I suppose one of the more shocking aspects of yesterday’s Charlie Hebdo massacre was that it happened in the West, where both laws and cultural norms tend to provide near absolute protection to freedom of speech and freedom of the press. “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it,” Voltaire is often credited with saying, a quote that while misattributed, still accurately represents both Voltaire’s sentiments and that of the broader French tradition. Here in the US and other modern democracies, a journalist might occasionally risk his job by speaking his mind, but almost never his life or liberty. A free press is absolutely essential to sustaining a functional democracy; indeed, neither can long survive without the other.
That is why, beyond the obvious human tragedy, the assassination of political cartoonists has so united citizens of the free world in outrage and mourning. This was an attack on the most fundamental tenet of modern Western civilization, a principle on which there cannot be an inch of compromise if democracy is to survive.
That said, it would be a mistake to be too Western-centric in our celebration of journalistic courage while ignoring the thousands of journalists who risk their lives pursuing their profession in parts of the world where freedom of the press is denied either in law or in practice. According to Reporters Without Borders, 96 journalists were killed on the job in 2014, while thousands more were arrested, threatened, kidnapped, and assaulted. And a quick scan of the list of victims will find it dominated by Arabic and other Islamic names, journalists who faced death or imprisonment every day of their professional lives.
I have long blogged by the unofficial motto “write fearlessly, or don’t bother writing at all,” but that’s a pose of false bravado that’s easy to assume when writing from the relative safety of the United States. (Also, when writing from the relative obscurity of just another local political blog.) But I’ve always been left a little in awe of the journalists who fearlessly pursue their profession in parts of the world where mere words or drawings can easily get oneself killed, beaten, or imprisoned. Which is why for the past several years I’ve been proud to use as my avatar on Twitter, Facebook, Slog, HA, and elsewhere the following unflattering caricature sketched of me by Tunisian political cartoonist Imed Ben Hamida:
A couple times a year, in my role as foul-mouthed blogger, I meet with visiting foreign delegations, usually journalists, through a program run by the State Department, and administered locally through the World Affairs Council. And in the summer of 2009 I met with Imed and five other political cartoonists from Tunisia, Qatar, Egypt, Algeria, Bahrain, and Kuwait. Here’s how the State Department briefing document described that day’s program:
Designed for political cartoonists from the Near East and North Africa, this program will examine the role of a free, independent media in a democracy vis-à-vis political cartooning. Participants will examine the practices, techniques, and ethical responsibilities of political cartoonists, the philosophical beliefs underlying their work, and the impact that their cartoons have on history, political debate, public opinion and free speech.
I always enjoy these meetings, but I remember this one being particularly fascinating. It was a year and a half before the Arab Spring, and much of our conversation centered around issues of press freedom. They seemed both amused and surprised at the manner and degree to which I could savage government officials and other subjects without fear of reprisal, and I was curious about how they could effectively ply their craft given their own legal and cultural constraints. (The short answer: “subtly.”) But we all agreed on the crucial role of political satire in shaping an honest and effective public debate.
The point of this tangent, I suppose, is to remind ourselves that our battle is with a small group of Islamist extremist assholes, not the Islamic world as a whole—an Islamic world that includes political cartoonists not much different from those who were brutally gunned down in Paris. They may not share all of our values, but they share many of them. And my strong impression from our conversation was that far from hating our freedom, these Arabic speaking political cartoonists understandably envied it.
And so in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo massacre I continue to wear my Tunisian-drawn avatar with pride, and in a show of solidarity with political cartoonists everywhere.
So Puddy asks Goldy, why are all the libtard news outlets like CNN and NY Slimes AFRAID to run the Charlie Hebdo cartoons? http://www.politico.com/blogs/.....00711.html
A conservative e-rag no problem!!! http://freebeacon.com/national.....lie-hebdo/
@1 Because the corporate media are run by gutless wonders, which is why the world needs blogs like this one.
I’m in awe of war correspondents who risk their lives to show the world what war is really like. Below is a link to the infamous video showing U.S. helicopter pilots gunning down Reuters journalists in Iraq.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEOMchDJOus
I well remember how the wingers cheered the killing of these and other journalists. We’re supposed to negotiate and compromise with such people in the political arena? I don’t think so. They can go to hell.
@2, Because corporate media are run by gutless DUMMOCRETIN wonders.
CORRECTED!
Puddles- on your way to checking Joel Connelly, you can find the cartoons in the PI, that right wing publication
The PI still exists?
Amazing…
Ahhh yes the tepid response rom Obummer Sadministration is very apparent! http://thefederalist.com/2015/.....lie-hebdo/
Black Paris Policewoman, Clarissa Jean-Philippe, killed a friend of people who think similar to HA’s buttspigot! http://www.theguardian.com/wor.....bdo-attack
Meanwhile we learned… AP, CNN, New York Times, PMSNBC, NBC News are afraid to display the Charlie cartoons.
The New York Times is ludicrous of course: “Under Times standards, we do not normally publish images or other material deliberately intended to offend religious sensibilities. After careful consideration, Times editors decided that describing the cartoons in question would give readers sufficient information to understand today’s story.”
What? CNN and NY Slimes didn’t have an issue over displaying pictures of Gay Jesus or Piss Jesus back in the day! Didn’t seem to mind those whom deliberately intended to offend religious sensibilities when it’s Christianity!
Then read how the NY Slimes protects these animals! http://dailycaller.com/2015/01.....eletes-it/
Real news… from real sites; not that left wrong BS slung by HA DUMMOCRETINS!
Y’all know whom you are…
TPM
Addicting Info
CAP
Daily Kooks
Media Morons
alternet
etc.
And this is why your favorite commentators like Nicholas Kristof and Ezra Klein are deluded morons…http://dailycaller.com/2015/01.....-religion/ So what does it have to do with Ezra?
Charlie Hebdo attacked Catholicism and Christianity all the time… Did Christians attack them with guns? The Hebdo leaders were on an jihad extermination list along with Salman Rushdie and Ayaan Hirsi Ali for speaking out! Yet Ezra can’t figger that out!
He’s one of the leading HA DUMMOCRETIN copied mouthpieces and Puddy sees where HA DUMMOCRETIN delusions come from!
Excellent questions PuddyBud
Obama’s soulmates just got there wish!! But hey, we cannot call them “Terrorists” as we will hurt their self-esteem. Obama is in la-la land about these Islamic Extremists.
And what in the world were they even doing in Paris? Look at their records. Leftist, weak-kneed countries like France have primed themselves for more of this because they cannot come to grips with pure evil. They & Obama truly believe they are so all-knowing & self-righteous that they can TALK these evil evil people into changing their ways. Dumbasses. And they put innocent people at risk.
Obama has Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Barrack Hussein Obama–
Many experts use the criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), published by the American Psychiatric Association, to diagnose mental conditions. This manual is also used by insurance companies to reimburse for treatment.
DSM-5 criteria for narcissistic personality disorder include these features:
•Having an exaggerated sense of self-importance
•Expecting to be recognized as superior even without achievements that warrant it
•Exaggerating your achievements and talents
•Being preoccupied with fantasies about success, power, brilliance, beauty or the perfect mate
•Believing that you are superior and can only be understood by or associate with equally special people
•Requiring constant admiration
•Having a sense of entitlement
•Expecting special favors and unquestioning compliance with your expectations
•Taking advantage of others to get what you want
•Having an inability or unwillingness to recognize the needs and feelings of others
•Being envious of others and believing others envy you
•Behaving in an arrogant or haughty manner
Although some features of narcissistic personality disorder may seem like having confidence, it’s not the same. Narcissistic personality disorder crosses the border of healthy confidence into thinking so highly of yourself that you put yourself on a pedestal and value yourself more than you value others.
@11
New troll, if you’re going to cut-and-paste nonsensical sentences from one thread to another, at least fix your mistakes.
Wish is apparently a place towards which Obama’s soul mates traveled.
@2,
I think your error was in stipulating to Puddles’ initial premise that global corporate owned media are left leaning. Of course nothing could be further from the truth. But once the premise is allowed to land on it’s feet, the foil hat brigades are off to the races. And while the result is clearly a pointless exercise in fantasy for them, the sad fact is that it only serves to reinforce a widespread misconception that is harmful to our freedoms. Therein lies the real terror.
@1 Perhaps it’s because they don’t want to insult or embarrass someone who holds a big chunk of ownership of the publication. There are many Saudi, Bahraini an, and Qatar Sheiks who have invested money here and there in the world sometimes through intermediaries to hide ownership. Ownership of a media outlet does mean they have influence. Though any German Skin Head will tell you just how Jewish this kind of behavior is.
You know Puddybud back in the day there was this group called the Red Brigade, and they pulled stuff like this. I know that even the IRA sometimes got it wrong on occasion. Yep they did bombings of phone booths in England for a time, and in general they were not meant to kill or maim anyone. It didn’t work that way a number of times and these terrorists were treated like criminals. That is what these young men in France became. I know there are Christians who would happily do these kinds of acts against folks they believe are against their religion. Still these United States are a secular nation and we are not a Christian nation. Several of our early Presidents such as John Adams and Thomas Jefferson told the Ottoman Turks and others just that. I do agree that our political leaders Republicans and Democrats don’t understand the middle east all that well and in part due to domestic politics are unwilling to use the direct language they should use. They won’t because it would scare the American people and because in that part of the world if you say it you better be ready to do it.
Benghazi is the biggest joke. We screwed up. My 90 year old mother could have told them not to put a major embassy presence in Benghazi. Even Rommel avoided the city as much as possible. We have this tendency to not talk to the experts or not listen to them, the folks in the know probably said your nuts to put a major embassy presence there or if you insist put in a very tall wall and a lot of Marines…ohh they did and Republican’s in the US Senate said you spend that kind of money on that outpost or these others.
And Puddy think carefully before responding because I was born at Wheelus Air Force Base. So my mom and I might know a thing or two about Libya and the middle east.