October 09, 2008

Mark Steyn Verdict Due Tomorrow.

And you thought kangaroos were from Australia?

They're from Canada, Baby.


Via a tweet from All American Blogger—some fascinating stuff, there.

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May 21, 2008

Ever Want To Know What Life Would Be Like In the U.S.A. Without the Bill of Rights?

Look north.

Kathy Shaidle—herself, of course, potentially a victim of Canada's repressive attitude toward freedom of speech—recounts some of the leadup to the upcoming tar-and-feathering of Mark Steyn and Maclean's in Canada:

So, “when the British Columbia ‘Human Rights’ Tribunal finds us guilty,” writes Steyn, “they are statutorily obligated to issue a cease-and-desist order that will have the effect of preventing Maclean’s running any writing on Islam by me or anybody of a similar bent — even though the plaintiffs have not challenged the accuracy of a single fact or statistic or quotation.”

He continued:

So four weeks from now I’ll be banished from the Canadian media. … But a year or two down the line, many other subscribers to Maclean’s and the Chronicle-Herald and eventually the Globe and the Toronto Star will be wondering why there are whole areas of debate that no longer seem to get much of an airing in the public prints. In 1989, Muslims who objected to Salman Rushdie burned his novel in the streets of England. Two decades on, they’ve figured out that it’s more efficient to use the “human rights” commissions to burn the offending texts metaphorically, discreetly, offstage … and (ultimately) preemptively.

In many respects, the June 2 Tribunal’s guilty verdict will represent the ultimate triumph of those “progressive” “Trudeaupian” ideals that have been infecting the nation’s institutions for generations.

“At one point,” remarked Steyn after that televised “debate,” “I looked across at the Sock Puppet Three [the "aggrieved" Muslims who lodged the official complaint] and thought: It’s not about who wins the argument. They’re the future of this country, and that’s that.”

Via Insty.

Hey—I've done my part. I bought America Alone in hardcover, and my radical chic T-shirt arrived a few days ago.

Son of a bitch, I'll miss free speech in Canada. And I've never even been there. And self-defense is illegal in England. What has happened to the Anglosphere?

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April 23, 2008

Playboy Contains Porn?

Are you sure?


If the target were Hustler, I wouldn't be too upset: after all, it's kind of a degrading magazine, and it makes sex/the human body look gross and ugly. But Playboy and Penthouse? Get real.

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Support Free Speech in Canada!

Via Insty it's "Warman Wednesday" at Steyn Online:

IT'S A FREE SPEECH FUNDRAISER at SteynOnline! Mark Steyn writes: "Until midnight Eastern tonight, for every copy of America Alone sold at the Steyn store, we'll give 50 per cent of the cover price - ie, our entire profit - to the legal defense funds for the five beleaguered bloggers fighting for free speech in Canada. That's 50 per cent of the cover price of the paperback, hardback, audio book (in CD, tape or MP3 format) and our America Alone Anniversary Special. And we'll also put 50 per cent of every other book, T-shirt, mug or anything else we sell today to the Freedom Five."

Plus, he'll autograph 'em. Go for it!

That is, he'll autograph the books. Hm; I've been wanting that Steyn T-shirt that makes fun of "Che-chic" for a while. And I have until 9:00 p.m. here in the land of palm trees.

We've got to do more for the Free Speech Five—that's for sure.

The Steyn Online link above also has links to news on Warman's antics, including a Shire Network News podcast featuring Kate from Small Dead Animals and Kathy from Five Feet of Fury—two of the "Free Speech Five."

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March 10, 2008

Free Speech in Canada

An update at Mark Steyn's site (yes; I'm over a week late on this one):

I heard yesterday from across the Atlantic (I'm traveling in Europe) that the Ontario Human Rights Commission has declined to hear the Canadian Islamic Congress suit against Maclean's on the grounds that they deal in denials of service on the basis of race, creed, etc, and a magazine is not a "service". That's certainly true in the case of Maclean's: many of us haven't serviced anyone in years.

To recap: Three cases were launched against Maclean's and me. One against Ezra Levant. The score so far: Two-zip to the freespeechers.

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February 17, 2008

Attention SoCal Alternative Media Types!

The producers of Ben Stein's Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed are putting together their contact lists for Los Angeles screening(s) of the movie, which questions the putative exclusion of Intelligent Design from academic debate about the evolution of species and the origins of life.

I've seen the film once, but it raised more questions for me than it answered. So I must go again. It is beautifully done.

Any webloggers, podcasters, or radio people who would like their info forwarded to the PR team/producers should email me about this within 48 hours, so I can give the organizers an idea of the new-media demand. As I understand it, people with science/biology backgrounds are especially encouraged to throw their hat into the ring for these screenings. (Of course CalTech Girl and her public-schoolteacher husband are going; you had to ask?)

Hope to hear from you soon; thanks!

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October 08, 2007

I Dunno.

This all sounds pretty normal to me.

Of course, I'm from Whittier.

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May 17, 2007

"You Can't Fight City Hall."

Unless you have a blog.

The Foothills Cities blog has retained counsel to defend itself against the attempts at intimidation by the City of Pomona.

The money quote from the Bostwick & Jassy letter sent to Pomona's City Attorney:

A response to any lawsuit will surely include a special motion to strike under Code of Civil Procedure 425.16, which is designed to weed out SLAPP suits (SLAPP is an acronym for Stretegic Lawsuits Against Public Participation). Under that law, the defendants need to demonstrate that the targeted speech relates to a matter of public interest (which it clearly does here), and then the plaintiffs would have the burden of demonstrating a probability of success on their claims, without the benefit of any discovery. Your clients would not be able to satisfy such a burden. As a result, our clients would prevail, and they would be entitled to a mandatory award of their attorneys fees under the anti-SLAPP statute. Not only will any defamation plaintiffs waste the public's money paying their attorneys, they will end up paying our cleints' fees.

It's a beautiful thing. At least, I see it that way. Robert Hymers* may disagree, along with J.L. Kirk & Associates*, Enigma Software Group*, Infotel/Vericom/AmeriCorp***, the City of Pomona, and so many others.

There is a lovely passage in the coverage of this story by the Whittier Daily News (other than the fact that I—a hometown girl, whose four grandparents lived in that town for decades!—got a mention):

Pomona officials questioned the lofty aspirations of Foothill Cities [Blog] and challenged the need for anonymity.

"I could take a pseudonym of somebody that had more prestige or historical significance and be totally inaccurate," said Paula Lantz, a Pomona City Councilwoman. "Why would I give more credence or less credence to what they write by how they identify themselves?"

Lantz likened any Internet buzz over the posts, Alvarez-Glasman's letter and Foothill Cities reaction to spam chain letters that circulate from friend to friend via e-mail.

"It's like when someone forwards some cute, little anecdotal stories about Mother's Day, or Easter, or name the circumstance," Lantz said. "It went to a gazillion people because everyone that gets it turns around and clicks `send to all' and it gets sent to their entire directory of contacts and so on and so on and so on."

Pomona Mayor Norma Torres compared Foothill Cities coverage of Pomona to supermarket tabloids.

"They don't have the full picture of what's going on," she said. "I laugh at them. You know what? They are gossipers."

Lantz said she first became aware of the blog after receiving an e-mail on April 20.

"The e-mail said, `We thought you might be interested in a recent post. We're happy to publish your response or commentary on the topic," Lantz said. "It was signed, `best, Centinel."

So the officials in Pomona admit that they only know about the posts in question because one of the bloggers made a good-faith effort to get their side of the story. And blogs are, to them, simply gossip and innuendo—not worthy of notice. Except, of course, when it's time to send threatening letters on City letterhead.

Amazing.


Thanks to David Carr Harr for sending the link to the Whittier Daily News. My family—both sides, the Goodwins and Whittemores alike—will be thrilled/horrified.

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May 09, 2007

Support H.R. 2060; Save Internet Radio.

For those of you who are new to the issue, there's a nice background piece by Michael Minn here:

In 2005, the digital royalty was 0.07 cents per song streamed (per listener) and small webcasters were able to calculate royalties as a percentage of revenue rather than on a per-song basis. This made it possible for small, often niche, webcasters with limited revenue streams to be financially viable, although most webcasters did it for love rather than money and usually lost modest amounts of money on their webcasting ventures. A typical small Live365 webcaster paid around $600 per year in digital royalties.

On March 2, 2007 the Library of Congress' Copyright Royalty Board (CRB), which oversees royalty rates, got rid of the revenue-based royalty provision, mandated a minimum royalty of $500 per channel per year, and established a higher royalty rate that will increase to 0.19 cents per song streamed per listener in 2010. For a webcaster that broadcasts 15 songs an hour to 500 listeners, that will increase the royalty to over $72,000 a year in 2010. For the six largest Internet-only broadcasters (who are financially marginal, at best), the royalty increase will represent over 50% of their total income. Pandora.com's founder, Tim Westergren, told Newsweek, "If this stays, we're done. Back to the stone age again." My favorite station, JazzPlayerRadio, has already left the web because the new rates will be applied retroactively to the first of the year.

Lest you think that some stations could survive by webcasting music from independent labels and producers, the RIAA has secured legal authority to administer a compulsory license that covers ALL recorded music. This means SoundExchange can force a royalty payment for ALL webcast music, with the provision that an independent label or artist can then join SoundExchange (for a significant fee) and get the money that was extracted on their behalf.

And for you NPR fans, this affects you. NPR is spearheading the effort against the new royalty because they have a significant number of listeners via the web. The new rules would be an accounting nightmare for them because only a portion of their programming is commercial music, but figuring out who is listening when a Justin Timberlake bumper plays on All Things Considered is really hard. For more details on NPR's role in this, see this article on NPR's initial appeal of the royalty increase.

From Mary McCann, Radio IO's The Bone Mama (as well as my sister-in-law, and felow PT Cruiser owner) come these ideas for nullifying the Copyright Royalty Board's decision:

An Easy "How-To Guide" for Making that Fateful Phone Call:



On March 2nd the Copyright Royalty Board set the rates that internet radio must pay for the years 2006-2010. My company and similar-sized operations will go from paying 11% of our revenues to 294% of our revenues, which means we will be upside-down unless HR 2060 passes. The first payment is due on July 17th, so immediate attention is desperately needed!

This is a death match for the beautiful medium of internet radio. The issue is access to the net and audiences for artists—not to mention my access to rice and beans. I'm asking you to make a phone call. It really makes a difference!

We have 51 sponsors today; there were only seven 10 days ago, before we went to Washington, D.C. One rep from Arizona is on board, and thatÂ’s all from that state. There are a handful from California, including the representative for Marin County, and we have a good early showing from Illinois. The bill is bipartisan: it was started by a guy in Washington state, Rep. Jay Inslee. You can look here to see whoÂ’s on board.

Call your Representative's office in Washington, D.C.—or call your local office in the case of your own representative. Ask to speak to the staffer who handles copyright or Internet issues. (If you enter your zip code at http://www.congress.org, theyÂ’ll give you your reps name and numbers.) They are used to people who don't call them for a living, and they're very easy to speak with. On the other hand, we have word that certain senators with ties to big record labels are blocking the IP of our coalition site. This is one of the reasons that e-mail is not a good option for working on this issue.

Here are some of the coalition's script ideas. Mix it up, but the main goal is to ask the reps for co-sponsorship. You really will be saving Internet radio—and my job in this baby industry.

1) "I am a constituent, and IÂ’m calling to ask Congressman/woman ________ to save Internet radio by co-sponsoring H.R. 2060, the Internet Radio Equality Act."

2) "The Copyright Royalty Board's decison to increase royalty rates for webcasters is going to turn off my internet radio, and I do not want that to happen. Please ask Congressman/woman ________ to co-sponsor H.R. 2060, the Internet Radio Equality Act."

3) "I believe artists should be compensated fairly for the music they make, but putting my webcasters out of business will only hurt artists more. They depend on Internet radio to get their music out to fans and build new audiences. When the webcasters go off the air, so do artists. Please co-sponsor H.R. 2060, the Internet Radio Equality Act."

4) "Internet radio is one of the only bright spots of diversity for independent music. We need internet radio. DonÂ’t turn it off. Co-sponsor H.R. 2060, the Internet Radio Equality Act."

5) [If you are an artist] "Internet radio enables artists like me to reach fans throughout the country and the world, and enjoy exposure and airplay that we might not receive otherwise. I'm asking you to co-sponsor H.R. 2060, the Internet Radio Equality Act."

Or my least favorite: 6) "My friend Mary McCann will be out of a job unless H.R. 2060 passes, and then she won't be able turn me on to fabulous artists any more. I mean, where else can a person with the handle of The Bone Mama get a job? As a geisha?"

One of the artists who lobbied with us on the Hill, SONiA, had her manager run the numbers for promoting her next tour, should H.R. 2060 fail to pass. Without the support of Internet radio those costs would go up 600%.

Broadcast radio does not even pay this copyright fee. They are exempt; satellite radioÂ’s rate has been locked in at 7.5% of their revenue for this same time period. We arenÂ’t even asking for broadcast radioÂ’s rate, but simply parity with satellite radio—hence, the name: the Internet Radio Equality Act.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

She is from Illinois, and our family members live mostly in the Upper Midwest and on the West Coast—that's why she focuses on Western States and Illinois in this guide. But the problem is national in scope—and, by implication, international, given the leadership role the U.S. has in internet development, and the fact that internet radio transcends national boundaries.

It is hard to see this as more than a naked power grab from those in broadcast radio who want to retain their monopoly. Please don't let them get away with it: support H.R. 2060. And hurry: this may come up for vote in the next few days.

More here.

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January 10, 2007

Here's a Restriction on Free Speech

. . . that I think we can all support.

Does someone have a phone number for Senator McCain? I'm sure he'd be happy to help muzzle the lower house.

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January 01, 2007

"I'm From the FEC."

"And I'm here to help you."

Beyond the silliness, this is very scary.


H/t: Reynolds.

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October 24, 2006

So, I'm Talking with an Attorney Friend,

one Ghetto Fabulous J. Wicked.

"What's pro bono work?" I ask him. "I mean, is that when you do stuff for free, or is it when you spend your billable hours listening to U2?"

"Pro bono" he responds, "is when lawyers spend time doing something even more socially corrosive than what they do for money."

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April 03, 2006

Foster Has a Timely Observation

. . . here.

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March 25, 2006

We're Allowed to Talk, I Guess.

The government has decided that bloggers are still allowed to engage in political speech. Advocacy groups (comprising, of course, private citizens) will still have their political speech rationed.

But it appears that the cancer isn't spreading too fast; Hackbarth has a summary.

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February 25, 2006

Marshall Runs One of My Favorite Cartoons

from those on the front lines of the Cartoon War.

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Ian Schwarz

. . . has video of Christopher Hitchens' speech at the Danish Embassy in Washington, D.C., where a peaceful demonstration was held in support of those who uphold free speech. (Note to Angelenos: I'd love to see these held on Fridays in our fair town—possibly in front of the Federal Building near UCLA, where we do all our most fashionable protests.)

Hitchens remarked that if time permitted, they should march to the Iraqi Embassy, to support the government there and condemn the saboteurs who bombed the Shia Shrine. It's a lovely thought.

My favorite pic from Schwarz' post, featuring a sign made out of Legos:

legos.jpg

Insty's main roundup is here, and he runs this pic, among others:

danishemb.jpg

And elsewhere Glenn runs an update, which documents the presence of Danishes among the supporters of Danes:

danishpastrysm.jpg

Malkin also has some links.

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February 20, 2006

Dear Europe:

World War II is over, and has been for . . . weeks. Let's get away from the whole idea of thought crimes, shall we?

When someone denies the Holocaust, the correct response is to double up in laughter.

If they incite violence, go ahead and throw the book at 'em.

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November 17, 2005

You Can Have My World Wide Web

. . . when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.

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