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| Blasphemy! | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 26 2017, 02:14 PM (102 Views) | |
| George K | Feb 26 2017, 02:14 PM Post #1 |
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Finally
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http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/445250/enlightenment-fail-dane-charged-blasphemy Enlightenment Fail : A Dane is Charged with Blasphemy The New York Times (my emphasis added): Not the most likable of individuals, it seems, but that, in this context, is neither here nor there. A decade or so ago, shortly after the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published the Mohammed cartoons, I wrote an article examining the reaction elsewhere in Europe to Denmark’s defense of free speech: That was then. After the Charlie-Hebdo massacre all but one of Denmark’s major newspapers published some of the French magazine’s edgier cartoons. The one that did not was Jyllands-Posten, citing security concerns, a decision, the newspaper explained, showed that “violence works”. Back to The New York Times (again, my emphasis added): Violence works. The Times writes brightly that ‘only’ five EU countries have blasphemy laws on the books (not nothing, I reckon, in a union of 28), but fails to note how European authorities in a number of other member-states have sometimes used ‘hate crimes’ legislation as a de facto blasphemy law. Lest we forget: Free speech is not a #EuropeanValue . Oh yes, according to the Koran-burner’s defence lawyer, in 1997 a Danish artist burned a copy of the Bible on a news show by a state broadcaster. There was no prosecution. And there wouldn’t be now I reckon, which is how it should be. But the fact that there wouldn’t is simultaneously a double standard, patronizing (Muslim sensitivities apparently need special protection) and, yet again, a recognition that violence works. So, usually, does intimidation by the state. According to the Times, “a trial has been scheduled for June. If convicted, the defendant faces up to four months in prison or a fine.” But a conviction and any penalty are not really the point. The process itself, with its expense, anxiety and more, is both punishment and a message that the authorities want to send out to any Dane thinking of expressing the wrong sort of thoughts about Islam in the wrong way. Meanwhile, Trine Bramsen, a member of Parliament and a spokeswoman of the Social Democrats (the leading party of Denmark’s center-left) has, the Times reports, defended the blasphemy law: So what? Burning the Koran may add nothing (or less than nothing) to the debate, but the idea that controversial expressions of opinion can only be permitted if they are in the interests of a “stronger society” (whatever that is) or “enrich the public debate” (whoever decides that) is entirely at odds with the idea of truly free speech. And so, needless to say, are blasphemy laws. |
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A guide to GKSR: Click "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08 Nothing is as effective as homeopathy. I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles. - Klaus, 4/29/18 | |
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| Copper | Feb 26 2017, 02:37 PM Post #2 |
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Shortstop
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Obama's friends. It's coming. |
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The Confederate soldier was peculiar in that he was ever ready to fight, but never ready to submit to the routine duty and discipline of the camp or the march. The soldiers were determined to be soldiers after their own notions, and do their duty, for the love of it, as they thought best. Carlton McCarthy | |
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| John D'Oh | Feb 26 2017, 05:25 PM Post #3 |
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MAMIL
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Let's be honest, this isn't just about Obama any more. God's a bit of an asshole. And not the good bit. He's the bit that Peperami won't sell. |
| What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket? | |
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| jon-nyc | Feb 26 2017, 05:53 PM Post #4 |
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Cheers
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Jesus. |
| In my defense, I was left unsupervised. | |
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| George K | Feb 26 2017, 05:55 PM Post #5 |
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Finally
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Well, that was close, at least. |
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A guide to GKSR: Click "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08 Nothing is as effective as homeopathy. I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles. - Klaus, 4/29/18 | |
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