Free Speech Necessary for Non-Violence

"The principle of free speech is not concerned with the content of a man's speech and does not protect only the expression of good ideas, but all ideas. If it were otherwise, who would determine which ideas are good and where forbidden? The government?"
"Once a country accepts censorship of the press and of speech, then nothing can be won without violence. Therefore, so long as you have free speech, protect it. This is the life-and-death issue in this country: do not give up the freedom of the press -- of newspapers, books, magazines, radio, movies, and other forms of presenting ideas. So long as that's free, a peaceful intellectual turn is possible." Ayn Rand

United Nations Defines Censorship as a Human Right

The United Nations believes that the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has a “human right” to impose censorship on the media to “promote (Muslim) religious tolerance.” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will even hand over funds for the OIC to ensure that strict censorship on the media will be enforced when reporters shed a negative light on radical Islamic militants that include, Osama bin-Laden, al-Qaeda, the Taliban, al-Shabaab (Somalia) and Abu Shayaff (the Philippines).

According to Fox News, “concerns about censorship were raised after the 56-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), which has tremendous sway in the United Nations, successfully pushed through a resolution that creates a watchdog to monitor how religion is portrayed in the media.”

The OIC claims it will enforce religious tolerance by ensuring that the (Muslim) religion is not mocked. An incident occurred when Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed instigated Islamic riots. Yet, the United States and the European Union members on the council voted against the resolution, worrying that it will censor the press and assault freedom of expression.

As reported by Fox, “the resolution now opens the way for the Human Rights Council to select a special investigation on religious freedom to “work closely with mass media organizations to ensure that they create and promote an atmosphere of respect and tolerance for religious and cultural diversity.”

The UN loves to use irony when implementing new policies. Mr. Ban appointed a so-called “Human Rights Council,” to be the media watchdog to impose censorship. Meanwhile, the UN hires and appoints investigators to seek and punish whistle-blowers and aid in cover-ups of corruption by initiating “sham” investigation inquiries. The UN also hosts “Transparency Summits,” even though Mr. Ban is notorious for hiding internal UN documents from public scrutiny.

Freedom Against Censorship Thailand

Freedom Against Censorship Thailand

'Thailand: YouTube self-censored lese majeste protest clip'
by Arthit Suriyawongkul

Self-censorship on YouTube is working well - silently. Yesterday, a FACT signer reported one of the silently banned clips, which can be viewed everywhere in the world, except Thailand.

Since agreement with Thailand's Ministry of Information and Communication Technology last year, YouTube's management agreed to block any video clips deemed offensive to Thai people or those that violate Thai law. In other words, YouTube will do the censorship by themselves, so that the site will not be blocked again by the Ministry.

When users from Thailand try to access the reported link, http://youtube.com/watch?v=70m1ncXQjXA , they will find this message:

This video is not available in your country.

It is a lèse majesté law protest clip, which contains few caricature of the King images and Thailand flag, the royal anthem is played as a background music, and between those images, the clip runs the following messages in black over yellow background:

King Bhumibol Adulyadej of is a dictator.

He sends anyone who speaks against him to prison - for up to 15 years.

F**k the king of Thailand - long live free speech!

Article 112 of the Thai Criminal Code stipulates the penalty for a lèse majesté offence as 3-15 years' imprisonment.

source: Freedom Against Censorship Thailand

You may view the latest post at

http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/2008/04/12/thailand-youtube-self-censored-lese-majeste/

Winter Soldier News Blackout [1971]

The "Winter Soldier Investigation" was a media event sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War intended to publicize war crimes and atrocities by the United States Armed Forces and their allies in the Vietnam War, while showing their direct relationship to military policies in Vietnam. The three-day gathering of 109 veterans and 16 civilians took place in Detroit, Michigan, from January 31-February 2, 1971. Discharged servicemen from each branch of military service, as well as civilian contractors, medical personnel and academics, all gave testimony about war crimes they had committed or witnessed during the years of 1963-1970.^[1][2][1]

While the event was not extensively covered outside Detroit several journalists and film crews recorded the event, and a transcript [2] was later entered into the Congressional Record.

A documentary film of the event, called Winter Soldier, was first released in 1972. Due to the disturbing nature of the subject matter about an ongoing war, it got little distribution and support at that time and had been archived by its creators, collectively called the Winterfilm Collective. ^[3][4] In September, 2005, it was re-released across the U.S. in small art house theatres. Many of the media reviews have regarded the film positively. [3]

Wikipedia