Blog action day

...was yesterday. And we missed it. Oh well.

But over on his blog, sharp-as-a-knife Gamesley Councillor Anthony McKeown reminded us what it's all about:

across the world bloggers are uniting to highlight environmental issues, and hopefully as the organisers say get the world talking towards a better future

And without a hint of irony (or punctuation if the above is anything to go by), Anthony urges us to join the Friends of the Earth's campaign "The Big Ask":

The way the campaign works is by asking you to contact your MP to make sure the Government does the right thing

So it's curtains for humanity then! (And we thought that FoE were only mooting what to do after being courted by Rupert Murdoch. Perhaps they've already made their mind up...)

Getting back to 'blogging about environmental issues', you may remember that Anthony only allows you to comment on his blog if you leave a name (rather than an obviously false name or 'anonymous' - me? I'm Mr Lewin's little boy!). And he's blocked comments critical of High Peak's stance on the bypass in the past. So given the environmental devastation and increase in pollution the bypass will entail, allied with the fact that Ant is for the bypass, what is his blog doing to highlight environmental issues exactly?

His right of reply is guaranteed here. Come on Ant, we'd like a debate!

Sean of the Dead

... has been resurrected. Yes, we have received word that some bright spark has managed to bring back to life Sean Parker-Perry's weblog (aka Roadmunkey). Note the change from the original ('bypassedwarrior' rather than 'bypasswarrrior').

Now everyone can read his missives which were posted up until his mysterious disappearance from the internet last month. One interesting piece of information to add is that a wikipedia editor in contact with Sean received a reply from the Borough Solicitor of Tameside MBC on a Sunday!

Meanwhile, back on wikipedia, Sean's other alter-ego (and IP number) 83.104.50.161 has been editing again - this time James Purnell's page. Indeed, all controversy has been removed from the page, just in time for his new job as Secretary of State for Culture. How convenient...

Miliband: a call for comments

The Secretary of State for the Environment, David Miliband, has a blog too (which, like this blog, has occasional typos). And today, we're treated to a post about the Kinder Mass Trespass.

The intial irony is that he talks about 'responsible ramblers'. Exactly what Benny and Co were not - they dared to stray from the path. But the Minister wants us to keep within the boundaries and behave ourselves. Politicians love their contradictions, and the old guys and girls are conveniently no longer around to tell us the real story.

And they weren't convicted for trespass - something which was not a criminal offence then, but is very much so now, even more so under New Labour's raft of new laws - but for 'riotous assembly' and 'breach of the peace' (for scrapping with the Duke of Devonshire's gamekeepers, the police of the countryside in those times). Another myth that allows Labour to blather on about how good the the CRoW legislation is.

You'd expect him to trawl out some comments about Benny Rothman, as indeed he does. After all, it's good to butter up the Labour Movement, and there might still be a few votes amongst the CPGB. But I doubt even Miliband knows that Benny was at Twyford Down, or his history of opposition to road schemes. And even if he does, there's no chance of it popping up to spoil this picture of harmony that the blog post presents.

At the end, Miliband displays his knowledge of Ewan MacColl's 'the Manchester Rambler', which I wager someone mentioned to him on Saturday. And although the first verse mentions Crowden, the last verse is a battle cry for environmentalists:

So I'll walk where I will over mountain and hill
And I'll lie where the bracken is deep
I belong to the mountains, the clear running fountains
Where the grey rocks lie ragged and steep
I've seen the white hare in the gullys
And the curlew fly high overhead
And sooner than part from the mountains
I think I would rather be dead

MacColl's scene of tranquility, which can be found (relatively) at Swallows Wood and on the hills around Longdendale has nothing to do with this government which plans to wreck it all. The local MPs and Local Authorities all want to massively increase the traffic and pollution. Indeed, CO2 emissions will rise by 9%.

All of which will perhaps make interesting reading for this week's paper - because we're aware that local Green campaigners were invited to meet Miliband in Glossop. What did they say, and did the bypass get a mention? We wait with baited breath...

If you have the time and you support us, pop over to David'd blog and leave a comment. But going on the record of some other blogs like this, and websites like this (both coincidentally run by Labour Party people), a request for a link or a debate will not even yield a response.

(Oh, and by the way David - there were 400 Manchester ramblers, not 4000)

Tin-Foil Hat at the ready

In case anyone else was in any doubt whatsoever, the last post was largely humourous. Whilst it is true that the site meter showed a visit from the PM's office, I am fully aware that the 'Office' in this case is the institution (rather than the room that Tony Blair sits in), and no doubt a lot of people work for it, some of whom are bored enough to find us, rather than having any malevolent intent.

The reason I mention it is because a rival weblog has emerged (more of which later) which has lapooned my post as a pseudo-conspiracy theorists case of over-inflated egotism. Or something. Except the poster is so inarticulate that the blog is virtually sub-literate and reads ridiculously. Indeed, as shit websites go, it ranks alongside that of the Longdendale Siege Committee.

Yet whilst it would be fun to post the link to the site here, doing so would only help the site's Google rankings at the expense of ours, which are doing very nicely thank you. Indeed, having a generous 2 links from this site means that our rankings on Technorati have shot up by 1 million (yes one million!) overnight. Having no links to your site means Google oblivion, as he/she is finding out.

But if you really want a laugh, go to the comments section of the last post and have a look at the link provided. It really is fantastic entertainment.

Oh, and by the way Mr roadmunkey (with a non existent email address). Bacofoil is a brand - tin-foil hat is the phrase you're after.

If you think you know who 'roadmunkey' is, send your answers on a (e)post card. We have our own ideas...

Free speech (the limits of)

We note that Councillor McKeown has replied to our previous post on his weblog. He has demanded that I declare my real name, on condition of allowing my comment to be published.

Putting aside that the fact that I am Mr Lewin (Junior), there's an issue of free speech here. Plenty of ordinary people have good reason to protect their anonymity from politicians. In certain other local authorities, openly revealing your opposition to this road scheme carries serious risks. Given that the Glossopdale Councillors are completely willing to follow the Tameside Labour Party's line on the bypass, cautious individuals are wise to tread carefully.

Demanding that I reveal my identity before I can access my rights smacks of the Labour Party's plans for ID cards, which no doubt Councillor McKeown is four-square in favour of.

Glossop Councillors march in step

Councillor Anthony McKeown's truly riveting weblog reported last week that Glossop Councillors have parroted Uncle Roy's line on the bypass - quelle surprise. After all, this is the same lot that have afflicted Glossop with the likes of Next, Argos and other such godforsaken places, as well as approving plans to turn Hadfield into a vast network of industrial units.

But what really chafes is that Mr McKeown's blog has no right of reply. When one attempts to leave a comment, it's clear that they are moderated. And when yours truly left a message on his little bypass item, I was shaken to the core when it failed to appear.

Please post your comments Ant - the right of reply does exist here!