Is Sweden an evil nation?

Bob Wilson

 

My first thought when I saw this thread was to wonder why somebody regurgitated a 12 year old topic.
My second thought was to marvel at a long ago time when FHOP didn't have a basement....
Then I began to wonder about how Sweden's muslim community is adjusting.

I did briefly consider ABBA, but neither they nor their home nation are evil since most devices that are purpose built to reproduce sound can be de-activated, muted, squealched, etc...

As always,

ACTUAL mileage will vary.

 

funny ... you can say stockholm syndrome . . . but if you say, "china virus" . . . . you loose your twitter account, and get banned from youtube etc. Can't wait to see how the new world order continues to play out - where witto feeweeings get hurt ... safe rooms get installed ... gender based terms get banned .... and pretty much anything else goes ... except faith love & hope.
.

 

Fweedom!

 

It appears that you just did say "china virus", and probably none of those horrible deprivations will be visited upon you because of it.

Now, if you really wanted to make a pattern of it, combine it with some behavior maybe, and work at it over time, perhaps you could succeed in getting one or two private-sector businesses to reconsider serving as your free platform.

But if that happened it would be a little much to pretend it was because you said "china virus".

 

It's a slanderous falsehood that the Thought Police would take action against someone in America for connecting the words 'China' and 'virus' in a sentence or recorded utterance.

That activity will only lower ones "social credit score"(*) slightly and perhaps make them a target for increased surveillance.

You have to say something like "Stop The Steal!" in public in order to get black listed, which is rather interesting because I'm old enough to remember when conservatives asserted (correctly?) that private businesses have the right to refuse service to anyone more or less categorically...perhaps.....in a cupcake store, for example.
I'm also old enough to remember when their liberal counterparts asserted (correctly?) that a public company operating with a public license should be publicly if not legally compelled to practice a policy of public accommodation.
Something about drug store lunch counters seem to tug at my memory....

HOWEVER (comma!) that was back in the 'long ago' when the ACLU were actually our nation's guardians of civil liberty, state funded "public" radio did not flagrantly play commercials, and people actually read actual newspapers with lofty principles like...."to give the news impartially, without fear or favor, regardless of party, sect, or interests."

(*) Is there REALLY such a thing as a "social credit score" or did I just pull that out of my stern section?

Read quickly......

 

ETC(SS): If you really want to get nostalgic remember when a President uttered this at his inauguration

"John F. Kennedy's inaugural address inspired children and adults to see the importance of civic action and public service. His historic words, “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country,” challenged every American to contribute in some way to the public good." - JFK Library

 

... back when "public" radio actually was state funded.

What is it now, a token 15% state funded, all the rest from private fundraising and (gasp!) commercials?

 

All I know is every other story they air comes with a disclaimer that "X" is a contributor to State Funded Radio, which is kinda....."interesting" since they never provide the same disclaimer for stories about dot.gov.
Pretty nice gig, really.
They get money from dot.gov, dot.com, and then....THEN(!)...nag you with "pledge drives" every other month.
Heck....I'll bet they're even a 501.c.3!!!

I speak from experience, since probably 70 percent of my podcast rotation comes from government funded radio.....

 

I agree that the sponsor credits have been allowed to include way too much sponsor-written sales pitch, as opposed to a straightforward identification of the sponsor name and what line of business they're in.

But I hafta say, whenever I road trip through public-radio deserts and get an earful of what "commercials" really are on commercial radio, I realize I'd flat-out pay to let Jessica Hansen read me some overlong sponsor credits again. (... which I suppose I sort of do.)

Of course when I was a younger fella, the (much shorter and less commercial-y) credits were being read by Frank Tavares ... didn't realize he died a year ago.

Back then even the big commercial station in the Detroit market, WJR, had the kind of breadth of programming that I hardly find anywhere these days except on public stations. I miss that. WJR was on a lot, growing up. Now it's largely another syndicated version of FHoPol, only with a clear AM channel and 50,000 watts.

I wonder if that's partly because you generally know when you're listening to a public radio station, but you wouldn't know "X" was a contributor without being told.

I can pretty much imagine the lectern-thumping speeches in Congress if they didn't make those disclosures, in stories that involve "X".

 

This is working out quite well in China, not sure how the locals feel about it : Social Credit System - Wikipedia

There is an episode titled "Nosedive" from the UK series "Black Mirror" which has a fictional example of the above.

 

The difference is....and the windmill I am jousting IS that WJR doesn't get to be a non-profit AND a line item in the federal budget.
Shaking down dot.coms for money is a free activity for all (for NOW) so that's a renewable that I'm not going to poke with a lance.
BUT.....government funded media IS a line item.
That means that WE pay for their lobbying efforts.

Think about the NRA for a moment.
Same sorta deal.
THEY get to slurp up donations before they line the pockets of our lawmakers, and it's tax deductible - which means that it comes out of the money that dot.gov takes away from us - BUT at least there's a notional separation that keeps dot.gov from PAYING FOR the NRA.

People with genuine, heartfelt reasons to oppose the NRA would be OUTRAGED (they always are....) at the NRA being (again) a line item in the federal budget....but the NRA is mostly NOT..

(Otherwise? They'd be Planned Parenthood )

I don't watch TV, but if I did?
It would be one of the government funded channels....and when they launch one of their nearly continuous fund raising drives????

I don't-nate with a clear conscience!

 

It seems that fuzzy1 is right in post #88 about the 15% figure, so if the 2.4 cents I pay toward public broadcasting each year through the tax man is 15% of the budget formula, then out of my annual do-nation, the first fourteen cents go to completing my share, and the rest covers you and about 3,700 other don't-nators so you've got stuff you can listen to or watch that hasn't degenerated into syndicated-FHoPol-with-jingles the way WJR has. Enjoy in good health.

 

Thanks!
A clear conscience, like discord is a healthy thing.
Enjoy yours as well!

 

I don't think that they are evil at all. In fact I think this is the correct way. I think that religion should be chosen by a person individually at the age when this person understand what he/she wants to believe in. For example technically I belong to the church because I was baptized when I was small but I don't believe in churches as institute of faith. I believe in God but I don't believe in churches and don't go there for years. For example for my friends Xmas is a huge day and they always invite me to an evening part in one of their property in Milan here of course I join and I have a good time, but to me it's just a usual party with no religious content behind it.