free speech, I fear, is in retreat
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What even kind of response is this? The high profile ambassador invited the journalists to his event officially, presumably to BE JOURNALISTS.
The US ambassador had Belgian police stop our reporting
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Re: The US ambassador had Belgian police stop our reporting
#202Earlier quoted context omitted.
The US ambassador to France is a convicted felon, father of Jared Kushner. From Wikipedia: «In February 2026, French authorities restricted Kushner’s direct access to government ministers after he failed to attend a summons from Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, sending a senior embassy official in his place. The French foreign ministry cited an "apparent failure to grasp the basic requirements of the ambassadorial…
The US ambassador to Iceland made an inappropriate comment about Iceland being the 52nd state and was summoned by Icelandic President to explain. A poor joke, apparently. One almost wonders if the US admin is actively trying to get one of its ambassadors declared persona non grata .
Is 52 a typo or did he really say that?
The US has 50 states, so why not 51?
Re: The US ambassador had Belgian police stop our reporting
#203[deleted]
Re: The US ambassador had Belgian police stop our reporting
#204Earlier quoted context omitted.
A distinction without a difference, he was pardoned by Jared's father in law.
I think it makes a huge amount of difference exactly because of what you stated. A pardon absolves one of the sin as if it didn't happen, legally. It however does not wipe the knowledge from people's mind as if it were the gadget from Men In Black. So, adding the bit just adds to the depravity
fair enough!
Re: The US ambassador had Belgian police stop our reporting
#205[dead]
Re: The US ambassador had Belgian police stop our reporting
#206Earlier quoted context omitted.
They weren't trespassing, they were invited! Aside: why do Americans always talk about trespassing as something that is done to the trespasser? Isn't trespassing the act itself? If I plant myself in your livingroom uninvited, then surely I am trespassing . Why do so many people instead say that I "get trespassed"?
Because in semi-public places, like a store, you are only trespassing if you've been told to leave (you are trespassed).
Why "are you trespassed" if you're told to leave? I understand that you might not be engaging in the act of trespassing until you have been made aware that you must leave. But refusing to do so surely then means that you are trespassing not that you "are trespassed?
Trespassing is the act. The trespasser is the subject undertaking the act. The object that is being trespassed upon is surely then the offended location and/or person?
Re: The US ambassador had Belgian police stop our reporting
#207Earlier quoted context omitted.
Being born somewhere doesn't automatically grant you instant knowledge. For example most people in the mediterranean have no idea about all the history of the roman empire.
Those born in the actual roman empire and catching a glimpse of how awesome it was might have some clue right?
They could certainly tell you how they were doing, not really generic things about the entire empire no.
Re: The US ambassador had Belgian police stop our reporting
#208Earlier quoted context omitted.
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The ambassador is a representative of the American President, so that fits. As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people.
Trump's approval rating is in the 30s and has been for a while. He won a plurality not a majority of the votes in 2024. An even larger number of eligible voters didn't vote.
Also Congress was meant to be the democratic representation of the people. Technically, the president is elected by the states.
Re: The US ambassador had Belgian police stop our reporting
#209Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think it makes a huge amount of difference exactly because of what you stated. A pardon absolves one of the sin as if it didn't happen, legally. It however does not wipe the knowledge from people's mind as if it were the gadget from Men In Black. So, adding the bit just adds to the depravity
> A pardon absolves one of the sin as if it didn't happen, legally. This is incorrect. A pardon is not an expungement. The conviction remains a usable historical fact and could still be referenced in later legal procedings. Exact ramifications vary between innocence-based pardons, rehabilitiation-based pardons, and pure discretionary clemency.
In fact, part of accepting a pardon is accepting guilt. That can particularly be consequential if there is a civil case associated with the criminal charges. For example, if I'm charged with drunk driving and I run into someone's house, by accepting a pardon I have to admit that I'm guilty of drunk driving which the home owner can then use in their civil suit to extra money for the damage I caused.
This is part of the reason why people will sometimes not accept a pardon.
Re: The US ambassador had Belgian police stop our reporting
#210Earlier quoted context omitted.
Which is quite ironic, given all the chuds running around and screeching about _free speech absolutism_.
You misunderstood, they were only ever concerned with the freedom of their speech . You know, stuff like inciting racial hatred. It was never their opposition's speech they wanted to be free.
"If democracy is foolish enough to give us free railway passes and salaries, that is its problem... We are coming neither as friends or neutrals. We come as enemies! As the wolf attacks the sheep, so come we."