Above, the actress Vicki Michelle MBE (Mrs Graham Fowler) in the role of Yvette Carte-Blanche in the sit-com ,‘Allo ‘Allo.
‘Allo Allo was one of the funniest of sit-coms in an age when the mainstream media had not been taken over by the woke tyrants. Vicky Michelle played the vamp waitress Yvette Carte-Blanche opposite co-star Gorden Kaye who played the hapless René Artois, the comedy enshrined in the continuously thwarted attempts of an adulterous liaison.
This post however is on a more serious topic.
John 8, verses 3 to 7 are probably one of the most quoted parts of Christ’s ministry on Earth.
For those unsure of the text, herewith [KJ ver]: 3 “And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, 4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? 6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. 7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.”
Now, the BG is NOT a theological blog. However, sometimes a point can be made by referencing scripture. This is one time.
The Biased Broadcasting Collective has posted a news story on it’s website (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2l4eynl4zo) entitled: “Hong Kong jails 45 pro-democracy campaigners for subversion”.
To quote from the report: “The UK government said those sentenced had been “exercising their right to freedom of speech, of assembly and of political participation.” And: “Today’s sentencing is a clear demonstration of the Hong Kong authorities’ use of the NSL to criminalise political dissent, a UK government statement said.” And: “UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer raised the case of Jimmy Lai, the billionaire pro-democracy activist in jail, when he met China’s leader Xi Jinping at the G20 summit on Monday. The 76-year-old is on trial for treason.”
The point being of course that “Stasi (abbreviated from Staatssicherheit) Starmer cannot easily castigate Xi Jinping on China’s human rights violations when his presides over the “Two tier justice system” that is the present policing of the UK. This where a post on “social media” featuring a cartoon – that is very mild when compared to the outrageously defamatory publications made by the pamphleteers in the 18th Century – can land the publisher in prison!
True, there is a dramatic difference in scale and severity the the principal of restricting the freedom of expression still applies.
The FACT of the matter is this: Freedom of expression is ONLY maintained if those who express beliefs and opinions that others find extremely offensive are not persecuted. I am old enough to remember a certain Mrs Mary Whitehouse and her “National Viewers’ and Listeners’ Association” who would have wished for the actions taken against those recent “social media offenders” had been applied to those putting on musicals like “Hair” and those making films such as the “Life of Brian.”