The Academic Freedom Alliance has released its public letter on the situation at the University of Florida. The administration of the University of Florida has attempted to block three political science professors from serving as expert witnesses in a lawsuit against the state over the recently enacted voting law, as discussed by co-blogger Eugene Volokh here. This is an egregious violation of academic freedom and the First Amendment. If accepted in this case, it would have broad ramifications for how state universities operated across a host of other cases.

From the letter:

I write on behalf of the Academic Freedom Alliance to express our firm view that this decision is a serious violation of the academic freedom principles to which the University of Florida is committed. The university is mistaken in thinking that this decision is consistent with the principles of free speech and academic freedom and has construed the potential conflicts of interest in this case in a manner that is incompatible with maintaining academic freedom in the future. It has long been a central feature of academic freedom in the United States that when university professors "speak or write as citizens, they should be free from institutional censorship or discipline." Whatever interest a state university might have in preventing members of its faculty from acting as political partisans when operating within their duties as state employees, that interest cannot be understood to extend to restricting the speech activities in which professors might engage when operating outside their university duties and acting as private citizens.

You can read the full letter here.

See the rest here:

Academic Freedom Alliance Letter on the University of Florida Situation - Reason

FULL STORY: Taylor becomes rushing sensation to propel Freedom past Liberty

Freedom 28, Liberty 13 Rapid Recap

Freedom High Schools football team took what it wanted in the second half.

What it wanted was a rivalry victory and city championship.

The Patriots, ranked No. 2 by lehighvalleylive.com, scored 21 unanswered points and defeated Liberty 28-13 on Saturday afternoon at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium.

Turning point: Freedom trailed 13-7 at halftime, but only needed six plays to go 59 yards for a score on the opening possession of the third quarter. Quarterback Brian Taylor avoided a sack and tossed a 24-yard TD to Ethan Neidig. Kicker Zeyad Ragabs PAT put the Patriots ahead 14-13 with 9:24 on the clock.

Liberty punted on the ensuing possession and Freedom marched right back down the field, going 64 yards in nine plays. Taylor capped the series with a 7-yard rushing TD to go ahead 21-13.

Top performers: Taylor completed 9 of 17 passes for 109 yards and a score. He also rushed for 87 yards and three scores on 14 carries.

Deante Crawford had 154 yards on 33 carries for Freedom.

Liberty tailback Kyndred Wright had 14 carries for 85 yards and a touchdown. Karim Brice returned a punt 75 yards for a Hurricanes touchdown.

What it means: Freedom, which won the city title by virtue of its wins over Liberty and Bethlehem Catholic, finished the regular season with an 8-2 record. The Patriots will host Easton as the third seed in the District 11 Class 6A tournament.

Liberty, which won its season opener, closed the fall with a 1-9 mark.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Kyle Craig may be reached at kcraig@lehighvalleylive.com.

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Freedom football rules 2nd half to beat Liberty, claim city title - lehighvalleylive.com

The great singer-songwriter Paul Simon once expressed the complexity of urban living when he sang that the floor of one apartment was the ceiling of the one below. Specifically, the first verse of his song declares:

Theres been some hard feelings hereAbout some words that were saidBeen some hard feelings hereAnd what is moreTheres been a bloody purple noseAnd some bloody purple clothesThat were messing up the lobby floorIts just apartment house rulesSo all you partment house foolsRemember: one mans ceilingIs another mans floorOne mans ceilingIs another mans floor

Most of the year, I live in an apartment in Morningside Heights in New York City. I have neighbors above me, below me and next to me. We are mindful of each others space and privacy. But we share a collective water system, electrical system, heating system, elevator and building staff. When COVID-19 hit, we stopped sharing elevators and allowed them to pass until an elevator came to us empty. Today, we once again share the elevator, but we all wear masks. Unlike in Paul Simons song, weve not had any bloody clothes in the lobby or other signs of overt conflict. Each day, we must balance the freedom we exercise behind closed doors with our mutual dependency on resources we share.

If I lived on a quarter-acre or more of land in a private home, my attitude about shared responsibility might be different, but I live in a place where I need to pay attention to the volume of my music because I might wake up a baby sleeping in an adjoining apartment. What does all this have to do with vaccination? I believe nearly all of us should be vaccinated to protect our neighbors and our community.

I understand that some people have medical reasons to remain unvaccinated and they should follow medical advice. I also know that breakthrough infections are possible, but health, like life itself, is always a matter of probability. Vaccinated people are less likely to become infected with COVID-19 and less likely to transmit it. When I became eligible to be vaccinated last February, I rushed to get my shot. Yes, I wanted personal protection from COVID-19, but I was more concerned that I could become infected because I was teaching in a classroom and could spread the virus to my spouse, children, granddaughter, friends, and neighbors. I was a little scared about the side effects, but the benefits far outweighed the costs.

All over America, but especially in the more suburban and rural parts of the country, many people are resisting vaccination. When institutions like the one I work for and others started requiring vaccination, people started protesting that mandated vaccination infringed on their freedom. They are correct it does limit freedom. Just as we are x-rayed at the airport and videotaped at Walmart, our freedom is infringed upon wherever we go. You are not free to drive 100 miles an hour on the highway or make a left turn on a red light. You are not free to scream fire in a crowded theatre. In my home city, you are not free to carry a firearm without a difficult-to-obtain permit. In some states, you are free to carry weapons wherever you go, but in a place as crowded as New York, we prefer to let our police protect us with their weapons.

The degree of freedom we have varies by place and politics, but it is never absolute because even in Texas, people have a responsibility to each other. In Texas, the political leadership prefers that people take personal responsibility for their actions and argues that the responsibility to protect our neighbors from COVID-19 should not be required by government. Anti-mandate governors are correct that voluntarily taking personal responsibility is better than compulsion by authority. If a sense of responsibility for the community is not internalized by an individuals value system, government intervention will not be particularly effective. Unfortunately, not enough individuals took responsibility for preventing the spread of the virus and mandates were needed.

There are times when the needs of the community must take precedence over the needs and even rights of the individual. In emergencies, different rules must apply. I suspect the Governor of Texas does not see COVID-19 as a national emergency. Had he lived in New York in February and March of 2020, he might see the world differently. The sounds from my window day and night back then were punctuated by sirens taking sick people to hospitals where too many of them died. During wars and national emergencies, people are drafted into service and freedom is curtailed to ensure survival. People in New York City do not want to return to the New York of early 2020. If vaccination and masks are required, bring them on.

The exercise of government authority to require vaccination should be viewed as an infringement of personal freedom in the interest of collective security. Here in New York City, our municipal government has mandated vaccination of all its employees but has been more than a little clumsy in implementing the requirement. While the city government could have done a better job implementing the vaccination requirement, the policy remains sound. It comes back to our collective responsibility in a densely settled city. I am especially disappointed when I see police, health care workers and firefighters resisting vaccination since their fundamental job is to protect the public. These folks put themselves in harms way with great frequency, so why dont they see vaccination as simply another tool they possess to protect the public? Vaccine resistance among public health and safety officials is a sad indicator of the breakdown of our sense of community. COVID-19 will not be the last global pandemic we will face; we will either combat these threats as a world community or suffer the pain and loss caused by the constant spread of disease.

Freedom of thought and expression is fundamental to our democracy. Many believe that should extend to freedom to control the substances that are placed in our bodies. In a world with less than a billion people, without global trade and global travel, that might once have been possible. Today, with eight billion people and the constant risk of exposure to viruses that our bodies are not able to fight off, that freedom has become a luxury we cannot afford. Todays world is more like my apartment building than a suburban home with a lawn and a driveway.

I fear that we are living through a time where we are forgetting about the need to respect each other. I have friends and colleagues who are refusing vaccination and others who refuse to wear masks. Even though I believe their response to this pandemic is selfish, I listen carefully to their arguments and respect their beliefs. I worry that some of their arguments are based on disinformation spread via social media, but some are due to the scientific uncertainty we have all experienced as experts learned more about COVID-19. The polarization of our politics might have been overcome by a collective effort to understand and then combat this virus, but the lack of respect for each other and our institutions led to this fragmented response. Instead of summoning a sense of national purpose, Donald Trump resisted public health measures to energize his base of support during a campaign year. The response was so badly mishandled that even the promise of a more measured approach helped elect his opponent. Joe Biden has struggled to establish a collective response but is thwarted by governors, other elected officials, and pundits who continue to politicize the pandemic.

Mistrust seems to be contagious. Among Democrats in Congress, it is delaying the enactment of about $3 trillion of spending on infrastructure, environmental and social programs. Republicans are united in their opposition to these policies, even the programs they might wish to support. Symbolic position-taking and appeals to a narrow base of support have replaced nearly every effort to build consensus. Our global economy is complex, interconnected, and vulnerable. COVID, climate change, toxic substances, fire, drought, floods, cyber-attacks, terrorism, and corruption threaten our prosperity, security, and way of life.

The vaccine that some Americans are unwilling to use is beyond the reach of over a billion of our planets people, many of whom desperately want it. We need to exercise our freedoms with a sense of responsibility, mindful of our obligations to our neighbors, our nation, and the world. The alternative that stands starkly before us is division, conflict, chaos, and the demise of our democracy.

Read the original here:

Vaccination, Freedom and Responsibility - Coronavirus Coverage - State of the Planet

Last month, the Fraser Institute put out its annual Economic Freedom of the World report. As usual, it showed that economic freedom is positively correlated with many good things and negatively correlated with many bad ones.

Defenders of capitalism love the Fraser Institute. Libertarian philosopher Jason Brennan, for example, has made heavy use of the rankings in the context of criticizing the arguments of Marxist philosopher GA Cohen. Brennan argues that given all the positive things that come with greater economic freedom, the debate about whether capitalism is superior to socialism has a clear victor: the pro-capitalist side. The only remaining question is whether socialism would be better in a hypothetical world where humans were less selfish and lazy.

Economist Peter Leeson has deployed the Fraser Institutes reports to mount an even more strident defense of capitalism. Many commentators, Leeson writes, think that capitalism deserves two cheers for yielding many good outcomes while also thinking that excessive or uncontrolled capitalism can be bad. Leeson says this is wrong because the Fraser Institutes numbers show that capitalism deserves three cheers.

Although many relationships in the social sciences are unclear, capitalisms relationship to development isnt one of them. Unless one is ashamed of unprecedented increases in income, rising life expectancy, greater education, and more political freedom, theres no reason to be a milquetoast defender of capitalism.

Even a quick glance at the Fraser Institutes report reveals that the numbers that emerge from their methodology are flatly irrelevant to anything in dispute between social democrats, socialists, and defenders of laissez-faire capitalism.

These are bold claims. And if you just look at the Fraser Institutes many graphs and assume that the x-axis really is about something called economic freedom (or, in Leesons language, countries becoming more capitalist and less socialist), the data does seem to prove that people live longer and are more prosperous, more educated, and more politically free in more capitalist countries. How, then, could anyone be a socialist? How could anyone even be a social democrat, aspiring to curb excessive or uncontrolled capitalism through expansive social programs and a regulatory state? The more capitalist a society is, the better the outcomes.

Theres just one problem with all of this. The premise is nonsense. Even a quick glance at the Fraser Institutes report reveals that the numbers that emerge from their methodology are flatly irrelevant to anything in dispute between social democrats, socialists, and defenders of laissez-faire capitalism.

First, though, its worth pausing to talk about definitions. Many socialists think that a fully socialist society would be one where workers controlled the means of production. Since theres never been a society where even a significant portion of the economy was put under workers control, the degree to which a society is socialist in this sense is hard to measure. Other socialists, though, have thought that state ownership of the bulk of the economy would be sufficient. That can be measured. There have been societies like the USSR where pretty much the entire economy was state-owned, countries like the United States with little state ownership, and countries like Norway (where almost a third of the workforce works in the public sector and the state holds shares in many companies) that are somewhere in between.

Similarly, we can make a distinction between socialism after capitalism (i.e., socialism in the strict sense) and socialism within capitalism (i.e., the policies that socialists around the world have fought for to make life better for working-class people within basically capitalist structures). This, too, can be measured. We can compare societies based on how much the state intervenes to make it easier for workers to organize labor unions, or the difference between health care systems like the one in the United States (where only a minority of the population qualifies for public health insurance), Canada (where theres universal public health insurance but the hospitals themselves are mostly private), and in countries like Britain, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark (where most or all of the hospitals are publicly owned and the doctors and nurses are public employees).

Rankings comparing societies by the degree of state ownership would be relevant to arguments about whether societies are better off with capitalism or with at least some forms of socialism. Similarly, ranking societies in terms of their health care system or the degree of friendliness toward union organizing would be relevant to arguments about reforms socialists support within capitalism.

But all you need to do to confirm the Fraser Institute isnt doing anything like this is to glance at the handy interactive map on their website. Play with the map for about five seconds, and youll discover that Norway and Sweden are both far more economically free than Haiti.

You read that right. Norway and Sweden tie for 37th place. Haiti sits all the way down at 118th place. That means Haiti, according to the Fraser Institute, is less capitalist than Sweden or Norway.

Pop quiz: Does Haiti have a more expansive welfare state than Sweden or Norway? Does it have a more favorable environment for labor unions? Does it have a larger public sector?

These arent serious questions.

So whats going on here? The five categories the Fraser Institute uses to judge different countries are size of government, legal system and property rights, sound money, freedom to trade internationally, and regulation.

Four of those categories at least sound like they have something to do with contested issues between social democrats, socialists, and defenders of uncontrolled capitalism, although property rights would be more obviously relevant than the oddly mashed together category legal system and property rights. Hold that thought.

Meanwhile, whats this about sound money? Heres how the executive summary describes the category: Inflation erodes the value of rightfully earned wages and savings. Sound money is thus essential to defend property rights.

That thus is a little odd, since the underlying thought seems to be not so much that low inflation is essential to defending property rights as that its essential for property owners to get the benefits they would otherwise receive from those property rights. More importantly, though, the order of explanation here is the opposite of what we usually get in (misleading) right-wing arguments that the economic woes of Venezuela, for example, show that socialism produces bad outcomes. Usually, libertarians and conservatives say that socialist policies are bad because they lead to inflation. They dont define inflation itself as somehow intrinsically un-capitalist.

How about legal system and property rights? The description in the executive summary is too vague to make clear whats being measured, but the full report helpfully breaks this down into sub categories:

A. Judicial independenceB. Impartial courtsC. Protection of property rightsD. Military interference in rule of law and politicsE. Integrity of the legal systemF. Legal enforcement of contractsG. Regulatory costs of the sale of real propertyH. Reliability of police

Of these eight categories, C is the only one that sounds remotely relevant to the capitalism-versus-socialism debate. And even there, its only relevant if what property is being protected from is nationalization (or expropriation by the workers themselves, as in Argentinas recovered factories movement of the early 2000s). At a stretch, G might also be salient, although the regulatory costs socialists want to impose on businesses (like better workplace safety laws, a higher minimum wage, measures to make it harder to bust unions) rarely have much to do with the sale of businesses.

The other six are just flagrantly irrelevant. What socialists complaint about the police is that theyre too reliable (H)? What socialist doesnt want workers to be able to take their bosses to court for violating union contracts (F)? Have you met a socialist whose main complaint about US courts is that theyre too impartial (B) and independent of the government (A) or that the legal system has too much damn integrity (E)? (For a hint as to what the real complaints are, google Steven Donziger.) The high-water mark of absurdity, though, comes at D. Do socialists want the military to interfere more in legal and political systems? Ask Salvador Allende about that one.

One could argue that even if none of this has to do with whether societies are more capitalist or less capitalist, it at least has to do with whether those societies are living up to the ideals of many advocates of capitalism. Fair enough.

But thats like saying the Soviet Union scored poorly on many standards near and dear to the heart of many socialists. Theres a long tradition of socialists advocating for free speech rights, for example. Wed look pretty silly if we ranked countries by how socialist they were using the degree of free speech protection as one of the metrics, thus giving the Soviet Union a lower socialism score than the United States . . . and thus triumphantly concluding that the degree of socialism was positively correlated with free speech protections.

This is exactly what the Fraser Institute and libertarians who tout its findings are doing when they count societies as more economically free (or, in Brennan and Leesons hands, more capitalist) in part because theyre less corrupt and unstableand then use this to assert that economic freedom or capitalism itself leads to more democracy and better political outcomes. Are there worse outcomes in societies with high inflation, high judicial corruption, and frequent military coups? No kidding. This is supposed to have what exactly to do with long-standing debates about capitalism and socialism?

Does the history of the 20th century include plenty of fodder for intellectually honest criticisms of at least some forms of socialism? Of course. But the Fraser Institute is just cooking the books.

Excerpt from:

'Economic freedom' rankings are contrived, meaningless nonsense - The Real News Network

Right to Life

John and Barbara Willke came up with a strategy to reverse Roe v. Wade. Many anti-abortion activists think their plan is about to pay off.

Wochit

A new California law aimed at protecting the public and front line workers from being harassedwhile getting and administeringvaccineshas turned into a freedom of speechbattle for one Fresno anti-abortion group.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California ruled in Right to Life of Central California versusBontathat Senate Bill 742likely discriminates against Right to Lifes outreach to women.

The law was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October.

Free speech won the day not just for our client, Right to Life, but for every other speaker in California," said Denise Harle, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom."We applaud the courts decision to protect the First Amendment rights of every Californian, regardless of their viewpoint, and halt enforcement of this unconstitutional state law."

The bill was designed in the COVID-19 era and aims to protect the rights of people to get vaccinated, while preserving the right of protesters to assemble.

The law bans certain free-speech activities when a speaker is within 30 feet of another person and that other person is in a public way or on a sidewalk area and within 100 feet of the entrance or exit of a vaccination site and is seeking to enter or exit a vaccination site.

Right to Lifeis located next to a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Fresno, which also administers the HPV vaccine.Under the law, Right to Life staff and volunteers are banned from speaking with potential clients outside itsfacility because the two organizations share a sidewalk.

SB 472 also makes it a misdemeanor to harass, intimidate, injure or obstruct people on their way to get vaccinated. Those found guilty of breaking the law face amaximum $1,000 fine and/or up to six months in jail.

Right to Life is not the only organization to voice its concern with the measure. Many have questioned whether SB 472 violates the First Amendment.Free speech advocates including First Amendment Coalitions Glen Smith believe the 30-foot barrier is "excessive and out of compliance with court rulings."

However, Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), who authored the bill, said SB 472 gives local officials the tools they need to protect patients and frontline workers when getting the COVID-19 vaccine, or any other vaccine.

"Health care workers administering vaccines and saving lives need local officials to have SB 742 to keep them and their patients safe from extremists who obstruct and threaten people with violence and loss of privacy for participating in COVID-19 vaccination clinics," Pan said in October.

The court order stated that the defendants arguments demonstrate that SB 742 is so vague that it is conducive to different and conflicting interpretations on what conduct is even prohibited by its terms.

Right to Life shares free resources, provides support services, and offers informational leaflets while standing on the public sidewalks in front of its Outreach Center and between the Outreach Center and Planned Parenthoods property, according to Alliance Defending Freedom.

The court granted the anti-abortiongroups request for a temporary restraining order to halt enforcement of discriminatory parts of the law against any speaker while the lawsuit moves forward.

The court rightly acknowledged SB 742s double standard in restricting prolife outreach while permitting other types of speech, such as picketing about a labor dispute,"Harle said. "We are thankful Right to Lifes staff and volunteers can continue their critical mission of serving vulnerable women in the central California region with their free, life-giving services.

Sheyanne Romero covers Tulare County public safety, local government and business for the Visalia Times-Delta and Tulare Advance-Register newspapers. Follow her on Twitter @sheyanne_VTD. Get alerts and keep up on all things Tulare County for as little as $1 a month. Subscribe today.

Originally posted here:

Central Valley Right to Life group claims vaccine protection law prohibits freedom of speech - Visalia Times-Delta and Tulare Advance-Register

Colin Crossman:

Aspirational projects like the Declaration of Monetary Independence are designed to engender strong feelings thats part of their power. Much contemporary art was made about the American Independence movement, such as William Blakes America, A Prophecy, and Philip Freneau in both A Political Litany and American Liberty. Such works help communicate the overall message of the movement to a broader audience, and often do a better job conveying the emotionality of the movement than the base layer argument.

We can see much artistic output coming from the broad Bitcoin community, with a great output of audio and visual works. For me, when I was exposed to early versions of the Declaration of Monetary Independence project, I was moved to write a couple of haiku. Upon hearing that they were looking for more of such work to assist with the project, I decided that this would be my contribution to it.

A few notes about the below. Each haiku is intended to stand on its own, while also being a part of a larger story. One apparent departure from the norm, haiku generally evokes nature. Here, while I do evoke nature, I also include aspects of Bitcoins construction (SHA-256), and memes. To my mind, these are part of Bitcoins nature, and so in evoking these, I believe these remain true to the spirit of English language haiku.

Rick Poach:

A little over a month ago, on a whim, I started posting Bitcoin/Econ themed limericks to a Telegram board of Denver Bitcoiners. The limericks were to form: humorous and unserious snippets of verse. I didn't think much about them other than the fact that they were coming to mind in the first place.

For nearly twelve years, I have written what I label as political satire (sarcasm) in verse. However, after what, in my opinion, was a false flag insurrection, whatever inspiration to write that I might have had remaining had dried up. Any attempt that I made at writing felt like, and was, a half-hearted effort: the absurdities were so apparent, what more could my sarcasm do to reveal it?With the exception of a couple of half-hearted pieces, I had stopped writing for almost a year.

However, during that year, two interesting things happened to me. The first was that, in April, Colin Crossman introduced me to Bitcoin. I quickly went down the rabbit hole, as I almost immediately intuited that eventually, Bitcoin fixes, the absurdist forces which have seized power. The second was that, about a month ago, Mark Maraia read those throwaway limericks that I had posted, and asked me to write some verse in support of the Declaration of Monetary Independence.

The result of those two interesting things is the piece, Hum.

I would like to thank both Colin and Mark for their unknowing contribution to Hum. I would not have had the inspiration to write it without them.

If needed, here is a key to better understand Hum:

This is a guest post by Rick Poach And Colin Crossman. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC, Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine.

See the original post:

Bitcoin Community Projects Communicate The Message Of Freedom - Bitcoin Magazine

The One Free Press Coalition Publishes Its November 2021 "10 Most Urgent" List.

NEW YORK November 1, 2021 Investigative journalistRoohollah Zam,who was executed by Iranian authorities in December 2020 after facing anti-state charges for his coverage of 2017 protests, tops the November rankingof the One Free Press Coalitions 10 Most Urgent list of press freedom cases. The 10 Most Urgent list, issued today by a united group of pre-eminent editors and publishers, spotlights journalists whose press freedoms are being suppressed or whose cases are seeking justice.

To coincide with The UN-recognizedInternational Day to End Impunityon November 2nd, this months list highlights cases of journalist murders around the world where the victims perpetrators have not been held to account. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists2021 Global Impunity Index, there hasbeen impunity in 81% of journalist murders during the last ten years.Ending impunity for crimes against journalists is one of the most pressing issues to guarantee freedom of expression and access to information for all citizens.

Published this morning atwww.onefreepresscoalition.comand by all Coalition members, the 33rd10 Most Urgent list includes the following journalists, ranked in order of urgency:

1.Roohollah Zam(Iran)

Iranian authorities executed journalist Zam by hanging in December of 2020 after sentencing him to death on anti-state charges for his coverage of 2017 protests. Intelligence agents of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) lured Zam out of exile to Iraq, where he was abducted in 2019 and taken to Iran.

2.Tara Singh Hayer(Canada)

Hayer, publisher ofIndo-Canadian Times, Canadas largest and oldest Punjabi weekly, was shot dead in his home garage in Vancouver in 1998. Ten years prior, he had been partially paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair after an assassination attempt. In the months prior, Hayer let the police know he had received multiple threats.

3.Valrio Luiz de Oliveira(Brazil)

The sports journalist and commentator at Radio Jornal was killed in July 2012 after being shot four times by an unidentified gunman on a motorcycle. The trials for the suspected perpetrators have been repeatedly delayed and were suspended in 2020, with no future court dates set.

4.Regina Martnez Prez(Mexico)

Martnez, a veteran reporter at national magazineProceso,known for her in-depth reporting on drug cartels and the links between organized crime and government officials, was killed in 2012 after covering several high-profile arrests. A2021 report from A Safer World For The Truthfound strong indications for obstruction of justice by local authorities in her case.

5.Nikolai Andrushchenko(Russia)

Veteran journalist Andrushchenko died in 2017 related to injuries sustained in a beating from unknown assailants, and there has been little progress in the investigation. He was known for his criticism of President Vladimir Putin and his investigative reports alleging corruption and human rights abuses. He had suffered similar attacks in the past.

6.Sardasht Osman(Iraq)

Osman, a contributor to multiple independent news sites, was found shot to death in 2010. Prior to his murder, he had received threatening phone calls telling him to stop writing about the Kurdistan Regional Government. Authorities claim he was killed by a member of extremist group Ansar al-Islam; however, CPJ and other press groups have said the report lacked credibility.

7.Ahmed Hussein-Suale Divela(Ghana)

Divela, a member of the investigative journalism outlet Tiger Eye Private Investigations who reported on issues such as sports, corruption and human rights, was shot by two unidentified men on a motorcycle in 2019. Divela told CPJ in 2018 that people had attempted to attack him and that he feared for his life after a politician made comments about him on TV.

8.Sisay Fida(Ethiopia)

Sisay, a coordinator and reporter with the Oromia Broadcasting Network, was walking home from a wedding when he was shot and killed in May this year. There has been little progress in his case, and colleagues believe he was murdered in retaliation for his reporting.

9.Gauri Lankesh(India)

Unidentified assailants shot and killed Lankesh outside her home in Bangalore in 2017, as she returned from work. Lankesh published and editedGauri Lankesh Patrike, a Kannada-language weekly tabloid known for its criticism of right-wing extremism and the establishment. While arrests have been made of those suspected to have ties to her killing, impunity remains.

10.Sagal Salad Osman(Somalia)

A university student and producer of a childrens program on state-run Radio Mogadishu, Osman was killed in 2016. She was leaving campus when three gunmen shot her in the head. Somalia ranks worst among countries for impunity in cases of journalist murders.

The One Free Press Coalition is comprised of 32 prominent international members including:AgenciaEfe; Al Jazeera Media Network,AmricaEconoma; The Associated Press; Bloomberg News; The Boston Globe; Corriere Della Sera; De Standaard; Deutsche Welle; Estado; EURACTIV; The Financial Times; Forbes; Fortune; HuffPost; India Today; Insider Inc.; Le Temps; Middle East Broadcasting Networks; Office of Cuba Broadcasting; Quartz; Radio Free Asia; Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty; Republik; Reuters; The Straits Times; Sddeutsche Zeitung; TIME; TV Azteca; Voice of America; The Washington Post;andYahoo News.

One Free Press Coalition partners with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Womens Media Foundation (IWMF) to identify the most-urgent cases for the list, which is updated and published on the first business day of every month.

The mission of the Coalition is to use the collective voices of its members which reach more than 1 billion people worldwide to stand up for journalists under attack for pursuing the truth. News organizations throughout the world can join the Coalition by emailinginfo@onefreepresscoalition.com.

Members of the public are also encouraged to join the conversation using the hashtag #OneFreePress and following developments on Twitter @OneFreePress.

One Free Press Coalition

The One Free Press Coalition every month spotlights the 10 Most Urgent journalists whose press freedoms are under threat worldwide. The Coalition uses the collective voices of participating news organizations to spotlight brave journalists whose voices are being silenced or have been silenced by standing up for journalists under attack for pursing the truth. To see the 10 Most Urgent list every month and to view a complete list of participating news organizations and supporting partners, please visitonefreepresscoalition.comor @OneFreePress on Twitter.

Contacts:

One Free Press Coalition PR:pr@onefreepresscoalition.com

Committee to Protect Journalists: Bebe Santa-Wood,press@cpj.com

Link:

Investigative Journalist Roohollah Zam Tops November Ranking Of The One Free Press Coalitions 10 Most Urgent Press Freedom Cases - Forbes

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Monday inaugurated an exhibition of photographs titled Viduthalai Poril Thamizhagam to commemorate the 75th year of Independence.

The exhibition, being organised by the Department of Information and Public Relations at Koyambedu Bus Terminus, is open to public from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and will be on till November 7.

The exhibition has prints of cartoons drawn by poet Subramanya Bharathi in the India magazine, a section on the contribution of women in the freedom struggle, a section from the archives showing old maps of Chennai, Rock Fort in Tiruchi, Cuddalore Fort and Vellore Fort, pictures of all manimandapams of freedom fighters maintained by the department and a section on visits of Mahatma Gandhi to Tamil Nadu with contributions from the Roja Muthiah Research Library.

The section of photographs published in The Hindu include those of Mahatma Gandhis meeting in January 1937 at the Hindi Prachar Sabha; C. Rajagopalachary, popularly known as Rajaji, presenting his first Budget in the Assembly in September 1937; a protest by women at Rattan Bazaar where police dragged and arrested them in March 1931.

Photographs relating to the Salt March to Vedaranyam in Tiruchi and at Thiruvaiyaru too find a place on this panel.

TNPSC aspirant B. Akshaya, who hails from Dindigul, said she was impressed by the coins section and the one on women freedom fighters.

I have learnt about some of them, but this exhibition wants me to learn more about the lives of people like Mayakka, Anjalai ammal, Leelavathi and K.P. Janaki ammal.

Mr. Stalin flagged off a mobile exhibition on the life and contributions of freedom fighter V.O. Chidambaram Pillai, which would be taken to schools and colleges.

The vehicle, apart from carrying photographs, would have short documentaries that would be shown to students during weekdays.

Originally posted here:

Stalin inaugurates exhibition on freedom struggle - The Hindu

The first in-person gathering of the worlds 20 biggest economies, theGroup of 20, since the onset of COVID-19 pandemic will take place in Rome, Italy, from Oct. 30 to 31. To say the least, the summit should not be business as usual. Regrettably, theres reason to believe that the meeting will fail to address the issues that are most relevant to the G-20.

Italys climate-focused G-20 has billed people, planet, and prosperity as the top priorities for the summit, largely echoing the themes of the G-20 talks in the past.

When G-20 heads first congregated about a decade ago in November 2008, the trigger of the gathering was the global financial crisis, with the composition of the group reflecting the shift in the worlds economic center of gravity towards Asia and the emerging economies around the world. Unfortunately, G-20 summit meetings since then have been long on wordsmountains of the same wordsbut short on real, concrete accomplishments.

President Joe Biden will attend this years G-20 gathering to promote his big government build back better agendaand agenda chock full of issues that are not pragmatically relevant to restoring optimal conditions for global economic recovery and growth.

The focus of the G-20 meeting, in which Bidens national security adviser Jake Sullivansaidthe U.S. and Europe would be energized, united, and driving the agenda, is expected to be about whether and how to undertake an economic rearrangement with climate change and social equity at the core.

Equallynotableis that Chinese president Xi Jinping, who hasnt leftChinasince early 2020, will participate just virtually, along with his comrade Russian President Vladimir Putin. Japans new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Mexican President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obradorwill be also absent. And the United States, Australia and France will be at the same table for the first time since Washingtons recentannouncementof the U.S.-Australia-U.K. trilateral security partnership that made Frances Emmanuel Macron quite unhappy.

Despite the less than optimal setting of the upcoming G-20 meeting, the U.S. needs to be clear in its principles at the summit, particularly based on the foundations ofeconomic freedomanddemocratic values.

Unambiguously, the past months since early 2020 have been extraordinary for the global economy, with slowing growth and turmoil gravely inflicted by the ongoing pandemic.

The principles of economic freedom have always been questioned by dictators, autocrats, and others who might benefit from centralized planning and control.Now, however, populist attacks on the free marketfueled by politics in the United States and other countries, as well as by actual coronavirus-related setbacks to the economyhave gained notable momentum.

More than ever, however, it should be reminded that fundamentally a nations capacity to grow and prosper hinges on the quality of its institutions and economic system. As documented by The Heritage Foundations annualIndex of Economic Freedomthat evaluates the extent and effectiveness of policies in four key areas of rule of law, size of government, regulatory efficiency, and open markets, countries with higher degrees of economic freedom tend to measurably prosper in far morelasting and resilientways.

Thats because they capitalize more fully on the ability of the free market system to not only generate, but also to reinforce, dynamic growth through efficient resource allocation, value creation, and innovation.

Regrettably, some of the policy measures undertaken or planned by governments around the world in response to the global health crisis run the risk of undermining economic freedom and, thus, long-term economic growth and prosperity.

Policymakers in Washington and around the globe cannot simply spend their way back to prosperity after the toll public health responses have taken on local economies. For a meaningful economic recovery, its essential that economic freedom is not curtailed by extended government emergency powers.

The path by which the global economy can emerge from this pandemic stronger than we were before runs through a recommitment to the proven ideas of the free market system. It would be a tragic mistake to assume that in a time of crisis we must abandonour commitment to economic freedomin the hope of politically resetting the situation.

That freedom has unambiguously made our societies vibrant as well as flourishing.

This piece originally appeared in The Daily Signal

More here:

G-20 Needs a Freedom and Prosperity Agenda More Than Ever - Heritage.org

On July 18, 1855, Colonel John H. Wheeler, who had just been appointed U.S. Minister to Nicaragua, arrived in Philadelphia with plans to travel on to New York City and then by ship to Central America. A well-known North Carolina slaveholder, he was accompanied by his family and three of his slaves Jane Johnson and her two sons.

Wheeler knew very well that traveling with Johnson and her two sons was not a good idea as they were enslaved property and could be freed at any time in Philadephia, where slavery was illegal. Pennsylvania had in 1780 passed what was the countrys first emancipation law, making the state the first place in the history of the world to begin the end of slavery, according to historians.

Per a clause under the 1780 law, slaveowners visiting Philadelphia, Pennsylvania were allowed to keep an individual enslaved for six months. But in 1847, some years before Johnson and her slaveowner arrived in Philadelphia, authorities in Pennsylvania repealed that clause. That meant that now, the moment someone brought the slave into the state, that slave was free, Paul Finkelman, an American legal historian, was quoted by Smithsonian Magazine.

All in all, the 1780 law turned Philadelphia into a mecca for free Blacks in America. History says that throughout the early 1800s, many Black migrants who wanted to escape southern slavery fled into the Pennsylvania counties, where many of them were helped by conductors on the Underground Railroad towards New York and on to Canada. But this became difficult following the passage of the federal Fugitive Slave Law in 1850, which compelled northern citizens to help in tracking and returning fugitive slaves back to their southern owners. The law threatened anyone who assisted runaway slaves with prosecution and imprisonment.

And it was during this period that antislavery societies including the Vigilant Association of Philadelphia (later the Vigilant Committee) emerged in Pennsylvania, aiding people seeking freedom with shelter, food and direction. Kidnappers at the same time searched for runaway slaves and freed Black people to sell them back into slavery.

In July 1855 when Wheeler and Johnson alongside her children arrived in Philadelphia, Wheeler knew that per the laws, the moment someone brought a slave into the state, that slave was free. So, he told Johnson that if anyone asked her who she was, she should say she was a free Black woman traveling with a minister.

On July 18, before Wheeler made plans to move with his family including Johnson and her two children to Central America by way of New York, he decided to have dinner at the Bloodgoods Hotel on the river next to the ferry that would take them to Camden and on to New York. Even though he dined away from Johnson and her sons, he watched them closely.

Johnsons plan at the time was to escape in New York but she realized she could do that now. I and my children are slaves, and we want liberty, she told a Black restaurant worker at the hotel, who promised to help, an article by the Smithsonian Magazine said. By 4:30 p.m. on July 18, 1855, the young Black restaurant worker rushed to the office of the Vigilance Committee, which was within the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society (PASS) office.

The worker had drafted a note about Johnsons plea. He sent the note to abolitionist William Still, who worked as a clerk at PASS and was the leader of a team of four that aided those seeking freedom. With just 30 minutes for Wheeler to leave Philadelphia, Still told Passmore Williamson, the only White man on his team, of Johnsons plea. By the time Still and Williamson, alongside five Black dockworkers, got to Johnson, she was about to leave with Wheeler and her two sons, aged six and 10.

She was seated on a steamboats upper hurricane deck with her two boys. Johnson, according to the article by Smithsonian Magazine, later testified to the following exchange under oath.

Are you traveling with someone? Still asked Johnson.

Johnson said Yes.

I want to speak to your servant and tell her of her rights, Williamson told Wheeler.

If you have anything to say, say it to me. She knows her rights, Wheeler said.

Williamson asked Johnson if she wanted her freedom. She said she did but belonged to Wheeler. You are as free as your master, Williamson told her. If you want your freedom, come now. If you go back to Washington, you may never get it.

Wheeler, who began protesting, was restrained by the dockworkers. Still rushed Johnson and her sons to a waiting carriage that drove them to his home in the city in what Williamson later described as a quick operation. Wheeler appealed to his friend, Judge John Kane of the Federal District Court, who summoned Williamson before him with a writ of habeas corpus ordering him to bring Johnson and her two sons before the bench.

Williamson told the judge it was impossible since Still had only told him that Johnson was safe without revealing where she was. Kane, after a week, charged Williamson with contempt and sent him to federal prison. Newspapers for over three months carried Williamsons story, reporting that a federal judge was unlawfully keeping him in prison. At the same time, Wheeler had also named Williamson in a civil case after he filed charges of riot, assault and battery against Still and the dock workers who came for Johnson.

Wheeler had claimed that the group threatened to slit his throat and the defense knew that this will not help them in court. At that moment, they had to get a defendant. Johnson risked her freedom and emerged from hiding. On August 29, 1855, she appeared as a surprise witness at the trial of Still and the five dockworkers who had been accused of assault and battery.

She came alongside a police officer and four Quaker women who accompanied her to the crowded courtroom. There, she told the court that she had not been forcibly abducted. I went away of my own free will, she testified. Thanks to her testimony, Still and three of the men were acquitted. Two others were convicted of assault but received fines of $10 and jail sentences of one week.

While Johnson and her team were leaving the courthouse, they were followed by federal marshals determined to arrest her. But state and local officials were there to protect her from federal custody. Records show that her carriage moved quickly through the streets, followed by police officers protecting her. She even had to change carriages many times on her way out of Philadelphia.

And after more than three months in prison, Williamson, who had become almost a national hero in the anti-slavery movement, was released by Kane. Johnson, after a brief stay in New York, moved to Boston, where she married and lived as a free woman until her death in 1872 at the age of 59.

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When Jane Johnson jeopardized her freedom for the people who aided her to escape from slavery - Face2Face Africa

It's nearly impossible to define what exactly counts as neo-souland that's how it should be. A subgenre known for its all-encompassing elements and unshackled structure can't be put in a box.

The best definitions of neo-soul come from examples Erykah Badu, D'Angelo, Jill Scott, Jhen Aiko, and early SZA. In the newest episode of Positive Vibes Only, Canadian singer-songwriter a l l i eadds her soothing performance of "Alchemy" to the ever-growing list of examples that help explain the indescribable subgenre.

Watch the Toronto native's calming performance below.

"Alchemy" served as the final track on a l l ie's 2021 album Tabula Rasa, which roughly translates from Latin to English as "clean slate." The term stems from an ancient Greek theory that humans are born with no mental expertise and all knowledge comes from experience.

The philosophical title is fitting since a l l i edescribes the 11-track album as "an amalgamation of her collective experiences, two years worth of material, a trip across Europe, and a cathartic homecoming to Jamaica."

Check down below for more episodes of the Positive Vibes Only performance series.

Didn't Cha Know?: 20 Years of Erykah Badu's 'Mama's Gun'

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Positive Vibes Only: Mayorkun Performs Liberating Track "Freedom" From His New Album 'Back In Office' - grammy.com

Many thanks to Karla Keating of Pinehurst, who wrote so well recently about the price of freedom. It was even more apropos published in the shadow of Nick Lasalas piece on risk, yet another tantrum concerning the attack of personal liberties during the COVID crisis.

Lasala states, Risk can only be managed effectively at the individual level, and is completely subjective, as it should be in a constitutional republic.

If we all truly lived in a society existing only of ourselves, Mr. Lasala might have a platform to speak from, but then again no one would be around to hear him. But the personal risk he talks about is not just his, as we all well know how the virus is transmitted from one person to another.

I think its safe to say if the unvaccinated werent a risk to others, most of us would happily want them to exercise their personal liberties to risk catching the virus and let the pieces fall where they may. But, as Ms. Keating quotes Eleanor Roosevelt, With freedom comes responsibility.

Mrs. Roosevelt went on to say, For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect. We shoulder that responsibility when we put aside our personal risk-taking and care about the potential risks to all Americans.

Publishers Note: This is a letter to the editor, submitted by a reader, and reflects the opinion of the author. The Pilot welcomes letters from readers on its Opinion page, which serves as a public forum. The Pilot is not in the business of suppressing public opinion. We are a forum for community debate, and publish almost every letter we receive. For information on how to make a submission, visit this page: https://www.thepilot.com/site/forms/online_services/letter/

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Letter: Responsibility of Freedom | Opinion | thepilot.com - Southern Pines Pilot

The whole world, its like its Ghostbusters II.

Everyones miserable and angry, like theres something in the sewers, some sludge underneath us making us mad at each other. You could be forgiven for thinking it a little supernatural, although it isnt. Its all too human. This time, however, its not Vigo the Carpathian but wherever we are on all these pandemic rules and regs about masks and vaccines.

How one behaves at the store or at church or at school or work, its all confused. Different rules, or the absence of any, in different places, all of it together day after day, wears on body and mind. Nearly two years in, it makes sense were all a bit worn out, many on edge.

Me, running a large church, I take it in the shorts daily from both sides. Some days Ive about had it with all of them. It has got a little better, though, and I think Ive chilled out a bit. But I am exhausted, like Ive been in the middle of some drawn-out family fight. Perhaps you understand me, especially if you run any sort of organization.

And it all comes to a head it seems, the tension most acute, when we start talking about vaccine mandates. All over the country, fights have broken out about it, from Maine to New York City to Alabama and beyond. Its an emotional, moral and complex fight, and one for which we are, I suggest, quite ill-equipped. Not only psychologically are we ill-equipped, worn out as we all are, but philosophically so. The problem, you see, is that not only are we tired, were also lost.

Heres what I mean: After these long, tired pandemic days, were now confronted by a first-order problem about freedom, and we dont know what to think or do. Can a COVID-19 vaccine be required by legitimate authority, or does that violate an individuals freedom? This isnt an easy question to answer; avoid, please, those who think it is.

Rather, underneath the specific question about vaccine mandates, at its root, its a riddled and ancient question about freedom; which, I am convinced, we as a society will not be able to answer any more clearly than our ancestors. Freedom either as detachment or domination, the ancients wrestled with the idea of freedom, too, and with equally limited success. At issue is not our philosophically degraded modernity; this is just a very difficult question. Again, steer clear of those who dont think so.

By one account, admittedly Christian, a person is truly free only when she freely acts according to her undeceived intellect and well-formed will. To choose something foolish or contrary to truth, by this line of thought, is but some form of ignorant enslavement. This, applied to our present predicament, becomes a question about the vaccine itself. Is it moral, and is it good for physical and public health?

On this, outside the fantasies of social media, the Catholic Church (to which Im obedient) is clear: Yes, it is. But can it then be required? To this, the Church hasnt said yes. Rather, I assume, both out of pastoral wisdom and solicitude and because of what Catholics believe about conscience, the Church here is rightfully reticent.

What this means for the many other mandates the Church accepts for example, the many other vaccines required in Catholic schools well, thats a big question. It cant be the case that vaccines, like many other things in the public interest, may never be required. To suggest that would be to step away from Catholic moral thought and, to say the least, public health. As I said, this isnt an easy question.

Henning Jacobson famously took his case against a smallpox vaccine requirement to the U.S. Supreme Court back in 1904. At some level, I appreciate his hesitancy; rolling out vaccines in his day wasnt like waiting in line at CVS. Vaccinations sometimes were exercises in brutal coercion for frightened immigrants and people of color. Philosophically, Jacobson thought mandating a vaccine was a violation of his freedom. But the Supreme Court, ruling in 1905, disagreed.

The court likened smallpox to an invading army; as in times of war, the state could compel a person to serve in the military and risk bodily health and even life, so too when fighting disease, the state does have interest in mandating vaccines. This, aside from our nice impotent theological and philosophical discussion, is the real question.

Will the heirs of Henning Jacobson be denied again? And if so, is it a violation of their freedom? But what if, like other sometimes necessary coercive measures, its in the public interest? Again, would that all people saw the good of vaccinations and willfully and joyfully rolled up their sleeves, but what if they dont? Is freedom at stake?

Again, not an easy question. Aristotle said that freedom does not mean doing what a man likes. That superficial notion is all wrong, he said. Freedom is not free will; thats a dangerous, socially destructive idea and one shared by plainly too many people across the political spectrum. But how do we think all this through when were so worn out and angry, when the body politic and the social imaginary are so degraded and sick?

Honestly, I dont know. Which is why Ive personally decided to get vaccinated, to adapt myself to the comfort of others, to love gently, and to be willfully friendly to the vaccinated like me and the unvaccinated, too. Especially them. Because this isnt an easy question.

Yet no matter how confused I am, I can at least still love the other.

Joshua J. Whitfield is pastoral administrator for St. Rita Catholic Community in Dallas and a frequent contributor to The Dallas Morning News. Email: jwhitfield@stritaparish.net

Find the full opinion section here. Got an opinion about this issue? Send a letter to the editor and you just might get published.

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Do vaccine mandates violate or support our freedom? Avoid anyone who thinks this question is easy - The Dallas Morning News

Written by Sarah Elizabeth McVicker, Image courtesy of Netflix

When I was a few weeks old, my parents went to shop at a department store. A Black woman mistook my mother for my fathers maid while she was holding me. In grade school, my fellow students constantly asked me, What are you? This question taught me that people didnt know how to see me and this made me unsure of myself.

Although I am a light-skinned, biracial woman, it took me years to understand what passing was and how I could use it in my own life if I chose to. The film Passing posed a central question of what it means to be happy, safe and free.

Passing is Nella Larsens 1929 novella about two long lost friends who reconnect and experience the world differently through the act of passing as white. Director Rebecca Hall uses black and white cinematography to beautifully juxtapose both Irene Redfield (Tessa Thompson) and Clare Bellews (Ruth Negga) world.

The act of passing is creating ambiguity.

For Irene, the idea or acceptance of passing isnt black or white but a mixture of the two. We see this from the very first sequence. Irene is uncomfortable with passing for fear of getting caught, but will use it when she feels it is necessary. The opposite can be said for Clare. For her, passing is a strict black and white. There is no right and there is no wrong. It just is. Clare enjoys the thrill and treats passing as a way of life and as a means for survival. This is not to say she is completely without some fear. She is married to John Bellew (Alexander Skarsgrd), a racist white man who is unaware of her ancestry.

As I grew up, I must have taken passing a bit too seriously and denied my heritage in a sense. One day, my godmother sat me down and said, Here watch this. This is how you act. She played the 1959 Imitation of Life to show me that my behavior was similar to the protagonist, Sarah Jane, who passes for white. At the time, it was hard for me to accept that I could act that way.

Passing is sometimes seen as a way of denying not only ones heritage, but themselves. Clare seemed to be so happy and free amongst Black people. She no longer had to pretend. This is why Clare craved to be around Irene, because she secretly wanted more freedom and happiness. Their relationship is truly a yin and yang where Clare is the bold free spirit and Irene is level-headed. It creates a balance between them. They need each other to feel happy, free and safe. I remember it wasnt until my second year of college that I finally felt happy in my skin, free in my thoughts and safe among the world because I had accepted both sides of my heritage.

Nella Larsens novel is at the peak of a hundred year anniversary and her story is still relevant today. Clare and Irene are living in a world where they are trying to achieve the happiness, freedom and security within themselves and the world they move through. Ruth Negga, Savannah Film Festivals Spotlight Award Honoree said, The act of passing is creating ambiguity. The passer may be unclear of who they are or where they truly fit in society or they may mold to the situation. On the other hand, they may be open and fluid to the idea of passing and accept all that comes along.

Passing has graciously opened the door for more understanding of these characters experiences and those alike in todays world who still choose to pass.

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Passing reveals pursuit of happiness, freedom and safety - District

A swallow awakens in Africa, its journey northwards knows no borders.A green shoot bursts from the ground, reaching upwards towards the sky.A child leaves home, seeking safer shores.

The rhythms of migrations have no boundaries.Freedom to roam is nature.Our humanity, wildlife and biodiversity undeniably connected.

Freedom to Roam: The Rhythms Of Migration

Goatskin Records 26 November 2021

Sometimes a piece of music transcends being merely a listening experience, however excellent a listen it may be, and The Rhythms Of Migration, certainly far in excess of being merely excellent, is one such creation. The album is one element of a triptych, the two other components being a film documentary by multi-award-winning director Nicholas Jones (A Greenlander, You Are Here) and an album launch concert, hosted by, and in aid of, the Born Free Foundation, whose founder, Virginia McKenna, along with her son Bill Travers, have been its champions.

The Freedom To Roam project is the brainchild of Eliza Marshall, flautist with Ranagri, whose genre-crossing work has seen her perform with the likes of The Divine Comedy, Paul McCartney, The Who and a plethora of orchestras in a variety of shows such as The Lion King, Les Misrables and Miss Saigon, together with recording numerous soundtracks for the likes of Ridley Scott, Peter Johnson and David Attenborough. Originally conceived just over a couple of years ago from the germ of an idea during a visit to the Isle of Coll in the Outer Hebrides, music was to be used as a platform, harnessing fresh ideas related to the environment, wildlife and humanitarian concerns. The COVID 19 lockdown provided both the catalyst and opportunity for time to focus on it and the pandemics associated lost freedoms gave even more resonance and poignancy to the projects title.

As a result of discussions with musicians and others, there was a realisation that there was an interconnection between the, often enforced, migration of humans seeking to cross borders to ameliorate their lives, and the unbridled migration of animals in the natural world, and that the two impacted upon each other, although not always symbiotically. To reflect this as a soundscape in The Rhythms Of Migration, Eliza has garnered the talents of eight leading exponents from the realms of folk, classical and world music and between them, they have created a migratory musical masterpiece.

Given the circumstances under which the album evolved, physically getting the musicians together for rehearsals proved problematic, despite a supportive St. Georges in Bristol, which necessitated learning new technical skills and adapting to different working patterns, not least the use of the internet to collaborate. Perhaps ironically, this is perfectly in keeping with the central tenet of the album, for as Eliza says, online there are literally no borders. Kickstarter funding ensured that the project could proceed, and the album was eventually recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales.

In addition to Elizas own contributions on flutes, whistles and Indian bansuri, which underpin the album, the award-winning record producer, pioneer of the British Bhangra sound and breaker of boundaries of the Indian tradition, Kenyan-born Kuljit Bhamra MBE, plays tabla and electronic tanpura and is joined by diverse percussionist Joby Burgess, with additional bodhran from Evan Carson (Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys, and more recently Ranagri). Catrin Finch, with whom Eliza studied at the Royal Academy of Music, former Royal Harpist to HRH The Prince of Wales, and more recently no stranger herself to the theme of migration with her 2018 SOAR collaboration with Seckou Keita, provides harp and piano. Other strings are provided by another award-winner, Robert Irvine (Director, Red Note Ensemble, Da Vinci Piano Trio, Kyle Quartet) on cello and Lydia Lowndes-Northcott, who has vast experience in the orchestral sphere and is currently a member of the English Chamber Orchestra, on viola. Andrew Morgan adds additional percussion and synth and is also the albums producer, whilst Dnal Rogers (much sought after multi-instrumentalist, lead singer and writer in Ranagri), contributes bass guitars, piano and percussion. Completing the octet on violin and piano is another Royal Academy graduate, Jackie Shave, leader of The Britten Sinfonia, a musician with vast experience who also toured alongside Eliza with Peter Gabriel.

With such an array of talent pooling their resources, it is hardly surprising that the result is a totally mesmeric hour-long aural experience of transcendent quality, in which African, Celtic and Indian influences coalesce as classical fuses with folk, with just a hint of electronic. The soundscape created is widescreen and cinematic in its effect, akin to the visual equivalent of a painter utilising a vast palette of colours. The fourteen tracks on the album, some of which flow seamlessly from one to the next, are all original tracks composed by Marshall, Finch, Shave and Rogers. Their compositions pretty much appear in that order, a reflection of the fact that rather than just a set of disconnected tracks, there is a story threading through the whole album, a little like the aforementioned Peter Gabriel with his Last Temptation Of Christ.

Our journey begins, appropriately, with Awakenings. Elizas piece perfectly captures the quietness of the dawn, with its peaceful tranquillity suggesting that both time and space are standing still, before a change of tempo and mood is introduced with the title track, The Rhythms of Migration, in which the movement and rhythms suggest the awakening world is moving on, a journey is about to begin. The melding of the various instruments creates an immensely uplifting, joyous feeling, but one which, reflecting the reality of life and the fragile eco-system, is to be immediately shattered in Arctic Lament. An improvised piece, melting ice caps, disappearing landscapes, and the vast expanses of ocean are explored in a sobering, melancholic track. However, is there a ray of hope to be found in Catrins solo, which concludes the track?

The following two compositions, both by Catrin, possibly allude to tentative optimism. The former of these, Turning Tides, certainly has within its title the possibility of being interpreted as an indication that with appropriate action from humanity, the raising of awareness and a more altruistic approach, then a change for good could be affected. In terms of sentiment, I am drawn to make a comparison with Ian Andersons What-ifs, Maybes and Might-have-beens from Thick As A Brick 2. Musically, the introductory harp melody is gorgeous; before other instruments weave their magic; there is no escaping the rippling tide evinced by the sound created. The latter track, Freedom, a word encapsulating one of the albums central themes, not only for humanity but also for nature and wildlife, initially with piano and strings to the fore, embrace interesting chords changes, intriguing vocalisations and a tremendous electric guitar solo from Dnal, and immediately transported me to Attenboroughs Serengeti and the great migration of wildebeest and zebra.

Our journey pauses, momentarily, with A Quiet Place, the first of Jackies seven compositions, as we are given a brief opportunity to collect our thoughts, possibly unaware of the gathering rain clouds, before the rain finally comes, by way of Rain Coming. Another joyous, upbeat, celebratory offering, the violin and cello parts reflecting the life-giving energy and relief felt by those in Africa when it arrives. The rain passes, and the sun sets. Below, the growth of tiny shoots, above the desert sky. Green Shoots and Galaxies, written for the tabla, initially gentle and lilting, before, at around one minute thirty seconds in, it bursts into percussive, rhythmic life before returning to a calm serenity reflecting the awe and wonder of the stars above.

The haunting cello which underscores Leaving My Homeland creates a mood that echoes the grief, fear, hardship, and often terror that accompanies having to flee ones home because of climate change, conflict, famine or persecution, but this hardly prepares the listener for the following track, Brutal. Appositely titled, mans inhumanity to his fellow humans, and indeed the earth is perfectly encapsulated in this angry, relentless, aggressive piece, which runs straight into Run Wild! Again the title is pertinent, as the ferociously fast, Moroccan influenced tune, exhilarating, feral and raw, suggests escape, flight and freedom. In complete contrast, the gentle, delicate Cherish creates the impression of calm after the turbulence of the preceding three tracks; safety, refuge and a safe haven have been attained.

The two remaining tracks, credited to Dnal, reflect optimism and enthusiasm. Jazz-tinged piano introduces Seekers, an open, uplifting composition which, to these ears, continues the journey incorporating different influences and flavours, Cuban, South American, Middle-Eastern, Indian sub-continent, pastoral Britain, before the destination is reached in the final track, Coming Home. Partially inspired by watching the Perseverance Rover landing on Mars, five minutes of cheerful, musical ebullience give a reminder of the importance of home to both man and beast and the percussive beats that conclude the album affirms the heartbeat of compassion and hope for a sustainable planet Earth.

The Rhythms of Migration is an outstanding album. If academics, or others, wished to exemplify the power and ability of music to touch and affect the range of human emotions, then they need look no further than this release.

A drink from this global watering hole will leave you enriched, enlightened and, hopefully, a more altruistic, compassionate being.

Watch the accompanying video to The Rhythms of Migration:

Freedom to Roam Launch Concert: 18 December 2021 at Cecil Sharp House, London (Tickets)

Freedom To Roam is released on 26 November 2021. Pre-Order here: https://smarturl.it/fiv7rw

More details:

https://www.freedomtoroam.earth/album/

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Freedom to Roam: The Rhythms Of Migration - Folk Radio UK