Tag: free speech

AUG 19, 2012 - JTMP was at the Pussy Riot Global Day rally in front of the Russian embassy here in DC, and Michelle Ringuette from Amnesty International was there and we got her to comment on the 3 jailed women musical activists. Watch the interview below from our awesome YouTube Channel !

AUG 19, 2012 - Following in the footsteps of Ted Nugent, another ultra-conservative musician, this time Hank Williams Jr., has stepped forward and made statements about President Obama that were vitriolic, hateful, and bordering insanity if not outright crossing the line between truth and sanity and whatever world Fox News viewers live in. Speaking at the end of a concert at the Iowa Sate Fair Grandstand he shouted to the crowd, “We’ve got a Muslim president who hates farming, hates the military, hates the US and we hate him!”, and the the Des Moines Register reported that the Teabag crowd went nuts and cheered enthusiastically.  (photo credit: CC/Andrea Klein)

AUG 19, 2012 - The Christian Science Monitor has a great article discussing Pussy Riot's recent conviction of "hooliganism" for speaking out against the government; and asks what would happen if Ted Nugent for his vitriolic speech was treated the same way as Pussy Riot? Read the CSM article here.

AUG 18, 2012 - A woman protesting the Pussy Riot trial showed her disapproval by going topless and chain sawing down a crucifix in the capital city of Ukraine, Kiev, at the time the verdict was being read and it was all recorded on video and posted to YouTube by RT Russian.  (JTMP recommends using Google Chrome so the Russian can be translated into English.)  The cross was erected in 2005 on a hilltop overlooking Kiev, and had served as a memorial to the victim's of Stalinist oppression and the famine of the 1930s, and many people are very upset by this free speech action. 22 year old Inna Shevchenko, is a member of the activist group FEMEN, whose mission is "to create the most favorable conditions for the young women to join up into a social group with the general idea of the mutual support…", and some of their goals are, "To counteract actively the negative tendencies endangering physical and mental health of the Ukrainian women community. Inform the society of the Ukrainian women’s issues and problems." Find out more info about FEMEN here, and watch Inna and her very provocative free speech action below. (WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS BRIEF NUDITY)

From RT Russian's YouTube Channel:

"Activists of the women's movement FEMEN worship cross cut down on Independence Square in Kiev. Thus girls arrested participants expressed their support for the Russian punk band Pussy Riot, which today will be sentenced on charges of punk prayer service at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. Vkontakte - http://vk.com/rt_russian Facebook - http://www .facebook.com / RTRussian Twitter - http://twitter.com/RT_russian Livejournal - http://rt-russian.livejournal.com/ "

AUG 17, 2012 - Even though there were worldwide protests calling for the release of Pussy Riot, such as the Russian Embassy here in DC that JTMP attended (see pic to right, and video coming soon), the Russian court handed down a guilty verdict and 2 year prison sentences to the 3 women activist musicians from the punk activist band Pussy Riot. The charge was "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred", and it has caused an uproar from people appalled by the decision. The White House, Sting, Sir Paul McCartney, and many, many people have come out and spoken against this verdict and harsh sentence.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the Obama administration is "disappointed with the Pussy Riot verdict. While we understand the group's behavior was offensive for some, we have concerns about the way these young women were treated by the Russian judicial system."

Sting on Amnesty International's website said, "Dissent is a legitimate and essential right in any democracy and modern politicians must accept this fact with tolerance. A sense of proportion - and a sense of humour - is a sign of strength, not a sign of weakness."

Everyone is hoping for Putin to step in and reverse these charges and free these women, which are even putting a strain on Russian-European relations. To sign the petition to Free Pussy Riot, go to Amnesty International's petition here.This leads us to why this is all really happening: The powerful Russian Orthodox Church is behind the pressure to come down hard on these 3 women for their free speech action. So, JTMP believes we shouldn't be protesting in front of the Russian Embassy, but at the Russian Orthodox Church, where the blame lies for this injustice that is happening. We call for boycott and protest of the Russian Orthodox Church until these women are freed and this travesty of justice is reversed. Starting with the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Washington, DC. It is located at 4001 17th Street NW.

More info and video on all of this coming soon, so check back daily!