We have previously discussed the cancel campaigns targeting JK Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series. Rowling was not only the greatest selling author of all time but a wildly popular writer until she publicly opposed certain transgender policies as inimical to the advances in feminism. Now, she is the target of a lawsuit by Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, the gold-medal winning athlete who had previously failed a gender test to confirm that she is a female fighter. We previously discussed that global debate, but Khelif is now accusing Rowling out of many thousands of critics of being a cyberbully. X owner Elon Musk has also been named in the lawsuit.
Rowling has been the target of a global campaign due to her rejection of transgender laws and policies. Many on the left have unleashed book bans and burnings. I have been critical of that campaign. Even third parties who have supported Rowling’s right to free speech have been targeted in cancel campaigns.
She held her ground after Scotland passed a draconian law, the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021. The new crime under the law covers “stirring up hatred” relating to age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or being intersex. That crime covers insulting comments and anything “that a reasonable person would consider to be threatening or abusive.”
Rowling previously posted various responses to the controversy on her X account on August 7, including: “For the record, bombarding me with pictures of athletic women to ‘teach’ me that women don’t all look like Barbie is like spamming me with pics of differently-shaped potatoes to prove rocks are edible. I can still see the difference and you look frankly bonkers.”
She later also posted: “Commentators pretending critics of the IOC’s reliance on documents rather than sex testing think Khelif is trans are straw-manning. I don’t claim Khelif is trans. My objection, and that of many others, is to male violence against women becoming an Olympic sport.”
She further wrote on X how she was concerned over both boxers challenged over their gender at the Olympics: “What will it take to end this insanity? A female boxer left with life-altering injuries? A female boxer killed?”
France has eviscerated free speech protections over the last few decades with speech criminalization laws. There is some question whether the French laws would apply to tweets made outside of the country.
These laws criminalize speech under vague standards referring to “inciting” or “intimidating” others based on race or religion. For example, fashion designer John Galliano has been found guilty in a French court on charges of making anti-Semitic comments against at least three people in a Paris bar. At his sentencing, Judge Anne Marie Sauteraud read out a list of the bad words used by Galliano to Geraldine Bloch and Philippe Virgitti, including using ‘dirty whore” in criticism.
In another case, the father of French conservative presidential candidate Marine Le Pen was fined because he had called people from the Roma minority “smelly.” A French teenager was charged for criticizing Islam as a “religion of hate.”
The question of the extraterritorial application of such laws is the question. Conversely, the United Kingdom and the European Union are asserting the right to regulate speech in any country, including political speech in American presidential elections.
Rowling has every right to be heard on the Olympic boxing controversy. This debate raises core issues that touch on a wide array of political speech. Khelif has the ability to refute these claims through the exercise of her own free speech. As in the past battles fought by Rowley, her effort to advocate for women’s rights is also a major test over free speech in Europe.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. He is the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage” (Simon & Schuster).
“Rowling was not only the greatest selling author of all time . . .”
A slight nit: The top two are Shakespeare and Christie (tied at some 2 billion each).
Chris Christie sold 2 billion books each? What book was that? “How to Eat out in Europe for Only $450 a day”?
* Rowling doesn’t have SCOTUS .
The Brits aren’t part of the EU. Are they part of the digital service? Googling it gave contradictory answers. Unkn.
No.
“Are [the Brits] part of the digital service?”
They don’t need the DSA. The Brits now have their own weapon of censorship: The “Online Safety Act” — enforced by the UK’s head censors at Ofcom. And, yes, the OSA does give the UK government the power to censor political dissent and speech.
Our resident expert on all things UK is either woefully uninformed or is actively evasive.
Apologists for censorship in the UK are now free to gaslight — “The OSA merely protects children from sexual content,” and to deflect — “But your Founders owned slaves.”
JT loves it when some left leaning person says people should be held accountable for their speech.
Seems kinda silent when right wing people want to suppress speech.
https://www.alternet.org/texas-ag-trump/
You own article claims this is not about free speech but essentially about this groups actual acts in aide of human trafficking. The Democrat attorney’s fighting Paxton did not make it a Free speech case but a case about efforts to target groups assisting illegal immigrants.
I do not know the facts. But I can read what YOUR reporter and what the lawyers defending this groups said.
I do not know if Paxton’s case has merit – aparently the judge did not think so.
But you have not provided evidence that it is a first amendment case.
There is a first amendment right to advocate for immigrants – illegal or otherwise.
There is not a first amendment right to assist in smuggling them into the country.
If you wish to go after Paxton for what he is actually doing – depending on the Facts I might join you.
But you harm your own cause by lying about it.
The drunkard has reading problems and lacks understanding of the world around him. Trump need not respond to the suppression of speech he had no part in and where the incident was resolved.
All the drunk wants to do is pull someone down to permit him to be higher on the ladder. He failed, slipped and ended up face down with the rest of the garbage on the Bowery.
“As in the past battles fought by Rowley…”
Jonathan, unless this is your pet name for Joanne (and I admit, it is cute), should probably correct this.
And now a few words from The Three Tenors –
Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, and Luciano Pavarotti,
conductor Zubin Mehta, the L.A. Philharmonic
1994 Dodgers Stadium
🎶Dilegua, o notte!
Tramontate, stelle!
Tramontate, stelle!
All’alba vincerò!
vincerò, vincerò!🎶
Estovir: one of the most beautiful arias in all of opera. I particularly like Andre Bocelli singing it, saw him live, my eyes teared up right in front of God and everybody. THanks for providing a nice respite and escape from a very polemic week. nite nite
(Andrea)
You are quite welcome. May you sleep with the angels!
Love Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman singing the “Time to Say Goodbye” duet. Bocelli has an inspirational life story.
My favorite!! as you know. And Pres. Trump’s also. I think I told you we saw Pavorotti in person in Austin in the 90’s (but he wouldn’t sing Nessun!) Placido, has always been my fave of the three.and had the best voice IMO.
Cindy, I did not know / recall it was your favorite. Plácido Domingo is my #1 overall male singer. He looks a lot like my deceased father: tall, handsome, impressive figure. José Carreras is #2 albeit he reminds me of mighty mouse: short and packs a punch. His rendition of Granada is awesome
Translation
A guy is trying to guess the name of a princess by morning or she’ll put him to death. She doesn’t want to marry I guess and all her suitors have died. This guy knows her name—> the dawn is coming night is over the stars are leaving victory victory victory.
Beautiful by Luciano Pavarotti… exquisite.
That’s the general gist…
OT: I have no policy or record to stand on except I hate Trump. __Harris
Debate: Gabbard v. Harris
You are correct, sir! 🙂
Gosh, Imane Khelif is awfully cranky, it must be that “time of the month,” again.
good one!
All righty then. You can bet your bottom dollar that the Democrats are going to crack down on big Pharma. You know that they’re going to bite the hand that feeds them. https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips?cycle=2020&ind=H04
Just goes to show that this guy has a lot of balls except when he has to fight men.
Thinkit….so funny!
Should go back to the original Greek Olympics rules and run naked that would seperate them
Can’t wait for the response from the left when the judge tosses the lawsuit against Rowling for being frivolous.
Indeed, Rowling spoke the truth of physiological differences between the male and female sexes.
There is concern that most of the judges in GB & EU are full blown leftists, many corrupt.
@Anonymous
It is likely that over there, a judge won’t toss it, neither would an activist judge here. No offense, but the days you seem to be referencing are *really* long gone. 🤷🏽♂️ Time for all of us to open our eyes. There is no ‘real, normal’ reality – only what we ourselves create. Kinda the point of our Republic; nothing is guaranteed, just because. If we want fairness, we are going to have to actively stand up for it in 2024.
Judges here would have no choice but to toss it, because of the first amendment. Indeed in most states here JKR could countersue for SLAPP.
But France has no freedom of speech.
That’s unlikely to happen. This is France, where the law is nothing like what we would recognize as due process. This is where Philippe Karsenty was forced to pay 7000 Euro in damages to France 2 TV network for exposing the Mohamed el Durah blood libel. And it’s where George Soros was convicted of insider trading, on evidence that would not have been accepted in any common-law country.
Rowling’s only chance is to argue that she’s not French, and wasn’t in France when she wrote the things she did, so it’s none of France’s ****ing business. The court might accept that, but knowing the French arrogance what do you think?
Her other alternative is simply to ignore the whole thing, and never visit France again.
By what protocol do military members standing on the tarmac salute the vice president of the United States?
The VPOTUS is not a member of the military or anywhere in the military chain of command.
STATE AND FED LAWS STATE, NO ONE CAN TURN BOYS AWAY FROM GIRLS ANYTHING, IF THEY THINK THEIR GIRLS.
WHEN I WAS YOUNG, THESE PEEPS , THEIR AFFIRMERS, SURGEONS, ETC, WERE IN STRAIT JACKETS, ASYLUMS, SANATARIUMS.
BUT REGAN CLOSED ALL OF THEM. NOW THERE FREE TO RULE.
AND REGAN TURNED USA FROM THE WORLDS GREATEST LENDER NATION , TO THE WORLDS GREATEST DEBTOR NATION ,IN
LESS THAN 8 YEARS.
FACT CHEK THAT.
Reagan ~1.6 trillion
Obama ~8 trillion leading debtor
Trump ~7 trillion
Biden ~6 trillion
treasury.gov
Mental institutions started closing in earnest in the 50s, motivated by a belief in less intrusive treatment. Reagan passed a law to support this decades long transition. The original belief is upheld by modern psychiatrists.
^^^ troll
The treasury today can’t count. In 1999—2001 the national debt was approximately 6.5 BILLION. It hit the skids with Clinton one of architects of today’s goat failure.
War costs big bucks!
A tomahawk missile costs $1M
Haliburton made billions off Iraq
Stands at 33 trillion in massive looting and counterfeit. Reparations
Merrian-Webster
acquiesce
verb
intransitive verb
: to accept, comply, or submit tacitly or passively
—often used with in or to
______________________________
Imagine what would have happened if the American Founders had acquiesced like modern American milquetoast, so-called “men” do now.
And the milquetoasts won’t be done until they’ve acquiesced and incomprehensibly given every last thing, every last aspect and facet of America, away to leeches and parasites, both foreign and domestic.
At the risk of stealing UpstateFarmer’s thunder (but also accepting the OT post criticism usually leveled at him):
RFK Exposes DNC Corruption, Suspends Campaign, Backs Trump In Battleground States
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/watch-live-rfk-jr-addresses-nation
by Tyler Durden
Friday, Aug 23, 2024 – 07:05 PM
The 2024 presidential election race is about to take is next unexpected turn…
“Democrats have become the party of war, censorship, corruption, big pharma, big tech, big ag, and big money wanting to abandon democracy by canceling the primary to conceal the cognitive decline of the sitting president.
I left the party to run as an independent…
The DNC and its media organs engineered a surge of popularity for VP Harris based upon nothing. No policies, no interviews, no debates. Only smoke and mirrors.”
“A Chicago circus that is based on NOTHING. Who needs a policy if you hate Donald Trump?”
“How did the Democratic Party choose a candidate that has never done an interview or debate during the entire election cycle?” Kennedy asked.
“We know the answer: They did it by weaponizing the government agencies. They did it by abandoning democracy. They did it by suing the opposition and by disenfranchising American voters. What most alarms me isn’t how the Democratic Party conducts its internal affairs or runs its candidates. What alarms me is the resort to censorship and media control and the weaponization of the federal agencies.”
YouTube video ID: v=wES307tmo2A
— the OT post criticism usually leveled at him
And yet even though Upstate claims to not read ‘Anonymous’ comments
when he gets called out for his OT stuff, he then doubles down/posts more of them.
“And yet even though Upstate claims to not read ‘Anonymous’ comments”
Last I saw (yesterday, I believe) he admitted to reading some of them in weaker moments.
Do you have any comment regarding the significant content of my post, or are you confining yourself to the unimportant introduction?
Ragnar
He has expended his smarts on the subject.
Presumably you have heard of free speech ?
It is pretty much Turley’s prime topic.
You are free to “call out” whoever you wish – just as I am “calling you out
for the stupidity of ranting about Upstates allegedly off topic posts on a legal blog that focuses heavily on free speech.
Is Upstate posting actual spam ?
Is he posting copyrighted material ?
Is he posting banned words ?
Most of us here “tolerate” lots of garbage from the left.
The ideology that touts itself as valuing tolerance is the most intolerant there is.
John Say,
I generally try to keep my OTs to free speech related topics, but some are counter to the leftist narrative like the recent surge in vocational schools vs leftist college indoctrination.
And the recent Star Wars one was just too funny to pass up!
Upstate – with respect – I do not care what OT posts you choose to make.
If Turley wants to impose rules confining remarks to the topic – he is free to do so.
He has not.
I have problems with some Left wing nut OT posts – no soo much because they are OT, but because they are just fact free ad hominem. That is worse for me than even the myriads of posts that are lots of silly lying.
Regardless, Even id10t left wing nuts are free to post here – OT or not.
I am certainly not going to rag on you – when so many left wing nut posts are stupid, insulting and OT – and I restrict my chriticism of them to being stupid and insulting.
So post what you want.
Obama
Ragnar D,
Yep, I saw that.
I have no problem with OTs. They can and do offer news that others may miss namely if it is independent media.
The only time I might read an idiot anony comment is if someone else, with credibility like you, S. Meyer, TiT, HullBobby, Estovir, Lin, and many others comment on them. Then I have to go back and read them for context.
Otherwise, just scroll past. Not worth the time to read.
RFK sees the threat the Democrat party that they are. Yes, Democracy is at stake with this election. Despite all their pandering, the Democrat party is the real threat to Democracy. Vote for the 1stA, the 2ndA, the Constitution, law and order, women’s rights, parents rights, a secure border, no more forever wars, safe communities, lower taxes, and your right to freedom.
Vote against the Democrat party.
HEAR, HEAR!
RFK speaks a lot of truth in this report. People have found the shadow government. It’s the bureaucratic agencies and federal contractors. Harris and Walz were not choices of the population. They are the choice of bureaucrats seeking to secure their jobs. The unchosen electors comprise the CCC —> communist central committee.
No one needs Harris, Walz, Buttigeig, judges, Garland, the DOJ, DAs, etc except to do the bidding of the CCC at all and it’s impossible to find millions of federal employees and contractors to replace them..
The worst part of the switcheroo from Biden to Harris was its sneakiness. There is no election. They’ve cheated already and the democrats are just cheering.
The United States of America should sanction any country & pull any military support, to any countries that try to silence American free speech or censor free speech in their own citizens! Period!
Huzzah!!!!!
That will not happen if Harris is elected.
I would like to see Trump issue an Executive order on “day one” that directed various Federal departments to
impose a variety of sanctions on any country that even attempts to censor an american in a way that would violate our first amendment.
How do you think our courts would react if another country tried that on us? Suppose you sued a French citizen for something that would be completely legal in France, and the French government threatened sanctions against the USA unless the court dismissed the case. The court couldn’t dismiss the case on those grounds, even if the state department requested it. And if it could, it wouldn’t go down well with Americans, to say that French citizens are exempt from our laws.
Now imagine a French court, with the typical French arrogance, reacting to your proposal, which is the same thing in reverse. The court would surely refuse.
Add trade, subsidies , and the reason the usa does business with communists , theocracies, monarchies is?
A world gone mad! I wonder how things of this nature are handled in the CCP, North Korea and all the Muslim nations?
There is no such thing as “trans” and it’s said to see JT call this man , “her”.
Trans- refers to a state or process of divergence. Gender is sex-correlated attributes (e.g. sexual orientation): masculine and feminine.
Nobody “trans” to something else. Nobody “diverges” from their biology. “Trans” is a made up word to describe a previous mental issue.
That’s unfair. There are genetic anomalies in the sex chromosomes. Some are more evident than others.
Should Y chromosomes participate in women’s sports? No. Should females without Y chromosomes but having a gene anomaly producing higher testosterone play in female sports? They do.
But what is your point? Both Khelif and Lin-yu had XY (male) chromosomes.
Should women (or men) who take Testosterone participate in womens or mens sports ?
Most of us think not.
I am not going to wade too deeply into whether a person who is genetically XX but naturally hormonally excess in testosterone should participate in women’s sports.
Except to note as Rowley does that radically mismatched hormones not only provide an advantage – they are also dangerous to other female competitors.
I’m pretty sure what is unfair is what we witnessed at the Olympics this year.
We are witnessing the merger of French and British elitism, which hold that the better sort of people must tell the rest of us what to think and say, with the blasphemy doctrines of Islam. The Brits and the French are intimidated by Islamic violence, and our traditional feminists have abandoned their sisters to the onslaught to transgenderism. Were there any female boxers competing against men in this summer’s Olympics?
The seeming acceptance of Islam is an anti-Christian stand and includes Judaism and white people. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
THIS IS LIGHTEREDKNOT iF HE HAS A “Y’ CHROMOSOME HE IS MALE. Would like to know what Prof JT thinks about this case.
Federal judge says US military cannot turn away enlistees who are HIV-positive
A true statement because females have zero Y in any cell including ova. All ova are X.
It’s a matter of inclusiveness. Women are free to participate in men’s sports if they want want the chit beaten out of them proving men are superior of course. Men also make better wives. It’s misogyny.
There’s a time for inclusion and a time to refrain from inclusivity. A te for every purpose under heaven.
Sorry for the children…
* te=time
Harris is an anchor baby. Try listing all the anchors in high public offices. The anchors return for late high school. No wonder it’s such a mess. 😂 luv those roundabouts! Ever try reading an informational manual? 😂
Tragic. The USA is so much better.
Toddler comrades
“Anchor babies” are natural born US citizens, exactly like you and me. They are entitled to all the same rights as you and I are. And if they’ve lived in the USA for 14 years they’re just as eligible to the presidency as any other US citizen.