Olives @olives@qoto.org

https://www.change.org/p/support-the-kinsey-institute-and-collections The change.org petition in support of the #KinseyInstitute seems to be up to 8k signatures. #kinsey

https://www.npr.org/2023/11/09/1211949718/the-kinsey-institute-faces-possible-separation-from-indiana-university

"Indiana University trustees will decide whether to partially sever the University's long standing ties with the famous organization."

"Defunding became a reality earlier this year when freshman Republican Representative Lorissa Sweet pushed a successful amendment to cut any state funds for #Kinsey. She claimed that Kinsey researchers are conducting sexual experiments on children."

"Democrat Matt Pierce, who represents the district where Indiana University is located, said those false claims have long been debunked."

I'll put this on hashtags (someone requested that) but I don't think they're active.

#sexology

https://www.npr.org/2023/11/09/1211949718/the-kinsey-institute-faces-possible-separation-from-indiana-university

"Indiana University trustees will decide whether to partially sever the University's long standing ties with the famous organization."

"Defunding became a reality earlier this year when freshman Republican Representative Lorissa Sweet pushed a successful amendment to cut any state funds for Kinsey. She claimed that Kinsey researchers are conducting sexual experiments on children."

"Democrat Matt Pierce, who represents the district where Indiana University is located, said those false claims have long been debunked."

"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."

The name refers to Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

https://www.article19.org/resources/the-gambia-crackdown-on-free-speech-must-stop/

"The recent prosecutions of journalist Alhagie Bora and activist Madi Jorbateh, along with President Adama Barrow’s comments expressing hostility toward media freedom, have sparked alarm regarding the state of freedom of expression in The Gambia, which had been on a positive track since President Yahya Jammeh’s leadership came to an end in 2017."

Article 19 seems more international in their scope than some other free speech groups.

https://www.article19.org/resources/denmark-scrap-law-on-improper-treatment-of-religious-writings/

"ARTICLE 19 remains concerned that, despite some minor alterations in Denmark’s draft blasphemy law, the proposal continues to pose significant danger to the right to freedom of expression, including political speech and artistic performances. As we have outlined previously, the draft law does not meet the requirements of international human rights law, which does not grant protection to abstract notions such as religions or religious feelings. We reiterate our call on the Danish Government to immediately withdraw the legislative proposal and refrain from introducing similar laws in the future."

Free speech group Article 19 concerned about draft Danish law.

https://necessaryandproportionate.org Interesting, though I'd put that as a floor, not a ceiling, as there are clever ways to twist the language, especially if someone refers to unreliable sources.

Small update but it doesn't really change the core message.

For the record, it is *never* good to just rely on a politician to protect your rights. Courts aren't perfect either but especially not a politician.

Also, activism against incursions on free expression, privacy, due process, and so forth is important.

https://reason.com/2023/11/09/salman-rushdie-literature-is-powerful-writers-are-fragile/ Salman Rushdie.

You should probably also contact lawmakers to oppose the proposed "age verification" (unconstitutional privacy invasion) bill in Alabama (it seems to be for porn, although there are also mentions of "fighting access to trans content").

https://reason.com/2023/11/06/due-process-demands-stricter-standards-for-restraining-orders-that-negate-gun-rights/ The Second Amendment folks might be interested in this one.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/11/eff-ninth-circuit-activists-personal-information-unconstitutionally-collected-dhs

"In 2019, the local San Diego affiliate for NBC News broke a shocking story: components of the federal government were conducting surveillance of journalists, lawyers, and activists thought to be associated with the so-called “migrant caravan” coming through Central America and Mexico.

The Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security, the agency’s watchdog, later reported that the U.S. government shared sensitive information with the Mexican government, and U.S. officials had improperly asked Mexican officials to deny entry into Mexico to Americans to prevent them from doing their jobs."

As someone else is talking about them, I'll also talk about them.

ECPAT (short for "Every Child Protected Against Trafficking") isn't really a "child rights" group. It seems to be one of those "anti trafficking" groups. According to one activist, their founding seems to have included a merger of religiously motivated groups, this should come as a shock to precisely no one.

The so-called "anti-trafficking sector" tends to be extremely conservative (think of how they fundraise), criminal justice focused, relies on misleading (or outright false) data, tends to be religious, and doesn't take accountability for the "collateral damage" they dole out.

One of their advisers (a quite annoying person who has occasion argued with privacy activists) appears to be married to a politician from the British Conservative Party. He frequently makes incoherent (and paranoid) rants about the tech sector for not implementing whatever crazy rights violating idea that has been cooked up by someone. It's unclear whether he has any actual expertise in anything, none appears to be listed.

They have strong criminal justice associations (and they naturally advocate for maximum power, no safeguards, and no accountability for cops), and seem to also have strong associations with religiously motivated groups. I haven't seen them advocate *against* any sort of collateral damage, in any capacity, including to minors (remember, they don't actually care about their rights, only their screwed up ideology), which comes of their advocacy.

Revised the post a bit. Naturally, I did not loosen the no bs / nonsense stance.

Should I watch it?

https://reclaimthenet.org/thomas-massie-tried-but-failed-to-stop-kill-switch-mandate-that-could-disable-vehicles

"The kill switch mandate forms a critical element of the 2021 infrastructure law. Car manufacturers are bound by the legislation to incorporate advanced driving technology designed to proactively assess a driver’s performance and, if deemed impaired, limit or completely prevent the vehicle from functioning. Hailed initially as a safety feature, it also raises privacy concerns, providing unprecedented access to personal information and individual freedom of movement."

https://mashable.com/article/cybrothel-fulfills-a-fantasy-but-may-have-risks Baseless and dubious speculation from a British dominatrix.

Science (from British scientists) already showed that doll owners view / treat dolls differently from how they might human beings (namely, that a doll is an inanimate object, and a person is a person).

I suppose they might lead to less business for humans, although that is not necessarily a bad thing, and no one is owed a customer.