Blog Off! We won’t be silenced.

I’m not buying, for one second, the idea that Hacked Off had nothing to do with the regulation of bloggers. Like others, Too lib·er·al [adj.] has no interest in signing up to state laws against what we can or cannot publish, with punishing consequences if someone does not like our opinion.

Newstatesmen, Private Eye, The Spectator and The Economists have all declined to join the state sectioned press board and, it seems, several newspapers will join the boycott, too. This is the only way we can defeat censorship and continue to maintain freedom of speech and expression.

I’d rather go to jail than turn myself into a state puppet.

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At 2am this morning, party leaders decided to regulate me

 

Well, I did warn you.

Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Tumblr, WordPress and blogger are all covered. If you publish in the UK, off and online, then Leveson will be watching.

Hat tip to dropsafe

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300 Years of Press Freedom. Dead

When all parties agree on something it is never a good sign. The new Independent Press Regulator will not be underpin by law and the House of Lords will pass an amendment to ensure it can never be altered or watered down by Parliament. Only a 2/3 Majority from both Houses (I believe) can change the Royal Charter. Confused?

In a dangerous scenario, the Royal Charter will be enshrined in law but the Regulator will be free. Yet, a future super majority of MP’s can increase the powers or remit; so it is not necessarily independent. The compromise deal is a much, much worse deal for the public and the press.  Whatever you think of certain newspapers and media organisations, the press is there to regulate the state. Do you honestly think MP’s expenses or Wikileaks would’ve appeared in the British press, if The Telegraph and Guardian were regulated, risked £1 million fines and certain sources prohibited?

And what about local media? This “deal” has the potential to destroy the regional and local papers. Only powerful organisations like Sky and the BBC will be able to sufficiently operate at a local level. How does that ensure a free press for the counties? There will be little or no competition.

For bloggers, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Google+ users: you’re covered by the Independent Regulator, too. Be warned.

I shall end with this tweet I posted this morning, in reply to those celebrating the possibility of certain organisations (which they dislike) facing state regulation…

To those who cheer for a press regulated by the state, there will be no one to defend us when the state finally turns on the people—
Daniel Furr (@DanielFurrUK) March 18, 2013

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Does Lord Ahmed know his party leader is Jewish?

The Jews, “who own newspapers and TV channels”, are to blame for influencing the decision to send Lord Ahmed to jail. Not the fact he hit and killed someone, but a “Jewish conspiracy”. For reasons unknown to a sane mind, Ahmed thinks the Jew’s are to responsible for his brief incarceration.

The above man, is of course, the leader of his party Ed Miliband. He is Jewish and the “Jewish conspiracy” propaganda was used to persecute his family during the Second World War. Joseph Goebbels spread false teachings of the Jew’s being the “puppet master” of the courts, business, media and every aspect of civil society. His father, Ralph Miliband, fled to England whilst his mother spent the war hiding in the basement of a Catholic family.

Somehow I doubt our dear friend Ed will be very impressed with these remarks. Or Lord Ahmed has the audacity to make these extraordinary accusations in the presence of the Labour leader. May be this hideous  situation will make some on the fringes of the Labour movement actually realise their political party is led by a Jew.

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Jimmy Savile: BBC censors Jeremy Paxman Pollard transcript

 

Someone's been busy with the black pen: Jeremy Paxman Pollard transcript #bbc http://t.co/2sIs6g0ZnA—
Kate Day (@kate_day) February 22, 2013

And, to make matters worse, the Director General of the BBC is only giving one interview – and that’s to the BBC. No other broadcaster is allowed to question the Pollard Report and the BBC’s inquiry into Newsnight’s pulled Jimmy Savile investgation. The BBC is keeping it all in house.

Disgraceful.

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Mid Staffs and the curious media silence

Social Media is quite a buzz with the scandal at Mid Staffordshire hospital. The Telegraph make a rather poignant point: over a 1,000 people have died in questionable circumstances and nobody wants to ask why? It is even worse than that; nobody dares to question or attempt to hold NHS management to account.

Sadly, the Left want to blame Thatcher and the Right are pointing the figure at Andy Burnham and the Unions. Polly Toynbee would rather have us all re-watch the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics and forget about all the faults within our health system. The BBC and Skynews rarely give mention to this scandal. Which is rather strange.

But the answer to why there has been so much silence could be rather simplistic: the investigation into Mid Staffordshire and other hospitals is still on going. Another nine hospitals are being investigated for an unusually mortality rate. The true scale of the scandal is yet to be known to us. The Department of Health is probably struggling to find answers, too.

In all, until we know the true extent and all the facts, we will have to accept the media silence until Parliament brings forward its reforms. But at some point, we are going to have to discuss the lack of care in the NHS in a mature and calm manner. And the media will need to play its part.

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Thoughts on the Australian DJs and their prank

What seemed an innocent prank call, which the DJ’s thought would fail, ended up in the suicide of a nurse, who took the call. The DJ’s themselves are in hiding and receiving counseling, with fears that both of them are on the verge of a mental breakdown; Mel Greig, one of the DJ’s, is said to be suffering from nightmares and on the brink of self harming.

I have no idea what happened before and after the prank call; nor am I aware of the personal circumstances of all involved. It is not wise to speculate either, especially since two children will be spending Christmas without a mother. This is a tragic event and we will never understand why it happened; you can blame the hospital, the DJ’s, the station and the press, but that’s an easy answer to a complicated question.

Tragedy happens on a daily basis; you can never understand why. Why has a solider, a few weeks after his 18th birthday, been killed in action? why did the little girl, walking home from school, get hit by a drunk driver and what possessed a man to pick up a gun and randomly kill innocent people?; In all honesty, we will never know why. And merely speculating and trying to understand tends to lead to more hurt and emotional distress.

Sadly, we live in a imperfect world; an imperfect world where bad things do occur. People may believe the world will end on the 21st December, but, in reality it ends every second for some. Tomorrow’s tragic headline is probably happening now, as I type this blogpost, and we’ll collectively ask the same question again: why?

As for the prank call, the last thing we need is more hurt; driving the DJ’s to the brink of self harming, or even worse, is not the answer; we don’t need this tragedy to generate a body count of three.

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Lord Leveson now wants Internet privacy laws

 

Laws are needed to prevent “mob rule” on the internet and “trial by Twitter”, Lord Justice Leveson has said.

He made the comments, his first since publishing his report on UK press standards last week, at a privacy symposium in Sydney, Australia.

Lord Justice Leveson told the meeting new laws would protect privacy and freedom of expression on the internet.

 

Recommending laws, for the Internet, is always a difficult task to advocate. Opponents, including the likes of Wikipedia and Google, will see this as a direct attack on freedom of speech – even though Lord Leveson wishes to preserve and maintain it within new laws.

He is right, though, that it will take time to bring some civility and manners to social media; Twitter and Facebook are becoming more and more professional each month, which helps to reduce the current mob mentality that sometimes can emerge. It is worth highlighting, though, the “Internet mob” is really a tiny percentage of the online population; not everyone is engaged in gossiping or acts of stupidity.

But in all fairness, freedom of speech protects idiots, too. Sadly, the traditional media tends to focus on the negative aspects of social media and online activities. And, in all honesty, it is very difficult to pass laws against Internet actions without international cooperation. This is what Leveson fails to understand.

In time, the Internet will address its own problems and the vast majority will be the catalyst for change; it won’t be any government or international body.

 

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Freedom is worth fighting for

I never thought I see the day, where a leader of a liberal party would endorse basic statutory regulation of the press. It is truly a sad day for liberalism. The press are far from perfect, but their freedom – especially from Parliament – is vital for a healthy democracy.

Granting Parliament the power to recognise and authorise a self-regulatory body – without constitutional protections – opens a dark road towards potential abuse and censorship. This current Parliament might believe in a independent free press, but we have no idea what the successors desire.

And this is the major worry; we cannot predict the future.

Liberalism, rightly, is about balancing freedoms – but you don’t do it by undermining others.

I joined the Liberal Democrats to actively defend freedom, democracy and liberty; not undermine the freedom of the press. You’re entitled to disagree with my opinion, but I stand by my position.

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Leveson: UK needs a US style ‘First Amendment’

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

His Lordships recommendation is easier said than done; Britain has struggled to write a constitution and we currently enjoy a very complex, uncoded and confusing set of constitutional laws. In order to enshrine freedom of speech and the press, which Leveson recommends in his report, it would require an additional constitutional act.

Parliament, and governments, dislike adding more and more constitutional acts; in fact, since 2007, Parliament has even struggled to agree on creating a modern Bill of Rights (which would be the nearest thing to a UK Constitution). The Prime Minister would like one, however, his Deputy objects to it replacing the Human Rights Act.

And, for the record, writing a single constitutional document – to include articles dating back from the Magna Carta – would take time. Took the United States nearly 15 years to write, agree and ratify one. There is no question the document would have to go to a public referendum, too.

In conclusion, Leveson is right: we need to a UK First Amendment, but don’t bank on Parliament creating one.

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