Seppo Lehto is one such character, and now he has just been convicted and sentenced for inciting ethnic hatred. He will spend more than two years in prison for posting his noxious opinions on his blog.
If you shut down such as Lehto on the margins, aren't you shutting down all dissent? Because if it is permitted, it is not dissent, just as the barking of the lap dog isn't the barking of the hounds in yard.
Something very bad is happening in Europe, and it isn't being done by who we feared, the Soviets, but by laws passed that says no one may be offended... and of course this only leads to everyone being offended.
I doubt that the citizens of Rome saw the Dark Ages coming... It slipped in piece by piece.... and we are now seeing the Dark come back..
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ReplyDeleteInciting ethnic hatered and violating the religious rights were only two of the eleven accusations against Lehto. And they are crimes according to Finnish law and Lehto's behavior has nothing to do with the freedom of expression.
ReplyDeleteNine of the eleven accusations were about defamation (2 normal, previous convictions and 9 new, grave defamations). The law about defamation is almost the same now as it was in 1889 while we were still part of the Russian empire...
http://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/alkup/1889/18890039001
Lehto's sentence is not the bad thing that is happening here in Finland. And it is not new either. Only thanks to the Internet that he has used lately (I've seen posters by him in the town some 20 years ago...) he creates useless discussion about things that he doesn't represent.
Hmmm. So your excuse is that the bad law is an old bad law.
ReplyDeleteHardly something I would try and take to an argument.
We Yanks think a bit more of our freedom of speech, thank you.
But if you need a new leader to yearn for, many of us would be happy to let you have Barry Hussein.
No charge and shipping prepaid.
No, I don't have or need excuses.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand that even you (I didn't know where you live) would have laws in your country to protect individuals against defamation. My mistake.
Our legislation in that respect is pretty good - not bad at all.
I referred to the age of the idea of protecting individual rights just because you originally gave the impression that 'European' laws are 'doing bad things' and in your opinion this is either a new phenomenon or the return of 'the Dark Ages'...
Yes, we had our share of the Dark Ages up here, witch hunts and all but luckily we got independence in 1917 thereafter even freedom of religion in 1920. Freedom of opinion has been curtailed even after that and even by the state, but has been free to have his opinions and even express them - as long as they are not just defamation and other stuff which is defined criminal. He didn't understand that or didn't care.
Oh, I'm sorry. In the court Mr Lehto denounced all filthy material he has produced all over the world so according to his words he is not even guilty of any of the crimes he has been accused of and so this case is not about the freedom of speech as he hasn't written the sick defamatory texts or edited the pornographic imagery!
Case closed.
Case is not really closed
ReplyDeleteIf it isn't closed, what is the status?
ReplyDelete