Look, I know we’ve had our disagreements with Andrew – and it’s beyond the remit of the site – but, hey, he’s got a damn good article here on the Iranian…
It may not matter all that much: although some blogs are rather important, the vast majority are not.
In London, various blogs obsessively attack the Mayor.
After a year of their work, according to the polls, he was 10 points more popular than before they started.
You’re, er — bitching about us halfway through an article on Iran? Yep, we’re the obsessive ones.
Tags: 7 Comments
7 responses so far ↓
“I should declare that I host a discussion programme on an Iranian government-funded English-language TV channel, though I count myself an opponent of President Ahmedinejad and have criticised him on my show”
And after a couple of years of doing this, Ahmedinijad’s been ‘re-elected’ with a massive majority. Top opposing there, Andy. You really showed him what accountable democracy is all about.
Mmmmm, say hello to the old boss, same as the old boss. My comment on Boris’s expense claims has been removed from the Standardski’s website:
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23708990-details/Key+details+of+MPs%27+expenses+censored/article.do?expand=true#StartComments
Can anyone tell me if it is, indeed, ‘libellous’?
‘So, Boris earns half a million pounds a year from his newspaper column and mayoral salary. On top of this he claimed almost one hundred THOUSAND pounds from the taxpayer for mortgage payments and sundry household expenses. The Telegraph have beeen strangely quiet on this matter, surely nothing to do with the claim in Private Eye that Boris made a furious phone call to the telegraph editor? ‘
End quote.
Boris’s expenses are a matter of public record. Would it really be ‘libellous’ to claim that he would prefer they remain hidden?
And then:
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23709399-details/Comedy+claims+of+MPs/article.do
Boris put in claims for ‘awesome’ website
Boris Johnson was refused a £500 expense claim for a payment to a man who runs a pro-Boris website when he was MP for Henley-on-Thames and running for Mayor of London.
Commons officials refused to approve the bill for Simon Stacpoole, who runs the Boriswatch.com site – which describes Mr Johnson as “the mutt’s nads” and praises him as “awesome”.
And while Mr Johnson may have pledged to promote London tap water as Mayor, when he was an MP he charged the taxpayer for £130 worth of Abbeywell mineral water – and £150 worth of Diet Coke.
In his election manifesto, he said: “As a first step we will be banning the supply of bottled water immediately in City Hall.”
Mr Stacpoole was paid £1,000 in November 2007 to build a new website for the MP.
But today’s receipts appear to show that his 19 December claim for a £500 bill was denied by a Commons official, who wrote “not to be paid, letter to be sent”.
Mr Johnson also claimed £6.29 every year in Lakeland lite milk “jiggers” for his tea and coffee.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23709399-details/Comedy+claims+of+MPs/article.do
So Boris wants us to pay for his own arse-lickers? Other MPs have resigned for such blatant trough-snouting.
Oh, hang on, they’ve just allowed almost the exact same post:
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23709399-details/Comedy+claims+of+MPs/article.do
So we the taxpayer were asked by Boris to pay for his own propoganda?
This is one of the most disgusting claims to have surfaced, Boris Johnson earns half a million a year, claimed from the taxpayer almost a hundred THOUSAND pounds in household expenses including mortgage payments, and, not content with that, we’re supposed to pay for his acolytes to praise him to the skies?
This is Tory sleaze writ large, almost beyond belief. Those of us who predicted sleaze and graft when this joke was elected derive very little pleasure from being proven right so soon. A year into the job and Boris has his snout in the trough alongside MPs who have done the decent thing and resigned.
- Ben Potter, London
Ben – That Boris claim in full
http://mpsallowances.parliament.uk/mpslordsandoffices/hocallowances/allowances-by-mp/boris-johnson/Boris_Johnson_0708_CA.pdf
This needs to be looked into in more detail. If Boris claimed for services to him provided by Boriswatch.com, then that is a) political expenditure he was trying to claim for; b) political expenditure not relevant to his constituency duties.
Aside from the fact that Boriswatch.com pretends it is not connected to the Mayor in this way
More gets thrown up.
Page 10 – Stacpoole was paid £1,000 in February 2008. What was Boris doing at this time? Hmm.
I can’t believe he critiscing people who obsessively attack the “mayor”.
Like he didn’t do that for two years (and counting even though he’s now the ex mayor).
“Mr Gilligan”
At last I have found a set of people who see the same slimy odious toad that I do. A self interested man who effectively sealed the fate of Dr David Kelly over the WMD story.
I sent in a complaint to the press complaints authority regarding the unsubstanitated stories written in the Standard before the mayoral election (the Lee Jasper stories) – despite the PCA writing to the Standard directly it chose to ignore the complaint.
Are these the ’standards’ which newspapers are expected to achieve?
Fortunately the paper went bust and was bought by an ex-KGB man. I’m not saying this will improve the paper – but at least he got rid of Gilligan who is basically a grown up who was picked on at school for being a t*sser and now want’s to take his revenge on the world through his acidic pen.