Aaronovitch Blusters to a Well of Silence 1213


Why Rupert Murdoch considers it worth his while to pay David Aaronovitch a large six figure sum for such puerile antics as tweeting that I am insane, is a conjecture I find difficult to resolve. Today this exchange occurred on twitter:

David Aaronovitch: This suggestion that if elected Corbyn could be quickly ousted is utter bollocks. Democracy allows Labour to commit Hara Kiri.

Mark Doran: @DAaronovitch I hope everyone is watching how these servants of the micro-elite try to paint “attracting popular support” as “committing suicide.”

Mark Doran: @DAaronovitch Craig finds the elite-serving contortions every bit as funny as I do

David Aaronovitch: @MarkJDoran I tend to find Craig Murray unpersuasive on the grounds of him being unhinged. I can see why you like him, though.

Mark Doran: Says the man who managed to find Bush and Blair credible. I can see why you liked them, though.

It is remarkably ironic that on being referred to an article which argues that views outside a very narrow neoliberal establishment narrative are marginalised and ridiculed by the media, the Murdoch hack’s response is that the author is unhinged. Aaronovitch could not have more neatly proved my point.

But something else struck me about the twitter record. Aaronovitch’ twitter account claims to have 78,000 followers. Yet of the 78,000 people who allegedly received his tweet about my insanity, only 1 retweeted and 2 favourited. That is an astonishingly low proportion – 1 in 26,000 reacted. To give context, Mark Doran has only 582 followers and yet had more retweets and favourites for his riposte. 1 in 146 to be precise, a 200 times greater response rate.

Please keep reading, I promise you this gets a great deal less boring.

Eighteen months ago I wrote an article about Aaronovitch’s confession that he solicits fake reviews of his books to boost their score on Amazon. In response a reader emailed me with an analysis of Aaronovitch’s twitter followers. He argued with the aid of graphs that the way they accrued indicated that they were not arising naturally, but being purchased in blocks. He claimed this was common practice in the Murdoch organisation to promote their hacks through false apparent popularity.

I studied his graphs at some length, and engaged in email correspondence on them. I concluded that the evidence was not absolutely conclusive, and in fairness to Aaronovitch I declined to publish, to the annoyance of my correspondent.

Naturally this came to mind again today when I noted that Aaronovitch’ tweets to his alleged legion of followers in fact tumble into a well of silence. I do not even tweet. The entire limit of my tweeting is that this blog automatically tweets the titles of articles I write. They are not aphorisms so not geared to retweet. Yet even the simple tweet “Going Mainstream” which marked the article Aaronovitch derided, obtained 20 times the reactions of Aaronovitch’s snappy denunciation of my mental health. This despite the fact he has apparently 10 times more followers than me. An initial survey seems to show this is not atypical.

In logic, I can only see two possible explanations. The first is that my correspondent was right and Aaronovitch fakes twitter followers like he does book reviews. The second is that he has a vast army of followers, nearly all of whom find him dull and uninspiring, and who heartily disapproved en masse of his slur on my sanity. I opt for the second explanation, that he is just extremely dull, on the grounds that Mr Aaronovitch’s honesty and probity were never questioned, m’Lud.


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1,213 thoughts on “Aaronovitch Blusters to a Well of Silence

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  • Ba'al Zevul

    It seems odd to me that Lugovoi and Kovtun were spreading it around so liberally. I’d have expected a cold war assassin to keep the poison in a special phial, which he’d only produce for the actual hit and then dispose of. These guys seemed to be bathing in it. Maybe they were framed after all. A chambermaid at the hotel could have been spraying their clothes and belongings and the tea could have been spiked in the kitchen!

    Please read my posts which address this problem. Po sprays itself, effectively. And it’s entirely likely the boys didn’t have to fill in a risk assessment before picking the stuff up. They’d have been ok with ricin, but that’s been done before, hasn’t it?

    All things considered, though, if Cameron, Boris and Archbishop Welby had taken tea with Litvinenko the day before he went down with a terminal bad gut, after which polonium was discovered in places they had recently visited, I think you’d be telling us that there might be a connection. They went to the same school.

    As did (different school, obvs) Lugovoi, Sokolenko (who has remained remarkably out of the limelight, but was with Luguvoi throughout and shared his cover story) and Kovtun. Since you ask, the Soviet Higher Military Command Academy in Moscow.

  • Republicofscotland

    “It’s concerning that this idiot has such a following. Better not to give him the oxygen of publicity he craves. The story concerning a suspicious package found at the Fed X cargo facility near Stanstead airport yesterday evening that was thought to have been a pipe bomb, turned out to have been a false alarm.

    Also yesterday, the Bin Laden plane wasn’t blown up as many nut job conspiracy theorists claimed, it simply crashed – as did the other two planes at air shows.

    These incidents were not connected, rather they were merely coincidences. There was no conspiracy.

    But it’ll be hard to persuade morons like Spivey and his followers – some of whom follow this blog – of this fact. Instead, supporters of the conspiracy thesis will say things like, “ah, but that’s what the government WANT you to think.

    Spivey is probably concocting some kind of conspiratorial link between these incidences as we speak. Sadly, huge numbers of people fall for this kind of nonsense.”
    _______________________________

    Daniel, you’ll be an ideal resident of Oceania, if and when it materialises you’re the kind governments love, that’s why Habb lauds you.

  • MJ

    “Doesn’t it? I guess he must have been, what with having taken 20mcg of the stuff voluntarily, and all. Probably a Jooish plot”

    Sorry I don’t understand your comment. The article only refers to Lugovoi and Kovtun leaving traces. Are you saying Litvinenko was taking the stuff voluntarily? The article doesn’t suggest that. And where does the “Jooish plot” come in?

  • MJ

    “And it’s entirely likely the boys didn’t have to fill in a risk assessment before picking the stuff up”

    If this was a professional hit ordered by Putin it’s entirely likely that it was executed in a professional manner, not a Keystone Cops manner. Which is to say that if Lugovoi and Kovtun were spreading the stuff around liberally wherever they went it was most likely intentional.

  • Bottom line

    Kempe

    Dont underestimate the Russians, there is no way they could have allowed the Novorossiya to hand over the black boxes if they were culpable. They might even have made copies of the tape and are waiting for the devils to put their foot in it. But Cameron is cleverly suggesting a new inquiry aka a punt into the 50 year long grass, unlike Abbot and Harper, both he and Obama are very circumspect. For good reason, Putin might publicly humiliate them with an ace up his sleeve, really there is no way he would have allowed the cockpit voice recorder to be “found” unless …..

  • ------------·´`·.¸¸.¸¸.··.¸¸Node

    F.A.O. Neil, re your suggestion that I try the co-op as a broadband provider.

    I registered an interest with them and they got back to me today :

    “Our database confirms that your exchange is not within our standard service area. This means that we will need to use a different provider to create your service. You can still get unlimited broadband, line rental and weekend calls, but it will cost £6 a month more. “

    From experience, the “different provider” will be BT. The extra £6/month will bring the cost to within 5p of what I am paying BT at the moment. As I said, market competition in my area is theoretical rather than actual.

  • doug scorgie

    Mary
    3 Aug, 2015 – 8:58 am
    “Why does Greg Clark, MP Tunbridge Wells, the son and grandson of English milkmen become a member of Conservative Friends of Israel?”
    ……………………………………………………………….

    He may be a Friend of Israel but he is no friend of Scotland!

    • On 14 Mar 2011:Greg Clark voted against devolving power to the Scottish Parliament to tax quarrying and mining.
    • On 14 Mar 2011:On 15 Mar 2011:Greg Clark voted not to devolve the powers relating to Scottish elements of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to the Scottish Government.
    • On 15 Mar 2011:Greg Clark voted against devolving responsibility for railway services which start and finish in Scotland to the Scottish Parliament.
    • On 15 Mar 2011:Greg Clark voted against making the Crown Estate accountable to the Scottish Government and to devolve powers related to the Crown Estate to Scotland.
    • On 15 Mar 2011:Greg Clark voted against devolving powers related to timescales, time zones and British Summer Time, to Scotland.
    • On 15 Mar 2011:Greg Clark voted against devolving powers relating food content and labeling to Scotland.
    • On 21 Jun 2011:Greg Clark voted against allowing the Scottish Parliament to tax the profits of companies.
    • On 26 Jan 2015:Greg Clark voted not to devolve the regulation of shale gas extraction in Scotland to the Scottish Parliament.
    • On 15 Jun 2015:Greg Clark voted against requiring the consent of the Scottish Parliament and of the Scottish people in a referendum before the Scottish Parliament can be abolished; and against strengthening the constitutional status of the Scottish Parliament.
    • On 15 Jun 2015:Greg Clark voted against allowing the Scottish Parliament to take full control over taxation, borrowing and public spending in Scotland.
    • On 15 Jun 2015:Greg Clark voted against giving the Scottish Parliament powers over all areas except the constitution, foreign affairs, public service, defence, treason and pension changes which would affect the UK’s liabilities.
    • On 15 Jun 2015:Greg Clark voted against giving the Scottish Parliament a veto on the repeal of the Human Rights Act as it applies to Scotland.
    • On 15 Jun 2015:Greg Clark voted against requiring the UK Parliament to have the consent of the Scottish Parliament before legislating on devolved matters.
    • On 30 Jun 2015:Greg Clark voted against allowing the devolved Scottish administration to pay disability benefits in respect of lower level conditions.
    • On 30 Jun 2015:Greg Clark voted against allowing the devolved administration in Scotland to pay a carers benefit to those under 16 or in gainful employment, or in full time education.
    • On 30 Jun 2015:Greg Clark voted to require the agreement of the Secretary of State before Scottish Ministers can change regulations relating to benefit payments in respect of rent.
    • On 30 Jun 2015:Greg Clark voted against giving powers related to Housing Benefit in Scotland to the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Ministers.
    • On 30 Jun 2015:Greg Clark voted against giving the Scottish Parliament the ability to create new state benefits in Scotland.
    • On 30 Jun 2015:Greg Clark voted against giving the Scottish Parliament power over national insurance.
    • On 6 Jul 2015:Greg Clark voted against allowing the devolved administration in Scotland to introduce a requirement for gender balance among the members of the Scottish Parliament and members of boards of Scottish public authorities

  • ------------·´`·.¸¸.¸¸.··.¸¸Node

    Fred

    Scotland’s future oil revenues were a key battleground of the referendum. You called Salmond a liar for wrongly predicting the price of a barrel of oil. What is you’re opinion of those who wrongly predicted that North Sea oil production would fall?

  • MJ

    “What is you’re opinion of those who wrongly predicted that North Sea oil production would fall?”

    Forgive me for interjecting but I would say the jury is still out. The opening sentence of the article reads:

    “Oil and gas production from the North Sea is expected to increase for the first time in 15 years despite a global slump in the price of crude and hundreds of job losses in the industry”

    Note that ‘expected’. According to Deirdre Michie (chief executive, Oil & Gas UK) the production increase can be attributed to “the effort and investment industry has put into improving the integrity and performance of UKCS assets”. So there you have it.

  • Habbabkuk (la vita e' bella)

    John S Warren

    What are you complaining about “methodology” for?

    You can be sure that if there were many desperate women and small children attempting to storm the Eurotunnel perimeter the Continental press would be reporting it – with harrowing photos.

    The point of my post was that the economic refugees at Calais – at Calais (I don’t speak about the boat people landing on Greek islands or on Lampedusa) – are overwhelmingly fit young males from black Africa, Erithrea and Ethiopia. From countries, moreover, whose internal conditions are not caused by wars started by the West or the USA (cf Goss, just above).

    Those are the facts at Calais.

  • fred

    @Node

    Brent crude dropped below $50 a barrel today, less than half what it was this time last year. The possibility of a 2.5% increase in production even if it happens does little to help and nothing to increase revenues as the Chancellor cut taxes by more than that in March to try and encourage investment.

  • John S Warren

    Your opinion is not “the facts”. You may be right (I do not claim to know), but you have not presented the evidence. References to “many women” does not mean “no women”. Lack of press coverage does not prove the negative. It may be that the lazy assertion of authority, the arbitrary assumption that your opinion passes muster as final arbiter of the facts on this site is the norm, but it cuts no ice with me. You would require to ‘raise your game’ to merit the consideration to which you appear to assume you are entitled; and raise it by some margin.

  • ------------·´`·.¸¸.¸¸.··.¸¸Node

    @ Fred

    I asked your opinion of those who predicted a fall in oil production. Are they liars?

  • Mary

    ‘Female migrants’. Plural.

    ‘Hannah is 24, five months’ pregnant and can’t remember the last time she had a shower, let alone a medical check-up. The Syrian says she trekked through eight countries, her belly growing all the time, before ending up at Calais.

    Here she walks another two miles every evening to try to sneak on to trains and lorries to reach Britain. When morning dawns and she is still in France, she slowly retraces her steps to the makeshift camp.

    “Its dangerous, but I can’t do anything else,” says Hannah, who does not want to give her last name. Her husband has been granted asylum in England but has been told he cannot legally bring her to join him. Her family are from the bombed-out city of Aleppo, so she cannot go home.’

    Women in Calais camps: ‘I have to focus on how I can stay alive’
    With the one women’s centre full, female migrants must take their chances in the main camp often with children in tow and where there is no security
    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/31/women-in-calais-camps-i-have-to-focus-on-how-i-can-stay-alive
    31 July 2015

    A photo which could be taken for a modern equivalent of Madonna and Child.

    ‘A woman and her five-year-old child (under blanket) are approached by a French police officer during a nightly patrol of the Eurotunnel perimeter fence in Calais.’ Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/31/women-in-calais-camps-i-have-to-focus-on-how-i-can-stay-alive#img-1

  • ------------·´`·.¸¸.¸¸.··.¸¸Node

    MJ

    I based my comment on a BBC Scotland report earlier tonight which predicted rising production for at least the next 5 years. In fact very much along the lines of these predictions made in 2013 but conveniently forgotten for the duration of the referendum campaign:

  • MJ

    It makes no economic sense to raise production when there is already a glut and the price is low. That just increases the glut and pushes the price even lower.

    Also I don’t see how “the integrity and performance of UKCS assets” can be improved after the recent loss of hundreds of jobs.

  • Resident Dissident

    What Mr Goss doesn’t realise is that it is a fairly standard technique of the KGB/Shushanka street when they want to cover up something they find embarrassing to invent a whole series of diversionary stories – Mr Goss rather unwisely feels that he has to run with more than one of them such is his craven loyalty to Mr Putin.

    I’m still awaiting some credible evidence with regard to his and MJ’s claims about polonium being found on BA flights between London and Israel.

    BTW I promise it wasn’t me with the Budweiser – I never go near the foul stuff, and I have quite a soft spot for cycling and cyclists. I’d encourage Mr Goss to cycle around Box Hill which we are told is frequently traffic free – and he might even get the chance to shout at Boris.

  • John Spencer-Davis

    YouKnowMyName
    03/08/2015 1:20pm

    For some years a barrister and former judge named Michael Shrimpton has been publicly alleging that Edward Heath was not only a paedophile but that he took children aboard his yacht, sexually assaulted them and then killed them. I’ve never believed one word of it. But it is a curious coincidence that this allegation, presumably with at least some credibility, has now surfaced.

    http://www.theduckshoot.com/ex-prime-minister-edward-heath-paedo-buggerer-torturer-killer/

    Shrimpton gives the impression of being something of a nut with a bee in his bonnet about Germans.

    http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/michael-shrimpton-barrister-who-claimed-5116584

    He has apparently also been convicted of possession of indecent images of children himself, which were found on a memory stick in his home.

    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/539967/Michael-Shrimpton-Bomb-Threats-Kill-Queen-London-2012-Olympics-Nuclear-Attack

    Given recent revelations about police investigations of paedophilia, child murder etc at the highest echelons of our society, it’s dismal, but unfortunately true, that I am no longer prepared to say anything should be dismissed out of hand.

    Kind regards,

    John

  • fred

    “I asked your opinion of those who predicted a fall in oil production. Are they liars?”

    We don’t even know if there will be an increase in oil production and if there is if it will be sustained.

    I have discussions with people who argue global warming can’t be real because one years temperatures were slightly more than they were the year before. You just can’t do that, you have to take several years data and plot the standard deviation from the average.

    Even if oil production is 2.5% more this year than last it does not mean production is increasing, if the plot of standard deviation of past and future years production is on a downward slope then oil production is decreasing.

  • Habbabkuk (la vita e' bella)

    John S Warren

    OK, John, have it your way. All those photos of young, fit black African men attempting to storm the Eurotunnel perimeter are obviously montages (personally put together by the Home Secretary and passed to a credulous European press). And the lack of photos of women and young children is due to intimidatory tactics against the press by the same Home Secretary, designed to stir up fear and loathing.

    But leave aside the photos and let’s get to the point. Are you, like Daniel, in favour of letting anyone who is determined to get to the UK do so? Or do you believe that the UK authorities and Eurotunnel security should uphold the law on entry to the UK?

  • John Goss

    “Mr Goss rather unwisely feels that he has to run with more than one of them such is his craven loyalty to Mr Putin.”

    My loyalty to Putin is out of respect for a head of state who seeks peace rather than war, who advocates animal rights for endangered species and has a national and international following of supporters because of his policies. Many local farmers are blessing the US-imposed EU sanctions which is creating growth and expansion on their farms. The restaurants say they can manage without parmesan and mozzarilla relying on local produce instead. I hope this will have a Keynesian effect.

    Now what about your craven loyalty to everything anti-Russian?

  • ------------·´`·.¸¸.¸¸.··.¸¸Node

    Fred : “…. You just can’t do that, you have to take several years data and plot the standard deviation from the average. Even if oil production is 2.5% more this year than last it does not mean production is increasing, if the plot of standard deviation of past and future years production is on a downward slope then oil production is decreasing.”

    So the price of oil hasn’t fallen yet, therefore Salmond isn’t a liar, correct?

  • lysias

    Interview with Mhairi Black in this weekend’s Financial Times. It’s very complimentary to her.

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