Popular U.S. Talk Radio Host BANNED From U.K.

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I know some of the Members here listen to Michael Savage. I thought those Members would like to read this:

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POPULAR U.S. TALK-RADIO HOST BANNED FROM U.K.:

Associated Press
Updated 7:25 a.m. ET, Tues., May 5, 2009

LONDON - Britain for the first time has published a list of people barred from entering the country for what the government says is fostering extremism or hatred.

The list includes popular American talk-radio host Michael Savage, who has called the Muslim holy book, the Quran, a "book of hate." Savage also has enraged parents of children with autism by saying in most cases it's "a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out."

Michael Savage will be barred from entering the United Kingdom because of this.

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John_P

More... (http://www.dieseltruckresource.com/dev/showthread.php?t=242009&goto=newpost)

[Redleg]

U.K.'s Smith known for redefining 'terrorism'
Also sought tracking of e-mails, telephone calls

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Posted: May 05, 2009
12:56 pm Eastern


By Aaron Klein
© 2009 WorldNetDaily



Jacqui Smith

She led a charge to restrict the word "terrorism," instead urging government employees to refer to the phenomenon as "anti-Islamic activity."

She had been labeled a "pocket dictator," with some of her practices referred to by media critics as "truly Big Brother stuff."

She attempted to introduce a giant government database to track all citizen e-mails, phone calls and Internet activity.

Meet Jacqui Smith, the British home secretary who today made public a list of individuals banned from the U.K. since October, including radio superstar Michael Savage. She announced she decided to release the list so others could better understand what sort of behavior Britain was not prepared to tolerate.

In January, Smith oversaw a government program to adopt a new language for declarations on Islamic terrorism, urging all top government workers to refer to Islamic terrorists as pursuing "anti-Islamic activity." There was no official ban on the word "terrorism," but the new wording was an initiative Smith pressed for strongly.

"As so many Muslims in the U.K. and across the world have pointed out, there is nothing Islamic about the wish to terrorize, nothing Islamic about plotting murder, pain and grief," Smith said at the time.

"Indeed, if anything, these actions are anti-Islamic,'" she claimed.

London's Daily Mail referred to Smith's strategy as attempting to portray Islamic terrorists as nothing more than cold-blooded murderers who are not fighting for any religious cause.

Two weeks ago, following strong public outcry over her proposal, Smith dropped a plan to allow the police to monitor and store on government databases information on citizens' Internet use and e-mail messaging. Instead, however, she has asked private companies to store the information for the government.

In a January speech, Smith pointed out that communications data was used to help convict a local killer but that such information was not being routinely stored. She argued Internet and e-mail information should be saved and accessible to law enforcement agencies if terrorists and serious criminals were to be prevented from striking.

"It is essential that the police and other crime-fighting agencies have the tools they need to do their job," she said during a speech to a London think tank.

"We recognize that there is a delicate balance between privacy and security, but to do nothing is not an option as we would be failing in our duty to protect the public."

On April 27, she nixed plans for a giant government database but said she planned to ensure records of electronic communications made by Britons will instead be held by private companies at a cost of around $4 billion.

Internet firms will be asked to collect and store vast amounts of data, including from social networking sites such as Facebook, she said.

Smith acknowledged concerns over privacy while launching the private data collection proposal.

"My key priority is to protect the citizens of the U.K., and communications data is an essential tool for law enforcement agencies to track murderers and paedophiles, save lives and tackle crime. Advances in communications mean that there are ever more sophisticated ways to communicate and we need to ensure that we keep up with the technology being used by those who would seek to do us harm," she said.

Under her new plan, every U.K. Internet user will be given a unique ID code and all their data stored by private agencies. Government agencies such as the police and security services will have the ability to access the data to investigate suspected criminals and terrorists.

Smith's plan was heavily criticized by privacy advocates and pundits.

London Times columnist Simon David Jenkins questioned whether Smith was a "pocket dictator."

"Is there no drop of liberalism in her veins, no concept of personal freedom, no fear of a repressive state?" he wrote.

He referred to Smith's Internet storage plans as "truly Big Brother stuff."