Return to the thickets from whence you came
Somebody using a University College London server dropped by last night to leave an anonymous comment. Manic's past experiences with Tory activists lead him to suspect that the person who left said comment is also a member of the University College London Conservative Society.
Manic learned long ago - most notably during his adventures with Anne Milton and her flunkies - that Conservative enthusiasts and activists tend to be very vocal about their political allegiances on their home turf, but prefer anonymity when they leave snarky comments on other people's websites.
Happily, the former makes them very easy to track down when they do the latter.
So, we begin with this I.P. address for UCL (144.82.197.149), which was easily isolated last night as the only one anywhere near the relevant comments link at the time this comment was left.
(Manic recognises that this is a fairly innocuous comment compared to some left by anonymous supporters of Paul Staines, but he feels he is doing the perpetrator a favour by nipping this in the bud. Manic is also amused by the perpetrator's choice of nickname; the character 'Cardenio' once crossed swords with the great and noble Don Quixote.)
Lo and behold, the UCL Conservative Society has a website and the person behind it, Richard Jackson, is very blog-aware (just for starters, there's a blog on the front page and its previous home was at thecaerulean.blogspot.com). Of course, this is not the only UCL-related weblog - here's one campaigning to stop the UCL investing in the arms trade - but the contents of the UCL Conservative Society 'Links' page might just lead one to believe that Richard Jackson is our man.
Manic acknowledges that the perpetrator could just as easily be one of Jackson's fellow site contributors (Stuart Davenport and Oliver Cooper), but picking on Richard is much more fun, as here at Paul Staines' weblog, there are two conflicting claims under comments that he is a staffer at Conservative Central Office or a workaday slob for Shailesh Vara MP. [snip]
[MINI-UPDATE - It would appear that there are two Richard Jacksons in the Conservative realm; a few people have written in to point out that the Richard Jackson referenced above (who does work for Shailesh Vara and did work for CCO) is not only a different chap, but also a decent chap and a nice chap. While the only contact Manic has had regarding our Richard Jackson is from some anonymous person claiming not to be him. Manic thinks that pretty much speaks for itself. Back to the show...]
If you wish, you can click the links below to see pictures of [our] Richard Jackson meeting with various members of the Tory Reform Group:
TRG Chairman Tim Barnes with UCL Conservative Society President Richard Jackson
TRG National Director Clare Whelan with Events Chairman Tim Crockford and UCL Conservative Society President Richard Jackson
And it is here that Manic wishes to draw a veil over the affair and move on; he has no wish to 'obsess' over the matter and no desire to go on a witch hunt armed with nothing but unsubstantiated gossip and circumstantial evidence.
Manic would prefer to leave such antics to 'Guido'.
Instead, Manic wishes to file his very first Tory Totty report, based on images from the UCL Conservative Society Alumni Club's photo-stream.
Because Manic is painfully aware of certain sensitivities regarding copyright, he has chosen to link to the relevant images rather than display them on this website:
Manic's Tory Totty Report #1
Phwoarrrr!
Way-hey-hey!
Cor blimey!
Hang on... wait a minute... what's this?
Ahahahahahahahahahaha! Holy Jumping Jebus!
This is a rare moment, ladies and gentlemen... Manic is writing his reactions 'live' before your very eyes. You have caught him making a major find mid-post.
Manic has just become aware of another reason why Richard Jackson may not be a big fan of this weblog... and Manic has also discovered that he can now publish an image of Richard Jackson without fear of phantom lawsuits.
Richard Jackson was one of the incompetent dipshits who tried to ambush Charles Kennedy on his visit to the University of Surrey on April 19 2005, but ended up having to stand across the road in the rain... and Manic was there to see the action and capture it digitally!
Here are two of the photos Manic took of these geniuses of infiltration and subversion (you may note that they chose to pose for the second):
Richard Jackson is even pictured doing one of Manic's very favourite things in the whole world:
Manic laughs like a drain whenever he sees a Tory activist wearing a t-shirt over a collared shirt!
To honour the magical serendipity of this discovery, Manic has now elevated the likelihood of Richard Jackson being our mystery contributor to 'reasonable certainty'.
Manic also wishes to celebrate with his song of choice; click below to join him:
Manic has spoken. End communication.
14 Comments:
congratulations BATMAN, on making your presence felt.
take care.
Hehehehehe.
Na-na na-na na-na na-na...
PS - Here's Richard Jackson's Blogger profile.
Oi vey! No not me. Although the ones on the left and the right are sexy devils aren't they?
Manic is confused. Richard appears on the far right and the far left.
I'm referring to the photo at the bottom, which one is Jackson? While you've already referred to the shirt/t-shirt combo on the right. I prefer the pose of the chap on the left. He has the look of one those who is ill at ease in the photographer's lens.
In the second photo, that is Richard on the far left, as you should know if you are based at UCL and have even a passing interest in Conservatives and/or their weblogs.
(Manic says: Cardenio is still posting from 144.82.197.149)
There are thousands of students at UCL. I know a very small proportion. Nor am I connected to the Conservative society. I have gone carol singing with you though.
Manic finds it difficult to believe that your paths have not crossed.
(Manic lives all the way out in *Guildford* and has met him.)
As for carols: which year?
:o)
Christmas 2005 - if I remember correctly. Alongside Brian Haw etc. An event that I had been alerted to through Guido mentioning the event. A perfect example of the merits of the blogosphere when it works together constructively - in contrast to the current state of affairs which are beset by conflict and discord.
The same year as 'Guido'... how interesting.
(strokes beard)
;oP
As for conflict and discord, it should be clear by now which site is the leading breeding ground for that.
Iain Dale isn't helping matters by pointing at 'Guido' as a fine example of political blogging and yelling "That's the way to do it!"
Manic has spoken.
I'm slightly bemused by all these events - perhaps there are some aspects of your arguments which correctly identify Guido as one who is guilty of devious machinations and skulduggery. But the post on which this comment thread appears is indicative of the flaws in your reasoning so far. I am plainly not Richard Jackson; yet on the basis of one 'innocuous' comment you conclude with 'reasonable certainty' that I am he. This same reasoning - extrapolating from one piece of evidence massively - has been used during your attack on Guido. If it has been inaccurate once, why shouldn't it be again?
Manic is sorry, Cardenio/Richard, but in *this* little corner of Bloggerheads, many of Guido's rules apply.
But, because we are in the early stages, Manic feels he should be generous and issue the following warning instead of simply deleting your last comment:
You will only be allowed to contradict Manic for as long as he feels he can counter you in one way or another.... and if you continue to question any of Manic's material beyond this point, then you will be banned (and everything you submit will be deleted, along with anything that Manic suspects is from you).
:o)
Clear?
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
Uh-uh-uh! You were warned, Richard.
[See? Sucks, doesn't it? And now that comment has been deleted, it doesn't matter what it contained; all that matters is what I suggest/claim it might have contained.]
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