Parallels

Large-scale operation, it seems, rules all - if for different reasons.

From Diana West:

Last year, more than 100,000 Swiss citizens signed a petition sponsored by the Swiss People's Party (SVP) approving a national referendum on the question, yes or no, of whether the contruction of more minarets, the towering symbol of political Islam, should be banned in Switzerland. And yes, they should be banned. Minarets, indeed, mosques, are not seen by the movers and shakers of Islam as belltowers and churches are seen within Christianity. As Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said of mosque construction in Europe, "The minarest are our lances, the mosques our helmets, and the believers our army."
The Swiss People's Party wants the Swiss people to vote on this aspect of Islamization. That extremely important vote, yes or no on the ban, will finally take place on November 29.
Today, however, the Swiss federal commission against racism condemned the SVP's political poster (above), saying it could threaten public peace. (How does a drawing threaten public peace, and where have I heard this all before?) Meanwhile, the cities of Lausanne and Basel have banned the poster altogether.

Ah, but that is because of Muslim sensibilities, isn't it? Must be. However, I think one could find an interesting parrallel here in Canada, in the jaded paradise of Olympics-ready BC:

The city passed the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games bylaw in June to restrict the distribution and exhibition of unapproved advertising material and signs in any Olympic area during the Games.
It includes an exception for celebratory signs, which are defined as those that celebrate the 2010 Winter Games and create or enhance a festive environment and atmosphere.

And:

Criticizing the Olympic Games could come with a hefty price tag and even six months' jail time.
A new B.C. law is on the table that would allow police to enter homes and private properties with only 24 hours' notice to remove anti-Olympic material, and could land offenders with a maximum fine of $10,000 a day and up to six months in jail, according to the B.C. Civil Liberties Association.

The reasoning may be different, but the result is largely the same, and it's a disturbing similarity. Indeed, BC's difficulty handling the roughness of *shudder* actual freedom seems to be based in a rather callous sense of advertising and business, while the Swiss' problems actually seem to stem from a sense of religious sensibilities. Ridiculous and preposterous all the same, but I suppose it raises the question: would you rather lose your freedom over minarets or ski-jumping? The former, at least, is somewhat more glamorous.