Archive Page 2
This is extracted from the text of Amnesty International’s Human Rights Action Centre:
Here in Britain there are people who say that the world’s first ever concentration camps were conceived and run by the British. There are people who say this country should apologise for its role in the Atlantic slave trade. And there are people who say that Britain is currently engaged in an illegal war of conquest in Iraq.
You and I may agree or disagree with these ideas and views. But the real point is, that we are all free to discuss them. We all have a right to express our opinions about our country and its institutions, both past and present.
In Turkey - a country currently in negotiations for a place in the EU - there is no such freedom of expression. Because in Turkey there is a law called Article 301. This law says that anyone who ‘denigrates Turkishness’ or the Government of Turkey can be sent to prison for up to three years.
Amnesty International believes that Article 301 is an untenable law; that it is being used to muzzle peaceful dissenting opinions within Turkey; and that it poses a direct threat to one of the most fundamental of human rights - the right to freedom of expression.
That is why we are calling for the abolition of Article 301. And I am hoping you will support our campaign today . . .
At present, a number of Turkish writers, journalists, publishers, artists and human rights defenders are facing charges under 301. Article 301 is being used to repress, to silence, to intimidate. You can help to have it repealed.
If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to my RSS feed
A debate by the authors of two recent books, each in their way challenging the current parameters of Liberalism, both in the UK and the USA, brought together a crowd of perhaps four hundred people at the Hay Festival.
Stephen Marshall’s book, Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing, examines what he sees as the sell-out of American radicalism. [...]
Dick Jones’ tells his students to read, to read anything & everything. Make it a habit. Regard every unfamiliar word, phrase, term, figure of speech as a challenge to understanding that must be met. Master language & you need never be manipulated, exploited, controlled, owned by anyone.
If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to my RSS feed
Two books for American kids that should never have been published. Why Mommy Is a Democrat is about a single-mother squirrel intent on brainwashing her children and turning them into liberals.
Help! Mom! There Are Liberals Under My Bed! is about a couple of enterprising kids who are harassed and brow-beaten both in their dreams and in reality into adopting a mindless, flag-waving mentality.
Books, especially books for children, should concentrate on the process of freeing their minds and encouraging imagination. Both of these books do the opposite and should be avoided.
If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to my RSS feed
Save a Blogger from Begging: Buy Stuff:
Signed first editions
at special prices.
Subscribe to posts
Recent Comments