Canada is not alone in using the power of the government to suppress political speech. A blogger is on trial at the moment in Finland for making statements similar to those of the song mentioned in the post below. The song was dealt with in a private way -- by an employer firing someone. The involvement of government is much more threatening -- because a government can deprive you of your liberty completely, by imprisoning you.
Below is a section of the trial transcript that gives you the idea of what is going on:
"Prosecutor: You write, "For the Africans, looting, rape, nepotism, corruption, clan warfare, superstition and impulsive homicide are business as usual". What is this claim based on?
Blogger: On well-known facts. There are a lot of dictators and wars in Africa. There was a genocide in Rwanda in the 1990s due to intertribal conflicts between the Hutus and the Tutsis. Apart from the Darfur crisis in Sudan, there was also a civil war in Sudan between the Arab Muslim government in the north and the black Christians and other non-Muslims in the south. In Congo, the dictators Mobutu Sese Seko and Laurent Kabila killed millions of people. In Zimbabwe, the dictator Robert Mugabe has killed hundreds of thousands of people. Idi Amin, the dictator of Uganda, killed hundreds of thousands of people. I could go on and on about this. Don't you ever read the newspapers or watch the news on TV?
Source
What it is socially unacceptable to mention in America, is prosecutable in Finland. Truth is irrelevant.
5 comments:
This is the same Mikko Ellilä case that has been discussed before. He was convicted of inciting hatred but has appealed the decision and so the case is still open. A perfect example of freedom of speech not being protected in the EU. Be glad for the 1st amendment and the way it's written without the possibility of interpretation.
Can't it? Isn't it - subject to interpretation by the courts in actual cases - or simply overridden by legislation like the Homeland Security Act??
Anon #2. Not just slogans, please. An example would be useful to back up your assertion.
He's had lots of time to come up with an example but like so many of the left there's no substance behind their slogans.
Maybe he (or she?) doesn't have all the time you have to lurk on this site. And in what way is the comment a "slogan" and why is it "on the left"? Would be useful to back up your assertion.
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