U.K. & Porn

In very recent news David Cameron, U.K.'s prime minister, has announced that they will be rolling out a new legislation to fight the common household's exposure to porn.

From what I've seen in most internet response, people are extremely angry about this move and are calling the British government fascist and even Islamist.  Apparently this moves into the area of "censorship" and no one wants their porn censored!

This isn't a surprise though.  In this article:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2013/feb/16/uk-iceland-ban-internet-porn  published on February 16, 2013, the writer predicts that Britain will follow the steps of Iceland (um, who even knew that Iceland already censored porn?) and will no longer make porn readily available for little eyes and ears. 

The fact is:  I don't live in Britain so I don't know the detailed statistics of their violence and child abuse incidences, but apparently it is very high.  Studies have been conducted which link pornography with violence, especially in tandem with young children being exposed to it.

Britain's new legislature will force ISPs (internet service providers) to filter pornography from households automatically.  If a person so desires to have that at their fingertips, they must be over 18 to choose that option.

Many people's arguments are that protecting children should be left up to the parents, not the government.  However...what happens if the parents aren't doing their jobs?  

The government has other laws that protect children.  There are legal age limits on movies, smoking, etc.  Why is this so different?

Here's a interesting graph that was published in January of this year:

David Cameron addressed Google, Bing and Yahoo directly with these words:

|You have a duty to act on this--and it is a moral duty.

Britain also plans to block pornographic sites, specifically those related to child abuse, on all public wi-fi networks and mobile phones.

Some online articles I have read consider this new statute being implemented a violation of privacy and individual choice.  However, what the main issue here is:  do little children who are unwittingly exposed to porn have a choice in the matter?  It's one thing if it's an adult deciding to click on an 18+ link;  it's a different story when searches are causes involuntary pop ups to spew all over one's screen.

So here's  the point that so many protesters are missing:  where has the innocence of our children gone?  Sure it's the parents responsibility to watch their children and enable blockers on their home internet, but what about at a school library?  Or at a friend's house?  Or on their phone?

Should pornography (specifically CHILD and violent pornography) be a RIGHT?  Does the existence of the internet give us free rein to view whatever we want? 

And if Britain is truly struggling with social issues relating to this, shouldn't they want to find a fix instead of crucifying someone who is trying to do something, anything, to address the issue?

Are we supposed to pass moral responsibility onto other people, claiming it's not our issue and pretending there isn't a problem?  Where is the line drawn?

Sound off! 

((Randomness))

Okay, so this is what I do.

I hear a song that completely appeals to me in every fashion: emotionally and musically mainly. It makes me sense happy and relaxes my mind while at the same time induces me to contemplative thinking.

Then, I take that song and I beat it to death, by listening to it over and over, and playing it on the piano, and just immersing myself in it.

In a couple weeks I pretty much am done with the song.

I wonder, if I restrained myself, and only listened to it once a day, would our relationship last longer? And I believe the answer is Yes, Yes it would.

I need to start restraining myself.

-)(-

I thought today that I need to stop caring so much about what other people think about me, and instead focus on the more important things in life, such as cleaning my room, exercising, working, and honing my skills (or lack thereof). For example, I used to be so active socially, always with people, working on relationships, and now I feel as though I have distanced myself from others, satisfying myself socially through internet friends.

Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with internet friends, but they aren't there for you in the way "real" friends can be. They can't physically pat you on the back, and usually you only show them a side of you that you want them to see. You aren't completely honest with them, because you might not like certain things about you. Or you know that your general demeanor annoys people, so you moderate yourself to be more pleasing. Basically, it's much easier to hide behind emoticons and text.


-)(-

David Gray is just amazing.

I'll update on that thought later.

*

I'm still feeling the push, the urge, the pull to write, so here I go again.

I realize that not everything I write can be deep and profound existential searching...

So the lighter fluff...

Jericho is an amazing television show.

I've mentioned it before, but I want to reinstate my opinions on it.

There are shows that I watch that I could stop watching, that it would not really matter to me if I saw the end or not.

Then there are shows that I kinda like, and keep up with them, and I would like to see the series finale, but it wouldn't really bother me if I didn't.

And then there are the other shows that I have to keep watching, as though the fate of these characters are real, and I could be there with them, I could be at Jericho.

Today it was with some trepidation that I wrote out all the tv shows that I watch consistently. I watch nineteen shows on a regular basis -- except now with the writers strike having occurred there are no new episodes, which is probably just as well...I have quite a bit to catch up on.

But it does rather boggle my mind that I spend so much time watching television. I've greatly minimized my internet time, having uninstalled chat programs, but now I'm watching too much television.

It's as though...my own life bores me so I compensate for it by watching television.

What a disturbing thought.

Anyway...watch Jericho. Or don't. Stay free and away from the television and remain unaddicted to the weekly high.