Before Thursday’s brouhaha about sharia law erupted, I had already intended to read Rowan Williams’ earlier speech about religious hatred laws, following on from the praise that Chris Keating garlanded it with on Monday. I’m afraid I don’t share Chris’ enthusiasm. Let’s get one thing straight from the outset. Academic background or not, Rowan Williams… Continue reading Rowan Williams on religious hatred: quite silly actually
Tag: freedom-of-speech
Why does the Oxford Union think that freedom of speech only applies to fascists?
One thing I didn’t realise regarding the latest Oxford Union debacle is that this comes just a month after those heroic defenders of free speech denied Norman Finklestein a platform to criticise Israel: Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians surely cannot be described as balanced by any stretch of the imagination. The Biblical injunction of “an… Continue reading Why does the Oxford Union think that freedom of speech only applies to fascists?
Oxbridge Twittery and Freedom of Speech
About every 5 years or so, some bright spark in the Oxford or Cambridge Union comes up with the “thrilling” idea of inviting Nick Griffin, David Irving or whoever happens to be the current racist fuck du jour to speak. This results in a wholly predictable row which the media then duly reports. Because we’ve… Continue reading Oxbridge Twittery and Freedom of Speech