Bonum Certa Men Certa

"The Liberating Power of Simply Telling People the Truth."

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Jun 12, 2025,
updated Jun 12, 2025

This week:

Happy 160th Anniversary to The Nation!

Also this week: Yesterday's Celebrations (site turning 21!)

COMPENSATING for a lack of legal merit by throwing many hundreds of pages (of someone else's work) into the pit is understandable. Throwing highly complex legal questions (that even some lawyers or law students would hesitate to answer) is also one manipulative way to distract from the fact you represent someone who was in prison for good reasons and had already done other really bad things, which he is belatedly held accountable for in the media (his initial reaction was to beg for mercy, knowing he had done bad things).

Whether you send 1,200+ pages of legal papers through my door or "just" 700+ pages doesn't matter (we can make an adorable "group photo" of those rude, threatening letters and bundles when the Court approves it's over, so keep sending more till it fits whole carpets and rooms). The threatening letters speak for themselves. This is not an exaggerated statement. It is an enhanced form of 'polite' bullying, directed not only at me but also at my family at large [1 2, 3] (you're attacking their privacy for no good reason and add subtle insults, including veiled racial microaggression). It's kind of a big deal when a Law Degree gets misused or abused to actively participate in bullying, which can take many forms. Having already bullied his own victims (poor women), now he's bullying the reporter (who merely explained what happened, citing official and authentic documents).

They ought to understand that I'm already accustomed to this kind of nonsense and it always backfired [1, 2] - without a single exception - on people who had naively tried it, even companies as large as Novell (about 7,000 staff) and organisations like the EPO (also close to 7,000 staff). Microsoft is a lot bigger, but the company has terrible reputation. Its hirings are so bad that their staff ends up literally stabbing other staff [1, 2], even inside the workplace (it should be taken seriously when people like these already blog about desires to stab colleagues). They also hire men who later strangle women, which perhaps they fail to understand is a bad thing.

They put you in prison; You sue people who mention they put you in prison

A "boutique" law firm (that's what those are called) on shoestring budget with about 7 people in the office cause a fair deal of trouble/nuisance (if determined enough to bully a man and his wife in Manchester), but at what cost? A loss of its licence to operate? Because it looks like it might happen soon. Not only has the firm done silly things (no doubt out of sheer desperation to whiten the reputation of bad people from Microsoft), it overstepped its authority and now its own staff is fleeing.

I've done online journalism for 20 years (I wrote in news sites) and activism for even longer than this. These sorts of things always end up the same way - possibly with compensation from the bully. Their letters this week show they're "taking the bait" and walking into the trap; it not only takes up a lot of their time (money) but also leads them to saying utterly self-incriminating things in official communications. A good law firm would handle this differently. A great law firm would simply not start such SLAPPs in the first place. Their own client boasted this lawsuit was meant to be "funny" as if courts are some entertainment-themed YouTube channels. They're not. You're just clogging up the dockets with frivolous PR stunts for terrible people who lost fame, lost relevance, and foolishly believe that some vexatious litigation would somehow turn them into heroes. This was attempted 4 years ago at a curious time.

By now the litigants must be aware that sending more and more threats to people who speak out about threats isn't wise. Generally speaking, extortion against someone “who doesn’t have a fear gene” is like shouting at a deaf person. It's not only pointless; it makes you look exceedingly bad to everyone around you.

No decent law firm would take a Microsoft dime from this small and highly insecure man (addiction didn't solve this problem for him) who assaults frail women to elevate his distorted sense of ego and then pretends it never happened (he also lied to girls he was with and later openly boasted to them that he had lied to them). But one can imagine and we certainly understand why a firm this poor would abandon basic filtering or standards (or its own credibility). Once a firm aims this low there is an immediate consequence or harm not just to its reputation but also its ability to practice law (in a country where regulation exists and NGOs do try to protect the press - what little is left of it after decades-long, persistent attacks on it, the fourth estate and oftentimes the last and critical fallback when democracy fails, e.g. lawyers bribing incentivising District Attorneys to cheat/game the system).

As the famous paper (now site) put it this week in Happy 160th Anniversary to “The Nation”!: "Since 1865, we’ve held fast in our belief in the liberating power of simply telling people the truth."

Finally, as we put it in April, "Never Try to Justify Strangulation of Women (Not in the US and Not in the UK)"

Cat Strangler: I do this because I love you

This wasn't even some "kinky sex", the victim was in tears and had struggled to breathe. Lawyers must always study the cases and clients they're handling, not rush to give misguided advice (which would prove costly to both sides but still line the pockets of opportunistic law firms).

The moral thing to do is to walk away from such SLAPPs and protect veteran reporters in the UK, not Americans who attack these reporters (and even their family members!) via London. Revisit the following:

Worry not. People who did nothing wrong have nothing to worry about. In the UK, merely mentioning a crime in another continent is commendable and very much necessary.

Balabhadra (Alex) Graveley, Miguel de Icaza

Miguel de Icaza on Alex Graveley and Nat Friedman (they still talk about each other and with each other; they used to do a podcast together, the two of them):

Miguel de Icaza on Alex Graveley

Related: Brett Wilson LLP [Repeatedly] Does Not Deny Microsoft or Another "Third Party" Secretly Funds the SLAPPs Against Techrights, Bankrolling Despicable People Who Deserve Criticism

Other Recent Techrights' Posts

Social Control Media Relies on Advertisers, So It'll Always Be Hostile Towards Free Software
Sales, sales, sales
 
Amazon Web Services (AWS) Has Layoffs and Microsoft Gaming/Entertainment Division Has an Uncertain Future
it's good to see all those horrible things crashing and burning
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, July 21, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, July 21, 2025
FSF "Raised Almost $139,000 During This Summer Campaign"
"Thank you for making a stand against dystopia!"
Gemini Links 22/07/2025: VPS Exploited and Fear of View
Links for the day
LLM Bots vs Techrights
Slows things down a bit
New Publication Sheds Lights on Abuse of Workers at the European Patent Office (EPO)
Put in simple terms, they're killing the Office, harming remaining staff, try to hire rubber-stampers
Links 21/07/2025: Hardware, Health, and Imperialism
Links for the day
Gemini Links 21/07/2025: "When Buying Isn't Owning" and "CMS Special Edition"
Links for the day
Links 21/07/2025: Indie Web and Toxic Politics
Links for the day
[Meme] Microsoft Lawyers Throwing Stones in Glass Houses
threatened me with bankruptcy
Google "AI Overview" is Not AI and Not Overview
do not be misled; what Google does isn't smart, it's just ripping off the sites it already crawled for as long as 27 years
Making the Case to Dump Microsoft and GAFAM for National and Digital Sovereignty
"Sovereignty is difficult"
The Tactics of the Opposition (Microsoft Lunduke): Associate With K00ks, Throw in Vaccines to Muddy the Water
Who stands to gain from this?
Europe's Second-Largest Institution (EPO) and Largest Patent Monopoly Office Needs More Transparency, Not Less Transparency
In the EPO, what good are elections when one candidate literally bribes all the voters?
How Not to Report News About Microsoft
This pattern of misreporting is so widespread that it's hard to believe it's not intentional
Computer Science is Under Attack, They Want Everyone to be a Consumer
If people can no longer acquire Computer Science education and real Computer Science experience, they will not know how to control their own digital destiny or emancipate the very same universities that now control the syllabus and instead of teaching Computer Science encourage the outsourcing of systems
The Best Tools Are the Simplest Tools
There's a hidden message here about the merits of sticking with X
Ofcom Online Safety Group Speaks of Protecting Women Online, Will Brett Wilson LLP Ever Listen?
They've essentially became like the Taliban's "burka police"
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 20, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, July 20, 2025
Fragmentation of Data
Life is too short to "hoard" data
In Defence of "Spinning Rust"
Just because something is "old" (or older) doesn't mean it ought to become extinct
Using Free Software to Prepare Legal Documents
LibreOffice is openly complaining about OOXML as an obstacle
Tech and Technology Are Not the Same Anymore
"Are you into tech, Sir?"
Our Articles About SLAPPs Receive Recognition and Interest
This week we shall continue writing about the 3 lawsuits we filed
Are You Served?
For many people, advocacy of Free software and GPL enforcement are assumed to be happening
Conspiracy or grooming? Alex Jurado, Voice of Reason compared to Outreachy
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 20/07/2025: Security Breaches and Former 'Open' 'AI' Engineer on Hype and Culture Issues
Links for the day
Links 20/07/2025: Fending Off BRICS and US Government Attacks Its Own Media (Like China and Russia)
Links for the day
Framed by social control media: Alex Belfield, Voice of Reason
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 20/07/2025: Summertime and OCC25 Wrap-up
Links for the day
Jamie Zawinski Complained About Wayland, Then Decided to Give It a Go, Now Complains Again About Wayland
Ask IBM (Red Hat) why it's worth throwing so much away just for Wayland fanaticism
Slopwatch: Planet Ubuntu, LinuxSecurity, and More
former "Linux" blogs which basically became slopfarms
Russia Set to Ban Facebook?
If WhatsApp is made to "leave", that means Facebook or "Meta".
Links 20/07/2025: More GAFAM Lawsuits, Layoffs, and SLAPPs
Links for the day
Taking Stock of a Good and Productive Week
We shall now be taking a break, unpacking the new hard drive (8 TB), and making backups of everything
Nice Recovery (From Actual Fire) by PCLinuxOS, New Version of PCLinuxOS Released, Now Top of DistoWatch
PCLinuxOS is a community-driven distro
More Microsoft Shutdowns That Mostly Slipped Under the Radar
Remember what happened to books 'sold' by Microsoft?
Microsoft Lunduke Still Fighting Cancel Culture With... Cancel Culture
There will be no "winners" in such 'debates'
The History of Daily Links and Politics
"I support Wayland, but I also support abortion..."
Ageism in Tech
Your protocol is "old"...
Microsoft is at 0% "Market Share" in Most Areas
Depending on the taxonomy chosen, there may be dozens of categories other than desktops and laptops
"The moment MSFT stock fails to start tumbling, that’s the beginning of another corporate giant going under."
There are far more layoffs at Microsoft than at Intel, but you would not get this impression based on Wall Street media
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 19, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, July 19, 2025