Dispatch from the Razor's Edge, the Blog of Michael Stephen Fuchs
2006.03.16 : My Woodstock
The London March for Free Expression

"The strength and survival of free society and the advance of human knowledge depend on the free exchange of ideas. All ideas are capable of giving offence, and some of the most powerful ideas in human history, such as those of Galileo and Darwin, have given profound religious offence in their time."
                - from the March for Free Expression Statement of Principle

"For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it."
                - Th Jefferson


From: michael stephen fuchs 
To: pretty-much-every-last-person-I-remotely-know-in-London
Subject: London March for Free Expression : 25 March 2006
Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2006 11:40:01 GMT


Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Only a few weeks ago, polemicist and post-leftist Christopher
Hitchens, in a piece titled "Stand up for Denmark! Why are we
not defending our ally?", posed the following:

"Denmark - a small democracy, which resisted Hitler bravely
and protected its Jews as well as itself - a country with an
open society, a system of confessional pluralism, and a free
press, has been subjected to a fantastic, incredible,
organized campaign of lies and hatred and violence - which has
attacked its freedom, its trade, its citizens, and its
embassies - extending to one of the gravest imaginable
breaches of international law and civility: the violation of
diplomatic immunity. And nobody in authority can be found to
state the obvious and the necessary - that we stand with the
Danes against this defamation and blackmail and sabotage . . .
I wonder if anyone might feel like joining me in gathering
outside the Danish Embassy in Washington, in a quiet and
composed manner, to affirm some elementary friendship. Those
who like the idea might contact me at
christopher.hitchens@yahoo.com, and those who live in other
cities with Danish consulates might wish to initiate a stand
for decency on their own account."

And so yea verily it soon came to pass:

  "Standing With Denmark"
  "A Rally for Freedom"

And it was followed, with enlivening speed and energy, by
copycat rallies in New York

  "A lovelier group of freedom lovers you will never meet"

and Toronto

  "Toronto Supports Denmark"
  Toronto Supports Denmark [photos]

and Chicago

  "Rally for Denmark and Free Speech"

and San Francisco

  "Denmark Solidarity-Free Speech Rally"


And now it is our turn - the March for Free Expression, in
Trafalgar Square, a week Saturday:

  "London March for Free Expression"

I can't tell you how excited I am about this - an opportunity
to stand up in proud and public support of that most vital of
liberal values - the right to free speech without being
subject to physical violence - and the bedrock upon which a
free, pluralistic, consensual society stands.

So I'm writing respectfully to urge you to consider A)
attending this - side by side with me, along with hundreds or
thousands of other supporters of free speech, liberal values,
and the Danes; B) forward this notice on to everyone you know
in London (and/or blog it); and C) perhaps even throw in a
couple of bob (PayPal link on site) to help defray the cost
of running the rally (it's a complete grassroots effort).

I'm probably going to organise some sort of more intimate
gathering either pre- or post- or both (perhaps a sign-making
party beforehand, come to consider it). Please contact me if
you'll be coming along. I hope you will. Meanwhile, I'm trying
to pick out my t-shirt. Wanna help me decide?

  "Danish Cartoonist"
  "Fear No Fatwa"
  "Muhammed Smiley"
  "Muhammad Stick Guy"
  "Mr. Jefferson Quote"

Hmm, perhaps not this one . . .

  "Mohammed can . . ."


Yours in freedom and solidarity,
Michael


---------------------------------------------------------------------
                Two million dollars in a black bag.
       The meaning of life on a deviously encrypted web site.
And several dozen heavily armed guys with serious existential issues.
                 The hunt is on for THE MANUSCRIPT.
                   http://www.the-manuscript.com/
---------------------------------------------------------------------



  freedom     hitch     islam     the long war     protests  
about
close photo of Michael Stephen Fuchs

Fuchs is the author of the novels The Manuscript and Pandora's Sisters, both published worldwide by Macmillan in hardback, paperback and all e-book formats (and in translation); the D-Boys series of high-tech, high-concept, spec-ops military adventure novels – D-Boys, Counter-Assault, and Close Quarters Battle (coming in 2016); and is co-author, with Glynn James, of the bestselling Arisen series of special-operations military ZA novels. The second nicest thing anyone has ever said about his work was: "Fuchs seems to operate on the narrative principle of 'when in doubt put in a firefight'." (Kirkus Reviews, more here.)

Fuchs was born in New York; schooled in Virginia (UVa); and later emigrated to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he lived through the dot-com boom. Subsequently he decamped for an extended period of tramping before finally rocking up in London, where he now makes his home. He does a lot of travel blogging, most recently of some very  long  walks around the British Isles. He's been writing and developing for the web since 1994 and shows no particularly hopeful signs of stopping.

You can reach him on .

THE MANUSCRIPT by Michael Stephen Fuchs
PANDORA'S SISTERS by Michael Stephen Fuchs
DON'T SHOOT ME IN THE ASS, AND OTHER STORIES by Michael Stephen Fuchs
D-BOYS by Michael Stephen Fuchs
COUNTER-ASSAULT by Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN, Book One - Fortress Britain, by Glynn James & Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN, Book Two - Mogadishu of the Dead, by Glynn James & Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN : Genesis, by Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN Book Three - Three Parts Dead, by Glynn James & Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN Book Four - Maximum Violence, by Glynn James & Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN Book Five - EXODUS, by Glynn James & Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN Book Six - The Horizon, by Glynn James & Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN, Book Seven - Death of Empires, by Glynn James & Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN, Book Eight - Empire of the Dead by Glynn James & Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN : NEMESIS by Michael Stephen Fuchs

ARISEN, Book Nine - Cataclysm by Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN, Book Ten - The Flood by Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN, Book Eleven - Deathmatch by Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN, Book Twelve - Carnage by Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN, Book Thirteen - The Siege by Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN, Book Fourteen - Endgame by Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN : Fickisms
ARISEN : Odyssey
ARISEN : Last Stand
ARISEN : Raiders, Volume 1 - The Collapse
ARISEN : Raiders, Volume 2 - Tribes
Black Squadron
ARISEN : Raiders, Volume 3 - Dead Men Walking
ARISEN : Raiders, Volume 4 - Duty
ARISEN : Raiders, Volume 5 - The Last Raid
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