An introductory guide to the Dave Walker case
- Sometimes I just can’t resist …. Quaequam Blag and the Dead Sheep !
- The Mark Brewer Saga … Dave Walker, SPCK and SSG
- Press Room for the Dave Walker / SPCK case
- An introductory guide to the Dave Walker case
- My Name is Dave Walker: Posts on the Cease and Desist notice
- Lambeth Conference Artist threatened with Legal Action over blog
- Dave Walker Cease and Desist Notice - Campaign Resources
- The Mark Brewer Saga … Dave Walker, SPCK and SSG
- Grassroots Campaigning using the Internet: Cyberactivism 101
- Hofmeister - Follow the Bear. Mark that Brewer carefully.
- Sam Norton (Elizaphanian): My correspondence with J Mark Brewer
- YOU cease and desist, Mr J Mark Brewer … Cartoon: Asbo Jesus
[Note: this article will be continually updated, so please link rather than copy - I don't want out of date information out there. Do, however, archive a copy in case my site is taken down at some stage.]
Dave Walker is a cartoonist who runs a popular website, which includes the blogs We Blog Cartoons, Cartoon Church and The Cartoon Blog.
On the morning of July 22nd 2008 he received a cease and desist letter threatening legal action unless he removed 75 posts from his Cartoon Church blog by lunchtime - i.e., half a day’s notice.
These 75 posts had reported the developing situation over a 2 year period in a UK book chain called SPCK, which had been taken over by a company run by Mark Brewer. Dave Walker’s was the main published source reporting the situation, asking questions about the management of the chain, and highlighting the treatment of the employees.
Dozens of bloggers do not think that reasonable comment should be closed down like that, and we are working to support him.
This article is an Introduction to the Campaign - to what we are doing and how you can help.
What is the Issue?
In a phrase, the right to comment in public without being threatened with spurious legal action aiming to close you down.
Who is under legal threat?
Dave Walker is a cartoonist who runs a popular website, which includes the blogs We Blog Cartoons, Cartoon Church and The Cartoon Blog. Weblog Cartoons is in the top 5000 blogs on Technorati; the other two are in the top 10,000. His cartoons are usually about church life and Christianity.
On the morning of July 22nd 2008 he received a cease and desist letter threatening legal action unless he removed 75 posts from his Cartoon Church blog by lunchtime - i.e., half a day’s notice. You can read Dave’s description of what happened as a quote in this post.
These 75 posts had reported the developing situation over a 2 year period in a UK book chain called SPCK, which had been taken over by a company run by Mark Brewer. The history is very complicated, and you can read Bishop Alan Wilson’s very short summary here, or my slightly longer summary from December 2007 here.
What were Dave’s Comments Like?
They were cautious, and as much reporting as comment. Dave regularly moved to commenters thet he was concerned went “over the line”. Having followed the story for over a year, I would be perfectly comfortable republishing the whole lot here.
What has happened to the SPCK Bookshops
This is not the presenting issue, which is that a blogger has been subject to legal threats.
However, the short answer is “name it and it has probably happened”.
The long answer is very complicated, involves long running alleged mismanagement and industrial relations problems, corporate and legal manoeuvring, enforced contract changes, terminations by email, non payment of debtors, up to 30 Industrial Tribunals, the loss over 2 years of a 200 year old chain of bookshops after a takeover that should have rejuvenated it, and now an attempt to put the British based organisation into liquidation in Texas. As I said - very complicated.
You probably don’t need or want to get into the history of the SPCK developments until you are more familiar with what is happening at the moment. Focus on the Free Speech issue, and wait for us to get an introductory guide or Wikipedia article put together for the SPCK history.
If you want a sense of how complicated this saga is, read Unity’s article “SPCK owner seeks US bankruptcy protection for UK charity” about a single aspect.
Has this story been reported anywhere else?
The Church Times has published approximately 20 news items about the developing situation between March 2006 and the present. There is a list on the Church Times blog here. There has been minimal coverage in the National Press.
Why is this being partly spearheaded at The Wardman Wire?
Three reasons:
1 - Dave Walker is one of the House Cartoonists on this site, and I want to support him.
2 - I think that Dave’s reporting of the SPCK saga has been reasonable, and that the action of Mark Brewer in sending a “Cease and Desist” letter in this circumstances is despicable.
3 - I think that the Libel Laws in the UK are in desperate need of reform. I - along with a lot of other people - am ashamed that the legal system in my country makes it possible for this sort of intimidaton to be attempted, and that we have become a destination for “Libel Tourism“. The USA, for example, has started passing laws to protect its citizens from the malign effects of Libel Tourism.
What are the specific objectives of this blog campaign?
1 - We wish to make it very clear to Mark Brewer and everybody else that trying to shut down comment, critique and reporting in the way he has is not acceptable, and just will not work. We aim to ensure he gets more publicity than he ever had before this point.
2 - We want to make sure that the material Dave Walker published remains in the public domain, to help address the SPCK case.
3 - We want to try and make sure that the SPCK case is properly documented and investigated.
For example, the day that Dave Walker received the cease and desist notice was the day that an attempt was made to apply to a court in Houston for Chapter 11 bankruptcy by a UK charity.
4 - We wish to strengthen the movement to reform the UK Libel Laws.
How well are you doing?
48 hours after this kicked off, we have got this far:
- The “Support Dave Walker” Facebook Group has 180 members.
- 35 separate bloggers have posted articles in support from all over the world.
- 4 of the top 6 results on Google for a search on “mark brewer” are related to this campaign. We are working on other terms.
I see what is going on. What can I do to help?
Read through the articles on this site, then look at these two in particular:
Then do what you are able and willing to do.
What is your strategy?
On a previous occasion (the Alisher Usmanov imbroglio), The Daily EV published some reflections. We are using that approach with some changes.
I have another question
Drop it in the comments, and we’ll do our best. This is not going away any time soon, and neither are we.
[tags]cartoonchurch, Dave Walker, mark brewer, spck, ssg[/tags]
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