Please Don't Read this Post in Poland!
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Um, "New Europe"?
Now of course an "insult" or a satirical parody of anyone, let alone a public figure, is never "defamation" by Anglo-American standards. Nevertheless, I always get a chuckle when I hear people's surprise that the First Amendment generally and freedom of speech particularly are -- surprise! -- uniquely American concepts that are almost totally unknown in other cultures.
Baby steps, New Europe, baby steps.
Oh, and by the way:
Related Post:
Was the First Amendment Really "First"?
A court Tuesday convicted the publisher of a satirical magazine of insulting Polish-born Pope John Paul II and fined him $6,500.
Jerzy Urban, founder and publisher of the weekly magazine "NIE" -- Polish for "no" -- illegally insulted the pope when he printed an article making fun of John Paul's age and frailty before a visit to Poland in 2002, the court ruled.
He was found guilty of violating a law that bans publicly insulting foreign heads of state. The court noted that the pontiff heads the Vatican, formally an independent state.
Urban, 71, earned a reputation for his sarcasm and acid tongue in the early 1980s when he served as the spokesman for the government of Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski, which imposed martial law in an attempt to crush the Solidarity freedom movement. After the fall of communism, he became a successful and wealthy businessman.
Urban had professed his innocence in the case, saying he only exercised the right to free expression. Prosecutors had asked for the fine and a 10-month suspended prison term.
Prosecutor Maciej Kujawski brought the defamation charges in September 2003, after Catholics and other organizations accused Urban of offending the much-admired Catholic leader.
Now of course an "insult" or a satirical parody of anyone, let alone a public figure, is never "defamation" by Anglo-American standards. Nevertheless, I always get a chuckle when I hear people's surprise that the First Amendment generally and freedom of speech particularly are -- surprise! -- uniquely American concepts that are almost totally unknown in other cultures.
Baby steps, New Europe, baby steps.
Oh, and by the way:
POPE JOHN PAUL II
WEARS FARTY PANTS!
Related Post:
Was the First Amendment Really "First"?
All Related Posts (on one page) | Some Related Posts:
- "It is a System that is Part Kafka and Part Stalin"
- Italy Jumps the Censorship Shark With Blogger Registry Plan
- No First Amendment in Europe -- U.K. School Bans "Purity Rings"...
- Historian Faces 20 Years for Holocaust Denial
- U.K. Requires Alcohol Companies to Use Ugly Models
- Please Don't Read this Post in Poland!
Posted by KipEsquire on
25 January 2005
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