On Monday, in Flat Rock, North Carolina, a forested town thirty miles south of Asheville, a half dozen police cars lined the curb outside Blue Ridge Community Colleges Bo Thomas Auditorium. Congressman Mark Meadows, who represents the states Eleventh District, was holding his first in-person town hall of the year. A onetime aspiring meteorologist who operated a sandwich shop with his wife before going into real estate, Meadows won his seat in 2012, after the Eleventh was redrawn with most of liberal Asheville cut out. In 2015, he helped found the Freedom Caucus, which he now heads, and which has helped make him a central figure and chief influencer in Washington. The caucus opposed the White Houses early efforts on health-care reform, leading Trump to promise that he would come after Meadows big time . Still, Meadows reportedly texts daily with Steve Bannon, lunches weekly with Paul Ryan, and has become so beloved by Breitbart News that the conservative site has called for him to become House Speaker.

But how do his constituents feel? In Flat Rock, the auditorium was filled to its four-hundred-and-fifty-person capacity an hour before the town hall was scheduled to begin. Outside, in a spitting rain, a dozen protesters in a roped-off area held signs: SINGLE PAYER UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE: JUST DO IT; WHEN INJUSTICE BECOMES LAW, RESISTANCE BECOMES DUTY; REFINE AND REPAIR, NOT REPEAL AND DELAY. Also, IT IS NO COINCIDENCE THAT A LARGE GATHERING OF BABOONS IS CALLED CONGRESS! An elderly man in a shirt that read Trump won, resistance is futile walked up to the group. A middle-aged protester asked the man why America couldnt have single-payer health care when thirty other countries have it. The Trump supporter replied, Im sorry, I dont believe in government health care. Everything the government touches turns to crap.

After going through an airport-style security check, I sat down in one of the last rows of the auditorium, next to a retired history teacher named Evelyn Brush, who described herself as a lone voice in the Republican wilderness where she lives. Its a very unenlightened state, she said, shaking her head but smiling. Brush offered me a hard candy. They cant relate to other peoples sufferingI think thats what it is, she added. Brush is a member of the Henderson County Democratic Party, and she recognized many of the faces in the auditorium as ours. She also belongs to a multi-faith discussion groupBrush is Christianthat meets weekly at a synagogue in Hendersonville and had put together a list of demands for Meadows, which she showed me. Among the demands: Leave transgender people in the military, Fund public education, Dont restrict vetted immigrants, Vote for the country, not Trump, and Remember the poor.

Brush attended one of Meadowss town halls last year, and, though she disagrees with him on most issues, she was impressed. He acted like a gentleman, she said. He even answered her questionshe asked him to explain, for those who were unclear, the difference between an immigrant and a refugeea fairly unusual outcome for dissenting town-hall attendees . Brush said that Meadows had tried to present some facts to people that were totally without facts and only had passionate opinions. He straightened them out in a very professional manner. She added, These were the people who voted for him, mostly, and he risked alienating them.

Sitting in front of Brush, and next to a former head of the Henderson County Republican Party, was Ed Joran, who is retired from the trash business, he said. He wore a Meadows shirt and a pin reading Deplorables for Trump. He said that he agreed with everything that Meadows has said and done in Congress. Hes tough but personable. I think he could be a candidate for President in maybe 2020, definitely 2024, Joran told me. He added, I think hes at 78 r.p.m. He might be able to do more. But look what he did in his second term in Congresshe got rid of Boehner! And this Republican majority cant even pass a health bill!

Just then, the Henderson County sheriff, Charles McDonald, took the stage to introduce Meadows. After reaffirming the importance of the First Amendment, he urged the crowd to allow for a smooth evening and gently spelled out the consequences of doing otherwise: immediate and unceremonious removal. These words elicited groans, and a few dozen people raised signs that had been given out at the door that said Agree on one side and Disagree on the other.

The Disagree side got more use here and throughout the evening. In the course of nearly two hours, Meadows, suited and relaxed, answered twenty-seven pre-submitted questions, most of which were pointed and challenging. Roughly half concerned health care, including the very first: What health- insurance plan do you have now? Meadows explained that, like other members of Congress, he has Obamacare. It costs him and his wife roughly a thousand dollars each month in premiums, with a deductible of seventy-five hundred dollars, he said, seemingly in pursuit of sympathy. His answers were measured and often thoughtful. Still, the liberal-leaning crowdalmost entirely white, riled-up, and of retirement age or thereaboutsfrequently expressed their displeasure with what he had to say.

When Meadows described a health-care proposal that he said Lindsey Graham was working onblock-granting Medicaid and Obamacare subsidiesthe crowd loudly booed. Someone shouted, 1.3 million people will lose coverage! Joran turned to me. People here are behaving just like their kids at Berkeley, he said with disgust.

Meadows said that he prefers free-market solutions to health care. (When a constituent doubted his claim, later on, that every five-per-cent reduction in regulations creates one million jobs, Meadows was uncharacteristically curt: Google the study, he said.) Some have suggested, and lets have a real discussion about, Medicare for all, he said. After some cheers, he continued, The price tag is just unbelievably high. So, to pay for it, he said, It has to be a tax

On the rich! someone yelled.

You can take the top one per cent and tax them fully, and it still wont pay for Medicare, Meadows coolly continued. If you disagree, heres what I would ask you: send me the information.

Another shout: I have!

We had 29,992 e-mails or letters in the first seven months of this year, Meadows said, claiming that each one had been read. So I can tell you, if youve got a way to pay for Medicare for all, that will tackle one of the problems. Send me the facts and figures.

Another voice rang out: Canada!

Meadows said that Congress would continue to try to reform health care but, he conceded, If we dont have a bill in September, I think its probably not going to happen.

Later, someone asked if Meadows would support a law requiring Presidential candidates to release their tax returns. No, he replied. Thats not required by the Constitution. But, he added, Im all for disclosure and oversight. The question clearly referred to President Trumps refusal to release his own returns, but Trump was not mentioned by name. His name only came up once or twice the entire evening.

On one occasion, Meadows was actually able to unite the room in applause. Im one of the few members of Congress that believes in term limits, he said, in response to a constituents question, and Ive actually co-sponsored legislation to suggest that we need to have them. After the cheering subsided, he said, Look, I got you guys to agree on something!

As it happens, I spent a day with Meadows once, about twenty years ago, in Highlands, North Carolina, in the southern Appalachians. The congressmans company, Meadows Mountain Realty, catered to Atlanta couples, like my parents, who were looking for second homes; he eventually sold us on a piece of land outside town with valley views and plenty of terrain for me and my brother to explore. It didnt have an obvious water source, so Meadows recommended a guy who sent a man to search for well sites with a forked stick. It seemed odd, but the man did find water. And, while Meadows didnt do the dowsing himself, Ive always associated him with divining rods.

On Monday, the final question concerned Trumps promised border wall. How much would it cost? Meadows tried to glide past the details, before saying that it would be two billion this year, probably, and twelve to twenty billion to eventually complete the construction. He defended the importance of securing our border, but he did undercut one of the Presidents most memorable promises: Mexico, I dont think, is paying for it, he said.

Brush appreciated this answer. Hes honest, she whispered.

The rest is here:

The Head of the Freedom Caucus Faces His Constituents | The New ... - The New Yorker

At some time or another, idly or with intent, most of us have surely wondered about disappearing. What if I rode this bus until the end of the line and then just kept walking? What if I grabbed my passport and drove to the airport? What if I went out for cigarettes and never came home? The seductive romance that clings to the idea is in part down to the multiplicity of these what-ifs, but German director Jan Speckenbachs intriguing, sincere, if somewhat overreaching sophomore feature Freedom starts with the dice already rolled. Nora (Johanna Wokalek) wanders past Breugels Tower of Babel painting in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, while in Berlin, unaware of her whereabouts, her lawyer husband Philip (a sympathetic Hans-Jochen Wagner), teenage daughter Lena (Rubina Labusch) and younger son Jonas (Georg Arms) go about their lives carefully skirting the Nora-shaped hole in the family.

Speckenbachs most inspired decision here is to split his film more or less equally between Nora and Philip, as she becomes an increasingly vague abstraction of her former self, through changing haircuts, different cities and various assumed identities, while he seems to become more sharply defined in response to the challenges of this new, unsought status quo. The films unusual chronology, which starts off with the deed already done, only to spin back for a final act that takes place in Berlin the night of Noras sudden departure, is also a clever choice one made braver still by the the refusal to offer up any concrete, last-straw-style argument or conflict.

Not quite so well thought-out, however, is the rather underdeveloped undercurrent of racial unease, most notable in the person of the comatose victim of a hate crime whose attacker Philip is reluctantly defending, and a black tennis pro with whom the family has a strained conversation during an impromptu dinner. The film is about the chameleonic nature of identity, and how much of it is socially proscribed, but the issues around racial identity and white liberal guilt are far too complex to be used as mere background texture.

But Freedom is better at complicating accepted gender norms and for the most part, its portrait of the great taboo that is maternal abandonment is refreshingly non-judgmental, helped by Wokaleks invested yet aloof turn as Nora. Its a performance, well-captured in Tilo Haukes crisp daytime and velvety nighttime photography, that allows Noras motivations to remain mysterious possibly even to herself yet also oddly believable. We can understand her, even if we cant explain her.

Nora picks up a casual lover, then hitchhikes onward to Bratislava, befriends sex worker Etela (Andrea Szabov) and her husband Tamas (Ondrej Koval) and gets a job as a maid in a luxury hotel. And while its a hoary clich that no matter where you run away to, youll always end up running into yourself, at its best moments, Freedom suggests that self-reinvention is entirely possible. You just have to know there will be consequences.

But then, freedom is a grandiose word and attaching it to this small, strange story as its title, even in irony, suggests that Speckenbach has ambitions for his film that are never quite fulfilled. Its an impression compounded by unnecessary flourishes, from the overliteral projections of Noras face that occasionally flood the walls of the familys Berlin apartment, to the Ibsen reference of her name (the heroine of A Dolls House is also Nora, and also leaves her family), to the rather pretentious opening text, which references Lethe, the mythic river of forgetfulness.

Most questionably, theres the frankly baffling end coda in which Nora, shocked into the last of her transformations by a domestic event at Etelas that reminds her forcefully of her family, appears in a kind of fantasy landscape, in which Breugels tower again rears up in the distance. The biblical allusion here is confounding, as the story of Babel is one of humanitys pride being punished by God: Does Speckenbach mean to imply, after all this careful characterization, that Nora deserves to be so harshly judged? Its an unfortunate conclusion when one of the films strengths to that point has been that it dares not just to show a woman more or less successfully leaving her family (who will be traumatized, but ultimately fine without her), but that quietly respects, if not condones, her decision to do so.

Reviewed at Locarno Film Festival (competing), Aug. 3, 2017. Running time: 102 MIN. (Original Title: "Freiheit")

(Germany-Slovakia) A Pluto Film Distribution Network, Film Kino Text presentation of a One Two Films production, in co-production with BFilm, Zak Film Productions, ZDF. (International sales: Pluto Film Distribution Network, Berlin.) Producers: Sol Bondy, Jamila Wenske.

Director: Jan Speckenbach. Screenplay: Speckenbach, Andreas Deinert. Camera (color, DCP): Tilo Hauke. Editor: Jan Speckenbach.

Johanna Wokalek, Hans-Jochen Wagner, Inga Birkenfeld, Andrea Szabov, Ondrej Koval. (German, English, Slovak dialogue)

Original post:

Locarno Film Review: 'Freedom' - Variety

Overcoming an early two-run deficit, the Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, hung on to win the opening game of a key series over the Evansville Otters, 7-5, on Tuesday night at Bosse Field.

Taking a 2-0 first-inning lead on four consecutive hits, including RBI-singles by Andre Mercurio and Collins Cuthrell, the Freedom (46-28) let the lead slip away the next two innings. John Schultz hit a solo home run in the second off Steve Hagen (6-4), and in the third, the Otters (40-32) tied the score on a Josh Allen RBI-single and jumped on top, 4-2, as Dane Phillips immediately followed with a two-run double to right-center.

But in the top of the fourth, Florence pestered Evansville starter Hunter Ackerman (7-5) for four runs. After Daniel Fraga and Taylor Oldham drew one-out walks, Andrew Godbold singled to left field, scoring Fraga. Mercurio then beat out an infield single, and a late and errant throw on the play by shortstop Chris Riopedre allowed Oldham to score the tying run. Cuthrell followed with go-ahead RBI-single to right field, plating Godbold and moving Mercurio to third.

The next batter, Jordan Brower hit a groundball to first base, where Luke Lowery stepped on first to erase Brower before throwing wildly past second in an attempt to retire Cuthrell, enabling Mercurio to score for a 6-4 Freedom lead.

Keivan Berges added to Florences advantage by opening the seventh with a towering home run to left field, the first of his professional career, before the Otters cut the Freedom lead back to two runs on a Jeff Gardner RBI-double off Mike Anthony in the bottom half.

Jamal Wilson and Patrick McGrath bridged the gap to closer Pete Perez, who ran into trouble in the ninth, allowing a one-out single and a two-out hit-by-pitch. A wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third, but Perez induced a flyout to deep left field from Schultz to end the game, stranding the tying run.

Cuthrell led the Freedom with three hits and two RBI in the game, while Brower extended his hitting streak to a season-high 11 games by beating out an infield single in the ninth inning. The win extended the Freedoms lead over second-place Evansville to five games.

The series continues Wednesday with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. at Bosse Field. Cody Gray (7-3) will start for the Freedom against a yet-to-be-determined starter for the Otters.

The Florence Freedom are members of the independent Frontier League and play all home games at UC Health Stadium located at 7950 Freedom Way in Florence, KY.The Freedom can be found online at FlorenceFreedom.com, or by phone at 859-594-4487.

Florence Freedom

Originally posted here:

Freedom overcome early deficit to beat Otters in road opener in key Frontier League series - User-generated content (press release) (registration)

The state of Texas recently ranked third in the country in the Economic Freedom of North America 2016 list, done by the Fraser Institute.

The aforementioned study ranked the 50 states based on economic freedom.

For the record, Texas came in behind New Hampshire and Florida. The Lone Star State was tied for third with South Dakota with eight points.

Here a few interesting observations from the study:

n As far as North America goes, Canada had three of the top four finishers in the Summary of Ratings for Economic Freedom at the All-Government Level, 2014, which included entities in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. Speaking of Mexico, it did not make the list until No. 61 Jalisco and Baja California, which tied in this spot.

n As for Texas, the state did well in the three categories of government spending (second overall nationally), taxes (sixth) and labor market freedom (fourth). Texas was first in income tax rate and second in consumption spending, percentage of personal income and income and payroll tax revenue, percentage of personal income.

It is not a coincidence that Mexico would lag behind Canada and the U.S. as far as economic freedom. This is a primary reason why there are an estimated 11.3 million illegal immigrants in America, with half coming from Mexico in 2016, according to the Pew Research Center.

Interestingly, the Fraser Institute also did a study of economic freedom in the Arab world. Nations and countries such as Sudan, Iraq, Libya, Algeria and Syrian Arab Republic were near the bottom as far as economic freedom.

See the connection?

Here is how the Fraser Institute defined economic freedom: The freest economies operate with minimal government interference, relying upon personal choice and markets to answer basic economic questions such as what is to be produced, how it is to be produced, how much is produced, and for whom production is intended. As government imposes restrictions on these choices, there is less economic freedom.

Far too many times, government sticks its nose into the economy for only one reason to make money. While there are regulations and restrictions in America designed to protect the public, there are also regulations and restrictions designed to fatten government coffers. And in countries without the restrictions on government which thankfully exist in America, the goal of government inclusion in the economy is to benefit those in power pure and simple.

Read between the lines of the aforementioned report. The more freedom people have, the more prosperous the country.

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Editorial: Freedom equals prosperity - Amarillo.com

Iranian women stroll through a Tehran Park: women-only green spaces are now on the rise in Iran. Photograph: Behrouz Mehri/EPA

I love to take off my headscarf, says Laleh, 47, a hairdresser from Tehran. Shes sitting with a group of friends around one of the many picnic tables in the Mothers Paradise, a park in the Iranian capital. Shes wearing a fringed mint-green T-shirt through which you can see her bare stomach. We can wear airy clothes here, and thats a freedom I really enjoy.

Behind her, a group of women wearing T-shirts and skinny jeans are dancing to loud pop music. One of them climbs on top of a table and sways her hips to the rhythm of the music. A group of schoolgirls wearing white headscarves stop to watch.

We hate the headscarf, says one of Lalehs friends, a retired nurse. We are so happy to be able to go to a place where we can walk around uncovered, do sports and sunbathe.

We can wear airy clothes here and thats a freedom I really enjoy

In the capital of the Islamic Republic of Iran, women must abide by a strict dress code: a headscarf, long trousers and a coat that covers the hips. Those who flaunt the rules risk the wrath of the morality police.

But here at Mothers Paradise park, the women who have hung their headscarves and coats on the branches of trees nearby arent breaking any rules: this is one of Tehrans women-only parks, a popular new development across the country.

The Mothers Paradise was the first to open in the capital, in 2008. Three subsequently materialised in other neighbourhoods and then spread to other cities. In the popular tourist city of Isfahan, for example, there are now five.

While women-only parks also exist in other Islamic countries including Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia to offer women recreational spots safe from sexual harassment, in Iran they have at least ostensibly also been set up for health reasons.

Reza Arjmand, a sociologist at the University of Lund, Sweden, who recently published a book about the parks, says Vitamin D deficiency is a problem in Iranian cities, where women are forced to cover themselves in public and often live in apartments with small windows that dont admit much sunlight. A study in 2001 for the ministry of health revealed an alarming growth in the number of women developing osteoporosis, which Arjmand says inspired the authorities to start building the parks.

Traditionally it wasnt considered decent for Persian women to walk around in parks, Arjmand says. And after the Islamic revolution of 1979 the government deemed parks for women unnecessary. But when it turned out that the next generation runs medical risks because their mothers are unhealthy, the authorities became interested.

According to Arjmand, the parks also offer the authorities a great chance to take segregation of women and men to another level and for this reason many Iranian women are fiercely critical of them.

These parks are an insult and I will never go there. I refuse to be secluded in a reservation, says Roya, a feminist writer who asked for her name to be changed. If you put women in separate parks, men and women will never learn how to interact in a normal way. This can lead to dangerous situations.

These parks are an insult. I refuse to be secluded in a reservation

Criticism has also come from conservative Iranians. The pro-government sociologist Ali Entezahi has stated that parks where headscarves can be removed will only cause confusion among women, because they might start doubting the necessity of covering themselves up in public at all times.

At the Mothers Paradise, women eat lunch in pavilions, some train on outdoor fitness equipment, others buy soft drinks at a kiosks or are busy with their children. There are girls in miniskirts and shorts, but some women prefer to keep their coats and scarves on. A large metal fence shuts out the outside world. Female guards in blue uniforms with white gloves and a whistle keep a keen eye on everything. It is strictly forbidden to take photographs.

And on closer inspection, the parks are not as woman-friendly as their name suggests. Though there are a few playgrounds for children, there are no changing facilities for babies, and boys above the age of five are not allowed to enter. According to Arjmand, it was initially announced that women would be involved in the development of the spaces, but in the end they were designed solely by men. We have many great female architects and urban planners in Iran, but they havent even been asked for their opinion.

Finding suitable locations for the parks has also been problematic, because of the risk that men could see in from a window or a balcony from a neighbouring building. As a result, many of the green spaces are situated in suburban areas, which make them difficult to reach for many women. Some are also required to close early, to prevent a confrontation between unveiled women and male gardeners who come to water the plants meaning working women are unable to use them.

It is a strange paradox: Iran is building parks for women but doesnt seem to have considered the qualities that would make them uniquely attractive to them.

Nevertheless, Arjmand does see a positive side to the development. No matter how you look at it: a group of women will benefit from these parks. For women from religious families this is often the only possibility to spend time outside without a headscarf.

Its true that these parks isolate women, but it also offers a group of them a freedom they formerly did not possess.

Follow Guardian Cities on Twitter and Facebook to join the discussion, and explore our archive

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'We hate the headscarf': can women find freedom in Tehran's female-only parks? - The Guardian

In response to a Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) government order to block the sharing of images on social media websites, Amnesty Internationals DRC researcher Jean-Mobert Senga said:

The order for internet companies to take technical measures to limit social media use is an appalling attack on everyones right to share and receive information.

Most worryingly, it comes amid a worsening political crisis where the risk of human rights violations and abuses and therefore the importance of social media as a documentation tool - is high.

This move is the latest in a series of attacks on freedom of expression in the DRC, including the closure of several media outlets and the harassment of Congolese and international journalists.

This unacceptable measure must be repealed immediately and people must be allowed full access to the internet and social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Whatsapp.

Background

On 7 August, the president of the DRC telecommunications authority sent a letter to telecoms companies that provide internet services in the country.

It read: To prevent abusive sharing of images through social media between clients of your network, I ask you to take the necessary technical measures to restrict the capacity to transfer images to the bare minimum.

The order came ahead of a two-day nationwide general strike called by the main opposition party, which is demanding the publication of the electoral calendar.

The government order followed a day of violence in several neighborhoods in the capital Kinshasa, as well as in the central cities of Matadi and Boma, images of which were shared widely on social media.

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DRC: Block on social media images an appalling attack on freedom of expression - Amnesty International

Which executive of the Justice Department should we believe? Do we trust Attorney General Jeff Sessions when he testily announces that he is reviewing the rules that restrict when federal investigators can issue subpoenas to the news media? Or do we trust Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein when he blithely says, two days later, that "... we're after the leakers, not the journalists."

For now, we'll withhold our trust. Given the fury of a White House frantic to silence reporting on topics that embarrass the Trump administration, Americans who rely on a free press should be angry that Justice's top two officials are playing bad cop-good cop with crucial First Amendment principles. President Donald Trump fulminates bitterly against every story that puts him in an unwanted light. He has denounced the "fake news media" as "the enemy of the people." Senior White House adviser Stephen Bannon has said, "The media should keep its mouth shut."

Fortunately, the First Amendment says otherwise, and under this administration, the news media have done what they did under previous ones: Journalists have tried to find out as much as they can about what government officials are doing and make sense of it for the public. If Trump hoped to intimidate reporters and their editors, he has failed.

But there are solid grounds for worry about the administration's intentions. In February, Trump said he had told Sessions to focus on leaks an example of the sort of direct involvement in prosecutorial matters that presidents generally avoid. Trump has raged against the embarrassing disclosures and disparaged Sessions as "very weak" in pursuing leakers.

On Friday, Sessions appeared to respond to Trump's pressure by announcing that under his leadership, Justice has tripled the number of leak investigations, compared with the pace of Barack Obama's Justice Department. "I strongly agree with the president and condemn in the strongest terms the staggering number of leaks undermining the ability of our government to protect our country," Sessions said.

More disturbing was Sessions' announcement that he has initiated the review of his department's rules on subpoenaing reporters in such probes. Journalists, he declared, "cannot place lives at risk with impunity." He gave no examples, though, of actual news organizations endangering lives.

Maybe this is all for show Sessions trying to appease his ill-tempered boss by echoing his complaints. Sessions' deputy, Rosenstein, struck his calmer note Sunday when he said the department isn't going after reporters in its leak investigations. "We don't prosecute journalists for doing their jobs," he said. "The attorney general has been very clear that we're after the leakers, not the journalists."

Wrong. If the attorney general has been clear about anything, it's that he may try to muzzle journalists who tell American citizens what their government is up to. The federal government legitimately classifies a lot of material, much of it having to do with law enforcement, defense, foreign policy and other matters that require some secrecy. As Rosenstein said in announcing charges in one case, "People who are trusted with classified information and pledge to protect it must be held accountable when they violate that obligation."

Some federal employees are willing to take that risk when they turn over information that exposes corruption, abuses or maladministration. The news media report on such leaks when journalists see some public interest in doing so. But while leakers may be breaking the law to reveal classified material, journalists are generally within their legal rights to report such revelations. "The government has never charged a reporter for publishing restricted information," The New York Times reports.

Those who detest leaks may hope to deter such reporting, though, by subpoenaing reporters to divulge the identity of confidential sources. Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia have laws granting journalists some protection against being required to testify in such instances, but the federal government doesn't. Barack Obama's attorney general, Eric Holder, alarmed journalists by getting phone records from Associated Press reporters and emails from a Fox News reporter. But after a blowback from Congress and the news media Holder tightened his department's own rules on such subpoenas, essentially making them a last resort.

Sessions has no reason to loosen those restrictions and drag journalists into court. The job of preventing leaks belongs to the federal government, which has plenty of existing tools to do so. If the Trump administration can't keep its own secrets, it shouldn't expect the news media to do that job.

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Press freedom and the war on leaks: Back off, Mr. Sessions - Chicago Tribune

A new festival set to take place across the Lowcountry in early September is expected to draw 20,000 people to symposiums and concerts, according to the organizers.

Nowadays, there seems to be a festival for everything under the sun, said John Linton, founder of the Lowcountry Freedom Reigns Festival. Other than the Fourth of July, we rarely come together as a community to celebrate our freedoms, and its our hope that this festival will give us a reason to unite and celebrate our diversities.

Linton on Tuesday announced the creation of the festival, which will run Sept. 2 to 11, flanked by three honorary chairs: Charleston County Council Chairman Vic Rawl, Berkeley County Supervisor Bill Peagler and former Summerville Mayor Bill Collins, standing in for Dorchester County Council Chairman Jay Byars.

The festival will kick off Sept. 2 with family-day events at Charlestons Marion Square and Summervilles Azalea Park and end with the 9/11 Silent Walk, which is expected to draw 2,500 first responders from across the country to walk across the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge in full gear.

In between, there will be symposiums, concerts and other family events.

Quite frankly, the word freedom is utilized in this country a lot, Rawl said. However, the meaning is very, very seldom explained. Its important that we educate and celebrate the cultures and differences within our region, and I think thats the essence of what this is. Freedom is a nice word, its an important word, it epitomizes a great deal of what this country stands for, but to explain it in terms of cultural relationships, cultural backgrounds and the reality of what freedom means to us in the Lowcountry is important.

Freedom Reigns was started in 2005 as a Sept. 11 remembrance service at Pinewood Preparatory School in Summerville. The next year, the Summerville Orchestra was added to the program, which was held annually until 2015.

Speakers over the years have included Phil Lader; former U.S. ambassador to the Court of St. James; U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham; and Sheila Johnson, co-founder of Black Entertainment Television.

This years program will include more than 100 speakers on topics such as civil rights, the evolving role of women in society and What will America look like when the millennials govern? The symposiums are free.

The concerts include The Spirit of Motown, conducted by Charlton Singleton; a concert by Charleston Symphony violinist Alex Agrest, who came to America in pursuit of freedom; and separate Sept. 11 remembrance concerts by the Summerville Orchestra and the Charleston Symphony. Tickets for the concerts range from $30 to $50.

Proceeds from the festival will benefit local child abuse prevention charities and the Charleston Nine Memorial Park.

For more information or a calendar of events, go tofreedomreignsfestival.org.

Reach Brenda Rindge at 843-937-5713. Follow her on Twitter @brindge.

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New Lowcountry festival will include concerts and symposiums focusing on freedom, unity - Charleston Post Courier

In response to the announcement by Israels communications minister, Ayoub Kara, that the Israeli government has decided to close Al Jazeera s office in Jerusalem and take the channel off air, Amnesty Internationals Deputy Middle East and North Africa Director, Magdalena Mughrabi said:

This is a brazen attack on media freedom in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The move sends a chilling message that the Israeli authorities will not tolerate critical coverage.

By acting to suppress Al Jazeera the Israeli government joins a host of other countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia, which have demanded the channels closure in the wake of the dispute between Gulf countries and Qatar.

All journalists should be free to carry out their work without facing harassment or intimidation. Instead of initiating a repressive clampdown on freedom of expression the Israeli authorities must halt any attempt to silence critical media.

More here:

Israel: Plans to shut down Al Jazeera an attack on media freedom - Amnesty International

The inaugural Lowcountry Freedom Reigns Festival is coming to the tri-county area early next month with a series of patriotic events.

The nonpartisan festival is a multi-day, multi-location event focused on celebrating freedom. From Sept. 2-11, residents and visitors can participate in symposiums, family days and concerts. Events will happen across Berkeley, Dorchester and Charleston counties.

"Whether it's freedom of thought, freedom of press, freedom of speech or freedom of every day life in America, the Lowcountry Freedom Reigns organization wants tri-county residents to have an opportunity to unite and celebrate our diversities and freedoms as Americans," according to a release from the orginazers.

Family-day events with a variety of activities for all ages, including concerts, will run from6 a.m.-9 p.m. Following is the schedule:

Sept. 2: Marion Square in Charleston.

Sept. 2: Azalea Park in Summerville.

Sept. 9: Smythe Park on Daniel Island.

Sept. 10: Riverfront Park in North Charleston.

The festival will conclude on Sept. 11 with the annual 9/11 Silent Walk across the Ravenel Bridge.

Proceeds will benefit tri-county area child abuse prevention charities and the memorial park for the nine firemen who died in the Sofa Super Store fire.

Tickets will be available soon. More festival details and a calendar of events can be found at freedomreignsfestival.org.

A joint press conference will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday in the Charleston County building on Bridge View Drive in North Charleston to announce the events.

Reach Cleve O'Quinn at 843-937-5566. Follow him on Twitter @CleveOQuinn.

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Freedom Reigns Festival set for Sept. 2-11 in Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties - Charleston Post Courier

Flipkart has freshly announced its upcoming The Big Freedom Sale just as Amazon announced its Great Indian Sale. Given that the two retailers are fighting for the top spot in the country, their sales are usually held at the same time. Flipkart will host its sale between the 9th and 11th of August.

As expected, there are multiple discounts and promotions on offer. Xiaomis Redmi Note 4 is being highlighted by the retailer, which will be available at a discounted price during all three days of the sale. We expect attractive offers on other smartphones as well. The retailer will offer additional discounts and cashback for customers of HDFC Credit Cards.

Customers will find amazing discounts on TVs, laptops, cameras, and other accessories during the course of the three-day sale. The company has already revealed some smartphones that will be available during the sale. Among flagships, the Google Pixel XL will be available for just Rs 48,999, down from Rs 67,000.

Flipkart will also offer discounts on the Moto M as well as the Moto G5 Plus, which will cost Rs 12,999 and Rs 14,999 respectively. The Lenovo K5 Note and the K6 can be grabbed for just Rs 9,999 and Rs 8,999.

Similarly, there are a handful of discounts on TVs from Sony, Vu, Onida, and Micromax. The retailer is also offering discounts on the Lenovo Yoga 3 Android tablet, Intel Core i3 laptops, the Canon 1300D DSLR camera and Skullcandy headphones.

Amazon is hosting its Great Indian Sale between 9th and the 12th of August, lasting a day more than Flipkarts sale. Its clear that the competition between the two retailers is going to be very stiff during the course of the sale. It seems like Amazon already has the upper hand, though.

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Flipkart teases The Big Freedom Sale with discounts on mobiles, TVs and more - TechRadar

BBC News

What can Poland teach us about freedom? BBC News It's all very moving and I felt swept along by the drama of that decade as I walked through the exhibition, sensing the tension of the battle for freedom. In fact, Dr Kotan hopes that visitors to the ESC feel a link between that struggle and their own ...

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What can Poland teach us about freedom? - BBC News

Police officers go into peoples homes ... and they have the authority to take peoples freedom. And youre going to return somebody into that role, somebody who has that responsibility and authority, and whos been involved in extreme misconduct? I dont think anybody is comfortable with that. D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham is exactly right in that observation about why police departments need to weed out officers who betray the publics trust. There should be plenty of discomfort about the revelations of a Post investigation chronicling how police chiefs are often thwarted when it comes to policing their own ranks.

Examination of some of the nations largest police departments found that hundreds of officers who had been fired for misconduct ranging from cheating on overtime to unjustified shootings and including convictions for criminal offenses were reinstated following appeals required by union contracts. Of 1,881 officers terminated since 2006, more than 450 officers were returned to duty, typically by outside arbitrators who did not dispute the underlying offense but found missteps in the administrative process or concluded that termination was too extreme a punishment.

Among the disturbing cases detailed by The Posts Kimbriell Kelly, Wesley Lowery and Steven Rich: a D.C. police officer convicted of sexually abusing a young woman in his patrol car ordered returned to the force; a Philadelphia officer reinstated despite a video of him striking a woman in the face; a San Antonio police officer regaining his job even though he had been caught on a dashboard camera challenging a handcuffed suspect to fight him for the chance to be released.

No question, there is a need for clear processes to guard against mistakes; some of the responsibility for having to reinstate undesirable officers falls on police agencies that make careless errors during disciplinary proceedings. But The Posts findings suggest a tilt in the system that makes it difficult to hold officers accountable for bad acts. That the executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police actually had the nerve to complain about the higher standards that police are held to (You very seldom see any phone-cam indictments of trash collectors or utility workers) exemplifies one obstacle to the drive for accountability.

It is, as the Post investigation pointed out, rare for departments to fire officers. Most officers, as Montgomery County Police Chief J. Thomas Manger recently wrote to this page, are courageous and professional. ... They risk their lives every day to keep the public safe. That they are forced to work alongside police who have been deemed unfit for duty does them and the public they protect grave disservice.

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Police chiefs need the freedom to weed out bad cops - Washington Post

On a rainy night in Northern Kentucky, the Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, used a tremendous start from Braulio Torres-Perezto avoid a sweep with a 4-1 win over the Southern Illinois Miners on Sunday at UC Health Stadium.

For the third night in a row, Southern Illinois (30-42) plated a first-inning run, as Craig Massoni drove in Craig Massey with a single off Torres-Perez (3-1). But the left-hander would dance out of trouble through the next seven innings, stranding a total of five runners the rest of the way. Torres-Perez would finish with five strikeouts and allowed just seven scattered hits over eight innings.

Florence (45-28) would knot the score in the bottom of the third, thanks to a Taylor Oldham infield single that scored Austin Wobrock.

The 1-1 tie lasted until the bottom of the sixth inning, when Garrett Vail hit a line-drive, two-run shot to left field off Miners reliever Kyle Tinius (2-3) putting Florence in front, 3-1. Jordan Browers third double of the night would plate another run in the seventh pushing the Freedom ahead by the eventual final score, 4-1. The double also extended Browers hitting streak to ten games, matching his longest of the season.

Pete Perez took over in the ninth inning and, with one out, hit pinch-hitter London Lindley with a pitch before retiring the next two batters to record the save and help the Freedom avoid the series sweep.

After a day off Monday, the Freedom will travel to Evansville, Indiana to open a key three-game series against the Evansville Otters on Tuesday with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. at Bosse Field. Steve Hagen (5-4) will start for the Freedom against a yet-to-be-determined starter for Evansville.

The Florence Freedom are members of the independent Frontier League and play all home games at UC Health Stadium located at 7950 Freedom Way in Florence, KY.The Freedom can be found online at FlorenceFreedom.com, or by phone at 859-594-4487.

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Strong outing from Torres-Perez helps Freedom avoid sweep on rainy night at UC Health Stadium - User-generated content (press release) (registration)

Naval the Jewel is a universal story about women seeking their freedom, their rights, actor Reem Kadem has said.

The actor along with the cast and crew of the film was taking part at a meet-the-press here on Saturday.

Ms. Kadem, who is a Hollywood actor with roots in Iraq, said what happened to Naval happened to women around the world.

Actor Adil Hussain was all praise for director Renjilal Damodaran, saying the latter knew exactly what he wanted from the actors.

It was an important story to be told in todays India, he said.

Mr. Damodaran said the film, set in Iran, was about a 23-year-old woman Naval, an Iranian with a Malayali mother. Naval, played by Reem, is the product of a Malabari wedding her elderly father from Iran had married her mother Asma Beevi (played by Swetha Menon) when she was only 13.

In Iran, she gives birth to a girl. The father dies four years later.

In the film, Naval is shown being denied justice. Naval goes to jail in connection with a murder, and the court sentences her to be hanged to death. Naval, however, does not protest against the verdict.

Anu Sithara plays a young Swetha Menon. The screenplay is by V.K. Ajithkumar and Mr. Damodaran. The producer is Cyriac Mathew Alancheril. Lyrics are by Rafeek Ahmed and 15-year-old Kavyamayee, and music by M. Jayachandran.

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Every woman's quest for rights, freedom - The Hindu

Virgin Media Irelands Elvis preaches the merits of flexible contracts in a Las Vegas wedding chapel in an image from its new advertising campaign. Photograph: David Sexton

Virgin Media Ireland will woo students and other contract-averse customers with a new slimline television service called Freedom TV that requires only 30 days notice to cancel.

The move by the Liberty Global-owned company is the latest sign that pay-TV companies in Ireland are being forced to rethink their approach to recruiting younger customers.

Freedom TV, which costs 20 a month, includes a basic pack of 20 channels and mobile app Virgin TV Anywhere.

From Tuesday it will be marketed with a creatively risky television advertisement set in a Las Vegas wedding chapel.

This is our way of understanding this part of the market. Apps and streaming are at the heart of it, said Virgin Media Irelands vice-president of commercial Paul Farrell.

Streaming volumes on Virgin TV Anywhere have been rising at a rate of 8 per cent a month this year, Mr Farrell said, but some 95 per cent of app usage relates to people streaming on devices within the home, rather than out and about.

This suggests that a younger generation of viewers does not necessarily need a traditional television screen to watch content. Nor are they only watching linear television: the spot held by Netflix, which is integrated into Virgins electronic programme guide, is one of our top five channels, Mr Farrell said.

Virgins regular broadband and television services are subject to an initial 12-month contract.

Its move follows the April arrival on the Irish market of Skys Now TV, a no strings over-the-top streaming service that charges fees for monthly passes to entertainment, movies and sport.

Sky, which is 39 per cent owned by Rupert Murdochs News Corp and the subject of a bid for full ownership, said its research had found that a contract can be a barrier for people.

Younger people who dont own a television set are one of the key targets for Now TV.

In the US market, cord-cutting has been a marked feature for several years, with consumers dropping cable services and often replacing them with a combination of streaming devices such as the Roku player and cheaper subscription services such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime.

Freedom TV also follows the launch last year of Virgins Freedom Broadband, another 30-day notice product.

This was really aimed at students, Mr Farrell said, with users tending to cut their service at the end of term when they went home to their parents households or travelled abroad for the summer.

At the moment, the 20-channel pack is the only one available under the Freedom TV model, but Virgin hasnt ruled out extending its flexibility to its bigger channel packs.

Subscribers may have to wait some time before they regain access to Eir Sport through the Virgin platform, however. The service has not been available to Virgin customers since last summer when the two companies fell out over the wholesale price Eir sought to charge Virgin.

Glen Killane, the managing director of Eir Sport and Eir TV, recently told The Irish Times he would love to re-engage in conversation with Virgin but that it has to be fair deal.

But Virgin said it was unwilling to ask its customers to subsidise an Eir business model in which Eir gives Eir Sport free to its broadband users.

Were more than happy to meet Glen at any stage, but the reality is were never going to subsidise Eirs business, Mr Farrell said.

Virgin Media Ireland, previously known as UPC Ireland, saw its television customer base drop below 300,000 in the first quarter of 2017, continuing a pattern of decline in recent years.

Liberty Global publishes its second-quarter earnings after the close of US markets on Monday.

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Virgin Media Ireland targets students with Freedom TV - Irish Times

Craig Massey had three hits and four RBIs and Romeo Cortina and Nolan Earley each knocked in a pair of runs as the Southern Illinois Miners overcame an early 5-1 hole to out-slug the Freedom, 11-8, on Saturday in Florence, Kentucky.

Earley hit a sacrifice fly to score Craig Massey in the top of the first to put the Miners up, 1-0, but Florence countered with four runs in the bottom of the frame, and another unearned run in the second to up their lead to 5-1.

Earley homered in the third, and Massey and Cortina drove home runs in the fourth to cut the deficit to 5-4, but Florence tacked on two more in that inning and another in the bottom of the sixth to lead 7-4.

A bases-loaded walk in the seventh by the Miners' Anthony Critelli, followed by a single by Ryan Sluder set up Massey's bases-clearing double, giving Southern Illinois a lead they would not relinquish. Cortina added a sac fly to score Massey.

Brett Wiley added an insurance run for the Miners with a solo homer in the eighth inning. John Werner struck out the side in the ninth for the save.

The series is set to conclude with a 5:05 first pitch p.m. on Sunday.

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Miners out-slug Freedom for 11-8 victory - The Southern

Alagi Yorro Jallow

(JollofNews) I am an advocate of free speech. I always have been, and I probably always will be. I dont want to keep anyone, through laws or violence, from having ideas and giving voice to them (if those ideas dont directly endanger others). If I turn my back on that, I am no better than those extremists who would kill someone over an offensive cartoon.

That said, having your book deal pulled or having your appearance cancelled is not a violation of your freedom of speech. That constitutional concept gives you the right to your opinions even atrocious ones but it doesnt guarantee you a platform from which to spread them. Free speech is not the enemy sir.

Freedom of speech and the open marketplace of ideas are not a guarantee that truth, justice or morality will prevail. The most that can be said is that freedom of expression is less bad than its alternatives such as governmental censorship, official truth squads or shutting down the marketplace of ideas.

Our constitution gives freedom of speech but it doesnt guarantee freedom after speech. Let the truth prevail. Free speech is not the enemy, I repeat and if you say something offensive and degrading and counter-productive to society, you are likely to be held accountable for your speech. And what came to mind is the similar concept of innocent until proven guilty. There is the concept of being found legally guilty in a court of law, and being guilty as hell in peoples judgement.

However, this is only a specific protection of freedom of speech, not a definition of the concept. Freedom of speech is more than an amendment. Its a principle, that those with power over us should not use that power to restrict what we can say and, similarly, if we have power over others, our power should not be used to restrict what they can say.

In brief, state prosecutors, the police, most times, are just overzealous. These laws, which we call insult laws have now fallen into disuse worldwide. And so, no need to give your country a bad name on such straight-forward issues. If someone has been defamed, best available option is to sue in a civil case! You cannot imprison thoughts. Thoughts are free!

The government is not the only thing with power over us. If you can inflict consequences, you have power. If you can pressure someones employer into firing them, you have power over them.

This is not about legality. It is about ethics and morality. It is about what should not be done, not what must not be done.

Those who point out that these internet activists are merely exercising their own freedom of speech are right but that does not mean what they are doing is not despicable. Someone who uses abusive epithets is exercising their freedom of speech but their behavior is not morally defensible.

Freedom of speech is important in a government which prides itself on following rules. Many governments explicitly put more power in the rules than in the people enforcing the rules. The logic is simple: people may not be trusted, but rules are rules.

If a government is unable to punish you for your speech because they officially have free speech, then they are forced to find other reasons/ways to punish you. This process is much harder than simply throwing you in jail for your speech directly.

In a dictatorship, freedom of speech refers to the government being able to shut you down, arrest you, jail you, or punish you in some way due to your speech. It does not apply to citizens who protest you, disagree with you, or in any way refuse to hear you. It does not guarantee you a pulpit. It does not guarantee you a venue or an outlet. It does not mean people must respect your desire to be heard.

You do not now nor have you ever had absolute free speech without protest nor without consequences.

Thank you, and please have a wonderful day.

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New York Letter With Alagi Yorro Jallow: Freedom Of Speech Does Not Mean Freedom From Consequences - Jollofnews

(Editor's note: This is the last in a series on Norman Rockwells paintings known as the "Four Freedoms)

The fourth and final freedom in this series on Norman Rockwells well-loved paintings is Freedom from Fear.

Once again, considering the time in which Rockwells paintings were first published, as we fought a World War against the terror of Nazi Germany, the importance of this freedom was apparent.

The Nazis and their partner in crime, the imperial forces of Japan, had initiated a campaign against humanity that even today shocks the conscience. In Europe, the Nazis and their collaborators sought to systematically annihilate an entire race and creed through the Holocaust. Meanwhile in the Pacific, the Japanese engaged in acts of torture and oppression, from the Bataan Death March to their systematic attempted destruction of whole cities.

Though by early 1943 when Rockwells paintings were widely published, the tide was turning against these forces of evil, the fear of their threat was very much alive in the minds of most Americans.

Franklin Roosevelts speech inspiring Rockwells Four Freedom paintings, rang loud and clear in identifying the importance of a Freedom from Fear.

Some would today reasonably argue that fear can be a good thing. Parents teach their children to be fearful of strangers who may be up to no good. Fear of inherently dangerous activities, like jumping off a bridge or swimming in treacherous waters, likewise makes sense.

But fear also can paralyze us from needed action or result in dangerous overreaction, as when we feel trapped or threatened and thus lash out at whatever is nearest to us.

Fear was no stranger to FDR. In 1921 at age 39, he contracted polio which left him largely paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of his life. Crippled, as some people viewed him, and sidelined from a promising political career, Roosevelt could have given in to the fear of disappointment or rejection. Instead, he resolutely fought back against his illness and, in overcoming his fear, helped the nation to overcome its own fears by leading us out of the Great Depression and towards winning World War II.

It is no coincidence that in FDRs first inaugural address, perhaps the best remembered phrase is, We have nothing to fear, but fear itself.

Today, fear again abounds. Of terrorism from radical so-called Islamic or Christian groups. Of rapid change that threatens values weve long known and embraced. Of new ideas that seem strange, or old ideas that somehow seem hostile now.

But Roosevelt and Rockwell remind us that, as in their times, we have nothing to fear but fear itself. Fighting fear with strength and understanding attacks the very root of fear and replaces it with confidence and hope. It likewise conquers the despair that accompanies fear with a generous and resurgent optimism that represents the best of what unites us as Americans.

The Four Freedoms Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear: these represent the greatest aspiration of our American experience. And they provide a living challenge for our own time to live up to the legacy our forebears left us, in leaving a better land and world behind for those who follow.

Mark W. Schwiebert, an attorney, served as mayor of Rock Island for 20 years.

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Freedom from Fear essential in US today - Quad-Cities Online

Tucker Carlson on Friday night tore into civil rights attorney Brian Claypool, calling him a fascist for those who blow the whistle on private conversations that they find to be offensive.

Referring to actress Lena Dunhams Twitter rant against American Airlines which saw Dunham accuse two of the airlines staff members of speaking ill of transgender people during a private conversation that she happened to overhear Carlson angrily went off on Claypool, who defended Dunhams right to air her grievances against the airline in such a public way.

Dunham claimed that she overheard two flight attendants engaging in transphobic conversation, and called out the airline on social media.

After looking into the matter, however, American Airlines claimed that they were unable to substantiate the actresss claims.

Carlson called those who get employees into trouble for these reasons fascists.

Claypool, however, argued that American Airlines should discipline their employees over transphobia, as their reported hate speech was discriminating against transgendered people.

This set off Carlson, and he called Claypool a fascist for wanting to prohibit the expression of differing viewpoints in private conversations.

These are two people talking to each other in private, Tucker said. This is an opinion, and I grew up in a country where you can have opinions that maybe you didnt agree with but I can still not be punished for that.

Carlson hit back at Claypool, and asserted that the civil rights attorney had probably also made points in private conversations that he wouldnt want to be made public knowledge.

Claypool acknowledged that he had, but had an explanation.

Yes I have, Claypool said. But I did it in my home.

Undeterred, Carlson intimated that there are no lines for private conversations, whether held in a public place or behind closed doors.

They were walking and talking to each other, Carlson said, referring to the airline staff members targeted by Dunham. Youre saying Youre not allowed to have your own views or were going to hurt you. And what Im saying is I will fight you on that.

Carlson added, When you tell me Im not allowed to think certain things thats too far. This is America, man!

See the heated exchange in the video below.

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Tucker Carlson tears into civil rights attorney over freedom in private conversations: 'Fascist!' - TheBlaze.com