Obama's decision on blasphemy very disappointing

President Obama - presumably in order to help rehabilitate the image of the United States in the Muslim world - has signed up the United States to a resolution on free speech at the UN Human Rights Council that specifically excludes 'any negative racial or religious stereotyping'.

This is most definitely NOT a good thing. The fear by many free speech advocates is that Islamic countries will use the exception given in the resolution to enact and maintain strict blasphemy laws, as well as prevent the West from using 'free speech' as a reason whenever we get into an argument with the Islamic world over some depiction or discussion of Islam. Obviously there are times when discussions about Islam can become racist or bigoted - or even violent. But these cases should not outweigh the basic and fundamental right to freedom of speech - a right so fundamental that the government should have very limited rights to regulate at all.

So, now we have an exception to freedom of speech for any racial or religious stereotyping (a phrase so unbelievably broad that anyone could be caught in it), and an effort by the UK government to repeal the 'freedom of speech' defence from hate speech laws (a law that is illiberal to start with - if someone is inciting to violence they can be charged and convicted under existing incitement legislation!). And now America, the land of the free, has backed off it's support for freedom of speech. How depressing...