Dispatch from the Razor's Edge, the Blog of Michael Stephen Fuchs
The March - First Take
(London March for Free Expression)

"If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear."
                - George Orwell

"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

And so today was the big day: the London March for Free Expression. And it was completely brilliant. We had everything: tons of media exposure, and Paola and I on film and video (particularly Paola – she was the belle of the radical ball), and fiery impassioned speakers, and feminists, and Iraqi and Iranian dissidents, and attempted police suppression of speech, and good weather, and inclement weather, and glorious comradeship with new friends and kindred spirits, and drunkenness, and a near-attack by a gang of young, angry, Muslim, male youth. But, in my famine of time, all I can post right now is the above precis – and these few but representative pictures (click for larger versions)! Full dispatch (plus movies!) forthcoming (I hope!).

The all-important poster-making session (in my extraordinarily conveniently located office) Two intellectual heroes perfect for the occasion Mr Jefferson always seems to have just the right sentiment The really all-important meet-up in the pub. That's Paola, someone I forget, and Jonz (of Drunken Blogging fame) Someone I forget, me, Alison, and Jonz Peter Nolan in the scarf Storming the Square, bedecked with Danish flags Jonz, Peter, and Paola - with varying quality posters (the middle two are mine and Paola's) We were informed that there's some bizarre anti-incitement law prohibiting the flying of flags in Trafalgar Square; so they became garments The media were extremely well-represented Maintaining humour is critical when battling fascists, who have none The Metropolitan Police were also very well represented Principal march organiser Peter Risdon Evan Harris, MP. Lib Dem human rights spokesman Peter Tatchell, human (and gay) rights campaigner This was either an Iraqi or Iranian (sadly, O forget which) exile and dissident; he was awesome A little rain toward the end dampened nothing The totally critical post-march pub gathering

This dispatch was picked up by Andrew Sullivan, which resulted in an extremely pleasant flood of comments from around the world.


  freedom     london     photography     the long war     women     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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