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UK government states that 'safety' act is about influence over public discourse

bsky.app

221–230 of 298 posts

Re: UK government states that 'safety' act is about influence over public discourse

#221
post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry for your past, happy you got out of it. 1. Listen, yes it’s very hard work, but it’s this or be squeezed until there’s nothing else. And when people start having famines we’ll have a new French Revolution, millions will die, and this will require a lot more energy than doing changes today. 2. Will do, I don’t know enough on that subject to have an opinion on that. But unjust, unmovable systems, like monarchies…

give an example of a non violent movement such as youre describing. i dont think one has ever existed and actually achieved anything

Yellow jacket france

Re: UK government states that 'safety' act is about influence over public discourse

#222
post #96
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Britain has always been very hypocritical about freedom of speech. Take for example "Speaker's Corner", an area of Hyde Park were police will tolerate any sort of speech - except that, if there are complaints and the speech is considered potentially unlawful, they will arrest the speaker right after he's done speaking.

So there is not a magical space where the law does not apply? that is what you call hypocritical.

The hypocrisy is in touting that there is such a space, in order to gain points for freedom in international relations, then conveniently discard the pretense whenever it suits the authority.

Re: UK government states that 'safety' act is about influence over public discourse

#223
post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You’re analysing things in a vacuum, there are historical and contemporary examples of public protest, pressure campaigns and civil disobedience leading to policy change, and you’re arguing they’re what, all CIA plants or impossible? If not, please make your point clearer. I am not analysing things in a vaccum. I gave you some reasons why I don't believe these things are productive today. One of those is an example…

Oh yeah these services seem totally legitimate… you know what, keep believing what you want buddy, have a good day

Right. Let me get this right:

1) You asked for evidence of a rent-a-crowd / rent-a-mob service. Something which you could have looked up yourself.

2) I gave you links to companies that offer these services. I understand that these websites aren't the best, I literally listed the first 4 that were spat out by when searching. I suspect they probably don't get most of their business through the website. They look like websites I was making for companies back in the late 2000s.

3) Then you make allusions to to me delusional.

I think you are looking for excuses to dismiss my point of view. Probably because you don't agree with it.

Re: UK government states that 'safety' act is about influence over public discourse

#224
post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There oddly seems to be a concerted effort online to paint the UK as some kind of failing police state recently. This narrative seems to have really taken off with some Americans, who now seem completely convinced that the UK government is some kind of totalitarian oppressor who are snatching people off the streets. Meanwhile, Brits just look on at this narrative wondering what the hell they're talking about. Look, I…

As someone who does live in the UK, and has for 25 years, while I too see the distortion you talk about, things have taken a distinct turn towards authoritarianism to the point that I watch what I write under my own name.

The funnest part about that is you better make sure no matter what you write is also future proof against any and all whims of any other regime that may rule at any point in the future. But that is ultimately the point of any abusive and toxic system created by psychopathic, megalomaniac, malignant and grandiose narcissistic people and groups; they want to broken and shattered, never sure what may set the abuse off, until the day you remain beaten down and submissive to the demigods.

Re: UK government states that 'safety' act is about influence over public discourse

#225
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it was a police state, JD Vance wouldn’t be getting it on his holiday here from protesters and video vans driving around and being refused service in a pub. It could end up that way but we’re not there yet. If we do get there we tend to make the French look like amateur protestors (look up poll tax riots). I’m less worried about a police state than a corporate dystopia. The attendee list at Trump’s inauguration wo…

If it WASN'T a police state, 500 people wouldn't have been arrested for holding up a sign.

Let's extrapolate on a simple point because it's not so simple...

A sign for a proscribed terrorist organisation, which its members are backed by a Russian plant (Fergie Chambers - now hiding in North Africa) and have damaged military aircraft, military facilities and attacked police officers with sledgehammer. Things that, in the US, you would have been shot for.

The protesters could have waved any other sign around in support for the cause without any problems, as hundreds more were doing, but not that specific organisation.

However the 500 people are at best naive victims of their own incompetence and being used as political pawns, not for the cause but instigators.

All this stuff is rather less black and white than it sounds.

Re: UK government states that 'safety' act is about influence over public discourse

#226
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There oddly seems to be a concerted effort online to paint the UK as some kind of failing police state recently. This narrative seems to have really taken off with some Americans, who now seem completely convinced that the UK government is some kind of totalitarian oppressor who are snatching people off the streets. Meanwhile, Brits just look on at this narrative wondering what the hell they're talking about. Look, I…

What is happening in Britain is people are being actually arrested for “offensive” speech, which is of course subjective, subject to abuse, and open to totalitarian oppression. This is why the First Amendment in the US constitution is so important

[deleted]

Re: UK government states that 'safety' act is about influence over public discourse

#227

Without passing judgment on the act, this is incredibly misleading. I found the source of the original quotes[0], and they are taken quite out of context. From the article: >First, we are told, the relevant secretary of state (Michelle Donelan) expressed “concern” that the legislation might whack sites such as Amazon instead of Pornhub. In response, officials explained that the regulation in question was “not primari…

There oddly seems to be a concerted effort online to paint the UK as some kind of failing police state recently. This narrative seems to have really taken off with some Americans, who now seem completely convinced that the UK government is some kind of totalitarian oppressor who are snatching people off the streets. Meanwhile, Brits just look on at this narrative wondering what the hell they're talking about. Look, I…

Am British, don't agree with you in the slightest.

Our media is absurdly distorted itself. Sometimes it's more objective to look from the outside in.

Re: UK government states that 'safety' act is about influence over public discourse

#229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hmm. New account, no history before this thread. Not at all suspicious. So, DSIT, Age Verification Industry Association or Molly Rose astroturfer?

There's a bunch of HNers who always rotate accounts. It's a little annoying but a green commentator in itself doesn't mean an astro turfer. It's also a perfectly reasonable point, you just don't agree with it.

I believe rotating accounts is against the policies of the site, although I totally understand the impulse.

Re: UK government states that 'safety' act is about influence over public discourse

#230
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is happening in Britain is people are being actually arrested for “offensive” speech, which is of course subjective, subject to abuse, and open to totalitarian oppression. This is why the First Amendment in the US constitution is so important

> Britain is people are being actually arrested for “offensive” speech This isn't actually new though. The difference is that they'd normally be nicked for breaching the peace, which is loosey goosey enough to be used for most things. ASBOs are far more totalitarian as they can legally stop people from doing legal things. (ie stop a child playing in a park) But to tackle your main point, Yes people are being arrested…

You post recognises the boundary between free and illegal speech.

You have not addressed the fact that UK policing guidelines now have a third category of “legal but harmful” (which has resulted in real door knocks). This is subject to political outlook and therefore as “loosey goosey” as it gets.

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