Seems like nobody has commented yet on the dreaded cartoons. My own view is they were clearly offensive to Moslems worldwide but here is the catch 22: Moslems in the U.K. are requesting a law that will prohibit making fun of religion (something that carries the death-penalty in Pakistan apparently).
If the Labour Party buckles to this demand (I believe it will), my honest belief is people should start taking this pretty seriously and not allow Blair to stifle the media.
As a liberal I believe people have a right to insult myself and my particular beliefs and that I have a right to insult their views. Sometimes it may be unwise to say certain things or maybe somebody will even pelt you with eggs, but this has nothing to do with governments.
What's worrying is that a journalist in France has actually lost his job after publishing. Many journalists are taking career risks to publish not because they get a kick out of mocking peoples' beliefs and values but because they disagree with government censorship and believe we have a right to be insulted or insult by word or in print. I think it's a case of testing the waters -how will the reaction be or legal consequences if I publish something religious folks find offensive?
Final point: I don't know how this relates to the U.S. Does the press have total freedom to mock Christianity in the American press or would there be social unrest or violence? Would Congress intervene and introduce laws on blasphemy? Are we slowly drifting towards theocratic rule in the western world and are our freedoms of expression going up in smoke?
(P.S. it's valid point moslems make that there isn't total freedom of expression in Germany where it's illegal to deny the hollocaust (not my view but I accept people have a right to hold any view they wish.)
If the Labour Party buckles to this demand (I believe it will), my honest belief is people should start taking this pretty seriously and not allow Blair to stifle the media.
As a liberal I believe people have a right to insult myself and my particular beliefs and that I have a right to insult their views. Sometimes it may be unwise to say certain things or maybe somebody will even pelt you with eggs, but this has nothing to do with governments.
What's worrying is that a journalist in France has actually lost his job after publishing. Many journalists are taking career risks to publish not because they get a kick out of mocking peoples' beliefs and values but because they disagree with government censorship and believe we have a right to be insulted or insult by word or in print. I think it's a case of testing the waters -how will the reaction be or legal consequences if I publish something religious folks find offensive?
Final point: I don't know how this relates to the U.S. Does the press have total freedom to mock Christianity in the American press or would there be social unrest or violence? Would Congress intervene and introduce laws on blasphemy? Are we slowly drifting towards theocratic rule in the western world and are our freedoms of expression going up in smoke?
(P.S. it's valid point moslems make that there isn't total freedom of expression in Germany where it's illegal to deny the hollocaust (not my view but I accept people have a right to hold any view they wish.)