Category Archives: Freedom

Getty Images | Chris Clor

Nine Republican US senators yesterday submitted legislation that would prohibitthe Federal Communications Commission from ever againusing the regulatory authority that allowed the commission to imposenet neutrality rules.The "Restoring Internet Freedom Act" would prohibit the FCC from classifying ISPs as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act and "from imposing certain regulations on providers of such service."

The Internet "is threatened by the Federal Communications Commissions 2015 Open Internet Order, which would put federal bureaucrats in charge of engineering the Internets infrastructure," Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). said in an announcement yesterday. "That is why I am introducing the Restoring Internet Freedom Act, which would nullify [the] Open Internet Order and prohibit the FCC from issuing a similar rule in the future.

Lee's bill was co-sponsored bySens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), and James Inhofe (R-Ok.). In the announcement, Cruz repeated his charge that net neutrality is "Obamacare for the Internet."

The full bill text isn't available yet, but itappears to be identical to another one proposedlast year. That bill would have prohibited the FCC from issuinga new net neutrality rule"unless the rule is specifically authorized by a law enacted after enactment of this Act." There was also an "Internet Freedom Act" to wipe out net neutrality rules in 2015.

The FCC attempted to impose net neutrality rules without using its Title II authority in 2010, but Verizon sued and the rules were struck down in court. The FCC finally was able to impose net neutrality rules that were upheld in courtafter reclassifying ISPs as common carriers. Among other things, the rules prohibit ISPs from blocking, throttling, or prioritizing Internet websites and applications in exchange for payment. The latest court decision upholding the current net neutrality rules was alsoissued yesterday.

Meanwhile, the FCC's new Republican chairman, Ajit Pai, has proposed overturning the Title II classification and net neutrality rules in his own "Restoring Internet Freedom" plan.Some Republicans in Congress support net neutrality legislationthat wouldban blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization of Internet traffic without using Title II. But from what we know about Lee's bill so far, it appears the proposal wouldn't impose any typeof net neutrality rules to replace the current ones.

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GOP's Internet Freedom Act permanently guts net neutrality authority - Ars Technica

Commutes are frustrating because they make us feel like we dont have any control. Youre either trapped on a bus or train, or trapped in a car crawling along the freeway. But if you focus on what you can control, your time heading to and from work can become the best, most enriching parts of your day.

To make the most of your commute, researchers at Harvard Business Review suggest you look at that travel time from a different perspective. It doesnt have to be the waste you might see it as. You may be confined while you go from home to work and vice versa, but the time itself is still yours. Yours to read a book, or listen to a podcast, or better yet, treat it as Ph.D. candidate Jon M. Jachimowiczs great-aunt would call a pocket of freedom:

We borrowed the phrase pocket of freedom from Adela, the great-aunt of one of us (Jon), whose early adult years were spent in various Polish ghettos during the Nazi occupation. No matter how hungry, tired, or frightened she was, she devoted one hour each night to a creative activity with her niecea practice that, she later noted, helped her persevere. Though the stakes in a commute to work are much less significant, you, too, can make the time more bearable by thinking of it as an opportunity to pursue your passions.

Adelas coping strategy, while born from a far greater struggle than any commute, is still useful advice for the rest of us, and is supported by science. Research has suggested a correlation between higher levels of autonomy and greater well-being for years. Being able to choose how you use your time often leads to greater satisfaction, productivity, and lower stress levels throughout the day. Its not so much about what you do with these pockets, you see, its that you choose to take control and do something.

Every commute is an opportunity, so start looking at it as a blessing and not a curse. Youve been given a small chunk of freedom to be creative, pursue a passion, learn a new skill, or listen to some soothing music so you can decompress before going home to a busy family. How will you use your pockets of freedom?

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Find Your "Pocket of Freedom" to Make Long Commutes More Bearable - Lifehacker

Twenty-five associations, including the Tunisian Press Syndicate, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Amnesty International, said they were "deeply concerned" about the creation of a regulatory body for audiovisual communication (AFP Photo/FETHI BELAID)

Tunis (AFP) - Tunisian and international non-governmental organisations warned Tuesday of deteriorating freedom of the press in a country considered to be a rare success story of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.

"The Tunisian government these past weeks has not stopped tightening its grip on the press," they said in a joint statement published on World Press Freedom Day.

Twenty-five associations, including the Tunisian Press Syndicate, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Amnesty International, said they were "deeply concerned" about the creation of a regulatory body for audiovisual communication.

Six years after a popular uprising toppled longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the rights groups expressed concern about the recent banning of a small daily publication.

"It's the first time since the end of the dictatorship... that a newspaper is banned in this way," they said.

The Tunisian authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Tunisian media was largely silenced under Ben Ali.

But the 2011 uprising gave rise to unprecedented freedom of expression in Tunisia. The country ranked first in North Africa in RSF's latest World Press Freedom Index.

Amnesty also published a separate statement on Tuesday in which it urged Tunisia to "demonstrate its commitment to human rights", especially in stemming torture and gender-based discrimination.

"While Tunisia has made some progress on opening up political and civil space and some legislative reforms have been introduced, the security sector has remained largely unchanged and in recent years there has been a resurgence of violations committed with impunity," said Heba Morayef, Amnesty's North Africa research director.

The UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday reviewed the human rights situation in Tunisia for the first time since 2012.

"This review comes at a critical moment for Tunisia," said Morayef.

"It provides a crucial opportunity to take stock of where Tunisia's transition stands in terms of human rights reforms six years on from the uprising and in the face of ongoing security challenges."

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Alarm over worsening press freedom in Tunisia - Yahoo News

Two media rights groups have reported a sharp drop in press freedoms around the world in 2016.

The two groups note that much of the decline in media rights took place in democratic countries.

Freedom House and Reporters Without Borders say North Korea, Syria and China were the countries with the most restrictions on media in 2016. They noted that all three countries were among the worst offenders of press freedoms in recent years.

But what is changing is that democracies, such as the United States, also had a decline in press freedom last year.

Jennifer Dunham is the research director for Freedom House.

One of the biggest trends we saw were declines in democracies, and this was one of the most disturbing trends we saw.

Dunham also spoke about U.S. President Donald Trump. She noted that Trump attacked media organizations and individual reporters during the 2016 presidential campaign -- and since his election.

Dunham said free speech is still valued in the United States.

Right now, we are very concerned about the U.S., but we havent seen any kind of dramatic decline.

Delphine Halgand is the North America director of Reporters Without Borders. She says Trumps criticisms of the media are making leaders in other countries more willing to limit press freedoms.

This hate speech contributed to disinhibit attacks on the media almost everywhere in the world, including in democratic countries.

In its report last Wednesday, Reporters Without Borders said media freedom has never been so threatened. It said 62 percent of countries measured showed a decline in press freedom.

The report said the reductions in press freedoms were sharpest in places where the authoritarian strongman model has triumphed," such as Poland, Hungary and Turkey.

A woman shouts slogans outside the headquarters of the Cumhuriyet newspaper in Istanbul, Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016.

The report said the Middle East and North Africa continued to be the most dangerous area for journalists and media crews last year. Eastern Europe and Central Asia were also dangerous places for reporters.

Reporters Without Borders identified five countries with the highest level of freedom for journalists last year. They are Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands.

Laos, Pakistan, Sweden, Myanmar and the Philippines were the countries with the most improvements in press freedom.

Im Caty Weaver.

VOAs William Gallo and Chris Hannas reported on this story. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted their reports for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page

______________________________________________________________

decline - n. the process of becoming worse in condition or quality

trend - n.a general direction of change

dramatic- adj. sudden and extreme

disinhibit - adj. make (someone or something) less inhibited

inhibited - adj. unable to act in a relaxed and natural way

authoritarian - adj. expecting or requiring people to obey rules or laws : not allowing personal freedom

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Media Rights Groups: Press Freedom 'Never Been So Threatened' - Voice of America

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

Freedom is my quest.

This driving need I have to own the responsibility for my own life and to determine how well I use every day that God gives me often compels me to make choices outside of the mainstream.

Freedom is the reason we homeschooled our children for many years, its the reason I started my own company, and its the reason I live on a bridgeless barrier island off the coast of Florida. (Well, that and the fact that I love the ocean and warm weather.)

I remember marching in a straight line down the hallway in grade school with all of the other kids like little robots, thinking I was in some sort of glorified childs prison. Snack time, recess, even art had little appeal because I had to participate at the exact moment I was told, eat only what was permitted, draw or paste only what was demanded and play the exact game that was being forced on us at that precise hour.

Please note: Im not anti-discipline, anti-order or anti-government. These things are essential to a life well lived and to free societies. I understand why children must be taught to listen and obey, that it takes rules and organization to educate the masses and that teamwork is critical to progress.

Training, discipline and government as concepts are good. After all, God created and even demands them. But any good thing, whether it is order, process or government, can quickly quash the human spirit, strangle creativity and oppress the individual.

As history continues to show us, government in the hands of the wrong people is devastating to human beings largely because it is devastating to their natural right of self-determination and personal responsibility.

One reason Im so grateful to those in our armed forces is because every hour of every day they give up what is most precious in life. They give up their freedom in order to protect ours. Whether in time of war or peace, they willingly sacrifice their right to march to the beat of their own drums and instead march with others in preparation for a possible march into war.

And freedom is why I am most grateful for President Trump and what he was able to accomplish in his first 100 days in office, even in spite of the vast attempts by the left to thwart the results of the election. The truth is obvious to all who care to see: Because of President Trump, Americans are now 100 days closer to freedom.

Consider just three (among the many) of President Trumps freedom victories, all of which have gone largely unreported by the elitists who seek greater control over our lives.

1) The executive order that declares, For every new federal regulation, two existing regulations must be eliminated. Think about that for a moment in terms of simple numbers. Lets say there are currently 10 regulations (instead of the innumerable ones that place controls on virtually every aspect of our lives). If the creation of a technology or invention necessitates a new government regulation, before Regulation # 11 is enacted, two existing ones must be eliminated. That brings the number of rules you must follow down to a total of nine. Thats one small step closer to freedom! Taken across the entire government, those steps will quickly advance us toward greater liberty.

2) The requirement that each of our mammoth federal agencies establish a Regulatory Reform Task Force to identify costly and unnecessary regulations in need of modification or repeal. Translation: Every single agency will start loosening the noose around our necks, enabling us to breathe in more freedom!

3) The selection of Judge Neil M. Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court because of his consistent record defending the Constitution. Remember, it is the U.S. Constitution that guarantees basic rights and freedoms for all Americans, regardless of race, gender, religious affiliation or political party. And it is the thwarting and trashing of our Constitution that has caused us to be less free in recent years. The fact that Justice Gorsuch now sits on the bench is a victory for every single American.

You can read all of the many ways President Trump is restoring your liberty at WhiteHouse.gov. Take the time, and you will see that under President Trump, freedom is on the move.

Rebecca Hagelin can be reached at rebecca@rebeccahagelin.com.

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Donald Trump's first 100 days bring us closer to freedom - Washington Times

The office for the College of Arts and Science at Illinois State University is in Stevenson Hall, named for Adlai E. Stevenson II who grew up in Bloomington-Normal and was the 31st governor of Illinois.

Although he may be best known as our governor, the United States ambassador to the United Nations during the Cuban missile crisis and for twice unsuccessfully running for president against Dwight D. Eisenhower, we also know him as a champion for higher education.

It is appropriate that the Stevenson Center, also here at ISU, bears his name as well because this organization is dedicated to his passions public service and global engagement.

The center does inspiring work in community and economic development at both the local and international levels.

While running for president in the early 1950s, Stevenson presented a campaign stump speech on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which gave him an opportunity to reflect on the role of higher education and its relationship to government.

A founding principle of the University of Wisconsin system is called the Wisconsin Idea, which serves as a model for many state university systems. According to Stevenson, the Wisconsin Idea is a faith in the application of intelligence and reason to the problems of society.

He goes on to note that the Wisconsin Idea brings with it a deep conviction that the role of government was not to stumble along like a drunkard in the dark, but to light its way by the best torches of knowledge.

The best torches are on U.S. college campuses where the work is done based upon peer review without government influence. Stevenson noted that if we value the pursuit of knowledge, we must be free to follow wherever that search may lead us. The free mind is no barking dog, to be tethered on a ten-foot chain. It must be unrestricted in the play of its inquiry.

It is interesting that in 1952 he felt like this idea was under attack. Attack, in this case, by totalitarian regimes around the world squeezing out academic freedom and the freedom of the press, and at home, as part of over-zealous actions related to the anti-communism movement.

Again, in Stevensons words, the whole conception of the free intellectual community is menaced by those who fear freedom more than they love it. It is ironic that these long-forgotten words of a 65-year-old stump speech are relevant once again.

Legislation in Missouri (sponsored by Rep. Rick Brattin) and Iowa (sponsored by Sen. Brad Zaun) would get rid of tenure for faculty in the state university systems. Other states have hinted at similar restrictions. As we discussed in an earlier column, there is the incorrect notion that tenure protects faculty from termination for any cause.

What it protects is the termination of faculty for teaching or researching controversial or currently politically unpopular topics. One of the reasons that U.S. colleges and universities are the best in the world is because we are free to teach and research all topics without fear of retribution from the current government.

If Stevenson were alive today, he would no doubt remark that the representatives in Missouri and Iowa, who introduced legislation to remove tenure, fear freedom more than they love it.

We hope that these state legislatures will not pass the laws because, knowingly or unknowingly, this is the trademark of totalitarian regimes. Tenure and academic freedom, like freedom of the press, are fundamental components of a free and democratic society.

Progress in all fields of study cannot be made if there is not a safe space to challenge current thought and conventional wisdom. Far from being a threat to society, tenure and academic freedom strengthen it.

Tenure is, rightfully, difficult to attain. Those who are entrusted with the privilege by their senior colleagues and university have the freedom to explore, discover, and share their findings without restriction. Our freedom depends on it.

Special thanks to Emma Meyer and the McLean County Museum of History for providing access to the Adlai Stevenson speech.

Skibois distinguished professor and chair, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, at Illinois State University.

Simpson is dean, College of Arts and Sciences, at ISU.

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Guest commentary: Do we fear freedom more than we love it? - Bloomington Pantagraph (blog)

Los Angeles Times

FCC Invokes Internet Freedom While Trying to Kill It New York Times Under the cynical guise of restoring internet freedom, the new F.C.C. chairman, Ajit Pai, wants to give big telecom companies carte blanche to treat the content of their subsidiaries and partners more favorably than information from other companies ... 2016 Broadband Capex Survey: Tracking Investment in the Title II Era | Hal Singer - WordPress.comHal Singer - WordPress.com In a speech - Federal Communications CommissionFederal Communications Commission FCC Chairman Pushes Sweeping Changes to Net Neutrality RulesNew York Times all 84 news articles »

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FCC Invokes Internet Freedom While Trying to Kill It - New York Times

The State Department should add Russia to its list of the worst violators of religious freedom, a U.S. commission declared in its annual report.

TheU.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, founded to advise the federal government on the issue, comes out with its own list of shame each year, citing the most abusive countries in a lineupconsistently longer than the State Departments.

This year, the USCIRF report includedadissenting report from its vice chair criticizing the commission for failing to investigate Israel.

On Wednesday (April 26), USCIRF recommended that the U.S. should designateRussia as a country of particular concern,forwielding an anti-extremist law to violate the religious freedom of Muslims and other minorities.

Stacks of booklets distributed by Jehovahs Witnesses are seen during the court session on Dec. 16, 2010, in the Siberian town of Gorno-Altaysk, Russia. (Credit: Photo courtesy of Reuters/Alexandr Tyryshkin.)

Most recently, Russia bannedJehovahs Witnesses, labeling them extremist and ordering the state to seize their properties.

Theyre treating these people like theyre terrorists, said Tom Reese, a Jesuit priest who chairs USCIRF, referring to Russias treatment of the Witnesses. Theyre pacifists, they dont want to be involved in politics and they just want to be left alone. The Supreme Court has basically said theyre illegal.

Globally, the commission has concluded that the state of affairs for international religious freedom is worsening in both the depth and breadth of violations, Reese said.

USCIRFs list this year differs from its2016 list with the addition of Russia, but also the dropping of Egypt and Iraq, a move that may surprise some given continuing deadly attacks on Christians in those countries.

But Reese said that while violence against Christians in those nationsremains a horrificproblem, the commission wanted to highlight the concrete steps that both the Egyptian and Iraqi governments have taken to protect religious minorities.

On Egypt, for example, according to the report:

President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi consistently has made noteworthy public statements and gestures encouraging religious tolerance and moderation, has condemned sectarianattacks and assisted victims, and has urged reform of textbooks and religious discourse in society, an important shift in tone and rhetoric from his predecessors.

Still, Egypt and Iraq are on USCIRFs list of Tier 2 countries, which are consideredviolators of religious freedom, but not as problematic as the CPCs.

On the same day of the reports release,one commissioner, Arab-American and Democratic Party activist James Zogby, held a newsconference to discuss his dissent to the report, in which he criticizes the commissions refusal to investigate Israel.

Zogby, flanked by sympathetic Christians in a Lutheran church on Capitol Hill, said Israel discriminates against Muslims, Christians and non-Orthodox Jews but gets a free pass from the commission.

I did not look for this issue, it came to us, said Zogby, who cited a lengthy study from young lawyers in the West Bank occupied by Israel thatconcluded that Israel fails to meet international standards on religious freedom on which other nations are judged.

Other commissioners, Zogby said, were bullied to oppose an investigation. Thosepetitioning for an investigation were often dismissed as anti-Semites and some commissioners feared the commission would lose congressional support for investigating Israel, hesaid.

JoiningZogby Tuesday: the Rev. Aundreia Alexander, associategeneral secretary of the National Council of Churches; the Rev. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, general secretary emeritus of the Reformed Church in America; and Fr. Drew Christiansen ofGeorgetown UniversitysBerkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs.

Reese saidmany groups and people, including Zogby, propose that USCIRF launch investigations, but without a majority vote of the commission, those investigations dont go forward.

Jim proposed it, but he didnt get a majority, said Reese, who added that USCIRF reports often include dissents.

The following 16countries are on USCIRFs 2017 list of CPCs: Burma, Central African Republic, China, Eritrea, Iran,Nigeria,North Korea,Pakistan,Russia,Saudi Arabia, Sudan,Syria,Tajikistan,Turkmenistan,Uzbekistan andVietnam.

The10 countries on the State Departments list of prime religious freedom offenders, designated in 2016, are: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

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US commission: Russia a major violator of religious freedom - Crux: Covering all things Catholic

Texas House GOP Caucus Chairman Tan Parker talks with Matt Schaefer, who heads the fledgeling House Freedom Caucus.(Photo: John C. Moritz/USA Today Austin Bureau)

AUSTIN On any given day on the floor of the Texas House, one of a handful of the chambers most conservative members will step and ask plaintive questions of Speaker Joe Straus or the member he had designated to preside temporarily.

Invariably, the question from the conservative member at the microphone is brushed aside and the member walks off disappointed.

But those arch conservatives who make up theTexas House Freedom Caucuswon a decisive victory during Wednesday nights marathon debate on the so-called sanctuary cities bill that shifted the trajectory of the controversial legislation sharply to the right.

State Rep. Matt Schaefer, the third-term Tyler Republican who chairs the new organization, forced a vote that would empower local law enforcement officers to begin questioning a suspects immigration even before an arrest was made.

The bills House sponsor, Fort Worth Republican and top Straus lieutenant Charlie Geren, didnt like Schaefers amendment, and said so publicly. But the veteran lawmaker understood that most of the 95 GOP members had to vote for it or risk looking soft on illegal immigration heading into next years primaries.

When we see a bill to advance the cause of conservative policy and principles, we will move on it without fear or hesitation, Schaefer said after catching a few hours sleep following a bruising and emotional floor debate that did not end until around 3 a.m. Thursday.

With only 12 members in the 150-member House, Schaefers caucus is small but vocal. It was formed heading into the 2017 legislative session in part to push back against what its members saw as the Republican-dominated House moving in a moderate direction and away from the partys grassroots activists.

The Freedom Caucus agenda for the session comes straight from the Texas GOP Platform: The freedom to carry handguns without a license, abolishing abortion by all lawful, constitutional means, stopping illegal immigration and limiting taxes so that government only performs its core functions.

We take the platform that was adopted by grassroots Republicans very seriously, Schaefer said. Too often the issues brought forward by the platform are ignored. But these issues are of great interest to our grassroots, the people to become engaged in the process and take the time to go to the conventions.

The caucus is styled after, but not affiliated with, the congressional Freedom Caucus in Washington, D.C., that was credited with forcing then-House Speaker John Boehner from office in part because they found his brand of leadership as straying from conservative principles.

Its not a coincidence that we chose the name we did, Schaefer said.

Perhaps the most vocal member of the Texas group is Jonathan Stickland, a three-term Republican from the Fort Worth suburbs whose political rise was fueled by Tea party activism and the desire to expand gun rights.

Stickland, who made clear that he wasnt speaking for the Freedom Caucus, said he wants one day to be a major force in the House, but that he is not willing to pay the political price to ingratiate himself with Straus leadership team.

My goal is to be a key player in the next regime change, Stickland said. When the time comes, were going to be the kingmakers.

Straus, whose office declined a request for comment, came to power in the House in 2009 when a block of Republicans formed an alliance with some House Democrats to topple then-Speaker Tom Craddick. Straus has not definitively said whether hell seek a record sixth term at the helm of the House.

State Rep. Tan Parker, also a suburban North Texas Republican, leads the House Republican Caucus and was named by Straus to chair the House Investment and Financial Services Committee. He said he works with the Freedom Caucus on a number of fronts, but that his job is to uniteall 95 members whenever possible.

I want all of the members in the (GOP) caucus to be free to represent their constituents as best they see fit, said Parker, a House member since 2006. Matt and I have a good working relationship.

Former Republican state Rep. Warren Chisum, who served in the House from 1989 until 2013, said its healthy for a faction to be something of a pain in the neck to chambers leadership. In the 1990s when Democrats controlled the House, Republicans who wanted influence had to form an alliance with the party in power.

Chisum, an outspoken opponent of same-sex relationships, abortion and hate crimes legislation, formed the Conservative Coalition to push for legislation that Democrats and House Republicans in the leadership circle had pushed to the backburner.

We used the House rules to gain influence to push our issues and our principles, said Chisum, almost echoing the tactics pursued by the Freedom Caucus. Theres nothing wrong with that.

Once the Republicans gain control of the House in 2003, Chisum found himself moving from the back bench to the leadership.

Schaefer, whose political life started as a grassroots organizer for former U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm, said history often repeats itself.

When youre right on policy, he said, the politics will work itself out.

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Arch-conservative Freedom Caucus pushing to gain clout - ReporterNews.com

CAIRO Pope Francis opened a two-day visit to Egypt on Friday with a forceful denunciation of religiously inspired violence and a call for religious freedom, three weeks after Islamic State terrorists killed more than 40 people in bombings at two of the countrys Christian churches.

Also see: Pope Francis preaches message of faith and forgiveness during Mass with Egypts Coptic Christians

The pope used the first speech of the trip to issue one of his most extended condemnations yet of Islamist violence. His remarks, addressed to an audience that included the leader of the most authoritative institution in the Sunni Muslim world, were at once a defense of the Middle Easts besieged Christian population and a challenge to Muslims to repudiate religious justifications for violence.

Peace alone is holy, and no act of violence can be perpetrated in the name of religion or in the name of God, the pope told an international peace conference at Al-Azhar University. Together let us affirm the incompatibility of violence and faith, belief and hatred.

The pontiff balanced the speech with a strong warning against anti-Muslim sentiment in the developed world, suggesting it would only encourage terrorism.

An expanded version of this report appears at WSJ.com.

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Pope calls for religious freedom and condemns use of religion to justify violence during visit to Egypt - MarketWatch