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Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house]
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Take a stand for freedom of expression Just a reminder that there will be a rally in Trafalgar Square tomorrow between 2:00pm and 4:00pm, Saturday March 25th. The Samizdatistas will be well represented there and I hope to get the chance to meet a few more of our commentariat at the event. Time to hold the line.
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Who Are We? The Samizdata people are a bunch of sinister and heavily armed globalist illuminati who seek to infect the entire world with the values of personal liberty and several property. Amongst our many crimes is a sense of humour and the intermittent use of British spelling.
We are also a varied group made up of social individualists, classical liberals, whigs, libertarians, extropians, futurists, ‘Porcupines’, Karl Popper fetishists, recovering neo-conservatives, crazed Ayn Rand worshipers, over-caffeinated Virginia Postrel devotees, witty Frédéric Bastiat wannabes, cypherpunks, minarchists, kritarchists and wild-eyed anarcho-capitalists from Britain, North America, Australia and Europe.
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A word of caution: Over on dhimmiwatch it has been reported that the organisers have put out announcements on their site saying: “Muslims are welcome. No Danish cartoons, please.”
So, free-ish speech as long as you don’t offend the Muslims with the cartoons. (Link) Rather negates a rally for free speech, what? But then, freedom of speech shouldn’t mean freedom to offend, right? (Link) A lot of posters on Dhimmiwatch are very angry about this.
What on earth is the point?
Jim the Kaffir wrote on the Dhimmiwatch comments section: “There was an Action Alert at Ummah.com claiming the march was Islamophobic and calling people to contact the police commissioner and the mayor of London.
The march organizers changed their tune suddenly. Wonder what happened?”
Paolo, on the same thread, writes: “In my language, we have a proverb that says: ‘Meglio soli che male accompagnati’. Better alone than in bad company. And in that goddamn march you would be in very bad company indeed. There is an evil smell about this sudden concession to Muslims, which suggests high-level meddling…”.
Peter Tatchell on the organisers’ site characterises the Libertarian Alliance as a right wing organisation in the same breath as the BNP.
A lot of commentators are furious. I think this is going to get very unpleasant, simply because the organisers don’t have the courage of their convictions and the people who were going to rally for freedom of expression feel very let down.
Inevitably, some people will be so angered by the instruction not to bring cartoon banners or wear cartoon T-shirts that they will do so even if they hadn’t originally intended to do so. This will anger the limp-wristed (and this isn’t a dig at Tatchell, who is normally a very brave man) organisers, who will try to chase cartoon T-shirt wearers away. There will be scuffles. The police will wade in and arrest people for doing no more than exercising their freedom of speech and being brave enough to resist arrest.
The organisers will go on TV and say they had warned “Islamophobics” to stay away. This is going to end in tears, mark my words.
So the obvious answer is to use one of the really staringly obviously inoffensive cartoons, just to show what a load of shite the MAC are talking.
Something like this one.
They have now specifically asked that no motoons make an appearance on T-shirts or banners. This now creates the situation that, having been specifically banned, even the most inoffensive motoon will be seen as provocative by the police.
I think it’s going to get really nasty. A lot of the unctuous, self-righteous people who abound in Britain are going to use the organisers’ fiat to take it upon themselves to reprimand motoon wearers/carriers and there will be scuffles and fights.
It would have been a perfectly peaceful rally for freedom of speech until the organisers backed down and said no motoons.
Allah Allah Allah
Blah Blah Blah
Lets build our lego
And say Mohamad’s a pedo
Verity,
you might be right. I really really hope that you are not.
However, just imagine the news footage of a peaceful protestor – with a t-shirt showing the cartoon of a fearful cartoonist looking over his shoulder – being hauled off by the police.
The Met have not a leg to stand on: they did not arrest anyone carrying placards declaring “Behead those who insult Islam”, so they will have a very difficult time suggesting that the mo-toons require immediate arrest to restore order.
If the cops don’t arrest on the day, then the battle is won. The stand has been taken.
PG
So, when does Livingston start making you lot wear shmegma’s or whatever those head cloth things are called?
Flying apostrophe alert.
Is there a meeting point for Samizdatistas?
Yes, there do seem to many who are missing the point of the entire endeavor. There is a counter-demonstration happening in Manchester by a ROPMA front group.
Yes, there do seem to many who are missing the point of the entire endeavor.
Yes, AID, including the organisers who have banned motoon T-shirts and banners.
How can you ban any symbol in a rally devoted to freedom of expression? More especially how can you ban graphics that were the cause of worldwide seething and thus the rally? There’s something rotten, and it’s not in the state of Denmark.
I suggest we meet in front of the National Gallery at the top of the stairs leading into the square, at 2:00 on the dot.
Take pictures…please.
Only a regular reader and very occasional commenter, but I’ll be there with my Greek flag and hopefully my Greek girlfriend (if not deterred by the threat of rain) – it will be Greek Independence Day, very significant to the historical collapse of Caliphate rule in Europe and likewise because of the debt we owe to the ancient Greeks for our culture of rational debate and individual expression.
I’ll be carrying a sign of Dr Zoidberg from Futurama on it. I wanted to try and make the cartoon point more subtly. I’ll see if I can make it to the meeting point. If not have fun guys and if by some chance you get arrested, refuse to say anything till you speak to a solicitor!
nic – I fear it is going to come to that. The organisers have backed down – so it’s not really a rally about … anything.
You can’t have a rally about free speech because such ‘offends’ Islamics.
The rally has been hijacked. Like a plane.
Guys, you really need to go to more rallies…the tone of any rally is set by whoever shouts the loudest and creates the best photo ops.
Our faith is in you, Perry, and the Samizdata troops on the ground surrounding you.
Good luck folks, will be with you in spirit.
Best of luck lads and lasses. I’m stuck in Manchester today. Shame. I’d like to meet you and, Perry, as a Geordie I’m adept at making a scene.
Andrew Ian Dodge,
There is a counter-demonstration happening in Manchester by a ROPMA front group.
Who, where, what, when? I might go along and create a scene. I still regret not turning up to a speech Gorgeous George gave in Manchester. My girlfriend came up with the chant we were going to use,
“Galloway, Galloway! How much did Saddam pay?”
Instead, we got pissed the night before and weren’t in a fit state for such insightful politcal banter the next day.
“Freedom of expression has been in the news in recent weeks and attempts by both the State and extremist Islamicists to stifle freedom of expression have come under the spotlight in the wake of the Nick Griffin and Mark Collett trial in January and the recent furore over the publication of satirical cartoons featuring Mohammed.
“On Saturday in central London a wide range of political, religious and lobby groups will be taking part in a protest rally to affirm the importance of free expression in frank and honest debate, including the freedom to criticise and mock religions and faiths. The BNP, the only political party which champions free speech backs the protest and we have also been made aware that Civil Liberty supporters will be present to demonstrate against the encroaching intolerance of Marxism and militant Islamicists.”
May I suggest, as a chant:
Mohammed was a cunt,
Mohammed was a cunt,
He ate pork pies,
And he had four wives,
Mohammed was a cunt.
…and that’s from my girlfriend, who is not in the slightest right-wing.
Mind, since her last dealings with the Inland Revenue reduced her to tears, she’s getting there…
They’ll go apoplectic at that. It might even manage to cause a few strokes amongst the more elderly and the beardiest. Like that C7 fucker who crowded me out on a bus seat yesterday and tutted at my looking at a promo pic of Sharon Stone for Basic Instinct 2 in the Metro freesheet. He looked like an extra from Lawrence of Arabia. Manchester used to be the workshop of the world. It’s now the place that pakistanis and charvers sign on.
Linguistic note. In Newcastle – where I’m from – “charver” goes back at least ten years – significantly predating “chav” although it means the same thing.
I know, put out a statement saying “No working-class white people please!” That should prevent the petit-bourgeois Libertarians from being scared off!
Cowards!
Robert,
huh?
I encourage people to read the sane posts about this on marchforfreeexpression.blogspot.com. Asking people not to bring the cartoons on the march is just as reasonable as asking people not to bring pornography, swastikas, pictures of Galloway, or anything else liable to offend and generally make the rally a waste of time.
I support the right to offend people, without qualification. I do not support offending people, without qualification. Surely not so hard to see?
Yes, the cartoons are pertinent to the whole issue. If you want to have a ‘pro cartoon’ march, or a ‘proper hardcore libertarian free speech march’ then you go and organise one, but don’t slag off one of the few outfits actually getting off their arses and doing something more than posting in blogs.
See you there in 3 hours.
I support the right to offend people, without qualification. I do not support offending people, without qualification. Surely not so hard to see?
J, if that’s your real name, you don’t even begin to get it do you? Why d’ya think the right to free expression is the 1st ammendment to the US constitution? It’s paramount and absolute. You clearly don’t support the right to offend people. You’re a craven dhimmi. We are at war against Islam and you’re playing the role of Switzerland.
The idea of the rally is to offend, you Dhimmiwit. You vote Lib-Dem or something?
The rally should be getting underway about now. If anyone knows anything, I hope you’ll post it if you can. The Beeb site’s not carrying it on the net yet.
Verity,
The BBBC won’t carry it at all (maybe a smidgen – but that’s your lot). The BBC is committed to “quality broadcasting for a multicultural nation”. They still charge me 131GBP (has it gone up again?) for the privilege of watching Holby Shitty. I’m seriously considering watching all my TV down the ADSL wire, partly because I’ve got a pair of beaut 21″ Trinys. I’ve always resented the license fee… But when I saw a US website listing bizarre laws and read that “you need a license for a TV in the UK” alongside “it is illegal to educate a dog in Conneticut” I lost my last shreds of sanity. Screw ’em. They’ve screwed us for long enough.
ON BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/4844634.stm
see picture and comment….to be expected from the BBC
Yes, I saw that earlier, Willy. Only the BBC would illustrate a rally for freedom of expression with a graphic from a Muslim rally weeks before.
We’ll have to wait to hear from Perry as to whether anyone brought motoon banners or T-shirts. If not, I would guess that all the people who had intended to do so stayed away when the organisers banned them.
Typical mealy mouthed BBC nonsense and a typically British “Don’t offend anyone”, response.
“Hundreds” as compared to “thousands” for the muzzies. I fear many more real people will have to die before we really hold the line against muzzie. I don’t regard those who have submitted to Allah as real people. They’re drones bent on wrecking what has made the West uniquely gifted in freedom and prosperity.
I hope Perry and the rest of the samizdatistas had a good go though. They have my respect.
The Left loves totalitarians. Long and short of it. They’ve never seen a totalitarian creed they couldn’t warm to.
I see that the traitor Kember has been motivated to give a mean-spirited nod to the people who rescued him. He went there of his own free will to help Iraqis file grievance suits against the Coalition countries. He should have been left with his loved ones until they chopped off his head. I don’t believe in wasting our troops’ efforts, and risking our troops’ lives, to sweep up rubbish like this.
Well, I was there and the banner I used is now up here: http://xmarksthe.blogspot.com/2006/03/march-for-freedom-of-expression.html
I met one guy from here briefly, so sorry we got seperated after our quick chat. I was already being torn between some student friends of mine who turned up and some more seasons campaigners who I arrived with. Hope everyone else had a nice time. Turn out was somewhat disappointing but then with fuckwits like the above Nick M splurging their invective on even fairly intelligent sites like this one, it is no wonder that some people are turned off our cause.
Hmmm: ‘up to 600’ there, say the organisers. ‘Two hundred’ say the police. Three hundred at a counter-demo in Brum, say the Muslim Action Committee.
Doesn’t look as if many Brits were concerned pro or anti about free speech.
Possibly all the people who had planned on attending wearing a toon-shirt or carry a motoon bannere simply stayed away when they realised that political correctness had wafted in and the rally had been defanged.
new topic.. ‘mohamed is a cunt’.. discuss
jehovascotia… firstly, Mohammed was a cunt… he died rather a long time ago. Secondly, the truth or otherwise of that statement is not germane, all that matters here is that you are free to ask it.
I don’t see what the big deal is. Freedom of speech is a myth, when are humans finally gonna get it. you can’t make cartoons of mohammed jerking off, you can’t say you wanna kill the president(even though somebody should) you can’t make sexual advances to 8th graders, you can’t yell fire in a theater or say “bomb” on an airliner. WHY??? because most people are cowards. During the time of Jesus blasphemy was a crime, but he had balls he did it anyway. Fuck what people say, do what you like say what you like. have sex with those juicy tight little 8th grades 🙂