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Secret
- 
I
Lewis Libby
- 
Dick
Cheney - 
Government
- 
Military
- 
Intelligence
- 
Employee
- Free
Speech - 
Book
- 
Politics
- 
New
York
US
- 
Iraq
- Military
- Political
- Censorship
- 
Law
- 
Missouri
Ala
- 
Terrorism
- Law
- 
Enforcement
- Politics
- Free
Speech - Liberty
- Military
- 
Environmentalist
- Animal
- Abortion
Religious
- Terrorism
- 
Internet
- Free
Speech - Prison
- Police
- Politics
- 
Women's
- Abortion
- 
Health
- 
Georgia
- Alabama
- 
Colo
- "Extremist
taunts his victims from prison." ... "Victims of
Eric Rudolph, the anti-abortion extremist who pulled off a series of bombings
across the South, say he is taunting them from deep within the nation's
most secure federal prison, and authorities say there is little they can
do to stop him." ... "Rudolph, who was captured after a five-year manhunt
and pleaded guilty in deadly bombings at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta [Georgia]
and a Birmingham [Alabama] abortion clinic, is serving life in prison at
the "Supermax" penitentiary in Florence, Colo [Colorado]." ... "Housed
in the most secure part of the prison, he has no computer and little contact
with the outside world aside from writing letters." ... "But Rudolph's
long essays have been posted on the Internet by a supporter who maintains
an Army of God website. The Army of God is the same loose-knit group that
Rudolph claimed to represent in letters sent after the blasts." ... "Diane
Derzis, who owns the Birmingham clinic that was bombed, killing a police
officer, said someone should stop Rudolph." ... "Bureau of Prisons regulations
give wardens the right to reject correspondence by an inmate for "the protection
of the public, or if it might facilitate criminal activity." That includes
material "which may lead to the use of physical violence.""
-AP via -USATODAY
US
- Iraq
- 
Kuwait
- Military
- Free
Speech - Opinion
- Politics
- Psychological
- Health
- 
PA
- 
Ill
- Walter
Reed - "The
Military: Faith Under Fire." ... "Many American soldiers
in Iraq wear crosses; some carry a pocket-size, camouflage New Testament
with an index that lists topics such as Fear, Loneliness and Duty. U.S.
troops have conducted baptisms in the Tigris. They often huddle in prayer
before they go on patrol. Not everyone is comfortable with this. About
80 percent of soldiers polled in a 2006 Military Times survey said they
felt free to practice their religion within the military. But the same
poll
found that 36 percent of troops found themselves at official gatherings
at least once a month that were supposed to be secular but started with
a prayer." ... "The survey didn't ask soldiers whether they suffered doubt
or loss of faith. National Guard Specialist George Schmidt, 30, who was
raised as a Methodist in Titusville, Pa. [Pennsylvania], and became a Wiccan
before deploying to Iraq in June 2006, says he saw fellow soldiers driven
in different directions. "Either you're running to God, grasping to hold
on to the guy you were before you came to Iraq, or you're running right
away from him because of what you're seeing," he says. Schmidt is now being
treated for posttraumatic stress disorder and anxiety at Walter Reed. Army
Specialist Joe Schaffel, 24, who is also being treated for PTSD, went to
Roman Catholic school in Sleepy Hollow, Ill [Illinois]. "I had faith until
I got to Iraq," says Schaffel, who returned from his second deployment
last September. "I haven't gotten it back since. Once you get there, you
wonder how God could allow anyone to go through that."" ... "It is up to
military chaplains to help relieve battlefield stress, even as they may
be suffering themselves. According to a 2006 military study, 27 percent
of chaplains and their assistants in the field reported burnout levels
that were "high" or "very high." Some of the potential effects of what
the Army calls "provider fatigue" are acutely troubling for chaplains:
hopelessness and doubts about spirituality." ... "No polls show how many
chaplains have difficulty reconciling a good and loving God with the carnage
of war. And it's clear that battle can both strain and strengthen faith.
"I still have dreams where I'm throwing up little flag-draped caskets,"
says Chaplain (Maj.) Victor Chatham, who served with the National Guard
in Kuwait in 2004, conducting funeral "ramp ceremonies" and debriefing
traumatized soldiers. "It wasn't so bad blessing one or two caskets, but
when there were 13 at once, it's a different kind of duty." He retired
from the guard shortly after that deployment and sought therapy. He's still
a believer, but he says "there is no way that questions of faith don't
come up in an atmosphere like that."" (1, 2,
3,
4,
5,
6)
-By By Eve Conant with contributions by Dan Ephron,
Babak Dehghanpisheh, and Rod Nordland -MSNBC/Newsweek
US
- Government
- Military
- 
Family
- Free
Speech - E-Mail
- Online
- 
Surveillance
- Politics
- 
Foreign
- Intelligence
- 
History
- "Army
Squeezes Soldier Blogs, Maybe to Death." ... "The
U.S. Army has ordered soldiers to stop posting to blogs or sending personal
e-mail messages, without first clearing the content with a superior officer,
Wired News has learned. The directive, issued April 19, is the sharpest
restriction on troops' online activities since the start of the Iraq war.
And it could mean the end of military blogs, observers say." ... "Army
Regulation 530--1: Operations Security (OPSEC) (.pdf) restricts more
than just blogs, however. Previous editions of the rules asked Army personnel
to "consult with their immediate supervisor" before posting a document
"that might contain sensitive and/or critical information in a public forum."
The new version, in contrast, requires "an OPSEC review prior to publishing"
anything -- from "web log (blog) postings" to comments on internet message
boards, from resumes to letters home." ... "Active-duty troops aren't the
only ones affected by the new guidelines. Civilians working for the military,
Army contractors -- even soldiers' families -- are all subject to the directive
as well." ... "The U.S. military -- all militaries -- have long been concerned
about their personnel inadvertently letting sensitive information out.
Troops' mail was read and censored throughout World War II; back home,
government posters warned citizens "careless
talk kills."" ... "Military blogs, or milblogs, as they're known in
service-member circles, only make the potential for mischief worse. On
a website, anyone, including foreign intelligence agents, can stop by and
look for information." -Noah Shachtman
-Wired
Los
Angeles - 
California
- US
Immigration - Children
- 
People
- Civil
Righs - Free
Speech - 
TV
- 
Radio
- Photo
- 
Journalist
- Censorship
- "Cop
Tactics At Immigration Rally Draw Ire: L.A. Police
Seen Firing Rubber Bullets Into Crowds That Included Children. " ... "Police
Chief William J. Bratton said Wednesday some of the police tactics to clear
immigration protesters from a park were "inappropriate," as numerous news
videos showed officers striking people with batons and firing rubber bullets
into crowds that included children." ... "After a peaceful day of immigration
marches, Los Angeles police say a small group in a downtown park pelted
them with rocks and bottles, reports CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker.
Police responded with force." ... "The Radio and Television News Association
of Southern California called for an investigation." ... ""There is evidence
that officers knocked reporters to the ground, used batons on photographers
and damaged cameras, possibly motivated by anger over journalists photographing
efforts by officers to control the movements of marchers," the group said
in a statement." -AP
via -CBSNews
Russia
- Government
- Police
- Law
- People
- Journalists
- Politics
- "Russian
Police Arrest Kasparov, Opposition Protesters (Update1)."
... "Russian police arrested opposition leader and former world chess champion
Gary Kasparov today along with more than 100 supporters and several journalists
at an unsanctioned protest against President Vladimir Putin in Moscow [Russia]."
... "Thousands of riot police swarmed streets around central Moscow's Pushkin
Square, the historical focus of democracy protests, after the city's authorities
pledged the same display of police force that greeted the last protest
in the capital, in December." ... "Kasparov, who leads a loose coalition
of opposition groups called The Other Russia, was arrested minutes after
the rally was to begin, said his spokeswoman, Natalya Morar. The Other
Russia hopes to field candidates in the nation's parliamentary elections
in December and presidential election next March." ... "``We demand free
elections, not imitations or farces,'' Mikhail Kasyanov, a former prime
minister who has turned against the Putin government, said in a brief speech
at Turgenev Square, an alternative site that was sanctioned for the rally."
... "Opposition leaders charge that Putin is forcing Russia into a controlled
system where the two main parties will both be supporters of the Kremlin
-- United Russia and Fair Russia.-By James Brooke
and Henry Meyer -Bloomberg
John
Edwards
- Free
Speech - 2008
Election - Don
Imus - Media
- 
Entertainment
- 
Business
- Politics
- Language
- Women
- 
University
- Sports
- "Edwards
On Imus Spat: 'I Believe In Forgiveness: Presidential
Candidate Stays Mum On Future Imus Appearances." ... "Democratic Presidential
candidate John Edwards' spoke exclusively to CBS 2 on Wednesday morning
about the Don Imus and Rutgers University controversy, and though he feels
Imus deserves a second chance, he wasn't so sure about his future on Imus'
popular radio show." ... ""I believe in redemption, I believe in forgiveness,"
Edwards said of Imus, who was suspended earlier in the week after calling
the Rutgers women's basketball team "nappy headed hos."" ... "Unlike candidates
Rudy Giuliani and John McCain, who say they will continue to appear on
Imus' radio show, Edwards says he hasn't seen enough from the shock jock
to make that decision just yet." ... ""What he said is wrong because it's
wrong. It has to be condemned, we have to speak out when people use this
kind of language," Edwards said. "This is a very serious matter, it should
be taken very seriously."" -By Marcia Kramer
-WCBStv.com
Government
- 
Climate
- 
Science
- Politics
- Environment
- Employees- Free
Speech - Law
- "Exclusive:
Report Charges Broad White House Efforts to Stifle Climate Research."
... "Bush administration officials throughout the government have engaged
in White House-directed efforts to stifle, delay or dampen the release
of climate change research that casts the White House or its policies in
a bad light, says a new report that purports to be the most comprehensive
assessment to date of the subject." ... "Researchers for the non-profit
watchdog Government Accountability Project reviewed thousands of e-mails,
memos and other documents obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests
and from government whistle-blowers and conducted dozens of interviews
with public affairs staff, scientists, reporters and others." ... "The
group says it has identified hundreds of instances where White House-appointed
officials interfered with government scientists' efforts to convey their
research findings to the public, at the behest of top administration officials."
... "In some cases, the policies and practices the group says were enacted
to squelch damaging scientific information "constitute constitutional and
statutory infringements of the federal climate science employees' free
speech and whistle-blower rights," the report finds." -By
Justin Rood -ABCNEWS.com
Secret
- NY
- Police
- Intelligence
- Surveillance
- Politics
- Free
Speech - Law
- "[New
York] City Asks Court Not to Unseal Police Spy Files."
... "Lawyers for the [New York] city, responding to a request to unseal
records of police surveillance leading up to the 2004 Republican convention
in New York, say that the documents should remain secret because the news
media will “fixate upon and sensationalize them,” hurting the city’s ability
to defend itself in lawsuits over mass arrests." ... "“The documents were
not written for consumption by the general public,” wrote Peter Farrell,
senior counsel in the city’s Law Department. “The documents contain information
filtered and distilled for analysis by intelligence officers accustomed
to reading intelligence information.”" ... "The documents show that the
Police Department’s Intelligence Division sent undercover detectives around
the city, the country and the world to collect information on political
activists and others planning to demonstrate at the 2004 convention, according
to a sampling of records reviewed by The New York Times that were the subject
of an article yesterday. The records included intelligence digests and
field reports from detectives, known as DD5s." ... "Those records showed
that some of the surveillance was conducted on groups that planned to disrupt
the convention, but the bulk of it was on groups and people who expressed
no apparent intention to break the law. In at least some cases, the reports
were shared with other law enforcement agencies." ... "“The questions posed
by these cases have great public significance,” the judge, James C. Francis
IV of Federal District Court in Manhattan, wrote on March 12. “At issue
is the proper relationship between the free speech rights of protesters
and the means used by law enforcement officials to maintain public order.”"
-By Jim Dwyer -NYTimes
Secret
- US
- International
- Government
- Terrorism
- Intelligence
- Law
- Free
Speech - Privacy
- Telephone
- Internet
- Civil
Righs - Journalists
- Educators
- 
Michigan
- "NSA
eavesdropping program ruled unconstitutional: Justice
Department says it will appeal judge's decision." ... "A federal judge
on Thursday ruled that the U.S. government's domestic eavesdropping program
is unconstitutional and ordered it ended immediately." ... "The Justice
Department said it would appeal the ruling, saying the program was "a critical
tool that ensures we have in place an early warning system to detect and
prevent a terrorist attack."" ... "In a 44-page memorandum and order, U.S.
District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor, -- who is based in Detroit, Michigan
-- struck down the National Security Agency's program, which she said violates
the rights to free speech and privacy. (Read
the complete ruling -- PDF)" ... "The defendants "are permanently enjoined
from directly or indirectly utilizing the Terrorist Surveillance Program
(TSP) in any way, including, but not limited to, conducting warrantless
wiretaps of telephone and Internet communications, in contravention of
the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and Title III," she wrote." ...
"She further declared that the program "violates the separation of powers
doctrine, the Administrative Procedures Act, the First and Fourth amendments
to the United States Constitution, the FISA and Title III."" ... "She went
on to say that "the president of the United States ... has undisputedly
violated the Fourth in failing to procure judicial orders."" ... "The lawsuit,
filed January 17 by civil rights organizations, lawyers, journalists and
educators, "challenges the constitutionality of a secret government program
to intercept vast quantities of the international telephone and Internet
communications of innocent Americans without court approval."" -With
contributions by Bill Mears and Andrea Koppel
-CNN
US
- World
- Government
- Intelligence
- Free
Speech - Privacy
- Civil
Liberties - Journalists
- Scholars
- Michigan
- "Judge
nixes warrantless surveillance." ... "A federal judge
ruled Thursday that the government's warrantless wiretapping program is
unconstitutional and ordered an immediate halt to it." ... "U.S. District
Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit [Michigan] became the first judge to
strike down the National Security Agency's program, which she says violates
the rights to free speech and privacy as well as the separation of powers
enshrined in the Constitution." ... ""Plaintiffs have prevailed, and the
public interest is clear, in this matter. It is the upholding of our Constitution,"
Taylor wrote in her 43-page opinion." ... "The American Civil Liberties
Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of journalists, scholars and lawyers
who say the program has made it difficult for them to do their jobs. They
believe many of their overseas contacts are likely targets of the program,
which involves wiretapping conversations between people in the U.S. and
people in other countries." -By Sarah Karush
-AP via -HoustonChronicle.com
Cheney
- Terrorism
- Politics
- Election
2006 - Free
Speech - Law
- 
Connecticut
- "Demeaning
Democracy: Cheney Paints Lamont Victory As Helping
Terrorists." ... "Vice presidents are notorious for serving as an administration's
chief attack dog, and time and again Dick Cheney has been unleashed to
accuse anyone who is opposed to the Bush administration of aiding the terrorists.
But this time he has gone too far." ... "The comments he made on the result
of the Connecticut Democratic primary - that it might encourage "the al-Qaida
types" who want to "break the will of the American people in terms of our
ability to stay in the fight and complete the task" - are an attack not
just on Democrats, but on democracy itself." ... "What happened in Connecticut
is in fact a model for democracies everywhere. The people of the state
heard a vigorous debate between two competing visions of how to protect
this country. Young citizens became deeply involved, and turnout was high.
The primary reminded us of the miracle of our democracy, in which the nation
is ruled by its people -not by any entrenched set of leaders. There are
few better messages we could send the world in these troubled times." ...
"Cheney's comments about the election were ugly and frightening. They show
once again that he and his party will stop at nothing to wrap Republicans
in the flag and to insinuate that anyone who votes against them is giving
aid and comfort to the terrorists. It's obvious that this administration
lacks basic respect for our fundamental freedoms." ... "Cheney and his
crowd are all for free and open elections - as long as they turn out their
way. They are all for free speech - provided it supports the administration.
They are all for the rule of law - as long as the law does not prevent
them from doing whatever they want to do. When elections, speeches or laws
are inconvenient, he does not hesitate to declare that they are helping
the terrorists. I can think of no graver offense against our democracy."
-By Edward M. Kennedy
-Courant.com
Free
Speech - Terrorism
- Internet
- Media
- Privacy
- Politics
- "The
thug and intimidation tactics of the Far Right go mainstream."
... "One of the favorite tactics used by such groups is to find the home
address and telephone number of the latest enemy and then publish
it on the Internet, accompanied by impassioned condemnations of that
person as a Grave Enemy, a race traitor, someone who threatens all that
is good in the world. A handful of the most extremist pro-life groups have
used the same tactic. It has happened in the past that those who were
the target of these sorts of demonization campaigns that included publication
of their home address were attacked and even killed." ... "But these intimidation
tactics work even when nothing happens. Indeed, these groups often publish
the enemy's home address along with some cursory caveat that they are not
encouraging violence. The real objective is the same one shared by all
terrorists -- to place the person in paralyzing fear. The goal is to force
the individual, as they lay in bed at night, to be preoccupied with worry
that there is some deranged individual who read one of the websites identifying
them as the enemy and which provided their address and who believes that
they can strike some blow for their Just Cause by visiting their home and
harming or killing them. The fear that they are vulnerable in their own
home lurks so prominently and relentlessly in a person's mind that it can
be as effective as a physical attack in punishing someone or intimidating
them." ... "This thuggish tactic of intimidation -- publicly railing against
someone's grave crimes and then publishing their home address -- has been
creeping out of the most extremist precincts on the Right and is becoming
increasingly common among mainstream right-wing individuals and organizations."
Political
- Free
Speech - History
- 
Hawaii
- Military
- "Flag
amendment fails by one vote: Compromise measure that
would have left Constitution unaltered also fails." ... "The 66-34 tally
in favor of the amendment was one less than the two-thirds required. The
House surpassed that threshold last year, 286-130." ... "The resolution
represented Congress' response to Supreme Court rulings in 1989 and 1990
that burning and other desecrations of the flag are protected as free speech
by the First Amendment to the Constitution." ... "Opponents said the amendment
would violate the First Amendment right to free speech. And some Democrats
complained that majority Republicans were exploiting people's patriotism
for political advantage in November's midterm elections." ... ""Our country's
unique because our dissidents have a voice," said Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii,
a World War II veteran who lost an arm in the war and was decorated with
the Medal of Honor." ... ""While I take offense at disrespect to the flag,"
he said, "I nonetheless believe it is my continued duty as a veteran, as
an American citizen and as a United States senator to defend the constitutional
right of protesters to use the flag in nonviolent speech.""
-AP via -MSNBC
Noteworthy
- Secret
- US
- 
Belgium
- International
- Financial
- Consumer
- Civil
Liberties - Free
Speech - Media
- Government
- Terrorism
- Law
Enforcement - Intelligence
- Politics
- "What
the Government Knows: While an overseas program to
track bank records has unleashed a political storm, the domestic Patriot
Act has already made a wealth of financial data available to U.S. law enforcement
agencies." ... "Over the last four years, U.S. law enforcement agencies
have gained access to over 28,000 financial records inside the United States
under a little known provision of the USA Patriot Act that parallels the
secret international bank data program disclosed by news organizations
last week, Treasury Department records show." ... "The disclosure of the
overseas program-under which Treasury Department officials have tapped
into the records of a vast Belgian-based international financial database
called Swift (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications)-has
kicked up a storm of controversy. Some critics have decried the program
as another example of the administration's invasion of privacy in the name
of the war on terror. At the same time, President Bush today condemned
as "disgraceful" the disclosure of the operation, which intended to help
the government track overseas money movements of suspected terrorists.
"For people to leak that program, and for a newspaper to publish it, does
great harm to the United States of America," Bush told reporters in Washington."
... "But the international program is only one part of a much broader,
if little publicized, Treasury Department effort to probe suspect financial
records-including thousands of bank accounts, wire transfers and other
transactions involving individuals, companies and nonprofit organizations
inside the United States." ... "Although it has received little attention,
the Patriot Act program has produced a wealth of previously unavailable
financial data that has been shared with U.S. law enforcement agencies-without
any notice to the account holders who are being investigated. Since the
fall of 2002, when the program began, U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement
Network (FINCEN)-an arm of the Treasury Department-has directed searches
of 4,397 "subjects of interest" and received reports back on 28,463 accounts
and financial transactions, according to recent Treasury records." (1,
2)
-By Michael Isikoff -MSNBC/Newsweek
Iran
- Women
- Censorship
- Free
Speech - Law
- Politics
- "Iran
police beat women activists: Police in Iran have
beaten a small group of women activists trying to hold a protest for greater
legal rights in the biggest square of the capital." ... "The BBC's Frances
Harrison in Tehran says the police who massively outnumbered the protestors,
almost immediately started beating the women to disperse them." ... "The
viciousness of the police attack caused men who were passing by in the
street to protest, our correspondent says."
-BBC /News
Government
- Employees
- Law
- Los
Angeles - California
- Samuel
Alito
- John
Roberts
- Antonin
Scalia
- "Justices
Set Limits on Public Employees' Speech Rights." ...
"The Supreme Court declared today, in a ruling affecting millions of government
employees, that the Constitution does not always protect their free-speech
rights for what they say on the job." ... "In a 5-to-4 decision, the court
held that public employees' free-speech rights are protected when they
speak out as citizens on matters of public concern, but not when they speak
out in the course of their official duties." ... "Today's ruling, involving
a deputy Los Angeles [California] district attorney who contended that
he had been denied a promotion for challenging the legitimacy of a search
warrant, came in a case that has been closely watched not just by public
workers but by those who have worried that it could discourage internal
whistle-blowers from speaking up about government misconduct and inefficiency."
... ""We hold that when public employees make statements pursuant to their
official duties, the employees are not speaking as citizens for First Amendment
purposes, and the Constitution does not insulate their communications from
employer discipline," Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote for the court."
... "The court's newest justice, Samuel A. Alito Jr., was in the majority
as were Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., Justices Antonin Scalia and
Clarence Thomas." -By David Stout
-NYTimes
Government
- Phone
- Company
- Noteworthy
- Reporters
- Free
Speech - Civil
Liberties - Privacy
- Law- Politics
- "FBI
Acknowledges: Journalists Phone Records are Fair Game."
... "The FBI acknowledged late Monday that it is increasingly seeking
reporters' phone records in leak investigations." ... "Officials say the
FBI makes extensive use of a new provision of the Patriot Act which allows
agents to seek information with what are called National Security Letters
(NSL)." ... "The NSLs are a version of an administrative subpoena and are
not signed by a judge. Under the law, a phone company receiving a NSL for
phone records must provide them and may not divulge to the customer that
the records have been given to the government." -Brian
Ross and Richard Esposito -ABCNEWS.com
Saudi
Arabia - Religious
- Media
- Free
Speech - Women
- Law
- Politics
- 
Drive
- "Saudis
nix pictures of women in newspapers." ... "King Abdullah
has told Saudi editors to stop publishing pictures of women as they could
make young men go astray, newspapers reported Tuesday." ... "In recent
months, newspapers have published pictures of women - always wearing the
traditional Muslim headscarf - to illustrate stories with increasing regularity.
Usually the stories have had to do with women's issues. The papers have
also started publishing a range of views on causes that are not generally
accepted in Saudi Arabia - such as women having the right to drive and
vote." ... "The country adheres to a strict interpretation of Islamic law.
Women are not allowed to vote and stand in municipal elections - the only
type of election permitted in the kingdom." ... "The king also called on
editors to stop printing stories that portray the country in a negative
light." ... "All media in Saudi Arabia are either state owned or state
guided." -AP
via -SeattlePI.NWsource
Government
- Law
Enforcement - Phone
- Intelligence
- Reporters
- Free
Speech - Civil
Liberties - Privacy
- Law
- Politics
- "Federal
Source to ABC News: We Know Who You're Calling."
... "A senior federal law enforcement official tells ABC News the government
is tracking the phone numbers we (Brian Ross and Richard Esposito) call
in an effort to root out confidential sources." ... ""It's time for you
to get some new cell phones, quick," the source told us in an in-person
conversation." ... "ABC News does not know how the government determined
who we are calling, or whether our phone records were provided to the government
as part of the recently-disclosed NSA collection of domestic phone calls."
... "Other sources have told us that phone calls and contacts by reporters
for ABC News, along with the New York Times and the Washington Post, are
being examined as part of a widespread CIA leak investigation." -Brian
Ross and Richard Esposito -ABCNEWS.com
China
- Free
Speech - Education
- 
Computer
- Internet
- Politics
- Police
- "As
Chinese Students Go Online, Little Sister Is Watching."
... "For several hours each week she [sophomore Hu Yingying of Shanghai
Normal University] repairs to a little-known on-campus office crammed with
computers, where she logs in unsuspected by other students to help police
her school's Internet forums." ... "Once online, following suggestions
from professors or older students, she introduces politically correct or
innocuous themes for discussion." ... "Politics, even school politics,
is banned on university bulletin boards like these. Ms. Hu says she and
her fellow moderators try to steer what they consider negative conversations
in a positive direction with well-placed comments of their own. Anything
they deem offensive, she says, they report to the school's Web master for
deletion." ... "Part traffic cop, part informer, part discussion moderator
— and all without the knowledge of her fellow students — Ms. Hu is a small
part of a huge national effort to sanitize the Internet. For years China
has had its Internet police, reportedly as many as 50,000 state agents
who troll online, blocking Web sites, erasing commentary and arresting
people for what is deemed anti-Communist Party or antisocial speech." ...
"But Ms. Hu, one of 500 students at her university's newly bolstered, student-run
Internet monitoring group, is a cog in a different kind of force, an ostensibly
all-volunteer one that the Chinese government is mobilizing to help it
manage the monumental task of censoring the Web." (1, 2)
-By Howard W. French -NYTimes
Government
- 
Housing
- Money
- Free
Speech - Law
- "HUD
secretary's blunt warning: Alphonso Jackson says
deal was scuttled after contractor admits not liking Bush." ... "After
discussing the huge strides the agency has made in doing business with
minority-owned companies, [U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary
Alphonso] Jackson closed with a cautionary tale, relaying a conversation
he had with a prospective advertising contractor." ... ""He had made every
effort to get a contract with HUD for 10 years," Jackson said of the prospective
contractor. "He made a heck of a proposal and was on the (General Services
Administration) list, so we selected him. He came to see me and thank me
for selecting him. Then he said something ... he said, 'I have a problem
with your president.'" ... ""I said, 'What do you mean?' He said, 'I don't
like President Bush.' I thought to myself, 'Brother, you have a disconnect
-- the president is elected, I was selected. You wouldn't be getting the
contract unless I was sitting here. If you have a problem with the president,
don't tell the secretary.'" ... ""He didn't get the contract," Jackson
continued. "Why should I reward someone who doesn't like the president,
so they can use funds to try to campaign against the president? Logic says
they don't get the contract. That's the way I believe."" -By
Christine Perez -BizJournals
World
- Net
- Media
- Free
Speech - "Net
censorship spreads worldwide." ... "Repressive regimes
are taking full advantage of the net's ability to censor and stifle reform
and debate, reveals a report." ... "Written by the Reporters Without Borders
(RSF) pressure group the report highlights the ways governments threaten
the freedom of the press." ... "The report has a section dedicated to the
internet and the growing roster of nations censoring online life." ...
"This censorship is practised on every continent on Earth, said the report."
-By Mark Ward -BBC
/News
US
- China
- Free
Speech - Journalist
- "Protester
charged with harassing Chinese leader: Journalist
Wang could face up to six months in prison." ... "Federal charges were
filed Friday against a heckler who interrupted an otherwise highly scripted
ceremony welcoming Chinese President Hu Jintao to the White House the day
before, berating him for the persecution of the Chinese religious sect
Falun Gong." ... "Wen Yi Wang, 47, was charged with harassing a foreign
official, a federal misdemeanor punishable by six months in prison and
a fine of $5,000." ... "The federal law is designed to protect foreign
dignitaries and official guests, and prohibits attempts to "intimidate,
threaten, coerce or harass a foreign official or an official guest or obstruct
a foreign official in the performance of his duties.""
-CNN
US
- China
- Religious
- Law
- "Update
15: Protester Yells at Hu; Bush Apologizes." ...
"In a surprise outburst that cast a diplomatic shadow, a screaming protester
confronted President Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao and interrupted
the welcoming ceremony on the White House lawn Thursday. Bush later apologized
to the Chinese leader." ... ""President Bush, stop him from killing," the
woman shouted, to the surprise of hundreds of guests spread across the
lawn on a sunny, warm day. "President Bush, stop him from persecuting the
Falun Gong" - a banned religious movement in China." ... "The Secret Service
identified the protester as Wenyi Wang, 47. Secret Service spokesman Jim
Mackin said she had been charged with disorderly conduct and that a charge
of intimidating or disrupting foreign officials was also being considered."
-By Terence Hunt -AP
via -Forbes
Antonin
Scalia
- Photo
- Journalism
- Free
Speech - Law
- Politics
- Language
- 
Humor
- People
- 
Massachusetts
- "Photographer:
Herald got it right." ... "Amid a growing national
controversy about the gesture U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia
made Sunday at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross [Boston, Massachusettes],
the freelance photographer who captured the moment has come forward with
the picture." ... "“It’s inaccurate and deceptive of him to say there was
no vulgarity in the moment,” said Peter Smith, the Boston University assistant
photojournalism professor who made the shot." ... "Smith was working as
a freelance photographer for the Boston archdiocese’s weekly newspaper
at a special Mass for lawyers Sunday when a Herald reporter asked the justice
how he responds to critics who might question his impartiality as a judge
given his public worship." ... "“The judge paused for a second, then looked
directly into my lens and said, ‘To my critics, I say, ‘Vaffanculo,’ ”
punctuating the comment by flicking his right hand out from under his chin,
Smith said." ... "The Italian phrase means “(expletive) you.”" (1, 2)
-By Marie Szaniszlo -BostonHerald.com
Free
Speech - Civil
Liberties - Prison
- Humor
- 
Iowa
- "Man's
naughty comment on tickets lands him in front of judge."
... "A Grundy County [Iowa] man's act of civil disobedience almost landed
him in jail Monday." ... "Judge Jeffrey Harris ordered him [John Gould]
to pay $76.20 in fines, surcharges and court costs. The court turned down
Gould's request to pay within six weeks." ... "So Gould wrote a check for
the full amount. He added the words "eat (scatological term deleted)" on
the memo line." ... "Harris rejected arguments by Gould's attorney, Brandon
Adams, that the message was protected free speech under the 1st Amendment
to the Constitution." ... "The judge sentenced Gould to five days in jail
but gave him the option of purging the decision if Gould apologized to
the Clerk of Court and the court." -By Jeff Reinitz
-WCFCourier.com
Terrorism
- Enforcement
- Environment
- 
Food
- Civil
Liberties - Free
Speech - Privacy
- Law
- Politics
- 2004
Election - Seattle
- 
WA
- CO
- "FBI
Keeps Watch on Activists." ... "The FBI, while waging
a highly publicized war against terrorism, has spent resources gathering
information on antiwar and environmental protesters and on activists who
feed vegetarian meals to the homeless, the agency's internal memos show."
... "For years, the FBI's definition of terrorism has included violence
against property, such as the window-smashing during the 1999 Seattle [WA]
protests against the World Trade Organization. That definition has led
FBI investigations to online discussion boards, organizing meetings and
demonstrations of a wide range of activist groups. Officials say that international
terrorists pose the greatest threat to the nation but that they cannot
ignore crimes committed by some activists." ... "The FBI's encounters with
activists are described in hundreds of pages of documents obtained by the
American Civil Liberties Union under the Freedom of Information Act after
agents visited several activists before the 2004 political conventions."
... ""They don't know where Osama bin Laden is, but they're spending money
watching people like me," said environmental activist Kirsten Atkins. Her
license plate number showed up in an FBI terrorism file after she attended
a protest against the lumber industry in Colorado Springs [CO] in 2002."
(1, 2)
-By Nicholas Riccardi
-LAtimes
Gov
- Mil
- Intel
- Terrorism
- Environment
- Religious
- Civil
Liberties - Politics
- Pennsylvania
- "FBI
Took Photos of Antiwar Activists in 2002." ... "An
FBI agent in Pittsburgh [Pennsylvania] photographed members of an antiwar
activist group in 2002, according to documents released yesterday by the
American Civil Liberties Union, which said the disclosure marks the latest
incident in which the FBI has monitored left-leaning groups." ... "An FBI
report from November 2002 indicates that an agent photographed members
of the Thomas Merton Center as they handed out leaflets opposing the impending
war in Iraq. The report called the group a "left-wing organization advocating,
among many political causes, pacifism."" ... "The incident is the latest
disclosure by the ACLU involving antiwar protesters, environmental groups
and religious organizations that have been monitored by FBI agents or other
anti-terrorism investigators." -By Dan Eggen
-WashingtonPost
Turkey
- Journalist
- Censorship
- Free
Speech - 
EU
- "Turkey
opens new case against journalist." ... "A Turkish
prosecutor has opened a new case against one of the country's leading Turkish-Armenians
for comments he made about an earlier prosecution." ... "Hrant Dink, editor
of the bilingual Armenian-Turkish newspaper Agos, was convicted in October
of "insulting Turkishness" and received a six-month suspended sentence.
The case became one of several prominent prosecutions over speech that
prompted questions about Turkey's dedication to democracy from officials
of the European Union, which Turkey is trying to join."
-AP via -SeattlePI.NWsource
Turkey
- Law
- Author
- EU
- "EU
watches as trial of Turkish author adjourned." ...
"The trial of best-selling Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk was adjourned on
Friday in a case that has raised concern in the European Union over freedom
of expression in Turkey and its bid for EU membership." ... "Istanbul Judge
Metin Aydin said the trial would restart on February 7, 2006, to give the
Justice Ministry time to decide whether the case was in line with judicial
procedures at the request of the state prosecutor." -By
Ercan Ersoy with contributions by Daren Butler
-Reuters
Turkey
- Law
- History
- 
Switzerland
- "Dilemma
as Turkish writer’s trial is halted." ... "The trial
of Orhan Pamuk, the Turkish novelist accused of “insulting” his country,
was halted on Friday after the justice ministry failed to indicate whether
it wanted the trial to proceed." ... "Mr Pamuk is being prosecuted for
remarks he made in an interview with a Swiss newspaper earlier this year.
In it, he criticised Turkey for what he said was its denial of its historical
responsibility in the massacre of Armenians and Kurds starting in 1915."
... "Mr Pamuk is being tried under Article 301 of the Turkish penal code,
which makes it a criminal offence to “insult Turkishness, the republic
and state institutions” or otherwise “debase or denigrate” Turkish identity."
-By Vincent Boland -FT.com
Turkey
- Military
- Law
- Authors
- History
- Media
- TV- Censorship
- "'Terrorised'
writers lament state's assault on free speech: Trial
of Turkey's greatest living author is focusing attention on attempts to
control public opinion." ... "Ertugrul Kurkcu has been hauled before the
judges for saying the wrong thing so many times that he has almost lost
count. "Six or seven trials, always acquitted, but I did get a 10-month
jail sentence from a military court for translating a Human Rights Watch
report," says the veteran leftwing Turkish dissident." ... "He took one
case to the European Court of Human Rights last year. The case was annulled
and the Turkish government paid him €5,000 compensation." ... "Mr
Kurkcu's problem is that he keeps colliding with the country's notion of
"Turkishness", and that spells danger for writers, historians and novelists,
who bring the wrath of the establishment down on their heads every time
they are deemed to have belittled it." ... "A raft of other regulations
make it possible for Turkey to muzzle, fine and pressure the publishing
industry, newspapers and television stations for stepping out of line.
Censorship flourishes, too, through requirements that manuscripts be submitted
to state authorities for approval and special licensing arrangements that
oblige the books industry to get official stamps before a book can be published."
-By Ian Traynor -Guardian.co.uk
Turkey
- Law
- People
- History
- "Turk
writer's insult trial halted: The trial of Turkish
novelist Orhan Pamuk, accused of insulting his nation, has been halted
on its first day." ... "An Istanbul judge said the case needed approval
by the ministry of justice." ... "The ministry's permission is being sought
because of a dispute over whether Mr Pamuk is to be tried under Turkey's
old penal code or a recent, revised version." ... "The charges relate to
a magazine interview earlier this year in which Orhan Pamuk said: "One
million Armenians and 30,000 Kurds were killed in these lands and nobody
but me dares talk about it."" ... "Turkey maintains the deaths of Armenians
in conflicts accompanying the collapse of the Ottoman empire in the early
20th Century were not part of a genocidal campaign, arguing that many ethnic
Turks were also killed in that period." ... "Turkey also denies its efforts
to contain a separatist uprising in its Kurdish community in the 1980s
and 1990s can be classed as genocide."-BBC
/News
Turkey
- Law
- Author
- Journalists
- Switzerland
- "Judge
Halts Trial of Turkish Novelist." ... "The presiding
judge halted the trial of Turkey's best-known novelist Friday, saying the
court would need the approval of the Justice Ministry for the trial to
proceed." ... "Orhan Pamuk is accused of insulting Turkey's national identity,
a free speech case that has divided the nation." ... "He faces up to three
years in prison for saying to a Swiss newspaper in February that Turkey
is unwilling to deal with painful episodes in its treatment of the country's
Armenian minority or its continuing problems with its 12 million Kurdish
citizens." ... "Turkey has for years come under criticism for jailing journalists,
authors and activists for speaking their minds." -By
Suzan Fraser -AP
via -HoustonChronicle.com
Turkey
- Law
- Journalists
- Books
- EU
- "Trial
of Turkish author adjourned." ... "Mr Pamuk is on
trial for "denigrating" Turkishness, and faces up to three years in jail
if found guilty." ... "Mr Pamuk was charged under Article 301 of Turkey's
revised penal code, which has been widely criticised within the EU." ...
"The Independent Communications Network found 16 journalists had been put
on trial in Turkey in the first nine months of this year, with 12 of them
being found guilty." ... "The Publishers Association said that, in the
18 months until this summer, 37 authors were tried for criminal offences
in connection with the publication of 47 books." -Guardian.co.uk
Turkey
- Free
Speech - Journalism
- Law
- EU
- "Free
speech on trial in Turkey: The case of writer Orhan
Pamuk is being watched as a test of political reforms." ... "Like one of
his own characters, trapped between liberal yearnings and the reality of
an unforgiving state, Turkey's most celebrated novelist, Orhan Pamuk, is
slated to appear in court Friday to face charges of "insulting Turkish
identity."" ... "The high-profile free speech trial pits the aims of European-driven
reform in Turkey - which began EU membership talks last October - against
a fiercely nationalistic tradition that permits little challenge. Mr. Pamuk's
trial is one of more than 65 other free speech cases now under way in Turkey,
which are being closely watched by European observers, as a test of the
recent reforms." ... ""This is a tug of war in Turkey now, between those
who favor democratic and EU values, [against] those who are afraid of such
change - the hard-core nationalists who are willing to do anything to stop
that trend," says Haluk Sahin, a journalism professor at Bilgi University
and columnist for Radikal newspaper, who is also facing trial in February
under the same statute." ... ""[Nationalists] have decided that the legal
system is the soft underbelly," says Mr. Sahin. "And by using legal instruments
and their ties [to the judiciary], they can harm Turkey's prospects in
that big march toward the European goal."" -By Scott
Peterson -CSMonitor
US
- China
- 
Japan
- 
Taiwan
- Free
Speech - Religion
- "Bush
urges China to move towards democractic reform."
... "In a direct rebuke to China, President George W. Bush on Wednesday
held up Japan and Taiwan as free and open societies, and warned that the
people of China had "legitimate" demands for more freedom of speech and
religion." ... "In a speech on US-Asia relations in Kyoto, the first stop
on his four-country Asia tour, Mr Bush said: "As China reforms its economy,
its leaders are finding that once the door to freedom is opened, even a
crack, it cannot be closed."" ... ""[They want] more freedom to express
themselves, to worship without State control and to print Bibles and other
sacred texts without fear of punishment."" -By Caroline
Daniel -FT.com
EU
- Turkey
- Author
- Law
- History
- "Turkey,
not author, on trial, EU exec says: Many see test
of free speech in Istanbul today." ... "Orhan Pamuk, 53, was expected to
appear in court in the Istanbul district of Sisli, charged with "public
denigration of Turkish identity." The charge stems from an interview he
gave to a Swiss magazine in February in which he said that "30,000 Kurds
and 1 million Armenians were killed in these lands and nobody but me dares
talk about it."" ... "Pamuk, a prolific writer who has been compared to
James Joyce and Salman Rushdie, was referring to two of the most profound
issues in modern Turkey: The brutal repression of Kurdish separatists throughout
the past two decades and the genocide campaign perpetrated by Ottoman Turkish
forces from 1915 to 1918 that claimed the lives of about 1.2 million of
the collapsing empire's Armenian subjects." -By Amberin
Zaman -LAtimes
via -HoustonChronicle.com
Samuel
Alito
- Pennsylvania
- Prisons
- Free
Speech - Media
-"Alito
Dissent Resonates in Supreme Court Case." ... "Judge
Samuel A. Alito Jr. is having an impact on the Supreme Court even before
the Senate takes up his nomination." ... "The justices agreed today to
hear a Pennsylvania prison warden's appeal — based on dissent by Alito
— that challenges a ruling that said that even the most disruptive and
dangerous prison inmates are entitled to receive newspapers and magazines."
... "Alito sided with prison managers last year when he dissented from
the ruling that said prisoners, even disruptive inmates who are held in
special cells, have a 1st Amendment right to receive newspapers and magazines."
-By David G. Savage
-LAtimes
- Hurricane
Katrina - Disaster
- Photos
- Free
Speech -
-
- "Media
groups say FEMA censors search for bodies." ... "When
U.S. [FEMA: Federal Emergency Management Agency] officials asked the media
not to take pictures of those killed by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath,
they were censoring a key part of the disaster story, free speech watchdogs
said on Wednesday." ... ""It's impossible for me to imagine how you report
a story whose subject is death without allowing the public to see images
of the subject of the story," said Larry Siems of the PEN American Center,
an authors' group that defends free expression." ... ""This is about managing
images and not public taste or human dignity," [Columbia University's journalism
school's Project for Excellence in Journalism director Tom] Rosenstiel
said." (1, 2)
-By Deborah Zabarenko
-Reuters
Uganda
- 
- Free
Speech -
-
- "In
Uganda, when does brash talk radio become sedition?
Radio talk show host Andrew Mwenda angered Uganda's government after controversial
remarks." ... "As political editor and columnist for the independent Daily
Monitor, and as talk show host for the paper's radio station, KFM, Mr.
Mwenda has earned a reputation as a sharp critic of Ugandan President Yoweri
Museveni." ... "But Mwenda crossed a line August 10, when he blamed the
Ugandan government for the death of Sudanese Vice President John Garang,
who died last month in a helicopter crash." ... "Uganda's broadcasting
council took KFM off the air the next day, later saying his program was
likely to lead to violence. Then the government jailed him for three days.
Mwenda was freed on bail last week, but he now faces charges of sedition,
which could entail a five-year jail term." -By Blake
Lambert -CSMonitor
- Civil
Liberties -
-
- Free
Speech
- "FBI
Says It Has Files on Rights Groups." ... "The FBI
has thousands of pages of records in its files relating to the monitoring
of civil rights, environmental and similar advocacy groups, the Justice
Department acknowledges." ... "The organizations, including the American
Civil Liberties Union and Greenpeace, are suing for the release of the
documents. The organizations contend that the material will show that they
have been subjected to scrutiny by FBI task forces set up to combat terrorism."
... "The FBI has denied singling out individuals or groups for surveillance
or investigation based solely on activities protected by the Constitution's
guarantees of free speech." -By Mark Sherman
-AP via -WashingtonPost
Nepal
-
- Free
Speech - Privacy
- "King
Claims Absolute Authority In Nepal: Government Is
2nd To Be Dissolved." ... "The leader of Nepal, King Gyanendra, unexpectedly
dismissed the government and claimed absolute power Tuesday, justifying
the moves as necessary to restore peace and democracy in the face of a
spreading Maoist insurgency in the picturesque Himalayan nation." ... "Political
opponents described the move as a coup. International flights were suspended,
phone and Internet connections were cut and the army was reported to be
patrolling streets in the capital, Katmandu. Security personnel surrounded
the home of the prime minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba, according to news agency
reports." ... "The king also imposed a state of emergency and suspended
a number of constitutional liberties, including the rights of free speech,
assembly and privacy, according to a statement that was summarized by the
Associated Press." -By John Lancaster-WashingtonPost
OPINION
-
-
- "Firms
play tough game to defend a good name." ... ""Overzealous
companies often try to assert trademark ownership in inappropriate ways
to stifle free speech," says Kembrew McLeod, a communications studies professor
at the University of Iowa and author of the forthcoming book "Freedom of
Expression: Overzealous Copyright Bozos and Other Enemies of Creativity."
"The real harm comes from self-censorship in a world where [companies]
fire off cease-and-desist letters, and where we and our employers back
down from lawsuits, even when they're baseless."" ... "The stakes can run
high. Microsoft, for instance, is vigorously defending its ubiquitous Windows
trademark from what it views as an infringement by a San Diego software
firm called Lindows, which markets an alternative computer-operating system.
Last summer, Fox News made headlines when it attempted to prevent humorist
Al Franken from using its "Fair and Balanced" tag line in the title of
his bestselling book." -By Eric Schellhorn
-CSMonitor
- 
-
-
- "Israeli
Nuclear Whistleblower Vanunu to Go Free." ... "Israeli
nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu goes free on Wednesday after 18
years in jail for spilling secrets that publicly placed the Jewish state
among the world's top atomic powers." ... "But the former nuclear technician
-- whose revelations to a British newspaper led analysts to conclude Israel
had an arsenal of more than 100 nuclear warheads -- will still be subject
to a list of stringent security measures to keep him silent." ... "Vanunu
was jailed in 1986 for treason after disclosing information to Britain's
Sunday Times." (1, 2)
-By Megan Goldin -Reuters
-
- "China
Changes Constitution to Address Rights Issues." ...
"China's Parliament formally approved today constitutional amendments that
address private property and human rights, while the country's new prime
minister promised to rein in the overheated economy." ... "Chinese legal
experts and even lawmakers said the constitutional changes, which were
decided in closed-door sessions of the ruling Communist Party last fall
and formally approved today, would not lead to lifting restrictions on
speech and political protest. China's constitution is subordinate to the
party and is amended often to reflect changes in official ideology." -By
Chris Buckley -NYTimes
-
-
-
- "Speaking
in 'approved' tongues: Should the government be allowed
more oversight of foreign language study?" ... "As in many college departments,
intellectual independence is a theme at Columbia's Department of Middle
East and Asian Languages and Cultures." ... "An office door is decorated
with a sticker that reads "Subvert the dominant paradigm," and the topics
of faculty-authored books on display range from Iranian cinema to Israeli
literature. But some academics worry this independence may be at risk as
legislation increasing oversight of international studies programs makes
its way through Congress." ... "The bill, called the International Studies
Higher Education Act (HR 3077), reauthorizes about $80 million in funding
for international and foreign language study, but with a twist - now the
government would allocate more resources to programs that emphasize national
security." -By Kimberly Chase
-CSMonitor
-
- Media
- "Iran
shuts down reformist papers: Iran's hardline judiciary
has shut two leading newspapers for publishing a letter criticising the
Islamic republic's supreme leader." ... "The letter criticised Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei's decision to exclude thousands of reformist candidates from
Friday's elections." ... "It was written by disgruntled reformist deputies
who've been barred from standing in the general election." ... "Criticising
the supreme leader is regarded as a serious offence." ... "Paris-based
rights group Reporters Without Borders said last year that Iran had more
journalists behind bars than any other country in the Middle East."
-BBC/News
-
-
- "Supreme
Court upholds 'soft money' ban." ... "A sharply divided
Supreme Court upheld key features of the nation's new law intended to lessen
the influence of money in politics, ruling Wednesday that the government
may ban unlimited donations to political parties." ... "Those donations,
called "soft money," had become a mainstay of modern political campaigns,
used to rally voters to the polls and to pay for sharply worded television
ads." ... "The new rules have been in force during the early stages of
preparation for the 2004 elections for president and Congress."
-AP via -CNN
-
-
- Civil
Liberties News
- "Outkast
Denied By U.S. Supreme Court In Rosa Parks Case."
... "The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied a petition by Outkast and
their record labels asking the court to intervene in a lawsuit involving
civil-rights icon Rosa Parks and the rap duo's Grammy-nominated single
bearing her name. The move clears the way for Parks to sue Outkast for
what she claims is false advertising." -MTV.com
/ News
-
- "China
Releases 3 Internet Writers, but Convicts 1 Other."
... "China released three Internet essayists who were detained a year ago
for criticizing the government, including a college student in Beijing
whose arrest on subversion charges had attracted international attention,
a human rights group based in Hong Kong reported Sunday." -By
Philip P. Pan -WashingtonPost
-
-
- "Texas
court to rule: Can fiction be libel?" ... "Shortly
after a Texas county judge had 13-year-old Christopher Beamon jailed for
five days for writing a Halloween essay about the shooting of a teacher,
the Dallas Observer parodied the news item with a fictional account of
its own." ... "In a satirical piece, the same judge, Darlene Whitten, was
portrayed jailing a 6-year-old girl for writing a book report on Maurice
Sendak's children's classic "Where The Wild Things Are," said to contain
"cannibalism, fanaticism, and disorderly conduct."" -By
John C. Ryan -CSMonitor
-
-
-
- "Protesters,
Miami police clash during free-trade demonstrations."
... "Police in riot gear fired rubber bullets and tear gas and used batons,
plastic shields, concussion grenades and stun guns in clashes Thursday
with hundreds of demonstrators protesting talks aimed at creating a hemisphere-wide
free-trade zone." ... "The clashes took place before and after a march
by 8,000 to 10,000 union members." -By Ken Thomas
-AP via -SFGate.com
-
- Civil
Liberties News
- "Unpopular
Hong Kong Bill Derailed After Huge Protests." ...
"In a stunning victory for this city's pro-democracy opposition, Hong Kong's
leader retreated in the face of huge street protests and agreed early today
to delay an internal security bill that critics said threatened civil liberties
in the only corner of China where residents are free to challenge the country's
Communist government." ... "The surprise reversal by the city's chief executive,
Tung Chee-hwa, was announced shortly after 2 a.m., following statements
from Beijing urging Hong Kong officials to pass the measure as scheduled.
Tung himself had promised as recently as Saturday to bring the bill to
a vote this week despite the public outcry, which included a demonstration
last Tuesday that attracted about a half-million people." -By
Philip P. Pan -WashingtonPost
- "Curbs
on rights roil Hong Kong: Tuesday, hundreds
of thousands of Hong Kong residents protested a new 'antisubversion' law."
... "Hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong residents took to the streets on
the sixth anniversary of the handover to China of the former British colony.
Their grievance: an "anti-subversion" law known as Article 23 that is expected
to pass next week. Opponents fear it will become an instrument to stifle
free expression and imprison dissenters." -By Robert
Marquand -CSMonitor
-
- "ALA
denounces Supreme Court ruling on Children's Internet Protection Act."
... "The American Library Association (ALA) today expressed disappointment
in today's very narrow decision from the U.S. Supreme Court upholding the
Children's Internet Protection Act." ... ""The decision, however, is very
narrow in that Justices Kennedy and Breyer did not join Chief Justice Rehnquist's
opinion, they only joined the judgment," said Judith Krug, director of
the American Library Association s Office for Intellectual Freedom.
"Justices Kennedy and Breyer joined the judgment because they believe adult
patrons need only ask the librarian to please disable the filter
and need not provide any reason for the request. In light of this,
we expect libraries that decide they must accept filters to inform their
patrons how easily the filters can be turned off."" ... "Justice Kennedy's
opinion requires that filtering companies create filters that can be immediately
and easily dismantled to meet the information needs of library users."
... "The American Library Association again calls for full disclosure of
what sites filtering companies are blocking, who is deciding what is filtered
and what criteria are being used. Findings of fact clearly show that
filtering companies are not following legal definitions of "harmful to
minors" and "obscenity." Their practices must change." ... "To assist
local libraries in their decision process, the ALA will seek this information
from filtering companies, then evaluate and share the information with
the thousands of libraries now being forced to forego funds or choose faulty
filters. The American Library Association also will explain how various
products work, criteria to consider in selecting a products and how to
best use a given product in a public setting. Library
users must be able to see what sites are being blocked and, if needed,
be able to request the filter be disabled with the least intrusion into
their privacy and the least burden on library service." ... "The ALA will
do everything possible to support the governing bodies of these local institutions
as they struggle with this very difficult decision." -ALA.org
- American Library Association -ALA.org/oif
- Office for Intellectual Freedom
-
- "Supreme
Court upholds use of Internet filters in public libraries."
... "A divided Supreme Court ruled today that Congress can force the nation's
public libraries to equip computers with anti-pornography filters." ...
"The blocking technology, intended to keep smut from children, does not
violate the First Amendment even though it shuts off some legitimate, informational
Web sites, the court held." ... "The court said because libraries can disable
the filters for any patrons who ask, the system is not too burdensome.
The 6-3 ruling reinstates a law that told libraries to install filters
or surrender federal money. Four justices said the law was constitutional,
and two others said it was allowable as long as patrons were not denied
Internet access." -By Gina Holland
-AP via -StarTribune.com
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