Posts Tagged ‘Muhammad cartoons’

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.

Out of the mouth of babes…

Posted: August 28, 2009 by datechguy in internet/free speech
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…well out of the mouth of a new graduate.

Because I have the greatest filial love for my alma mater, I write today as a sorrowful son and disappointed disciple. The Yale that cultivated my faith in the power of knowledge to move the world forward has resorted to censorship. I grieve.

As the News reports today, Yale decided this summer to omit cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad from a book about the fit of violence that swept the Muslim world in their wake four years ago. I can’t help but feel the dismay and embarrassment of a pupil watching his teacher sabotage the foundation of her credibility by betraying the spirit of her most important lesson.

That lesson, which singularly informs the work of a great university, is this: that free dialogue and the unfettered exchange of ideas fuels human progress. A great university is a place where these activities are protected and encouraged. But Yale forfeited this most basic role, pleading that it did not want to be responsible for tension that counterterrorism authorities speculate could still provoke protests and bloodshed.

(with apologies to Glenn Reynolds) You know they said that if I voted for George Bush Sarah Palin we would see censorship of art by religious zealots in this country. And they were right!

Allow me to demonstrate how it’s done.

My favorite of the cartoons

My favorite of the cartoons

No Saudi money for me! And I could really use it.

Hey I hear the president’s supporters are hiring!

A real profile in courage

Posted: August 28, 2009 by datechguy in internet/free speech
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An Art Gallery in Denmark shows Yale how it’s done:

A Danish gallery has decided to exhibit a caricature of Muhammad that unleashed a wave of protests in the Muslim world against Denmark in 2006. Citing an article in magazine Sappho, Agence France-Presse reports that the controversial caricature will be part of a larger exhibition dedicated to the watercolor works of the artist-caricaturist Kurt Westergaard at the Galleri Draupner in Skanderborg.

This is called actually speaking truth to power, as opposed to taking instruction from power as the NEA seems to be promulgating:

The NEA is the nation’s largest annual funder of the arts. That is right, the largest funder of the arts in the nation – a fact that I’m sure was not lost on those that were on the call, including myself. One of the NEA’s major functions is providing grants to artists and arts organizations. The NEA has also historically shown the ability to attract “matching funds” for the art projects and foundations that they select. So we have the nation’s largest arts funder, which is a federal agency staffed by the administration, with those that they potentially fund together on a conference call discussing taking action on issues under vigorous national debate. Does there appear to be any potential for conflict here?

Discussed throughout the conference call was a hope that this group would be one that would carry on past the United We Serve campaign to support the President’s initiatives and those issues for which the group was passionate. The making of a machine appeared to be in its infancy, initiated by the NEA, to corral artists to address specific issues. This function was not the original intention for creating the National Endowment for the Arts.

A machine that the NEA helped to create could potentially be wielded by the state to push policy. Through providing guidelines to the art community on what topics to discuss and providing them a step-by-step instruction to apply their art form to these issues, the “nation’s largest annual funder of the arts” is attempting to direct imagery, songs, films, and literature that could create the illusion of a national consensus. This is what Noam Chomsky calls “manufacturing consent.”

I guess this is the soviet Chicago way of making art.

I’ll wager that there will be no Saudi money going to the Galleri-draupner anytime soon.

Via Glenn.