The Entrecard Blog reports that Pieter De Crem, the Belgian defence minister, has likened blogging to mudslinging.
This follows New York bartender Lubbe Bakker blogging in Dutch about how drunk De Crem was when she served him, as well as the revelation from a companion that he was there on public money to attend a meeting that he knew was cancelled.
Four days later she was fired from the B Café bar.
De Crem's comments on blogs were part of a statement made to the Belgian Parliament:
I want to take this opportunity and use this non-event to signal a dangerous phenomenon in our society. We live in a time where everybody is free to publish whatever he or she wants on blogs at will without taking any responsibility. This exceeds mud-slinging. Together with you, other Parliament members and the government I find that it’s nearly impossible to defend yourself against this. Everyone of you is a potential victim. I would like to ask you to take a moment and think about this.
Clearly Pieter De Crem, unlike myself, hasn't studied media law at all. Plenty of bloggers around the world are sued and some even imprisoned. Blogs are a publishing platform. They are not some unknown danger like a terrorist cell in training.
Still, I'm sure he can compare notes with our Hazel Blears.
And as the Entrecard Blog points out, De Crem's behaviour wasn't exactly responsible. Personally I'm glad that Lubbe Bakker had the courage to expose his jaunt at taxpayers' expense. They are the real victims here, not a drunk politician
This sounds like another politician who attacks the messenger.
In this case, it's only spread the message.
1 comments:
It's funny how the ability to "publish anything" is always a threat to those in power. Prior to acheiving the power, they usually advocate the democracy of media.
Maybe you could twitter your posts? Either ways, I'll link to you;)
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