Mind what you tweet

You may have heard about the guy who was fined £1000 for making a stupid joke on Twitter. He's since lost two jobs because he was convicted of sending a menacing message but all he did was express his exasperation that an airport was shut so he couldn't see his girlfriend. He wrote:

Crap! Robin Hood Airport is closed. You've got a week… otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high!

OK, his comment was ill-judged but who knew Twitter was so tightly policed? I didn't.

I've a feeling that anti-terrorist laws in both the US and the UK make life harder for ordinary people while not actually preventing terrorism. Or do you think they're worth it for the sake of greater security?

Free speech

We've got a bit of a problem in the UK in that our libel laws are the worst in Europe. As they stand a claimant usually wins; this means that publishers, journalists, and others are being muzzled. The cost of a defence can be over £1 million, which is 140 times what it costs elsewhere in Europe.

The government is soon going to reconsider these laws and I wonder if you'd be willing to sign a petition asking for reform.

It doesn't just affect the UK as we get people from other countries coming to make their claims here - it's called libel tourism. What a thing to be known for! I'd rather see us known for freedom of speech.

Edited to add: you can read more about it on Nicola Morgan's blog.