Snuggled up here in the old cliff top mansion in front of a few blazing logs, bumper pack of bathroom tissue at the ready, I've been going through the Sunday papers.Ordinarily, of course, I wouldn't touch one of Mr Murdoch's publications with a very long barge pole, but they'd run out of proper newspapers at the Costcutter so I had to make do with the News of the Screws. Well, it might come in handy for those frequent trips to the smallest room in the mansion, I figured.
And blow me down if there wasn't a huge splash about Margate. Not the kind of arts regen and cafe culture story our beloved council would like to see, though. No, 'Street of Spongers' screams the headline. The NoW hacks have been knocking on doors in Dalby Square, politely inquiring what people do for a living. The answer to which appears, unsurprisingly, to be 'not much'. If they'd knocked on my door, I would have been minded to ask them whether they had nothing better to do for a living than knock on people's doors and ask them what they do for a living. But hey-ho, that's journalism for you.
It all sounds rather familiar. Does anyone recall erstwhile Gazunder hack Nick Dorman's story about Margate in The People last June? It created quite a stir. That was headlined 'Sun Scroungers' and detailed the surprising number of ne'er-do-anythings in, er, Margate. The town was even re-christened 'Sicknote-on-Sea' in true tabloid style.
However the similarity doesn't end there. I see the NoW story has been co-written by one Jennifer Wiley who is, yes you've guessed it, a former Gazunder hack. Oh how we used to titter over her 'Jen and Tonic' feature about the Isle's watering holes. Seems like she hasn't got a good word to write about the place these days!
Click here for News of the World story
27 comments:
It is a real thrill to think that my tax burden per month is able to support a nice family of Czech immigrants who are clearly here on the make.I don't blame them. I blame my Government for allowing them to come into the country in the first place and then keeping them in what they might regard as comfort. As the article highlights, we have enough of our own scroungers to support without supporting foreihners.
Those watering holes ECR rely on a cash flow.
Be that sourced from benefits or, dare we suggest it, money laundering.
And how many a worthy's income in Thanet is derived by renting to claimants ?
Remember Mrs Thatcher ? No such thing as society. And the country needs you to be unemployed for England as a large unemployment acts against inflation.
Well done the dole scroungers. My mortage (and buy to let mortages) interest rates just went down.
But scrounging dole is so last year.
Way to go now is tax credit. Declare yourself self employed and making a loss (treated as zero income) claim tax credit then you can live and casual work overseas whilst still drawing tax credit and housing benefits in UK.
Plus it makes Gordon Brown's stats look better and henmce encourages him to continue the tax credit system.
As we all know Thanet Police wastes a lot of public money each Christmas sending cards to targetted Thanet villains. Reminding them that even at Christmas the Old Bill is thinking of them. I understand the cards take pride of place on many a dole scounger villainous mantelpiece at Yuletide.
A lovely thought would be for the Thanet dole scroungers to take a leaf out of the police book. Send thankyou cards to taxpayers and News of the World journalists.
"Merry Christmas, Thankyou for your taxes kind sirrahs, from Unemployed for England"
Maybe the unemployed, adopting the more lucrative tax credit income, could declare themselves as freelance journalists ?
Swamp the NoW with news stories ?
like
"Shock horror, so called promising journalists failed to spot their editor for a raving right wing queen of the Knights of Saint George ? His swastika strewn office never raised the slightest whiff of suspicion amongst his disciple trainee journos. Should they be forced to attend a retraining course before any further entitlement to an income is allowed ? Have they been indoctrinated into the press equivalent of a Hitler Youth ? Fully immersed into a blame victim mentality ?"
The IoT Gazette once had an editorial about a Thanet copper who hit himself to blame it on a prisoner.
The editor wrote that this officer would otherwise make an ideal role model for Thanet's youth. (Presumably blaming people being acceptable but for unfortunately being caught)
We all realise that NOTW is not a real paper and the term Story is an accurate description, of the space filling.
My only problem with this article is the apparent identification of where these recipients live.
Perhaps some one could identify where these hacks in receipt of the murdoch pound live. Whilst these hacks get all high and mighty about scrounger I ask why no in government has dealt with News international apparent monopoly of paid for broadcast telly in much of this country.
Scrounger or monopolistic business both are as ugly.
Tony's got a point there - unemployed or not surely they should not have their address revealed in a national newspaper? Whatever happened to data protection?
Little Englander sounds like he has a problem with foreigners on welfare but hey, suprise suprise, doesn't mention our own home grown claimants. Its all in your name.
11.12pm , you clearly have a problem reading English. What does the following mean from Little Englander?:
" As the article highlights we have enough of our own scroungers to support......"
Okay fair enough, its still there bolted on the end of a much longer rant about foreigners. Seeing how they make up a very small minority in the UK 6.5 lines are devoted to them out of a total of 9. Perhaps it should be the other way around?
Perhaps Little Englander is making the simple point that its bad enough having to support 'scroungers' as opposed to the genuine cases that need support from the tax-payer, without having to support any 'scroungers' from the rest of the world and Eastern Europe in particular. As a tax payer I resent supporting those who are playing our generous social security system to the hilt homegrown or otherwise.
Generous social system? You try scrounging on it mate. I have to have at least two other cash in hand jobs to get by.
A sad admission from a benefit cheat then?
Hi
But spare a thought for a Marine that served his country very well - yet his country has yet to serve him.
I bet he would Love to have all the benefits of any of the alleged claimants English or otherwise?
Hey 11:16, no excuse for claiming benefits and working cash in hand, get a proper job. You can bleat excuses but plenty of us have gone through hard times and not cheated the revenue. Hope you get caught.
Anon 11:16am - It is my grave duty to inform you that I have followed your trail of breadcrumbs to your sordid, welfare sponger bedsit in Cliftonville and that you should soon be expecting a knock on the door from my old friend Inspector Knacker of the Yard. I have also published aerial views from Google Earth of your residence.
I can only say that this serves you right for being a living gloating metaphor of all that is wrong with our society.
That's nothing Simes. A Tory councillor in Medway has proposed sterilising 'welfare spongers' according to BBC South East Today!
They missed out the ASBO kid lodge and the pedo housing unit.
Dalby Square residents were featured on the news item yesterday on BBC about the councillor in Medway resigning
seems to be a trend among conservative councillors in bandying around the term "sponger". the medway one has resigned...now whatever happened to the thanet one...?
our downtown berlin, sorry medway councillor. A bit harsh, but I'm sure he wanted to make a genuine point.
for me, to start a family means giving up an income and a drop in living. for the type of person herr medway councillor is talking about, it means a child benefit bonanza. Wrong.
http://lifestyles-america.com/BobAndSue/
Here is some interesting info about Neville Thurlbeck the News of the World journalist who interviewd people in Dalby Square and made up quotes for them to fit his article. He is also a regular agent provocateur having a history of outing gay ministers etc. Turns out he likes a bit of bum himself. As for Jennifer Wiley I will catch up with her sooner or later. Copies of this website will be given to all the residents mentioned in the article. It includes Thurlbecks address. I don't suppose he would want anangry bunch of Dalby square residents having his address I know I wouldn't. Oh well what goes around comes around.
Anon 5:06am - I've reprinted your comment below minus the incitement to violence. Sorry about that, but some people might take you seriously.
Jennifer Wiley got the information by telling them she was from the government doing research. Intrusion into privacy and inacuracy. Will the PCC do anything? not a chance.
When I get her address I will pass it on to residents to use as they wish.
http://birchington.blogspot.com/2005/06/secret-mission-in-uncharted-space_10.html
You will find a photo of the offensive female hack here.
I was hoping people would take me seriously :) But thankyou for posting the edited version Richard. I will pass on more info to anyone that is interested as I get it.
I have contacts with honest journalists at the gaurdian who I am going to ask for help. I am hoping to do something along the lines of photographing Jennifer Wiley and Neville Thurlbeck outside their homes with thier address and whatever dirt I can get on them.
More than one of the people involved have had their personal saftey compromised. Also you and I both know that this is a temporary housing area, where people are sent from all over thanet and surrounding towns and also London to live. That is why the statistic is so high. I have also contacted Roger Gale who says he moved into the area in 1992 and what a shame it is about the areas decline (http://www.kent-messenger.co.uk/news/default.asp?article_id=39408)This transfrormation took place in the Thatcher era.
It is dissapionting to find out that at least one local paper is owned by news international. I phoned one of the the editors of the thanet times/gazzette who said that 'we will not print anything derogatory about the news of the world'!
Normally I'm not interested in the news, but this has negatively affected people who are very dear to me and I have never let anyone get away with that before and will not let this go until I am satisfied.
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/greenslade/2007/08/did_news_of_the_world_ask_woma.html
Is this jennifer wiley? interesting.
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/greenslade/2007/08/did_news_of_the_world_ask_woma.html
this is the last link in full.
/08/did_news_of_the_world_ask_woma.html
full link did not show this is the last part of the last link, my apologies for a messy post.
one of the young men in this article is now dead at 26. A genuine claimant with a serious condition diagnosed by a proffessor in london. he worked hard in the voluntary sector and was a ray of sunshine in this depressed area. he was doing fine until NOTW reporter Jennifer Wiley and a male assistant posing as officials from the DSS harrassed him and made his life a confusing hell after he had his photo and address printed in NOTW. The downward spiral from this ended in his death. well done jennifer. a career highlight for you. I will never forget. it's people like little englander who are are real scum in this society.
Can anyone tell me how to contact Jennifer Wiley a female journalist who has worked for NOTW? thank you.
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