Recently, I wrote a column about Meta’s restoration of free speech protections after the company admitted to censoring users on platforms like Facebook. The company also revealed that it was pressured by the Biden Administration to conduct such censorship. Now, Google has taken the same step in restoring a number of YouTube accounts and pledging to show greater respect for free speech. Continue reading ““Unacceptable and Wrong”: Google Admits Censorship in Coordination with the Biden Administration”
Category: International
Below is my column in Fox.com on the arrest of a well-known comedian in Great Britain. While the three social media posts in question were political commentary rather than jokes, the arrest of Graham Linehan is only the latest arrest of a comedian as part of the global crackdown on free speech. The postings would be considered protected speech in the United States and should be protected anywhere. The rising censorship is literally no joke in various Western countries.
Here is the column: Continue reading “No Joke: Comedian Graham Linehan Arrested in Great Britain Over Three Social Media Postings”
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he may strip comedian Rosie O’Donnell of her U.S. citizenship. He has made the threat previously, despite having no authority to do so. In the United States, political critics cannot be stripped of their citizenship, and pursuing such a course would be a fundamental denial of constitutional protections not only under the 14th Amendment but also under the 1st Amendment. Continue reading “No, the President Cannot Strip Rosie O’Donnell of Her Citizenship”
It has been 157 years since the last ship taking convicts from the United Kingdom landed in Australia. Now, in a crushing historical irony, Australia is contracting with the small Pacific island of Nauru to resettle foreign-born criminals who the courts have ruled cannot be imprisoned indefinitely. The court rulings show how our allies are facing the same dilemma in dealing with people who enter the country illegally and then oppose efforts to deport them for years in litigation. Continue reading “The Return of “Transportation” Sentencing? Australia Seeks to Ship Illegal Aliens to Small Pacific Island”
In my forthcoming book, Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution, I discuss the threat posed by transnational governance, particularly with regard to the European Union. Now, Italy appears to be rediscovering its national identity in a growing fight with the Strasbourg-based European Court of Justice (ECJ). The court just blocked Italy from enforcing its own immigration laws to combat the flood of undocumented persons in the country. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has called the ruling an attack on national sovereignty.
Continue reading “Italy Rediscovers National Identity in Fight With EU Court”
“When the legend becomes fact…print the legend.” Those words from an editor to a young reporter in “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” still appear to be the modus operandi of the media. That was demonstrated this week with the legend of Luis Leon after The Morning Call in Allentown, PA, printed yet another harrowing account of ICE agents “disappearing” an immigrant. According to a story quickly picked up by other eager outlets, the 82-year-old grandfather, a legal asylum holder, was roughed up and then deported to Guatemala. The problem is that there appears to be no proof supporting the story of the “family members” cited by the reporter. Continue reading “The Legend of Luis Leon: The Media Embraces Another Anti-Ice Hoax”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
The news and social media aggregation platform Reddit now requires its United Kingdom based users to provide age verification to access “mature content” hosted on its website. Users must prove they are eighteen years or older to read or contribute such content.
UK regulator Ofcom stated “We expect other companies to follow suit, or face enforcement if they fail to act.” Internet content providers who fail to adopt such measures can face fines of up to eighteen million pounds or ten percent of their worldwide revenue, whichever is greater.
This month, the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) conducted a nationwide search for citizens accused of committing speech crimes. The annual crackdown is part of Germany’s robust censorship and speech criminalization policies. As European Union censors seek to expand the reach of laws like the Digital Services Act (DSA), all Americans need see the existential threat to our most “Indispensable Right.”Free speech in the United Kingdom has long been in free fall, with expanding criminalization and regulation of speech. Much of this effort is carried out to combat disinformation or radicalism. The subjectivity of such “Prevent” standards is evident in a new media report that officers are being trained to look for “cultural nationalism,” including those people who are concerned that Western culture is under threat from mass migration. Such concerns are now viewed as indicative of “right-wing terrorist ideology.” Continue reading “British Government: Western Cultural Concerns Are Signs of “Right-Wing Terrorist Ideology””
Below is my column at Fox.com on the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia and what lies ahead in the case. Regardless of the outcome of the criminal prosecution, one thing seems virtually certain: Abrego Garcia will eventually go home . . . to El Salvador.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Hard Landing: The Return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia”
We recently discussed how the United Kingdom has continued its erosion of free speech by pushing an effective blasphemy law. Now, a London man has been convicted of a “religiously aggravated public order offence.” Hamit Coskun, 50, a Turkish-born Armenian-Kurdish atheist was arrested after burning a Qur’an. Continue reading “British Blasphemy Prosecution: London Man Convicted After Burning Qur’an”
Below is my column in The Hill on the new policy of Secretary Marco Rubio to deny entry of foreign figures responsible for the censorship of American citizens. It would constitute the first meaningful response to the growing threat of Europe to free speech in the United States. In the very least, it signals that the United States is prepared to fight to preserve this “Indispensable Right.”
Here is the column: Continue reading “Marco Rubio Declares War on the Global Censors”
If you go to the Vancouver International Auto Show, you can see all the new models. However, if you want to see a Tesla, you must go down the road to check out a car without a political litmus test. The organizers are just the latest group to join the mob retaliating against Elon Musk for working with the Trump Administration to remove waste and fraud in government through his DOGE program. What was most striking was the pathetic rationalization of the organization for engaging in political retaliation. Continue reading “Oh Canada: Teslas Banned from the International Car Show”
The University of Oregon has long faced controversies over the alleged political bias on its campuses, including celebrating the career of a professor who physically attacked pro-life students as a model of activism. It has been criticized for monitoring off-campus speech and unconstitutionally censoring dissenting faculty. Now, Law Professor Ofer Raban is accusing the Law Review and school administrators of discriminating against an Israeli professor who was allegedly rejected for publication because of his association with an Israeli university. Continue reading “Oregon Law Professor Accuses Oregon Law Review of Anti-Israeli Discrimination”
Nina Jankowicz, the former head of Biden’s infamous Disinformation Governance Board, was “back with a vengeance.” After the outcry over the board led to its elimination, Jankowicz did what many of the displaced disinformation experts have done: she peddled her dubious skills to Europeans and others like a wandering rōnin without a master. Now, Jankowicz has appeared before one of the most anti-free speech bodies in the world — the European Union — to call upon those 27 countries to fight against the United States, which she called a world threat. Continue reading “Back with a Vengeance: Nina Jankowicz Calls on Europeans to Oppose the United States”