Clash of cultures

I have not blogged on Justice Ginsburg's recent speech defending the use of foreign law and atttudes in interpreting the Constitution. For Ginsberg, this is just decent respect for the opinions of humankind about the "common denominators of basic fairness governing relationships between the governors and the governed."

There is the obvious problem that "basic fairness" is generally not what the Justices are called upon to discern, but let's put that aside.

Isn't the real problem that our values are not shared by much of the world?


Via The Volokh Conspiracy:

Danish paper Jyllands-Posten has broken the story of a forthcoming report by a UN functionary criticizing the Danish government for not supressing speech in the wake of Cartoon-gate. Such cartoons presumably violate the norms set by Article 20 of the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which says:

Any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence shall be prohibited by law.

So if I say something about your religion that makes you mad, I need to go to jail. I guess the next time some pro-abortion protester urges Catholics to "take your rosaries off my ovaries" or calls Jerry Falwell a hateful homophobe, we should call the UN.