From: "Rich Gauszka" 

anyone believe the explanation by the judiciary?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070518/wr_nm/security_britain_internet1_dc_2;_ylt=
AmZusM4.JGccPuoWtg2MRFNkM3wV

A British judge who said he didn't really understand the term "Web
site" is fully computer literate and was merely trying to clarify
complex evidence for the benefit of the court, the judiciary said on
Friday.

The remark by Judge Peter Openshaw during a trial on Wednesday made
headlines around the world.

"The trouble is I don't understand the language. I don't really
understand what a Web site is," he told a London court during the
trial of three men accused of inciting terrorism via the Internet.

In a statement, the Judicial Communications Office did not dispute that
Openshaw had been accurately quoted. But it said the remark by the judge,
now in his fifth week presiding over the trial, had been taken out of
context.

"Trial judges always seek to ensure that everyone in court is able to
follow all of the proceedings. They will regularly ask questions -- not for
their own benefit -- but on behalf of all those following a case, in the
interests of justice," it said.

The judge's comment came as a prosecutor was questioning a witness about
links posted to various sites by users of an alleged militant Islamist
forum on the Web.

"Mr Justice Openshaw was simply clarifying the evidence presented, in
an easily understandable form for all those in court," the statement
said.

"Mr Justice Openshaw is entirely computer literate and indeed has
taken notes on his own computer in court for many years," it added.

Reuters stands by its story. As reported earlier, prosecutor Mark Ellison
responded to the judge by explaining the terms 'Web site' and 'forum'
during exchanges in which Openshaw acknowledged: "I haven't quite
grasped the concepts."

Anticipating further testimony from a computer expert, the judge later told
Ellison: "Will you ask him to keep it simple, we've got to start from
basics."


"Rich Gauszka"  wrote in
message news:464b48f5$1{at}w3.nls.net...
> "I haven't quite grasped the concepts."
>
> http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070516/wr_nm/security_britain_internet_dc_1;_ylt
=AlOlJt5aHpltqGbjIhRxcUpkM3wV
>
> LONDON (Reuters) - A British judge admitted on Wednesday he was struggling
> to cope with basic terms like "Web site" in the trial of
three men accused
> of inciting terrorism via the Internet
> Judge Peter Openshaw broke into the questioning of a witness about a Web
> forum used by alleged Islamist radicals.
>
> "The trouble is I don't understand the language. I don't really understand
> what a Web site is," he told a London court during the trial of three men
> charged under anti-terrorism laws.
>
> Prosecutor Mark Ellison briefly set aside his questioning to explain the
> terms "Web site" and "forum." An exchange followed
in which the judge
> acknowledged: "I haven't quite grasped the concepts."
>
> Violent Islamist material posted on the Internet, including beheadings of
> Western hostages, is central to the case.
>
> Concluding Wednesday's session and looking ahead to testimony on Thursday
> by a computer expert, the judge told Ellison: "Will you ask him to keep it
> simple, we've got to start from basics."
>
> Younes Tsouli, 23, Waseem Mughal, 24, and Tariq al-Daour, 21, deny a range
> of charges under Britain's Terrorism Act, including inciting another
> person to commit an act of terrorism "wholly or partly"
outside Britain.
>
> Tsouli and Mughal also deny conspiracy to murder. Al-Daour has pleaded not
> guilty to conspiring with others to defraud banks, credit card and charge
> card companies.
>
> Prosecutors have told the jury at Woolwich Crown Court, east London, that
> the defendants kept car-bomb-making manuals and videos of how to wire
> suicide vests as part of a campaign to promote global jihad, or holy war.
>
> The trial continues.
>
>

--- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-5