Daily Archives: December 19, 2020

We Americans treasure our freedom of speech. We defend it staunchly. As the old saying goes, we may not agree with what some people say, but we defend their right to say it.

Unless it is intended to incite violence to harm people otherwise. There, we draw the line.

In August 2019, a federal judge in Missoula, Montana, ruled that the publisher of a neo-Nazi website had stepped across that line. Andrew Anglin, founder and operator of The Daily Stormer website, had orchestrated a campaign intended to harass a Jewish family, Judge Dana Christensen decided in a lawsuit filed by a member of the family, Tanya Gersh, of Whitefish, Montana.

Anglin was ordered to pay a $14 million judgment to end the lawsuit.

Similar judgments have been made in other lawsuits against Anglin, in Ohio and Washington.

Now, Gershs lawyers are back in court, seeking new action against Anglin because he has not paid any of the $14 million judgment. In fact, the attorneys say, Anglin cannot be located. It seems he has gone underground in an attempt to dodge his financial obligations.

It may be that Anglin has left the country.

Anglin and others enamored of Nazism are entitled to their despicable beliefs. They are not entitled to harm others in any way, however.

To this point, it appears Anglin has not run afoul of criminal law. His court trouble has been in civil cases but attempting to dodge judges orders in such situations can be a criminal offense.

He should be hunted down and held accountable for any harm the courts find he has caused.

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Americans treasure freedom of speech but not to harm others - Minot Daily News

Last resort

And the criminal law as it applies to hate speech should always be the measure of last resort, a public consultation document on the matter has concluded.

A Department of Justice statement has said that all legislative proposals are developed and put forward bearing in mind the provisions of the Constitution and human rights obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003.

However, comments sections in various media outlets were deemed to be problematic, a consultation document on new legislation says.

The minister was launching the findings of a public consultation which received 3,526 responses to a five-question online survey, though 8% of responses were repeated, giving a true participation rate of 3,241.

The majority of responses were from Ireland (79%) with a minority from the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada (16% in total).

There were 182 detailed written submissions with 77 submissions from civil society groups, professional or academic organisations or NGOs. The remainder were from individuals.

Community and civil society groups comprised 28% of the written responses.

The minister has announced her intention to bring forward new legislation to combat incitement to hatred and hate crime in Ireland in 2021.

The minister said that many of those who participated in the consultation had been victims themselves, while others were concerned about the very real need to respect the human rights of everyone involved, including the right to freedom of speech, so that the new legislation was proportionate, as well as effective in achieving its aims.

The consultation concludes that in the long term, prevention of such hate crime incidents is much more desirable for all concerned.

Success in this regard will depend almost entirely on non-criminal, education and awareness-based measures.

Measures ranging from education and awareness to codes of conduct and professional standards are essential to any comprehensive approach to tackling hate speech and hate crime, including by effective prevention, the document says.

Launching the findings of the consultation, Minister McEntee said that victims of hate crime are targeted because of something innate such as race, sexuality or disability.

The fear that arises from hate crime can lead to a more divided society, she said.

This consultation is a really useful contribution toward the development of new criminal legislation to deal with hate crime and incitement to hatred.

I intend to bring the Heads of a Bill to Cabinet by Easter 2021, the minister said.

The new law will cover both incitement to hatred and hate crime.

The new hate crime offences will be aggravated versions of existing crimes, for example offences against the person, criminal damage or public order offences, where they are carried out because of prejudice against a protected characteristic.

Creating these new offences will mean that a crime can be investigated as a potential hate crime by garda, and evidence of the hate element can be presented in court.

Where the jury finds that the crime was a hate crime based on the evidence, and convicts the person of a hate crime, the enhanced penalty for the new offence will available to the judge at sentencing.

Where the jury finds that the hate element is not proven, they will still be able to convict the person of the ordinary form of the offence.

Minister McEntee said: As Minister for Justice, I am determined to tackle these crimes and to ensure that those who seek to divide our communities and spread hatred and fear, including online, are dealt with effectively by our criminal justice system. I want perpetrators to know that their crimes will be reported, investigated and prosecuted.

There is no place for hate crime in our society. The legislation will deal with situation where perpetrators seek to incite other people to hatred from behind the protection of a screen or an anonymous account. This is an important factor in order for this legislation to be as effective as possible in tackling all forms of hate speech.

Regarding the fundamental constitutional right of freedom of expression, I want to assure people that this legislation will be proportionate, specific, and clear, with offences capable of being proven beyond reasonable doubt. There will be no confusion as to what constitutes criminal hate speech.

It is my hope we will develop a strong and effective legislative infrastructure to help tackle this serious form of crime which will also be evidence-based, while respecting important rights to freedom of expression and association.

The consultation document says that Irelands historic approach to hate crimehas been defined by a sense of this country as monocultural, where no minority cultures exist.

It is widely held that this traditional view cannot hold in the Ireland of today, whose society is so changed, so colourful and so diverse in comparison with the country of 50f years ago.

The document disputes that Ireland was ever monocultural and says the Travelling community has experienced individual and systemic prejudice.

One of the documents conclusions is that the definition of ethnicity in any new legislation should explicitly include membership of the Travelling community on the same footing as other ethnicities.

Consultation participants cited their experiences of ill-treatment on grounds of physical and mental disability, mental illness, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status, including postcode prejudice.

Free speech should be protected for reasons of legitimate political commentary, artistic expression, and legitimate scientific discussion, and true or factual statements as well as jokes, insults and cartoons, the document says.

However, actions glorifying or encouraging violence, or unlawful discrimination, should be criminal, some participants believe.

Public figures and those with a wide platform for their views must be held to a higher standard, participants said.

The document says that hate crime involves a signalling element that can spread fear, isolation and anger.

Therefore, it can be useful to have specific forms of offences which recognise this harm and provide enhanced penalties.

Judges may consider a hate motive an aggravating factor and may reflect this in a sentence, but this is not reflected in the formal records of the conviction, the document says

It adds that the structure of the 1989 Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Actis not useful in practical terms for prosecution of incitement to hatred.

The document adds that criminal legislation will not solve the problem of hate speech and many milder forms do not reach the threshold for criminal prosecution.

Measures ranging from education and awareness to codes of conduct and behaviour are essential to any comprehensive approach to tackling hate speech and hate crime, including by effective prevention, it says, accepting that some countries restrict offences to characteristics such as race and religion.

All in all, there are many approaches to tackling hate crime internationally, reflecting the complex nature of these incidents and the requirement to protect people from criminal sanction where their behaviour does not warrant the application of the coercive powers of the State, it says.

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Right to free speech will be respected in any hate crime law - Law Society of Ireland Gazette

Ronnie Kasrils writes that he empathises with those in the Labour Party today, who are being victimised by a double agenda: for their socialism and defending Palestinian rights.

The assault on free speech within Britain's Labour Party speaks like a ghost from my past.

I was banned from public speaking in apartheid South Africa almost 60 years ago.

My crime, aged 23, was advocating votes for all. The apartheid government accused those like me of undermining the safety of whites.When all avenues of peaceful change were blocked, we had no option but to turn to armed struggle. We argued that there was no equivalence between the state violence of the oppressor and the resistance of the oppressed.

International solidarity helped bring about the demise of the apartheid system. We empathise with those in the Labour Party today, who are being victimised by a double agenda: for their socialism and defending Palestinian rights. It is astonishing and deplorable that a witch hunt is underway within those ranks - as elsewhere.

I was invited to address a BDS event in Vienna over a year ago which the city council quickly banned.

A couple of months ago I was involved in a planned event with Palestinian freedom fighter Leila Khaled, at San Francisco State University, which was blocked. Then attempts to have our discussion broadcast via Zoom, Facebook and You Tube was obstructed. The voice opponents of free speech were desperate to gag was Leila Khaled's. The Palestinian narrative being the primary target.

Those who attack human rights, whether in advanced capitalist countries or feudal tyrannies, simultaneously attack Palestinian rights.

They follow violent precedents, and consequences.

Emergence of a terrorist state

Repressing freedom of speech in South Africa, paved the way forthe emergence of aterroriststate.

Ruthless suppression was instrumentalised in Europe's colonies; and by US imperialism on the back of slavery and genocide; and in the colonisation and dismantling of Palestine.

The latter context falls within the project to counter the national liberation upsurge of the 20th Century.

The apartheid regime's use of anti-communism as a blanket device to smash opposition; along with Joe McCarthy's witch hunting; is mirrored in manipulating "anti-Semitism" as a shield toprotectIsrael. It is an umbrella formula to delegitimise the Palestinian causeand BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) campaign.

Upholding Palestinian rights has been reflected in United Nations resolutions; and statements by Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Tutu, Angela Davis,ArundhatiRoy, Noam Chomsky; and back in time, Jewish scholars such as Eric Fromm and Martin Buber.

Apartheid alleged the South African struggle was about sweeping whites into the sea and handing the country to Russia. This echoestheclaim that giving in on human and national rights of the dispossessed Palestinians means the extinction of the Jewish people.

READ |Ronnie Kasrils: Why we are standing with suspended Labour party member Jeremy Corbyn

Those linking freedom of expression and Palestinian solidarity articulate the same goals as we did in South Africa's struggle - the objective is about changing a system, not destroying a people.

Criticising Zionism, an exclusivist ethnic-based political doctrine, is not anti-Semitic. It is the valid criticism of a reactionary political theory.

Zionism, not the Judaic religion; Israel, not the Jewish people, is the focus of criticism.

The anti-communism of apartheid South Africa, and charges of anti-Semitism against Israel's critics, are terms of Machiavellian elasticity stretched by charlatans to stifle opposition. This is the new taboo. The untouchable holy cow shamelessly peddled in Western countries that preach freedom of expression.

False allegations of anti-Semitism

Those who fall prey, who are deceived by the confusion sown, should note the lesson of the boy who cried wolf. When the real monster of anti-Semitism strikes, the most steadfast of opponents, have been on the left of the political spectrum.

False allegations of anti-Semitism weaken the fight against the real demon.This is exactly the pitfall of theInternational Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) treatise conflating criticism of Israel with hate speech. It is biased and fatallyflawed. Adubious, non-internationally represented Eurocentric document, devised by a hand-picked cabal of sophists seeking to be referee and player at the same time. With a veiled attempt at "objectivity" Israel is given umbrella-like cover, impunity for its crimes and a cudgel to beat its opponents.

In 1948 when Menahem Begin visited New York to raise funds for his party - later to become Sharon and Netanyahu's ruling Likud - Albert Einstein and Hannah Arendt labelled him a "fascist". After cold-blooded massacres of Palestinians that year, an Israeli cabinet minister, Aharon Cizling, declared "now we too have behaved like Nazis and my whole being is shaken".

In terms of the IHRA's guidelines, they would be labelled anti-Semitic.JeremyCorbyn's "crime" that accusations of anti-Semitism within the Labour Party have been exaggerated, are minuscule by comparison.

Manufacturing mountains out of mole hills, characterises the sophistry of medieval inquisitors, hitching Labour to the Blair-ite anti-socialist bandwagon. Unopposed, this witch hunt will escalate, attacking popular protest wherever humanity opposes injustice.

Denialism

We say to the deceit of Labour Party leaders, Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner, who misappropriate a sacred trade union principle: Yes! "An injury to one is an injury to all" - but in your denialism you ignore the millions of Palestinians facing the bullets and bombs of Israeli aggression.

READ |Opinion: Africa's solidarity a vital pillar in fight for Palestinian statehood

The recent statement of prominent Palestinian and Arab figures with regard to the IHRA's false strictures eloquently attests to how the issue of anti-Semitism should be formulated.

They declare:

"Anti-Semitism must be debunked and combated. Regardless of pretence, no expression of hatred for Jews as Jews should be tolerated anywhere in the world."

The left and human rights movement, including Black Lives Matter and formations such as the African National Congress of South Africa, should join those Palestinian and Arab voices in formulating genuinely international guidelines regarding defence of free speech; and in combatting the scourge of anti-Semitism and all forms of racism.

-Ronnie Kasrils, is a former ANC freedom fighter, and was Intelligence Minister in South Africa. This article is based on an address to a London online Free Speech Rally, 12th December, 2020.

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Ronnie Kasrils | Against the witch hunt and in defence of free speech - News24

NewsOpinionColumnistsWhen the Scottish Parliament was first established, it was intended that the committees, constituted on a cross-party basis reflective of the political balance at Holyrood, would perform an important scrutiny role, effectively acting as a second chamber.

Tuesday, 15th December 2020, 4:45 pm

In practice, this has not been how things have worked out. Expectations that MSPs on committees would leave their party-political allegiances at the door and act independently have been dashed, with the consequence that too often the ability to hold ministers to account has been frustrated. This was particularly the case during the period of SNP majority government between 2011 and 2016.

Since the SNP lost their overall majority, we have seen committees become more assertive, and prepared to challenge the government where appropriate.

We see that on a weekly basis in the Salmond Inquiry Committee, on which I presently sit, and we saw it just last week in a report from the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee slamming the catastrophic handling by the Scottish government of ferry procurement.

Unintended consequences

One of the best examples of a committee doing its work effectively also came last week, with the publication by the Justice Committee of its stage one report on the SNPs Hate Crime Bill. Under the stewardship of my Conservative colleague Adam Tomkins MSP, the committee has done an excellent, thorough job of analysing the Bill, identifying the key areas of controversy, and suggesting improvements.

As readers of The Scotsman will be well aware, this is a Bill that provokes strong opinions. Whilst everyone should deplore hate speech, there have been real concerns expressed that the legislation as drafted goes too far in seeking to close down public debate and restrict free speech.

An alliance of lawyers, writers, comedians, human rights advocates, and religious groups have come together to oppose the Bill, and express serious concerns about its impact.

In its report, the Justice Committee recognises the broader context for the Bill, and the debate around freedom of speech, agreeing the right to freedom of speech includes the right to offend, shock or disturb.

It goes on to say: The committee understands that this Bill is not intended to prohibit speech which others may find offensive, and neither is it intended to lead to any self-censorship. The committee is anxious to ensure, however, that these are not unintended consequences of the Bill.

Would Bible be deemed inflammatory?

Much of the committees report analyses in detail the controversial aspects of the Bill, which relate almost exclusively to part two, and the creation of new offences around stirring up hatred. Despite concessions put forward by the Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf, witnesses were still concerned that the Bill would impact on freedom of expression, and the right to criticise religions.

At a number of points, the heated public debate on trans issues was quoted as one area where the Bill could have a chilling effect on the ability for that debate to be conducted, and all opinions aired. The recent opinions of the writer JK Rowling were quoted by witnesses as an example of a legitimate point of view that could potentially be criminalised by the Bill as presented.

The language in the Bill is analysed, including whether terms such as insulting and abusive in relation to speech should be included. The committee concluded that the meaning of the word abusive in the Bill had to be clear.

A number of witnesses raised concerns around the so-called dwelling provisions which provided that hate speech could be criminalised even if it took place in a family home. There were also issues around section five of the Bill which criminalised simply the possession of inflammatory material, it being pointed out by the Roman Catholic Church that the Bible itself could be considered inflammatory in some contexts.

There are existing protections built into the Bill to permit freedom of expression, around criticism of religion, and sexual conduct and practices. However, the committee was concerned that these did not go far enough, and recommended wider protections of free speech, to more closely align with the equivalent provisions in England and Wales.

Fresh concessions not enough

On Monday, the Justice Secretary indicated his willingness to make further concessions, including to strengthen the freedom of expression provisions, to make clear that the term abusive was an objective test, and to propose limits on police powers of search and entry. In addition, he agreed to remove section five on possession on inflammatory material from the Bill entirely.

I am sure these further concessions will be welcomed by the committee which, combined with the previous announcements from the Justice Secretary, represent a major shift in his position away from the Bill as originally introduced. However, there are very serious concerns that, even with these adjustments, the Bill still goes too far in terms of restricting freedom of speech.

The Justice Committee has done a tremendous service to Parliament, and to the Scottish public more generally, with its thorough analysis of the Bill and the key issues that arise from it.

It will now be up to the Scottish Government, and MSPs across all parties, to determine whether the Bill can be sufficiently improved as it goes through the parliamentary stages to make it worthy of adding to the statute book.

Perhaps the most depressing aspect of this whole episode has been that a measure around which all of us should unite, the clarification of the law against hate speech in Scotland, has ended up mired in so much political controversy because of overreach on the part of the SNP government.

I hope that they have learned a lesson from this legislation that Scotland as a nation, across all sectors and political opinions, values free speech, and is prepared to defend that right vigorously.

Murdo Fraser is a Conservative MSP for Mid-Scotland and Fife

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Hate Crime Bill: SNP is being taught a lesson about the value of free speech Murdo Fraser MSP - The Scotsman

A new national survey of 478 higher education institutions in the U.S. found that 9 in 10 restrict free speech in some capacity on campus but nearly half maintain policies that impermissibly restrict online speech.

The study was conducted by FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of students and faculty members at American colleges and universities. These rights include freedom of speech, freedom of association, due process, legal equality, religious liberty, and sanctity of conscience.

The report, Spotlight on Speech Codes 2021: The State of Free Speech on Our Nations Campuses, analyzed the written policies related to free speech at 478 top American colleges and universities. It found that 88 percent of those surveyed maintain policies that restrict, or could be interpreted to restrict, expression.

These policies have real-world consequences, Laura Beltz, FIREs senior program officer for policy reform and author of the report, said in a statement. Students and professors around the country face punishment for speech that is clearly protected by the First Amendment or a schools free speech promises.

FIRE notes that restrictive speech policies extend beyond college campus property. With the advent of Zoom and online classes being conducted remotely, expression is being threatened online, FIRE found, in students own homes and on their own computers.

In New Jersey, a student at Stockton University faced possible suspension, a fine, and a mandatory social justice workshop after using a photo of President Donald Trump as his Zoom background while attending class online. By having a backdrop of the president, the university claimed other students said they felt offended, disrespected, and taunted. The student also posted a Patrick Henry-esque political post on Facebook in July, which prompted the university to charge the student with six policy violations, including harassment and cyberbullying, before FIREs public involvement caused the university to back down.

In June alone, 128 people came to FIRE asking for help when they believed their First Amendment rights were in jeopardy, the organization says.

In Colorado, a University of Colorado-Denver email policy bans students from sending or storing emails with messages that could be considered offensive."

The policy directs students not to use email to send any offensive or otherwise inappropriate matter. Listed examples include offensive comments about a range of topics, including race, gender, political beliefs, and even terrorism.

Im not sure what theyre trying to target by banning offensive comments about terrorism, but in any case, expression doesnt lose constitutional protection just because it has offended someone, Beltz argues.

The policy bans hyperlinks or other references to indecent or patently offensive websites and similar materials, holding students responsible for including a link or reference in an email that someone finds indecent.

While material that meets the stringent legal standard for obscenity is not constitutionally protected, expression cant be limited merely because someone has found it indecent, Beltz adds. Under CU Denvers policy, emailing a link to Cardi Bs WAP video or even a photo of Michelangelos David would be punishable. This absurd result is impermissible at a public university.

In New York, at Fordham University, a policy bans the use of any IT resource, including those off campus, to intimidate, insult, embarrass, or harass others.

Each of the 478 policies analyzed can be found in FIREs Spotlight Database. Schools are ranked according to color, with red indicating that the institution has the most restrictive policies, and green, the least. First Amendment protections analyzed include policies related to protest, online speech, harassment, and civility.

Among them, 21 percent received an overall red light rating for maintaining speech codes that both clearly and substantially restrict freedom of speech.

More than half of red light-ranked schools are located in the District of Columbia and seven states: Alaska, Delaware, Illinois, Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont, and Wyoming.

Roughly 12 percent of institutions analyzed, a total of 56, received green light ranking for having no policies in place that compromise student expression, according to the database.

Yellow light-ranked institutions represent the majority, 65 percent, which have policies in place that prohibit, or have an impermissible chilling effect on, constitutionally protected speech.

The rest is here:
Report: 88% of universities restrict expression, nearly half restrict online speech - Washington Examiner

The East London-based education charity WORLDwrite is organising a pioneering live event: The Freedom Babbleon on Saturday 19th December. After a year of restrictions and regulations, the idea is to put freedom back on the map as the precondition for a decent life.

The East London-based education charity WORLDwrite is organising a pioneering live event: The Freedom Babbleon on Saturday 19th December. After a year of restrictions and regulations, the idea is to put freedom back on the map as the precondition for a decent life. On Saturday 19th December, 100 contributors over 8 hours, for 4 minutes a piece will share their take on why freedom is essential for humanity to thrive. An awesome line up from all walks of life, including writers, activists, academics, singers, comedians, and volunteers will share their hot tips, tales, texts and songs to inspire a love of liberty.

The full line-up is available at worldwrite dot org dot uk in News and events.Fears surrounding Covid-19 have led to a plethora of restrictions, in fact not since the McCarthy era has freedom to live our private lives or to express ourselves publicly been so constrained. But do we have to sacrifice our freedoms to stay safe? The charity believes freedom and safety need not be trade-offs if we trust people to exercise their judgement and look after each other.

WORLDwrite Director Ceri Dingle said today: We are delighted that so many high-profile speakers and talented contributors are taking part with such a huge array of subject matter from free speech in comedy and cancel culture, freedom from necessity in the developing world to lessons from the lesser-known Scottish Martyrs. Its not all about Covid and lockdowns but that is the backdrop, as many people recognise our basic freedoms have taken a hammering over the past year. 100 lovers of liberty holding forth, should make quite a day.

The Freedom Babbleon aims to make freedom the talking point, to question anti-human developments and re-ignite public debate.

This ambitious event is a collective effort by a crew of young volunteers. This is a sponsored event too, designed to help the charity re-open its Volunteer Centre in 2021.

The live broadcast of WORLDWrites new audacious event and thinkpiece, The Freedom Babbleon, will take place on Saturday, December 19, 2020 on Zoom and worldwide, from 10am to 6.15pm. Tickets are free (although voluntary donations are encouraged) and anyone can register on the WORLDwrite Eventbrite page at eventbrite dot com and search for Freedom Babbleon

For interviews or further details, please phone Kate Abley on 020 8985 5435.

Notes for EditorsWORLDwrite is a registered charity, no. 1060869. The charity runs the award-winning online Citizen TV channel WORLDbytes which champions quality citizen reporting and provides free film training to young people to make this possible. WORLDwrite is committed to international understanding and global equality. The charitys founding principles include: democracy for all and the more direct the better; freedom of speech and advancing civil liberties; challenging distrust, fear and intervention in everyday life; support for freedom of movement and the advancement of new knowledge, ideas and critical thinking. Its pioneering events and films reflect its educational objectives and ethos.

WORLDwrite-produced documentaries include the award-winning, internationally-screened Every Cook Can Govern: The life, works & impact of C.L.R. James, the multi-award winning film Women: a success story and the acclaimed documentary Sylvia Pankhurst: Everything Is Possible.

More details are available on the charitys website at worldwrite dot org dot uk

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The Freedom Babbleon, an Online Event Celebrating Freedom and Free Speech to Take Place This Saturday - PR.com