Just when you might be forgiven for thinking our Minister for Miscommunications, Stephen Conroy, could not possibly sink any further into the pond of ridiculousness he already finds himself in, today he has managed to reach new depths.
| Filter Goes Ahead Regardless |
And I quote:
Senator Conroy said “blocking material is not considered to be censorship”.
Okay, lets for a moment assume that he is as stupid as that statement actually sounds. Let us look up the dictionary definition of “censorship”. Censorship is “the act or practice of censoring”. Okay, so lets look up “censoring”. In its definition as a verb, we get “to delete (a word or passage of text) in one’s capacity as a censor”.
So basically by definition, censorship is “the act or practice of deleting (a word or passage of text) in one’s capacity as a censor”. So the statement “blocking material is not considered to be censorship” seems to fall into the category of a fundamental failure to understand the actual meaning of what the statement actually says.
While this filter does not technically delete anything – (which is a problem in itself, because having “harmful” material taken down is a far better solution) – it does “delete” our ability to access it. According to the good senator, blocking “bad stuff” doesn’t amount to “censoring” it, yet the clear definition of his statement completely contradicts that!
Of course, one must also remember his classic gaffe from February, where he proudly announced that “you can’t regulate the internet” – although a quote made in the context of IPTV content, it is equally relevant because the senator’s filter blocks access via URL – of course, IPTV is also accessed via URL – (obviously the senator also doesn’t understand that the “U” in “URL” means “universal”). I love the very “pregnant pause” he makes after realising how open a statement he just made.
Time and time again, he demonstrates that he simply does not understand the things that he is trying to sound authorative about. Vitriolic attack after vitriolic attack towards anyone – (such as Google and Facebook) – who dares question his plans, has more than demonstrated that he has lost the ability to effectively hold the portfolio.
This man needs to be removed. Kevin Rudd had the courage to remove Peter Garrett from his portfolio when he made a complete meal of a policy implementation in regards to household insulation. It is time he had the balls to make the same call about a minister who has lost all objectivity.
Senator Stephen Conroy.