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Are you serious? I wonder what Barrett Brown would say about this topic, if he wouldn't sit in prison right now: http://boingboing.net/2015/01/22/barrettbrown.

Are you serious? I wonder what Barrett Brown would say about this topic, if he wouldn't sit in prison right now: http://boingboing.net/2015/01/22/barrettbrown.html http://boingboing.net/2015/01/22/barrettbrown.html Are you aware that (h)activists from around the world do not travel to the USA because they fear the consequences, having their equipment seized or being imprisoned? Do you know why Laura Poitras is living in Berlin right now?

raverbashing 12y ago
I am serious and I am aware of the issues you raised. Meanwhile Turkey has to remove pages from FB because they're "offensive", not to mention other issues that happens in the ME. I am certainly not saying the US has the better situation, and Europe looks good, unless you "offend" some groups of people... And if you think censorship by DMCA is bad in the US you should know the German GEMA. Please note that freedom from critique of a country usually is much stronger while being outside of that country.
- Flip-per 12y ago
  "in any other country" reads a bit different than "turkey and some middle-east countries". This is rather about free speech than about copyright issues which GEMA and the DMCA deal with. Have a look at the Freedom of Press Index, where the USA are behind Botswana and El Salvador: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Press_Freedom_Index https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Press_Freedom_Index
  - danielweber 12y ago
    Canada, and most of the European countries, have successfully prosecuted ordinary people for "hate speech" for saying things that upset people of certain classes.
  - raverbashing 12y ago
    "where the USA are behind Botswana and El Salvador" You mean, in position 46 of 180? Higher rated than Italy, Taiwan, South Korea, Chile and Japan? Not the best position, surely, almost on the Top 4th Nice attempt of data manipulation, btw, also implying that Botswana and El Salvador should not have good freedom of press "of course"
    - lotsofmangos 12y ago
      I don't see where your claim of data manipulation comes from, people have clearly answered the question you were wondering about. The answer being yes, according to reputable sources, Chomsky would have that liberty of critique in many other countries and in several countries it would appear that he would have more.
danielweber 12y ago
Being a "journalist" is not, and shouldn't ever be, a magic get-out-of-jail-free card. In Brown's own court motions, he agreed that he had threatened the lives and families of FBI agents, and that he had hidden evidence during a warranted search. I ought to face jail for doing those things. So should Brown.
- efdee 12y ago
  What would have happened had he been a politician?
  - danielweber 12y ago
    Unfortunately, that depends on how popular the politician is. I hope this isn't some weird "because some politicians might get away with obstructing search warrants and issuing death threats, then journalists should be able to get away with it, too." You don't fix a carve-out with more carve-outs.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
ptaipale 12y ago
> Are you serious? I'm sure he is, and I agree with him. On the less serious side, it's like that old joke about American and Soviet journalists, who discuss freedoms and yelling "Down with the USA" at the Times Square and Red Square, respectively. You can do the same at both places without fear of consequences.
- lotsofmangos 12y ago
  What are you agreeing with though? Raverbashing didn't make a statement, he proposed a question. One which has been pretty well answered. As far as your joke goes however, have you tried standing in Times Square yelling "Down with the USA"? I wouldn't think it would be that safe an enterprise.

raverbashing 12y ago

I am serious and I am aware of the issues you raised. Meanwhile Turkey has to remove pages from FB because they're "offensive", not to mention other issues that happens in the ME. I am certainly not saying the US has the better situation, and Europe looks good, unless you "offend" some groups of people... And if you think censorship by DMCA is bad in the US you should know the German GEMA. Please note that freedom from critique of a country usually is much stronger while being outside of that country.

Flip-per 12y ago
"in any other country" reads a bit different than "turkey and some middle-east countries". This is rather about free speech than about copyright issues which GEMA and the DMCA deal with. Have a look at the Freedom of Press Index, where the USA are behind Botswana and El Salvador: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Press_Freedom_Index https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Press_Freedom_Index
- danielweber 12y ago
  Canada, and most of the European countries, have successfully prosecuted ordinary people for "hate speech" for saying things that upset people of certain classes.
- raverbashing 12y ago
  "where the USA are behind Botswana and El Salvador" You mean, in position 46 of 180? Higher rated than Italy, Taiwan, South Korea, Chile and Japan? Not the best position, surely, almost on the Top 4th Nice attempt of data manipulation, btw, also implying that Botswana and El Salvador should not have good freedom of press "of course"
  - lotsofmangos 12y ago
    I don't see where your claim of data manipulation comes from, people have clearly answered the question you were wondering about. The answer being yes, according to reputable sources, Chomsky would have that liberty of critique in many other countries and in several countries it would appear that he would have more.

danielweber 12y ago

Being a "journalist" is not, and shouldn't ever be, a magic get-out-of-jail-free card. In Brown's own court motions, he agreed that he had threatened the lives and families of FBI agents, and that he had hidden evidence during a warranted search. I ought to face jail for doing those things. So should Brown.

efdee 12y ago
What would have happened had he been a politician?
- danielweber 12y ago
  Unfortunately, that depends on how popular the politician is. I hope this isn't some weird "because some politicians might get away with obstructing search warrants and issuing death threats, then journalists should be able to get away with it, too." You don't fix a carve-out with more carve-outs.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

ptaipale 12y ago

> Are you serious? I'm sure he is, and I agree with him. On the less serious side, it's like that old joke about American and Soviet journalists, who discuss freedoms and yelling "Down with the USA" at the Times Square and Red Square, respectively. You can do the same at both places without fear of consequences.

lotsofmangos 12y ago
What are you agreeing with though? Raverbashing didn't make a statement, he proposed a question. One which has been pretty well answered. As far as your joke goes however, have you tried standing in Times Square yelling "Down with the USA"? I wouldn't think it would be that safe an enterprise.