I asked earlier in a post here if Charlie Hebdo should continue publishing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in light of the terrorist attacks and deaths in Paris last week. I wondered if it might add more fuel to a volatile situation, and felt Charlie Hebdo should hold off.
The consensus among those who responded to that post was, yes, they should continue to run cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, that the issue was about the principle of free speech.
Well, Charlie Hebdo did publish a new image. It made a stand for free speech. But, sadly, it did lead to more deaths — and will probably lead to even more.
If they hadn’t published a new image this week, at least 10 people killed in protests in Niger would probably be alive right now. Ten families would not be in mourning . . .
I do believe in standing up for principles, but not at all costs. It was an irresponsible decision, in my opinion, to run a second caricature so soon, knowing that it could lead to more deaths. Saving lives in this case should have been more important to the editors of Charlie Hebdo. They could have put their principles on the backburner until this particular storm had blown over.
— Jillian
Jillian Page 
I don’t believe that this would(will) have stopped the attacks in any instance. Several prominent Politicos and Fellows of Islamic Studies are of the opinion that to show any form of contrition or display of solidarity as was shown with Je Suis Charlie has played right into the hands of the “extremists” and zealots. They have achieved their goal(s) regardless of what approach was(is) taken. A Catch-22 situation. There is also the extreme Fascist-Christians in France and all over the EU to contend with as well. Considering the general drift to “totalitarian” States in the world in all it’s forms, perhaps we should heed Salman Rushdies words: “The moment you say that any idea system is sacred, whether it’s a religious belief system or a secular ideology, the moment you declare a set of ideas to be immune from criticism, satire, derision, or contempt, freedom of thought becomes impossible.” What was that you said about Hitler?
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But it wasn’t the state behind the violence in Niger; it was unruly mobs. Publishing a second cartoon was like poking a hornet’s nest with a stick.
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sometimes you walk away, sometimes you poke that hornets nest …… they are rioting because that is what they do to get their own way…… naughty child on the floor at the local supermarket making a scene, do you leave it to squark its head off or give it something to cry about ….. the second method will make it think twice in future, but I know what your answers are going to be without even asking them.
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A second thought: freedom of thought is never impossible, but total freedom of expression is impossible. There’s not a country in the world where you have total freedom of expression.
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ah..that’s a bingo. And that’s why I shudder when politicians throw around the word “democracy” like they own the term. In the meantime, cuddling is a “good” ;-*
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Cuddling is wonderful, but paying for it? I dunno. lol
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Who are we to decide if they should or should not publish the cartoons. Also the people that died in the protests could have just stayed home.
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When are you lefty liberals going to wake up ? Jillian you are feeding the fire with your appologistic reasoning….. go ahead delete this post, I’m sure you will like so many of my previous posts have also been deleted !
You don’t like it when 10 people die in Niger, do you REALLY think it will stop there ???
Islam is like a naughty child getting its own way, sooner or later somebody has to smack the living day lights out of it…… and then the death toll will be in the millions…. you and people like you I feel are the fuel that helps the muslim filth on this planet, if everybody stood up and shouted “STOP WE DON’T WANT TO BE SUBJUGATED OR MURDERED” together the combined voice of 7 billion people would be enough to make them stop and to think about their actions…. the alternative….. well I have already written about that.
Do I want a war ? Having been through a few (first hand) I don’t want another war, for me or my children…. however think of a world where there are no universities, no training, no Lesbians, Gays, Bi’s or TV’s ??? a world where women have NO voice ? what about a world where our woman can be put to death because a man raped them ??? or children are systematically groomed for sex and marriage is ok at ANY age !!!
Because when it happens …. believe me I WILL be the first person to tell you that you got your wish !!!
Don’t be an apologist for islam, read the koran yourself so you know what you are talking about….. I bet your view point will change
“all the muslims I know are friendly” that’s normal it’s called Taqqiyah or in English lying and being deceitful to help islam.
DO NOT confuse the bible or the Torah with that book of filth the koran !!!! they simply have very little resemblance.
PS. I am an Agnostic or an atheist whichever you want to call me, I will serve with ALL other religions against islam.
one day probably within your lifetime you WILL see the worlds first civil uprising against islam.
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Huh?
Take a deep breath.
The Torah, Quran and Bible have a common heritage going back thousands of years.
The Torah is the first five books of the Old Testament. Basically they are the laws of Moses. Most of the things in the Torah are in the Quran. The Quran was written but the Torah was in oral form for generations before being written down.
Many Jews don’t have a problem with much of the 4 Gospels in the new testament as Jesus is simply saying “Be a better Jew” which is equated with “Follow the Torah.” Where Jews have a problem with the New Testament is in Paul’s writings. He basically says “it doesn’t matter what you do so long as you love Jesus.” Also the Trinity thing is out. God is One. The Quran doesn’t follow the logic of Paul. The Quran basically says “it does matter what you do.” All three books of the Quran are attempting to guide people to Allah.
The Christian New Testament follows the Koran and Quran by centuries and is an anthology of Christian works written in the common Greek language of the first century, at different times by various writers. At the turn of the 17th Century King James of England ordered the translation of the Bible into english to become the Canon of the Church of England. The King was the editor and there were several rewrites.
Of course, they’re all bullshit.
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You haven’t read or haven’t understood the koran…… very dangerous, very very dangerous….. The koran differs in so many ways, it makes the bible and the torah look and sound like nursery rhymes ….. The koran = death to none believers, death to those who insult islame, death death and more death !!! the thing is look around the world…. islame is DIRECTLY responsible for more than 270,000,000 deaths… NOTHING has ever come close to that head count other than islame.
TO compare the koran to the bible or the torah…. is like comparing mother Theresa to Genghis Khan !!! one was a lovelly person the other is a saint 😉 lol
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Freedom of expression is incontestable. It needs no defense or explanation & those who would obstruct the freedom may be called any number of names, none of which improves on the fact that self-expression is a sacred right. But this sacred right is also nuanced. It is a right to be exercised with conscience. For every expression, there is an impression. In the case of Charlie Hebdo, I get the impression of an organization that is intolerant, crude, hateful: as backward as the backwardness it attempts to mock.
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Nicely said, Ben.
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Ben . . . Charlie Hebdo was selling magazines whilst islame murders women, children and anyone who they wish to really….
If we had more magazines and newspapers and politicians standing against islame we wouldn’t be in this predicament now….
Do you understand Newtonian Laws ? government against unions, police against crime, good against evil, what is against islame ? if nothing then we are lost already, if you are gay watch the latest video’s coming out of Siria, just today 22 Jan 2015 a sharia court found 2 gays blokes guilty of homosexuality …… the punishment carried out today…. throwing them off the roof of a nearby factory !!! both killed, for being gay !!!
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“just today 22 Jan 2015 a sharia court found 2 gays blokes guilty of homosexuality …… the punishment carried out today…. throwing them off the roof of a nearby factory !!! both killed, for being gay !!!”
And this is different from the religious nutjobs we have in this country who use the Bible as justification for their murders of homosexuals, how?
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my response on seeing news of that story was to note the culprits, the intolerant, hate-filled extremists (in this case, ISIS extremists) find so much to be offended by in this world, they would prove more efficient in ridding the world of all that offends them by throwing themselves off the buildings instead. THAT, my friend, would be a video worth watching.
Not sure how closely you read my post on the sanctity of freedom of expression, but you seem to have missed the fact that it I believe it needs no defense, and that those who lash out against it do so without justification.
And while I do not personally find anything of value in the incessant jeering CH purveys under the pretext of journalism, I do not question their right to do so. I merely describe the impression I am left with on seeing their work: crass, crude, intolerant.
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ALOHA…. absolutely fucking NOT!…. they can publish ANYTHING they want…. it is enough that we can not say “niger” and “cunt” anymore because they are politically incorrect…. ONLY if someone is suggesting KILL the potus, or blow up a building or something else…. saying one is going to kill all jews and israelis is different then criticizing israel’s government’s policies…. right-wing, extremist christian tea-party republicans want to outlaw burning the american flag… a piece of material!!!… this is ridiculous; almost as absurd as outlawing pubic hair on beaches and most clothing-optional spaces…. print charlie hebdo whateva they want… it is similar to people who criticize ALL muslims, when it is a minority of mentally challenged people using the religion for their inhumane policies and practices…… aloha from the north shore of maui….
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Jillian – do you know for a fact that the ten Nigerians would still be alive if Charlie Hebdo hadn’t published the cover? Maybe ten others would have been killed for protesting that Charlie Hebdo did not stand up to the terrorists?
Muslims have been killing other Muslims for centuries and often in defense of their god from the “wrong” muslims. (sounds a lot like the christian right in the USA).
Your surrender to the terrorists won’t change it. All surrender does is encourage them to use terror somewhere else to get the world to worship their god.
“If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” – George Washington
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Problem is you are damned if you don’t give way to such people and you are damned if you do. These people are extremists in every sense of the word and they have absolutely no interest in compromising with you or anyone, including moderate Muslims.
Religion gives an awful lot of people hope and aspiration of something better in the afterlife when this corporeal one doesn’t. At a simple level I don’t mind that until they start to suck others into their sphere of influence like in Somalia, Nigeria, Sudan, Iraq, or Syria. There is no good news there whether you are a fellow believer or not and especially if you are a woman. These people are tyrants, authoritarians first, there religion is secondary. They would still be tyrants in a wholly secular state. There are these sorts of tyrants everywhere, to varying degrees, including N America and Europe, who would also be telling us all how to exactly lead our daily lives. Given the freedom they demand people such as you would be at serious risk. Those who seek to establish de facto theocracies are an absolute menace and there is no way to either appeal to them or appease them. I suspect that what Western security services know about them probably would terrify the rest of us if only we were to be allowed in on it.
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