welcome to itsnotright

by managment a quick word

. You'd have thought we were on safe ground with this one. All too often we free-speech advocates find ourselves defending the likes of fascists or alleged paedophiles; this time surely, we have an open-and-shut case of traditional state authoritarianism to fight against with the Police's recent suggestion that the government ban flag-burning?

Well, yes and no. Yes, in the sense that it is a staggeringly authoritarian move, but no, in that it doesn't quite fit the mould of previous attempts to ban flag-burning in western countries. You wouldn't be surprised to see the UK police taking a dim view of people who burn the union jack, but it appears that this time they wish to extend their remit beyond even that to the banning of any attempt to burn any flag.

Fundamentally, their target is not so much a specific type of demonstration (as perhaps would have been the case in the past), as demonstration in general. They want to clamp down on anything that could be seen as ‘offensive'. There was me thinking that the problem with modern demonstrations was that they weren't offensive enough…….

Ultimately however, motivation is irrelevant. The police want to take away our right to decide how we protest and that is something truly offensive to all of us.

arrested

by Christine

I am doing my part to spread the word about a blogger from the U.K. who will be arrested for posting about radical Islam. I just can't believe that it has come to this, people!! I can't believe what I am reading about that blogger from the U.K. being arrested for posting about radical Islam!

If we don't keep our freedom of speech laws intact in the United Kingdom, we will be next! This is alarming and serious!! I never dreamed that such an assault on free speech via "political correctness" for RADICAL ISLAM would EVER affect the U.K. like this! Extremely troubling!!

want peace?

by doolittle

A peace campaigner has been convicted under a new law banning unauthorised protests from taking place within half a mile of Westminster.

Maya Anne Evans, 25, a vegan cook from Hastings, was found guilty of breaching Section 132 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act.She was arrested in October after reading out names of soldiers killed in Iraq at central London's Cenotaph.Bow Street magistrates gave her a conditional discharge.

Demonstrators must seek police consent for any protest around Westminster under the new law introduced in August.Speaking after the three-hour trial, Miss Evans said: "I think I got the minimum sentence but I still feel aggrieved that I have been found guilty.

"I do not agree with the Act. I just think it's a shame that you can't voice your freedom of speech in this country any more and it is illegal to hold a remembrance ceremony for the dead."She said she would try to appeal and was willing to go to jail in defiance of the exclusion zone.Miss Evans, who has no previous convictions, had wanted to hold a peaceful remembrance ceremony, ringing a bell each time a name was read out, the court heard.She read out names of 97 British soldiers killed in Iraq while fellow campaigner Milan Rai, 40, a writer, read out names of dead Iraqi civilians.Both were arrested and Miss Evans was held for five hours at Charing Cross police station before being charged.

The new law was initially intended to remove Brian Haw, an anti-war protester who has camped in Parliament Square for four years.But Mr Haw successfully fought off the latest attempt to evict him in the High Court, by arguing his protest pre-dated the legislation

.I just think it's a shame that you can't voice your freedom of speech in this country any more
Maya Anne Evans

a word from jayzee

by jayzee

coming soon