Arsenal and England full-back Ashley Cole has launched 'unusual' legal proceedings against The News of the World and The Sun over claims that two unnamed footballers were involved in a 'gay sex orgy'.
Although Cole was not named in any of their articles, he is essentially suing News Group Newspapers over the newspapers' 'wink-wink' insinuations which prompted various websites to speculate that he was one of the players involved.
'Legal experts view the case as an important step in taking the temperature of libel and privacy law in cases where the aggrieved parties are not named but the public is able to build up a "jigsaw" identification via tabloid hints that spark gossip via email, blogs and chatrooms,' reports The Guardian.
'They said the privacy part of the claim was "unique" because it relied on an untested concept known as "false privacy" - even though Cole says he is not gay, he will argue his privacy has been invaded.'
The original story was published in The News of the World last month and claimed that 'two bisexual stars made some very dirty phone calls - using a mobile as a gay sex toy'. Although the NoTW didn't have a copy of the recording of the alleged incident, it said a reporter had seen it.
'The tongue-in-cheek treatment continued in the News International stablemate the Sun, which later alluded to the story in the caption on a paparazzi snap of the footballer out on the town with his pop star fiancee, Cheryl Tweedy, prompting a letter to newspaper editors by Cole's solicitors. At no stage did either newspaper name the footballer or explicitly use his picture, making the libel claim unusual. But legal sources believed he could have a strong case none the less,' adds The Guardian.
'In cyberspace several sites published the picture used by the News of the World to accompany its second story and suggested it was a crudely doctored version of a snap of Cole and a dance music DJ taken from the website of a radio station, Choice FM. The gay website Pink News featured a juxtaposition of the picture used in the tabloid and the alleged original, suggesting they were the same shot doctored by the paper.'
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I saw this in a movie about a bus that had to speed around a city, keeping its speed over 50, and if its speed changed, it would explode! I think it was called, "The Bus That Couldn't Slow Down."
Train-spotting
My friend once said that a train-spotter is a person who sits in the railway station for hours doing nothing but watching the trains come and go.
In a way, I am a train-spotter. I love watching people. You ought to have known that by now. And this is what I have seen in the last couple of days.
On the bus: A woman with two small children trying to get off the bus. Another lady near her helped her with her second child while asking the bus driver to wait for a bit until the two children were safely off the bus. The bus driver waited patiently.
On the bus: A young woman calling out to an elderly couple and letting them take her seat. They were from different races.
While walking: My teacher taking her daughter to school. Because the gate of the school was not open yet, they sat on the bench in front. The daughter sat on my teacher’s laps while the mom is warmly hugging her.
While walking: A father holding her mentally challenged daughter with love and telling her stories about the surroundings.
In the restaurant: a waitress casually – without being disrespectful – greeting two senior citizens who have just walked in the restaurant by saying “hey girls” and starting to chat with them.
They were such wonderful scenes. There is still love in the world. Thank you, Lord.
Cole to Sue
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