A Costly T-Shirt?

From the desk of Paul Belien on Thu, 2006-02-23 07:51

The Italian judiciary is investigating whether Roberto Calderoli, who resigned from his post as government minister last week, is guilty of “contempt of religion.” Mr Calderoli wore a T-shirt with a cartoon of the Muslim prophet Muhammad. If he is found guilty the former minister can be fined a penalty of €1,000 to €5,000.

On 31 January the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasburg ruled that freedom of speech allows harsh criticism of religion. The ECHR condemned France for a 1998 French court ruling that Paul Giniewski, a Jewish French historian of Austrian origin, had defamed the Church by saying that it was directly responsible for very serious crimes by “readying the ground where the idea and realisation of Auschwitz sprouted.” Mr Giniewski had been prosecuted for “racially defamatory statements against the Christian community.” According to the ECHR the French authorities had unlawfully deprived Mr Giniewski of his right to free speech.

The Strasburg-based ECHR said Mr Giniewski himself admitted his attack might shock or offend some people, but “such views do not in themselves preclude the enjoyment of freedom of expression.” According to the European Court freedom of expression can be restricted if religions are intentionally insulted, but only when this “does not in any way contribute to the debate among the members of society.”

The ECHR claimed that Mr Giniewski had wished to contribute to “the search for historical truth.” Freedom of speech can only be restricted in instances of “mere insults,” “incitement to hatred” or if “it tarnished a clearly established historical truth” (such as the holocaust).

Stating that the holocaust did not happen is a crime in Europe, but stating that the Catholic Church is responsible for it is not. It remains to be seen what the courts will say about Mr Calderoli’s T-shirt. Did he “contribute to the debate among the members of society” or did he “merely insult” and “incite to hatred?”

Have Mercy

Submitted by IAmChristianity on Mon, 2006-02-27 21:26.

Have mercy on all of you. That is exactly what the Muslim extrimists want all of you to look like: as though you are bending down way low to the war freak level.

Keep the conscience clean. Take the hate out. Don't make them look like the underdog by ganging up on them because they're not underdogs. They need to get a wake up call. And your reactions don't do justice.

Also, don't generalize that all Filipinos or Chinese are like you, Kung fu Master. It's not fair to misrepresent Filipinos or Asians with your wordings. With that said, I see where you are coming from in essence, but not in your wording.

With all, let's keep it clean. Just don't forget: Canadians suck and The Freegggging Dutch sucks.

May God Bless you all and may God continue to Bless the United States of America!

:)

Greet Wilders, Dutch

Submitted by Nicolas Raemdonck on Fri, 2006-02-24 10:38.

Greet Wilders, Dutch Politician and and a newspaper are being sued by muslimorginisations because they have published only critical articles about muslims.  SAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH

Insult to Muslims

Submitted by IAmChristianity on Thu, 2006-02-23 20:16.

Muslims: "You mock and desecrate Islam! Allah does not wear a bomb on the head. Who do you think you are! We will bomb you!"

Europe & the West: "There's such a thing as freedom of expression. And you war freaks will just have to accept that. It's called democracy"

Muslims: "Who do you call war freaks?! We are not war freaks! And just for saying that, we will rage war against you! Allah Akhmar!! We will bomb you!"

Shiites: "Do not mock Islam and our brothers! Allah Akhmar!"

Kaboom, The Sunni's bombed the Holy Shrine of Shiites.

Shiite: Crying "Allah Akhmar"

Iran: "It's America's fault. I will make Muslims more angry so they will kill each other and America will look bad".

This is the prove that Muslims are not War freaks, you war freaks.

Muslim outrage

Submitted by Poul Nielsen on Thu, 2006-02-23 22:33.

Muslim outrage huh.
OK ... let's do a little historical review. Just some lowlights:

- Muslims fly commercial airliners into buildings in New York City. No Muslim outrage.

- Muslim officials block the exit where school girls are trying to escape a burning building because their faces were exposed. No Muslim outrage.

- Muslims cut off the heads of three teenaged girls on their way to school in Indonesia. A Christian school. No Muslim outrage.

- Muslims murder teachers trying to teach Muslim children in Iraq. No Muslim outrage.

- Muslims murder over 80 tourists with car bombs outside cafes and hotels in Egypt. No Muslim outrage.

- A Muslim attacks a missionary children's school in India. Kills six. No Muslim outrage.

- Muslims slaughter hundreds of children and teachers in Beslan, Russia. Muslims shoot children in the back. No Muslim outrage.

- Let's go way back. Muslims kidnap and kill athletes at the Munich Summer Olympics. No Muslim outrage.

- Muslims fire rocket-propelled grenades into schools full of children in Israel. No Muslim outrage.

- Muslims murder more than 50 commuters in attacks on London subways and busses. Over 700 are injured. No Muslim outrage.

- Muslims massacre dozens of innocents at a Passover Seder. No Muslim outrage.

- Muslims murder innocent vacationers in Bali. No Muslim outrage.

- Muslim newspapers publish anti-Semitic cartoons. No Muslim outrage.

- Muslims are involved, on one side or the other, in almost every one of the 125+ shooting wars around the world. No Muslim outrage.

- Muslims beat the charred bodies of Western civilians with their shoes, then hang them from a bridge. No Muslim outrage.

-Newspapers in Denmark publish cartoons depicting Mohammed. Muslims are outraged and tell us how peacefull they are! - Right !

To the Non Muslims here, I

Submitted by A New Believer on Thu, 2006-02-23 22:55.

To the Non Muslims here, I wish to say I have enjoyed the spirited debates and discussions. This is my last full day of posting for a little while. I need to leave line for a little while. I have friends comin in from Phillipines, and I need to reserve most of the use for the children, so they can maintain some school functions until we can get them placed. I will be back and forth until that happens. I am still shouting and carrying on the good fight. Also not good the children should see me write some things. KUNGFUMASTER, BALDER, CODYOMEGA, FREESPEECH, FOREIGN DEVIL, GORM, POUL, everybody.. hug hugs for you.

To any muslims supporting the fight.. I wish you good luck, that you renounce the evil religion and get the hell out of Dodge City( old american reference to the place where the showdown is in a gunfight) while you still can.

To the evil muslims and YOU ALL KNOW WHO YOU ARE! Odin bless you straight to HELL! Baldur wipe his feet on your bones! MAY YOU NEVER REACH PARADISE, the CREEK RISING AND THE DAM BUSTED! AND MAY THE FLEAS OF A THOUSAND CAMELS LIE IN THE BEDS OF YOUR FIRSTBORN FOREVER!

THANK YOU!

Odin be Praised!  Baldur Save Us!

To Poul, Balder, CodyOmega,Gorm FreeSpeech, Foreign Devil, Bob

Submitted by A New Believer on Fri, 2006-02-24 00:18.

To Poul, Balder, CodyOmega,Gorm FreeSpeech, Foreign Devil,Danish Dynamite,
Paul Belien, even Charlemagne and of course...Bob! * see after this Bob has been holding out on the blog here! really!)

*waving bye to everyone for now*.. it is late and my last day for a little while here is done! KungFu Master, I am making pansit for my friends for dinner tomorow night. I will remember you to all of them, and all of you. Do not get into trouble.. okej.. maybe not into trouble like me.. hehehe! Eat your veggies! Have a drink or two. Have found Thor and Odin beer! Whoohoo! having it in the blot. BOb, you have a religion! Yes, there is a Church of Bob.. and we all thought he was just an english guy who posts on blogs ( Bowing to Bob! Bless us all, this day and forgive us that six pack of Carlsberg as we eat pansit in the Garden of Weirdness with whoopi Goldberg, Steve Martin, Nietzsche, The Solid Gold Dancer * impressed here*!websites! Tell them MUSLIMS to show you more respect ( Props)! It is not every blogger who has a Church nay a religion named after him! Well KUNGFUMASTER AND THE HIGH GERBIL ALSO! BUT we all KNEW they have greatness.. we did not knwo of Bob!

( The First Online Church of Bob) I

http://www.modemac.com/

The High Weirdness Project: an open-source wiki that invites YOU to take part in the ongoing war against the forces of the Conspiracy.

Praise "Bob!"

Odin be Praised!  Baldur Save Us!

To Emeda30

Submitted by ChrisBKK on Thu, 2006-02-23 15:13.

Jyllands-Posten was tried in Denmark. The plainstifs failed to prove that there were an intention to insult. That is the tuff part of law, might be right or wrong, and it might have to be changed, but under the current law you have to PROVE the intent, not what you THINK the intent was. OK?

Are muslims not their own enemy ?

Submitted by Poul Nielsen on Thu, 2006-02-23 18:56.

Here in the west - we can see how Muslims are murdering each other in the arab world, because they are belonging to different groups of Islam.

How can you explain Islam are peacefull. When you diffent groups Islam are killing each other - instead of showing respect to each other.

The protestant christen - are normally respecting the catholic church - and other religions.

Calderoli's T-Shirt.

Submitted by Freespeech on Thu, 2006-02-23 11:36.

Few weeks ago "contempt of religion" was downgraded by the Italian Parliament from criminal offence status to simple administrative infringement, hence to be dealt with not in penal courts but in civil ones.  Lega Nord, Mr. Calderoli's party, fought hardly in order to obtain the decriminalization of the offence.

Laws

Submitted by ChrisBKK on Thu, 2006-02-23 10:47.

I guess it is fair to try people to find out if the have broken the laws of their country.

The same thing is happening in Denmark now with the "outspoken" imams. Denmark has a law that states that residents, not nationals, can be expelled if they perform actions damaging to Denmark or that creates a security risk . No jail, no fines, just the words: "You are not welcome, here is a oneway ticket".

Being a Minister or an Imam makes no difference. If you break the law of the country that you live in, you have to accept the punishment.