VANCOUVER LIBARIES WITHDRAW
CHILDREN OF THE MATRIX
AFTER THREATS FROM RICHARD WARMAN
THIS REPORT BY BRIAN SALMI APPEARED IN THE TERMINAL CITY NEWSPAPER
The Vancouver Public Library (VPL) has removed a book by the always controversial British author David Icke from circulation until an Ontario court renders its decision on whether or not the book has defamed the author's arch-nemesis. The library's Acting Director Eric Smith told TCW that the VPL Board made the decision 'very reluctantly' after receiving a letter in September from Richard Warman, the plaintiff, threatening to name the library as a co-defendant in the $1 million action if the book was not pulled. Smith told TCW the VPL Board was advised by the City of Vancouver's Legal Services Department to remove the book. As far as anyone knows, this is the first time a book has been pulled from circulation under these strange conditions.
Warman - who refers to himself as a member of the Ontario Green Party, and a human rights activist - claims that Icke's book, Children of the Matrix maliciously and unfairly defamed him in a sensationalistic manner by referring to him variously as a liar, a hypocrite, a puppet/stooge, a censor and a fascist Nazi hatemonger who deliberately covers up child abuse. Warman further claims that such defamatory accusations have undermined his credibility as a lawyer.
Icke is a prolific writer who relentlessly travels the world attempting to convince people that there is a campaign afoot to bring about a 'New World Order.' According to Icke, a 'ruling elite' - which is made up of (and/or controlled by) a cabal of shape-shifting lizards - is conspiring to enslave the human race. Warman has continually protested that Icke's 'reptilian ruling elite' is a code phrase for Jews and that Icke is a vicious but enigmatic hatemonger.
Graham Johnson, the City's Assistant Director of Legal Services, told TCW that it is not the practice of his department to reveal what advise it dispenses or explain why. However, Andrew Spence of McCauley McColl, a local law firm that specializes in libel law, opined that the City's lawyers may have feared the City could be on the hook for the entire $1 million sought by Warman, should a judge decide in his favour. Spence explained that in a libel action with multiple defendants a judge can order the entire award be paid by any one of them. For example, if someone files a suit for medical malpractice stemming from complications arising from a surgery that was performed in a hospital, the plaintiff could sue both the surgeon and the hospital. If the action is won the judge can order either the hospital or the surgeon to pay the full award and attempt to mitigate its losses by collecting from the codefendant. In spite of the fact that such a finding in the Warman vs Icke suit is unlikely, Spence further explained that a lawyer's duty is to advise his client on how to best limit any likelihood of successful action against him. In this case, it meant pulling Children of the Matrix from the VPL's shelves.
An unknown number of other Canadian libraries were sent the same letter by Warman and TCW source who are familiar with this story say that every single one of them received and followed the same advise that was given to the VPL. Nine booksellers - including Vancouver's Banyen Books - have been named as co-defendants in the action - presumably for continuing to sell Children of the Matrix after receiving warning letters.
In 1980, The Wendy King Story, - a book which contained transcripts of conversations between a prostitute and one of her clients (who just happened to be the province's Chief Justice, John Farris) - was pulled by bookstores after they received letters threatening legal action. Farris subsequently resigned after the Judicial Council of Canada began an investigation into his conduct. In 1986 Jimmy Pattison, the man who brought Expo to Vancouver, followed a different course to suppress a book that spoke of him in unflattering terms.. Pattison: Portrait of a Capitalist Superstar, published by New Press, was heavily marketed in supermarkets and quickly sold 22,000 copies. Pattison bought out the company that distributes the majority of books and magazines to Vancouver retail outlets.
Officials at various libraries around the greater Vancouver area say that Icke's books are almost perpetually in high demand and that they have received no complaints from the general public or special interest groups regarding the Englishman's tomes.
Related Links
 Children of the Matrix - by David Icke
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