The Price of Free Speech : Unaffordable?

[barkingmad]

the counselling services you so desperately need

I have them, thanks - reading your paranoid rants causes great amusement.

Many thanks for that rare compliment.

I hope that at my funeral whomsoever draws the short straw to read the tribute will say "when barking was around, there was always lotsa laughter, as much at him as with him"...

[OFSO]

Why do you assume anybody will be at your funeral, other than your goodself and presumably the vicar and gravedigger? The rest of us will have died years before from Covid vaccinations or choking on germ-laden masks, having failed to heed your excellent advice repeated ad nauseam.

[barkingmad]

Why do you assume anybody will be at your funeral, other than your goodself and presumably the vicar and gravedigger? The rest of us will have died years before from Covid vaccinations or choking on germ-laden masks, having failed to heed your excellent advice repeated ad nauseam.

'Cos THEY are out to get me, if the antics of 'white van man' recently are a clue as I peacefully cycle the local lanes looking for elderly folk over whom I can sneeze.

No vicar please, I had enough of that crap at R C boarding skule in NornIron and there will be no hole dug as I wish to be cremated IAW my catering efforts recently.

Then my legacy will provide for the hire of a light aircraft from which the ashes are to be scattered, illegally under Air Navigation Order (ANO) 2016 (as amended), in my last desperate attempt to get up the noses of an awful lot of people.

Finally I wish for my booze stash to be removed from my understairs virus refuge and to be dispensed at no cost to the assembled multitude, both of them...

[barkingmad]

One has to speculate which versions of history these “cancel culture vultures” have absorbed during their short miserable closed-circuit lives;

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2022/0 ... parations/

I thought all the inmates had escaped from the asylum so I have to assume they’ve been fully assimilated into academia…

Maybe I might qualify after all?

[Undried Plum]

[barkingmad]

Plum, many thanks for that, it brightened up my evening and restored what little faith I have in mankind (who aren't very kind at all!).

[boing]

Yes, this seems to be the most appropriate thread.
This man is quite obviously one of the most intelligent, honest, clearly spoken people in the internet. He is also a very clever tactician, I defy anyone here to try to prove him wrong.



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[Boac]

100% - someone I could not stand a while back but now watch his video blogs.

[Boac]

The removal of RT's licence to broadcast in the UK - is that a restriction on free speech? That'll be a good debate!

[barkingmad]

The removal of RT's licence to broadcast in the UK - is that a restriction on free speech? That'll be a good debate!

Their response, which I have cut ‘n pasted for those here without a crystal radio;

—-:Ofcom ‘a tool of the government,’ RT says after being suspended by UK regulator
The media watchdog ignored four years of clean record, RT’s deputy editor-in-chief pointed out after license withdrawal.

British media watchdog Ofcom informed RT on Friday that it has withdrawn its broadcasting license in the UK. The supposedly independent British media regulator has proven itself to be a tool of the government, RT deputy editor-in-chief Anna Belkina has claimed.

With its decision Ofcom “has shown the UK public, and the regulatory community internationally, that despite a well-constructed facade of independence, it is nothing more than a tool of government, bending to its media-suppressing will,” Belkina said.

“By ignoring RT's completely clean record of four consecutive years and stating purely political reasons tied directly to the situation in Ukraine and yet completely unassociated to RT’s operations, structure, management or editorial output, Ofcom has falsely judged RT to not be 'fit and proper' and in doing so robbed the UK public of access to information,” she added.

The British media regulator launched an investigation into RT UK amid a pan-European effort to stem out Russian media from the continent in the wake of Moscow’s attack against Ukraine. The broadcaster’s other branches, like RT International, as well as its French- and German-language sister channels, have been banned from broadcasting by the EU. Multiple British officials had publicly called for the silencing of the channel, branding it as Russian propaganda.

In its notice of license suspension sent to RT, Ofcom specifically mentions the “Russian Federation’s current conduct in Ukraine” as one of the reasons for gagging the channel. It is “difficult to see how a Russian state-funded news broadcaster could credibly avoid covering the events in Ukraine, or could expect to remain funded if it failed to convey the narrative that the Russian Federation seeks to impose on its own people and the rest of the world,” the regulator said.

The regulator acknowledged that it had cleared RT of wrongdoing in some of its previous investigations of alleged breaches and that since those cases, the last of which happened in 2018, “we have not had reason to investigate any of its programming, and have not found it in breach of the Code.” Nevertheless, the watchdog decided that RT’s compliance history “demonstrates that it has particular difficulty in complying with the due impartiality rules of the Code where they relate to matters of Russian foreign policy.”

Ofcom said it was particularly concerned about a new Russian law, which introduced prison terms for reporting deliberate misinformation about the Russian Armed Forces, which it believes “effectively criminalized independent journalism.”

The regulator has not concluded any of its 29 current investigations into RT launched since late February, stating instead that “the volume and potentially serious nature of the concerns raised within such a short period is deeply concerning.”

UK could ban RT to keep ‘one narrative’ – former British ambassador
Read more UK could ban RT to keep ‘one narrative’ – former British ambassador
It concluded that “it appears impossible for the licensee to comply with the Code in respect of a matter of major political importance.” The decision to ban RT was proportionate and necessary “to protect audiences” and maintain public trust in the UK’s licensing system, Ofcom said.

In February, the British government asked Ofcom to reconsider the broadcasting license of RT, accusing the company of being part of a “global disinformation campaign.” Previously, former British ambassador to Syria and Bahrain Peter Ford alleged in an interview to RT that Ofcom is not the the “real decider” of RT’s fate. According to the former diplomat, the government is only “pretending to pass the buck to Ofcom.”:—-

[Boac]

That's fine for RT - what about our champion of free speech - do you support the action?

[Boac]

Any prospect of an answer or have you moved on in your campaigns?

[Dushan]

Removal of any outlet form the airwaves is censorship of free speech. What does it achieve? When an outlet, or individual, spouts garbage and nonsense it tells the world who they are. It is up to the listener to decide what to do with it; not up to some government apparatchik, or forum headmaster.

[Boac]

Well, I was hoping for the bed-wetter to answer, but if I can understand your post, you think RT should be allowed to continue to broadcast in the UK, distributing its propaganda? Does the BW agree?

[Dushan]

Yes you understand me correctly. The TV has a "change channel" button so a viewer can decide for himself.

While I understand that BBC is similar, I have no direct knowledge of it, but our CBC is spouting government propaganda 24/7 and I excluded it from the channel lineup. I would like to have it defunded, but it isn’t going to happen so I simply don’t watch as I know what their aim is. No need to formally censor.

[Seenenough]

The removal of RT's licence to broadcast in the UK - is that a restriction on free speech? That'll be a good debate!

Free speech is what it says but the problem with free speech is that it has become fuzzied up by hate speech which is now the reason given, certainly here in the US,for censorship to be applied.The woke crowd has now determined that anything that is said in the media that they do not agree with is "Fake News" and as such should be treated as hate speech and removed.What is going on at Facebook and Twitter are perfect examples of this.

We all know that there is no such thing as free speech and journalism in oppressed countries.Anyone who protests or any journalist who expresses a view that Putin does not like, is running a great risk at the moment.

I lived in such an environment in South Africa in the 80s where one had to be very careful what you said in public about the Apartheid Government.I know several people who had unexpected visits from Security Police.Sadly now it is the same in reverse as one now has to be carful criticizing the ANC and the Communist Party cohorts, who just recently expressed support to Putin's invasion of the Ukraine.

Swearing on our forum is different as it is a rule of the forum and when it occurs maybe it would be more appropriate to xxxxxxxxx the word.

[boing]

It is difficult to justify almost any level of censorship in an educated society. Given enough freely available information and open channels of discussion the average individual is perfectly capable of determining truth from fiction and those that choose not to think are probably those who would not change their beliefs if the truth was tattooed on their forehead.

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[barkingmad]

<r><QUOTE author="Boac" post_id="329630" time="1647688656" user_id="149"><s>

</s>
Any prospect of an answer or have you moved on in your campaigns?
<e>

</e></QUOTE>

I did answer this morning, and that was NO!<br/>
<br/>
But my post mysteriously disappeared and I will not attempt to recover my elaboration on that response.<br/>
<br/>
Consider how the new Stasi-style regime which has taken over this forum may be at fault?<br/>
<br/>
Certainly the banning score, or threats of same, appear to have increased compared with the tally over the years since the forum was started.<br/>
<br/>
Regarding Plum’s “holiday”, I fail to see why he has been sent to the O-N Gulag Archipelago for whatever ‘sins’ he has allegedly committed.<br/>
<br/>
Until recently, I thought we were all mature adults here and nobody would blanch at a little coarse language, but now the newly acquired red pen, deletion of posts and ultimately exile are being wielded in liberal amounts, so Ops Normal is becoming indistinguishable from TOP from which many fled in a vain attempt to participate in a discourse more intellectual and mature.<br/>
<br/>
You two admins at the sharp end will have the actual stats, but it is my perception over the last year that the conversation and the variety and quantity of views, postings and posters has decreased noticeably.<br/>
<br/>
I would suggest that the current O-N course is on a heading for extinction and possibly a rethink as to speed and direction are overdue? <E>:-?</E> <E>:-w</E></r>

[OFSO]

One useful rule might be "Do not drink and post".

[FD2]

Do you think these two points may be related if participation has decreased bm? I think 'liberal amounts' might be over-egging the case slightly! There has been virtually no censorship for a year or more, which in my opinion has caused the decrease in participation from the more seldom heard members and actually pushed the site towards the Other Place's 'combat engagements'.

Until recently, I thought we were all mature adults here and nobody would blanch at a little coarse language, but now the newly acquired red pen, deletion of posts and ultimately exile are being wielded in liberal amounts, so Ops Normal is becoming indistinguishable from TOP from which many fled in a vain attempt to participate in a discourse more intellectual and mature.

You two admins at the sharp end will have the actual stats, but it is my perception over the last year that the conversation and the variety and quantity of views, postings and posters has decreased noticeably.

If these things can't be sorted out sensibly then the site will fold.