Oh Jesus, Youre Country Is...

i have no words

yes, apparently there is no free speech

Yeah, because [i]this[/i] kind of news story is completely representative of 100% of the 300 million people living in this country.

a drawing, by a child. so threatening..... dont you agree?

Of course not, it's ridiculous. It's also ridiculous for you to generalize the laws and intentions of the citizens of this country because of that shit.

dont attack me, im just a humble news reporter...

and besides, its [i]your[/i] secret service that are doing this...
its got nothing to do with me

My point is, it's got nothing to do with me either, does it?

depends.

what have you been drawing in art class?

I drew a pumpkin in MS Paint the other day.

was it an anti-Bush pumpkin though?

thats digital-art-terrorism then miss jane.

ps. ( can you please post a pic of it )

Is it a terrorist pumpkin? [b]You tell me[/b].

[img]http://www.pix8.net/getimg.php?img=pumpkin.JPG[/img]

I thought this was pretty good for someone who oftentimes has trouble dressing herself.

threatening totally.

the trees are Hamas trees like on the Lebanon flag.

youre getting put away sweet jane.

Well as long as I'm going to jail, I think I'm going to make it into an avatar.

looks like she's got total disregard for authority. call the FBI

Shouldn't he be crafting statues of the Virgin Mary from lion shit--you know, something creative?

yeah it is.
got a pic?

Someone really needs to take this shit to the Supreme Court. The idea that it's legal to threaten my life, but ILleagal to threaten that idiot son of an asshole's life is absolutely outrageous.

surprise surprise
something's gotta give

[QUOTE=Ozymandias]The idea that it's legal to threaten my life,...[/QUOTE]

with a draft?

I don't drink.

*rimshot*

Fix the topic title, it looks ricockulous.

well, thats the price of living in the land of the free

say what you will, but when the icecaps melt, Australia is fucked.

no less affected than anywhere else with major coastline cities.

goodbye europe
goodbye riviera
goodbye los angeles
goodboye new york

and besides, trying to have an australia war with me is irrelevant
...arent you disturbed that you live in a country
that is so paranoid 15 year olds can get in trouble
for expressing their opinion?

i've been wondering if some people hate bush because he's interrupting their lives and they're just not used to a president actually [I]doing[/I] things, even though said things are ignorant and violating. yes, this story is wrong and a little infuriating, i'm just noting a thought i had recently. when was the last time a president did actual work?

[QUOTE=Wesley Sonck]no less affected than anywhere else with major coastline cities.

goodbye europe
goodbye riviera
goodbye los angeles
goodboye new york

and besides, trying to have an australia war with me is irrelevant
...arent you disturbed that you live in a country
that is so paranoid 15 year olds can get in trouble
for expressing their opinion?[/QUOTE]
If you seriously think that this is a really influental thing or something, you need to think some more. You seem way too adamant about making this news into something it's not.

im not trying to discuss melting of polar ice-caps.

so free-speech isnt something worth discussing?
its in your constitution last time i checked
dont you guys have a hard-on for that document?

or is it just because i dont happen to be american
my posting of this is irrelevant?

for the sake of the argument, its on a news site, therefore - its news
the fact that this happened at all is ridiculous, and it [I]should[/I] be newsworthy --
freedom of speech and expression is a basic human right, and this kids rights have clearly been violated. can you imagine how freaked out he would have been?

and anyone who thinks a child who does anti-war drawings is some kind of terrorist has obviously got their head screwed on the wrong way.

was he really a threat to national security at any time?
it makes me angry that things like this happen at all in a supposedly 'democratic' country

[QUOTE=Kit!]for the sake of the argument, its on a news site, therefore - its news
the fact that this happened at all is ridiculous, and it [I]should[/I] be newsworthy --
freedom of speech and expression is a basic human right, and this kids rights have clearly been violated. can you imagine how freaked out he would have been?

and anyone who thinks a child who does anti-war drawings is some kind of terrorist has obviously got their head screwed on the wrong way.

was he really a threat to national security at any time?
it makes me angry that things like this happen at all in a supposedly 'democratic' country[/QUOTE]
fuck it
I'm rioting

It just sounds to me like you're blowing this out of proportion. I'm sure some idiot friend of his called a number he shouldn't have, yada yada, he's 'questioned' whatever that means.

If you think that this thing is going to turn into some sort of law, therefore [I]truly[/I] violating freedom of speech, then you might have a point. As for now, it's just a kid being surrounded by some sort of hype which we don't know the origin of. I know that the government isn't going to restrict my freedom of speech because I know that this whole thing is a misunderstanding. Our govenrment is stupid, but not that stupid.

It seems to me that [I]you[/I] have a hard on for our constitution, wes.

shagging other country's constitutions is hott
a lot more fun if you don't get caught

[QUOTE=Diabetic]It just sounds to me like you're blowing this out of proportion.[/QUOTE]

how?
youre saying its out of proportion to be shocked/appalled/angered by something like this?

[QUOTE=Kit!]how?
youre saying its out of proportion to be shocked/appalled/angered by something like this?[/QUOTE]
Yes, I am. Shit like this happens all the time. Some kid got kicked out of school for wearing a Korn t-shirt. Others got kicked out for trenchcoats. Now, granted that the latter example is a little more serious, I'm sure one can find examples of stupid reasons why kids are hassled in the backlogs of newspapers around the world, including Australia.

It just seems to me that Wes is taking a huge interest in our country just to make fun of it, which I think is not necessary. I am already embarrased to be a part of this country's history, I don't need someone pointing out exactly how embarrased I should be.

Besides, these things usually work themselves out. The kid's parents will sue, everyone will whine forever. You get used to it, really.

[QUOTE=Diabetic]Yes, I am. Shit like this happens all the time. Some kid got kicked out of school for wearing a Korn t-shirt. Others got kicked out for trenchcoats. Now, granted that the latter example is a little more serious, I'm sure one can find examples of stupid reasons why kids are hassled in the backlogs of newspapers around the world, including Australia.
[/QUOTE]

call me crazy, but in my opinion, being kicked out of school is nowhere near the same thing as the school notifying authorities you may be a threat to national security because of a drawing.

i think you're being a bit too blase here.

[QUOTE=Diabetic]
It just seems to me that Wes is taking a huge interest in our country just to make fun of it, which I think is not necessary. I am already embarrased to be a part of this country's history, I don't need someone pointing out exactly how embarrased I should be.
[/QUOTE]

wtf? im not taking the piss.
im disturbed and appalled.

why is it i cant make a post/thread
at this place lately without be fucking attacked for it.

Because you're not american? Maybe because you're making a big deal out of something which doesn't affect you?

Sure this thing is stupid, I agree. But I don't think it affects my freedom of speech in any way. I mean, no one has full freedom of speech. Yell fire somewhere crowded, see what that gets you. "Joke around" that you are going to rape and kill some woman on the street and see what happens. From the beginning our country has said that we will treat everyone equal and were lying through our teeth, if that tells you anything right there. Things aren't perfect but that doesn't mean that we can't enjoy ourselves.

Our government is overreacting, yes. But I'm sure there's some sort of explanation, even if it is a dumb one. And Kit, do you think that our teachers over here are sane? What I mean is do you think that most of our teachers aren't way to sensitive to 'terrorism'? Our media distorts and twists things in unimaginable ways just to make our country look good to its citizens, making them paranoid in the process. I think some teacher, as wes put it, has a hard on for our country and took things too seriously. Maybe this teacher had it out for the kid, we don't know. All I can guarantee is a lawsuit, which is sad.

Edit: I really hope that yelling fire in a theater is outlawed in Australia, otherwise I'm screwed.

[QUOTE=big S]i've been wondering if some people hate bush because he's interrupting their lives and they're just not used to a president actually [I]doing[/I] things, even though said things are ignorant and violating. yes, this story is wrong and a little infuriating, i'm just noting a thought i had recently. when was the last time a president did actual work?[/QUOTE]
You mean aside from when Clinton busted his ass for years to fix the economy?

[QUOTE=Wesley Sonck]well, thats the price of living in the land of the free[/QUOTE]

The price is too steep. Give me literacy or give me death.

this is indeed a sad piece of disheartening news. it is beyond absurd, but really, who here doesn't know that the american government does absurd things?

that being said, free speech is extremely important, it's the last right that should ever be trodden upon in america, but is generally the one that gets the most abuse, for all sides. yes, the whole thing was handeled inappropriately, at best it should have been handeled by the school authorities, but as diabetic pointed out, it's not like the secret service was scoping out Prosser High School. the article said how the secret service recieved word of the drawings- [b]the art teacher turned drawings over to school officials[/b], which is generally standard when there's a depiction of anyone specific being drawn dead (and i'm sure we can all agree this practice is appropriate), then [b]the school involved the police[/b], now i'm not so sure it's a good idea to do this but the superintendant said they always involve the police anytime they have a "concern", [b]and then the police turned them over to the secret service[/b], now there's where the real stretch is, and where i get lost as to how the police thought they should involve the secret service.

diabetic and jane are right in saying this is hardly representative of average american life, and hardly representative of the way things generally work with the government, HOWEVER, wes is pretty accurately showing that it is completely wrong and should be somethinig to get upset about, no matter what your nationality is.

[QUOTE=trypdwyre]....HOWEVER, wes is pretty accurately showing that it is completely wrong and should be somethinig to get upset about, no matter what your nationality is.[/QUOTE]

thankyou.

[QUOTE=Wesley Sonck]no less affected than anywhere else with major coastline cities.

goodbye europe
goodbye riviera
goodbye los angeles
goodboye new york[/QUOTE]

Helloooooo[i]ooooooooo[/i], Pittsburgh! W0Ot!

[QUOTE=trypdwyre][b]the art teacher turned drawings over to school officials[/b], which is generally standard when there's a depiction of anyone specific being drawn dead (and [b]i'm sure we can all agree this practice is appropriate[/b])[/QUOTE]I don't. It's another case of "I'm protecting my job in case this kid goes Columbine on us" and has more to do with a teacher protecting his pension than any perceived threat of depicted violence to either students or president.

If this kid has done anything wrong (in depicting a Middle Easterner destroying an effigy of Bush) then CNN and every other news source is guilty of the same thing.

[QUOTE=Tuffy the Dump Truck]I don't. It's another case of "I'm protecting my job in case this kid goes Columbine on us" and has more to do with a teacher protecting his pension than any perceived threat of depicted violence to either students or president.

If this kid has done anything wrong (in depicting a Middle Easterner destroying an effigy of Bush) then CNN and every other news source is guilty of the same thing.[/QUOTE]
perhaps it's the private schooling that was hammered into me for 13 years, but i thought this was standard practice, letting school officials know, in the case of specific violence depicted through word or art. and i'm speaking as someone who was taught this before columbine.

yes, news media has depicted similar things, as absurd as it may sound though, i could understand how one could take this child's drawings the wrong way (ie not as an effigy). that being said, i think it should only have gone as far as the school officials, never to the police and certainly not to the SS. do i think the child should be held accountable for it? no, especially not after stating that it was an effigy. i think making an inquiry into this matter by the school is appropriate (based on the specific violence depicted, not necessarily WHO was depicted), i do not think that it should have gone farther, nor that this student be punished for voicing an independant thought which schools are supposed to be trying to help their students develop.

the fact that the Secret Service interviewed this kid is a classic practice of governmental intimidation and example-making that has gone way too far. freedom of speech is not limitless, but there needs to be some common sense put in place.

[QUOTE=Diabetic]And Kit, do you think that our teachers over here are sane? What I mean is do you think that most of our teachers aren't way to sensitive to 'terrorism'? Our media distorts and twists things in unimaginable ways just to make our country look good to its citizens, making them paranoid in the process.[/QUOTE]

if i was a parent who had children in schools, id bloody well hope that the teachers were sane. teachers should be more aware of the uselessness of the media than anyone else, because they are taking care of the country's future. is that so much to expect?

and trypwyre.. i wasnt aware that it was standard practice to alert authorities of children's artworks depicting violence .. and i'm going to have to agree with tuffy , i think its a bit of an overreaction, in any case.
sure, refer the kid to a psychologist, alert the parents, but police or anything else straight away seems a bit rash to me. maybe its because i havent grown up in a particularly violent country, i dont know. but all of these practices seem to be drawn from paranoia and fear rather than a concern for the mental welfare and safety of the school vhildren.

[QUOTE=Kit!]and trypwyre.. i wasnt aware that it was standard practice to alert authorities of children's artworks depicting violence .. and i'm going to have to agree with tuffy , i think its a bit of an overreaction, in any case.
sure, refer the kid to a psychologist, alert the parents, but police or anything else straight away seems a bit rash to me. maybe its because i havent grown up in a particularly violent country, i dont know. but all of these practices seem to be drawn from paranoia and fear rather than a concern for the mental welfare and safety of the school vhildren.[/QUOTE]
yea, by saying it's standard practice to alert authorities, i was speaking of the school officials, the dean/counsilor or what-have-you, just someone to talk to the kid maybe the parents about the offending material. i don't think it's standard to alert the police, that's just ludicrous. thanks for clearing that up

oiy.. mwahahaha.. your civilization is doomed kiddos!