Category: Media

Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics, Society

Turkey Arrests Western Journalist For Criticizing Erdoğan

220px-EbruUmar220px-Recep_Tayyip_ErdoganOur close ally in Turkey this week is continuing his comprehensive attack on free speech and free exercise. A Dutch journalist, Ebru Umar, a well-known atheist and feminist journalist, is the latest victim of the crackdown by Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Erdoğan was recently given a boost to his scorched earth campaign by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to first apologize to him for a comedian making fun of him in Germany but also approved a prosecution of the comedian . As Merkel abandoned any semblance of free speech in Germany to appease Erdoğan, the authoritarian leader set out to punish Western journalists in his own country who dared to criticize him. Umar recently wrote a piece critical of Erdoğan for the Dutch daily Metro, extracts of which she then tweeted. Her last tweet chillingly said “Police at the door. No joke.”

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics, Religion, Society

Saudi Arabia Sentences Civil Libertarian To Nine Years In Prison In Terrorism Court

The Saudi Association for Civil and Political Rights is a respected organization established by intellectuals who seek to protect human rights in the Kingdom and the creation of both democratic and legal institutions that guarantee such rights. Not surprising, the Saudi government has treated such ideas as terroristic threats and has jailed many of its members. The latest is one of the founders Issa al-Hamid who was convicted of inciting people to breach public order, insulting the judiciary, defaming the kingdom’s senior religious clerics and establishing an unlicensed organization. Our close ally in the Middle East has once again shown how it stands in direct opposition to the most basic rights of free speech and free exercise. Rather than actually move its laws and government out of the Middle Ages, the Kingdom has hired a variety of top firms, including leading establishment figures like Tony Podesta, to improve its reputation with the American public (particularly with the expected release of the long withheld 9-11 reports pages that reportedly implicate Saudi officials in the attack.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, International, Media

Saudi Family Therapist Explains The Islamically Correct Method Of Wife Beating

dmvidpics-2016-04-23-at-16-41-00At times Saudi Arabia and its medieval Sharia system seems a bad parody of itself. That is the case with this video of a leading Saudi family therapist inexplicably sitting on a chair in the middle of the forest discussing calmly the Islamically correct way of beating your wife. What is even more unnerving is this guy, Khaled Al-Saqaby, is not only viewed as sane and learned but is probably viewed as a moderate on the subject.

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Constitutional Law, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics, Society

German Chancellor Merkel Continues To Lose Credibility On Free Speech Issues

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

Angela MerkelGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel keeps digging herself deeper with her latest statement regarding her government’s prosecution of satirist Jan Böhmermann at the behest of Turkish President. Now, the chancellor expresses her regrets for offering support to President Erdoğan at the expense of her countryman, claiming it was a “mistake”.
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Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Media, Politics

Public Health Expert in Georgia Sues Over Job Termination Allegedly Due To His Sermons As A Lay Minister

Unknown-1We have been discussing the increasing monitoring and punishment of public employees for statements made during their personal time, including speech normally protected as free speech. The latest example of this trend is Dr. Eric Walsh, a public health expert who also serves as a lay minister. Walsh was fired for sermons on issues ranging from homosexuality to evolution. He has now filled a lawsuit and could prove important in exploring the protection for public employees with regard to political and religious speech outside of work. There remains an uncertain line as to the right of public employees to engage in free speech outside of work that may be offensive or insulting to particular groups or faiths. As a general rule, free speech demands bright-line rules to avoid the chilling effects that come with such uncertainty.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media

The United States Ranked 41st Among Nations In Press Freedom

President_Barack_ObamaFor civil libertarians, the administration of President Barack Obama fallen well short of the great expectations from his first election. Indeed, despite his high polling numbers with liberals, President Obama has left one of the worst records of modern presidents in areas like privacy, press freedom, transparency, and unilateral executive action. The antagonistic position of the Obama Administration with the media was evident in this year’s ranking by Reporters Without Borders. The U.S. is ranked 41 out of 180 countries in term of the “level of freedom of information in 180 countries.”

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Bizarre, Media, Politics

POLL: Over Half Of Voters Will Not Support Trump, Cruz, or Clinton


495px-Donald_Trump_by_Gage_Skidmore225px-Hillary_Clinton_official_Secretary_of_State_portrait_cropA new poll captures just how dysfunctional our elections have become under the duopoly exercised by the two parties. Over half of the public say that they cannot support Trump, Cruz, or Clinton in the general election. Indeed, the two frontrunners, Trump and Clinton, have the highest negatives in their respective parties.  The system has produced frontrunners that 6 out of 10 voters say they cannot support.  If that is not an indictment of our current system, I am not sure what it takes to push toward reforms.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Media, Politics, Society

Merkel Offers Erdoğan The Head of German Comedian In Final Surrender Of Free Speech

220px-Recep_Tayyip_ErdoganAngela MerkelChancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to first apologize to authoritarian Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for a satirical poem and then approve the prosecution of the comedian is a shocking and chilling disgrace. Merkel, who hails from the former Communist East Germany, has never been a reliable ally to free speech but the crackdown on comedian Jan Boehmermann has shocked the West. Even with the recent rollback of free speech rights in Europe, Merkel’s actions (and the cringing response of ZDF television) has been wake up call for all civil libertarians.

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Bizarre, Congress, International, Media, Politics, Society

Saudi Arabia Threatens To Sell Off $750 Billion In U.S. Assets If Congress Allows 9-11 Families To Sue

Abdullah_of_Saudi_ArabiaPresident_Barack_ObamaWhile the level of protection afforded Saudi Arabia in Washington is hardly a secret, the level of that support was on display this month when officials pushed the Obama Administration to release long-withheld pages from the 9-11 report, as we previously discussed. Those pages reportedly implicate Saudi Arabia in the 9-11 attacks. Saudi Arabia response with an express threat to sell off hundreds of billions of dollars of assets if Congress were to pass a bill allowing the Kingdom to be held liable for the attacks. One would think that the response would be outrage at the threat. After all, the bill would only allow citizens to sue and a bipartisan group of Senators have joined to support the 9-11 families. Saudi Arabia could still defend itself (and according to its government, vindicate itself) in a court of law. Of course, the United States has a real court system as opposed to the government controlled, Sharia “courts” used in the Kingdom to mete out medieval justice.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Media, Politics, Religion

Berkeley Student Removed From Plane After Speaking Arabic

Southwest_Air_LogoWe have another shocking case involving a passenger who was removed from a flight because his presence made other passengers nervous.
The student, Khairuldeen Makhzoomi, a senior at the University of California, Berkeley, was merely speaking in Arabic to his uncle in Iraq and recounting an exciting speech that he attended by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. After his call, he was told that he was making passengers nervous by speaking in Arabic and removed from the flight.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, Justice, Media, Politics, Society

Scapegoats Of The Ottoman Empire: Merkel Sacrifices German Satirist To Placate Turkey’s Erdoğan

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

220px-Angela_Merkel_(2008)Free speech rights in Germany took another worrying turn for the worse when German Chancellor Angela Merkel personally approved an investigation of a German citizen accused of insulting Turkey’s President Recep Erdoğan, a world leader personally responsible for the erosion of free speech in this NATO member state.

The timing and enthusiasm, despite proffers to the contrary, of the German government’s persecution of satirist Jan Böhmermann for his broadcast of a poem critical of President Erdoğan coincides directly with the German Government trying to reach a re-settlement agreement with Turkey to address the refugee crisis besieging many European nations–a situation politically damaging to Merkel’s image.

We featured numerous articles relating to President Erdoğan’s attacks on newspapers, individuals, internationals, and any critics of him who are within reach of this grasp, citing a bizarre form of Lèse majesté laws as justification. Now, Merkel is demonstrating a willingness to use a rather dusty remnant of such a statute in Germany as a tool to preserve the ego of a foreign head of state, to accomplish a domestic political goal.

For his part, Mr Böhmermann risks five years incarceration for the act of reciting poetry. In several day’s time, he became a convenient scapegoat to placate a foreign leader bent on resurrecting a Neo-Ottoman-Empire, with Erdoğan as its sultan.
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Academia, Media, Politics

University of California at Davis Hired Consultants To Remove References To Pepper-Spraying Protesters and To Improve Chancellor’s Image

175px-The_University_of_California_Davis.svg220px-Linda_Katehi_Head_Shot_2015There is a surprising report out of California that UC Davis contracted with consultants for at least $175,000 to”scrub the Internet of negative online postings following the November 2011 pepper-spraying of students. Equally disconcerting is that UC Davis paid to have these consultants improve the reputation of Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi (right). I consider giving state money to consultants to improve your image as Chancellor to be a shocking misuse of money that should go to educational programs and expenses.

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Constitutional Law, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics

Abu Dhabi Arrests U.S. Woman For “Insulting The United Arab Emirates”

220px-13-08-06-abu-dhabi-airport-16The media is still trying to learn details about the latest arrest of a Westerner in the Middle East for the exercise of free speech. The 25-year-old woman was reportedly arrested in Abu Dhabi for insulting the United Arab Emirates. This allegedly occurred while waiting for a taxi at the Abu Dhabi International Airport.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, Media, Politics, Religion, Society

TENTH CIRCUIT REVERSES SISTER WIVES DECISION

ad611-sister-wives-season-4This afternoon, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued its decision in Brown v. Buhman, No. 14-4117, reversing the decision striking down the cohabitation provision of the Utah polygamy law. The opinion of the panel is attached below. The panel ruled entirely on standing grounds and did not address the merits of the constitutional violations committed in the case. As lead counsel in the case, I have been going over the opinion with our team including our local counsel, Adam Alba, as well as the Brown family. We respectfully disagree with the panel on its interpretation of the governing law and we will appeal the decision.
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Bizarre, Media, Society, Torts

Blackhawks Sued After Loud Drunk Falls Two Rows And Crushes Another Fan

200px-ChicagoBlackhawksLogo.svgWith the Blackhawks heading into the playoffs for their eighth constitutive season, I am again in pigs heaven (though a bit nervous about starting with Duncan Keith in a roller coaster season after his thuggish conduct and well-deserved suspension). Yet, the post-regular season Blackhawks period before we play the Blues will not be without hockey action to watch. Fan John Cooke is suing the team after being crushed by a falling drunken fan at United Center on May 23rd. While widely ridiculed in Chicago, I think that the lawsuit raises some valid issues of negligence and could present an interesting case for issues like proximate cause. Judging from the complaint (which is admittedly one-sided), the “At Your Service” security contractor may be the ultimate misnomer for fans.

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