tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56274831806966994392024-03-13T16:47:01.582+00:00Bloggerheads: the Back-Up BlogServes as a back-up to bloggerheads.com should anyone decide to bully me via my provider while dodging the issue. It also details the circumstances that led to the temporary closure of the Bloggerheads.com site (and others) via the actions of Fasthosts, Schillings and Alisher Usmanov in late 2007.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13292436411579226284noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5627483180696699439.post-46291807937556403982010-03-16T14:58:00.002+00:002010-03-16T15:14:57.943+00:00Redwire Design[This post as been relocated to this back-up blog after a complaint was made to my provider on 16/03/2010. The original article was posted to Bloggerheads.com 27/01/2010. Details <a href="http://www.bloggerheads.com/archives/2010/01/redwire-design.asp">here</a>.]<br /><br />This post is about some (or <s>perhaps</s> hopefully just one) of the wonderful people at <a href="http://www.redwiredesign.com/">Redwire Design</a>, but first we need some background for those who came in late (and to cover some recent parts that have only just come to light). Please bear with me:<br /><br />Early in 2009, a conman by the name of <a href="http://www.spinprofiles.org/index.php/Dominic_Whiteman">Dominic Wightman</a> (aka Dominic Whiteman, aka Richard Walker) saw in <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/sep/23/the-sun-ummah-com-apology">the Glen Jenvey story</a> an opportunity to screw over some former associates while at the same time screwing me (for reasons that have yet to be fully established). This scheme of his resulted in <a href="http://www.bloggerheads.com/archives/2009/03/how_nice.asp">a false claim of paedophilia spread by Jenvey</a>, who (with nothing to gain by lying) later claimed that he was fed this lie <i>and</i> my ex-directory home address by Wightman, along with the assurance that I "needed sorting out".<br /><br />Things didn't quite work out the way Wightman planned, and eventually circumstances led to <a href="http://www.bloggerheads.com/archives/2009/09/dominic_wightman.asp">the uncovering of a blatant smear campaign created and conducted by Wightman</a>, resulting in multiple visits from the police that Wightman hilariously portrays as being appointments of his own design.<br /><br />Fearing what I might report (there is a LOT that has so far gone unreported), Wightman decided to get his retaliation in early (!) with an extraordinarily rambling, malicious and misleading attack on my good name. It was at this time that some <a href="http://www.bloggerheads.com/archives/2009/10/dominic_wightma.asp">associates of Wightman</a> began to publish my home address alongside false accusations that I was in league with extremists, and a stalker of women.<br /><br />The bulk of these associates hide behind pseudonyms, go by the collective name of the 'Cheerleaders', and are also involved in a band by the name of The Fighting Cocks. There are also some mates and hangers-on whose real names are more accessible, and that group of people includes 'Jonny Yeah' (aka Jon Chappell). More on him in a moment.<br /><br />This campaign of harassment has included the repeated broadcast of my home address to the types of people that Wightman himself has described as having "a history of late-night visits to enemies". Further, while the 'Cheerleaders' style themselves as anti-fascist activists, they had no qualms about repeatedly broadcasting my home address to members of the BNP while alerting them to my involvement in <a href="http://www.bloggerheads.com/archives/2009/06/ybnps_billy_bri.asp">campaigns they would be none-too-pleased with</a>. If the intention wasn't to do me harm, it was to make me fearful for my safety and cause me distress. It certainly did the latter, especially when the campaign escalated to <a href="http://www.bloggerheads.com/archives/2009/09/charlie_flowers.asp">direct threats of violence</a>, causing me and my family great concern.<br /><br />'Jonny Yeah' (aka Jon Chappell) was CCed on the emails threatening me with violence. Further threats involving the continued misuse of my data were then issued on his behalf (and on the behalf of other relevant parties) after I dared to list on my site the names and/or email addresses of all those who were associated with the earlier therat of violence. <a href="http://www.bloggerheads.com/archives/2010/01/kooba-radio.asp">'Jonny Yeah' also appears to have been closely associated with an anonymous SPA (single-purpose account) on YouTube that was used in this ongoing campaign of harassment.</a><br /><br />I can prove that this account was used to repeatedly broadcast my home address to people the author regarded to be potentially hostile to me, and that this was visibly and quite obviously the only purpose of the account. Further, I can prove that an account in the name of 'JonnyYeah1' was associated with this anonymous account <i>and</i> that an account in the name of Kooba Radio ('KoobaTV') was used to link to and promote the anonymous account in a way that cannot have escaped the attention of the main 'KoobaTV' account holder, even if they were to later claim that they had been hacked or set up or some such nonsense.<br /><br />Kooba Radio was founded by... 'Jonny Yeah' (aka Jon Chappell), along with a man by the name of Alex Malloy (The Boy Malloy) and a mysterious woman by the name of Angela Collins (She Who Must Not Be Named).<br /><br />After changing his story a few times, Johnny Yeah eventually denied involvement and claimed that Angela Collins had left Kooba Radio. He also appears to have changed the Kooba Radio email settings so they now reject any email from me as spam, but I have yet to confirm this. More on <i>that</i> in a moment.<br /><br />Public versions of the ongoing online attacks from 'Cheerleaders' then started afresh, this time quite specifically on behalf of 'Johnny Yeah' and his Kooba Radio colleagues:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVKMHcpDaQrAXFRkxXAsm_m-NEQM5LAg8dOswWej5AoXDYePU1wki2YSD4Ic2137Dm7LlX7IP5M7tCFCQD0X0-C0_xib5NKTgqP0MsrkA2_7Ndv72pJ0ObUWlcF-VS5823xIdNnyFwDiXt/s1600-h/redwire.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 373px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVKMHcpDaQrAXFRkxXAsm_m-NEQM5LAg8dOswWej5AoXDYePU1wki2YSD4Ic2137Dm7LlX7IP5M7tCFCQD0X0-C0_xib5NKTgqP0MsrkA2_7Ndv72pJ0ObUWlcF-VS5823xIdNnyFwDiXt/s400/redwire.gif" border="0" alt="screen capture of some recently-deleted tweets from the Cheerleaders" /></a><br /><br />Faced with the following error message, legally, I needed to be certain that I had been deliberately spam-blocked, not least because of the delightfully self-reinforcing accusation of stalking that is so easily exploited in situations where people start refusing contact by email:<br /><blockquote><br /><br />Technical details of permanent failure:<br />Google tried to deliver your message, but it was rejected by the recipient domain. We recommend contacting the other email provider for further information about the cause of this error. The error that the other server returned was: 571 571 5.7.1 Message contains spam or virus : 16522:4131863472|125F (state 18).</blockquote><br /><br />The website and email accounts for Kooba Radio are hosted by a company by the name of <strong>RedWire Design</strong>.<br /><br />The man who handles the bulk of enquiries for that company is.... <a href="http://www.redwiredesign.com/profile/alex_malloy.html">Alex Malloy</a> (Jon Chappell's partner in Kooba Radio).<br /><br />So, wanting to give Alex a chance to tell his side of the story (Chapell's denials implied his involvement), and needing to go through Alex to find out if his 'client' had actively spamblocked me, I got in touch.<br /><br />Having just been informed of pretty much everything I just explained to you, Alex was queried about the apparent spam block, but didn't act at all surprised about any of it and - speaking as an official representative of RedWire Design - had this to say...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqPtVfoVFaROxw8S9V7Y_RxQ2HWgrM47-zDt7ZKOpLEo_0KWr86dIzr459ITHYwKHnXjMP0PmpuakQldv7VP2J-z3ApsCTIHWlYbvkwXwvRQTlDzkO8ef93G9Uq3wwQmqPE7zKolOu0p4l/s1600-h/redwire.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 203px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqPtVfoVFaROxw8S9V7Y_RxQ2HWgrM47-zDt7ZKOpLEo_0KWr86dIzr459ITHYwKHnXjMP0PmpuakQldv7VP2J-z3ApsCTIHWlYbvkwXwvRQTlDzkO8ef93G9Uq3wwQmqPE7zKolOu0p4l/s400/redwire.jpg" border="0" alt="redwire design: we are good people" /></a><br /><br />... before promptly hanging up.<br /><br />Alex is listed on <a href="http://www.redwiredesign.com/">the Redwire site</a> as a Director of the company (citing Search Engine Optimisation as his lead skill, and you better believe there'll be more on <i>that</i> in moment).<br /><br />The only person senior to Alex appears to be Managing Director, Nick Catt.<br /><br />I should stress that there is <i>no</i> visible evidence of Nick Catt's involvement in this ongoing campaign of harassment at this stage, but <a href="http://www.redwiredesign.com/profile/nick_catt.html">his profile</a> states that he "runs a live music and club night with Alex" (and another man), so he probably knows those 'Cheerleaders' who are in The Fighting Cocks at least, and doing the right thing is likely to complicate his life in those circles, so I am wary of any further approach through direct channels, especially with the ever-present risk that someone might hide behind a cry of "Stalker!" at any moment<br /><br />Instead, I'm here in public (again) having to explain all this crap (again) and finding myself quite surprised that I have to drag some people kicking and screaming into the light just to get them to do the decent thing (again).<br /><br />In about an hour, this post should be a high search result for queries relating to 'redwire design'. I am hoping that this will lead to a sudden upsurge of professionalism on their end, but I'm not holding my breath.<br /><br />In fact, I'm half expecting some kind of misguided counter-attack by Alex Malloy or maybe even the company he does all them professional communications for.<br /><br />Fine by me. I'd stake my SEO kung-fu against his any day... especially with the law, the truth and a shedload of evidence on my side. <br /><br />-<br /><br />UPDATE - 48 minutes, this took. Nowhere near the record, but still worthy of mention:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfmpJD1T5iHOXUeV8JKrjz01N5IXLXYSONjphODXcyQJSpLof33ZUfQ1czMV8Yi-eLkjiBmYrrMykagrEkYfIN3f7USdDjNPCCabS74sq5qOVVq8QB7zfwJ80JVaDAb2VhQqYTWyecpjL8/s1600-h/redwire2.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 373px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfmpJD1T5iHOXUeV8JKrjz01N5IXLXYSONjphODXcyQJSpLof33ZUfQ1czMV8Yi-eLkjiBmYrrMykagrEkYfIN3f7USdDjNPCCabS74sq5qOVVq8QB7zfwJ80JVaDAb2VhQqYTWyecpjL8/s400/redwire2.gif" border="0" alt="screen capture" /></a><br /><br /><br />-<br /><br />UPDATE (28 Jan) - Hey, guess what, everyone? They're going to be ratbags about it.<br /><br />Alex Malloy cannot deny involvement in the KoobaTV account, and it is certainly reasonable in my view to ask who the primary account holder might be in the circumstances. He sees things differently. <br /><br />Meanwhile the 'Cheerleaders' are hopping about angrily playing the side of law enforcement all of a sudden, outraged that I'd dare to ask anyone about their real names (when they claim it is not an issue); the abiding theme is that if I dare to object to being attacked, then they will continue to attack me... but it has already been established that they plan to continue to attack me anyway. It's just another piss-poor justification to add to the collection.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13292436411579226284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5627483180696699439.post-32861039403174438112010-03-16T14:54:00.006+00:002010-03-16T16:48:45.215+00:00Kooba Radio[This post as been relocated to this back-up blog after a complaint was made to my provider on 16/03/2010. The original article was posted to Bloggerheads.com 22/01/2010. Details <a href="http://www.bloggerheads.com/archives/2010/01/kooba-radio.asp">here</a>.]<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUCj_7nirANn9cLiXTBfdeIehV2pD2YPbxFmomw-rXU0lg8XuKQE7iE8AHHYZ4LlgwzLARz0dqOs8qX3XroUnpqwbrfT-u3nTSnsDcHC39RjrJTOh_NDVSD2N9zzBbCszvPf2IXmNMB1aT/s1600-h/kooba-radio-xmas.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUCj_7nirANn9cLiXTBfdeIehV2pD2YPbxFmomw-rXU0lg8XuKQE7iE8AHHYZ4LlgwzLARz0dqOs8qX3XroUnpqwbrfT-u3nTSnsDcHC39RjrJTOh_NDVSD2N9zzBbCszvPf2IXmNMB1aT/s400/kooba-radio-xmas.jpg" border="0" alt="Jonny Yeah and Charlie Flowers: they don't really know each other" /></a><a href="http://www.koobaradio.co.uk/" rel="nofollow">Kooba Radio</a> bills itself as an "independent, non-profit, Internet-based radio station focused on alternative rock, playing unsigned bands from around the world" and was founded by Jon Chappell (Jonny Yeah), Alex Malloy (The Boy Malloy) and Angela Collins (She Who Must Not Be Named).<br /><br />Kooba Radio is also a joke, and just a wee bit corrupt in places.<br /><br />As most of you are aware, most of last year was marred by an ongoing campaign of harassment resulting from my encounter with the 'amateur terror expert' Dominic Wightman (a former associate of <a href="http://www.bloggerheads.com/archives/2009/09/the_glen_jenvey.asp">Glen Jenvey</a> and <a href="http://www.bloggerheads.com/archives/2009/09/suburban_jihad.asp">Patrick Mercer</a>). That campaign of harassment escalated to the repeated publication of my home address by a group calling themselves the 'Cheerleaders'. These people claim to be anti-fascist, but they had no qualms about broadcasting my address to BNP members alongside mentions of my involvement in anti-BNP campaigns such as <a href="http://www.bloggerheads.com/archives/2009/05/billy_brit.asp">Billy Brit</a>. The 'Cheerleaders' have made a number of unsubstantiated claims in a belated attempt to justify their actions, but what's most likely is that <a href="http://www.bloggerheads.com/archives/2009/10/dominic_wightma.asp">they initially did this because Wightman told them to do it</a>, and they painted themselves into a corner* from there.<br /><br />Kooba Radio first came to my attention a couple of days before the email address of one of the founders (Jon Chappell, aka 'Jonny Yeah') turned up in the CC list of a group email from the 'Cheerleaders' threatening me with violence.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bloggerheads.com/archives/2009/09/charlie_flowers.asp">I wrote about that threat and included the relevant email addresses in the report.</a> Months passed, then, over the New Year holiday period, when most people in the entertainment industry were busy with gigs (or at least sleeping it off), someone on that list wasted away their days and nights (again) making good on an earlier threat to share my personal data with Nigerian scammers if I refused to remove that list of names and email addresses.<br /><br />When doing so, they posed as me, pretended that I was manager of a small local bank branch, and provided them with my main email address and (ex-directory) home address. Nice, huh?<br /><br />I was recently assured in a further email from someone with a third-person fetish that "they're going to keep coming until you remove the email addresses from your blog".<br /><br />This suggested to me that someone on that list didn't want to be visibly associated with what the 'Cheerleaders' had been up to, so I contacted everyone on that list, and offered them the chance to disassociate themselves from the online attacks and threats of violence. If they wanted to be removed from <a href="http://www.bloggerheads.com/archives/2009/09/charlie_flowers.asp">this post</a>, all they had to do was account for their conduct to date (i.e. why not object before now?), and distance themselves from this ongoing campaign of harassment.<br /><br />Only 'Jonny Yeah' took me up on the offer and asked for his name/address to be removed. Initially, he pretended not to know anything about the campaign of harassment. When this pretence was fatally undermined by the evidence, 'Jonny' suddenly lost interest in the attempt to have his name/address removed, but <i>how</i> he did it will be of most interest to any fans of Kooba Radio:<br /><br />First, while claiming to know nothing about any of it, 'Jonny Yeah' implied that his inclusion on the list was the result of some random activity by fans who lifted his email address from his website. Because he's a superstar DJ, don't you know.<br /><br />His claim was contradicted by the evidence, and I said so.<br /><br />'Jonny Yeah' responded by attempting to explain away his demonstrable association with the Cheerleaders (and connections with leader Charlie Flowers) by saying that their 'very good' band (The Fighting Cocks) had featured on his show, and that was the limit of his involvement. Because he's a superstar DJ, don't you know.<br /><br />His revised claim was contradicted by the evidence, and I said so.<br /><br />'Jonny Yeah' then went on to claim that he hadn't been aware of any of this despite being CCed on the original threat and emailed specifically about it because Kooba Radio have strong spam filters to avoid all the 'crap' that results from his efforts to "enable young (and not so young) musicians to submit [material] to us". He then urged me to tune into his show that evening. Because he's a superstar DJ, don't you know.<br /><br /><i>This</i> revised claim was contradicted by the evidence, and I said so.<br /><br />I also made it absolutely clear to him at this stage that I could prove his association with a YouTube account created mainly to publish my home address and gave him one last opportunity to deny it... or perhaps explain himself.<br /><br />'Jonny Yeah' responded by asking me what I thought of his show that evening. <br /><br />(!)<br /><br />At no stage did he express any interest in or disapproval of the repeated use of my personal data to intimidate me... most recently, <i>on his behalf</i>.<br /><br />It wasn't until I made it clear that I intended to publish something about it that he made good with a vague denial of direct involvement, before quickly moving on to assure me that he wouldn't ever be mentioning me on his show, as if that's what I wanted.<br /><br />Because he's a superstar DJ, don't you know.<br /><br />Sadly for 'Jonny', this claim of star-status is <i>also</i> contradicted by the evidence:<br /><br />1. The IP address used when sending almost all of his emails corresponds with IP data connected to many/most of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kooba_Radio&action=history">edits</a> to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kooba_Radio">this Wikipedia page about his radio 'station'</a>. Said page is a shameless (and lengthy) construct of laughable self-promotion, the highlight of which is an account of 'Broadband Aid', a "new arrangement of Band Aid, the famous Christmas Single", in which the author goes on to specify (and link <i>directly</i> to) everybody who sang a line in this bold venture. There's no way it's going to survive in its current state once I've mentioned it here, so <a href="http://www.bloggerheads.com/images/kooba-radio.gif">here's a screen capture for the ages</a>.<br /><br />2. Encouraged by 'Jonny Yeah', I did visit their site and explore their glorious world of online radio stardom. For starters, according to Alexa, my main website (bloggerheads.com) attracts a larger audience than theirs (koobaradio.co.uk)... by a factor of around 10-1 by the looks of things. Alexa is really only reliable as a thumbnail sketch, but the Twitter stats support this; <a href="http://twitter.com/bloggerheads">I presently have 1,542 followers</a>, while <a href="http://twitter.com/koobaradio">Kooba Radio have 175</a> (and <a href="http://twitter.com/Jonny_yeah">'Jonny Yeah' has 95</a>). The YouTube stats also support this; with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/bloggerheads">Bloggerheads</a> currently standing at 10,210 channel views and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/KoobaTV">KoobaTV</a> at 1,702. Their most popular video got 402 views. My <i>least</i> popular video got 843. I say all of this while recognising the modesty of my own efforts... it just amused me to be dismissed as a delusional fanboy by a guppy who thinks he's a shark. The only thing that gives this tosser any power/edge over me is his willingness to participate in the kind of anonymous harassment that almost every web user recognises as being beyond the pale. It also needs to be noted that the audience of this radio 'station' listens <i>via</i> these channels; it is <i>not</i> a case of them having a smaller web audience than their actual audience, because the web audience <i>is</i> their audience. There's more in #4, but if 'Jonny Yeah' is worried about going mainstream, he shouldn't let those concerns keep him up nights; the nearest he's likely to get to compromising his anti-establishment principles is accepting the 'employee of the month' award at Burger King.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7O6A_FPJFZTNGlPvfemyy1w5vyqCF089rGAQsv4I7J9-n9ftQPFhRwZRkMsJJfb9JcjOqhimWH0bIu019LazeQTLkPFZQ5zsXQ5ZZf9KOgIcxZSqxqWGRUJewAVqOGoSof6WL4Q_S-WWu/s1600-h/kooba-radio-twitter.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 139px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7O6A_FPJFZTNGlPvfemyy1w5vyqCF089rGAQsv4I7J9-n9ftQPFhRwZRkMsJJfb9JcjOqhimWH0bIu019LazeQTLkPFZQ5zsXQ5ZZf9KOgIcxZSqxqWGRUJewAVqOGoSof6WL4Q_S-WWu/s400/kooba-radio-twitter.gif" border="0" alt="screen grab of Twitter accounts" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8MSuhS8iU824nHV1ppu1xYHHxlOJ9jIz9TWLNHWv40Y9GeZXakGXFDf2bZoQqFMJyX3IT7bGtSq4g14QxsknhPqaWGGYxVESA1fiXCnxH1UkSl25PgUDDBEHJXV4jVNypaRQWNp53StD6/s1600-h/kooba-tv.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 245px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8MSuhS8iU824nHV1ppu1xYHHxlOJ9jIz9TWLNHWv40Y9GeZXakGXFDf2bZoQqFMJyX3IT7bGtSq4g14QxsknhPqaWGGYxVESA1fiXCnxH1UkSl25PgUDDBEHJXV4jVNypaRQWNp53StD6/s400/kooba-tv.gif" border="0" alt="screen grab of Youtube accounts" /></a><br /><br />On the subject of YouTube, I wasn't able to mention this before now because Google only got around to suspending the relevant account yesterday, but someone at Kooba Radio used <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/KoobaTV">their YouTube channel</a> to link to and promote another YouTube account created mainly (if not only) to publish and promote my ex-directory home address as part of an ongoing campaign of harassment. I'd make a bigger deal of my not knowing exactly who at Kooba Radio did this if it weren't for the fact that the account <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/JonnyYeah1">JonnyYeah1</a> was also visibly associated with that same online attack. At the very least, it can be said with some certainty that when 'Jonny Yeah' claimed to be completely unaware of the campaign of harassment yesterday, he was lying. This, sadly, undermines the vague denials he made about direct involvement before signing off.<br /><br />3. It also needs to be noted that 'Jonny Yeah' is a lot closer to some of the bands he promotes than he lets on. This is what the professionals in the show business call a 'conflict if interest'... not that I would dare to imply that Jon Chappell (aka Jonny Yeah) is in any way professional.<br /><br />4. Attention, unsigned bands (and bands signed with small labels): not only is Kooba Radio co-founder and 'headline' DJ Jon Chappell a pathetic lying scoundrel who knowingly participates in anonymous web bullying, but he's most likely going to end up being a complete waste of your time even if he decides to help you rather than, say, put the safety of your family at risk for shits and giggles. I could help you to reach a much bigger audience without even trying, and even if the deal goes hopelessly sour, there's no way I'm going to be as much of a twat about it as this guy.<br /><br />(Not that I've any interest in being a superstar DJ at this stage of my life... or a twat. I'm just saying is all.)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHW0WJXczcrB5HT_X4UV7FoXCQwbWAAaEHybkpZwtPS-yfGgPEzccD_4OMLl3Ca1C4ZPlJHsiQYDom0FtuD4ykhDUT9YjQQfTsHhzNNNLtMoJT6zbnaLI1i_5zH0xgSzRoVHJCEjR3AKYo/s1600-h/jonny-yeah.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHW0WJXczcrB5HT_X4UV7FoXCQwbWAAaEHybkpZwtPS-yfGgPEzccD_4OMLl3Ca1C4ZPlJHsiQYDom0FtuD4ykhDUT9YjQQfTsHhzNNNLtMoJT6zbnaLI1i_5zH0xgSzRoVHJCEjR3AKYo/s400/jonny-yeah.jpg" border="0" alt="Jonny Yeah" /></a><br /><br /><br />-<br /><br />[*At any stage, the 'Cheerleaders' can render themselves an irrelevance by rolling over on <a href="http://www.bloggerheads.com/archives/2009/10/dominic_wightma.asp">Dominic Wightman</a>. I've said so privately will happily declare it publicly. I have no interest in vendettas, as my treatment of Jenvey after his confession should make clear; there are some who may beg to differ on that point, but like 'Jonny Yeah' they've been telling outright lies about the extent of their involvement in this affair. I'm not out to 'get at' any of the 'Cheerleaders', but if I have to, I will go through them in order to clearly establish the role played by Wightman. At least one of the 'Cheerleaders' should be warned that recent impersonations could lead to the closure of their email account regardless of what I have to say about it, and a window of opportunity is likely to close with it; they will not be able to present me with solid evidence of Wightman's role if the receiving account has been deactivated. The 'Cheerleaders' have made a number of vague claims about being deceived by Dominic Wightman, and if they want to prove it, then now is the time, and there is nothing holding them back if the evidence is there. After all, they can't possibly claim that they refuse to reveal relevant evidence on the grounds of a person's right to privacy.]Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13292436411579226284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5627483180696699439.post-15757790433071822452010-01-29T12:18:00.002+00:002010-01-29T13:56:49.251+00:00To: Nick Catt[This post as been relocated to this back-up blog after a complaint was made to my provider. <a href="http://www.bloggerheads.com/archives/2010/01/nick-catt.asp">Details here.</a>]<br /><br />Well, the unpleasantness continues, and Alex Malloy is hiding behind his company firewall. If you could take a moment to read the detail and send a quick email to Nick Catt (if you see fit), then I'd greatly appreciate the time and effort. Cheers.<br /><blockquote><br /><br />To:<br />Nick Catt<br /><a href="http://www.redwiredesign.com/profile/nick_catt.html">Managing Director, Redwire Design</a><br /><br />Dear Nick,<br /><br />Apologies for the open letter, but an all-too-familiar game is unfolding and your company Director <a href="http://www.bloggerheads.com/archives/2010/01/redwire-design.asp">Alex Malloy</a> appears to have blacklisted my email address(es) in response to my query about the apparent (but still-unconfirmed) spam-blocking of these same addresses by one of your clients.<br /><br />I use the word 'client' loosely given that the relevant account involves <a href="http://www.bloggerheads.com/archives/2010/01/kooba-radio.asp">Jon Chappell</a>, Alex Malloy's mate and partner in Kooba Radio. I'm guessing the whole arrangement involving your hosting of their website, email and what have you is more congenial than it is formal, but there is no question of you hosting it and being ultimately responsible for how your servers are used <i>and</i> for the conduct of your Director in their management <i>and</i> for any relevant communication from your staff about that.<br /><br />Moving in the local band/club circles as you do, you must be aware of a band by the name of The Fighting Cocks. If you don't know who these people are, your Director Alex Malloy certainly does; he's played host to them on his Kooba Radio 'station' many times, and they appear repeatedly on his website (that you host). Core members of The Fighting Cocks (alongside hangers-on like Jon Chappell) also go by the name of the 'Cheerleaders', and in a lonnng campaign of harassment from behind these names and a series of sock-puppets and pseudonyms they have repeatedly published my ex-directory home address in an effort to intimidate me into silence. This all has to do with <a href="http://www.bloggerheads.com/archives/2009/10/dominic_wightma.asp">a conman of their acquaintance</a> by the name of <a href="http://www.spinprofiles.org/index.php/Dominic_Whiteman">Dominic Wightman</a> (NOT a name I expect you to know; this is just for background).<br /><br />I can show you evidence of the involvement of the relevant Kooba Radio YouTube account in the active promotion of an account used (only) to broadcast my home address if you have any doubts about this, or if Malloy is denying any of it in your communication(s) with him. When we last communicated, he denied knowing about any of it, but the evidence suggests otherwise (personally, I suspect he's lying and obfuscating to protect himself and his mates, if you'll allow me to be frank with you) and it's still no excuse for his conduct in response to fair and pertinent questions.<br /><br />Malloy knows who the main account holder for 'KoobaTV' is, but refuses to discuss the matter in any way. You may choose to back away into a legally-secure (if morally dubious) position that this aspect of our (ahem) disagreement is none of your business, but he is also refusing to be clear about the nature of an apparent spam-block on an email account that you host, and the stench of bad faith is coming from Redwire's corner as a result.<br /><br />Oh, and now I'm receiving further threats made on behalf of these friends of the Cheerleaders who claim not to know anything about those same Cheerleaders. Here's the latest, received just this morning:<br /><blockquote><br /><br />from Princess Calamity [princesscalamity@googlemail.com]<br />to Tim Ireland<br />date Fri, Jan 29, 2010 at 12:02 AM<br />subject Re: Publication of your email address<br /> <br />Matyi is about to put a Gypsy curse on you and your entire family, at dawn tomorrow- and it'll be a bad one :(<br />... you can avoid this curse, by never contacting or writing about us or anyone to do with us again. I'm sure your wife wouldn't be too happy about your obsessions leading to her and you and yours getting lumbered with something that will follow your bloodline down the generations, now would it?<br />So.. your choice Mr Stalker.<br />:D<br />x<br />Priya</blockquote><br /><br />[FYI:' Matyi' = '<a href="http://www.bloggerheads.com/archives/2009/09/charlie_flowers.asp">Charlie Flowers</a>']<br /><br />Now, if it were taken in isolation some people might expect all those concerned to laugh this one off, but I'm detecting an implied threat against my family there, and I'd be interested to know what you think, especially as these and other threats are now being made on behalf of one of your 'clients', a Director of your company and now, apparently, the company itself:<br /><blockquote><br /><br />from The Fighting Cocks UK [fightingcocks@live.co.uk]<br />to Tim Ireland<br />date Thu, Jan 28, 2010 at 12:45 AM<br />subject and you are now, officially, in the shit.<br /><br />I TOLD you not to contact these people. But your mental condition meant you had to, didn't it? OK you are now officially in the crap, P-Group has found your web host, and they have been notified.<br />You have a choice:<br />1. Walk away and look away, and NEVER contact anyone involved with us again.<br />2. Keep it up, and reap the whirlwind.<br /> <br />3. This means and includes: anyone at Kooba or Redwire.<br /> <br />Matyi<br />TFC Cheerleaders</blockquote><br /><br />[I fail to see what possible case these people can hope to present to my web host, unless they're following up on Malloy's claims of 'threats and defamation' that he is curiously unable to identify when challenged.]<br /><br />As you can see, by attempting to contact you I risk 'reaping the whirlwind', and I apologise in advance for my next act, which is designed to ensure that this attempt will not have been in vain:</blockquote><br /><br /><b>Hi folks. Without being rude about it, please forward a copy of this message (and/or a link to this post) to Nick Catt at nick@redwiredesign.com<br /><br />If you think I'm being too long-winded (as usual), then do feel free to aid comprehension with your own summary, but please try to remain professional about it, as Nick Catt is a Managing Director and therefore likely to be a Serious Person, unwilling to stand for any swears or abuse.<br /><br />(I'll scrub this message when he responds. For as long as it remains live, the request stands. Cheers all.)</b><br /><br /><blockquote><br />These people can only continue to attack me for as long as they remain anonymous, and these people will continue to attack me for as long as the man who is directing the attacks enjoys plausible deniability.<br /><br />Your man Malloy appears determined to be a strong link in a long chain of ratbags. I'm hoping that you will recognise the value of being at least a little bit more professional about it, even if you're going to deny all knowledge yourself and pretend that you've merely been away from your desk for a 67-hour moment.<br /><br />Cheers<br /><br />Tim Ireland</blockquote><br /><br />OK, so now we see what kind of person Nick Catt is, I guess.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13292436411579226284noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5627483180696699439.post-84913652442729609702008-07-14T07:17:00.003+01:002008-07-14T07:21:14.246+01:00Schillings are making secret threats again<a href="http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2008/07/iraq_mercenary.html"><i>Craig Murray</i> - Iraq Mercenary Boss Hires Schillings To Block My New Book</a> <i>Schillings are a firm of libel lawyers dedicated to prevent the truth from being known about some deeply unlovely people. They managed temporarily to close down this blog (and several others) to keep information quiet about the criminal record of Alisher Usmanov. Now they are attempting to block the publication of my new book in the interests of mercenary commander Tim Spicer, one of those who has made a fortune from the Iraq War.</i><br /><br /><a href=""><i>Unity</i> - Murray faces more legal bullying</a>: <i>To appreciate the full scope of what Schillings are trying to do here, you need to read the letter that was sent to Craig and his publishers, which was marked 'Not For Publication' - Craig has it on his blog in PDF format, but to make life easier for everyone, here's the full text of the letter...</i><br /><br /><blockquote> <br /> PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL<br /> Mainstream Publishing Company (Edinburgh) Limited<br /> 7 Albany Street<br /> Edinburgh<br /> Scotland<br /> EH13UG<br /><br /> BY POST AND FAX: XXXX XXX XXXX<br /> OurRef: SMS/JXR/ww/A131/3<br /> ON THE RECORD<br /> NOT FOR PUBLICATION<br /> 08 July 2008<br /><br /> Dear Sirs<br /><br /> The Road to Samarkand - Craig Murray<br /><br /> We represent Lieutenant-Colonel Tim Spicer OBE, C.E.O. of Aegis Defence Services Limited ("Aegis").<br /><br /> We are instructed to write to you with regard to 'THE ROAD TO SAMARKAND- INTRIGUE, CORRUPTION AND DIRTY DIPLOMACY' ("the Book") written by Craig Murray and due to be published in September 2008 by you (http://www.rbooks.co.uk/search results.aspx) to be sold in England and Wales by Random House Sales Department.<br /><br /> We have reason to believe that the Book may contain serious, untrue and damaging defamatory allegations about our client.<br /><br /> Please confirm by return whether the Book is due to be published in England and Wales in September 2008 and if so, the exact date. Please also confirm whether the Book is due to be published in any other jurisdiction, setting out each jurisdiction, together with the publication date and publisher concerned in each case.<br /><br /> Importantly, we require you to confirm by return whether or not the Book contains any reference to our client, and if so, we require you to set out in full each and every reference to our client in its entirety to give our client the opportunity to take legal advice and to respond to any allegations in good time prior to publication.<br /><br /> Any widespread publication of the Book containing defamatory allegations concerning our client would be deeply damaging to our client's personal and professional reputations and would cause him profound distress and anxiety. We remind you that you would be responsible for that damage and any subsequent republication of the allegations. We also put you on notice that you will be liable for any special damage or loss suffered by our client as a result of the Book and we reserve all our client's rights in this regard.<br /><br /> We note from your website http://www.mainstreampublishing.com/news_current.html that Mr Murray is due to speak about the Book at a 'Mainstream author event at the Edinburgh International Book Festival' entitled 'Lived Lives' on 12th August 2008 at 4.30pm in the RBS Main Theatre, Edinburgh. We hereby put both you and Mr Murray on notice that all our client's rights are reserved in relation to any defamatory comments or publications made by you or Mr Murray in relation to that event.<br /><br /> Please immediately take into your possession all drafts of the Book pre-publication, all notes, emails, correspondence, memos, images and other documents relevant to the publication of this Book, and preserve them safely pending the outcome of this dispute. They will need to be disclosed in due course if litigation has to be commenced. Also, you will need to disclose the financial arrangements for the sale and licence of the Book to other publications.<br /><br /> In the circumstances, we require that you confirm immediately that you agree to undertake on behalf of Mainstream Publishing Company (Edinburgh) Limited not to publish any libels regarding our client in any editions of the Book or at all.<br /><br /> We require the above undertaking by 4pm on Friday 11h July 2008, failing which we will have no option but to advise our client with regard to making applications to the High Court for an injunction to restrain publication and/or for pre-action disclosure. You are on notice that we will seek to recover the costs of any necessary applications from you.<br /><br /> We await your response by return. In the meantime all our client's rights are reserved, including the right to issue proceedings against you without further notice.<br /> Yours faithfully<br /><br /> SCHILLINGS<br /> cc. Craig Murray Esq.</blockquote><br /><br />(Please note that simply reproducing this letter on your own blog could cause <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Spicer">one of our bravest cash-only fighting heroes</a> "profound distress and anxiety"...)Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13292436411579226284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5627483180696699439.post-58604339802931990032007-12-06T11:40:00.001+00:002008-07-12T21:57:17.523+01:00A piss-poor DoS attackYesterday, <a href="http://www.bloggerheads.com/archives/2007/12/not_getting_des.asp">Blogger.com got in touch following a false report that this website was a 'spam blog'</a>. For roughly 24 hours, the site was suspended.<br /><br />The case was quickly reviewed by a human being working for Blogger.com who determined quite rightly that it wasn't a spam blog at all.<br /><br />This was the only Blogger.com-based weblog of mine that was targeted in this way, so I think it's fair to say that this was probably the work of someone acting in the interests of Alisher Usmanov, Schillings, and/or Fasthosts.<br /><br /><br />Whoever was behind the false complaint, I have a short message for you:<br /><br />1. It was dishonest.<br /><br />2. It was pathetic.<br /><br />3. It didn't do you any favours.<br /><br />4. And now you've got my attention all over again.<br /><br />Well done!Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13292436411579226284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5627483180696699439.post-4650739448498810182007-11-16T16:50:00.000+00:002007-11-16T16:51:44.757+00:00Schillings in shameless hypocrisy shock<a href="http://www.mattwardman.com/blog/2007/11/16/usmanov-lawyer-schillings-sign-pakistan-rule-of-law-anti-censorship-letter-in-guardian/">Matt has it.</a> I'm still getting over it.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13292436411579226284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5627483180696699439.post-85006196696951927072007-10-31T09:38:00.000+00:002007-10-31T09:44:02.143+00:00Usmanov: burying the evidenceA little something for the (very few) supporters of Usmanov challenging Craig Murray to produce evidence:<br /><br /><a href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,2202113,00.html"><i>Guardian</i> - Government denies access to Usmanov reports</a>: <i>The Government has refused a parliamentary request for it to publish two official Foreign & Commonwealth Office reports about the activities of Alisher Usmanov, the Uzbek-born Russian billionaire who is now the second largest shareholder in Arsenal.... Murray said that he sent the two reports from the Uzbeki capital, Tashkent, to the foreign office by confidential telegram, the standard format for communications from overseas-based embassies. They were "quite highly classified" because of the risk of identifying the people Murray claims passed him the information. "It is true that there is no documentary evidence - how could there be on such a matter?" he said. "I think it is right that the reports be published, although in a form which would protect the identities of the sources."</i><br /><br />Meanwhile...<br /><br /><a href="http://blogs.salon.com/0003494/2007/10/28.html"><i>Bartholomew</i> - Journalist-Critic of Uzbek Regime Murdered</a>: <i>Twenty-six-year-old Uzbek journalist Alisher Saipov has been shot dead in the city of Osh, Kyrgyzstan, apparently by Uzbek security agents.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2007/10/a_dark_dark_pla.html">Craig Murray has more on both developments.</a>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13292436411579226284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5627483180696699439.post-60136462643419296422007-10-23T11:26:00.000+01:002007-10-23T11:40:17.062+01:00Schillings and some action-packed Nazi excitementREVEL in the sheer hypocrisy of the <i>Mail</i> bringing up a past connection to the Nazis!<br /><br />SHIVER in anticipation as Schillings advises their client to press any and all legal advantage in a way that's sure to bring more negative publicity!<br /><br />SIGH in relief when that client reveals that - unlike certain ancestors - he can be quite sensible when the pressure is on.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.anorak.co.uk/tabloids/177065.html"><i>Anorak</i> - Schillings Update: On Alisher Usmanov, Peter Serafinowizc And Online PR</a><br /><br />Schillings really have to learn that that they're no good at this PR lark.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13292436411579226284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5627483180696699439.post-55828266897376791282007-10-22T15:09:00.000+01:002007-10-22T15:32:04.344+01:00No Parliamentary Privilege for you!<a href="http://p10.hostingprod.com/@spyblog.org.uk/blog/2007/10/alisher_usmanov_parliamentary_question_rebuffed_by_the_foreign_and_commonwealth.html"><i>SpyBlog</i> - Alisher Usmanov Parliamentary Question rebuffed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office</a>: <i>The Labour government appears to be trying to protect Alisher Usmanov from public scrutiny... (Their) "personal data" excuse is also what the FCO appear to be relying on in their refusal to name the former Russian Federation and British and diplomats who were expelled over the Andrei Litvinenko Polonium-210 radioactive poisoning murder and contamination affair.</i><br /><br />UPDATE - A 'see also' via <a href="http://www.atlanticfreepress.com/">Atlantic Free Press</a>:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.barder.com/ephems/712"><i>Brian Barder</i> - The Telegraph on the gagging of ex-diplomats by the Foreign Office</a>: <i>Is the Foreign Office simply protecting its official secrets, or seeking to save ministers from embarrassment? Official secrets are protected by the Official Secrets Act, which rightly binds officials for life, both as government employees and after retirement. The new rules go much further, banning any unauthorised expression of opinion not just by serving officers but by also by retired diplomats for the rest of their lives, if it "draws on, or appears to draw on, official information or experience gained in the course of official duties", even if no breach of secrets is involved.</i>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13292436411579226284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5627483180696699439.post-50044959567395808782007-10-22T14:35:00.000+01:002007-10-22T14:36:30.949+01:00Alisher Usmanov: diamonds in the rough<a href="http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/premiership/article3075610.ece"><i>Independent</i> - Arsenal move to block Usmanov</a>: <i>Arsenal's directors have extended the 'lockdown' to ward off a potential takeover – and are set to invite American sports tycoon Stan Kroenke to sign up to the agreement. The move is a clear snub to Alisher Usmanov, the Russian billionaire who controls Red & White Holdings which has a 23 per cent stake in the club, and cements Kroenke's favoured status with Arsenal. He was consulted on the lockdown while Usmanov wasn't.</i><br /><br />Meanwhile, there's another lockdown of an entirely different nature going on...<br /><br /><a href="http://johnhelmer.net/?p=276"><i>John Helmer</i> - Court documents reveal De Beers charges against Usmanov over Grib diamond pipe</a>: <i>A public relations blitz under way this month in London and the UK media has produced charges and counter-charges involving Alisher Usmanov, an iron-ore and steel magnate. He is accused of conspiring with other Russians to defraud a De Beers-affiliated company of its 40% stake in, and several hundred millions of dollars in future profits from, the only major diamond deposit newly discovered in northwestern Russia... This time Usmanov has been after possible control of the Arsenal Football Club. As the Corus board had done before them, the Arsenal shareholding defenders have attempted to persuade the London newspapers to publish items from Usmanov’s past career, thereby deterring shareholders from selling out, and creating an atmosphere hostile to Usmanov’s involvement in the affairs of the football club. As Usmanov had done before, he found his champion in a Moscow-based correspondent for the Sunday Times. What the latter omitted to report was a detailed dossier of court files from Sweden to the United States, the existence and meaning of which Usmanov has gone to great public care and private expense to deny. The wording of Usmanov’s denials is subtle; the only way to understand that is to read the court documents themselves. De Beers isn’t providing them. The diamond group is carefully avoiding being drawn publicly on the conflict, although it is indirectly connected to Arsenal through Sir Chips Keswick. A former Hambros banker, Keswick sits on both the De Beers and Arsenal boards. Keswick was last reported as owning 20 shares of Arsenal, amounting to 0.032% of the issued stock. </i>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13292436411579226284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5627483180696699439.post-51412638743090276302007-10-22T14:20:00.000+01:002007-10-22T14:21:49.491+01:00Sheffield Wednesday<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/19/swfc_net_libel_case/"><i>The Register</i> - Judge orders football website to name 'libellous' posters</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/oct/22/news.blogging"><i>Guardian</i> - Warning to abusive bloggers as judge tells site to reveal names</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.out-law.com/page-8566"><i>OUT-law News</i> - Sheffield Wednesday can't unmask 'saloon-bar moaners', says libel judge</a><br /><br /><a href="http://blogs.salon.com/0003494/2007/10/21.html"><i>Bartholemew</i> - Identities of Internet "Saloon-Bar Moaners" Protected</a><br /><br />Please note that the following thoughts are based primarily on hypothectical circumstances more likely to relate to poorly-regulated weblogs than forums:<br /><br />- What if the "seven of eleven individuals" who are protected are all the same individual and/or a small group deliberately using "trivial attack(s)" to bolster, boost or 'boot' the primary attack?<br /><br />- Those running anonymous weblogs and/or poorly-regulated weblogs that allow for repeated anonymous <s>smears</s> 'jokes' will want to take a long, hard look at the costs accrued in revealing the identities of those involved. There are ways of retrieving historical comment-related IP data from months back that you may not even be aware of, and most of them are extremely expensive.<br /><br />- Expenses that seem prohibitive (to you) could conceivably prevent a libel action, but they could just as easily be dumped right in your lap.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13292436411579226284noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5627483180696699439.post-8857166295314344562007-10-22T10:06:00.000+01:002007-10-22T11:15:33.525+01:00Society of Homeopaths 'pulls an Usmanov'Via <a href="http://toblog.bryans.org/">Toby Bryans</a> and <a href="http://freebornjohn.blogspot.com/2007/10/internet-censorship-again.html">Peter Risdon</a> and <a href="http://www.theliberati.net/quaequamblog/2007/10/20/homeopaths-resort-to-legal-action-to-cure-all-headaches/">James Graham</a> and <a href="http://www.tom-watson.co.uk/?p=1559">Tom Watson</a> and <a href="http://www.chickyog.net/2007/10/22/the-usmanov-strain-mutating/">Justin McKeating</a> and... well, almost *everyone*, really:<br /><br /><a href="http://dcscience.net/?p=171"><i>DC’s Improbable Science</i> - Society of Homeopaths: cowards and bullies</a>: <i>Many people now have written about the disgraceful and dangerous claims by homeopaths to be able to prevent and cure malaria... One of the best contributions was on the Quackometer blog, <a href="http://www.quackometer.net/blog/2007/08/gentle-art-of-homeopathic-killing.html">The Gentle Art of Homeopathic Killing</a>. But the post vanished at midday on Thursday 11 October. Quackometer’s ISP has received threatening letters sent by lawyers on behalf of the Society of Homeopaths, who claim that the truth is defamatory, while being unwilling to say which statements are wrong. </i><br /><br /><a href="http://www.badscience.net/?p=553"><i>Bad Science</i> - A corporate conspiracy to silence alternative medicine?</a>: <i>Did the SoH engage with these criticisms? Reflect on them? Challenge and rebutt them? No. They sent a threatening legal letter. Did this threatening legal letter say what was wrong with Dr Lewis’s post? No. It wasn’t even sent to him, it was sent to his hosting company Netcetera, demanding they take his page down. He contacted the SoH, very politely (I mean incredibly politely, read it here), to ask them what the problems were with his comments. No response. Instead their lawyers sent another angry letter to his hosting company, who of course cannot investigate this in full, are strictly speaking liable, and so – good call - the page was taken down. Corporate conspiracy silences the little man: except of course his piece has now been replicated a hundred times across the internet by an army of smirking bloggers.</i><br /><br />You can read that awfully polite but sadly ignored letter in full here:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.quackometer.net/blog/2007/10/unanswered-questions.html"><i>Quackometer</i> - Unanswered Questions</a><br /><br />You can read the offending post <a href="http://dcscience.net/?p=171#storm">at any one of these fabulous new locations</a>, but the best version is hosted by none other than <a href="http://www.randi.org/joom/">James Randi</a>, who helpfully points out where in the article the Society of Homeopaths might seek to gain legal advantage through the equally-misunderstood art of Semantic Origami:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.randi.org/joom/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=99&Itemid=27"><i>James Randi</i> - Criticize Carefully</a><br /><br />Yes, with the exception of possible differences in body count, it's <a href="http://b-heads.blogspot.com/2007/09/fasthosts-timeline-of-excellent-service.html">the Alisher Usmanov affair</a> all over again.<br /><br />The body of what <a href="http://www.quackometer.net/faq/2007/06/who-am-i-and-what-are-my-qualifications.html">Andy Lewis</a> had to say was not challenged in any genuine legal sense by <a href="http://www.homeopathy-soh.org/">Homiety of Sociopaths</a>; in fact, there appears to have been a determined effort to <i>prevent</i> Andy Lewis from seeing the body of the challenge in order to deny him the possibility of challenging it. Bodily. (Nurse! The sugar pills!)Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13292436411579226284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5627483180696699439.post-87192086207870739482007-10-18T16:59:00.000+01:002007-10-18T17:06:49.252+01:00Fasthosts does it again AGAIN!!!First this happens:<br /><a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/17/fasthost_email_deletion/"><i>The Register</i> - Fasthosts admits email destruction fiasco</a><br /><br />Then this:<br /><a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/18/fasthost_police_hack_investigation/"><i>The Register</i> - Fasthosts customer? Change your password now</a><br /><br /><a href="http://blog.dave.org.uk/archives/2007/10/password_basics.html"><i>Davblog</i> - Password Basics</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.bloggerheads.com/archives/2007/10/avoid_fasthosts.asp"><i>Bloggerheads</i> - Yet another reason to avoid Fasthosts like the plague</a><br /><br />I'm not entirely sure, but <a href="http://www.bloggerheads.com/archives/2007/10/fasthosts_i_thi.asp">I think I may have found a contributing factor</a> to this and <a href="http://www.bloggerheads.com/archives/2007/10/fasthosts_and_ukreg.asp">other problems</a>...Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13292436411579226284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5627483180696699439.post-15413405101360991192007-10-17T11:42:00.000+01:002007-10-17T11:48:04.202+01:00Fasthosts does it AGAIN!<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/15/bobbear_joe_job/"><i>The Register</i> - Fasthosts falls for phisherman's ruse: Anti-fraud site turfed offline after Joe Job attack</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.bloggerheads.com/archives/2007/10/fasthosts_and_ukreg.asp"><i>Bloggerheads</i> - Fasthosts and UKreg: why you should look elsewhere</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.chickyog.net/2007/10/17/fasthosts-at-it-again/"><i>Chicken Yoghurt</i> - Fasthosts: At it again</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.pigdogfucker.com/2007/10/16/possibly-fast-definitely-shit/"><i>PigDogFucker</i> - Possibly fast, definitely shit</a>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13292436411579226284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5627483180696699439.post-28149444749733014752007-10-15T14:21:00.000+01:002007-10-15T14:27:40.065+01:00Alisher Usmanov: Daddy CoolHang on... what's going on here, then?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/arsenal/article2357823.ece"><i>The Times</i> - (August 30, 2007)</a>: <i>Mr Usmanov, who is married and has two children...</i><br /><br /><a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article2652774.ece"><i>The Times</i> - (October 14, 2007)</a>: <i>(Usmanov says); “I have everything, except children. That’s the only thing missing in my life."</i><br /><br />For clarity on this point, we turn to the <i>Telegraph</i>....<br /><br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2007/08/31/sfnpro131.xml"><i>The Telegraph</i> - (31 August, 2007)</a>: <i>He is married to Irina Viner, one of the leading trainers of Russian rhythmic gymnastics, who has <b>two children from a previous marriage</b>...</i><br /><br />... who therefore do not count.<br /><br />He's got a heart as big as all outdoors, this one.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13292436411579226284noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5627483180696699439.post-21387987989278502122007-10-15T13:01:00.000+01:002007-10-15T14:06:24.387+01:00Arsenal MuseVia <a href="http://arseblog.com/WP/2007/10/15/lehmann-lays-down-the-gauntlet-to-wenger/">Arseblog</a> and <a href="http://www.thefootballnetwork.net/main/s378/st121962.htm">Arsenal Times</a> comes news of <a href="http://arsenalmuse.blogspot.com/2007/10/franchetti-usmanov-craig-murray-arsenal.html">a lone blogger taking the 'middle' ground and saying</a>;<br /><blockquote>"It's a bit sad that Craig Murray says Franchetti was bought off with a good meal. A bit of a low blow personally because Franchetti has given a balanced account..."</blockquote>Speaks for itself, doesn't it?<br /><br /><a href="http://arsenalmuse.blogspot.com/">Arsenal Muse</a> has had a lot to say about Craig Murray in recent weeks, <a href="http://arsenalmuse.blogspot.com/2007/09/usmanov-dein-and-arsenal-is-craig.html">and here's a highlight that shows the balance and clarity of thought that he brings to the table</a>;<br /><blockquote>"I know Craig Murray. He was removed from his job after profiting from the instability in the middle east to lead a party lifestyle in Uzbekistan. This led to instability in the foreign office in Uzbekistan and numerous operation problems occurred when the British and I would say that includes you and I and the rest of the world during the Middle East conflict, needed as much stability in the region."</blockquote>'Arsenal Muse' does not allow comments on his weblog, and has a charmingly desperate 'shotgun' approach to keyword placement in headlines. There is also a shocking allegation on the loose that <a href="http://www.cfcnet.co.uk/content/results_detail.asp?Type=Muppet&ID=5673">he is a bit of a muppet</a>... but don't let that put you off giving him a fair hearing.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13292436411579226284noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5627483180696699439.post-79904043839494075702007-10-15T12:31:00.000+01:002007-10-15T12:37:13.064+01:00Pardon my ghoulish laughterOver time, Shaun Custis appears to have allowed <a href="http://b-heads.blogspot.com/2007/10/hooray-for-mainstream-media.html">Usmanov's largesse</a> to slip his mind...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/article331189.ece"><i>The Sun</i> - Alisher is dead set on Arsenal</a>: <i>Alisher Usmanov, the Russian billionaire trying to get hold of Arsenal, has adopted a macabre tactic - plundering the dead. Usmanov, who has a 23 per cent stake in the Gunners, is attempting to buy all the shares owned by folk who have died. It is believed nearly one per cent of shares are owned by those who have passed away. And, while that may not sound a lot, it is a significant amount in the current power battle. Usmanov is just two per cent away from a 25 per cent shareholding which, he believes, would give him a say in the club.</i>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13292436411579226284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5627483180696699439.post-13322059630107381072007-10-15T11:36:00.000+01:002007-10-15T14:25:51.372+01:00Fisking Finsbury's finest effortsAn extraordinary article has appeared in the <i>Sunday Times</i>, which appears to be the first shot fired with the aid of PR firm <a href="http://b-heads.blogspot.com/2007/10/alisher-usmanov-and-finsbury-pr.html">Finsbury Limited</a>. Please note that differs from <a href="http://b-heads.blogspot.com/2007/10/hooray-for-mainstream-media.html">an earlier PR push</a> in that the journalist involved actually makes a note of the opulent circumstances surrounding the interview. In fact, he seems positively hypnotised by them at times...<br /><br /><blockquote><a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article2652774.ece"><i>The Times</i> - Arsenal billionaire, Alisher Usmanov, recalls six years in penal colony</a><br /><br /><i>Mark Franchetti, Moscow</i><br /><br />When Alisher Usmanov was sent to an Uzbek penal colony stuffed with 3,500 inmates, including murderers and rapists, he came face to face with two dozen hardened criminals who had been prosecuted by his father. Few thought he would get out alive. “When they realised that my dad was Uzbekistan’s deputy prosecutor-general they wanted to rip me to shreds,” Usmanov recalled last week in his first full interview since he bought a £120m stake in Arsenal football club. “My life was in serious danger and I was shocked at what had happened to me. After a privileged upbringing I suddenly found myself in a tuberculosis-infested maximum security penal colony. Conditions were appalling and I had to survive day by day. But in time the inmates learnt to respect me and I managed to stay true to myself. I stayed alive and remained an honest person.”</blockquote><br />Pollyanna plays the victim. Next!<br /><br /><blockquote>Usmanov was 33 when he was released, six years into an eight-year sentence for fraud and embezzlement, in 1986. The convictions were later overturned by Uzbekistan’s Supreme Court, which ordered his police record to be expunged.</blockquote><br />This would appear to run contrary to <a href="http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/sports/blogosphere+mugging+for+usmanov/831347">Usmanov's earlier statements</a> that he was "a political prisoner who was then freed and granted a full pardon once Mikhail Gorbachev came to power as president." In fact, in the article by Craig Murray that kicked this whole thing off (now <a href="http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2007/10/back_and_unbowe.html">republished in full here</a>), Murray says quite clearly; "The lawyers cunningly evoke Gorbachev, a name respected in the West, to make us think that justice prevailed. That is completely untrue. Usmanov's pardon was nothing to do with Gorbachev. It was achieved through the growing autonomy of another thug, President Karimov, at first President of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic and from 1991 President of Uzbekistan. Karimov ordered the 'Pardon' because of his alliance with Usmanov's mentor, Uzbek mafia boss and major international heroin overlord Gafur Rakimov."<br /><br /><a href="http://trannyfattyacid.blogspot.com/2007/09/when-libel-becomes-gag.html">Transfattyacid later noted that</a>; "it could not possibly have been Mikhail Gorbachev who annulled his convictions, as he was overthrown by Boris Yeltsin in 1991: 9 years before (the Soviet conviction was annulled by the Uzbekistan supreme court in 2000)."<br /><br />So there are two clear reasons to distrust this new line;<br /><br />a) It has clearly changed after an early attempt at spin<br /><br />b) It's remarkably coy about details such as the past and present level of corruption in Uzbekistan that is so deep-rooted <a href="http://www.soros.org/initiatives/cep/events/uzbek_20030613/uzbek_summary">that some fear any comprehensive effort to correct it could topple the economy</a>.<br /><br />[Those with an eye for detail may want to <a href="http://www.transparency.org/">search for 'uzbekitsan' on this website</a>.]<br /><br /><blockquote>Little more than 20 years after he was freed, he has amassed an estimated £5 billion fortune and is ranked 18th in the list of Russia’s richest. He runs a metals to media business empire that spans three continents. There are properties in Moscow, Surrey and Sardinia and a “mega-yacht” with its own helipad. As a senior adviser to Gazprom, the world’s biggest extractor of natural gas, and the president of one of its subsidiaries, Usmanov also maintains regular contact with influential figures in the Russian government. He is on good personal terms with President Vladimir Putin and is often summoned to the Kremlin by officials seeking his opinion. Unlike some Russian tycoons who dabbled in politics, angered Putin and ended up in exile or in jail, Usmanov has stuck to business. He describes Putin as a “blessing for Russia” and spends £20m a year supporting Russian sport and culture, including the Bolshoi ballet. Last month he bought the entire art collection of the late cellist Mstislav Rostropovich for a reported £30m to stop it being broken up and sold abroad. The 450 works were donated to the Russian state.</blockquote><br />He is rich. He is generous. If you're having difficulty containing your awe, then consider that some might think that because he is so obscenely rich he can afford to throw obscene amounts of money around in an effort to be seen as generous.<br /><br /><blockquote>Now 53, Usmanov appears to have led a charmed existence since he was released from detention. But he remains haunted by his years of incarceration on the outskirts of Tashkent, the Uzbek capital. Although he was fully absolved in 2000 and no longer has a criminal record, rumours about his past persist. Usmanov believes they are promulgated by business rivals and feels wronged by his portrayal in Britain since he bought 23% of Arsenal during the summer.</blockquote><br />Diddums. First he's imprisoned because everybody had it in for him and now his past is being thrown in his face because everybody has it in for him. Is there no justice?<br /><br /><blockquote>Craig Murray, the outspoken former British ambassador to Uzbekistan, has accused Usmanov of links with organised crime but has offered no proof. Usmanov rejected the charges and threatened to sue Murray “if he can first prove that he is completely sane”.</blockquote><br />An extraordinary ad hominem attack, which Mark Franchetti (an alleged journalist) passes on without comment or qualification. In fact, Franchetti even seeks to kick it along with his use of the ever-reliable codeword 'outspoken'.<br /><br />And it comes complete with an empty threat; <a href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,2177271,00.html">a spokesperson for his law firm Schillings made it clear recently that</a>; "they did not intend to sue Murray directly."<br /><br />[Personal Note - Many of you will be familiar with this particular brand of ad hominem attack, used repeatedly by many sock-puppeting losers during the recent Bit Of Necessary. Usmanov will no doubt be calling Murray an 'obsessive stalker' next.]<br /><br /><blockquote>It was partly in an attempt to curb claims of a shady past that he invited me to his Moscow mansion and agreed to talk for the first time about the circumstances that led to his being imprisoned in 1980.</blockquote><br />Our first hint that Mark Franchetti's helmet has handlebars.<br /><br /><blockquote>“I was jailed on trumped-up charges and lost six years of my life as a result of infighting within the KGB,” he said. “It took another 14 years to clear my name and prove that I was framed. All my career I’ve been confronted with prejudiced people who are determined to turn me into a stereotype, a central Asian thief.</blockquote><br />Apparently, one who acknowledges institutionalised corruption is prejudiced. Perhaps even a borderline racist.<br /><br /><blockquote>“I’m fed up with having to answer these slurs. Not only did I never do anything criminal but I managed to stay honest and become one of the world’s most successful businessmen, despite being locked up with criminals for six years. It’s high time that those who continue to insinuate things about me recognised that.”</blockquote><br />I would like to state for the record that I fully recognise that Alisher Usmanov has become one of the world’s most successful businessmen, despite being locked up with criminals for six years. As for his being honest before going into prison, remaining honest throughout, and emerging possibly even more honest than ever... well, we'll get to that right after the money shot.<br /><br /><blockquote>Usmanov runs his empire from the headquarters of Metal-loinvest, his main company, in a lavish building in central Moscow fitted with Italian marble and heavy chandeliers. From there I was driven 30 miles along Rublovka, a road that cuts through a forest of firs to a “billionaires’ row” where Usmanov has a 30-acre estate beside the Moscow river. A 16ft-high metal fence encircles the property. Usmanov, who never leaves home without a retinue of bodyguards armed with machine-guns, was working in a large, single-storey wooden villa which he has built as a private office next to his palatial house. Casually dressed in a Lacoste polo shirt, tracksuit bottoms and leather slippers, he was sitting in an armchair, advising a friend on the telephone on how best to clinch a £1m deal. In front of him was a small table and a bell with which to summon staff. In the next room, his personal adviser on equities was checking the latest share prices on a 30in computer screen. Sipping tea after his phone call, Usmanov studied the screen with the analyst as they discussed whether to sell a large holding in a Russian bank. A butler delivered frequent messages or passed on one of several mobile phones on which the tycoon fielded further calls.</blockquote><br />Translation: <a href="http://b-heads.blogspot.com/2007/10/successful-criminal-brain-is-always.html">Alisher Usmanov does not own a cat.</a><br /><br /><blockquote>“I’m less excited now by day-to-day business,” he explained as he kept an eye on a news bulletin on a gigantic flat-screen television. “One thing I’ll always have a drive for, though, is the equity market. Intellectually I find the markets deeply stimulating. And then there are things like Arsenal. That’s a passion. It’s a fantastic team and a wonderful game I want to be a part of.” Usmanov said that when the chance of buying into the club arose, he consulted Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea, who told him: “It’s a great club, go for it.”</blockquote><br />Translation: Alisher Usmanov wishes you to know that he is a philanthropist at heart.<br /><br /><blockquote>“I’m very surprised by all the press hostility,” Usmanov added. “The more I say that I’ve no intention of launching a hostile bid, the more people claim that it’s precisely what I want to do. I just don’t get it.”</blockquote><br />Hmmm. Perhaps they've somehow arrived at the conclusion that he's a ruthless businessman and congenital liar. That might make it a little easier to understand.<br /><br /><blockquote>It is all a far cry from the teenaged Usmanov’s dream of becoming a diplomat. His father held a powerful post in the Uzbek judicial system, his mother was a Russian language teacher and as a child of the elite, he was sent away at the age of 18 to study at the State Institute for International Relations in Moscow. There, he read international law, Arabic and French and planned to join the Soviet diplomatic service in the Middle East. He also became close friends with fellow students Sergei Yastrzhembsky and Sergei Prikhodko, both now aides to Putin, and was later a pupil of Yevgeny Primakov, who went on to head Russia’s foreign intelligence service and was subsequently appointed foreign minister and prime minister.</blockquote><br /><a href="http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2007/10/usmanov_truth_w.html">Craig Murray points out here that</a>; "(This) is the first published admission I have seen of the key Usmanov/Jastrzebski relationship. Franchetti shows that <a href="http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2007/10/back_and_unbowe.html">I was right about this</a>, and about the origin of that relationship as students."<br /><br /><blockquote>“People say now that I’m well connected in the Kremlin,” he said over a lunch of lamb stew and red wine served by the butler in one of his private dining rooms, a hall lined with gilded central Asian vases. </blockquote><br />Our second hint that Mark Franchetti's helmet has handlebars.<br /><br /><blockquote>“Some of the people I know in the Kremlin have been close friends for decades. I’m not an oligarch because I’ve never received any favours from the state. I’m a businessman and don’t do politics.” After graduating in 1976 Usmanov returned to Uzbekistan where he worked for the Komsomol, the Communist party youth organisation. But his ambitions of travelling the world as a diplomat came to an abrupt end when he was 27. </blockquote><br />Tragic, really. The world needs more honest men in diplomatic service.<br /><br /><blockquote>A power struggle broke out between the KGB in Moscow and its Uzbek arm over the appointment of a new chairman of the Uzbek KGB. The local secret police backed a general who was the father of Bakhodir Nasimov, one of Usmanov’s closest childhood friends. But Moscow favoured another candidate, who saw Nasimov’s father as a potential threat. According to Usmanov, the Moscow nominee sought to destroy his rival’s career by framing his son, the young Nasimov, who was a junior KGB officer. “Nasimov was sent on a covert operation,” recalled Usmanov as we strolled under the watchful eye of a guard from the wooden villa into his mansion, a two-storey stone and marble building with seven bedrooms, several large halls decorated with mosaics, a lift, an indoor swimming pool and a small cinema where the tycoon watches Arsenal’s matches. “His bosses told him he was to accept a bribe from a guy involved in contraband so as to catch him red-handed. The point was to prosecute him for bribery. Nasimov told me that since the guy knew we were friends he might try to pass me the money. ‘If he does – take it,’ he told me, ‘and bring it to me’.”</blockquote><br />Usmanov takes the only bribe he has ever taken in his life in order to save his friend. Brings a lump to the throat, doesn't it?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2007/10/usmanov_truth_w.html">Craig Murray points out here that</a>; "Usmanov was never a political prisoner opposed to communism. He was indeed convicted for corrupt dealings. He claims he was the accidental victim of a friend being set up - even if that were true, it does not make him an anti-communist political prisoner, which is how Schillings attempted to portray him."<br /><br />Note also how Mark Franchetti peppers this passage with further observations regarding his opulent surroundings. Almost as if he's under some kind of spell.<br /><br />What a pity that his eye for detail remains firmly focused on the decor...<br /><br /><blockquote>As Usmanov was able to prove two decades later when he was finally cleared...</blockquote><br /><a href="http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2007/10/mark_franchetti.html">Craig again</a>; "being absolved by Uzbekistan's Supreme Court means nothing whatsoever. Uzbekistan is a totalitarian state and has absolutely nil judicial independence."<br /><br />Mark Franchetti makes no mention of this factor at all. Perhaps for reasons of space?<br /><br /><blockquote>... the man with the money was a KGB agent posing as a criminal who had been instructed to frame Nasimov. He approached Usmanov and offered him cash for Nasimov. Usmanov duly took it. Nasimov, Usmanov and another third friend who was the son of a high-ranking party official were arrested. “I was hauled in and told to sign a confession,” the billionaire recalled. “‘Confess that you took a bribe to pass on to Nasimov for his father.’ I refused and went on an eight-day hunger strike, fearing that they would try to poison me. “Then they told me that they’d just get rid of me. I thought they’d kill me so I signed.” </blockquote><br />Remarkable. Usmanov appears to be describing institutionalised corruption here. Of course, in this scenario, he is an innocent victim, as a corrupt government is sure to reward those who are inherently corrupt themselves, right?<br /><br /><blockquote>The three young men were sentenced by a military court to eight years for fraud and embezzlement of state property.</blockquote><br />Right?<br /><br /><blockquote>That they were jailed despite being the children of high-ranking officials demonstrated that the charges were politically motivated, Usmanov said. “If I’d really committed a crime, my father, as deputy prosecutor, was sufficiently influential to have spared me an eight-year sentence. He couldn’t come to my rescue because the charges were trumped up for political reasons.” </blockquote><br /><a href="http://p10.hostingprod.com/@spyblog.org.uk/blog/2007/10/sunday_times_alisher_usmanov_interview_passes_schillings_checklist_for_the_reyno.html">I'll hand you over to SpyBlog for this whopper</a>; "The idea of a deputy prosecutor having any influence whatsoever in a case involving his own son, is an utter anathema to us here in the United Kingdom, and just shows the depth of corruption which Usmanov obviously still considers to be normal behaviour."<br /><br /><blockquote>Instead of being sent to a relatively safe penal colony for state officials, he was locked up in an ordinary one. He survived after a prison strongman took a liking to him and warned others not to harm him. </blockquote><br />Bait. We're supposed to make jokes about dropping soap in the showers here, while Usmanov plays the victim. Don't fall for it.<br /><br /><blockquote>Nasimov was less fortunate. He lost his mind and according to Usmanov is still in a mental institution. </blockquote><br />And Usmanov still bears the scars of this injustice. So much so that he'll seek to gain advantage in a debate by suggesting that his opponent might be insane.<br /><br /><blockquote>“Prison is a world apart. It has its own rules and its own reality,” Usmanov said. “I was strong, believed in myself and didn’t get corrupted. I was helped by people inside and the fact that they were criminals is no reason to forget that they saved my life. To this day I’m angry that all those years were taken away from me and wasted.” </blockquote><br />Translation: Alisher Usmanov is a forgiving soul... but there are limits.<br /><br /><blockquote>Released as a result of reforms introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, Usmanov married his teenage sweetheart, Irina Viner, who later became an Olympic gymnast. He had proposed to Viner from prison. “He sent me a handkerchief which, according to Uzbek tradition, is a proposal of marriage,” she said recently. “I still keep it.” </blockquote><br />A touching love story that carries a belated qualification to earlier spin. I'd like to see some specifics about these reforms... unless of course Usmanov is referring to Perestroika in general, in which case he can stick his renewed spin where the sun don't shine.<br /><br /><blockquote>Having lost any chance of a diplomatic career, Usmanov quickly took advantage of the business opportunities that opened up in the early days of perestroika. His first venture was making plastic shopping bags. “It was a lucrative business which taught me a lot,” he said. When Russian banks began to offer loans in the early 1990s, he borrowed several million dollars and displayed a talent for share-dealing. “I quickly realised that the equity market offered a sea of opportunities. We sold and bought whatever we could. We had a few failures and many successes. To me it was like an education and few things are as intellectually stimulating as getting a deal right.” Usmanov bought up former Soviet assets. He engineered leveraged buy-outs of the Oskolsky Electric Metallurgical Combine, the Lebedinsky Mining Combine and the Olenegorsk Combine. The deals made him a leading force in the iron and steel industry. "Those were tough and dangerous times,” he recalled. “Getting the right security and protection was paramount. Everything is much easier now. The legal framework is there and thanks to Putin, the country is back on track.” Usmanov snapped up another lucrative 15% stake in the UK-based steel maker Corus in 2002. He bought Gazprom shares, at a time when others had little faith in the gas giant’s future and went on to become president of GazpromInvest-Holding and owner of the Gaz-Metall/Metalloinvest Group, which controls 40% of iron ore production in Russia and two of the country’s largest steelworks. </blockquote><br />Self-made man. Inspiring struggle. Yadda yadda yadda. You can't trust anything from Russia's past, but everything that happens in the present is strictly above board.<br /><br /><blockquote>He has since expanded his empire by buying a stake in Russia’s third-largest mobile phone network and recently purchased Kommersant, an influential daily newspaper, for £100m. The paper used to be owned by Boris Berezovsky, the London-based tycoon and fierce critic of Putin. </blockquote><br />Used to be. This is Usmanov dressing himself in the reputation of others (again), and playing games with his magic time machine (again).<br /><br /><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/print_newspapers/2006/10/russia_kommersant_editor_quits.php/">It has since been reported that</a>; "The chief editor of Kommersant, one of Russia’s leading dailies, quit over differences with new owner Alisher Usmanov. Former editor Vladislav Borodulin broke with the paper one month after tycoon Usmanov took the reins... The loss of Borodulin could mean a more restricted paper as the Kommersant aligns with other Kremlin-friendly Russian media."<br /><br />Well, that's one way of putting it. One might suspect that this was going to happen anyway, and was the main reason why Borodulin left.<br /><br /><blockquote>“I’ve been very blessed in life,” said Usmanov as he showed me a collection of Soviet art, a cellar stacked with rare wines, and a large mural depicting figures from Uzbek folklore. </blockquote><br />Again, Mark Franchetti, keeps his eye for detail firmly on the decor, but this time manages to miss something that's right in front of his face; that large mural doesn't do a lot to support Usmanov's recent attempts to visibly distance himself from Uzbekistan.<br /><br /><blockquote>“I have everything, except children. That’s the only thing missing in my life."</blockquote><br />More bait. We're meant to say something horrible that will allow Usmanov to play the victim. Either that, or it's an intriguing invitation to single women who would like box seats for Arsenal games.<br /><br /><blockquote>"Those who know me and have done business with me know that I’m an honest person. I’ve proven that what happened to me as a young man was the result of political infighting. I was a victim and when I came out I realised I had one last chance to make a success of my life."</blockquote><br />Infamy! Infamy! They've all got it in for me!<br /><br />As for his contention that he's an honest person, he himself provides evidence that is far from honest. Here comes the money shot...<br /><br /><blockquote>"I won’t fall so low as to fight those who want to blacken my name."</blockquote><br />This is a direct and double-bladed contradiction; earlier Usmanov threatens to sue Murray “if he can first prove that he is completely sane."<br /><br />In one statement he says he will fight, and stoops to blackening the name of his opponent in the same breath.<br /><br />In the other he says he won't fight, purely on the basis that he refuses to engage in name-blackening games.<br /><br /><blockquote>"Let their slurs weigh on their conscience. Mine is clean.” </blockquote><br /><i>Their</i> slurs?<br /><br />He's not only a liar, he's a bloody shameless one.<br /><br /><br />UPDATE: Usmanov's narrative only covers the (*ahem*) trumped-up charge relating to bribery... Where's the heart-warming background story to the trumped-up charges of extortion and rape? Is he saving those for later? Perhaps with brandy and cigars?<br /><br />UPDATE: <a href="http://b-heads.blogspot.com/2007/10/alisher-usmanov-daddy-cool.html">A quick link for those who are confused about Usmanov's "I have everything, except children" statement.</a>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13292436411579226284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5627483180696699439.post-6802409493877603732007-10-11T11:59:00.000+01:002007-10-11T12:01:10.359+01:00Schillings want to have you for breakfast<a href="http://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/conferencesandtraining/butterworths/btws_compcorp/buttcom_pdf/reputation_management_241007.pdf">Source</a> (PDF):<br /><blockquote>LexisNexis in association with Schillings present:<br /><br /><b>Reputation Management</b><br />A roundtable breakfast briefing on how to avert a public crisis and protect your company’s brand, reputation and share price<br />Wednesday 24 October 2007<br />Halsbury House, 35 Chancery Lane, London<br /><br />This highly practical roundtable breakfast will give you an opportunity to:<br />- Understand how to utilise the laws of defamation, privacy and intellectual property to safeguard your company’s reputation<br />- Gain tactical advice on how to strategically deploy injunctions<br />- Learn how you can exploit <a href="http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/yanglu/entry/the_reynolds_defence/">the Reynolds defence</a><br />- Discover how to “out” anonymous attackers<br />- Appreciate on-line threats and how to protect against internet attacks<br /><br />This LexisNexis roundtable breakfast briefing in association with Schillings will provide you with the knowledge you need to either avert a crisis before it arises or mitigate its effect. The roundtable is by invitation only and will give you the opportunity to obtain expert practical advice on handling such a crisis and compare notes with your fellow in-house counsel under <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatham_House_Rule">Chatham House rules</a> on how such disasters can be averted.</blockquote>It seems to me that we should have a representative at that meeting... are there any volunteers?<br /><br />:o)Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13292436411579226284noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5627483180696699439.post-90837313225404117122007-10-11T11:39:00.000+01:002007-10-11T11:45:33.463+01:00Slate: "In cyberspace, everyone can hear you sue."<a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2175579/"><i>Slate</i> - Michael Weiss: Civil Disobedience on the WebBritish bloggers stand up to threats of libel lawsuits</a>: <i>British libel law is notorious for its ability to silence critics of wealthy - and often shady - public figures. One would think, then, that bloggers with neither the deep pockets nor the lawyers of their mainstream media compatriots would be even less willing to fight accusations of libel. But, as two recent cases point out, they might be ideally suited to undermining the institution that precipitated the downfall of Oscar Wilde.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://b-heads.blogspot.com/2007/10/poll-results-and-way-forward.html">Let's hope so.</a><br /><br />(See also: <a href="http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/greenslade/2007/10/bloggers_turn_britains_libel_l.html">Roy Greenslade</a>)Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13292436411579226284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5627483180696699439.post-5718783336759534102007-10-11T11:34:00.000+01:002007-10-11T11:37:20.739+01:00Alisher Usmanov and Finsbury PR<a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article2604053.ece">The recent report on the diamond-fraud row</a> revealed that Alisher Usamov is now using the services of the financial public-relations firm <a href="http://www.finsbury.com/">Finsbury Limited</a>.<br /><br />Perhaps this will work out better than, say, having the law firm <a href="http://www.ministryoftruth.org.uk/2007/09/21/schilling-for-business/">Schillings</a> double as his PR team.<br /><br />(Matt Wardman has a report on their effectiveness in this role <a href="http://www.mattwardman.com/blog/2007/09/28/alisher-usmanov-pr-strategy-progress-report-vastly-increased-profile-humourous/">here</a> and a recent follow-up <a href="http://www.mattwardman.com/blog/2007/10/10/alisher-usmanov-and-schillings-solicitors-still-at-centre-of-buzz-in-blogosphere/">here</a>.)<br /><br />Are Finsbury up to it? Well, that question is only part of the equation, as you'll soon see...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2007/10/schillings_work.html#comments">Via the comments over at Craig's site</a> and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Finsbury">Sourcewatch</a> comes the following:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/transport/Story/0,,577460,00.html">2001</a> - The government is accused of making taxpayers pay twice for spin, when it emerges that Finsbury have been hired to effectively take on the work of special adviser <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo_Moore">Jo Moore</a> in promoting ministers' rescue plan for Railtrack. <a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200102/ldhansrd/vo020327/text/20327w05.htm">Later, questions are asked in the House of Lords</a> relating to the appropriateness of hiring Finsbury to represent Railtrack.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.accessmylibrary.com/premium/0286/0286-6871758.html">2002</a> - British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) hire Finsbury for corporate and financial PR support. This appointment coincided with the fallout (sorry) from <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9400EFDC1031F936A35754C0A9649C8B63">the return a load of defective nuclear fuel</a>. Finsbury also appears to have been part of <a href="http://archive.corporatewatch.org/newsletter/issue21/issue21_part2.htm">the later effort to sell the idea of 'new and safe' nuclear power to the public</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://observer.guardian.co.uk/education/story/0,,1125631,00.html">2004</a> - Roland Rudd's financial PR firm Finsbury is receiving taxpayers' money as part of a lucrative contract with university vice-chancellors to sell the Tony Blair's plans for university top-up fees.<br /><br /><a href="http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20040415/ai_n12777496">2004</a> - Shell, already using Finsbury for PR, for some reason take on an additional PR firm to help them deal with the crisis that emerged following their massive overstatement of the amount of natural resources in their reserves.<br /><br /><a href="http://politics.guardian.co.uk/labour/story/0,,1874561,00.html">2006</a> - Tony Blair's eldest son Euan spent a fortnight at Rudd's company Finsbury on a work experience placement.<br /><br />(Psst! I threw that last one in for David Icke and his followers. But it's true.)<br /><br />It would appear to me that Finsbury have a long track record of defending the indefensible, with most notable clients taking them on when they are in the deepest shit imaginable.<br /><br />The following question was asked <a href="http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2007/10/schillings_work.html#comments">under comments over at Craig's weblog</a>:<br /><blockquote>Is it significant that Finsbury have +accepted+ Usmanov as a client? They have their own reputation to protect too no?</blockquote>My view is that it <i>is</i> significant, but the primary impact is on Usmanov's reputation; this appointment sends a message to a savvy audience that he is:<br /><br />a) seeking to defend the indefensible<br /><br />b) in the deepest shit imaginable<br /><br />Oops.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13292436411579226284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5627483180696699439.post-63079167854142710822007-10-11T10:13:00.000+01:002007-10-11T10:15:25.548+01:00Fasthosts take their ball and go homeI realise that British-based ISPs are behind the eight-ball with UK libel law as it stands, which is why I want to work with the local industry to effect change.<br /><br />However, there are <a href="http://b-heads.blogspot.com/2007/09/fasthosts-timeline-of-excellent-service.html">a few actions by Fasthosts</a> that I personally find hard to forgive:<br /><br />1) Their sudden and OTT closure of an entire account involving sites and servers unconnected to the complaints made by Schillings.<br /><br />2) Their refusal to engage in dialogue (when this was offered, they simply closed the account and walked away).<br /><br />3) The misleading statements issued to the press suggesting that we had been less than co-operative when we were in no position to call them on their bullshit.<br /><br />4) Their subsequent refusal to say anything at all when we could (and did) call them on their bullshit.<br /><br />I'm sure you can spot the common thread here, and Fasthosts have recently withdrawn even further.<br /><br />As most of you should be aware, a weblog is more than a content management system; it is (or at the very least should be) a contract with the public that offers open dialogue.<br /><a href="http://b-heads.blogspot.com/2007/09/list-of-supporters.html"><br />But after pissing off most of the blogosphere</a> and making it clear that they had no intention of defending their actions or the initial statements attempting same, Fasthosts have done something that I think is fair to describe as typical of their attitude:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Instead of facing or embracing dialogue on their weblog (which has been in operation since late 2006), Fasthosts have simply deactivated it.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.fasthosts.co.uk/blog/">The weblog used to be here. It is now gone. Kaput. No more.</a></span><br /><br />Of course, it's possible that this is only a temporary technical hitch... but it's far more likely that this is a clear signal from Fasthosts that they would rather avoid contact with bloggers in future.<br /><br />If you own a weblog that is currently hosted by Fasthosts, take note.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13292436411579226284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5627483180696699439.post-55788238067433855772007-10-11T09:29:00.000+01:002007-10-11T09:31:01.792+01:00Poll results and the way forwardA recent poll on this website put the following to readers:<br /><blockquote>ANSWER ONLY IF YOU SUPPORT CHANGES TO EXISTING UK LIBEL LAW:- If a snap election is called, how do you plan on voting?<br /><br />The Alliance Party - 1 (0%)<br />Conservatives - 52 (19%)<br />Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) - 0 (0%)<br />Greens - 23 (8%)<br />Labour - 61 (22%)<br />Liberal Democrats - 72 (26%)<br />Plaid Cymru - 8 (2%)<br />Sinn Féin (SF) - 3 (1%)<br />Social Democratic & Labour Party (SDLP) - 3 (1%)<br />SNP - 28 (10%)<br />Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) - 0 (0%)<br />Other - 20 (7%)<br /><br />Total Votes: 271</blockquote><br />This confirms what most of us already knew; that there's considerable support across the political spectrum for changes to UK libel law .<br /><br />We are also in a situation where we have the support of some individual journalists (with <a href="http://b-heads.blogspot.com/2007/10/hooray-for-mainstream-media.html">some notable exceptions</a>), but very few editors.<br /><br />(I don't think it's at all paranoid to acknowledge that old media have a vested interest in keeping new media on a tight leash.)<br /><br />These are the two reasons why I think that this could be a watershed moments for bloggers; we're largely on our own, but we're willing to stand together.<br /><br />A group of us are right now working on a proposal that will involve manageable and carefully prioritised changes.<br /><br />We'll be putting something to the public soon. Watch this space.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13292436411579226284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5627483180696699439.post-57407563591159185872007-10-10T15:21:00.000+01:002007-10-10T15:28:00.068+01:00One for the scrapbookI'm in the <a href="http://www.private-eye.co.uk/"><span style="font-style:italic;">Eye</span></a>, me... and in a good way:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFhyPS_2if6GxqL0cXcRVi9uvWpGFJUDSfVhudvkbekH03Zc4lxMihJmkqVOVeFzf0kMGFAow1HrHdONfwuY_u9HKkGnkvaoxfPFtL3gI_un9-2tYAhFw4Ju6OKegG8cmMIjVTK8zft1lV/s1600-h/eye1195.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFhyPS_2if6GxqL0cXcRVi9uvWpGFJUDSfVhudvkbekH03Zc4lxMihJmkqVOVeFzf0kMGFAow1HrHdONfwuY_u9HKkGnkvaoxfPFtL3gI_un9-2tYAhFw4Ju6OKegG8cmMIjVTK8zft1lV/s400/eye1195.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5119714250796114962" /></a><br /><br />For the record, the good people at <a href="http://www.arsenalnewsreview.co.uk/">Arsenal News Review</a> deserve credit for <a href="http://www.arsenalnewsreview.co.uk/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=770&cntnt01origid=30&cntnt01returnid=42">the initial list</a> that led to <a href="http://b-heads.blogspot.com/2007/10/hooray-for-mainstream-media.html">this post</a>.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13292436411579226284noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5627483180696699439.post-52430435968470541682007-10-08T09:49:00.000+01:002007-10-08T09:56:26.028+01:00Next cab off the rank: Usmanov<a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/10/07/business/net08.php"><i>International Herald Tribune</i> - Bloggers beware when you criticize the rich and powerful</a>: <i>The daily Web log, or blog, of the former U.K. ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, vanished after Murray's British Internet provider received a flurry of ominous legal letters demanding the removal of "potentially defamatory" information about Alisher Usmanov, a mining mogul with a rising stake in the English soccer club Arsenal. Two weeks later, Murray is not blogging, but his blistering opinions are about to surface again through a Dutch Internet provider that offers refuge to controversial bloggers in the United States and in England, where libel laws are more lax. And with that journey, Murray has stirred support and a common outrage among bloggers and Internet service providers who complain that chilling demands from companies are becoming more frequent in a number of countries.</i><br /><br /><b>In other news, <a href="http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/">Craig Murray's site is now back online</a>, and we can probably expect to hear something from him later today.</b><br /><br /><a href="http://www.septicisle.info/2007/10/usmanov-watch-couldnt-have-happened-to.html">It looks like this is going to be an unhappy week for Mr Usmanov.</a>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13292436411579226284noreply@blogger.com3