Event Focused on Mohammed Cartoons Happening Friday at UCLA (Not Far from the Law School):

Our local Objectivist club is putting it on:

Unveiling the Danish Cartoons: A Discussion of Free Speech and World Response
Misc Event on Friday, March 10, 2006 (7:00pm - 10:00pm)
UCLA Campus: Dodd 147

The Danish cartoons depicting Mohammed have sparked a worldwide controversy. Death threats and violent protests have sent the cartoonists into hiding and have had the intended effect of stifling freedom of expression. The reaction to these cartoons raises urgent questions whose significance goes far beyond a set of drawings.

* What is freedom of speech? Does it include the right to offend?
* What is the significance of the worldwide Islamic reaction to the cartoons?
* How should Western governments have responded to this incident?
* How should the Western media have responded? ...

Please note that the cartoons in question will be displayed at the event....

[Panelists:]

Dr. Yaron Brook is the president and executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute.... He was an assistant professor for seven years at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California ....

Kevin James began his professional career as a lawyer, spending three years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and another ten years as a litigator in high-profile entertainment matters.... [Since 2004, he has been a radio talk show host and a television panelist and commentator.] ...

Avi Davis is a journalist, documentarian, and commentator on Israel, the Middle East, and the Arab world....

Khaleel Mohammed is an Assistant Professor of Religion and a Core Faculty Member of the Center for Islamic and Arabic Studies at San Diego State University. He holds a Ph.D. from McGill University in Islamic Law, and his specialties include Islam, Islamic Law, and Comparative religion....

[Moderator] Dr. Edwin Locke, Dean's Professor Emeritus of Leadership and Motivation at the University of Maryland, has published more than 230 articles, chapters, and books on subjects such as leadership, work motivation, goal setting, job satisfaction, incentives, and the philosophy of science....

Should be an interesting program; I'm sorry that child care duties keep me away from it.