‘Anti-intellectualism’ is hostility directed at academics and thinkers, which can be poisonous to society due to how it allows academics to be scapegoated, and regimes can subsequently avoid political dissent by silencing and purging academics from society. However, this concept is not one that belongs solely to the past: it has taken on a newContinue reading “The Deteriorating Freedom of the Press – Myanmar’s Warning to the World”
Tag Archives: freedomofspeech
The NFL Protests and Freedom of Speech
The National Football League (NFL) was founded in 1920 and took on its current form two years later. The first Super Bowl was held in 1960, at which point the NFL began to mirror the commercialized industry it is today. The Super Bowl annually generates over $620 million in revenue and is the most lucrativeContinue reading “The NFL Protests and Freedom of Speech”
The Third Generation Project: What We Talk About When We Talk About Human Rights
The notion that people are entitled to certain inalienable rights has long been a part of the fabric of international relations, in theory if often not in practice. However, the form that these rights should take is far from straightforward, with tensions and tradeoffs to be made between civil, political, social, and economic rights, andContinue reading “The Third Generation Project: What We Talk About When We Talk About Human Rights”
Express Yourself: To What Extent Are We Free to Express Ourselves?
We express ourselves in a plethora of ways every day. We express ourselves in the way we dress, the societies we join, the friends we make, and even the supermarkets that we chose to shop in. This ability to express ourselves is fiercely protected within democracies, and is fundamental to our social and political lives.Continue reading “Express Yourself: To What Extent Are We Free to Express Ourselves?”
Who is America’s Voice?
Alternative facts have become the new norm in Trump’s America. In other words, the Trump administration has taken it upon themselves to rewrite and rebrand America’s rhetoric. According to press secretary Sean Spicer, this is in order to hold the press to account for “deliberately false reporting” that Trump’s war on the media will seekContinue reading “Who is America’s Voice?”
Crushed Spirit but Reinvigorated People: How One Man’s Death Reignited the Voice of a Nation
On October 28th, the small ocean-side city of Al-Hoceima was shaken by the death of Moroccan fish salesman Mouhcine Fikri. Although the fishing, possession, and dissemination of swordfish after autumn is illegal in Morocco, Fikri had managed to acquire 500 kg (1,000 lbs) worth, estimated to be valued at $11,000, and, following a desperate attemptContinue reading “Crushed Spirit but Reinvigorated People: How One Man’s Death Reignited the Voice of a Nation”
Human Rights: Who Cares?
Why should I care about human rights? What difference does it make to me in Scotland? We’ve always had human rights, right? These are questions which no one asks, or at least, no one has ever asked me. Yet when you ask people on the street about whether they support human rights, they will likelyContinue reading “Human Rights: Who Cares?”
The Sultan and his Censors
In June 2016, Rifat Cetin was convicted and sentenced for insulting the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. His crime? Posting pictures comparing Erdoğan to Gollum. He is not the only one to have noticed the similarity. Bilgin Ciftci, a doctor for Turkey’s public health service, also faced similar charges for posting memes which likenedContinue reading “The Sultan and his Censors”
Boiling Point: Turkey’s Evaporating Democracy
There is an old saying about how to cook a frog. If you drop it into a pot of boiling water, it will leap out immediately. However, place it in cold water and proceed to gradually increase the temperature, and the frog will fail to realize, until it is far too late. The Turkish peopleContinue reading “Boiling Point: Turkey’s Evaporating Democracy”
The United States’ ‘Hypocrisy’: International Reaction to Ferguson
The United States prides itself on being a champion of human rights around the globe. But what happens when human rights become an issue within its own borders? On August 9th, 2014, white police officer Darren Wilson shot dead unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, USA. We do not yet know exactly whatContinue reading “The United States’ ‘Hypocrisy’: International Reaction to Ferguson”
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