Scribblings, Jottings & Musings

A Bibliophile Writes

2012-01-18T21:20:00.000Z

Recommended reading: a blogpost by local writer Cath Bore last week which reminded local book buyers of News From Nowhere's merits (http://cathbore.wordpress.com/2012/01/11/please-help-support-liverpools-independent-bookshop-news-from-nowhere/ ):
"Workers at the shop are either voluntary or on a minimum wage and provide a top notch service; they're extremely knowledgeable and passionate about what they do."

Where's My Stetson?

2012-01-18T21:10:00.000Z

I suspect the nodding of heads may have reached headache-inducing proportions on Oldham Hall Street the other day when Richard Wallace, editor of the Daily Mirror, gave The Leveson Inquiry his considered view of bloggers (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/jan/16/leveson-inquiry-sly-bailey-richard-wallace-tina-weaver ):
"The out and out cowboys -- I don't see in the long term they can survive...people want information that is competent and true."
That said, the nodding heads would have been stilled by the bleakly candid assessment given by their boss Sly Bailey of the situation regarding Trinity Mirror's local titles (http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=48570&c=1 ).
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to saddle up.

Cast Aside

2012-01-18T20:45:00.000Z

If you took the Oldham Echo as your sole source of information, you would be forgiven for thinking that Liverpool has somehow escaped the worst effects of the double-dip recession & the ConDem cuts (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/views/our-view/2012/01/16/liverpool-this-is-the-place-to-be-100252-30128938/).
In fact, you might well see the city as an untouched oasis of economic prosperity while most of the UK suffers under a government which blithely displays its warped sense of priorities (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jan/15/queen-royal-yacht-diamond-jubilee-gove ).
Today's unemployment figures would both sharply disabuse you of such illusions & starkly emphasise the fact that Merseyside isn't immune (http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/nov/17/unemployment-and-employment-statistics-economics ).
Amelia Gentleman highlighted the situation on a Kirkdale estate a few days back for the Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/jan/15/below-breadline-liverpool-workless-estates ):
"The high numbers of workless households on this estate help explain startling figures produced by the GMB last week revealing that nearly one in three households in Liverpool have no one in work. It is the legacy of historic industrial decline in this area, suddenly worsened by the recent round of public sector redundancies and a new, downturn-related disappearance of retail and manufacturing jobs."
With the rate of youth unemployment nationally standing at 22%, an all-time high, the rate for Merseyside will be significantly higher. The lost generation is well & truly with us & will remain bereft of opportunities, openings & hope.

Someone's Knocking At The Door

2012-01-10T22:46:00.000Z

It takes a certain degree of vanity & self-delusion to convince yourself that in the midst of another £50m worth of cuts to the city, your own disastrous legacy of creating war zones (http://condensedthoughts.blogspot.com/2010/04/warrens-war-zones.html) in the very city you used to lead might be forgotten.
How else to account for the Phoenix-like ascent of Warren "War Zones" Bradley. How else to explain a dogged determination (to use a cliche he himself might employ) to return to the stage (http://blogs.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/dalestreetblues/2012/01/leaflet-warren-bradley-confirm.html).
As David Bartlett notes, Bradley has printed & distributed election leaflets, declaring his candidacy for the Wavertree ward (the recycling bins in L15 will be busy, I suspect).
All nice & jolly, to be sure. However, there's a snag. Well, there's quite a few, actually, but let's focus on the most pressing one for the friend of a convicted felon (http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2009/09/councillor-steve-hurst-steps-down-good.html). You see, Warren isn't a Fib Dem candidate. He hasn't been selected. He has, however, been "selected" as an Independent candidate. I know, strange, isn't it? Then again, it's of a piece with Bradley's occasional connection to political reality. Even David Bartlett, a veritable Mr Sobersides, can't disguise his surprise:
"It is likely to get him expelled from the Liberal Democrats, as it's against party rules to stand against an official candidate, once the police investigation is over.
"The only curious element about his latest leaflet is how an independent candidate can be 'selected' to stand as a candidate."
How indeed.
Perhaps he was "selected" by his partner, the disgraced Facebooking ex-Fib Dem councillor Sharon Green, who jumped ship as it took on another few hundred gallons of water last May (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2011/05/06/liverpool-lib-dem-sharon-green-defects-and-becomes-independent-100252-28648062/).
Be that as it may, Warren's undaunted. Oh yes, he is, delaring on his leaflet, "Beware of smears". He elaborates thus:
"Local residents should be aware that other political parties have in the past engaged in smearing individuals. Warren Bradley is well aware of this and pledges not to engage in such practice, sadly we believe others won't be as honest."
So it seems that when the city of Liverpool told Warren to sling his hook & not come back (http://condensedthoughts.blogspot.com/2011/04/so-long-its-been-good-to-know-you.html) he mistook a city's jeers for cheers.
Has any one got the heart to tell him?

Donning The Tory Uniform

2012-01-10T21:42:00.000Z

It breaks his heart, it really does, you know. When he isn't calling protesters "scum" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcNLz8C5RAw), Joe "Tea & Sympathy" Anderson never tires of telling friends about his sleepless nights over the Tory cuts he's making. Last week saw further developments which, if Cllr Anderson's claim of insomnia is to be taken seriously, will have him reaching for the sleeping pills (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2012/01/06/liverpool-council-to-axe-school-uniform-grants-as-part-of-further-16m-budget-cuts-100252-30071158 & http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-16437885 ).
David Bartlett's piece reported:
"Cutting the school uniform grant means parents on low incomes will no longer receive £20 to help buy a uniform for primary school children or £40 for secondary school pupils.
"Stopping free school milk was included in the list of today's cuts but will no longer be axed."
Not for the first time (&, sadly, not the last), we have, to paraphrase Neil Kinnock, the grotesque chaos of a Labour council (a Labour council!) kicking those it's supposed to represent in the teeth whilst trying to persuade those on the receiving end of such treatment that the Tories have made them do it.
As for the free school milk, it might well be asked what's stopping Joe & his apologetic axemen from going ahead with this measure; in the week when Meryl Streep tried her thespian best to convince us that Thatcher was a truly heroic figure (the Americans have got their Oscars prepared, I'm sure), it would have been fitting to emulate the original Milk Snatcher.
It would be nice if Cllr Anderson realised that Kier Hardie didn't form what became the Labour Party simply to implement Tory cuts. However, it's impossible for an invertebrate to develop a spine.
Lurking around the edges of this civic circus is the Fib Dem group leader, Paula Keaveney. You might think she'd keep schtum out of embarrassment at the role her Westminster colleagues have played in the ConDem coalition, the political fluffers for Cameron, Osborne, et al. Sadly, she hasn't, bleating pathetically:
"Surely something less harmful than removing school uniform grants could have been found instead of this particular saving."
Such Janus-faced hypocrisy is, in its own distorted & twisted way, quite remarkable.

Liverpool FC Takes Its Eyes Off The Ball

2012-01-04T19:22:00.000Z

August 1987: I travel to Arsenal's old Highbury stadium to watch Liverpool's first fixture of that season. During the game a banana is thrown onto the pitch not far from the feet of John Barnes, who is making his debut in a Liverpool shirt.
The banana is thrown from the section of the Clock End terracing reserved for Liverpool supporters.
That memory has come back to me as I've read the contorted syntax & lurid pledges of defiance on messageboards & comment sections from too many of the club's supporters over the Suarez/Evra affair.
The controversy has been well-documented elsewhere & I've viewed it with a mixture of dismay & anger as the club's handling of the situation has been crass & cack-handed; accepting the FA's eight-game ban for Suarez while muttering about unreleased information & hidden agendas is, if nothing else, lousy PR (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/16404023.stm & http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/jan/04/kenny-dalglish-luis-suarez-transcript ).
It suggests that Liverpool FC don't get it; it suggests to a wider audience that the club doesn't take the issue of racism in football as seriously as it should.
Moreover, at the risk of inducing a couple of coronaries on Oldham Hall Street, Paddy Shennan (yes, hello, Paddy!) was correct to question the team's highly dubious t-shirt stunt in support of Suarez (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/views/liverpool-columnists/paddy-shennan/2011/12/28/paddy-shennan-ponders-whether-liverpool-fc-s-shirts-of-support-were-the-best-response-to-the-luis-suarez-situation-100252-30020155/ ).
He got a lot of flak for his article, many indulging in juvenile & puerile "banter" about his support for Everton & other equally irrelevant concerns.
The view from Liverpool's more discerning & less hyperbolic supporters is that the affair has damaged the club. Badly. As Stuart James pointed out in the Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/jan/03/liverpool-loyalty-luis-suarez-contrition), the begrudging & curmudgeonly nature of Liverpool's response invokes disdain from those who rightly see bigotry as a more pressing matter than team spirit. Indeed, coming, as it did, on the same day as the verdict in the Stephen Lawrence case, the club's petulant stance is staggeringly insensitive & ill-judged.
Amongst his many quotes, one particular observation from Bill Shankly seems pertinent:
"The socialism I believe in is not really politics. It is a way of living. It is humanity. I believe the only way to live and to be truly successful is by collective effort, with everyone working for each other, everyone helping each other, and everyone having a share of the rewards at the end of the day."
Such noble sentiments stand in stark contrast to the current stance of the club he managed.

A Scrutiny Of Spin

2012-01-04T16:25:00.000Z

It's easy to overlook items & events which occur in the run-up to Christmas. However, it's worth noting (& watching) a video of a talk given by Michael Marshall of the Merseyside Skeptics Society at the Head of Steam bar on Lime Street a few weeks ago (http://www.merseysideskeptics.org.uk/2011/12/bad-news-how-pr-came-to-rule-modern-journalism-full-talk-plus-qa/).
The video is almost an hour-and-a-half long, but it's worth staying with if you have the time.
Marshall cites numerous instances of PR masquerading as news in the national press. Sadly, he doesn't mention Oldham Hall Street's own unique contribution to the phenomenon. However, any one familiar with the ways of the Daily Ghost (requiem in pace) & the Oldham Echo will appreciate the parallels.

Oldham Echo Misses The Mark Again

2011-12-30T13:26:00.000Z

It may be the season of goodwill but the howlers from Oldham Hall Street continue. Slow to report last night's breaking story about the 1981 Cabinet Papers on Liverpool (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-16355281 ), today's editorial in the Oldham Echo declares (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/views/our-view/2011/12/30/toxteth-riots-so-who-didn-t-care-100252-30032078/ ):
"It can now only be revealed, 30 years after the event, that the then chancellor, Sir Geoffrey Howe, thought we should basically be left to rot."
Not true, guys. This blog & others have quoted Howe's comments on several occasions over the years; Peter Kilfoyle, former Labour MP for Liverpool Walton, referred to the "managed decline" remark in a House of Commons debate during the 90s.
Howe has been on BBC Radio today, saying he has no recollection of the comments. That form of words should not be confused with a denial.
As an aside, Michael Heseltine & most of the broadcast media have today made the lazy & sloppy association between the Toxteth riots & Militant's reign in the city. Whatever one may think of the record & legacy of Messrs Hatton & Mulhearn, the fact is that the city council was under Liberal rule at the time of the riots. The then council leader, & well-known local businessman, Trevor Jones escorted Heseltine on his visit to the city in July 1981. The Militant-led Labour group didn't take control of the council until May 1983.

Quelle Surprise!

2011-12-29T23:32:00.001Z

It's what many have long maintained in the face of widespread scorn & disbelief from "official" circles over the last 30 years. However, the release of the official cabinet papers for 1981 confirms what the Thatcher government thought of Liverpool (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/dec/30/thatcher-government-liverpool-riots-1981 ). Geoffrey Howe, then Tory Chancellor of the Exchequer, told colleagues after the '81 Toxteth riots that "managed decline" should be government policy towards the city.

Letting The Real Scum Off The Hook

2011-12-14T21:42:00.000Z

You really know that civic life has plumbed dispiriting depths when the leader of Liverpool City Council resorts to the lexicon of the playground. Joe "Tea & Sympathy" Anderson reacted to the presence of protesters outside the Echo Arena last Friday with a rejoinder which, I suspect, won't be regarded as the ultimate bon mot (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcNLz8C5RAw ).
The purpose of Cllr Anderson's visit to the venue wasn't to see Sir Macca (that's next week), but to talk to multi-millionaire Tory minister Francis Maude. Something tells me Joe didn't train his infantile invective on a key figure in the ConDem coalition. While it would have achieved nothing for Cllr Anderson to indulge in name-calling with Maude, I'd wager that an excoriating denunciation of the ConDem cuts wasn't issued by the city council leader.
Giving the clearest indication of what he views his priorities to be, Cllr Anderson has defiantly stood by his charming message to those outside the Arena (http://blogs.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/dalestreetblues/2011/12/liverpool-council-leader-joe-a-2.html ).
Declaring that he has "no regrets", Joe is in bullish mood, according to David Bartlett:
"Cllr Anderson said he was responding to shouts of 'Nazi scum' as he entered the waterfront venue, with a protest taking place outside."
Granted, the video is rather brief, so we don't know what was said before the filming began. However, having viewed the clip a few times, I can't hear that particular insult being voiced in Cllr Anderson's direction.
Cllr Anderson goes on to display his gift for cognitive dissonance:
"Today [Cllr Anderson] said: 'The irony is I agree with 95% of what they are saying, but I disagree with them shouting abuse in an obscene way.' "
Just a thought for Joe to ponder: if he agrees with almost all the points made by the protesters, why doesn't he make the relatively short intellectual jump to the logical conclusion here & endorse a programme of resistance to cuts the magnitude of which Thatcher would envy? Moreover, while alleged abusive language can't be condoned, he should ask himself which is the greater obscenity, a few choice, though ill-advised, words on a windy waterfront outside the Echo Arena, or a meek acquiescence to a programme of cuts which will consign thousands to the dole queue & cause misery to those most dependent on council services at the behest of a Tory grandee sitting smugly inside the venue.
Concluding his illusory case for disparagement, Cllr Anderson sneers:
" 'I have been fighting for social justice for longer than some of these people have been alive.' "
Classy, Joe, classy.

Desperation On Oldham Hall Street

2011-12-07T21:23:00.001Z

At the risk of sounding like a local historian, what comes to mind when you think of the city of Liverpool? If, like me, you were introduced to cultural assets like the Walker Art Gallery & the neighbouring Museum at an early age, you'll be aware of the city's history, its landmarks & its waterfront.
You'll also have a mixed view of the city's media coverage since the 70s. The Liver Birds? Carla Lane's whimsical take on two young women in Allerton. The Wackers? The first real sign of Scouse stereotypes being projected to a national audience. Boys from the Blackstuff? Bleasdale's urgent missive about the de-industrialisation of a region. Bread? Execrable exercise in local parochialism. Brookside? An early & laudable attempt to present at least one working class family (the Grants) honestly, but which soon gave way to, yep, Scouse stereotypes & soap opera sensationalism (thank-you, "Professor" Redmond).
There is now a new entrant to that curate's egg of a cast, & it is one I've consciously avoided, Desperate Scousewives (the punning title itself is wince-inducing).
Reaction to the programme has been fairly damning, with Seven Streets delivering a dry, dismissive verdict (http://www.sevenstreets.com/talk-and-opinion/desperate-stereotypes-desperate-scousewives/).
So, given the distinctly unimpressed response of many local people to this tacky, vacuous & stereotype-perpetuating programme, are there any voices willing to defend it? Oh yes there are &, guess what, they emanate from Oldham Hall Street.
However, it appears that the Oldham Echo's endorsement of something which depicts the city in a shallow, materialistic & tiresome manner may have reached its nadir with one of those many Echo pieces which eschew journalism & embrace fawning promotion (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2011/12/07/desperate-scousewives-liverpool-echo-reporter-laura-cox-is-transformed-from-southern-belle-to-liver-bird-100252-29907910/ ).
Oldham Hall Street's hapless hack Laura Cox undergoes a series of cosmetic (in more ways than one) treatments. The cost of her, ahem, journalistic endeavours? £599. A reasonable price tag in these economically-straightened times, particularly on Merseyside, wouldn't you agree?
Alas, the online commenters on the piece don't. Indeed, their responses range from the spluttering to the withering. JimmyCase1977 (great moniker, btw) declares:
"Echo, you have seriously misjudged your readers on this Desperate Scousewives debacle. 99.9% of real scousers are against this stereotyping drivel, yet you continuously big this rubbish up! A once great paper has gone seriously down the pan."
Ouch! But wait, here's another commenter, Clerkenwell, with this observation:
"The people of Liverpool know that this garbage has been created in order to reinforce previous media-created bad impressions of Liverpool and show the rest of the country an imaginary, crass and uncouth Liverpool filled with grotesques to despise and laugh at...
"Is [the Echo]..so out of touch with the city that they are meant to report upon that they actually think we like this foul series despite the hundreds of comments attacking it after every one of the Echo's articles on it?"
Clerkenwell, that may well be a rhetorical question.
JanMolby (commenters do like to flag up their affiliations, don't they?) complains that his initial comment to the effect that the Oldham Echo should have its bizarre Freedom of the City award reconsidered at least was deleted (wonder why) & concludes:
"I'd suggest doing something important -- like a proper in-depth analysis of what's going on with Peel/UNESCO (rather than the sensationalist, dumb headlines usually offered), not this scousewives drivel."
Jan (can I call you Jan?), let me put it this way, there's more chance of Andy Carroll appearing in ads for mineral water.
So then, any response from Oldham Hall Street to this online barrage? Well, yes, there is. However, the Echo's digital editor pathetically bleats that the piece "was meant to be fun."
As opposed to, say, journalism.
It still claims to speak up for Merseyside, you know,despite its receding circulation (http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=47786) but the Oldham Echo's credentials are as suspect as a Stan Boardman routine. From Capital of Culture to Capital of Cringeworthy Caricatures. Only in your Oldham Echo.

Kept In The Dark

2011-11-30T18:10:00.000Z

It certainly isn't easy for those scribes on the Daily Ghost. Last week's announcement that the paper would go the way of the Dodo must have been a bitter pill to swallow after all those reassurances that things were hunky dory & there was nothing to fret over. All those times when advertorials for Peel Holdings were tolerated with gritted teeth by most hacks because they'd been told it was all for the best must have seemed like a sour series of grotesque pranks played on them. However, the indignity didn't end there. Other media sources were tipped off about the paper's demise before the staff were informed (http://www.liverpoolconfidential.co.uk/News-and-Comment/Exclusive-Liverpool-Post-and-Echo-journalists-to-be-balloted-for-industrial-action ).

By Your Friends Shall Ye Be Known

2011-11-30T17:36:00.000Z

The Leveson Inquiry has teased out less than appetising tales from the diverse cast of characters who have already given evidence & it's difficult to dispute the view articulated by Nick Davies, the Guardian journalist whose investigation into tabloid culture was crucial (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/29/nick-davies-leveson-inquiry-newspapers ).
Those who are media-savvy won't be surprised by how low most of the national press can & will go. Alas, their regional counterparts, whilst distancing themselves from the nationals' tactics & tales, as the Oldham Echo strove to do earlier this month (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/views/our-view/2011/11/18/the-liverpool-echo-is-here-to-serve-its-readers-100252-29797226/ ), protest just a little too much on the issue. The Oldham Echo declared boldly in its editorial which accompanied its, ahem, "Corrections and Clarifications" column:
"Our readers can trust us to source our stories and content in the correct and proper manner. The ECHO doesn't hack people's telephones -- regional newspapers don't hack people's telephones."
Far be it for me to question the second sentence in that quote. As for the first, well, let's just say it warrants greater scrutiny.
Indeed, the much-vaunted veracity of the regional press is set against the illegality of the national tabloids. Compare & contrast, as they say. However, the trouble with championing your own record is that it can attract some unlikely (& unwelcome) allies. Like David Cameron. Before Leveson was called to chair his inquiry & ex-News of the World hack Paul McMullan revealed his truly venal set of values (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/29/paul-mcmullan-leveson-inquiry-phone-hacking ), "Professor" Phil Redmond's mate was effusive about the regionals' merits (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2011/sep/13/phone-hacking-local-newspapers ):
"David Cameron thinks that regional newspapers exhibit 'a sort of calm and reasonableness' that is rarely found in national papers."
When Oldham Hall Street has Cameron as an ally who praises its calm & reasonable quality, it makes you wonder what sort of surrealistic milieu you've entered.

The Last Post

2011-11-24T20:41:00.001Z

Well, it limped on doggedly, looked at with pity & sympathy by a bunch of incredulous onlookers. How much longer could it survive, they wondered. Outside the boardroom of Trinity Mirror the reaction was equally mystified. Today, however, the last rites were administered to the Daily Ghost; it will soon be no more (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2011/nov/24/trinity-mirror-downturn ).
The Ghost will become a weekly one-hundred page publication in the new year, retailing at a humble quid. To change from daily to weekly publication would be seen by many as a retrograde step. Not on Oldham Hall Street, though, where bullishness is presented as confidence; Roy Greenslade is moved to comment:
"Editor Mark Thomas did his best to put a good face on the decision."
The "good face" is, to be frank, a brazen denial of reality which would have shamed Comical Ali during the last days of Saddam Hussein's rule in Iraq (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2011/11/24/liverpool-daily-post-to-switch-from-daily-to-weekly-frequency-in-the-new-year-92534-29835251/ ):
"Post Editor Mark Thomas said today: 'It is never easy to lose jobs but the changes to format and to staffing sets the Post up for an exciting new future.
" 'We are lucky to possess one of the great brands in journalism and we've been serving our city for 156 years. This change sets us up to serve it for the next 156 -- in print and online and through whatever channels readers seek to receive it.' "
Hear that, all you naysayers & cynics? It's "an exciting new future" that awaits the staff at the Ghost. I'm sure their initial reaction when they heard the news was "yippee, that sounds like an exciting new future for us!"
The sour reality is that the Daily Ghost has been on Trinity Mirror's life support system for the last few years. Today the tubes were withdrawn from the patient. Contrary to the view held by Messrs Machray & Thomas, I take no pleasure in seeing the paper's demise (jobs will be lost); this is no time for schadenfreude. Nor, however, is it a time for management bollockese when the paper's staff know full well what this "switch" really means. To entertain the conceit that those who still regularly purchase the daily paper will maintain their habit on a weekly basis is delusional. Weekly papers rarely succeed, particularly in the UK. Moreover, dated content on the newsstands every Thursday will not be an enticing prospect.
Larry Nield remarks on Liverpool Confidential's coverage of the decision (http://www.liverpoolconfidential.co.uk/News-and-Comment/Liverpool-Daily-Post-to-go-weekly ):
"Let's hope its switch to a weekly is not a case of placing the Post into a media hospice to await its final demise."
Yet that is precisely what it is. Isn't it, Larry?
And yet, and yet, and yet...
It could all have been just that little bit different, as Wayne pointed out earlier (http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2011/11/stop-press-liverpool-daily-post-is-now.html ):
"Alastair Machray has let a lot of people go, some skilled and with the experience of decades of writing, with a knowledge of the locality that would be hard to replace."
Retaining such staff wouldn't have saved the paper from its eventual demise, but Big Al's decisions, at the behest of Trinity Mirror, certainly hastened it.
There are those who tonight assert that the Ghost has been less sensationalist than its grotesquely downmarket sister, the Oldham Echo. Not always, as the front page at the top of the screen demonstrates. The city urgently needs balanced, informative reporting without fear or favour, & where certain business interests are not treated with a lack of rigour which borders on the servile.
The death of the Daily Ghost does nothing to change that.

Cast Aside

2011-11-21T21:12:00.000Z

Recommended reading: Adita Chakrabortty's Guardian piece last week on the de-industrialisation of the north-east (http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/nov/16/why-britain-doesnt-make-things-manufacturing).
Although the piece focused on that particular region, there were stark parallels with Merseyside. Like the north east, Merseyside has a large number of people working in the public sector & the cuts will markedly increase the unemployment figures for the region. With the number of NEETS (young people not in education, employment or traning) rising perhaps exponentially, the gravity of the situation will deepen even further. We can all see the social consequences of having what is already acknowledged to be the lost generation (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/nov/18/aspiration-nation-youth-unemployment) on street corners. Indeed, Tony Schumacher recently essayed a dispiriting encounter with an unemployed (&, sadly, unemployable) NEET (anthonyschumacher.blogspot.com/2011/11/devil-and-me.html).

Oldham Hall Street Admits It Might Be Wrong

2011-11-21T19:14:00.000Z

As the Leveson inquiry begins to lift the lid on press practices that range from the dubious to the downright illegal (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/phone-hacking)
it's nice to see that Oldham Hall Street has moved with the media Zeitgeist for mea culpa & admitted that the veracity of its contents are, shall we say, open to question www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/corrections-and-clarifications/2011/11/14/liverpool-echo-corrections-clarifications-100252-29772853/.
So if you feel that the Daily Ghost or Oldham Echo falls short in this regard, you can phone 0151-285 8476 or email Echo editor Alastair Machray (alastair.machray@liverpool.com). Go on, you know you want to. (Some cynical souls may sneer that this is no more than lazy PR. The very thought!) I suspect the minion saddled with this thankless task is in for a busy time.

It's Good To Be Back

2011-11-17T20:33:00.000Z

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. Indeed, I suspect that my time away from this blog (been helping Joe "Tea & Sympathy" Anderson to mobilise mass opposition to the cuts) has had that effect in the oasis of calm deliberation known as the Oldham Echo's editorial office (such a shame about Ian Hernon getting the boot, btw). Well, Al, Mark, all the gang on that Titanic of local "journalism" (not forgetting you, too, Paddy!), you'll be delighted to hear that I've returned. Refreshed, reinvigorated & raring to sing the praises of Oldham Hall Street, swear an oath of support for our courageous civic leaders & congratulate Peel Holdings for their continued good work on our World Heritage Site.
There's so much to cover & that's what I intend to do.

Psst, Dave, Behind You!

2011-08-12T17:48:00.000Z

Looks like the Tory cuts in the police service have finally arrived at Cameron's front door:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnj4LZyjyis .

Yes, Dave, Let's Blame The Parents

2011-08-10T16:16:00.000Z

Recommended reading: an inspired blogpost by comedy writer Nathaniel Tapley (http://nathanieltapley.com/2011/08/10/an-open-letter-to-david-camerons-parents/ ).

Dealing With The Distortion

2011-08-10T14:13:00.000Z

Happy to persist with the risk that its inflammatory "coverage" will make its use of the term "Liverpool Riots" a self-fulfilling prophesy, Oldham Hall Street may well have serious questions to answer in the final reckoning.
A reckless disregard for responsible reporting I fully expect from the Daily Ghost & Oldham Echo. Sadly, Seven Streets otherwise informative & vivid take on events also makes use of the inaccurate "Liverpool Riots" tag (http://www.sevenstreets.com/blog/liverpool-riots-smithdown-night-2/ ).
It's at times like this that a voice offering perspective & proportion is required. Kevin Sampson provides it in a piece he's penned for the Guardian's Comment is Free website (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/aug/10/liverpool-riots-mob-mayhem ). [Oh, yes, it should be noted, en passant, that the "Liverpool Riots" appellation is the work of a lazy sub editor rather than Sampson himself.]
Sampson opens his piece by reflecting on his memories of 1981 & concludes with salient points & telling anecdotes (which merit full quotation) from Monday night that Messrs Machray & Thomas would do well to digest:
"In spite of isolated incidents and the now symbolic sight of purple wheelie bins ablaze, there was nothing one could describe as insurrection. The police were visible when necessary, but seemingly content to work in tandem with the youth leaders, too. If it hadn't have been for the phalanx of reporters, no one would have known anything out of the ordinary had happened.
"Speaking to reporters, one of the Toxteth youth workers, Jimmy Jagney, said that while he and his colleagues had been able to quell and disperse kids they knew well from around and about Liverpool 8, they had also identified two large gangs of youths, none of whom they recognised. His assumption was the youths had assembled in the hope of opportunistic looting, and his team quickly advised them to take off, and take their ambitions for notoriety elsewhere. Just as myself and my mates did in 1981, they felt a bit foolish when confronted and slunk away home.
"We live in a time of instant news. Whether it is camera crews sitting in medieval European squares as they wait for football hooligans to get drunk and provide rowdy footage, or plucky frontline reporters with pinhole cameras in their lapel as they maraud with the youth, our media suppliers are fanning the flames. They're making a case, and making a story that doesn't -- or needn't -- exist. If our politicians really want to know what's going on, they should give Jimmy Jagney a call. In the meantime, nothing to see here -- move along."
On Sampson's final point, I suspect Joe "Tea & Sympathy" Anderson won't make that call, preferring, instead, to feed Oldham Hall Street with asinine soundbites.

Oldham Hall Street Fans The Flames

2011-08-09T17:25:00.001Z

Tensions remain high, the riot vans patrol Toxteth & Oldham Hall Street excels itself with the sort of inaccurate, irresponsible coverage which can only serve to encourage any imbeciles who wish to cause more trouble this evening. The Daily Ghost is running a live blog, at least that's what they call it (http://liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2011/08/09/liverpool-riots-follow-our-live-blog-for-the-latest-news-and-reaction-100252-29203736/ ).
Neil MacDonald opens with the inflammatory & inaccurate words:
"Liverpool descended into anarchy last night as gangs of youths set cars on fire, looted shops and attacked Merseyside Police officers."
For your information, Neil, disturbances took place in one particular part of the city last night. The rest of the city wasn't affected; Liverpool DID NOT descend into anarchy.
Get your facts straight, cut the offensive hyperbole & issue an apology for the sort of "journalism" which could exacerbate the situation in Toxteth tonight. Your "coverage" is beneath contempt.

*I'm indebted to my friend Professor Chucklebutty for pointing this story out to me.

Dispatch From The Front Line

2011-08-09T15:07:00.000Z

Recommended reading: Jake Mills gives an excellent first-hand account of last night's disturbances in Toxteth (http://mills88.posterous.com/the-liverpool-riots-my-account ).
Meanwhile, the signs, sadly, look ominous for this evening. Grosvenor-pool is closing early (though many wouldn't necessarily regard that as a cause for regret) & the Twittersphere is buzzing with claims that the mood around Upper Parliament Street is decidedly ugly.

Toxteth: Thirty Years Down The Line

2011-08-09T09:22:00.000Z

Far more heat than light is still being generated by the events around Smithdown Road & Upper Parliament Street (http://yfrog.com/gykhxhgj ) overnight (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-14455814 ). The siren voices of the local lock 'em up brigade have wasted no time in phoning Radio Merseyside &/or leaving erudite comments online.
In the midst of the mayhem that raged around the south end of the city, such as the scene on Smithdown Road (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ps7_Q5IiK8&feature=related ), Seven Streets at least maintained a responsible, yet suitably urgent, stance on events (http://www.sevenstreets.com/blog/riots-return-to-liverpool/ ).
To be sure, there was a large element of copycat criminal activity emanating from the city's feral "scallies", taking their cue from a burning London. That said, factors particular to the situation in Toxteth were also at play, & to downplay, dismiss or dispute that takes us no further in attempting to establish what set in motion the train of events.

Tuning Into Cuts TV?

2011-08-08T20:43:00.000Z

As the ConDem cuts proceed grimly & remorselessly across the land, it's heartening to see that the city's leadership is using new technology to rally opposition to the cuts & organise a fightback. Aren't they? Er, scrap that, it seems we were misinformed (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2011/08/06/council-to-explain-budget-cuts-via-joe-tv-100252-29187291/ ).
David Bartlett's piece gives notice of a new TV channel starring Joe "Tea & Sympathy" Anderson as he unveils the city's cuts (just as well it's not on cable, otherwise I'd demand a refund from Virgin Media). Bartlett relates:
" 'Dubbed Joe TV' , the webcast will feature Cllr Anderson giving a presentation to councillors on the city's finances.
"The meeting is on Tuesday [tomorrrow] and the webcast is likely to be made available the following day."
So this pathetic PR stunt, an insult to the people of the city he's supposed to represent, isn't even to be webcast live, but will be online after a 24-hour delay. Now that's what I call instant accountability in the internet age. Joe, alas, thinks it's the bee's knees:
"Cllr Anderson said: 'This is a major step for the council being more open and transparent.
" 'We are giving the people who pay for council services real insight into our budget discussions.' "
Joe, you are "giving the people who pay for council services" the insult of watching you & your Labour colleagues implement Tory cuts; far from bestowing "insight" into your deliberations, you are placing an opaque filter on the lens of local civic life.
In such a surreal stew of Pythonesque proportions, a reminder of what the city already faces, before the cuts really kick in, was admitted by the Oldham Echo the other day (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2011/08/05/liverpool-is-england-s-most-deprived-city-says-new-report-100252-29182869/ ).
Cllr Jane Corbett, Labour representative for Everton ward, is quoted:
" 'The income gap in this country unravelled under the government of Margaret Thatcher.
" 'The present government has shut their eyes to the problems they are creating through their cuts.' "
I'm all for highlighting Thatcher's baleful impact on Merseyside, but thirteen years of New Labour did nothing to change conditions in the Evertons of this world. Additionally, Cllrs Corbett, Anderson et al have elected to shut their eyes, too, rather than show some desperately-required gumption & start justifying their positions.

Honey, Disconnect The Phone

2011-08-08T19:42:00.000Z

Alastair Machray, editor of the Oldham Echo, isn't a very happy soul at the moment. Exasperated at the new round of job losses he's been instructed to make, there's another dark cloud on the horizon. And it's a bloody big one, too.
Whenever, Liverpool is graced by a visit from Sir Thumbs-Up, aka Macca (you know, the guy who played bass guitar in the Beatles), both the Echo & Daily Ghost treat it as a local version of the Second Coming. Pages are cleared for lavish, self-congratulatory missives about how four lads from our city made history, how wonderful it all was, etc., etc. The meat in Oldham Hall Street's sandwich at such heady moments is an "interview" with the man himself. It's fearless, investigative journalism at its best ("How do you feel being back home?" "Are you looking forward to the concert?", that sort of thing).
Alas, such treats may be a thing of the past, as Trinity Mirror comes under even greater scrutiny over its own involvement in phone-hacking. It seems that McCartney's voicemails were hacked by the Daily Mirror some years back (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/aug/06/piers-morgan-phone-hacking-scandal?INTCMP=SRCH ).
Given that the Mirror is clearly part of the same publishing stable, & given that McCartney's response has been suitably indignant, there is a deep concern on Oldham Hall Street that, rightly or wrongly, they'll no longer have "access", that risible term in journalism's lexicon, to the ex-Beatle; McCartney's people, always PR & media-savvy, may well view the Daily Ghost & Oldham Echo as part of a hostile media conglomerate.
Filling those pages with Pete Best's reminiscences just wouldn't be the same, would it?

An American Low Down On Murdoch's Crumbling Edifice

2011-07-31T19:00:00.000Z

Rupert Murdoch's "humble" moment at the DCMS select committee hearing earlier this month ( expansively spreading his hands along the table like a nervous novice trying to learn stride piano in a New Orleans bar) only served to shine an unflattering & unforgiving light upon his rotten empire. The New Yorker magazine takes a look at the phone-hacking scandal, setting out the context & background for a US readership (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/08/01/110801fa_fact_lane ).
Anthony Lane's piece goes through instances where Murdoch's papers lied, deceived & manufactured stories to boost circulation figures. Lane doesn't mention Hillsborough when describing Kelvin MacKenzie, but nonetheless pens a damning portrait: "When it comes to ethical discrimination, MacKenzie makes [Piers] Morgan look like Ronald Dworkin. Students of of the period should consult 'Stick It Up Your Punter!,' by Peter Chippindale and Chris Horrie, much of which is consumed by MacKenzie's reign. Here you will find, for instance, details of the interview with Marcia McKay, the widow of a British sargeant who died in the Falklands and was honored with a posthumous Victoria Cross, the highest British award for gallantry -- an interview compromised by the fact that she never actually spoke to the Sun. Or, there was the mission to out Peter Tatchell, the Labour candidate for the London constituency of Bermondsey, who was finally snared by the headline 'RED PETE "WENT TO GAY OLYMPICS" '. MacKenzie was informed that Tatchell had not, in fact, attended the Gay Olympics in San Francisco, but, undaunted, the editor simply inserted the claim between single quotation marks and ran it anyway. It suited MacKenzie's bellowing homophobia, which, in turn, was consonant with his racial fears. 'Botha has said the days of white power are over in South Africa. What he doesn't say is what's going to happen when the darkies come down from the trees, ' he said. That was reported in the New Statesman, in 1985, by Peter Court, who had briefly worked as a graphic designer for the Sun."
MacKenzie has been conspicuous by his silence since his brilliantly-timed Guardian article which sang the praises of Murdoch just days before the Milly Dowler revelations (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jun/30/rupert-murdoch-monopoly-news-corp ).
Must be getting uncomfortable for him in that sewer as he continues to hunker down & hope that he can soon surface.

Hailing The Arrival Of An ASBO Neighbour For The Three Graces

2011-07-27T20:21:00.004Z

Reduced to a Dad's Army state of panic about whether to don their helmets, the hacks on Oldham Hall Street can, perhaps, console themselves with the knowledge that Trinity "Smoking" Mirror's look into the hacking claims are a "review" rather than an "investigation". That's despite the rumours & suspicions that are circling overhead (http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2011/07/did-someone-hack-into-liverpool-city.html ).
Relax, lads, nothing to worry about, I'm sure. Now, anybody available to write a few hundred words about how great the new Museum of Liverpool is? There is? Fantastic!
Let the honour fall to Susan Lee with this third-rate "it looks great, my boss said so, so there!" scrawl (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/views/liverpool-columnists/susan-lee/2011/07/22/susan-lee-the-new-museum-of-liverpool-is-a-testament-to-civic-pride-100252-29098406/ ).
By way of a badly-needed alternative appraisal (David Fleming originally wanted to feature Hillsborough & the James Bulger case in the carbuncle), Wayne quoted an Observer review of the monstrosity the other day (http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2011/07/museum-of-liverpool-we-warned-you.html & http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/jul/24/museum-of-liverpool-review ).
Perhaps it doesn't really bother the "local" press what the city's waterfront looks like; the mood music now emanating from the Daily Ghost & Oldham Echo suggests an increasing indifference, bordering at times on hostility, to UNESCO over the port's World Heritage Site status. The Janus-faced antics of the papers that claim to speak up for Merseyside tell you everything you need to know about their respect & appreciation of the port's history (ask them about the Manchester Dock & they'll assume you're referring to the Ship Canal).

Thatcher's Involvement In Hillsborough Cover-Up To Be Made Public

2011-07-26T19:30:00.000Z

It's been a long, long battle for the Hillsborough families, but another chink of light has this evening opened up for them. The Information Commissioner has ruled that Documents concerning Thatcher's discussions in the aftermath of the disaster should be made public (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-14296590 ).
The BBC report states:
"The Information Commissioner has now ruled that releasing the files would be in the public interest."
The BBC put in a Freedom of Information (FOI) request around the time of the disaster's 20th anniversary & the institutional tardiness of the response has been duly deprecated. "The Commissioner has also strongly criticised the Cabinet Office for its 'unjustified and excessive' delays in handling the BBC's request."
Making the documents public could still have an incendiary political effect, as the report explains:
"Mrs Thatcher was briefed about the disaster in the days that followed it, and it was discussed at a number of meetings. The records to be disclosed include reports presented to her, correspondence between her office and that of the Home Secretary Douglas Hurd, and minutes of meetings she attended.
"Some campaigners for the families of the victims have suggested that Mrs Thatcher sought to avoid the police being criticised."
It's tacitly accepted in Tory circles that Thatcher felt a debt towards forces such as the one in South Yorkshire for their role in the miners' strike. Added to this was her barely-concealed antipathy to regions such as Merseyside for having the temerity to elect largely Labour MPs throughout the 80s.
The Commissioner made his judgement, according to the BBC report, on the basis that the 30-year rule for publication of cabinet papers is being phased out.
Let's hope that over the next few weeks this major element of the families' fight for justice is delivered with no delays.

Helmets On, Lads

2011-07-26T11:11:00.002Z

Keep calm & carry on, so they say. Advice those on Oldham Hall Street will doubtless receive from such equable & rational souls as Bill Gleeson & Mark Thomas. After all, it's not as though they're implicated in the claims that phone-hacking also went on within the Mirror stable. Oh, hang on, time to don those tin helmets, lads (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/26/daily-mirror-publisher-to-review-editorial-controls ):
"The six-week review is being led by Trinity Mirror's group legal director Paul Vickers and will include all of the group's national and regional newspapers, including the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, the People and the Daily Record."
Yes, that's right, it won't just be the national titles under Trinity's much-vaunted spotlight, it will also include its local rags. I'm sure Oldham Hall Street is completely innocent of any nefarious activities. However, stress levels at the Daily Ghost & Oldham Echo may currently be described as stratospheric.
John Plunkett's piece for the Guardian also contains this illuminating passage:
"Former Daily Mirror reporter James Hipwell reiterated his earlier claim that hacking was widespread at other newspapers, including the Mirror. A separate report on BBC2's Newsnight alleged the use of phone hacking and private detectives was widespread at the Sunday Mirror.
"Trinity Mirror described both sets of allegations as 'unsubstantiated', saying its journalists 'work within the criminal law and the Press Complaints Commission code of conduct'."
Sorry to be so pedantic here, but throwing out words such as "unsubstantiated" in response to these allegations doesn't amount to a denial, does it? It reminds me of Gordon Brown's former spin doctor Charlie Whelan who would respond to potentially embarrassing or damaging claims by saying, "bollocks". Whelan would later admit that the use of such a charming term didn't amount to a denial, but could be presented as such.
In addition, it's notable that Trinity Mirror's statement is in the present tense, not past; their hacks may "work within the criminal law" now, but what about the past? Oh, & as for invoking the Press Complaints Commission, the last few weeks have demonstrated beyond all reasonable doubt that the PCC was always a toothless watchdog with even the likes of Cameron admitting that it should be put out of its misery.
I do hope they've got enough helmets to go around at Oldham Hall Street.

1.45pm UPDATE: Roy Greenslade notes that Trinity Mirror's wish to get to the bottom of things may not be all it seems (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2011/jul/26/trinity-mirror-phone-hacking ), as he asks:
"But what will [Paul] Vickers achieve? The company has stressed that it is a review, not an investigation."
Helmets off, guys.

Frank Field's Apologia For Murdoch

2011-07-25T21:34:00.000Z

Never let it be said that the Oldham Echo doesn't allow its columnists to amuse readers with their comedic talents. Take Frank Field (there's a punchline waiting to strike there, but I'll resist the temptation), Labour MP for Birkenhead. Frank's made his name over the years by popping up on TV to "think the unthinkable", which has amounted to proposals on welfare that would go down very well with the Tea Party in the US.
This time, Frank's worried about the well-warranted merde deposited on the Murdoch empire; he thinks it could be bad for democracy. No, really, he does (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/views/liverpool-columnists/frank-field/2011/07/16/frnk-field-closing-down-rupert-murdoch-s-empire-could-be-bad-for-democracy-100252-29062359/ ):
"To prevent the crisis swirling around Murdoch's print empire in Britain contaminating his main financial base in America, I believe News Corp is ruthless enough to close all its titles in Britain.
"Some of you will say good riddance. I don't for one simple reason.
"A closure would lead to a far greater concentration of power in the Mail, the Mirror and the Telegraph empires.
"The inquiry established this week will uncover which other papers have, through phone-hacking and by using known criminals, gained personal information. If newspaper barons outside News International are found guilty what future will there be for some of the other major titles?
"And, importantly, how will a mass culling of newspapers affect the functioning of our democracy?
"So cheer if you will against Murdoch, but please have just one thought for how this terrible matter might further damage British democracy."
Frank, if you're reading this (& why not, it does wonders for the blood pressure of Messrs Machray & Thomas), you should remind yourself as a local MP just why News International is treated with such contempt & loathing on Merseyside. Need a clue? It happened 22 years' ago. Moreover, if other publishers have transgressed in similar ways to News International, they deserve everything they get. Additionally, what makes you think that the nepotistic, venal, Murdoch-dominated political system the UK has had for the last 30 years or so could qualify for that noble term, democracy? If you really think that clearing out the Augean stables of the British press "might further damage British democracy", I suggest you take a reality check; get out of the Westminster bubble for just a short while (a visit to your own constituency, even) & acquaint yourself with reality.
Failing that, you could write a column in the Sun.

Look In The Mirror

2011-07-25T20:59:00.000Z

Given the light that's been shone upon the Murdoch empire's illegality & collusion in police corruption, you'd think that their rivals would follow the Guardian's lead & roundly excoriate such sewer-like shenanigans. You'd certainly think that about the Daily Ghost & Oldham Echo titles, owned, as they are, by Trinity Mirror, publishers of the once respectable Daily Mirror.
Well, erm, no, not really. Aside from a characteristically Meldrewesque piece by Joe Riley last Thursday (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/views/liverpool-columnists/joe-riley/2011/07/21/joe-riley-metropolitan-police-commissioner-sir-paul-stephenson-should-arrest-himself-for-lack-of-judgement-over-the-news-international-scandal-100252-29092215/ ), the gloating has been relatively muted.
Why's that, you may ask. Well, it could just have something to do with the fact that phone-hacking wasn't a practice confined to Wapping. It was apparently also employed by the Mirror stable (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/23/phone-hacking-piers-morgan-mirror?INTCMP=SRCH & http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/default.stm ).
It certainly makes for an onerous in-tray that faces Trinity Mirror chief executive Sly Bailey who, indignity of all indignities, today found herself downgraded by the Guardian in its Media 100 list for 2011 (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/interactive/2011/jul/25/mediaguardian-100-2011-interactive ).

Praiseworthy Journalism

2011-07-12T21:30:00.000Z

After a week in which the most base & venal form of journalism has been globally excoriated, it's time to give credit to the Guardian's Nick Davies whose articles on News International over the last couple of years have led to the bemusing spectacle of the Tories voting against Murdoch's BSkyB's takeover bid in tomorrow's House of Commons debate. Davies also broke last week's story concerning Milly Dowler's phone (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/video/2011/jul/12/phone-hacking-nick-davies-select-committee ).

A View From Across The Pond

2011-07-12T19:11:00.000Z

A boneheaded decision by executives at Channel 4 last year saw the dropping of daily transmissions of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. It's a pity because it means all but the web & blog-savvy won't have seen this clip from Monday's programme which takes a look at the phone-hacking scandal: http://gawker.com/5820243/jon-stewart-tackles-the-news-of-the-world-scandal .

Flushing Out The Rodents

2011-07-10T15:14:00.000Z

What sort of words come to mind when you think about News International hacks? Feral? Yep. Shifty? Spot-on. Spineless? I'd say so. All of which makes it seem like I'm surveying a surrealist vista when I hear terms such as "principled", "decent" & "courageous" wheeled out by apologists for Murdoch's minions, particularly those who have scribbled their propaganda in the late, unlamented News of the World.
As that rag's editor Colin Myler led his rodents out of their Wapping hole to face the cameras last night, I have to say my sense of satisfied schadenfreude outweighed any sympathy I normally feel for workers made redundant. They knew the nature of the beast they were feeding. They shouldn't complain when the beast turns on them.
It's a sentiment shared, rather more elegantly, by the BBC's Paul Mason (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14093772 ):
"Those bemoaning the 'unnecessary' closure of the NOTW ignore the market logic. Even if the guilty parties had long ago moved on, the NOTW was essentially the same product."
Mason notes the necessity of the rag's demise "as a brand to prevent gangrene to the whole of Newscorp".
The notion of just one limb of Murdoch's corporate body being gangrenous is rather charitable, I'd say.
As the clock ticked remorselessly towards the NOTW's nemesis, its political editor Dave Wooding scrawled a self-serving, whingeing & cliche-ridden piece for the Guardian's Comment is Free page (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/09/news-of-world-last-edition ) whose hysterical premise was that "the bad guys" could sleep easily from now on.
Both Wooding & Myler have links to Merseyside. They should know better than other Murdoch hacks how his empire is viewed in these parts.
Wooding wailed:
"The loss of the News of the World from our lives is a bombshell like the break-up of the Beatles, the collapse of Woolworths and the end of Concorde."
If Wooding finds it hard to find alternative employment (Murdoch's Sun on Sunday replacement won't take many NOTW staff on), he could turn his hand to comedy writing.
[Speaking of comedy, it was one of those golden TV moments on Friday's Newsnight when Steve Coogan, along with Greg Dyke, exposed & ridiculed former NOTW features editor Paul McMullen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkeSJLgzG8k ). The feral-featured McMullen was reduced to making cheap jibes about Coogan's wealth & private life.]
Of course, it is nauseating to witness senior politicians across the board now join the chorus of condemnation when they were all too happy to kiss Murdoch's ring just a week earlier; Cameron, Clegg & Miliband all attended News International's summer party recently. It's touched upon elsewhere in Paul Mason's article:
"The strength of the Murdoch newspaper and TV empire was that it occupied the commanding heights of a kind of journalism that dispenses power, intimidates and influences politicians and shapes political outcomes."
That "kind of journalism" is now under the cosh as never before ( it is, indeed, Middle England's Hillsborough moment). That cosh should be wielded repeatedly & mercilessly until we know the beast is dead. The rest of the country can now look to Merseyside's boycott of Murdoch's rags as just one tactic to employ. It's a tactic highlighted just yesterday in a brilliantly observed composition by Billy Bragg (http://vimeo.com/26203800 ).

At The Click Of A Mouse

2011-07-08T19:58:00.000Z

Recommended reading: Laurence Durnan, editor of Political Scrapbook (http://politicalscrapbook.net/ ), draws attention to the role played by online activists in responding to the News of the World scandal (http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/laurence-durnan/how-social-media-helped-b_b_893108.html?ir=UK ).

Murdoch's Attempt At Re-Branding

2011-07-07T16:45:00.000Z

Murdoch's decision to close the News of the World (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/07/news-of-the-world-to-close ) is certainly big news. However, it should be seen for what it is: a desperate attempt to distract attention from News International's hacking operation. Moreover, don't swallow the warm words from editor Colin Myler that all revenues from the final edition will go to "good causes". As PR stunts go, it falls flatter than a pancake.
In addition, it's impossible to think that Murdoch will no longer have a Sunday title. Expect a replacement for the NOTW to be unveiled after a couple of months (Sunday Sun?) & be presented as some sort of fresh start with lessons duly learned.
Long before Murdoch's decision to ditch his squalid Sunday rag Ed Miliband told BBC News of his views on the paper.
"It [NOTW] needs to restore its reputation," he yapped cluelessly.
We all know what that "reputation" has been.
As I write, BBC News are reporting that Murdoch will, indeed, unveil a "Sunday Sun". Predictable.

Hitting Murdoch Where It Hurts

2011-07-06T18:33:00.000Z

I never make assumptions about any person who reads this blog, but I presume they're not regular readers of Murdoch's rags. In that context I rather suspect that calls for a consumer boycott of both the Sun & the News of the World are pretty academic on Merseyside. Far more damaging & crippling, hopefully, for News International would be a withdrawal of advertising revenue from many companies which are household names. Credit, therefore, to Sunny Hundal over at the Liberal Conspiracy blog for naming names & providing links as well as email addresses (http://liberalconspiracy.org/2011/07/06/the-campaign-for-an-advertiser-boycott-of-notw-how-you-can-help/).
On a related note, BBC Sport reporter Dan Roan (http://twitter.com/#!/danroan ) tweeted thus yesterday:
"The man speaking on behalf of News International, Simon Greenberg, used to do the same role for Abramovich's Chelsea FC and England's World Cup bid."
Greenberg, whose TV appearances have managed to make Ed Miliband's recent robotic I-speak-your-weight "interview" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZtVm8wtyFI ) look polished & relaxed, clearly has a penchant for arrogant & deluded employers.

Middle England's Hillsborough Moment

2011-07-05T21:06:00.000Z

I can't say I was totally astonished by the revelations concerning News International over the last 24 hours (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jul/04/milly-dowler-voicemail-hacked-news-of-world ). As Murdoch's rags have demonstrated on countless occasions over the years, no depth of subterranean intrigue has ever been considered too low for the sick, twisted bastards who do their master's work.
Roy Greenslade suggested various ways in which the general public could register its disgust at NI's antics, one of which was a boycott of the News of the World (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2011/jul/05/newsoftheworld-milly-dowler ). Good idea, Roy. Only thing is we've been boycotting Murdoch's poisonous rags for 22 years.

Selective Amnesia Greets Toxteth Anniversary

2011-07-04T19:22:00.002Z

I haven't always agreed with Ed Vulliamy's impressions of Liverpool over the years, but his piece for yesterday's Observer on the 30th anniversary of the Toxteth riots (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jul/03/toxteth-liverpool-riot-30-years ) is to be commended.
Not to be commended, however, is a typically shaky editorial on the subject in today's Oldham Echo (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/views/our-view/2011/07/04/we-must-never-forget-the-lessons-of-the-toxteth-riots-100252-28987476/ ).
The Echo asserts that the riots "created headlines around the world, and was just the start of a decade in which so many stories about Liverpool would tell of political confrontation, anger and economic despair."
Claiming a link, however tenuous, between the riots & events such as the city's local government battle with the Tories a couple of years later smacks of lazy journalism.
The Echo also goes on to deliver a breathtakingly bogus assumption:
"We were all taken by surprise thirty years ago, by what seemed to be a sudden madness that gripped Toxteth and other inner city communities around the country."
Not all of us were taken by surprise. Many older people in the city, not just in Liverpool 8 itself, expressed their astonishment that the riots hadn't occurred some years earlier, given the depth of deprivation & discrimination that was rife.
As for the Echo's coverage & reaction to the riots back in 1981, I seem to recall the paper handing its front page over to Alan Bleasedale for an anguished "calm down, lads" piece. Well-intentioned, but hopelessly naive & out of touch.
Yes, we shouldn't forget the lessons of the riots, but Oldham Hall Street ignored them at the time & downplays them today.

"In the Echo they get it wrong", Piggie in the Middle Eight by Cook Da Books (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTY1aFB71KY ).

Read All About It

2011-07-02T11:06:00.000Z

With some media commentators & journalists tweeting today that there's a state of near mutiny at the Daily Mail over its claim yesterday that striking teachers were to blame for a 13 year-old girl's tragic death, it's worth airing this little gem which has been around for a few months, but which has enjoyed countless hits in the last 24 hours:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eBT6OSr1TI .

Rodent On The Move: A Case For Rentokill

2011-07-01T19:52:00.000Z

It's been a long time (too long, perhaps) since this blog monitored the movements & utterances --I wouldn't use the word "thoughts", that's going too far-- of Kelvin MacKenzie. However, it appears that the individual who is to journalism what a prostitute is to celibacy is leaving Murdoch's empire to join the Daily Mail (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jun/30/kelvin-mackenzie-join-daily-mail ).
Many may well view the move as an upward one...from the sewer to the gutter; how apt for the lying rat who libelled Liverpool fans at Hillsborough*.
However, it would be wrong to assume that MacKenzie & his boss Rupert Murdoch have fallen out with each other. In fact, MacKenzie has penned a piece for the Guardian's Comment is Free page, singing the praises of the Australian businessman who eagerly adopted US citizenship in order to build his empire there (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jun/30/rupert-murdoch-monopoly-news-corp ):
"Thank God for the Rupert Murdochs of this world. I wish there were hundreds more in our country. Unemployment would be wiped out at a stroke."
I could quote more of MacKenzie's piece, but I don't want to make you feel too nauseous.
MacKenzie's new colleagues at the Mail will make him feel at home, I'm sure, particularly on the strength of a tasteful, balanced & scrupulously impartial article today (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2010193/Teachers-strike-Sophie-Howard-13-killed-falling-branch-school-closed.html ).
Credit to the New Statesman for picking up on the Mail's article (http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2011/07/daily-mail-teenager-death ).
It isn't often that a rat finds common cause with a pack of jackals, but something tells me they'll all get along famously.

*If MacKenzie wishes to consult the lawyers over my description of him, I have this to say: See you in court. I'd relish the opportunity to highlight your lies.

Another Song For Our Times

2011-06-29T18:21:00.000Z

On the eve of the public sector strikes it falls to Captain Ska (he of Liar, Liar fame) to articulate the views of millions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3yA7wiFqZ4 .
The Captain is turning into a more effective opposition leader than Ed Miliband (though many would say that isn't so difficult).

A Point About That Pose

2011-06-28T20:17:00.000Z

Recommended reading: David Hepworth's blog post last week on the passing of Clarence Clemons (http://whatsheonaboutnow.blogspot.com/2011/06/clarence-clemons-and-greatest-pose-in.html ).
What's all too easily forgotten is that in 1975 a photograph of a skinny, white American rocker leaning affectionately against an African-American saxophonist was a big deal in both positive & negative ways.

Looking To The Windy City

2011-06-28T19:55:00.002Z

Belated thanks to Wayne for emailing a link to a blogpost by Cllr Malcolm Kennedy which attempts to liken the city to Chicago (http://malcolmkennedy.blogspot.com/2011/06/chicago-our-kind-of-town.html ).
Well, why not? We've had Oldham Hall Street drawing parallels between Liverpool & New York on numerous occasions (something I could judge for myself when visiting Manhattan last December (http://condensedthoughts.blogspot.com/2010/12/unwanted-legacy.html ), &, yes, Times Square did remind me of Church Street on a Saturday afternoon). Moreover, Grand Central Station compares favourably to our own wonderfully-revamped Lime Street.
Far more grittily & unfavourably, of course, mention has been made of cities like Detroit & Baltimore in connection with Liverpool, particularly when you venture just a short distance outside the bubble of the city centre.
Cllr Kennedy mentions the Liverpool Waterfront Architecture Festival, which ended the day before yesterday. He goes on to declare:
"The opening of the Festival took place on Mann Island in what is a quite marvellous space between the two controversial black granite facia-ed (yes, granite!) buildings developed by Neptune. Everybody will have their own opinion on the buildings and the impact they have on the views of the Three Graces but one body has already made its view plain by taking space in one of the buildings."
The body? The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). As Tom Lehrer observed when Henry Kissenger won the Nobel Peace Prize in the early 70s, satire has expired. No flowers by request.
Kennedy talks of palling around with the Regional Director of RIBA, Belinda Irlam-Mobray, adding the observational gem, "She wants to see architects and architectural enthusiasts engaging more with the public."
Don't we all. Perhaps then we would have been spared the grotesque additions to what UNESCO are still calling a World Heritage Site. Perhaps, too, NML would spare us their pathetic PR stunts (http://blog.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/BeABreakfastBlogger.aspx ); bloggers welcome, are we? OK, Wayne & I will sign up for that slap-up brekkie at one of the Trashy Tarts on the waterfront (toast lightly grilled for me, thanks).
Intriguingly, Cllr Kennedy also a trip he undertook to the aforementioned Windy City:
"Last November Belinda and her colleagues invited me to join them in a visit to Chicago to see how the Chicago Architecture Foundation operates in that city. As their website explains, The Chicago Achitecture Foundation (CAF) 'is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing public interest and education in architecture and design.' (http://caf.architecture.org/ ). CAF organises tours, exhibitions, debates, lectures, educational programmes and other activities as it seeks to advance public awareness of Architecture and Design. It provides a good model on which to build a Liverpool Architectural Foundation."
A few points to address here. Firstly, I presume the cost of Cllr Kennedy's generous invitation to head west was met from his own pocket. Perish the thought that CAF could be seen to be facilitating a rather tawdry civic junket. Secondly, the chunk of that quote about CAF's work is lifted verbatim from CAF's own website. Thirdly, if there is to be a Liverpool Architectural Foundation, how fitting that its acronym will be LAF. You are having one, aren't you, Malcolm?
Cllr Kennedy declares that the debate over the waterfront needs to be "enhanced by a more interactive process between the architecture profession and the public."
Amen to that, but, hang on, there's something about the use of the word "enhanced" which suggests the debate has been hitherto akin to a pub argument. No, it hasn't, Malcolm, & you know that full well. Wayne has obviously rattled you & your cohorts with his position, as consistently set out on his blog.
By the way, Cllr Kennedy is a fairly prolific Tweeter (http://twitter.com/cllrkennedy ). Drop him a line & let him know your views. I'm sure he'll appreciate it. After all, he does want "a more interactive process between the architecture profession and the public."

Clarence Clemons

2011-06-19T18:10:00.001Z

In memory of Clarence Clemons (http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/jun/19/clarence-clemons-saxophonist-bruce-springsteen-dies ):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1wg9jyvfN0 .

Another Reason To Get Shirty With Oldham Hall Street

2011-06-16T19:54:00.000Z

To paraphrase the old Yellow Pages TV ad, good old Oldham Hall Street. It's not just there to shamelessly publish PR releases for the council, Peel Holdings, etc. It will also do the same for Liverpool Football Club & its sponsors (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2011/06/16/liverpool-fc-unveil-new-cyan-blue-away-kit-in-tribute-to-club-s-first-ever-strip-100252-28885904/ ).
The absence of a byline to the piece immediately gives the game away. As does the wanton use of that strange language which bears little similarity to English, Marketese.
The most striking feature of the new strip, billed as the club's third outfit for the 2011/12 season, is the presence of blue, or "cyan", as it's being sold to many bemused Liverpool fans. The puff-piece oozes:
"The inclusion of blue --'cyan' say kit makers adidas-- on the shirt will raise one or two eyebrows across Merseyside, but adidas have revealed that the colour scheme is in tribute to the first-ever strip worn by the club following its formation in 1892.
"That strip was a Blackburn Rover-esque, blue-and-white halved design, which Liverpool wore for four seasons before switching to their iconic red uniform in 1896."
So then, cast your eyes back up the page & compare the two shirts. First, we have the club's new third kit (hello, Steven, haven't seen you for a while). Secondly, we have the kit worn by the team at its inception. Yes, the original kit does bear a striking resemblance to that long worn by Blackburn Rovers. However, what's with the bollockese about the new shirt acting as a "tribute" to the team's 1892 colours?
Moreover, the design of the third kit owes everything to the corporate colour scheme of the club's current sponsors, Standard Chartered, & nothing to the club's past.
It would be nice if Oldham Hall Street occasionally rose from its default position, ideal for the act of corporate fellatio, & displayed some journalistic rigour, even if it happens to involve the relatively minor matter of a local club's shirt. Alas, we are again disappointed.

Looks Familiar

2011-06-15T19:16:00.001Z

Those of us who have long criticised the Daily Ghost & Oldham Echo, owned by Trinity Mirror, for publishing little more than press releases from the likes of Peel & the city council are tempted to recognise the parallels with the case of the Fulham and Hammersmith Chronicle in West London, as reported by Roy Greenslade on his blog last week (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2011/jun/08/council-run-newspapers-local-newspapers ).
The publisher of the Fulham and Hammersmith Chronicle? Trinity Mirror.

The Big Society Wavers In Wavertree

2011-06-15T18:08:00.000Z

As "Professor" Phil Redmond mumbles uncomprehendingly about being "had" by Cameron when he agreed to be the ConDems' representative on Merseyside last year (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-10687446 ), it's becoming evident that the chasm between Cameron's honeyed words on that sunny July day & the reality just a mile or so from the site of his speech is growing exponentially.
John Harris visited Wavertree last week for the Guardian's Comment is Free site (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/video/2011/jun/13/faith-liverpool-frontline-big-society-video ) & spoke to members of an evangelical church in the area who offer practical & material assistance to prostitutes & drug addicts in their locality (in truth, prostitution & substance abuse are synonymous).
Whilst Harris rightly lauded the congregation for their actions, he was clearly (& rightly) unnerved by the notion that it should be left to such groups to provide any help at the same time as the State withdraws from such functions. Some of the comments by those involved also revealed the limitations of "faith-based" initiatives. Although there was none of the moralising & proselytising approach normally found with the US religious Right, the absence of views on issues such as a living wage jarred.
Be in no doubt that the cuts will intensify, affecting many more across Merseyside. Government will continue to abdicate its responsibility, leaving groups like those in Wavertree to apply band aids on gaping wounds.

Decision Time For UNESCO & Port Of Liverpool

2011-06-15T13:46:00.000Z

Decision time has arrived for Liverpool's waterfront status. To continue with the pretence that it remains a World Heritage Site, or to finally recognise that the game's up & the city's f***ed it up. That is the question (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2011/06/15/liverpool-world-heritage-site-future-under-spotlight-at-unesco-paris-conference-in-development-row-92534-28879640/ ).
Wayne has already described the belated recognition by some on Oldham Hall Street of the reality after a long period of denial (http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2011/06/liverpools-world-heritage-status-faces.html ).
Marc Waddington's piece comes as close as possible to breaking the Pravdaesque line hitherto maintained on Oldham Hall Street:
"Some local heritage campaigners have criticised recent developments on the waterfront, including at Mann Island, where Neptune's three glazed black wedges have split opinion."
Split opinion? The reality is that most people in the city are united in their opinion about the despoiling of the waterfront.
Joe "Tea & Sympathy" Anderson pops up in Waddington's piece to bang the drum, come what may. Only problem is Joe's stint on the drum is akin to that of a tone-deaf person playing percussion with the Phil, as he declares that he doesn't think "a certificate on the wall enhances the beauty of the Three Graces. They speak for themselves."
Joe goes on to try & square what has become a bloody big circle, claiming that there is no contradiction between World Heritage status & Peel's Liverpool Waters behemoth. He even maintains that the two "offer unique opportunities".
Joe, lie down in a darkened room for a while. Trust me, it'll wear off. Then perhaps, just perhaps, you can develop some cojones & start standing up to the ConDem cuts of £100m in the city.
Typically opportunistic, the Fib Dems nose into the frame with a third-rate snipe from group leader Paula Keaveney. Cllr Keaveney should remember the disastrous legacy of Warren "War Zones" Bradley before wading in.

From The Mersey To Milan: A Cautionary Tale

2011-06-15T12:45:00.000Z

Mention of Gary Hodgson reminds me of his grandiose musings in a Guardian article last week (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/the-northerner/2011/jun/08/train-link-mersey-milan ).
Helen Carter's piece, which features a photograph of the waterfront prior to the grotesque additions (or the arrival of the "trashy tarts", as Wayne memorably described them), uses the term "masterplan", though it isn't entirely clear if Hodgson is being directly quoted on this in Carter' piece.
So this mooted rail link linking the Mersey to Milan, Anfield to San Siro, the Empire Theatre to Teatro alla Scalla, where does it come from? Well, Gary's rhapsodies seem to have got the better of him; it's the sort of idea that belongs to what remain of the dock road pubs: "A rail link to the heart of Europe. Why not?"
Why not, indeed, Gary. Mine's a pint of lager, by the way.
Some commenters on the Guardian piece included a couple of trolls , one of whom admitted to being a Peel employee. Guess what he thought of the proposal. Carter herself took me to task for suggesting she'd been taken in by Peel's spin. It's true, as Carter stated, that she's been "robust" in her previous reporting on Peel. However, I stand by my view that the Guardian article was the sort of thing normally found in the Daily Ghost & Oldham Echo.
Further proof of Hodgson's tenuous grasp of political reality can be found in this extract:
"He [Hogson] is urging the government to invest in the north west and says unless they develop 'everything is going to be crammed down in the south east.' "
That the ConDem cutters would even countenance government investment in the north west requires a suspension of critical faculties normally arrived at after a session in the Baltic Fleet.

Parish Notice (Sort Of)

2011-06-15T11:35:00.000Z

Not working today? Time to kill this afternoon? Thinking of going into town? If the answer is yes to all three questions, you could do worse than visit the Crowne Plaza Hotel at Princes Dock between 3.30 & 7.30. Peel are holding one of their PR stunts there (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2011/06/15/public-consultation-of-port-of-liverpool-plans-gets-underway-92534-28878517/ ).
Alex Turner's terse puff-piece for Peel quotes Gary Hodgson, the managing director of Peel Ports Mersey, who delivers this gem: "These local events are very important.
"All written views given will be carefully considered and will help to shape the final version of the master plan."
Yes, he really did say "master plan".
So why not pay a visit to the Crowne Plaza today & let Gary, or one of his minions, know what you think of the "master plan" as well as the impact Peel has already made on what is still laughably referred to as a World Heritage Site.
After all, your views will be "carefully considered". Won't they?

No, We Can't, Dominique

2011-05-27T14:38:00.000Z

A New Ball Game?

2011-05-27T14:35:00.000Z

After the Hicks & Gillett soap opera which almost dragged Liverpool Football Club into the sporting abyss, the arrival of John Henry & his NESV consortium was widely welcomed. So far, so stable in the boardroom at Anfield. The news recently that the US basketball star LeBron James is a shareholder in the club (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/apr/07/lebron-james-liverpool ) was greeted with bemusement by many.
Mindful, however, of the old adage that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, it may be necessary for the club's supporters to keep an eye on any developments in this story.

Tony's Toxic Tweets

2011-05-27T14:17:00.000Z

A couple of commenters on my post about Tony Schumacher's piece on Margaret Thatcher for Liverpool Confidential argued that I'd missed his central point. Fair enough, if I've been blind to Tony's position, I'm happy to be corrected.
Far more sinister, however, is the point made by one commenter that my post may have contributed to a climate in which Tony received several abusive & threatening tweets; Tony writes on the matter for Liverpool Confidential (http://www.liverpoolconfidential.co.uk/News-and-Comment/Twitter-and-bisted ).
I've re-read my post & am confident that the points I made couldn't be reasonably construed to be an incitement to the idiots who have threatened Tony in this way. If, however, some moronic half-wits DID view the post in that way, I greatly regret it. For the record, I condemn the anonymous tweeters who posted their messages, particularly the charming individual who scrawled, "I hope you get cancer, you tw**".

Dwelling On The Past

2011-05-23T17:02:00.000Z

It must have been a slow news day for Tony Schumacher to pen his Liverpool Confidential piece on Margaret Thatcher (http://www.liverpoolconfidential.co.uk/News-and-Comment/Should-Liverpool-forgive-Thatcher ). Given all the issues facing the city, even those who cut their political teeth in the 80s (guilty) will view Schumacher's article as, at best, a half-hearted stab at controversy.
It's true to say that Thatcher's legacy for areas like Merseyside is still ruinously evident (generational dependency, an exponential rise in the underclass, etc.). Moreover, some of us recall the comment by Geoffrey Howe in the wake of the Toxteth riots that government policy towards Merseyside should be one of "managed decline".
That said, dwelling on Thatcher's record at a time when the city continues to be governed by a motley collection of political eunuchs & invertebrates who collude in the destruction of Liverpool's waterfront while meekly accepting the ConDem cuts is perverse to the point of irrelevance.

After All That

2011-05-05T14:31:00.000Z

Text message from a mate of mine: "10 years searching. Trillions of dollars spent. Thousands of soldiers dead. Smart bombs. Cruise missiles. Un-manned drones. Satellite technology. And the USA finally found Bin Laden in his own f***in' house?!"

Merseytravel's Clumsy Attempt At Censorship

2011-05-05T12:55:00.001Z

Not content with having Oldham Hall Street in their pockets, the usual local suspects are now attempting to silence those of us who like to tell it like it is. Wayne Colquhoun (http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/ ) has received a letter from Louise Outram, Head of Legal and Committee Services at Merseytravel, concerning posts he has published about Neil Scales, head of Merseytravel.
Ms Outram's missive, a po-faced concoction of faux legalese, shoddy grammar & appalling punctuation, informs Wayne that his posts concerning Scales amount to defamation:
"It has come to our attention that the above blog for which you are named as the editor contains a number of articles and comments regarding Mr Neil Scales that are not only offensive but are entirely inaccurate.
"We also consider such comments are defamatory and actionable in law."
Ms Outram's letter goes on to list the posts where it is felt a defamation of character has occurred & demands:
"At this juncture we request that you immediately remove the above articles from your blog and we also request a letter of apology be provided to Mr Scales for the offence and distress the contents of this blog have caused him.
"We expect to receive this letter by Friday 6 May 2011."
Let's get one thing straight from the outset. A claim of defamation & possible legal proceedings is to be financed by the taxpayers of Merseyside (the letterhead is that of Merseytravel, a publicly-funded body). To use an old cliche, it'll never stand up in court; if Scales wishes to proceed with his action, he should do so from his own pocket, not ours.
Moreover, it's significant that nowhere in Ms Outram's letter is the content of Wayne's posts disputed. Her letter complains of what can be seen as name-calling; I'm no lawyer, but it seems to me that name-calling & defamation are two entirely different matters. Regarding the content of Wayne's pieces about Scales, which I've re-read a couple of times, the claims made about his decisions, actions & policies are substantive, detailed & researched. You would expect Ms Outram to essay in broad outline, at the very least, where & how Wayne's posts are inaccurate &, indeed, defamatory. So does she? Er, no.
This matter goes beyond that of Scales & Wayne's blog. It amounts to a gagging attempt by those who should be accountable but aren't. If Scales gets anywhere with his action (funded by you & me), it sets a dangerous precedent. What Wayne is guilty of is honest opinion, self-expression, a call for transparency from our elected (& unelected) decision makers & a deeply-felt appreciation of the city's heritage.
Wayne certainly expresses his views in robust terms (as do I), but to openly claim that this is tantamount to personal defamation is laughable. I've spoken to Wayne & he has no intention of backing down, a stance which I back unreservedly. Perhaps Scales would prefer to operate in an environment which brooks no dissent or scrutiny from those who help pay his considerable salary; there are such places around the globe where that applies (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2011/may/03/press-freedom-vietnam ).
The message is simple: Wayne won't be censored & nor will I.

So Long, It's Been Good To Know You

2011-04-18T14:49:00.001Z

What links Mike Storey & Nick Clegg today? Well, apart from belonging to the same political party, they'll also be toasting the departure of Warren "War Zones" Bradley from the Fib Dem leadership in Liverpool (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/apr/18/liverpool-lib-dem-leader-quits-row-son ).
Electoral fraud is a serious charge & it is one Bradley now faces.
David Bartlett has republished Bradley's resignation statement (http://blogs.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/dalestreetblues/2011/04/in-full-warren-bradleys-resign.html ).
As parting shots go it captures Bradley's gift for self-delusion, self-pity & a tenuous grasp of political reality (not to mention tortuous syntax). He writes that "although I fully intended to stand down this May to persue my fire service career, I will be with immediate effect standing down as the Leader of the City Council Liberal Democrat Group (hooray I hear from some)".
Casting himself as a sacrificial victim (anybody got a cross for him?), Bradley continues:
"Sincere apologies if this issue causes you more electoral problems (I think the national party have already done that -- but I am now the scapegoat!), it is the last thing that I would want. Electioneering was never about me, but the Lib Dems in Liverpool, it is such a pity the same cannot be said for some."
Such venom, such rancour, such bile. Such a shame it had to end like this, eh, Warren?

Oldham Echo Links Up With Cameron & Clegg

2011-04-13T14:55:00.006Z

Expect the Oldham Echo's editorial policy on the ConDem cuts to soften over the coming weeks. Why? Simple. They've jumped into bed with the coalition (http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=46972&c=1 ).
The government's Regional Growth Fund is hailed by its cheerleaders as the catalyst for private sector job creation (you know, those private sector vacancies that will suddenly appear while the public sector shrinks).
Along with the Western Morning News, the Echo will, according to the Press Gazette, "launch competitions inviting small and medium-sized businesses -- particularly those hit hard by the economic downturn -- to apply for grants. They will be run over an 18-month period and each paper will be empowered to allocate between £10,000 and £100,000 from the RGF to distribute to the winners.
"Press Gazette understands that each title will have at least £1m worth of grants to allocate."
Big Al Machray is quoted by Hold the Front Page (http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/campaigns/110413growth.shtml):
"We are delighted to have won government backing for our campaign. We are planning to announce details very shortly."
However, there is a fly in the ointment for Big Al, a bloody big bluebottle actually, as Hold the Front Page's piece continues:
"Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has praised the Echo for the launch of its intiative...
"Mr Clegg said: 'It is absolutely fantastic that the Echo has taken the initiative.' "
Warm words emanating from a source that even Warren "War Zones" Bradley views as toxic are likely to make the minions on Oldham Hall Street (already uneasy about the whole charade) run to the bathroom.
The Regional Growth Fund, trumpeted by Cameron & Clegg as a successful alternative to the Regional Development Agencies, has been greeted with scepticism, if not hostility since its inception last year (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/oct/28/labour-attacks-regional-growth-fund-pathetic-fig-leaf ).
The notion of the Oldham Echo picking winners, as it were, who will suddenly create private sector employment to even ameliorate the fall-out from the public sector jobs cull on Merseyside belongs to the realm of Lewis Carroll. Alas, the farce doesn't end there. According to the Press Gazette, staff at the Echo "will provide 'mentoring, consultancy and business support' for the winning bidders."
So the business which sacked 100 local printers as it moved its printing operation outside Merseyside & which continues to lose readers will mentor & support the lucky winners? Poor bastards.
As one commenter on Hold the Front Page's article remarks, it beggars belief that Trinity Mirror should be chosen for this lunacy.

Pleasing Their Corporate Constituents

2011-04-12T18:48:00.004Z

Recommended reading: a piece by Peter Wilby in today's Guardian; it's unarguable in its case & cogently put as he considers the wider issues thrown up by the phone-hacking exploits of Murdoch's empire (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/apr/12/politicians-control-over-corporate-interests ):
"This affair is just one example of how politicians have lost the authority, the will and the moral compass to control corporate interests. They consider only the most modest proposals to bring banks to heel. They make it laughably easy for multinationals to avoid tax. They stand by as supermarkets drive out small retailers. They introduce 'reforms' to education and health that allow corporations to take over the provision, if not the ownership, of our biggest public services. The corporate sector gets what it wants. Why shouldn't Murdoch? It's business as usual.
"The Labour Party was once the political arm of the organised working-class. All three main parties are now the political arm of the organised corporate class. This is not a peculiarly British phenomenon. Almost every advanced democracy, and particularly the US, struggles to control the corporate sector. It is not just that politicians depend on its donations to finance election campaigns but also that they lack the staying power to withstand corporate pressure."

The Professor Has A Scoop

2011-04-12T11:19:00.002Z

The Professor has the first draft of Warren "War Zones" Bradley's "we're all doomed & it's your f***in' fault" email to Nick Clegg: http://profchucklebuttychronic.blogspot.com/2011/04/exclusive-leaked-first-draft-of-that.html ).

Warren's Worried, Very Worried

2011-04-11T22:05:00.006Z

An email sent from Warren "War Zones" Bradley to Nick Clegg has been leaked to the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13043023 ). It urges him to pull out of the ConDem coalition.
It's a far cry from last May when Bradley was waxing lyrical about the protection the Fib Dems would accord the city, despite all the evidence to the contrary (http://condensedthoughts.blogspot.com/2010/05/hes-still-there-you-know.html ): "[Bradley] said Liverpool should not expect savage cuts from the Tories like it suffered in the 1980s. And he added: '(Deputy Prime Minister) Nick Clegg has given me assurances that will not happen.
" 'Social justice that Liberal Democrats believe in will be a golden vein that runs through the coalition government.' "
Looks like that "golden vein" has well & truly run dry for Warren, as he contemplates the once unthinkable notion of Labour gains at the Fib Dems' expense in areas like Childwall.

An Unfortunate Discovery

2011-04-06T16:16:00.004Z

Not before time, Liverpool Discovers have apologised for their unsubstantiated claim that Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech was penned at the Adelphi (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-12977162 ).
The, erm, brains behind the organisation now sheepishly admit they were taken in by our famous Scouse wit. However, I can provide Liverpool Discovers with this astonishing revelation about local history: Liverpool people have always been keen to hoodwink gullible souls from further afield who'll swallow any old crap.

Treating Hearsay & Rumour As Fact

2011-04-04T17:53:00.006Z

Picture the scene: Liverpool in the early 60s. Crowds flock to the Cavern, Anfield & Goodison regularly attract 50,000 fans through their turnstiles & the planners assure inner city residents that moving to the new towns of Kirkby & Skelmersdale will be the answer to their housing woes. Meanwhile, in a room at the Adelphi Hotel Martin Luther King sits down to compose his memorable "I have a dream" speech (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbUtL_0vAJk ).
Still with me? No, I haven't been on the Ossie Whites at Yates' Wine Bar, but I suspect a few characters in the city council, particularly those in the tourism department, may well have been. How else to account for the bizarre claim that Dr King penned his most famous address at the Adelphi (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/8426617/Liverpool-tourist-chiefs-stand-by-Martin-Luther-King-claim.html ): "The allegation has been made in a guide to a major art event entitled 'Liverpool Discovers', commissioned by amongst others, the city council. "A map in the guide shows how more than 20 locations where famous people were born along with places associated with celebrities and events in their lives.
"The guide proclaims: 'Martin Luther King visited his supporters in Liverpool three times, and the first draft of his famous
"I have a dream" speech is alleged to be written on Adelphi Hotel headed notepaper.' "
Note that word, "alleged". Here we have a jaw-dropping case of slack, lazy assumptions being tarted-up as historical fact. Forget the fact that no evidence has been produced to justify the claim.
The Telegraph report quotes the city council's defence, which is, by twists & turns, contradictory, defensive & puerile: "All of the facts we had came from a public consultation where we asked people to submit what they knew about Liverpool.
"They are not official; they are just things about Liverpool that many people may not know.
"As you will appreciate it is sometimes difficult to prove historical facts, and we have run the map by local historians to best verify what appeared.
"Although biographers such as those associated with Martin Luther King may not be aware of such a fact, with all due respect to them, that in itself does not prove it to be untrue.
"Many cities reference stories about their history that cannot be absolutely proven -- and in this case the word 'alleged' informs the reader that the fact is not set in stone."
So this "fact" concerning Dr King came from "a public consultation", did it? And I presume that describing this "fact" as "not official" is another way of admitting that it's complete bollocks, particularly when the local historians approached by the idiots who dreamt up this story have no knowledge of the claim & no evidence for its veracity. Moreover, the phrase, "to best verify what appeared" is code for "We know this claim is crap but we'll run with it anyway". There's also an obnoxious arrogance displayed towards biographers of Dr King; "with all due respect", the city council should issue an apology to them.
Liverpool has many links with America. Those links have been historically verified & the requisite evidence duly provided down the years. This claim is as bizarre as it is self-servingly squalid & it should be withdrawn immediately.

End Of The Road For Hicks?

2011-03-31T17:58:00.003Z

Some may have blanched at my description of Hicks & Gillett's reign at Anfield yesterday. However, here's confirmation that the wheels appear to be coming off for Hicks in his own backyard (http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2011/03/kpmg_sued_for_giving_tom_hicks_clean_audit_a_year_before_525-million_loan_default.php ).

The true nature of this charlatan & Bush buddy should be clear to all. However, it shouldn't be forgotten that Rick Parry & David Moores still have everything to explain for their tawdry actions in agreeing to the sale of the club in 2007, Moores, in particular, given the £90m he pocketed from the transaction.

New Owners, Same Old Problems?

2011-03-30T16:14:00.002Z

After the ruinous & fraudulent reign of Hicks & Gillett Liverpool fans could have been forgiven a sigh of relief for their unlamented departure & the arrival of John Henry's NESV outfit. However, in today's Digger column in the Guardian, Matt Scott warns that the club could conceivably be drawn into a conflict of interest which would delight the lawyers & dismay the supporters (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/mar/30/roma-thomas-dibenedetto-liverpool ). The miasma of byzantine & secretive structures surrounding the club's new owners is detailed by Scott who concludes his piece by asking: "Why so secret? Surely fans are entitled to know who owns their club, whether they are baseball or football fans, because sometimes it just might have an impact on the integrity of a competion."

Is It The Final Voyage For Peel's Public Money Scam?

2011-03-30T15:46:00.003Z

There have been further developments surrounding the "Cruise Wars" saga (http://condensedthoughts.blogspot.com/2009/11/public-money-to-pay-for-ports-plan.html & http://condensedthoughts.blogspot.com/2010/03/peels-press-gang-plan.html ). It emerged earlier this week that Southampton's civic leaders have held meetings with ministers & mandarins in Whitehall (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-12880551 ) over Peel's brazen plan to finance a private project with public money. The BBC report notes: "The government is taking a new look at Liverpool's application, which had previously been rejected. "It needs to approve the plan because a £9m EU grant helped pay for its cruise liner terminal, which cost £20m." The "final decision" on this interminable farce will, the report states, be made "within weeks".

When The Vultures Swooped Down On Liverpool

2011-03-29T20:17:00.007Z

Culture year. Remember that? Oh, come on you must, surely. It was the global event of 2008 & provided the foundation for a prosperous & idyllic future for Liverpool.

Well, that's what Oldham Hall Street claimed.

Sevenstreets carries a piece about a soon to be released film by the City Picture collective (http://www.citypicture.co.uk/ ) concerning the distortion, corruption & mendacity surrounding 2008 (http://www.sevenstreets.com/performance-and-film/capital-of-vultures ). Sevenstreets notes of the film, Liverpool08-Capital of Vulture:

"An unflinching, honest and --at times-- acerbic snapshot of where we're at, the documentary posits whether, in the wake of the Capital of Culture, the city's artists (so essential for the regeneration of run-down post industrial areas) have experienced anything approaching a legacy, or whether the event did little more than hijack their community for a year long knees-up at our expense."

I think we all know the answer to that one. The notion of there being an 08 legacy is as risible as that of Oldham Hall Street undertaking investigative journalism. That reality notwithstanding, Sevenstreets plays an unnecessarily even-handed approach:

"It's a thorny subject, for sure, and one that elicits more heat than light: there are as many versions of the 08 story as there were tattered flags lining Edge Lane. For some, it was a platform to showcase the city as a cauldron of creativity, for others a PR excercise of cliques and canapes that failed to ignite any real sense of inclusion or momentum."

Before it fades further into the realm of urban myth & sepia-tinted nostalgia, it's worth reminding ourselves that the heat elicited by culture year continues to emanate from Oldham Hall Street, the city council, the main players in the late, unlamented Liverpool Culture Company, the parasitical PR agencies, "Professor" Phil "Big Society" Redmond, et al. Any creativity within the city was either sidelined or ignored; community projects & initiatives in areas like Kirkdale, Speke & Norris Green were conspicuous by their absence from the city centre-based itinerary.

Culture year was little more than a Bread & Circus scam, dispiriting in its content & corrupt in its organisation. Don't believe me? Track Jason Harborrow down, if that's possible, ply him with a few drinks & discover the truth of that eternal phrase, in vino veritas.

Safe In Their Hands?

2011-03-28T15:49:00.003Z

As well as Captain Ska's "Liar, Liar", this inspired rap was played a few times on Saturday's demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl1jPqqTdNo .

Not So Much Ouside The Bubble As Cocooned Within It

2011-03-28T14:53:00.007Z

I'm happy to contradict myself. Having said that I wouldn't link to asinine articles about Saturday's march, I really have to do just that with a piece which reeks of ignorance, defeatism & stomach-turning timidity. In fact, this counsel of despair missive reminds me of the "dented shield" argument propounded by many in the 80s when Thatcher's cuts were facing millions. Want to know the provenance of this pale, pathetic piece? Look no further than the Daily Ghost, soon not to be a daily, according to those in the know. David Higgerson, author of the "Outside The Bubble" blog, pens a script that could have been issued from Downing Street (http://blogs.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/outsidethebubble/2011/03/will-the-cuts-protests-just-ma.html ) Higgerson writes: "Cameron, at around the time of the TUC conference in Manchester last September, alluded to the fact he wanted to work with the unions. Not much has been said on that since. It perhaps suits the unions to be at a distance from the discussions which are taking place about cuts. "But at the same time, if those doing the cuts aren't listening, to traditional protests, then surely the trade unions also need to move their positions too. The cuts are coming, no two ways about that, so how about trying to minimise the impact of those cuts. A little less King Kanute [sic], a little more Florence Nightingale." To which one can pithily reply, a little more standing up to the Tories, a little less planning for that trip to Dignitas. Or perhaps, a little more Terry Fields, a little less Neil Kinnock. Higgerson's dull, defeatist mantra stands in stark contrast to Nick Cohen's thoughtful piece in yesterday's Observer (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/27/nick-cohen-protesters-government-spending ).

Misreading The Mood

2011-03-28T13:46:00.003Z

Today's reflections on Saturday's march in London have been as predictable as the tide. Most aren't worth referring to, let alone linking to, due to their synthetic outrage & puerile pontificating. Indeed, it seems that the mainstream media doesn't quite know how to handle a story like this. Even the Guardian's Michael White can't help balancing the march with the clashes that took place elsewhere (http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/mar/27/britain-decent-demo-mob ). More perceptive observers are now acknowledging that the role of civil disobedience, as opposed to the trashing of Top Shop, is a tactic that will gain in currency & viability. As the cuts bite, the traditional tactic of marches may look insufficient; Ed Miliband (or "Ed Millipede", as he was called by one marcher) has stated his view that the ConDem cuts will prevail for the full term of this parliament. Such an opinion could look discredited & defeatist before the end of this year. Apropos the marchers, I noticed an array of banners & placards which deviated refreshingly from the stereotypical norm. One marcher at Waterloo Station held a placard which posed the cerebral, but intriguing question, "What would Gramsci Say?" Another was less subtle & damningly direct, showing a picture of Nick Clegg with the words "Rent Boy" underneath. Despite the many different reasons given by people for their presence in London on Saturday, & they ranged from the Spirit of Shankly group to the Women's Institute, one refrain was notable for its ubiquity: this is just the beginning.

The Big Society Comes To Town

2011-03-27T00:26:00.003Z

Contrary to the sadly sensationalist BBC reports throughout Saturday evening, London was not in the throes of unbridled anarchy. I should know, I was having a pint just a few molotov cocktails away from the highly localised disorder in Picadilly. Regrettable? Yes, of course. Worthy of hysterical live coverage on the BBC News channel? You must be joking.

All Together Now

2011-03-25T19:09:00.002Z

In anticipation of tomorrow's march here in London, I suspect this catchy ditty from last year will get an airing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQFwxw57NBI .

No Comment

2011-03-22T19:58:00.003Z

Recommended reading: a piece by Dave Hill on the Guardian Comment is Free site earlier this month: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/11/democracy-bloggers-tweeters-councils ).
Although it concerns itself with Barnet Council in North London, it certainly has wider relevance, stretching, ooh, 200 miles north-west, of London, wouldn't you say?

Leaving A Sour Taste In The Mouth

2011-03-22T19:13:00.004Z

Those of us attending Saturday's march in London against the ConDem cuts (http://marchforthealternative.org.uk/ ) will have our numbers augmented by workers from the Burton's confectionery plant on the Wirral, soon to be closed by its owners. Indeed, the question of who actually owns Burton is raised by John Harris in a piece for the Guardian's Comment is Free site (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/video/2011/mar/22/union-moreton-burtons-factory-jobs-video ).
As Harris discovers, the ability of Unite, the union representing Burton's staff, to establish the identity of the company's owners turns out to be anything but straightforward; global capitalism has, he concludes, made it necessary for a globally-organised & coherent programme on the part of trade unions around the world. Utopian, perhaps, but, as he ruefully remarks, Saturday's "march for the alternative" won't have one unless it recognises the necessity of an international approach. Problem is, such an approach is light years from both the understanding & inclination of the Labour Party & TUC leadership.
Illustrating the need for working people to broaden their case as widely as possible is the case of the state government staff in the US state of Wisconsin (http://huffingtonpost.com/news/wisconsin-protests ).

Royal Recognition For Procession Of Coffins

2011-03-17T15:00:00.003Z

Steve Bell's cartoon in today's Guardian unflinchingly reflects the reality behind the decision to bestow royal status on the town of Wootton Basset (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cartoon/2011/mar/17/steve-bell-on-wootton-bassett ).
It's sure to stick in the craw of those who continue to support an illegal war in Iraq & an unwinnable conflict in Afghanistan, but that's their problem.

Daily Ghost To Go Weakly?

2011-03-09T14:04:00.002Z

Far be it for me to rain on Trinity Mirror's parade as they bask in the glory of civic recognition today (all that lobbying paid off big time, eh, Alastair?). However, storm clouds are, alas, on the horizon in the form of Roy Greenslade's blog which today suggests that the Daily Ghost could soon be a weekly paper (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2011/mar/09/local-newspapers-trinity-mirror ).
Remarking on the Ghost's appropriately spectral circulation figures, Greenslade links to a blogpost by Steve Dyson, a 20-year veteran of the regional newspaper business (http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/blogs/110309dysonblog57.shtml ).
Dyson takes a dim view of the Ghost as a product in the market place, in particular delivering a forensic critique of the edition for Wednesday 16th February. Enjoy the wine & canapes at the Town Hall, guys.

Wapping Displays Its Knowledge Of Liverpool

2011-03-07T20:36:00.003Z

It's only fair to point out that Oldham Hall Street doesn't always have a monopoly when it comes to fiction masquerading as journalism about Liverpool, as Wayne observed earlier today (http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2011/03/same-old-liverpool-same-old-second-rate.html ).
Judging by the paucity of facts & the preponderance of nauseous PR guff in the Times piece, you have to surmise that the best place for the piece is, indeed, behind Murdoch's self-defeating paywall. The fewer readers who come across such garbage the better.

Oldham Hall Street's Parallel Universe

2011-03-07T20:15:00.003Z

It is, of course, no surprise when Oldham Hall Street dutifully plays the role of cheerleader for business interests whose motives have everything to do with corporate enrichment & nothing to do with local civic & economic concerns. A cursory look at the coverage of the Liverpool Waters affair will immediately confirm that. Indeed, the alacrity with which the Daily Ghost & Oldham Echo (flushed with self-congratulation from successfully lobbying the council for Freedom of the City status) throw themselves into cheerleading mode for Peel Holdings, et al, often leads them to issue the sort of bilge which illuminates their blithe disregard for reality. Take this gem from last Wednesday: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/views/our-view/2011/03/02/liverpool-can-ride-out-this-crisis-100252-28261133/ .

Putting Rivalry Into Perspective

2011-03-04T15:02:00.003Z

Ahead of Sunday's match at Anfield, Louise Taylor writes a piece for the Guardian sports blog which sets the rivalry between Kenny Dalglish & Alex Ferguson in a measured perspective (http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/mar/04/kenny-dalglish-sir-alex-ferguson ).
As the tabloids & Sky prepare their lurid weekend war analogies, supplying the ammunition to the neanderthals on both sides, & too many deluded saps in Glasgow perpetuate the folly of sectarianism (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/mar/03/celtic-rangers-cards ), Taylor relates:
"[Dalglish & Ferguson] have always harboured a mental as well as physical edge -- while Ferguson's is more overtly aggressive, Dalglish's spikiness invariably features cutting sarcasm -- but both appreciate some battles are pointless. Significantly, neither had any truck with the sectarianism that scarred Glasgow during their respective upbringings. Although a Protestant, Dalglish was perplexed by religious divisions and grew up alongside close Catholic friends. Unusually, in extremely Protestant Govan, Ferguson was the product of a 'mixed' marriage, his father having broken a widespread taboo and married a Catholic.
"In later years Manchester United's manager would tap, productively, into the emotional energy fuelled by his club's supporters' 'hatred' for Liverpool, but that Govan upbringing had imbued him with an ability to grasp a bigger picture. Immediately after the Hillsborough Disaster in 1989 he followed up a phone call to Dalglish by dispatching a deputation of wreath-bearing United fans on a respect-paying mission to Merseyside."

Liverpool Honours Oldham-Based Papers

2011-03-04T12:43:00.003Z

Take a trip down Dale Street next Wednesday & you'll witness a spectacle in the Town Hall which belongs to the world of Lewis Carroll. The Oldham Echo, along with its sickly sister the Daily Ghost, will be awarded the freedom of Liverpool (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2011/03/02/liverpool-echo-makes-headline-by-being-given-freedom-of-the-city-100252-28261044/ ) .
Yes, the sorry rag which claims to speak for Merseyside, but which sacked 100 Liverpool printers when it moved its printing operation down the East Lancs Road, will be "honoured" by the city council. Aghast at this brazen act of mendacity & self-delusion? Joe "tea & sympathy" Anderson isn't. In fact, he plays the part of civic fluffer to perfection, proclaiming that the Daily Ghost & Oldham Echo have been "the voice of the city for more than 150 years and they constantly champion Liverpool as a great place to live, work and to do business."
Ah yes, of course, given the bilge slapped on the Echo's front page every night (tales of small-time hoodlums, Z-list local celebrities, etc.), any visitor arriving at Lime Street who happens to peruse the, erm, publication would be immediately struck by the way in which the city is championed, as Joe puts it, by Oldham Hall Street.
As an aside, you might think that Anderson would want to keep a relatively low profile after meekly acquiescing to £90m worth of Tory cuts.
The comments left at the foot of the Echo's self-congratulatory piece are almost uniformly hostile. One contributor, JB_Kirkdale, submits a few observations which merit reproduction in their entirety:
"This paper is a rag, a tabloid rag and a very poor shadow of the paper we all respected when we were growing up.
"Remember [the] campaign and outrage from the Echo when it was suggested Liverpool's blood units be moved to Manchester, yet it has done exactly the same thing, sacking many in Liverpool while employing people in Oldham to print it. Its hypocrisy is staggering.
"It calls itself the voice of Merseyside but it stayed silent on the Americans raping LFC in case it lost its access to the club and its players. John Thompson, the sports editor, is another disgrace which has been noted by many.
"I cannot believe this rag has the freedom of Liverpool when it has barely any connections with the place apart from collecting its revenue here and investing it in Manchester.
"I wouldn't wipe my harris on it and I can barely stomach it even when it's free."
JB, you should be a blogger!
Another commenter, georgechristophermciver, notes, "The headlines compete with the Daily Sport."
Touche, sir!
Sensationalist in its tone, crass in its handling of issues which require a modicum of thought, the Oldham Echo provided further evidence of its cack-handed ways a few days ago, as Simon, the blogger behind the no rock and roll fun blog, remarked with regard to a piece on a raid at a Bootle chip shop (http://norock.tumblr.com/post/3379792287/liverpool-echo-puts-sensitively-chosen-advert ).
Since Oldham Hall Street trumpeted its impending "honour" it's become apparent that all is not what it seems in this sorry farce. Trinity Mirror, the parent company of the two rags, & which has this week admitted its parlous state in its annual figures, lobbied (yes, lobbied) the city council for freedom of the city status. Anxious to remain in Oldham Hall Street's good books, Joe "tea & sympathy" Anderson immediately assented to their lobbying efforts.
A city council which implements Tory cuts & a pair of rags which are to local journalism what Ron Jeremy is to celibacy. They really do deserve each other, don't they?

Let Me Tell You How It Will Be, The Taxman Lets Them Off Scot-Free

2011-03-01T19:35:00.003Z

Perfectly catching the mood of the times, Captain Ska released his "Liar, Liar" single towards the end of last year. It wasn't a chart-topper, but it went viral on the web. Now he's back with "Shame on You", his take on the tax-dodging reptiles whose kid-glove treatment at the hands of HMRC clearly shows we aren't all in this together: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B_dVrA9AwE .
It isn't as catchy as "Liar, Liar", but the video cleverly references Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues & the early Madness videos.

Spin Over Substance

2011-02-23T20:11:00.002Z

An associate once said to me, "PR is the art of making a turd look like a ruby."
I was reminded of those wise words when I saw a Guardian piece earlier about the rise of "churnalism" (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/feb/23/churnalism-pr-media-trust ).
Paul Lewis' article cites a website (http://churnalism.com/) which highlights the burgeoning level of PR bullshit masquerading as news in the media. Those media outlets guilty of complicity in this squalid game of journalistic faute de mieux aren't always the usual suspects, as Lewis refreshingly admits:
"Interestingly, all media outlets appear particularly susceptible to PR material disseminated by supermarkets: the Mail appears to have a particular appetite for publicity from Asda and Tesco, while the Guardian appears to prefer Waitrose releases."
It's reassuring to know that the Daily Ghost & Oldham Echo wouldn't stoop to such base levels, isn't it? Oh, hang on, what's this: http://condensedthoughts.blogspot.com/2009/11/inspired-comparison.html .

Compare & Contrast

2011-02-23T19:50:00.003Z

It would be remiss of me not to point out that while Joe "tea & sympathy" Anderson was shamelessly trying to justify his adherence to Tory cuts whilst berating those who have the temerity to organise opposition to them, the Liverpool branch of UK Uncut (http://www.ukuncut.org.uk/ ) were showing, by way of a complete contrast, how effective their spontaneous & fluid campaign is.

The Vodafone store in Church Street remained closed for the day as protesters highlighted the tax-dodging antics of the company. Though relatively small in number, they made their point in eye-catching manner & showed that they have a level of spirit & ingenuity in their ranks which shames Anderson's defeatist rump of time-servers.

Joe Anderson's Bluster & Bombast

2011-02-20T17:19:00.003Z

The sadly small smattering of the committed, converted & the affected who turned out at the steps of St George's Hall today in protest against the city council's cuts were largely regaled with rhetoric that was cliched & pitiful in equal measure. However, proceedings reached their nadir in a shrill, defensive rant from Joe "tea & sympathy" Anderson. It's one thing to highlight the devastating effects of the ConDem cuts in the city. It's quite another to do so while implementing them, as Anderson well knows.
Anderson's address wasn't so much a speech as a puerile whine of self-exoneration. The cuts? Nothing to do with Joe, even though he's now Cameron's Cutter-in-Chief in the city. Instead, he lobbed a couple of barbs at Degsy & Co. Forget the rather inconvenient fact that Militant haven't been around as a significant political force for 20 years or so. Anderson also declared opposition to both the Tories & "the Loony Left". It's nice to see him use a phrase first coined by that well-known champion of Merseyside, the Sun, back in the 80s.
Those who should know better, such as Anderson, are disingenuous; you can't rally the troops while depriving them of their rations. It's no exaggeration to say that empty rhetoric was the most "constructive" element of his address. Talk of mobilising the Labour Party & TUC was laughable back in the 80s when Thatcher was in her pomp. To invoke both in 2011 when the cuts dwarf those of that decade could be interpreted as a sick joke.
Be in no doubt, the cuts will be savage. Indeed, the shape of things to come was outlined by a Guardian article last week (http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/feb/11/marmot-report-health-equality-data ).
In such a context, it is even more risible for Joe "tea & sympathy" Anderson to laud the legacy of Robert Tressell, the centenary of whose death in Liverpool has just passed (http://www.liverpool.gov.uk/news/details.aspx?id=193281 ):
"Robert Tressell's social commentary should not be underestimated and it's a shame that he only received recognition for his talents posthumously."
Robert Tressell, or Robert Noonan to give him his real name, would surely have seen the dark comedy in a supposed trade unionist implementing the millionaires' wishes whilst bewailing the consequences.

Anti-Vodafone Protest In Liverpool

2011-02-04T20:29:00.004Z

Dismissed & disdained in equal measure by nearly all media outlets at first, the UK Uncut campaign is now beginning to be grudgingly acknowledged not just for its actions, but also for the clarity & veracity of its argument that multinationals are paying little or no tax on UK income. After Monday's feature on Newsnight (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/9383598.stm ), during the course of which Paxo had his Naughtie moment, the campaign continues apace across the country this weekend, including Liverpool.
If you're in the city centre tomorrow & are disgusted by the way in which we most certainly aren't all in this together, you can show your support for the campaign as it marches on the Vodafone store in Grosvenorpool (http://www.ukuncut.org.uk/actions/201 ) around lunchtime.
An extra reason for showing what you think of Vodafone was provided a few days ago when it pulled the plug on internet & mobile phone links in Egypt as the protests against Mubarak's regime gathered force (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/04/british-oil-banks-egypt-protests ).

A Game Of Two Halves

2011-02-01T21:26:00.004Z

Contrary to the perennial grumblings from many football supporters, there never was a halcyon age in which the game was run as some sort of workers' cooperative. The development & growing popularity of the professional game in the late 19th century went hand-in-hand with the most frenetic & burgeoning period of the Industrial Revolution.
However, the level of expenditure on transfer fees yesterday, as the deadline came to a close, has prompted at least some who normally shrug their shoulders & accept its free market nature to question its sense of priorities. Those Liverpool fans who bemoan Fernando Torres' departure make the right points about the malaise affecting the modern game, but they should also see the bigger picture. David Conn certainly does that in a piece for the Guardian's Comment is Free pages today (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/01/football-cant-kick-big-spending-habit ).
Drawing together the wanton excesses of the current professional game with the economic reality affecting those who watch it, Conn concludes:
"[Tory] Sports minister Hugh Robertson has described football as 'the worst governed sport in the country'. Its story is of an obsession with money, and great inequality between millionaire superstars paid by plutocrat owners and fans paying fortunes to watch -- while the masses who play the sport prepare for years of underinvestment by Robertson's 'austerity' government."

When A Spoonerism Becomes A Freudian Slip

2011-02-01T11:17:00.002Z

Yes, of course it isn't a nice word to use & it remains, understandably, one of the few words in the Anglo-Saxon lexicon to remain taboo. That said, it was somehow apt that Jeremy Paxman's verbal faux-pas on Newsnight yesterday evening was committed in the context of a piece about the ConDem cuts & the tax-dodgers who donate to the Tory Party (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZtd4X8ubXA ).
What a load of, erm, cuts.

On The Ball?

2011-01-31T14:14:00.003Z

It's transfer deadline day. Cue hysteria & hype from most of the media & football websites. For those who have both the time & the inclination, the Guardian's running an irreverent & spiky live blog on what does & doesn't transpire before the 11pm deadline (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jan/31/transfer-window-deadline-day-live ).
So, too, is the Oldham Echo & the quality of their effort can, perhaps, be summed up in the question posed by their hack, Neil Macdonald (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2011/01/31/transfer-window-deadline-day-live-blog-from-7am-11pm-100252-28078031/ ):
"Will Liverpool hold on to Fernando Torres or sign someone else?"
About the tooth fairy & Santa Claus, I've got some bad news for you, Neil.

Joe Anderson Tries To Face Both Ways

2011-01-31T11:34:00.004Z

It must have been a case of Orwellian doublethink that drove Joe "tea & sympathy" Anderson to join a demonstration against the ConDem cuts in the city centre on Saturday. Alas, Joe's attempt to show he was on the side of those he'll soon make jobless didn't succeed (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-12315788 ).
As the BBC's video clip shows, Joe was challenged by one marcher to account for his pusillanimity in the face of cuts far greater than those the city faced in the 80s. Far from accepting that his presence on the march was Janus-faced, Anderson resorted to defensive bluster:
"People are angry because jobs are being shed, services are being reduced. From my point of view it's quite simple -- somebody's got to manage the council and that's what I intend to do," he declared, adding he had no choice but to make 1,500 staff redundant.
Confirming his status as a fully paid-up member of the Labour lieutenants of Capital club, Anderson brazenly claimed:
"I'm a trade unionist. I'm a socialist. I've been one all my life and as far as I'm concerned, I share people's pain and I share their anger."
Well, Joe, as a trade unionist & a socialist, consider the stance you've taken. You're now the local representative of the ConDem cuts ("Professor" Phil Redmond is sulking somewhere in a corner). The city's voters have every right to dismiss your claim to be a political alternative to the Tories when you do their dirty work for them.

Joe Anderson Implements Tory Cuts

2011-01-27T13:21:00.004Z

Even though the ConDem cuts were anticipated by many in Liverpool, it doesn't lessen the shock felt by Liverpool City Council staff at today's news that 1,500 jobs will be axed (http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/jan/27/liverpool-set-to-axe-1500-council-jobs ).
Helen Carter's report in the Guardian states:
"The council's 9,000-strong workforce arrived at work to find a three-page message from council leader Joe Anderson warning that one in six council jobs are at risk due to the coalition government's cuts."
However, not every member of the council's staff received Anderson's message this morning; many are now tweeting that they heard the news via the local radio stations.
Not only is Joe "tea & sympathy" Anderson pathetic in his bleatings as he fails to show any backbone in resisting the cuts, he is also grossly cavalier in the way he lets council staff receive the news that they could be heading for the dole.
It is both a scandal & a farce that, to paraphrase New Labour's founder Neil Kinnock, you have the grotesque chaos of a Labour council -- a Labour council! -- meekly accepting the ConDem cuts while keeping a substantial number of its staff in the dark about their fate.

Goals & Gender

2011-01-25T21:32:00.001Z

For Richard Keys & Andy Gray: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svg0hh54fa0 .

Through The Echo's Kaleidoscope Eyes

2011-01-25T20:04:00.003Z

Something makes me suspect that the water coolers on Oldham Hall Street may contain more than good old H2O. Picture the scene. An editorial meeting of the two papers' finest, erm, minds is accompanied by the consumption of copious quantities of, well, water, yes, that's true, but perhaps something else, too. Pretty soon, Big Al, Minion Mark et al start to countenance weird & wonderful visions of the city they claim to speak for; the "tangerine trees and marmalade skies" that Lennon lysergically locked his gaze upon may or may not have figured in their visions, but it sure looks like a lot else besides has entered the groupthink consciousness on Liverpool's own Street of Shame. How else to account for yesterday's editorial in the Oldham Echo (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/views/our-view/2011/01/24/mann-island-an-island-of-high-hopes-100252-28041492/ )?
The piece opens with all the sober restraint of a punter in Concert Square on a Friday night:
"These are exciting times for our wonderful waterfront, with major developments coming to fruition at Mann Island."
Sentences like that make you wonder why there isn't a media equivalent of an ASBO.
The Oldham Echo's editorial hails the monstosity that is the new museum & its gaudy siblings as "head-turners". I presume many a head has been turned...away from the destruction wrought upon the city's waterfront & then shaken in sadness at what has been lost from an area still laughingly seen as a World Heritage Site (perhaps the watercoolers at UNESCO have been similarly affected).
The piece also refers to the names apparently given to the two residential areas within the black slugs, Latitude & Longitude. Whoever came up with those appellations had obviously lost their bearings & wouldn't have been let anywhere near a ship's navigation equipment during the port's heyday. Latitude & Logitude, continues the Echo's sychophantic missive, "have proved a hit with investors and flat-hunters."
No evidence is cited by the Echo for its claim. Indeed, it's highly unlikely, given the state of the property market.
You see, the world according to Oldham Hall Street is a largely strange place where the global market is benign to the local economy whilst wreaking havoc elsewhere. It's a world in which every single retrograde development in the city is viewed as an exciting opportunity. It's a world in which other cities cast envious glances to the city's civic leadership & "business" scene, secretly & not so secretly coveting the giants of Liverpool's local government that are Mike "tell us another" Storey, Warren "War Zones" Bradley & Joe "tea & sympathy" Anderson. It's a world in which every other region of the UK yearns for Frank McKenna to set up a Down & Out In Town Liverpool in their neck of the woods.
Truly it is El Dorado by the Mersey.
Perusing the penultimate & final paragraphs of the Echo's piece strengthens one's suspicion that the watercooler should be inspected &, if necessary, replaced:
"Built by Neptune Developments and partners Countryside Properties, their design has upset many -- but it might be worth remembering that the neighbouring Royal Liver Building was initially derided by many locals.
"We look forward to the new Museum of Liverpool becoming an integral part of Merseyside's thriving cultural scene -- and we hope the Neptune development can win over its many detractors and generally come to be viewed as a vital and popular part of the local landscape."
I suppose it's something when the Echo admits that the design "has upset many" & has "many detractors". However, the paper's sudden ray of glasnost is soon blocked out by its customary grasp of Pravda-esque propaganda & delusion. Moreover, likening the controversy caused by this carnage on the waterfront to the impact of the Liver Building in the early 20th century is laughable & insulting in equal measure.
Wayne again spelt out the scandal on Liverpool's waterfront, & just some of the issues it throws up, earlier this month (http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2011/01/north-vested-interest-development.html ).
The Echo editorial, by contrast, is suffused with a sense of surrealism worthy of Sgt. Pepper (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7F2X3rSSCU ).

The Beatle Bulldozer

2011-01-06T21:05:00.006Z

Ever since the voice of Thomas the Tank Engine waltzed onto the Jonathan Ross Show, days after his stay in Liverpool for the start of culture year's "celebrations" (a stay which, thanks to Cameron's mate Phil Redmond, cost the city's taxpayers £90,000), his name's been mud with most people.
Which is a shame, as the continuing animosity towards Starr has obscured the issue of the street, & the house, where he was born, Madryn Street, in the Dingle.
Those who feel the headless topiary at John Lennon airport reflects the true feelings of most Scousers will have had their convictions buttressed by today's Oldham Echo in an editorial of saloon-bar subtlety (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/views/our-view/2011/01/06/keep-ringo-starr-out-of-this-100252-27937802/ ). The fact that the Fabs' drummer was born there is "a red herring", opines the Echo, & that the issue should be judged on wider housing concerns. Displaying its contradictory & crudely populist aspects, however, the Echo goes on to base its stance on Starr himself & his Jonathan Ross appearance.
It may well be that those of us who feel the Welsh Streets in the Dingle should be preserved & renovated are currently in a minority, thanks to such rants. As Wayne noted yesterday (http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2011/01/9-madryn-street-ringos-house-why-knock.html ), wider housing issues have to be considered. On that basis, it beggars belief that demolition is accepted as the only option when the toxicity of housing as a political issue intensifies by the week.
It's unsurprising that the Tories should seize on this story in a pathetic attempt to talk up their Big Society. Grant Shapps, Tory housing minister, wasted little time in dashing off a statement which cleverly included the Fabs & Tory ideology in the same paragraph (http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/jan/02/ringo-starr-childhood-home ). Penned by Matthew Taylor, the Guardian piece said that Madryn Street "could be saved from demolition after the intervention of a government minister."
Oh really? Here's what Shapps said:
"Any regeneration project will generate strong feelings. But when what many people consider to be a culturally important building, such as the birthplace of the drummer in the world's most famous band, is at risk then feelings are going to be even stronger. That is why, before a single bulldozer rumbles along Madryn Street, I want to ensure every option has been considered. In particular, I want local community groups to have the opportunity to put forward viable proposals to preserve this historic house."
Read between the lines in the penultimate & final sentence of Shapps' statement; it proclaims, "Embrace our Big (do it yerself) Society!"
It's a point noted by Simon on his No Rock And Rll Fun blog a few days back (http://xrrf.blogspot.com/2011/01/grant-shapps-tries-to-save-ringos-house.html ):
"Of course, he's going to do bugger all to actually save the building -- he's a Tory, and we know how close they are to a pound note these days --but, hey, if the Big Society wants to do something, he's happy to issue a couple of press releases and sign a couple of letters.
"You might wonder if Shapps' time might be better spent writing to Liverpool City Council about the scandalous neglect of the areas around Anfield, where people live, but maybe that wouldn't make it into all the papers."
Aside from the notion that a Tory minister would write to the city council to complain about inner-city deprivation & neglect (a notion which, with all due respect to Simon, belongs to the realm of Beatle-esque surrealism), that is the nub of the matter.
John Harris touched on the city's historically schizophrenic attitude to the Fabs on the Guardian's Comment is Free pages earlier this week. As an aside from his central concern about the Beatles' musical legacy, he wrote (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jan/03/beatles-cut-the-fabs-worship ):
"In Liverpool, meanwhile, delusions of post-industrialism have reached their apogee in the idea that Beatledom can be a substitute for a lost mercantile past. It's all there: John Lennon international airport, the Hard Day's Night Hotel, the 'Magical Mystery Tour' that wends around the city, even a Fabs-themed Starbucks -- though judging by the forlorn atmosphere of too many of the surrounding streets, Beatles-driven regeneration really isn't working. Funny, that."
Harris also notes that before the mid-90s the city's Beatle legacy was relatively muted: "There was a Beatles tourist trail, of sorts -- but it usually involved squinting at car parks or boarded-up shops, and trying to divine whatever spectral magic they had left behind."
The most obvious example of this, of course, was that of the Cavern itself. Countless tourists photograph the "new" Cavern entrance; they snap & film away in blissful ignorance of the fact that the original site was razed & filled in to make way for a car park. It is now an electricity sub-station. Perhaps it's an oblique reference to George Harrison's brief teenage electrical apprenticeship.
Be that as it may, there's an undeniable truth in another post Simon published today (http://xrrf.blogspot.com/2011/01/liverpool-city-council-really-want-to.html ) with his remark that "Liverpool City Council has a habit of pissing on its chips and then saying 'nobody will eat these, they smell of piss'. "
This serves as a case study in how a crucial social, economic & political issue has been buried under the bulldozer of Beatle celebrity; a comment casually thrown into a TV chat show exchange & seized upon by Oldham Hall Street now forms the basis for what is deemed to be the only option for the Welsh Streets. All the while, the Tories chuckle before making platitudinous statements in which they eagerly plug their Big Society dogma.

The Big Sham Of The Big Society

2010-12-24T15:23:00.002Z

Bad news for the ConDems' chief apologist & self-appointed spokesman for Merseyside, "Professor" Phil Redmond today with the publication of a poll which suggests his faith in the Big Society isn't shared by many (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/dec/24/new-poll-britain-big-society ):
"Cameron has rejected the suggestion that his mission is a cover for spending cuts, pointing out his idea of a big society preceded the general election and the government's deficit reduction programme. The poll for the FT, conducted in the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Germany and the US, reveals that 77% of people in Britain surveyed said they had donated to charity in the past year -- a far higher figure than their European counterparts and above the 71% figure cited in the US.
"But when asked whether they agreed that they should be 'encouraged to give up some of their time to help support public services', the UK response lagged at the bottom, with just 25% endorsing this view. The US topped the chart, with 42% agreeing they had a role to play."
It's a far cry from the optimism of that July afternoon when "Professor" Redmond assured Cameron & Pickles that their crudely ideological policy would be met with open arms on Merseyside (http://condensedthoughts.blogspot.com/2010/07/tale-of-two-cities.html ).
Moreover, Redmond's attempt to justify his championing of Tory dogma (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/views/liverpool-columnists/phil-redmond/2010/07/23/phil-redmond-give-the-big-society-a-chance-to-make-a-real-difference-92534-26913829 ) looks even more wretched & pathetic at year's end than it did last summer.

The Shape Of Things To Come

2010-12-24T14:49:00.002Z

If you shut down young people's horizons, they'll shut down the streets (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qeEYedZHcQ ).
To be continued in 2011.

In The Bleak Merseyside Midwinter

2010-12-24T13:32:00.004Z

Feeling trapped by the ice around your house? Can't start the car, let alone drive it safely on our ice rink roads? Frazzled by last-minute changes to Christmas Day? Well, you're not alone.
As we curse the elements, let's also consider the wintry treatment most of us are in for from the ConDems with their craving for "chaos" (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/dec/18/coalition-local-planning-boles-chaos ), the puerile insistence that most of us are now middle-class (http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/dec/14/middle-britain-location-growth ) & the exponential acceleration of a two-tier society (http://blogs.channel4.com/snowblog/gulf-rich-poor/14273 ).
Against such a bleak, Dickensian backdrop, it's nice to know that Uncle Joe Anderson will offer handwringing sympathy for those most affected by the cuts while lacking the balls to offer any programme of resistance to Cameron & co. Instead, we'll get a continuation of half-arsed business as usual, largely indistinguishable from the reign of Warren "War Zones" Bradley, a "plan" which owes so much to PR & so little to substance (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/views/our-view/2010/12/16/it-s-good-to-have-a-plan-and-now-liverpool-has-one-one-plan-100252-27834255/ ) following on from 2008 when Liverpool "wowed the world during our year as European Capital of Culture" & a choice of business associates which bodes ill for the city (http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2010/11/joe-anderson-sitting-far-too-close-to.html ).
In these dark days it's heartening to see the return of the Professor with this seasonal offering: http://profchucklebuttychronic.blogspot.com/2010/12/pickles-at-christmas-away-from-politics.html .
Something for Uncle Joe to peruse once the mince pies & sherry have been consumed.

Calling In A Favour

2010-12-23T20:33:00.002Z

A consequence of Cable-gate, as the media inevitably tagged it, or Cable v. Satellite, as one wag tweeted, was the transferral of government policy on media takeovers from the Business department to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The minister who will now decide on whether Murdoch should be allowed to proceed with majority ownership of BSkyB is Jeremy Hunt, he of the moneyed background & rhyming slang moniker (courtesy, James Naughtie).

Hunt's decision can be predicted on two grounds. Firstly, it should be recalled that Hunt repeated the libel about Hillsborough last summer (http://condensedthoughts.blogspot.com/2010/06/tory-repeats-hillsborough-libel.html ), a lie which originally surfaced in Murdoch's rag, the Sun. Secondly, Murdoch's business practices elicited this paean of praise from Hunt on this blogpost earlier this year (http://www.jeremyhunt.org/newsshow.aspx?ref=452 ):

" Rather than worry about Rupert Murdoch owning another TV channel, what we should recognise is that he has probably done more to create variety and choice in British TV than any other single person because of his huge investment in setting up Sky TV which, at one point, was losing several million pounds a day.

"We would be the poorer and wouldn't be saying that British TV is the envy of the world if it hadn't been for him being prepared to take that commercial risk. We need to encourage that kind of investment."

Given that Murdoch told his editors to ditch Brown & support Cameron in October last year, government approval for Murdoch's majority stake is a safer bet than icy roads on Christmas Day.

Sitting On A Scoop

2010-12-21T15:48:00.005Z

What used to be called Fleet Street seldom misses an opportunity to take aim at the BBC for "left-wing bias". It's bollocks, of course. The real agenda behind the attacks is purely commercial; a neutered BBC would ease the way for the "journalism" practised by nearly all the national press to prevail & be taken as the standard. A chilling prospect, indeed.
The breaking news about Vince Cable's comments on Rupert Murdoch's empire (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/21/vince-cable-rupert-murdoch ) follows on from revelations in today's Daily Telegraph about other remarks Cable made in their broadsheet sting. However, the scoop secured by the BBC's Business Editor Robert Peston (http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/2010/12/what_vince_cable_said_about_ru.html ) also shows that the Telegraph deliberately sat on Cable's comments concerning Murdoch.
We all know the Beeb sometimes shoots itself in the foot, but its journalism stands head & shoulders over that of its so-called competitors. This is a spectacular case in point.

A Yuletide Lament

2010-12-20T22:42:00.001Z

Here's a seasonal offering for these austere times: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKdKzalMhXc .