Stereotypes & Spin

Last week's TUC conference in Liverpool was as underwhelming as it was ineffective (a sure sign of the times, just imagine if the acquiescent paymasters of New Labour had met in the city, say, 25 years ago).
However, Hugh Muir's Guardian Diary column last Thursday did relate this charming anecdote which I'm delighted to quote in full (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/sep/17/hugh-muir-diary-bnp-griffin ):
"Gordon Brown's original sabre-toothed spin doctor, Charlie Whelan --now head of the political unit at Unite-- has been dazzling admirers with a new sartorial image during a reluctant week-long visit to the TUC in Liverpool. He has taken to wearing a summer-white suit --despite the chill wind-- in the style of Mr Clean himself, Martin Bell. But his views on Liverpudlians can hardly be described as squeaky-clean. While moaning that there are no longer direct flights between his Highland retreat and Liverpool --he had to travel via Manchester-- he says the one consolation is that burglaries in the Highlands have gone down. Just a joke, says Charlie. Brave man."
Ah, yes, Charlie, indeed, just a joke, eh? Yeah, we love those gags & cracks about hubcaps, shellsuits & self-pity. All part of the gaiety of life, we'd all agree. So I'm sure Charlie will laugh at those cracks about him being a typically cold & calculating spin-doctor who lied through his teeth for his political masters, regardless of the consequences. Wouldn't he?
After all, it's not as though Charlie is unpopular with his colleagues at Unite, is it? What? Oh: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/sep/13/unite-official-charlie-whelan .
Still, I'm sure there's no foundation to what Toby Helm describes in his Observer report as "turmoil at Unite since Whelan's appointment as political director." Nor, too, should there be any truth in the claim that there is "a real culture of fear and a climate of bullying that he [Whelan] allows to take place in his department."
Charlie a bully? Ridiculous! He just likes a joke, & this time, it's on him.
Oh, btw, Charlie, about the Martin Bell suit, an actor named Kenneth Cope got there first in a 60s TV series called Randall & Hopkirk Deceased. Kenneth's a scouser. Funny, eh?

Based On A Corrupt Council They Assembled Earlier

Wayne referred to the story earlier (http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2009/09/cruise-control-naval-warfare-breaks-out.html ), but I just couldn't ignore the bizarre claim by Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg that a Lib Dem government (yes, I know) would be modelled on the Lib Dems' reign of misrule, mendacity & corruption in Liverpool (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2009/09/21/nick-clegg-lib3eral-democrats-success-in-liverpool-shows-how-party-would-run-britain-92534-24739397/ ).
Yes, Liverpool City Council, headed by a venal & fickle cabal of characters whose leader condones the criminal behaviour of a party colleague (Steve Hurst), & whose handling of culture year rendered it a squandered opportunity for the city, is the sort of thing we should expect on a national stage if the world stands on its head & elects Clegg into No.10 with a working majority next year.
Clegg, of course, has already tried to demonstrate his political machismo by promising severe & devastating cuts in the risible scenario of a Lib Dem victory at the election. [It reminds me of Zsa Zsa Gabor's famous remark that men who are macho aren't mucho.]
This has obviously spooked Warren Bradley, who sought to minimise the fall-out, knowing only too well that the Lib Dems in Liverpool are in for a similar electoral plight to that which faces New Labour on the national stage (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2009/09/21/warren-bradley-promises-that-liberal-democrat-cuts-would-not-hit-liverpool-front-line-staff-100252-24739475/ ).
Ian Hernon's article, however, does concede that that the Lib Dems' proposal to save £14bn in cuts annually "will hit Merseyside and other city-regions where more than half [of] wage earners are in the public sector."
Just imagine, Warren Bradley as deputy prime minister, Steve Hurst as Justice Secretary, Mike Storey as Foreign Secretary, Berni Turner as Culture Secretary & Paul Clark as Housing minister. Don't have nightmares, children. Sweet dreams.

Off Message & Off Course

Amongst other things, being a local MP means that you can make all the right noises, get the local rag to faithfully reprint them & thus give the impression you're taking a stand on an issue. That's certainly something Joe Benton & Frank Field, Labour MPs for Bootle & Birkenhead respectively, knew when they supplied Oldham Hall Street with a missive on bankers' bonuses earlier this month (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2009/09/04/merseyside-mp-s-demand-maximum-wage-to-prevent-return-of-city-bonuses-92534-24604709/ ):
"Birkenhead MP Frank Field and Bootle MP Joe Benton are among more than 30 Labour MPs piling pressure on Gordon Brown to rein in the so-called 'masters of the universe' as the end of the recession looms."
Rob Merrick's piece peddles the delusion that Brown is facing concerted pressure from backbenchers on the issue. He isn't. Bankers' bonuses is a major story, but it doesn't pose a terminal threat to Brown before the next election. It's also amusing to read that "the end of the recession looms."
Yeah, right. Then again, if your brief on Oldham Hall Street is to do a PR job for Liverpool One at every opportunity, I suppose stating the recession will soon end goes with the territory.
Merrick's piece should be compared & contrasted with a report by Patrick Wintour in the previous day's Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/sep/03/gordon-brown-bank-bonuses-plan ):
"Brown, determined to protect the interests of the City of London, insisted that the French plan for a bonus cap should only be examined, rather than endorsed, leaving a Labour prime minister taking a less radical stance than the the two conservative European leaders." [France's Nicholas Sarkozy & Germany's Angela Merkel].
Benton is quoted by the Post's article thus: "It would be wrong to attribute the whole of the crisis to bonuses, but they must have helped encouraged deals that were high risk. For a long time, it seems there has been no ceiling at all on the top wage earners, who should not be exempt from the restrictions imposed on public sector workers and others on low wages."
Quite right, just the sort of thing I'd expect to hear from the honourable member for Bootle, where the boom merely meant a less rapid rate of decline.
However, both Benton & Frank Field would do well to remember the infamous words of Peter Mandelson when he declared that New Labour was "intensely relaxed" about those becoming "filthy rich", as he so charmingly put it.
Both MPs should also take up the issue of the latest unemployment figures with New Labour's high command; they should note with more than a little concern the figures for their own constituencies. Birkenhead's jobless rate has increased by 53.3% over the last twelve months, while Bootle's has gone up by 46.9% in the same period (http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2009/mar/02/unemployment-and-employment-statistics-economics ).

Kangaroo Court

A couple of the comments on my post about Michael Shields appeared to suggest that the Oldham Echo had wrapped itself around the campaign, something which tainted the integrity of it. I understand where they're coming from; the Echo has "gone to town" on the story not out of any sense of altruism, but because it cynically calculates that it will at least arrest the sharp decline in its circulation figures. However, there will come a time in the near future when the temporary rise in sales comes to a close.
As for the case itself, it was inevitable that the whispering campaign against Michael would intensify. They tend to emanate from the usual quarters & I won't dignify any of them by providing links. A welcome & necessary corrective to the drip, drip, drip of innuendo, conjecture & open lies appeared in today's Guardian, courtesy of a piece by Stephen Jakobi of Fair Trials Abroad (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/sep/16/michael-shields-miscarriage-of-justice ).
Jakobi, who attended part of the trial, states: "Almost all the formalities of a fair trial were observed, but it was all for show. All applications by the defence were refused. All applications by the prosecution, no matter how unreasonable, were granted."
Jakobi relates how the skewed nature of the trial sometimes bordered on the Pythonesque. However, he gets to the meat of the case when he declares:
"Above all, the treatment of original eyewitness identification was appalling. Witnesses were allowed to contradict their original police statements that they could not remember the defendant's face, and the defence were not allowed to put these statements to the witnesses in cross-examination. Everyone was allowed to make dock identification as though this had real evidential worth. It was clear by her own evidence that the only person who picked Shields out at an identification parade had had no opportunity of seeing his face at the time of the incident."

He Said What?!

"Clearly, council and Lib Dem leader Warren Bradley is not about to tell his party to lay down their arms and surrender control of the council.
"For one thing, he thinks his party has much to be proud of, having delivered a successful Capital of Culture year, overseen the city's recent regeneration, and increased educational attainment." (http://blogs.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/dalestreetblues/2009/09/my-last-daily-post-column-figh.html )

Close The Door After You

It would be tempting to remark that the rats are leaving the sinking ship. However, I suspect that would be a vile slur on the rodent population. Be that as it may, many others will probably make that comment (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2009/09/08/sir-trevor-jones-to-stand-down-from-liverpool-council-100252-24632954/ & http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2009/09/08/convicted-liberal-democrat-councillor-steve-hurst-to-stand-down-100252-24632956/ ).

Wayne's already waved a cheery goodbye to the dubious duo with a couple of pertinent points about their tenure & track record (http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2009/09/councillor-steve-hurst-steps-down-good.html & http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2009/09/trevor-jone-steps-down-good-riddance.html ).

Turning first to the criminal, David Bartlett reports that Hurst will wait until next May before taking his leave. It would have been nice to bid him an immediate exit, but it seems that like many a discredited MP in the Westminster expenses scandal, he is happy to hold on to the bitter (& sour) end. The piece relates:

"The ECHO understands Cllr Hurst became fed up with the press coverage and the fact the issue would not go away."

Clearly the criminal's chutzpah hasn't been diminished by the opprobrium rightly meted out to him.

In attempting to put a veneer of political respectability on one of the most tawdry affairs in Liverpool local government (& that's saying something!), the Lib Dems only succeeded in digging the hole that little bit deeper. Step forward & take a bow, Colin Eldridge. Cllr Eldridge churned out a statement which seems to say everything about the Lib Dems' warped sense of ethics:

"[Hurst] has been an absolutely first class councillor for the people of Wavertree ward and prior to that Church ward.

"For all the people he has helped he will be a loss to the community. I wish him well in his endeavours in future."

Cllr Eldridge's effusive torrent of political effluent may well come back to haunt him, seeing as he is due to stand as the Lib Dem candidate for the Wavertree seat at the next election (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2009/09/08/liberal-democrat-stakes-it-all-on-race-for-liverpool-wavertree-constituency-92534-24630500/ ).

Turning to the man who was happy to chomp on a cigar while surveying the city's waterfront from a Mersey ferry boat with Michael Heseltine after the Toxteth riots in 1981, David Bartlett's article is terse to the point of Twittering, leading one to suspect that a short five-sentence press release has been, yet again, reheated on Oldham Hall Street & served up to the readers.

Perhaps it's due to Cllr Jones' willingness to resort to the lawyers (or rather a certain prominent Liverpool lawyer) to make his point.

Adding to the civic brain-drain from the Town Hall is Nadia Stewart. Cllr Stewart, representing Croxteth ward, defected from Labour to the Lib Dems at the time of the 2008 local elections, keeping her new friends in power (http://condensedthoughts.blogspot.com/2008/05/turncoat-in-toytown.html ).

The Post's piece on Cllr Eldridge's Westminster ambitions added that "more prominent councillors are expected to announce they are standing down in the coming weeks."

The exodus has begun.

*Photograph of Cllr Bradley & his motley crew of ne'er-do-wells courtesy of the Liverpool Subculture blog.

Pardoned

Perhaps it was the weight of evidence in his favour. Perhaps it was clear to even Whitehall mandarins & ministers that the Bulgarian judicial system's rudimentary approach to criminal matters was a sick joke, thus rendering realpolitik just this once irrelevant. Perhaps the excellent & sterling campaign waged by his family persuaded countless others to take up the case in a way which couldn't be ignored. Perhaps Justice Secretary Jack Straw, defending what is sure to be a Labour marginal at the next election, was spooked at the thought of his father standing against him.

In all probability, all the above factors have played their part in securing justice for Michael Shields today (http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/click/rss/1.0/-/1/hi/england/merseyside/8245760.stm ).

Today is clearly a day for celebration among Michael's family & friends. They won't want to dwell too much on the wider issue of this being a gross miscarriage of justice, perpetrated while a Labour government largely kept schtum because of Bulgaria's application for EU membership.

Not today anyway.

Nor will they be thinking too much of the identity of the individual responsible for the attack who has effectively got away with it while Michael was wrongly convicted.

Everyone on Merseyside knows the identity of the low-life whose cowardly attack & subsequent actions caused so much misery & distress for Michael's family.

If the notoriously slow wheeels of the judicial system do not turn sufficiently quickly in delivering final justice for not just Michael, but Martin Georgiev, the Bulgarian victim of the attack, this blog will name him as a matter of course.

Schadenfreude

As the old phrase says, revenge is a dish best served cold. It is therefore to be hoped that US "shock-jock" Steven Cohen's humble pie was uncooked when he decided to call time on his World Soccer Daily radio programme (http://industry.bnet.com/advertising/10003639/steven-cohen-abandons-sirius-radio-show-following-advertiser-boycott/ ).
Cohen, if you need reminding, constantly used his programme to repeat the lies about Liverpool fans at Hillsborough. He compounded the insult by hurriedly reading out an "apology" from a hastily-scripted statement, only to repeat his lies afterwards (http://condensedthoughts.blogspot.com/2009/05/shock-jock-subdued-as-sponsors-scram.html ). After being dropped by the Fox Soccer Channel, Cohen's radio rant was his remaining opportunity to pollute the airwaves. Now that is no more.
Like many a discredited cretin before him, Cohen is resorting to both the venal & the outlandish, claiming that he received anti-semitic emails & that his step-children were "contacted" (his word). Such tactics reveal a good deal more about the nature of the man.
Cohen is reported to be planning a subscription-based successor to his defunct show. That's sure to be a pretty slimmed-down operation, assuming, of course, that enough mugs sign up.

From Arraignment To Accommodation

Carted off to Liverpool's bridewell after a shambolig gig at the Mountford Hall in 1997, the conclusion of which was alleged to have been marked by the throwing of a mike stand into the audience, Shane MacGowan, arrested for said act but later released (http://www.shanemacgowan.com/articles/nme97b.shtml ), might have consoled himself with the thought that one of his heroes, Irish writer Brendan Behan, had also done time in the place. Alas, Behan was not familiar with the bridewell, on Cheapside just off Dale Street. Instead, the bibulous Behan was taken to Walton.
Nonetheless, the bridewell used to hold a particular appeal & repugnance in equal measure to several generations of miscreants in the city; some saw it as a badge of honour to have slept in its cells while others winced at the very mention of its name (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2004/nov/13/prisonsandprobation.ukcrime ).
[As a teenager I was told that my great-grandmother spent a night there after drinking a fair deal, singing Irish rebel songs & calling a police officer "a pot-bellied oul Orange bastard". Her husband interjected as she was dragged away, "Don't take away Ireland's hope." Whereupon he, too, was hauled off.]
For a decade it's lain idle, although that may well soon change (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2009/09/04/liverpool-bridewell-sold-at-auction-for-student-accommodation-92534-24604729/ ):
"A Merseyside property company bought the historic premises at auction yesterday, and now aims to sympathetically convert it into low-cost accommodation for university students." Sympathetically convert? Sounds ominous, doesn't it?
As the building is a Grade II-listed property, both the exterior and the interior need to be preserved as they are. The former won't be difficult to conform with, the latter, however, could well be more problematic.
On the Sunday of the Matthew Street weekend I was with friends at the Rose & Crown pub on Cheapside. I noticed that, despite the heavy rain, a steady stream of people queued up to have their photographs taken outside the rear entrance of the building. The link between incarceration & inebriation, many of the bridewell's "guests" were the worse for wear, was fleetingly invoked.

Retail Retreat

Welcome as Tesco's decision not to go ahead with a store on Hope Street is (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2009/09/04/tesco-withdraws-plans-for-liverpool-hope-street-store-92534-24604733/ ), it also raises the question of political grandstanding by those elected representatives whose self-regard is in inverse proportion to their actual efficacy.
Vicky Anderson's piece in the Post includes a gushing quote from Berni Turner, evidently attempting to appear magnanimous in a victory some may be forgiven for thinking she piloted:
"I hold out the hand of friendship to Sir Terry Leahy [Tesco chief executive], because he has absolutely done the right thing. I take my hat off to him."
Cllr Turner's warm words may also be prompted by her use of the term "evil empire" in referring to Tesco during the Facebook campaign against a Hope Street store. A rapproachement may well be all the more necesary given that Cllr Turner's Old Swan ward is the home of a large Tesco store.
The retail giant's volte-face also places Larry Nield's take on the development in a rather unflattering light. Writing on the Liverpool Confidential site a while back, the October Communications representative took the view that any campaign against a Hope Street store was futile & that mammon must be allowed to take its course. He concluded (http://www.liverpoolconfidential.com/index.asp?Sessionx=IpqiNwEiNwEnIwY6IHqjNwB6IA ):
"There may be some sympathy for those who say a Tesco is unsuited to Hope Street, but under planning rules it would seem they are on a loser. The council has no power to prevent Tesco opening on Hope Street. The issue is signage, and it would seem a compromise will have to be reached.
"We are not going to see the re-opening of grand grocery stores such as Kirklands and Coopers of Church Street, Reeces or the Kardomah.
"Every Tesco in the city centre I visit seems to be thriving, which makes me wonder how people have survived until now. It also makes me realise Tesco's business judgement is paying dividends."
Strictly speaking, of course, the Tesco proposal wasn't derailed by the council, which, as Larry pointed out, had no say in the matter. However, his subsequent assumption that Hope Street would host a Tesco store now looks less than sage.
In an intriguing aside to Larry's LC piece, one commenter pointed to Liverpool Vision's status as a client of October Communications, adding that it's headed by one Terry Leahy. LC's editorial team jumped in quickly, declaring:
"Larry and/or October Comms do not work or perform any PR or marketing function for Liverpool Vision.
"As far as we know, if October [Comms] did ever work for [Liverpool] Vision, it would have been some years ago, and even then in its earlier life before the big quango merger.
"Please, please, folks, be careful before you add your wisdom to the rant, especially when the things you are saying are completely without foundation. You are legally responsible for your own comments and we'll have to remove them if they are reported to us as excessively rude or defamatory."
It's curious why LC should assert that there's no link between October Comms & Liverpool Vision, adding that the lawyers could, theoretically, be dragged in if anyone suggests otherwise when October lists Vision as one of its clients (http://www.octobercomms.co.uk/clients.html ).
Either someone's guilty of a terminological inexactitude, or that webpage urgently needs updating. Perhaps Larry can shed some light on this; clarification would be welcome. So, Larry, what's the situation?

He's Back

The Professor's back with a gem of a post: http://profchucklebuttychronic.blogspot.com/2009/09/matthew-street-special-festival.html .
Welcome back, Professor, you're a star!

And They Say Industrial Reporting Is Dead

As the city approached the Matthew Street money-making weekend, the Oldham Echo couldn't resist lapsing into pantomime mode, not, as you'd expect, by urging us all to wear mop-top wigs & yodel along to the old favourites, but to wheel out an old bogey figure from the 80s (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2009/08/28/gmb-leader-on-holiday-during-enterprise-liverpool-strikes-100252-24551743/ ).
Marc Waddington's turgid tract of tabloidese last Friday shrieked:
"The union chief involved in stalled negotiations over today's bin strike in Liverpool will be watching events from a sun lounger at a five-star resort in Crete, the ECHO has learned."
The notion of anyone on holiday "watching events" relating to an industrial dispute is a new one on me; perhaps live satellite link-ups were arranged just for the occasion, or perhaps it is now common practice, available to anyone on holiday, to watch live TV pictures of, well, not much really, just a few people entering & leaving a building where negotiations take place. Or perhaps it's just lazy journalism.
Waddington's slanted piece spoke about Ian Lowes, the GMB official concerned, not being "on the picket line" because of his holiday. Lowes is someone the Echo has long had in its sights. He was a key player during the 80s when his role on the Joint Shop Stewards Committe (JSSC) cemented the support of the local authority unions for the Militant council against the Tories & Kinnock.
Waddington's piece continued:
"The news of of his trip comes in the week that Liverpool city managers expressed frustration that attempts to get the unions back around the table had failed."
Presumably, this "failure" was caused by Lowes' holiday; managers had made "attempts" to get the seemingly recalcitrant unions back at the table, had they?
The article also alleged that Lowes' holiday had "infuriated some GMB members" who were "left to take the action" while the GMB official enjoyed "the island paradise".
So were any GMB members actually named &/or directly quoted in Waddington's piece? Er, no. He fell back on the typical tabloid trick of anonymity & third-hand sourcing. It did, however, quote Lib Dem Eddie Clein, as you'd expect. As for the GMB members, they were "left to take the action" which they'd voted for in a ballot; they didn't need Ian Lowes' hand to hold onto during last Friday's strike.

A Bitter-Sweet Scouse Symphony

In he struggled & lurched. Alun Williams, owner of the Jacaranda bar on Slater Street, arrived at his business on the Monday mid-evening of Liverpool's Matthew Street Festival. Soaked to the bone from the rain that's been an all-too constant feature of this weekend & well-lubricated by the red wine he quickly requested from his bar staff, the man who acted as the Beatles' manager until Brian Epstein's offer was too good to refuse took a while to compose himself. After a while, however, he was, given his harried circumstances, in expansive mood.
I've often seen Williams before at his bar. However, the moment never quite seemed right to approach the guy who, in his own words, was the man who sold the Beatles. Besides, he would often look across the place like a guy with a burning grudge, & with good reason.
So it was with a little bated breadth that I approached him, barely a yard from my position at the bar. I exchanged pleasantries & asked him if he ever listened to today's bands. No, he replied, he was very much an old-timer. I asked him if he'd gone on to manage any bands after the Beatles. Yes he did, he replied, but they were, as he so pithily put it, "shit".
Chancing my arm that much bit further, I asked him if he was sick & tired of that early 60s period, or, perhaps, viewed it with any affection. He looked at me & replied, "Well, I'm stuck with it, aren't I?"
He had a few more things to say about Lennon & McCartney (the Beatles used the basement section of the club, now an expanded part of the bar for rehearsals) which the libel lawyers would seize on were I to relate them.
He wandered off, uncertain of gait & diminutive of frame to mingle with people who wouldn't have had a clue who he was.

Baby You're A Rich Man

Spot the anachronism in the photograph above. Yes, we all know it's supposed to depict the young Lennon reposing against a pub which wasn't even open when The Fabs played at the Cavern. The much-missed howler lies in the fact that the teenage Lennon sported a 50s quiff; the "Beatle cut" came years later.

However, don't expect such minutiae to get in the way of the annual money-making exercise in the city centre this weekend. Oh, & guess what? It'll be the BEST EVER! No, really, it's not just the Oldham Echo trotting out that old one, it's pliant Lib Dem councillors like Cressington's Paula Keaveney too (http://paulakeaveney.blogspot.com/2009/08/matthew-street-update.html ):

"Europe's biggest FREE annual music festival is set to be the best yet -- thanks to a new sponsorship deal with some of the world's biggest companies associated with The Beatles."

And there I was, thinking that it was supposed to be about the music. Silly me.

Yes, yes, yes, I've long known that these things don't run on fresh air. There's a cost for everything, that's capitalism, folks. Imagine no possessions, indeed.

However, it is telling that Cllr Keaveney opens her blog post with the assumption that the success of this or any other festival is dependent on new business tie-ups rather than the quality & appeal of the acts booked.

Indeed, Cllr Keaveney goes on to do the job normally undertaken by Oldham Hall Street, ie., reheat a city council PR puff-piece:

"This fabulous celebration of the music of The Beatles, in advance of the upcoming release on 09.09.09 of The Beatles Remasters and The Beatles: Rock Band, is the result of a major sponsorship deal announced between festival organisers, Liverpool City Council, and Harmonix/MTV Games/EA, EMI Music and Cirque du Soleil."

Good, glad we've got that sorted, eh, Paula? And, as you say, it is a "fabulous celebration of the music of The Beatles". Isn't it?

Showing His True Colours

Given the normal speed of web response to senseless or offensive statements & actions, I'm surprised, to say the least, that not even the general blogosphere has picked up on comments made by Kelvin MacKenzie during Sky News' nightly newspaper review on Wednesday evening.
MacKenzie, the man who is to journalism what Bernard Madoff is to financial probity, revealed his class with a series of truly tasteful comments.
Remarking on the death of Ted Kennedy, MacKenzie opined that the late senator should be judged by his actions & excoriated Kennedy's in leaving his female companion to die at Chappaquiddick in 1969. Quite right, people should be judged by their deeds; wise words, indeed, from the reptile who still stands by his lies about Hillsborough. Judgement has long since been passed on MacKenzie & it will form the basis for his eventual obituary.
The second comment the subterranean scribe made, however, really distinguished him for his sensitivity & decency. Responding to the Sky News presenter's remark that under Afghan law a man can starve his wife to death if she refuses him sex, MacKenzie guffawed, "It's not a bad idea!" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ir5vWTP25c ).

[By the way, there's a more considered take on Kennedy from Roy Greenslade in Wednesdays Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/26/edward-kennedy-daily-mirror ) .]

At Least Warren Bradley Likes It

Lower the flag to half-mast on Oldham Hall Street, publish a sobbing "how could they?" piece by an Oldham Echo "columnist", recycle those "Hugs Not Hate" placards held self-consciously by the Grosvenor minions outside One Parked Here Without Our Say-So.
Professor Chucklebutty's upturned caravan (http://profchucklebuttychronic.blogspot.com/2009/07/terminal-architecture-at-world-heretic.html ) has emerged as the winner of the Carbuncle Cup (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/8226211.stm & http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2009/08/liverpool-wins-carbuncle-cup.html ).
I suspect it was a pretty close-run thing, with Grosvenor's grotesque edifice pushing it all the way to the finish line in a photo-finish.
Is it still possible to demolish both monstosities & start all over again? Sorry, what's that, we're stuck with them, did you say?
Oh great.

Arresting Decline Through Academic Discourse

Sinking like a stone into the murky Mersey is the Oldham Echo's sickly sister, the Daily Post (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/aug/27/regional-abcs-morning-liverpool-post ):
"Trinity Mirror's Liverpool Daily Post was the biggest circulation faller among the English regional daily morning papers in the first half of 2009, down by more than 18% year on year.
"Liverpool's morning daily recorded an average circulation of 11,648 per issue during the six months to the end of June, down 18.4% compared with the same period in 2008, according to the latest figures released today by the Audit Bureau of Circulations."
These are grim times indeed for the paper whose future was already looking imperilled due to the Oldham Echo becoming a morning tabloid.
One paper which has taken a novel approach to falling circulation & revenues is the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/ ), according to Roy Greenslade on his media blog earlier today (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2009/aug/27/new-york-times-theguardian ).
Greenslade reports that NYT columnists will double up as tutors in adult education courses for its readers, adding that "readers can pay $125 (£76) to $185 (£115) to study for a week under their journalist tutors."
The measure follows the Guardian's move towards "a readers' club" in order to maximise revenue in the internet age. Greenslade concludes:
"The NY Times and Guardian initiatives are turning the theory into practice. I believe these measures are a precursor to a more participatory, collaborative form of journalism, although I also concede that some may well see the NY Times's columnists acting as tutors as a confirmation of the priestly status of journalists."
[There's more on the NYT's initiative at these links: http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/08/newspapers-find-a-new-way-to-monetize-their-journalists/ & http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rory-oconnor-members-only-journalism-c_b_269277.html .]
Where the Big Apple leads, Oldham Hall Street could follow; just as the likes of Paul Krugman could hold masterclasses on the economic effects of climate change, & Maureen Dowd could host seminars on the battles Obama faces with Capitol Hill, Richard Down could hold forth on the wonderful architecture of the city's new buildings, & Paddy Shennan could advise students on how to avoid penning irrelevant, parochial, feel-good, third-rate copy on how fortunate we all are to live on Merseyside.
Couldn't they?
After all, Alastair Machray, editor of the Oldham Echo, has compared his publication to the NYT (http://condensedthoughts.blogspot.com/2008/12/more-from-echo-chamber.html ).
What better way to confirm the "priestly status" of the scribes on Oldham Hall Street?

20.20 BST Update: the Oldham Echo's circulation figure is down by 10.1% to 92,093 over the six month period from January to June of this year, according to figures published by the Audit of Bureau Circulations.

Off The Merseybeat

You know how it is in late August, slow news days become slow news weeks, & events can procede as sluggishly as the 53 bus trundling into town.
A minion on the Daily Post rewrites a press release, all five sentences of it, & then blithely puts it in the "Liverpool News" section: http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2009/08/27/gerry-marsden-and-the-pacemakers-how-liverpool-set-the-pace-in-the-swinging-sixties-92534-24542263/ .
Yes, just days from the absurd mop-tops & yeah, yeah, yeahs of a Bank Holiday piss-up which masquerades as a celebration of a city's musical heritage, the time is right to release a DVD of, erm, Gerry & the Pacemakers. Hmm, OK, Gerry's been around for years & no-one really begrudges him his place in the sun, but the nameless scribbler on Oldham Hall Street who probably wasn't even soiling his or her nappy when Eric's was closed feeds on this like a pigeon on a piece of stale bread, breathlessly telling us that Gerry "reminisced about the early years of the British invasion he helped spearhead along with the Beatles."
The "British invasion" referred to was that brief period in the 60s when UK groups had hit US singles, something not fully explained in the Post piece. Also not fully explained is that the likes of the Stones, The Who, The Animals, The Kinks & many others were there alongside the Fabs. Good old Gerry, meanwhile wasn't so much at the spearhead of things, as bringing up the rear, something the man who popularised "You'll Never Walk Alone", turning it into the anthem we all know, would readily attest.
At the spearhead of accurate journalism is, of course, the Daily Post.

You Said It, Jack

As luck would have it, the Fab Collective chose this quote to display outside their "Up To Something" exhibition at St Luke's in the city centre. One Scouser who certainly is up to something is Michael Shields' father, Michael senior (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2009/08/21/father-of-michael-shields-considering-running-against-jack-straw-as-mp-in-blackburn-100252-24494734/ ).

Clearly, the intention is to embarrass Straw over his disdainful handling of the campaign & I wish Michael snr all the best in that regard. If he does decide to stand, loyalties will be torn for one or two individuals. As David Bartlett noted on Friday, Joe Anderson, Labour group leader on the city council, has been a vocal supporter of the campaign & has even gone so far as to say that he considered resigning from the party when Straw rejected Michael's appeal a couple of months back (http://blogs.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/dalestreetblues/2009/08/michael-shields-dad-considers.html ).

Some eagle-eyed readers may note that Cllr Anderson considered resigning, but didn't.

Greg O'Keefe's Echo article also stated that Maria Shields, Michael's mother, "could stand against a junior minister in Liverpool at the elections next May."

For some strange reason, the "junior minister" referred to in O'Keefe's piece wasn't named. However, it could only be Maria Eagle, Labour MP for Liverpool Garston, &, yes, a junior minister at the Home Office.

An indication of the unease felt about Straw's dismissive treatment of Michael & his family at fairly high levels is apparently reflected in a call by Brendan Barber, General Secretary of the TUC, for Michael to be pardoned (http://www.tuc.org.uk/newsroom/tuc-16884-f0.cfm ).

[Michael Shields' campaign: http://www.michaelshields.uwclub.net/ .]

Maximum Exposure

If you haven't visited the "Up To Something" exhibition by the Fab Collective at St Luke's, known to all as the bombed-out church, on the corner of Leece Street & Berry Street, I heartily recommend it. The exhibition continues until the end of the month, when the excellent Urban Strawberry Lunch will provide a welcome antidote to all the tiresome & cliched excesses of the Matthew Street festival.

Many of the photographs on display steer clear of the usual targets & bring into focus the wider city that the tourists don't visit. The pictures are also accompanied by quotes about the city by a disparate selection of figures down the centuries. McCartney provides a glib soundbite which could have been used by the Culture Company last year, but wasn't, while George Harrison offers a pithy, offbeat take on the place. However, the quotes which most struck me came from "outsiders", including one about how 17th century Liverpool women from the oldest profession, ahem, extended their hospitality on "Liverpool quay" to disembarking sailors & the comment by Tony Wilson, "Mr Manchester" himself, that every part of his life had been touched by the River Mersey.

[Regards to Graham from the Fab Collective & local flickr group whom I spoke to on Saturday.]

Esther's Eyesore Embarrassment As Election Nears

A month after Lascar House on the city's Dock Road folded like a pack of cards, shortly after receiving a seal of approval from structural engineers, according to Tory hopeful Esther McVey, (http://condensedthoughts.blogspot.com/2009/07/dereliction-of-duty.html ) what's left of the building, which was originally the grandly-named Anglo-American Hotel, continues to act as an eyesore on the approach to the city centre (this photograph was taken on Saturday evening).

Since issuing a terse missive to the local media about the incident, Ms McVey has been uncharacteristically silent on the matter while wooing floating voters in the Wirral West constituency.

With the options for the site seemingly limited, due to the city council's inertia as much as the long-term decision facing its owners, it appears that the collapsed building will remain as it is for some time; that means it could still be an embarrassing eyesore come the next election. Local Tory officials have said nothing about the matter. However, as polling day looms, they may just start to get twitchy on the subject.

Probably?

Carlsberg don't do blots on a city's waterfront, secured in questionable circumstances in the first place, & headed by a character who's currently bailed on suspicion of fraud (http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2009/08/mann-island-dylan-harvey-director_18.html ), but if they did, it still wouldn't be as bad as this.

Stick It In The Inside Pages & Hope Nobody Notices

The relatively muted treatment of yesterday's PR stunt at the waterfront in Trinity Mirror's organs indicates that both the Post & Echo editors know that it was quickly seen for what it was. Richard Down's piece in the Daily Post was reheated & served up again by the Oldham Echo (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2009/08/20/hundreds-hug-grosvenor-s-underfire-flagship-liverpool-apartment-block-one-park-west-92534-24486842/ ).
Even by Oldham Hall Street's standards, it is a pretty sloppy & slapdash piece of scribbling:
"More than 100 people held an architectural love in for an under-fire apartment block in Liverpool city centre.
"The residents and shoppers linked hands in defence of Grosvenor's flagship apartment block One Park West at midday yesterday."
[Note: the photograph above was taken at five minutes past midday.]
Down's third-rate copy plumbs the depths further on:
"Yesterday marked the climax of the online action with a real-life 'group hug' at 12.30pm.
"Famous Twitter users Jonathan Ross and Stephen Fry were invited to join and at one point organisers thought Liverpool FC defender Jamie Carragher would show up.
"In the end, no celebrities made it, but a chain of around 200 people linked hands, turned their backs on the 17-storey building and embraced it."
Hacks prostituting their profession is as old as journalism itself; this, erm, article is the latest in a long, long line. Let's just break it down (no pun intended), shall we?
So the "group hug" was "real-life", was it? I didn't know that, I was under the delusion it was all a mirage.
The notion that Ross & Fry would have even given this PR stunt a second thought is risible in the extreme; the organisers, moreover, show that their relation to reality is tenuous if they really thought that Jamie Carragher would show up just hours before a Premier League game at Anfield [good win, btw].
There weren't "around 200" participants for the cameras. Halve that number & you're still debating the actual turnout. And can someone please explain how you can turn your back on something, or someone, in order to embrace the object of one's apparent adoration?
Journalism at its finest, wouldn't you say?

A Wondrous Place?

Liverpool-born journalist & music writer Paul Du Noyer was roped in for a few pithy soundbites for Grosvenor's benefit when the Daily Post banged the drum for One Parked Here Without Our Say-So & its Facebook advertising campaign (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2009/08/14/one-park-west-residents-begin-the-fightback-92534-24440113/ ).
Wayne was quick to pick Du Noyer up on his comments (http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2009/08/one-park-west-and-carbuncle-cupthe.html ). However, it's worth dissecting the blurb he provided for his seemingly ungrateful recipients on Oldham Hall Street:
"The old Chavasse Park was no beauty, whereas the new one has become a glorious rendezvous for Liverpool's young - these kids, effectively, are rendering the debate irrelevant."
A "glorious rendezvous", Paul? You mean like Barcelona's Las Ramblas or Rome's St. Peter's Square? Good, glad we've got that clarified.
Oh, & this comment about the kids "rendering the debate irrelevant", Paul. If the kids on the lawn have the ability to fully resolve contentious local issues, perhaps we should put them in the council chamber instead of the current mob, eh? Just a thought.
As others have attested, Paul's knowledge of local music history is impressive (I've got his book) & his editorship of Mojo made it compelling reading. With that in mind, I pose Paul this question: if a commercial radio station followed up a Motorhead track with a Mozart symphony, & made a habit of such sudden & jarring playlist selections, it wouldn't last long, would it? So why impose (bad) examples of modern architecture in the same space as examples of gothic & classical architecture? Architecture, like music, has different categories.

Hugs From The Mugs

"Would you like to be a hugger?", an ernest-looking chap with an accent which owed more to Surrey than Sandhills asked me.

Barely five minutes earlier I'd been accosted by a smartly-dressed woman whose accent suggested she'd stumbled into the city by accident after coming off the M62. She posed the same question.

I smiled at both people & commented that I didn't live in One Park West.

"Oh, that doesn't matter," the woman replied as I inched away.

With less than ten minutes to go before the "group hug", the area outside the One Parked Without Our Say-So was deserted, save for a forlorn-looking soul brandishing a placard which bore the slogan, Hugs Not Hate. Yes, I'm sure the anti-racism campaign Hope Not Hate won't mind their slogan being adapted by wealthy business interests in the city.

As 12.30 arrived, however, enough faces to make the stunt just about work, with the assistance of Photoshop, had shown up, including an entire party of school-children & a few tourists fresh from the Albert Dock, one of whom later claimed to have received a mug for her participation.

Says it all really.

As the TV cameras caught the moment & the cameras clicked away, the suits hovering on the margins muttered furiously into their mobiles while remembering to smile at the kids.

Stunt duly captured for the media, the motley knot of participants dispersed while representatives from Grosvenor congratulated themselves on a brazen act pulled off without any mishaps.

I bumped into Wayne as the moment of distinctly self-conscious hand-holding approached (http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2009/08/one-park-west-balloons-arrive-for-group.html ).

We looked on, appalled & amused in equal measure.

Tree Huggers Sue For Copyright

Going into the city centre in the next hour or so? Yes? Oh, good, you'll be able to witness a shameless PR stunt at One Parked Without Our Say-So. As a commenter on my post about the excruciating edifice points out, a Facebook page has been set up in support of the unwanted building by those related to & colleagues of Daily Post editor Mark Thomas (http://www.facebook.com/search/?init=srp&sfxp&o=69&q=One+Park+West#/group.php?gid=130126818244&ref=search&sid=10000157365040.3349075372..1 & http://www.liverpoolconfidential.com/index.asp?Sessionx=IpqiNwEiKaqjJWAqNwB6IaqiNwA ).
Last week's Daily Post carried a piece by its special One Park West correspondent Alan Weston (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2009/08/14/one-park-west-residents-begin-the-fightback-92534-24440113/ ).
Contrary to the impression given in the article's headline, the "residents" of One Park West aren't actually named or quoted directly by Weston. Instead, he reheats the PR leftovers from its opening last year:
"But now residents of the landmark residential complex, in the heart of Liverpool One, have begun their own fightback.
"They say that, apart from its outstanding views, the Cesar Pelli-designed building formsa wonderful backdrop to the new five-acre Chavasse Park."
Weston later adds:
"A Facebook group has been set up by a PR firm for people to show their support of One Park West, culminating in a 'group hug' of the building next week."
It's certainly a new one on me to be informed that people need a PR firm to spontaneously express their views on any matter.
The PR firm, by the way, is Think Publicity (http://www.thinkpublicity.co.uk ). As you'd expect, it's heavy on presentation, but feather-light on content.
One commenter on the Facebook page responds to a remark that One Park West is meant to resemble a ship:
"This building is supposed to look like a ship? The Titanic comes to mind. No bad feelings or confusion, it is truly awful and should sink without trace. Are there enough lifeboats?"
Nothing like a Facebook campaign to reverse your fortunes, is there?

Phoning Up For A Favour

I see Larry Nield has made good use of his old contacts on Oldham Hall Street to promote one of October Communications' main clients in today's Daily Post: http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2009/08/19/travelodge-signs-up-for-neptune-development-in-new-brighton-92534-24475935/ .
October Communications must be saving a fortune on their advertising budget, musn't they?

The Echo Would Say This Is A Business Opportunity

Spotted yesterday afternoon. Yep, it sure is "boom time" for the waterfront. Isn't it?

Liverpool's Mary Celeste?

Those responsible for the white elephant you see above (the ad at the top of the building has such an air of desperation, don't you think?) are put out that it's been rightly derided for its total absence of architectural & aesthetic merit (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2009/08/11/two-of-liverpool-s-flagship-buildings-shortlisted-for-carbuncle-award-92534-24365970/ ):
"The inclusion of two of Liverpool's flagship developments on a list to find the worst new building in the UK has provoked a fierce backlash."
Yes, One Park West & the ferry terminal, aka the upturned caravan (courtesy, Professor Chucklebutty) have been nominated, much to the fury of an entire city, right? Er, right? Oh.
It turns out that the "fierce backlash" breathlessly essayed by Alan Weston comes from....ahem, a partner at a city centre firm of architects, the city council's executive member for the environment [ha!] Bernie Turner & the Projects Director for Grosvenor.
That's a "fierce backlash", is it?
The representative from Grosvenor even claims that "One Park West had replaced a 'wasteland'. "
Not so. The original Chavasse Park was on the site now occupied by One Parked Here Without Our Say-So.
The partner at the city centre architects Austin-Smith, Alistair Sunderland, proclaims without any sense of irony that One Park West is "a civilised and urbane building". Pity this block of civility & sophistication, like other Johnny-come-latelys on the waterfront, can't sell all its apartments, eh? In fact, it's no exaggeration to say that the signs look ominous (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2009/08/10/property-developers-slashing-prices-to-kickstart-sales-of-newly-build-apartments-in-liverpool-city-centre-92534-24357869/ ):
"The developer behind the Alexandra Tower --the luxury 201-apartment block on Princess Parade-- collapsed into administration owing £49m in December last year.
"Six months on administrators and turnaround specialist Zolfo Cooper admits it has failed to complete a single extra sale."
[If a "turnaround specialist" admits failure, shouldn't it describe itself as a "turned down specialist" instead?]
How is all this relevant to One Park West, you may ask. Well, Ben Schofield goes on to report:
"Further along the waterfront, Grosvenor's One Park West apartment complex is enjoying mixed fortunes.
"There are just one three-bedroom and two one-bedroom apartments still on the market.
"But it is a different story with studios and two-bedroom flats, of which there are still 25 and around 30 respectively remaining.
"Guy Butler, Grosvenor's senior development manager, said one-in-three potential buyers who had exchanged contracts are yet to complete.
"He said the difficulty is the dearth of buy-to-let mortgages and the banks' demand for large deposits."
Hang on, there's something wrong here. Doesn't the Oldham Echo reassure us on a fairly regular basis that Merseyside is immune to the global market conditions? Surely some mistake.
Schofield's piece quotes local councillor Steve Mumby, whose words will make the incestuous world of Merseyside's media & business wince, & the rest of us quote Shakespeare: yea, a Daniel come to judgement:
"People are making the calculation that it is a bargain now, but it will fall more in six months' time and they will get a better deal.
"It is a test of nerves between investors and developers.
"There was a ludicrous over-valuation of apartments in the city centre and an over-supply.
"Probably the market is bouncing back the opposite way. I am worried about the psychology of it."
It's interesting to note a comment piece by William Leece in the same day's Daily Post (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/views/liverpool-daily-post/2009/08/10/comment-inevitable-correction-in-liverpool-city-centre-flats-market-92534-24356716/ ).
Leece begins:
"You don't have to be an economist or an estate agent to agree with [Steve Mumby] that there are too many overpriced flats and apartments in Liverpool city centre.
"Given that conclusion, and the fact that the housing market in general has taken a downturn, the rest follows surely as night follows day."
Indeed, it is a statement of the bloody obvious, one that normally commands the assent of anyone with half a brain. For the recession-deniers on Oldham Hall Street, however, it's a dangerous deviation from the Trinity Mirror line on our "booming city centre", isn't it?

A Firm Foundation For A Campaign?

As the rubble from the collapsed building, owned by Esther McVey's family business, on the Dock Road is cleared, it's heartening to see that it hasn't interfered with her electioneering "over the water", as Wirralians of a certain generation are still wont to say (http://esther2009.wordpress.com/2009/08/13/come-and-join-us-this-sunday/ ).
Yes, if you've got nothing better to do this Sunday lunchtime, why not join Esther & her chums as they perambulate the leafy neighbourhoods of Pensby. Nice place Pensby, it's a bit like the Dock Road, only greener. And richer, too.
So while Ms. McVey's professed aim of turning the Dock Road building into an education centre in a deprived area turns out to be as reliable as the "absolutely clean bill of health" that was given by the structural surveys on the place (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2009/07/24/collapsed-liverpool-property-is-owned-by-parliamentary-candidate-esther-mcvey-100252-24228402/ ), it's encouraging to see that it's politics as usual for the Tory hopeful.
Indeed, Esther puts the word out that she'd be delighted to see you there on Sunday. What's more, nothing, it seems, is too much trouble for the Dock Road's doyenne of dereliction: "Or if you have any issues you'd like us to look into please contact me directly."
Take it from me, Esther, there's a few people on this side of the river who would very much like you to look into a particular issue. They might just take up the offer to contact you directly.

Taking Unpaid Adverts

The latest example of the Oldham Echo faithfully republishing press releases rather than doing that messy, complicated, time-consuming chore known as journalism could be found in this morning's edition, straight off the M62: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2009/08/12/liverpool-law-firm-hill-dickinson-is-first-patron-of-liverpool-chamber-of-commerce-100252-24377086/ .
It's a story the remaining average readers of the paper would have glazed over with scarcely a second thought. After all, it seems to be no more than an obscure snippet about the city's business sector; the press release, tarted-up as a three paragraph story, & so terse it could have been Twittered, enthuses:
"Patronage will give [Hill Dickinson] the opportunity to engage with the chamber on a greater level and promote the firm to the wider chamber membership."
Good for Hill Dickinson, you'd think. And good, too, for Larry Nield, whose present employers October Communications represents Hill Dickinson (http://www.octobercomms.co.uk/clients.html ), & whose sterling efforts with his former colleagues on Oldham Hall Street have resulted in a puff piece for the law firm & another feather in October Communications' cap. Well done, Larry, feel free to doff said cap in acknowledgement.
Drinks all round?

Jockeying For Position

Now that Mike Storey has distanced himself from the Bradley & Hurst double-act, acutely aware of how the issue is viewed in his own ward, the city's Lib Dems are sharpening the knives for their leader & his mate, the convicted criminal. Some, it seems, are planning a little further ahead.

Still smarting from the Boot Estate debacle, Richard Kemp hasn't forgotten how his party colleagues let him be the fall guy for the affair. Now's his chance to position himself for the post-Bradley leadership (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2009/08/12/political-parties-urged-to-set-aside-differences-to-solve-cash-crisis-at-liverpool-council-92534-24378167/ ):

"A LEADING Liverpool politician last night urged the city's two main party leaders to set aside their differences to tackle a looming financial crisis at the council."

Councillor Kemp, who'll doubtless be pleased by David Bartlett's fulsome description of him, has made his intervention in the form of a letter to both Bradley & Labour leader Joe Anderson which ostensibly concerns itself with the £90m "black hole" facing the city's finances over the next five years.

The letter attempts to make Councillor Kemp look like a unifier, a healer, a figure devoid of party political intrigue & factionalism:

"Traditionally we will face this [financial crisis] by having a big row at council, blaming each other and the Government and the Americans and Uncle Tom Cobley and all...

"If we are to protect the services needed by the people and communities that need them most we need to set aside party politics and work together to make the partnerships really work".

[I'm sure President Obama will be bemused to know that he is held responsible for the city's state.]

Councillor Kemp goes on to express the hope that "the big fight will not be Lib Dem against Labour but the Council against bureaucracy, silos and inefficiency throughout the public sector".

Ah, yes, cutting back on waste & unnecessary spending, the clarion call of many a candidate down the ages.

Quite what Warren Bradley makes of the letter remains to be seen, although it can be guessed at.

However, if Councillor Kemp feels he may have a free run at the leadership when Bradley finally succumbs to Hurst-gate, he may be disappointed. Flo Clucas, deputy council leader, throws her hat into the ring with a rather clumsy & unwieldy soundbite:

"We have been working on the way forward and our budget for some considerable time. Our prime aims are not to affect front line services, to deliver the best services, and to continue to attract investment."

Councillor Clucas also proclaims the city's prospects to be brighter than at any time in at least a generation. Clearly, a state of denial is a pre-requisite for leading the current administration in Liverpool.

Invoking His First Amendment

Anyone keeping up to date with events across the pond will be both atonished & exasperated by the response of the Republicans & their fellow travellers to last November's election defeat. This has given rise to what's known as the "Birther" movement, a rag-tag collection of right-wing eccentrics who claim that Obama shouldn't be president because he is actually Kenyan.
Yes, I know.
All this & a good deal else is commendably covered by the likes of the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ ), Raw Story (http://www.rawstory.com/ ) & Media Matters (http://www.mediamatters.org/ ).
The most recent absurdity perpetrated in the name of US political debate revolves around Obama's health care plan. Town Hall meeting have been beseiged by corporate shills, paid by the private health firms to start baseless rumours & shout at the top of their voices, far-Right fundamentalists & those por saps who watch Fox News...& believe it. The latter group claims that Obama has a secret plan to introduce "death panels", which would administer federal euthanasia for anyone over 65.
It's therefore reassuring to know that a truly maverick voice has taken to cyberspace to give his take on events (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-bernie-sanders/senator-sanders-unfiltere_b_255836.html ). Bernie Sanders, a senator representing Vermont, is described as Independent. He sees himself as a socialist, probably the dirtiest word in the American political lexicon. However, Senator Sanders sees no reason to backtrack from the label. In UK terms he'd be somewhat to the left of New Labour, normally an unremarkable stance. In US politics, however, such a stance is both surprising & heartening (http://www.sandersunfiltered.com/ ).

Bon Appetit!

Never let it be said that the Oldham Echo doesn't encourage healthy eating. Free with every issue of this morning's paper was...a pasty. Ah, don't be like that now, tuck in!

By Your Friends Shall Ye Be Known

Sometimes the bonds of loyalty can wear very thin. Friendships & alliances can be finite; the fall-out can be messy & unpleasant. I fear such a fate awaits Warren Bradley & his old mate, convicted criminal Steve Hurst (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2009/08/10/fraud-councillor-referred-to-liverpool-city-solicitor-after-accusation-he-did-not-declare-interest-in-debate-92534-24357925/ ):
"A COUNCILLOR convicted of breaking election law has been referred to city lawyers by Liverpool's Lord Mayor [Mike Storey] over complaints he did not declare an interest in a vote on his political future.
"Labour tabled a motion seeking a debate on whether Liberal Democrat councillor Steve Hurst still had the confidence of Liverpool Council at a meeting last month.
"But it was defeated after Cllr Hurst, who had given his apologies for not attending the meeting, turned up in the council chamber to vote against it, before leaving immediately after to jeers from Labour supporters outside.
"Now, in a move which could strain relations between senior Liberal Democrats, ex-council leader Mike Storey has referred a complaint from Labour leader Joe Anderson to the city solicitor."
The letter from Storey to Anderson is pretty mealy-mouthed. Storey professes his seeming ignorance that Hurst had turned up to vote while not declaring an interest, ie., that he stood to forfeit the £5,675 per annum post on the board of the Merseyside Passenger Transport Authority (MPTA) if the vote went against him. Hurst was given the post by his good mate Bradley after stepping down from his £10,000 per annum post of executive member for corporate services (http://condensedthoughts.blogspot.com/2009/05/tammany-hall-on-dale-street.html ).
What are mates for, eh?
The city's Lib Dems are clearly panic-stricken about the possible electoral backlash against the Warren & Steve double-act. The Post goes on:
"Several Liberal Democrat sources have told the Daily Post they believed there was a 'total lack of judgment on the leader's part' for standing by Cllr Hurst.
"Some fear the electorate will abandon the party over its support of a convicted criminal.
"The party's own local candidacy forms state anyone convicted of an offence under the Representation of the People Act should be barred from standing.
"But it is understood Cllr Hurst plans to try and defend his Wavertree seat again, which would require a change to the local party rules."
One anonymous Lib Dem councillor tells the paper that the subject is seemingly "taboo" in their ranks & frets about the voters' reaction. Reality dawns with at least a few of them, I suppose.
However, that didn't stop the Lib Dem councillors voting en bloc at last month's meeting not to have a debate on Hurst.
Any voters prompted by this tawdry tale to take the matter up with the national party can do so by going to: http://www.libdems.org.uk/contact.html . I'm sure Nick Clegg will be delighted to receive comments & suggestions from the city's council tax payers on this subject.
Politics involves shifting alliances. Nothing is immutable; it may be time for Bradley to ask himself whether sticking with Hurst spells his own downfall. Then again, maybe that time has already come & gone.

Struggling On Before The Grim Reaper Arrives

Before the Daily Post is finally wheeled off to the journalistic equivalent of Dignitas, it can still do Trinity Mirror's bidding & play a role in civic onanism. An example of this (which Wayne has already highlighted -- http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/2009/08/should-mark-thomas-be-relieved-of-his.html ) was to be found in yesterday's edition via the M62 (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2009/08/06/crane-arrival-marks-next-phase-of-work-at-mann-island-92534-24328726/ ).
The sickly sister of the Oldham Echo displayed a game & touching enthusiasm in aping its fellow propaganda publication by minimising any journalism & maximising marketing in what was little more than a press release on behalf of those who wish to turn the waterfront into an architectural laughing stock.
The construction of commercial developments, to be used by Merseytravel, by Countryside Poroperties & Neptune Developments (a client of Larry Nield's October Communications, of course -- http://www.octobercomms.co.uk/clients.html ) was presented in gushing terms; the honeyed words of Neptune's managing director Steve Parry reprinted without any of that irritating whatsit, ooh, you know, that word, it's on the tip of my tongue...that's it, journalism:
"It is an indication the city's regeneration is continuing even in this difficult economic and commercial environment.
"Clearly the success of this scheme owes an enormous amount to its quality and unique location in the heart of Liverpool's World Heritage Site.
"More than three-quarters of the residential units are now reserved."
Let's dissect that bilge soundbite by shoddy soundbite, shall we?
It is impossible for any area's "regeneration" to continue in the face of the biggest slump since the 30s; any wet-behind-the-ears economics undergraduate will mumble that.
The "quality and unique location" of the World Heritage Site has been damaged & disfigured by the mindless orgy of (mis)construction around the Three Graces.
Parry's boast about the take-up rate for the residential units, as Wayne observed, is questionable at best & fraudulent at worst.
Such a shame about the poor old Daily Post, isn't it? I just hope that when the end comes, it's merciful & humane; wouldn't want it to suffer too much.

Shop Till You Drop, The City's Fate Depends On It!

When the time comes for historians to ask critical questions of Liverpool's "renaissance", they'll doubtless cast their eyes over culture year (the best thing to happen to the city in its entire history, according to the Oldham Echo, a once-in-a-generation opportunity criminally squandered, according to anyone with a discerning eye), the civic despoiling of the Pier Head & the inundation of the upside-down caravan masquerading as a ferry terminal (thank-you, Professor Chucklebutty) due to rising water levels.
They'll also gasp with incomprehension at the decision to construct an open-air mini version of Trafford Park (thank-you, Wayne) otherwise known as Liverpool One just as the deepest economic recession in 70 years hit the global economy.
As well as the economic insanity of Liverpool One's arrival (taking trade away from Church Street & Bold Street in the process), there is also the wider philosophical question to address. That question is met head-on by the Oldham Echo, no, sorry, only kidding, the Guardian on its Comment is Free pages by Neal Lawson (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/aug/02/consumerism-society-shopping ).
Rightly lamenting that the growth of such developments has turned most shoppers into "turbo consumers", Lawson observes: "It's not just what we choose that reveals our consuming compulsion, it's the thousands of things we don't. We consume to buy identity, gain respect and recognition, and secure status. Shopping is the predominant way in which we know ourselves and each other, and it is at the point of ruling out other ways of being, knowing and living."
Naturally, such sentiments would be branded as heresy on Oldham Hall Street.
Lawson goes on to say in his piece:
"The market extends into more aspects of our lives in its search for profit. At the weekends there is increasingly nowhere to take the family but the shops and other paid-for enterprises. We end up in a vicious, negative feedback loop; we shop literally for retail therapy, to make us fleetingly feel better because we live such narrow monocultured lives."
Those who wish to disparage Lawson's contention as the mutterings of a Meldrewesque curmudgeon would do well to pause & ask themselves whether civic life should place at its heart the dubious &, as we now increasingly see in this recession, reckless phenomenon of "retail therapy".
The issue is explored in two books, just published, & reviewed by Jonathan Glancey in last Saturday's Guardian, "Ground Control: Fear and Happiness in the Twenty-first Century," by Anna Minton, & "The Thinking Hand: Existential and Embodied Wisdom in Architecture," by Juhani Pallasma (http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/aug/01/ground-control-the-thinking-hand ).
Glancey notes that Minton's book features London's Canary Wharf & Liverpool One, which, he declares, is "a shopping mall that could be anywhere, which launched on a titanic scale and served as the main attraction in the seaport city's year as European capital of culture in 2008."
You can almost hear the winces from within Grosvenor, the city council & Oldham Hall Street, can't you?
Minton's book, according to Glancey, details the changes to cities such as Liverpool with the opening of retail behemoths, observing that "Minton argues that 'now more and more of the city is owned by investors, and its central purpose is profit'. She is not 'against change' --cities are evolving organisms-- 'but against the type of change we have persued, laid out in Docklands more than 20 years ago'.
"What are these changes? They are public squares owned and run by private rather than public corporations. They are the undemocratic urban development corporations of the 1980s-quangos, Minton says, chaired by property developers. They include shopping centres, gated housing estates and 'non-places' such as airports. They are entire city centres, such as Manchester's, which, for all the big New Labour talk of 'urban renaissance' and 'regeneration' has, over the past grasping decade, 'reinvented itself as a property and shopping mecca' while poverty has grown around it."
You could substitute Manchester for Liverpool in the quote & the point would equally apply.
Moreover, Minton appears to have cast her net far & wide to provide supporting evidence for her position: "Minton is very good on the government's dim and nasty 'Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder' initiative of 2002. This has led to countless boarded-up houses in parts of northern cities, Liverpool included, that could and should be perfectly decent homes in perfectly decent streets. Instead they have been sold off, decadently and wastefully, to maximise profits for developers at the expense of local people."
The Oldham Echo occasionally mentions the entire boarded-up neighbourhoods in areas like Tuebrook & Anfield, but doesn't, or most likely daren't make the connection between this civic scandal & the insane insistence that the best hope for the city's economy lies in "a giant shopping mall that could be anywhere".

Still Speaking Up For Merseyside?

The Oldham Echo's decision to speak up for Merseyside from Greater Manchester is examined by Matt Finnegan on the Liverpool Confidential site (http://www.liverpoolconfidential.com/index.asp?Sessionx=IpqiNwEiNwEmJwy6IHqjNwB6IA ).
He quotes the regional secretary of Unite, Paul Finegan: " 'We were always up against it from the start, because we couldn't argue with the figures. Trinity paid lip service to consulting us.
" 'Over the years, the Echo has been one of the most profitable parts of the regional business for Trinity -- but they creamed off massive profits without investing anything back into Liverpool.
" 'They left the cupboard bare and then, when hard times hit, it's the workers who pay the price.'
"And he revealed: 'I'm confident we could have rallied the people of Liverpool behind a "Boycott the Echo" campaign, just like Liverpool fans did to The Sun over Hillsborough.
" 'But although we lobbied MPs and local councils and got great public support, we did not want to kill off the Echo -- we still have 200 members working there. So has the NUJ. A boycott was never really an option.' "
It's true that a boycott of both titles was mooted, not least in the article & subsequent responses on the now-sadly defunct Liverpool Times blog (http://www.liverpooltimes.net/2008/09/08/liverpool-echo-and-daily-post-to-move-to-manchester/ ) at the time of the announcement last year. The author of the piece was a printer at the paper. He remarked: "When this happens in November 2009 the only newspaper printed on Merseyside will be the Sun!!!"
Clearly, Trinity Mirror brought forward the timetable by a few months. My only quibble with the author's point is that the Sun cannot remotely be described as a "newspaper". However, the fact that the publication which libelled Liverpool fans at Hillsborough & sneered at Merseyside in general is the only one to be printed in the city is a damning indictment of Trinity Mirror & their middle management minions on Oldham Hall Street.
Matt Finnegan notes in his LC piece:
"The National Union of Journalists claim the move will fatally undermine the paper's editorial credibility as a champion for Merseyside -- a charge which editors are acutely sensitive to."
And with good reason. I'd go further: it doesn't undermine their right to champion Merseyside, it removes it altogether. The city they claim to represent has been starved of reinvestment from Trinity Mirror's profits. Result: the Liverpool printing presses are allowed to become outdated & inefficient, giving management the perfect excuse to move printing operations out of the city. Next time the Oldham Echo professes concern at job losses on Merseyside, remember the short-term thinking which led to the city's presses being denied investment.
And remember the 100 printers who are now jobless.

Going Off Air

It's always nice to see misfortune befall idiots who delight in causing offence; schadenfreude made manifest.
Steven Cohen, a "shock-jock" based in Los Angeles who co-hosts a show called World Soccer Daily, chose the 20th anniversary of Hillsborough to repeat the lies peddled by the Sun. It didn't escape my attention at the time (http://condensedthoughts.blogspot.com/2009/05/shock-jock-subdued-as-sponsors-scram.html ).
It now seems that Cohen has left his position with the Fox Soccer Channel, who refuse to comment on his departure (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2009/07/30/us-liverpool-fc-fans-step-up-campaign-against-dj-who-slurred-hillsborough-victims-100252-24273545/ ):
"Today Conor Brennan, vice-president of fans' group LFC New York, told the ECHO they aimed to force Cohen off air.
"He said: 'Cohen leaving Fox is a big step as he uses the TV and radio shows to promote each other.
" 'We want to make him toxic to advertisers. His apology was Mickey Mouse, a non-apology.
" 'He said he would not speak about it [Hillsborough], but has kept on making snide asides to the disaster.
" 'No amount of showing him what the Taylor Report said makes him change his opinion.
" 'If the man cannot make a meaningful apology, we will go to his advertisers so he can no longer make a profit.
" 'I have zero faith that on the 21st anniversary of the tragedy, he will not indulge in the same "loutish" behaviour.' "
Cohen last week issued a statement in which he pathetically & contemptuously attempted to marry his own prejudices with the facts of the disaster. He's also used the World Soccer Daily website to claim that he's received anti-semitic emails from Liverpool supporters (http://www.worldsoccerdaily.com/about ). If any such emails have been sent, it goes without saying that they should be condemned; as well as being offensive & racist, they also damage the campaign to get this odious individual off the airwaves altogether.
The show can be contacted by phone: (001) (877) 382-5556 or by email: wsd@worldsoccerdaily.com . There is also a website set up to ensure that since Cohen won't retract his lies, he suffers in the pocket via an exodus of sponsors: http://boycottstevencohen.webs.com/ .

A "Legacy" Issue From Culture Year

Wasn't culture year great? We had Ringo on the roof as part of his £90,000 stay in the city, courtesy of Phil Redmond & his "clever" expense system of payment for the drummer from the Dingle. Pity about that Jonathan Ross business a few days later, but there you go.
And then, of course, there was Macca's concert, you know, the one that was billed as Liverpool Sound, featuring Sir Thumbs-Up himself, The Zutons &, er, Leeds' Kaiserchiefs, &, er, that was it. Pity it didn't go ahead, as planned, at the Salthouse Dock, drained of water, fish humanely stunned for the duration & then returned to their dockside home. Hence the venue change of Anfield, with its narrow access roads, decidedly threadbare nearby ameneties & inconvenienced local residents.
Well, it's all history now, the unsold DVDs acting as useful coasters at the 08 Place on Whitechapel.
Ah, yes, the 08 Place; what, you may ask, is it used for, now that the greatest year in the history of the city (copyright, Oldham Echo) has passed into the footnotes section of the record books?
Well, not even the city's Lib Dem misrulers can ignore that poser any longer (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2009/07/30/liverpool-council-inquiry-into-08-place-tourist-information-centre-92534-24273501/ ), & all credit to David Bartlett -- one of the few journos on Oldham Hall Street to hold the banner of serious journalism aloft -- for turning over the stone on this unedifying spectacle:
"The rent on the 08Place is £220,000 a year and its high-tech TV screens cost £60,000 to run annually.
"Controversially, the council signed a 10-year lease on the Whitechapel building which does not expire until November 2013, and has an option to extend it until 2018."
Anything involving the city council wouldn't be complete without an element of farce, & on this occasion it's supplied by the decision to appoint Richard Kemp as the inquiry's head. Yes, that Richard Kemp; the Richard Kemp who, as the city council's executive member for housing, was supposed to oversee the transformation of the notorious Boot Estate in Norris Green. When the transformation failed to materialise, even the Echo fingered Kemp as being at fault & he was obliged to quit. Speaking to the Guardian at the time, Kemp tried to explain himself, but ended up offering a hostage to fortune (http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2003/may/28/regeneration.communities ):
"We were overtaken by events, particularly the rise in land values and house prices, which went up 40% in two years in Liverpool. But I'm confident that in five years [2008] there will be a first-class estate built by a unique public-private venture."
So much for the farce, now for the corruption. Bartlett reports:
"[The 08 Place] has been controversial from the start after the £1.4m Neighbourhood Renewal Fund -- cash intended to help regenerate the city's poorest areas -- was used to help pay for the £2.2m fit-out and furnishing of the building.
"When concerns were raised in February, 2005, then council leader Mike Storey insisted: 'This will not be a cost on the council tax payer.'
"Months later, a council report revealed the 08 Place would notch up a deficit of £161,000 a year, a total of £800,000 between then and 2010."
Bartlett also relates:
"A website, the Liverpool Evil Cabal, fuelled speculation by levelling a number of unsubstantiated accusations at senior council officials over business dealings."
The Evil Cabal website blew the lid off the corruption going on within the council during the run-up to culture year. It's claims were largely ignored by the local media. Occasionally, it would be dismissed as lurid fiction in the space of a single paragraph on the inside pages of the Echo. Its claims are now being vindicated, as the local media grudgingly admits.
Kemp says the inquiry won't go over the past, which will come as welcome news to Councillor Storey, I'm sure. He also admitted he didn't know whether the 08 Place is an asset or a liability to the city. What an indictment of the Lib-Dem reign in Liverpool!
He's even reduced to musing:
"Could [the 08 Place] be a showcase for Liverpool products?"
A showcase for local products? At £220,000 per annum? Value for money, wouldn't you say? The council tax payers should be delighted.