Re: [OT] Britain poised to enact blasphemy laws?

On 2024-11-28 11:31 AM, The Horny Goat wrote:

On Wed, 27 Nov 2024 16:32:07 -0500, Rhino
<no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:
 

On 2024-11-27 3:41 PM, The Horny Goat wrote:

On Wed, 27 Nov 2024 13:47:20 -0500, Rhino
<no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:
>

The Labour Party won the UK election very decisively in the election
this past July and has an overwhelming majority, meaning it could pass
pretty much any law it liked and the Opposition parties could not stop
it. A Labour MP has put forward a call for the Prime Minister to create
legislation that makes "desecration" against any of the three Abrahamic
religions - Islam, Christianity and Judaism - a crime.
>
The BlackBeltBarrister points out that this proposed law could very well
become an anti-blasphemy law, severely limiting the freedom of speech
that Britons enjoy.
>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y23o8wsie-c [17 minutes]

>
I have no problem with that if it's PHYSICAL desecration which has
certainly happened in Canada - but draw a very stiff line in the sand
if "desecration" can be defined in verbal terms or worse yet online
postings
>

According to the video, which is hosted by a practicing lawyer, there is
every possibility that the laws could be interpreted to punish much more
than physical desecration.
>
Even punishing physical desecration needs to be tempered by some clear
evidence of deliberate intent. I heard about one incident in a school
where a kid with mental challenges INADVERENTLY dropped a Koran, causing
it to slightly scuffed, and the Muslims issued death threats. I think
the kid had to be pulled from school at least temporarily. If the people
making the threats were ever identified let alone punished, I never
heard about it.

 Yes I watched the video linked above.
 I didn't hear about an accidental dropping but did hear of an incident
involved a mentally challenged kid who did something with a Koran the
usual suspects disliked.
 In these cases, I think the laws involving issuing threats should be
enforced to the max with judges being told by Ottawa and Washington to
ALWAYS go for the max when it's religiously based threats.
 

Though to be sure why they would restrict such moves to ONLY those
three faiths is unclear.
>

Indeed. If I were Hindu, Buddhist or whatever, I'd be deeply concerned
that my faith wasn't entitled to the same protection.

 Particularly given the Indian government (which is at least somewhat
"fundamentalist Hindu") has done some quite nasty things outside their
borders particularly towards Canada where I understand they think
Canada needs to come down harder on Sikhs.
 

It's actually surprisingly easy to learn how Indians feel about Canada. There are several English-language news services from India including WION and FirstPost - among others - on YouTube. These reports always indicate the views of the Indian government.
I will not say that the Indian government is completely wrong in their views. They apparently feel that we are giving safe sanctuary to Sikh terrorists and resent that we haven't honoured extradition requests for those individuals. They have NOT admitted that their government sanctioned the murder of that "plumber" Nijjar in BC. I am NOT a fan of sheltering foreign terrorists here even though Trudeau seems to be in favour. Trudeau keeps hiding behind freedom of speech for the terrorists while finding new ways to take away OUR freedom of speech.
Did you hear about the recent unrest in Brampton? A mob of Sikhs attacked a Hindu temple and then the Hindus counterattacked the Sikhs at their place of worship. An off-duty police officer was among the Sikhs.
I don't want them bringing their disagreements to this country. They are supposed to be (or becoming) Canadians now.

Let's be clear - I'm opposed to ANY legislation on this front - and
would impose EXTREMELY stiff terms on anybody committing a crime
supposedly justified by someone's vile action. I have no desire to see
someone burning a Bible or Koran - but anybody who commits violence in
response to that fully deserves to go to jail and have the key thrown
away.
  I further am disgusted with the things done on November 11th this year
both in Canada and the UK.

>
Turning Nov 11 into a day to commemorate dead Hamas "martyrs" was one of
the most appalling things I've seen in a long time. The only reason to
remember those people is as a cautionary tale about what sort of people
should NEVER be in charge of a government or set policy.

 I do support the dismissal of the high school principal who played a
HAMAS song (he said he liked the tune but didn't understand the words
which on something as sensitive as this is unconscionable) as part of
his school's November 11th Assembly. Sometimes you DO need to be fired
for complete stupidity.
 https://nationalpost.com/news/school-remembrance-day-palestinian-protest-song

Agreed. He should be fired.
--
Rhino