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Synapses is a repository for columns, rants and reflections, mostly on secular humanist issues and politics in South Africa. Please take a look around, and leave a comment if so inclined. You can also subscribe by RSS, or follow me on Twitter.

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All the content, unless otherwise specified, is the work of Jacques Rousseau. If you want to get in touch with me, here are some contact details. Please do not reproduce content elsewhere without linking back to the relevant post.

Comment policy

I'm a firm believer in free speech. However, there are ample opportunities for venting of spleen elsewhere on the internet. I reserve the right to edit or delete comments that exceed the threshold of my tolerance for stupidity or malice.
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free speech

#TwitterBlackout

#TwitterBlackout

Posted February 4, 2012 by Jacques Rousseau

Twitter’s new policy on censoring tweets has been misunderstood by critics.

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The privilege in not finding things offensive

The privilege in not finding things offensive

Posted January 26, 2012 by Jacques Rousseau

A recent complaint to the ASA regarding a River’s Church billboard undermines arguments against the censure of potentially offensive speech. But are those arguments weakened in general through the privileged position they emerge from?

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Kuli Roberts, and the right to (offensive) free speech

Kuli Roberts, and the right to (offensive) free speech

Posted March 3, 2011 by Jacques Rousseau

The Kuli Roberts column, Bitch’s Brew, has been cancelled by Avusa and the Sunday World newspaper following the publication of a “racist” column which expressed various stereotypes related to a subsection of South Africans sometimes described as ‘coloureds’. But as offensive as the column might have been to some, is there ever a good reason to deny free expression of views?

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Responsible reporting: At what cost?

Responsible reporting: At what cost?

Posted August 18, 2010 by Jacques Rousseau

A democratic society’s commitment to free speech does not have to trump any other considerations, but a press that is anything other than free is always, and everywhere, a very bad thing.

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Bloggers for a free press (#SpeakZA)

Posted March 24, 2010 by Jacques Rousseau

#SpeakZA: Bloggers unite against the threats to press freedom presented by the ANC Youth League and its spokesperson spokesperson Nyiko Floyd Shivambu.

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