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2004 Jefferson Muzzle Awards
un1xl0ser writes "The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression has released the muzzle awards for people who forgot that "free speech can not be limited without being lost". Check out the 2004 "winners". Famous winners include The U.S. Department of Defense and CBS."
The MOD have backed out of attempting to prosecute someone who breached the Official Secrets act.
Whether you believe that the person in question was justified or not, the fact remains that they signed a legally binding contract to keep their mouth shut - and the government doesn't have the will to enforce it.
Maybe Blair just feels a little less secure.
'Don't worry' said the trees when they saw the axe coming, 'The handle is one of us.'
Janet-boob incident and yanking Howard Stern
What, exactely, are those boobs saying that is being censored? Is there anything they can communicate in a printed sentence or a speech given from a podium wearing clothes w/o using terminology of excrement and reproduction that's of any importance? Or are they just cheap publicity stunts and shocking behavior for it's own sake to em'bare ass' people? And why focus on these marginal incremental pushing public limits of decency - why not just claim that preventing Miss April from walking down broadway stark naked is some kind of censorship? Take it to extreams to see how rediculous this crying about 'censorship' is. [again, WHAT EXACTLY are they saying that is being 'censored'?] - Say Janet wants to lay down and rub her labia while Justin masterbates into a paper bag on national prime time Sunday night TV that anybody can tune in - isn't that 'censorship' as well?
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The one about the guy from Soldotna is classic. I think I still have that email.
I don't think that these are influential awards... but I think that it is good for someone to do a rundown of things that they feel may be wrong... morally or otherwise. I think that CBS/Clear Channel/Every Media Corporation has the right to censor their own media... and I think everyone knows that. I think that it is important to bring it to light, and let people decide if they want to do something about it. - un1xl0ser
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The other ones are pretty bad and well deserving of the "award", especially the last few, IMO.
Stupid sexy Flanders.
Just one week after Maines' statement, South Carolina State Representative Catherine Ceips introduced a House Resolution calling upon the Dixie Chicks to publicly apologize for the statement and perform a free concert for American troops stationed in South Carolina when the group began a tour in Greenville, South Carolina on May 1st. The Resolution called the comments "unpatriotic," "unnecessary," and "anti-American." The measure passed the House on a 50-35 vote.
They deserved all the criticism and praise they got for the speech against Bush. They did not deserve a law enacted to specifically force them to apologize and give a free concert. I'll cut them some slack for feeling persecuted when this type of crap happens.
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dman123 forever!
Filtering out the -1s and 0s since 1999.
"This list means nothing. Your freedoms and right to free speech and expression haven't changed or been suppressed because of these "awards". Finding a bunch of wrong-headed decisions and disagreeable actions by private individuals, corporations, and some members of government doesn't mean censorship is creeping up on society."
Please dear righteous one, construct a methodology to examine whether or not free speech and expression hasn't been suppressed. Please do so without constucting a list of evidence to support or refute your claim. Further, do not cite references to private individuals, corporations, or members of government.
Gee, could it maybe be that there have been more attacks on the left than on the right?
Also, perhaps you missed the fact that our government is now headed by conservatives, so the power of the government will be flexed in that general direction (not a complaint - thats just the way it works).
Also, this certainly reflects the unhappiness of many Americans with our military and foreign policy. Did the fact that most protesters in the '60's protested for civil rights or against vietnam - stories that would lead on the Wall Street Journal -- make the Journal left wing?
Besides (ob-troll), it isn't my fault that right wingnuts have to resort to violence and the surpression of civil rights to get their point across.
Of course, what is particularly interesting is that /. editors (possibly including Sims himself) routinely use their unlimited moderation points to moderate any discussion of this as offtopic.
It will be interesting to see whether they will do this on this thread since it is pretty relevant to its parent which was moderated quite highly. Hell, I am even happy to risk getting bitchslapped to find out.
Fortunately, Jefferson understood (as did the other signers of the Declaration of Independence and the other "fathers of our country") that the decision to not repeat someone else's "expression" was itself a protected form of "expression".
And yes, that observation is in support of CBS's and ClearChannel's "expressions", just as I'm sure Jefferson himself would.
C.C. sponsored pro-invasion demonstrations before we went into Iraq. The decision to knuckle under to FCC pressure at the very moment when Stern started ranting about George W. just reeks of those politics.
So yeah, they've got a right, just like CBS can pull a lame miniseries -- but to pull him on the pretext of indecency when you're actually more than willing to remove an outspoken opponent of W.'s, that's just truly cowardly behavior. To pose as morally indignant while you do that, after years of promoting the selfsame indecent show, that's nauseating. It'd be in there with CBS claiming "artistic reasons" for pulling the Reagans. Say what you did and why. Admit it.
And, gee, funny how the FCC chose Howard as the first object lesson. Pretty brave truth telling on their part, too. Obviously they care pretty deeply about the shocking degradation he'd been spouting for so many years.
I can definitely see either the FCC or Clear Channel winning these awards for this one. Doesn't have to be a breach of the law. Government entities using pretexts to intimidate media outlets into removing critics of the President, that's wrong.
"Fundamentalism" isn't about divine morality. It's about human authority.
The American coverage of the Olympics generally includes little shooting. During the Winter Games, the Biathlon will generally get 5 minutes coverage at 4AM on a weekday and the segment will not be repeated.
At the Summer Games, things are a tad better if we win a medal or two or if one of our shooters is particularly telegenic. Luckily, one or two of our shooters are usually very lovely young ladies.
You want an illustration? I sat next to Ralf Schumann's wife when he won the gold for Rapid Fire Pistol at the Atlanta Games. As soon as the line was clear and people could move, we were surrounded by TV cameras and microphones. I beat a retreat instantly and then looked back. There wasn't a single U.S. news source in that gaggle of reporters.
Sad, really.