J Mark Brewer, please listen up!

This is truly impressive. Considering Mark Brewer's own obnoxious style — witness his correspondence with Sam Norton, for instance — the "We Support Dave Walker" facebook group has written an astonishingly polite letter asking him to withdraw his threats of legal action against Dave Walker.

So, to help ensure that Mr Brewer can't miss it, here it is again. Mr Brewer, please listen up!

Dear Mr. Brewer

We are writing on behalf of 498 supporters of cartoonist and blogger Dave Walker, a group which includes bishops, national journalists in the UK and US, lawyers, clergy, and concerned members of the public.

We would like to ask you please to contact Dave Walker and withdraw the demands made in the 'Cease and Desist' letter which you sent him in July. Your letter, as far as we know, instructed Dave to remove all his posts about the recent history of SPCK bookshops or face action for libel. With the pressures of the impending Lambeth conference, and a very short deadline given by yourself, Dave complied. He commented at the time: “I have therefore removed all of the SPCK/SSG posts on this blog, as, although I believe I have not done anything wrong I do not have the money to face a legal battle. The removal of these posts is in no way an admission of guilt.”

Many of us have read the posts concerned, and are surprised, to say the least, that they could be called libelous. Indeed, the first three posts make no mention at all of yourself, the Society of St. Stephen the Great, or anyone associated with you. The 4th post reports your takeover of the bookshops with the comment “this is splendid news.” Another post is a simple link to your SSG video on YouTube. Other items include verbatim reports of your own statements, and in the simple post on the death of Steve Jeynes, dozens of people used the comments to expressed their grief and condolences to Steve’s family.

Dave is a reasonable man, and if all critics were as fair as he is the world would be a better place. If you were able to reconsider, and point out specific statements and claims you were unhappy with, we are sure Dave would be happy to correct them where appropriate. This is the normal process of debate on the internet, and in real life, and follows the strong tradition of free speech for which our countries stand and are rightly proud.

So this is a polite request from all of us: please contact Dave Walker, advise him that your ‘cease and desist’ communication no longer stands, and let him report freely.

Yours sincerely

8 signatories representing the ‘We Support Dave Walker’ group.

Thanks to David Keen for taking this initiative!

A Stench from the Brewery

Specifically, this stench: Durham Cathedral Bookshop: Mark Brewer Responds.

A distressed woman writes to Mark Brewer expressing concern at the loss of a page of tributes to her friend, Steve Jeynes, a man who committed suicide after Mark Brewer ignominiously fired him by email.

The page has gone missing because Mark Brewer threatened Dave Walker, the owner of the page, with legal action.

How does Mark Brewer respond? Graciously, with an apology and a letter to Dave Walker explaining that he didn't mean to include that page in his demands?

NO: instead he replies with a parody of the distressed woman's email as though he were involved in some sort of word-play game.

Putting it bluntly: it stinks. It stinks to high heaven.

Pipped to the Post!!

Drat. I just missed being Matt Wills' 1,000th visitor:

Still, I suppose being 1,001st isn't too bad. Where's the party, Matt??

13: Unlucky for some - especially if your name's J Mark Brewer

It's back to school for J Mark Brewer:

13. Finally, with respect to deterring future conduct, the Trustee requests that Mr. Brewer and his firm be sanctioned an additional $10,000 payable to the Clerk of Court and that Mr. Brewer be required to complete 20 hours of continuing legal education in the area of legal ethics over the next year and file a certificate of completion with the Court.

From Motion For Sanctions Against J. Mark Brewer and the Law Firm of Brewer & Pritchard, P.C., posted today at SPCK/SSG: News, Notes & Info

Go there to read the rest, along with Matt Wardman's analysis.

Diary Date: Meeting for ex-SPCK Staff and Other Interested Parties

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Cross-posted from SPCK Watch:

Next Wednesday there is a meeting being held in London. Details of time and where are here http://spckssg.wordpress.com/diary/

What we need now though are two things: firstly I need to know you are coming. It is open to exSPCK/SSG staff (and current staff if you are willing to come) and those in the publishing/bookselling world. Other interested people can come but let me know please at spckrefugee@operamail.com

Secondly we need to get an agenda together. A lot has happened in the months since this meeting was called. The death of Steve Jeynes. The pension chaos. The petition concerning the Durham shop. The bankrupty case being thrown out. Shops openning in Cardiff and soon to open in Norwich and elsewhere. In all this how can we support each other beyond the blogs? How can we support those who want to start a bookshop to replace the old SPCK/SSG one? How can we provide emotional support for each other? How can we continue to make sure that something rises from the mass destruction caused by the Brewers? Again please let me know what you want discussed. the email to use is the same as above spckrefugee@operamail.com.

Phelim