'No Comments' - courtesy of the Advertiser, by John Hall

Strange that local newspapers always enjoy printing the rhetoric which emerges from politicians,  but what if a politician decides to utter unsubstantiated comments which are then printed in a newspaper? Do you have the right to challenge such misinformed comments? That would surely be freedom of speech and at that a reply which may well be more informative, offering confirmed facts to the public which may otherwise be withheld?

So where do you challenge such misleading comments? Well that certainly is the problem, especially when dealing with local press editors in Tameside because their objective is to persist with press photographs of local politicians, especially when they are in power, and they ensure as many column inches as are needed are made available to promote those press-privileged politicians, thereby creating a partnership which may well be advantageous to them both - but indicates contempt for the public.

So the question is do local editorial staff and reporters have the right to exclude important substantiated facts by denying the public the right to respond to misleading comments made by close political partners of the Press - no they do NOT. But do they actually? YES they do!

Over a two year period, the Advertiser Group & Reporter Group newspapers in Tameside have indicated a bias towards the Mottram Bypass political cartel promoting the road scheme, and constantly feed the same picture into their reports of traffic hold-ups. The latest example is their publication of rhetoric from a Politician - Derbyshire County Councillor David Wilkinson - who does not even attend the Public Inquiry to consider the emerging facts. 

The latest example of editorial sabotage concerns my submitted online comments concerning said article and politician which was obviously binned in the Editorial Office.

My submission to the press contained conclusive and substantiated facts, not simply rhetoric, but the barricades went up because Editors prefer political rhetoric not facts, especially if it might disturb their political allegiances and contacts.

It is therefore unfortunate that the press are depriving essential details being made known to the 220,000 people in Tameside, and the only source of complaint they refer you to is the Press Complaints Commission.

So is it State Control? Stalinism? Fascism? Dictatorship? 1984? or  just deceptive administrations which surround us now in Tameside - and are the press completely under the influence and have they become simply sycophantic puppets?

It's for you to decide if the message gets to you or maybe you could find out for yourselves like I tried when I contacted the Editor as to why my comments were not included ... NO RESPONSE WAS RETURNED.

John Hall, Denton

Police drop case against Tameside Eye

In an interesting development in the case we highlighted over a month ago, Tameside Eye is reporting on his blog that the Crown Prosecution Service have decided to drop the case against him, and also that Tameside Police are not appealing that decision.

Needless to say, this whole matter raises huge questions about the actions of Tameside Police, and their seeming collusion with Longdendale Councillor Sean Parker-Perry over this matter. I envisage that some very interesting Freedom of Information requests lie ahead, and we expect that Tameside Eye's property - namely computer equipment - will be swiftly returned. 

This case is far from over, but the boot is clearly now on the other foot. This one may run and run...

Free speech for the dumb

Following our post last night about the slow movement of this country to a Police State, we felt the need to highlight a very interesting blog post from a fellow blogger, Tameside Eye. This post details his arrest, detention and charging with various offences following material posted on his blog over the past few months - and how local politicians have connived to achieve this outcome.

The blog regularly features articles on politics in Tameside. We should make it clear at this point that the views expressed on this blog are light years away from ours, and are more concerned with the 'left versus right' (of liberal democracy) dead-end arguments amongst sections of the Tameside political class. It's also, to it's detriment, a village pump for all kinds of unsavoury right-wing earthlings (the kindest word we could find), some of whom in our view have egged on the blogger in a particular political direction. So reading it should come with health warnings - we do not endorse the views expressed upon it.

Having said that, it has dealt with the cut and thrust of politics in Tameside in a fairly uncompromising manner. Chief targets have been Dukinfield Councillor John Taylor (a political opponent of most of the readers/participants of the blog, but someone who actually has far more in common with them than they realise - i.e. he's a right wing prick), and our favourite Councillor in Tameside - Sean Parker-Perry.

Coincidentally, just before local election time in May, Tameside Eye (aka Liam Billington) was busted by the local Police, who proceeded to confiscate hs computers whilst he was in police custody - without a warrant we might add. They still have them to this day.

We'll let Liam explain what he was busted for, but suffice to say, it wasn't for dishing all kinds of dirt about Parker-Perry, Oldham, Taylor or any of that lot. So presumably, that was fair game?

But what makes us curious is his revelation that the cops are very interested in this blog - amongst others - and who publishes it. But what exactly has that got to do with them? If digging the dirt on Oldham, Parker-Perry et al is fair game on Liam's blog, then it must be OK here. So why do the powers that be want to know who we are?

We can only assume that it's because they want to try to harass and intimidate us in a similar fashion.

And Liam tells us that what seemed to have been the catalyst was a Freedom of Information request he sent to James Purnell and his links with Active Longdendale. Keen readers will know that this was around the same time that Purnell had details of Active Longdendale removed from his website. Liam tells us he was warned off by Purnell, and that Parker-Perry then emailed local PC Susan Moss to complain.

What cannot be overlooked is the fact that the arresting officer in this case - PC Susan Moss - is a member of the Longdendale District Assembly. These idiots couldn't even choose a copper who had no connection to Parker-Perry and also who worked in the area the 'defendant' lives. No, it's clearly a blatant parading of power.

But it's one that must be doomed to failure. For Liam has stated his intention to fight his case at a Trial if he is prosecuted by the CPS, and we're sure that Councillor Parker-Perry would not relish appearing to give evidence, especially given his track record with the Police and CPS.

This is certainly one to watch, and it will be interesting to see if the media goes anywhere near it in future.

Persona non-grata

It seems that we're not invited to the Party at Persona Associates Public Inquiry Website.

But I guess there would be a certain delicious irony in the bureaucrats using our lovely hand-picked email address to contact us to ask permission.

And if there's psychology to the way a list is ordered, then someone clearly favours Longdendale Siege Engine's veritable abortion of a website above all else. Not to mention the glossopspur.com website - last updated nearly a year ago!

It seems that if you have friends in high places, it really does make a difference.