persvrijheid Category

Will drasties be bullied into silence?

The Netherlands is a quite well governed, progressive country that takes care of it's citzens in a civilised way. That's why it is somewhat baffling that almost all immigrants of Dutch origin in the U.S. are among the most rightwing politicians and businessmen. Whether it's Peter Hoekstra, Jim DeMint, the Koch Bros or Erik Prince, creator of the hired mercenaries of Blackwater, these people have political ideas which are mostly far to the right of famous Dutch rightwing politician Geert Wilders. 

And here is another one: Frank VanderSloot. He owns the company Melaleuca which sells completely useless dietary supplements and cleaning products too stupid Americans. That it made him a billionaire says everything you need to know about the quality of the educational system in the U.S. In fact his company is more a pyramid scheme than a business, according to Forbes.

Like the Koch Bros he uses his money to advance rightwing political causes. This year VanderSloot, who hates Obama, is donating heavily (at least $1 million) to the campaign of Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.

VanderSloot doesn't like to be criticised. In fact, he threatens every one who writes anything negative about him with expensive lawsuits. That includes magazines, journalists, and bloggers. He has started or threatened lawsuits against even the most obscure critics and with success. Most bloggers and journalists in his state of Idaho are to intimidated to even mention his name. 
But now he is directly involved with the Romney campaign and he is getting national notoriety. Will he keep using his money to bully critics all over the U.S. and the world to shield him from scrutiny?

Well, Glenn Greenwald is having none of it:


read on...

Anyone surprised U.S. is downgraded to 47th position for press freedom

Can people criticise Israel's policies without being called an anti-semite? That's an ongoing debate in the U.S. where neocons, despite the abysmal failure of their policies, still have a lot of influence in the public debate, partly through well funded thinktanks. Now American intellectuals are hotly arguing over the use of the term Israel Firster. That are Americans who are loyal to Israel first and America second. To be more specific... the white rich part of America second.
The debate is also interesting for countries in Europe. Just fill in muslim for Jew and Iran for Israel and statements about dual loyalty become very interesting.
Let's for example look at this statement by Caroline B. Glick, the Jerusalem Post’s deputy editor. Just a little bit modified.

"We must hope that world muslims will recognize today that the fate of the muslims in Iran and throughout the world is indivisible and rally to Iran’s side whatever the social cost of doing so."

In the U.S. the independent writer Glenn Greenwald  - another Jew called anti-semite by rightwing neosons - writes about the coordinated smear campaign against mostly progressive writers in an effort to keep them from being critical of Israel's policies. And it works, self censurship has taken hold of the U.S.
Is anyone surprised that the U.S. - that shining city on the hill - is downgraded to the 47th position for press freedom worldwide by Reporters Without Borders..Lower than all EU-countries (including Hungary) and even for example Surinam and Niger.
Glenn Greenwald explains how the U.S. is censuring itself.


read on...

Assasinating President Obama

American publisher Andrew Adler wrote a column on Jan. 13 that Israel should consider assasinating President Obama to prevent Iran from getting the atombomb. Isn't freedom of speech great?

The owner of a small Jewish publication in Atlanta is resigning over a column he wrote suggesting Israel might consider a hit on President Barack Obama.

Really hot Chilean churros

The Supreme Court in Chile has ordered newspaper La Tercera to pay $125,000 to thirteen Chileans who suffered burns while trying out a published recipe for churros, a popular Latin American snack of dough fried in hot oil. The court ruling came seven years after the readers burned themselves while trying out the recipe.

Judges determined that the newspaper failed to fully test the recipe before publication, and that if readers followed it exactly, the churros had a good chance of exploding once the oil reached the suggested temperature. The newspaper has said it will pay.

Days after the recipe was published in the paper's "Woman" magazine in 2004, hospitals around the country began treating women for burns suffered when the dough boiling in oil suddenly shot out of kitchen pots.

drasties on 28/12/2011 - 8:45

Persvrijheid

Arend Van Dam, politicalcartoons.com

drasties on 14/12/2011 - 7:32

Satirical Muhammed cover

Aislin, The Montreal Gazette  

drasties on 06/11/2011 - 5:55

Charlie Hebdo bombed for publishing this cover

Translation: “One hundred lashes if you don’t die laughing!”

The offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo have been destroyed by a petrol bomb on wednesday, French police say.

French Magazine Charlie Hebdo intended to commemorate the Islamic victory in the elections in Tunisia by temporarily renaming itself “Sharia Hebdo” and appointing the Prophet Mohammed “guest editor” and putting his portrait again on the cover.

The “Sharia Hebdo” edition had not even appeared yet, when last night the paper’s Paris offices were fire-bombed and its web-site attacked and taken down.

drasties on 06/11/2011 - 5:53

Bashar and Gadaffi planning their getaway

It was possibly this cartoon by Ali Ferzat that got to Bashar al-Assad. 

drasties on 27/08/2011 - 9:54

Het gaat helemaal fout met de persvrijheid in Nederland

By Angel Boligan, Cagle Cartoons, El Universal, Mexico City

Krijg nou wat

Angel Boligan uit Mexico komt vandaag met deze cartoon op de internationale verzamelplaats voor cartoonisten: Cagle Cartoons. De spotprent gaat over Radio Nederland. Oftewel in goed Nederlands: RNW = Radio Netherlands Worldwide.
U begrijpt, JdeW stond wel even met de oren te klapperen.
Dit is zijn relatie met Radio Nederland.

The political cartoonist has made the above cartoon especially for Radio Netherlands Worldwide on the occasion of the International Day of Press Freedom. 3 May is not only commemorated by journalists, but also by political cartoonists who often work under difficult conditions.

De cartoon gaat waarschijnlijk over de aangekondigde bezuinigingen bij Radio Nederland. Een radiozender voor Nederlanders in den vreemde, waar expat JdeW zijn hele leven nog nooit naar heeft geluisterd. Sterker nog, ik heb nog nooit een expat ontmoet die naar Radio Nederand luistert. Waarom zou je ook. Tegenwoordig kun je via internet iedere Nederlandse radiozender beluisteren.
Maar toch maakt Angel Bolivar zich blijkbaar zorgen over de persvrijheid in Nederland.
En nee, dit keer niet Geert Wilders.

By Angel Boligan...

read full article

Wat vindt de wereld van de vrijspraak van Geert Wilders

Niet iedereen is blij met de vrijspraak van Geert Wilders. Lees bijvoorbeeld wat de Joodse schrijver Manfred Gerstenfeld er van vindt in een artikel op Ynet.

The religious slaughter debate has unleashed a sewer of anti-Semitic talkbacks in several mainstream Dutch papers. After the verdict in the Wilders case, many of these as well as statements comparing the Torah and Talmud to Mein Kampf, and claims that Judaism is a sick religion, cannot be legally challenged.

How much more Muslims have to suffer at hands of lunatics like Wilders

Uiteraard zijn wij als altijd zeer geinterreseerd in wat de bakermat van de moderne beschaving, lichtend voorbeeld van democratie, verdediger bij uitstek van de vrijheid van meningsuiting ons heeft te melden over de vrijspraak van Geert Wilders. Saoedi-Arabië !

'Everyone's free to abuse the underdog', writes Arab News, Saudi Arabia's first English-language newspaper in an editorial about the trial of Geert Wilders.

Dat is inderdaad het vreemde aan die Westerse democratie. Je mag zeggen wat je wilt, als je niet oproept tot geweld, ook al is het onaardig. Maar zou hij weten dat het daarbij niet uitmaakt of het gericht is tegen een underdog of upperdog?

How much more the Muslims have to suffer at the hands of lunatics like Wilders before Dutch courts decide that enough is enough? What else do you require to pose a clear and present danger to the well being of a civilized society? [..]Everyone’s free to abuse the underdog.

Heel jammer is dat er altijd wel zo'n vervelende Westerling is die (in het commentaar) opmerkt dat:

Is it true that Saudi Arabia will not let visitors come into the country with Jewish or Christian Bibles or other religious items of their faith such as crosses or skullcaps? And that there can be no Jewish or Christian worship at a church or synagogue there? That  ThThat at is what I have heard. if so, how can you criticize the religious tolerance policies of any other country at all?  

Daarop wordt als volgt gereageerd, kort samengevat: waar bemoei je je mee man!

"each country has a right to its own society based upon whatever laws that it had developed to protect the integrity of its society and its peoples. There are many nations of Islam that have Christian communities and churches. Saudi Arabia does not allow such and has the right to do so. It is not Europe nor should it be! But it does not reward hateful acts against others for whatever reason."  

Hier het hele verhaal in de Arab News:

Editorial: Freedom to abuse?
It is time for Dutch courts to decide that Muslims have already suffered enough


read on...

drasties on 27/06/2011 - 3:45

De vrijheid van meningsuiting zou beperkt moeten worden

 

Wat het proces (vonnis 23 juni) over uitspraken van Geert Wilders over de Islam ons heeft geleerd is dat de vrijheid van meningsuiting inderdaad beperkt zou moeten worden.

Tot mensen die iets zinnigs te zeggen hebben.

Zie hier citaten uit de Nederlandse pers betreffende het slotbetoog van de advocaten van de benadeelde partijen:

 

"Advocaat Erik Olof (die niet in beeld wilde) noemde Geert Wilders een 'etalagepop', 'knettergek en schizofreen'. Daarop greep de rechtbank in. En ook daarna moest de rechtbank hem ('dit is wat mijn clienten denken') herhaaldelijk tot de orde roepen. "  

"Advocaat Michiel Pestman gaf aan slechts twee opmerkingen te hebben. De rechtbank stelde dat hij hier alleen stukken over mocht inbrengen, maar niet over spreken. Dat besloot hij dan ook niet meer te doen."

 ."Ook bij advocaat Henri Sarolea,die te laat kwam, greep de rechtbank in ."

 "Jeroen de Kreek (die niet in beeld wilde), had een heel document opgesteld, dat echter niet door de rechtbank werd geaccepteerd, omdat het geraaskal al eerder te berde was gebracht en dus in strijd met de regels."

...read full article

NRC Handelsblad en Elsevier voor de rechter vanwege moderatie

Reacties onder het ikje op het NRC Handelsblad worden sinds dinsdag weer gemodereerd.
Er zaten te veel kwetsende commentaren bij, vond de NRC-redactie.
Niet alleen op het NRC zijn er voortdurend problemen met de moderatie. Het zal de bezoekers van Drasties niet ontgaan zijn dat ook op dit margeblog dagelijks vragen over de moderatie worden gesteld. Belangrijke vragen, die de redactie van drasties van harte welkom heet. Want we kunnen wel stellen, zonder vragen over moderatie tel je op het internet niet mee.

Echt meetellen doe je echter pas als het komt tot juridische procedures. Zover is Drasties nog niet maar wat niet is kan nog komen.
Het NRC Handelsblad en Elsevier overkwam dat wel. Ingrepen van de redactie in lezersbijdragen leidde er toe dat bezoekers naar de rechter stapten. Zie deze print van de website van Jurofoon
(tip van Mario!)

 


Ook Elsevier moest zich onlangs verantwoordden bij de Commissie Gelijke Behandeling (CGB).  


read on...

drasties on 12/05/2011 - 13:52

Julian Assange awarded with the Sydney Peace Prize

In Australia Julian Assange got the Sydney Peace Prize yesterday for "exceptional courage in pursuit of human rights,"
Wouldn't it be great if Assange got the real Nobel Prize too?
Just for the spectacle of seeing one Nobel Laureate attempting to prosecute another Nobel Laureate.  Australians    Australians   

Meanwhile the United States government  tries it's utmost to keep the public in the dark about what they really do. 
Whistleblowers in general -- and WikiLeaks and Julian Assange in particular -- are one of the very few genuine threats to that scheme. And that is why they are being targeted with such fervor and force in the U.S. And that's why those who believe in greater transparency and in subverting that secrecy regime should do everything possible to defend whistleblowers from this assault.

Glenn Greenwald: "The vast majority of publicly disclosed high-level government corruption and lawbreaking over the last decade has come from unauthorized leaks, with the majority of it over the last year from WikiLeaks. Thus, it's hardly surprising that high-level government officials -- even those who ran on a platform of protecting and venerating whistle-blowing -- want to destroy it through a mix of persecution and intimidation." 


read on...

Eenzaam op een hotelkamer, geen sexzender, je moet toch wat

Sinds Hillary Clinton minister van Buitenlandse Zaken van de Verenigde Staten is, komt ze wel eens in het buitenland natuurlijk. En dus heeft ze de tv-zender Al Jazeera wel eens gezien. Eenzaam op een hotelkamertje, geen sex zender, je moet toch wat.
Onlangs zei ze iets wat veel zegt over
Al Jazeera - door president Bush eens aangemerkt als een terroristische organisatie - maar meer over de staat van de Amerikaanse media. “Je hoeft het er niet mee eens te zijn maar je hebt bij Al Jazeera het idee dat je echt nieuws krijgt in plaats van miljoenen commercials en de voorgebakken meningen van presentatoren.”

Maar het is een ‘moslim zender’ dus krijg je dit in het land dat zich presenteert als de grote voorvechter van de vrijheid van de pers om dagelijks leugens te verspreiden.
Let wel even op de datum van deze protestbijeenkomst tegen de opkomst van Al Jazeera

 van Al Jazeera aljazeerajw2.JPG

Employing a talkshow host who called President Obama racist

Republikeinen willen dat de publieke radio-omroep in de VS verdwijnt zodat alle nieuws door grote bedrijven en hun lobbyisten kan worden gecontroleerd.

The House Republicans will vote today on a bill to stop any federal funding for National Public Radio. During the House Rules Committee hearing yesterday in which the de-funding bill was discussed, Rep. James McGovern (D-MA) proposed this amendment:

MCGOVERN: Over the past several years, it has become clear that the Fox News channel is wildly biased.
They continue to employ a talk show host who called President Obama a racist.
They continue to employ several prospective Republican Presidential candidates as “analysts,” giving them hours and hours of free air time.
And their parent company has donated millions to GOP-linked groups.
My amendment would prohibit federal funds – taxpayer dollars – from being used for advertising on the partisan, political platform of Fox News.

JdeW on 18/03/2011 - 7:27

What China thinks of the Presidents son Charlie Sheen

Globaltimes.cn is de door de Chinese staat gecontroleerde website waar het officiële standpunt van de Chinese regering wordt uitgedragen.

About us: Global Times particularly focuses on expressing Chinese people’s real feelings, sharing their opinions and standpoints on significant international issues and promoting their understanding of the global views on China.

In onderstaand redactioneel commentaar geeft Hao Leifeng weer wat China denkt van het schaamteloze gedrag van de Amerikaanse acteur Charlie Sheen die niet alleen toegeeft cocaine te gebruiken - “What do you mean, taking cocaine? I’m paying for it.” - maar ook het huis deelt met twee jonge ‘dames’. 
Hao vindt Charlie een klassiek voorbeeld van het verschil tussen de Westerse en Oosterse normen en waarden. 
Dat doet me denken aan de Chinese Internationale school die ik eens bezocht waarvan de directeur zei: ‘Deze school is gegrondvest op traditionele Chinese waarden’.
Waarop ik vroeg: ‘Doelt u op de waarden van de ‘Grote Sprong Voorwaarts’ of die van de ‘Culturele Revolutie’?’

Global Times: Sheen attracted 1 million Twitter followers in just 24...

read full article

What George W. Bush said about beautiful freedoms

Former President George W. Bush held a brilliant and moving speech about freedoms on Monday in a Desert Town Hall speaker series in Southern California. Sadly no press was allowed so we cannot report all that was said by the man who went to war to bring his freedoms to the Iraqi people. But this was leaked by some very brave people. George W. Bush advice to the next Republican president how to convince those darky muslimmy peoples over there that you're killing them for their own good.
1. "Extension of political freedom" is way to “lay the groundwork for peace.” 2. “It is in the world's interest and in our interest to spread freedom.” 3. “Freedom is a beautiful thing. Freedom is transformative.” 

JdeW on 09/03/2011 - 10:49

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