GOP Features Freshman Rep Who Asked Not to be Attacked for Her Medicare Vote to Defend Ryan Budget in Their Weekly Address
May 17, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media As progressive blogger mooncat at Left in Alabama points out, freshman GOP Rep. Martha Roby was recently asking for a truce from the Obama administration and Democrats, pleading with them not to run any attack ads holding her to account for her vote in favor of Paul Ryan’s budget and its accompanying plan to turn Medicare into a voucher system. Amazingly, even after that, they decide to trot her out to give the Republican Weekly Address defending Ryan’s budget. That said, worrying about blatant hypocrisy and whether anyone in the media might bother to point it out has never been one of the GOP’s big concerns. Here’s more from Left in Alabama : Will Roby again beg President Obama for mercy for her vote to ” essentially end Medicare ?” She probably should, but the text of her pre-recorded message is already available and Roby confines herself to holding the debt limit hostage and a reiteration of the GOP platitude that “everything should be on the table — everything, that is, except tax increases. We cannot tax the same people we expect to create jobs.” Seriously. That’s a verbatim quote from Martha Roby. Wake up and smell the coffee, folks. Tax cuts don’t create jobs, they create deficits . If tax cuts were going to create jobs, the Bush tax cuts would have created jobs. Instead, as the Wall Street Journal remarked, George W. Bush had the worst record on job creation since they started keeping records! She was also touting more “drill baby drill” energy policies, as though we’ve got enough oil available here in the United States to make any difference compared to what we consume, and that that oil doesn’t end up being sold by a cartel where we’ve got no control over the price, and pretending the solution for our country is not figuring out how to get off of oil dependence all together. And of course, she said nothing about whether oil speculators are running those costs up as well. She also pulled out the Republicans’ favorite boogeyman — tax hikes — as being harmful to the economy when we all know full well that they don’t care how badly taxes are raised on the poor and the middle class or small businesses as long as their wealthy campaign contributors don’t see their taxes go up. If they actually cared about protecting small businesses and taxing those who are hoarding all of the wealth in the United States, the Republicans would have voted to let the Bush tax cuts expire for anyone making less than $250,000. Instead they decided to hold the unemployed hostage to get those tax cuts back for the upper earners. And when any of our politicians in this country start talking about outsourcing and a race to the bottom on wages, I’ll believe they’re serious about whether our economy actually improves or not. Naturally any discussion on those topics rarely makes the national discourse by our corporate media. Transcript via the LA Times below the fold: Weekly remarks by Rep. Martha Roby, as provided by Republican Party leadership Hello, I’m Representative Martha Roby. It is a great honor to speak to you today about the challenges our country faces. I do so, not only as the representative of Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, but also as a mother concerned about the future for my kids, and yours. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve gone to the grocery store and found myself in a conversation about the price of gas, the cost of going to the doctor, or about how hard it is to get a business going and keep jobs in our area. The sad conclusion of these conversations is that Washington is a part of the problem. It is failing to promote policies that will put our economy on a path to prosperity. The price of gas is a good example, and a timely one too. Year after year, politicians in Washington talk about steps to ease the pain at the pump, but they never act. It hit home this spring when the president promoted Brazilian-made energy in Brazil while his administration keeps our resources here at home under lock and key. I am pleased to report the House has passed several measures designed to expand domestic energy production to help address the soaring gas prices. This is also important because when we’re talking about energy, we’re talking about jobs. The cost of energy is directly related to the cost of hiring workers and running a business. The cost of government is also hurting our economy. Washington’s failure to enact policies that promote long-term economic growth and balance the budget is creating uncertainty for employers and consumers alike. For years now, Washington has kicked the can down the road without facing up to its spending addiction. Not anymore. The big spenders have been put on notice and are on retreat. The American people reject the idea of giving Washington a blank check to increase the debt limit. The House is listening. Republicans have made clear that there will be no increase in the national debt limit, unless it is accompanied by significant spending reforms that truly change the culture of spending in Washington. To get there, everything should be on the table –- everything, that is, except tax increases. We cannot tax the same people we expect to create jobs. That is a recipe for keeping people out of work. The threat of tax hikes — along with the torrent of rules and regulations coming out of Washington – has employers sitting on their hands at the worst possible time. The Republican budget put forward by Chairman Paul Ryan ends the threat of job-crushing tax hikes. It also preserves critical programs like Medicare. Because, again, the greatest threat is doing nothing. If we do nothing, Medicare will simply run out of money. Without action, seniors’ benefits will be cut. Under Chairman Ryan’s plan, seniors 55 and older would not be affected in any way. That is an important point. For those of us under 55, we must take steps to ensure Medicare will still be around when we retire. It is time for Washington to get serious about the challenges that face our country. This includes putting our fiscal house in order and addressing the soaring gas prices. The greatest threat to our economy, job creation, and the future of our children is to do nothing. We have to act. It is what we were sent to Washington to do. Finally, I would like to take a moment to thank all Americans for the overwhelming support and especially the prayers you have sent to the people of Alabama in the wake of last month’s devastating tornadoes. We have needed them. As have the people of Tennessee and all those along the Mississippi dealing with terrible flooding. It is heartbreaking to see our friends and neighbors go through tough times. But, as always, the people of our state are coming together to lend a helping hand to do what needs to be done. I am proud to represent people who care so deeply about their communities. Their perseverance and strength only motivates me more as their representative in Congress. I owe it to them not to let this critical moment pass without acting to ensure the American Dream is alive and well for our children and grandchildren. If everyone in Washington felt the same way, we could accomplish a great deal more. Thank you for listening.
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“I would invite all Latin people to do nothing for about two weeks so you can see who really, really is running the economy… I am here to give voice to the invisible.” —CARLOS SANTANA, musician, gives his take on the importance of Latinos in the American economic system. He spoke before Sunday’s MLB Civil
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Barnardo’s warns government plan to tackle abuse and trafficking ‘needs to be enforced’ The sexual grooming of children in the UK is a much bigger problem than has previously been recognised, the government has said. The children’s minister, Tim Loughton, announced that an action plan will be launched to tackle child sexual exploitation, which experts say involves British children as young as 10 being trafficked for sex around the UK. “This isn’t something that has just appeared, but the extent of it hasn’t been recognised and we are underestimating the problem,” Loughton said on Tuesday. “The cleverer we are about it, the more horrified we are likely to be by what we discover.” People sometimes struggled to believe that such cruelty could exist in the UK, he said. But he added: “Exploitation is happening here and it is happening now.” The government has launched an investigation into the extent of the problem and would use its findings to devise a plan to tackle it, which is due for publication in the autumn, he said. Loughton said he could not give precise details of what it would include, but gathering data and evidence would be a “first major step” to tackling child sexual exploitation and putting it at the heart of policing. He added: “Sexual exploitation has not been fully understood by the judiciary and justice system.” The UK’s biggest children’s charity, Barnardo’s, welcomed the move but said the government had to “pick up the pace” as it examines better ways to protect children. The profile of domestic child grooming and trafficking was raised in January after the jailing of a gang of Asian men in Derby who had been grooming girls as young as 12 for sex. The same month nine men in Rochdale were arrested under suspicion of rape, inciting child prostitution, allowing a premises to be used for prostitution and sexual activity with a child. The action plan is likely to look at how police rely on evidence from children, who are often threatened with physical or sexual violence if they talk to authorities, to bring the abusers to justice. It is also likely to look at the intimidating and aggressive nature of court cases which can see children who have been abused by a number of men questioned by several barristers. “What makes this crime doubly difficult to prosecute is that even if children do get over the huge hurdle and want to bring their abuser to justice, they then have to face a judicial process which sometimes treats them as though they were somehow complicit in their abuse,” said Loughton. The government would not shy away from looking at whether certain ethnic groups in specific areas were more likely to be involved in sexual exploitation, he said. “If there has been a reluctance to [look at the problem] because of a fear of opening a can of worms, then we have to expose that. I don’t care who the perpetrators are, they have to be exposed and brought to justice.” But he stressed that sexual exploitation was not confined to one ethnic group. “Operation Retriever [in Derby] centred on one specific ethnic group but in other areas there are different abusers of different ethnic groups. They can be white, middle-class abusers online – exploitation is not a BME [black and minority ethnic] monopoly,” he said. Following the Derby case the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre is to investigate “on-street” grooming, and establish whether there are patterns of offending, victimisation, or vulnerability. That report is due next month. Anne Marie Carrie, chief executive of Barnardo’s, welcomed the promise of a child sexual exploitation action plan but said it had to have the tools to change the situation. “It’s the first step in the right direction but it needs more pace and needs to be enforced,” she said. Barnardo’s had dealt with 417 children who had been exploited on the day of the announcement, she added. “Those 417 children can’t wait, their lives are being trashed while we are devising an action plan,” she said. Children Human trafficking Child protection Crime Social care Alexandra Topping guardian.co.uk
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Shukri Ghanem, the regime’s second high-profile defection, is believed to have contacted officials in Tunis The Libyan government is refusing to deny claims that the oil minister has fled the country in the second high profile defection from Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s regime since the two month old air campaign began. Shukri Ghanem, who had been oil minister since 2006 and was prime minister for three years prior, is believed to have contacted officials in Tunis after arriving there on Monday. Libyan officials said they had been trying unsuccessfully to contact Ghanem for the past 24 hours. He is believed to have crossed the land border into Tunisia and shortly afterwards made clear his intention to defect. “He is in Tunisia, but we don’t know what he is doing there,” said government spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim. Another official said Ghanem was on a “diplomatic mission” to bring about a ceasefire. However, a spokesman for the interim Transitional National Council in Benghazi said he had contacted the group in recent weeks and was looking for a way to flee. Ghanem has been regarded as a trusted figure within the Gaddafi regime, although he has differed with colleagues on oil policy. Former chief regime henchman, Moussa Koussa was the last senior figure to defect to Britain in late-March. He has since been extensively debriefed by MI6 officials and, along with other former Gaddafi loyalists, has been instrumental in planning for Nato air operations that are increasingly destroying the power base of the Gaddafi regime. Ghanem had been seen since the start of the violent anti-government uprising in February as a likely candidate to switch allegiances. He had indicated during interviews that he believed change in Libya was necessary, however he had stopped short of calling for Gaddafi to leave. His apparent defection came hours after the international criminal court chief prosecutor called for the arrest of the veteran dictator, his son Saif al-Islam and intelligence chief, Abdullah Senussi for mass murder. An escalation of the air campaign followed soon after the announcement. In the early hours, Nato bombs set fire to two buildings in Tripoli that British military officials said were secret police compounds. The submarine HMS Triumph fired Tomahawk cruise missiles and Tornado jets dropped bombs on a number of targets in Libya’s capital. Tomahawks’ electronic systems can distinguish between different buildings and are therefore suitable against urban targets, according to defence officials. Danish planes also attacked Tripoli in a series of attacks British defence officials made clear were also designed to signal that Nato was determined to extend its range of targets in a military campaign which, after almost two months, shows little sign of leading to the collapse of the regime. Major General John Lorimer, chief military spokesman at the Ministry of Defence, said the bombed targets “lay at the heart of the apparatus used by the regime to brutalise the civilian population”. He added: “One of the intelligence facilities which was hit is known to play a significant role in the collection of information by Colonel Gaddafi’s secret police, while the other was a headquarter for the external security organisation, commanded by Abdullah Senussi.” Senussi, the intelligence chief, along with the Libyan leader and his son, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, was accused on Monday of crimes against humanity by the ICC chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who called for their arrest for orchestrating a campaign of mass murder. British targets on Monday night included the executive protection force, which Lorimer described as “the bodyguard for the inner circle of the colonel’s regime … entrusted with other sensitive tasks”. He said vehicles at the training base were identified as having been used in the violent suppression of public demonstrations in Tripoli on 4 March. The latest Nato strikes came days after General Sir David Richards, Britain’s chief of defence staff, called on member countries to increase their range of targets to include the regime’s infrastructure, command and control centres, and communications networks. The defence secretary, Liam Fox, told the Commons on Monday that Nato bombing strikes would not end until Gaddafi stopped “slaughtering” his own people. There are 23 RAF aircraft and two Royal Navy warships committed to Operation Ellamy, the MoD’s codename for operations in Libya. A Libyan government diplomatic mission arrived in Moscow on Monday in a bid to broker a ceasefire. Russia has remained a staunch opponent of military action and has challenged the campaign’s effectiveness. In recent days, Transitional National Council officials, including two former Gaddafi ministers who defected to the rebels in the days following the uprising, have been touring Europe and the US in a bid to build international recognition for an alternative government which they claim now represents all Libyans. Concerns have been raised in Nato that a loyalist rump of officials who have stood by Gaddafi for most of his 42 year rule, could stymie attempts to change the regime and turn the Nato air campaign into a stalemate. Such a result is seen as likely to further dampen the so-called Arab spring, which led to the rapid toppling of decades-old dictatorships in Tunisia and Egypt, but has sparked deadly street violence in Libya, Yemen and Syria and fresh sectarian enmity in Bahrain. Libya Muammar Gaddafi Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East Africa Martin Chulov Richard Norton-Taylor guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …There is someone who even tops Donald Trump’s Birtherism and that’s Jerome Corsi of WND. A QUESTION OF ELIGIBILITY Nordyke numbers expose Obama document fraud? Newly found details about birth registration show president’s certificate out of sequence It’s been said that there’s a sucker born everyday and that makes people like Jerome Corsi a ton of cash. Conspiracy theories seem to be recession proof. Maybe each state that has budgetary problems should start a phony Obama conspiracy and sell books, t-shirts and mugs based on it. Lou Dobbs can then go from state to state and just ask the questions that everybody wants answers to.
Continue reading …It’s Special Election Day in the West Los Angeles district of CA-36, replacing retired Representative Jane Harman. Angelenos have a chance to vote for a true progressive, Blue America-endorsed Debra Bowen . Tuesday’s special election in California’s 36th District is a prequel to what will likely be the main event on July 12. If no candidate gets a majority of votes cast – highly unlikely in the crowded 16 person field – the top two vote-getters will advance to a runoff in the first test of the state’s new “jungle primary” system . The Frontrunners: Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn jumped into the race almost immediately after now-former Rep. Jane Harman announced in February she’d step down to head the Woodrow Wilson Center. Hahn and Harman are close, and while Hahn doesn’t have the former congresswoman’s official endorsement, Harman did provide her with a heads-up she was leaving. Hahn comes from a well-known political family – her brother, James, served as the city’s mayor from 2001 until 2005, and her father, Kenneth, was a county supervisor for forty years. California Secretary of State Debra Bowen took a bit longer to officially decide, but since her entrance, the two women have been at the top of a very crowded pack in the all-party primary. Hahn quickly rolled out endorsement after endorsement of other Members of the state’s Congressional delegation, Sen. Dianne Feinstein , and even former House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt . She’s also garnered most of the labor endorsements in the race. Bowen has worked to paint herself as the more progressive candidate in the race, particularly on environmental issues, and has been endorsed by Democracy for America, former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean , and the Sierra Club. Hahn is another BlueDog-cum-DINO, like Harman. Do we really need another one of those in the House? Debra Bowen (here’s her Blue America page and the live chat she did with us in March ) has been fantastic advocating for fair and transparent elections as Secretary of State and it would be incredible to get a clear and unapologetic liberal in office. This is our first “jungle primary” (I really hate that term), so it’s critical that Bowen gets the turnout she needs to be in the final runoff election in July. Please, if you are in the 36th District, do not forget to vote and support our candidate, Debra Bowen.
Continue reading …In another bout of tough press for TSA, the Texas House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill on Friday that prohibits “intrusive touching” when people are seeking access to public buildings and forms of transportation. (LIST: 20 Reasons to Hate the Airlines) The bill, sponsored by Republican House member David Simpson, comes after some very
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Rosneft, the state-owned Russian oil group, seeks Arctic alliance with BP rival after collapse of deal with British company The Russian oil and gas group Rosneft is ready to ditch BP and look elsewhere for an alliance with a foreign competitor following the collapse of the two companies’ proposed alliance. The Rosneft-BP deal, announced in January, would have paved the way for joint exploration of parts of the Arctic where there may be 60bn barrels of oil in an area the size of the North Sea. Its collapse is a severe blow for the British firm’s chief executive, Bob Dudley. Dudley’s move was viewed as a way for BP to ensure long term growth and revive its reputation after the explosion on its Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico last year, leading to the worst oil spill in US history. The disaster off the coast of Louisiana has cost BP more than $41bn (£25bn) and has forced it to sell assets to raise $24bn. The Russian deal, which also involved a $16bn share swap between BP and Rosneft, is in tatters after Dudley failed to overcome legal opposition from AAR, a consortium of Russian billionaires that is the British company’s existing partner in the country. Rosneft refused to extend a deadline of midnight on Tuesday for the dispute to be settled. Sources close to the Moscow-based company said it was seeking an Arctic alliance with one of BP’s rivals, which include Shell, US companies ExxonMobil and Chevron, and Total of France. One of BP’s City shareholders said: “The collapse of BP’s pact with Rosneft will be a serious disappointment for Dudley as it was the only deal on the table that offered the prospect of future production on a grand scale.” Despite the breakdown of the alliance between BP and Rosneft, as well as the ending of negotiations with AAR, all three parties held out hope that an agreement could still be reached. “Talks will continue in the days ahead, and it’s possible that something can be salvaged,” said one source. A senior oil executive said: “Don’t exaggerate what has happened, I’m not sure this is the end of the story.” Rosneft’s deputy chairman Andrey Kostin was reported as saying he thought there may be scope for an accord after meetings scheduled in the days ahead. But most analysts said the agreement that had been envisaged in January appeared “dead in the water”. BP said it had tried to break the deadlock but that “a solution has not been found at this time, although talks continue”. The oligarchs behind AAR had blocked the Rosneft/BP alliance in the courts on the basis that it breached a shareholder agreement that provided for TNK-BP, the name of AAR’s joint venture with BP, to have pre-emption rights on any business opportunities in Russia. The various parties had reached an agreement that would have allowed BP and Rosneft to buy out AAR’s oligarchs, led by Mikhail Fridman, for $32bn. But Rosneft was reluctant to sign a binding agreement. For its part, AAR balked at signing an agreement to sell to BP and Rosneft unless the sale was also underpinned by a three-way oil and gas exploration alliance. A source close to the talks said: “These were complex negotiations and in the end, there wasn’t enough time to clinch an agreement.” Without a deal Rosneft decided to pull out of the pact with BP and look for new partners. Sources close to Rosneft accused the oligarchs of making “unacceptable demands”. But Fridman struck a conciliatory tone: “AAR sees significant benefit to developing co-operation with Rosneft within the framework of the TNK-BP shareholder agreement.” It is thought the AAR partners are keen to get Arctic exposure since the joint venture with BP has limited growth prospects owing to a mainly mature onshore portfolio. The failure to shore up the deal to explore the Arctic’s oil-rich Kara Sea is an embarrassing setback for Dudley. His idea was to cement BP’s move forward from the Gulf spill and show it no longer needed to rely so heavily on the United States, where it is still barred from drilling in the Gulf. Dudley, who took over from gaffe-prone Tony Hayward, had proclaimed the deal “historic” and “groundbreaking”. BP Oil Oil and gas companies Energy industry Russia Europe Richard Wachman guardian.co.uk
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Yemeni Muhammad Ali Qasim Yaqub, alias Abu Suhaib al-Makki, said to have worked directly under al-Qaida leadership Pakistani security forces arrested a senior al-Qaida operative in Karachi on Tuesday, signalling the first major move against Osama bin Laden’s network inside Pakistan since his death on 2 May. Security agencies in the port city of Karachi apprehended Muhammad Ali Qasim Yaqub, alias Abu Suhaib al-Makki, a Yemeni said to have worked directly under the al-Qaida leadership along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The army described the arrest as a “major development in unravelling the al-Qaida network operating in the region” – triggering speculation it may signal the start of a wider heave against Bin Laden’s top lieutenants. However, Makki’s seniority in al-Qaida was not immediately known. In the past both the US and Pakistan have retrospectively attributed seniority to previously unknown al-Qaida militants. Since Bin Laden’s death the US has put pressure on Pakistan to crack down on militants believed to be sheltering in Pakistan, including Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Taliban leader Mullah Omar, and the leadership of Lashkar-e-Taiba, which carried out the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Senator John Kerry, visiting Islamabad for the Obama administration, on Monday presented a list of demands to the Pakistani government – but refused to say what they were. US officials are frantically sorting through a treasure trove of intelligence captured from Bin Laden’s house including hundreds of computer disks. It was not immediately clear whether Makki’s arrest came from Pakistani or US intelligence. The arrest offered a glimmer of hope in another gloomy day for Pakistan-American relations. Earlier there was an exchange of fire between Nato and Pakistani forces along the Afghan border that injured two Pakistani soldiers. Two Nato helicopters opened fire on a Pakistani military post in Datta Khel, in North Waziristan, after coming under fire. Pakistan’s army condemned the incident as a “violation of Pakistan air space”. Nato said the helicopters scrambled after a Nato base came under fire from the Pakistani side of the border. al-Qaida Osama bin Laden Pakistan Yemen Global terrorism Afghanistan US foreign policy Middle East Declan Walsh guardian.co.uk
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Justice secretary says he will consider legislation, but admits there may be quicker, less controversial ways of tackling issue A privacy law could provide judges with clearer guidance when deciding whether to grant gagging orders, the justice secretary has told the Commons. In the clearest signal yet that the government is considering legislation to resolve the controversy over superinjunctions and anonymised court orders, Ken Clarke appeared to accept the necessity of drafting a bill. But, he cautioned, the difficulty of deciding in individual cases where freedom of speech justifies publication means there will never be a simple, legal solution. Referring to the recent spate of gagging orders taken about by Premier League footballers, Clarke said he did not “necessarily need to know about the sex life of each of the players” every time he watched a match. At Commons question time, the Clarke was asked by his Labour counterpart, Sadiq Khan, to provide “clarity and guidance” to British judges. There have been complaints that the judiciary is introducing a privacy law without reference to parliament through their interpretation of the European convention on human rights in granting injunctions. The names of some of those said to have obtained privacy injunctions have this month been posted on Twitter and other social networking sites in defiance of court contempt orders. “We will consider these matters,” Clarke told MPs, “and indeed it is probably right to say that parliament passing a privacy act might well be the best way of resolving it. “But I think we need to get somewhat nearer to a consensus and one needs to know exactly how you’re trying to strike this balance before something is submitted to the judgment of parliament. “It may well be that we don’t have to wait for a long controversial process like that, we can find some other way of tackling it. We are considering this issue and we’ll come back in due course.” Khan, the Labour MP for Tooting, said there was growing “public disquiet about the use of the anonymity injunction and the superinjunction – both its abuse or alleged abuse – but also the circumvention by use of, for example, Twitter. The current situation is not satisfactory.” On Friday, Lord Neuberger, the master of the rolls, will issue a report by a committee of legal experts on the use injunctions. It is expected to recommend procedural changes but not call for fresh legislation. “The government is going to have to study it,” Clarke said, “and decide whether or not there is a case for intervening. “There’ll never be unanimity on all these judgments, precisely because it is so difficult to balance the competing parts of the convention on human rights [freedom of speech and a right to privacy] and the competing interests involved.” “There have been cases where we certainly need to know, where people are disposing of waste material that they’re dumping off the coast of Africa, which is easy in one direction. “On the other, every time I watch a football team I don’t think I necessarily need to know about the sex life of each of the players.” Clarke’s comments suggest there may have been second thoughts in cabinet over the need for a privacy law. Earlier this month the prime minister, David Cameron, told Radio 4′s Today programme : “By all means let’s debate it, but I think there is still more to be done through the Press Complaints Commission.” John Whittingdale, the Conservative chairman of the culture, media and sport select committee, had earlier in Tuesday’s Commons debate warned that the courts were not doing enough to protect the freedom of the press. He asked Clarke: “Are you concerned that the very large number of injunctions that appear to be granted on a routine basis might suggest that the courts are paying insufficient regard to section 12 of the Human Rights Act, which was supposed to protect press freedom? “Given this and the huge speculation on the internet about the identities of those who have obtained injunctions, do you feel that the time is approaching when parliament might need to revisit this area?” Clarke said it was unclear whether the number of injunctions was increasing. The Ministry of Justice has said it is researching the frequency of their use. “As far as I’m aware, there have been two superinjunctions since the John Terry case but the word ‘superinjunction’ gets used very widely,” the justice secretary said. (“Superinjunction”, used correctly, refers only to those few cases where it has been illegal even to report the existence of a court order). However, Clarke said he recognised that there was mounting concern about their use. “I believe in the freedom of the press and the freedom of speech in this country, even when sometimes it’s exercised provocatively, as it’s supposed to be in a free country. But I also think there are areas of privacy where an individual is entitled to have it protected.” The Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming, who represents Birmingham Yardley, said some injunctions prevented people from passing information to the police or other regulators. He asked: “Do you believe that the law should be changed so that regulators should always have information?” Clarke replied: “That’s one of the arguments that no doubt the judge who decides whether to grant the injunction or not has in mind.” But in his judgment on a privacy case involved the Big Brother star Imogen Thomas and an anonymous footballer published on Monday, the judge, Mr Justice Eady, made it clear that legislation might not make much difference. “One can rarely arrive at the answer in any given case merely by reference to generalities,” he declared. “It must all depend upon the particular facts of the case. “It follows too that there can be no automatic priority accorded to freedom of speech. The relative importance of the competing values must be weighed by reference to the individual set of circumstances confronting the court.” •
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