http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/freedomofspeech/ en-us Thu, 25 Sep 2008 01:41:20 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2089845/posts Bummer! I ordered a yard sign on the Internet, a beautiful McCain-PALIN sign! I vote! I live in America! I live in the deep South, even! But I also live in a covenanted community, a golf-course community full of stepford wives and pissy no-tolerance types who run the Homeowners' Association. And I just read the following on their web site: Section 15. Signs. No signs shall be displayed upon any Lot or Living Unit other than a sign identifying the name of the contractor during construction of a dwelling . . . provided said sign meets the design criteria of... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2089845/posts#comment Thu, 25 Sep 2008 01:41:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2087753/posts "The people shall not be deprived or abridged of their right to speak, or to publish their sentiments; and the freedom of the press, as one of the great bulwarks of liberty, shall be inviolable." James Madison My mother used to say that it’s better to go from being poor to being rich than from having been rich and become poor because you don’t yearn for what you’ve lost. However, my experience has been that if you’ve always been free from want, you might not ever gain an appreciation for what was taken for granted. In any event, it wasn’t... The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2087753/posts#comment Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:21:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2056829/posts By Stephen Bloom Esq. Good News Daily As Americans, we deeply cherish our constitutional right to free speech. And as caring members of our communities, we deeply cherish the safety of our children. But what happens when those two values conflict? What do we do when the exercise of free speech threatens our kids? More specifically, should we allow images of underage victims of pornographic exploitation to be freely exchanged by adult Internet users? If we take counsel on this issue from the blunt biblical words of Jesus, who warned “If any of you put a stumbling block before any... Good News Daily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2056829/posts#comment Tue, 5 Aug 2008 15:11:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2034384/posts Jihad Against Freedom of Speech at the United NationsBy Jeffrey Imm The United Nations' Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has no problem with its members suggesting that the 9/11 attacks were an "inside job" perpetrated by the United States on itself. The human rights of America's 9/11 victims are not a priority for UNHRC's Richard Falk, the special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, who engages in 9/11 conspiracy propaganda, while working for an organization headquartered in New York City funded by U.S. tax dollars. This is Richard Falk's protected freedom of speech. Denying the role of Jihadists in... Counterterrorism Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2034384/posts#comment Sat, 21 Jun 2008 16:38:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2052851/posts Blog Shut Down by 'Christian' Apologist's Threat Contact: Pastor Dustin Segers, Coalition of Concerned Bloggers, ChristianResearchNetwork.com, 336-848-7197 MEDIA ADVISORY, July 28 /Christian Newswire/ -- Pastor Dustin Segers submits the following and is available for comment: How safe are our blogs? That question was raised again when on the evening of July 26, 2008, a popular religious blog was shut down by an Internet service provider. A complaint filed by Christian author and apologist, Richard Abanes, claiming that one article on the religious opinion site, Apprising.org, had slandered him, caused the web host, IPower, to send its publisher, Ken Silva, a... Christian NewsWire http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2052851/posts#comment Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:49:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2043435/posts A Michigan man is suing Zondervan Publishing and Thomas Nelson Publishing, claiming biblical references to homosexuality as a sin violate his constitutional rights and have caused him emotional pain and mental instability. Bradley LaShawn Fowler, 39, is seeking $60 million from Zondervan and $10 million from Thomas Nelson, The Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press reported. He is representing himself in both claims. Fowler claims the Bible has made him an outcast and contributed to physical discomfort and periods of "demoralization, chaos and bewilderment." "As frivolous as this case may sound, it's an indicator of where the homosexual agenda is headed," said... CitizenLink http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2043435/posts#comment Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:54:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2039507/posts Iran orders paper director's arrest for 'insulting' president Jul 1, 2008 TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran's judiciary on Tuesday ordered the arrest of the director of a leading reformist newspaper over an article attacking President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his remarks on the Shiites' "hidden imam." Mohammad Javad Haghshenas, director of Etemad Melli newspaper, has been issued with an order for arrest and investigation on charges of spreading lies and publishing "an insulting piece", a spokesman for Tehran public and revolutionary courts told the ISNA student agency. The spokesman said the "insulting" article was written by mid-ranking cleric Rasoul Montajab-Nia in Tuesday's... AFP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2039507/posts#comment Wed, 2 Jul 2008 01:18:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2037007/posts "We sent a clear message to the West regarding the red lines that should not be crossed." That sounds like the statement of a victor in a war, dictating terms to the vanquished. And it may well be: free speech is under attack in Canada -- the prosecution of Macleans Magazine and author Mark Steyn -- and in the United States as well by Islamic governments and groups whose goal is to end free speech when it is aimed at exposing the truth about Islamic terrorism and its roots. Their goal is positively Orwellian. Replace "Big Brother" with the "Organization... Assyrian International News Agency http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2037007/posts#comment Thu, 26 Jun 2008 23:25:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2032149/posts Freedom of the press is on trial in Canada. The trial is before a court with the Orwellian title of the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal. The accused are Maclean's magazine and author Mark Steyn. The crime: In mocking and biting tones, they wrote that Islam threatens Western values. Had Steyn written that, given the Crusades, colonial atrocities in Africa and the slave trade, Christianity had been on balance a curse, he would not be in the dock. In the United States, these charges would have been tossed out by any federal judge, who would have admonished the plaintiffs that,... RCP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2032149/posts#comment Tue, 17 Jun 2008 06:12:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2028971/posts SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A U.S. lawyer was charged in a Singapore court on Monday for allegedly insulting a judge in an email and on his website, court documents showed. Gopalan Nair, who runs a law firm in California and was previously a Singapore citizen, was arrested last Friday and charged on Monday for "threatening, abusing or insulting a public servant" in an email he circulated and posted on his blog, singaporedissident.blogspot.com, official documents showed. Nair was not sentenced and will be held in custody for 7 days pending further investigations, his lawyer Chia Ti Lik said. Under this charge, Nair... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2028971/posts#comment Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:59:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2024554/posts Case – American Flag Burning Problem: Rebellious people burn the American flag. This is the same flag, that millions of Americans have sacrificed their lives for in war. There are many other ways for rebellious people to demonstrate their hate for America, desecrating or burning the American flag is not demonstrating freedom of speech, it’s an insult and nullifies the sacrifices of million of Americans. Burning the flag is not enough for the hate America crew, they can’t stand to see the flag fly, at any place, at any time. Sometimes these characters wind up on the board of directors... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2024554/posts#comment Sun, 1 Jun 2008 23:15:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2020271/posts Dutch political cartoonist Gregorius Nekschot was arrested on suspicion of violating the country’s so-called “hate speech” laws. It took a police team of 10 to accomplish the apprehension of Nekschot at his home, where he declined to resist arrest, much to the dismay of several of the officers. Police also seized his computer, sketches, CDs, DVDs, pencils, paper and telephone. The presence of several “unclean” comestibles—a can of Spam and a bag of fried pork rinds in his larder was also noted. Nekschot’s cartoons have mainly mocked leftists and Muslim extremists, though the spokeswoman for his publisher said “any strong... AZCONSERVATIVE http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2020271/posts#comment Fri, 23 May 2008 16:16:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2017031/posts AMSTERDAM, 17/05/08 - Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin has attracted sharp criticism from a large part of the Lower House following the surprise arrest of cartoonist Gregorius Nekschot. He is facing charges of discrimination. The arrest took place last Tuesday. The well-known stand-up comedian Hans Teeuwen, a friend of Nekschot, said on TV programme Pauw en Witteman that around 10 police dragged the cartoonist out of his home in Amsterdam in a brutal manner. His computer and telephone were seized, according to a furious Teeuwen. The Public Prosecutor's Office (OM) in Amsterdam confirmed that Nekschot ('Neck Shot') was arrested for... NIS News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2017031/posts#comment Fri, 16 May 2008 20:43:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2016733/posts Dutch cartoonist Gregorius Nekschot was arrested when his house was raided by ten police men. He spent a night in a police cell and was then released. It is unclear if Nekschot is to be prosecuted. The raid apparently happened because of complaints by fundamentalist imam van de Ven, a Dutch Islam convert who once said that he'd like to see critics of Islam like Geert Wilders to be dead. Nekschot is a controversial cartoonist who criticizes multi cultural society and religions. Although his work is not exactly an example of fine taste sometimes his arrest raised protests. The raid... Richard Dawkins.net http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2016733/posts#comment Fri, 16 May 2008 07:13:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2001627/posts Arrests, Jailings Of Political And Rights Activists Continue April 14, 2008 Radio Free Europe/RadioLiberty Farangis Najibullah The Iranian authorities this month have added several more names to the list of political activists, human rights campaigners, and journalists who have been imprisoned for voicing dissent. The leader of the unregistered Democratic Party of Iran, Abbas Khorsandi, is among the latest targets of the Iranian security services. Khorsandi was sentenced last week to eight years in prison after being found guilty of threatening Iranian state security by setting up "an illegal political group." A 50-year-old economics professor in the northern town of... Radio Free Europe/RadioLiberty http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2001627/posts#comment Tue, 15 Apr 2008 01:04:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2001039/posts The attack on freedom of speech courtesy of Richard (I was picked on as a kid) Warman and his partner in crime, the Canadian Human Rights Commission, has drawn opposition from all sides of the political spectrum with pundits on the left and the right condemning the taxpayer-funded lawsuit (read: witchhunt) against Canadian conservative writers.... The Moderate Separatist http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2001039/posts#comment Sun, 13 Apr 2008 20:36:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1999320/posts The Ontario Human Rights Commission announced Wednesday it had dismissed a complaint about allegedly Islamophobic articles in Maclean's magazine because it lacked jurisdiction over printed material. At the same time, however, the commission denounced the newsweekly for publishing articles that were "inconsistent with the spirit" of the Ontario Human Rights Code, and doing "serious harm" to Canadian society by "promoting societal intolerance" and disseminating "destructive, xenophobic opinions." "When the media writes, it should exercise great caution that it's not promoting stereotypes that will adversely impact on identifiable groups," chief commissioner Barbara Hall said in an interview. "I think one needs... National Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1999320/posts#comment Thu, 10 Apr 2008 02:51:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1998091/posts THE HAGUE, 08/04/08 - MP Geert Wilders does not incite to hatred or violence against Muslims. His comparison of Islam with Fascism is permissible, a district court in The Hague ruled yesterday. The Netherlands Islamic Federation (NIF) had put forward a number of statements by the Party for Freedom (PVV) leader in a summary injunction. The NIF considered that Wilders had broken the law by comparing Islam with Fascism, calling the Koran the Islamic version of Hitler's Mein Kampf and the Prophet Mohammed a barbarian. All remarks are legal, the court decided yesterday. The foundation demanded that Wilders take back... NIS News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1998091/posts#comment Mon, 7 Apr 2008 20:38:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1998058/posts A court has refused to ban an internet-based film criticising the Koran. A group representing Dutch Muslims had sought an injunction banning right-wing politician Geert Wilders' film "Fitna," which links terror attacks by Muslim extremists with texts from the Koran. In a written judgment a civil judge at The Hague District Court said Mr Wilders' right to free speech allows him to criticise radical Islam and passages from the Muslim holy book. Mr Wilders put the film on the internet the day before lawyers representing the Netherlands Islamic Federation argued it should be outlawed because it was insulting to Muslims. breitbart.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1998058/posts#comment Mon, 7 Apr 2008 19:36:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1995303/posts Western and Muslim nations clash at UN body over free speech April 01, 2008 18:19 EDT GENEVA (AP) -- Muslim and Western nations are at odds over adding monitoring of religious prejudice to the duties of a U.N. free speech expert. The change passed 32-0 by the United Nations Human Rights Council last Friday. It refers to acts of "racial or religious discrimination" that constitute what it calls "abuse of the right of freedom of expression." It's seen as a move against forms of expression that have offended Muslims, such as Danish newspaper cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Canada and... WBFF-TV / Fox 45 News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1995303/posts#comment Wed, 2 Apr 2008 03:12:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1993858/posts It seems the Islamic world will do anything to continue to prove the point that the Dutch parliamentarian was making with his new film "Fitna." The film showed a number of verses in the Koran interspersed with Islamic sermons, footage of terrorism, and Dutch newspaper headlines. It started with liveleak.com, the first website to share the video, pulling the video from their website after only one day because of serious threats to their staff. As LiveLeak put it, "in the end the price was too high." So the response to a video showing an Islamic prediliction toward violence and terrorism... STEVELACKNER.COM http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1993858/posts#comment Sun, 30 Mar 2008 03:10:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1993416/posts Earlier this week, I argued that Canada's human-rights censors have managed a seemingly impossible task: They've found a way to rehabilitate the image of neo-Nazis, transforming them from odious dirtbags into principled free-speech martyrs. Case in point: At this week's much-anticipated human-rights hearing in Ottawa, a team of journalists and bloggers were campaigning openly in support of hatemonger Marc Lemire. The villains were Canadian Human Rights Commission (HRC) investigator Dean Steacy and the other apparatchik who've made a career out of parsing Lemire's phobic Web postings. Tuesday's hearing probably won't change the outcome of the case against Lemire: Like a... National Post [Canada] http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1993416/posts#comment Sat, 29 Mar 2008 00:47:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1987201/posts UTRECHT, 18/03/08 - Anyone has the right to criticise, ridicule or insult Judaism. Muslims should follow the example of the way in which Christians and Jews deal with criticism, suggests director Ron Naftaniel of the Centre for Information and Documentation on Israel (CIDI). Naftaniel made a plea for freedom of speech at the University of Utrecht, in a debate on Article 1 (the ban on discrimination) of the Dutch constitution. "It is a free choice to be religious. And criticising someone's choice is a fundamental right in our democracy. You must be able to say that Judaism is a backward... NIS News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1987201/posts#comment Mon, 17 Mar 2008 21:20:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1986556/posts Text of report by Iranian Tabnak news website on 16 March Tehran 16 March - Iran bans six publications under provisions of Article 11 of the press law. According to an informed sources a suspension order has been issued for the following publications: Doya-e Tasvir [World of Images]; Haft [Seven]; Besoy-e Eftekhar [Toward dignity]; Talash [Effort]; Neday-e Iran [The Call of Iran] and Shoka. [Article 11 of the press law states: The Press Supervisory Board is responsible for examining applications for press licenses and the competency of the applicant and the managing director.] Source: Tabnak news website, in Persian 0850... BBC Monitoring http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1986556/posts#comment Sun, 16 Mar 2008 14:45:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1985290/posts THE HAGUE, 14/03/08 - The Netherlands will not ask for an EU statement that explicitly defends freedom of expression. This freedom in fact has limitations, suggested Premier Jan Peter Balkenende in the Lower House. The Netherlands is seeking support from the EU in relation to the possible consequences of the Koran film that MP Geert Wilders wants to show on or around 28 March. The formal Dutch position is that both freedom of expression and freedom of religion must be respected. The Netherlands hopes that its view can be incorporated in a joint EU statement if the film leads to... NIS News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1985290/posts#comment Thu, 13 Mar 2008 22:54:12 GMT