Bonum Certa Men Certa

Before Trying Censorship by Extortion the Serial Strangler From Microsoft Literally Begged Us to Delete Pages

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Feb 21, 2025

YESTERDAY morning we wrote about Microsofters misusing British law firms as "guns for hire" (as the British anti-SLAPP coalition put it; it's a good description of what some people with a licence to practice law have become). In the case of Microsofters, they and their lawyers are openly referring to their own threats as "threats" (yes, they use the term directly!).

We've had many threats sent to us by them and even others were being threatened. This is very clearly just a broad campaign of intimidation, striving to terrorise people who 'touch' particular topics. The only way to deal with such intimidation is to not capitulate but to persist. That's what we've been doing when dealing with the EPO (same tactics were used) and that's what we've been doing with Microsoft for several years already.

What we've been subjected to isn't too common; this one is unique because of the SLAPP-chaining (one SLAPP comes to a dead end [1, 2], so another SLAPP gets initiated, not only using the same lawyer and same law firm but also an associate of the first SLAPPer).

We're not at all surprised that they're reaching out and scraping the very bottom of the barrel in pursuit of "guns for hire" in London. Both are Americans, but they're 'litigation tourists' who export US fascism (greater hostility than ever towards the press) to here. Their "guns for hire" got blasted in the press for "ambulance chasing" and covering up tax crimes and facilitators of such crimes [1-3], so they have a history of doing very unethical things and even standing for - fighting for - really bad people. It should be noted a small law firm in Manchester said these "guns for hire" in London made this reputation for themselves by choosing such bad clients. If some tiny law firm knows "BRETT WILSON LLP" (small firm in debt) just for being the worst or most notorious out there, then that must mean something. See [1-3] below for a taste of it.

There's no lack of other examples. They're giving a whole new meaning to terms like "criminal lawyers". Assisting people who commit crimes is no occupation to be proud of; one might argue no such occupation should even exist or be permitted. The other day we gave an example of lawyers like these working from London on behalf of Russian war criminals, whose crimes against humanity can be explored by looking up "Bucha".

Months ago the general public was shocked to learn of hundreds of victims of Al-Fayed realising they are not alone and were never alone. Al-Fayed - with help from his staffers - kept his victims isolated, just like recipients of "threats" (the word used by the above-mentioned "guns for hire"!). Victims or recipients might not realise just how many other threats get sent out to journalists.

Either way, we'll discuss the similarity to the Al-Fayed case some time in the future as there is a striking resemblance.

Here are messages I received 3 years ago: (I never responded to this person, ever)

A begging for takedown before BRETT WILSON LLP SLAPP action

Hello Roy, you've published upwards of 20 articles about me. I'm writing to beg you to take them down and give me my life back. (Before BRETT WILSON LLP SLAPP action)

His solicitor (Rick Cofer, Partner) later wrote to me to admit there were charges against him. It turns out Cofer was also a "donor" of those who call the shots [1, 2] - hardly unexpected given what we've seen in US courts. It was a crooked system even before the election got bought by MElon (Elon Musk).

Just to be perfectly clear about this, or in case he reads this, I didn't ruin your life, sir, you ruined your own and you ruined your victims' lives too. I merely reported on what had happened. Egoistic and narcissistic people view everyone else as disposable. You cannot keep your victims gagged forever.

What we can conclude from all this is, there's no merit or real substance in a legal case; but if begging does not work, then find some "guns for hire" (unscrupulous lawyers) in another continent. Maybe some bottom-feeding misogynists can be hired to send what they themselves call "threats", constantly harassing someone who merely reported crimes/wrongdoing/corruption in order for the general public to be aware.

A doctor who reads this site told me that this is "certainly crazy stuff."

"...but I do wonder whether it is worth wasting your time on all these non-technical issues, given there are only so many hours in a day. surely there are better ways to use your in-depth knowledge of open source and programming...."

"Their objective is to stop me using my knowledge," I replied, and "I explained yesterday that ignoring them completely is not an option."

As a matter of simple observation and generally speaking, many people nowadays can code and can talk about "open source" (not Free software), but far fewer experienced the sort of abuse we're subjected too and thus they cannot uncover how it works and how to confront such abuse. We do our best to explain who's doing it, how it's done, and how to tackle it.

If people who spent years viciously attacking me and my family (yes, if you are thin-skinned the attacks are enough, but if not then they attack the family) 'drown' in transparency, then so be it. The public deserves to know who the real abuser is and who the victim is or who the victims are. "The Truth is About to Prevail".

______

  1. A Law Firm Is Promoting Itself On Facebook To People Whose HIV Status Was Leaked (yes, that's "BRETT WILSON LLP")
  2. SLAPPed by tax avoidance firm “Property118” (yes, that's "BRETT WILSON LLP")
  3. HMRC is likely investigating the two big landlord tax avoidance firms. What should their clients do? (again, that's "BRETT WILSON LLP")

Other Recent Techrights' Posts

The GNU Manifesto is 40. Here's the Original Print (1985).
Some unpleasant people want to replace GNU with Microsoft-controlled (GitHub) Rust copycats
Unixmen Seems to Have Died After Turning Into a Slopfarm and Spamfarm, Is LinuxSecurity.com Next?
Better to not publish anything at all than to resort to fake garbage.
What Happened to the Open Source Initiative (OSI) Elections: More People Begin to Speak Out
Kuhn set another bonfire ablaze
2025 Rumours of IBM Layoffs in Marketing Likely True, Online Powwow Drops More Clues
Expect over 10,000 layoffs this year (at IBM alone)
Microsoft Windows Barely Exists in Haiti Anymore
This trend in Haiti is a "story in progress"
 
Mauritius: Windows at All-Time Low, Down From 96% to 17%
Put in simple terms, people choose to connect from the "phone" (running Linux), not some laptop running Windows
Many IBM Layoffs Reported Today in Europe and North America
there's definitely a lot going on today
Links 18/03/2025: ‘Meritless’ Defamation Suit Thrown Out, InterDigital Software Patents Headed for the Bin Too
Links for the day
These Strange Web Statistics From The Bahamas Show Windows Falling From 93% to Less Than 5%
There are about half a million there
Gemini Links 18/03/2025: Weather and Resisting "MAGA"
Links for the day
Links 18/03/2025: New Apple Blunders and Windows Disliked by Users
Links for the day
Once Again 'Losing Track' of Who the Clients Are, The Serial Harasser and Strangler from Microsoft
Timing is everything
Android (With Linux) Rises to Record Highs in Hong Kong and in Macao
Looking quite bad for Microsoft
Distractions. Distractions Everywhere.
distracting from the real solution
EPO Concerns About the Education and Childcare Allowance Reform (ECAR) and School Liaison Officer (SLO)
The public deserves to know as it impacts thousands of families
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 17, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, March 17, 2025
Links 17/03/2025: Weather Changing and Connecting Docker to Localhost
Links for the day
The EPO Might Face Critical 'Brain Drain' (Abandonment by the Most Experienced Patent Examiners) This Year
"a number of colleagues might feel compelled to inform the Administration before the end of May 2025 of their intention to retire as of 1 December 2025."
Links 17/03/2025: Forced Labour and Memory on Tenstorrent
Links for the day
Links 17/03/2025: Live Nation’s DOJ Antitrust Battle Carries on, as Does the Demise of the "Hey Hi" Bubble
Links for the day
Links 17/03/2025: "Badly Misled About Covid" and "Gag of America"
Links for the day
The Lie or Half-Truth of Clownflare (or Equivalents) Improving Things
It may seem "cheap" (temporarily) and "fast", but that's just bait
Free Speech Around the World is Curtailed in the Name of "Protecting Us"
We have spent many years speaking about how to combat this trend
Enshittification of Online Media
Now more than ever we must fight for independent press
War Readiness Means Removing Every Windows Installation and CALEA-Compliant Equipment
Finland is vulnerable for a whole bunch of reasons
Reporting Facts is Not a Privacy Violation
Techrights has long valued and defended privacy
In the Russian Federation (Russia), Microsoft Isn't Even the 1%
the government builds "homegrown" (not pertinent parts of them) distros with which to replace Microsoft, not just Windows
Gemini Links 17/03/2025: "Hack the Planet", Klingnauer Stausee, and Enshittification
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 16, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, March 16, 2025
Slow News Cycles Are Part of a Trend, Technology Gravitating Towards Rich People's Interests
This issue isn't limited to the Web
Recent Site Changes and Looking Towards 2026
In November 2026 we turn 20
Mozilla Firefox is Probably Already Below 2% in the UK (United Kingdom)
LibreWolf identifies as "Firefox" by default
When You Don't Want to Tinker Much You Just Use GNU/Linux, Not Windows
With GNU/Linux upgrades are possible and, failing that, one can just back up the home directory and copy it "back into" the new OS
Facebook REALLY, REALLY, R E A L L Y Does Not Want You to Read This Book
It would be a CRIME to read it
Coming Soon, the Next Chapter About the Crisis of the Open Source Initiative (OSI)
We're far from done
Illuminating Microsoft's Code of Conduct (CoC) Hypocrisy
Oppressor victimhood? Leadership claimed by the worst offenders?
Planet Ubuntu - or Ubuntu Planet - Has an LLM Slop Problem (Called Faizul "Piju" 9M2PJU)
Does investigative reporting have any future at all?
Links 16/03/2025: Handwriting Comeback and "MElon’s Attack on U.S.A.I.D."
Links for the day
Gemini Links 16/03/2025: "Differences Distance" and "Dopamine-addicted Pigeon"
Links for the day
Expect GNU/Linux to Rise Sharply in China
But Red China won't trust Red Hat (IBM), which works for the Pentagon and keeps the "secret sauce" for its OS secret (just what Americans accused China of doing with its distros)
Links 16/03/2025: American Press Under Attack, "France Offers to Take in US Scientists"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 16/03/2025: Threats to Canada and How to Process News Online
Links for the day
Links 16/03/2025: Growing Tariff Hostilities and Social Media Surveillance
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, March 15, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, March 15, 2025