The Subjective Aspect Of Awards For Defamation Law Suits

 
How do judges come up with the magic figure for the sum of money to award the plaintiff in a civil law defamation suit?

In addition, how does the judge know how much legal cost to allocate to the winning side's lawyers?

If the plaintiff engages a big team of expensive lawyers led by a famous and popularly-known sure-win $enior counsel, instead of using one reasonably-priced, equally-qualified but not-so-famous counsel, where does the judge draw the line? Or, the sky is the limit?

Does it mean that the legal cost must be tailored to the amount demanded by the winning side only? If so, is it not an unfair and subjective way of allocating costs? What is a fair yardstick of measure? Is there even a fair yardstick in practical existence today?

How does the judge determine how much compensation is fair?

Isn't the whole question of compensation and cost a very subjective issue, left to the arbitrary decision of one imperfect human bean, which is subjected to personal idiosyncrasies and innate biases? And sometimes under pressure of time and stress due to heavy workloads or other reasons.

More often than not, it is a matter of conjuring up a figure by estimating (or guesstimating) in favour of the plaintiff, keeping fingers crossed and hoping that it is acceptable, isn't it?

Why must defamation law suits be pegged to large monetary awards, like tikam tikam, like lottery prizes? Isn't such an award defeats the purpose of the defamation law suit itself? It stinks big time. The bigger the award, the bigger the stinking effect (pun intented).

How does the amount of money restore the fame that is lost?

Money can never replace the damage already inflicted upon the image of the person.

The right thing to do is to order the defendent to retract the offending words that were said or written, make a public apology unreservedly and promise not to repeat the same thing again. (Which were asked for in the first place but the defendent has refused to acceed.)

If money is to be considered as a part of the compensation, a $1 symbolic representation should suffice. Otherwise, the defamation law becomes a vehicle for clever and/or unscrupulous lawyers to exploit for quick and easy personal monetary gains and also as a means to institute vindictive punitive pursuits.

In all fairness, shouldn't there be a limit to the extent to which the monetary compensation and cost can be imposed? Otherwise, as has been seen many times, the civil defamation law has inadvertently allowed the rich and powerful to take advantage over the poor and weak, by suing them "until pants drop", as has been popularly referred to in the streets, and even in the Parliamentary debates!

Justice must be seen to be fair in order to be fair.

From the bottom of my heart,

Yours truly,

The Queen of Hearts.
22 April 2021.

Crowd-Funding As An Indirect Form Of Redress By The Court Of Public Opinions?

Following in the footsteps of Leong's successful crowd funding to pay the entire sum of $130,000 to pay Lee for the defamation suit on Leong's posting of a link to an article in a Malaysian website, Roy has also managed to crowdfund the entire sum of $144,000 owed to Lee due to the court's award of $150,000 to Lee for the defamation suit on Roy's article about the CPF Scheme six years ago.

The payment of $150,000 is to be done in monthly instalments of $100 for six years. Thereafter, $1000 per month until 2033.

Such a long-drawn cruel/merciful punishment!

By 2033, another 12 years to go, may be one of the two parties would be dead already?

Justice must be seen to have been done. It must also be seen as impartial and not contaminated or twisted in anyway whatsoever.

There should be no doubts, displays or indications of fear, favour or ill-will on the part of those who decide on the ultimate outcome in the applications of the common and civil laws.

The collective minds of the educated and learned discerning public are more powerful and impartial than any individual or group of legal practioners.

The fact that both Leong and Roy are able to attract the public to contribute the full amount required in both instances in record times means there is a very strong public Message being sent to those involved in the outcome of the defamation law suits.

To me, it is a form of redress by the Court of Public Opinions on what the public might have seen or considered as injustice, miscarriage of justice, wrong application or misinterpretation of the defamation laws. This is only my personal view.

What do you think?

SSO

April 20, 2021 10:35 pm

Muslims the most hated people by the evil West

For centuries, the western world has been conducting endless wars against the Muslims particularly in the Middle East and Africa.  The Muslims are the most hated people of the West with some exception for their allies like Saudi Arabia, Jordan and UAE.  The intense hate culminated in the invasion of Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria after the questionable bombing of the Twin Towers on 911. Many believed that the 911 event was staged and used as an excuse to invade Muslim and Arab land, just like the fabricated intelligence of Iraq possession of WMD. 

What happened following 911 was a series of blood letting of Muslims and Arabs in the countries invaded.  The West invented a new phrase, war on Terrorism aka War on Muslims, as the terrorists were all Muslims to justify their military adventure and to kill Muslims under the pretext of killing terrorists. How many hundred thousands of Muslims and Arabs have they killed, and still killing, and how many millions of Arabs and Muslims have been maimed for life, homes destroyed, became jobless, countryless, became refugees, without home and country?

The hatred for Muslims and Arabs can be best summarised in this Wikipedia definition of the War against the Muslims and Arabs - War against Islam is a term used to describe a concerted effort to harm, weaken or annihilate the societal system of Islam, using military, economic, social and cultural means, Or means invading and interfering in Islamic countries under the pretext of the war on terror, or using the media to create a negative stereotype about Islam. The perpetrators of the theory are thought to be non-Muslims, particularly the Western world and "false Muslims", allegedly in collusion with political actors in the Western world.  

The West have no sympathy when killing Muslims and Arabs is concerned. They even joked about it, calling them war collateral, not killing of human beans. There was no outpouring of sympathy for the killing and destruction of human beans in such a scale as compare to the killing of a single white man or woman in their war against the Muslims. Such disgusting display of hate and belittling of the lives of Muslims and Arabs were not condemned by the western media and taken as part and parcel of their way of life, their western narratives. Arab and Muslim lives are cheap and dispensable, not even worth mentioning.

Today the West are crying buckets of crocodile tears of their alleged genocide of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, in their disinformation war against China.  The West suddenly were bowed over by their fabricated genocide of Muslims and are all united to stand up to defend the Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang like another Crusade, this time their enemy is China. While they are beating their war drums in their farcical campaign of defending the Muslims in Xinjiang, the killings of Muslims continues daily in their wars against the Muslims in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Eygpt, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, etc etc.

How real are the hypocritical West in their defence of the Uyghur Muslims, when the Uyghur Muslims are having a great life in Xinjiang, living in peace and prosperity, many many times better than the Arabs and Muslims in war torn countries invaded by the western forces, and the refugees scattered all over the world because of the invasion by the West? The few trouble makers in Xinjiang were trained terrorists, trained and armed by the West to commit terrorist acts in peaceful Xinjiang to create instability and chaos in the region. These are the real people the West are trying to protect, their paid mercenaries, their terrorists. But their real agenda was their war with China, to bring down China, nothing to do with the Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. They are still trying to hookwink the Muslims to fight and die for the white Empire and rule over the Muslims and Arab world.

It is good that the rest of the world have gotten used to western lies and wild unsubstantiated allegations and no longer believe in them. The Muslim and Arab world too totally ignored the western media and go about their lives as normal, and cooperating with China to improve trade to better the lives of their people. Only the western media and a few evil western countries are still singing this chorus of genocide in Xinjiang to a disinterested international audience. They still think the Arabs and Muslims are so gullible. They can see the Arab and Muslim countries being invaded and destroyed, the arabs and Muslims being killed and scattered as homeless refugees. The Arab and Muslim world have seen through the western hypocrisies and their wars against the Muslims and their hate for Muslims. 

Without the Arab and Muslim world believing in the white lies, the West can do nothing much to harm China other than harming themselves and exposing themselves to more ridicules by the rest of the world. White men and white lies are no longer believeable by the rest of the world.

Just look at how vicious are the Americans and the whites are trying to destroy Iran, another Muslim state.  The West would not allow a Muslim country to have nuclear weapon to stand up to them. Look at how they cooperate with Israel to bully the Palestinians and control the whole of the Middle East? How's that compare to their their love of Muslims in Xinjiang?

PS. Now read this quote from theguardian.com

Donald Trump had made headlines before, in June 2015, when he had called for a “great, great wall” along the Mexican border. Back then, he was hovering around ninth place in a crowded field of Republican candidates. But by 7 December, when he released a short statement calling for the “total and complete shutdown” of Muslim immigration, he was the frontrunner for his party’s nomination. His message, that Islam itself was a threat to America, was heard loud and clear across the globe, not least by 1.6 billion Muslims.

Now, as president, he appears to be following through. On Friday he stunned us again by announcing that citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries – encompassing around 220 million people – would be barred from entering the US for 90 days. On Sunday, his long-time ally, Rudy Giuliani, traced the order back to a conversation about the “Muslim ban” in which Trump asked him to “show me the right way to do it legally”. While commentators have had their work cut out trying to follow the twists and turns of Trump’s logic on everything from climate change to the CIA, on this issue his attitude has been consistent. If there is a Trump doctrine, “war on Islam” has to be a strong contender.

The Evil Empire is resurrecting the 500 Years Curse of the evil white race on all the Non-White Countries : PART ONE

  The shadows and apparitions of the evil white race 500 years curse seem to be occuring everywhere in non-white countries during the last 70 years. Is it a pre-cursor to evil white countries trying to reassume their continuation of the 500 years evil white race dominance over non-white countries. Non-white peoples and countries must make sure this would never happen again. Never trust the evil white race. They have every intention to again subdue all non-white peoples and countries under their savage hegemony.

 The United States under the guise of bringing democracy and human rights to non-white contries is actually using them as political tool kits to bring these unsuspicious countries under US and Western hegemonic control again and thus bringing back the 500 years curse of the evil white race.

 After the Second World War most of the non-white countries had thrown off the yoke of Western colonisation after years of life-long violent struggle of resistance against the return of the white colonialist powers. India and Pakistan  got their independence in 1947 after some years of resurrection against the return of British Empire as Winston Churchill the obnoxious white racist  killer and genocider of non-white people  intended to continue  British rule in India, Pakistan, Ceylon and Bangladesh. President Sukarno achieved independence for Indonesia after he led  the Indonesians in their long fight and struggle from 1945 to early 1950s to get rid of the Dutch imperialists.  China which suffered the most from Western imperialists for about 200 years only managed to get its independence in October 1st, 1949, after years of violent and bloody struggle and resistance against the return of the British, American. French, Russian and Japanese imperialists.

After the Second World War America saw itself as the only pre-eminent superpower which could establish world hegemony in place of the Britiish, French and Russian empires. American policy to dominate the whole world is not new or incidental through circumstance of history. It has been the established policy of US since the first day of its independence. As Christopher Black a renowned international criminal lawyer based in Toronto in his article on 8th June, 2019 in New Eastern Outlook,  'This Outlaw Power ' said : 

"The aggressive objectives of the successive American governments were and are not accidents or mistakes arising out of immediate political circumstances but are a deliberate and necessary part of American Foreign Policy. From its inception the American political leadership has claimed to unite the American people with a consciousness of their mission and destiny  to dominate the world. War is seen as inevitable or highly probable to accomplish these objectives where intimidation and bribery fail."

The Chinese feel insulted and indignified when the US falsely and wrongly accused the Chinese people as thieves for stealing their technology. On the contrary US and the West have been stealing and using Chinese technologies for thousands of years. A world renowned British scientist, Professor Joseph Needham of Cambridge University, said long ago, "The world owes much to ancient Chinese science and technology."  "Every modern science and technology has its basic foundation in China." And in the early 1960s he said, "Give China a hundred years peace abd she will produce wonders in the world." Thus China's advance in 5G, AI, Quantum computing and surpass the USA and the West in many branches of latest science and technology attest to Professor Needham's farsighted forecast of China's plausible achievents for the benefit of mankind. For now US and the West are trying to steal China's latest discovery in science and technology. 

However, being unable to compete with China in science and technology in a fair level playing field the US has resorted to diabolical means to constrain China's progress and development. It started a trade war against China hoping to pin China down economically. Then it falsely accused and illegally targeted Chinese high tech companies of spying hoping to destroy these companies and stop them from competing with Google, Facebook, Apple and Intel. The US had earlier in 1980s destroyed the Japanese high tech company Toshiba and in the 1990s the French firm Alstom. But it is a high wet dream if US thinks it can destroy Chinese high tech companies like Hwawei, Alibaba, ZTE, Tik Tok and Ten Cent. The US is relentlessly plottinng the downfall of China hoping it could eventually bring China under its demonic control. Nevertheless though it can never succeed to take down China it has in the meantime cause a lot of trouble and irritations to the Chinese people and China.

The US has always been  flaunting ostentatiously to the world of its superiority, its wealth and glory. They should stop bragging as the whole world  knows  the truth that the US acquired its wealth in an illicit and clandestine diabolical manner. Christopher Black wrote: "The early prosperity of the US was built on the backs of slave labour, extermination of the indigenous peoples and theft of their lands, colonization and exploitation of other countries, including China, and over two hundred years of continual warfare to secure the resources and markets of first the Western Hemisphere, then the world. Their 'prestige' comes out of the barrel of a gun. The US economic and military aggression against those nations that refuse to obey American demands to serve their interests ever increases and never abates."

In the light of Christopher Black revelations we see in the last 70 years,  the West headed by the US have been increasingly hostile and aggressive towards all non-white countries in Asia, Africa, Central and South America. Though US lost the Korean War which it started in 1950 it managed to reduce South Korea and Japan into US semi-colonies or US protectorates under US absolute military control. Under such US coersive control the South Koreans and the Japanese cannot claim to have any more self-respect, dignity and sovereignty. US instigated and incited internecine strives amongst the Middle East Arab muslim states which ended up with US taking full control of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Libya, UAE  and partial control of other states and as a result US monopolizes and exploits the oil resources in the region for its own benefits to the detriment of the Arab states which are immensely impoverished.  

The state of Iran is anathema to the United States and America has never failed in trying to take down the Ayatolah government for regime change. It blockades Iran and uses extreme economic, financial and political sanctions to bring  down Iran. However, although all these evil US designs failed to bring Iran to its knees they nevertheless cause tremendous sufferings and deaths to millions of the common Iranian people.

US  continues to interfere in China's internal affairs. It created the Honkong riots under its Umbrella revolution to destabilise China. Failing in the Hong Kong umbrella revolution it now tries to stoke a Uyghur spring revolution with false allegation of genocide and forced labour of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang hoping to incite the world muslims to go against China. America pays only lip service to its One China Policy when it continuously tries to provoke China by instigating Taiwanese Chinese separatists with illicit actions and activities.  Moreover US has wicked designs to foment suspicion and hostilities between some South East Asian countries  and China to serve the evil motive of its geopolitical interests of controlling the whole of South China Sea. On hind sight it can be seen that US created the United Nations Conventions on the Laws of the Seas was to deprive China's traditional and historical legal ownerships and sovereignty of all China's island territories in the South China Sea. And US ultimate design  was to work behind the screen of UNCLOS to instigate some littoral states of South China Sea to illegally steal many of the Chinese islands in the South China Sea  under the UNCLOS rule of right to claim 200 miles of offshore waters as exclusive economic zones. However, the treacherous US and its western allies have themselves never signed the UNCLOS agreement. Isn't there  something fishy and odious behind? Similarly by illegally handling over the trusteeship and administration of the Chinese islands of Diao Yudao in the East China Sea to Japan, US has planted the seeds of contention and future wars between Japan and China to satisfy US geopolitical agenda of not only controlling Japan but also the whole of East China Sea and the South China Sea arena.

It is important China must find ways and means with Japan and ASEAN countries to settle and break down  this unnatural US created entangling problem in order to avoid future wars and the never ending choas and hostilities of the Middle East syndrome which will exactly fit into US well  calculated geopolitical agenda.

US and UK also worked behind the scenes to instigate and encourage India to steal Chinese lands in South East Tibet and the Aksai Chin region in the South West of Chinese province of Xinjiang. Constant Indian encroachment and invasion of Chinese lands culminated in the India-China war of 1962 in which India was soundly defeated by China's Peoples Liberation Army. However with US support and encouragement India never stops its infrigements on Chinese territories which have been the cause of constant border clashes. Thus by stoking animosities between India and China, the evil US hopes to recruit India as its ally to confront China in its geopolitical agenda. 

The United States thinks if it can take down China and Russia the world will be at its feet and it will be the first time in history that the whole world and all the countries therein will be brought under the sole absolute hegemonic control of one single country of the United States. That is a wild dream and we the countries of the free world must unite to dash that vile dream and destroy forever the evil demonic United States.

Southernglory1

Wednesday, 21st  April, 2021.

Redress Of Injustice

Redress of injustice can come in several ways. Not necessarily by the way of the legalistic courts through fallible human judges who are imperfect beans subjected to all sorts of natural and unnatural influencing factors and sectors.

Humans are the most emotionally unstable creatures on Mother Earth. A judge's thinking, interpretation of the laws and decisions can easily be influenced by countless factors and sectors. No one can claim that he is perfect under any circumstances. No one should even dare to think that he is perfect in anyway, in anything, in any subject.

No one is an actual expert as far as the laws of man are concerned. Why? Very simply put, it is because the man-made laws are made by imperfect human beings and interpreted and applied by imperfect human beings!

Man-made laws, like man-made languages, are evolving all the time. What was considered right yesterday can be considered wrong today. What is considered right today might be considered wrong tomorrow. It all depends on changing circumstances and changing environments, from country to country.

Personalities also play a very substantial part in the interpretation and application of man-made laws. No one person in the world can claim that he is always fair, unbias, non-corrupt, non-influenciable, totally upright and completely fair in all situations, under all circumstances.

A strong and steady character differs widely and significantly from a weak and meek character. An appointed position differs widely and significantly from a self-made and elected position.

Especially in any case involving high-powered dignitaries verses commoners, whether perceived or real, there is a strong tendency for the public to scrutinise the judge (or judges) and his (or their) judgement more closely and in depth, more inclined towards thinking that undue behind the scenes influences directly or indirectly could have been the devil in the works of deliverance.

Especially so, when records show distinctly that out of 10 cases involving high-powered personalities, at least 8 resulted in favour of the high-powered personnel, then the whole legal system and process is automatically called into question by the educated and learned discerning public. A 50/50 probability would be more palatable. A 80% tilt towards one side, any side, of the scale of justice cannot and must not be so easily accepted and swallowed, and happily pat one another's back and move on. If it does and carries on for a long time, frictions will accumulate, until one final day it will explode for sure. This kind of ostrich mentality cannot and must not be condoned for the good of our nation and the future of our people.

Yes, justice is blind. But the problem is that judges are not blind!

Therefore, redress of injustice must also come from the following ways:

1. Divine Intervention.

2. Natural Justice.

3. Court of Public Opinions.


SSO - 21 April 2021, Wednesday.