Some people have sometimes wondered about why our Supreme Court allows one group or another to march in a parade, even though it’s the most provocative thing in the world, and they carry signs that are an insult to one group or another. And the reason is, that’s freedom. Freedom of speech. In America, you have the right to be stupid. If you want to be. …Now, I think that’s a virtue. That’s something worth fighting for.Secretary of State John Kerry • Speaking to a group of German students, on the first overseas trip of his tenure as head of the State Department. Kerry’s allusion to Supreme Court precedent defending the right to offensive parades is no doubt a reference to cases like NSPA v. Skokie, which in 1977 upheld the right of Nazis to hold a march in Skokie, Illinois, where 1 in 6 residents were holocaust survivors. That right, Kerry argued, is virtuous and quintessentially American, despite the terrible emotional toll that may result from such offensive expressions — “the right to be stupid.” source
Yes, he can! After failing to win the hearts of Republican primary voters, former New Mexico GovernorGary Johnson will appear as the Libertarian Party’s presidential candidate on 47 states’ ballots this year. While we feel confident that Johnson won’t win the presidency, it’s not unfeasible that he could have an effect on the outcome. As Politico points out, 2008 Libertarian candidate Bob Barr received over 25,000 votes in North Carolina last cycle. John McCain lost the state by less than 15,000. (Photo credit: AP).
How did it happen that our performance, which was a small and clumsy stunt, brought so much trouble? How can this happen in a healthy society? And now it takes thousands of people around the world to prove the obvious, to prove that the three of us are innocent.Maria Alekhina, member of Russian punk band Pussy Riot • Expressing disbelief that Pussy Riot’s decision to stage an anti-Putin protest on the alter of Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral has created such an uproar. While Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for a lenient sentencing by the court, some believe that his statements reveal a hidden presumption of guilt which they worry will be shared by jurors. In addition to Alekhina, co-defendants Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samutsevich stood by their decision to protest, and said they were more free behind bars than prosecutors who can “only say what political censorship allows.” A verdict is expected to be delivered on August 17. source (via • follow)
Last we checked, the movie is a comedy. Maybe more to the point is that it’s laughable to take political guidance or moral instruction from a guy who makes obscene gestures with a monkey on a bus in Bangkok.Phillip Ellender, spokesman for Charles and David Koch • Responding to comments made by actor and comedian Zach Galifianakis, who recently told the New York Daily News that he disagreed with “everything” the brothers do politically. “It’s not freedom what they are doing,” added Galifianakis. In response, Ellender said the comedian’s statements “appear to be based on false attacks made by our political opponents, [and] demonstrate a lack of understanding of our longstanding support of individual freedom, freedom of expression and constitutional rights.” Sounds like a showdown in the making … between two ferns. source (via • follow)
Announcing The Declaration Of Internet Freedom | Techdirt
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The video above shows Guangcheng boarding a flight with his family. Chen, the activist and self-taught lawyer, has left China for the United States. His public struggles have been going on for nearly a month, but he has finally been removed from under China’s rule. He wanted to leave China because he felt his safety, and that of his family, could no longer be guaranteed. After landing at the Newark-Liberty International Airport, Chen and his family were immediately taken to New York University, where he has accepted a fellowship to work in the law school, said NYU spokesperson John Beckman. source
We need a candidate who’s going to be a fighter for freedom. Who’s going to get up and make that the central theme in this race because it is the central theme in this race. I don’t care what the unemployment rate’s going to be. Doesn’t matter to me. My campaign doesn’t hinge on unemployment rates and growth rates. It’s something more foundational that’s going on.Rick Santorum • Misjudging what the central theme of the race is.
A court in Egypt has forbidden the Army from carrying out so-called virginity tests on female detainees. The verdict was delivered in the case of Samira Ibrahim, a 25-year-old marketing manager and activist brave enough to defy the country’s Army.
In March of this year, military forces violently broke up a sit-in of protesters who had continued to camp out in Tahrir Square after Mubarak’s ouster. Women as well as men were arrested. According to testimony they gave to international human-rights groups, the women were insulted, accused of prostitution, beaten, and tortured. At a military camp to which they were transported, seven of the women—those who were unmarried—were subjected to “virginity tests,” stripped and inspected by a male military doctor while soldiers and officers looked on.
One person makes a difference: There were numerous reports of said “tests” being carried out by the Egyptian army, but Samira Ibrahim was the only woman to come forward publicly and file a lawsuit. “On that day, I truly wished for death,” she said in a video testimony. “I kept telling myself, people get heart attacks and die, why don’t I get one?” Problem is, Egyptian courts don’t have jurisdiction over military personnel, so while policy will change to reflect the ruling, it’ll be up to the military itself to press charges against any of its officers. So far, it has announced that it will charge one army doctor with “public indecency and violation of orders.”
» This means there were 41% fewer websites accessible to China’s residents at the end of last year, compared to a year earlier. And the statistic comes directly from the Chinese government itself (well, a government-run think tank, at least), so it’s probably not an overstatement.
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The tree-hugging hippies over at Freedom House have released their “Worst of the Worst” report, detailing the world’s most egregious violators of human rights, political expression, and other basic freedoms. The usual suspects are all there: North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Equatorial Guinea, Uzbekistan, Libya, Burma (Myanmar), and Tibet top the list, with China, Cuba, and several others not far behind. The organization concluded that 35% of the world’s population lives in “Not Free” states, while 45% of countries can be considered “Free,” a 14% increase from thirty years ago. The full report is well-worth the read. source
Protests over French veil ban: As we mentioned earlier today, France has banned the full-faced Islamic veil (imposing a fine of 150 euros for violators), which is provoking some understandable dissent. A question for France: For a Muslim who wears the veil, how is this anything but crass discrimination? And for somebody without religious faith, how is this anything but the government fining people for their fashion choices? Any way you slice it, it comes out awful. source
[It is my] understanding the public security authorities are investigating Ai Weiwei according to law on suspicion of economic crimes… This has nothing to do with human rights or freedom of expression.Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei • Seeking to dismiss claims that his government arrested famed artist and dissident Ai Weiwei for political reasons, at a news conference. Weiwei’s family (in addition, frankly, to most everyone else) isn’t buying it. Chinese law states that officials must notify the family of an arrested citizen within 24 hours of the detention, and Ai’s wife has heard nothing: “As of 8 A.M. today, it has been 96 hours since Ai Weiwei was taken away from Beijing airport, and I haven’t heard a single word about him.” source (via • follow)
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