Copyright, censorship and freedom of speech

April 20, 2012 — xanthippa

Property rights are an essential parts of our civil liberties because in a very real sense, property rights are an extension – and confirmation – of the principle of self-ownership.

How can I be in favour of protecting property rights, but at the same time oppose the copyright industry?

It may seem like a contradiction, but a deeper look will reveal that copyright and property rights – though related – are not exactly one and the same thing.

Property is physical and material:  it can only be possessed by one owner at a time.  If I steal your DVD of a movie, you no longer have the ability to enjoy possessing it.  By stealing, I have deprived you of possessing something.  It is possible to justify a law that does not permit me to deprive you of some object against your will .

Ideas do not work in the same way.  If I begin using your idea, I have not deprived you of the use of the idea:  it’s still available for you to do with it what you please.  But, is it reasonable to forbid me to think your idea and incorporate it into my own thoughts to produce a new idea or product?

Is that not a little too close to criminalizing thought?

 

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Best Buy sponsors fundraisers for Hamas

April 20, 2012 — xanthippa

However you slice it, Hamas is a terrorist organization.  Supporting Hamas is on par with supporting Breivik.  Breivik was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia:  Hamas has no such excuse.

CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) has consistently funded and supported Hamas.  Through its actions, it has supported terrorism.  It is not an organization that ought to be permitted any legitimacy in our society.  It claims to speak for all Muslims, but, when good, moderate Muslims denounce terrorism, CAIR attepts to intimidate them into silence.  Perhaps as a result of its actions against moderate Muslims, perhaps because of its persistent ties to international terrorism, even the FBI and multiculturalism-friendly White House have cut all their ties with the increasingly disgraced CAIR.

Yet, it is CAIR’s 5th annual banquet that Best Buy decided to become a ‘Platinum Sponsor’ for.

It’s not like there is a dirth of respectable Islamic organizations one could support (some can be found in my links on the right sidebar):  it’s just that CAIR is not one of these.

 

 

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