free speech

September 2, 2016

Thirty-three years ago this week, Soviet fighter jets shot down a Korean Airlines passenger jet that had strayed into Soviet airspace while on a scheduled flight from New York to Seoul. Two hundred and sixty-nine passengers and crew were killed, including a U.S. Congressman. At first, Moscow denied that this had happened, then it claimed that the commercial flight had been gathering intelligence. No apologies were ever made.

Address by the President of the Russia Federation, by the Office of the Kremlin
September 2, 2016

The USSR responded to negative press with denial and censorship. Now, Russia is relying on the same tactics.

Pakistan Literary Festival Defies Violence

In defiance of violent extremism and radical ideologies, the Lahore Literary Festival took place in late February, celebrating art, literature, tolerance, and free speech.

The publication of a new cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad by French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday has drawn criticism from several Muslim countries and Islamic bodies, but support from the U.S. and Australia.

After the attack on the French satirical weekly newspaperCharlie Hebdo that left 12 dead and 5 injured, Twitter comments are pouring in from around the world.  Many take the form of one of the magazine’s specialties, cartoons.

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