Censorious Asshat alert! Engage Streisand Effect!

Ok, I'm not normally one to jump on this kind of bandwagon, but these people have royally annoyed me. I first learned of the situation while reading Popehat, so hats off to them.

A blogger, who clearly identified himself as a "freelance journalist" sent a series of questions to the group Straight Pride UK. He received a document from their press liaison titled "Press Release". He then published said release and now they are claiming copyright infringement, have filed a DMCA take-down notice with his hosting company and are threatening to turn everyone who posts this over to the police.

So, in keeping with the great American tradition of defending free speech, and with the permission of the original author, the "copyrighted" post is re-blogged, in full, below. To Oliver, I say fight these thugs, in court if necessary; I'll throw a few quid your way just on principle. To the asshats at Straight Pride UK (who have apparently deleted their Twitter account now), I say come at me. Send my host a bogus DMCA and I will dispute it. Since the DMCA is an American law, and I'm an American citizen, writing in America, and posting on an American server you'll have to file any legal action over here. Good luck finding a solicitor willing to kill his career on that hill.

Oliver's original post follows past the jump. Read and enjoy!

Blogs, Pool Parties, and Bodily Functions

When a blogger puts up a post he is exercising a right to participate in the great marketplace of ideas. Just putting a post out there and letting it sit is similar to the days when someone could go to the public square, stand on a box, and pontificate to his heart's content. At the end of his speech, he could simply walk away and be forgotten, or possibly have rotten fruit thrown at him. The speaker/blogger has had his say, gotten whatever was on his mind out into the open, and been satisfied by the process.

Something Awful This Way Comes

I'm new at public blogging. I have very few readers at the moment and I ok with that. I'd be tickled pink if someone actually linked to a post I had written, even if they were pointing out the total lack of polish in my writing. However, if I happened to stumble across one of my posts on another site, with no attribution, I'd be a bit peeved. And shocked. Musn't forget shocked because I honestly don't think I've said anything worth stealing. Quotes, links, mentions, all ok, even if people are being rude about me. Stealing, not ok. Here's where it gets fun: some people don't know the difference!