Daily Archives: February 26, 2017

Once again our elected state representatives are attempting to nail a lid on the constitutional right to protest, assemble, and express contrasting ideas. The recent bill passed by the state Senate to ostensibly protect businesses from property damage perpetrated by so-called professional anarchists is a thinly veiled attempt to intimidate and punish citizens who get off the couch and activate their right to protest.

Laws that punish violence and mob rule are already on the books and have been so for generations. I suggest that these elected officials see themselves as police rather than representatives of the people. Controls and censorship seem to be the prevailing philosophies driving many folks in the Arizona government and feeding on peoples fear of the what ifs is their tactic to nail down the commonweal to a prescribed set of behaviors they deem acceptable.

No responsible citizen supports violence or mob rule, but this bill assumes that there is a demon lurking in every shadow and every living room and so will punish citizens for even discussing the possibility of expressing their right to protest. What are they afraid of a broken window or an open society?

See the article here:
Rioting bill about censorship - Arizona Daily Sun

The EuropeanParliamentis often the stage for political and sometimes nationalist theater.

Beyond routine shouting matches, members occasionally wear T-shirts splashed with slogans or unfurl banners. Flags adorn some lawmakers' desks.

But some MEPs say nationalist rhetoric has recently crossed the line of what is acceptable.

"There have been a growing number of cases of politicians saying things that are beyond the pale of normal parliamentary discussion and debate," said Richard Corbett, a British MEP who backedthe new rule.

"What if this became not isolated incidents, but specific, where people could say: 'Hey, this is a fantastic platform. It's broad, it's live-streamed. It can be recorded and repeated. Let's use it for something more vociferous, more spectacular,'" he told The Associated Press.

Rule 165 of the parliament's rules of procedure allows the chair of debates to halt the live broadcast "in the case of defamatory, racist or xenophobic language or behavior by a member." The maximum fine for offenders would be around 9,000 euros ($9,500).

The new rule, which was not made public by the assemble until it was reported by Spain's La Vanguardia newspaper, offending material could be "deleted from the audiovisual record of proceedings," meaning citizens would never know it happened unless reporters were in the room.

Mr Weingaertner said the IPA was never consulted on that.

A technical note seen by the AP outlines a procedure for manually cutting off the video feed, stopping transmission on in-house TV monitors and breaking the satellite link to halt broadcast to the outside world.

A videotape in four languages would be kept running to serve as a legal record during the blackout. A more effective and permanent system was being sought.

It is also technically possible to introduce a safe-guard time delay so broadcasts appear a few seconds later. This means they could be interrupted before offending material is aired.

Critics say the system would be unwieldy and possibly ineffective.

See the article here:
Censorship concerns as European Parliament introduces 'kill switch' to cut racist speeches - Telegraph.co.uk

On CNNs Reliable Sources this morning, Bret Stephens, the deputy editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal, suggested that the media should boycott the Trump White House in retaliation for Trumps censoring of the media.

Stephens also added that what Trump was doing was worse than Nixon.

Stephens comments came during a discussion of Trumps decision to ban the NYT, CNN, Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Politico from a press gaggle, or informalbriefing, at the White House on Friday.

It is thought that Trumps censorship of these outlets was in response totheir reports a day earlier on the White Houses growing efforts to obstruct the Russia investigation.

It was particularly surprising to hear the notion of a boycott come from the editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal, a conservative publication. Heres Stephens:

I would call it Nixonian, except I think that would be unfair to the memory of President Nixon. This is an attempt to bully the press by using access as a weapon to manipulate coverage. The Wall Street Journal put out a statement that I thought was very clear, if we had known what was happening we wouldnt have participated in that meeting with Mr. Spicer. And I think thats the right attitude for the rest of the press to take. That if the administration is going to boycott certain news outlets, then perhaps we should as news organizations return the favor to this administration.

Add your name to the thousands who aredemandingthe Justice Department appointa special counselto investigate Trumps ties to Russia.

With the election of Donald Trump, AMERICAblogs independent journalism and activism is more needed than ever.

Please support our work with a generous donation.(If you prefer PayPal, use this link.) We dont make much on advertising,we need your support to continue our work. Thanks. Also, check out our Trump Swag store, where you can get your Illegitimate t-shirts and more. Allthe proceeds go to supporting our independent journalismat AMERICAblog.

John Aravosis Follow me on Twitter: @aravosis | @americablog | @americabloggay | Facebook | Instagram | Google+ | LinkedIn. John Aravosis is the Executive Editor of AMERICAblog, which he founded in 2004. He has a joint law degree (JD) and masters in Foreign Service from Georgetown; and has worked in the US Senate, World Bank, Children's Defense Fund, the United Nations Development Programme, and as a stringer for the Economist. He is a frequent TV pundit, having appeared on the O'Reilly Factor, Hardball, World News Tonight, Nightline, AM Joy & Reliable Sources, among others. John lives in New York City, and is the cofounder of TimeToResign.com. Bio, article archive.

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Wall Street Journal editor endorses boycott of Trump White House over media censorship - AMERICAblog (blog)

Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine and President Donald Trump are two peas in a pod.

While Trump blasts news organizations for "fake coverage," and closes off press to White House gaggles, Levine takes censorship a step further, tryingto gag the pressby blocking them off of social media. Mayor Levine's feelings are so fragile, in fact, that he's gone block-happyon Twitter, censoring reporters and members of the public who raise questions about his tenure as mayor or say, well, pretty much anything else he doesn't like.

How do I know? I'm one of the reporters who'sfound herselfin the crosshairs of Levine's Twitter-block spree.

It all started three weeks ago when SSN published a column raising questions about Levine possibly using Miami Beach taxpayer dollars to fund a lawsuit against Florida and in turn, raise his profile for a gubernatorial bid.

I tweeted out the story theMonday after it was written, just ahead of his city commission meeting.From what I heard, Levine didn't take the it well, exploding at Miami Beach commissioners and threatening to sue.

By Saturday, I noticed Levine had been running a paid ad campaign promoting his "living wage" schtick. I tweeted it was ironicto run a paid campaign so close to what was undoubtedly critical coverage of Levine -- coverage that didnt make him look good. Can you say PR overhaul?

Levine fell off my radar until last Friday, when I heard he was speaking at the Central Florida Urban League conference in Orlando with other possible gubernatorial contenders. I went to tweet about it, but Levine's name turned up blank when I went to tag him.

I searched for him, clicked on his profile, and saw I had been blocked. I still have no idea why it happened, but suspicion leads me to believe Levine wasn't thrilled about my previous tweet.

Levine's adviser Christian Ulvert told me thepage was not an official Miami Beach social media account, but Levine does officially represent the city and often tweets what he's up to on a day-to-day basis, which seems pretty official to me.

Ulvert said Levine's accounts don't allow individuals to post "slanderous, false ...misinformation" and says anyone who uses social media for those purposes isblocked.He also told me I could look at how many people the mayor was following, which has zero indication of how many people Levine has actually blocked.

I can only imagine it's because the number is so high, Levine has lost count.

"His long-supported policy, utilized by many, is to allow constructive dialogue to take shape through social media," Ulvert told me, adding that I was "inadvertently" blocked, assuring me it would "be corrected."

Constructive? What's constructive about blocking people you don't agree with? By the way, at the time of thisarticle's publication, I am still blocked.

I'm not alone in being cut off from Levine, though. I recently found myself welcomed into the fold of dozens, possibly hundreds, who have also been given the "Closed for Business" sign on Levine's social media pages. A quick search on Twitter showed many other people had been axed from seeing what Levine was up to -- some of them merely replied to tweets criticizing him for failed projects and high crime rates.

Theirlistof grievances against Levine is long. At the end of the day, however, they all share a common thread: they got blockedfor speaking up.

The Levine Twitter outcastsinclude normal residents, businessmen, and yes, even members of the press.Click thelinks above and see for yourself.

Take Grant Stern, for example. Stern, a journalist and activist with Occupy Democrats, wrote a tweet criticizing Levine last year. Blocked. So, Stern took his comments to Levines official Facebook page. Blocked again.

Dozens of people came to Stern at the time and said they, too, had been closed out of Levines social media pages for criticizing him. Hundreds of comments from Levines official Facebook page have disappeared, presumably deleted by the miffed mayor.

Levine has a history of lashing out at critics. Last June, heaccused the Miami Herald of conspiring with scientists for a hit piece because they wrote the city was pumping human fecal matter into Biscayne Bay. TheHeraldstood by the story.

But wait, theres more. In 2015, the Miami New Times criticized Levine. They got blocked, too. Levine said it was a mistake (sound familiar?), but never unblocked the paper.

Stern filed a public records request to get the names of all the people Levine had shut out from his accounts, but the city deniesthat request was ever made. In the suit, Stern claims Levine uses the Twitter account, @MayorLevine, to communicate official city business, which would make his accounts subject to the Sunshine Law. That means the proceedings of Levines accounts would have to be public information.

Beyond communicating whats going on in the South Florida city, it appears Levine also uses the account to snuff out and censor comments he doesnt like.

Levines skin is so thin, he should be known as the naked mole rat of Miami Beach.

For someone with his political desires, hes got the impulse control and knowledge of a10-year-old, Stern said.

That, to me, is a huge red flag for someone who's thinking of running for governor next year. For all we know, Levine might censor the entire Tallahassee press corps once they dig -- and they will -- anywhere below the surface of Levine's corrupt career as mayor of Miami Beach.

Let me ask you: Do you really feel comfortable putting someone in the governor's mansion who can't even handle one critical tweet from a reporter?

Can you imagine? The entire Tallahassee press corps would be cast out with the click of a button should they "wrong" Levine.

Bye bye, free press. This circus only runs as long as Levine isthe one cracking the whip.

In a way, the timing of this story couldnt be better. Its like journalistic kismet. On Friday, President Donald Trump deliberately expelled CNN and scores of other news organizations from a White House press gaggle. Unsurprisingly, the entire press corps is now out behind CNN, screaming bloody murder.

Is this ringing a bell yet? Mayor Levine is Florida's very own Donald Trump, attacking outlets and squenching coverage he doesnt like. Except, unfortunately for Levine, he has no solid messageand no parade of hundreds of thousands of adoring fans to push him to the top like Trump did.

He's delusional, Miami filmmaker and Levine critic Billy Corben told me. He runs around everywhere with a Secret Service-looking security guard. But nobody even knows who he is.

But as Trump has realized, the funny thing about censorship is that, more often than not, it has the opposite of the intended effect.Censorship causes journalists to pursuestories they wouldn't otherwise write. It emboldens us to dig deeper. It compels us to push harder.

Mayor Levine can try tosilence members of the media from knowing what he's up to, and he can block us all he wants, but it's only at his own peril.

Levine,totally naivein underestimatingthe power of the reporter, has only shot himself in the foot.

Reach Allison Nielsen by email atallison@sunshinestatenews.comor follow her on Twitter:@AllisonNielsen.

Here is the original post:
Block-Happy Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine 'Turns Trump' with Censorship - Sunshine State News

Prime Minister Andrew Holness says that his Government will not give in to any public urge for censorship as a response to controversial cultural activities, including dancehall music.

Holness told a breakfast meeting with members of the board and senior editorial staff of the Jamaica Observer at the newspapers Beechwood Avenue head office in Kingston on Friday that education would be a better response to public alarm regarding anything that may be considered offensive.

My point is, how do we create consumers who are more discerning of the products that are being produced. Because, once you start to censure you kill creativity, Holness said.

The prime minister was reacting to a question about his response to issues like the current controversy over comments made by Opposition spokesperson and former Minister of Youth and Culture Lisa Hanna, on radio about banning Vybz Kartels music and him recording from his prison cell.

Hanna, who was addressing issues of violence and culture at the time on local radio station, Nationwide News Network, noted that, despite being sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, Kartel seemed to have continued recording his music, which some Jamaicans consider unfit for public consumption, from behind bars, which music is played publicly

If you are convicted, until you are not convicted, perhaps it is that your music need not be played on the radio, Hanna said in the interview.

The issue is where Kartels music is coming out (more) than any other person, because I have not heard any new song from Buju (Banton) since he has been incarcerated. I think that we need to get to the root cause of that. We need to find out how the songs are being made, how they are getting out. Is there corruption in the prison system? And not only for Kartel, I am not singling out Kartel alone. I am singling out all persons across the spectrum who are having an imprint on our childrens value system, she said.

Holness responded:

We have a liberal democracy, we cant escape that. And the society is not one that brooks any argument about censorship. We are not a society that holds heavily to censorship.

The way to combat that, however, is that while we dont like censorship, that shouldnt mean that we allow everything to get in the public space. So the important thing that a society that is a liberal democracy must develop, if it is not going to censor, is to develop literacy and education.

In other words, you combat negative information with positive information.

So the challenge we have is that a lot of people are absorbing, within the public space, much of the artistic creativity but without the context as to how this creativity can lead to the realisation of a certain reality.

In other societies, you go and you watch the movies and it is not just dancehall, its just general. You have hip hop, you have rap music; we are just bombarded with things that have different moral perspectives. But, if you have a well-educated society that can place these things in context,and say this is art, this is from ones own belief, its not what I necessarily believe, or I know that what this person is saying is wrong, then your society can survive that.

But, if you have a high level of illiteracy or unreasonableness in the society, and people literally take what is being produced not just as artistic content, but take it literally as their theme or anthem then you begin to have a problem. So, the solution to Jamaica is not censorship, the solution is to increase our education; our teaching has to place things in context.

Jamaican dancehall star Vybz Kartel was sentenced to life in prison in 2014 for the murder of Clive Lizard Williams. Kartel received the harshest sentence of any of his co-defendants, as he is serving 35 years in prison before he will be eligible for parole. The sentencing of Kartel and three other co-accused followed a 65-day trial.

Kartel, whose real name is Adidja Palmer, was found guilty of killing Williams at his house in Havendale, a suburb north of Kingston, in August, 2011. Also found guilty were: Shawn Campbell and Kahira Jones, who were each sentenced to serve a minimum of 25 years, and Andre St John, who can apply for parole after serving 15 years of a life sentence. A fifth defendant, Shane Williams, was found not guilty.

More here:
Holness says no to censorship of the arts - News - JamaicaObserver ... - Jamaica Observer