As the USA gives thanks today, the UK is doing anything but…

A must-read on student protests by Laurie Penny:

I didn’t understand quite how bad things had become in this country until I saw armed cops being deployed against schoolchildren in the middle of Whitehall.

Despite being firmly positioned on the south-west of the political compass, and generally being liberal, I’m quite happy that we have the royal family, which, judging by reaction to the Prince William/Kate Middleton engagement announcement isn’t exactly a majority view these days.

The thing is, while one can rattle on about becoming a ‘modern’ republic and the ‘parasitic’ nature of the royals, doing so often misses important points:

1. The royals cost British taxpayers about 60p per year. Yes, you read that right—we are ripped off by royal scum to the cost of a medium-sized chocolate bar. In return, the royals drive a ton of tourism to the country.
2. A UK president wouldn’t necessarily be cheaper. Given that the UK of late clearly looks towards the US rather than Europe, it’s safe to say—also when considering our mental media—that any British presidential election would be close to what the Americans have to suffer. It would be noisy and expensive, and the tax-payer would likely end up covering much of the bill. In the long run, there’d also be costs relating to ongoing engagements, security and so on—it’s hardly like we ditch the royals and replace them with nothing at all (or Timmy Mallet offering to be president for free).
3. The royals are largely impartial. The UK’s head of state is not affiliated to a political party. Although that might officially end up the case with a UK president, it’s unlikely. We have such reactionary politics in the UK that any elected president would likely side with the Tories or the Labour Party, whether through official means (as in, an election rather like the mayor of London) or unofficially (technically impartial, and without ‘political power’, but nonetheless backing—or not—the current government).
4. Elizabeth II’s been a pretty good head of state. While the royal family’s had its fair share of scandal, the queen’s largely done a good job. I’m not sure replacing her with whoever Rupert Murdoch decides wants to be head of state would benefit the UK in the slightest.

Matt Bradley’s great open letter to Judge Jacqueline Davies, who yesterday ensured Paul Chambers’s life would continue to be ruined for no good reason.

Standout part:

Paul Chambers knew his audience, and they knew him. To suggest that he should restrict his language on the basis that somebody else might accidentally see it, is to restrict the communications and language of every free individual in this country, for fear that they might be criminalised by the state. On a day when we wore poppies to remember those who fought and died, and continue to fight and die to protect our basic freedom, the court’s judgement made a mockery of their efforts.

Website road.cc reports:

A Queen’s Counsel who is also a keen cyclist is fighting a frustrating battle to have the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Metropolitan Police take action against a driver who threatened to kill him, despite having video footage of the incident.

The CPS says “there was insufficient evidence to secure a conviction”. This is the same CPS who are fucking up the life of Paul Chambers for making a joke on Twitter (Telegraph) and that may take action against a Conservative councillor (Guardian) for a more ill-advised ‘joke’ on Twitter, where he suggested a columnist should be stoned to death.

As Adam Banks wryly noted on Twitter, the first of these things is menacing, but the CPS seemingly doesn’t care, because it’s not on Twitter. (Given his Twitter-based criticism of the CPS, I wish Adam well after he’s arrested and thrown into a dungeon.) Still, with IamSpartacus rapidly trending alongside messages (i.e. CLEAR AND OBVIOUS JOKES) regarding bombings and destruction, the CPS will soon have its work cut out. Precedent suggests it will have to arrest everyone making such tweets, unless it finally admits Chambers (and even Tory boy Gareth Compton) ultimately didn’t do anything untoward.

So there we have it: the CPS are a bunch of fucking idiots, out-of-touch judges don’t seem to understand that people can tell jokes on the internet, and 27-year-old Paul Chambers is fucked. As various sources report, Judge Jacqueline Davies bafflingly claimed:

The words in the message speak for themselves and they were sent at a time when the security threat to this country was substantial

The original tweet she’s referring to, which has subsequently cost Chambers his job and got him a conviction and hefty (now heftier) fine:

Crap! Robin Hood Airport is closed. You’ve got a week and a bit to get your shit together, otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high!

Only a complete fucking idiot would have taken that seriously in context, and I reckon Heresy Corner is right in saying Chambers has essentially been prosecuted for having an English sense of humour. The ruling itself is depressing and worrying in equal measure. Anyone who doesn’t think this verdict has far-reaching consequences in a country whose laws are based on precedent is deluded. This might not be so much mere CPS incompetence as drawing a line and saying—in the UK at least—you can NOT say these kinds of things online.

Until such time that sanity prevails, you can donate to the Paul Chambers fund. Here’s hoping he has more luck if he takes the case to the European courts.