Neil Clark (writer)
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- For the British guitarist, see Neil Clark (guitarist).
Neil Clark (born 1966) is a British writer. His work has appeared in a number of newspapers and journals, including The Australian, The American Conservative, Daily Express, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, and Racing and Football Outlook.[1]
His blog was voted "Best UK Blog" in the 2007 Weblog Awards.[2]
Clark teaches at Oxford Tutorial College, which specializes in GCSE and A-level tuition.[3]
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[edit] Personal life
Clark obtained a Bachelor of Science in business studies, history, and politics from Brunel University.[3] He is married to Zsuzsanna Clark, a freelance writer.
[edit] Positions
Clark describes himself as an "unreconstructed leftie".[4] He opposes British and U.S. policy in the Balkans and the Middle East. He has defended the late Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević, whom he describes as a prisoner of conscience,[5] arguing that he was "done to death" by poison and that "[w]e are dealing here with murder".[6]
In common with some other traditional socialists, Clark endorses several positions which are generally seen as socially conservative. He objects to an open-door immigration policy[7] and free abortion on demand.[8] He also advocates a return to the death penalty for murderers and drug traffickers. Clark supports renationalisation of railways and believes that a nuclear-armed Iran would not be a great threat to the Western world:
[A] nuclear-armed Iran- and the acquisition of nuclear weapons by other countries threatened by the insatiable neo-conservative war machine, such as Syria, would be the best guarantor of peace in the Middle East.[9]
[edit] Legal case
In 2006, Clark attempted to sue the writer Oliver Kamm for comments Kamm made on his blog following a critical review of Kamm's book in the Daily Telegraph.[10][11] The case was notable because it was the first of its kind in the UK.[10] The claim was struck out by the presiding judge in May 2006.[12]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Neil Clark "A nanny goat under threat", The Guardian, November 6, 2006.
- ^ Best UK Blog 2007 Weblog Awards November 1, 2007
- ^ a b Staff list, Oxford Tutorial College.
- ^ Neil Clark "A vintage year for the left", The Guardian, March 7, 2007.
- ^ "Milosevic, Prisoner of Conscience", New Statesman February 11, 2002
- ^ Neil Clark "How Milosevic was done to death", Neil Clark's blog, 15 March 2006.
- ^ Neil Clark "Mass Immigration: Why the Left should oppose it", Neil Clark's blog, 2 April 2008.
- ^ "Why the Left and Right Must Unite and Fight: The View from the Left", Antiwar.com April 1, 2003.
- ^ Neil Clark "A moment of honesty from a western leader", Neil Clark's blog, 2 February 2007.
- ^ a b Dominic Timms "Author threatens to sue blogger", The Guardian, March 22, 2006.
- ^ "Idealism loses its way in double standards and dishonesty", Daily Telegraph, December 31, 2005. This article does not name Clark as the author, but it is corroborated by Clark's blog here.
- ^ Oxford County Court, List of Proceedings, Claim 60X01433, May 3, 2006: "Upon consideration of the court file it is ordered that the claim is struck out."
