Free Saudi Liberals

July 18, 2012 — xanthippa

UPDATED 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.

Posted in corruption, freedoms, politics, religion. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , . 36 Comments »

100% ‘fair use’ political ad censored by DMCA

July 17, 2012 — xanthippa

This 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).

 

 

Posted in corruption, freedoms, society, technology. Tags: , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

More information on the Omar Khadr protests

July 16, 2012 — xanthippa

Wednesday will see demonstrations across Canada of people protesting the return of convicted terrorist Omar Khadr.  I just received this press release from the folks organizing the Edmonton protest:

STOP Khadr Edmonton

Canadian Patriots Unite
http://stopkhadredmonton.wordpress.com

Contact: Sharon Maclise                                                                                                                         For Immediate Release
Tel: 780-455-1330
Email: skymac@telus.net

STOP Khadr Edmonton Rally
Wed July 18, 12 noon
Edmonton Law Court Plaza – 10287-99 St

Recent polls suggest a majority* of Canadians are opposed to the return of Omar Khadr because we think he continues to represent a serious threat to the security of our country.

We are concerned Albertans who have joined forces with others of the Canadian Patriotic Society1 across the country – in Toronto, Montreal and Abbotsford – to make our opinion known about this decision. It is important that  dmontonians
are aware that Khadr might chose to live and study here as he has a strong base of local support – his former Lawyer Dennis Edney; English Prof’s Arlette Zinck at Kings University and Janice Williamson at UofA; Edmonton Journal Editorial Writer Shelia Pratt and Columnist Paula Simons – have all written glowing testimonials for Khadr.

Al Qaeda declared a “War on Terror” against many western countries including Canada and it is a threat that needs to be taken seriously. Khadr remains a dangerous threat because of his radical family and Al-Qaeda roots, plus he has not been de-radicalized at Gitmo. If he returns and is going to be released we believe a case can be made to have him charged with Treason for “assist[ing] an enemy at war with Canada, or any armed forces against whom Canadian
Forces are engaged in hostilities”2. To support that we plan on a public petition asking the Government of Canada to bring this charge against Khadr.

###

If you would like more information about this Event, or would like to schedule an interview with Sharon Maclise – please email your requests to skymac@telus.net.

Footnotes:
* May 25, 2012 – Sun News: Close the Door Media. “53% of Canadians oppose the return of Omar Khadr” Abacus Data Poll. http://abacusdata.ca/2012/05/25/sun-news-close-the-door-to-khadr-canadians-say .

1) Canadian Patriotic Society – Contact: Shobie Kapoor c 647-500-5192
W: http://canadianpatrioticsociety.blogspot.ca/ E: canadianpatrioticsociety@gmail.com

2) Criminal Code of Canada, Section 46 (1) c – Definition of High Treason.

Posted in politics, society. Tags: , , , . 3 Comments »

Canada-wide protests against Khadr’s return planned for Wednesday, the 18th of July, 2012

July 16, 2012 — xanthippa

When:  July 18th, 2012

Where:

Abbotsford, BC

Contact:  Lee Hanlon –  lhanlon@shaw.ca

 In Edmonton

Contact:  Sharon Maclise –  stopkhadredmonton@gmail.com

 Toronto

Contact:  Shobie Kapoor – CanadianPatrioticSociety@gmail.com

Montreal

Contact:  Ber Lazarus – actforcanada@pobox.com

Please note:  pre-registration may be required for security reasons, so if you plan to attend, please, plan ahead.

Posted in politics, religion, society. Tags: , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Secularism

July 14, 2012 — xanthippa

 

Posted in politics, religion, society. Tags: , , . Leave a Comment »

Reason TV: Randy Barnett: Losing Obamacare While Preserving the Constitution

July 13, 2012 — xanthippa

A little on the long side, but a very thought provoking video:

While on the topic of socialized medicare, do read this article about a young man who died in a UK socialized medicare hospital – of THIRST!

The coroner at the inquest into the death of Kane Gorny, a patient who died of thirst in while hospital, has recorded a narrative verdict of dehydration by neglect. His parents say they are “devastated by the number of missed opportunities.”

He could not get up to get a drink himself.

So, he died.

Of thirst.

In a hospital.

Caused by neglect…

Because if you are not the one paying the bill, you are not the customer and it is not you whose needs will be of primary consideration.

Welcome to socialized medicine!

Posted in corruption, freedoms, politics, society. Tags: , , , , , . 4 Comments »

Daniel Hannan: EU Duckspeak

July 13, 2012 — xanthippa

Posted in politics. Tags: , , , . Leave a Comment »

Supreme Court of Canada rules on ‘copyright’ in the context of education

July 12, 2012 — xanthippa

The Supreme Court of Canada has handed down a ruling that covers copyright issues as they relate to educational institutions.  It’s ruling is not exactly supportive of the copyright cartel…

From Dr. Michael Geist’s commentary on the ruling:

‘The Supreme Court of Canada issued its much anticipated rulings in the five copyright cases (ESAC v. SOCAN, Rogers v. SOCAN, SOCAN v. Bell – song previews, Alberta v. Access Copyright, Re:Sound) it heard last December (my coverage of the two days of hearings hereand here). It will obviously take some time to digest these decisions, but the clear takeaway is that the court has delivered an undisputed win for fair dealing that has positive implications for education and innovation, while striking a serious blow to copyright collectives such as Access Copyright. ‘

In my never-humble-opinion, the ‘copyright issue’ in our society suffers from the same difficulty in being heard that the ‘atheist issue’ does:  it is impossible for individuals who are simply speaking for themselves (whether they be individual people who are defending their property rights over copyrighted items they have purchased or individuals who simply do not belong to any religious organization) to be heard over the voices of well organized groups with ample funding (whether they be religious organizations or industry representatives).

It is my hope that the ruling, which says it is the consumer’s rights and not the copyright holders that must be given the broadest consideration, will discourage the initiation of frivolous lawsuits which maliciously target people and make the lawsuit process itself a punishment.

Posted in society, technology. Tags: , , , . Leave a Comment »

The Arab Anti-Islamist League Presents an Iraqi Anti-Islamist Black Metal Band

July 12, 2012 — xanthippa

Meet JANAZA and their ‘Burn the Pages of Quran!’

Touted as the first Iraqi woman-fronted black metal band – politics aside, it’s actually good music.

Anahita, who fronts the band, was recently asked via a Facebook interview:

What would happen to her and her compatriots if religious authorities discovered their actions?

“A simple answer. They would kill me, and kill all of my friends, by cutting off our heads.”

From the same article:

She’s not alone in her fight. Seeds of Iblis (“Iblis” is an Arabic word for the Devil) features five men and one other woman besides Anahita herself (Epona, who has also spent time in the now-defunct black metal band False Allah) who handles the vocals and lyrics, and released their first EP, Jihad Against Islam, in 2011 via French label Legion of Death. This band is even more unrelenting, crafting songs like “Sex With Muhammad’s Corpse” and “Inverted Hilal.” One of the band’s guitarists, Yousef, pulls double duty in Tadnees, another virulently anti-Muslim outfit who, together with the aforementioned projects, style themselves as part of an “Anti-Islamic League.”

Music is an effective way of spreading ideas, and ideas are the best weapon against all forms of dogma.

Plus, it’s good to see that at least some places, culture is still playing the important role of holding a mirror up to society!

H/T – BCF

Posted in human nature, politics, religion. Tags: , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Brian Lilley and John Robson on ‘The Baglow Case’ and Free Dominion

July 9, 2012 — xanthippa

The Free Dominion fundraising site is here.

Posted in freedoms, politics, society, technology. Tags: , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »
« Older posts
Newer posts »