Man arrested for anti-semitizing dog

[yankeedoodle]

Wow.  Even the dogs can't know the truth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYslEzHbpus

Man arrested after teaching girlfriend's pug to perform Nazi salute
https://www.rt.com/uk/342513-dog-nazi-salute-arrested/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=aplication_chrome&utm_campaign=chrome

[yankeedoodle]

Man who made dog perform 'Nazi salutes' found guilty of hate crime
https://www.rt.com/uk/421885-nazi-salute-pug-guilty/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=aplication_chrome&utm_campaign=chrome

A man who uploaded a YouTube video of his girlfriend's dog performing "Nazi salutes" has been convicted of hate crime. Mark Meechan, 30, was found guilty of posting an "anti-Semitic and racist" video.

Meechan, of Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, uploaded a video of his girlfriend's pug, named Buddha, responding to statements including "gas the Jews" and "sieg heil." The video was viewed more than three million times after being uploaded two years ago.

Meechan, known on YouTube as 'Count Dankula', was found guilty of breaching the 2003 Communications Act but denied any wrongdoing. However, Sheriff Derek O'Carroll rejected his defense at Airdrie Sheriff Court and said: "In my view, it is a reasonable conclusion that the video is grossly offensive.

"The description of the video as humorous is no magic wand. This court has taken the freedom of expression into consideration, but the right to freedom of expression also comes with responsibility.

"The accused is quite obviously an intelligent and articulate man. The accused knew that the material was offensive and knew why it was offensive. Despite that, the accused made a video containing anti-Semitic content and he would have known it was grossly offensive to many Jewish people."

Ross Brown, defending, claimed that Meechan was merely seeking to annoy his girlfriend. He added: "I can see that the video may not be to everyone's taste. Others may be able to see the comedic or satirical element to it."

After the verdict, comedian Ricky Gervais tweeted: "If you don't believe in a person's right to say things that you might find 'grossly offensive,' then you don't believe in freedom of speech."

There is no right to freedom of speech in the UK, with laws against hate speech and libel. Despite this, the right to free speech is supported by the European Convention of Human Rights, a treaty the UK looks set to leave behind following Brexit.

Meechan's sentencing has been deferred.

[yankeedoodle]

Nazi pug case causes freedom of speech row in parliament
https://www.rt.com/uk/422127-nazi-pug-video-speech/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=aplication_chrome&utm_campaign=chrome

Freedom of speech is being eroded in the UK, according to an MP. The claim comes after a viral video of a dog doing 'Nazi salutes' led to a YouTube vlogger being convicted of hate speech.

MP Philip Davies has called for an immediate debate on the issue. He is joining the ranks of campaigners who claim the basic freedom is being eroded.

The Yorkshire MP spoke up after YouTuber Count Dankula, real name is Mark Meecham, was convicted of a hate crime for teaching his girlfriend's dog to perform a Nazi salute while he used anti-Semitic statements. In the viral video, seen three million times, the pug to reacts to Meecham's phrases such as "Sieg Heil" and "Gas the Jews."

A court found the video to be "grossly offensive." However, high-profile Britons have come out to support his right to make the film – whether or not they agree with the content.

Meecham said the video had been taken out of context and called his conviction a "huge miscarriage of justice." The YouTube star describes himself as a "professional s*** poster" and free-speech advocate.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Davies said: "We guard our freedom of speech in this House very dearly indeed... but we don't often allow our constituents the same freedoms."

Recent court cases have thrust the issue of freedom of speech into the public domain. Comedians Ricky Gervais and David Baddiel spoke out on the issue, with the former saying: "A man has been convicted in a UK court for making a joke that was deemed grossly offensive. If you don't believe in a person's right to say things you might find grossly offensive, then you don't believe in freedom of speech."

Gervais responded to the video by telling fans that people have the right to make fools of themselves, and to make light of terrible situations, using the right of free speech. He said: "Freedom of speech does not include the right to be taken seriously, listened to, or even heard. But you have the right to speak. Enjoy."

OK, one more point. Why is it funny, and not prison-causing, for Borat to think Jews shape-shift into cockroaches? It's not cos Sacha is jewish. It's cos the joke is not on Jews, but anti-Semitism, made to look idiotic and absurd. As when a pug does a Nazi salute.

Davies called for a debate, claiming that freedom of speech was "something this country has long held dear and is in danger of throwing away needlessly." Andrea Leadsom, leader of the Commons, responded: "I absolutely commend (Davies) for raising this very important issue. We do of course fully support free speech, however, there are limits to it and he will be aware there are laws around what you are allowed to say and I don't know the circumstances of his specific point, but he may well wish to seek an adjournment debate to take this up directly with ministers."

Meecham is due to be sentenced on April 23. He said: "I think it is a very, very dark day in terms of freedom of speech and freedom of expression. One of the primary things that must be considered in cases like this is context and intent, and today context and intent were completely disregarded. For the system to disregard such things means that your actions no longer matter – they decide what your context and intent is. For any comedians making jokes in Britain, I'd be very, very worried about your future because – the context and intent – apparently they don't matter anymore."

The case comes after a number of prominent far-right figures were banned from entering Britain. Vloggers Lauren Southern and Brittany Pettibone, along with Generation Identity's Martin Sellner, were barred from the UK. A protest was held in Hyde Park over their detention – with activists suggesting that they no longer had a right to free speech. Those who oppose them assert that the much of the far-right's rhetoric amounts to hate speech.

In the UK, there is no specific law which protects free speech. Laws against hate speech and defamation are in place, with the former regularly exercised against figures on the far-right and radical Muslims. The right is enshrined in the European Convention of Human Rights which the UK is set to leave following Brexit.

[yankeedoodle]

Vlogger crowdfunds £85K to appeal Nazi pug case, says he 'can't allow' anyone the same ordeal
https://www.rt.com/uk/425113-nazi-pug-count-dankula/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=aplication_chrome&utm_campaign=chrome

A YouTube comedian who was fined £800 after teaching a pug to do a Nazi salutes while he made anti-Semitic comments has racked up over £85,000 on a crowdfunding page he set up to reverse the precedent set by his conviction.

Mark Meechan – also known as Count Dankula – was fined at a Scottish court on Monday after he posted a "grossly offensive" video on YouTube of the dog responding to phrases such as "gas the Jews." He is now calling on people to fund his defense as he fears his conviction could set a precedent for courts to convict without considering relevant context.

Meechan claims the court only managed to deliver a guilty sentence after they "willingly ignored" the context of the video, which he said had twice been stated.

"This conviction will be used as an example to convict other people over the things they say and the jokes they make, it sets a standard where courts will be able to willfully ignore the context and intent of a person's words and actions in order to punish them and brand them as criminals," Meechan wrote on his GoFundMe page.

He justified the £100,000 (US$140,000) target by saying his lawyers had quoted such a figure as they want to make sure they have top representatives in order to have a higher chance of reversing the "standard that his case sets."

"I cannot allow the two years of litigation I went through and having my life put on hold, to happen to anyone else," Meechan added.

Meechan's case has sparked a mass debate on free speech, with prominent figures, including comedian Ricky Gervais and satirical journalist Jonathan Pie defending him.

Both of them watered down claims of Meechan's video being "grossly offensive" by claiming it was merely a "joke."