Television tax benefits India

[AtW]

The year before Gorbachev were "stagnation" but they were referred to as "golden days" because all was nice and quiet, deficit was not that accute: price of oil was very high back then.

Look at historical oil prices here: http://www.wtrg.com/oil_graphs/oilprice1947.gif

(this reminds me again how sucks it is not to be able to inline images!).

Notice how good were the year from 73 to 83 - then big drop and USSR was in deep sh1t, note another drop in 1998 - this was major financial crisis which actually resulted in me immigrating permanently, now look at how high prices of oil again - and this is why Putin is so boastful, but he won't be when oil gets down to $20.

Freedom radio played important role because during the collapse you need to have people who are active and suggest the right stuff - basically take the country into the right direction like Eltsin did in 1991, it could have went completely different way - KGB control, well, just like it is now, but at the time he took the right move and people who wanted truth and heard Radio Freedom made the difference.

Now look at Iraq - previous regime crumbled but people had no idea where to take country, so they took it into chaos.

[mcquiggd]

Listen, I know better what had impact because I actually was there at the time and I think between us two I have better economical education, ok?

Why? You don't listen to me as someone who has lived in the UK for 37 years since birth when I discuss UK issues...

In a lieing through their teeth state of USSR having Freedom radio was totally essential - authoritarian regimes can hold on for a lot of time without complete military merit, Star Wars had barely any effect - dropped price of oil had much more to do with the economic problems.

Apparently it is a common feeling that Gorbachev, implementing peristroika and glasnost too rapidly, to combat the stagnation of the Russian economy which Reagan had caused or at the very least accelerated by starting an arms race the Russians could not afford, also contributed to the Downfall. Look at the state of the Russian armed forces now. All those vast projects now reduced to rusting hulks. Why were they implemented in the first place, rather than using those billions to improve the economy?

I do not believe people needed to listen to Freedom Radio to know there had no food and no money.

The irony is that now Putin is flexing economic muscle with regard to energy supplies... if Russia had used its natural resources rather than military might we may well have had a very different continent than we do today....

[AtW]

Listen, I know better what had impact because I actually was there at the time and I think between us two I have better economical education, ok?

In a lieing through their teeth state of USSR having Freedom radio was totally essential - authoritarian regimes can hold on for a lot of time without complete military merit, Star Wars had barely any effect - dropped price of oil had much more to do with the economic problems.

[mcquiggd]

Yes and they achieved CNN like status because they say the truth.

Id say it was more like Fox - they tell their target audience what they want to hear.

Freedom radio that was broadcasting over USSR played key role in its peaceful demise - just think how much money it saved and stop bitching about small amounts, better look at how much is wasted in all other places and deal with that big problems first.

Freedom Radio had no impact at all on the fall of communism... economic devastation caused by trying to compete with the West in military terms was the underlying cause. Reagan simply outspent the USSR until it went bankrupt trying to keep up.

People wanted food, and jobs.

They still do.

[AtW]

Al Jazeera seems to be doing quite nicely.

Yes and they achieved CNN like status because they say the truth.

Freedom radio that was broadcasting over USSR played key role in its peaceful demise - just think how much money it saved and stop bitching about small amounts, better look at how much is wasted in all other places and deal with that big problems first.

[mcquiggd]

This is a democratic country with independent courts, real opposition and free mass media

Alexei, stop taking advantage of increased poppy production in Afghanisatan, dude.

there is no point for authoritarian countries to try to broadcast their crap here because it won't convince anyone

Al Jazeera seems to be doing quite nicely.

It's much cheaper to broadcast stuff about democracy and freedom than try to invade another country trying to bring in these values by force.

But completely innefective. I doubt the BBC has made potential suicide bombers stop and think.. 'hmmm, well, that BBC article did say that America had been stupid and arrogant... nah, I wont kill em after all. Lets have a nice cuppa instead'....

[AtW]

Where are the all the foreign channels broadcasting in English for free if it's such a worthy concept??

This is a democratic country with independent courts, real opposition and free mass media: there is no point for authoritarian countries to try to broadcast their crap here because it won't convince anyone.

It's much cheaper to broadcast stuff about democracy and freedom than try to invade another country trying to bring in these values by force.

[BarbarianAtTheDoor]

We all paid for BBC programming via the cable company. As luck would have it, I know the guy who bought these rights for a certain cable company. BBC prime -for example- is only included in the premium category for a reason.

[mcquiggd]

The purposes of non-english reporting like the above is to give chance to people in those countries to have source of info without having to know the language: such service costs fraction of the BBC budget, but in any case it should be supported by the State.

I dont give a toss about the qaulity of TV in other peoples countries, just as they don't about my countries TV. And I dont give a toss if they don't speak English (a proportion of the UK doesn't either). It is not a fraction of the BBC budget - there is a vast array of web sites, TV and radio stations broadcast across the globe at our expense, in so many different languages. It is unneccessary and should not be funded by the taxpayer.

Where are the all the foreign channels broadcasting in English for free if it's such a worthy concept??

[AtW]

You people should think about the less privileged ones with crappy local TV.

They should work their arse off instead of watching TV.

Understanding what's going on in the world is important, but the Internet provides news faster than TV and it's free too.

[mcquiggd]

Why?

[BarbarianAtTheDoor]

I just loved freeloading on BBC programming back at home. You people should think about the less privileged ones with crappy local TV.

[AtW]

I doubt people are heavily influenced by http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/arabic/news/ to stop suicide bombings, especially as the BBC tends to reinforce their view of us as American stooges.

The purposes of non-english reporting like the above is to give chance to people in those countries to have source of info without having to know the language: such service costs fraction of the BBC budget, but in any case it should be supported by the State.

I don't pay BBC tax now because I do not have a working TV - the only set I had is in the garage.

[mcquiggd]

That should have been an 'Oh dear : ....' really

Classic - we are forced to pay tax to watch output from the supposedly British Broadcasting Corporation, who continue to offer an enormous variety of uneccessary output to virtually every country on the planet for free, and then we end up paying indians to handle the finances.

I could move to mainland Europe (which I might well do) and watch it for free via satellite.

Why are we paying for free news output to foreign countries when they have multiple sources in their own language? I doubt people are heavily influenced by http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/arabic/news/ to stop suicide bombings, especially as the BBC tends to reinforce their view of us as American stooges.

Yet again another 'British company' wants to distance itself from the country it supposedly represents.

[NoddY]

Tucked away in yesterday's Guardian:

http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1927927,00.html

..and it IS a television TAX, just you try not paying if you don't have a TV:

http://www.marmalade.net/lime/

Expect the full machinery of the state to come down on you.