Comment at end
12th August, 2009
TO THE MAIL: DON’T PUBLISH ME. I’M A POSITIVE THINKER
I have referred to this comment and thus opinion management before by such anti-Blair rags as The Mail. Their readers should UNDERSTAND that the Mail is expert at this game and uses many-pronged weaponry. Even when appearing as easy on Blair as the topic allows, for years The Mail has moderated OUT pro-Tony Blair comments, even if, presumably, few in number. Thus Mail readers get the impression that their anti/ANTI/ANTI opinion is natural, honest and true, as well as held universally.
(That said, I notice The Mail now says that it has changed its policy on moderation. Hm-mm… we’ll see. Perhaps with the upcoming Iraq Inquiry they have been leant upon for their biased reporting.)
First, in my positive, human and humour-filled fashion, I should congratulate them.
This is a great picture from today’s Mail
Pity about the article.
Jegeg, the baby elephant searching around for something up inside the clothing of Tony Blair. Sweet stuff ... don't you think? Some might say that Jegeg, ('Beautiful') seems to have good taste - for one so young.
If such a picture had been of anyone other than Tony Blair even the miserable Mail (and thus its readers) would be forced to smile. Instead they employ a double … correction … TRIPLE tactic in spinning that is so perfectly honed that their readers don’t even notice.
TACTICS IN THE ONGOING MAIL STRATEGY OF TRADUCING TONY BLAIR
1. They pretend they are talking about someone else – Cherie Blair and an elephant.
2. Then they turn to their real target, her husband and another elephant. They slip in phrases like “embarrassed grin … placed a hand on the young female’s head … ready to wriggle … as so often … out of a tricky situation.”
3. They then leave the door open wide for the REAL criticism by their commenters encouraged as they have been by the article’s reminder of the powers of the manipulative, smiling, snake-oil salesman.
And so, as if to order, the commenters pile in.
The brainwashing is so clearly evident that The Mail’s readers, if they had a washable braincell among them, should have realised how they are being manipulated. There is NO way, and I mean NO way that any newspaper would fail to receive ONE comment with a touch of human empathy or even humour as regards this picture.
But smiles came there none: only vile, envious, nasty, vitriolic, hated-filled comment.
Nothing … NOTHING light or positive to say.
NONE of them. Not ONE!
I suppose we Blair Supporters should consider ourselves lucky. The Mail could have led with – “Up Yours, Blair”. But they knew they could leave that to their commenters, few of whom seem to have noticed that the story was purportedly, according to its title, about Cherie.
Cherie’s packed her holiday trunk and rides off into the Bali sun
Passenger service: On holiday with husband Tony, Cherie Blair takes an elephant ride in Bali.
Excerpt:
“A baby elephant called Jegeg seemed fascinated by the former prime minister’s blue shorts and extended an investigatory trunk.
Mr Blair flashed an embarrassed grin and placed a hand on the young female’s head, ready – as so often during his years at Number 10 - to wriggle out of a tricky situation.”
An “embarrassed” grin? He looks remarkably UNembarrassed to me.
So from this ‘elephant’ – I won’t forget The Mail’s bias against Tony Blair, cute pictures notwithstanding.
RELATED – SORT OF
Are Angela Merkel & her female colleagues casting around for the sex vote? Merkel and sex appeal aren’t necessarily contradictory terms, but … is this a good idea? It’d be like Gordon Brown campaigning in his Y-Fronts.
“WE HAVE MORE TO OFFER”
The poster shows Christian Democratic candidate Vera Lengsfeld (right) alongside a 2008 photo of Angela Merkel above the slogan: "We have more to offer."
Update to the cleavage story: According to Spiegel it seems Ms Merkel was neither consulted nor informed about the picture used. She is not amused.
Update to the Elephant story: The Express says that the Blairs are being criticised for taking rides on these elephants. The complainants evidently need to do some research into this Bali elephant sanctuary. The Express too, for that matter. But why let the truth get in the way of an opportunity to trample on the Blairs?
With thanks to Bali Adventure Tours (history) for this photograph. More with pictures here
Bali Adventure Tours
www.baliadventuretours.com
info@baliadventuretours.com
Ph 62 361 721480 fax 62 361 721481
Tags: Angela Merkel, bali elephant Tony Blair, Blair Supporters, Cherie Blair, cleavage, elephant up Blair's shorts, Jegeg Beautiful, picture of elephant trunk Blair's shorts, The Mail, Vera Lengsfeld
August 12, 2009 at 6:25 pm |
at least the picture here and in borneo shows that he is enjoying himself and relaxing with his family and with all the hard work he needs it
August 12, 2009 at 8:45 pm |
I don’t care what The Mail says blair is smiling and enjoying it. It is not an embarrassed smile.
August 14, 2009 at 10:19 am |
Quite.
August 14, 2009 at 6:11 pm |
What wonderful pictures. It should have been a very nice article.
It’s too bad the Mail isn’t much like the Male in the pictures. The Mail and the commentors remind me of a bunch of sexually frustrated, gossipy old men who haven’t taken a bath in a year. They are dripping with mud.
Seriously, all the negativity, pessimism, and anger we read in our mainstream media is getting really old, isn’t it? I had to stop reading most of them because I did not want to become as miserable as they and their followers are.
August 15, 2009 at 7:48 pm |
Sorry Arlene, clicked the wrong thumb.
Quite true, but there are other reasons for not reading so many newspapers:
http://quietzapples.blogspot.com/
August 16, 2009 at 3:01 pm |
I tried to post this comment on the Mail website under that article but it NEVER appeared:
Everyone is allowed to go on holiday. The tax payer is not funding this holiday and so there is no conceivable reason for public interest in this story. The security team will be tax payer funded but they are for every ex PM. So to “A tax payer, England ” if you are really concerned with tax payer’s interests and not just in making snide comments then you probably shouldn’t be looking at the gossip pages.
August 16, 2009 at 5:00 pm |
Hi sisforstyle – it never WILL appear if it speaks kindly of Tony Blair. He is, dontcha know, according to the Mail, the Devil Incarnate, the Evil One, second only to Bush – no, in fact ABOVE Bush because Bush was “stoopid”.
The MAil is on a quest to ‘diss’ Blair as much as possible prior to the Iraq Inquiry so they can hang him out to dry before, during and after.
They should be sued for every penny they’re worth.
I will be wiritng here whenever I see an artcile at the Mail that continues this onslaught. So come back here if you ever want to publish your well-balanced comments. I gave up on the Mail aeons ago. It’s not for the well-balanced, certainly as far as the former PM is concerned.
There is a petition, btw, just up to Ban Blair-Baiting at the Iraq Inquiry.
You may wish to add your signature.