Recycling press releases

The ever diligent Katabsis has a rather wonderful article up dissecting how the investigative main stream media recycles press releases from the environment agency – terribly green of them. As a taster….. The data shows several clear patterns: – The so called “quality press” are the worst offenders for churning Environment Agency press releases – whilst there were many entries from the tabloids and local papers, their cutting and pasting was less egregarious than the “quality press”. Now stop wasting your time here and go read it :) 0-1

Smoke signals

Whilst I still posses my doubts and a certain cynicism towards the new government e-petitions site I figure that it can’t hurt to try it. If nothing else it gives them another thing to ignore and us another thing to point at and say “look you’re ignoring us” – one day this might achieve something. However in the meantime Dick Puddlecote has brought to my attention a petition to “review the smoking ban“, not repeal just you know maybe see if it could be relaxed a bit. It’s even support by Anthony Worrall Thompson so it’s got celebrity kudos and … Continue reading

Bun fight at the OK tea rooms

Well more freedom demo at the Vaults bar in Stony Stratford, but given Councillor Bartlett’s behaviour so far it does look like we’re dealing with an intellectually unarmed man. Realistically the chance of Mr Bartletts proposals “to ban smoking outside” going through even without a demo are very very slim – but of course we’ve seen that before many times. The first time a ban is proposed it’s laughed at an ignored, so next time round the lack of protest is cited as evidence that people don’t mind. This gets repeated a few times till a ban is brought quietly … Continue reading