Azerbaijani bloggers Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade – sentenced

Last week the two Azerbaijan bloggers we blogged about, were convicted for hooliganism. Despite international pressure they were sentenced to an outrageous two and two and a half years in jail. (Go here for an excellent link list with various reactions and here if you want to take action.)
The verdict fits the impression that the Azerbaijan regime [...]

Azerbaijani bloggers Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade – still in jail

Two days ago Emin Milli turned thirty. He celebrated this in his prison cell, where he and his friend Adnan have been enjoying forced state hospitality ever since they were attacked by two muscle men (who were quickly released from custody).
Gibburt reported about this case last month.
The birthday of Emin Milli has not passed unnoticed: [...]

Esel Heinz’s trip to Baku

In June this year Adnan Hajizada, a video blogger from Azerbaijan, placed a video on YouTube. Dressed up as “Esel Heinz”, a German immigrant donkey, he explained the gathered press why he was so happy to migrate to Azerbaijan.
The mildly satirical movie was a reaction to a story in Azerbaijani media that the government payed [...]

A salute: Emma Goldman (1869-1940)

Emma Goldman, a political activist who played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist philosophy in the first half of the twentieth century, was born 140 years ago in Kovno (now Kaunas). An outspoken writer and lecturer on anarchist philosophy, women’s rights, and social issues, Goldman was imprisoned several times after emigrating to the [...]

All ideas are equal, but some ideas are more equal than others

Some people, it seems, have an obsession with hearing “both sides” of everything. Aside from the fact that this stems from a ridiculously oversimplified world-view in which there are precisely two sides to anything, the desperate notion that these sides are always balanced is rather boorish. Arguments should be weighed by their merits and, more [...]