The right to offend (Quadrant)

Here.

Where is justice? (Quadrant)

Here.

James Delingpole - Freedom of Speech in Australia

Here.

UPDATE: Bolt litigation, Marcia Langton & Larissa Behrendt's twitter apology

Marcia Langton.

Professor... Yes! She's a Professor at a tertiary institution. Professor Behrendt repents, but not before denying the twitter by stating it was "taken out of context".

Integrity is in shifting shades of black and white, read letters from Susan Birch of Bronte, and others, in the Australian today.

Who tweets for Aborigines?

That Behrendt is herself involved in a racial vilification case against News Limited columnist Andrew Bolt adds irony to her comments. That action has people across the political spectrum concerned because of its implications for free speech. At its core is the identification by Behrendt and others as Aboriginal. This is not the place to argue the merits of the action, but Behrendt's professional career is central to the split exposed on Twitter. Like others who work in the urban indigenous industry, she has built a career on indigenous issues and policy. Like others, she argues against the 2007 intervention initiated in response to appalling levels of violence, addiction and child abuse. Difficult as it is to believe, this newspaper has been lobbied directly by Aboriginal leaders in Canberra to stop reporting on the despair of communities in the far-north, central Australia and the Kimberley, and to focus on success stories of urban Aborigines. In essence, these leaders have urged us to ignore the shameful state of affairs in so many areas and boost the good-news quota in our pages. Such a view is not just out of touch with the needs of remote Aborigines, it casts them as unworthy of attention. These urban dwellers are prepared to risk the health, education, physical safety and futures of other Aborigines in the cause of an out-dated, leftist agenda which privileges "rights" above well-being. There is a "let them eat cake" touch about it all.

Read more.

Update: 7:27pm 15/4/11
The comments on the article by Ms Langton are heartening.

Freedom of speech, enjoy it while you can

From the WaPo,

For years, the Western world has listened aghast to stories out of Iran, Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern nations of citizens being imprisoned or executed for questioning or offending Islam. Even the most seemingly minor infractions elicit draconian punishments. Late last year, two Afghan journalists were sentenced to prison for blasphemy because they translated the Koran into a Farsi dialect that Afghans can read. In Jordan, a poet was arrested for incorporating Koranic verses into his work. And last week, an Egyptian court banned a magazine for running a similar poem.

But now an equally troubling trend is developing in the West. Ever since 2006, when Muslims worldwide rioted over newspaper cartoons picturing the prophet Muhammad, Western countries, too, have been prosecuting more individuals for criticizing religion. The "Free World," it appears, may be losing faith in free speech.

Read more at Washington Post

Found at Jihad Watch

Also from Jihad Watch, if you are in London on Monday 13th this might be well worth a visit.