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Free Saudi Liberals
July 18, 2012 — xanthippaUPDATED on 9th of January, 2015
Raif Badawi had been sentenced to flogging with 1 000 lashes and 5 years in jail. For more info, click here.
The website is in Arabic, but since it is easy to get translated (not well, but understandably), please, feel free to visit the site ‘Free Saudi Liberals’.
According to Human Rights Watch, that website’s creator Ra’if Badawi has been arrested and charged under the cyber-crimes law for having created and operated this website. Apparently, providing a forum where people can discuss matters of concern ‘infringes on religious values’.
He is also criminally charged with ‘not obeying his father’…
From Reuters:
‘Court documents show the evidence against Badawi includes a post on the website that asks, “is God unjust?”, sarcastic remarks about the Saudi religious police and a senior scholar, and a post that asks, “why is Saudi’s Grand Mufti blind?”‘
Online political forums are important to society.
And, it is not only in Saudi Arabia that online forums are targeted by censors. Right here, in Canada, the methods may be civil rather than criminal law, but, the impulse to censor is the same. At least here, we can help people who are unfairly targeted raise the funds for their defense.
The Dependency Agenda
July 18, 2012 — xanthippaOnce, years ago, I saw an interview with an anti-poverty activist. She said it was a disgrace that people were living in poverty and that the government must stop it right away.
When asked how she defined ‘living in poverty’, she quickly replied it was the people in the lowest 15% income bracket.
She honestly did not see the problem…
What are the 10 most frightening words in the English language?
“We are from the government – we are here to help!”
100% ‘fair use’ political ad censored by DMCA
July 17, 2012 — xanthippaThis is a perfect illustration of how the unbalanced copyright laws are abusive.
The political ad of Obama singing the song ‘Let’s Stay Together’ while showing images of him with rich lobbyists is as textbook ‘fair use’ as there is. Yet, the song rightsholder, BMG, had it yanked off the interwebitudes:
‘A YouTube video produced by the Romney for President campaign got hit by a takedown request on Monday, highlighting the challenges that the Digital Millenium Copyright Act can pose for free speech.
…
Yet the “notice and takedown” process established by the DMCA and apparently utilized by BMG in this case doesn’t give the Romney campaign much recourse. It can file a counter notice stating that it believes its clip to be fair use, but YouTube is required to wait a minimum of 10 days before putting the video back up. In a campaign where the news cycle is measured in hours, 10 days is an eternity.’
Because sometimes, delaying a message is just as good as stopping it…
Another dimension of the problem is that individuals unfairly censored under the current policies are penalized for the other side’s failure – without any accessible or effective recourse or remedy readily available. They are, in a very real sense, guilty until proven innocent – at their own cost and by their own effort.
This is so contrary to our common law tradition I don’t know where to begin!
And it’s only going to get worse – unless we shift our enforcement focus from ‘fair dealing’ to ‘fair ‘use’ (as, hopefully, seems to be happening up here, in Canada).
Yet another reason why ‘blasphemy laws’ must be abolished
July 12, 2012 — xanthippaEvery religious person should oppose ‘blasphemy laws’ with every fiber of their being.
Why?
With ‘blasphemy laws’ in place, it is impossible to have freedom of religion.
Every religion has, as its central tenet, the bold and uncompromising claim that it and it alone is ‘the righteous path’ to wherever or whatever it proclaims people ought, according to its teachings, be on the path to.
Even if we set the anti-theists, atheists and non-theists aside and accept the religionists’ claims, it is impossible for more than one of these religions to actually be true.
Therefore, every single time that someone preaches/teaches one religion, he/she is necessarily committing blasphemy against every single other religion.
Thus, if blasphemy laws are actually enforced, we’ll soon have jails filled with religious teachers/preachers!!!
Plus, there will, of course, be the added complications – for those of us living in constitutional democracies – that enforcing ‘blasphemy laws’ necessitates that The State police the dissemination of religious dogma, which is fundamentally incompatible with the principles underlying our legal systems.
Sure, ‘blasphemy laws’ are seen by many as a measure to protect religious freedoms, but if you really think about it, they are the most certain way to prevent the teaching of any religion at all!
But, don’t take my word for it: we have real-life examples of this mechanism in action from countries where the enforcement of ‘blasphemy laws’ (which really mean anti-blasphemy laws) is sending clerics to jail.
Yes, we all know that Iran is trying Christian preachers for blasphemy – but, well, what do you expect from Iran?
And, yes, we know Christian preachers have been tossed into jail for blasphemy for holding Bible study classes inside their homes in Pakistan – but, well, it’s not like Pakistan is a bastion of good governance, right?
And good luck even finding a Christian or Jewish religious teacher who could potentially commit such blasphemy in Saudi Arabia…
So, let’s not use the most extremist countries as examples. Let’s look at Indonesia, long touted as an example of how multiculturalism can work in a tolerant, moderate Muslim country: a Shia cleric has been sentenced to two years in jail for – you guessed it – promulgating Shia teachings, which was not to the liking of the influential local Sunni clerical council.
From The Jakarta Globe:
‘The judge said that Muluk had propagated Shiite teachings in his village of Nangkernang, where a nearby branch of the country’s top Islamic clerical council dubbed the denomination “deviant” from mainstream Islam.’
Human Rights Watch has further details:
‘“The Indonesian government should immediately drop the case against Tajul Muluk, which highlights the threat Indonesia’s blasphemy law poses to religious freedom,” said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The government needs to reverse the growing trend of violence and legal action against religious minorities in the country.”’
. . .
‘The Coordinating Board for Monitoring Mystical Beliefs in Society (Badan Koordinasi Pengawas Aliran Kepercayaan Masyarakat or Bakor Pakem) is a coordinating body under Indonesia’s Attorney General’s Office with branches in every province and regency under local prosecutors’ offices. According to the 2004 Public Prosecution Service Law, Bakor Pakem has the responsibility to provide “oversight in respect of religious beliefs that could endanger society and the state.” Bakor Pakem normally sits under the intelligence division of the public prosecution office, and works closely with the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the police, the military, local governments, and religious establishments.’
Let’s take a stand for religious freedom and ensure that ‘blasphemy laws’ are gotten rid of worldwide!
Remember, the end never justify the means. Rather, the means always define the end…
H/T: BCF
480 million dollars to save one Liberal seat?
July 11, 2012 — xanthippaCharles Sousa, MPP, Mississauga-South. Remember that name…
Do you know how serious long-term energy policy is formulated in Ontario by the McGuinty regime?
By the re-election campaign workers!
And while the newspapers are reporting the cost to be $180 million, Rob Snow of CFRA has just said on air that a confidential source of his has admitted that the true cost is $480M…
Of course, the Oakville situation – which was very similar – is even more expensive.
Cancelling power plants when they are almost completely built, in order to give a local Liberal MPP a few points in the polls – and devil-take the rest of Ontario!
“Democracy” in the EU – lol
June 26, 2012 — xanthippaOne would laugh, if this were not so tragic!
EU bureaucrats are openly over-ruling the will of its member states!
Some European nation states have already passed national law that make ACTA and ACTA-like monstrosities illegal in their countries.
EU bureaucrats say that’s too bad, they trump any national laws…
And, if the EU courts decide that ACTA is illegal, they’ll find some way to change the laws.
This is a very, very dangerous precedent!
From TechDirt:
‘In other words, De Gucht won’t accept the idea that the European electorate, through their representatives in the European Parliament, might possibly want to reject something they were not allowed to know about until late in the negotiating process, and to which they were unable to provide any meaningful input. In his view, ACTA must be passed, and ACTA will be passed — whatever anyone else thinks about it.’
And don’t forget, the EU is UN’s mini-me. As at the EU, so in the UN.
We will see this, more and more: bureaucrat-crafted ‘international agreements’ will be forced as laws on member nation states, whether they like it or not. In the EU and UN both!
Remember, the UN, chock-full of dictators and tyrants, is not big on Western values and civil liberties – and its laws/treaties reflect this. Even its Universal Declaration of Human Rights states clearly that human rights may only be enjoyed to the degree that local laws deem appropriate!!!
If you think this should not scare you, because you don’t live in the EU – don’t be so sure. The UN is just using the EU to work out some of the ‘how to’ kinks on its way to regulating humanity into virtual extinction!
Xanthippa's Chamberpot 