Harry's Place

The shame is that it seems the Quilliam Foundation did not write a simple letter or make a phone call to Craig Murray to state why he was wrong and ask him politely to retract his allegation. He has now, in fact, done this now he’s been notified. But QF decided to bring in lawyers to demand compensation and to cover completely unnecessary legal costs. Moreover, QF – which receives public funds – is pursuing this litigation but demanding the compensation be paid to its directors and not the organisation itself. It doesn’t reflect well on the organisation and I hope they just drop it now and quickly move on doing the stuff they were set up to do.

The Quilliam Foundation are libelled day-in and day-out by Islamists and their supporters at Iengage, Mpacuk, CiF and a dozen similar websites.

If I had to endure this volume of hatred and ad-hominem lies every day, I’m sure that I would want to make an example of Craig Murray as well.

Why not go for MPAC and have a show-down with them?

I wouldn’t defend Craig Murray against a retired librarian armed with a toasting fork.

And some toast also.

“Defend Craig Murray”

***Gulps***

What’s the story behind this? The link to Craig Murray does not clarify this.

In this instance I’m on the side of the Quillam Foundation.

Craig Murray probably justly deserves suing. Never mind whinging they served him notice – he should be honest and say what it is they are suing him for. Must be pretty disgusting, considering what they put up with from muslim extremists.

Essentially, he said they had failed to file their accounts with Companies House, which he claimed made them an illegal organisation. When he was told that the accounts had been submitted (there is debate over whether or not this was after his article), he amended his blog post. Unfortunately, the Quilliam Foundation using public money decided to seek litigation as a first response and seek compensation for its directors rather than just put in a request and see how Murray responded. The law should not be used for vendettas to silence those you disagree with. If QF’s main problems are with Islamists, then why are they not going for them instead of Craig Murray?

Islamists have said really nasty things about QF, but they have never been sued. Craig just points out that QF hadn’t filed its accounts – as stated on the Companies House website – and he could be sued, perhaps with the use of taxpayers’ money. Craig isn’t an Islamist – so what’s up? I note that only a few weeks ago, Douglas Murray of the CSC accused the people at QF of being ‘authoritarian’:

“The former Islamic fundamentalists of Quilliam are using public money to advocate a totalitarian approach to British society”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/oct/23/quilliam-islamic-fundamentalists-terrorism

Craig’s posting below the one that you linked to gives more details. It looks like all piss and wind to me, but since this foundation is a Nu-Labour front, and since Craig is on the side of the angels, let’s all pile in and support him.

By the by, a South African blogger who calls himself Uhuru Guru has just announced the closure of his blog. He has been harassed by state agents for some time and was arrested last week. They are now going after his family, and that is the final straw. The bloke is a conservative but we are all in this blogging lark together, so a message of support for him would be nice. One has just gone up at my place.

Now that I know Exile is supporting Murray I think I’ll send Ed Jagger some cash to help the Quilliam Foundation out.

Oh dear Exile, here you are bleating on about defending Murray and some South African blogger, yet a few days you were gloating at the news of a Cuban blogger being beaten up. Try to remember what you’re posting here you fuckwit.

Murrey’s a prick, but if you think about it for a nanosecond, this rather undercuts Quilliam’s liberal pretensions.

I’m no fan of the libel laws but what’s the justification for arguing that bloggers as a class should be exempt from them? If someone has been seriously and maliciously defamed, they should have the right of redress, whether the defamer is a newspaper, magazine or blogger.

Equally, a writer who is being unjustly suppressed by the use of the libel laws – eg Simon Singh – should be supported, regardless whether s/he is a blogger, reporter or newspaper columnist. A good thing to do is to donate to the Sense About Science Campaign.

Take an admirable example from Anthony Julius who spoke on Desert Islands discs (as mentioned on post above) this morning about a newspaper comment made about him after the Diana divorce settlement.

The comment was to the effect that Julius, owing to being a Jew, had conducted the settlement in a dishonest and dishonorable way, being, as Jews are, a stranger to notions of justice and fair play. As a result of complaints made by others to the paper, the paper’s legal officer contacted Julius and asked him what he wanted the paper to do. Julius replied that this matter redounded to the paper’s discredit, not Julius’ and it was up to the paper to decide what it wanted to do. The paper published a retraction and that was the end of it.

I wrote the following comment to Craig Muuray’s site (it hasn’t been deleted):

I have been following the Quilliam Foundation’s site and their activities for years and you have got them entirely wrong. Several of the commenters who insult them admit to knowing nothing about them. I count them among the noblest people now living in Britain, which is precisely why they are disliked. (I am not an associate of theirs).

I disagree with the action they have taken against Craig & hope they let it drop. I can’t take the feigned phone call seriously. I have done it myself.

I never gloated at the news of a Cuban blogger being done over for the simple reason that I never believed that that little slag had been, that’s the difference. Obvious, if you take the trouble to read what I wrote, and don’t have problems with the old reading comprehension.

Tell you what, spaz, if the little slag ever goes off-line, then I will start supporting it, OK? Just like I am with Uhuru Guru, another conservative.

All very consistent, to anyone who can read.

So far as I can see, given the existing controversies surrounding this dubious neo-con outfit, a collection of former extreme Islamists and spooks, they are incapable of further defamation.

That’s defence enough.

‘dubious neo-con outfit’

Oooh get him! He’s *so* last year, next he’ll be calling them Zionazis.

Wanker.

‘We at Harry’s Place will always stand with bloggers who are threatened by libel suits.’

When I was threatened with a libel suit by Mettaculture on this very blog, for posting comments on this very blog, you certainly didn’t stand with me. But then, those old universal principles do seem to find themselves bent just a teensy weensy bit when it’s a question of old HP groupies, don’t they ?

Still, I’m with you on your general point. I can’t think of any group of people more noble and charismatic, or whose services to humanity are greater, than the members of the blogging community. There is no group of people on this planet whose suffering is more real than bloggers threatened by letters from lawyers; no group to whom I’d rather give my solidarity. I find the very thought of bloggers being sued for libel so upsetting that I can barely sleep at night; it really puts the suffering of victims of tyranny, genocide and terrorism in perspective.

Surely, time for Amnesty International to campaign on the issue ?

You should try defending yourselves first, this site has clearly something to say about you all

http://www.thesamosa.co.uk/index.php/comment-and-analysis/society/160-harrys-race-to-the-bottom-the-bullies-who-drive-blogs.html

Wait before we all wade in to defend him

is this Craig “Zionism is Bullshit” Murray

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt4S8AGPGfk

or is it

Craig “I spent a good few years as ‘ambassador’ drinking and whoring in Tashkent at the expense of HMG (aka UK taxpayers) and had such fun that I brought one back with me to the UK

http://jamblichus.wordpress.com/2009/10/09/

@Exile – the phrase ‘little slag’ seems to be something of a nervous tic with you – do you never think, or just not care, that your use of language is misogynistic? I’m sure you pride yourself on your left wing credentials, but your comments reminded me of a list of people to beware of compiled by a colleague of mine for an article in the Times Higher. Here’s the relevant pairing – sex obviously means ‘biological sex’ here:

- Any colleague who professes that class and race are more important than sex;

- Any colleague who professes that class and race are less important than sex;

Craig “I spent a good few years as ‘ambassador’ drinking and whoring in Tashkent at the expense of HMG (aka UK taxpayers) and had such fun that I brought one back with me to the UK

http://jamblichus.wordpress.com/2009/10/09/

They (here cum de judgeeee) still gave him a pay off virtually impossible for an average tax payer to save in a lifetimes of public service in the UK, unless they won a minor libel case!!!!