Posted on 01/16/2015 10:06:46 AM PST by Kaslin
"I may disagree with what you have to say, but I shall defend to the death your right to say it."
That maxim of Voltaire was among those most invoked by the marching millions in Sunday's mammoth "Je Suis Charlie" rally in Paris.
This week, in the spirit of Voltaire, French authorities arrested and charged Cameroonian comedian Dieudonne M'Bala M'Bala, and 54 others, with "hate speech."
Yes, Monsieur Voltaire, there are limits to free speech in France.
Dieudonne's crime? He tweeted, "I am Charlie Coulibaly," the last name of the killer of four innocent Jews in that kosher market.
A wounding wicked remark.
And what are now the limits of free speech in France?
Prime Minister Manuel Vals lists four. "There is a fundamental difference between the freedom to be impertinent and anti-Semitism, racism, glorification of terrorist acts, and Holocaust denial, all of which are crimes, that justice should punish with the most severity."
Vals' list brings to mind another quote of Voltaire's, "To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize."
Why did Vals not include slanders against Catholicism and Islam, the world's largest religions, both of which have been repeatedly insulted by Charlie Hebdo? In the banlieues north of Paris, they wish to know.
Pope Francis himself said yesterday, "You cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. ... If my good friend Dr. Gasparri says a curse word against my mother, he can expect a punch."
Is our new Pope offering preemptive dispensations to Catholics who sock those who mock their faith? That's pre-Vatican II thinking.
Back to Vals' list. Who decides what is "anti-Semitism" and what is "racism"? In America, these terms are tossed around with abandon.
As for the "glorification of terrorist acts," Israel's Menachem Begin, the ANC's Nelson Mandela, and the PLO's Yasser Arafat were all credibly charged with acts of terrorism in their liberation struggles.
And all three won the Nobel Prize for Peace.
Millions of Algerians reside in France. Is it impermissible for them to celebrate the FLN in Algeria and the often-terrible deeds that won their independence? Algerians did not fight the French in stand-up battles, but rather with bombs in cafes and movie theaters.
Did not the maquisards and French Resistance, during and after the Nazi occupation, exact savage reprisals, of which some in France are today ashamed?
Who decides which historical events are off-limits for debate?
Even before the Paris march, Vals had declared "war against terrorism, against jihadism, against radical Islam, against everything that is aimed at breaking fraternity, freedom, solidarity."
But does not the renewed publication of cartoons that insult the Prophet undermine the fraternity and solidarity of French Muslims, Christians and secularists in Val's war on terrorism?
Has Charlie Hebdo really helped to unite the West and the Islamic world in the "war ... against jihadism, against radical Islam"? Or has it divided us?
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, our ally who ousted the Muslim Brotherhood, killed hundreds, and imprisoned thousands, just issued a decree allowing him to ban foreign publications offensive to Islam.
Why might President Sissi regard Charlie Hebdo as toxic?
According to a 2013 Pew Poll, 80 percent of Egyptians favor the stoning of adulterers and 88 percent the death penalty for apostates.
The figures are comparable for Afghanistan, Pakistan, Jordan and the Palestinian territories. Across the Middle East, majorities favor the adoption of sharia law. Many support beheadings, stonings, the lash and amputations of limbs for lesser offenses.
What does these polls tell us?
First, if we insist that freedom of the press means standing behind the blasphemies of Charlie Hebdo, we should anticipate the hatred and hostility of majorities in the Islamic world to whom faith and family are everything -- and our First Amendment is nothing.
Second, the idea that, by sending armies of Americans into that part of the world for a decade or two, we could convert these peoples, steeped in a 1,500-year-old faith, to share our embrace of religious, cultural and moral pluralism and secularism was utopian madness.
Third, as Islamic peoples grow in number and militancy, while the peoples of Europe age and pass on, and the migrants continue to come from the Maghreb and Middle East, Europe will have to adapt to Muslim demands or face endless civil and cultural conflict on the Old Continent.
The moral befuddlement in France mirrors that of the West.
In welcoming the return to the newsstands of Charlie Hebdo, with a cartoon mocking the Prophet on its cover, President Hollande said, "You can murder men and women, but you can never kill their ideas."
True. And anti-Islamism is an idea. As is the "radical Islam" against which France has declared war.
And which of the two ideas appears today to have more adherents willing not only to march for it on Sundays, but to die for it?
Don't charge him with anything. Deport him to Cameroon.
Weird that Buchanan's sympathies seem to be with the head-choppers.
Old School antisemite Pat Buchanan jealous of the attention given to new-school jihadi antisemites.
Pat Buchanan prefers not to give offense to the barbarian Orcs of Islam.
Understandable because one has to be exceptionally brave to stand up to Islamic terrorists and the mayhem they leave in their wake.
They’re coming for us and their being offended by our democratic freedoms is the least of our worries.
Yes. To speak against Charlie Hebdo in ANY fashion NOW is tantamount to justifying evil in the minds of radicals. NOT seeing that is flawed thinking in the extreme. The Pope especially has become a lightning rod akin to the Church playing footsie with the Nazis in the late 30’s. JUST A FACT.
This is why I believe that England, France, Spain, Belgium, and others (possibly not Germany) are essentially dead. The only solution if your goal is maintain Western culture is to uproot millions of so-called citizens and deport them. It won’t happen, therefore:
England is dead.
France is dead.
Spain is dead.
All by suicide.
Buchanan has always been weird. He is anti-Israel so obviously his sympathies lie with his fellow anti-semites.
Buchanan misses the whole point that people will fight and die for their freedom, even most of the ones content if others lose theirs. He might not think it makes sense for a Frenchman to fight for a publication, but I bet he would expect us to fight for his website if Obama shuts it down.
So much for turning the other cheek.
Exactly. The French and others similarly situated MUST start deporting and and all Muslims who don’t assimilate with Western Culture. As harsh as it sounds the only other option is to relinquish your notions of Western Culture. Multi-culturalism is not compatible with any culture, it is the transition into another culture. It is therefore anti-Western. It will ultimately destroy all that it embraces. Will the people see this? Possibly. Will the politicians support a plan that saves Western culture? Probably not. Demographics are the future, and the future belongs to Muslims in nearly every area they have infected.
We, i.e. Western Civilization, are in a 100 year war. The only victory is divestiture of Islam within the territorial boundaries of Western countries. We are NOT guaranteed victory.
I do believe that immigration from muslim countries must be stopped cold with the only exception being Christian refugees. I’ve met a few of these and they are worth having.
Wholesale deportation of muslims isn’t going to happen in the present political climate but deportation of any muslim committing a felony should be automatic. That will get the attention of the rest instantly.
I remember the one good thing Carter did back in his day; Iranian students were marching and even rioting in the US against the Shah, so he ordered immigration to start deporting any who weren’t completely legal. The riots stopped immediately.
But its not enough to stop trouble, you have to stop letting muslims into the country completely.
Pitchfork Pat
We can avoid the decades of war. Remember Japan? Eisenhower knew the Japanese would not surrender.
Do we keep killing and injuring the cream of America crop?
Think of those Wounded Warrior ads.
The difference is Japan was one country and Muslims are worldwide.
I will not defend to the death your presumed right to kill me for my beliefs. I will, in fact, kill you to prevent your intent to kill me or my family, friends, neighbors or anyone else you deem unworthy to breath.
The whole Charlie is a bunch of commies. They got what they deserved.
1945 Japan surrendered unconditionally end of World War II
Japs Surrender 1945 Castle Films Newsreel; End of World War II
Besides General Eisenhower was in Europe not in Japan.
Now aren't you embarrassed? If not you should be
Ah, buzzwords I hear. Typical.
Weird that Buchanan's sympathies seem to be with the head-choppers.
Weird, marron? Not really.
Jesus Christ: You can’t impeach Him and He ain’t gonna resign.
Pat capitalized ‘prophet’. I’m wondering now whether he and John Brennan have chewed the (non-pork) fat whilst hanging out on their prayer rugs.
Recently on Hannity’s talk radio show, Buchanan made the absurd hypothetical tacitly comparing the consequences of agitating Islamists to that of agitating US Military personnel.
Buchanan asserted that it’s not wise to agitate Islamists — they might kill in response. He went on to say that it’s equally not wise to burn the US Flag at the doorstep of a military base on US soil — one might get an unwelcome [violent?] response. Yes, Buchanan made the charge that US Military personnel might violate an individual’s Constitutional right to be an idiot!
Buchanan was outspoken about the consequences of Charlie Hebdo’s “reckless” (my term) provocations. After about 10 minutes, I had to switch off the radio. Not once did I hear Buchanan castigate the Islamists for murdering the publishers.
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