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European Politicians Respond To Euro Crisis By Outlawing More Bad News

5

Freedom of Speech

Freedom of Speech

This is so far out you couldn’t make it up. As the Euro crisis worsens, European politicians have resorted to dealing with the problem by outlawing unfavorable financial information that concern the Euro.

EU Observer has the story this morning.

This is an The Onion story. This would be hilarious if we saw it on a parody TV show about North Korea. That’s the kind of contexts I’d expect to see this story in. But these are not politicos in The Onion or North Korea, these are EU politicians that claim to be defending the liberties of the Enlightenment, specifically including freedom of speech. And yet, here they are, literally outlawing bad news.

The next time we see something on the net that they perceive as a threat against the status quo or against a favorite political project, we should remember that they are prepared to go so far as to outlaw bad news when those messages don’t fit their preconceived notions. The net will not be defended by this breed of politicians, nor will freedom of speech. That is quite clearly up to us.

(Of course, outlawing maps is not going to change the terrain. The eurozone as it stands is doomed.)

See also Hax and Karl Sigfrid (both in Swedish).

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About The Author: Rick Falkvinge

Rick is the founder of the first Pirate Party and is a political evangelist, traveling around Europe and the world to talk and write about ideas of a sensible information policy. He has a tech entrepreneur background and loves whisky.

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5

  1. 1
    Spitz

    Sad new because everything goes according to the “plan”. Slowly but still day by day, year by year we are going to United States of Europe, with one single euro-currency and unelected bureaucratic commission that will rule the whole continent. It will be no more democracy but technocratic, international banking dictatorship, economically and culturally socialist system with no freedom of speech. Shortly it will be new Soviet Union but build in not in Russia but this time in Europe. They can not achieve all this at once but they are working on it day by day.

  2. 2
    Tomm

    Well it’s not nessarilly all that bad. I’ve certainly had enough of news that make me seriously worried. Uncomfortable. Probably not just me. I don’t think it’s the EUs business though. Every news media should get off the sensationalism wagon. If they have nothing to report it is not ethical to just go on about stuff until the only thing left is the endless repetition of something that’s alredy been squeezed dry. Find something new to report. I don’t want to be fed every single micro detail day in and day out. Ok, some really need every detail. Not I. Probably many. Newsreporters: go dig up something nwe for a change!

  3. 3
    Janice Kreeger

    well, seems there is a concerted effort to undermine “socialist europe”. so, you’re just helping those who own the media and the banks to keep their “free speech”. when you own all the mouths, is it still “free”?

  4. 4

    There already were things similar to this in US:
    http://www.businessinsider.com/los-angeles-fires-standard-and-poors-2011-8
    The text explains everything (it is complete mess)

  5. 5
    Larry

    It’s not just freedom of speech that’s gone – From the EU-observer article:

    [quote]Under the plan, the legislation would force credit-rating-agency customers, notably banks and corporations, to switch the agency they use on a rotating basis in order to encourage more use of the dozen smaller, European-based firms that are overshadowed by the big three.[/quote]

    Corporation can no longer freely choose whom to buy services from? This is another step in the direction of a planned economy – a system known not to work too well. The EU is indeed destined to fail.

    Anyway, I’m off to start my very own smaller, European-based credit rating agency…

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About The Author

Rick is the founder of the first Pirate Party and is a political evangelist, traveling around Europe and the world to talk and write about ideas of a sensible information policy. He has a tech entrepreneur background and loves whisky.

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