Friday, 29 April 2011

How does this equate with the principles of freedom and democracy?

An extremely disturbing article appears in the Daily Telegraph, one which reports that Broadband providers have voiced alarm over an EU proposal to create a “Great Firewall of Europe” by blocking “illicit” web material at the borders of the bloc.

If enacted this proposal would be censorship, no more no less. What exactly is "illicit" web material and who makes the decision? Taken to the logical conclusion illicit material could comprise a newspaper article or a private blog expressing dissent on any action by the European Commission or the European Union itself.

It is a draconian proposal and one inherent within any totalitarian state whereby the individual freedoms allowed are those dictated by the state.  If the people of any nation or state have not agreed, by the normal democratic means of voting, for a proposed course of action it is hypocritical for that state or nation to proclaim its main principles are based on freedom and democracy.

For hundreds of years the United Kingdom has fought for those same principles, ie freedom and democracy. Courtesy of our venal, traitorous, unprincipled politicians it is now obvious that those hundreds of years count for nothing.

On a personal level I have but one hope and that is that I live long enough to spit on those politicans and their  political graves!

6 comments:

Woodsy42 said...

I doubt it is political censorship driven at the moment. I suspect 'illicit' in this context is any downloads that breach copyright. That's the holy grail of the media industry and they have the money to buy such EU laws.
Of course once the provision exists it will become political because they won't be able to keep their hands off!

WitteringsfromWitney said...

I take your point W42 regarding copyright but as you intimate it won't stop there coz they want control of the people!

As far as I am concerned they won't ever get control of my mind, thoughts words or deeds. They can try.......

TomTom said...

Not only but also: the water shortage in Southern Europe has captured EU Commissioners and they now propose a Directive mandating replacement of all taps, water closets etc throughout the EU to save water.

They must legislate for the whole of the Eu even for a problem restricted to Southern Europe because the EU cannot legislate for only part of the EU.

Funnily enough National Governments can, but obviously Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal are not trusted sufficiently to act on this so Northern Europeans must be forced to replace their plumbing instead.

This lunacy is in the German Press already so by December it should have made it into the Island Newspapers published in London.

China must be salivating at the thought of being able to sell shoddy taps to Europeans forced to rip out Grohe fittings

WitteringsfromWitney said...

TT: I did post on the water problem here:

http://witteringwitney.blogspot.com/2011/04/control-creep-to-include-watering-down.html

Woodsy42 said...

"restricted to Southern Europe because the EU cannot legislate for only part of the EU."

Actually they could very easily do so if they had any intelligence and were genuinely trying to address a problem.
They could easily create a rule to ensure that water useage limits are a function of the average regional rainfall. So, live in or move to a dry area and you have the obligation to take water saving measures.
But it's not to do with sensible resource allocation is it. It has to do with authoritarian directives to make everyone spend on worthy and envionmentally approved items.

WitteringsfromWitney said...

W42: you answer your wish for rules with your last paragraph! Water usage is down to nation states and not for a central claque to dictate!

Yet another reason to become a nation of self-governance!