France has fallen

PARIS (Reuters) - French former film star Brigitte Bardot went on trial on Tuesday for insulting Muslims, the fifth time she has faced the charge of "inciting racial hatred" over her controversial remarks about Islam and its followers.

Is this for real. I mean, seriously. Yes. Seriously. How could this be. A charge of inciting racial hatred for speaking her own mind about an issue that concerns us all. In 2001, an author named Michel Houellebecq was put on trial for saying Islam,"was the stupidiest religion." Put on trial for his own opinion. Is this what this world is coming to when you're own opinion, not even your actions, but your opinions can get you penalized by the government. Though this is not all towards Islamic items either. France told Yahoo it could no longer sell NAZI related merchandise on its websites to French citizens.

The French order, which was issued last year, violates Yahoo's First Amendment rights, said U.S. District Court Judge Jeremy Fogel of the Northern District of California. Fogel's ruling blocks the League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism (LICRA) and the Union of Jewish Students, which successfully sued Yahoo in France, from enforcing a judgment against the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company

I find myself asking the question, and wondering what you personally think about a religion, or selling merchandise from the past is a hate crime. If someone hates you because your black, Jewish, or gay, does it mean that one day that person will be on trial simply for their own beliefs? I thought the French were with US, with that whole freedom of expression ideal, but slowly they're fading....fading to what is the question. Is Opinion a crime though? It seems on the other side of the Atlantic it is, and I hope it stays there.