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Moving now would be unfair to the other bidders Qatar beat bids from Australia, South Korea, the U.S. and Japan to win the right to stage the 2022 World Cup. Moving it to another date other than the one they all had to include in their bidding offers would be unfair towards the losers of that bidding process. When su... | |
It is true that the change of dates might constitute a problem for media companies, but there are a few points due to which this change wouldn’t be unfair towards them. First of all, it was clear from the beginning that the dates could change and that the final decision belonged to the FIFA Organising Committee. As a ... | |
Teaching just evolution does not prevent teacher encouraging students to analyse how well evolution fits with the facts the students have learned. Similarly there can still be critical discourse in the classroom; analysing a fossil to decide what kind of animal it was and what its various parts of its anatomy were for ... | |
Teaching creationism as well as evolution gives students freedom to choose This bill that opens the door to creationism is really about changing the way that teaching is done to make it more critical and analytical. This is an improvement in scientific education as it will help ensure that science is about critical, c... | |
In practice allowing room for other theories is a “permission slip for teachers to bring creationism, climate-change denial and other non-science into science classrooms”. The singling out of these subjects in the bill shows that it is not about impartiality and objectivity in science. [1] Instead it is promoting a kin... | |
Freedom of speech should apply to teachers as much as anyone else Freedom of speech and expression are protected by the first amendment to the US constitution [1] and teachers are entitled to freedom of speech and their academic freedom as much as anyone else. If a science teacher does not believe that the evidence su... | |
This is not a freedom of speech issue. Teachers are already free to express their own views during their own free time. When teaching in a school however they are limited by the demands of what is necessary to teach their pupils. Freedom of speech does not give teachers qualified in one subject the wherewithal to teach... | |
The bill does not exclude evolution just allows room for other theories What this bill allows is for the facts to be taught and then seen through the lens of various theories. The bill requires that the schools within the state remain within the state science curriculum. It “protects the teaching of scientific informa... | |
First the ‘don’t say gay’ bill has not been passed as it was dropped by its republican sponsor Joey Hensley. [1] That this bill is directed at only a few subjects does not mean that it is not about academic freedom and freedom of speech. The bill is simply targeting and highlighting areas where the assembly believes fr... | |
It is never too early to teach students to question ideas and theories no matter how well grounded they may claim to be. Students are capable of realiseing that there is a difference between the theories that interpret the facts and the facts themselves so educating in the facts will not be more difficult. The result w... | |
Children should have the freedom not to be misled Part of freedom of speech is the freedom to get accurate information. The students in school have this right not to be misled by their teachers [1] so teachers should have to concentrate on providing facts and evidence and what has been scientifically proven. Eugenie C... | |
As it is not science creationism should not even be covered by the Tennessee law As creationism does not fit the definition of "science", it is not even addressed by the law cited in the introduction to this discussion. The act specifically allows to discuss "scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of existing ... | |
Tennessee is not seeking to protect freedom of speech While supporters of this bill justify it based upon ‘academic freedom’ this is clearly not a motivating factor for the Tennessee legislature. At almost the same time a bill that prevents teachers discussing homosexuality was passed through the state’s education com... | |
Teachers should not have freedom to teach whatever they wish as fact There is a difference between a demand for freedom to teach what you like and freedom of speech. Freedom of speech does not apply in the classroom; students are not allowed to stand up and discuss whatever issues they want and neither should the teac... | |
We cannot yet fully test evolution either; we can't recreate evolution in the lab. Creationism provides a valid critique and so should be taught alongside. | |
It is unquestioningly taking the ‘consensus’ view on issues like evolution and climate change that is misleading children. Teaching only the one viewpoint misleads children into thinking that the issue is fact and settled so denying the ongoing controversies in each of these areas. [1] [1] Zabarenko, Deborah, ‘Tenness... | |
It’s fairly predictable that in a country such as Pakistan where the overwhelming majority come from one religious tradition that there will be a higher percentage of those people to be offended and, conversely, that a majority of suspects are likely to come from other groups. | |
Inevitably protects entrenched interest groups (Church in Crucible, Muslims in Pakistan) In the event of two different perceptions of what constitutes harm, there is a tendency for that of the larger group to be seen as normative and, therefore, correct. This is shown to be the case in the example given here but also ... | |
The right to free speech is not a license to express any opinion regardless of the context. It’s equivalent of standing in a Museum and shouting, “Fire”. It is in these environments that caution is required. Allowing free speech is one thing, allowing speech likely to cause harm is another is quite a different. There ... | |
Based on allegation rather than proof (cf. Sorcery, witchcraft, etc.) Blasphemy, by its nature, is ‘all in the eye of the beholder’. It is impossible, in most cases, to determine whether there was intent on the part of the accused and as a result it is difficult to codify in legislation. Equally, unless the law takes ... | |
It is perfectly possible in many circumstances to demonstrate intent before a blasphemous comment is made. Waving a banner making derogatory remarks about the founder of a religion or burning an emblem of the faith outside a place of worship could easily be said to demonstrate an intent to harm. Moreover many cases co... | |
People have a right to blaspheme In the laws that come the closest in framework to blasphemy – libel, slander defamation and a range of incitement laws – there is a requirement to prove harm. This level of proof is not set at the level of being offended or believing that a problem may ensue, and certainly not at the l... | |
This is the truly the argument of rogues. Where a mob seeks to gather to deliver their own brand of very immediate justice would be against the law and should be dealt with as such. For governments to argue such an approach is a complete abdication of responsibility. It is also incredibly naïve to suppose that the nice... | |
If any state were to try and protect their citizens against all offence, it would have to ban everything. It is difficult to see how such a process could work – one that would allow Saudi men to be offended by the sight of a woman driver and, at the same time, those of a more liberal nature to be offended by them not d... | |
Blasphemy is comparable to legislation banning hate speech Not only can remarks or images be labelled as inappropriate but, in extreme cases governments ban organisations, meeting and demonstrations. Where speech is deemed to be prejudiced or inflammatory the state intervenes to prevent either offence or possible viol... | |
If the courts did not handle these issues, the mob likely would. Where a grave offence is caused to many people and the state proves to be impotent in addressing it, it is not uncommon for vigilantes to take matters into their own hands. Surely it is preferable to have such situations handled by the courts and under ... | |
Blasphemy causes offence to groups and individuals Not agreeing with a law does not provide carte blanche to ignore it. The reality is that large numbers of people in many countries and religious traditions find blasphemy offensive and upsetting. If, as prop argues this crime causes no harm, then they presumably accep... | |
There are clear differences between racist, sexist or homophobic language and blasphemy. Hate speech legislation exists to protect minorities against being abused. A blasphemy ban, by contrast, simply perpetuates the influence of already powerful interest groups. Equally, to develop ops theory of sudden vigilante group... | |
Corporations represent the collective labour, goals, capital and ideas of a vast number of people. Far from representing a “person” who is accorded undue influence and significance by politicians, corporations are crucial in allowing major contributors to national economies to have a say in the affairs of the states th... | |
Corporate influence distracts politicians from the needs of their constituents. The content of public speech is informed as much by the ideas and convictions of individuals engaged in free expression as it is by the concurrent acts of expression engaged in by other individuals. Free speech is a product of society and ... | |
Corporates that attempt to address social issues damage political discourse. Corporate personhood is a challenging concept for liberal democracies. On the one hand, the legal fiction that underlies personhood enables groups of citizens to quickly and efficiently join forces to make collective grievances heard and to u... | |
The proposition side have resurrected an old legal mechanism that was of limited use in order to defend an inaccurate and polarising interpretation of corporate rights. The proposition argues that the actions and behaviour of profit making business corporations will always be guided by the profit motive and that, for ... | |
The value placed upon the right to free expression reflects its ability to enable the articulation of new, compelling and beneficial ideas, alongside damaging forms of speech. In liberal democratic societies, the potential inherent in free speech has always preserved it against limitation by legislation and- to a great... | |
Limiting the rights of corporate persons would harm a wide range of organisations and limit the freedom of natural persons. Public speech and exchanges of ideas lie at the root of political and social decision making in liberal democracies. Without a guarantee that expression will remain free and protected from govern... | |
Uses of free speech motivated by personal gain should still be protected. The primary objection of the supporters of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act to the decision taken in the Citizens United case seems to be that the objective of some corporations is usually the maximisation of the profits that their shareholder... | |
The People’s Rights Amendment is a proposed amendment to the United States constitution that attempts to address corporations’ increased freedom to engage in political campaigning. Referring to the First Amendment, section 2 of the PRA states “The word people, person or citizen as used in this constitution do not inclu... | |
Mehanna clearly expressed sympathy with enemies of the US. His actions since his return from Yemen put the lie to the idea that he wished to pursue legal training and suggest a rather more explicitly jihadi purpose. He has published documentation that explicitly encourages Jihad in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen where... | |
Innocent until proven Muslim Judging people by their actions rather than what they may or may not have been thinking is a fairly fundamental tenet of liberty and seems to have been thrown aside with casual disregard in this case [i] . There needs to have been a goal in place for this to meaningfully be described as a ... | |
None of those mentioned have travelled to Yemen in pursuit of training, presumably to be followed by participation in, the Jihad. They have not posted online 37 ways to be involved in one. They haven’t identified themselves as being more supportive of Muslims, regardless of their nationality, than of their fellow count... | |
One man’s freedom fighter is another’s terrorist. Nobody is suggesting that Mehanna planted a bomb – or even attempted to. His crime, if it deserves such a word is to hold an opinion and to have expressed it. That opinion was that current American military policy in the Muslim world is wrong and to suggest that those ... | |
Prop’s argument is an intellectual sleight of hand. Ignoring the fact that the Founding Fathers and Islamic extremists are fighting for diametrically opposed goals (a reactionary theocracy versus a revolutionary democracy) they are doing so in a different world. A world where information and perception are tools of war... | |
This is no different than political comment, etc. Scholars, commentators and satirists [i] have pointed out the hypocrisy of current US strategy in the Islamic world. They have also pointed out that the only rational response to overwhelming American military superiority in terms of hardware is the kind of warfare bei... | |
It is an interesting argument to suggest that the suppression of Mehanna’s rights is okay because it has not been as sweeping as the generalised internment of Japanese Americans or the insanity of the McCarthy trials. Op is basically arguing, “Look, it could have been far more brutal, so count yourselves lucky.” One ca... | |
Warfare hasn’t changed because it is now a battle between creeds – that has often been the case in the past. The asymmetric warfare to which op refers is a direct result of the military hegemony of the US. To confuse criticism of taking a military approach – that bombs are not the answer in a battle of ideas – with mat... | |
‘Providing support’ must be considered to relate to implied moral support and justification There is far more to aiding an enemy of the state than supplying them with armaments or funding. Propagandists and other saboteurs of the mind [i] have always been seen as a very real threat to national security, especially in ... | |
Views of free speech in time of war (Japanese internment, American Communist party, etc.) Nations act to defend themselves in times of war. Frequently those actions do not represent the highest ideals against which that nation may wish to be judged but they are an unpleasant reality of survival. It is demonstrably tru... | |
Differing nature of war (not essays against king or country but about creeds) In an unusual show of unity, most analysts are agreed that the wars of the 21st century will be markedly different from those that went before [i] . Clashes will be between civilisations and global perspectives fought with comparatively scan... | |
Tarek Mehanna was engaged in promoting a political viewpoint that may not be shared by many but is certainly shared by some. Among them other American citizens [i] . When did promoting a viewpoint in the land of free speech become a crime? While we may not like that a U.S. citizen sympathises with the objective of remo... | |
Quite different claims are made about the origin of the authority of the other thinkers prop mentions. Their authority derives from the contents of their works whereas that of the prophets derives from a supreme being. To question their words is, therefore, to question the power and judgement of the supreme being to es... | |
Special pleading Why are religious creeds given special license to block others freedom of expression? We live in a world of laws, supported by evidence on the basis of what can be perceived in the world around us. This applies in the fields of politics, law, science and others. Only when it comes to religion (and, po... | |
The fact that religious thought tends to be subverted to defend the status quo is hardly a compelling argument as the same can be said for almost all forms of thought. There is a natural backlash from vested interests against any innovation and religion should not be blamed for having this same tendency. We should howe... | |
A one way street Religion is at the heart of people’s identities and is based upon belief rather than reason so it is not surprising that religious groups sometimes take offence both quickly and easily. While political ideologies, or in certain scientific theories, may be believed as feverently religion by some with t... | |
It is a massive over-generalisation to suggest a link between those who take offence from blasphemous or sacrilegious statements and violence [i] . Furthermore within the predicates of religious thought an offence against god has to be of a magnitude different from one against a temporal power – to question that basic ... | |
Stifling progress and the right of others The particular subjects areas often chosen by theists to find offensive make for an interesting list; Freedom of expression, The rule of law, Scientific progress, Medical progress, Artistic expression To name but a few. There are remarkably few areas of human progress an... | |
It certainly doesn’t prove the point, it does however highlight one. As a result of religious teaching the majority of people have, at different points in history, been certain that; The Earth was flat, The Earth, or even a particular point on the earth, was the centre of the universe, The Earth is less than six tho... | |
Who is to judge when an expression has a ‘point’? In the cases cited by Opposition, the ‘point’, however inexpertly made, seems to have been to demonstrate the many flaws and contradictions within the Koran. To suggest that demonstrating that one of the world’s major religions – with one and a half billion followers an... | |
Realpolitik Freedom of expression should be exercised with care. Everyone who exercises this right has to remember that there are consequences of their actions. The Innocence of Muslims is a good example of this. Dropping explosive comments or artworks into situations [i] that are already fraught with historical tensi... | |
The interests of the majority Although it may not prove the issue, it is certainly worth being aware of the fact that when referring to “theists”, proposition is talking about the overwhelming majority of the world’s population and then attempting to portray a small, fundamentalist minority as typical. Even talking mo... | |
Why cause offence to no purpose? The important issue here is the outcome. In most imaginable instances the person or group causing the offence has nothing to gain. If people of faith find things offensive in a way that a comparable devotee of Marx or Adam Smith does not, why cause that offence? We don’t wander around ... | |
Realpolitik is not a reason to compromise our ideals. Comments and artworks about “explosive situations” are a fundamental part of free expression. Opposition seems to be labouring under the misapprehension that free-expression is okay, so long as nobody minds. If nobody objects to it, there’s no need to have a right t... | |
The Opposition is perfectly happy to be attacked for making life easier for people with disabilities by taking down barriers that separate them from the wider population. There a parts of any community that prefer to do things in a certain way, however governments rarely commit to guaranteeing all preferences, instead ... | |
Braille should be offered the same protection as minority languages. The issue of the protection of minority languages is a difficult one for most governments as it is usually argued that most speakers of such languages also make use of the dominant language and, where they don’t, they should learn for their own good.... | |
It is not a case of insisting that there are other or better options; there are other or better options. Equally, there is no need to ‘predict’ the death of the physical book; it is dying. Increasingly specialist publishers, such as Dorchester Publishing which focuses on paperbacks, [i] will only produce e-books as it ... | |
Free speech is as much about being able to receive the ideas of others as it is about expressing one’s own. We know from the work of educational psychologists that different people acquire knowledge in different ways. For example, some sighted language learners learn more effectively visually, other aurally. The evide... | |
Free speech may well be about the ability to receive ideas as well as express them but in neither case is it about how those ideas are expressed or received. To suggest that a state that refuses to provide a movie studio to any of its citizens who requests one is somehow suppressing their right of free expression would... | |
The attacks on Braille are part of a wider move against the physical book. The death of the book has been predicted with virtually every technological innovation and yet, it remains one of the most widespread and recognised means of communication in the world, with physical book sales representing about 80% of total b... | |
All of that may well be true, however it does not make the two approaches mutually exclusive. Demonstrating that digital is good does not make analogue bad. Attacks on libraries have been driven more by austerity cuts, that are forcing 20% of the staff at Library and Archives Canada to go, [i] and the situation is simi... | |
The suggestion that seven million dollars is an excessive expenditure on a resource for 836,000 is extortionate is simply nonsense. That’s a little over eight dollars a head, hardly likely to break the bank. To say that a government is not discouraging the use of something by making it harder to access is simply untrue... | |
If the information is accessible in another format, it is wrong to claim that this is an issue of free speech. To argue that this is a matter of the infringement of the right to free speech is not only wrong but offensive to those who have had that right genuinely curtailed. A stifling of free speech is about cutting ... | |
Readers of all kinds are adapting to books being produced in new formats, publishers need to respond to this decline. The current shift in publishing is unlike any other that has gone before, e-books are not like the TV, the Record player or the radio as all of these could only reproduce books in heavily edited form. ... | |
It is not a case of insisting that there are other or better options; there are other or better options. Equally, there is no need to ‘predict’ the death of the physical book; it is dying. Increasingly specialist publishers, such as Dorchester Publishing The introduction makes reference to the seventy-two volume ‘pock... | |
This is a little reminiscent of Anatole France’s comment that “The law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal their bread.” [i] Those who feel uncomfortable with a method of delivery are less likely to use it and are therefore excluded, in part... | |
It all boils down to personal action. People who act embarrassingly in parties should not be surprised that they can be filmed. Likewise, the ‘Star Wars kid’ left the copy of a video in his high school’s film studio where it was found by other teenagers. Even people who become victims of revenge porn at the very beginn... | |
People need protection against harmful information posted by others People cannot control information that others post about them, for instance embarrassing photos from parties. Even if the original source came from people themselves, they cannot delete this information if it has been shared by other people on their s... | |
It is not true that people cannot manage consequences from their action online. It might only seem so but that is because the issues around personal data have emerged relatively recently, so we are still learning to deal with them. Individuals are learning how to manage their personal data online responsibly to make su... | |
It is unfair for people to suffer for silly past mistakes People make silly mistakes, especially when they are young. The age from which you can join Facebook is 13 and pretty much anyone can post videos to Youtube, run a blog or post comments. It is then no surprise that people can leave unflattering information abou... | |
People put up all those unflattering things about themselves online without being forced to. Those are true, even if not full, representations of them. But that one-sided representation is exactly how the person wanted to be seen. They always have an option of showcasing a better image of themselves (through photos, vi... | |
People suffer disproportional consequences on the internet The internet magnifies the problem of embarrassing personal data and makes it very hard for people to manage the consequences. In real life, though we suffer consequences for our embarrassing behaviour (or behaviour others think is embarrassing), we can manage... | |
People’s digital footprint, though it might be indicative of who a person is, is not a perfect representation of them or of their entire character. People act differently on the internet behind a screen, and sometimes some anonymity, than in real life because they feel free of social norms. But in real life social norm... | |
The internet is different from reality since the magnitude of consequences you might suffer is much greater. While there might be a school laughing at you over something in real life, on the internet it might be the whole world. We accept ridicule and embarrassment in real life not just because it happens, but also bec... | |
This right relieves people of the need to act responsibility online Having a right to be forgotten means that people can be less responsible about what they share and how they act on the internet. Knowing that they can always remove all trace of what they did relieves people of the necessity to consider the consequenc... | |
What seems like irrelevant information now might serve justice in the future People’s digital footprint, though of no public interest at the moment, might be useful in the future. It is a common practice in courts to investigate a person’s character or motives to check for their probability of committing a crime. Phot... | |
The internet does not need additional rights to those in the real world The right to be forgotten is premised on the idea that internet requires additional rights beyond those in the real world. Offline there is no right to demand that people do not to talk about or show photos of your embarrassing moments. Provided t... | |
We expect people to want to use the right to be forgotten mostly when the information on the web is actually hurting them. That means that, in the most common scenario, people would face negative consequences before they can use the right, otherwise why bother one-self with engaging the legal system? However a lack of ... | |
What exactly is the public interest? It is difficult to define in law as Britain is finding in its enquiry into phone hacking, [1] and individuals disagree. [2] Journalists in particular are likely to be much happier about the idea than the rest of the public because it defends their interest to have a broad interpreta... | |
The public have a right to know what is committed in their name “There were aspects of IDF operations which I thought should be brought to the attention of the public.” [1] Kamm is correct; in any state, but especially in a democracy like Israel, the military is there to protect the state and its people. It is paid fo... | |
Yes the military has to be accountable but this does not mean that it is directly accountable to the people. Instead the military is accountable to the civilian leadership of the country who is then in turn accountable to the people. The people designate their politicians; their head of state and government as well as ... | |
It is right that illegal acts by the state be exposed Anat Kamm was correct when she said “I kept thinking that history tends to forgive people who expose war crimes.” [1] Maj.-Gen. Yair Naveh was documented as saying “This is an arrest operation… But in case [the soldiers] identify one of the senior leaders of the I... | |
While it may be a journalist’s job and duty to call the government to account this is not the duty of a soldier who is supposed to be following orders. The soldier’s duty in such a situation would have been to report up the chain of command. As the Judge in the case concluded: "There is no need to steal thousands of cl... | |
The military can only be held to account if there is transparency States have militaries to protect themselves creating a paradox that “The very institution created to protect the polity is given sufficient power to become a threat to the polity.” [1] The Military is a powerful institution even in a stable democracy l... | |
If individuals are never allowed to take action themselves then we are leaving everything up to the state and the military; two institutions that in cases like this have every reason to attempt to suppress the truth. When the state will not take responsibility for its actions then it is right that others should force i... | |
This might be a valid argument if the leaked military secrets really were putting lives in danger, but this is not the case in this particular instance. In Israel there is a military censor which newspapers submit articles that might affect national security to and that censor takes out anything it believes to be harmf... | |
National security should come before freedom of information The Security of the Nation comes before other considerations such as the freedom of information. This is especially true in a nation such as Israel which is surrounded by enemies who will take advantage of any information that they can use to damage Israel. I... | |
Individuals do not have the right to decide what information should be publicly available. No individual is empowered to decide for themselves what information should be publicly available and certainly not a 23 year old student. A conscript like Kamm will have little idea of the context, whether operations have taken... | |
Leaking military secrets puts lives in danger The right to life is the most fundamental right of all. No one should have the right to leak information that might result in someone losing their life. As the documents that Kamm collected included details of IDF deployments and plans for military operations [1] the leaki... | |
Anat Kamm did not leak information that could ever result in the destruction of the Israeli state. Her lawyer argued "It was never her intention to harm the security of the state” and this was accepted by the Israeli state as shown by the plea bargain in which it dropped the charge having the intention to harm the secu... | |
It is difficult to see how discourse and free inquiry are a basic right when it comes to history. This is not an area which is going to affect people’s lives and liberty if they cannot read about every possible opinion on the subject exactly because what is in the past is in the past and does not impact on people’s day... | |
Prohibition of a subject damages discourse and free enquiry History is not something that it is worth sacrificing freedom of speech and expression for. Every individual should be free to voice their own views and this includes on areas that are important to the state such as its formation and national heros. In these ... | |
This is equally an argument for treating national heroes and history with the respect it deserves. Attacking these ideas is attacking the very foundation of the nation state. Of course the national identity is not going to disappear from undermining Atatürk as the national community is built on more than just Atatürk b... | |
Countries must be willing to accept the darker sides to their past No country is whiter than white, and often the creation of a country is a bloody event that involves mistakes, tragedy’s and outright massacres. While it is wrong to cover up and not apologise when mistakes are made or horrifying acts are committed the... |
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