Posted on 10/08/2009 9:56:06 AM PDT by Psion
Restore National Sovereignty
Thursday, October 8th 2009, 4:00 AM
Paul Williams has lived in Pennsylvania all his life. Yet with pretrial proceedings that begin today, Canadian libel laws now threaten to ruin him financially.
Williams is a National Book Award-winning writer whose 2006 éxposé, "The Dunces of Doomsday," revealed potential terrorist threats to the United States emanating from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. Although the book was published only in the U.S., he's being sued for libel in Canada by the university, which is demanding an apology and $2 million in damages.
Williams is just the latest entry on an increasingly long list of victims of "libel tourism" - a list that includes me. In this chilling assault on American free speech, "libel tourists" use foreign laws and courts, which lack America's robust First Amendment protections, to try to silence American authors and force them into financial ruin.
Congress has the power to stop this dangerous tide, if it acts now.
Williams' reporting centered on the penetration of McMaster's College of Engineering by alleged Al Qaeda operatives. When the suspected terrorists left the school in 2004, 180 pounds of nuclear waste went missing. The U.S. government issued a "be-on-the-lookout" order and posted a reward of $5 million for each suspect.
Yet for daring to write about the threat, Williams is now being sued across the border. And Canadian libel laws are notoriously plaintiff-friendly.
(Excerpt) Read more at thelastcrusade.org ...
If the author never sets foot in Canada, does he really have anything to worry about?
As of now, Canadian judgements can be enforced in Obama’s America. (Not in New York though)
In theory, they could grab the assets of Williams and Joe Sharkey.
bookmark
I would simply not pay them.
Travelling the country looking for cases of libel??? ;^)
Yes..... a very lucrative business in the UK and Canada.
Mark Steyn was speaking to the Canadian Parliament yesterday about a similar problem;
http://ezralevant.com/2009/10/steyn-and-i-testify-before-par.html
(Great video of Steyn )
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.