Freedom of expression

A petition against the erosion of freedom of expression in the EU

 

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Postman sacks Professor

Apparently ex Postman Alan Johnson has sacked Prof Nutt, Chair of the independent Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.

I wonder how independent from Government the Advisory Council is when Government chooses who sits on the  Committee?

Looks like another massive conflict of interest to me! Since  Government control of independent committees means, jokingly, that the committees are no longer independent?

Apparently previous Home Secretary, School Teacher Smith, the one whose husband charged the tax payer for his much needed weekly porn, complained about Prof Nutt’s publication in a peer reviewed scientific journal. Looks like an attempt by Government to control science to me !

UK lawyers Gag media reporting from Parliament

The Guardian newspaper says it will challenge the gag on media reporting of Parliament.

The  paper will urgently to go to court to overturn the gag on reporting according to The editor, Alan Rusbridger

He said in the Guardian on Monday “the UK media laws in this country increasingly place newspapers in a Kafkaesque world in which we cannot tell the public anything about information which is being suppressed, nor the proceedings which suppress it. It is doubly menacing when those restraints include the reporting of parliament itself.”

The Guardian tell us  that media is being edited by a London firm of Lawyers who threaten law suits on anyone their clients choose to silence. In this case someone wants to stop the press from reporting on what  MPs say in Parliament.

I guess it’s a last resort when someone has to hire lawyers to stop someone from saying what is on their mind. It is called “bullying” in the real world I believe. A strategy used by those who have something to hide!

Is UK a fascist dictatorship? Certainly looks like it from here!

I believe the lawyer’s services are rather expensive, but understand that if you wish to end free speech, this is the way forward ! Who will be next?

Interesting times

Could it be these questions?

Paul Farrelly (Newcastle-under-Lyme): To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the Court of Appeal judgment in May 2009 in the case of Michael Napier and Irwin Mitchell v Pressdram Limited in respect of press freedom to report proceedings in court.

(292409)

61 N

Paul Farrelly (Newcastle-under-Lyme): To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of legislation to protect (a) whistleblowers and (b) press freedom following the injunctions obtained in the High Court by (i) Barclays and Freshfields solicitors on 19 March 2009 on the publication of internal Barclays reports documenting alleged tax avoidance schemes and (ii) Trafigura and Carter-Ruck solicitors on 11 September 2009 on the publication of the Minton report on the alleged dumping of toxic waste in the Ivory Coast, commissioned by Trafigura.

(293006)

62 N	Paul Farrelly (Newcastle-under-Lyme): To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will (a) collect and (b) publish statistics on the number of non-reportable injunctions issued by the High Court in each of the last five years.
	(293012)

63 N	Paul Farrelly (Newcastle-under-Lyme): To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what mechanisms HM Court Service uses to draw up rosters of duty judges for the purpose of considering time of the essence applications for the issuing of injunctions by the High Court.

Britain has had ‘lucky break’ from swine flu, says health chief

That’s ok then.

So the millions paid to GSK for Swine Flu pandemic vaccine development is wasted. Still not to worry the UK tax payer foots the bill, I believe!

Dictatorship exposed

“The EU Parliament has the appearance of democracy, but upon closer inspection, the truth is very different.   It is a beard for another type of regime that really calls the shots from Brussels:  one that is fundamentally unaccountable, undemocratic, unelectable and corrupt.”

“Immunity from Prosecution
All members of the EU’s governing structure, together with the tens of thousands of bureaucrats and civil servants who run the union, have been granted a lifetime immunity from prosecution.   This also goes for the new European police force, Europol, and the commanders and soldiers of the new European Army.   All buildings, offices, records, archives and minutes belonging to the EU and its institutions are inviolate.   They cannot be entered or inspected.   All personnel serving the EU are above the law, as declared in treaties which our successive politicians have signed on our behalf.”

“Human Rights
Perhaps most disturbingly, we see a continuation of the erosion of human rights under Article 52, which states:

“the EU may limit all rights and freedoms enumerated in that charter where necessary in order to meet objectives of general interest recognised by the EU.”

“This means that the state can limit/withdraw (abuse) the human rights of the individual at whim and is not answerable to anyone for doing so.   This is about as alien to the British way of life as it gets.”

“When coupled with the frightening powers now being bestowed upon upon Europol and the European prosecutor, perhaps the first the British will truly learn of what their country has become is when summary arrests of citizens are made in our country and those detainees are then shunted out of Britain to be held without charge on the Continent, if necessary for up to nine months, before being tried, not by a jury of the accused’s peers, but by a tribunal of professional, politically appointed foreign judges.”

“There will be no presumption of innocence until proven guilty, no prima facie evidence presented to a court within 24 hours.   The full weight of the state’s prosecutory apparatus will be brought to bear against the prisoner, who is burdened with the hopeless task of having to prove he is not guilty.   There will be little hope of an effective appeal.”

http://www.nocodexgenocide.com/page/page/3780258.htm

Frightening critics with Britain’s libel laws

“Trafigura’s attempts to  stifle its critics have collapsed” according to the Guardian. Apparently coverage of the case in Britain, has been curiously muted. This could be one of the worst cases of corporate killing and injury since the Bhopal disaster, but much of the media wouldn’t touch it with a bargepole.”

The Guardian writer goes on to ask “How many Trafiguras have got away with it by frightening critics away with Britain’s libel laws? How many Robert Maxwells have successfully fended off attempts to show that they have robbed, cheated and lied?” Well done the Guardian I say.

“These iniquitous, outdated laws are a threat to democracy, a threat to society, a threat to the environment and public health. They must be repealed” concludes the Guardian article. I agree.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/georgemonbiot/2009/sep/17/trafigura-libel-laws

Coincidentally since the news became public, Lord Strathclyde is to leave his post as a non-executive director on the board of Trafigura’s hedge-fund arm, Galena Asset Management, which pays him an undisclosed fee.  Senior former minister Peter Fraser QC, has now registered on the register of Lords interests that he is being paid by Trafigura, the Guardian reports.

The Lisbon Treaty threatens democracy

“The LisbonTreaty does not give you, as a citizen, the means to control the executive or the politicians who decide on your behalf, and that’s the hurdle it fails on.” said Miss Stuart in the Times today.

Further, Gisela Stuart, a Labour MP says that it puts the nature of British democracy at stake.

So let me get this right, the tax payer pays for the European Union but will be refused the right to control the executive or the politicians: So who exactly will control them, or is the answer no one. Well no it is the European Commission an unelected body? Sounds like a dictatorship to me.

Bit like an unelected Prime Minister appointing an unelected peer to run the country in his absence. Why not just scrap elections. They don’t seem to serve any purpose in a Dictatorship?

Now back to the Lisbon Treaty, and considering Miss Stuart actually helped draw up the treaty, what exactly is her agenda, I wonder?

UK libel law reform

Richard  Dawkins asks Liberal Democrat leader, to support reforms that would protect scientists and doctors who critically review treatments they have concerns about according to The Times

It seems that the UK is regarded as the place where claimants from across the world use the ancient libel laws to silence criticism!

Laughable libel laws

I see the UK Government is finally looking at changing the draconian libel laws which date back to the 1800`s. About time I say, especially after reading about recent attempted book banning in Portugal by a couple of child neglectors trying to “protect their reputation”, What reputation I wonder? A deserved reputation for child neglect and more, leaving a 3 year old babysitting two 2 years olds. In a similar case where three children were left alone but where no additional harm came to the children a woman was jailed. Perhaps the woman could not afford libel lawyers to launder her reputation.

No wonder they want to ban any book about their disgraceful behavior. Apparently the book detailed the results of a police investigation which placed the couple in the frame regarding the disappearance of their 3 year old. Amazingly they think they have done nothing wrong and should not be investigated as being involved in the disappearance of the 3 year old? They say that everyone in the UK leaves their toddlers alone when they go out for the evening? Now they are targeting freedom of speech in the UK and attempting to launder their reputations by spraying libel writs at anyone who comes to the conclusion that they may have been involved in the toddler’s disappearance. These libel writs sound like bullying to me!

However, this is part of a wider problem. It seems the same tactic is used by companies trying to stop any discussion that reflects negatively on their business.

I see the US “Libel Terrorism Protection Act” (Rachel’s Law) became  law in May 2008. This law offers some protection in the US against foreign libel judgements.

Recently the British Medical Journal discussed a science case regarding freedom of expression. They say “There have been several cases where individuals and commercial interests, including pharmaceutical companies, have sought to prevent the publication in scientific journals of opinions that they believe to be defamatory. By their very nature, examples of such censorship are not readily apparent to readers.”

Press Standards, Privicy and Libel, Select Committee transcript

Is Eurojust Independent?

Head of Eurojust, Jose da Mota,  interfered with  a corruption probe involving Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates according to the Portuguese General Prosecutor.

He alleges Jose de Mota put pressure on magistrates in connection with a case. The case in question suggests Mr Socrates allowed the construction of an outlet shopping mall on protected land allegedly in exchange for kickbacks.