Simon Singh Talks With Wired About His Libel Battle

smellsofbikes writes "Wired has a short but pithy interview with Simon Singh about his defense against a libel suit brought by the British Chiropractic Association, in which he spent more than $200,000 and emerged victorious."

Re:200,000 dollars

[phantomfive]

It's kind of a historical thing. Historically, Britons favor respect and propriety over the truth. Even if everyone knows the king is cheating on his wife, you don't say it in public, for example. As long as no one is getting hurt, there's no reason to make waves by pointing it out. Thus their historical custom is codified into law.

Here in America we're a bunch of redneck hicks who know nothing about respect and propriety. If we know some dirt about someone, we're going to say it, and we're going to say it loud. And our laws protect us.

Whether one way or the other is better is debatable, of course I prefer the American way, but there is an argument to be made for the British way as well.