It’s logical that those in power absolutely hate democracy because it threatens to make them accountable for their actions and words.
The internet is therefore one of the most reviled mediums of expression by those in positions of power because it allows anyone to challenge what they say or do. This was illustrated to me personally by Nelson McCausland who is the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure in Northern Ireland. In his blog, “Nelson’s View – The Ministers Pen“, He recently criticized Amnesty International for their choice of “far-left” Noam Chomsky to be the speaker for their annual lecture.
I responded by leaving a comment saying:
I think the reason Chomsky was chosen is because much of his work focuses on human rights not because of his “politics”. Since Amnesty International and the Human Rights Centre at Queen’s are both concerned with human rights, this makes perfect sense.
Labeling Chomsky as being “far left” is also inaccurate. If you think that corporate interests have far too little power in politics, then to you, yes he is “far left”. If, as I think the majority of people believe, that precisely the reverse is true, then he’s barely left of centre.
Today, I notice that the comment, including a follow-up by another reader, have been deleted.
Unfortunately for Minister McCausland however, Google’s cache still contains the comments which I’ve saved for posterity. I’ve since reposted another comment which was held in moderation but has gone online – for now at least.
So if you read this Mr McCausland, my advice is not to engage in blogging if you don’t like your views being politely challenged. The internet is an extremely democratic medium and may not be to the liking of government ministers like yourself who don’t believe in freedom of expression.
I find it incredibly ironic that someone who belongs to a political organization which calls itself the “Democratic” Unionist Party believes in censoring what is merely an opinion on a blog post.
Whatever you think of Amnesty International and Noam Chomsky, at least they believe in open and honest debate.
10th Dec Update: The comment has now been “mysteriously” re-instated since this post was written 
“It’s logical that those in power absolutely hate democracy because it threatens to make them accountable for their actions and words.”
Two example to show this generalization can run the gambit – from dead on (Hugo Chavez) to not so much (Barack Obama).
What happened to Tiger – did you get censored again?
It’s back online now although I don’t want to get involved in this whole sordid Tiger’s sexual hornet’s nest.
By the way, regarding this post, Mr McCausland has now republished my original comment so making a fuss obviously does have some effect on politicians.