Guess who's back...

Ben Brogan

has been missed in these last few weeks of big news stories involving blogs. He has managed to complete his transfer from the Mail to the Telegraph and is now back blogging...

Never one to shy from calling it as he sees it, his opening gambit is to call Ed Balls "liar, liar pants on fire."

Cracking stuff.

The dying days of Rome...

James Delingpole is on

cracking form

today: 

"Failed tyrants are never more dangerous than in the last months of their terrible reigns. It's when the surviving political prisoners get bumped off, when the suicidal last-ditch offences are launched, when the dictator punishes his people for his own inadequacies by laying waste the land in a final act of hellish Götterdämmerung. So what can we expect from Gordon Brown?

As much, I fear, as he can possibly get away with in the time available. Already, he has proved himself by some measure the worst prime minister in at least a century. But give him time: with a year to go until he's booted out of Downing Street, he could still yet give the likes of King Stephen or King John a good run for their money as quite simply our island's worst leader since time began."

Should do the trick...

To: editor@telegraph.co.uk

Sirs,
Your article on Gordon Brown's appearance in South Park (April 20th Gordon Brown to appear on South Park) is incorrect in stating that the Prime Minister is to be given an animated makeover. Indeed the episode has already been shown in America and although the character of the British Prime Minister bears a passing resemblance to Mr Brown, he does in fact have a generic cockney accent and no mention of his name is given.
Although Mr Brown has had a bad week, he can at least rest easy knowing the creators of South Park went easy on him, for now.

Yours faithfully

Tory Bear

Legend.

TB bets Ken is spitting blood

about this

.

Calling all DJs...

Fancy showing off your DJing skills or just doing something for charity? Well excuse the shameless plug, but TB's flatmates are driving from London to Mongolia this summer and need your help...

These

music mad

nutters

are looking to build up one of the biggest collections of mixtapes ever, to keep them occupied while they deliver a AA van specially modified rescue vehicle to the people of Ulanbaataar. So why not send them something in?

Head over to the

Mongolian Mixtape Marathon

site and donate as a little as a pound towards this great cause and then upload your mix...

Gordon on South Park...

The Telegraph

is reporting

that Brown will be featured on South Park - sounds brilliant:

"In the episode to be aired later this year, Mr Brown becomes part of an international plot to steal money from aliens in a bid to solve the global recession. He and other world leaders agree to claim the "space cash" found on a fugitive spaceship. However, the Prime Minister orders a nuclear attack on Finland after he discovers that it plans to tip off intergalactic police about the ploy."

If you are bored and have a spare two minutes

click here

to create your own Gordon Brown South Park character. Here's TB's attempt:

Email yours to TB and he might put it up.

UPDATE 13.49. Thank you to The Major and John Galt for getting in touch to let TB know that this particular episode of South Park aired already in the US and Gordon wasn't in it. It seems the Telegraph is telling porkies again. Well there's a surprise...Oh well, it's still a bit of fun so keep sending in your own efforts.

UPDATE: 14.13: Another eagle eyed reader has got in touch with this clip. Not nearly as exciting as TB would have hoped. Good to see the Telegraph sub-editors are doing their job so well:

Who are you kidding?

Tom Miller

has spent the last week shouting at the top of his voice that he had nothing to do with the smeargate emails or the red-rag blog, despite the fact he is very open about the fact he spends "most of his week" in Mr Draper's office. Miller has clearly been trying to distance himself from the darker side of Draper's short-lived return to politics and has gone as far as to sign up to a blogging ethics code instigated by Sunder Katwala over at  

Liberal Conspiracy

:

The code suggests acting "as ambassadors for the political values we profess" and opposing "the politics of personal destruction. We believe that the personal can be political, where it reveals the hypocrisy of public statements, the wilful misuse of evidence, or breaches proper ethical standards in public life. Where it doesn’t do that, it should be off limits. Politicians should be able to have a family and private life too. A politics of personal destruction violates progressive values and brings all politics into disrepute." 

That's all very noble, but how exactly do you justify your previous behaviour Tom? You were so loyal and trusted by Draper that he gave you his important task of drawing up a dossier on the history of the Guido Fawkes blog, and more importantly its author Paul Staines. In this document you were more than casual with the truth and instead relied on the already numerous accounts of Staines's history from the likes of Tim Ireland et all. You willfully prepared attack lines for Draper to use that you knew to be false and concluded that you couldn't call Staines a racist and would have to settle for going after the people who leave comments on his blog. 

Do you deny this?

Guess being a hypocrite is mandatory is you want a job at LabourList.

Researcher Totty Watch - Week 2:

As the MPs return to work after their holiday we wouldn't want their staff getting too bored so time for another round of Researcher Totty Watch.

A head to head battle this week, for the girls, it's every one's favourite

conference darling

and researcher to Andrew Mitchell, the shadow International Development Secretary, Jessie Lever, 22:

Vs. Victoria Parker, David Amess's 23 year old researcher. It's seemingly a corridor of blondes in Norman Shaw, as Victoria is apparently based just a few doors from Rozza's ladies featured last week:

For the lads, we have Jack Colson, who's departure from working for Daniel Kawcznyski soon has broken many a lady bagcarrier heart:

Vs. Teresa Villiers' Chief of Staff, Paul Foote. With all the manners of a typical Cambridge man, Paul also supplements this with his native Louisianan charm:

So vote away... results on Friday.

Remember the Labour pledge card?

This little gem from

Tory Rascal

made TB chuckle:

TB has already linked to the two biggest stories this weekend but there are some other little gems from this weekend's papers:

• The Times clears up the difference between a leak, a briefing and a smear.
• Peter Oborne gives some advice for the incoming Tory government in the Mail
• Matthew D'Ancona looks at "Labour's Watergate" in his Telegraph column.
• The Times reports of some interesting tactics by the BNP - skin heads? What skin heads?
• And finally, now that he has gone, Black Dog in the Mail has finally plucked up the courage to stick it to Damian McBride. Very funny.
  
  

It's all coming crashing down...

The Sunday Times have blown the cover on Ed Balls's

secret activities

.

Another botched rebuttal and a week of sniping could see this government out the door.

On that happy note TB is going to the pub.

Ray Collins tries to kill spectulation...

The NOTW are apparently going with a story tomorrow claiming that Labour Party head honcho Ray Collins, knew that the smears were going to happen. He apparently went to a meeting in December at Unite hq, in Whelans office, with Draper and McBride. Ray Collins has put out a statement to try kill tomorrows story.

Very easy to deny what was discussed during an off the record and non-recorded meeting but Sky are reporting that there is no smoking gun.

+++Developing+++

UPDATE 21.29: NOTW blog has a juicy taster. Always knew Maguire was a tit but,

wow

.

21:32 -

full story up.

It's not looking good. Ding ding Week II.

What are they hiding?

Ring ring.

Tory Bear: Hi there, my name is... I edit a blog called torybear.com, I was wondering if I could ask you some questions about the photos of Derek Draper on the Mirror website?

James Vallacott: No comment. 

Click.

More smoke and Mirrors

Ok allow TB to get technical for awhile. Another twist in the elusive Mirror story... Someone who is much more technically minded than TB has got in touch to shed some more light on those photos.
They wrote in the comments on the last story:

"While the story was still up there on the Mirror site I checked the EXIF data on the photos (using Opanda EXIF as a Firefox plugin). The data showed the camera used and the shooting date and time, as well as details of the exposure. Whilst I don't recall the precise date and time details, I'm sure they were consistent with Draper having returned from his Canaries vacation.
When you check the EXIF on his current story about Stavros Flatley you will find that those images were shot on April 15th 2009.
Opanda also allows you to check the IPTC data. Coincidentally (?!), it shows that the IPTC record (which tags images as being shot by Vellacott for the Mirror) was edited on 10th December 2008 - presumably the date he took delivery of the camera. Perhaps the "sources" should re-examine the EXIF data, rather than the IPTC tag?"

The Mirror really botched trying to hide this story, and indeed the pictures are still located on the Mirror servers:

https://blogs.mirror.co.uk/mirror-images/Draper10computerblog.jpg

That photo contains the full EXIF data. It shows that the image was shot at 16:15:27 on 15th April 2009 according to his camera's inbuilt clock, using 16mm focal length (from 16-35mm zoom) and a shutter speed of 1/125th at an aperture of f/6.3 and 1600 ISO

The 10th December was seemingly when Vellacott got the camera not when he took the photo, which is not what sources at The Mirror said. So now the original questions return...

What was Draper doing with that computer and why did the Mirror pull the story!?

Spot the difference:

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Which Labour supporting website is a genuine grassroots movement that casts a critical eye on their party, and which one is a foghorn for lies and spin and the party line?

LabourList will go down with Draper if it ignores shocking scandals such as

this

.

Smoke and Mirrors

What exactly is the Mirror playing at?

Though they are remaining silent officially, some information is beginning to drip out about what exactly is going on concerning disap

pearing stories on their website (click the link to read up in detail.) The story was posted on Wednesday evening. It was quickly picked up by various blogs. At 00:45 , Vellacott's picture story on the Mirror website had attracted five comments:

(Click to enlarge)

The images of Draper leaving his house with a computer was potentially front page stuff given that this was an email based scandal, yet it was pulled from the Mirror website at 15:55 on Thursday. Half an hour later, 16:30, it was still being featured on Mirror's homepage with a broken link. Soon after, Vellacott's blog was back on line - but with the Draper story airbrushed from history. Why?

According to sources within the Mirror, Draper was photographed by Vellacott on 10th December 2008. It seems that these - by now, stock images - of Draper have been cobbled together with some misleading copy - "I was sent to Derek Drapers address at 8am this morning" said Vellacott on his blog, which morning? - 10th December, perhaps? - and put out there to add to the feeding frenzy, and to disseminate false information. TB would imagine someone went mental when they realised what Vellacott was up to and pulled the plug.

Firstly Maguire and friends are so wrapped round No10's little finger that they are blind to the fact they are being made to dance a merry tune, and now this...

It seems that the Mirror has some serious explaining to do about why it lies to it's readers?

Labour anoint a new leader...

You'd think the Labour Party would have learnt their lesson with uncontested leadership elections. TB has eyes and ears at the Young Labour rally in Gillingham today, if the definition of eyes and ears is watching the

#YoungLabour Twitter feed

. Sam Tarry, a big union hack and upcoming apparatchik has been returned unopposed as the new Chairman of the organisation. It seems no one else wanted the job, much to the jubilation of his fellow New Labour hacks. Tarry has clearly learnt the art of forcing opponents not to stand against you from Gordon and it looks set to be a recurring theme for elections to the New Labour hierarchy at whatever level. There is much rejoicing and TB has acquired an image on the current Chairman of Labour Students Sarah Mulholland and the President of the NUS Wes Streeting saluting and pledging allegiances to their new leader*:

Harperson is currently calling for party unity on the stage, clearly today is not her moment.

*This may or may not be real.

Prescott to make an impact...

TB was close with his speculation.. but sadly

no cigar

:

"Today, at the Young Labour Conference in Kent, John Prescott will launch an Obama-style internet campaign, calling for voluntary donations via his blog and his Facebook page to fund a bus tour. His online supporters can follow his progress on Google Earth and via online videos, blog posts and Twitter updates and assemble, like a flash mob, to meet him on high streets across the north of England."

Ha John Prescott, the only politician visible on Google Earth!

Prescott for LabourList?

TB just spotted this on Twitter:

Given that Young Labour is currently guest editing LabourList.. could the new full time editor be revealing their identity tomorrow?

Well punching members of the public is an improvement from a smearing liar. Just.

In the Loop....? I am the f**cking loop.

TB cracked and went to the early showing of In the Loop instead of going to the cinema in the evening like a normal person would. His ribs ached by the end from laughing and it really does make the transition to the big screen effortlessly. Fans of the Thick of It won't be disappointed, and all the old faces pop up, except obviously Chris Langham. Without giving too much away, the events of the last week make the ending all the more poignant.

Though people love the character, Malcolm Tucker's tactics bear all the hallmarks of McBride. There was some moments in the film where the real power is in the hands of the spin doctors, that caused some sharp sucking of air through the teeth. In the Loop isn't just a film but a damning indictment of the political balance of power in this country but bloody hilarious at the same time.

TB would happily sit through it again... go see it this weekend.