Punishing bloggers in Egypt
The Washington Post has a disturbing story about how the Egyptian government is singling out bloggers for punishment. Given the country's perpetual state of emergency, they can be jailed indefinitely. Apparently bloggers are really beginning to annoy President Mubarak, which may simply mean their political criticisms are accurate. He then uses the following twisted logic to explain that he gets to decide what is free speech:
"Most of what they are writing could be punished according to the law, because it is libel and blasphemy," Mubarak said. Referring to himself as the source of whatever free speech exists in Egypt, he added: "If they think that what they are doing is an expression of their freedom, they should remember who gave them this chance, and who is insisting on its continuity."