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 | | From: | international mens organisation | | Subject: | ‘LEGAL_Rogues_gallery'_websi | | Date: | 29 Nov 2004 04:46:15 -0800 |
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 | ‘LEGAL Rogues gallery' websites to expose mystery pursuer
http://www.theherald.co.uk/business/28751.html
‘Rogues gallery' websites to expose mystery pursuer
PAUL ROGERSON
November 29 2004
TWIN websites dedicated to exposing corrupt Scottish lawyers were shut
down after their internet service provider in the US apparently caved
in to legal pressure.
Lobby group Scotland Against Crooked Lawyers (Sacl), whose leading
light is aristocrat Stuart Usher, and scottishlawyerwatch, run by
former Scottish rugby internationalist Mike Lloyd, immediately pledged
to return to the web within days via another jurisdiction. They are
understood to have switched the sites to China, and the Sacl site
(www.sacl.info) went live again within 24 hours.
Scotland Against Crooked Lawyers, which claims hundreds of members,
has run a highly vocal campaign demanding that the Law Society be
banned from investigating complaints against solicitors.
Usher himself was the subject of a TV documentary focusing on his
unproven allegation that Edinburgh law firm Brodies' stewardship of
Borders family estates had cost the Ushers millions of pounds. A £45m
claim brought against Brodies was withdrawn by Usher's legal
representatives last year.
Lloyd, who is also webmaster of the Sacl site, was told by American
ISP Freewebs that the provider could not continue to support the
sites. They were both taken down 10 days ago.
The letter read: "As you know, we have protected your site for some
time from removal because we deemed it to be within allowable speech
under the US Constitution's first amendment. Unfortunately, the
parties you have offended have aggressively pursued the take-down of
this site, and the British free speech laws are not as forgiving.
"We are no longer able to support your website."
Both sites have featured "rogues galleries" of lawyers they allege are
corrupt – including some very eminent members of the Scottish
profession. It remained unclear last night which individuals or firms
had brought pressure on Freewebs to shut the sites. Lloyd said he
plans to disclose the identity of the person he believes was behind
the move on the relaunched scottishlawyerwatch.org site shortly.
In a statement, meanwhile, the Law Society of Scotland said it was not
responsible, adding: "The society's only comment on these and other
similar sites in the past has been that solicitors are the very people
who support freedom of speech as long as it is within the parameters
of the law, including the laws of defamation."
The Faculty of Advocates also denied any involvement. "The faculty can
confirm it has taken no steps to close these sites," said a spokesman.
Usher told The Herald that similar legal pressure had led to the sites
being switched from the UK to the US 18 months ago. In a statement
supplied by Usher, Scotland Against Crooked Lawyers said: "The
(pursuers) must have been very intimidating to cause a US commercial
enterprise to abandon the protection of one of the roots of American
democracy.
"The very fact that the 'aggressive pursuer' chose to close down our
website by secret threats rather than sue SACL for defamation
indicates that those Scottish law firms and individual lawyers
appearing in our Rogues Gallery know that they stand correctly accused
of a whole host of illegal and corrupt activities. This precludes them
from suing SACL as this would mean humiliating exposure for them."
The group added: "SACL is delighted that it has forced its opponents
into illegal and secretive methods including intimidation to close its
website. SACL suspects very strongly that it has cost these
'aggressive pursuers' thousands of pounds to achieve their end."
Freewebs could not be contacted for comment.
==================================
via
International Mens Organisation
http://internationalmensorganisation.cjb.net
Fathers Fighting Injustice
http://fathersfightinginjustice.cjb.net
to join email ffiint-subscribe@topica.com
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| | From: | Paul Nutteing | | Subject: | Re: 'LEGAL Rogues gallery' websites to expose mystery pursuer | | Date: | Mon, 29 Nov 2004 18:16:35 -0000 |
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| "international mens organisation"
wrote in message news:fa7a7aec.0411290446.31fc42cd@posting.google.com...
> 'LEGAL Rogues gallery' websites to expose mystery pursuer
>
> http://www.theherald.co.uk/business/28751.html
>
> 'Rogues gallery' websites to expose mystery pursuer
>
> PAUL ROGERSON
>
> November 29 2004
>
> TWIN websites dedicated to exposing corrupt Scottish lawyers were shut
> down after their internet service provider in the US apparently caved
> in to legal pressure.
> Lobby group Scotland Against Crooked Lawyers (Sacl), whose leading
> light is aristocrat Stuart Usher, and scottishlawyerwatch, run by
> former Scottish rugby internationalist Mike Lloyd, immediately pledged
> to return to the web within days via another jurisdiction. They are
> understood to have switched the sites to China, and the Sacl site
> (www.sacl.info) went live again within 24 hours.
> Scotland Against Crooked Lawyers, which claims hundreds of members,
> has run a highly vocal campaign demanding that the Law Society be
> banned from investigating complaints against solicitors.
>
> Usher himself was the subject of a TV documentary focusing on his
> unproven allegation that Edinburgh law firm Brodies' stewardship of
> Borders family estates had cost the Ushers millions of pounds. A £45m
> claim brought against Brodies was withdrawn by Usher's legal
> representatives last year.
> Lloyd, who is also webmaster of the Sacl site, was told by American
> ISP Freewebs that the provider could not continue to support the
> sites. They were both taken down 10 days ago.
>
> The letter read: "As you know, we have protected your site for some
> time from removal because we deemed it to be within allowable speech
> under the US Constitution's first amendment. Unfortunately, the
> parties you have offended have aggressively pursued the take-down of
> this site, and the British free speech laws are not as forgiving.
> "We are no longer able to support your website."
> Both sites have featured "rogues galleries" of lawyers they allege are
> corrupt - including some very eminent members of the Scottish
> profession. It remained unclear last night which individuals or firms
> had brought pressure on Freewebs to shut the sites. Lloyd said he
> plans to disclose the identity of the person he believes was behind
> the move on the relaunched scottishlawyerwatch.org site shortly.
>
> In a statement, meanwhile, the Law Society of Scotland said it was not
> responsible, adding: "The society's only comment on these and other
> similar sites in the past has been that solicitors are the very people
> who support freedom of speech as long as it is within the parameters
> of the law, including the laws of defamation."
> The Faculty of Advocates also denied any involvement. "The faculty can
> confirm it has taken no steps to close these sites," said a spokesman.
> Usher told The Herald that similar legal pressure had led to the sites
> being switched from the UK to the US 18 months ago. In a statement
> supplied by Usher, Scotland Against Crooked Lawyers said: "The
> (pursuers) must have been very intimidating to cause a US commercial
> enterprise to abandon the protection of one of the roots of American
> democracy.
>
> "The very fact that the 'aggressive pursuer' chose to close down our
> website by secret threats rather than sue SACL for defamation
> indicates that those Scottish law firms and individual lawyers
> appearing in our Rogues Gallery know that they stand correctly accused
> of a whole host of illegal and corrupt activities. This precludes them
> from suing SACL as this would mean humiliating exposure for them."
> The group added: "SACL is delighted that it has forced its opponents
> into illegal and secretive methods including intimidation to close its
> website. SACL suspects very strongly that it has cost these
> 'aggressive pursuers' thousands of pounds to achieve their end."
> Freewebs could not be contacted for comment.
>
> ==================================
> via
> International Mens Organisation
> http://internationalmensorganisation.cjb.net
> Fathers Fighting Injustice
> http://fathersfightinginjustice.cjb.net
>
> to join email ffiint-subscribe@topica.com
If
http://www.scottishlawyerwatch.org/
was on a banner paid for site then it could probably
have been reoccupied a month later
One of my sites, proof even against
attack by special branch, on a Russian site
http://www.nutteing.chat.ru/nutteing6.htm
Valid email nutteing@fastmail.....fm (remove 4 of the 5 dots)
Ignore any other apparent em address used to post this message -
it is defunct due to spam.
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