Name the perps

Vile videos rate First Amendment protection, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled.

Extremities are always a problem for a free press. Had a publisher of 1900 printed a sexually explicit drawing, he no doubt would have been prosecuted under state censorship laws. These days we wonder what everyone was so worried about.

But then there are loathsome videos depicting child sexual abuse, vicious animal cruelty and even human murder. Such depictions might occur as a result of journalistic exposes. But generally there is no redeeming social value.

Perhaps one approach would be to publicize the names associated with IP (the computer) addresses of purveyors. Maybe volunteer watchdog groups can monitor such stuff and use their skills to publicize the identities of those passing the foul stuff along.

A nice little essay on use of libel laws for censorship in Britain and Italy is found Video International.

Matt Harvey at the American Pendulum gives a brief history of media coverups. He tells of CIA documents rvealing a program to use media shills to put down critics who suspected CIA involvement in JFK's assassination.

Brazil tops list of requests to censor Google searchers and the U.S. tops the list for seeking private data on users without their knowledge. Check Google's new site governmentrequests/.

The Wisconsin senate has sent a whistleblower protection bill to the governor. If he signs it, reporters will have qualified privilege to protect sources.

Since I have launched this blog, the computers I use have become unreasonably slow and problematic.

Plainly, censors don't like having light shed on their darkness. If permitted, a censor will always censor the fact of censorship. No white spaces in the newspaper. No "redacted" note permitted.

It is evident that "anti-government" bloggers (to use Bill Clinton's characterization) are fair game for disruption unless they can shelter their blogs at a relatively secure site, such as a media organization. But even then, unwelcome web pages will often get the slow-down/timed-out treatment.

A function permitting automatic link activation has been disabled without my consent. Even when I insert links manually, the links don't function, no matter that I use terminals that are on different systems and miles apart. Of course, the crippling of the link function is meant to discourage readers from using this blog as a resource, because readers like fast links and no extra rinky-dink.

Interestingly, the link to Googles's government request site "works" by going to Google's main page rather than the specific site. So does this imply a desire to cripple, but not to put Google in too awkward a position?
(I managed to get it running, but this means little. The fact is that the link system has grown progressively worse.)

This blog URL is blacklisted by AIM, supposedly. I decided to comment on a report concerning the closing of Lafayette Park by noting that the U.S. Secret Service uniformed division controls the park. The comment was rejected with the note: "Action denied. Blacklisted item found: conantcensorshipissue.blogspot.com." I have never submitted anything to AIM for publication since I began the blog. Of course I have no way of knowing whether AIM chose to blacklist this blog or whether someone else blocked the comment.

BTW, the Secret Service has said the decision to shut the park and bar media was made by the U.S. park police. Perhaps. But, one always sees Secret Service uniformed police at that park.

Fox Business News is fighting in court to see federal records of financial company bailout proceedings.

Now if only Fox would see the need for freedom of information and freedom from censorship for the rest of us mere mortals.