Free speech has potentially been taken down another peg in NZ with a woman arrested for a Facebook post about the Christchurch shootings. The woman has been arrested on suspicion of "inciting racial disharmony" after a message was posted to her Facebook page. She faces a maximum penalty of three months’ imprisonment or a NZ$7000 fine and living in a society that condemns free speech. However, given the recent ruling in Australia that 'Muslim' is not a 'race' she may get off given that the law she is accused of breaking is of one who “publishes or distributes written matter which is threatening, abusive, or insulting” to other people . This means that it may very well be legal at this time to insult people of a specific religion.
Decades ago they relied on neighbors to find subversives; now they just check social media.
[Ed.: The above is a paraphrase of the linked-to story, not a direct quote, and with submitter's editorialising left in. -- FP (honouring people's right to free speech ;-) )]
Also covered by the NZ Herald.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by drussell on Friday March 29 2019, @10:10PM (17 children)
As an aside...
I would love to see more submissions with original, submitter-written summaries (inflammatory or not :) ) rather than just simple quotes from an article with a link.
(Score: 2, Touché) by nitehawk214 on Friday March 29 2019, @10:18PM (9 children)
The submission is so badly worded and formatted that I have no idea what is the paraphrase and what is the commentary.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 3, Funny) by drussell on Friday March 29 2019, @10:21PM (8 children)
I didn't say that this particular summary was exemplary in any way, only that I appreciate when submitters take the time to actually at least make an attempt at a summary instead of just directly quoting a paragraph or two with a link. :)
(Score: 1) by RandomFactor on Friday March 29 2019, @10:32PM (5 children)
How many summaries can you fit on an ice skating rink?
В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 29 2019, @11:03PM
Diagonally, like tiny frogs, or covering the entire surface, or only the inbounds playing area, exclusive of goals?
(Score: 2, Interesting) by nitehawk214 on Saturday March 30 2019, @12:02AM (3 children)
Olympic sized or NHL?
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 3, Informative) by drussell on Saturday March 30 2019, @12:54AM (2 children)
RandomFactor didn't specify an ice hockey rink... only an ice skating rink.
An ice skating rink could be virtually any size.
For example, when operational during the winter months, the skating rink in Olympic Plaza by City Hall in downtown Calgary is a reasonably high percentage of the centre portion of the entire 1.2 hectare plaza site. A skating rink on a frozen lake could potentially be substantially larger. A typical community rink (of which we might typically several hundred throughout the city in any given winter) might be substantially smaller... Ditto for a backyard rink.
Oh, and THEN there are the hockey rinks... ;-)
(Score: 3, Funny) by dry on Saturday March 30 2019, @06:42AM (1 child)
Err, if there is ice, then it is a hockey rink, or multiple hockey rinks. If there isn't ice, then the lacrosse box becomes the hockey rink. Shit we used to play in the empty pool in the park. You are right about the size being very dynamic.
(Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Monday April 01 2019, @05:59PM
Also, if there isn't ice, it might be a pond or a lake.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Saturday March 30 2019, @12:15PM (1 child)
I find the practice of adding one's own spin to an article summary scandalous and most inadvisable.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday March 30 2019, @02:53PM
This is 'Murica - we love our scandals.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by NotSanguine on Friday March 29 2019, @10:21PM (3 children)
It seems to me that having quoted submissions (certainly with added info, as well as questions, leading or otherwise) makes much more sense, as it gives folks a place to start in terms of the five 'W's [wikipedia.org], rather than just someone's opinion about a particular topic.
The comments section, on the other hand, is a *great* place for opinions. And if you have a topic that you can't fit your opinion into a particular story, then post a journal entry.
Free speech is fabulous and I'm all for it. However, this is a human-powered "news aggregation [wikipedia.org] and discussion site." If we get rid of the first part, I suspect the second part will suffer greatly.
But thank you for your thoughts and opinions! I'm glad to see they were in the comments and not a brand-new post.
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
(Score: 5, Informative) by drussell on Friday March 29 2019, @10:27PM (2 children)
Notice that I said I appreciate (at least an attempt at) an originally written summary, not that it should be transformed into an editorial opinion piece. That, indeed, would belong in the comments.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by NotSanguine on Friday March 29 2019, @10:34PM
So you did. I misinterpreted your post. My apologies.
It seems that we are actually in full agreement. Good show and well done!
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
(Score: 2, Funny) by nitehawk214 on Saturday March 30 2019, @12:21AM
I agree. Commentary belongs in the comments. (See what I did there?)
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 0, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 29 2019, @10:22PM (2 children)
Those would be aristarchus submissions, and those are not allowed at the basturdization of free speech, SoylentFauxNews. This FS is embarrassing.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 30 2019, @05:42AM (1 child)
Please don't compare me with AC.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 30 2019, @07:24AM
And don't compare me with aristarchus. No one compares with aristarchus. His submissions are perfect. He has a Golden Thigh, as did Pythagoras, another son of Samos.