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| Britain | |
| 'Web rage' pickaxe attacker jailed | |
| 2006-11-18 | |
What does this article have to do with RB? Read on . . . Tempers flared after Paul Gibbons, 47, and John Jones, 43, exchanged insults in an Internet chatroom, an Old Bailey judge was told. So far so good. After tracing Mr Jones to his home address in Clacton, Gibbons armed himself with a pickaxe handle and, accompanied by a man with a machete, travelled 70 miles to the Essex seaside town in December 2005. Somebody got sloppy! When they arrived, Mr Jones, whose girlfriend and three children were in the house, opened the door holding a knife for protection. Mr. Jones doesn't sound like the sharpest knife in the drawer. A fight broke out in which Mr Jones was disarmed and then beaten with the pickaxe handle and cut with his own knife. Adding insult to injury. Maybe next time he'll take his wife's suggestion and use the rolling pin. Gibbons fled after Mr Jones's girlfriend called for help. Mr Jones suffered cuts to his head, neck and hands. Deserved every one of them, too. An earlier hearing was told that Gibbons, from Southwark, south London, and Mr Jones had encountered each other in a chatroom called Islam 10 because they both had an interest in the Muslim faith. Now it all makes sense! Practicing to pass the entrance examination, it seems. Things started to go wrong when Gibbons accused Mr Jones of spreading rumours about him. Gullible to conspiracy theories. Check. "There was an exchange of views between the victim and the defendant which were threatening on both sides," Ibitayo Adebayo, prosecuting, said. Hey, it's just a cultural thingy. It's how it's done. Jailing Gibbons, who has a record of violence, Judge Richard Hawkins told him: "It is accepted by the prosecution that Mr Jones taunted you and dared you to go to his house where you would be greeted with weapons." Judicial humor, I guess. What he's trying to say is that Mr. Gibbons is more of the extremist variety. Gibbons, who is unemployed, pleaded guilty last month to unlawful wounding after the prosecution agreed not to proceed with charges of attempted murder and threats to kill. Maybe he's not as dumb as I thought . . . After the attack, it was found that Gibbons had boasted about what he was going to do on the Internet. Maybe he's dumber. Jonathan Green, defending, said that Mr Jones had given the impression of being the innocent victim but his web blog "painted a different picture". Go ahead. Spaghetti logic is always entertaining. But this would make Mr. Jones more of the moderate variety. He said that Mr Jones had been the first to initiate physical confrontation. That makes sense. But only if you're a defense attorney. Mr Green added that there was a misconception that anything said in chatrooms was anonymous, leading to people writing things that they otherwise would not dream of saying. Well known phenomenon. Happens every day in driving. Det Sgt Jean-Marc Bazzoni, of Essex Police, said that the case demonstrated the importance of protecting one's identity on the Internet. < SPAN CLASS=HILITE>That's already been highlighted many times. I would suggest to Mr. Jones that he change his nym. I would also recommend that he avoid chatting with maniacs that want to convert to Islam. "Mr Jones had posted pictures of his family on the web and had chatted to Gibbons on an audio link," he said. And posted his address. And his phone number. And had a flashing red light over his door. And a "Kick Me!" sign on his back. "It demonstrates how easily other users can put two and two together and also shows how children could also find themselves in danger." And it makes you wonder about converts to Islam. | |
| Posted by:gorb |
| #1 Doh! Hopefully I learn better than Mr. Jones . . . BTW: Mods: We have a broken tag near the bottom. Thx. |
| Posted by: gorb 2006-11-18 17:14 |