Is love in the air? Not between China and Steven Spielberg – the row over China’s dealings with Sudan continues today. We’ve been talking about it, but do you want to return to it today?
Elsewhere, yesterday’s programme about pain meant that we didn’t talk about Australia’s historic apology to Aborigines for past assimilation policies. Should we discuss that and other apologies today?
We also missed the brief return of the Mohammed cartoons in Denmark, but that seems to have passed somewhat quicker than it did last time.
Our Have Your Say web site is asking if Europe risks becoming a fortress, but maybe the question is “does Europe want to become a fortress?”
Another thought – or thought crime? – comes from Britain’s Appeal Court quashing the convictions of five young Muslim men jailed over extremist literature. The government’s terror laws watchdog has now said that nobody should be jailed for reading extremist literature. The Independent praised the prosecution and the result. What do you think? Is society better safe than sorry or is the risk of jailing innocents going too far to protect the public from potential threats? Should thoughts rather than actions be criminal?
And finally, from Mark, what The Times calls “one of the most heated debates in contemporary literature”: Should Vladimir Nabokov’s final and incomplete novel be destroyed, as the author explicitly requested? Would art’s loss be too great? And how is Nabokov going to know?
RSS feed
It’s funny how political correctness works. It’s okay to Bash the US for any and all reasons. Why? Because you know we won’t boycott you or take any action, as it’s your right to speak your mind. But when it comes to CHina, we’re so afraid of how they might react, kind of like what Russia does. If you don’t do what they say, they aim missiles at you. These countries having screaming spoiled brat mentalities. What, putin is being a crying little baby because his neighbors that hate Russia because of what Russia did to them want to be aligned with someone else. Putin is just like an incompetent Hitler. So let’s all bend over backwards about China, and ignore them supporting a genocide regime in Khartoum because we’re desperate for their money and goods. There’s really no hope for humanity.
Go for thoughtcrime! What a great subject to discuss!
Brett ~ Richmond, Va.
1. China vs Spielberg-
China really cannot sell genocide no matter how they slice it an dice it.
Spielberg is not China’s problem in this.
It was very telling to see the projection of Palestinian “victim-hood” at Spielberg among answers on BBC HYS.
As a topic, to me that nonsense finished it.
2. Aborigine disculpa-
Why question Australia asking forgiveness?
3. Mohamed cartoons-
In retrospect the riots and deaths of Muslims over cartoons seem less horrible than terrorism against non-Muslims.
Forget the whole episode.
4. Fortress Europe-
Europe appears to be anything but a fortress against the Muslim invasion at this time.
Besides the term is an allusion to Nazi controlled Europe and the Normandy Allied invasion.
A highpoint of Western Civilization achievement vs disarray of Western Civilization.
Fortress Swiss Cheese.
5. Destroying novels posthumously -
Put it in a safety deposit box for a few decades. No harm done there.
All that to say the same as Brett-
Thought crimes are a contemporary topic now.
Time for a little reality check on the China thing…
The Chinese government has never given a damn about anyone else’s opinion of their policies and they’re not about to start, so all of this is moot.
Thought crime gets my vote.
And if Nabokov didn’t want anyone to read his last book he shouldn’t have written it, or at least destroyed it himself.
A further thought on thought crime~
We did this fairly recently. It was about a guy who in group therapy admitted to having pedophile fantasies, and the argument was about him being monitored as a sex predator for having thoughts.
Just thought I’d mention it….