#free-speech

#free-speech

The ceasefire between Hamas and Israel has been met with joy and relief across the Middle East and beyond. Over the past two years, outrage at Israel's war in Gaza has erupted across Europe and the US, manifesting itself in university campus protests, massive marches through countless capitals and the disruption of major sporting events. Even as hopes rise of an end to the war, international anger over Israel's actions in Gaza, which have been deemed a genocide by a UN commission of inquiry, remains raw, as evidenced by last weekend's huge rallies in Spain and Italy.

What is anti-Americanism? What are those "ideologies or activities," exactly? And without any meaningful guidance, how is anyone on either side of the immigration process supposed to identify it? Maybe the imprecision is the point. Three weeks on, practitioners tell The Verge that it is almost impossible to figure out how to advise clients on this standard or properly prepare for it.

We can still stand for truth, while viewing those who believe in falsehoods not as our enemies who must be vanquished, but instead as our fellow citizens who have lost their way and must be shown the light,

In 2018, Bari Weiss, then an opinion columnist at the Times, wrote about the so-called Intellectual Dark Web, a loose "alliance of heretics" who were "making an end run around the mainstream conversation." Adherents were photographed for the article in literally dark settings: glowering out from under an umbrella, perched amid mossy branches, standing half-obscured by bushes. Though they came from different ideological backgrounds, Weiss wrote, these figures-including Eric Weinstein, the managing director of Peter Thiel's venture-capital fund, who had "half-jokingly" coined the movement's name;

He wasn't this national hero or politician, Alana, who is using an alias, said. He was just a white man with a loud opinion. The sentiment on the historically Black university's campus, she said, is that Kirk's rhetoric about marginalized communities was hateful and that they are being unfairly blamed for his death. In the days and weeks following Kirk's death, several HBCUs and Black students have been targeted with racist threats.

Following his death, hundreds of people who criticized Kirk's ideology have been fired, disciplined or doxxed had their private information posted online to stoke harassment. Other states have seen far more teachers fired or disciplined for Kirk-related comments. In California, state laws protecting free speech and strong union contracts have so far kept the numbers relatively low. Texas, for example, is investigating at least 280 teachers for criticizing Kirk.

Throughout his 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump vowed vengeance on a Democratic Party he regularly called "the radical left" (or, on occasion, "communists") and accused of a treasonous conspiracy to turn over the country to criminal immigrants and America-hating globalist elites. Even as he has relentlessly pressed to expand his own powers to unprecedented levels, the 47th president has begun acting on his threats by deploying the machinery of justice against people, institutions, and ideas he dislikes.

The Trump administration declared war on the " terrorist organization " of "antifa" and the supposed "networks" associated with it last week. Antifa is not so much a vast national conspiracy as it is simply an abbreviation for anti-fascism - but don't point out that anti-anti-fascism looks a lot like fascism. That would make you antifa, too. The plain intent of the memo is to make Americans afraid to call fascism what it is - or worse, to say fascism is bad.

A Reagan-appointed judge has issued a scathing ruling rebuking the Trump administration's targeting of pro-Palestine students. Judge William G. Young called the case AAUP v. Rubio "perhaps the most important ever to fall within the jurisdiction of this district court" and ruled that contrary to the State Department's claims, "non-citizens lawfully present here in [the] United States actually have the same free speech rights as the rest of us."

Jimmy Kimmel The Hollywood late night host, blasted by President Trump and suspended from ABC for his comments after the Charlie Kirk shooting, returns to TV, drawing record ratings and free speech accolades.

After the tragic murder of Charlie Kirk - one that I unequivocally found to be unconscionable, unacceptable, and sickening - I thought about his wife and children. I am married, and I have children. I can't imagine the unspeakable sorrow that Kirk's wife and children must be experiencing. So, I will continue to mourn his death and their loss. I do so because I believe in love, forgiveness, and the sanctity of human life. I also believe in the First Amendment. So, here we are.

Good morning. I've spent the week talking to business leaders and policymakers who've gathered in New York for Climate Week, the UN General Assembly and assorted events on the sidelines, including our own. The mood is generally somber, with growing concern about America's commitment to free speech, science, rule of law and remaining a hub for global talent. A few themes have emerged in terms of how CEOs are shifting their strategies.

The Open Society Foundations unequivocally condemn terrorism and do not fund terrorism. Our activities are peaceful and lawful, and our grantees are expected to abide by human rights principles and comply with the law, it said in a statement. When power is abused to take away the rights of some people, it puts the rights of all people at risk. Our work in the United States is solely dedicated to strengthening democracy and upholding constitutional freedoms.

While out of power, the American right was unified in complaining about the left's speech policing. Now that Republicans control the White House and Congress, free-speech rights and values are dividing the coalition. One camp thinks Republicans should refrain from policing speech; the other favors policing the left's speech. The second camp seems ascendant, unfortunately, while the first has failed to turn its beliefs into policy.

"Heavy Metal Band Stage Phony Beheading of Elon Musk, Murder Trump in Shocking Festival Performance."