free speech
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Killing Atheists. A Wedge Issue in Bangladesh
After a third blogger was hacked to death in two months in Bangladesh, the author argues the killings are a systematic campaign, not random fanaticism, and a near-perfect wedge issue…
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An Embarrassment at PEN
Responding to the PEN American Center’s courage award for Charlie Hebdo, the author defends the magazine’s right to satirise every subject, including Islam, despite violent threats and the killings of…
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Things Will Get Worse..
Written on the day of the Charlie Hebdo attack, warning that things will get worse, and quoting Salman Rushdie’s tweet defending satire and rejecting ‘respect for religion’ as code for…
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Chilling hypocrisy
The poster defends Teesta Setalvad’s right to tweet offensive images but is miffed by her explanation of the ‘jihadi Kali and Krishna’ picture, arguing that ignorance is a weak excuse…
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Shame on you: (fellow) Bongs
Prompted by Taslima Nasrin’s complaint that Kolkata stays silent on her exile, the poster argues Indian secularism is a much-abused concept, with parties tolerating religious fanatics and Congress allying with…
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Facebook freedom index
Re-ranking nations’ Facebook use by population, the poster notes India’s penetration is still low, that absentees include China and Pakistan, and uses it to say something about freedom, rights-conscious Americans…
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Jail time for captain cool?
On an arrest warrant against MS Dhoni over a magazine cover showing him as Vishnu, the post says the imagery looks blasphemous, yet argues a strong state should protect expression…
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Kashmiri students expelled from Meerut
After Kashmiri students were charged with sedition for cheering Pakistan’s cricket team, ten were expelled from a Meerut university; the poster says young people must be allowed to speak and…
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Nirvana-stan welcomes you (arrive, inspect, deport)
A comment, with a news extract, on a British tourist facing deportation from Sri Lanka over a Buddha tattoo; the poster argues that blasphemy and apostasy rules are used by…
