Islamist Thugs Attempt To Intimidate Maryam Namazie

Members of Goldsmiths Islamic Society (ISOC) attempt to intimidate and disrupt during a talk by Maryam Namazie at Goldsmiths University, UK. Whole video here.

EU response to free speech killings? More internet censorship

In the wake of this week’s terrorist attacks in Paris, which began with the killing of 12 people at the offices of satirical publication Charlie Hebdo, the interior ministers of 12 EU countries have called for a limited increase in internet censorship.

The interior ministers of France, Germany, Latvia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and the U.K. said in a statement (PDF) that, while the internet must remain “in scrupulous observance of fundamental freedoms, a forum for free expression, in full respect of the law,” ISPs need to help “create the conditions of a swift reporting of material that aims to incite hatred and terror and the condition of its removing, where appropriate/possible.”

This sounds similar to recent agreements in the U.K. whereby ISPs use filters to stop citizens seeing “extremist” online content, though it’s hard to tell without more details. There seems to be no coordinated push for more internet surveillance just yet, although there is a drive for better intelligence sharing between EU countries.

It seems, to say the least, an awkward reaction to what was in part a free-speech-related attack — the left-wing Charlie Hebdo has itself frequently been accused of hate speech for its portrayal of Muslims and others. On that front, a German newspaper that reprinted blasphemous Charlie Hebdo cartoons of Mohammed in the wake of the attack was firebombed in the early hours of Sunday morning, with no injuries. Others that did the same remain under police guard.

Gigaom.com - Tech News and Analysis

Thai Authorities To Promote 'Martial Law Tourism'

The Tourism Authority of Thailand says its preparing to add one more tourist attraction to the Kingdom's long list of temples, beaches, and mountains: life under martial law.   "The TAT is preparing a campaign called '24 Hours Enjoy Thailand' to attract foreign tourists to visit Thailand under martial law," TAT Governor Thawatchai Arunyik told Thai Rath newspaper on Friday.

Thawatchai said that martial law is beneficial to tourism, because it ensures that foreign tourists can be safe 24 hours a day. "We want the tourists to be confident that they can travel in Thailand both day and night with safety at all times," Thawatchai said, adding that he hopes to promote this concept by creating a "buzz" on social media.

The military imposed martial law over the entire nation on 20 May and seized power two days later. Human rights activists have decried the sweeping power of the 100-year-old law, which includes the authority to detain individuals and search properties without warrants, ban public protests, and try dissenters in military court. 

Khaosod

Atheism Punishable By Death In 13 Countries

Atheists living in 13 countries risk being condemned to death, just for the beliefs (or non-belief) according to a new, comprehensive report from the International Humanist and Ethical Union out on Tuesday. All 13 countries identified by the study are Muslim majority.

The countries that impose these penalties are Afghanistan, Iran, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. With the exception of Pakistan, those countries all allow for capital punishment against apostasy, i.e., the renunciation of a particular religion. Pakistan, meanwhile, imposes the death penalty for blasphemy, which can obviously include disbelief in God. 

The study's interactive map gives a good, broad, overview of which countries punish apostasy and blasphemy by death (black), with prison time (red), or place legal restrictions on (non-)religious speech and thought (yellow):

Business Insider

'In solidarity. From Russia with love'

Tilda Swinton is risking arrest to hold up a rainbow flag in front of St. Basil's Cathedral in Russia! Swinton's rep asked that everyone share this photo of her in Moscow risking arrest by waving a pride flag in violation of Russia’s new homosexual propaganda bill.

SheWired

'Attempt to ban porn' discovered in EU report

On Tuesday, members of the European Parliament will vote on the worthy yet mundane-sounding Report on Eliminating Gender Stereotypes in the EU. But bloggers this week pounced on an article in the report that calls for “a ban on all forms of pornography in the media”, and urged their supporters to bombard all 754 MEPs with emails condemning the “unacceptable political invasion of people’s bedrooms”.

While Tuesday’s vote in Strasbourg is merely an expression of support and would not be legally binding, critics worry that it could be the first step towards draconian policing of the internet in Europe. It comes after Iceland began drafting legislation to ban all online pornography, prompting cries of censorship.

Rickard Falkvinge, a founder of the libertarian Swedish Pirate Party, said the text coming before the European Parliament was a “horrendous attack on our fundamental freedoms of speech and expression” while a Pirate Party MEP, Christian Engstrom, warned that “the devil is in the detail” – in particular a call in the report for “a charter to which all internet operators will be invited to adhere. This is quite clearly yet another attempt to get the internet service providers to start policing what citizens do on the internet, not by legislation, but by ‘self-regulation’,” he wrote on his blog. “This is something we have seen before in a number of different proposals, and which is one of the big threats against information freedom in our society.”

More on The Independent

Anti-gay marriage protesters march in Paris

Several hundred thousand people massed at the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Sunday to protest against President François Hollande's plan to legalise gay marriage and adoption by June. Three columns of protesters, waving pink and blue flags showing a father, mother and two children, converged on the landmark from different meeting points in Paris. Many came after long train and bus rides from the provinces. Hollande has pledged to push through the law with his Socialists' parliamentary majority but the opponents' campaign has dented public support and forced deputies to put off a plan to allow lesbian couples access to artificial insemination.

Champ de Mars park at the Eiffel Tower was packed, but turnout estimates varied widely. Organisers claimed 800,000 had protested, while police put the number at 340,000. "Nobody expected this two or three months ago," said Frigide Barjot, a flamboyant comedian leading the "demo for all". At the rally, she read out a letter to Hollande asking him to withdraw the draft bill and hold an extended public debate on the issue.

The Guardian

The “Un papa une maman" ("one dad one mum") demonstration featured a performer sporting a spandex suit and wings, fluttering between “mamas” and “papas” before gaining steam from the cheers of both. The performance was supposed to demonstrate that a child needs both a mother and father.

But it was quickly outdone by a spontaneous act between two women, whose embrace in front of the crowd left some of the protesters open-mouthed and prompting others to turn their heads away.

Lesbian kiss steals spotlight at French anti-gay parenting protest (France 24)

Would you dare to upload the truth?

Would you dare to upload the truth, if it costs you your freedom...? See what happens in this interactive video. Help her choose.
Pick your weapons for Internet freedom at http://www.deletecontrol.nl.

Mr President

Kim Dotcom - The war on Internet freedom was declared on Obama's watch. Download the song & Join the movement on http://www.kim.com

Chinese man jailed for trying to form opposition party

A court in China has sentenced a man to eight years in prison for trying to form an opposition party and for online messages criticising the ruling Chinese Communist party, a week before a congress which will usher in a new generation of leaders.

The court in the south-western city of Kunming sentenced Cao Haibo, 27, for "subversion of state power", his lawyer, Ma Xiaopeng, said. Cao had called for democracy and had tried to form a party called the China Republican party, Ma said.

The charge is more serious than one of incitement of subversion, which is more typically used against party critics. The sentence signals the party's resolve to crack down hard on dissent, especially as it prepares for a power handover at the congress which opens in Beijing on 8 November.

The Guardian – NBC

Suspect Nation

Since Tony Blair's New Labour government came to power in 1997, the UK civil liberties landscape has changed dramatically. ASBOs were introduced by Section 1 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and first used in 1999. The right to remain silent is no longer universal. Our right to privacy, free from interception of communications has been severely curtailed. The ability to travel without surveillance (or those details of our journeys being retained) has disappeared.
Indeed, as Henry Porter (the Observer journalist famous for his recent email clash with Tony Blair over the paring down of civil liberties) reveals in this unsettling film, our movements are being watched, and recorded, more than ever before.

International Blasphemy Day

International Blasphemy Rights Day, held each year on September 30, is a day to promote the rights to freedom of belief and expression and stand up in a show of solidarity for the liberty to challenge reigning religious beliefs without fear of murder, litigation, or reprisal. The event is administered by the Center for Inquiry as part of its Campaign for Free Expression.

Free speech is the foundation on which all other liberties rest. Without having the right to express our opinions, however unpopular, those willing to use political clout, violence, and threats will stifle dissent -- and we will all suffer the consequences of this.
International Blasphemy Rights Day takes place September 30 to commemorate the publishing of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons. ...

The purpose of Blasphemy Rights Day is not to promote hate or violence; it is to support freedom of belief and expression, support the right to criticize religion, and to oppose any resolutions or laws, binding or otherwise, that discourage or inhibit freedom of speech of any kind.

International Blasphemy Day on Facebook

Opposition shut out in Belarus election

Official results in Belarus' parliamentary election have delivered an overwhelming victory to parties allied to President Alexander Lukashenko, fulfilling a prediction by opposition groups that boycotted the vote amid claims it would again be rigged for the president.

Central Elections Commission Chairwoman Lidiya Yermoshina said on Monday that she had received a preliminary turnout figure of 74.3 per cent and downplayed more sceptical assessments by independent election observers, saying that only official turnout tallies would be considered. 

There were no runoffs, and Yermoshina said that all but one of the 110 seats in parliament had been assigned. The vote was held on Sunday without the main opposition parties, which boycotted to protest the detention of political prisoners and election fraud.

Al Jazeera English

All Americans must see this!

Activists and Journalists beaten and detained in Belarus

Several people were detained and beaten in the Belarusian capital Minsk on Tuesday as they attempted to hold a rally calling for a nationwide boycott of this weekend's parliamentary elections in the former Soviet republic.

"Opposition activists were going to hold another picket near the Frunzensky store in Minsk calling on people not to vote in the elections to the Chamber of Representatives of the National Assembly," the opposition Charter 97 group said on its website. (RIA Novosti)

Agents in plainclothes repeatedly hit several journalists covering an opposition protest organized by activists calling for a boycott of Sunday's parliamentary vote, according to news reports. Sergei Grits, a photographer for The Associated Press, said his face was covered with blood after one of the assailants punched him and broke his glasses, according to AP.

All of the journalists were shoved into a minivan with no license plates and driven to a police station where their equipment and documents were confiscated with no explanation, news reports said. Police held the journalists without charge for two hours and then released them, the AP reported. The officials also deleted the images and video recordings from the journalists' cameras before returning the equipment, Reuters reported.

Committee to Protect Journalists

Thousands of UK Workers 'Blacklisted' Over Political Views

Corporations in the UK who used a secret "blacklisting" database to screen out ‘left wing trouble-makers’ and union sympathizers as potential job recruits are facing renewed scrutiny after the UK-activist group Liberty called for a fresh investigation Monday night.

A demonstration outside the Olympic site on March 1, 2011 was called in solidarity with the whistleblower who was fired for standing up for an illegally blacklisted workmate. The blacklist scandal first broke in 2008, when the UK media revealed that more than 40 leading employers had subscribed to the vetting service provided by The Consulting Association, which had surveillance files on more than 3,200 workers, including political activists, shop stewards and health and safety representatives.

Police seized the database three years ago and Ian Kerr, the founder of The Consulting Association, was fined only about $7,500. Invoices were discovered showing that 44 companies had paid to access the names on the list.

Common Dreams - Blacklist Blog

The Reason Why We Do it

Brian Gerrish - You can do nothing...or you can do something! ukcolumn.org

Freedom or Fascism

David Icke (part 2 – part 3)

Press Freedom Index 2011-2012

(Click image for big version)

“This year’s index sees many changes in the rankings, changes that reflect a year that was incredibly rich in developments, especially in the Arab world,” Reporters Without Borders said today as it released its 10th annual press freedom index. “Many media paid dearly for their coverage of democratic aspirations or opposition movements. Control of news and information continued to tempt governments and to be a question of survival for totalitarian and repressive regimes. The past year also highlighted the leading role played by netizens in producing and disseminating news.

Reporters Without Borders

Chen Guangcheng now wants to leave China after 'death threats'

Chen Guangchen, the blind activist said Wednesday that U.S. officials told him that Chinese authorities would have beaten his wife to death had he not left the American Embassy, where he sought sanctuary after fleeing persecution by local officials in his rural town.

A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, denied that the administration had passed on to Chen Guangcheng any threat of violence to his family, but did say that Chen was told that if he stayed in the embassy indefinitely, his family would be returned to their home province.

A shaken Chen, speaking from the hospital room where he was taken after leaving the embassy Wednesday, also said that U.S. officials told him Chinese authorities would send his family back home if he stayed inside. But he added that, at one point, the U.S. officials told him his wife would be beaten to death.

"They said if I don't leave they would take my children and family back to Shandong," Chen told The Associated Press. He said he heard the death threat from an American official whom he could not identify.

Syracuse.com