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Britain's Lost Freedoms: 'We're Living in a Madhouse'
CBN ^ | Tuesday, July 08, 2014 | Dale Hurd

Posted on 07/08/2014 4:49:41 AM PDT by xzins

LONDON - America owes much of its freedom to its British heritage. But today, Britain is losing its freedom.

Many Americans were stunned when British authorities arrested Liberty Great Britain party leader Paul Weston in April for publicly reciting Winston Churchill's criticism of Islam.

The calendar might say it's 2014, but in Britain it's starting to feel like George Orwell's "1984" because "Big Brother" has decided that certain things can no longer be said.

Arrested over Churchill

Weston quoted from Winston Churchill's book, The River War, in which he wrote:

"How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia (rabies) in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property - either as a child, a wife, or a concubine - must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men. Thousands become the brave and loyal soldiers of the faith: all know how to die but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith."

As a young officer, Churchill fought Muslim jihadists in Sudan and believed Islam was a dangerous religion.

Weston chose to publicly quote Churchill because he thought that in today's politically correct Britain, comparing Islam to rabies--as Churchill did--would likely get him reported to police and arrested.

It did.

"I wanted to make the point that, if it's really become so bad in this country that you can no longer quote the words of the greatest living Englishman, then we really need to look seriously at what we can still say in this country," Weston said.

"We don't have (America's) First Amendment. And speech is rapidly becoming a no-go area if you talk about certain issues. We are living in an absolute madhouse in this country with our free speech laws at the moment," he said.

'You Can't Say That'

In today's Britain, pastors, street evangelists, and political activists all risk being hauled into police stations and either being arrested or warned for speaking out against Islam, immigration, or homosexuality.

British evangelical Pastor James McConnell was questioned by Belfast police for a possible hate crime after a controversial sermon. He spoke about the danger to Britain from radical Islam in which he said, "Islam is heathen. Islam is Satanic. Islam is a doctrine spawned in Hell."

McConnell said he went to the police station voluntarily, and he also apologized. But should he have had to?

"He was expressing a view about a particular religion. You can't have freedom of religion without the freedom to have religious views about particular religions," George Igler, with the Discourse Institute, said of the McConnell case.

It's clear that British pastors have to watch what they say.

Simon Calvert, with The Christian Institute, a legal defense organization, assured CBN News that pastors are still able to preach the whole Bible without being arrested. But he still had some concerns to add.

"There have been some distinct problems in recent years. We have seen a number of cases, typically involving street preachers, of people being told by the police, effectively, 'You can't say that,'" Calvert said.

Law Against Insults

American street evangelist Tony Miano was arrested in Scotland earlier this year for allegedly using 'offensive' language while preaching against sexual immorality.

Police eventually dropped the charges against Miano. Police also dropped the charges against Weston.

But arrests and warnings still have what legal experts call "a chilling effect" on free speech.

Calvert said the speech situation in Britain improved greatly this year with the reform of Section 5 of the Public Order Act, in which insulting someone could be a criminal offense.

He said the law is "every bit as crazy as it sounds. And that law against insults was being used to clamp down on street preachers preaching the gospel."

The law against "insult" was removed from Section 5, but other laws against offending people remain.

"We've made such a big deal out of causing offense," said Anne Marie Waters, a UKIP candidate and head of the website, Shariawatch UK.

"What if you deserve to be offended? Self-censorship is a big problem in Britain. People are afraid to speak. So, in that respect, freedom of speech has been seriously compromised. (Britons are) afraid to say what they think," Waters said.

Britain 'Free' or No?

The experts we interviewed disagreed over whether Britain still has "free speech."

Calvert said it does. However, Weston and Igler agree that when important political and religious speech is blocked, there is no free speech.

"We're ultimately moving toward a situation where, necessarily, the state will have to tell us what kinds of opinions are acceptable and what opinions are not," Igler said.

Weston said he will continue to test Britain's speech laws, to show that speech is longer free.

"You are not going to shut me up. I am going to say it," he said. "If you put me in prison, fine. That's how bad it is now."


TOPICS: Editorial; News/Current Events; United Kingdom; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: britain; churchill; freedom; freedomofspeech; globalagenda; homosexualagenda; liberalagenda; londonistan; rop; sharia; unitedstates; us
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1 posted on 07/08/2014 4:49:41 AM PDT by xzins
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To: All
In today's Britain, pastors, street evangelists, and political activists all risk being hauled into police stations and either being arrested or warned for speaking out against Islam, immigration, or homosexuality.
2 posted on 07/08/2014 4:50:03 AM PDT by xzins ( Retired Army Chaplain and Proud of It! Those who truly support our troops pray for victory!)
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To: xzins
"I wanted to make the point that, if it's really become so bad in this country that you can no longer quote the words of the greatest living Englishman"

Hold the presses, I think we have breaking news here. Churchill is still alive?? That funeral fifty years ago was a sham!!! He's well into triple digits and has to be the oldest living human.

All kidding aside, "The River War" is an excellent book on the Sudan punitive expedition and the battle of Omdurman. As a calvaryman, Churchill was in one of the last great calvary charges in that battle.
3 posted on 07/08/2014 5:00:31 AM PDT by Old Teufel Hunden
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To: xzins

You can’t have freedom of religion without the freedom to have religious views about particular religions,”
____________________________________________

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

try saying something about the religion Mormonism, here...


4 posted on 07/08/2014 5:01:58 AM PDT by Tennessee Nana
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To: xzins
From today's DailyMail, UK edition:

Bakery in court over gay cake row after owners refused to decorate confectionery with slogan 'support gay marriage'

In UK also with the bakery issue -- only this time, it wasn't a wedding cake; it was a cake spelling out "Support Gay Marriage" in the icing -- definitely a speech issue and compulsion to create pro-gay propaganda. The bakery refused, and now they're in deep doo doo with the authorities.

5 posted on 07/08/2014 5:11:58 AM PDT by Albion Wilde ("The commenters are plenty but the thinkers are few." -- Walid Shoebat)
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To: xzins

Bump


6 posted on 07/08/2014 5:12:02 AM PDT by lowbridge
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To: Tennessee Nana

You may be chastised, even flamed, but, as of yet, not arrested : )


7 posted on 07/08/2014 5:12:59 AM PDT by prov1813man (While the one you despise and ridicule works to protect you, those you embrace work to destroy you)
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To: Tennessee Nana

I’ve never found the site to be particularly supportive toward Mormonism. I also don’t think they’ve been discriminatory.


8 posted on 07/08/2014 5:17:04 AM PDT by xzins ( Retired Army Chaplain and Proud of It! Those who truly support our troops pray for victory!)
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To: xzins

We fought the redcoats to get free of their tyrannical king and get our freedom, then defended them from hitler, and we owe our freedom to England?


9 posted on 07/08/2014 5:19:30 AM PDT by FrankR (They will become our ultimate masters the day we surrender the 2nd Amendment.)
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To: xzins

FIGHT y’all...fight! So disappointing to see a once great country slither away.

We face the same here at home. Just looks much more advanced in Britain.

Anglo-Saxons are under attack. Stand up or fade away.


10 posted on 07/08/2014 5:20:52 AM PDT by servantboy777
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To: xzins

Weston should stand on the very same spot and quote from the Koran. Let see how quick the PC police arrest him. That exercise would cement the arguement that free speech is a one way street in GB.


11 posted on 07/08/2014 5:22:03 AM PDT by bubman
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To: xzins
Enjoy this rendition of "Rule Britannia" ( with lyrics)

Probably 99.9% of people can sing the first line of the refrain.."Rule Britannia..Britannia rules the waves.."

Sadly, only about .l% know the second line...

"Britons never, never will be slaves"

They'd better start learning, and fast, or they will be..

12 posted on 07/08/2014 5:30:43 AM PDT by ken5050 ("One useless man is a shame, two are a law firm, three or more are a Congress".. John Adams)
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To: xzins
Speech police, thought police, astronomical taxes, state run health care, rampant property crime, surveillance cameras everywhere (but apparently without effect on property crime), self defense considered a serious crime, 64% of all families on some sort of dole (leaving the other 36% to pay for them), and of course “sensible*” gun laws.

A liberal utopia, who wouldn't want to live there?

*sensible is defined by anti-gunners as a virtual complete prohibition on private firerms ownership, but with plenty of firepower for their beloved JBTs

13 posted on 07/08/2014 5:31:53 AM PDT by from occupied ga (Your government is your most dangerous enemy)
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To: xzins
Hopefully, a bunch of Brits will wake up and vote UKIP next year. This is ridiculous.

I suspect that part of the reason behind Britain being so concerned about the feelings of Muslims, is financial pressure by OPEC.

14 posted on 07/08/2014 5:39:59 AM PDT by PapaBear3625 (You don't notice it's a police state until the police come for you.)
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To: PapaBear3625

The Brits need the same type “governess” that they have (or had) in Australia who ran all the muzzies off. Trouble is those same rejected muzzies will be flown here.


15 posted on 07/08/2014 5:48:29 AM PDT by DaveA37
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To: Tennessee Nana; xzins; Jeff Head
try saying something about the religion Mormonism, here...

Lately the trend has been that if you say anything at all POSITIVE about the Mormon Religion on this forum, you will be pretty much skewered.

FWIW, the Mormons have pretty much been chased off of this forum. There was a time when the Admins went out of their way to protect the Mormons but after Romney got the nomination, the gloves came off and the Mormons by and large left the building. A few have stayed because they value the conservative message of Free Republic, but a lot of them have left and although I disagree vehemently with their doctrines I am sad that they felt compelled to leave.

16 posted on 07/08/2014 6:17:29 AM PDT by P-Marlowe (There can be no Victory without a fight and no battle without wounds)
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To: from occupied ga
And as a result, the culture is in the toilet. Completely degenerate.

We are only about five years behind them too and gaining speed.

17 posted on 07/08/2014 6:20:18 AM PDT by riri (Plannedopolis-look it up. It's how the elites plan for US to live.)
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To: xzins

As accurately predicted by the chaps on Monty Python’s Flying Circus in 1970.


18 posted on 07/08/2014 6:22:40 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: riri
Who is the disease and who is the symptom?

0 is the total anthesis of everything I belive in, but the real enemy are those who know what a dangerous POS he is and voted for him.

19 posted on 07/08/2014 6:25:55 AM PDT by from occupied ga (Your government is your most dangerous enemy)
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To: from occupied ga
Look at that old fart on the right hand side. He should be publicly humiliated. Flogged in the town square. (:

A man of that age that UNWISE--how does that even happen?

20 posted on 07/08/2014 6:28:09 AM PDT by riri (Plannedopolis-look it up. It's how the elites plan for US to live.)
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