Brandon Blackwell writes: Irony stung the Occupy Cleveland movement in October 2011 when about a dozen of its members were arrested in Public Square. Protesters were taken into custody for violating curfew near the statue of Cleveland’s 35th Mayor Tom L. Johnson — an effigy erected as a testament to free speech and assembly. But [...]

I just did a quick search on the Plain Dealer’s website and not a peep about this story. From the Court of Appeals of Ohio, Eighth Appellate District, County of Cuyahoga: {¶1} For purposes of this opinion, the appeals of both appellants Erin McCardle and Leatrice Tolls have been consolidated. 1 {¶2} Appellants Erin McCardle [...]

Glenn Greenwald writes: Does anyone doubt that if the Bush White House had “requested” in the wake of 9/11 that all anti-war or anti-administration videos be “reviewed” to see if they should remain on the internet – on the not-implausible ground that they might encourage attacks on American troops or personnel – that Democrats would [...]

[Update No. 3 @ 1042 on 13 September: His real name is Nakoula Basseley Nakoula] [Update No. 2 @ 1944: Bacile's a fake; not a Jew or an Israeli, who the fuck is he?] [Update No. 1 @ 1626: Glenn Greenwald wades in...] Shaya Tayefe Mohajer (for the Associated Press) writes: An Israeli filmmaker based [...]

Andrew Brietbart is gone, but his media fief continues. I initially embedded the Brietbart video of Saturday’s protest in Cleveland, but after spending about 20 minutes attempting to alter the code so that the video wouldn’t autostart, I’ve removed the code. You can still go directly to the site and view the video there. As [...]

Jacob Appelbaum, the Internet freedom activist and WikiLeaks associate, has been targeted by the U.S. Government in multiple ways despite never having been charged with any crime, including constant border harassment, laptop seizures, and the secret issuance of “national security letters” to his Internet providers and other services. Watch this short video as he takes [...]

Change happens in three steps and, this is the important bit, they are three distinct yet interdependent steps. The hierarchy of actions is important; step three, causing the change to manifest, cannot happen unless preceded by step one, being the change and step two, communicating the change. Step One is embodied in the words of [...]

Glenn Greenwald writes: [Julian] Assange’s resolve to avoid extradition to Sweden has nothing to do with a reluctance to face possible sex assault charges there. His concern all along has been that once he’s in Swedish custody, he will far more easily be extradited to the U.S. In general, small countries are more easily coerced [...]

Nigger, Wop, Kike, Spic, Chink, Faggot, Retard, Communist, Liberal, Socialist, Anarchist… One of the insidious ways those in power retain that power is by making those they need to hold power over less than human. The task is really all too easy: to demote another human to the status of other you simply have to [...]

You’d better make sure your lawyer is on retainer.

Nate Harris understood…

0742: Westboro Baptist Church and free speech 0730: Firefighters watch as home burns to the ground 0724: Sanity vs. control

0913: Why not ignore them? 0805: The high price we all pay for Walmart’s cheap goods 0742: Wikileaks and the role of the messenger 0700: A reality show I could actually get into

Tracing attacks on free speech from Plato’s Republic to America’s campuses and newsrooms, Jonathan Rauch provides an engaging and provocative attack on those who would limit free thought by restricting free speech. Rauch explores how the system for producing knowledge works in a liberal society, and why it has now become the object of a powerful ideological attack. Moving beyond the First Amendment, he defends the morality, rather than the legality, of an intellectual regime that relies on unfettered and often hurtful criticism. Kindly Inquisitors is a refreshing and vibrant essay, casting a provocative light on the raging debates over political correctness and multiculturalism.

[Update @ 1842 via Andrew Sullivan: Any time people feel required to suppress their real views for whatever reason, untruths fester without the disinfectant of sunlight. That's why I've always tried to raise some difficult issues - racial differences in IQ, or the impact of testosterone on gender, or the sexual orientation of a possible [...]

From The Telegraph: The location is also adjacent to the Viacom building, fuelling speculation that it might be linked to the company’s controversial South Park cartoon which recently depicted Prophet Muhammad in a bear suit. Elsewhere… My take, if this is related to South Park’s 200/201 epsisodes, then the bomb was planted by disgruntled fans, [...]

From The BBC: Iceland could become a “journalism haven” if a proposal put forward by some Icelandic MPs aided by whistle-blowing website Wikileaks succeeds. The Icelandic Modern Media Initiative, calls on the country’s government to adopt laws protecting journalists and their sources. It will be filed with the Althingi – Iceland’s parliament – on 16 [...]

There is no journalist whose voice I respect more on matters of Free Speech, the First Amendment to the Constitution and the Supreme Court of the United States than Lyle Denniston. His analysis of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission is spot on (via Writes Like She Talks), but I take exception to this passage: [...]

I agree with the majority decision yesterday by the United States Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. My reason is simple: I really, really, really believe in the power of the First Amendment to our Constitution. Censorship is the greatest threat to any free society. The correct response to objectionable speech is [...]