Fuck Charlie Hebdo

Charlie Hebdo wasn't doing satire but was overtly provoking Muslims by making images which are profane to Muslims.  That doesn't warrant getting shot for it but it's unclear why anyone was surprised when it happened.

Jan Böhmermann has been appearing on ZDF, one of the public broadcast TV networks in Germany, and he is risen to be the most well-known satirist in the country.  He is also in the most trouble, this time with Erdogan, possibly one of the most reviled politicians on the planet just now due to his abuses of Kurds, complicity with ISIS, illegal trading in petroleum products, etc.  (Los Angeles Times: German comedian may be prosecuted for obscene poem about Turkish president)

Do you hear anyone calling out Je suis Jan Böhmermann?

Right.  Neither do I.

Fuck Charlie Hebdo as nothing more than a tool of the state and they show no loyalty to the cause of free speech unless it affects them.


It looks like there is some potential Germany will even give up Böhmermann because they have a law which specifically forbids insulting foreign leaders.  Apparently it's rarely prosecuted and it's not likely this would stand any serious legal review anyway.  The law is vulnerable due to selective prosecution and due to suppression of free speech.


From the current perspective, it appears very much the promotion of the Charlie Hebdo attack served the purpose of the state in terms of motivating attacks against ISIS.  It therefore received immense support and publicity.

The state (i.e. all of them) has been disgracefully pussy in dealing with Erdogan, even Putin didn't give him much trouble for shooting down one of his aircraft.


He had a wee bit of trouble with Varoufakis of Greece as well.

"Every time he smiles an angel dies" - Böhmermann

Apparently Varoufakis found it funny after a while and he and Böhmermann are friends now.  So the final score is Varoufakis is the cool guy and Erdogan is still a goatfucker.

Note:  the significance of 'goatfucker' is it doesn't mean much to anyone else except as an offensive reference to bestiality but it has a high sensitivity with Turks and thus the reason to use it.

Texans are often called 'goatropers' but I have never seen a goat down here.  They must be around somewhere but they're well-hidden.


The secondary mission here is extolling the high value of the German public TV stations.  In America, the GOP thinking is America made up jazz so that's enough culture forever but it's an ongoing thing elsewhere and, according to Germans, the stations are quite good with little of the banal uniformity of commercial channels and their endless parades of cop shows or game shows.

Cat and I talked about this for some while since this does not exist in the U.S. because, all together now, public television is a Communist plot and we can't afford it.

(Ed:  is there anything America can afford?)

Sure.  Aircraft carriers, lots of them.

One of the most significant aspects of this is ZDF is one of the public channels and yet it has stood forthrightly in support of Böhmermann.  In other words, the state is providing the Geld for the stations but is not determining editorial content and that's specific since the flare with Erdogan is not the first time he has embarrassed the state.

Why doesn't America have this kind of freedom?

Why, indeed.