The Water In North London

C Controversial Putting myself up for a Northsquad hit again. It's been hard to ignore the volume of pageviews I've had from "Felicity Jane Lowde" searches. I blogged on the Rachel North stalking saga back in May, and it generated the most comments I've ever had for a post. I've had links from other bloggers who, like me, took a step back and tried to see the issues from a rational viewpoint. Sure Lowde may have been locked up and she may be in need of psychiatric care, but the fact that she is the 'loser' in this scenario, doesn't actually improve my opinion of Rachel North or her supporters one bit. In fact, I've been surprised by how judgmental and vitriolic these self-labeled 'liberal' bloggers really have been towards the mentally ill. In response to one attack blog, they ganged up and created multiple attack blogs. In response to nasty comments, they made nasty comments. I don't see the difference except that Lowde is behind bars and they are not. I put comment moderation on this blog, when I started to get into a circular argument with a troll and it was successful in silencing the troll without silencing those that chose to voice reasonable disagreement. Which means I did not need to report anyone to the police for harassment. Since there is still so much interest about this, I thought I'd take the initiative to try and compose a list of those blogs that have offered thoughtful analysis. If I link you below and it generates you unwanted attention, please let me know and I'll remove the link immediately (of course if you want me to add yours, likewise get in touch). Here is a list, in no particular order, of blogs that have not been drawn into mob-mentality: Drowning and Other Fragments Tim Worstall Isadub Living With The Conspiracy 24-7 Famous For 15 Megapixels Vandaweb Duff & Nonsense Libel Lawyers London (links to a good article by Craig H) Ronpanasonic The Policemans Blog Mike Powers Not A Blog Southpawpunch It's a sad fact that with the onset of web 2.0 making it easier for idiots to publish online, that a growing number now see it as a publicity extension, rather than the great technical and informational revolution that it is. Take for example, Brian Retkin, who I'd never heard of before (but now his recent actions have allowed me to form an opinion of him), who is suing Google for... wait for it... linking to websites that have defamed him! "Lawyers for Dotworlds, which registers distinctive domain names, have sent Google what lawyers call a "letter before action". Mr Renton, 48, the company's managing director, of Wembley, north London, said he would sue if Google did not take down the links about his company posted anonymously. "Based on what I know today, I am determined to go ahead with this," he added." - The Telegraph And guess where Mr Renton is from? ... North London! Something in the water, perhaps? It's time to seriously consider the nature and the future of the internet, because free information is under threat. Perhaps a change in the law is required, but if the world continues to allow bloggers and web-publishers to be taken to court for publishing their own opinions or thoughts then we can kiss the internet as we know it goodbye. We're one step away from a law companies setting up "No Win No Fee" sites for anyone who feels they have been libeled, defamed or had their feelings hurt. Long live FJL's blog! Not because it's right or wrong, but because it's an opinion, a record, and it exists. We should not modify the past in order to fit the present. EDIT (After a quick thought): I wonder how much revenue/incoming links Google generates for Mr Retkins site, dotworlds.net? If he is successful in his idiotic lawsuit, couldn't Google just remove all links to any material mentioning dotworlds.net and therefore render his site ignored and obsolete? That would be awesome... c'mon Google, your motto is "don't be evil" now teach an evildoer a lesson! UPDATE: Southpawpunch emails... Alex I see that you have listed some blogs that mention  the Lowde/North affair You may like to consider my post - [added above] (towards the end) This post generated complaint emails from North. Technorati Tags: felicity jane lowde, rachel north, blogidalirity, stalking, north london, dotworlds, harrassment, mentally ill, libel

Gordon Brown Homepage Switcheroo

Wow, that was fast! This morning I had a visit from www.gordonbrownforbritain.com, IP 81.152.54.40. I must have struck a nerve because the image http://www.gordonbrownforbritain.com/images/homepage.jpg has been changed. Either that or maybe they just rotate the images (perhaps they will rotate the images now to give that impression). Reminds me of a university project I did critiquing the US CIA website back in 1999- A story I'll tell another time maybe.

Thieves Want More Power

Read this A few months ago (pre-Post Zero) Alex blogged a news story from the BBC about unscrupulous bailiffs criminals and the lengths they will go to collect debts extort money from their victims. Now read this Now, who is going to be the first to do this?

Sidekicks

No good hero would be complete without a sidekick (apart from Batman, Alex has always insisted he should work alone). So Alex is promoting the first 2 sidekicks in the fight against tyranny. To become a sidekick, all you have to do is mention Alex or AAF in a post or on your website, write lots of comments or do something interesting. Sidekick status may be applied retroactively, since we are now in a post-Post Zero era. However if you haven't been retconned into a sidekick and feel you should, then drop Alex a comment. Behold the sidekicks: The Mocker A supporter of Abandon All Fear since stumbling across the blog pre-Post Zero. Ed is driven by the quest to find the funny in tech and news. He has written favourably about AAF twice!. Therefore he has proven loyalty and commitment to good over evil, even if his methods are questionable). The Incredible Growing Man: Steve seeks to live a provocative life style. Fighting luke warmness wherever he finds it, he challenges people in what they believe, encouraging them to pursue Christ. Also a friend of AAF. Keep up the good work.

Post Zero

As you can see AAF has undergone some major retconning. Alex Fear has fully realised his destiny as a hero with new powers and abilities, such as insight and cunning wit. Alex doesn't apologise for the new comic feel of AAF, and before anyone makes assumptions it is not inspired by another excellent new US import. Alex's obsession with superheroes began a long time ago with the likes of Judge Dredd, Batman and Swamp Thing, to name a just a few. The good news, as you may have sussed, is that Alex now has broadband once again. Pipex came to his rescue when he fell into the trap laid by Salesman, working for the evil organisation TalkTalk. However, this still does not mean normal blogging will resume straight away. As you know Alex also now has a wife, whose powers far exceed his own.

Origins

A new hero rises to take on the culture of fear... the transformation is already underway. Oh and btw I have abandoned TalkTalk. I signed up with Pipex today on the recommendation of this blog. They claim to do it in about 10 days on their website. No doubt CrapCrap will screw my credit rating further when I cancel my direct debit, but it's a small price to pay. I advise anyone living in the slowest and stupidest city in the world not to go with TalkTalk for their broadband solution. They are all TalkTalk and no ActionAction.