During this holiday season our worthy elders will not be enjoying the fruit of their labours with their families but will be attending their training sessions conducted in great secrecy. The existence of these meetings is no secret but the content of them certainly is.
In this country (the UK) I can study the law and the subtleties of precedent that can be argued in any accusation raised against me. I can either, at state or personal expense, hire a lawyer to help me through the morass. I can attend almost any court hearing and listen to the evidence of any case that is proceeding. I can in any serious matter demand a trial by a jury of my peers. I can go and listen to laws being made and enacted.
The elders this weekend will be subjected to material that is at once boring to the point of self-harm and disturbing to the point of moral outrage.
As a R & F member am I allowed to know the latest iteration of legal precedent that may be used against me? Am I able to instruct a lawyer conversant with these rules and regulations? Am I able to have the comfort of knowing that justice is being tested by a group of my peers? The answer to all those questions is No! The same men accuse me, defend me and judge me.
Just in case a curious brother or even a non-member attempts to eavesdrop the following security measures will be in force.
All attendees will need a security pass to gain admittance; there will be no admittance without one.
The microphones are to be hard wired not, repeat, not radio mikes. There is of course a risk that ordinary publishers would be able to know the rules under which they live their lives.
This legalistic unjust skewed balance of power makes my blood boil and my ears steam.
SF