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Why don't the brits understand freedom of speech?

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It is kind of ironic Americans think they are the most free country in the world, yet they have imprisoned more of their own people than any other country in the history of humanity.
 
The Hypocrisy runs deep with this one.😀

HAL9000 said:
Freedom from having to put up with certain groups to name one thing.
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But certain groups are OK:awe:

http://incognito73.instablogs.com/e...to-ban-islamic-extremist-satellite-preachers/

london-protest-1_iGE7g_16105.jpg


http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/stand...islamic-radicals-make-mockery-of-hate-laws.do


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...b-denies-insulting-Muslim-girl-headscarf.html


http://www.nowpublic.com/world/investigation-finds-beatings-hate-speech-uk-muslim-schools
 
HAL9000 said:
Good argument. Some freedoms supersede other freedoms, for a crowds right to life is far more important than your right to shoot a gun in a crowded street.
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:hmm:

HAL9000 said:
We don't have that. You guys seem to just want to troll rather than talk, I'll just sit back until a proper post pops up, something that doesn't have an absurd example of law in the UK taken to extreme or a stupid image. :biggrin:
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t3_fkb4q.png


HAL9000 said:
A shot a fuck load more.
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Er...?
 
 
HAL9000 said:
So if someone gets paid 100k to give your bank records to the press then it's the person who gives it over to blame not the person paying the 100k... That doesn't help you.
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That's exactly right, and they better damn well have more than $100k when my lawsuit comes down on them too. That organization that sold my information had a duty and an obligation to protect it more than likely, therefore, they are liable for any damages. Its how we keep our institutions honest and our press free. Welcome to United States 101.
 
HAL9000 said:
Freedom from having to put up with certain groups to name one thing.
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WHOA! WHOA! WHOA!!! What the fuck???!!! Seriously? You're claiming you have freedom from those trite, trifling, religious retards who do little more than yell offensive shit at inopportune times and places, but you allow Muslim extremists to all but freely operate in your country, protest in your streets, raise money, etc.?

Last I checked, the Westboro morons never directly caused the death of anyone. They may piss a lot of people off, but so too do Muslim extremists and they are actually working to subvert whatever freedoms you have left.
 
Freedom of speech is about being able to speak out and against the current government without being prosecuted or harassed by the authorities - it doesn't give you a right to say what you want, when you want and how you want.
 
DrPizza said:
Now, back to Hal:
You have no problem with the government tracking your every move outside your house - how many minutes you are away, where you go to, how many minutes you spend at home, where you shop, how much time you spend at the gym, which restaurants you go to, etc. Sure, you may be doing these things out in public, but does that give someone the right to know your every move?
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As a preface, I agree with freedom of press, and disagree with these super-injunctions in general (I haven't watched the video but I catch the drift).

Would you be okay if a newspaper did this and published your movements?
 
Veliko said:
Freedom of speech is about being able to speak out and against the current government without being prosecuted or harassed by the authorities - it doesn't give you a right to say what you want, when you want and how you want.
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Actually it allows you to say whatever you want... it says nothing about consequences though...
 
WelshBloke said:
Is it illegal to film people in public in the US then?

Or is that just for your police officers?
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Oddly enough there is a proposed bill right now in NJ about making it illegal to photograph (and presumably film) children without their parent's consent. That would make it a crime to, say, take a picture of your own kids in the park if other kids were in the shot. Many people think this law would be unconstitutional. You can film/follow people around to a limited degree but if you're not a law enforcement officer or a licensed private investigator you could be charged with "stalking" and probably a slew of other charges like harassment. Of course, if you want to arbitrarily film you probably can as long as you're not targeting anyone or doing anything weird.

Police obviously can film already and they do in limited circumstances. In Newark, NJ there is some kind of bullet detection system set up as well as cctv coverage in some of the projects.
 
Wow, what a shocker, HAL took a subject, changed it to suit his needs, and now he won't shut up about it.
 
Why doesn't the OP understand that the reason it's news is because Brits are concerned about free speech/freedom of the press being quashed by those with enough money to do so?
 
No country has complete freedom of speech. The existence of copyright and trademark law pretty much sees to that. Not to mention all the additional laws surrounding them (e.g. those making it illegal to tell people how to circumvent DRM systems).

The US tends to strongly favour freedom of speech when it conflicts with the well-being of vulnerable groups, but not when it conflicts with private profit. Other countries draw the line differently.

In any case, freedom of speech is a limited benefit in a society where a few rich folk own most of the media. Ironically the US has much tighter laws on media ownership than the UK does. Rupert Murdoch wouldn't be allowed the degree of 'free speech' he has in the UK in the US (he had to become a US citizen to even get the rights that he has there).

That said, I still, on balance, prefer the US attitude to the UK's. Things like their Freedom of Information Act, or the lack of likelihood of laws being passed to make offending the religious illegal, are admirable, in my view.

I have my doubts about the protection afforded by their much-fetishised Constitution though. Seems to me that document can be argued away whenever enough people get scared enough (e.g. by terrorism), the real protection lies in the embeded attitudes of the population.
 
Every country has certain regulations and restrictions of freedoms.

Some fit better than others, and some are dangerously close to removal of all freedoms in the name of something that bears little actual weight.

England is not evil, as what is inferred in the OP. I agree than much of what is taken from them in the realm of personal freedoms is not truly appreciated, but still, it is not exactly cold-war Russia/1984.

That surveilance camera thing, however, SHOULD frighten many Brits for a simple reason. As computer technology gets better, faster, and smaller. These things will be able to do PASSIVE search and documentation as well as active.

What does this mean? As mentioned earlier, they will be able to track your daily patterns. They will be able to see when you leave work early, whose place you went to on Tuesday when you told your wife you were working late (as cross-referenced to your phone bill) and raise questions of why you went to the drug store (apothecary?) 6 times the previous week.

They will be able to see when and how often you go to the strip club, male or female. They willknow every time you run through town, and it might raise flags if you are seen doing this out of pattern or for no discernable reason.

As the algorithms get more complex, your patterns may "fit" a "potential felon". Don't laugh, it is completely plausable.

As for the US? We have our own freedoms, but they are also flawed and exploited. Only being around a few hundred years has not allowed the "leaders of our nation" to buy what they want from the rest.

We are on our own way there, no doubt about it (with things like limitations for being able to hold corporations liable for large scale public injury, etc etc).
 
BTW, whoever is talking BS about the whole 9-11 thing should shut their mouth now.

From someone who not only was there, but saw the damn plane hit the second tower AND was part of the company that did the analysis on the structure, I can tell you strait up, this was no demo job.

It was a structural collapse due to a good half of the support steel being taken out, and the remaining steel heated up to where it lost its stiffness and bent too much causing buclking to occur because of P-Delta loadings. It then collapsed pancake-style.

So can the red herring and sell it to your neighbor because I sure as hell ain't going to buy the crap that just flew out of your mouth.
 
MarkXIX said:
That's exactly right, and they better damn well have more than $100k when my lawsuit comes down on them too. That organization that sold my information had a duty and an obligation to protect it more than likely, therefore, they are liable for any damages. Its how we keep our institutions honest and our press free. Welcome to United States 101.
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In England we prefer not to have to sue people after the fact, but rather we want actual privacy not just a cash payment when our privacy is breached.

MarkXIX said:
WHOA! WHOA! WHOA!!! What the fuck???!!! Seriously? You're claiming you have freedom from those trite, trifling, religious retards who do little more than yell offensive shit at inopportune times and places, but you allow Muslim extremists to all but freely operate in your country, protest in your streets, raise money, etc.?

Last I checked, the Westboro morons never directly caused the death of anyone. They may piss a lot of people off, but so too do Muslim extremists and they are actually working to subvert whatever freedoms you have left.
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They spread hate, and interrupt funerals etc, yes we have the freedom to hold a funeral without that crap. If you ask 99% of people in the UK about the WBC then those that know who they are will question why the US hasn't just arrested them for spreading hate yet, we can't understand why you would protect them, it's insanity. There are more important things that protecting some absurd over the top notion of everyone has the right to say anything anytime they want wherever they are and fuck the consequences.
 
Deeko said:
Wow, what a shocker, HAL took a subject, changed it to suit his needs, and now he won't shut up about it.
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I've changed nothing, I'm literally directly answering the OP as it is written, I'm explaining why us "brits" don't get the American sense of freedom of speech.
 
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