Activists Didn’t Get Fair Trial

February 15, 2005 D. H. McKee

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Two vegetarian activists convicted of libeling fast-food giant McDonald’s Corp. did not receive a fair trial in Britain, the European Court of Human Rights ruled Tuesday.
The Strasbourg, France-based court said David Morris and Helen Steel should have received legal aid from the British government when they were tried in what became widely known as the “McLibel” case, the longest in English history.
The two activists passed out flyers in 1984 that claimed the U.S.-based company was selling unhealthy food, was to blame for starvation in the Third World, and was destroying rainforests.
The European Court threw out a British court’s 1997 guilty verdict, also saying English law unfairly had put the burden of proof on the defendants to justify every word in the leaflets they distributed but didn’t write. The court awarded Morris and Steel damages of $25,934 and $19,451, respectively.
Forbes.com: Update 1: Court: Activists Didn’t Get Fair Trial

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As a guy who occasionally curates art shows and wrangles artists together, I often have to edit and post artist bios, profile pictures, and artwork images. This can be a problem, since many artists and writers aren’t used to selling themselves. Artists rarely know how to present their art for display in a brochure, and writers aren’t used to writing about themselves.

Writers often treat the bio like it’s an interview or something. Maybe like they’re having a conversation with you, the reader. While it may work sometimes, the most common way to write a bio is to write in the 3rd person.

I’m like those writers, and I’m talking to you directly, unlike the common way to do a bio. You should see my About page. It makes sense to me, since this is a bit which describes my blog’s website. When I get famous enough that I don’t have time to talk to you, I’ll have an intern write everything in 3rd person. Until then, you get to talk to me.

Like blogs of old, this one is a personal document of the comings and goings of me. Articles I’ve written, links I’ve posted, videos I liked, etc. Here, a first-person perspective is the way to go, at least for now. So, this is my site. I’m D. H. McKee, a sometimes artist, sometimes writer. Mostly just a guy on the internet.