Is Free Speech Dead in Europe?

Question

On September 11, 2007 a Public Rally was held in Brussels to protest the actions of Islamic Extremists. The Mayor of Brussels banned the Rally but it took place anyway and 147 peaceful Protestors were arrested. They were protesting (marching and holding banners). Many went to the Rally just to support Free Speech.

They were Protesting the actions of Islamic Extremists on 9/11 2001 and the Islam-ification of Europe. There have been 9457 Deadly Islamic Extremist attacks since 9/11.

Bear in mind that Muslims carried Banners all across Europe over the Danish Cartoons but also in Brussels with slogans like;
"Death to America"
"Death to Infidels"
"Behead anyone who insults Islam"
In Brussels Cars were burned and people were injured but nobody was arrested (unlike the U.K. where most were arrested for inciting hatred).

Muslims have no problem with protesting Cartoons but are silent when it comes to Honor Killings, Extremist Attacks and abuses of Human Rights.

Is Free Speech Dead?

http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/2441

Answer 1

No it is the political climate that we live in.

Answer 2

The fuzz in most European countries over-react, as they do in the USA.

Here in UK where FREE SPEECH is very much part of our way of life and culture for many centuries, the police act quite differently.

There was a peaceful demo yesterday outside the Arms Dealers event here in London in Docklands. Demonstrators were removed one at a time and put in a cage where they were allowed to keep their banners. The cage, there's a laff, had a fence thing around it about knee high. Anyone could have just stepped over it and walked off.

Mostly here in UK it's just stylised warfare if you see what I mean.

A real British riot is something you do not want to see, let alone be involved in. Especially here in London where I live when the London Mob have run madly through the streets and destroyed everything in it's path.

The Gordon Riots, the Poll Tax Riots, you name it. So, the London Fuzz try to keep the situation under control and calm.

Very few people ever get dragged up before the beak to explain what they were supposed to be doing holding a dangerous flag while walking slowly down Whitehall.

Answer 3

How I wish you would all wake up! You think this is bad,wait till the EU Constitution is ratified.............its going to get a whole lot worse! The EU arrest warrant (signed by the Queen on 18th November 2003) allows us to be arrested without charge and held indefinitely with no right to see a solicitor, make a phone call, or even a right to a trial. You can simply disappear.
Under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (SOCPA) 2005, we can now be arrested and held in the cells by any police officer for any petty offence, like dropping litter. Before it had to be an offense that carried a 5 year jail term. This also applies to all of the EU's 107,000 regulations.
The Civil Contingences Act 2004 allows government to confiscate anything you possess permanently; you have no right to object. This includes your house. It also gives government the right to forceably move its population around to different locations; you can be left with no place to call your own and live like a refugee. The only check and balance here is a Minister just needs to utter the words "This is a national emergency." If a demonstration or strike government doesn't like is being organised, they can cut off all communications in a town - phones, mobiles, the internet, TV, and block all access to that town including closing roads and railways. It has all the powers and more of Hitler's Enabling Act of 1933.
We have lost the right to free speech
At the Labour Party conference the police held an 82 year old man, Walter Woolfgang, and denied him access to the conference under the EU's "anti terrorist" legislation because he had shouted the word "nonsense" at Jack Straw, who was speaking about Iraq. Terrified the true nature of the laws they have passed on behalf of the EU was escaping too early, the Labour Party stopped the police and begged the man to return to conference.
On October 25th 2005 Miss Maya Evans was arrested under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, for a lone protest at the Cenotaph by reading out the names of the 97 British soldiers killed in the Iraq war. She was arrested by no less than 14 police officers and found guilty at Bow Street Magistrates Court on the 8th December 2005.
Would you hand over our nation, to be ruled by a foreign power, with oppressive laws like these, ? That's what's happening. WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 4

Unless you are a member of a protected group I think free speech has been nearly dead in Europe for a while now. I know in Germany you can be charged with a crime for publishing anything that is deemed "anti-semitic" Which might be fine at some level,if it promoted violence perhaps,but it is used for basically killing the debate instead. And it would seem that Islamists have somehow become a protected group,so they are now not allowed to be spoken against. I have a bunch of pictures of the Islamists marching in the streets of European cities with those same types of signs you spoke of,to remind me who they really are when anyone here in America talks about all these "peaceful Muslims"

AD

Answer 5

We gave the Czechs nothing that the Czechs were not willing to take for themselves. Remember, they took our advice and revolted in 1968--and we didn't follow through. The Czechs, and others, stood as hard as they could against the Soviets. By and large, the people of the Czech Republic are great friends to the American people; however, that doesn't mean they have to blindly accept everything about the United States. You say we gave them freedom of speech? If this were true, which it is not, why would you now want to take it away?

Answer 6

The simple answer is yes.
The State & press have convinced the populous that we are all racist if we murmur anything other than praise on anyone who has a bit of a tan or was born abroad.
Me, I’m not racist, I treat everyone the same level of contempt.
In this UK, I believe we are supposed to have the right to stage any peaceful protest we wish. Tony Blair killed off this naive idea when he ordered the forceful removal of the protesters that came out when we had a Chinese delegation a few years back.
I was very much against the war in Iraq, don't kid yourselves that it was about anything other than oil, and not even for us but for the US. Sorry if I offend any yanks out there but even the most insular of your race must surely be acknowledging this by now! What's even worse is that our numpty Blair dragged us into it for no other reason that Bush (who's heavily involved with Bin Laden money) snapped his finger. Bush's ploy was to kill 2 birds with 1 stone, deflect attention from the fact that no progress was being achieved with the 911 investigation by invading Iraq and gaining control over their oil reserves to sate the oil lobbyists in congress.
Jings, that's a bit of a rant but i'm not finished...
My point is (if I ever had one) this, we are allowing alot of potential terrorists into the country under the guise of immigration, if we don't speak out and run the risk of being accused racist, then this flow of potential nutters will continue and they will put the IRA to shame by showing us what true terror is.
To conclude this ramble, everyone has a moral responsibility to speak out about what they think is wrong. Whither it is wrong or not is irrelevant. People just have to get of their bums and make a stand for what they believe and ignore the Government bumf, remember they are supposed to work for us.
I hope this makes sense, it's a bit rushed as i'm at work.

Answer 7

Its not dead for Muslims obviously just for the people who stand up to them.

I note the protesters were called bigots in the article and accused of not being what the EU is about, How dare they call them bigots, just for daring to say they want their country free from hate filled islamists

Just proves what a position we are in and how much worse it will be if Brown gets away with signing the convention / treaty He has to be stopped!!!

Answer 8

Europe ,and soon the US, has been crippled by political correctness. It's sad that people exercising free speech, condemning Islamic terrorism were silenced. And even more sickening that the fanatical muslims that went on a tyrade over a fricken cartoon, were left to do as they please. And they wonder why more and more people are becoming intolerant to all muslims...

Hang in there joe, and vote for conservative politicians (those on the right of the political spectrum). Avoid the liberals and the socialists (those on the left). The liberals are the ones turning a blind eye and giving the muslims preferential treatment.

Answer 9

Well said Mate.
It`s all wrong that I can`t complain, join a rally against these basterds without the law saying I`m breaking some crap law.
F**k them, and if that makes me racist then so be it.
I DON`T CARE!

Answer 10

Ok- let's look at a couple of things here. First of all what actually happened. Yes the march was banned. 3500 other political protests in the administration of this mayor were not. The group responsible for the march are deliberately inflammatory and clearly chose the date in order to maximise the emotional stress that would come from thier actions.
Since only 200 people actually showed up at the protest it is not like Belgians saw this as a threat to thier right to speech (as you infer with your statment "many went to the rally just to support free speech")
Second - what you are concluding. First that a ban on a protest means an end to free speech. This is of course nonsense. If one could equate holding a march with free speech (which is ludicrous in itself - possibly the right to free assembly but the poster hasn't even asked about that) then that right ended long ago in most countries when it became necessary to apply to hold such a rally - not just due to one such rally (hardly the first) not being granted license.
Even assuming there is something wrong or inconsistent in this you clearly have no understanding of European politics. The action of a mayor of one city in one of numerous countries can hardly be said to have ended free speech across a continent.
Your own contempt for muslims is made evident by generalizing them all along the lines of extremists. Many muslims have spoken out about honor killings and extremist attacks. But I guess if you just don't want to hear them speak out you can always make sure you don't.

Answer 11

No more so than in the US where President Bush has his rallies and public appearances screened to keep protesters out and supporters in!!!!