Be careful what you say on your blog about other people...

Here is a salient reminder about the risks and potential consequences.  It wouldn't surprise me if our EU friends in Brussels come up with some new laws on blogs soon.

Comments

[Peter]

OK, I managed to get the article. I find it interesting that the minister in question did not dispute the truth of the claims. His contention that his office's call to the bar never insinuated that the barmaid should be fired is risible, of course. The man is apparently a slimeball as well as a bully. ==============
Detectives Beyond Borders
“Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home”
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/

[Peter]

The link to the story does not work. Is this a case of electronic censorship, of a politician trying to stifle discussion even more than he already has?
==============

Detectives Beyond Borders
“Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home”
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/

[Bill Cameron]

Did she report accurately? If so, then she has been wronged. Public people have to expect their public actions may be reported. This isn't some nameless everyman out for a frolic. It's a public official. If he behaved in public in a way that could be seen as a discredit to his office and the people he serves, he deserves to get called out. That he chose to use his office to retaliate and to threaten sanction against those who would report on his misbehavior only compounds his shame.

[crimeficreader]

Ah, Corey, we live in changing times and I do see your point: the close intimacy of this episode and its reporting are what make it worth note.

Whilst there are good blogs on the net, there are also some full of rubbish with little thought attached. But there is also the argument that if what she claims is true: what is the difference between that no-cost divulgence on a blog and the same in the MSM, apart from the cost? Oh, and the big papers will also have resource to legal teams and outsourced lawyer arrangements and insurance policies to limit the damage.

Blogger boy or girl is high and dry when a juggernaut is likely to come through with a reaction - like a politician, so it's better to take stock and think again, and again about the post.

Here in the UK we have political blogs that have actually broken news during the last few years and the MSM has then taken up the baton. In these cases the bloggers have been protected because their reports have been confirmed in the MSM.

I can empathise with Mr de Crem's comments too. He, threatening legal action against bloggers (as reported in the DT), went on "to warn Belgian MPs" that "...every one of you is a potential victim".

And, during a debate last Friday, according to the DT, he said "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. I find that it's nearly impossible to defend yourself against this."

Some of this is entirely true. "We live in a time where everybody is free to publish whatever he or she wants on blogs at will without taking any responsibility." Oh yes, that is possible, but the more decent and serious blogs will publish with a great sense of responsibility.

"...I find that it's nearly impossible to defend yourself against this." And to that I say 'bollocks'. He did a grand job in defending himself, thus far. His whistleblower of the 'allegations' has lost her job, but Oh, the MSM have now caught this one, so expect more probing and more reports in the next few days.

They are often criticised for many things, but thank God we still have the MSM.

[Corey Wilde]

That barmaid is free to say whatever she wants on her blog, but I have to say, if I owned the bar I probably would have fired her, too. Not because of the guy she blogged about was a VIP but because he was a customer. That has to be bad for the bar's business. Would you go to that bar knowing that your server might blog to the world at large --and your wife and employers-- that you got sloshed and made disparaging remarks about your hometown? Nah, that bar would be on my 'not there' list.