Posted on 10/09/2009 7:04:56 AM PDT by Psion
October 9, 2009
Does the United States Constitution protect the freedom of speech of American citizens, or does it not? In this era of globalization, the answer is becoming increasingly muddled. Thursday, an American citizen, Paul Williams, went on trial in Canada. He is charged with violating Canadian libel laws in charges he made in his book The Dunces of Doomsday about a jihad terror cell at McMaster University in Ontario. Likewise in Brazil, an American business writer, Joseph Sharkey, is on trial for what he wrote about Brazilian air-traffic controllers after he survived an airplane crash in Brazil.
Williams and Sharkey both live in the United States, which guarantees that its citizens’ freedom of speech not be infringed. Should Canadian and Brazilian libel laws apply to them? Williams has already had to pay enormous amounts of money for his defense, and Sharkey is likely to be found guilty and given a $500,000 fine. McMaster University wants a cool two million dollars from Williams.
Shouldn’t the United States government protect American citizens from such bullying by foreign powers?
If nothing is done, the problem is certain to get worse — for Williams and Sharkey are not the first American victims of the tactic that has come to be known as “libel tourism.” The late Saudi billionaire Khalid Salim bin Mahfouz sued Rachel Ehrenfeld, founder and director of the American Center for Democracy, several years ago.
(Excerpt) Read more at thelastcrusade.org ...
This is important ,it sets precedent for all of us.
You're thinking of the old United States. The DEM USA doesn't care about freedom of speech. Every chance they get they add one more "thought crimes" to the list... Soon it will be against the law to say anything bad about a democrat.
Obama just handed the internet over to the international community.
So I’m afraid the answer is “yes - censorship laws in other nations will start to applied here.”
Come And Get Me Coppers!
And if 'our' US AG Eric Holder aided these pests by NOT protecting MY RIGHTS as a US Citizen, they better bring the 82nd Airborne with them. As Bugs Bunny said, 'This means War!'
I didn't sign any international 'libel' treaty so they can kiss my red-white-and blue patoot!
The Constitution and Bill of Rights are not very sexy subjects...which explains why we have lost most of them.
We can discuss these things on the Free Republic but the MainStreamMedia® won’t waste their time.
Wow! Obama is a Nobel Prize Winner (Along with Arafat & Carter)....what’s next? Queen Michelle O’Bama wins Americann Idol??
Sounds painful. I think they have a pill for that.
so they can kiss my red-white-and blue patoot!*** Sounds painful. I think they have a pill for that. ***
Its only painful to enemies of the USA, both foreign and domestic. And yes there is a pill for that, it comes in many calibers.
"Good answer."
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