Online Censorship

Recently, on a blogging site, a friend's account was configured in such a way such that any comment I made to postings on her blog, or comments to other comments, were automatically screened. Screening is when a comment is not visible to the general public until the owner of the blog gives the comment his or her blessing, and only then can the comment be seen by those viewing the blog.

I guess she didn't like the comments I left as a reply to the blog entry.

I have a problem with censorship, be it online chat rooms, blogs, television shows, books, magazines, or whatever form of media I am currently engaged with. As an adult, I feel that I have the right to be able to say whatever I am feeling, without being censored by anyone. In fact, a lot of people have died in more than one war, to guarantee me that freedom. When I get censored, I feel like my rights are being suppressed, and that those brave men and women fought in vain.

If I say something that is factually wrong, or emotionally inconsiderate, or I am merely being an ass, then others also have the right to tell me I am wrong, preferably with some proof, or to tell me I'm being an inconsiderate ass, or whatever the other readers think of what I am saying. And I am fine with that. That is what living in a free and democratic country is all about.

What does offend me is when my comments are censored, and no one is given the chance to publicly tell me I'm being an ass, or I'm wrong because I didn't know about some piece of information that proves me wrong. Or even more offensive, having my comments simply deleted, because the owner of the blog, or the moderator of the chat room, or whomever is in control of the site I am posting to, decides arbitrarily that my comment offends them in some way.

Freedom of speech means freedom to be offensive. It also mean the freedom to be wrong. In either case, censorship takes away my rights, and the rights of others, and I will always be strongly against adults of any society being censored.

Update:

It seems that there was a problem with my friend's blog, and somehow those who were supposed to have unfettered access didn't, and those who were supposed to be blocked / censored weren't. The problem got corrected and everything is well again. The sentiments above are still valid, even though this particular incident was accidental and not actually a case of censorship.

Stephen Harper and the AIDS Conference

I am going to jump on the bandwagon also, and condemn Mr. Harper for not attending the AIDS conference recently held in Toronto. Yes, I know that Tony Clament, the Minister of Health was there, as he should have been. However, this is not just some discussion group we are talking about. This is a major, internationally attended, event. Bill Clinton could find time to attend. Bill Gates could find time to attend. But Mr. Harper couldn't find a single day to make an appearance. He didn't even have to attend the entire event. That is what Mr. Clament should be doing. But why couldn't he make an appearance, shake hands with Bill and Bill, make a speech, and then head back to Ottawa and the business of running the country.

This will rank up there, in my mind at least, as being only slightly less dumb of a PR blunder as when Former PM Jean Cretien decided not to attend the funeral of Jordan's former king, King Hussein.

Stephen Harper and the GST reduction

I would like to personally and publicly thank Mr. Harper for the 1% reduction in the GST. I have given him a hard time here in this blog, but I will give credit where credit is due. He said he would reduce the GST, and he has done it. 1% doesn't amount to a whole lot of extra money in a person's pocket, but every penny counts. For example, my morning coffee is now 1 cent cheaper. You may be thinking, "Wow. You can take that early retirement now" in a sarcastic manner. However, in the course of a year, given that I drink a coffee pretty much every day, and occasionally, twice a day, then that works out to 2 or 3 free coffees per year.

It may not be a lot, but I'll gladly take it, with a warm "Thank you!" to our Prime Minister.

McCain Fruit Smooth-eez

I have recently seen the commercial for the McCain Fruit Smooth-eez product. This may be a good product (I haven't tried it yet) , but I have to say that the commercial itself is quite offensive.

The commercials are usually divided into 2 segments, where one person does something upsetting to the other. For example, a man stepping on a model airplane being built by a young boy, presumably his son. The father is shown rushing to the kitchen, plopping the ingredients for a Fruit Smooth-eez into a blender, mixing it up, pouring it into a glass, and giving it to his son, before he had a time to react negatively. This is apparently done to appease the child, to keep him from getting upset.

Way to go, McCain. You've set back the fight against childhood obesity by 20 years. In case you haven't noticed, the idea is not to perpetuate the myth that giving treats everytime someone is upset is a good thing. This is how obese kids are created. Nothing like encouraging people to shove your products into their kids mouths whenever they are upset.

This is what they are referring to when they talk about a corporation acting irresponsibly. As a Canadian, I am ashamed of what this Canadian company is implying in their ad campaign.

Added on June 13th:

I had an idea last night, on how to show the McCain's marketing people who came up with this ad campaign why it is stupid. I could beat the crap out of them with a baseball bat, and then afterwards, give them a Fruit Smooth-eez drink and let them decide for themselves if it makes them feel better or not.