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Hi Richard, Well whether it is too strong or not, it is enshrined in UK regulations governing both newspapers (ie Press Complaints Commission Code) and broadcast (ie Broadcasting Code). There is clearly a distinction between communicating through the media and other forms of communication. I think that the distinction is probably related to the fact that freedom of speech is not absolute and competes with other rights. For instance the freedom of speech does not exempt oneself from charges of libel, slander or defamation. It also extends to other areas of law about incitement to violence and public disorder etc. I understand that there is a need to strike a balance between freedom of speech and other factors. But it is a balance that is required. Let me make clear. I wasn't objecting to Martin Durkin telling porky pies to his mates in the pub, or to him putting together a programme where the overwhelming majority of interviews where with the minority of scientists who don't agree with the consensus on climate change. My objection is to his intention of disseminating a DVD that he must know misrepr4esents the scientific evidence and of some of the scientists featured in his programme. Bob Ward Director, Global Science Networks Risk Management Solutions Ltd Peninsular House 30 Monument Street London EC3R 8NB Tel. +44 (0) 20 7444 7741 Blackberry +44 (0) 7710 333687 www.rms.com <http://www.rms.com/> ________________________________ From: psci-com: on public engagement with science [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Richard Ellam Sent: 30 April 2007 14:14 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [PSCI-COM] FW: [PSCI-COM] The Great Global Warming Swindle On 29 Apr 2007, at 17:35, Bob Ward wrote: Sorry Alice, I don't think it is quite that eaasy to reconcile the two points of view that David and I have expressed. I am not only making a point about misrepresentations of people's views, I am also reacting against the assertion that people have the right to use the media to disseminate falsehoods about scientific evidence. Bob, surely this position is too strong? Of course, freedom of speech gives people the right to disseminate falsehoods about scientific evidence in the media - that's part of what free speech is all about, namely saying what you think without fear of retribution from the authorities. People have an absolute right to say what they believe the scientific evidence on any matter is, even if that belief turns out to be false. The statement "I beleive that X " is, after all, a statement about the speaker's state of mind as much as about X. We have to take it on trust that statements about someone's state of mind are true because this is often rather hard to asses from externally avaliable evidence. What people should not be doing is to DELIBERATELY misrepresent or to selectively present scientific evidence in support of an essentially political position, which is what the Climate Change Deniers routinely do. However, if we believe in free speech we should not be in the business of suppressing maliciously false statements, but of exposing their mendacity through our own freedom to speak. Regards Richard Ellam L M Interactive 3 Winterfield Road Paulton BRISTOL BS39 7RF tel/fax 01761 412 797 [log in to unmask] ********************************************************************** 1. To suspend yourself from the list, whilst on leave, for example, send an email to [log in to unmask] with the following message: set psci-com nomail 2. To resume email from the list, send the following message: set psci-com mail 3. To leave psci-com, send an email to [log in to unmask] with the message: leave psci-com 4. Further information about the psci-com discussion list, including list archive, can be found at the list web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/psci-com.html 5. 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To leave psci-com, send an email to [log in to unmask] with the message: leave psci-com 4. Further information about the psci-com discussion list, including list archive, can be found at the list web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/psci-com.html 5. The psci-com gateway to internet resources on science communication and science and society can be found at http://psci-com.ac.uk **********************************************************************