Author Archive
An Open Letter To My MP, Richard Drax, On The Leveson Report
Dear Richard,
You suggested in your speech in the House this evening that implementing the Leveson report would mean legislating on ethical standards for the press.
This is nonsense and I find it difficult to believe you could advance such an idea in good faith. What Leveson recommends is legislating to create an independent regulator which would set ethical standards based on consultation and agreement. This is exactly what we need.
I could not disagree with you more when you say “non-statutory, self-regulation” is the only option. I believe precisely the reverse is the case. The press has been given seven ‘last chances’ in 70 years to put its house in order and without fail has returned to abusive, corrupt and unacceptable conduct.
You will recall, I hope, that I too am a journalist and real ‘freedom of the press’ is something I value highly – but with freedom comes responsibility. It is preposterous, as you seem to suggest, that there should be no rules and all journalists must be trusted without question!
I regret that in your speech I found you pompous, apparently completely detached from the reality of most people’s day to day lives and, most of all, out of touch. You appear to be a caricature of an MP from an age that is long, long past..
The press barons, owners and editors, are flexing their muscles, saturating our country with propaganda which blatantly misleads about the urgent necessity for independent regulation. Their furious disinformation, trying to frighten and intimidate with nonsensical allegations about state control of the press is the dishonesty and manipulation of Fleet Street exemplified.
Independent regulation, backed by statute, is essential. As proposed it will enshrine a newspaper industry as independent from the state. It is a necessary and progressive move in support of freedom and liberty and against the corruption and vested interests of the media megalomaniacs.
I reject entirely your position on this vital issue.
Peter Reynolds
Hacked Off’s Leveson Petition Passes 100,000 Signatures
Congratulations on this achievement. We need to go much further though.
This corrupt government has already reneged on its e-petition pledge and ignored many that have grown well past the 100,000 mark.
The people of Britain are stitched up every day by the oligarchy of Westminster, the press and the banks and we need to fight back. This is an excellent cause around which to unite.
The press barons are a self-serving, dishonest collection of owners and editors who manipulate their power and their contacts for personal political and financial gain. They and their sleazy hacks are entirely distinct from the noble profession of journalism.
At all costs we must resist any attempt to revert to ‘self-regulation’. The lunatics have been in charge of the asylum for too long.
SIGN THE PETITION HERE!
The Only ‘Freedom Of the Press’ That Fleet Street Wants Is The Freedom To Distort, Mislead And Exploit.
Bonkers
The Butcher
Please sign the Hacked Off petition here calling for the Leveson report to be implemented in full.
Mr ‘Slippery’ Cameron vowed that unless the report was “bonkers” he would see it implemented in full. Questioned by Andrew Marr in September as to whether that remained his position he said “Absolutely”. Now he’s been got at by the press barons who are flexing their muscles, saturating our country with their propaganda which blatantly misleads about the urgent necessity for independent regulation.
The Bitch
On seven occasions in 70 years the press has been given a ‘last chance’ to continue with self regulation. Every single time they have proved to be unfit to do so. Are we going to allow these self-serving bullies off the hook yet again?
The Bully
The furious misinformation and spin flooding our streets, trying to frighten and intimidate with nonsensical allegations about state control of the press is the dishonesty and manipulation of Fleet Street exemplified.
Independent regulation, backed by statute, is essential. As proposed it will enshrine a newspaper industry as independent from the state. It is a necessary and progressive move in support of freedom and liberty and against the corruption and vested interests of the media megalomaniacs.
Phoney Fleet Street Dissemblers Yanking On Mr Slippery’s Strings
The lying, cheating, self-serving, abusive charlatans that call themselves ‘Fleet Street’ editors are in raging apoplexy about the suggestion that they might be held to account.
Spineless, Mr ‘Slippery’ Cameron has flip flopped as usual. Just a little bit of pressure applied in the right place and he’d pimp his grandmother if it seemed expedient.
There’s Nothing “Bonkers” About The Leveson Report Mr Cameron But As For You…
Now comes the news that the ‘Butcher’, the repugnant, mendacious Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail is to chair a meeting of editors to consider their response to the report. Anything that Dacre touches turns to the dark side. I don’t know why he earned his nickname but it well expresses what he does to the truth.
Butcher Of The Truth
I fervently hope that the public just won’t stand for this. Fleet Street’s desperate last stand is to claim that an independent regulator underpinned by statute is a slippery slope or crossing the Rubicon and will inevitably lead to state interference in the press.
Absolute hogwash! This is the press using their unrivalled expertise to deceive, mislead and distort the truth. Why the hell should these amoral, exploitative, habitually dishonest barons be above the law?
In fact, an independent regulator backed by statute is the best possible way to guarantee a ‘freedom of the press’ that is in the interests of us all. The only freedom that Dacre and his cronies want is to be able to continue their despicable, self-serving manipulation of facts, news and people’s lives for their own ends. At all costs, the nightmare scenario of more ‘self-regulation’ must be resisted.
Hacked Off, the campaign for a free and accountable press, is running a petition calling for the Leveson report to be fully implemented.
We Must Have Independent And Legally Binding Regulation Of the Press
The Editors’ Code, a transparent complaints process and investigative powers all backed with the force of law is what we need. The idea that this would be state control of the press is a fallacy but one that the newspaper barons, with their huge vested interests, massive resources and influence are pressing as hard as they can.
‘Don’t panic Mr Mainwaring but the sacred freedom of the press!’
They’re trying to stitch us up with scare stories. Pretending that some great principle is being infringed. Now, where have I heard that before? Oh yes, the press.
Who’s to say that we don’t already have state control of the press? In extremis, the government would step in and impose any rules it wished. Then, idiots like Fraser Nelson of The Spectator would be two a penny and they could rot in jail.
Real life is not in extremis. It is in state of constant compromise. We need to establish rules by which the press and all media must abide. Compassion, respect and accuracy should be our principles but the idea that newspaper editors should regulate themselves is codswallop.
Broadcasters are required to provide balance, the press is not. That is a privilege that must be balanced by a responsibility
“not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information”
These are the exact words of the existing Editors’ Code. All we need to do is give them the force of law. If we can make the press take responsibility it will be to the great benefit of society.
My Lord Leveson, I submit.
‘This House Would Legalise Cannabis’, University Of Exeter, Thursday, 29th November 2012
LIVE BROADCAST
FOR:
Peter Reynolds, CLEAR
Stephen Davies, Institute of Economic Affairs
AGAINST:
Peter Hitchens, Mail on Sunday
David Raynes, National Drug Prevention Alliance
University of Exeter. Streatham Court A. 7.30pm. Free entry.
Ridiculous Rotherham Council Must Face Severe Consequences
Joyce Thacker, Strategic Director of Children and Young People’s Services at Rotherham Council
Rotherham Borough Council has removed three foster children from their foster parents because they belong to UKIP.
BBC story here. Daily Telegraph story here.
The council has said that the children are “not indigenous white British” and that it had concerns about UKIP’s stance on immigration. The couple themselves have said that Rotherham Council social workers had accused them of belonging to a “racist party”.
This is disgusting prejudice and discrimination in the name of political correctness, one of the most insidious and dangerous trends in our society. I believe that such action should be subject to criminal prosecution in exactly the same way as racist conduct would be.
If it is a criminal offence to be racist then it must be equally serious falsely to accuse someone of the same.
I am not a member of UKIP but I have voted for them in the past and probably will do so again. To describe its policies as racist is disgraceful and abusive. It also demonstrates an absolute incompetence by Rotherham Council to manage communications and relationships properly.
If people are sent to prison for racist comments on Facebook and Twitter then I expect the same consequences for the council officials and social workers concerned in this case.
BBC Bias In Favour Of The Criminal Israeli Regime
The Result Of Israeli War Crimes In Gaza
You can complain online to the Zionist supporting BBC here.
Complaint title:
Bias in favour of Israel
Complaint description:
Following the bus attack in Tel Aviv today the only voices heard on BBC News are in support of Israel. Three interviews come from representatives of the Zionist authorities and one from a British tourist clearly supportive of the Israeli policy of oppression and brutality against Gaza. Then William Hague condemning the bombing. Why no one condemning the massive increase in Israeli attacks?
Your presenters portray this bus bomb as an escalation likely to endanger peace negotiations when in the last 12 hours Israel has massively increased its attacks on Gaza. All the time you fail to point out the grossly disproportionate violence from Israel and although your report the facts (5 Israeli deaths, 150 Palestinian deaths) you skip over this in editorialising as if there is equality of responsibility.
Israel is a brutal, oppressive regime in breach of 64 UN resolutions, regularly murdering many times more Palestinians than are killed by its resistance. You fail entirely to remind viewers of this context and of the illegal nature of Israeli policy
The Nazi Israeli State Reveals Its True Intentions.
“The goal of the operation is to send Gaza back to the Middle Ages.”
Israeli deputy prime minister, Eli Yishai, 17th November 2012
No Fly Zone Over Gaza NOW!
HMS Diamond. Netanyahu’s Nemesis.
The amazing Type 45 or Daring class destroyer is the most powerful air-defence warship in the world. HMS Diamond is just a short trip away, through the Suez canal, from coming to the rescue of the Palestinian people in Gaza.
We are morally obliged, if necessary, to blast the Israeli airforce out of the skies. The evil actions of the war criminals in the Israeli government and the IDF far exceed those of Saddam Hussein, Colonel Gaddafi or Al Qaeda.
If we fail to rescue Gaza then we are complicit in the monstrous crimes of the Nazionists.
If Israel is concerned about the fireworks which the brave Palestinian resistance is firing in self-defence then the solution is simple. End the illegal blockade of Gaza. Comply with the 64 UN resolutions it is in breach of. Stop the theft of Palestinian land and destruction of Palestinian homes.
The final reckoning must also include multi-billion dollar compensation to the people of Gaza with Netanyahu and his cronies on trial for war crimes.
Peter Reynolds 