[LAF] Academic freedom is best answer to extremism, says Rammell

[Volodya]

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Personally i completely agree with this, as Noam Chomsky says:
	"If you believe in freedom of speech, you believe in freedom of speech for views you don't like. Goebbels was
in favor of freedom of speech for views he liked. So was Stalin. If you're in favor of freedom of speech, that
means you're in favor of freedom of speech precisely for views you despise."

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Far right speakers such as Nick Griffin and David Irving should not be banned from speaking at British
universities because scrutiny was the best antidote to extremist views, argued Higher Education Minister Bill
Rammell in a Fabian lecture inviting the academic community to open a major public debate about how free
inquiry can challenge and refute violent extremism.

Speaker: Bill Rammell

Academic freedom is one of the most powerful means to challenge and refute violent extremism, Higher Education
Minister Bill Rammell argued.

The minister argued against boycotts and 'no platform' policies because the best antidote to offensive and
extremist views was to expose them to critical scrutiny in open debate.

Rammell described his speech as a "starter for ten" as he invited the university sector to lead a public debate
about "how we maintain academic freedom whilst ensuring that extremists can never stifle debate or impose their
views", which the Prime Minister had asked Universities Secretary John Denham and himself to begin.

    * The lecture took place on Tuesday 27th November at 6:30pm, kindly hosted by the Institute of Education in
London.

http://fabians.org.uk/events/rammell-academicfreedom-07/speech

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