Elif Shafak, the Turkish novelist who was arrested for "insulting Turkishness" because her novel had a character talking about the turkish slaughter of Armenians in the early part of the last century (uh-oh, now I've insulted Turkishness) has been acquitted in Turkey.
Although the concept of "insulting Turkishness" may sound funny, her trial and its implications was no laughing matter. Several Turkish writers and journalists have been charged under Article 301.
What if the U.S. adopted a law like this? I'd wager we'd have a lot fewer books about the U.S. history of slavery and a radically reduced amount of dissident political views. On the other hand, even though I'm no fan of George W. Bush, the bookstores are getting kind of overloaded with anti-Bush books. Just the other day I picked up The I Hate Bush Cookbook, The Idiot's Guide to Why George Bush Is an Idiot, and Ramona Quimby, Anti-Bush Activist.
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