Forums › Life › Politics, Media & Current Events › Freedom of speech ????????
After some American put a video clip on youtube showing the King of Thailand in a bad light (bad light that’s what the papers are saying) youtube has been blocked in Thailand.
There are also rumors about the goverment session hacking (they can see everything I’m doing on the internet)
Now this ask’s questions about free speach and how far it goes ?
I know that sentence condridicts it’s self but you see what I’m getting at.
Here’s the info Via google
http://www.google.co.th/search?hl=th&q=youtube+blocked+in+Thailand&meta=
Here is the question. Does freedom of speech mean we should shut our mouths when it comes to certain topics ?
These days free speech on the internet only goes as far as the monitoring software, firewalls and the worlds security services and large corporates will let it.
People had a chance to self-regulate ourselves 15 years ago when the Internet first became public, they pissed it up the wall and now its gone.
People had a chance to self-regulate ourselves 15 years ago when the Internet first became public, they pissed it up the wall and now its gone.
you sound liek we were all naughty and got caught out, not had our rights taken away by media conglomerates. as if we deserve to have our freedoms stifled just because we have actually enbraced the freedom of the internet. do you think it would be better if the freedom had come and gone and we had never used it?
your ideas about the powers that be punishing the people fairly never fail to shock me. ravers are attacked by police cos we “messed it all up”, drugs arent legaised because we had freedom and abused it, and now justifying state propeganda because we pissed our chance at havuing self-imposed rules instead of externally enforced ones? what the actual fuck?
nope, because what I am saying is “bad news” you are unfortunately deciding to attack the messenger. Its a shame this freedom was lost and I don’t like it any more than you do but its how history has turned out.
We had the chance (to be fair we still have if people didn’t dumb themselves down) to self-regulate ourselves and also to create our own parts of the Internet, low cost community networks and media outlets, (I think there is one in Manchester).
However, many people worldwide have chosen to use stuff like murdochspace or big corporate ISPs because its “quicker and easier”, and let the corporates take over.
But anyone can do most of what myspace provides for themselves and with less overall control if between a group of friends they set up a streaming media server and a bit of webspace and hosting company and put a dynamic content management database on it.
In fact many did that 5-10 years ago – this is how PV, SJ and DSI work , its till how Level 1 and the other net radio stations works today. It can still be done the old “Web 1.0” way but too many people don’t want to put the work in to do their own websites or local social networks as its “complicated/uncool/nerdy” to deal with the technology, but people are happy to get a second rate profile page with a big advert stuck up the top.
People aren’t “naughty”, but stupid, greedy and selfish.
Many only want free speech to go as far as things they agree with (and often use their freedom to bully others) – also they see a free lunch on the table from corporates such as myspace, bebo et al. and don’t realise its contaminated.
I’m not justifying it, nor saying its totally fair.
But its what those with power will always do, particularly when we have a social structure which favours puritans and has done so for 400 years, progressives destroy their own power by arguing amongst themselves, and hedonists destroy themselves and pass the pain onto others by overdoing their “enjoyment” (such as a lot of young drug users end up with either their families or the NHS picking up the pieces after them).
Without regulation, the net filled up with extreme content that glorifies violence, misogyny and gives a platform for hate speech and even criminally violent activity – this caused a backlash even from progressives who normally would have supported free speech.
I know its a climbdown but it does seem that without some form of regulation the net (at least in Western countries) merely becomes the ultimate toy for “angry young men” rather than an inclusive community for all. This is sadly being proven by hard experiences (such as the Kathy Sierra incident).
Also, youtube is easily censored because people put all their eggs in one basket, it all comes from one server farm. Same with myspace, and a other “social networking sites”. The sites own “security czars” work with cops/feds of various nations and actually accept any sovereign state’s right to censor content, but will try and negotiate a business deal providing “friendlier” content to that state.
However, 5-10 years ago people did their own websites hosted from a myriad of small and large ISPS dotted around the world, which is (still) a lot harder to lock down.
The “powers that be”, whether we like them or not, are intelligent, ruthless people. They aren’t going to just give up that power, which they got from finding and exploiting others weaknesses.
If people dumb themselves down and slip up just once they will be fucked over, and its a lot harder to climb back from that.
Incidentally I’m sure the Thai people, if they really wanted to, could circulate this “highly subversive” video of the King on other servers or even via DVDs sold in markets (if its anything like any other SE Asian nation, I suspect sales of DVDs on street markets aren’t subject to much scrutiny :laugh_at::laugh_at:)
We had the chance (to be fair we still have if people didn’t dumb themselves down) to self-regulate ourselves and also to create our own parts of the Internet, low cost community networks and media outlets, (I think there is one in Manchester).
However, many people worldwide have chosen to use stuff like murdochspace or big corporate ISPs because its “quicker and easier”, and let the corporates take over.
But anyone can do most of what myspace provides for themselves and with less overall control if between a group of friends they set up a streaming media server and a bit of webspace and hosting company and put a dynamic content management database on it.
In fact many did that 5-10 years ago – this is how PV, SJ and DSI work , its till how Level 1 and the other net radio stations works today. It can still be done the old “Web 1.0” way but too many people don’t want to put the work in to do their own websites or local social networks as its “complicated/uncool/nerdy” to deal with the technology, but people are happy to get a second rate profile page with a big advert stuck up the top.
People aren’t “naughty”, but stupid, greedy and selfish.
Many only want free speech to go as far as things they agree with (and often use their freedom to bully others) – also they see a free lunch on the table from corporates such as myspace, bebo et al. and don’t realise its contaminated.
I’m not justifying it, nor saying its totally fair.
But its what those with power will always do, particularly when we have a social structure which favours puritans and has done so for 400 years, progressives destroy their own power by arguing amongst themselves, and hedonists destroy themselves and pass the pain onto others by overdoing their “enjoyment” (such as a lot of young drug users end up with either their families or the NHS picking up the pieces after them).
Without regulation, the net filled up with extreme content that glorifies violence, misogyny and gives a platform for hate speech and even criminally violent activity – this caused a backlash even from progressives who normally would have supported free speech.
I know its a climbdown but it does seem that without some form of regulation the net (at least in Western countries) merely becomes the ultimate toy for “angry young men” rather than an inclusive community for all. This is sadly being proven by hard experiences (such as the Kathy Sierra incident).
Also, youtube is easily censored because people put all their eggs in one basket, it all comes from one server farm. Same with myspace, and a other “social networking sites”. The sites own “security czars” work with cops/feds of various nations and actually accept any sovereign state’s right to censor content, but will try and negotiate a business deal providing “friendlier” content to that state.
However, 5-10 years ago people did their own websites hosted from a myriad of small and large ISPS dotted around the world, which is (still) a lot harder to lock down.
The “powers that be”, whether we like them or not, are intelligent, ruthless people. They aren’t going to just give up that power, which they got from finding and exploiting others weaknesses.
If people dumb themselves down and slip up just once they will be fucked over, and its a lot harder to climb back from that.
Incidentally I’m sure the Thai people, if they really wanted to, could circulate this “highly subversive” video of the King on other servers or even via DVDs sold in markets (if its anything like any other SE Asian nation, I suspect sales of DVDs on street markets aren’t subject to much scrutiny :laugh_at::laugh_at:)
That was put so well GL….HERE HERE!
Many only want free speech to go as far as things they agree with (and often use their freedom to bully others) – also they see a free lunch on the table from corporates such as myspace, bebo et al. and don’t realise its contaminated.
Without regulation, the net filled up with extreme content that glorifies violence, misogyny and gives a platform for hate speech and even criminally violent activity – this caused a backlash even from progressives who normally would have supported free speech.
And then the progressives, seeing things they cant in all conscience say they like, start splitting into sub groups. Each one has its own ‘pet’ view and they seem to be unable to work together as this requires them to put aside their differences/ideals [a feat which those in the more control driven groups have no difficulty with].
So they have been divided and are, as a result, more easily ignored [if not actively suppressed] by those in power who are confident that these splintered groups will not be able to pull together under a single banner [and even if they do it wont last].
A little bit of political spin here and there to keep the rest of society ignorant of the whole truth and there go our civil liberties [CJA, PEL laws, smoking bans, take your pick] as those in power ignore the dissenting voices and do what they please in the name of greater security of property, health, etc
/me goes off to be cynical in a corner :rant:
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Forums › Life › Politics, Media & Current Events › Freedom of speech ????????
