Daily Archives: July 4, 2013

Iran media ban, War on Free Speech
Several international satellite providers, including Eutelsat and Intelsat, have stopped the broadcast of a number of Iranian channels. On June 19, Intelsat ...

By: PressTVGlobalNews

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Iran media ban, War on Free Speech - Video

Iran media ban, War on Free Speech (MUST SEE, VERY DANGEROUS)
Several international satellite providers, including Eutelsat and Intelsat, have stopped the broadcast of a number of Iranian channels. On June 19, Intelsat ...

By: dauntless1100

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Iran media ban, War on Free Speech (MUST SEE, VERY DANGEROUS) - Video

Is Whistle-blowing a Form of Free Speech?
Michael Ratner: Recognized by countries all over the world, whistle-blowing is a form of political opinion that is protected by the Refugee Convention.

By: TheRealNews

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Is Whistle-blowing a Form of Free Speech? - Video

#39;US Treasury and NSA involved in bans of free speech against Iran #39;
Press TV has conducted an interview with Scott Rickard, former American intelligence linguist from Florida about the issue of ITSO, which has proposed a meet...

By: PressTVGlobalNews

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'US Treasury and NSA involved in bans of free speech against Iran' - Video

Feature Article of Wednesday, 3 July 2013

Columnist: Bediako, Alexander

Freedom of speech is said to be political freedom or right to express ones thought or opinion. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Right and International Human Right Law recognise this right. The Article also said that the exercise of these rights carries "special duties and responsibilities" and may "therefore be subject to certain restrictions" when necessary. And in many countries across the world this freedom of speech is not absolute, and I believe Ghana is not exception but that has not been the case for some time now. Each day persons who are expected to know better, hide under the umbrella of free speech and political communication and do all manner of harms to the wellbeing of the state. Years now it appears some happy-go-lucky individuals have taken the leniency of our courts for granted creating a situation where many are now of the view that law and order have fallen below the ladder, but the situation in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, 2 July 2013 was clear: change course and help in building a responsible society for all or be prepare to face the full rigour of the law of the land! Mr. Ken Kuranchie of the Searchlight Newspaper and Stephen Atubiga have both been jailed for 10 days and 3 days respectively for criminal contempt of the court. All who mean well for Ghana, irrespective of the political colour you wear, should applaud the Supreme Court for its decision on this day as the impunity, arrogance and the propaganda are becoming unbearable for us as a country. Individuals who think they are bigger than the state must be dealt with appropriately to protect the sanctity and security of the state as the consequences of their utterances would be too much a price to pay. Ghana is not a lawless society and those who seek to make as such must be dealt with according to the laws of the land. Free speech, political communication and propaganda, if you like, must all come with responsibility at all times. Responsible citizenship is a prerequisite for national cohesion and development and we must all measure ourselves to it. Long live Ghana and long live independent minded citizenry! By Alexander Bediako. London

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Free speech, cheap or can be expensive?

How much does free speech cost?

The University at Buffalo charged a pro-life student group nearly $650 in unconstitutional fees to exercise its freedom of speech during an event in April, a lawsuit alleges.

UB Students for Life, an official student organization at the school since 2012, held a pro-life abortion debate on April 18 and were instructed by school officials to hire university police to attend the event since it involved controversial expression. School officials later charged the group $649.63, or $150 more than the groups entire annual Student Association funding even though one of the officers sat outside and read the newspaper.

A public university is commonly known as the marketplace of ideas, according to the 33-page lawsuit, which was filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York. That marketplace depends on free and vigorous debate between students debate that is silenced when university policies regulate speech based on content and viewpoint and vest administrators with unbridled discretion to impose fees for the exercise of speech.

- David Hacker, senior legal counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom

More than 200 people attended the debate and no major disruptions were reported. At the same time, however, two other student groups the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and UB Freethinkers hosted a debate between a Christian and an atheist and were not levied security fees by university officials.

David Hacker, senior legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, which is representing the group and two of its members, said public universities should encourage rather than stifle the free exchange of ideas.

University officials cannot arbitrarily decide to deem an event controversial and then weigh down students with burdensome fees to engage in constitutionally protected free speech, Hacker said in a statement.

Hacker claims that the universitys security fee policy and practice violates the First Amendment because it grants school officials unbridled discretion to discriminate again speech based on content or viewpoint.

These grants of unbridled discretion to UB officials violate the First Amendment because they create a system in which speech is reviewed without any standards, thus giving students no way to prove that a denial, restriction, or relocation of their speech was based on unconstitutional considerations, the lawsuit continues. Because Defendants have failed to establish narrow, objective, and definite standards governing the imposition of security fees on student organization events, there is a substantial risk that UB officials will engage in content and viewpoint discrimination when addressing those applications.

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FREE SPEECH SUIT School Sued for Charging Pro-Life Group for Security