Europe restricts free speech
-
European Union nations agreed Thursday on new rules to combat racism and hate
crimes across the 27-nation bloc, including setting jail sentences against those who
deny or trivialize the Holocaust.
...
EU justice and interior ministers said the rules call for criminalizing "incitement
to hatred and violence and publicly condoning, denying or grossly trivializing crimes
of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes."The mass killing of Jews during World War II was the only genocide specifically
mentioned in the rules. Demands from Baltic nations that major Stalinist atrocities
be included were rejected.So not only is the EU severely restricting and punishing free speech, but they're apparently doing so on a politically selective basis. Why am I completely unsurprised?
It's worse then what you think. Tobacco companies aren't free to deny that smoking is bad for your health. Imagine that!
"Throughout human history, we have been dependent on machines to survive. Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony. " - Morpheus "Real men use mspaint for writing code and notepad for designing graphics." - Anna-Jayne Metcalfe
-
European Union nations agreed Thursday on new rules to combat racism and hate
crimes across the 27-nation bloc, including setting jail sentences against those who
deny or trivialize the Holocaust.
...
EU justice and interior ministers said the rules call for criminalizing "incitement
to hatred and violence and publicly condoning, denying or grossly trivializing crimes
of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes."The mass killing of Jews during World War II was the only genocide specifically
mentioned in the rules. Demands from Baltic nations that major Stalinist atrocities
be included were rejected.So not only is the EU severely restricting and punishing free speech, but they're apparently doing so on a politically selective basis. Why am I completely unsurprised?
The right-wing never ceases to amaze me. Criminalizing speech only drives it underground. When will conservatives learn that social problems are not solvable by throwing more laws and regulations at them? And why is the Holocaust considered the only genocide? What about 10s of millions slaughtered by communist regimes in Russia and China? What about Cambodia and Rwanda?
-
To be honest I thought the things covered by that bill were already crimes, at least here. Sounds to me like an excuse to justify their jobs.
Ðavid Wulff What kind of music should programmers listen to?
Join the Code Project Last.fm group | dwulff
I'm so gangsta I eat cereal without the milkDavid Wulff wrote:
Sounds to me like an excuse to justify their jobs.
Sounds to me like you're avoiding expressing an opinion.
-
Le Centriste wrote:
Spreading hatred and racism is NOT the motivation behind free speech.
The motivation behind free speech is quite simple: speech should be free. Counter bad speech with good speech, not thought-crime laws.
Le Centriste wrote:
What would you say if someone came to you and said "9/11 never happened"?
Like these[^] douchebags[^]? There are plenty of others like them as well, I don't feel like listing all of them. (If you dig into their sites any, you'll find links to all the others, however, as it's mostly one big circle disaster-bation). They should not be put in jail. They should not be charged with crimes. They should not be attacked upon sight. Their ideas should be challenged with good speech[^]. All should be able to see and participate in the debate.
-- Russell Morris Morbo: "WINDMILLS DO NOT WORK THAT WAY!"
Let's extend this a little bit, if you don't mind. I am a French Canadian as you may know by looking at my profile. A couple years ago, we had a radio station guy who really had bad speech. He was really taking down people in flames, although the persons were not doing that. Their arguments: if you don't like what we say, sue us." That radio station had enough money to pay lawyers so the lawsuits were long and difficult for a person to defend itself. And, while the lawsuit was on, the radio guy was continuing to slander the person. What do you think about that? Is it fair use of free speech? Imagine, the guy even once suggested that disabled people should be put to death in a gas chamber. Fortunately, the CRTC (Canadian Broadcastin authority) was so overwhelmed with complaints that they decided to withdraw the broadcasting license to the radio station.
----- Formerly MP(2) If atheism is a religion, then not collecting stamps is a hobby. -- Unknown
-
The right-wing never ceases to amaze me. Criminalizing speech only drives it underground. When will conservatives learn that social problems are not solvable by throwing more laws and regulations at them? And why is the Holocaust considered the only genocide? What about 10s of millions slaughtered by communist regimes in Russia and China? What about Cambodia and Rwanda?
Ed Gadziemski wrote:
The right-wing never ceases to amaze me.
:rolleyes:
-
It's worse then what you think. Tobacco companies aren't free to deny that smoking is bad for your health. Imagine that!
"Throughout human history, we have been dependent on machines to survive. Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony. " - Morpheus "Real men use mspaint for writing code and notepad for designing graphics." - Anna-Jayne Metcalfe
Free speech is not about spreading lies.
----- Formerly MP(2) If atheism is a religion, then not collecting stamps is a hobby. -- Unknown
-
To be honest I thought the things covered by that bill were already crimes, at least here. Sounds to me like an excuse to justify their jobs.
Ðavid Wulff What kind of music should programmers listen to?
Join the Code Project Last.fm group | dwulff
I'm so gangsta I eat cereal without the milkDavid Wulff wrote:
To be honest I thought the things covered by that bill were already crimes, at least here.
Do you agree that they should be crimes?
"I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it." - Thomas Jefferson
-
The right-wing never ceases to amaze me. Criminalizing speech only drives it underground. When will conservatives learn that social problems are not solvable by throwing more laws and regulations at them? And why is the Holocaust considered the only genocide? What about 10s of millions slaughtered by communist regimes in Russia and China? What about Cambodia and Rwanda?
Ed Gadziemski wrote:
Criminalizing speech only drives it underground
just wait until it's illegal to question global whatever.
Mike The NYT - my leftist brochure. dennisd45: My view of the world is slightly more nuanced dennisd45 (the NAMBLA supporter) wrote: I know exactly what it means. So shut up you mother killing baby raper.
-
Let's extend this a little bit, if you don't mind. I am a French Canadian as you may know by looking at my profile. A couple years ago, we had a radio station guy who really had bad speech. He was really taking down people in flames, although the persons were not doing that. Their arguments: if you don't like what we say, sue us." That radio station had enough money to pay lawyers so the lawsuits were long and difficult for a person to defend itself. And, while the lawsuit was on, the radio guy was continuing to slander the person. What do you think about that? Is it fair use of free speech? Imagine, the guy even once suggested that disabled people should be put to death in a gas chamber. Fortunately, the CRTC (Canadian Broadcastin authority) was so overwhelmed with complaints that they decided to withdraw the broadcasting license to the radio station.
----- Formerly MP(2) If atheism is a religion, then not collecting stamps is a hobby. -- Unknown
Sounds like Howard Stern.
-
Sounds like Howard Stern.
More a wannabe.
----- Formerly MP(2) If atheism is a religion, then not collecting stamps is a hobby. -- Unknown
-
The right-wing never ceases to amaze me. Criminalizing speech only drives it underground. When will conservatives learn that social problems are not solvable by throwing more laws and regulations at them? And why is the Holocaust considered the only genocide? What about 10s of millions slaughtered by communist regimes in Russia and China? What about Cambodia and Rwanda?
Ed Gadziemski wrote:
When will conservatives learn that social problems are not solvable by throwing more laws and regulations at them?
Are you suggesting that the EU is conservative? :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
"I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it." - Thomas Jefferson
-
Ed Gadziemski wrote:
Criminalizing speech only drives it underground
just wait until it's illegal to question global whatever.
Mike The NYT - my leftist brochure. dennisd45: My view of the world is slightly more nuanced dennisd45 (the NAMBLA supporter) wrote: I know exactly what it means. So shut up you mother killing baby raper.
Mike Gaskey wrote:
just wait until it's illegal to question global whatever.
Like, umm, warming? :laugh:
"Throughout human history, we have been dependent on machines to survive. Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony. " - Morpheus "Real men use mspaint for writing code and notepad for designing graphics." - Anna-Jayne Metcalfe
-
It's worse then what you think. Tobacco companies aren't free to deny that smoking is bad for your health. Imagine that!
"Throughout human history, we have been dependent on machines to survive. Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony. " - Morpheus "Real men use mspaint for writing code and notepad for designing graphics." - Anna-Jayne Metcalfe
Actually they can. Since scientific evidence overwhelmingly supports the fact that it causes cancer, however, would ensure lawsuits for damages that would guarantee their demise.
-
Joy, and it plays right into the hands of the Islamist critics who falsely stated that holocaust denial was illegal in Europe, and therefore drawing cocks on pictures of Old Mo was hypocritical. Just wait for the blasphemy legislation that's sure to follow. Oh, and holocaust schmolocaust, it never happened.
-
Most countries have blasphemy laws on their statute books, however in the UK these laws are Christian based and are rarely used in these modern times, but as nations become more ethnically diverse, perhaps an update of these ancient laws are overdue.
Richard A. Abbott wrote:
Most countries have blasphemy laws on their statute books, however in the UK these laws are Christian based and are rarely used in these modern times, but as nations become more ethnically diverse, perhaps an update of these ancient laws are overdue.
Sounds like it's already evolving into a form of secular blasphemy.
-
Mike Gaskey wrote:
just wait until it's illegal to question global whatever.
Like, umm, warming? :laugh:
"Throughout human history, we have been dependent on machines to survive. Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony. " - Morpheus "Real men use mspaint for writing code and notepad for designing graphics." - Anna-Jayne Metcalfe
dnh wrote:
Like, umm, warming?
ya, that thing where summers are hotter in places and winters colder and we're all out of wooly large animals.
Mike The NYT - my leftist brochure. dennisd45: My view of the world is slightly more nuanced dennisd45 (the NAMBLA supporter) wrote: I know exactly what it means. So shut up you mother killing baby raper.
-
Most countries have blasphemy laws on their statute books, however in the UK these laws are Christian based and are rarely used in these modern times, but as nations become more ethnically diverse, perhaps an update of these ancient laws are overdue.
i.e scrapping them as an anachronism, given that abrahamic faiths all mutually blaspheme each other, and blasphemy is a necessary part of free speech. I do hope you are not suggesting criminalising criticism of Islam.
-
Richard A. Abbott wrote:
Most countries have blasphemy laws on their statute books, however in the UK these laws are Christian based and are rarely used in these modern times, but as nations become more ethnically diverse, perhaps an update of these ancient laws are overdue.
Sounds like it's already evolving into a form of secular blasphemy.
-
Let's extend this a little bit, if you don't mind. I am a French Canadian as you may know by looking at my profile. A couple years ago, we had a radio station guy who really had bad speech. He was really taking down people in flames, although the persons were not doing that. Their arguments: if you don't like what we say, sue us." That radio station had enough money to pay lawyers so the lawsuits were long and difficult for a person to defend itself. And, while the lawsuit was on, the radio guy was continuing to slander the person. What do you think about that? Is it fair use of free speech? Imagine, the guy even once suggested that disabled people should be put to death in a gas chamber. Fortunately, the CRTC (Canadian Broadcastin authority) was so overwhelmed with complaints that they decided to withdraw the broadcasting license to the radio station.
----- Formerly MP(2) If atheism is a religion, then not collecting stamps is a hobby. -- Unknown
Le Centriste wrote:
That radio station had enough money to pay lawyers so the lawsuits were long and difficult for a person to defend itself. And, while the lawsuit was on, the radio guy was continuing to slander the person.
A specific person, a specific group of people, or a general categorization of people? Lying about someone intentionally (i.e. you know what you're saying is false) specifically to hurt them somehow is considered slander in the US. But note that it's not the same as free speech - i.e. free, unrestricted expression of thought without regard for the status quo. Slander is intentionally lying for the purpose of hurting or defaming someone. Slander is considered a civil offense (as opposed to a criminal offense) in the US.
Le Centriste wrote:
What do you think about that? Is it fair use of free speech? Imagine, the guy even once suggested that disabled people should be put to death in a gas chamber.
I'm not sure I could pass judgment until I understood what this guy said, and to whom it was directed (a person, a group, or a category). The "disabled people should be put to death in a gas chamber" quote is certainly the product of something between a sick individual and a shock-jock out for ratings. The notion is repulsive and nonsensical. His boss should be able to fire him for saying it if they wanted to. People should be able to picket his office or wherever else and call for his removal, criticize his speech, and criticize his character for the fact that he said it. But he, in my notion of free speech, has committed no crime whatsoever. He's just a jackass. I look at this issue the same way that I look at the death penalty. It's not that I wouldn't want to knock the guy's block off and send him to prison for the rest of his life for saying such horrible things. It's not that I wouldn't viscerally want some horrid serial killer put to death. It's that I don't trust government, in and of itself, to wield these powers against its citizens in general. Government shouldn't be able to label thoughts and discourse crimes. Government shouldn't be able to plan and execute the death of one of its citizens. Government isn't trustworthy enough for those tasks. No matter how bad the speech, no matter how repulsive the idea, it should be countered with good speech from the citizenry, not with edicts from on-high. One of the side-benefits of this in
-
Ed Gadziemski wrote:
When will conservatives learn that social problems are not solvable by throwing more laws and regulations at them?
Are you suggesting that the EU is conservative? :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
"I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it." - Thomas Jefferson
:)