Yes the good people of the midlands came out in force to see Taking Liberties at Warwick Arts Centre on Saturday the 26th. We had a queue and everything. And the reaction was extremely good - laughs, tears, and angry tutting in all the right places... and there were even a few claps for the Rendair sequence.
Review in Birmingham Mail.
The campaign to get the film shown in the Midlands on the opening weekend continues - watch this space. It also seems that there are other campaigns starting up to get the film in other cities, including Glasgow.
Next preview screenings are next week. There are ones at various picturehouse cinemas on June 5th (including special panel debate at the Ritzy in Britxton and Directors Q&A at the Greenwich Picturehouse) one at the Everyman Cinema on June 6th, A Big Issue one at the Rich Mix Cinema on June 7th.
Tony's Totally Lost It
Over the weekend the Sunday Times published an article by our dying king, in which he clearly states that civil Liberties are a waste of time and he no longer believes in the Rule Of Law.
Full Article
But the highlights are:
"Within the next few weeks we will publish new proposals on anti-terror laws. Our aim is to reach a consensus across the main political parties. "
Nurse! The Screens! The opposition parties have all said they this new legislation is barking mad and even his own party is completely incredulous as to how on earth he thinks he can get a new terrorism act through in a month - especially as it seems that only John Reid is taking his calls.
"After September 11, 2001, in common with many other nations, we passed new anti terror laws."
Correct that New Labour rammed through a draconian anti terror law after the twin towers atrocity, incorrect that other nations passed laws anything close to what Britain had. Britain and the US were the only nations to abolish Habeas Corpus and allow the government to lock up foreign nationals without charge. Fortunately the House of Lords effectively tore up the 2001 anti terrorism act in 2004, and called it a greater threat to our way of life than Al Qaeda.
"So we were forced to opt for the much milder remedy of control orders, applicable to both foreign and British nationals. These do not involve detention. They impose some limits on the individual’s freedom."
Firstly no-one forced the government to do anything. They could have just not passed the 2005 act that brought house arrest without charge into Britain. Secondly it is hardly a "milder" option, when he extended arbitrary detention from just foreign nationals to everyone - including British Citizens. And thirdly the last 2 sentences are completely contradictory, by saying that Control Orders do not involve detention, but that they do impose some limits on an individuals freedom. But these limits on your freedom can be increased to a level where you can be locked up in your own home 24 hours a day... a form of detention.
"In addition, after September 11, and again after July 7, we have tried continually to deport foreign nationals who were either engaged in or inciting extremism."
Here Blair has completely abandoned any pretence that he cares whatsoever about the Rule Of Law. In most of these cases the accusations of links to terrorism had not been proved in court of law, and in some cases no formal charges had ever been brought. So in Blair's eyes there is no differentiation between a suspect and someone who is guilty.
"We have chosen as a society to put the civil liberties of the suspect, even if a foreign national, first. I happen to believe this is misguided and wrong."
I wonder if he feels the same way when it comes to:
-Lord Levy's involvement in Cash for peerages affair
-Tony Blair's involvement in Cash for peerages affair
-Tony Blair's involvement in Rendition Flights
-Tony Blair's involvement in starting an illegal war in Iraq.
Strangely whenever these issues are mentioned, suddenly everyone is innocent until proven guilty.
"Their right to traditional civil liberties comes first. I believe this is a dangerous misjudgment. This extremism, operating the world over, is not like anything we have faced before."
Bullshit. What about the Nazis you idiot? What about The Cold War? The threat today may be different, but it is preposterous to say that we are under a threat unlike anything we've seen before.
"This extremism can be defeated. But it will be defeated only by recognising that we have not created it."
Just gobsmacking really. A last desperate attempt to try to convince whoever will listen that Iraq is not a cause of the terrorist threat. But he is now going one further by pushing the absurd logic that the only way to stop terrorism is to stop blaming him for it.
And over the weekend we saw exactly what the mad king has in mind to stop the baddies... another post coming up.
And also a few people complained that the ITN Control orders clip was trick to find so we've put it up on youtube.
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