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| They don’t want to hear the truth |
London, UK
The country that gave the world free speech has decided to take it back.
That, at least, is the implication of two unsettling developments:
*The arrest of a teenager for posting a Facebook comment “All soldiers should DIE & go to HELL!” in response to the recent massacre of Afghan women and children.
* The UK government’s revoking Press TV‘s license in Britain, followed by its threat to seize their equipment and shut them down.
In the first case, the UK government has made it a criminal act to express any negative emotions about the slaughter of innocent women and children by an army of war criminals. (Reality check: According to international law, every NATO soldier in Afghanistan is guilty of aggression, the supreme war crime, and therefore ought to be tried, convicted, and hanged by the neck until dead simply for being there. As for which ones go to hell, God can sort that one out.)
In the second case, the UK government has apparently decided that it is a crime for any media outlet of any size to tell the truth on a regular basis. (Press TV offers a broad array of perspectives, including many that – unlike the systematic lies of the mainstream media – are within hailing distance of reality.)
By banning free speech and a free press, the UK government has virtually delegitimized itself and admitted that it is not a government but a criminal organization. It may soon be incumbent on the citizens of the UK to overthrow the crime lords masquerading as government officials, and restore lawful governance in the island that gave the world the Magna Carta.
UK government officials who shut down free speech and free media should DIE & go to HELL!
If I stood on the soapbox in Hyde Park and said that, would I be arrested?
And if it’s true, as Alexander Baron suggests, that “there has never been a real tradition of free speech in Britain”…well, maybe it’s time for the Brits to start the kind of revolution we had over here in the colonies. (We yanks need another one here too…but that’s another story.)
So now if I’m arrested next time I’m in London, you’ll know why.
More like TYRANNY in the UK…
A related problem, I think, is government itself, its officers and employees, have emerged as just another "noisy interest group"–in David Stockman's memorable phrase about veterans.
When government and government people have their OWN agenda, apart from anyone and everyone else, look out!
Perhaps in re-issues of your recent article, on the demise of, already tottering, free speech in Britain, you'll find an opening to refer specifically to Section 40 of Magna Carta (below). Even a footnote might help.
The Brits have a fondness for old things, which can always be appealed to; and "old," or still better, "ancient," has some resonance even here.
The charms of an Einsteinian universe, where change is the only constant, and even the landscape is unrecognizable from day to day, appear to be losing some of their hold on folks. Some, but not all–but an opening, nevertheless.
Best regards,
-B
Kevin, how do you keep up on all this and stay sane?
I think I've lost my desire to move (back) to England. Sorry, Epping and Amersham!
that's why I am writing in French so they can seize my french… but they will prbably srize my blog and sell it in the FTSE … cause no gas, no money, no work… total chaos here
A few months ago, a football player had his contract terminated for a ' homophobic ' tweet about some tv personality. Other players have been fined by the Football Association for similar things.
Today a guy was sent to jail for arond 50 days for making racist insults on Twitter about a footballer who dropped unconscious during a match. The media engaged in full bullshit sympathy mode, as if they really gave a shit about the player and the issue became a big story.
I'm not saying I support these idiots who post crap but it really is more about letting people know what the new rules are rather than anything else. Football is very popular over here and people are now becomming aware that internet comments can and will be prosecuted.
When one considers how much damage the internet has allowed people to inflict on this system of deception, it's easy to see why some are interested in finding ways to increase their level of control over it. This is just the beginning.
I too wonder how you continue to do it! You have more faith in "something" than I do.
Mary U