# Letter from David ******** in regard to Defamation/Libel by Mike Bobbitt/Army.ca



## Mike Bobbitt

All,

I have received the following letter today:



Letter from David ******** in regard to Defamation/Libel by Mike Bobbitt, Army.ca, Milnet.ca, et al against David ********

Mr. Bobbitt,

I have consulted my lawyer today and she has advised that I email you and your other associates in regard to this situation before deciding to pursue legal action against you, Army.ca, Milnet.ca, Tony Prudori (aka “Milnews.ca”) Occam (aka “John Smith”, person unknown) and Haletown (person unknown).

In postings on Army.ca/Mil.net on Feb. 1, 2011 various individuals defamed me by labeling me as “liar.” Such posting also called into question my professional as a journalist, referring to the article I wrote as “faux-journalism” among other things and claiming that I print “gossip.”

The posters in question claimed that Maj.-Gen. Tom Lawson had called me a liar and that his reference to “de-lie” in a CBC report was directed at me and the article I wrote in the Ottawa Citizen.

Such statements are untrue and constitute defamation/libel on the part of Mike Bobbitt, Army.ca, Milnet.ca, Tony Prudori (aka “Milnews.ca”) Occam (aka “John Smith”, person unknown) and Haletown (person unknown).

On Feb. 3, 2011 I discussed this situation with Maj.-Gen. Tom Lawson. Maj.-Gen. Lawson told me that at no point did he refer to me as a liar or as someone who lies. He stated that at no point did he refer to my article as a lie. 

In fact, Maj.-Gen. Lawson states that the “de-lie” quote attributed to him was in reference to other aspects of the F-35 debate and not my article in question.

“I addressed several misconceptions that have entered public awareness: that fourth generation fighters would be more maneuverable than the JSF, would have better stealth characteristics or could be less expensive than the JSF,” Maj.-Gen. Lawson informed me. “I said I would "de-lie" (meaning demystify) these myths by providing the facts.”

At no point did Mike Bobbitt, Army.ca, Milnet.ca, Tony Prudori (aka “Milnews.ca”) Occam (aka “John Smith”, person unknown) and Haletown (person unknown) contact Maj.-Gen. Lawson to ask him about the meaning of his words and the term “die-lie.”

Instead, Mike Bobbitt, Army.ca, Milnet.ca, Tony Prudori (aka “Milnews.ca”) Occam (aka “John Smith”, person unknown) and Haletown (person unknown) fabricated the claim that the words attributed to Maj.-Gen. Lawson were directed at me and my Ottawa Citizen article.

[comments removed]

This defamation/libel against David ******** was done with malice. Mike Bobbitt and other individuals on Army.ca/Milnet.ca have expressed such malice towards David ******** in the past.

In addition, Occam (aka “John Smith” aka person unknown) has sent David ******** separate emails containing defamatory statements and indicating malice towards David ********.

I am requesting the following remedies from Mike Bobbitt/Army.ca/Mil.net:

1)         Immediate removal of the offending posts by Haletown, Milnet.ca and Occam from all sites controlled by Army.ca/Milnet.ca/Mike Bobbitt.

2) Written apology to David ********.

Following these remedies does not preclude legal action against Mike Bobbitt, Army.ca, Milnet.ca, Tony Prudori (aka “Milnews.ca”) Occam (aka “John Smith”, person unknown) and Haletown (person unknown).

Following these remedies does not preclude legal action against Mike Bobbitt and Army.ca/Milnet.ca to obtain the true identities of Haletown and Occam for a separate legal action for defamation/libel against them. 

In closing Mr. Bobbitt, I am simply astounded that you and your associates continue to make concerted efforts to attack my credibility and professionalism as a journalist in an attempt to adversely affect my reputation and livelihood. As we both know from the previous legal action concerning me against yourself and Army.ca, this is not the first time.

I would note that these continued efforts on  your part and those of your colleagues run counter to your stated guidelines that such behaviour is a violation of Army.ca/Milnet.ca Conduct Guidelines

These guidelines state:

“Milnet.ca has a zero tolerance policy for personal attacks, whether against another Milnet.ca member or a public figure. Posts that contain a personal attack should be summarily deleted, and the user should normally receive a warning. Personal attacks detract from the professionalism of the site and can sometimes cause serious problems for Milnet.ca as a whole.”

Unfortunately Mr. Bobbitt, your “zero tolerance” does not seem to extend to me. This is further indication of the extent of the malice you and your associates have exhibited towards me.

David ********



As this is the second time legal action has been threatened against me by Mr. ********, I am requesting that no reference be made of any sort to him or his work, from here forward. Any posts that include his name, quoted material or links to his work will be summarily removed.

Your cooperation is appreciated.


Cheers
Mike


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## Scott

All,

Further to Mike's request that no articles by, links related to, or quotes from Mr. ******** be posted on the forums we are asking your cooperation in that if you see something containing such material then please report to a moderator immediately. It's already happened once because the member posting the article had no clue as to what was going on. The situation has since been resolved easily and we thank those involved - the member who reported the post and the poster, for their cooperation and understanding in the matter.

We ask that if you find an atricle, link(s) related to, or quote(s) from Mr. ********:

*Please report the post immediately.*

*Please do not post in the thread containing the material.*

*Please do not admonish the poster via PM or in another thread.*

*Please allow the Staff to handle this.*

*The Directing Staff are taking a hard line on this matter. Should we find a post contravening the above guidelines we shall immediately delete the post and send the member ONE (1) request to not do it. If it happens again you will be banned from the site*

We hate to sound like dinks here but believe that if you love the site then this should be no issue whatsoever.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Army.ca Staff


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## Scott

All,

One regrettable circumstance related to our recent and ongoing cleansing the site of articles and references related to the above person is that it will impact Milpoint totals for anyone who has a reply or topic deleted.

One of the staff has pointed out that a whole page of Milpoints history for them was filled with "Topic Deleted" and a negative 30 Milpoints assigned to each action. This staff member experienced this because he was very active in threads that were deleted or he had multiple posts deleted (because they contained the mentioned references/links/articles)

Some of you may experience the same and we ask, again, for patience and cooperation in this matter as we do our very best to ensure the protection of the site and we assure you that we would not undertake such a drastic action, and one that requires A LOT of work by the Staff, if we did not think it to be in the site's best interest - and it is also the boss's decree!

Mike tells me that he will look into giving the Milpoints back but please understand that this will be a monumental task and it is just not a high priority at present. We apologize to the Afghan Ops players who are impacted and request understanding for our side of things.

Thanks again

The Staff


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## Mike Bobbitt

Thanks Scott... I checked into it and it wasn't too hard to do a one-time reversal... all posts and topics deleted over the last 3 days have been credited back.


Cheers
Mike


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## McG

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> As this is the second time legal action has been threatened against me by Mr. ********, I am requesting that no reference be made of any sort to him or his work, from here forward.


All,
You are not achieving the intent of the above request by treating Mr ******** as Voldemort are referencing him as "he who shall not be named."  As requested above, do not reference him.


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