Everybody Research the Holocaust Day

Free Speach, Sparticus, activism No Responses »
May 252010

Hot on the heels of the First Annual Everybody Draw Mohammad Day comes… Everybody Research the Holocaust Day.

This it seems is a response from someone who got a teense upset about people drawing pictures of Mohammad (and to be fair many of them mine included really weren’t great works of art).

However as Harry’s place has a plan:

“Now it seems to me that a bit of lesson in free speech is very much in order here, so if its an ‘Everybody Research the Holocaust Day’ that the members of this Facebook group want then let’s give them exactly what they’re asking for.

Between now and the 30th June, I’d like as many bloggers as possible to spend just a little bit of time researching the Holocaust.

This should not be too onerous a task as there’s no great shortage of fantastic online resources to draw on – just to get you started you could try the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, the USC Shoah Foundation Institute, the Holocaust History Project, the Holocaust Cybrary, HolocaustSurvivors.org and the Holocaust section of the Jewish Virtual Library and, of course, there’s a wealth of other information out there on teh Interwebs, only a Google/Bing/Yahoo search away.

And then, on the 30th June, I’d like you all to write and publish a blog post telling the world what you’ve found out, turning the day into a real Holocaust Research Day.

As for the Holocaust deniers and their childish little Facebook group, all I ask is that you leave them alone – so, please, no complaints to Facebook, no protests and no abusive comments either publicly or by email/personal messages. If you want to take any direct action against this group and its members then I’d suggest you do no more than look out for any conspiracist nonsense posted to the group and, if you have time, subject it to a good old-fashioned fisking.”

Anyway go read the whole article, join the facebook group and then on the 30th post something.

Posted by Giolla at 19:48 Tagged with: , ,

Can't draw for toffee

Sparticus, relgion No Responses »
May 192010

Now normally I really can’t draw, tonight I’m just back from the pub and my graphics tablet isn’t working so I had to use the trackball. Trackballs it seems are even worse for drawing than mice. However this is as good as it’ll get so for the First Annual Everybody Draw Mohammad Day – here’s something….
Mohamchad

Update A rather good article about why to draw Mohammad over at Greta Christina’s Blog and the Everyone Draw Mohammed blog

Posted by Giolla at 23:40 Tagged with: , ,

Free the Bolton one

Civil Liberties, Sparticus, activism, errata No Responses »
Mar 012010

If you’re reading this you’ve probably already read about the plight of Nick Hogan, if not go and read about it over at Old Holborns and whilst you’re there make use of the donate button to chip in an help get him out of prison. I thought debtor’s prisons had been done away with but apparently not, and by all accounts this particular prison has a particularly bad reputation.

Even if you agree with the smoking bad, the issue here is as Charles Crawford says far more about “the definition of a privately owned pub as a ‘public place’ under the relevant legislation. Just because the public have ‘access’ to a pub does not mean that it should be treated as a public place.“.

The other interesting point as observed by Old Holborn is that none of the smokers were breaking the law it was perfectly legal for them to smoke in the pub, it was just illegal for the owner to let them smoke (even though he wasn’t there). Which does make me wonder who’d get prosecuted if one. were to smoke in a government or crown building, as again as OH observes most of the staff there will have no power to compel you to stop, and you’re not breaking any law.

Finally in case you’ve not already done so go and chip in a few quid to help get Mr hogan out of prison so he can get back to trying to keep his remaining pub open, and you don’t even have to leave your chair.

Correction The law does make it an offence to smoke in a smoke free place, but that still doesn’t give them much power to enforce it. However a slightly more worrying bit with concern to the point Mr Crawford makes is this:


Additional smoke-free places

(1) The appropriate national authority may make regulations designating as smoke-free any place or description of place that is not smoke-free under section 2.

(2) The place, or places falling within the description, need not be enclosed or substantially enclosed.

(3) The appropriate national authority may designate a place or description of place under this section only if in the authority’s opinion there is a significant risk that, without a designation, persons present there would be exposed to significant quantities of smoke.

Posted by Giolla at 22:34 Tagged with: ,

More things of interest

Civil Liberties, Must read post, Sparticus No Responses »
Jan 092010

Much as I hate to have two posts in a row just pointing you at other articles, but I’m just going to have to live with that.

First off there is a rather ill thought out advert to persuade us all to get ID cards – apparently so that we can be executed, as spotted by The Register (do read the comments) and taken up by Big Brother Watch.

Which rather ties in with another excellent article from the keyboard of Leg Iron – a hypothetical future where people without ID chips get pulled from the street. Go read it and decide how unlikely it seems to you.

In the comments on LegIrons article was an anonymous link to a rather interesting if possibly a bit tinfoil hat video about the Codex Alimentarius – rather long but actually interesting enough to watch all the way through.

Posted by Giolla at 01:21 Tagged with: , ,

Carter-Fuck and Trafigura at it again

Sparticus, libel No Responses »
Dec 162009

So it seems that the worlds most loved law firm, Carter-Fuck, are up to their normal tricks again on behalf of that bastion of environmental concern Trafigura.

My attention has been drawn to this post by Richard Wilson, it would seem that Carter-Fuck would really much rather we didn’t see a Panorama report on the wast they dumped on the Ivory Coast. So via yet another gagging order forcing the BBC to take down this video from their web site.

Richard Wilson has a PDF capture of the Panorama site from googles cache before it got Carter-Fucked.
(Anonymong copy)

The story is also being reported by The New Satesman

Do spread the word, to make sure that Trafigura get the sort of publicity they deserve on this issue. After all dumping large amounts of toxic chemicals on poor nations that can’t deal with it just to save money, really isn’t a terribly nice thing to do.

Posted by Giolla at 19:41 Tagged with: ,

Carter-fuck at it again

Civil Liberties, Sparticus, laws, libel No Responses »
Oct 162009

So like a dose of the clap Carter-fuck are back at it again ( hat tip to Anna Raccoon). They seem to have realised that trying to stop the press reporting on Parliament is a bad move from a publicity point of view, so… now they’re trying to stop Parliament discussing the report about their client Trafigura dumping toxic waste on the Ivory Coast. The plan seeming to be to make use of the convention that Parliament doesn’t discuss matters that are sub judice, so as long as they can keep spinning out proceedings Parliament won’t be able to discuss Trafigura dumping toxic waste on the Ivory Coast and there wil be nothing for the press to report from Parliament and in the meantime everyone will get bored and go away. Simples!

Go read Anna Raccoon‘s article and more at the Guardian

Oh and that report they really really don’t want people to know about that can be found here

Posted by Giolla at 09:26 Tagged with: , , ,

More on Carter fuck

Civil Liberties, Sparticus, politics No Responses »
Oct 132009

As there’s a few more commentaries around on the Guardian gagging order i thought it only right to help improve it’s ineffectiveness to link t a few of them. The general consensus seems to be that the question cart-fuck don’t want us to know about is:

Questions for Oral or Written Answer beginning on Tuesday 13 October 2009

61. 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).

Though spy Blog high lights some other possibly interesting questions also being tabled.

According to Guido the report they’d really rather we didn’t here about is this one.

Other commentaries that are probably far more useful to read than this one can be found at:
Ministry of Truth, Dizzy Thinks and Iain Dale

Update A lot more on the Carter-fuck/Trafigura business on the Guardian. There’s also a Petition on number10 to request that press freedom to report Parliamentary business should be enshrined in law. Probably won’t do much good, but never hurts.

Update 2 Guido is reporting that Carter-fuck have thrown in the towel. Having managed to achieve precisely the opposite of what was intended. As explained rather well by Samizdata.

Update 3 Really can’t neglect the excellent article by Mr Eugenides

Posted by Giolla at 10:54 Tagged with: , , ,
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