Thursday, November 6, 2014

Promoting "British Values" by Curbing Free Speech


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Promoting "British Values" by Curbing Free Speech

by Soeren Kern  •  November 6, 2014 at 5:00 am
"Yes we need to combat the Islamist threat, but this is not the way to do it.... You can't protect democracy by undermining its very foundations…. Freedom of expression is an essential freedom for any democratic society." — Colin Hart, Director, The Christian Institute.
"They made us feel threatened about our religion. They asked, 'Do you have friends from other religions?' They asked this many times until we answered what they wanted us to say." — Eleventh grade student at a Jewish Orthodox school for girls.
Trinity Christian School, a small independent school in Reading, is being downgraded and may even be closed for not inviting a Muslim imam to lead a chapel service.
"Individuals who criticize the spread of Islamic Sharia law in Britain could be deemed to be racist and silenced…. Without precise legislative definitions, deciding what [is extremism] is subjective and therefore open to abuse now or by any future authoritarian government." — Keith Porteous Wood, Director, National Secular Society.
'Are you an extremist?' UK Home Secretary Theresa May has announced new "Extremism Disruption Orders" that will ban any person the government labels an "extremist" from appearing on radio or TV, protesting in public or even posting messages on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube, without permission.
The British government has unveiled a new proposal that would require Islamic extremists to have their social media posts pre-approved by the government.
The plan—which is aimed at curbing the spread of jihadist propaganda in Britain—is part of a wide-ranging effort to strengthen the government's counter-terrorism strategy ahead of general elections set for May 2015.
The new policy is so broad in scope, however, and the definition of "extremist" is so all-encompassing, that the government could ultimately silence anyone whose views are deemed to be politically incorrect, according to free speech activists.
The so-called Extremism Disruption Orders (EDOs) would prohibit any individual the government considers to be an "extremist" from appearing on radio and television, protesting in public or even posting messages on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube, without permission.

Don't Tell Erdogan Jihadists Kill People

by Burak Bekdil  •  November 6, 2014 at 4:00 am
It was vintage Erdogan: There is no Islamic terror. ISIS is not an Islamic organization and its name is not even ISIS.
'Islamic State? ISIS? Terrorists?' Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has frequently declared, "There is no Islamic terror" and "Muslims never resort to terror or violence." He once stated, "I went to Sudan and did not see any genocide there. Muslims never resort to genocide."
Slightly more than a year ago, the world was shocked at the dramatic death tolls in Kenya and Pakistan when jihadists, in separate attacks over one weekend, killed more than 150 innocent people -- with the Kenya attack claiming victims aged between two and 78. In a public speech after the "black weekend," Turkey's then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (now President) looked very sad. Indeed, he was sad.
But not for the victims of terror attacks the previous weekend. He was mourning Asmaa al-Beltagi, a poor, 17-year-old Egyptian girl who had been shot dead by security forces in Cairo as she was protesting the ouster of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood president, Mohamed Morsi, in a July coup d'état. Asmaa's father was a senior Brotherhood figure and after her death, Erdogan once even shed tears during a televised speech. He then commemorated the girl at almost every election rally.

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