Bartholomew's Notes

As well as religion, this blog has a couple of other on-going areas of interest. One of these is the issue of free speech, in particular the use of libel law in the UK to suppress unwelcome criticism and investigation. British libel law puts the burden of evidence on the defendants, defendants cannot get legal aid (usually), and although damages are not as absurdly high as they were a few years ago, legal costs can be so devastating that often it is not worth the risk of defending a case.

It is not just the wealthy who take advantage of this: libel action threats can be made quite cheaply if you have a friend or ideological ally who’s a sympathetic lawyer – thus Paul Staines was able to cause trouble for Tim Ireland thanks to help from a Young Tory lawyer named Donal Blaney (just one example among others from the pseudo-libertarian right).

Presiding over many cases is Mr Justice Eady, a man who has been described by Lord Hoffman as “hostile” to responsible journalism in the public interest. Although his judgements are not uniformly bad (he threw out a case brought by the BNP against Searchlight), many of his decisions are worrisome.

The latest Private Eye (1224 p. 7) magazine carries details of a preliminary hearing in a libel case being brought by newspaper owner Richard Desmond against author Tom Bower. Desmond is one of the more unsavoury characters in British public life, and Bower is writing a biography of him. That hasn’t been published yet, but Bower did reference Desmond in his biography of Conrad Black (Conrad and Lady Black: Dancing on the Edge), in which Desmond is accused by using his Daily Express to publicise Black’s financial problems as revenge against his rival. Black sued for libel and the Express was forced to settle, but Desmond takes exception to Bower’s claim that he had interfered with the editorial policy of his paper.

This was in the news last year, and the Guardian reported that

Mr Justice Eady ordered Bower to pay £10,000 towards legal costs…

The Eye reports that in a hearing last week Bower presented evidence that Desmond does indeed interfere with the paper’s editorial policy: persons such as Mohamed Fayed and Sir Philip Green had received favourable coverage at Desmond’s behest, and Ulrika Jonsson had been on the end of negative coverage after she sold her memoirs to a rival newspaper. Other examples were also raised. However:

Mr Justice Eady agreed with [Desmond’s barrister Matthew Nicklin] that there was no broader implication: the story in Bower’s book was “not capable of a general meaning”…[The] luminaries were duly struck out of the defence pleadings, because they weren’t relevant to the allegation about Black.

Fortunately for Bower, he has other evidence that Eady has allowed, and which will be deployed at the trial next year. But it is surely worrying to see so much dismissed before the trial has even got underway.

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The UK’s Channel 4 has just broadcast a documentary about American evangelical dissatisfaction with the Republican Party and increasing support for the Democrats. Entitled (rather uninspiredly) God Bless America, the programme was made by Calvin Skaggs, who was responsible for With God on Our Side: The Rise of the Religious Right in America a few years ago.

Most of the programme dealt with evangelicals who have become attracted to the Democrats: the party now talks about “values”, and in Obama had a candidate happy to talk about faith and God and able to evoke the Civil Rights era. However, there are also other factors: Shaun Casey of Wesley Theological Seminary made the interesting suggestion that the thousands of evangelicals who headed to New Orleans to help out in the wake of Hurricane Katrina returned home “transformed and angry” at the failure of the government to assist. And more generally, as former Bush sppechwriter Michael Gerson concedes, the Religious Right is perceived as “too narrow and too negative” for younger evangelicals who are interested in a greater range of issues than abortion and homosexuality – the young evangelicals interviewed in the programme used terms like “world citizen” to identify themselves, and they are keen to tackle poverty and other ills; in particular, there is concern for the environment.  Mega-church pastor Joel Hunter is worried about climate change, and his careful explanation of what’s at stake is contrasted (without belabouring the point) with a lame sneer from Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council that “you talk about the weather when you have nothing to say”. Members of Hunter’s church admit that they used to see environmentalism as a preserve of hippy “tree-huggers”, and that they should have engaged with the issues before now.

We are also introduced to Obama’s evangelical activists and strategists (filmed in the run-up to the election), such as Mara Vanderslice and Burns Strider, and their “Matthew 25 Network” campaigning work – one advert promoted by the Network earned a bitter rebuttal from James Dobson. Meanwhile, the campaign’s Director of Religious Affairs, Joshua DuBois, held “Faith Forums” to drum up support. Evangelical supporters of Obama say they support him over McCain because they have “done the math”, but at the same time are keen to stress the need to keep civil and to avoid being “worked up” to feel hate or bitterness.

At the same time, evangelicals have become less enamoured with the Republican Party. Richard Cizik of the National Association of Evangelicals complains that evangelicals had been taken advantage of by the Bush administration and treated like a “cheap date”, while Tony Perkins despairs at John McCain’s insistence that his faith is personal and private, and his tendency to talk about topics such as defence rather than values issues. Marlys Pompa, McCain’s Outreach Co-ordinator for evangelicals, is forced to trawl through McCain’s Faith of My Fathers for morsels of spirituality, and a meeting with officials from Liberty University is polite but unenthused. Only Sarah Palin invigorates the campaign, but on insofar as to bring the base back on board. At the end of the programme, Perkins seems unsure about the ways in which the Religious Right is to develop, although he’s confident that it will “always be there”.

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Moon’s Son at Parliament

Yesterday saw the Unification Church-backed Global Peace Festival in London, following on from a “Plenary Session of the International Leadership Conference” in Parliament at which Hyun Jin Moon, the son of Rev Syung Mun Moon, addressed a collection of international leaders. The Conference was opened by Labour MP David Anderson, and the Peace Festival’s participants included Tom Brake, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman. Further details at my spin-off blog, Ambassadors for Moon, here and here.

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Yesterday I blogged on the three British National Party “Reverends” revealed on the leaked membership list; Edmund Standing of I Kid You Not today has a more detailed post on the BNP members who consider themselves to be Christians. In particular, there is more about the Rev. Robert West, on whom I have blogged several times in the past. I had thought West’s “Christian Council of Britain” became defunct when its original website disappeared, but I noted yesterday that there is now a new one. Standing gives us some juicy background on this new site:

The current Christian Council website is registered in the name of a company called Cinemavision, which turns out to be owned by none other than the BNP’s ‘web guru‘ and Poughill and Standon electoral candidate Simon Bennett. Cinemavision is a website that turns out to feature some interesting content, including an entry linking to a video described as ‘Kim Kardashian Amateur Porn’, featuring the distinctly un-‘Aryan’ beauty Kim and her black boyfriend Ray J. ‘She is sooo hot!’ reads the description on Bennett’s website, who is obviously not adverse to making a few pounds from promoting ‘race mixing’.

Standing also provides information on Colin Farquhar of the “Durham British-Israel Fellowship”. I had alluded to this cautiously in my previous post on the BNP, but Standing notes that Farquhar’s support for the BNP was in the public domain before the list was leaked and so can be discussed freely. Standing gives us a nice potted guide to British Israelite beliefs as promoted by the British Israelite World Fellowship (BIWF), and the appropriation and development of such docrines in America into “Christian Identity” (a process discussed in Michael Barkun’s excellent book Religion and the Racist Right).

Standing further notes a link between Farquhar and Alan Campbell of Open Bible Ministries, Belfast. Campbell promotes the teachings of “‘Dr. B Comparet”, aka Bertrand Comparet. Comparet helped to found Christian Identity, and he was explictly racist. Alan Campbell has featured on the blog before – I noted that his books at one point had been sold via the (now apparently defunct) Northern Ireland Springbok Club, but that they had at some point been withdrawn.

As regards Christian Identity in the UK, Standing reveals that:

In the year 2000, a website appeared at the address christianidentity.org.uk and continued until 2005. The self-styled ‘pastor’ who ran the website promoted the extreme ‘two-seedline’ [anti-Jewish] Identity ‘theology’ and provided a wealth of hardcore Identity teachings and links to numerous neo-Nazi organisations. The main organisation promoted by the ‘pastor’ was the BNP…Investigating Christian Identity for an undergraduate essay, I contacted the ‘pastor’ posing as an Identity believer and duly received a couple of CDs, one featuring an Identity ‘sermon’ and one featuring a National Front era speech given by veteran Nazi and BNP founder John Tyndall.

(Hat tip: Harry’s Place)

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And while we’re on the unhappy subject of Michael Savage, he appears to be the inspiration for this strange banner advert on WorldNetDaily:

Clicking on the banner leads to the website of Swiss America, and an advert for an interview between WND founder Joseph Farah and Swiss America CEO Craig Smith – Farah has puffed Swiss America in the past, and Smith has provided columns for WND.

Swiss America sells gold coins, which it promotes as a safeguard against economic collapse. Michael Savage explains the “light of the world” significance on the Swiss America website:

When I look at a historic gold coin, I see it as the financial light of the world. Sure, I may collect coins for their history and beauty, but I’m also building wealth at the same time.

However, the phrase the “Light of the World” is, of course, more usually associated with Jesus. From the Gospel of John 8:12:

…When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”…

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“Michael Savage Beats CAIR”, says Newsmax; “Michael Savage Wins Major Victory Over CAIR”, crows the American Chronicle. Both headlines spin news reported in WorldNetDaily that despite the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ success in fending off a lawsuit brought by Michael Savage over copyright and alleged rackeetering, Savage would not have to pay CAIR’s legal fees. Says Savage himself:

This is a huge victory for me, personally, but also for the rest of America who is afraid of this lawsuit-happy group of intimidators…CAIR tried to tell [Judge Susan Illston] in their claim that she ‘should get’ me, because they were all liberals…You have to read their sloppy claim to believe it. Now, people will not be afraid to file suits if they have a legitimate claim against CAIR or any other Soros-funded group…

As I blogged previously, CAIR had used clips of Savage’s radio rants against Muslims to urge an advertiser boycott (Savage’s abuse was so crude he made Walid Shoebat look classy), and Savage claimed copyright infringement. That had to fail under fair-usage provisions – as was demonstrated years ago in a case concerning Jerry Falwell’s use of materials copyrighted to Larry Flynt. Realising this, Savage opportunistically added a “racketeering” claim to his lawsuit, which allowed him to grandstand as someone opposing terrorist-supporters. Savage and WorldNetDaily editor Joseph Farah appealed to supporters to send in cash for what was confusingly called (given that Savage was the plaintiff) a “legal defense fund”. Despite promises to fight the case all the way to the Supreme Court, Savage dropped the case in August after Illston found against him – even though she gave Savage “leave to amend” the racketeering claim.

So why did Illston decline to award CAIR costs? Savage hints it is because Illston (whom he previously had called “a minion of the Bill Clinton crowd”) came to understand the dubious nature of CAIR, and this is why he can now claim “victory”. However, a look at the ruling – which is posted on Savage’s site – shows that Illston was simply applying precendent:

This Court has discretion under the Copyright Act to allow recovery of costs and attorneys’ fees by or against any party.

…While the Court agreed with defendants’ fair use argument, there were features of the decision which required analysis.

Having considered the standards set out by the case law, and considering the “pivotal” criterion of the purposes of the Copyright Act, this Court finds in its discretion that attorneys’ fees are not warranted in this case.

As she explains, she took her lead from the judgement in Fantasy, Inc. v. Fogerty, which is available here. Apparently this means that CAIR was unable to show that the lawsuit was actually frivolous or in bad faith, but no more than that. It’s not “a huge victory” for America, nor does it break any new ground for anyone else who wants to sue CAIR. But hopefully it’ll be enough to console all those who contributed to Savage’s fund to take the case to the Supreme Court. If there’s any of that cash left over from Daniel Horowitz’s fees, Savage can perhaps use it to fight another case, in which he is the defendant. Kron 4 reports:

Conservative radio talk show host Michael Savage has been sued in  federal court in San Francisco by a liberal film group for making an  allegedly baseless demand that YouTube Inc. take down one of its videos.

The video by Brave New Films was entitled “Savage Hates Muslims”  and criticized an Oct. 29, 2007, broadcast in which Savage made anti-Islamic  comments.

The video, posted on YouTube by the film group in January, was one  minute and 23 seconds long and contained a one-minute excerpt of Savage’s  comments during the two-hour show.

The excerpt included Savage’s comments that Muslims should “take  (their) religion and shove it up (their) behind” and should be deported,  according to the lawsuit filed by Brave New Films in U.S. District Court last  month.

…The lawsuit seeks financial compensation for the alleged harm to  Brave New Films’ free speech rights as well as an injunction barring Savage  and the network from any further legal action related to the vide.

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One of my old posts is getting some extra hits as a few dozen people look for Rev John Stanton, who appeared on the leaked BNP (alleged) membership list. Stanton was quoted in the South Essex Echo in March saying that “The BNP is very Christian-based”, although he quickly thought better of it following tearful appeals from family members. His photo now appears on the Sun‘s website, apparently either blessing a football or using it as an globus cruciger.

Stanton runs an obscure house church, as does the BNP’s best-known ecclesiastical supporter, Rev Robert West – whose “Christian Council of Britain” appears to be limping on with a new website but not much activity. A third Reverend on the list is a certain Paul Barker. According to the Wakefield Express:

The Rev Paul Barker, of Fox Court in Durkar, told the Express this afternoon: “I’m furious. I used to be on the mailing list but I have never been a member. I don’t know why my name has gone out on the list and I’m now considering the action I am going to take.”

The website of the British People’s Party – another fringe far-right party – includes a message allegedly from Barker on page dedicated to condolences on the death of the BNP’s founder John Tyndall:

A SHORT  PRAYER   FROM  REVD  PAUL BARKER    FATHER  GOD  WE  THANK YOU FOR THE  LIFE OF   JOHN TYNDALL  HE WAS  A TRUE  SOLDIER  OF   GOD  MAY OUR FATHER TAKE  HIM  UNTO HIMSELF    AMEN

Amusingly, this comes directly below an Odinist opining on how Tyndall is in Valhalla.

Barker is described by the Express as a vicar, and several media reports have mentioned a “Church of England vicar” on the list; however, there is no Paul Barker listed in Crockford’s, so I suspect he belongs to another denomination.

About half-a-dozen or so further persons on the list are identified as Christians, including one person who runs a British-Israelite group – this is the historically nonsensical idea that the peoeple of Britain are the true descendents of the Biblical Israelites.

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Ruth Ellen Gruber draws attention to some clueless bad taste:

LIve like Anne Frank, lovely Amsterdam attic apartment.

…Anne Frank apartment has a small roof patio at the back.The apartment comprises 2 rooms, 1 large and 1 small.

One has double bed and other 2 singles. The front room has a double bed and the back room has 2 single beds as well as the bath tub with shower which has low head high in the shower as the ceiling is slopped so not suitable for very tall people.

There is fully fitted kitchen and a separate WC

…Leidseplein the main square full of night bars and clubs as well as restaurants is also within walking distance along the canal making it a nice walk.

In a follow-up piece for the JTA, Gruber tells us that

…I informed a friend at the Anne Frank House about the ad and he assured me that the Anne Frank Foundation, which oversees the museum, would be taking action. The foundation has legal control over the Anne Frank name, he explained. No one can name anything Anne Frank without its permission.

She adds:

For many years I’ve written about how abstract ideas of Jews and Jewish culture can become commercialized commodities in European countries where few if any Jews live today. Clearly there is a correlation between the attempt to use Anne Frank to rent an apartment and the ways that Jews, Jewish symbols and Jewish stereotypes are used in other types of Jewish-themed tourist promotion.

That’s true enough, but I don’t think the lack of actual Jews living in these countries is the determining factor. Many American Christian Zionists also have “abstract ideas of Jews”, which is why Pastor John Hagee, despite his philo-semitism, couldn’t see the bad taste in opining about how God sent Hitler as a “hunter” to persuade Jews to establish Israel. And Jewish culture is also commodified and appropriated by some Christian Zionist groups, as I blogged here.

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I’m sure everyone is riveted by my continuing efforts (see here) to note developments in the “London Swinton Circle”, a right-wing British organisation dedicated to “traditional Conservatism and Unionism”. I first came across the group a couple of years ago when I was researching a related outfit called the “Springbok Club“, which campaigns for causes such as the return of white rule over Africa (“We want our countries back, and believe this can now only come about by the re-establishment of civilised European rule throughout the African continent”). Both groups are (or were, depending on perspective), run by Alan Harvey, who is British but who formerly lived in South Africa.

However, a few months ago, as was noted in the Guardian, some of Harvey’s political enemies on the right showed up a public meeting of the Swinton Circle and there was some unpleasantness. Certain members of the Swinton Circle objected to Harvey’s conduct, and a meeting was held at which it was decided to remove him from his position and to suspend his membership. Harvey’s response has been to ignore this and to carry on as chairman – and as he appears to be the only person with access to edit the original Swinton Circle website he would seem to be de facto unassailable, at least for now.

Harvey’s perspective on all this is given in a comment he left on my blog here. His enemies, meanwhile, have established a rival London Swinton Circle website, with a better domain name and swishier graphics (Harvey’s website uses a dated 1990s-era template). This new website features a letter addressed to Harvey about the decision to remove him:

The meeting was informed that your behaviour was almost without precedent in the history of the Swinton Circle. We say ‘almost’ as you caused a serious incident after the Simon Heffer meeting in September 2005 when you engaged in a furious and public row with Mike Smith…You are further requested that within one day of the receipt of this letter you remove from the web any pages or web pages which purport to represent the Swinton Circle or pretend to be the Swinton Circle, that you cease to refer to the Swinton Circle when advertising Springbok Club meetings and that you do not pass yourself as acting on behalf of the Swinton Circle or allow anyone else to do so.  Should you fail to take these steps the LSC committee will look at recommendations coming from within the committee that you be permanently expelled.  We will also take formal advice as to any steps that need to be taken beyond expulsion.

I have an idea for a happy compromise: Harvey should continue to run the London Swinton Circle, while the opposing camp should take the name “Swinton Circle of London”.

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Time reports that Mike Huckabee has a book coming out – and it looks as though the fiasco of Pastor John Hagee’s endorsement of McCain still has some legs to it, as Huckabee questions the spiritual intregrity of Christian Right leaders who backed rival Republican candidates:

Many conservative Christian leaders, who never backed Huckabee despite their holding very similar stances on social issues, are spared neither the rod nor the lash. Huckabee writes of Gary Bauer, the conservative Christian leader and former presidential candidate, as having an “ever-changing reason to deny me his support.”

…He calls out Pat Robertson, the Virginia-based televangelist, and Dr. Bob Jones III, chancellor of Bob Jones University in South Carolina, for endorsing Rudy Giuliani and Romney, respectively. He also has words for the Texas-based Rev. John Hagee, who endorsed the more moderate John McCain in the primaries, as someone who was drawn to the eventual Republican nominee because of the lure of power. Huckabee speaks to Hagee by phone before the McCain endorsement, while the former Arkansas Governor is preparing for a spot on Saturday Night Live. “I asked if he had prayed about this and believed this was what the Lord wanted him to do,” Huckabee writes of his conversation with Hagee. “I didn’t get a straight answer.

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