INVESTIGATION: Anti-Progress Video, "Comedy", "Sarcasm"

This really is completely disgusting. Manchester anti-congestion charge hams have created a little drama. This implies that the congestion charge will see see your daughter mugged and raped and that, I kid you not, "dad" will "get stabbed" or "contract herpes" by going on a bus.

What it does point actually is how desperate, how stupid, how stop-at-nothing these anti-progress elements are.

Just a pause for a few factual questions:

Where would "dad" have to be to be six minutes away from saving his daughter from a suspected rape AND about to cross a charging boundary?

There is no such place. And "dad" appears to start from his kitchen at home. Or is it at his computer at work, presumably with Peel Holdings is it? The continuity is all shot to bits.

[BREAKING NEWS 11:37]: What's this though? Some information from the Hollywood-bound auteur hisself. A comment from Sonassi (22) one of the directors, claims the dad is in Urmston (as if we should have known this) and so would have to cross the cordon.

What an extraordinary muppet this kid is! From Urmston (outside) to the Trafford Centre (inside) at tea time is a non-chargeable journey.[/Breaking News]

Who knows where that home or office would actually have to be for this disgusting nonsense to work? Any suggestions?

[Urmston, but it certainly doesn't work]

Six minutes away? But having to immediately cross a charging cordon at 6:25 at night?

When he walks from his kitchen and out of his suburban door "sick dad" appears to be sitting in his car not in the street or at a congestion boundary but in what could well be the Trafford Centre covered car park as well, truth be told.

Saves moving the film crew for this sick effort too far.

And what is this saying about the safety of the Trafford Centre outdoor parking offering? Inadequate lighting, no staffing, desolate, full of potential rapists at 18:25? Is that the message? Do the adequate lights, decent staffing, lack of desolation and so on start at 18:31. Is that it?

Peel Holdings' who operate the toll charging Manchester Ship Canal, paid for originally by public subscription; the toll-charging Barton, Liverpool and other airports, ditto; and even the Barton Swing Bridge which actually charges funeral corteges to cross; well they have some brilliant friends don't they?

This is truly brilliant marketing from Peel Holdings' friends in the muppet anti-progress brigade.

HEAVY AMENDS 23:25:

Peel have (insert)allegedly(/insert) cut off links with the Tameside Chapter of MART because (insert)allegedly(/insert) this had too much cross-over with Tameside BNP (insert)allegedly(/insert). (insert)Sean Corker of MART Central has issued a direct comment stating that there has been no contact with the BNP. So the anonymous commenter who alleged this scenario - MART being pushed to arms length by GMMG because of BNP links - must be considered denied. Some other explanation for any distancing will have to be brought to bear(/insert).

<< end of heavy amends

Will Peel now disown this disgusting video and explain how it came to be made in their car parks?

UPDATE 23:25: GMMG and Trafford Centre have commented in the same breath. GMMG don't like the video and have kicked Sonassi out of membership. Trafford Centre admit allowing the video to be made but apparently without any idea what it would be about and without sight of any treatment, script or even concept.

<<

POSTSCRIPT 11:39: The tags on the video call this "comedy" and the auteur in comments calls it "sarcasm". I tell you what I'm against. Bad videos. Bad parents. Scaremongering. AND this underestimification of the brains of the youth and families of Urmston.

Here's the full credit sequence:

From: sonassi
Added: November 19, 2008
Vote no to the Manchester Congestion Charge.
http://www.freemanchester.co.uk.
Music By She's Got Issues - http://www.myspace.com/shesgotissuesuk
Directed by Jack Roberts, Produced By Jack Roberts & Dave Carlson.
Category: Nonprofits & Activism

The web domain appears to be a Special Purpose Vehicle. The HTML is pretty poor. Even though the thing is hosted by a web design company. There are some hilarious posters. And the I Don't Drive, The Facts, and pointedly to the What Can I Do? pages replicate the Greater Manchester Momentum Group (GMMG) and Stop the Charge. The former's introduction is:

The Greater Manchester Momentum Group is an alliance of international, national and local businesses and organisations that share a strong commitment to the development of Greater Manchester.
Our members support AGMA's (Association of Greater Manchester Authorities) goal of promoting the growth and prosperity of our city region. We also share its belief that the continued development of the strategic transport infrastructure is vital, if the region is to achieve its future potential.

UPDATE 12:01: Here is the internet domain registration:

Domain name: freemanchester.co.uk

Registrant: Free Manchester

Registrant type: Other UK Entity (e.g. clubs, associations, many universities)

Registrant's address:
Flixton
Urmston
Manchester
Lancs
M41 5RF
GB

Registrar: GX Networks Ltd t/a 123-Reg.co.uk [Tag = 123-REG] URL: http://www.123-reg.co.uk

Relevant dates:
Registered on: 29-Oct-2008
Renewal date: 29-Oct-2010
Last updated: 29-Oct-2008

Registration status: Registration request being processed.

STOP PRESS 12:39: This disgusting piece of crap was posted shortly before Sean Corker of MART aka "Sean of the Dead" and also formerly known as "Steve Sean Cook" criticised NHS Health Professionals who stated that the congestion charge could save 135 lives a year by reducing road accidents. he claimed: "The Yes campaign have sunk to a new low." Care to comment on this video Mr Sean of 135 Dead per Year and Counting?

Dr Sally Bradley, Manchester's Director of Public Health, gave the estimate - which is simply "road kill" so excluding bronchial disease and so on - as NO campaigners made desperate claims on the issue of free journeys for NHS patients.

It was great to see MP Graham Stringer's Promotional Visit to a BMW Dealership covered in the same article. How the mighty have fallen.