free speech

Constitution 2.0

Monday, April 2nd, 2007

Ed Foster should leave Info World and do political satire full time:
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Version 2.0
You, the people of the United States of America (herein referred to as “You”), in order to form a more perfect union with your Government (herein referred to as “Government” or “We”), do agree to be […]

Gah. (for lack of a better title)

Friday, August 18th, 2006

On the road this week, and not looking forward to heading home. I’ve tried to ignore as much of the news as I can–the little bit I get in the gym in the morning is perennially the Fox experience, complete with Ads to send money to support Israel in its “time of need”. The first […]

Happy Birthday to…all of us!

Monday, August 7th, 2006

As Ryan over at 27B/6 reminds us, it’s the World Wide Web’s birthday! 15 years ago yesterday Tim Berners-Lee posted a message to the alt.hypertext newsgroup announcing CERN’s W3 project and offering “a prototype hypertext editor for the NeXT, and a browser for line mode terminals which runs on almost anything” to anyone who was […]

“Thank goodness for the ACLU: Somebody’s got to protect freedom of religion”

Wednesday, December 7th, 2005

Finally shocked out of my posting lethargy by this post from Julia. The title is her final observaton; I couldn’t resist.
The Detroit News has the details:
Joseph Hanas was 19 when he pleaded guilty to a marijuana possession charge in February 2001 in Genesee Circuit Court and was placed in a diversion program for young, non-violent […]

The Bible Belt celebrates Banned Book Week in style

Monday, September 26th, 2005

It seems a couple of parents in Newark, OH, are intent on giving the local children a lesson in irony. As the rest of the country moves ahead with plans to read banned books as part of the ALA’s yearly Banned Book Week, Greg and Tina Angeletti are going to their school board to protest […]

Reminder: Banned Books Week

Monday, September 26th, 2005

Just a reminder to everyone that the last week in September is Banned Books Week, when the American Library Association urges all to go out and read at least one book that has been challeneged or banned at some point.
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Disappointed with the mainstream blogosphere

Friday, September 9th, 2005

If “mainstream blogosphere” isn’t an oxymoron; I don’t think it is anymore. That may be part of the problem, I’m not sure.

Anyway, this isn’t how it’s supposed to work, folks. I feel like the uncool kid in high school who was always three years behind the times for mentioning this almost two weeks after is […]

“…and what was over there…”

Wednesday, September 7th, 2005

“…is over here.” From [Reporters Sans Frontièrs](http://www.rsf.org/):
Reporter Tim Harper and photographer Lucas Oleniuk of the Canadian Toronto Star daily were the victims of police violence while covering a clash between police and looters. The police threatened them several times at gunpoint and, when they realised Oleniuk had photographed them hitting looters, they hurled him to […]

Patriot Act under fire

Thursday, June 16th, 2005

The NYT online [is reporting](http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Patriot-Act-Libraries.html) that the house voted this morning to limit the scope of some of the Patriot Act’s provisions regarding access to library and bookstore records. Apparently, certain members of Congress are figuring out that using what people read against them, or investigating them based on what they read is an affront […]

Swift Boat Veterans for the MPAA?

Wednesday, June 15th, 2005

It’s official, the political spammers have found me. It was only a matter of time, I suppose.
In the last two days I’ve received comments to two of my previous posts [[1](http://www.engatiki.org/2005/05/20/32) [2](http://www.engatiki.org/2005/05/26/41)] from “readers” identifying themselves as “jake@yahoo.com” and “geist@yahoo.com” (no relation to [Michael](http://www.michaelgeist.ca), I presume) telling me that [Jorge Cortell](http://jorge.cortell.net/) has been completely discredited […]

HR 550 Lobbying

Friday, June 10th, 2005

For those who missed the announcement, the EFF has been [blogging](http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/cat_evoting_lobby_days.php) a two-day lobbyathon in Washington, D.C., in support of HR550, the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act. Among other things, the bill would require paper trails that could be verified but voters and challengers. The event, which was organized by a […]

Smile! You’re on MPAAPD Camera!

Friday, June 3rd, 2005

Not sure how I missed this, but John Borland at c|net posted an article Tuesday about the MPAA’s plan to buy surveillance cameras for downtown LA. First they tried buying public schools, now they’re trying to buy the municipal police:
> The Motion Picture Association of America said Tuesday that it will fund the installation […]

July 11th is International Fair Use Day

Thursday, June 2nd, 2005

Kudos to the guys at [fairuseday.com](http://www.fairuseday.com/)(why not .org?) for a great idea. There don’t seem to be any plans yet, but make your own plans to raise awareness. At least call, fax, or write the appropriate federal, state, and local officials.
> Fair use rights have been under siege for a long time and […]

Free Speech–It’s What’s For Dinner

Tuesday, May 24th, 2005

In a 5 to 4 decision, the Supreme Court has upheld the government’s right to coerce citizens and non-citizens alike into funding government-sponsored speech they find objectionable. The suit in question was brought by cattle ranchers who objected to the $1 per head fee levied on an ongoing basis by the USDA under the 1985 […]