Charon banned by Great Firewall of China!!

I regret to inform you that my blawg has been blocked by the Chinese authorities. It may be that the Chinese authorities do not care for human rights, rioja, excessive smoking and references to scandal – cash for honours, gigolo lawyers, senior lawyers having affairs etc etc. It is, of course, possible that my taste in UK blogs (as evidenced in my blogroll) does not meet with the approval of 中华人民共和国主席@greatfirewallofchina.

This is a great honour… and I am pleased to be in the UK, a relatively free (if ponderously overgoverned) country, to hear the news of this award.

If you would like to see if your own blog is blocked…. you may do so here

UPDATE….

I cannot believe it… just tested Geeklawyer’s blog…. The Chinese are still allowed to view it (Friday 2 March). Clearly he has been handing over the proceeds of his Google ads to keep his blog open in China… I am astonished! I am phoning China now…

UPDATE Friday 23.02 pm – The following blogs are blocked: Legal Scribbles / Dan Hull: What About Clients?

The Bar Council website is NOT blocked. Mind you…. getting a pupillage, let alone a tenancy, is going to be quite tricky if anyone from China does actually log on to the Bar Council website and do the BVC (Have you seen the law school fees?)

Apologies if I have not mentioned your blog… It is Friday night… and I have absolutely no idea why I am following up on Martin’s suggestion (See Comments) that I should commission a survey to see which UK blogs (and overseas blogs) are banned. I really do have to move on on this one…

UPDATE 23.19 pm

Lord Justice Richards
I am not entirely sure why my blogstats should indicate that 63 people reached my blog tonight after searching for Lord Justice Richards / Flashing judge etc etc…. It cannot be anything to do with China? Can it? I did report on this matter after reading The News of The World report

Mystery solved:  Apparently Lord Justice Richards has been charged by the CPS – Martin reports in the Comments section.   The BBC report seems to have been removed.   Tomorrow will, no doubt, reveal the news on this latter matter.

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Has the March hare returned to Britain… ?

The picture Blair wants to forget has been knocking about for some time (At Cheltenham College) – but was shown, apparently, on Newsnight last night for the the world to see for the ‘first time.’ Journos have been hyperventilating …about the ‘gesture politics.’

Apparently the gentlemen disporting themselves were members of the Archery club. “Bring me my bow of burning gold” may well have been in, or on, Blair’s mind at the time… who knows?

I sympathise… there is a picture of me as a an eight year old (one front tooth missing from an accident) eating an ice cream… in short trousers, prep school cap, with a parrot on my shoulder. My Grandmother is standing beside me – looking strangely “amused.” [May her God have mercy upon her soul] I remain convinced to this day that my Grandmother put the parrot on my shoulder when I was not looking to make me look absurd. She was like that. A curious and demanding woman. She used to stand up and wail…calling upon God to take her – at various intervals, usually after a Sunday lunch – prompting my cousin (10 years older than me) to turn up to collect her for the ‘Sunday lunch’ one week, with a spade, and ask her if ‘she was ready for God.’ Yes… I enjoyed that. She never did it again.

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Fuel crisis

This quote from the feedback section of the Evening Standard gives an indication of the problems ahead for supermarkets who have been selling dodgy fuel: ” Fantastic. I need a new car! How many of us will be putting in false claims to get back at the supermarkets?” Law firms are taking record numbers of telephone calls. 400,000 cars are thought to have been affected. Almost worth Muttley Dastardly LLP setting up a special unit – a public service duty?

2-0 to Al-Fayed
Al-Fayed has persuaded the courts to insist that a jury must sit at the inquest into the death of Lady Di and Dodi. Apparently, Al-Fayed believes that The Duke of Edinburgh and MI6 are involved and that it was an assasination. He wants The Duke and Prince Charles to be called as witnesses. The court also ruled Lady Butler-Sloss should not sit as coroner to the Royal Household. She will still hear the case – but as Westminster Assistant Deputy Coroner, Westminster City Council said on Friday. BBC Story

Excellent to see UKLawstudent having a rant about Employment Law and academic labour lawyers. ‘Liber amicorum’ indeed! Met Bob Hepple years ago – good chap, as it happens – and knows his stuff. I am partial to a bit of Latin myself… as is Barrister ‘A’.

Meanwhile Geeklawyer is on the piste… in Austria… but still manages to get instructions on some corporate buy-out. This is serious client service. One gasps in admiration…

Even Nick Holmes, Binary Law, is feeling relaxed enough to go off piste and reflect on the fact that it is 40 years ago today… Sgt Pepper.

The Master is dead.

Pupilblogger has some good news to impart.

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