Saturday, December 08, 2018

Facebook: The social network's 52nd block against our Church and State website since 1 December 2015, and with no explanation as usual (WITH UPDATE - DAY 8 15/12/2018)

"Father of the Internet" and Google Vice President Vint Cerf recently joined us as an honorary associate.
http://churchandstate.org.uk/honorary-associates/


Facebook does not have a political bias? The social network's blocks against our Church and State website have gone from 47 days in 2017 - when we topped 3 million hits in the first 11 months despite the blocks - to 179 days so far this year (the equivalent of 6 months). Last March they blocked me from posting Church and State articles in groups four times (for 29 out of 31 days), and all without explanation. This month they have already blocked me twice from doing the same (for a total of 13 days to 15 December), and both times without explanation. Tonight I received this notification of their 52nd block against Church and State since 1 December 2015:



These notifications without an explanation come out of the blue. Perhaps this month will be another wipeout month from Facebook, and without an explanation being given.
Facebook blocks 2018 (in days)

January 2018: 16 days
February 2018: 15 days
March 2018: 29 days
April 2018: 17 days
May 2018: No blocks in May
June 2018: 14 days
July 2018: 17 days
August 2018: 11 days
September 2018: 12 days
October 2018: 16 days
November 2018: 19 days
December 2018: 13 days (until 15 December)
Total: 179 days

2 November: Fighting for survival in London: Facebook's concerted campaign against our Church and State website shows no signs of waning (WITH UPDATE 8/12/2018: re Block 52 DAY 1). This link reveals that we have been, and remain, under attack on a number of fronts. For example, besides the now-current assault on two of our four laptops, the category pages on Church and State are under constant attack. As I point out in my earlier post about Royal Mail misdelivering our mail, the second article below has more than 1/2 million Facebook likes/shares (not zero):



This article topped more than 1/2 million Facebook likes/shares last month (tonight it stands at 558K and counting):


It's Time to Start Calling Evangelicals What They Are: The American Taliban

UPDATE 15 December (11.05am): I appealed this latest block from Facebook on 8 December, and true to form, there has been no response from them. On another front, Declan still does not know where he stands with the Mayor of London's St Mungo's Tenancy Sustainment Team (TST); see my post of 16 November, St Mungo's: Declan reverts to data protection law in his dealings with the Mayor of London's St Mungo's TST for the accurate recording of his complaint of unfair treatment against Newham Council (WITH UPDATE - DAY 27 15/12/2018). Only three months ago, this Greater London Authority-commissioned charity took Declan to the brink of his second court action against them in two years; see my post of 28 August, St Mungo's: Discrimination; Declan's claim against the Mayor of London's service for the Central London County Court. Still no response from St Mungo's CEO Howard Sinclair to Declan's pre-action letter (WITH UPDATE 30/8/2018).

Re: Investigatory Powers Tribunal

The Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) dismissed Declan's complaint against the secret services on papers in less than three weeks, on 1 September 2011, stating that it was "obviously unsustainable". This is paragraph 11 of Declan's updated complaint to the United Nations under Article 19 (freedom of expression) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

11. The IPT was created in October 2000 by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act and given the power to investigate any complaints against GCHQ, MI5 or MI6, as well as complaints about surveillance operations mounted by the police or any other public bodies. The Guardian reported on 5 March 2014 that the tribunal, which claims to be completely independent of the UK Government, is secretly operating from a base within the Home Office, by which it is funded. The newspaper found that the IPT had investigated about 1,500 complaints and upheld only 10, five of which concerned members of one family who had all lodged complaints about surveillance by their local council. No complaint against any of the intelligence agencies had ever been upheld. The discovery that the IPT is lodged within a Whitehall department fuelled criticisms of the tribunal that had been levelled by rights groups, lawyers and complainants. The IPT's critics complain that the secrecy is excessive and that its procedures are stacked so heavily in favour of the government and against complainants that it is fundamentally unfair. According to The Guardian, some senior lawyers have described the IPT as "Kafkaesque", while one eminent barrister has dismissed it as a "kangaroo court". The newspaper also reports that because of the secrecy surrounding the tribunal and the perception that it is unfair, many would-be complainants spurn it.

Click to enlarge



Is Edward Snowden a Hero or Criminal? This is a solid documentary called #Citizenfour that may influence your thinking either way:



JOIN THE CONVERSATION #CITIZENFOUR

From My Picks:

8 May 2018: Threat to life: Updated complaint to the United Nations under Article 19 (freedom of expression) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Today we are cut off the internet for a half an hour