Libel laws in the U.K.
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
As a way of short digression, in the Canadian chess community, we have a bully who goes by the name of Larry Bevand: director, king, absolute dictator and modern-day oligarch of an otherwise smallish ‘blackbox’ enterprise known as CMA. (Do you know who is President of this group? I don’t! And millions of other Canadians don’t know either.) Not only has Larry intimdated and threatened to black-list some of my blog readers from posting pro-”Spraggett on chess” messages on his chesstalk message board in the past, but he has also intimidated some of my own family members to try to get them to discourage me from publishing my ”True Colours” report on the state of Canadian chess.
A message from Simon Singh: The Mass Libel Reform Blog
Fight for Free Speech
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Bloggers of the world: UNITE! Freedom of speech; liberty; civic responsibility; getting the message out. That sort of stuff! Don’t let the bullies intimidate you! Below is a short blurb borrowed from the great and influential ”boingboing” blog….a rallying call for those who refuse to let others dictate what you can or what you can not do in England.
As a way of short digression, in the Canadian chess community, we have a bully who goes by the name of Larry Bevand: director, king, absolute dictator and modern-day oligarch of an otherwise smallish ‘blackbox’ enterprise known as CMA. (Do you know who is President of this group? I don’t! And millions of other Canadians don’t know either.) Not only has Larry intimdated and threatened to black-list some of my blog readers from posting pro-”Spraggett on chess” messages on his chesstalk message board in the past, but he has also intimidated some of my own family members to try to get them to discourage me from publishing my ”True Colours” report on the state of Canadian chess.
To this I can only say: intimidation is the smaller brother of extortion and blackmail! It is all in writing, Larry! I only have to re-produce my email inbox. Sue me! YOU STUPID FUCK!
AND NOW BACK TO ENGLAND, THE CRADLE OF EUROPEAN DEMOCRACY:
A message from Simon Singh: The Mass Libel Reform Blog
Fight for Free Speech
”This week is the first anniversary of the report Free Speech is Not for Sale, which highlighted the oppressive nature of English libel law. In short, the law is extremely hostile to writers, while being unreasonably friendly towards powerful corporations and individuals who want to silence critics.
The English libel law is particular dangerous for bloggers, who are generally not backed by publishers, and who can end up being sued in London regardless of where the blog was posted. The internet allows bloggers to reach a global audience, but it also allows the High Court in London to have a global reach.
You can read more about the peculiar and grossly unfair nature of English libel law at the website of the Libel Reform Campaign. You will see that the campaign is not calling for the removal of libel law, but for a libel law that is fair and which would allow writers a reasonable opportunity to express their opinion and then defend it.
The good news is that the British Government has made a commitment to draft a bill that will reform libel, but it is essential that bloggers and their readers send a strong signal to politicians so that they follow through on this promise. You can do this by joining me and over 50,000 others who have signed the libel reform petition.
Remember, you can sign the petition whatever your nationality and wherever you live. Indeed, signatories from overseas remind British politicians that the English libel law is out of step with the rest of the free world.
If you have already signed the petition, then please encourage friends, family and colleagues to sign up. Moreover, if you have your own blog, you can join hundreds of other bloggers by posting this blog on your own site. There is a real chance that bloggers could help change the most censorious libel law in the democratic world.
We must speak out to defend free speech. Please sign the petition for libel reform! (see above link for details)”
_______________________________________________________________________SPRAGGETT ON CHESS