Church and State blog: INTERNET CUTS: Are 45-minute Internet cuts to be the new norm? We pay British Telecom £850 per year for broadband (WITH UPDATE 1/7/2019: re 316th Internet cut since 26 May 2017)

Saturday, July 07, 2018

INTERNET CUTS: Are 45-minute Internet cuts to be the new norm? We pay British Telecom £850 per year for broadband (WITH UPDATE 1/7/2019: re 316th Internet cut since 26 May 2017)

The tyranny of threatened powerful ideologies is exactly what you live to combat.
-Don Collins, President of ISAF, an NGO dedicated to helping women

Our Church and State website has no less than 40 Nobel Prize winners on it; for details, see this blog's sidebar under "Church and State" (updated today).

Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms formulates what is the core of free speech. "Everyone has the right to freedom of expression." In an important interpretation of this article, the European Court of Human Rights in Handyside v. UK (1976) indicated that this "freedom of expression" should be construed as follows. It "is applicable not only to 'information' or 'ideas' that are favourably received, or regarded as inoffensive, or as a matter of indifference, but also to those that offend, shock or disturb the State or any sector of the population." Such are the demands of that pluralism, tolerance and broadmindedness without which there is no "democratic society" (see Cliteur, 2010).

Blocks on access to our Church and State website have been escalating for three weeks now; see my post of 27 June, SITE BLOCKS: The blocks on access to our Church and State website continue unabated (WITH UPDATE 7/7/2018: re 1,259th block since 26 July 2016). Now internet cuts that have been escalating since the beginning of May have hit a whole new level in terms of duration. Last night we were cut off the internet for a record-breaking 45 minutes. Since these cuts started in May last year, Declan has made countless phone calls to British Telecom (BT) Customer Service and has dealt with BT Executive Level Complaints on multiple occasions. No explanation has been the explanation (see here). BT is one of the world's leading communications services companies. We pay them £70 per month (£850 per year) for BT Infinity 2 fibre optic broadband. Up until tonight I had been recording this year's internet cuts on my post of 9 May, INTERNET CUTS: Are we back to non-stop internet cuts? We pay British Telecom £850 per year for broadband (WITH UPDATE 7/7/2018: re 253rd Internet cut since 26 May 2017).

We also had to deal with three Facebook blocks against Church and State last month; see my blog post of 2 June, Fighting for survival in London: Facebook's concerted campaign against Church and State shows no signs of waning (WITH UPDATE 24/6/2018: re Block 40 DAY 8). And these days the category pages on Church and State are under constant attack and to an unprecedented extent. For example, as I point out in my earlier post about the Royal Mail's mishandling of our incoming mail following the loss of our employment contracts to the United States, the second article below has more than 1/2 million Facebook likes/shares (not zero):

These are the internet cuts since 1 May 2018:

184th 8 May 2018, 2.13pm (1/2 hour)
185th 9 May 2018, 6.31am
186th 9 May 2018, 9.51pm
187th 10 May 2018, 1.05am (1/2 hour)
188th 10 May 2018 12.37pm
189th 10 May 2018 5.18pm
190th 12 May 2018 12.53pm
191st 12 May 2018 11.44pm
192nd 14 May 2018 7.25pm (1/2 hour)
193rd 15 May 2018 11.33am (1/4 hour)
194th 15 May 2018 7.34pm
195th 19 May 2018 8.31am
196th 21 May 2018 5.59pm (1/2 hour)
197th 23 May 2018 1.22pm (1/4 hour)
198th 27 May 2018 2.01pm (1/4 hour)
199th 27 May 2018 8.32pm (1/4 hour)
200th 27 May 2018 11.19pm
201st 29 May 2018 9.46am (1/4 hour)
202nd 29 May 2018 11.48am (1/4 hour)
203rd 29 May 2018 8.11pm
204th 29 May 2018 9.37pm
205th 30 May 2018 9.33pm
206th 1 June 2018 6.02pm
207th 1 June 2018 7.18pm (1/4 hour)
208th 2 June 2018 5.03pm (1/4 hour)
209th 3 June 2018 2.32pm (1/4 hour)
210th 5 June 2018 11.43pm
211th 12 June 2018 9.15pm (1/4 hour)
212th 12 June 2018 11.30pm
213th 13 June 2018 3.35pm
214th 13 June 2018 7.51pm
215th 14 June 2018 11.22am
216th 14 June 2018 4.31pm
217th 15 June 2018 10.05am (1/4 hour)
218th 16 June 2018 6.02pm (1/4 hour)
219th 16 June 2018 9.47pm
220th 18 June 2018 2.00pm
221st 18 June 2018 4.50pm
222nd 18 June 2018 8.38pm
223rd 19 June 2018 8.36am
224th 19 June 2018 10.35am (1/4 hour)
225th 19 June 2018 12.36pm
226th 19 June 2018 5.33pm
227th 19 June 2018 7.32pm (1/4 hour)
228th 19 June 2018 9.33pm (1/4 hour)
229th 19 June 2018 10.01pm (7)
230th 21 June 2018 8.47am
231st 21 June 2018 1.32pm (1/4 hour)
232nd 21 June 2018 2.03pm (1/4 hour)
233rd 21 June 2018 7.37pm
234th 22 June 2018 10.16am
235th 23 June 2018 11.32am
236th 24 June 2018 11.35am
237th 25 June 2018 11.36pm
238th 27 June 2018 1.17pm (1/4 hour)
239th 27 June 2018 7.21pm (1/4 hour)
240th 28 June 2018 12.49pm
241st 28 June 2018 9.16pm (1/4 hour)
242nd 28 June 2018 9.47pm (1/4 hour)
243rd 29 June 2018 9.02am
244th 29 June 2018 8.47pm (1/4 hour)
245th 30 June 2018 10.02am (1/4 hour)
246th 1 July 2018 4.48pm
247th 2 July 2018 7.34pm (1/4 hour)
248th 2 July 2018 11.37pm
249th 3 July 2018 2.02pm (1/4 hour)
250th 4 July 2018 12.16am
251st 4 July 2018 10.06pm
252nd 4 July 2018 10.49pm
253rd 6 July 2018 11.46pm (3/4 hour)

UPDATES

254th 10 July 2018 12.04pm
255th 10 July 2018 1.32pm (1/4 hour)
256th 10 July 2018 6.19pm (1/4 hour)
257th 11 July 2018 1.21am
258th 11 July 2018 9.22am
259th 11 July 2018 12.02pm (1/4 hour)
260th 11 July 2018 11.47pm
261st 12 July 2018 1.01am
262nd 12 July 2018 2.31pm
263rd 13 July 2018 8.21pm
264th 13 July 2018 9.32pm
265th 19 July 2018 8.18am
266th 20 July 2018 12.17am
267th 20 July 2018 8.47am
268th 20 July 2018 4.01pm
269th 28 July 2018 8.39am (1/2 hour)
270th 29 July 2018 10.47am
271st 29 July 2018 11.46pm
272nd 9 August 2018 10.44pm (1/2 hour)
273rd 10 August 2018 11.03pm (1/2 hour)
274th 11 August 2018 2.01pm
275th 11 August 2018 6.05pm (1/4 hour)
276th 12 August 2018 2.16pm (1/4 hour)
277th 13 August 2018 11.32am (1/4 hour)
278th 13 August 2018 12.17pm
279th 13 August 2018 2.01pm (1/2 hour)
280th 14 August 2018 4.12pm
281st 14 August 2018 6.31pm (1/2 hour)
282nd 14 August 2018 10.01pm
283rd 16 August 2018 9.17pm (1 1/4 hours)
-------------------------------------------------------------
16/8 (10.47pm) New BT router ordered
-------------------------------------------------------------
284th 17 August 2018 10.46am (1/2 hour)
285th 17 August 2018 12.16pm (3 1/4 hours)
286th 18 August 2018 12.06am
-------------------------------------------------------------
19/8 (10.21am) New BT router delivered
-------------------------------------------------------------
287th 23 August 2018 12.11pm
288th 5 October 2018 8.36am
289th 24 October 2018 9.12pm
290th 25 October 2018 2.53pm
291st 13 November 2018 6.08pm
292nd 6 December 2018 10.39am
293rd 8 December 2018 7.37am
294th 10 December 2018 6.21pm
295th 22 December 2018 6.51pm
296th 12 January 2019 11.12am
297th 21 January 2019 1.04pm
298th 24 January 2019 10.06pm
299th 30 January 2019 11.46pm
300th 13 February 2019 8.24am
301st 13 February 2019 3.36pm
302nd 15 February 2019 1.28pm
303rd 20 February 2019 6.52pm
304th 21 February 2019 12.01am (3/4 hour)
305th 3 March 2019 9.54am
306th 7 March 2019 12.06am
307th 21 March 2019 8.35am
308th 22 March 2019 9.05am
309th 28 March 2019 12.35am
310th 13 April 2019 8.14pm
311th 15 April 2019 1.02pm
312th 15 April 2019 1.14pm
313th 21 April 2019 9.35am
314th 5 May 2019 12.35am
315th 22 May 2019 12.10am
316th 26 May 2019 7.15pm
317th 1 July 2019 7.06pm
318th 1 July 2019 7.52pm
319th 1 July 2019 8.45pm
320th 1 July 2019 10.25pm (4)
321st 3 July 2019 10.13am
322nd 3 July 2019 4.14pm
323rd 4 July 2019 12.18am
324th 8 July 2019 11.28pm
325th 9 July 2019 2.12pm
326th 9 July 2019 2.29pm
327th 16 July 2019 12.14am (1/4 hour)
328th 17 July 2019 8.07pm
329th 26 August 2019 6.27pm
330th 2 September 2019 12.15am
331st 6 September 2019 12.25am
332nd 25 September 2019 10.45pm
333rd 25 September 2019 11.05pm
334th 25 September 2019 11.10pm (3)
-------------------------------------------------------------
26/9/2019 (11.05am) New BT router yet to be installed
-------------------------------------------------------------

Update Summation 26 September 2019

334 internet cuts since 26 May 2017. 173 cuts in 2017; 122 cuts in 2018; 39 cuts in 2019. A record-equalling 7 cuts in one day on 19 June 2018; a record-breaking cut of 3 1/4 hours on 17 August 2018; and 12 cuts in July 2019, the same month as Declan's updated complaint to the United Nations. 5 cuts this month; 3 cuts yesterday. This month also includes a double administrative block from Facebook (148 days the first, and 21 days the second). (As of 26 September at 11.05am.)

173 cuts 2017
122 cuts 2018*
39 cuts 2019
- January 2019: 4 cuts
- February 2019: 5 cuts
- March 2019: 5 cuts
- April 2019: 4 cuts
- May 2019: 3 cuts
- June 2019: 0 cuts
- July 2019: 12 cuts
- August 2019: 1 cuts
- September 2019: 5 cuts

* All recorded cuts from May 2018 on old BT router (including those cuts in 2019). We have yet to install the BT router we received in August 2018. The bandwidth on our second BT YouView box is seldom sufficient for TV or Prime Video viewing, irrespective of laptop internet connection speeds. Because of this, our TV usually operates off the TV aerial or our viewing restricted to the BBC iPlayer when all players and apps have not been disabled. Our laptops are frequently individually targeted with low internet speeds; however, it is the unremitting isolation and targeting of our TV that serves as a constant reminder with respect to whatever BT router we choose to have installed. BT Executive Level Complaints has established that there is no problem with our telephone line and has only ever been able to find fault with their own equipment.

In re Broadband

Paragraph 41 of Declan's updated complaint to the United Nations under Article 19 (freedom of expression) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

41. In October 2017, SiteGround's solicitors told the Applicant to remove a popular article from the Church and State website for alleged copyright infringement or the site would be disabled pending his legal challenge by counter notice. The Applicant's wife removed the article even though it had a Creative Commons licence applied to it, as do all Addicting Info articles. Her Church and State blog has been attacked in various ways over the years: links have been broken and images exchanged, deleted or temporarily removed. So too have the Applicant and his wife's laptops. For example, in December 2015, an attack on the Applicant's wife's web browsers prevented her from using her laptop to publish material on the Church and State website. She could not create a WordPress post, add images, or click on most of the platform's buttons. She had posted a video of the attack on her blog before the browsers were returned to normal functioning the following afternoon. The Applicant pays British Telecom £900 per year for Superfast Fibre 2 Unlimited broadband with an average advertised speed of 67Mbps. Nonetheless, since September 2017, the internet connection speed on either his or his wife's laptop has been reduced from anything between 1-74Mbps, frequently rendering it almost impossible to open a web page or send an email on the targeted laptop. Since 26 May 2017, their internet connection has been cut 326 recorded times lasting for as long as 3 1/4 hours at a time. And the bandwidth on their second BT YouView box is seldom sufficient for TV or Prime Video viewing irrespective of their laptop internet connection speeds. (Because of this, their TV usually operates off the TV aerial or their viewing restricted to the BBC iPlayer when all players and apps have not been disabled.) BT Executive Level Complaints has established that there is no problem with the Applicant and his wife's telephone line and has only ever been able to find fault with their own equipment. (Emphasis added.)

UK Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ)

From My Picks:

28 September 2020: British Telecom (day 4): Are we back to non-stop internet cuts? I am now reading books on space travel offline using my tablet and to good effect. Space advocates and supporters galore!

'Let me recommend an important web site churchandstate.org.uk. Operating out of London this well-designed and exciting web site covers church-state, population, climate change and other issues. Check it out.' Edd Doerr, President, Americans for Religious Liberty

Church and State

MAYOR OF LONDON RSI PROPERTY
DAY 406 IN A WEEKLY PERIODIC TENANCY
SUBJECT TO A SECTION 21 NOTICE

(SEE PARA. 3 BELOW)

1. Our 308 Honorary Associates include 20 Nobel Prize laureates. Declan and I are engaged in a project that deals with the publication of issues significant to social policy in a number of key areas, e.g., climate change, population, futurism, atheism, and free speech. Established as Network for Church Monitoring, a non-profit company limited by guarantee, our main publication, found at the website, Church and State, calls attention to subjects, not the least which have been critical of the interaction between religious and secular institutions. We have been the target of numerous threats and actions, e.g., the former resulting in threats to Declan's life, and the latter, which have led to vandalism. The various incidents are on record with the police and other official agencies.

2. There are no less than 63 Nobel Prize laureates on the Church and State website from 20 Honorary Associates, eight articles, nine book excerpts and 33 petition signatories. (For example, one Nobel laureate signed our Nobel petition in support of human embryonic stem cell research and gave us permission to excerpt from one of his books.) Our list of associates also includes 18 US National Medal laureates, and six Turing Award laureates (the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in computer science). We have published one article and excerpted from the books of seven members of the British House of Lords. And there are 31 knighted professors on the site from 13 Honorary Associates, one book excerpt and 21 petition signatories. These figures are despite the never-ending assault on our email (this link reveals the targeting of our emails to, among others, a close colleague in Washington, DC as well as space advocates and Nobel laureates).

3. This is Day 406 for us living under the threat to life of a 'no fault' eviction by Peabody Trust.[1] We live in a Mayor of London's Rough Sleepers Initiative (RSI) property. Peabody's appalling new terms of tenancy have forced us into an unstable weekly periodic tenancy that poses a threat to Declan's life and inhibits our ability to exercise our rights. Declan accumulated quite a history with the Housing Ombudsman Service before he received the Ombudsman's decision not to investigate a referral from Lyn Brown MP on jurisdictional grounds. The Ombudsman was asked to consider whether or not our tenancy has been renewed like for like; and whether, if not, it should be in light of the landlord having accused us of not signing a like-for-like agreement. The Equality and Human Rights Commission will not accept a referral of discrimination from Ms Brown, the Commission's helpline (EASS) having grossly distorted the complaint against Peabody. We no longer have pro se access to the courts (see next paragraph).

4. This eviction matter came before District Judge Ruth Fine at the Central London County Court on 30 June 2020, when both counsel for St Mungo's (the charity in effective control of our tenancy) and Declan presented their positions. Declan lost the case and was ordered to pay £1,850 in costs. A publishing colleague in America cleared these costs within 24 hours of my blog post about this hearing for strike out on a related issue that was the essence of the claim, i.e., that St Mungo's would take a phone call to confirm that we are clients of the Mayor of London's RSI programme. Within a week of the hearing, St Mungo's had agreed to take this phone call for us both, the Court having ruled that they were not obliged to do so despite our circumstances. This time we escaped bankruptcy (counsel for St Mungo's asked for £3,407.50 in costs), but consider that to seek pro se access to justice in the courts has become far too dangerous for us. Declan currently has before the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman the decision of the Information Commissioner that allows St Mungo's to continue processing coercive support plans without our knowledge or consent and that also poses a threat to his life.

5. When it comes to traffic, we have had 10.7 million hits in the past three years on Facebook; however, I left the platform on 13 March 2021 for one year rather than risk being banned for life. It is indisputable that with any sort of level playing field Church and State would have far exceeded 2.5 million hits last year. In addition to a large variety of blocks without explanation, Facebook had so severely restricted our Page's distribution by October 2020 that it was almost as good as an unpublished page.[2] Currently, we are up to their 85th block since 1 December 2015, and as usual without an explanation. This block records as one half of their 3rd double block in the first five weeks of this year that lasted 60 days. Our traffic has also been curtailed by over 2.5K blocks on access to Church and State since 26 July 2016, including 29 full distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks since 17 May 2019 that have lasted for as long as 54 hours at a time.[3] About 70% of our hits are from Americans.

"This is precisely the hard hitting kind of response needed to clarify the unfair way Facebook is treating your highly reputable site." Don Collins, Founder, International Services Assistance Fund, Washington DC

Last updated: 26/06/21

_________________________

[1] Once a fixed term has elapsed, the landlord has the option to seek eviction even if the tenant has upheld their obligations in full (though of course the landlord must still apply for and obtain a county court order).

[2] 17/10/20: We have permission to publish this ISAF letter of 30 September to Facebook COO Sheryl Samberg. Facebook has so severely restricted our Page's distribution since 4 September that it's almost as good as an unpublished page

[3] Since October 2019, we have been defining a full DDoS attack as having such a high volume of up to 4-minute blocks on access to Church and State that we don't bother recording them all.

Church and State blog

Saturday, July 07, 2018

INTERNET CUTS: Are 45-minute Internet cuts to be the new norm? We pay British Telecom £850 per year for broadband (WITH UPDATE 1/7/2019: re 316th Internet cut since 26 May 2017)

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