Andrew Bolt’s rights have been trampled on, freedom of speech has been denied to him and he has been silenced. Sort of.
Freedom of speech
Why we have to hope that Bolt wins his case
It would be a strange law that said the minute you become influential, you are less free in what you say.
Cops didn’t show, but maybe they should have: gay zombie porno sickens
The Melbourne Underground Film Festival staged an illegal screening of Bruce LaBruce’s banned gay zombie flick LA Zombie. A victory for free speech, perhaps, but it’s hard to emerge from it feeling like anything other than a loser.
Speeding, police + youtube = a long stint in the can?
American Anthony Graber’s annoyance at being issued a speeding ticket was overshadowed when he uploaded a video of it onto youtube. Now embroiled in a debate about wiretapping and freedom of speech, he’s facing a hefty prison sentence.
Helen Thomas in the land of the free, home of the gagged
Yes, what Helen Thomas — the longest serving member of the White House press corps who retired yesterday — said about Israel was despicable. But doesn’t the US have freedom of speech in its constitution? asks Roy Greenslade.
Mocking Mohammad: just because we can, doesn’t mean we should
Today is Everybody Draw Mohammad Day on Facebook, with bloggers around the world sketching lewd pictures of the prophet to protest censorship. But is this really about free speech, or just an excuse to be a jerk?
Beecher: Bingle and the bullying media no moral crusade
The media’s appalling behaviour in the Lara Bingle saga will only serve to strengthen privacy laws.
SA law demands ID for bloggers, commenters on election
Asking political commentators to identify themselves for just a few weeks when an election is in progress is hardly a threat to freedom of speech.
Hillary Clinton: Free the internet
Hillary Clinton has a new gong to bang: internet freedom. Read her speech championing the increase of freedom of speech online and calling on the China to get with the program.
National Censorship Day
With the announcement of the Government’s internet filter, 15 December will forever mark the day Australia joined the slippery slope to censoring freedom of speech, says David Braue.
Was the BBC right to have Nick Griffin on Question Time?
Was extreme right-wing BNP leader Nick Griffin’s appearance on the BBC’s Question Time a win for free speech or a loss for quality television? Guardian commentators and British MPs weigh in.
In tourism, even libel can be a world away
Libel tourism has been catapulted into the headlines after aviation writer Joe Sharkey was served a writ for defamatory statements he says he didn’t make in Brazil after surviving a mid-air collision in 2006.
Big Tobacco sues to keep ciggie packets smoker-friendly
In Australia, graphic anti-smoking photos on cigarette packets are now the norm. President Obama has signed a law for similar requirements in the US. But the tobacco industry is fighting back — with the first amendment.
Iranian government blocks Facebook
Critics of the Iranian government are up in arms over the apparent blocking of social networking site Facebook just weeks before the country heads to the polls.
So Conroy’s Internet filter won’t block political speech, eh?
Conroy’s protecting us from ped-philes, stopping terrorists, that sort of thing. It’s like the regulation we have for TV, films and books. Except it’s not. It’s not even close, writes Stilgherrian.
On freedom of speech and Gerald Fredrick Toben
We should be speaking up for him now, rather than waiting for a more appealing victim of this attack on free speech.
Nick Griffin: to visa or not to visa?
It’s hard to know how best to approach hate-mongers seeking to grace our shores, writes Irfan Yusuf.
News Corp’s press freedom hypocrisy
News Ltd chairman John Hartigan gave quite an entertaining and interesting address for the Andrew Olle memorial lecture last Friday. However, there was a touch of hypocrisy in some of his comments when you consider what his boss Rupert Murdoch was doing in New York a couple of hours later, writes Stephen Mayne.
Right To Know puts its money where its mouth is
A unique fundraising event on the weekend for an embattled former public servant has highlighted the softer side of the Right To Know coalition, writes Andrew Dodd.
Islamophobes of Australia: an award to die for
The Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah Association of Australia has announced on its website the “Abu Lahab Award: The Islamophobia Award for the worst Islamophobes in Australia. Details coming soon”.
