Monthly Archives: March 2015

Can free speech, blasphemy coexist?

Posted: March 10, 2015 at 3:54 am

Recent killings in Copenhagen and Paris have renewed an age-old debate: Should societies with vigorous traditions in free speech either adopt or strengthen laws against blasphemy?

At least a fifth of all the countries in the world maintain anti-blasphemy laws, according to the Pew Research Centerwhich include several Western European countries such as Denmark, Germany and Italy.

Read MoreJindal's brilliant take on radical Islam

Yet laws against offending the pious have been accompanied by increasing criticism about whether liberal democracies should even entertain them. Although some argue that blasphemy laws actually encourage zealotry, and feed the cycle of religious-inspired violence, international organizations like the United Nations have pushed to criminalize religious defamation.

Secular governments are attempting to grapple with "problems associated with terrorism and fundamentalism," Tomas Byrne, an author and attorney based in Stockholm told CNBC. "The question becomes, if states are trying to respondis there a way to keep the peace?"

Byrne, a native Canadian who was educated at the University of Oxford, worked as a lawyer and banker for 20 years in London. As it happens, the U.K. has become one of Europe's hottest crucibles in the debate betweencultural assimilation and strict interpretations of Islam.

"I don't think the context we have in western society are neutral concepts," said Byrne, who cited the "direct clash" that ensues when religious groups are confronted with speech they deem offensive.

"There's no way to dance around that. In places like Denmark and Germany they have tried to show tolerance by putting in place [blasphemy] lawsand if we live in a society where we want to choose between visions, we have to be able to risk causing offense," Byrne said, asking, "How effectively can you enforce tolerance?"

Freedom House, an independent freedom watchdog organization, wrote in a 2010 report that blasphemy laws "inevitably fail to address the issue of what exactly constitutes blasphemy, leaving enormous discretion in the hands of prosecutors, judges, and accusers who may be influenced by political or personal priorities."

In other words, regardless of how strict laws are preventing blasphemy, their application and interpretation can vary widely from country to country, and lead to dramatically different results. Pakistan, for instance, is notorious for tough enforcement against apostacyyet blasphemy accusations and retributions have surged there in recent years.

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Can free speech, blasphemy coexist?

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Shootout at Copenhagen cafe free speech event

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By Jan M. Olsen And Karl Ritter Associated Press

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) A shooting at a free speech event featuring an artist who had caricatured the Prophet Muhammad and a second shooting hours later outside a synagogue left two dead and five police officers wounded in Copenhagen, stirring fears that another terror spree was underway in a European capital a month after 17 people were killed in Paris attacks.

Police couldn't say whether the shootings at a cultural center Saturday afternoon and in front of the synagogue early Sunday were connected, but didn't rule it out. In both shootings, the gunman got away.

"We are looking for two perpetrators," police spokesman Allan Wadsworth-Hansen told reporters.

In this photo dated Saturday Feb. 14, 2015, issued by Copenhagen Police believed to show the suspect in a shooting at a freedom of speech event in Copenhagen, in a photo taken from a street camera near to where the getaway car was later found dumped. In what is seen as a likely terror attack against a free speech event organized by an artist who had caricatured the Prophet Muhammad, the police believe there was only one shooter in the attack on a Copenhagen cafe that left one person dead and three police officers wounded. (AP Photo /Copenhagen Police) DENMARK OUT - NO SALES (Copenhagen Police/AP)

Two hours later, police announced they had shot and killed a man who shot at them near a train station and were investigating whether he could be linked to the two shootings. The police statement posted online says the shooting occurred after they had put an address near the train station under observation. The statement said no police officers were wounded.

The first shooting happened shortly before 4 p.m. Saturday. Danish police said the gunman used an automatic weapon to shoot through the windows of the Krudttoenden cultural center during a panel discussion on freedom of expression following the Paris attacks. A 55-year-old man attending the event was killed, while three police officers were wounded. Two belonged to the Danish security service PET, which said the circumstances surrounding the shooting "indicate that we are talking about a terror attack."

The gunman then fled in a carjacked Volkswagen Polo that was found later a few kilometers (miles) away, police said.

Lars Vilks, a Swedish artist who has faced numerous death threats for caricaturing the Prophet Muhammad, was one of the main speakers at the event, titled "Art, blasphemy and freedom of expression." He was whisked away by his bodyguards unharmed as the shooting began.

Vilks, 68, later told The Associated Press he believed he was the intended target of the shooting.

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Eddie Griffin Stand Up Comedy Freedom Of Speech (Stand Up Best HD) – Video

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Eddie Griffin Stand Up Comedy Freedom Of Speech (Stand Up Best HD)
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Eddie Griffin Stand Up Comedy Freedom Of Speech Funny Comedy HD – Video

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Eddie Griffin Stand Up Comedy Freedom Of Speech Funny Comedy HD
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Eddie Griffin Stand Up Comedy Freedom Of Speech Funny Comedy Best HD – Video

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Eddie Griffin Stand Up Comedy Freedom Of Speech Funny Comedy Best HD
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YouTube and Freedom of Speech – Video

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YouTube and Freedom of Speech
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Shooting at Copenhagen free speech event attended by controversial artist

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Video will begin in 5 seconds.

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Denmark's Prime Minister calls the deadly shooting on a cultural centre a terrorist attack and says the country is on high alert.

A gunman on Saturday fired shots into a Copenhagen cafe that was hosting a public event on freedom of speech, featuring a Swedish artist who had received death threats for a 2007 cartoon he drew caricaturing the Prophet Muhammad. The Danish police said that one man, age 40, had been killed and three police officers wounded but that the gunman had been unable to enter the Krudttoenden cafe.

The Danish Prime Minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, said on Saturday that the shooting had been a terrorist attack and that the nation was on high alert.

An image released by police of the suspected Copenhagen gunman.

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Shots fired at Copenhagen cafe free speech event, reports say

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Danish police shot and killed a man early Sunday suspected of carrying out shooting attacks at a free speech event and then at a Copenhagen synagogue, killing a Danish documentary filmmaker and a member of the Scandinavian country's Jewish community. Five police officers were also wounded in the attacks.

Denmark has been hit by terror, Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt said. We do not know the motive for the alleged perpetrator's actions, but we know that there are forces that want to hurt Denmark. They want to rebuke our freedom of speech.

Jens Madsen, head of the Danish intelligence agency PET, said investigators believe the gunman was inspired by Islamic radicalism.

PET is working on a theory that the perpetrator could have been inspired by the events in Paris. He could also have been inspired by material sent out by (Islamic State) and others, Madsen said.

Islamic radicals carried out a massacre at the Charlie Hebdo newsroom in Paris last month, followed by an attack on Jews at a kosher grocery store, taking the lives of 17 victims.

At a news conference Madsen also said investigators have identified the suspect and that he is someone who had been on the agency's radar. He did not reveal his identity.

Later Sunday, at least two people with handcuffs were taken out by police from an Internet cafe in Copenhagen, Danish media reported. Police spokesman Steen Hansen told the Associated Press that the action was part of the police investigation but declined to give further details.

The Danish Film Institute said the 55-year-old man killed at the free speech event was documentary filmmaker Finn Noergaard.

The institute's chief Henrik Bo Nielsen said he was shocked and angry to find out Noergaard was gunned down while attending a discussion on art and free speech.

Noergaard directed and produced documentaries for Danish television, including the 2004 Boomerang Boy about an Australian boy's dreams to become a world boomerang champion and the 2008 Le Le about Vietnamese immigrants in Denmark.

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Doris Jones vows to free Sabah, Sarawak

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"We are not being allowed to practice freedom of speech and freedom of association. If you do, you end up in prison. There can be torture until you can die.

KOTA KINABALU: UK-based Borneo rights activist Doris Jones, 46, who heads the Sabah Sarawak Union UK, told BBC News Radio Northampton on Friday that she doesnt understand why Malaysia doesnt want to allow Sabah and Sarawak to go from the list of states in the Federation, so that they can stand on their own two feet. Its a big question.

BBC claimed that Jones was leading the campaign in the UK for independence back home on behalf of some people in Sabah and Sarawak. The station did not elaborate.

If they dont let us go, then we have the right to go independent, said Jones who manages the Sabah Sarawak Keluar Malaysia (SSKM) Page on Facebook. We are countries which can be on our own like Singapore and Brunei. We are entitled to stand on our own two feet.

She was being interviewed, on repression of human rights and free speech in Borneo, on the eve of a peaceful protest outside the Malaysian High Commission in London. She explained the difficulties of running a campaign at home from the other side of the world.

We are not being allowed to practice freedom of speech and freedom of association. If you do, you end up in prison. There can be torture until you can die.

The rights activist also stressed that Interpol is not after her as made out by the Malaysian Government in the local media but conceded that she may be arrested under the Sedition Act if she returns home. Her family has not been in contact with her since their mobile phones have allegedly been taken away.

I am not stopping the campaign because of their intimidation. Its their way of doing things. Its not that I dont love my family.

SSKM have between 200 and 300 volunteers in Sabah. About 14 of them have since been hauled up but released and may face unspecified charges. Five of them were arrested at a petrol station. They had nothing on them. The first group had only pen and paper with them for people to sign a Petition, said Jones. The goal of this campaign is for us to stand on our own feet.

Jones, who has been abroad the last two decades and led a campaign for the past five years for independence, told the radio station that she was about ten years old when she realised that something was not right about Sabah and Sarawak being in a Federation with the peninsula. We were not allowed to say anything, she said. Racism, discrimination. Theres no democracy.

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Protect Our Customary Practises And Freedom of Speech

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MEDIA STATEMENT

10 March 2015

Waikato-Tainui: Protect Our Customary Practises And Freedom of Speech

Waikato-Tainui is expressing its disappointment at Maori Televisions decision to remove the haka performance of Te Iti Kahurangi at Te Matatini from online viewing.

Te Arataura o Waikato-Tainui chairman Rahui Papa said that while Maori Television had since reversed that decision, the matter had served as a reminder to protect not only the right to freedom of speech but also the age-old Maaori customary practise to openly discuss and debate issues.

What happened today in censoring Te Iti Kahurangi not only impinged on the right to freedom of speech but did not align with an important tikanga that has been practised for generations, said Mr Papa.

Speaking our minds openly is an integral part of Maaori custom and the kapa haka stage is an acknowledged cultural forum for the expression of views and opinions on issues that affect us all, said Mr Papa.

We do not support censorship of that practise in any form and on any platform, said Mr Papa.

Mr Papa said the issue had been robustly discussed and debated at todays poukai at Oowairaka Marae, one of the home marae of kapa haka group Mootai-Tangata-Rau, with speakers endorsing the right of Te Iti Kahurangi to freedom of speech and expressing concern at the decision Maori Television had taken.

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