Leveson

2401 days ago

At least our press is marginally more free than that in Burkina Faso

The 2018 World Press Freedom Index is just out and following Leveson, Section 40 and the Lords' attempts to introduce press regulation by the backdoor the UK ranking has now slipped to No 40 in the world, in between Trinidad & Tobago and Burkina Faso. But heck we are still ahead of Burkina Faso but, perhaps, not for long. 

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2954 days ago

God Help me I agree with Nick Clegg twice in ten minutes

God only help me but I am watching Nick Clegg on the Telly and I find myself agreeing with him. Not once but twice in ten minutes. This is a first and almost certainly a last.

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3878 days ago

Maria Miller axed but for how long? The political class just do not get it

And so finally the greedy pig Culture Secretary has quit as a minister. This vile woman is an expenses cheat. Someone who has stolen taxpayer’s cash for vast personal enrichment. In the private sector she would not have been demoted (from minister to MP) but fired. And then prosecuted. And would never worked in her chosen career again. But she is an MP so it is different. The greedy pig Miller will be back.

Who says so? Call Me Dave Cameron says so. He looks forward to welcoming her back to Government. Like David Laws and many others before him the thief gets a temporary demotion and when we poor saps, the plebs, the peasants, the taxpayers who pay for this stinking farce have become a bit less angry, the crim will be allowed back into Government. Cameron has said so explicitly.

I am not sure what makes me most angry. Is it the thievery of Miller? Is it the way

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4372 days ago

The Nick Clegg Smear or non Smear: Who Dunnit?

The Daily Mail carries a piece today alleging that a key aide to deputy PM Nick Clegg personally intervened to get £12 million of taxpayers cash fast tracked to a charity ( BookTrust) of which Mr Clegg’s wife is a prominent supporter. Apparently emails have just emerged showing that while other charities must bid for Government cash, this one just got it. Hmmm.

The piece manages to find a rent-a-quote Tory and Labour MP to demand an enquiry. Oh, another one. An enquiry a day, hip hip hooray, more money to pay, what more can I say? Do politicians ever do anything in life apart from call for enquiries? Personally I do not see why taxpayer’s cash in Bankrupt Britain is handed to charities at all. Booktrust may do great work but it a fake charity. It is now an arm of Government. That to me is a scandal.

As for Cleggy I ask you one question:

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4375 days ago

Leveson: Death of a Free Press or Just An Accelerated Death of Newspapers

So the Leveson Report is out. And it is pretty grim reading. It will delight Hugh Grant, Max Mosley, Nick Clegg and the other illiberal folk who want the press muzzled. It will delight the political elite who resent their sins being revealed. And it will, I suspect, hasten the demise of the traditional newspaper industry.

Leveson proposes legislation which will see a body containing no MPs or journalists but a fine body of establishment grandees there to ensure that newspapers do not breach certain rules. If they do they will face crippling fines Ofcom will review how this body works every two years. The information Commissioner will be given greater powers to prosecute newspapers for breaches of data protection.

Hmmm. Ultimately who appoints these independent grandees…politicians. David Davies MP (the man who should have led the Tories rather than Call Me Dave) is spot on:

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4393 days ago

Tomograph 14 is live

The latest issue of the Tomograph went out a while ago. To ensure that you receive my weekly newsletter in your email in box register here. This week’s newsletter contains more on the evil Puritans at Google, details of our most read articles of the week and record traffic data on this website plus an exclusive piece on the threat to press and New Media freedom resulting from the Leveson enquiry and the Lord McAlpine not a Tory paedophile affair.  Thank you for your continued reading of this website. Tom

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