God Hates Fags

[Mandy]

The government can twist the argument about what constitutes harassment to effectively bar all protests, demonstrations and free speech.

[Skylace]

[Mandy]

I am a Naomi Wolfe fan. She made a speech
"Fascist America, in 10 easy steps"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2064157,00.html

I think it is covered in the Galloway thread.

Rulings like this, and acceptance (and even promotion) of the ruling by the left is part of the process oiling the wheels of the machine pushing America deeper into fascism.

[faceless]

This has nothing to do with fascism, but everything to do with not being a cunt. Phelps and his mob are a bunch of cunts - and now they will hopefully be stopped. Unless they get donations from other 'right-minded' fundamentalist Christians...

[Mandy]

I think they will appeal and win. Though Bush is in a dilemma whether to support the war families, or the Christian fundamentalists who are his core supporter (but are now likely to defect to Hilary Clinton). Actually, Bush doesn't care about the families .. so that tells you the cunts will win in the courts.

And the problem is we on the left are looked upon as cunts by the right wing. We are next.

[faceless]

I won't be protesting at any funerals, or anything else that is equally as distasteful. The law in Scotland can already deal with such situations quickly and easily - through the use of the offence of 'Breach Of The Peace' which can be applied to any situation really.

It works well enough in as much as we don't get scum like Phelps parading about. In fact, if they tried it here in glasgow they wouldn't need to be laws to protect the public - the public would set about them and that would be that.

[Mandy]

[faceless]

They insist these days that a licence is applied for and given. But that's only relevant if the situation gets out of control. I used to take part in the unofficial May Day march that was on here every year and while the police knew it was happening, there was never any real trouble so it was tolerated and because it wasn't organised by anyone in particular there was no one to charge as such.

The police know that if you don't let people have a chance to let off steam that it can ferment, though one time they lost their cool and tried to charge me with 'malicious littering' of all things.

[Mandy]

[eefanincan]

[Mandy]

I meant that the news is so full of real hurt and real injury, which ALSO leads to injury to feeling, that giving millions in damages for "just" injury to feelings is a sick joke.

[nekokate]

[Skylace]

[Mandy]

30% to 50% probably goes to lawyers if they were hired on a contingency basis, else if on a straight fee basis then probaly $100,000 - $1M would go to lawyers.

Rest goes to the person who sued .. and NOT to the state.

As a measure of relative value : "In a groundbreaking move, the Pentagon is compensating servicemen seriously hurt when an American tank convoy forced them off the road"

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2205127,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12

The US government paid approx £100,000 each to :

Staff Sergeant Rogerson suffered head and spinal injuries. Allahou, who lives in Folkestone, Kent, with his British wife and had volunteered to work as a translator for the army, is said to be suffering long-term effects. Corporal Smith has made a good recovery and is now serving in Afghanistan.

Then after deducting the lawyers' fees, they probably got VERY LITTLE.

This is the injustice / inconsistency in the US : If you are suing the "establishment", you get peanuts, whilst if you get sued when you are anti-establishment, then you get these huge fines.

And here we have some who cheering a minority being possibly bankrupted (and effectively saying "serves them right") because we don't like that minority ourselves. We have to defend that minority's civil/constitutional rights in order that, when minorities we support are similarly fined, then we are not accused of hypocrisy when we THEN complain.

[Skylace]