This time in Britain. There will be a bill proposed soon on libel (=slander). Basically it is similar to Finland's blasphemy law (think of Halla-Aho); an arcaic remnant in the legal code that has not been removed but instead reinforced! The problem with this is of course that no state is an island. Furthermore, Britain is in the European Union. We all have criticised Romania's human rights issues and now Greece's political mayhem, wondering why these states were allowed to participate a union, the purpose of which was to create international law based on equality, peace, freedom of speech and debate. This also means that whatever happens in the UK, also is possible to have effect on us.
Thus far the British law has been used by foreigners who do not like what some British people have to say and this law allows them to be taken seriously, unlike in the case of the Dutch MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali whose criticism of Islam conjured Saudi, Pakistani etc. politicians to attempt to get her off the parliament, the *DUTCH* parliament, as if they had any right to do so. Luckily, the Dutch MPs and Hirsi Ali's party leaders just laughed the attempt off since there was no law these self-righteous dickheads could cling on. Which is exactly what is happening in the UK.
The online petition was launched by Simon Singh, a writer whose book on alternative medicine frauds is being fought in courtrooms. Yes, it indeed is SOOOOO unfair that someone gets to say my alternative medicine treatment of rubbing human feces on other people's bodies does not cure HIV like I say it does!
Bullocks!
Join Stephen Fry and others and sign the petition online on the site given below. All signatures around the world are allowed and encouraged as the law has international impact.
http://libelreform.org/index.php
P.S. If you wish to see Singh's original petition speech, go to this site at RichardDawkins.net:
