Russian Press And Pakistani Courts Apparently Have More Respect For Free Speech Than Joe Lieberman

from the time-to-resign,-joe dept

We've already discussed how the US is, quite clearly, trying to censor various information despite its claims of being anti-censorship and it's efforts to pressure foreign countries to stop censorship of things like the internet. Yet here are two interesting stories, concerning the Wikileaks situation, suggesting that two countries, which are not exactly known for being bastions of free speech, appear to be a lot more open to it than certain US politicians.

The first, via Glyn Moody is a long and interesting opinion piece in Pravda, of all places, pointing out the hypocrisy of the US government's response to Wikileaks and comparing it to the government's response to the release of Valerie Plame's identity as a CIA agent. It also runs through a nice history of the US's back-and-forth battle with free speech issues, such as with the Alien & Sedition Acts and the McCarthy era. It also highlights how the Wikileaks' release shows evidence of the US government covering up all sorts of politically motivated acts. The conclusion is dead on:

It is the American people who should be outraged that its government has transformed a nation with a reputation for freedom, justice, tolerance and respect for human rights into a backwater that revels in its criminality, cover-ups, injustices and hypocrisies.

It's pretty sad when Pravda is lecturing the US on free speech, tolerance and respect for human rights.

Then we move over to Pakistan, where the country's High Court has dismissed an attempt to get Wikileaks banned from that country. Someone had petitioned the court, saying that the latest leaks could "create a rift among Pakistan" and other countries. However, the court dismissed it with the judge saying: "We must bear the truth, no matter how harmful it is."

And yet, here in the US, we have Senator Joe Lieberman running around trying to shove truth back into the hole he in which wishes it were buried. A very sad statement on the state of US respect for free speech.

Filed Under: free speech, joe lieberman, pakistan, pravda, russia, wikileaks
Companies: wikileaks