U.S. government moves to muzzle dissident voices

[clem_c_rock]

http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/7652.html

<snippit>
In an apparent reversal of decades of U.S. practice, recent federal Office of Foreign Assets Control regulations bar American companies from publishing works by dissident writers in countries under sanction unless they first obtain U.S. government approval.

The restriction, condemned by critics as a violation of the First Amendment, means that books and other works banned by some totalitarian regimes cannot be published freely in the United States, a country that prides itself as the international beacon of free expression.

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"It strikes me as very odd," said Douglas Kmiec, a constitutional law professor at Pepperdine University and former constitutional legal counsel to former Presidents Reagan and Bush. "I think the government has an uphill struggle to justify this constitutionally."

Several groups, led by the PEN American Center and including Arcade Publishing, have filed suit in U.S. District Court in New York seeking to overturn the regulations, which cover writers in Iran, Sudan, Cuba, North Korea and, until recently, Iraq.

Violations carry severe reprisals -- publishing houses can be fined $1 million and individual violators face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

"Historically, the United States has served as a megaphone for dissidents from other countries," said Ed Davis of New York, a lawyer leading the PEN legal challenge. "Now we're not able to hear from dissidents."
</snipit>

[atommom]

1. This is disturbing. What kind of restrictions are they going to place on

"dissident" writings from within the US?

[StephanieMarie]

2. Big Brother is working overtime these days. n/t

.

[Stand and Fight]

3. Grave Implications

This is evermore indicative that our country is not only headed in the wrong direction, but speeding toward a dark horizon.

[Us vs Them]

4. A strong democracy can withstand opposing points of view

without the need of censorship. This is a sign of fear from those in charge. Were we living in a strong democracy, dissident voices would pose no threat to the structure of our society.

[H2O Man]

11. well said.

This administration is afraid of ideas. They are scared that people will read a book and think. They find it easier to deal with a band of merry fools watching "reality tv" and FOX News, than a sad wise man, reading a book in his own home.

[toymachines]

5. why is it that the law of the land no longer applies?

doesnt it make sense that the government which enforces the people's constitution should um... enforce the constitution. stupid liberal logic eh.

[neebob]

6. Now why would they do that?

Couldn't be because they don't want us to have accurate information from countries they're planning to invade ... or could it?

[enough]

7. If these are dissidents in countries the US sanctions,

shouldn't the US be doing everything it can to ENCOURAGE the dissemination of their writings? Only if the US were still a constitutional democracy, I guess.

It would be idiotic if it weren't so dangerous.


snip>

April, OFAC regulators amended an earlier interpretation to advise academic publishers that they can make minor changes to works already published in sanctioned countries and reissue them.

But the regulators said editors cannot provide broader services considered basic to publishing, such as commissioning works, making "substantive" changes to texts, or adding illustrations.

The regulations seem shaded by Joseph Heller's classic novel "Catch-22."

American publishers are allowed to reissue, for example, Cuban communist propaganda or officially approved books but not original works by writers whom the Cuban government has stifled.

In a letter to Treasury officials this past spring, Berman described the regulations as "patently absurd" and said they form a "narrow and misguided interpretation of the law."

snip>

[Mika]

8. Reading Cuban "dissident" writings is reading James Cason (US) propaganda

They are one and the same.

[sweetheart]

9. Its so they can start WAR

What do dissident writers do, at the bottom line? They inform and
grease the paths of understanding in the global body politic so that
civil forces for change are mobilized.

By silencing those voices, from those countries, they are trying to
create a "rovian" information gap that they can use to create war,
like the bush misinformation on north korea... expect more.

This is soooo "iron curtain" its sickening. The first amendment is
not an option, and if they think it is, then they're not defending
the constitution and should be imprisoned themselves for dereliction
of duty and treason.

[H2O Man]

10. Very troubling trend ......

Younger DUers may not be familiar with the problems that two books faced in being published and distributed in the United States. The first is "In the Spirit of Crazy Horse," by Peter Matthiessen. It is a fantastic book that details the continuing theft of Native American lands for mineral wealth. The American Indian Movement and other traditional people were attempting to protect Indian lands; they were not aware of the nature of the US interests at the time. Among the series of conflicts was an infamous incident where two FBI agents were killed in a gun fight. AIM leader Leonard Peltier is still in prison for a crime he definitely did not commit. Interests in the USA abused the federal court system to keep the book from reaching the public for many years.

The second book was "Lazarus and the Hurricane." It details the case of Rubin Carter, who was incarcerated for 19 years for a crime that he did not commit. For many years, those in the USA who wanted to read this book had to get it from Canada.

We should never take our Constitutional rights for granted. This is especially true in regard to the "freedom of speech" and of a "free press."

[Deja Q]

12. It was nice having the freedom, though I still doubt we ever really did...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x2199159