[Wylug-discuss] Re: Windows-only distribution of BBC Programs

[Mike Goodman]

Chris Brown <snecklifter at gmail.com> wrote :

> On 27/06/07, Shaun Laughey &lt;shaun at laughey.com&gt; wrote:
> I haven&#39;t watched any TV for 2 years*. Apart from not actually knowingwhat 90% of politicians look like. Or any murdered people. Or murderers.Or what anyone famous looks like this year. Or what the latest version
> of coke/chocolate/washing powder is.I also have to say I feel better for it.Funny isn&#39;t it? Not that I want this discussion to get OT as I&#39;ve been following with interest but a couple of years back I stopped buying newspapers and watching the news and came to realise that despite what the media says there isn&#39;t a paedophile waiting behind every bush for your children, a terrorist standing on every station platform and a deadly virus infecting, shall we say, all the fish (because we&#39;ve done cows, avian species, pigs and sheep) about to wipe out humanity. Again.
> Isn&#39;t it strange how blogs professing the end of humanity aren&#39;t terribly popular... &quot;Thirteen million Londoners have to wake up to this. A diet of murder and all-bran and rape?&quot;
> - Withnail and ICheersChris-- http://www.chruz.com

This hasn't really caught the actual injustice of the issue, has it? The TV licence is the justification for criminalising the very poorest in our society. Young mothers, single, incapable through motherhood of earning a living. Whatever their reason for being single mothers, and there are many, it is rarely a lifestyle choice. The BBC, that <sic>great bastion of free publicly available education</sic>, insisting upon its pound of flesh aka licence fee. Luvvies, poor little darlings, insisting the only way to fund it is for a fascistically administered regressive tax on viewers. Sod the principles. F*** democracy. B*****ks to equal opportunity. Auntie fascist Beeb must have her "right" to experiment and handle all matters comms and sod what competition may actually provide better so she really NEEDS to criminalise the poor. It costs BILLIIONS to bugger about like this.

In contrast, I'm given to understand it costs the taxpayer, lowest estimates and I've heard much higher, in the region of £12,000 PER WEEK to keep a young mum in nick, PLUS the costs in excess of a couple of grand per week EACH to keep her kids in care, while we allow our democrattic representatives to perpetuate this horror. Indeed to increase the licence fee year on year.

Where is the economic, social, political or ethical justification? Not important? Think again. There are a number of young mothers, with even younger children, in our gaols because they cannot afford to pay for a television licence.

Regardless of party in power.

I know that has nothing to do with matters *nix but, looking back through what's been said, the nearest you've got to matters *nix so far are red herrings.

Best,

Mike