p2pnet news view Freedom | Politics:- Canada’s CBC has done an RIAA.

No one outside a handful (relatively speaking) of geeks had heard of either P2P or file sharing — until Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony Music’s RIAA declared war on Napster claiming it, and what it represented, would ‘devastate’ the corporate music industry.

The Big 4 have indeed reached the end of the line, but they got there under their own steam.

Similarly, very few people (not relatively speaking) had heard of British MP George Galloway (right).

However, he, and everything he stands for, are now front and centre in the media because of an embarrassing, and ridiculous, decision to ban him from coming to Canada.

Says the National Post:

“The supporters of Mr. Galloway had gone to Federal Court as a result of a letter dated March 20 that he received from a senior Canadian government official. The letter stated that Mr. Galloway was inadmissible because of his “material support” for Hamas, which has been listed as a terrorist organization.

“While Mr. Galloway was informed he could seek a temporary residence permit, “it is unlikely that the application would be successful,” said the letter from the Canadian High Commission in London.

And a federal court judge ruled that indeed, Galloway wouldn’t be alllowed into Canada.

In a, “somewhat-less-ridiculous world, whether some blowhard Brit addressed a few dozen radical antiwar types would matter not a whit,” says Rob Breakenridge in the Calgary Herald, going on:

“Indeed, visits to Canada by Galloway in 2005 and 2006 warranted scant attention, and a speech just last week in New York drew only about 100 people –including the Canadian reporters who were there because of this controversy.”

Now, his name is all over the media.

‘Rare and enthusiastic praise’

Canada is supposed to be a land where freedom of speech is paramount.

Of course, with its infamous defamation laws beloved by litigants, it’s anything but.

Theoretically, however, anyone is entitled to speak his or her mind, including Galloway, who’s still screaming blue murder because he says he’s not allowed to speak his.

But less than two months ago he had, “rare and enthusiastic praise for the British government: specifically, a decision to deny entry to controversial Dutch politician Geert Wilders,” says  Breakenridge.

You’ll recall that Dutch politician Geert Wilders, leader of Holland`s Party for Freedom, “favours, among other things, the banning the Koran in Holland because, he argues, it contravenes Dutch law and is a ‘fascist book’.” And he made a 15-minute movie to drive his message home.

If it’s a wonderful thing, “that the U. K. shut its doors to an outspoken politician, then Galloway ought to have immediately acquiesced to the Canadian decision,” the Calgary Herald reckons, going on:

“From there, it’s a trickle-down effect: James Clark with the Toronto Stop the War Coalition helped organize Galloway’s visit and is part of a website called Defend Free Speech, which seems to apply only in this case.

“Clark never once uttered ‘defend free speech’ during the Danish Muhammad cartoon controversy and the prosecution of Ezra Levant for republishing those cartoons — Clark’s group was among those participating in protests against freedom of expression in this case.

“This man is going to lecture us on the importance of freedom of speech?”

Breakenridge adds:

“Galloway’s supporters are certainly entitled to keep challenging the government’s decision, and I wish them well. However, they have no business lecturing the rest of us on the importance of freedom of speech.”

Meanwhile, should he have been alllowed in?

Of course he should.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 31st, 2009 at 8:21 am and is filed under Freedom, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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