Censorship and Civility
It will come as no surprise that Guido has no intention of abiding by any Code of Conduct as advocated by Tessa Jowell yesterday. She wants the bloggersphere (sic) to be "OurSpace", a public commons. Well here is the bad news Tessa, this online space is private property.
To be fair she was advocating self - censorship rather than state - censorship. Iran and China have blogger Codes of Conduct that are voluntary. If you insult religion or undermine the party you are volunteering to go to jail. One woman's incivility is another blogger's freedom of speech. It may not be to the taste of politicians or self-appointed arbiters of blogging protocol, but that is how it is, freedom of speech means you will find people saying disagreeable things in disagreeable ways.
To be fair she was advocating self - censorship rather than state - censorship. Iran and China have blogger Codes of Conduct that are voluntary. If you insult religion or undermine the party you are volunteering to go to jail. One woman's incivility is another blogger's freedom of speech. It may not be to the taste of politicians or self-appointed arbiters of blogging protocol, but that is how it is, freedom of speech means you will find people saying disagreeable things in disagreeable ways.Online rudeness and rowdiness are not a threat to democracy, blogging is not even a parody of democracy, it is a bit of software that allows everyone with an internet connection to publish online easily. That is it. The revolution will not be blogged, but the advance of the citizen journalist means that, hopefully "the truth" will be more likely to come out in the future. It is certainly harder for those in power to manipulate the media when the media is more horizontally dispersed because it includes thousands more independent sources. Some of which you will inevitably not like.
Today is World Press Freedom day. Bloggers are in jail around the world for insulting the state, religion and the dignity of their rulers. It can't happen here can it?
40 comments:
"To be fair" - 'self' censorship is the first step down to state control.
This is a very steep, very slippery slope, and once they have put some boundaries around what you can say or do it won't be long before 'freedom' of expression has evaporated.
This is very serious - they want to clamp down on you in the same way they were clamping down on the Mail on Sunday. And while their journalism can be tawdry, who would be able to expose the Maxwell's of the future if this turned from a code of conduct into draconian legislation.
To coin a phrase 'not one ounce' of ground should be given up to the Jowell - she will just be back next week to ask for more. The way she has put this across as being done 'by consent' is seductive - but if there is no consent she will just say it is to 'protect the vulnerable'.
This is just the first step in their game plan, and if it works, step two is not going to be far behind. 'NO NO NO' or 'NEVER NEVER NEVER' needs to be the clarion call
I just love Jowell's opening paragraph, which makes her sound a bit like a doddery old judge explaining 'pop' music to those of an older generation. You have to wonder if she's one of those who think the internet works via 'tubes'.
I would like to say that Jowell is an incompetant hypocritical fuckwit who is married to a tax avoiding fraudster , however , I shall censor myself and refrain from saying so.
Just fuck off along with the rest of your failed govt you shrivelled up old bag
Pretty much a non story, the guy that came up with the idea in the US has now dropped it as a misguided proposition...
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/05/02/jowell_blogging_debate/
Unity, as ever a premier blogger, is on the money:
http://www.ministryoftruth.org.uk/2007/05/02/a-note-of-quiet-despair/
Tessa Love, your essay on the self abuse of free speech sounds like a patronising nanny/teacher speech to 5 year olds.
The usual spurious claims, and unsupported "Daily Mail" horror stories to frighten us into submission.
Agree with Hitch on the F.O.A.D point
the hitch - don't forget, she is separated from her husband, even if they might, purely by coincidence, find themselves in the same house. So of course none of the alleged fraud or tax avoidance has anything to do with her.
I could almost believe that mortgages are too complicated for her to understand, though, mainly because she's never demonstrated that she understands anything else. Least of all the internet.
Has Mills ever used a computer or are they too complicated for her?
It's a sad reflection on our political system that stupid pernicious dictatorial non-thinkers get elected to offices of state in this country.
Re: Code of Conduct - FUCK OFF JOWELL
Good ole Tessa, can't remember how many mortgages she signed, didn't mind living with a financial crook an fraudster and enjoying the loot and lifestyle, but now she wants to limit the blogosphere; cos its unregulated and there's tooooo much freedom to mouth off and criticise cunts like her and her fucking pathetic, thieving, lying, cheating, conniving, corrupt, incompetent, inconstant, indifferent inefficient, ineffectual shiite bastards from NuLab.
Do we have enough lamp-posts to hang the lot from? well there's certainly plenty on the priority lane into town from Heathrow on the M4. I have reserved one for Tessa, just by the Heathrow spur.
She is of the flat cap generation when news was news, with big headlines in newspapers.
Woman should stick to what she is good at, which is....well have to think about that one...
Silly bitch thinks we fall for the, seperated but living under the same roof line. He's a crook and you benefited as a result.
The whole bunch should be taken to Pontefract castle for some cow horn and hot poker treatment.
Guido, you wouldn't know freedom of speech if it bit you on your pampered arse.
Governments have always been terrified of truly independent publishing - they've perfected the 'art' of nobbling mainstream media through favouritism and patronage.
The internet terrifies them, and rightly so. The role of the humble photocopier and fax machine in Poland in the late 80s and the collapse of the Soviet Union is a recent lesson in what happens when the public gets uppity.
Make no mistake, voluntary today= compulsory tomorrow, and Labour is clearly planning to stifle free-speech. Jowell is just the latest Labour figure to propose such 'modernisation'.
The wonderful, anarchic, creative world of the blogosphere shouldn't be a licence for...
Dear Tessa,
Go and find a dictionary. Look up 'anarchic'. Then look up 'licence'. Compare and Contrast. Then shut up. Forever.
love
S
World Press Freedom Day.
Alan Johnston - 52 and still counting.
Just proof of what more overt undemocratic bastards are up to.
Way to go Tessa - the first step - twat!
Dearest Tessa,
Dont be a cunt all your life Eh? Now lets try this on for size! YOU are living with a crook! YOU have benifited financialy so you are a crook! YOU work everyday with crooks who are robbing the taxpayer blind And pissing themselves laughing at the same time! Your friends and relatives have "non jobs" and QUANGO jobs just set up for your kind (slime) And now you want to silence the net just like you silenced the media? so the prols cant find out what you are upto?
By the way how are your PFI investments doing? making lots of money for you Eh?
Right on to the first comment, and to most of the others, censors have always claimed to be 'protecting the vulnerable' and to be acting on behalf of those who won't speak up for themselves. These excuses for oppression have been used throughout history. I was banned from one forum for calling the censoring administrator 'a dumb-assed Canuck', which was flattering to him, but was highly insulting to dumb-asses everywhere; these are exactly the excuses this self-appointed, holier-than-thou, Righteous Nanny used. We already can see the erosion of freedom of speech in the pandering to Islam, and in recent NuLab legislation. Now, I disagree very strongly with the views of several posters here, but Guido seems to have the courage to censor very little, and I'm very pleased to see it and to be able to attack and debate the views some hold dear. And yes, Jowell is a two-faced crook, but she's in like company. I suppose we could send the lot to the same prison if we do run out of piano wire and ammunition.
PS: Demonstrates how shit scared they are though ... don't it?
"Guido, you wouldn't know freedom of speech if it bit you on your pampered arse."
Explain?
I just nipped over to commentairiat is free and the Jowell piece has no comments attached anymore. Anybody know what the reaction from the blogosphere was? A full-scale libertarian flame-out I hope....
There was a farcical online "debate" right here:
http://politicstalk.guardian.co.uk/WebX?14@TWAT@.775e9244/0
Enjoy.
could we have a voluntary tax system too 12:23 PM, May 03, 2007:
like it!
You say ourspace and I say myspace,
You say nospace and I say morespace,
Ourspace, myspace,
Nospace, morespace,
Let's call the whole thing off.
I wouldn't trust that Jowell bint further than I could throw her and that creepy husband of hers combined. It's outrageous that she thinks any form of regulation would be a 'good thing'. She has the moral standards of a ferret.
The minute any of these 'well-meaning' politico power freaks start talking about 'our' anything at all it makes my hair stand on end. They are lethally stupid do-gooders, at best, and mendacious, devious, power-hungry megalomaniacs at worst.
This is an attempt to impose censorship by whatever means possible and should be resisted by any and all means possible. We already have draconian back door censorship via political correctness and Newspeak (or NuLabspeak). Let us have no more, and certainly no more Goddamn legislation of this type.
Jowell and her 'well intentioned' colleagues are highly dangerous. This nannying must stop and their intentions must be seen for precisely what they are, a naked attempt to control.
Tessa, if you're passing through and thinking of reading all these posts, I'll save you the effort, as a poor delicate wee flower like yourself might get confused by all the big words.
The summary is in the words of Henry Rollins:
Sit the Fuck Down
Shut the Fuck Up
Jowell is such an odious creature.
How DARE she begin by immediately, and in typical Sociofascist form, creating a new word - "ourspace" - defining it and boxing existing things up inside it. That word does not exist and is just an invention by these creeps to take control.
Jowell is such an utter turnip. A Blears in energy save mode.
I love the way the Guardian subtly slipped the word 'TWAT' [capital letters too !] into the URL for Nanny Jowell's 'chat' with the masses..
Could be that they are trying to tell her something...
get outta ma face 3:12 PM, May 03, 2007:
The first anonymous commentator is absolutely right, the moment we say something with which she disagrees she'll change her tune and "ourspace" will become "herspace" - the final version of the lyrics reading thus:
You say yospace and I say myspace,
You say nospace and I say mospace,
Yospace, myspace,
Nospace, mospace,
Let's call the whole thing off.
the trouble is that bloggers don't take her out to lunch and accept her version of events.
According to private office staff in one of her ministerial posts, every Thursday was marked out in the diary for lunch with a different journalist. This explained why she was described in the print media as legendary for her hard work. How civil servants laughed derisively as the unread submissions piled up...
ninnymous 4:18pm:
no i will not "shut the fuck up" (excuse my...sorry, that poster's shocking language)
In fact, I would wish to go much farther than my stated position...
In an ideal world, I would like to see the British Army adopt a code of conduct guaranteeing the civilized slaughter of civilians in Iraq (especially women and the elderly) and the civilized torture of detainees in Guantanamo Bay detention facility.
I would also be in favour of a New Labour initiative to teach today's children how to behave in a civilized fashion.
And tomorrow, she'll issue a warning about this new thing all the hep kids are using...it's called MineSpaces...
Yaz the Spaz was bleating about the internet the other day:
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown: A digital bedlam of narcissism and bullying
Child abuse, racism, violent porn and religious fanaticism grow ever more virulent on the net
http://comment.independent.co.uk/columnists_a_l/yasmin_alibhai_brown/article2496686.ece
So disagree with Yaz on race and related topics and you're next-door to a kiddie-fiddler or jihadist. But I understand her POV. It's deeply disturbing that the old media have been bypassed and people are able to see and express opinions not within the v. narrow limits set by halfwits like her.
It can happen here,especially if another labour government is voted in.
Hmm, I get the feeling the black dogs of oppression are starting to circle the blogosphere. No surprises there. Expect more weaselworded speeches from the usual suspects.
It's hard to imagine a less appropriate legacy for a 'Culture Secretary' than a string of casinos. "Whenever I hear the word culture I reach for my roulette wheel." Her massive Olympic overspend will drain 'culture' of millions for years to come. As well as being odious she is more than a little pathetic.
she is a fuckwit total and utter.
Countessa, I refer you to my previous answer
Love Ninnymous
Everyone has rules and standards, implicit or explicit, as to what kinds of comments they will allow people to attach to their privately-owned blog.
The thing is, everyone's rules and standards are different. This is as it should be, since different blogs have different goals.
Having said that, explicit standards are better than implicit ones, and consistent and transparent application of them is good too.
ninnymous 9:06pm:
Dear Madam
(obviously jealous of my position)
I do not get "confused by all the big words"...
proof:
I can handle 'corruption', can't I?
You little shit-bitch arse-faced pussy-hole.
Yours civilly
The Cuntessa
More cheek by Jowell I see. Given the remit of Mrs Mills' (the corrupt one, not the one-legged one) department, i.e. Media, Culture and Sport, will she be also drawing up a Code of Conduct for Pakistan cricket betting syndicates, such as
Thou shalt not poison and garrotte thy manager in such a public manner
Presumably her remit does not include Codes of Conduct for perjurous barristers who are able to provide an alibi for various European heads of state at a moment's notice?
Evil's excrement inside Mohammad's gullet (Mohammad prophet Allah) = Quraan.
کیر خر آغشته به سنده خوک تو کس خواهر و مادر و زن و بچه همه سیدهای اولاد پیامبر اسلام.
کیر خر تو کس ننه امام حسین و محمد رسول الله.
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