http://neurodiversity.com/weblog/article/152

In other words: responsible, ethical bloggers who are attacked by intimidation tactics for having an opinion CAN fight back.

And: Not all subpeonas are issued on good faith.

So sorry about the time lapsed. I have been very ill lately.

To your questions:

My understanding is that in order for a subpoena to be issue it must meet curtain legal criteria(S). It varies from state to state what they are. The person who receives a subpoena can always asks for a hearing to have that subpoena “squash”, e.g. stop. Usually, they have to go before a judge (usually the same judge who issued the subpoena) and explain why it should not be honored.

So my point was that if they have served Kathleen with subpoenas, then it had to be agreed (and signed) by a judge.

Raphael.

I agree with you in this regard. It is of utmost importance that a blogger, or a reporter for that matter, should be careful.

I remember several reporters being in hot water in 2003. Under the interrogation, NYTimes’s Pultizer Prize winner Judith Miller kept saying that she did not remember the name of a person who leaked the name of a CIA undercover operative Valerie Plame whilst interviewing Libby and Rove, but one of her notes showed “Flame” for “Plame.” Plame was mentioned by a syndicated columnist Robert Novak. NY Times’s editor, Raines, was in hot water, too, for publishing Miller’s articles. NYT could not fire her because she was a permanent NYT writer because of her membership in the union (she was in jail). However, under the pressure of the NYT staff, she resigned. (N.B.: Freelancers and contracted writers can be fired on the spot.)

NYTimes’s other reporter Jayson Blair was in hot water, too, for plagiarising, lying, and fabricating in NYTimes. Under the pressure, he resigned.

That is why we rarely see anyone sue any careful writer of a respected national newspaper like NY Times, LA Times, WaPo. Following the recent quarrels between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and the examples of the scandal of Judith Miller and Jayson Blair, a professor of Georgetown University gave a lecture about the ethics of journalism and lecturing at the library across the street. He said that, ethically, a journalist is not allowed to slander, deceive, humiliate, insult, defame, lie, fabricate and pointed out that “deceiving is equated to stealing” and that “insulting is analogous to killing.” He furthered that when a person is insulted, he/she blanches. It is the culprit that has drawn blood from his victim’s face.

The importance is to report facts accurately as much as possible. People need to stay strong.

Do not give up your blog. Please do go see my video link:
http://www.deafvideo.tv/video/watch/8301/

I feel anyone who tried to scare and threaten you, possibly wanting you out of your blog!?? Oh well, just keep on going blog!

Thank you, Shawn

Can’t believe when I read this! (Sigh with deep breath.) I am not going to say any further except for few words to number 10 “Deaf Mom”.

Deaf Mom: Be patient and when time is right, it will happen!

Cheers,
Katrina

I am Kathleen. Oh, it is my real name, but I could be the next Kathleen…

We need to be cautious, should it happen to us. I always chose the words that consider neutralized for anyone that comes to read the messages. Still, I could be accused for one issue or any statements. Again, we are dealing the public ourselves. We must remember this in our mind regardlessly!

deafk

Adding that, you should know there are worst sort of people out there who are in the position of power, considerable wealth or using the power of the law who might decide that a blogger like Kathleen, Mishka and others should be silenced for speaking out. Case in point, for example (noted in recent news) - the government of China warned to the world’s media there’s zero tolerance for anyone who’s criticizing China’s government policies and human right abuses.

There are many pros… great for school papers (my son used internet for his research paper on one of the endangered animals, instead of going to the library), finding recipes for cooking/baking, getting medical information, etc.

As for blogging… I think it is GREAT, it opens up the new avenue for some people to be able to express their opinions without having to meet anyone in person. But there are a few disadvantages… there will always be some people who are quick to oppose and that the emotions are likely to play a part of it, depending on how strong they feel about the subject.

With the internet, seems like everyone’s life is an open book. One could find the state employees’ salaries, report cards, etc. And it is a ripe field for hackers…

And ripe field for gathering information from the bloggers/vloggers and using them against them.

Wow. Amazing.