Anything Political

[loppylugs 8,429]

Not rying to twist it. Just stating my understanding which could be wrong.

 

Here in North Amarica there is no licence fee,  After a few minutes of being assaulted by the mind numbing and brainwashing commercials every few minutes it makes you willing to pay a license fee or just switch it off.  I chose the latter.  Now even youtube are pushing stupid commercials.

[Brew 5,419]

Though I watch very little TV I do support the BBC and consider the licence fee not only good value but a protection of sorts against big business taking control and spoon feeding us with whatever political tripe they want us to swallow. Changing to a subscription opens all sorts of doors and I'm sure we won't like what's hidden behind them

 

I looked at the totally commercial TV in the US and if that's the future of TV the future is depressing indeed.

 

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

Dave, the US government did try to introduce TV licensing many years back, it was fought and ended up in the Supreme Court who stated licensing radio and TV reception was an infringement on the 1st amendment.

I gave up on broadcast TV many years back, terrestrial, cable and satellite. ALL the broadcast stations are owned by just a small number of international corporations.

I used to pirate two of the satellite corporations until they cracked down on the encryption hackers, when they went to Nagravision 3 encryption.

No it wasn't illegal, if anyone wants to state that, hacking the encryption was though, violation for copyright.

There was a Lawyer on one of the FTA web sites who posted the law, ALL onus is on the hackers, there is a little grey area regarding part of the set up of an FTA receiver to receive encrypted signals and deciphering them, but he said it was highly doubtful the satellite corporations would prosecute someone for watching their encrypted programming. Besides, as he said, how are they going to track anyone down and even then prove beyond a shadow of a doubt a person was watching their programming??

There is a rumour that Nag3 encryption has been hacked a few years back in Europe, but so far nobody has dared to make the new hack available on the internet.

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

@Brew, the BBC doesn't need to live off a license fee, it is more than strong enough to stand on it's "own two legs". It gains millions in revenue from it's recorded shows sold on DVD's world wide.

Better budgeting would help them instead of paying millions out in salaries, streamline their services, surely having several channels is a waste of resources??

The Australian government stopped tv licensing years ago, the ABC runs on funding from two sources, government subsidies AND selling DVD's of programming.

Here stateside our own Public Broadcasting network, (NOT government owned) operates from some government funding, sponsorship from corporations, (one two to three minutes to acknowledge the sponsor at the beginning of a show), and annual find drive, where the public pledge funds.

So why shouldn't the BBC do something similar to raise operating funds??

[Oztalgian 3,296]

Ayup, I am glad that we do not have TV licences here in OZ as I would not pay for the garbage we get served up on FTA television lately.

The sports authorities are happily flogging off rights to national sporting events so they too are now behind a pay wall. The Federal government is actively emasculating our ABC by reducing funding as it does not portray the government in the way it wants to be seen, effectively censoring it.

I will not have pay TV until the numpties get it into their thick heads that they have to offer a fixed price contract where I can pick a number of channels I want to watch and not the 60 channels of dross in their standard package and then pay extra for this and extra for that and extra for something else.

As for streaming channels I had a look through both Testra and Netflix and after half an hour of not finding anything worthwhile to watch I reverted to my favourite channel YouTube.

[loppylugs 8,429]

Re. my earlier comments.  I was just wondering.

If you own a tv in England, but you  don't have an aerial or dish etc.  You only keep it for watching dvd's and possibly your own home made videos.  Can they still try to force you to buy a license?

[DJ360 6,730]

15 hours ago, jonab said:

One to be extremely cautious about, though, is Dominic Cummings - the PM's SPAD (or other nonsensical acronym). He looks to be potentially extremely dangerous. Anyone who could contemplate filling 10 Downing Street with even more "weirdos and misfits" should seek urgent specialist help.

 

Spot on Jonab.  He is a devious, cowardly and creepy individual who needs his influence reduced to zero by any possible means.

 

Meanwhile, the Government's intention to attack the independent judiciary, independent media and 'standing' Civil Service which have been the backbones of our democracy for hundreds of years, is clearly signalled in their manifesto for those who choose to read it. Boris, being fundamentally a bully.. really didn't like being told he'd broken the law a couple of times.. so he decided that he would set about silencing our independent judiciary.

 

This stuff is very, very dangerous and impacts not just on our present Govt.. but on traditions and accepted relationships between Govt, Parliament, The Law, the independent media which have kept us safe from Dictatorship for centuries.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2019-50524262

 

Look at policy 13.  They are presenting it as benign.. but really they want to prevent UK law from stopping them doing what they like.  Every Dictatorship and Fascist Govt does this to lend false 'legitimacy' to their actions.  This must NOT happen here.

 

https://assets-global.website-files.com/5da42e2cae7ebd3f8bde353c/5dda924905da587992a064ba_Conservative 2019 Manifesto.pdf

 

See pp 48-49 and read between the lines...

[HSR 286]

DJ..can't find the member  'Quote' s original post..

[Waddo 921]

Loppy, no you don't need a licence if you don't watch live tv. And it doesn't matter if you have a aerial or dish attached to your property. You just have to prove that your not viewing live programs.

I think my main complaint is, the intimidating tactics they use if you don't apply for a licence. I cancel mine when we go on our winter vacation, about 4_5months. And when trying to inform them, a job in itself, i still receive threatening text messages, emails ect, 'your breaking the law',  investigators are coming, we have instructed enforcement officers,. You risk prosecution. Yet when you try to contact them, there is a very limited number of ways and that involves press this number then that number then another and so on. After 53minutes of trying, unsuccessfully as my battery on the phone went flat, i gave up. I'm not really worried what they do as i am not there to watch tv and will get one when I need one, on my return.

[HSR 286]

Waddo..Can't be sure..I gave up years ago..think they also factored in recording live TV..hence the +1 I mentioned previously. The way things are going £3.10 seems OK. However.if I was over 75 I'd have a major gripe!!!

[Oztalgian 3,296]

4 hours ago, DJ360 said:

Meanwhile, the Government's intention to attack the independent judiciary, independent media and 'standing' Civil Service which have been the backbones of our democracy for hundreds of years, is clearly signalled in their manifesto for those who choose to read it. Boris, being fundamentally a bully.. really didn't like being told he'd broken the law a couple of times.. so he decided that he would set about silencing our independent judiciary.

Unfortunately DJ360 this sounds exactly what is/has been happening in Australia where the right wing federal government is doing its best to silence its critics by whatever means possible

[HSR 286]

 

I think my main complaint is, the intimidating tactics they use if you don't apply for a licence. I cancel minewhen we go on our winter vacation, about 4_5mon.

 

Can buy a 3 month , six month licence..

 

In the 1990's They used to mainly  come around checking at weekends in the height of summer.,...hence open doors ..

Secure gated communities can avoid paying the fee ..if they so choose.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Brew 5,419]

12 hours ago, Ayupmeducks said:

@Brew, the BBC doesn't need to live off a license fee, it is more than strong enough to stand on it's "own two legs". It gains millions in revenue from it's recorded shows sold on DVD's world wide.

Better budgeting would help them instead of paying millions out in salaries, streamline their services, surely having several channels is a waste of resources??

The Australian government stopped tv licensing years ago, the ABC runs on funding from two sources, government subsidies AND selling DVD's of programming.

Here stateside our own Public Broadcasting network, (NOT government owned) operates from some government funding, sponsorship from corporations, (one two to three minutes to acknowledge the sponsor at the beginning of a show), and annual find drive, where the public pledge funds.

So why shouldn't the BBC do something similar to raise operating funds??

 

Simple really, a government subsidy is taking away the stations independence. You upset them or go against the grain and magically the government need to rebalance the budget, need to make cuts and TV subsidies are the first to go.

 

I've said before he who pays the piper calls the tune.

[Stuart.C 491]

BBC income from the Licence fee approx £3.7bn

BBC income from Commercial sales and grants for World Radio servces approx £1.2bn

 

BBC total income approx £4.9bn

 

Total revenue in the U.K received by Commercial Stations £5bn

 

Advertisers aren't suddenly going to be spending double they'll only move some of the existing around.

Still a considerable shortfall.

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

@Oz, you can stream lots of stuff from the internet totally free, movies, sport news, if you can stand the lies and BS from the major broadcasters. I'd never pay for Netflix, or any of the pay sites, there's dozens of movie streaming sites, ALL FREE, sadly we don't have higher speed than 1.5Mps. But I used to download movies, queue them up at night and leave my Matricom STB to save them to a hard drive. There are a few documentary streaming sites to.

And for Brew, Just because the main stream media isn't funded by government doesn't mean they are not controlled by government! CNN, MSNBC, ABC etc all seem way too far left these days, they seem to be following the lefts agenda via their corporate millionaire owners. What surprises me is why would millionaires be far leaning lefties?? What would they gain if the left took over and ran us like the old USSR?  I can understand their leanings to a one world government, but not communism.

[Brew 5,419]

Americans have an almost laughable  fear and hatred if anything Fox have told them is socialism and the commies are at the door. Patently rubbish in my view. Over here most take the view that big business are right wing more than those with left wing sympathies

 

The examples you quote only serve to make my point. I don't know if they are left, right or center but once big business or government has control they can persuade you black is white any time they like.

 

 

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

Fox news??? Better known as "Faux News" this side of the pond, NONE are to be trusted, ALL make up "news" .

 

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

I asked the wife if she missed TV a few weeks back, she said no, she feels more relaxed these days. Been getting on for ten years since we watched TV.

Do I miss live TV or even "dead" tv?? It's all dead to me, I can't see myself ever watching TV again, just too many lies and too much indoctrination broadcast these days, Joseph Goebbels would be proud of our media today, it's doing a far better job than he ever could.

[Jill Sparrow 10,307]

Don't miss mine either. It's a time waster.

[catfan 14,793]

I bought my first TV license In 15 years when I moved here. Cost £7.50 per year. I won't bother next year I think we have watched less than one hour & that wasn't the BBC. Talking of the BBC I hope it goes subscription then those who constantly praise it can pay for it. 

[Brew 5,419]

I have  a friend in Orange County CA who is adamant the NHS is one step away from communism and he simply cannot see why on earth he should contribute to someone else's treatment.

 

I'm not that mean spirited. I willingly pay for education facilities I don't use, sports and swimming pools I don't use,  hospitals  I hope not to use...    and the BBC.

Yeah I suppose he must be right, I'm just a left wing radical bucking the free enterprise capitalist system and the global market...

[loppylugs 8,429]

Unfortunately there's a few that hold that view.  I don't know how they feel about car insurance.  It's a similar idea.  They do not seem able to grasp that even in countries that have a system like the NHS folks pay for it in deductions from their paychecks all their lives.  There's no free lunch!

[DJ360 6,730]

3 hours ago, Brew said:

I have  a friend in Orange County CA who is adamant the NHS is one step away from communism and he simply cannot see why on earth he should contribute to someone else's treatment.

 

 

Most likely because his treatment is so bloody cripplingly expensive, because he is literally 'buying into' an exploitative system dominated by profiteering insurance companies.. that he is incapable of seeing the benefits of an NHS style system.  He has been miseducated by the American System

[DJ360 6,730]

Budget

 

So, our delightful Govt... reassuringly.. is willing to spend 'whatever is necessary', to give the NHS 'Whatever it needs'.. to get us through Coronavirus.

 

They appear completely oblivious to 2 facts:

 

1. Much of what is needed would not be needed if they had not crippled the NHS through a decade of cuts.

2. 50000 Nurses and thousands of critical care beds cannot just be purchased 'off the shelf'.. at any price... quickly enough to deal with CV.

 

In the slightly longer term they appear suddenly agree with Labour, that we need to repair the damage caused by 'austerity', by spending on both infrastructure and day to day expenses. They still claim that austerity was necessary, but they are now keen to spend spend spend.. funded by 'Borrow, 'Borrow', 'Borrow'.  This of course is exactly the Labour approach which they spent the last ten years 'slagging off'.  Suddenly, they like the idea that borrowing is cheap.  It's been cheap for a decade.

 

Personally I'm not bothered much by the borrowing, because it IS different to most people's perception and it works differently. It is absolutely NOT directly comparable with household borrowing.

 

I'm rather more bothered that most of the longer term measures are still typically Tory and directed towards business rather than people.  And before anybody says it.. yes.. we need business.. but we need to care fore people or there will be no business.  When will Tories understand that we need both in good condition to create a successful society?

 

Take the Business Rates issues. There's no doubt that business rates have been a real issue, but if you drop them without compensating Local Authorities, then LAs become less able to deliver on their other responsibilities, which are placed on them by Central Govt..

 

Lots of promises...

 

What does the team think?

[DJ360 6,730]

On 2/1/2020 at 1:12 PM, radfordred said:

Anyone ran out of food or medicine yet? 

 

My pharmacy has been unable to supply Aspirin 75Mg EC for over two weeks now.  That's Aspirin. and not much of it.  With a bit of a coating on it.

 

God help those who rely on complicated and exotic drugs.