Comment moderation has now been switched off.
Sorry for the dealy bloggers but Mr Monkey had to take a family member to casualty at lunch time following an accident, the daft twat fell off a ladder at work and split his head open.
Just in case some of you are wondering, the next comment moderation will be on Sunday May 3rd from 9am to 9pm.
The borough’s other blogger seems to have ejaculated all over his computer screen at the prospect of South Tyneside’s council leader Iain Malcolm jumping into bed with the Conservatives at their spring conference in Cheltenham.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but those close to this devious twat will know what an opportunistic bastard he is and that he’ll stop at nothing to keep his corrupt hands on the reigns of power, even snuggling up to a Tory or two.
Apparently he was in Cheltenham on behalf of Sovereign Strategy the political lobbying company that he runs and is a shareholder in and despite the shouts of ecstasy from certain quarters, Mr Monkey can’t help wondering whether this “consummate politician” has seen the writing on the wall and has joined the increasing number of Labour politicians who have thrown the towel in - it’s only a matter of time before they return to the political wilderness and warm there arses on the opposition benches.
This chimp reckons his arse fondling licking at the Tory conference had nothing to do with South Tyneside and everything to do with making sure he’s on the right side when it comes to lobbying those with clout .. and Gordon hasn’t got much of that left.
Seems councillors Khan and Potts are set to continue their rivalry outside the council chamber as the King of Sleaze, Tory Boy David Potts has taken a leaf out of the Indy councillor’s book and has become a twat twit.
But a quick look at Pudgy Faces twitters confirms what most people already know – he’s obsessed with money and couldn’t careless about the people he represents. In 2 days he’s tweeted 29 times and there’s only one mild reference to his work as a councillor.
Mr Monkey reckons bloggers should keep a close eye on these 2 twittering councillors as it will be interesting to see whether councillor Potts takes councillor Khan up on his offer for a cup of coffee.
Alternatively councillor Khan could pop into the Atlantic Bar around 10am any day of the week, he’s bound to bump into The King of Sleaze enjoying his usual liquid breakfast of a couple of glasses of red wine!
These 2 twits can be found at, http://twitter.com/CouncillorKhan and http://twitter.com/DavidPotts101
Comment moderation has now been turned off so any comments you leave will be visible immediately. Comment moderation will be available again from 9am to 9pm on Sunday 3rd May.
Thanks to everyone who left comments yesterday, especially ‘The Grass’ - I will be following up your lead about public money being used for censorship immediately.
'Twat of the Week .. again'
There’s only one contender for the Twat of the Week award and that’s Papa John Szymanski, the Labour party lackey who moonlights as the editor of the Shields Gazette Malcolm Fanzine.
According to this post CLICK HERE he did’nt take kindly to being told the truth about his unhealthy relationship with Labour council leader, Iain Malcolm, aka Miss Piggy.
Papa John ignored his own senior management, preferring instead to seek the advice of alleged election fraudster councillor Iain Malcolm. Apparently he told him to use the council’s code of conduct to lodge a formal complaint against the author of the article.
Unfortunately Papa John didn’t think of the consequences of his actions and in his desperation to stop any criticism he’s allowed the Shields Gazette to become the biggest joke in the North East, whilst at the same time he has become a figure of ridicule within his profession.
Congratulations Mr Szymanski with poor judgement like this, you deserve the titleTwat of the Week and perhaps it’s time your other employer, Johnston Press took decisive action against you.
'Missing'
Mr Monkey has just learned that the Indy’s were again light when it came to numbers at yesterday’s Full Council meeting.
Once again councillor Allan Branley was otherwise engaged and it now seems that councillor Harrison has taken a leaf out of councillor Branley’s book by not bothering to turn up to meetings.
A quick look at the stats shows that councillor Harrison’s attendance record is poor, especially for someone who criticises everyone elses record.
In the past year councillor Harrison has missed 3 out of a possible 8 CAF meetings, 5 out of a possible 11 Full Council meetings and hasn’t bothered attending any Licensing or Appeal committees or sub committees.
Councillor Harrison is paid a basic allowance of £7056 this equates to £641 per meeting - put another way he gets half of the £1,200 The King Sleaze, David Potts gets for attending his meetings.
As far as councillor Branley is concerned, his attendance record is almost a record in itself. He’s attended 0 out of 8 CAF’s, 0 out of 4 Audit committees and 3 out of a possible 11 Full Council meetings.
As councillor Branley doesn’t claim any allowances this equates to £0.00 per meeting.
Mr Monkey will be posting more details of councillor’s attendance record and the cost per meeting to the taxpayer shortly.
Mr Monkey’s Blog has just passed another milestone and it’s all thanks to you.
Today this blog has seen the 1000th comment being posted, that’s the equivalent of around 111 comments per month since Mr Monkey first burst on to the local blogging scene around 9 months ago.
Some competitors who can’t stand losing, would have you believe that Mr Monkey posts most of his own comments under various guises, but then this was the same twat that went on record saying Mr Monkey’s Blog attracts only ‘around half a dozen hits a day’. Later he changed his mind and conceded that Mr Monkey’s Blog receives around 100 hits per day. But since Mr Monkey started posting a screen shot of his stats he’s been strangely silent.
This chimp is delighted that so many of you have taken such a keen interest in Mr Monkey’s Blog and go to the trouble of leaving your comments, favourable or not, it thanks to you that Mr Monkey has become the borough’s number one blog.
Yesterday Mr Monkey revealed that editor of the Shields Gazette and chair of the Northern region of the Society of Editors, John Szymanski had complained to council leader Iain Malcolm about the contents of a newsletter that criticised the Gazette’s less then healthy relationship with the ruling Labour group. CLICK HERE.
This chimp can now confirm that Mr Szymanski has brought his profession into disrepute by attempting to silence his critics. Unfortunately his actions have made a mockery out of his so called commitment to free-speech and has raised some serious questions about his integrity and judgement as well as his suitability to continue as a editor of the once proud Shields Gazette.
It seems that Mr Szymanski took exception to the following statement published in the spring edition of the Independent newsletter for Westoe:
WITH ALL OF THIS ACTIVITY why is our local rag not full of accounts of all the questions, discussion and debate raised by the Independent Alliance? It has been suggested that the Gazette has become part of the Malcolm Fanzine Cavalcade. Since Cllr Iain Malcolm stepped out of the shadows and took on the role publicly that he has always had, leader of the Council, the editor of the Gazette is seen more often at the jollies previously mentioned than the Mayor! The Alliance has no need to depend upon the Gazette for reporting its activities, we can do it ourselves. As you know we distribute newsletters four times a year, produce special leaflets for specific issues e.g. Gypsies Green and the disappearing ballot boxes, knock on doors and talk to people throughout the year and hold public meetings. Never the less, it is sad to think that free press is not that free and has been bought for an onion baghee from the buffet!
… apparently the truth hurts.
A source close to Iain Malcolm has confirmed that he alerted Mr Szymanski to the article who in turn was so incensed by the critiscim he faced that he contacted the council leader to see if there was anything he could do about it. Councillor Malcolm told him there was nothing he could do officially and that the best course of action would be for him to make a formal complaint to the local Standard’s Board. Councillor Malcolm explained the process in more detail and even told him which sections to quote in his complaint.
Mr Monkey can now reveal that John Szymanski has complained to the Standard’s Board about councillor Jane Branley whose name was on the newsletter and that following a confidential report to a sub committee the matter will now be investigated further.
What councillor Malcolm didn’t tell John Szymanski was that when a complaint is made to the Standard’s Board the person who the complaint is lodged against is told who made the complaint. Poor Mr Szymanski thought he was making an anonymous complaint and that no one would find out about it, least of all councillor Branley and especially his own staff – nothing could be further from the truth.
Mr Szymanski’s desperation to silence his critics and his willingness to please his paymaster has back fired and he has been labelled a hypocrite with no integrity. He’s also become the laughing stock of his profession – but worse is to come.
Mr Monkey will be contacting senior managers staff at Johnston Press in Edinburgh and will be sending hard copies of this post to every member of the Society of Editors and not just in the North East.
Mr Monkey has also learned that a further 20,000 newsletters containing the same article have been distributed in Hebburn South, Whiteleas, Biddick and All Saints, Horsley Hill and Whitburn and Marsden - apparently there’s more to follow.
Mr Monkey can’t help wondering how Mr Szymanski is going to explain this latest in a long line of gaffes to his senior managers?
John Szymanski 'The Pride of South Tyneside?'
Mr Monkey is currently looking into allegations that the editor of the Shields Gazette and chair of the Northern region of the Society of Editors, John Szymanski has complained to council leader Iain Malcolm about the contents of a newsletter that criticised the Gazette’s less then healthy relationship with the ruling Labour group.
Councillor Malcolm advised Mr Szymanski to lodge a formal complaint against the individuals concerned and as usual John Szymanski has followed his paymaster’s advice to the letter.
Mr Monkey is trying to establish more facts concerning these allegations and hopes to update bloggers in the next 24 hours.
Interestingly, the Society of Editors recognises the universal right to freedom of expression, the importance of the vitality of the news media in a democratic society, and the promotion of Press and broadcasting freedom and the public’s right to know and this is what Mr Szymanski had to say when he was elected,
“A free Press is essential to any democracy and I will strive to ensure the Society does its utmost to protect the freedom of all sectors of the media to report on behalf of the public.”
Sadly it seems that Mr Szymanski is now singing from a different hymn sheet and his actions, if true, speak volumes for what he really believes in.
Shields Gazette .. Latest Latest Traffic News
comment moderation – by special request
Someone appears desperate to draw Mr Monkey’s attention to something happening within the town hall and has asked for comment moderation to be applied today.
Given the apparent urgency, this chimp is happy to oblige and comment moderation has now been activated until noon today. Please feel free to post your comments in private now.