It was a well written speech–on that, most people agree. The draft talking points had been widely shared with the important political powers beforehand, underscoring the reality that the speech was more about massaging domestic politics than projecting fact-based reality. Given Joe Biden’s resumé, this should not have come as …
Read More »Iran’s new president vows to lift ‘tyrannical’ US sanctions during inauguration speech
Raisi said in a televised speech to the nation on Tuesday that a mission of his presidency will be easing US sanctions on Iran, declaring that “we will seek to lift the tyrannical sanctions imposed by America.” The new leader also promised to improve living standards, which have taken a …
Read More »America, a nation which once championed free speech, has evolved into one of the world’s most authoritarian mass-censors
America has changed beyond recognition over the past few years, and performed a rather rapid about-face on the issue of free speech, a notion it once championed. The source of this is no longer merely the apparatus of Silicon Valley and its desire to control information flows (which it is …
Read More »UK Labour Party to vote against ‘Freedom of Speech’ bill, claiming it will embolden ‘hate speech’
The bill, proposed by the Conservative government and headed for a second reading in the House of Commons this week, would amend existing laws safeguarding free speech on university campuses by allowing guest speakers to sue the universities if they are denied a platform over political views. It would also …
Read More »As US social media giants censor free speech online, Russia & China lead the charge to break free from American control of the Web
Over the past few years, China and Russia have taken the lead in nationalising the internet, putting their own mark on the online world and championing alternatives to foreign platforms. As a result, somewhat predictably, both governments have been accused of attempting to clip the wings of the supposedly ultimate …
Read More »Biden says ‘getting vaccinated is the most patriotic thing you can do’ in speech marking July 4th
“My fellow Americans, that’s the most patriotic thing you can do, so, please, if you haven’t got vaccinated, do it now: for yourself, for your family, for your community and for your country,” Biden said, speaking from the south lawn of the White House on Sunday. Biden credited his administration …
Read More »Federal judge BLOCKS Florida’s anti-censorship law, says it violates Big Tech free speech rights
Florida SB 7072, signed into law by Republican Governor RonDeSantis in May, was scheduled to go into effect on July 1. On Wednesday evening, however, US District Court Judge Robert Hinkle issued an injunction blocking it. Hinkle was responding to a lawsuit by two Silicon Valley trade associations, NetChoice LLC …
Read More »Trudeau government’s move to ‘protect Canadians against hate speech & hate crimes’ is road to hell for freedom of expression
The shaky grounds of Canadian free speech For those unfamiliar with Canadian laws, especially Americans, any discussion of possible state censorship in Canada often begins with the question, ‘But what about the Constitution?’ Like our Southern neighbors, Canada does indeed have a Constitution with its very own equivalent of the …
Read More »UK art academy under fire after apologising for ‘betraying’ free speech of ‘transphobic’ artist Jess de Wahls
Last week, the academy announced that it had withdrawn textile artist Jess de Wahls’ embroidery from its gift ship over a blog post she wrote in 2019, titled ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow, something went terribly wrong…’, in which she argued for there being just two genders. In the post, she …
Read More »Major free speech ruling sees US Supreme Court side with teen who sued school district for suspending her over Snapchat swearing
The Supreme Court ruled in 17-year-old Brandi Levy’s favor by 8-1 on Wednesday – reaffirming American students’ rights to free speech out of school grounds – with only Justice Clarence Thomas siding with the school district. Levy had sent her friends the rant on Snapchat in 2017, when she was …
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