The outstanding science fiction author and scientist, Peter Watts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_watts), has recently been the victim of an unprovoked and vicious assault by members of the US Border Patrol. Now, Watts - the victim - faces a felony charge of "assaulting a federal officer" and a possible two-year prison sentence. Of course, defending this charge will cost a fortune, and an inadequate defence could cost Peter his home, his livelihood and his liberty. Peter's friends and supporters are now busily raising money for his legal defence and fees - unfortunately, and grotesquely, justice does not come cheap. Give him your support!
To find out more, go here: http://www.boingboing.net/2009/12/11/dr-peter-watts-canad.html; and also here: http://tinyurl.com/ybbojlb
And in Peter's own words:
"If you buy into the Many Worlds interpretation of quantum physics, there must be a parallel universe in which I crossed the US/Canada border without incident last Tuesday. In some other dimension, I was not waved over by a cluster of border guards who swarmed my car like army ants for no apparent reason; or perhaps they did, and I simply kept my eyes downcast and refrained from asking questions.
Along some other timeline, I did not get out of the car to ask what was going on. I did not repeat that question when refused an answer and told to get back into the vehicle. In that other timeline I was not punched in the face, pepper-sprayed, shit-kicked, handcuffed, thrown wet and half-naked into a holding cell for three fucking hours, thrown into an even colder jail cell overnight, arraigned, and charged with assaulting a federal officer, all without access to legal representation (although they did try to get me to waive my Miranda rights. Twice.). Nor was I finally dumped across the border in shirtsleeves: computer seized, flash drive confiscated, even my fucking paper notepad withheld until they could find someone among their number literate enough to distinguish between handwritten notes on story ideas and, I suppose, nefarious terrorist plots. I was not left without my jacket in the face of Ontario’s first winter storm, after all buses and intercity shuttles had shut down for the night.
In some other universe I am warm and content and not looking at spending two years in jail for the crime of having been punched in the face.
But that is not this universe.
Stay tuned."
(http://www.rifters.com/crawl/?p=932 )
For general updates, see: http://www.rifters.com/crawl/ ("Squidgate")
For what it's worth, I know how it feels - albeit on a smaller scale, of course - to be the victim of a vicious assault, only to find yourself become the target of victimisation & lies: while your assailants not only get off scot-free, but are actually 'rewarded'. It can really rankle, if you let it!
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