I have Frank on ignore, so wasn't privy to his comments re Fraser, although guessed that was most likely what was being discussed.

Like you I support Fraser's rights re research etc - I don't particularly want to discuss him though, as thats been done to death and the issues were really not so much academic freedom, as the way he dealt with issues.

I am far more concerned about the kind of thing in this article. You cannot really find out unless there is money for research - and lets face it - it has always been important for 'fringe' ideas to access the public purse - if it hadn't done so in the immediate post war period in the US - we would be a long way nehind where we are today.

I think if academics are gagged, this could create 'research monocultures' which don't allow us to see alternatives. This could be very dangerous for the future of our country.