Category Archives: Free Speech

A year ago this week, Maikel Nabil became the first Egyptian blogger to be arrested solely for his opinion. Now released, he talks about his fight for one of the key principles of democracy.

Maikel Nabil's views are controversial in Egypt in almost every way his open atheism, his support for gay rights, and especially his support for Israel.

But it was his opposition to the military that made him the first Egyptian blogger to be imprisoned for his opinions after the uprising that overthrew former President Hosni Mubarak.

The rail-thin blogger, a pacifist, had become a thorn in the Egyptian Army's side well before Egyptians took to the streets en masse last year by publicly refusing mandatory military service.

He started a campaign against conscription on his blog, where he also posted poetry and nonpolitical musings.

Then, less than two months after the fall of Mr. Mubarak, the military arrested Mr. Nabil. His offense? Writing a post describing abuses by the military, which had stepped in to take power.

In the immediate wake of his arrest, which took place exactly a year ago, few defended Nabil or his right to freedom of expression a central tenet of democracy. His case turned out to be a harbinger of a crackdown on free expression by Egypt's military rulers last year.

While Nabil was recently released after going on a hunger strike, some are worried that Egyptians' reluctance to defend the rights of unpopular figures like him will mean a slow but sure erosion of the right of free expression.

"The failure to respond immediately to cases like Maikel Nabil's early in the year in a sense set the stage for the military to keep tightening the public space there was for dissidence," says Heba Morayef, a researcher for Human Rights Watch. Now, she says, "there isn't a strong sense of the need to protect freedom of expression. And that's very dangerous going forward."

Born into a Coptic Christian family in Assiut, a city in southern Egypt, Nabil got a degree in veterinary science from a university there. He says he's not cut out for 9-to-5 office jobs, so he focused instead on writing, activism, and studies. He was studying for a postgraduate law degree at Cairo University, but missed his final exams while in prison.

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Atheist and pro-Israel, Maikel Nabil tests free speech in Egypt

Michael David Meeks, 42, of Manchester, Mich., speaks to the press with his lawyers after being acquitted of all conspiracy charges connected to the Hutaree Militia. (Kimberly P. Mitchell / Detroit Free Press)

(DETROIT FREE PRESS) - When the FBI prepared to arrest nine Hutaree militia members two years ago in a homegrown terrorism case, the lead agent made one point clear.

"We haven't worked a year and a half on this investigation and risked (an undercover agent's) life to walk away from this with 3 arrests," the agent wrote in an e-mail that surfaced during trial.

In the end, that's exactly what the FBI got.

In a sharp rebuke, a federal judge on Tuesday acquitted the remaining Hutaree members of plotting a violent revolt against the U.S. government with weapons of mass destruction -- crimes that could have landed them in prison for life. Just two are left standing in the case on a handful of weapons violations. One previously pleaded guilty, and one was found incompetent to stand trial. U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts concluded that federal prosecutors, who rested their case last week, failed in five weeks of trial to prove the Hutaree had a specific plan to kill a police officer and attack law enforcement personnel.

"The government's case is built largely of circumstantial evidence. While this evidence could certainly lead a rational fact finder to conclude that 'something fishy' was going on, it does not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that defendants reached a concrete agreement to forcibly oppose the U.S. government," Roberts wrote in her 28-page ruling.

The ruling was hailed by defense lawyers as a major victory for free speech. They had long argued the defendants never had any real plans to harm anyone and were merely engaged in tough talk, a protected First Amendment right.

"Judge Roberts understood that you just don't charge individuals with doing certain things, then lump a lot of bad, scary evidence against them and expect a jury to convict," said defense attorney Mark Satawa, whose client Michael Meeks was jailed for two years until Tuesday. "Her opinion shows exactly what we as lawyers have been saying all along: They did nothing wrong."

The FBI arrested nine Hutaree members after a paid confidential informant and undercover agent infiltrated the group for months and secretly recorded conversations and videotaped various trainings.

Satawa also lambasted the government for charging the defendants in the first place and jailing his client.

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Free speech victory declared in Hutaree acquittals

Encinitas has violated the U.S. Constitution's free speech provisions by banning a local arts group from publicly displaying banners with a memorial message honoring former Councilwoman Maggie Houlihan, her husband told the City Council on Wednesday night.

Houlihan's husband, Ian Thompson, told city officials that they made a "shameful," politically motivated decision when they barred the memorial message from public display, and that they must rescind the decision by April 6.

Speaking to a reporter outside the council chambers after he made his announcement, Thompson and his attorney said they were considering legal action against the city, but said they hoped it wouldn't come to that point.

"I'm waiting to see what the next steps are by the City Council," Thompson said.

City Attorney Glenn Sabine, during a break in the council meeting, said he had just received a letter from Thompson's Coast Law Group attorneys and had no immediate comment. He said he would be reviewing the attorneys' letter and a letter he recently received from the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

In that letter, the ACLU's chapter legal director David Loy wrote that he had concerns about the city's decision to prevent the banner displays.

"Based on the facts as I understand them, the city may have violated the First Amendment," Loy wrote and cited several court cases in other communities.

Thompson's announcement Wednesday night was the latest development in a controversy that began months ago when the organizers of the annual Arts Alive banner project decided to honor Houlihan by putting her photograph and a memorial message on the back side of this year's arts banners ---- a spot where they usually advertise the annual arts banner auction in May.

Houlihan, who was well known for her support of local arts programs, died in September after a five-year battle with cancer. She was serving her third term on the council at the time of her death.

The banners were printed and distributed to local artists, who had agreed to decorate the front sides, when opposition to the Houlihan memorial message surfaced. The city manager's office informed project organizers that the memorial message wasn't allowed under the terms of the group's temporary city sign permit and thus the banners couldn't be displayed on city light poles.

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ENCINITAS: Husband says memorial ban violates free speech rights

The last of the 2011-12 University Lectures will conclude Thursday with free speech advocate, conservationist and author Terry Tempest Williams.

Williams has been hailed a citizen writer who focuses on many prominent societal issues, particularly environmentalism, according to a March 26 SU News release. She is known for her environmental literature, including An Unspoken Hunger: Stories from the Field, Leap and her most recent book, Why Women Were Birds.

The event, The Writer as Witness, is free and open to the public. It will be held at 7:30 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel. The lecture will be conducted as a conversation between Williams and Don Mitchell, a geography professor in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

Her text is passionate, philosophical, honest, eye-opening and thought-provoking, said Esther Gray, special assistant for the Office of Academic Affairs. She brings an honesty and openness about our environment that we all need to hear.

Williams has published work in The New Yorker, The New York Times and Orion Magazine, among others, according to the release. She also received the Wilderness Societys highest honor, the Robert Marshall Award, in 2006.

Williams said she will discuss major environmental issues, particularly the policies that affect New York, during the discussion. One major environmental issue is the proposed hydrofracking legislation that is currently being debated in the New York State Assembly.

Williams said she is very interested in what Gov. Andrew Cuomo will decide concerning hydrofracking in New York, the damaging chemicals used and the environmental consequences. Recently, she said, she attended a rally in New York City where hydrofracking discussions took place.

As a writer, these environmental issues become economic issues, which ultimately are matters of social justice, Williams said.

One controversial issue that has been discussed among political contenders has been President Barack Obamas decision to not allow the production of the Keystone Pipeline System. Williams said she strongly supports Obamas stance.

These are issues of water, issues of public land, Williams said. We all certainly have a lot at stake with this presidential election.

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Free speech advocate, conservationist to discuss environmentalism

Voice Assist, Inc., (OTCQB:VSST), today announced that it is collaborating with Frankie Avalon, a teen singing idol from the 1950s and 1960s, to develop commercials reaching out to parents and grandparents urging them to provide their teen-age family members with Voice Assists hands-free speech technology solution as a safe alternative to texting while driving.

We are delighted to team up with Frankie Avalon who shares our concern and passion to help people, especially teens, to drive safe using our handsfree solution, said Michael Metcalf, Voice Assist Chairman and CEO. Texting while driving is a dangerous combination and illegal in many states. Were excited to have such a well known celebrity as Frankie Avalon to help create public awareness about the Voice Assist handsfree voice activated solution.

Frankie Avalon commented, I have eight children and ten grandchildren so I want to know that my family as well as other families are as safe as possible when driving and the Voice Assist solution helps deliver the peace of mind that were all looking for. I also appreciate the convenience and productivity-enhancing features of the Voice Assist option for myself.I can issue a voice command to deliver an email or a text message, which eliminates the need to fumble with a phones sensitive touch screen or a small keyboard - a real benefit for older eyes. I can also use a voice command to initiate a phone call or post a message to my grandkids on Twitter or Facebook. They all think this is super cool and I love it because its so easy.

Frankie Avalon was a child star who went from being a trumpet playing prodigy at age nine, to one of the biggest teen idols of the late 1950s and early 1960s. In 1959, his breakthrough hit Venus, sold more than a million copies. Frankie went on to Hollywood fame in many films such as the Alamo with John Wayne, and the Beach Party movies with Annette Funicello and is well known for his popular role as The Big Kahuna in Back to the Beach and The Teen Angel in the wildly popular movie Grease. Frankie is always busy, while performing and thrilling audiences around the world.

About Voice Assist, Inc.

Voice Assist is the award winning speech platform designed to be used from any phone.Voice Assist eliminates the need to press buttons on smart phones, tablet PCs or any other network connected device.Mobile developers and cloud based service providers can leverage Voice Assists platform to provide voice access to any application. Voice Assists rapid application development environment and mobile widgets make it easy to add a simple yet powerful voice interface. Voice Assist also offers its hands-free safe driving application and CRM by voice applications direct to the public and/or through resellers and private label OEM relationships.

For more information on the company, visit http://www.voiceassist.com.

Forward-Looking Statement: Statements such as " Voice Assist offers a safer option and enables drivers to use to voice commands to make calls, send or respond to text messages and e-mails, or post to social networks such as Facebook and Twitter all without looking at your phone or typing." involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to functionality of our technology, and any other difficulties related to risks and effects of legal and administrative proceedings and governmental regulation, future financial and operational results, competition, general economic conditions, and the ability to manage and continue growth.

Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual outcomes may vary materially from those indicated. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements we make in this news release include market conditions and those set forth in reports or documents we file from time to time with the SEC. We undertake no obligation to revise or update such statements to reflect current events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

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Frankie Avalon, 50’s and 60’s Teen Idol and Movie Star, Helps Promote Voice Assist’s Speech Command Technology

Teamsters, Union Members, Civil Rights Groups, Community Supporters Say NO to SB 469

ATLANTA, March 28, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --Teamsters are calling on supporters of free speech and workers' rights to come to the Capitol on Thursday, March 29 as part of an all-day show of opposition to Senate Bill 469 on the last day of the session.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100127/IBTLOGO )

SB 469 is expected to be voted on Thursday.

SB 469 would intimidate working families' right to free speech and allow the government to intrude on workers' choice to support a union. It is opposed by the Atlanta Tea Party, environmental advocates, unions, faith groups and civil rights organizations.

"The Legislature hasn't done anything meaningful to lower Georgia's 10 percent unemployment rate," said Randy Brown, president of Teamsters Local 728. "The least they could do is to stop their attacks on workers' rights."

Senate Bill 469 would also criminalize non-violent protest and picketing of labor disputes.

A press conference will be held at 10 a.m. on the Washington Street side of the Capitol. Supporters of working families are asked to come any time between then and midnight, when the session will end.

Excerpt from:
Teamsters to Hold Rally for Free Speech, Workers' Rights

A member of the goon squad orders Bryan Kellert, 19, second from left, out of Tidelberg for assembling during the Society of Professional Journalists First Amendment Free Food Festival at the University of Alabama Wednesday.

In an invasion unanticipated by most at the University of Alabama, insurgents from the small nation of Roll Tidelberg established borders on the southwest corner of the campus Quad Wednesday afternoon.

With no opposition, the camp's numbers began to swell as Roll Tidelberg officials enticed passersby into citizenship with a free barbecue sandwich.

But with citizenship and a delicious lunch came a heavy burden: Those who signed up to become citizens of the little-known country signed away the First Amendment rights they enjoy on American soil.

Within the crudely roped-off borders of the young nation, masked goons patrolled the grounds with rifles that shot foam-like, but seemingly lethal projectiles. They paced silently before objecting to any instance of talking or assembly, and deported any members of the press who made their way in to record the somber events inside.

After several students had been sent to a makeshift jail or deported for their crimes, a group of Jewish students donning houndstooth yarmulkes rushed into the country shouting for their right to religion and free speech. At gunpoint they were forced back onto American soil but not before one accused the goon forcing them out of being Jewish himself.

Of course, there was no real invasion Wednesday. But the First Amendment Free Food Festival, hosted by UA's student chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, did help many students understand what it feels like to lose these very basic freedoms.

Kristen Mather, president of the SPJ chapter, said the group got the idea for the event from similar events that SPJ student chapters have held on other campuses.

We want students to not only be aware of their First Amendment rights but to exercise them in an ethical way while realizing that not everyone has the freedom of speech that we do here, Mather said.

Although visitors were aware that the event was a playful illustration, those who entered the borders of Roll Tidelberg were made immediately aware of the fact that their every action was being scrutinized by rulers making judgments based on a whim.

Continued here:
Student SPJ chapter takes away free speech at Nerf-gun point

Monday, March 26, 2012

Ice-T is best known to millions as the actor who plays police officer Odafin Fin Tutuola on the hit TV show Law & Order: SVU. But Ice-T has been a public figure since the 1980s, bursting on the scene with his particular style of rapping and as a pioneer of the so-called gangsta rap genre.

In his interesting memoir, Ice: A Memoir of Gangster Life and Redemption from South Central to Hollywood, he reflects on freedom of speech and censorship over his song Cop Killer. Ice-T released the song with his rock band Body Count on its debut album as a protest against police brutality. The lyrics outraged many police officers and others nationwide. Politicians across the country railed against the song and the singer.

In July 1992, Ice-T and Time Warner decided to remove Cop Killer from Body Counts album and re-release the album. Some accused Ice-T of capitulating to censorship. Jon Pareles, writing for The New York Times, called the move police correctness. Ice-T said Time Warner had received death threats.

The rapper, who says he decided on his own to remove the song because of the intense heat over it, offers some interesting perspectives on free speech and censorship in his book.

I thought free speech meant I could say whatever I wanted to say, he writes. Now looking back on it, this is what I learned. Yes, you have the right to say whatever you want in America, but you have to be prepared for the ramifications for what you say.

In other words, the price of free speech can be high. Individuals have the First Amendment right to offer critical and controversial speech. But as Ice-T warns, there may be consequences.

Tags: music, music censorship, music lyrics

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Ice-T reflects on free speech and censorship

When the FBI prepared to arrest nine Hutaree militia members two years ago in a homegrown terrorism case, the lead agent made one point clear.

"We haven't worked a year and a half on this investigation and risked (an undercover agent's) life to walk away from this with 3 arrests," the agent wrote in an e-mail that surfaced during trial.

In the end, that's exactly what the FBI got.

In a sharp rebuke, a federal judge on Tuesday acquitted the remaining Hutaree members of plotting a violent revolt against the U.S. government with weapons of mass destruction -- crimes that could have landed them in prison for life. Just two are left standing in the case on a handful of weapons violations. One previously pleaded guilty, and one was found incompetent to stand trial. U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts concluded that federal prosecutors, who rested their case last week, failed in five weeks of trial to prove the Hutaree had a specific plan to kill a police officer and attack law enforcement personnel.

"The government's case is built largely of circumstantial evidence. While this evidence could certainly lead a rational fact finder to conclude that 'something fishy' was going on, it does not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that defendants reached a concrete agreement to forcibly oppose the U.S. government," Roberts wrote in her 28-page ruling.

The ruling was hailed by defense lawyers as a major victory for free speech. They had long argued the defendants never had any real plans to harm anyone and were merely engaged in tough talk, a protected First Amendment right.

"Judge Roberts understood that you just don't charge individuals with doing certain things, then lump a lot of bad, scary evidence against them and expect a jury to convict," said defense attorney Mark Satawa, whose client Michael Meeks was jailed for two years until Tuesday. "Her opinion shows exactly what we as lawyers have been saying all along: They did nothing wrong."

The FBI arrested nine Hutaree members after a paid confidential informant and undercover agent infiltrated the group for months and secretly recorded conversations and videotaped various trainings.

Satawa also lambasted the government for charging the defendants in the first place and jailing his client.

"My client got locked up for two years but never gets that time back ... The U.S. Attorney's Office, the FBI and the U.S. government should be ashamed of themselves," Satawa said.

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Defense lawyers hail Hutaree acquittals as free speech victory

The University of Cincinnati maintains a shockingly restrictive free speech zone comprising just 0.1% of the school's 137-acre campus. The policy, which was named FIRE's Speech Code of the Month back in December of 2007, quarantines "demonstrations, pickets, and rallies" to a tiny portion of campus, requires students to request permission to use the zone a full ten working days in advance, and threatens students with criminal prosecution for violations, warning that "[a]nyone violating this policy may be charged with trespassing." Because this public university isn't shy about enforcing its misguided and illiberal policy, it now faces a federal civil rights lawsuit. Last month, a political student group seeking to collect signatures from students across campus in support of a ballot initiative filed a First Amendment challenge against the free speech zone after being told by administrators that they were not even "permitted to walk around." The administration added, "if we are informed that you are, Public Safety will be contacted." Threatening to call the cops on civic-minded students who want to talk to their peers about politics sure seems indefensible, and now the University of Cincinnati has to answer for its policy in federal court. Photo Credit: Bearcat2011

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Greg Lukianoff: The 12 Worst Schools For Free Speech In 2012