Written By: - Date published: 12:34 am, November 22nd, 2022 - 15 comments
The Great Twit at Twitter has been cauterising off staff in excess. I suspect that the platform is going to go down the toilet for that (amongst other reasons). My concern here has been to preserve the embedded tweets in posts and comments on this site if the idiot engineer manages to destroy the platform through simple stupidity.
Written By: - Date published: 6:18 pm, May 22nd, 2021 - 91 comments
When democracy and free speech are hijacked to silence others, they can no longer support their principles and become a contradictio in terminis.
Written By: - Date published: 4:43 pm, January 17th, 2021 - 18 comments
I have a problem with dimwits waving around a slogan of “free speech” without understanding it. Ignorant fools more interested in screaming slogans than understanding the constraints of their ‘right’. The events of the last 4 years in the USA have made that very clear. So I thought I’d point out a few facts of life about constraints on freedom of speech – with a sidetrack through Trumps’ incitements to riot.
Written By: - Date published: 9:28 pm, September 6th, 2020 - 60 comments
On the eve of Assange’s extradition hearing in London, award-winning freelancer Jonathan Cook has written a scathing indictment of corporate journalism’s collusion in ignoring his official torture. I posted an example of that here last year, where Richard Harman denied Assange was a journalist at a panel convened at Parliament by the British High Commissioner.
Written By: - Date published: 11:10 am, November 22nd, 2019 - 8 comments
Nick Kelly on the role of social media in the UK election.
Written By: - Date published: 11:05 am, October 29th, 2019 - 14 comments
I was reading one of Chris Trotters reflections which looked at the Corrections Amendment Bill 2018, that just passed its 3rd reading. “Putting The Check In Right-Wing Prisoners’ Mail”. It sounded odd and oddly lacked detail. I came to the conclusion taking press releases at face value without thinking was a very bad idea.
Written By: - Date published: 9:02 am, September 5th, 2019 - 70 comments
Jordan Williams and the Free Speech Coalition are in the High Court protecting the rights of Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux to express views the details of which Mr Williams does not know.
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, May 19th, 2019 - 72 comments
Online behaviour like any other behaviour can be modified but this will not happen by itself.
Written By: - Date published: 1:46 pm, October 18th, 2018 - 13 comments
I’m not a great fan of George Monbiot. And Alex Jones is rubbish. But …
Written By: - Date published: 3:11 pm, September 3rd, 2018 - 129 comments
White South African farm murders.
Written By: - Date published: 11:12 am, July 30th, 2018 - 109 comments
Yeah, okay, it’s a couple of thoughts on the Canadian jokers and what is and isn’t happening in response to their stuff.
Written By: - Date published: 11:32 am, July 11th, 2018 - 179 comments
It’s a principle.
Written By: - Date published: 10:14 am, April 24th, 2018 - 47 comments
Bollocks and bullshit lands on shits and giggles.
Written By: - Date published: 11:58 am, March 2nd, 2017 - 154 comments
Auckland Uni is in a difficult position – a classic dilemma with two important principles at stake.
Written By: - Date published: 12:11 pm, October 30th, 2015 - 46 comments
Today’s anonymous editorial in The Herald makes for interesting reading, with the right conclusion in the end – Hager’s Dirty Politics served a genuine public interest, and should be legally protected as such.
Written By: - Date published: 3:35 pm, June 30th, 2015 - 87 comments
The Greens will split their vote on the Harmful Digital Communications Bill.
Update: The Bill has passed.
Written By: - Date published: 8:46 am, June 26th, 2015 - 76 comments
ACT has withdrawn support for the Harmful Digital Communications Bill. Bravo. Labour, Greens – where do you stand on this badly drafted and damaging bill?
Written By: - Date published: 8:32 am, May 2nd, 2015 - 27 comments
Interesting post from I/S at No Right Turn on the Harmful Digital Communications Bill.
Written By: - Date published: 1:00 pm, January 17th, 2015 - 7 comments
Saudi Arabian blogger Raif Badawi has been sentenced to 1000 lashes. The international outrage is growing.
Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, January 7th, 2015 - 46 comments
A long, fascinating piece by Glenn Greenwald on The Intercept this morning.
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, July 19th, 2013 - 51 comments
National’s dirty deal with Sky City includes the right for the government to ban groups it doesn’t like from booking the convention centre.
Free speech. Use it or lose it.
Written By: - Date published: 12:33 pm, November 17th, 2011 - 67 comments
This headline speaks for itself. Tea tape: TVNZ, RNZ to be searched – “Four media outlets, including Radio New Zealand and TVNZ, are to be searched for any material they might have in their possession that relates to the tea pot tapes”. Outrageous.
Written By: - Date published: 10:39 am, October 19th, 2011 - 14 comments
Marine Corps. Sgt. Shamar Thomas speaks his mind to some New York police. A bit repetitive, but he gets his point across! http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=By8MDDwNIvE
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, February 16th, 2011 - 38 comments
The Maori Party handling of rebel MP Hone Harawira has been a complete mess. The latest bizarre chapter in the story is the gagging of Harawira with “a complete media ban” to be “strictly observed by the Maori Party”. I’m trying to recall any precedent for such an extreme gagging of free speech by a political party…
Written By: - Date published: 7:07 pm, January 22nd, 2011 - 54 comments
I see the NBR lost another 6% of its circulation last year, so I thought it was worth giving Matthew Hooton’s latest rant in that publication a wider audience. Hoots has a go at us and Clare Curran for criticising the violent rhetoric of Sarah Palin and the Tea Party. Apparently, holding people accountable for what they say is restricting free speech.
Written By: - Date published: 9:01 am, September 22nd, 2009 - 43 comments
On Wednesday last week, Labour released new information on Bill English’s housing allowance rort. Naturally, the media raised the issues with English. TVOne and TV3 ran stories that night. They weren’t particularly harsh stories. They didn’t really editorialise. They didn’t even say English should give the money back or resign. Later that night, in a fury […]
Written By: - Date published: 1:45 pm, July 13th, 2009 - 16 comments
should-a.com, the site that lets you write your own parody of the upcoming referendum question, has been issued with a takedown notice by the Electoral Enrolment Centre. It’s a shame that the EEC hasn’t had a sense of humour about this but, more importantly, it reveals once again the weakness of our free speech protections […]
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