{"id":2206,"date":"2018-02-07T01:15:37","date_gmt":"2018-02-07T06:15:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/?p=2206"},"modified":"2018-02-07T01:15:37","modified_gmt":"2018-02-07T06:15:37","slug":"reflections-on-the-chabloz-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/?p=2206","title":{"rendered":"Reflections on the Chabloz Case"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"post-title\">\n<h1 class=\"entry-title\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Reflections on the Chabloz Case<\/span><\/h1>\n<\/header>\n<section class=\"meta-header\">\n<div class=\"entry-meta entry-header\"><span class=\"published\"><abbr class=\"published-time\" title=\"January 26, 2018 - 2:29 am\">January 26, 2018<\/abbr><\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"meta-sep\">\u2014<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"comment-count\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theoccidentalobserver.net\/2018\/01\/26\/reflections-on-the-chabloz-case\/#comments\">37 Comments<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title\"><a class=\"url fn\" title=\"View all posts by Nick Kollerstrom PhD\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theoccidentalobserver.net\/author\/nick-kollerstrom-phd\/\">Nick Kollerstrom PhD<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<div class=\"pf-content\">\n<p><em>I\u2019ll sing my way to court in high heels and a frock<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Give the press a winning smile from inside the dock\u2026<br \/>\n<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Alison Chabloz song,\u00a0<em>Find me guilty<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Mr Gideon Falter, 34, who runs the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAAS) was the chief witness for the Crown Prosecution service\u2019s (CPS) against the British minstrel Alison Chabloz. On January 10th\u00a0at Marylebone Magistrate\u2019s Court we heard him swear the oath, to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. He then proceeded to give the court various hearsay conjectures, about what effect Ms Chabloz\u2019 songs might be exerting, upon unspecified persons.<\/p>\n<p>He averred for example that they were \u2018spreading anti-semitic hatred\u2019 and were \u2018inciting to racial hatred.\u2019 The Court was not given evidence for this,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theoccidentalobserver.net\/2018\/01\/26\/reflections-on-the-chabloz-case\/#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\">[1]<\/a>nor advised where or in whom these emotions were being generated. Should he not have called witnesses to testify in support of these conjectures, or better still a psychologist to affirm that they were or had been generated?<\/p>\n<p>The Court was advised of one offensive performance by Ms Chabloz, where she sang her songs \u2018(((Survivors))) and \u2018Nemo\u2019s anti-Semitic Universe\u2019 namely the London Forum in\u00a0\u00a0 2016 (September 24th). A problem here could be the signs of mirth and riotous applause in response to the songs: did this really show what Mr Falter had been alleging, or if not, what did?<br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"_dytid_5683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9tmY6iItnP0\" width=\"500\" height=\"250\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>She was recently introduced as \u2018The brilliant comedienne and singer\/songwriter Alison Chabloz,\u2019 by Richie Allen, on his popular radio show (18 January).<\/p>\n<p>The point of satire, is that it makes people laugh. Britain has a long tradition of satire from William Hogarth in the 18th century to\u00a0<em>Private Eye<\/em>\u00a0in the present time. Its future is surely at stake in this trial.<\/p>\n<p>In October of 2017 she was arrested and jailed (or, \u2018held in custody\u2019) for 48 hours, for posting a video of herself singing a song. This had allegedly broken her \u2018bail conditions\u2019. As Ms Chabloz observed, \u201cAs far as I am aware, I am the only artist in modern British history to have been jailed for the heinous crime of composing and singing satirical songs which I uploaded to the Internet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We live in a society where just about any sacred belief is liable to be satirised for entertainment value, and those being satirised have not generally sought recourse to legal action. When punk-rock bands savagely mocked the Royal family for example, no-one prosecuted them.<span id=\"more-155701\"><\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_155704\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-155704\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theoccidentalobserver.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/chabloz.jpg?resize=685%2C385\" sizes=\"(max-width: 685px) 100vw, 685px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theoccidentalobserver.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/chabloz.jpg?w=685&amp;ssl=1 685w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theoccidentalobserver.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/chabloz.jpg?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w\" alt=\"\" width=\"685\" height=\"385\" data-attachment-id=\"155704\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.theoccidentalobserver.net\/2018\/01\/26\/reflections-on-the-chabloz-case\/chabloz\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theoccidentalobserver.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/chabloz.jpg?fit=685%2C385&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"685,385\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"chabloz\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theoccidentalobserver.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/chabloz.jpg?fit=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theoccidentalobserver.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/chabloz.jpg?fit=685%2C385&amp;ssl=1\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.co.uk\/article\/blogger-alison-chabloz-sings-along-to-antisemitic-song-survivors-in-court-x5l0k7m7d\">Alison Chabloz<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The present case was being brought under the Communications Act of 2003. A degree of public support is said to exist for its controversial section 127,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theoccidentalobserver.net\/2018\/01\/26\/reflections-on-the-chabloz-case\/#_ftn2\" name=\"_ftnref2\">[2]<\/a>by people fed up with online bullying. For example, a racially motivated tweet relating to a footballer was prosecuted under it. But many have objected to its catch-all character,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theoccidentalobserver.net\/2018\/01\/26\/reflections-on-the-chabloz-case\/#_ftn3\" name=\"_ftnref3\">[3]<\/a>\u00a0and the DPP has stated in 2102, that its section 127 \u2018should not be seen as a carte blanche for prosecuting content which, however upsetting to some, would normally fall within guarantees of freedom of expression in a democratic society,\u2019 and that freedom of expression should include\u00a0the right to say things that \u2018<em>offend, shock or disturb the state or any sector of the population.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Last year, at least\u00a0<em>nine people a day<\/em>\u00a0were being arrested in the UK on such dubious grounds. Annoying someone or causing distress has never been viewed as a crime \u2014 until now. The Communications Act was basically designed for the media.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theoccidentalobserver.net\/2018\/01\/26\/reflections-on-the-chabloz-case\/#_ftn4\" name=\"_ftnref4\">[4]<\/a>\u00a0In contrast, songs posted up on the Web are only heard by persons who\u00a0<em>choose\u00a0<\/em>to listen. One exercises that choice by clicking the \u2018play\u2019 button. Ms Chabloz has not \u2018communicated\u2019 anything in the sense defined by that Act.<\/p>\n<p>Normally, if a Youtube video is found to be disturbing, a complaint is put through to Youtube, rather than the person who has uploaded it. Now Ms Chabloz\u2019 songs have either been deleted or given protective warnings by Youtube, which further complicates the question, of how and to whom she is supposed to be causing offence.<\/p>\n<p>The Defence lawyer Adrian Davies had suggested at an earlier hearing that his client\u2019s songs might be \u2018offensive\u2019 but not \u2018grossly offensive,\u2019 and that remark was reiterated by the judge in the present hearing. That is surely so: it\u2019s not as if they were snuff movies, or featured depraved or perverted acts, or personally defamed anyone living \u2014 except for one person, Irene Zisblatt who claims that she swallowed diamonds while she was at Auschwitz. The court discussed her case, with Mr Davies pointing out that the official\u00a0<em>Yad Vashem<\/em>Holocaust centre in Israel had cast doubt upon the veracity of Ms Zisblatt\u2019s story in her book\u00a0<em>The Fifth Diamond<\/em>. It features of course\u00a0<em>ze evil Nazis<\/em>\u00a0ripping babies in half, making lampshades out of human skin, etc. Was this not a legitimate target for satire, Mr Davis asked the Court?<\/p>\n<p>Some have commented that British politics would hardly be able to function if a distinction was liable to be made between \u2018offensive\u2019 and \u2018grossly offensive.\u2019 How is the law supposed to discern such a thing?<\/p>\n<p>Others have wondered if it is really appropriate for the CAAS to be registered as a charity, i.e., a tax-exempt NGO, which goes around suing people. The CPS had not wanted to take this case, but was pressured by the CAAS to do so. That applies both to the pending case of British \u2018nationalist\u2019 Jez Turner as well as Ms Chabloz: in both cases the CPS had no inclination to prosecute, but arm-twisting by the CAA made them do it. In fact, the CAA works for a foreign power: its first action upon being founded in 2014 was to intimidate the Trycicle Theatre in Cricklewood so they gave up their BDS policy on Israeli goods. Why should a group specialising in legal intimidation be awarded tax-exempt charity status?<\/p>\n<p>The second witness after Mr Faulter was Stephen Silverman, the CAA\u2019s \u2018Director of Investigations and Enforcement.\u2019 Under examination he confirmed that the online character \u2018Nemo\u2019 who had been persistently trolling Ms Chabloz, was none other than Stephen Applebaum, the CAAS\u2019s \u2018senior volunteer.\u2019 For the last two years she had received some quite intense twitter threats and curses from this character \u2014 thus on her website \u2018Nemo\u2019 declared: \u2018Even if you are acquitted, we will still go after you.\u2019 Earlier, in the first court hearing of this case in December 2016, Mr Silverman admitted that he had been tweeting as \u2018Bedlam Jones\u2019 who had likewise been making quite intimidating comments.<\/p>\n<p>So, this is a case that could work a lot better the other way round, with Alison as the innocent injured party and CAA personnel as guilty of harassment and victimisation. Clearly, the CAA needs to be stripped of its charity status. \u00a0As a general comment, one can either post envenomed tweets against someone or sue them, but it may be inadvisable to try both.<\/p>\n<p>The case is adjourned until March 7th.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theoccidentalobserver.net\/2018\/01\/26\/reflections-on-the-chabloz-case\/#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\">[1]<\/a>\u00a0As her lawyer A.D advised the Court, the \u2018personal emotional reaction\u2019 of Mr Gideon Falter was \u2018entirely irrelevant\u2019 to the case<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theoccidentalobserver.net\/2018\/01\/26\/reflections-on-the-chabloz-case\/#_ftnref2\" name=\"_ftn2\">[2]<\/a>\u00a0Section 137: A person is guilty of an offence if he\u2014 (a)sends by means of a public electronic communications network,\u00a0 message or other matter that is grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theoccidentalobserver.net\/2018\/01\/26\/reflections-on-the-chabloz-case\/#_ftnref3\" name=\"_ftn3\">[3]<\/a>\u00a0Figures obtained by\u00a0<em>The Times<\/em>\u00a0through the\u00a0<em>Freedom of Information Act<\/em>reveal that 3,395 people across 29 forces were arrested last year under section 127 of the\u00a0<em>Communications Act 2003<\/em>, which\u00a0makes it illegal to intentionally \u201ccause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety to another\u201d, in 2016\u2032<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theoccidentalobserver.net\/2018\/01\/26\/reflections-on-the-chabloz-case\/#_ftnref4\" name=\"_ftn4\">[4]<\/a>\u00a0It aimed \u2018to make provision about the regulation of the provision of electronic communications networks and services \u2026 to make provision about the regulation of broadcasting and of the provision of television and radio services, etc.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reflections on the Chabloz Case January 26, 2018\u00a0\u2014\u00a037 Comments Nick Kollerstrom PhD &nbsp; I\u2019ll sing my way to court in high heels and a frock Give the press a winning smile from inside the dock\u2026 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Alison Chabloz &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/?p=2206\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[302,744,810,1258,804,1259],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2206"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2206"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2207,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2206\/revisions\/2207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}