"Repatriation Of Powers Is Possible"

Those were William Hague's words on Sky News at around 11:20 this morning in response to my question posted via Twitter:

Sadly, Sky News presenter, Dermot Monaghan didn't read out the complete question but instead he said (from memory);

"A direct question from PWilliams, do you agree repatriation of powers is possible"

Disappointingly but not surprisingly this allowed Hague to waffle untruths unchallenged.

That aside, Hague appeared also to confirm that Cameron is not giving his speech tomorrow, instead Cameron will be announcing tomorrow the date when he will give it - some time this week apparently.

One can be forgiven for thinking that the government is making it up as it goes along. What a shambles...

Getting It Wrong (2)

For God's sake it's not difficult is it. Why do the media consistently fail to spell Paolo Di Canio's name right.

This from Sky:

And from the Mirror:

How hard can spelling a bloke's name correctly be?

Getting It Wrong

It's not just the news, but the media struggle with details regarding sport particularly football - despite being a lucrative staple of the MSM and Sky Sports.

So given the high profile nature of Swindon Town's manager you would think some fact checking would be done regarding his name, at least. But no, above is an image from Sky Sports regarding Swindon's recent promotion.

And in the Telegraph last year:

It's Paolo not Paulo, his name is easily found on Wikipedia. And this is a mistake describing a former Premiership player who's on the list of best goals scored since its inception.

Amateurs.

The MSM Fiddles As Greece Burns

The Talking Clock makes an excellent point about the priorities of our nation's 24 hour news coverage. Last evening's coverage, on both the BBC and Sky, was dominated initially by the sad death of Whitney Houston (which albeit warrants a mention) and then for hours by pre BAFTA footage of self- congratulatory celebrities walking down the red carpet. Apparently, and this was important, they were adopting a 'green' theme - actor Colin Firth was wearing an 'Eco-friendly sustainable suit', whatever that means? All of this coverage despite that the event had a two hour time slot on BBC One anyway.

Meanwhile on the European continent - on our doorstep - Greece was experiencing severe social, economic and political turmoil. People were rioting, buildings were burning and Greek politicians were voting on approving a new austerity package the failure of which to pass the Parliament could have resulted in Greece exiting the Euro and possibly the breakup of the currency itself.

Not that any of us would have known this following the 'standard' media outlets. We had to instead rely on social networking sites and foreign news channels, such as Russia Today, to follow the unfolding events.

The MSM is retreating rapidly into an ever decreasing circle of relevance.

Lowest Of The Low

Claims that News Of The World hacked Milly Dowler's mobile after she had been abducted are shocking. Not only was the voicemail accessed but messages were deleted when the inbox became full - leaving Milly Dowler's parents to hope that their daughter was still alive. Truly despicable stuff.

Predictably and understandably there has been outrage from all parties, from twitter and the usual suspects and it's hard not to agree with Labour MP Tom Watson's strong words.

But how much do outraged people really care? Ranting on twitter is not going to worry Murdoch's 'evil empire'; his concern is money. So will there now be mass boycotts of The Sun, The News Of The World, The Times or Sky and Sky Sports in protests? The answer will be a predictable no. Are Scousers the only people of this country with a backbone?

And what about the political parties? Labour didn't care when they cosied up to Murdoch because it suited them, before they threw their toys out the pram in 'disgust' when the The Sun ditched them for the Tories who cosied up to them. Will Cameron or indeed Ed Miliband now distance themselves from News International?

And no outrage over the corruption of the Met who have covered up the scandal (under a Labour government) or that other papers are being unusally quiet about the whole hacking scandal. It's highly unlikely that this was a one off in a case such as this.

As Obnoxio the Clown says: "We get the government we deserve. We also get the media we deserve. "

The inevitable outcome is outrage and condemnation today and tomorrow a phone call into SkySports; "can I renew my subscription in time for the new football season".

The Offside Rule Explained...

...For Women:

Tell It Like It Is

A wonderful exchange between Harry Beckough, a 97 year old Conservative member who's experienced war, and the patronising and useless Sky presenter Kay Burley:



hattip: political scrapbook

Second Bosman Ruling?

The Portsmouth News reports that landlady Ms Murphy, is arguing that being blocked from showing football in her pub on a foreign satellite channel is a restriction of trade; that the Premier League contravenes EU principles of free movement of goods and services between the member states:

A Portsmouth landlady is set to take on Sky in the European Court of Justice tomorrow over her showing Pompey games in her pub. It brings the long-running saga between Karen Murphy, landlady of the Red, White and Blue pub in Fawcett Road, Southsea, and the media giant one step closer to the finish line.

The court battle began when Ms Murphy was twice taken to court by Media Protection Services, which protects the rights of broadcasters, for breaching Sky's copyright in this country.

The first time, she successfully argued that she had been unaware that she was breaching copyright law by using Nova. But the second time she was convicted.

Then confirmation where the real power lies:

She appealed to the High Court over the conviction but judges at the High Court in London said the law was such a grey area that even they couldn't decide.

They passed it to the European Court of Justice for a decision, and tomorrow Ms Murphy and MPS will have 20 minutes each to put their case across.

This has a precedent in the infamous Bosman ruling and should Ms Murphy win then the future value of the Premier League's broadcasting rights could be seriously undermined.

Personally I would have thought it would have been much cheaper and a lot less hassle to Ms Murphy if she had bought a bottle of Tippex and painted the pint glass onto the screen of the pub TV. Not that I suggest any pubs do that of course.