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U.S. to host World Press Freedom Day

48 points by ZeroMinx 16y ago

ZeroMinx 16y ago
Oh come on...
- VSD20C 16y ago
  haha... the title is an oxymoron
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
abyssknight 16y ago
Say what you will, but the U.S. puts up with a lot more than most countries. Be thankful for the freedoms you have and celebrate the freedom of others. Edit: Not sure why some went on the defensive. I never said you shouldn't fight to protect your own freedoms. Nor did I condemn anyone or anything. Is this really what we've been reduced to? In our search for freedom of speech we're squelching the voice of those who don't agree with us? Isn't that what you are aiming to fight?
- tumult 16y ago
  No, fight for your freedoms. Be thankful for them as an afterthought.
  - jcromartie 16y ago
    Can we be thankful for them while we fight to defend them? What's wrong with that?
- Calamitous 16y ago
  > Be thankful for the freedoms you have I think this should be "Be thankful for and watchful of the freedoms you have..."
- davi 16y ago
  > Be thankful for the freedoms you have and fight for more. (Or at least donate money to others who will do some fighting for you.)
  - sukuriant 16y ago
    Donating money is fighting. Financing the warriors helps the cause, sometimes more than one more weak warrior (read: a person that's not been fully informed of the nuances and "gotchas" of parts of the debate) could.
    - davi 16y ago
      Semantics of "fighting" vs. "supporting" aside, we agree that it's good to give money to organizations that advance freedom of the press.
      - sukuriant 16y ago
        Yes, very much so!
- swombat 16y ago
  The fact that it's better than some others is no reason to avoid condemning it when it fails to live up to its own standards. By this argument, we shouldn't complain about any abuses of government in the western, because a lot of countries do even worse to their citizens. That's a nice idea, but if it was really applied, the result would be that the western governments would soon be no better than others.
  - abyssknight 16y ago
    I don't think I said we should avoid condemning it. Did I?
    - swombat 16y ago
      You said we should be thankful for what you have. That implied disagreement with the criticism of the US govt for this hypocritical stance. I suggest starting the post with something along the lines of "I agree that this stance is hypocritical, but ..." if you want to avoid conveying disagreement. It's less concise, but it gets the message across correctly!
- ZeroMinx 16y ago
  Yes, are worse countries, but the U.S claim to be pro free speech, land of the free and all that. The reactions from cablegate speak a very different language. The irony that this announcement happens right now is beyond belief! EDIT: Fix some stupid typos
  - abyssknight 16y ago
    What reactions? I don't follow. What has the U.S. unilaterally done? The U.S. doesn't run Interpol, nor the companies which have been blacklisted by members of the community. Politicians have opinions, and due to free speech they are able to speak them.
    - blueben 16y ago
      Either you are feigning ignorance or you haven't been reading the news for a while. Politicians aren't just exercising free speech. They're exercising political influence to impose censorship, a blatant run-around of first amendment rights. They're also introducing obviously unconstitutional legislation and calling for assassination from their office.
swombat 16y ago
How hypocritical! It's not press freedom if you only allow it when it suits your agenda.
- astrodust 16y ago
  This year's special guest speaker will be held in a CIA rendition cell in a secret location. Get your tickets now!
abhimishra 16y ago
This paragraph is hilarious: "The theme for next year’s commemoration will be 21st Century Media: New Frontiers, New Barriers. The United States places technology and innovation at the forefront of its diplomatic and development efforts. New media has empowered citizens around the world to report on their circumstances, express opinions on world events, and exchange information in environments sometimes hostile to such exercises of individuals’ right to freedom of expression. At the same time, we are concerned about the determination of some governments to censor and silence individuals, and to restrict the free flow of information. We mark events such as World Press Freedom Day in the context of our enduring commitment to support and expand press freedom and the free flow of information in this digital age."
znt 16y ago
I guess the event will be sponsored by the Ministry of Truth.
- quanticle 16y ago
  The accommodations will, of course, be provided by the Ministry of Love.
fredBuddemeyer 16y ago
this is the first time i can remember when such a headline would appear ironic.
emilsedgh 16y ago
While hunting down Wikileaks and Julian Assange? dont get me wrong, i live in iran and what you have as freedom of press is a thousand years ahead of us, but really, 'world press freedom day' and calling wikileaks 'a terrorist organization' AT THE SAME TIME?
- frisco 16y ago
  s/haunting/hunting
bwb 16y ago
How ironic given our actions of wikileaks, crazy.
nir 16y ago
When WikiLeaks published the docs, I thought it would be great as it would expose Westerners to how most of the world lives & operates. Clearly it didn't. Which nation would the commenters here recommend as host of WPFD, in place of the US? (Not counting nations too remote/small to have any security concerns at all)
Charuru 16y ago
Come on guys, the United States didn't do jack to Julian Assange. It's the Swedish who are pursuing the case against him, and quite possibly the matter is one of internal politics. You might say that the US put pressure on Sweden to have this happen, but here in the civilized world we say innocent until proven guilty right? On the other hand many many Americans celebrate Wikileaks and what it represents, the government has done extremely little / nothing against wikileaks, and all the antagonists wield only rhetoric. The relative inaction so far is reason for celebration! Obviously there are always going to be people who say sensational stuff, but they don't represent the entire country.
- abyssknight 16y ago
  And thankfully our laws and the freedom of speech allow them to say all that sensational stuff. As someone once said of Voltaire's attitude: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
  - gasull 16y ago
    Are you aware that the US Government wants to accuse him Assange of treason and espionage. I think the reason they haven't formally done it yet is because they are waiting for him to be extradited to Sweden first.
    - ehutch79 16y ago
      also, not that the likes of palin will let little things like the law stop her, but you can't commit treason against the US without being a US citizen...
  - CallMeV 16y ago
    > "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." Actually, what he was really trying to say was "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to YOUR death your right to say it."
joeybaker 16y ago
I love how the lede makes it sound like UNESCO is the only real press-freedom organization in the world. Never mind folks like Reporter without Borders http://www.rsf.org http://www.rsf.org who have condemned US actions. Or, http://www.cpj.org http://www.cpj.org, or http://freedomhouse.org http://freedomhouse.org, or http://amnesty.org http://amnesty.org, or http://www.hrw.org/ http://www.hrw.org/
gasull 16y ago
37 votes 2 hours ago. And it isn't in the frontpage. Isn't something broken in the ranking?
to 16y ago
does not compute.

48 points by ZeroMinx 16y ago

ZeroMinx 16y ago

Oh come on...

VSD20C 16y ago
haha... the title is an oxymoron

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

abyssknight 16y ago

Say what you will, but the U.S. puts up with a lot more than most countries. Be thankful for the freedoms you have and celebrate the freedom of others. Edit: Not sure why some went on the defensive. I never said you shouldn't fight to protect your own freedoms. Nor did I condemn anyone or anything. Is this really what we've been reduced to? In our search for freedom of speech we're squelching the voice of those who don't agree with us? Isn't that what you are aiming to fight?

tumult 16y ago
No, fight for your freedoms. Be thankful for them as an afterthought.
- jcromartie 16y ago
  Can we be thankful for them while we fight to defend them? What's wrong with that?
Calamitous 16y ago
> Be thankful for the freedoms you have I think this should be "Be thankful for and watchful of the freedoms you have..."
davi 16y ago
> Be thankful for the freedoms you have and fight for more. (Or at least donate money to others who will do some fighting for you.)
- sukuriant 16y ago
  Donating money is fighting. Financing the warriors helps the cause, sometimes more than one more weak warrior (read: a person that's not been fully informed of the nuances and "gotchas" of parts of the debate) could.
  - davi 16y ago
    Semantics of "fighting" vs. "supporting" aside, we agree that it's good to give money to organizations that advance freedom of the press.
    - sukuriant 16y ago
      Yes, very much so!
swombat 16y ago
The fact that it's better than some others is no reason to avoid condemning it when it fails to live up to its own standards. By this argument, we shouldn't complain about any abuses of government in the western, because a lot of countries do even worse to their citizens. That's a nice idea, but if it was really applied, the result would be that the western governments would soon be no better than others.
- abyssknight 16y ago
  I don't think I said we should avoid condemning it. Did I?
  - swombat 16y ago
    You said we should be thankful for what you have. That implied disagreement with the criticism of the US govt for this hypocritical stance. I suggest starting the post with something along the lines of "I agree that this stance is hypocritical, but ..." if you want to avoid conveying disagreement. It's less concise, but it gets the message across correctly!
ZeroMinx 16y ago
Yes, are worse countries, but the U.S claim to be pro free speech, land of the free and all that. The reactions from cablegate speak a very different language. The irony that this announcement happens right now is beyond belief! EDIT: Fix some stupid typos
- abyssknight 16y ago
  What reactions? I don't follow. What has the U.S. unilaterally done? The U.S. doesn't run Interpol, nor the companies which have been blacklisted by members of the community. Politicians have opinions, and due to free speech they are able to speak them.
  - blueben 16y ago
    Either you are feigning ignorance or you haven't been reading the news for a while. Politicians aren't just exercising free speech. They're exercising political influence to impose censorship, a blatant run-around of first amendment rights. They're also introducing obviously unconstitutional legislation and calling for assassination from their office.

swombat 16y ago

How hypocritical! It's not press freedom if you only allow it when it suits your agenda.

astrodust 16y ago
This year's special guest speaker will be held in a CIA rendition cell in a secret location. Get your tickets now!

abhimishra 16y ago

This paragraph is hilarious: "The theme for next year’s commemoration will be 21st Century Media: New Frontiers, New Barriers. The United States places technology and innovation at the forefront of its diplomatic and development efforts. New media has empowered citizens around the world to report on their circumstances, express opinions on world events, and exchange information in environments sometimes hostile to such exercises of individuals’ right to freedom of expression. At the same time, we are concerned about the determination of some governments to censor and silence individuals, and to restrict the free flow of information. We mark events such as World Press Freedom Day in the context of our enduring commitment to support and expand press freedom and the free flow of information in this digital age."

znt 16y ago

I guess the event will be sponsored by the Ministry of Truth.

quanticle 16y ago
The accommodations will, of course, be provided by the Ministry of Love.

fredBuddemeyer 16y ago

this is the first time i can remember when such a headline would appear ironic.

emilsedgh 16y ago

While hunting down Wikileaks and Julian Assange? dont get me wrong, i live in iran and what you have as freedom of press is a thousand years ahead of us, but really, 'world press freedom day' and calling wikileaks 'a terrorist organization' AT THE SAME TIME?

frisco 16y ago
s/haunting/hunting

bwb 16y ago

How ironic given our actions of wikileaks, crazy.

nir 16y ago

When WikiLeaks published the docs, I thought it would be great as it would expose Westerners to how most of the world lives & operates. Clearly it didn't. Which nation would the commenters here recommend as host of WPFD, in place of the US? (Not counting nations too remote/small to have any security concerns at all)

Charuru 16y ago

Come on guys, the United States didn't do jack to Julian Assange. It's the Swedish who are pursuing the case against him, and quite possibly the matter is one of internal politics. You might say that the US put pressure on Sweden to have this happen, but here in the civilized world we say innocent until proven guilty right? On the other hand many many Americans celebrate Wikileaks and what it represents, the government has done extremely little / nothing against wikileaks, and all the antagonists wield only rhetoric. The relative inaction so far is reason for celebration! Obviously there are always going to be people who say sensational stuff, but they don't represent the entire country.

abyssknight 16y ago
And thankfully our laws and the freedom of speech allow them to say all that sensational stuff. As someone once said of Voltaire's attitude: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
- gasull 16y ago
  Are you aware that the US Government wants to accuse him Assange of treason and espionage. I think the reason they haven't formally done it yet is because they are waiting for him to be extradited to Sweden first.
  - ehutch79 16y ago
    also, not that the likes of palin will let little things like the law stop her, but you can't commit treason against the US without being a US citizen...
- CallMeV 16y ago
  > "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." Actually, what he was really trying to say was "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to YOUR death your right to say it."

joeybaker 16y ago

I love how the lede makes it sound like UNESCO is the only real press-freedom organization in the world. Never mind folks like Reporter without Borders http://www.rsf.org http://www.rsf.org who have condemned US actions. Or, http://www.cpj.org http://www.cpj.org, or http://freedomhouse.org http://freedomhouse.org, or http://amnesty.org http://amnesty.org, or http://www.hrw.org/ http://www.hrw.org/

gasull 16y ago

37 votes 2 hours ago. And it isn't in the frontpage. Isn't something broken in the ranking?

to 16y ago

does not compute.