Category Archives: Free Speech

VOTE FOR BIG BUSINESS WAR (Free Speech)
Filmed March 2015 in Witney, Oxfordshire (where David Cameron is the local MP) Even though everything I say in this video is ironic, satirical, and obviously politically charged; try and think...

By: Charles Veitch

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VOTE FOR BIG BUSINESS & WAR (Free Speech) - Video

Unfazed by the controversy, the British filmmaker behind the BBC documentary on the Delhi gangrape incident on Thursday accused the Indian government of trying to "muzzle free speech" by banning its telecast in India.

Leslee Udwin's 'Storyville: India's Daughter' was due to be aired in the UK on Sunday to coincide with International Women's Day but the telecast was brought forward in the wake of attempts by the Indian government to block its release worldwide.

It has led to threats of legal action from the Indian home ministry but Udwin remains defiant.

She has called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "deal with the unceremonious silencing of the film".

"This is the greatest fight of our times and I wanted to applaud the reaction of the Indian people to the crime with this film. But that has been turned around by this ban, which is an attempt to muzzle free speech," Udwin said in London.

"I have constantly stressed this is not an Indian problem, it is a global problem. I remain confident that this film will be a powerful tool for change," she said.

At the heart of the worldwide uproar is an interview with one of the four men facing the death penalty over the 2012 brutal rape and murder of a 23-year-old paramedical student.

The documentary included an interview conducted by Udwin and BBC, of Mukesh Singh, the driver of the bus in which the student was brutally gangraped by six men on December 16, 2012. Mukesh has made derogatory statements against women, Delhi police has said.

The BBC has defended the broadcast of the documentary in the UK late last night, saying it is a "revealing insight into a horrific crime that sent shock waves around the world and led to protests across India demanding changes in attitudes towards women."

The BBC said it brought forward the broadcast "given the intense level of interest in the 'Storyville' film, enabling viewers to see this incredibly powerful documentary at the earliest opportunity."

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India trying to muzzle free speech: Gangrape filmmaker

Is this logo free speech? Mark Tenally/AP hide caption

Is this logo free speech?

You're on the Internet, which means you're never more five seconds away from someone claiming you squashed their First Amendment rights by, say, blocking them on Twitter.

Repeat after me: the First Amendment prohibits citizens' speech from being infringed upon by the government.* But because the universe delights in dark humor, it turns out that one recent, obnoxious claim about free speech violations might have some real legs.

The latest skirmish in the Washington Redskins' team name controversy involves the legal status of the team's trademark. As my colleague Kenya Downs wrote last month, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) can deny or rescind a trademark if it is "disparaging of persons, institutions or national symbols." Citing that rationale, the office canceled six of the Redskins' trademarks last summer.

Last week, the Redskins filed a lawsuit saying the office violated their right to free speech. The team's lawyers argue it was singled out "for disfavored treatment based solely on the content of its protected speech, interfering with the ongoing public discourse over the Redskins' name by choosing sides and cutting off the debate. This the U.S. Constitution does not tolerate."

Mark Joseph Stern, who covers legal issues at Slate, called this "a desperate move by a cynical man to maintain a monopoly on an offensive ethnic slur," before adding, "It is also probably correct."

Stern said the the USPTO's rules on offensive trademarks are can appear arbitrary and ideologically driven for instance, when the office rejected the lesbian motorcycle club Dykes on Bikes application for a trademark.

He explains why this is a problem:

"A company whose trademark is revoked is almost certain to change its namemeaning trademark revocation is, at bottom, government coercion of speech...

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Does The Redskins' 'Free Speech' Claim Hold Water?

Ring of Fire on Free Speech TV - 08/31/2014 (FULL EPISODE)

By: Moises Marvin

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Ring of Fire on Free Speech TV - 08/31/2014 (FULL EPISODE) - Video

Free speech on campus
Time to stop indulging privileged militant progressive puritan student bigots. Free speech? Not at four in five UK universities http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/feb/02/free-speech-u...

By: Pat Condell

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Free speech on campus - Video

No War for israel in Iran Keep Americans Safe.
FIRST Uploaded on May 20, 2010 http;//www.davidduke.com DON #39;T LET MY VIDEOS BE CENSORED! Due to organized efforts to stifle free speech and ban my videos -- YouTube restrictions have led.

By: The River Mersey

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No War for israel in Iran Keep Americans Safe. - Video

Aftermath of Free Speech near David Cameron
After a 10 minute "Big Business and War Party" talk in Witney town centre, the angry locals actually called the Police on us. Never have I felt more like a 13th century gibbering heretic who...

By: Charles Veitch

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Aftermath of Free Speech near David Cameron - Video

College is the place where students should be encouraged to, as Yale promises, "think the unthinkable, discuss the unmentionable, and challenge the unchallengeable." Unfortunately, schools all across the country not only fall short on promises of free expression and academic freedom but openly suppress constitutionally protected speech on campus by using tools such as speech codes to shut down forms of expression that might be uncomfortable, disagreeable, or even offensive to some members of the campus community.

To give a clearer picture of campus censorship, we at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) today announce our fourth annual list of the top 10 threats to free speech on campus.

While I explained in December why I think 2014 might be remembered as the "Year of the Heckler," the most significant event for FIRE last year was the launch of our ambitious and large-scale Stand Up for Speech Litigation Project. In order to try to end the problem of campus speech codes once and for all, students and faculty members worked with the law firm of Davis Wright Tremaine to file lawsuits against six colleges, including Ohio University, Iowa State University, Chicago State University, the University of Hawaii at Hilo, Citrus College in California, and, most recently, Western Michigan University.

We're happy to report that some colleges, like the University of Hawaii at Hilo, were receptive to working with FIRE and our lawyers to swiftly and amicably fix their unconstitutional codes. But as you will see, some colleges, including Chicago State University, acted quite differently.

Note that not every "honoree" is a college or university, the list is presented in no particular order, and several honorees like Brandeis University and the Department of Education are repeat offenders.

Let us know if your school or alma mater should've been on the list, or if you have been censored on campus. FIRE is happy to work with schools to improve their speech codes. You can find more information on our website at http://www.thefire.org.

University of Iowa

Observers were quick to criticize art professor Serhat Tanyolacar's installation of a statue he intended to be anti-racist: a collage of newspaper headlines and images covering instances of racial violence printed on a robe and hood reminiscent of that of the Ku Klux Klan. The University of Iowa (UI), however, responded not with a defense of Tanyolacar's First Amendment rights but by censoring and publicly denouncing the artist for offending students. One public statement proclaimed that there was "no room for divisive, insensitive, and intolerant displays," and UI President Sally Mason publicly apologized to students who felt "terrorized" by the artwork and for failing to provide a "respectful, all-inclusive, educational environment." Despite heavy criticism from FIRE and the National Coalition Against Censorship, UI has shown remarkable indifference to Tanyolacar's First Amendment rights, which most definitely protect the work it brazenly censored. If UI were serious about its legal and moral obligations to protect freedom of speech, it would apologize to Tanyolacar for failing in its duty to reject demands for censorship. And then it would apologize to its students for the exceedingly poor education on freedom of speech it has given them.

U.S. Department of Education

The Departments of Education and Justice mandated an unconstitutional speech code in May 2013 for all colleges receiving federal funding. The federal requirement came as a result of the agencies' year-long joint investigation into the University of Montana's practices and policies regarding sexual misconduct. The resolution of that investigation defined sexual harassment in a shockingly broad way, prohibiting "any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature," including "verbal conduct" (i.e., speech). No wonder Chris Rock said he wouldn't play college campuses anymore! Worse, the resolution was labeled a "blueprint for colleges and universities throughout the country," suggesting that if schools didn't adopt the new definition, they risked losing their federal funding.

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Free Speech on Campus: The 10 Worst Offenders of 2014 ...

Turi Munthe

By: Free Speech Debate

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Turi Munthe - Video

Dixie State officials declined to comment Wednesday.

The lawsuit is directed by the Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, part of a nationwide series of lawsuits over free speech issues on college campuses.

"The function of an education is the free exchange of ideas," said Catherine Sevcenko, a lawyer with the group. "You got there to sort of have your ideas tested."

The students Jergins, Joey Gillespie and Forrest Gee say in court documents that the public school requires students to get permission before posting things on campus. They asked to put up three fliers featuring the photos with satirical captions last October. But they say they were denied because the fliers violated school policy by mocking people.

Later that fall, the students wanted to put up "Free Speech Wall" in the center of campus covered with blank sheets of paper for students to write their own messages.

The students say they got four signatures from different administrators required to hold on-campus events, but officials said it had to be held in a designated free-speech zone. The students say the area is a patio in an out-of-the-way spot where few students pass by.

The lawsuit says even fewer people stopped after a police officer came to watch for about 30 minutes, even though they had declined a police presence.

The students also say the event-approval process is arbitrary, pointing to a water-gun fight they wanted to hold to recognize the Second Amendment that was denied by administrators, even though a different water-gun fight was approved.

The lawsuit names seven Dixie State administrators, including President Richard Williams. Dixie State has about 8,600 students.

Young Americans for Liberty is a libertarian-leaning organization associated with former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul.

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Dixie State violates free speech, students say in lawsuit