| # | Name | Comments |
|---|
| 451 | Anonymous | |
| 452 | Gareth George Johnson | Protect freedom of speech and abolish religious privelidge - equality for all! |
| 453 | Kenneth Crook | How completely ridiculous and cowardly. How can somebody with irrational beliefs need such protection? We are living in the 21st century aren't we? I can't even begin to imagine what kind of people run this paper. |
| 454 | Carrie | |
| 455 | James Tilley | |
| 456 | chris lamb | Stop pandering to ignorant biggots and put the article back |
| 457 | Julian Bennett | I entirely agree that this sort of censorship is unacceptable in a liberal democracy and the Echo needs to do some serious reconsidering. |
| 458 | Philip Collins | These people are dangerous and are doing religion no good what so ever. |
| 459 | Howard Thomas | The Western Mail should not try and protect superstitious beliefs - they should try and promote the pursuit of explanations and truths backed by evidence.
Are they going to start apologising to people who claim they are Jedi Knights for articles that ridicule Star Wars films? |
| 460 | Lance Witheridge | |
| 461 | Ray Thomas | |
| 462 | Ian Caldwell | in a democracy an individual has the right to criticize irrationality. the Echo should reinstate the writer and not Choctaw to religious bigots. |
| 463 | Ivan Bailey | The values of the Enlightenment are under attack - we get a backbone or we go back to the Dark Ages. Stephen Fry puts it best:
"I am a lover of truth, a worshipper of freedom, a celebrant at the altar of language and purity and tolerance. That is my religion, and every day I am sorely, grossly, heinously and deeply offended, wounded, mortified and injured by a thousand different blasphemies against it. When the fundamental canons of truth, honesty, compassion and decency are hourly assaulted by fatuous bishops, pompous, illiberal and ignorant priests, politicians and prelates, sanctimonious censors, self-appointed moralists and busy-bodies, what recourse of ancient laws have I? None whatever. Nor would I ask for any. For unlike these blistering imbeciles my belief in my religion is strong and I know that lies will always fail and indecency and intolerance will always perish."
Stephen Fry |
| 464 | Ivan Bailey | The values of the Enlightenment are under attack - we get a backbone or we go back to the Dark Ages. Stephen Fry puts it best:
"I am a lover of truth, a worshipper of freedom, a celebrant at the altar of language and purity and tolerance. That is my religion, and every day I am sorely, grossly, heinously and deeply offended, wounded, mortified and injured by a thousand different blasphemies against it. When the fundamental canons of truth, honesty, compassion and decency are hourly assaulted by fatuous bishops, pompous, illiberal and ignorant priests, politicians and prelates, sanctimonious censors, self-appointed moralists and busy-bodies, what recourse of ancient laws have I? None whatever. Nor would I ask for any. For unlike these blistering imbeciles my belief in my religion is strong and I know that lies will always fail and indecency and intolerance will always perish." |
| 465 | Mike Isherwood | |
| 466 | Peter McKenna | If they can't retract this preposterous apology, then a further apology is in order - for the offence caused to a number of humanists and atheists. |
| 467 | John Foley | |
| 468 | Rebecca Woods | |
| 469 | John Coss | |
| 470 | Michael Talbot | |
| 471 | Bill Dawson | Call yourselves journalists? |
| 472 | Ian Abbott | Complying with demands to remove an article simply because one particular mindset deemed it to be offensive (to them); then compounding that intellectual cowardice by published an apology is nothing short of allowing those who bleated loudest about losing it, to retain the recently abolished Blasphemy Laws.
Surely the most basic tenet of preserving a free press is that it remains free from censorship; and kowtowing to demands for censorship by an unelected, unrepresentative, unsavoury, small-minded sect is the worst possible censorship imaginable.
The South Wales Echo should be ashamed to call itself a newspaper. |
| 473 | Edward Turner | I am a secular humanist and I find the response of the Christians to Dan O' Neil's article deeply offensive.
Just how literally do they take the bible? Do they sell their daughters into slavery? (Exodus 21:7) Do they kill their children they are disobedient? (Deuteronomy 21:18-21) Do they eat shrimp?! (Leviticus 11:9-12) How do they choose which parts of the bible to follow?
I resent the way religious piety and self-righteousness is used as a cover for this sort of asinine bigotry. The South Wales Echo should stand by the article and Mr O' Neil and withdraw it's apology and re-print the article. |
| 474 | Allan Muir | I wonder what coherent reasons, if any, this supine editor offered to justify his/her apology and action. Just that of having caused offence? Great! Can I look forward to a press which no longer offends me. |
| 475 | Sarah Wood | |
| 476 | Eric Hutchinson | In the same way; if he had wanted us to be covered all over he would have given us hair all over. |
| 477 | E Fulton | |
| 478 | sue woolf | excellent article raising current and important points. please support the freedopm of free speech and do not bow to the pressure of a few fanatically bullies insecure in their faith. |
| 479 | Terry Dell | |
| 480 | Har Davids | Shame on the SWE!! Religion is joke at best, and should be treated as such. |
| 481 | Rudolph Basson | |
| 482 | ivan | Don't be silly,never ever apologize for wanting to know the "truth" and please for goodness sake PLEASE retract the apology. |
| 483 | roy driscoll | Yet again the media show itself to be totally devoid of any spirit when religion comes calling. |
| 484 | Anonymous | |
| 485 | Reg Le Sueur | What on earth is the South Wales Echo playing at? Not only has the Blasphemy law been abolished recently,- but why do they have to cave in to any fanatic with "God" on his lips? I thoght those days were past. Please apologise for your apology, so that freespeech may avoid extinction in this country at least. |
| 486 | natalie seeve | please be brave enough to defend freedom of thought and ideas against religious extremism |
| 487 | natalie seeve | please be brave enough to defend freedom of thought and ideas against religious extremism |
| 488 | MIKE MARKEY | |
| 489 | Shelly Anderson | |
| 490 | Richard Jacques | "If God considers gays an abomination why did he create them?" This is an important, serious and highly moral question, which I myself have asked in exactly those terms, and which Christianity must seriously answer. |
| 491 | Paul Jones | |
| 492 | patrick martin | retract the apology! |
| 493 | Ronald Pogue | |
| 494 | Dr. Mike Homfray | |
| 495 | Roger Leese | |
| 496 | Mark Williams |
| 497 | Jason Dowd | Freedom of speech must remain free. |
| 498 | Anonymous | |
| 499 | Chris Oldman | What will you do when the nutters you embolden move from demanding what you are not to print to what you are to print? |
| 500 | TREFOR | Quite right, these people who preach, chritian bigotry, are no better than Jehad Fundimentalists. Preaching thier hatred and venum in the name of God. |