JamieD 19,030 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 I still can't believe that the clown(s ?) behind the Rangers Tax Case blog are the recipients of the most prestigious British journalism prize, and I'm feeling petty, so I just fired this off to the head of the committee. I'll let you know if I get a reply.Dear Edward,As I'm sure you're aware, the 2012 Orwell Prize for blogs was awarded to http://rangerstaxcase.wordpress.com/, a website supposedly dedicated to investigating the alleged tax evasion practised by Rangers Football Club. At the time that the prize was awarded, Rangers Tax Case was promoting utter fabulism as weighty legal discussion, with an agenda so obvious and with material so biased that I was astounded that your illustrious organisation recognised it in the first place. However, it seems that a great many people were hoodwinked by those behind the blog, not least the prominent Guardian journalist Roy Greenslade. I am writing today not to criticise the Orwell Prize for recognising this website, but to point out that today Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs lost its legal appeal against the decision to throw out the tax case that the Rangers Tax Case blog was so fervently portraying as a crusade on behalf of moral and legal justice.Rangers Football Club was nearly destroyed as a result of this bogus tax case and the attendant media hysteria whipped up by journalists and bloggers like those behind the Rangers Tax Case blog. The repercussions of this journalistic attack on truth and the misinformation passed on as fact by the blog - which was given a veneer of respectability in the mainstream press after being awarded the Orwell Prize - has cost many people their jobs, it has cost creditors of the club a great deal of money and it has cost an institution of some cultural importance a great deal of its lustre, not to mention its viability as a force in football. George Orwell was a writer with a fierce sense of intellectual honesty. He was neither a propagandist nor a sensationalist. He wrote with a love of truth and a talent for communicating information free of spin. An award given in his name ought to reflect these noble traits. When Johann Hari was disgraced for plagiarism and for smearing rivals he returned his Orwell Prize, amid much well-deserved criticism from the prize committee. The committee did not wish for its good name to be associated with such underhand tactics passed off as good journalism. I must ask you if you wish your award to be associated with the smears and chicanery deployed by those behind the Rangers Tax Case blog. If, as I suspect, you do not, I am confident you will take action accordingly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crespie6 334 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 that is a very well written piece - I realize the irony of this but - did you write that??? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieD 19,030 Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 that is a very well written piece - I realize the irony of this but - did you write that???Naw, I stole it off Johann Hari Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Effanwhy 2 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Congratulations JamieD ! Wish I could write as well as that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drenth 21 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 keep us updated bud Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blumhoilann 6,712 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Great write JamieD....maybe we should set up our own Rangers Taxcase blog to get the truth out there and drive the truth down the throats of the haters.Surely some sort of action should be taken against the SFA for the treatment meted out to our Club. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehost 11,061 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 that is a very well written piece - I realize the irony of this but - did you write that???Fucking zzzzzzzzzzzzzs's Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crespie6 334 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 JamieD - I think I got you mixed up with Jamie54. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieD 19,030 Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 Fucking zzzzzzzzzzzzzs'sSorry, I should have thrown in a "fuck Ally and Walter" there for you. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smartypants 4,449 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Brilliant Jamie, absolutely fabulism! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CottonRunt 978 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 I wrote a similar letter shortly after the prize was awarded.Never even got a reply! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogzy 31,195 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 JamieD - I think I got you mixed up with Jamie54.hahaha your post makes so much more sense now Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WCPRANGERS1 2,997 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 This blog, the BBC documentaries channel 4s famous blogger girfuy!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coop troop 106 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Well played Jamie. Well written.Keen to listen to the deafening silence which ensues Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Safeeuropeanhome 22 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Very well written, well done to the OP. This is something that has galled me for a while, the prize should be tainted as worthless if they don't rescind their decision, especially after the Hari fiasco Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
govanblue 16,847 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 JamieD - I think I got you mixed up with Jamie54.aaaah! I was thinking: "this from the man who brought us half-time speedway???Thanks for clarifying that Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
govanblue 16,847 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 I've also just remembered that the Orwell Prize is NOT the Darwin prize, and it makes even more sense now Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueThunder 8,454 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Great letter. Clear and precise. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamgers 1,214 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Stunning piece JamieD, take a bow sir! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tannerall 25,935 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Nice one JamieD. Orwell one of my favourite authors and it was sad to see his memory trivialised by such a blatant attempt to play to the lowest common denominator of the so called "hard done by". The irony is that the pro Catholic establishment in Scotland and especially the Glasgow City Council and pro Catholic media are the modern Big Brother, suppressing wrong doing by the establishments (council corruption, child abuse), trying to rewrite history using the Oirish excuse, suppressing our Protestant heritage, and stealing from the ordinary working citizen (whole streets for a £1). Big Brother ? Not half as evil and controlling than the catholic mafia. Orwell would never have defended the indefensible. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Every Other Saturday 128 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Excellent piece - keep us updated on any reply. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inigo 32,567 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Excellent letter. Amusing identity confusion as well. Thread ticks all the boxes. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneDavidCooper 2,505 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Brilliant letter.Well done. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mainstandbear 33 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Fantastic piece JamieLets wait and see their reply.......if you get one Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poetry_In_Blue 1,043 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Excellent piece of writing, I doubt but hope you get a response. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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