We are developing the social individualist meta-context for the future. From the very serious to the extremely frivolous... lets see what is on the mind of the Samizdata people.

Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house]

Samizdata quote of the day – Silence for some, speculation for others

So let us name the principle actually in operation, because it is not sub judice. Sub judice is a rule, and rules apply evenly or they are not rules. The principle in operation is that speculation is dangerous when it is inconvenient and wholesome when it is useful. Ann’s case, where the early inferences pointed somewhere the official mind preferred not to look, attracted the full apparatus of hush. Suffolk, where the inference flattered the approved threat picture, was narrated by a Secretary of State before the evidence was in, and un-narrated by nobody when the evidence declined to appear. The Tates, indefensible in the court of public opinion, may be tried there nightly without a murmur. That is not the law of contempt. That is malinformation doctrine wearing the law of contempt as a disguise, truth and silence alike deployed by reference to harm as the managers define it.

Gawain Towler, discussing a now debunked terrorism claim, the Tate brothers arrest, and Ann Widdicombe’s murder… and the very selective approach taken by the state in the pursuit of justice.

5 comments to Samizdata quote of the day – Silence for some, speculation for others

  • llamas

    Trenchantly-put.

    IIRC, one of the most-serious cases against Tommy Robinson (whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) is that his publicly-identifying certain defendants in one case jeopardized their rights to a fair trial in a different case – feel free to correct me if I am wrong, as reporting about this is a bit difficult to follow from this side of the pond. And for this terrible offence, he was jailed for a significant term. Yet I fail to see the difference between what he did, and what has been done every day this week in the UK press in relation to the Tate brothers – about whom, I now know far more than I ever wanted to, and all thanks to the busy beavers of Grub Street, apparently actively aided-and-abetted by most of the UK criminal justice system. A more on-point example of two-tier justice would be diffucult to formulate.

    llater,

    llamas

  • Discovered Joys

    I always thought the Government was brave to create the Ministry of Justice when other fictional ministries were mocked for their true purpose… such as the Ministry of Truth, Ministry of Love and Ministry of Peace in Nineteen Eighty-Four

  • Natalie Solent (Essex)

    The most staggering part is this:

    Sunday 12 July. Dartmoor. The response to Farage arrives on schedule. The Times carries the accusation that he is using Ann’s death as political propaganda. Dan Hodges declares it staggering that a senior political leader would speculate on a live investigation. The Mail on Sunday produces a highly placed source, unnamed, reporting that family members, also unnamed, do not want her death hijacked for political purposes. A chorus demanding silence, in the name of the integrity of the case. Suffolk. On police advice the Ijtima closes early, a major incident is declared, and the first arrests are made over a suspected extreme right-wing threat to the event.

    Monday 13 July. Suffolk. The arrest count reaches twelve, held under section 41 of the Terrorism Act. Before a single charge has been laid, the Home Secretary announces that the police response to a credible threat has undoubtedly saved lives. Read that again. A Cabinet minister, on live proceedings, tells the country not merely that a plot existed but what its consequence would have been, its body count implied, its character settled, while the suspects sit uncharged in custody.

  • Paul Marks

    Gawain Towler is clearly correct about this – there are no longer clear principles of law (jurisprudence) guiding the “justice” system – it is political now, the “right” and the “left” treated quite differently in Britain – this is also true in Democrat controlled areas of the United States, such a New York and Los Angeles.

    llamas – yes T.R. is treated politically, his “mortgage fraud” would never have come to court had he been on the left, and his “contempt of court” conviction was a sick farce.

    Discovered Joys – yes, unless they were hinting to us that they intended to undermine justice (which was indeed the intention of Prime Minister Blair and co).

  • Paul Marks

    “The right is planning terrorist attacks against Muslims” – translation “we are trying to distract you from Islamic attacks – inspired by the teachings, and personal example, of Muhammed, and Islamic practice over 14 centuries to the present day”.

    Some of the establishment may just indeed be innocent idiots – such as the people who think that “Dr Who” is still “cool” and it will show that they are “down with the kids” if they play with the “TARDIS” – but many of the establishment are highly intelligent.

    They know what Islam is – and what its followers would do to Western (“infidel”) populations – and they get a “kick” out of the thought.

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