It's worth reading Guido's top post, along with the Telegraph front page this morning, along with Iain's comment on it.The bit in the Telegraph front page I enjoyed most was the lies from the unnamed source (which I'm merely assuming is Damian McBride) that said (my emphasis added),
“To call it an orchestrated smear campaign is ridiculous. It was just some ill-judged gossip between friends which was never meant to see the light of day. They appear to be some ideas — laid out in embarrassing detail — for stories which could appear on a Left-wing version of the Guido Fawkes blog called Red Rag.Never appeared huh? So what exactly is this then?
They’re all stories which have been doing the rounds in Westminster for a while, written up in a scurrilous style. But the website has never appeared, so it’s hard to see what it was all about.
It’s just embarrassing for Number 10 that members of staff are spending their time sending smutty emails to their mates instead of running the country."
And who owns it?Domain name:
theredrag.co.uk
Registrant:
Ollie Cromwell
Registrant type:
UK Individual
Registrant's address:
The registrant is a non-trading individual
who has opted to have their address omitted
from the WHOIS service.
Relevant dates:
Registered on: 04-Nov-2008
Renewal date: 04-Nov-2010
Last updated: 04-Nov-2008
So we have a report of a blog that was going to be the left-wing Guido, a Number 10 source saying it never actually appeared, but a blog did appear in November called The Red Rag, no content was added, and it was registered anonymously by someone choosing to call themselves Oliver Cromwell.
That would be Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector and the man that sacked Parliament? How very apt a choice of name. Spinning doesn't really work on teh Interweb because it tends to leave little trails for you to follow - such a shame the Telegraph didn't follow it up.
Is there something Damian McBride might want to tell us?
UPDATE: A rather amusing little video of the events from Tory Bear.
19 comments:
An you can leave comments on it as well. No articles though
And I have just finished reading again Antonia Fraser's book on "Cromwell", what goes around goes around. There is a difference though, this kind of vindictiveness, arrogance, vicious behaviour, and arrogance of belief was much less marked in the mid 17th Century than today, and at least then, there were some around to take a real moral stance. So who is going to march to Westminster and turf the lot out? Not our bloggers I fear. They are all too busy with their downloads.
Yes, I don't know if the articles have been pulled retrospectively but just because a website exists it doesn't necessarily mean it is up and running.
"Appeared" red rag may have, but only just.
It was the 'no MPs know about it' bit that had me doubting the veracity of the story. Another top notch bit of blogging from Guido for sure.
Dizzy
Good find. Presumably Mrs Timney can still get the WHOIS.
Tomorrows publication of the emails will, I iamgine, show how this website was the prepwork for a pretty detailed and dirty smear campaign.
So have you seen the emails - interesting how Dizzy is nearly always around in situations involving hacking into Labour websites/emails.
And Dale has already spoken to Guido per his website. Funny how all the right wing bloggers appear to be co-ordinating together on this - especially on a Saturday morning (not their usual hours)
Shame the waybackmachine hasn't got it logged.
I've come across some more details that were posted on pb.com
Looks really unpleasant stuff but someone appears to have a conscience.
Anon said
So have you seen the emails - interesting how Dizzy is nearly always around in situations involving hacking into Labour websites/emails.
Yes because it's not like my whole rasion d'etre is technology, politics and the internet :rolleyes:
I suggest if you've got some evidence to back up the insinuation then stump it up or shut the fuck up.
tory boys never grow up said...
After several minutes of hilarious laughter, I managed to post this. The biggest "pot calling kettle" handle I've ever known.
TBNGU:
'Funny how all the right wing bloggers appear to be co-ordinating together on this'
Woooo spooky isn't it? I'd better get my tin foil hat. Free people from one area on the poltical spectrum agree about the madness of the #10 Bunker. Who'd have thought it?
I agree with Dizzy about using Cromwell, except that they shouldn't use Oliver: Neutering Parliament, Authoritarian but inept regime that becomes widely despised by the good folk of Britain..Gorgon is Richard Cromwell!
Aren't Nominet still somewhat disapproving of people using fake names and generally fibbing in their domain registrations?
It is all becoming rather juvenile said Gorgon, I'm far too busy doing whatever is necessary to look after the children.
Giolla is correct. According to Nominet's T&Cs:
"What you must do
4 You have various responsibilities set out generally in this contract. You must also:
4.1 give and keep us notified of your correct name, postal address and any phone, fax or e-mail information and those of your contacts (if you appoint any, see condition 5.2). This duty includes responding quickly and correctly to any request from us to confirm or correct the information on the register;"
"‘correct’ – This means that the information must be good enough to allow us to contact you quickly at any reasonable time without having to get information from anywhere else, must not be deceptive, and (if possible for that type of information) must clearly identify you. For your name this also means that the information must be detailed enough that we can tell exactly who you are (in legal terms, exactly which legal entity we have this contract with)."
(Nominet's use of bold) http://www.nominet.org.uk/registrants/aboutdomainnames/legal/terms/
Derek appears to think it is cool to stand by his 'mate in Downing Street'
http://andtherewasmethinking.wordpress.com/2009/04/11/dolly-for-fucks-sake-the-hole-is-deep-enough/
It does make the whole Guido/Dale/McSacked/Draper thing extra special. Bless Derek, what would we do with out him.
Mummy x
So a website URL was purchased by someone in the current Administration, and they decided not to comply with regulations set out by the authorising body?
I'm not at all surprised to see the desire by someone in government to ignore inconvenient rules, but the lack of spine of the purchaser does suggest some very nasty content was going to appear.
Politics in this country hasn't hit rock bottom, it's using dynamite to blast a deep canyon to fall down. The whole affair is deeply shameful.
and the BBC response is
"He said he had been sent the comments after canvassing Labour supporters about the prospect of setting up another blog to combat "right-wing tittle-tattle" posted on the internet."
FFS
With all that is going on in the world the media and all the sad little bloggers have to harp on about some emails passed between two blokes who still retain a hint of their Molesworth days. Get a life the lot of you. Think a bit more about the people who hacked in and stole the information. Hackers are no different to burglars with a set of picklocks.
oliver cromwell's descendants lived at chequers where there is a display of his stuff and where draper met brown.coincidence?
Post a Comment