There is an interesting lawsuit in France by six survivors of the January attack by Islamic extremist Amedy Coulibaly at the Hyper Casher Jewish supermarket in Paris. The six people were mortified after learning that French media broadcasted their hiding location in a refrigerator while Coulibaly was looking for hostages and threatening to kill them all.
As a matter of journalistic ethics (and common sense) it was outrageous when media like the French 24-hour news channel BFMTV broadcast the location of the six people, including a three-year-old child and a one-month-old baby. I cannot imagine the level of callous and moronic judgment needed to broadcast such a fact when the gunman could have been listening.
However, there remains the question of whether there is a viable claim when in fact that six were not discovered. This lawsuit is the result of French laws allowing charges for endangering the lives of others by deliberately ignoring security protocols. It carries a maximum penalty of a year in prison and 15,000-euro ($16,300) fine.
I cannot speak to the French law but in the United States, the plaintiffs would face serious challenges. First, they were not made aware of the betrayal of their location until after the event — undermining claims of emotional distress. Moreover, the emotional injuries from the encounter were due to the actions of a murderous fanatic, not the media.
In the end, I would be highly uncomfortable with a ruling against the media even though I find the actions of these journalists to reprehensible and thoughtless. Indeed, I would support the firing of those responsible for these broadcasts. Yet, the notion of liability for reporting public facts is a dangerous rollback on press freedom, particularly in France which has led Europe in attacks on both free speech and free press.
My memory is quite good, thank you, isaac.
Guess what I remember? I remember Mr. Peace Train being placed on a no-fly list due to his contact with known terrorist groups. What I also remember is Mr. Cat’s in the Cradle supporting, in no uncertain terms, the fatwa, demanding the death of Salaman Rushdie, for daring to insult Islam.
Yeah, some of us have a fantastic memory. You are right. His words are timeless, especially when Mr. Stevens stated that he only wished that the rally, which burned Salaman Rushdie, in effigy, should have, instead, burned the real thing.
How ironic that you post a song of his on a thread discussing Islamic terror.
He is a terrorist. If he gave money to Hamas, he is tied to terror
Bam Bam
I still understand that his words are timeless. Irrespective of your memory.
bam bam
I guess forgetting is not exclusive, nor using the brain that some god gave us.
Nice song.
I remember when he was Cat Stevens.
I guess that the Muslim terrorists, who set out to kill as many innocents as they could, at a Jewish deli, forgot to get on the peace train.
Matt – using your logic I think he would not be caught. 😉
bam, Same to you. I grew up w/ many Polish friends. While Easter is a big Holiday for all Christians, it’s REALLY big w/ Pollacks. We would visit friends after sunrise Mass. The ritual was they would give up booze for Lent. Well, Lent is over Easter morning. They would be shitfaced eating a great Polish breakfast. Vodka, kielbasa, pierogi, and many more Polish delicacies.
Karen S, by contact I don’t mean physical contact. Rather there has to be evidence that aid was provided in some way. It is my understanding that the information they have so far indicates that the perpetrators were listening to other media outlets, but not the ones in question. Therefore, the media outlets did not provide assistance to the perpetrators at any time.
I am curious as to the text of the french law being cited, though.
Nick
It must be the masculine font that I’ve been using. Need to remind myself to change that.
BTW, I have never heard anyone say that I would make a helluva dude, but I have heard that I make one helluva woman. Lol! Sorry, I couldn’t resist. 🙂
Best wishes to you and to everyone else for a happy and healthy Easter and/or Passover, whichever one of those people on here celebrate.
Richard:
“how do you establish all the elements of such charges where there is no point of contact between the media outlet and the perpetrator. There is no reason to believe the perpetrators were listening to the reports at issue and so no evidence that the media outlets provided any information or other assistance to the perpetrators.”
Isn’t anything broadcast on the air considered public knowledge? Wouldn’t there be an expectation of a high risk that the perpetrators would be listening to a radio, TV, or streaming news to monitor their situation? Wouldn’t a loudspeaker, for instance, be considered a point of contact even if the speaker and listener never came face to face?
I support free speech, but broadcasting troop positions to the enemy is also not allowed. There was that whole scandal involving Geraldo Rivera. Although as I recall, he claimed he did not give away any exact position, but just a general area with the approval of the CO where he was embedded. I don’t know how that bruhaha turned out, but I recall a similar debate on free speech. I support free speech even when I disagree with the message. But giving positions of people away as targets to the enemy does not appear to be protected under free speech. I am curious how our laws would address such a circumstance here.
@NickS
Oh, I love his Droll Stories. I remember reading about the spinster “reanimating” the hanged man, but I could not find it again until today. It was buried in King Louis XI’s Merrie Jest. I am tempted to cut and paste it here, but it is 5 pages long, and wouldn’t be right. As far as that song, it is extremely beautiful, but jiminy crickets it is no where on the web, which is just weird. I may upload it to my blog, or youtube because it is a shame no one can hear it. I snuck the title of Proust into my Irish Poem, “Remembrance of Things Pasta” but I have never set aside time to read it. I may when I grow up.
Anyway, here is you and bams a fantastic French song. This movie was fantastic! I have the DVD:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQj3DHSd70k
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Rcocean, You are wise in that observation. I worked @ the Jersey shore 2 summers in college. Tourists can be real pains in the ass, particularly when it rains during their vacation.
LOL, bam bam. Well, you would make a helluva dude. You write like a man. NTTAWWT.
Nick
You are something, but, truth be told, I’m a woman. Well, at least I was this morning, when I left the house. It’s been a long day. 🙂
It’s ok, you can still call me bam. No need for Ms. bam. 🙂
I cut Parisians some slack at least the ones near the tourist areas. They get inundated with millions of tourists from all over the world. Must be annoying if you’re not making money off them.
The French fought hard in 1940, losing 60,000 killed in 6 weeks. The only reason the USSR survived in 1941 is the Soviets could lose Millions of men and get pushed back 300-500 miles on an 800 mile front and still survive. The French didn’t have that margin of error. From the French border to Paris is less than 150 miles.
Squeeky, I had a professor from France in college. She loved Balzac and Proust and we studied them extensively. Brilliant writers.
bam, I do not hate all things French. I actually love their cheese, bread, pastries, wine, and their peasant and country food. I took 4 years of French in HS and 4 semesters in college, 2 being French literature. I take every opportunity to express my disdain for French Canadians. We went to Europe a year ago and I was looking forward to spending a couple days in Nice/Monaco. But alas, we fell in love w/ Rapallo and spent 2 extra days in that beautiful Italian town. We loved it so much I ate a nights hotel fare in Nice when we cancelled. I have nieces who have lived in France for school and are fluent. They always separate Parisians from other French people, rejecting the pompous Parisians. I trust their judgment. Finally, I love your candor. You are an honest, straightforward, no flies on him kinda guy. A man’s man.
Squeeky
Studying French can be somewhat addictive, much like their music, cheese, literature, fashion and men. LOL! Well, maybe not exactly in that order.
I’m not sure whether one of these exists in your city or not, but check to see if there is a L’Alliance Francaise near you. You may enjoy attending one of the functions.