New crime of blasphemous libel proposed for Defamation Bill - goodbye free speech ?

[Demotruk]

*the following in crayon was received at the Dail today*

Please msiter, pass this law. My god is too busy blowing up jewish pigs to puinsh people who say bad things about him. Stop them saying the bad things.

Yours,

A. Ego

I'd say it was mean to characterize him as a child, but then if the recent content of mpac.ie is anything to go by:

MPACIE - Living on Borrowed Time

[cyberianpan]

I have just found a religion that might enjoy the blasphemy protection:

[COLOR=Blue]Wikipedia : St. Priapus Church (French: Eglise S. Priape) is a North American religion founded in the 1980s that centres on the worship of the phallus.

St. Priapus Church was founded in Montreal, Quebec by D. F. Cassidy and has found a following mainly among homosexual men in Canada and the United States. The church, which is named after the Greek god Priapus, teaches that the phallus is the source of life, beauty, joy, and pleasure.[1] The phallus is to be worshipped, which can be accomplished by a variety of sexual acts, including group masturbation.[2] Semen is also treated with reverence and its consumption is an act of worship.[1]

There are nine centres of the church in Canada and eight in the United States. The largest membership of the church reside in San Francisco, California and it is headquartered in Montreal.[/COLOR]

Thus if that church gets protection - criticising semen eating will be blasphemous. The blasphemy law is clearly a massive limiter on free speech

cYp