it’s time to reexamine or repeal the Patriot Act. Otherwise, because it is in the nature of power that those who have power will abuse it, we will only see more stories like this.

My gut says you don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater, a single bad application doesn’t make a law bad. The judge would have to be a real d*** to be covering up for a bad prosecution but it’s not impossible. If these guys are pulling BS to cover their rear ends they need to be nailed bad. The real point is this:

Don’t pass a law that you don’t trust your political opponents to enforce since eventually they are going to be in power. I’d like to think that the Obama administration can be trusted to enforce the laws fairly. I really would.

Good thing we have mainstream journalists…

Posted: May 7, 2009 by datechguy in internet/free speech, oddities, tech
Tags: , ,

…otherwise stuff like this might happen:

Shane Fitzgerald, 22, a final-year student studying sociology and economics at University College Dublin, told the newspaper he placed the quote on the website as an experiment when doing research on globalisation.

He quoted Oscar-winning composer Jarre as saying, “One could say my life itself has been one long soundtrack. Music was my life, music brought me to life, and music is how I will be remembered long after I leave this life.

“When I die there will be a final waltz playing in my head, that only I can hear.”

The quote was posted on Wikipedia shortly after Jarre’s death and later appeared in obituaries in major British, Indian and Australian newspapers.

He was rather surprised:

“I didn’t expect it to go that far. I expected it to be in blogs and sites, but on mainstream quality papers? I was very surprised about,” he said.

He said the hoax remained undiscovered for weeks until he emailed the newspapers that had been deceived to tell them that they had published an inaccurate quote.

The Irish Times said that despite some newspapers removing the quote from their websites or carrying a correction and the fact that it had been dropped by Wikipedia, it remained intact on dozens of blogs, websites and newspapers. (emphasis mine)

Via Stop the ACLU. Joe “what would we do without mainstream newspapers” Scarborough must have been shocked but in addition to canard of the superior fact checking and diligence of reporters and newspapers vs bloggers it highlights two important internet points:

#1 Wikapedia is not and should not be a primary source on anything. I will link to it on occasion but remember the Glenn Reynolds rule concerning it.

I’ve had my own problems with them in the past, though short-lived and (to me at least) no very big deal. My sense is that the wiki format works pretty well when issues are uncontroversial, but that it doesn’t handle politics very well.

And if you don’t believe it check out this, this, this, this, this and this. (most via Glenn)

Second and rather important. Remember that web pages are often forgotten. If bad information gets out on net and is corrected at it’s primary source that doesn’t mean that it will ever be corrected in the sites that copyed it. Keep this in mind whenever you read any web site. Even mine.

How do we know Iraq is now free?

Posted: April 28, 2009 by datechguy in internet/free speech, opinion/news
Tags:

Because we can see stories like this:

Relatives and supporters of the late Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein are marking his birthday with tributes in his native village, laying wreaths by his grave and chanting slogans against former President George W. Bush.

Saddam would have turned 72 on Tuesday. He is buried in the Tigris River hamlet of Ouja, where he was born, about 70 miles (112 kilometers) north of Baghdad.

A photo exhibition near the grave chronicles his more than two decades in power.

This should please anyone who supports free expression, then again to our friends on the left dissent isn’t as high a form of patriotism as it once was.

Miss California this is also what faith look like.

Posted: April 27, 2009 by datechguy in internet/free speech, opinion/news
Tags: , ,

Mary Ann Glendon showed that you can be a winner without getting a medal.

Miss California Carrie Prejean proves that just because you wear a bikini doesn’t mean you can’t defend your faith:

Miss California Carrie Prejean, who became the bombshell of the Miss USA pageant by saying gay couples should not be allowed to marry, said Sunday that her state sponsors urged her to apologize afterward but she rejected the advice.

Prejean, 21, said officials from the Miss California USA pageant were worried that her comments would cost their contest financial backing and tried to prepare her for a string of post-pageant media interviews by discouraging her from discussing her religious beliefs.

After all we can’t have people talking about her faith, but Miss California nixed that:

If anything, Prejean has solidified her stance in the last week. McPherson, who preaches against homosexuality, has been acting as her adviser and encouraging her to use her newfound fame to persuade other evangelical Christians to share their views, even if they are unpopular.

“I learned that God has a bigger crown than any man can give you,” she said.

Hotair comments:

You need to not talk about your faith. For those who think of beauty pageants as anachronisms for young women in an era of liberation, doesn’t this speak volumes about the attitudes of the organizers? Just shut up and look pretty, even if people are attacking you.

I am really surprised that more feminists are not defending her. Mika seems to be but that’s all I’ve heard on the left. Is it the religious faith? Or is it a question of Sex, that is the “exploitative nature” of beauty patients, too much worry about being sexy on film to gain the notice? Who knows?

If her popularity continues you should expect to see photoshoped Miss California sex photos and a Larry Flynt XXX parody movie any day now…

…and if the combination of words doesn’t cause tons of hits to this post nothing will (:c)

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