Have you seen this man?
Apparently I'm not allowed to post this picture on my blog (or at least I wouldn't be if my server was based in the UK).
Paul Linford has an interesting take on why this guy shouldn't be outed, but for me this issue is not whether he should be but rather that he can be. In a free country surely it is my right to disclose any information that is not libellous. The 'fake sheikh' uses the power of the press to expose others that have no wish to be exposed. He should have no immunity from the reciprocal action taken against him.
UPDATE: The question of his anonymity is, for me, a total non-issue; I could not care less who he is. But the fact that I am apparently explicitly forbidden from showing his photo means just one thing - that I will publish his photo because I want to exercise what I feel is my right to do so (just as it was my right to publish this cartoon). The only interest that I have in publishing either is that a group of individuals, acting in their own self-interest, and no other, would happily ban me from my right to free-expression.
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So when you move back to
So when you move back to England you won't have to fear retribution for posts like this since you'll have a North American-based server? Sweet.
The British government will
The British government will never silence me - although the Scottish Government already contacted the hosting company that I use over breach of copyright.
Personally I don't think that my tax money should be going towards designing government logos and then legally enforcing the prohibition of their use in satire.
Still, as you say, it's quite useful to have a non-EU web-hosting company. I don't know how that affects the fact that this site is sydicated on other UK sites (I guess that is their problem?)
Remember, readers should not
Remember, readers should not be afraid of their newspapers, journalists should be afraid of their readers.