Wednesday, 1 December 2010

Freedom of speech

Regular readers will be aware that I have a particular obsession with freedom of speech, and I am incensed by efforts to suppress this, either by individuals or institutions. The right to freely express our opinions has just been strengthened, and quite right too.
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8 comments:

  1. ZI2 December 2010 at 01:24

    The comment must “explicitly or implicitly indicate, at least in general terms, 'the facts' on which it is based”.

    Capiche, oh most enlightened one!?!

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  2. Doctor Zorro2 December 2010 at 07:22

    You have missed the whole point of the article. The point you illustrate is exactly the point of law which has just been consigned to the dustbin. As of yesterday it no longer applies.
    Why do you regard freedom of expression as such a threat?

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  3. Anonymous2 December 2010 at 09:03

    Is there a better advocate for freedom of speech than Christopher Hitchens (present company excluded)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3Hg-Y7MugU

    the a&e charge nurse

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  4. ZI2 December 2010 at 09:35

    Maybe you should read DCCH's comment on that article in your link!

    "This was a very technical pre-trial decision by the Supreme Court which clarified the basis on which someone could rely on a defence of fair comment in a defamation case. The facts barely support the headline of the article and certainly don't justify comments suggesting that the law on libel has been shown the door ...

    The bottom line is that no-one - whether newspaper magnate, author, village gossip, twitterer or blogger - may print, speak or post damaging untruths about other people. This Supreme Court decision curtails a rarely used gambit by the appellant and, in giving an almost imperceptible tweak to the law, will make little day-to-day difference to anything."

    ... and 'you', a threat?! What? To Islam? Or to Christianity? All other religions too?

    Wow! That head! :-D

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  5. Anonymous2 December 2010 at 10:14

    ZI - you might have a better appreciation of how these developments will actually pan out in court (in terms of what people can and cannot say to each other in public forums) but even if these legal developments only represent a minute step toward greater freedom of expression then this is to be welcomed, surely?

    I share Dr Zorro's view that freedom of expression is a principle to be cherished, especially since thwarting it has has led to a small industry that is hardly slow to cash in (financially) when certain points of view are aired.

    What an embarrassing state of affairs when we are imprisoning historians for refusing to accept a particular version of recent history.
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/4733820.stm

    Men like Irving may epitomise all that we find reprehensible but he is still entitled to his say no matter how crazy he is - not least because the power of one person's words will only ever amount to anything if enough people share the same point of view.
    This type of barometer is actually for the public good!!

    the a&e charge nurse

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  6. Doctor Zorro2 December 2010 at 10:39

    ZI
    "... and 'you', a threat?! What? To Islam? Or to Christianity? All other religions too? "

    I have said no such thing, and I don't begin to understand what point you are trying to make here.

    Still I have noticed all the best blogs have at least one troll, Pharyngula for example has many, so I suppose I should be gratified that I now have one too.

    Not that I begin to compare myself to Myers.

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  7. ZI2 December 2010 at 16:46

    "I share Dr Zorro's view that freedom of expression is a principle to be cherished"

    Of course! And I am all for that too. Only there is nothing absolute in life. Indeed not any freedom unless coupled with responsibility. The latest Wikileaks releases of 'confidential' material is an example of freedom without thought. They too were done under that Free speech banner, but could've caused chaos on a global scale that would've perhaps even caused lots of killings and heartache everywhere, or damage to the trust between alies, or enimies [3rd world trust in America as some are of the view the leaks were delibrate, for example], hence they were an irresponsible and a very foolish act by that man. They may still cause harm too, who knows!

    There is common decency too, you don't just go and defame people you know nothing about, or whole beliefs 'catholic or otherwise' just because of the ill behaviour of few priests or because you simply don't like it, then just say it's free speech! One needs to consider others too sometimes, it's called politeness and courtsey, or we'd all be behaving like brainless animals in a jungle!

    As the wise saying goes “Power [Free speech is one] without responsibility is the prerogative of the harlot throughout the ages”


    Thank you, I will leave it at that

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  8. Anonymous2 December 2010 at 17:14

    "They too were done under that Free speech banner, but could've caused chaos on a global scale that would've perhaps even caused lots of killings and heartache everywhere, or damage to the trust between allies, or enemies" - I simply do not accept such rationalisations as a good enough reason to argue against the likes of WikiLeaks.

    All of the conditions that you describe (global chaos, killing, heartache, loss of trust, etc) - all long predate Wiki.
    For far too long we have trusted leaders (such as Blair) when the record shows time and time again that a healthy skepticism would have been far more appropriate - for example, remember all that tosh about WMDs - the 45 minute strike capability, etc?

    In my opinion political factions might develop a more creative approach to solving various conflicts if there was MORE rather than less openness.

    If we look back at the 'cold war' for example, we can see that paranoia was driven by secrecy, and all for what, eh - for the Russians to be hosting the 2018 world cup (sobs silently)

    the a&e charge nurse

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