In Defense of Free Speech

Free speech isn’t very popular among the Tech folks in Silicon Valley. They think they have the right to tell us what we can and cannot hear, or read. The domain Gab.com has landed at Epik.

To the casual observer, the case of Gab.com seems like it is something new. It is not. It is history repeating itself. While there are consequences to actions, there is also the proverbial risk of throwing out the baby with the bathwater. My hope, for all of our sakes, is that Gab.com treads wisely, using its liberty for the betterment of most, and the enlightenment of all.

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gab Is Back On the Air

It took about a week, but Gab is back.

A social network that champions free speech, individual liberty and the free flow of information online. All are welcome.

And yes, some of the people are stupid, some people are extreme. Don’t listen to them (There is this little known feature where you can “unfollow” people on social media, if they piss you off.)

UK Focusing Too Much on Wrongthink

In the place where Great Britain used to be is a country that looks more like Airstrip One every year. Police need focus on violent crime, not hate crime, says UK’s top police officer.

“My officers are very busy, they are very stretched. We have young people in London subject to gang violence, getting involved in drug dealing, stabbings, lots and lots of priorities.

“We can’t go on increasing the scale of the mission, unless we are given more resources, or the public is prepared for us to do some things not very well.”

All of this is in the face of real problems.

It was allied to a surge in drug-related crime. “We have supply up, clear evidence that the production of cocaine is up, the purity is up, the price is down, addictions are up, deaths are up. It’s being played out by drugs gangs on the streets of our cities and towns across the country.”

They don’t have a guarantee for freedom of speech in the UK, and the .gov is more intent on limiting speech a little more every month.

More Proof Europe Doesn’t Have Free Speech

I’d say it is the end of free speech, if I thought they ever had it. European court rejects Austrian’s case over prophet slur.

This ruling amounts to recognizing the heckler’s veto.

The ECHR said the Austrian court’s decision “served the legitimate aim of preserving religious peace.”

She noted that someone marrying a young girl (12) today would be a crime.

That’s What You Call Ironic

It’s all fun and games until the Left gets censored. Leftist Site Which Cheered The Banning Of Alex Jones Just Got Banned Too.

The left-wing propaganda mill Reverb Press cheered when Alex Jones got deplatformed and banned from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Apple and Spotify in a concerted, Orwellian purge.

Irony is apparently lost on the Left.

Belisle [the editor] said, “Facebook’s characterization of the kind of work we did — and our motives for doing it — is wrong, and those who support a free press in America should be very worried about how the company disappeared our page.”

So who’s in favor of a free press? A free internet?

Staying In Touch in The Face of Liberal Censorship

Since Facebook and Twitter have shown they are serious about censoring free speech, I thought some updates were in order. You may have noticed some changes to the blogroll. Some people have given up on blogging, others seem to have returned after initially believing the FB and and Twitter propaganda. And since we can’t rely on Facebook or Twitter or other social media (or even Google) to not be evil and thwart free speech, I thought it would be good to include more voices.

Of course that probably means that I won’t be able to read everyone’s writing as frequently as I like. But you have to stay connected.

When Did Giant Balloons Become the Preferred Form of Protest?

I suppose this is in response to the Trump balloon. But the good people of London are not happy with their mayor. Sadiq Khan bikini balloon launched in London.

“Under Sadiq Khan, we have seen crime skyrocket to unprecedented levels. People in London don’t feel safe […] Khan out.”

Both gun and knife crime are on the rise in London, despite Draconian gun control and knife control.

And of course the guy who organized it is being called “Nazi” and “Far-right” because tolerance only flows in one direction.