Oiy. New "Draconian" Media Law

No, not in Israel where "democracy is under assault" as Israel's Leftist forces and even Hillary Clinton would have you believe.

In Brazil, maybe?

You decide:-

Brazilian Senate approves bill that would require journalists to have a degree in journalism

After arguments from the National Federation of Journalists (Fenaj in Portuguese) and similar journalist groups, senators approved a bill to amend the Constitution that requires practicing journalists to have an advanced degree on Nov. 30, reported G1. The degree requirement was defeated by the Supreme Federal Court in June 2009. Despite Minister Gilmar Mendes' statement that any attempt to oblige degree requirements to practice journalism would be declared unconstitutional, the bill returned to the Brazilian Congress and easily passed the Brazilian House of Deputies and, now, the Senate. Fenaj President Celso Schroder was pleased by the vote. "This represented the Senate's desire to correct an historic error by the Court against the professional characterization of journalists," he said in a public statement on the group's website. The amendment still needs to pass a second plenary session in the Senate and return to the Chamber of Deputies...

Groups like the Inter American Press Association and the Brazilian Association of Journalists see the return of degree requirements as an attack on freedom of expression and free speech guaranteed by the Federal Constitution.

Imagine that, legislating academic standards.

What were they thinking? That a journalist needs be trained, educated, sensitized? Have a broad, liberal arts background?Just because his reporting could, perhaps, defame an individual, libel him? Could bring down a government? Couild mislead you about economic issues?

Who do those legislators think they are?


Well, here's one, MK Tzipi Hotoveli of the Likud:-

...The fourth branch of government – the media – rushed to divide legislators into sons of light and sons of darkness, and to label each bill with a derogatory nickname reflecting its own views. Thus, the proposed amendment to the NGO law [which aims to limit funding to nongovernmental organizations] became the "law to dry up the left-wing NGOs," while the proposed amendment to the libel law became the "mouth-shutting law."

In this manner the media prevented any substantive discussion of these bills...Opposition leader Tzipi Livni went a step further and declared that Israel had swapped roles with Egypt – with Egypt moving toward democracy and Israel turning into a totalitarian regime.

More recently, the top echelon of the judiciary branch also joined this incitement campaign. First the state prosecutor said he would "hunt down" anyone who threatened the courts, then Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch gave an unprecedented speech criticizing both the executive and the legislative branches of government.

...This is not a case of the court overturning another law, this is a case of the court blocking public discourse. The judicial system has carried out a targeted assassination of any proposal it does not agree with...Criticizing and even defaming MKs, and particularly ministers...wild and dangerous incitement – no less dangerous than the legislation she is criticizing.

Seconds before fair and balanced discourse takes its leave of Israel forever, Israeli democracy must stand strong against the attack. In a democracy, one must always remember that it is not only the minority that has the right to voice its views, the majority is also allowed to weigh in on whether a bill is worthy or not.

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