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Category Archives: Freedom

U.S. pushed to protect global religious freedom

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The United States is not doing enough to promote and protect international religious freedom, a panel of advocates warned Congress on Thursday.

Strengthening its religious freedom policies and taking more seriously the position of the ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom are just two issues the Obama administration needs to address, and a good place to start is the State Department, the panel told the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee on national security.

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The work of the State Department, though noble, is ad hoc, said Tom Farr, director of the Religious Freedom Project at Georgetown Universitys Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs.

As a consequence, the United States has had no impact on the global rise of religious persecution, Mr. Farr said. I cannot identify a single country under this administration that has advanced religious freedom or reduced religious persecution.

Katrina Lantos Swett, chairwoman of the U.S Commission on International Religious Freedom, said the State Departments bureaucratic culture needs to be addressed, especially considering the impending confirmation of ambassador-at-large nominee Rabbi David Saperstein.

I do think that Rabbi Saperstein will face a challenge of sorts, of confronting the culture at the State Department that has tended to sideline these concerns, Ms. Swett said. I think it is critically important the next ambassador-at-large finds a way to have direct access to the secretary [of state] and to the president.

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Along with giving more voice to the ambassador-at-large, she recommended the administration direct high-ranking officials to speak out on the importance of religious freedom, expand training on international religious freedom for State Department workers, and take more interest and care in designating nations as countries of particular concern, or CPC.

When you have societies that repress, oppress, you create a seabed for extremism, for violence ultimately for the export of terrorism, Ms. Swett said. We need it to become a priority at the State Department, at the administration, at Congress.

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U.S. pushed to protect global religious freedom

Qatar: New cybercrimes law endangers freedom of expression

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A controversial new cybercrimes law that criminalizes the spreading of false news on the internet poses a serious threat to freedom of expression in Qatar, said Amnesty International.

Under the new law, the authorities may ban websites that they consider threatening to the safety of the country and punish anyone who posts or shares online content that undermines Qatars social values or general order, though the law fails to define the meaning of these terms.

The new cybercrimes law is a major setback for freedom of expression in Qatar, said Said Boumedouha, Deputy Director of Amnesty Internationals Middle East and North Africa Programme.

It contains broad and vaguely-worded provisions that fly in the face of international standards. They effectively grant the government extensive powers to punish anyone who posts or shares content that officials consider harmful to Qatars social values or national interests.

There is a real danger that legitimate, peaceful expression could be seriously undermined by this new law by facilitating arbitrary crackdown on peaceful dissent.

The law addresses hacking, forgery, intellectual property rights and other acts that are recognizably criminal under international law but also requires telecommunications providers to block access to websites or supply evidence or records at the request of the authorities.

Freedom of expression in Qatar is strictly controlled and the local press routinely exercizes self-censorship.

In one case that demonstrates the extent of the authorities grasp on freedom of expression, well-known Qatari poet Mohammed Rashid al-Ajami is serving a 15-year prison sentence for writing and reciting a poem that was considered critical of the ruling family. It did not incite hatred, sectarianism or violence. Amnesty International considers him a prisoner of conscience and has repeatedly called for his immediate and unconditional release.

Mohammed al-Ajamis case is a perfect example of how the Qatari authorities have flouted the rules on freedom of expression at their whim in the past, said Said Boumedouha.

Despite Qatars attempts to portray itself of as a progressive country committed to the respect of international human rights standards, we are seeing the authorities rolling back freedoms instead of taking steps to ensure freedom of expression is protected.

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Qatar: New cybercrimes law endangers freedom of expression

Freedom Parade makes its return to Harrow

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The Freedom Parade will return to Harrow for the first time in 18 years this weekend.

The borough will welcome the parade on Saturday, September 20, in which serving soldiers from Independent Commando Squadron Royal Engineers, Signals and veterans of the Royal British Legion who already hold Freedom of the Borough - will march with the 1,454 Harrow Air Training Corps and The Girls Brigade.

The parade will be led by the band of Royal Engineers, British Legion band and the Glen Trew Pipe band.

The event was lastheld in 1996 when freedom of the borough was granted to the Royal British Legion. This yearHarrow Air Cadets and the Girls Brigade will be presented with commemorative scrolls by Mayor of Harrow CouncillorAjay Maru.

He said: This is a special and unique occasion for Harrow and its residents which will give an opportunity to show our appreciation to soldiers from 131 Commando who have fought in Afghanistan and Iraq.

We also honour veterans from the Royal British Legion who served our country in the Second World War. The day is also special as we grant Freedom of the Borough to two organisations who have served Harrow well.

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Freedom Parade makes its return to Harrow

Chad Hymas Believe TV- Quad Creating Freedom and Defying The Odds – Video

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Chad Hymas Believe TV- Quad Creating Freedom and Defying The Odds
Chad Hymas shows you the joys of freedom and being able to drive as a quadriplegic. Something doctors told him he would never do. How would you feel if you were never able to drive and have...

By: Chad Hymas

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Chad Hymas Believe TV- Quad Creating Freedom and Defying The Odds - Video

Freedom, with the right limitations

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Azmi Sharom

The Star

Publication Date : 17-09-2014

In the past few weeks there has been a lot of discussion, indeed in some cases one might say uproar, over the use of the Sedition Act.

I have no wish to talk about the Act itself because it has been done to death in recent times. Furthermore, I am currently rather intimately involved with the Act as I was charged under it earlier this month.

Instead, I would like to go back to the fundamental issue here, which is freedom of expression. Clearly the Sedition Act curbs freedom of expression. Is this a bad thing? Well, not necessarily.

You see, despite what some quarters might believe, no one in his right mind would want absolute freedom of expression. That would be ludicrous.

However, before we begin to discuss what sort of restrictions on expression there should be, let us first examine our attitudes towards this particular freedom itself.

Naturally I cant speak for anyone else, so this is a purely personal take. I think that the ideal is absolute freedom.

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Freedom, with the right limitations

Freedom on wheels

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Travelling in the NCR (National Capital Region) is getting easier than ever before. First people had the option of renting luxury cars, now the comfort gets to the common mans level with the coming of a new project through which people can take a car on rent for a day or maybe even for an hour. Under the scheme, people drive the car themselves and pay.

Called MiCar, it encourages people to drive a car even when they do not own one or are new to the city. Officegoers can also avail this service by sharing and keeping their travelling cost to a bare minimum.

Speaking to the media, Suyagya Aggarwal, co-founder and director, MiCar, said, During my education in the U.S. I had experienced this concept and understood its utility and wanted to replicate this international concept in a highly populated country like India. As per our market survey, there is a vast untapped market. This is the simplest way of having a car without the hassles of owning one. To avail the services one will have to become a member and all that is required to be a member is a one-time documentation.

The cars are available in three segments Compact, Sedan and SUV. In the compact section, MiCar offers Volkswagen Polo, in the sedan section Volkswagen Veneto and in the SUV are Nissans Terrano. At present the company has a fleet of 50 cars which will be increased as per the demand. Once you become a member the company will provide you with a MiKey card which can unlock any MiCar you wish to drive and inside you will find the car keys. The company has five pickup points from where one can pick the car. The points are Dwarka, Malviya Nagar, Sultanpur, Noida and Gurgaon.

If you are too busy to go and pick the car then call and someone will drop the car at your door step at a nominal charge but you have to drive the car yourself. The process of booking is simple. There is dedicated mobile application for making the booking. The facility comes with flexibility. For instance, you have rented the car for four hours and want to extend it, all you have to do is send an SMS and continue with the trip. However, if you want to avail the facility on a monthly basis, you can enrol and get a car of your choice. Fill the fuel tank yourself and return it after paying only the hiring charges. In case of accidents also you are well taken care of, not only the car is insured also the driver is relatively safe but you have to pay a nominal amount.

To sum it up, its a viable and convenient transport solution that is environment-friendly and technologically advanced for the customer who wants to rent a self-driven car on an hourly basis.

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Freedom on wheels

Azmi tells public to keep fighting for freedom

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He calls for patience, saying academic freedom isn't something that can be achieved overnight.

KUALA LUMPUR: Azmi Sharom has called for patience in the fight for academic freedom but said the public must not stop pushing for it.

Trying to achieve standards in democratic practice, I see it as a process, the Universiti of Malaya law lecturer said in an interview with FMT.

Its a process where we have to be patient, and we have to keep pushing every single step of the way.

Azmi today filed an application with the High Court to challenge the constitutionality of the Sedition Act, under which he has been charged because of comments he made in relation to the ongoing Selangor political crisis.

He referred to a 2011 case in which another law lecturer, Abdul Aziz Bari, had his service with the International Islamic University suspended for a similar offence. Police investigated Aziz under the Sedition Act, prompting numerous student demonstrations calling for academic freedom and university autonomy.

Azmi said the current movement against the Sedition Act and for academic freedom actually began with Azizs case.

The act should have been gone back then, he said.

But it was not a lost cause, he added. Its difficult to sustain a protest for three years, but it is clear that what happened to Aziz and what is happening to me now has raised awareness about the Sedition Act not only amongst students but also the general public.

He said the greater public awareness was crucial in the fight to get the Sedition Act repealed and, by extension, in achieving academic freedom.

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Azmi tells public to keep fighting for freedom

Tensions high at CU-Boulder discussion on academic freedom

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Nearly a year after controversy began over a class taught by tenured sociology professor Patti Adler, tensions ran high at a campus discussion on academic freedom.

Roughly 40 faculty members, students, staff and community members met Wednesday afternoon to talk about academic freedom, or "the freedom to inquire, discover, publish and teach truth as the faculty member sees it, subject to no control or authority save the control and authority of the rational methods by which truth is established," according to the laws of CU's Board of Regents.

The panel was the first in a series of discussions about campus social climate issues, which was planned last spring following concerns about Adler's class "Deviance in U.S. Society."

Central to that controversy was a lecture in which undergraduate teaching assistants portrayed various types of prostitutes in front of a large student audience.

Adler claimed that she was pushed toward retirement after administrators deemed the lecture a risk to the university. She was suspended from teaching the class, but later reinstated for the spring semester. She has since retired.

After hearing that the Office of Discrimination and Harassment looked into Adler's prostitution lecture, faculty members worried they could be investigated for materials presented or discussed in class, which many felt was a violation of academic freedom.

Campus officials have maintained that concerns were not about the content of the lecture, but the manner in which it was presented. Administrators claimed that students were coerced into participating in the prostitution lecture.

'Cross that line'

Though Adler was not mentioned by name at Wednesday's discussion, several audience members and panelists referenced her situation.

Much of the conversation centered on the balance between student safety and academic freedom, which protects the rights of the faculty to teach and research difficult topics, such as religion, sexuality, politics and others.

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Tensions high at CU-Boulder discussion on academic freedom


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