Free Speech vs Self Censorship in a world we are told we enjoy freedom of the press. The Comedian, and prophet, Billy Connolly made fun of aspects of all religions and also Islamic life in a performance that was available on YouTube for years then last week it was suddenly removed. Billy is like me a lapsed Catholic he has made fun for decades of all Religions. Dave Allan the infamous Irish Comedian allowed me to laugh raucously through my youth at nuns, priests, the Pope and a faith we both shared but rejected. The terrorist organisation the IRA even made death threats against him. In the Republic Dave Allan was banned from television, and many Catholic households in the north would not allow him to be seen by young viewers This is and was Censorship. Im promoted by the recent cowardice of main stream media, BBC , Channel 4 News, Sky News to not show the front page cartoon published a week after the brutal murder of 12 people with a further 12 injured. in the attack. But In the name of balance various radio and TV broadcasters all asked if the publication of the cartoons of Mohammed were provocative? Charlie Hebdo has carried cartoon saterising other faiths which did not result in brutal murder. Amira Hass, the Israeli Journalist who for decades has reported on the plight of Palestinian Arabs for the Harretz daily newspaper defines journalism as not writing the first pages of history but monitor the centers of power. Writers have a duty, without fear and favour, to report what we see and hear. If we pull punches because of the threat of criminal-terror we fail to monitor the centers of power and take a slippery step on the slop in letting a minority dictate any debate of any opinion that may be different from another. In Bosnia-Herzegovina over 250 journalists died, mostly killed, for trying to tell us what was really going on as Muslims were being genocided. If the mainstream media hides timidly behind balance as a justification to censor an image or statement we need to hear or see it is not only cowardice but contemptible of all journalists and the profession. When the mad-mullah Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, [death sentence], against writer Salman Rushdie, author of Satanic Verses because he dared to write about the Prophet Mohammed, I went down to BBC HQ of the World Service where there were protest and burnings of the book for myself. I asked various hyped up Muslim protesters who where screaming God is Great if they had read the offending book. I could not find one. Or anyone who could coherently tell me the story line? I do not know, but suspect, that many who protested against Charlie Hebdo have never read it or saw any image. The hysterical knee jerk reactions which the mainstream media cower from bodes very badly for freedom of speech, our right to hear an opinion we may disagree with to loose any and all credibility on other issues where we are meant to trust their opinion. They havent lost the moral high ground they are sinking into the quagmire of bias and bigotry. https://youtube/watch?v=mdNqUW5wwTE
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 12:00:35 +0000
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