The latest right-wing cry: hackgate is a lefty conspiracy!
When ‘Hackgate’ first appeared on the radar just over two years ago, some observers characterised it as a right versus left affair, with more than one pundit declaring that it was those rotten lefties trying to get payback for Damian McBride.
Now that the story has shown itself to be a serious one, one might have hoped that the right versus left angle would have been quietly dropped, if only out of sheer embarrassment at having called it wrong at the start.
But this would be to underestimate those generally right leaning pundits who cannot see events otherwise.
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The editorial position of Liberal Conspiracy is…
When I first launched Liberal Conspiracy in Nov 2007, blogger and journalist Paul Linford was one of core contributors. He hasn’t blogged here for quite a while and last week wrote:
For a while I contributed to Liberal Conspiracy, but although I am an economic leftist, I have always been a small-c conservative on social issues and it soon became clear to me that my views on such matters as abortion were not appreciated by my fellow group bloggers there.
I think this is worth picking up, partly because we’ve had a huge influx of new readers who also don’t seem to understand the point of this site.
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Hackgate – the film trailer preview!
This is quite amusing in its casting (via @tom_watson)
Poor memory? Blame evolution, not Google
If you mooch around the science sections of popular news websites this weekend then chances are you’ll encounter something called ‘The Google Effect’.
From what I can tell, the BBC’s report started out the headline “Internet is ‘changing our memory’” but have since backed off a little and are now running the story as ‘Internet’s memory effects quantified in computer study’.
The Guardian – with perhaps more than half an eye on climbing Google’s own search rankings with its take on the story – has gone for the headline; ‘Poor memory? Blame Google.
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Hague’s astonishing defence of Cameron & Coulson
In response to Cameron inviting back Coulson despite being told of the allegations regarding his past, William Hague tells the Today Programme:
In inviting Andy Coulson back, the prime minister has invited someone back to thank him for his work – he’s worked for him for several years – that is a normal, human thing to do.
I think it shows a positive side to his character.
Personally I’m not embarrassed by it in any way – but there is something wrong here in this country and it must be put right. It’s been acknowledged by the prime minister and I think that’s the right attitude to take.
It’s not surprising that in a democratic country there is some contact between leaders of the country, and indeed opposition leaders, and indeed I believe on that list of meetings there are also meetings with the executives of the Guardian and Trinity Mirror and whatever other news organisations.
This is unbelievable. Cameron was told that Coulson could have repeatedly broken the law. The allegations weren’t just about spying but also about corruption.
Keep in mind that both Coulson and Rebekah Brooks had admitted paying police for information by that time. And yet the PM thought it was fine to have lunch with him again?
In the United States a President would have had to resign by now.
Actors, bloggers to speak at Trans conf.
Hollyoaks actress Victoria Atkin and Guardian blogger Juliet Jacques will be among the speakers at the first major Trans Community conference next week.
The Trans Community Conference will be a one-day gathering featuring a series of workshops for members of the trans community from across the UK, as well as professionals who work with the trans community.
The event will also hear from Abi Austen from the Channel Four documentary “Sexchange Solider” made in 2007, New Statesman blogger David Allen Green, Jennie Kermode from Trans Media Watch and Nathalie McDermott, director of social enterprise On Road Media.
Conference attendees will hear about various concerns in the arenas of broadcast, press, screen and social media.
There will also be a “Doing it for ourselves” stream where participants can sign up to practical workshops where they will produce insight and skills into how they might form their own trans representations through various media.
The conference is convened by Gendered Intelligence, in association with Trans Media Watch.
Friday, 22nd July 2011
9am–5.30pm
Central School of Speech and Drama
Embassy Theatre, Eton Avenue, London NW3 3HY
Gendered Intelligence is a Community Interest Company that looks to increase understandings of gender diversity through creative means.
Trans Media Watch is a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving the representation of trans and intersex people and issues in the media.
From a press release
‘Guerilla Ballet’ disrupts BP sponsored opera
Three ballet dancers interrupted BP’s third and final Summer Screen in Trafalgar Square, 30 minutes before the scheduled broadcast of the opera Cinderella began.
The disturbance took the form of a short piece of dance based on Swan Lake, with the classic tale used as analogy for BP’s controversial investment in the Canadian tar sands.
The performance featured the White Swan being smeared by an oily substance and suffocated with a cloth. The crowd of opera-lovers were very receptive, greeting the grand finale with applause and cheers.
Charlie Byers, who played the prince, explained:
The tar sands are one of the biggest threats to the future of our climate; they are also destroying local communities and wildlife, trampling indigenous rights, and running Canada out of water and natural gas. It is a key time to pressure BP to withdraw, as the corporation has already substantially invested in the tar sands but will not start profiting for years to come.
BP sponsors the Royal Opera House’s “Summer Screens” where ballets and operas are broadcast live in public spaces around the UK, including Trafalgar Square, for audiences to watch for free. The scheduled performance was on 13th July.
Canadian tar sands are the world’s largest and dirtiest industrial project: exacerbating global warming through deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions, causing rare forms of cancer amongst First Nations communities, destroying vast tracts of forest habitat and threatening wildlife to extinction.
For more information see no-tar-sands.org and oilsandstruth.org
From a press release
Phone-hacking: the cancer remains
When someone like Rebekah Brooks, described by the Graun as a “ruthless, charming schmoozer”, the kind of individual who previously considered prime ministers past and present to be friends is only paid tribute to by a couple of Murdochs and err, Giles Coren, you know there’s been a very sudden sea change in attitudes to those at the top of the media pile.
Despite everything, we still don’t really know why Rupert Murdoch was so intent on keeping dear Rebekah at the top of NI. It’s true he feels a special affinity with those who have dragged themselves up from under-privileged backgrounds and share his love of newspapers, qualities which Kelvin MacKenzie and Andy Coulson both had in common with Brooks.
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Our Movement and the Internet: Two book reviews
contribution by Joseph Ritchie
One story emerging from the Murdoch debacle concerns the importance of an online campaign in bringing down The News of the World. The campaign, detailed here, is of course one of many important recent political mobilizations associated with the internet, a trend seen everywhere from Iran’s “Twitter Revolution” to the current uprisings in the Middle East.
As the internet will only grow in importance over coming years, careful assessment is clearly necessary.
The books, The Net Delusion: How Not to Liberate the World by Evgeny Morozov, and The Shallows: How the Internet is Changing the Way We Think, Read and Remember by Nicholas Carr promised to shine some light on the phenomena. But do they?
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Surprised? Fox News dismisses phone-hacking
This, from Fox News last night this morning comes as no surprise.
To their credit, the Sky News coverage has been completely different in tone and depth.
Update: CNN also covered how Fox News has ignored the scandal (via @am4eo)
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