Jabba the Uzbek gets his greasy mitts on a piece of Facebook

I missed this story last month but better late than never. Genial Uzbek billionaire and friend to all little fluffy creatures everywhere has been increasing his portfolio by taking an indirect investment in Facebook according to Alibaba.com Digital Sky Technologies (DST), a Russian paid $200 million for a 1.96% stake. This apparently values the social networking site at around $10 billion (well above the $3 billion reported a few months before by private-equity investors)

Digital Sky is backed by Alisher Usmanov who has never ever had sex with a miner and whp reportedly has a 32% stake in the Digital Sky. A spokesman would not confirm Usmanov's participation, but a source familiar with the company said Usmanov had a "substantial" stake. Earlier this week, the Russian daily Kommersant reported that he had upped his holding in Digital Sky to 32%, from 30%....Usmanov also owns Kommersant.

Uncle Alisher, as he is known by former former Uzbek ambassador, Craig Murray, is a staunch defender of free speech on the internet, retaining a high powered law firm Schillings to work pro bono where websites have been taken down at the behest of other complainants. To underline his commitment to bloggers world wide, he owns half of LiveJournal-owner SUP.

So there you have it. Alisher Usmanov, truly a living saint!. Meanwhile a number of Facebook malcontents have created such groups as: Alisher Usmanov is a fat cun* and Alisher Usmanov go fu*k yourself

Russian oligarchs on their uppers

I’ve got limited access to my computer at the moment so I can’t visit until tomorrow at the earliest. However, I couldn’t let an item in Monday’s Times pass without a little schadenfreude . Apparently the global credit crunch has hit Russia's oligarchs hard, tuning them from multibillionaires to simple billionaires.

For example, Roman Abramovich is placed second in the oligarch list with $13.9 billion, This is more than $9 billion less than he was worth in 2007. The magazine reckoned that his net worth had slipped back to little more than the level he enjoyed in 2004 (poor diddums).

But Abramovich’s slide is nothing compared to Oleg Deripaska, who was rated Russia's richest man in 2006 and 2007. His fortune, at $4.9 billion, is not about an eighth of what it was last year. Deripaska is often described as the Kremlin's favourite oligarch and is regarded as particularly close to Vladimir Putin. Liquidity problems and plunging share prices forced him to surrender stakes in a Canadian car-parts company and a German construction business to banks that had provided loans to fund the purchases. He came close to losing a 25 per cent stake in Norilsk Nickel, the world's largest nickel miner, until the state-owned Vnesheconombank, which is chaired by Mr Putin, bailed him out by providing $4.5 billion to repay a loan made by a group of Western banks.

In 10th place in Russia’s super rich list is dear old Jabba the Uzbek (aka Alisher Usmanov - above) whose estimated wealth of $4.5bn is a mere third of what it was last year. At this rate he’ll be heading off down to the dole office come the summer... If the worst comes to the worst I’ll happily buy a Big Issue off him!

Russia’s Top 10 richest

$14.1bn Mikhail Prokhorov, down from $21.5bn (ouch)

$13.9bn Roman Abramovich, down from $23bn (Eek)

$7.7bn Vladimir Lisin, down from $22.2bn (Ooyah)

$7.6bn Vagit Alekperov, down from £13.5bn (Yaargh)

$7.5bn Suleiman Kerimov, down from $18bn (Kapow)

$6.1bn Mikhail Fridman, down from $22.2bn (Zounds)

$5bn Vladimir Potanin, down from $21.5bn (Thud)

$4.9bn Oleg Deripaska, down from $40bn (The sound of Chopin’s Funeral March)

$4.6bn Dmitri Ribolovyev, down from $11.7bn (The whistling sound of a bomb dropping)

$4.5bn Alisher Usmanov, down from $13.3bn (HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!)

Usmanov presidential bid successful

International peacemaker, superhero, living saint and all round good egg Alisher Usmanov (and not a corrupt murderer and rapist, no sirree, bob) has been elected the president of fencing's governing body.

International peacemaker, superhero, living saint and all round good egg Alisher Usmanov (and not a corrupt murderer and rapist, no sirree, bob) unseated incumbent Rene Roch to become president of the International Fencing Federation (FIE) at its annual congress in Paris.

International peacemaker, superhero, living saint and all round good egg Alisher Usmanov’s (and not a corrupt murderer and rapist, no sirree, bob) election was announced by St Francis of Assisi accompanied by the host a of Seraphim who also sang a medley of Sugababes hits.

A Triple googlewhack post

Usmanov Coprophage - that's a googlewhack!
Usmanov Coprophagy - that's a googlewhack!
Schillings Coprophage - that's a googlewhack too!

Note to bottom feeding lawyers: these combinations are not to be taken as an allegation of coprophagy. If you think they do then you really can eat what coprophages eat!

Schillings still trying to gag bloggers

You would have thought that Jabba the Uzbek and his pack of shysters (trans. Alisher Usmanov and Schillings) would have realised that issuing take down notices to internet service providers to silence allegations about his criminal past were counter-productive. The ham fisted attempt to gag Craig Murray and Tim Ireland united Arsenal fans and people of all political persuasions. Rather than suppress the allegations they were spread across the blogosphere. They were discussed on the national news and were even repeated in the European Parliament,

This is probably old news but Schillings were still trying to gag allegations in February. On 22 February South African blogger Pickled Bushman received a letter from Schillings in his inbox – Usmanov’s bottom feeders had sent a take-down notice to his ISP demanding that a post restating Craig Murray’s allegations be taken down. Pickled Bushman has removed the post from his site but has reposted it and the letter from Schillings on a site hosted in South Africa. Schillings and Usmanov can huff and puff but they can’t blow the posts down.

Good for Pickled Bushman. It is absolutely ridiculous that Shills, sorry Schillings, are still trying the same tired tactics to defend the reputation (hahahahaha) of a very ugly character (and I’m not referring to the fact that he is pulchritudally challenged).

Jabba the Uzbek increases his stake in Arsenal

Red and White Holdings, the investment firm co-owned by Alisher Usmanov (tireless advocate for the oppressed, friend of small animals everywhere, winner of Mister Universe seven years in succession) has increased its stake in Arsenal football club to 24%.

Not a major news item but I daresay he remains about as popular as a Big Mac at a Vegan convention across a large chunk of the blogosphere....

Alisher Usmanov eyes bigger prize?

The Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty website is not one I regularly visit but I was intrigued by a recent item about Alisher Usmanov . If it is true then Usmanov may have his sights on a prize far bigger than just a north London football club. Apparently he is seen as a possible heir to Islom Karimov, the current president of Uzbekistan


Much of the article covers ground which will now be very familiar to anyone following Usmanov’s ham fisted attempt to silence Craig Murray and Tim Ireland, the outrage it caused within the blogosphere and his subsequent charm offensive (feeding lazy journalists first rate food and wine and fourth rate spin) However it notes that Craig Murray and others are convinced that Usmanov harbours “significant ambitions” regarding his Central Asian homeland.

According to Murray, Karimov and his family would ultimately like Usmanov to succeed the president: "I've been aware for at least the last three years that Alisher Usmanov was looked on favourably by the Karimov family as a possible, eventual successor when President Karimov decides to give up in -- what Karimov hopes -- won't be for several years. But the Karimov family has been very keen to find a successor who they trust will not take all the money and all the industries and properties away from the Karimov family." Said Murray

Murray is not alone: Yevgeny Volk, the head of the Nasledie think tank in Moscow agrees that Usmanov would be a likely contender to take over when the 71-year-old strongman passes on. "I think Usmanov needs power because -- first of all -- he still is a stranger in Russia to some extent. With his origin and roots, he belongs to the Uzbek nation. I think his political ambitions could be realized in Uzbekistan."

But it’s not just his native roots that would make Usmanov the right man for the job. Usmanov, a senior adviser to Gazprom and president of one its subsidiaries, is arguably part and parcel of the Kremlin’s inner circle. Russia and its energy firms still play a significant role in Tashkent’s affairs; Usmanov could be uniquely poised to eventually take over in the Uzbek capital with pivotal backing from Moscow. "Usmanov's latest steps show his efforts to create a rapport with Russian leaders and demonstrate his loyalty,” according to Volk

Usmanov has never said publicly that he would consider entering politics. Nor has he made any political comments about Uzbekistan. There could also be official and legal barriers for Usmanov to run for the Uzbek presidency. His Russian citizenship and years abroad could work against his candidacy. But with Russia using energy clout to reassert hegemony over the lands of Moscow’s former empire, few profiles might better fit the bill to lead Uzbekistan than that of Alisher Usmanov.

This may just all be speculation but perhaps Usmanov really does have his eye on the big prize. I wonder if he will get match fit by having a few bloggers boiled alive*?

* The apparent fate, according to Human Rights Watch, of Muzafar Avazov in an Uzbek prison in 2002

More on the Arse(nal) Bandit

Indymedia UK reports that it has been issued with a take down notice from shysters Schilling’s in respect of repeating Craig Murray’s allegations about Usmanov - the notice served to Indymedia charged Indymedia with publishing allegedly libellous accusations. This is exactly the same tactic employed by Schillings against Fasthosts, the former internet service provider to Craig Murray and Tim Ireland. Craig Murray's allegations are set out here

So it seems that Usmanov is reverting to type following last week’s smarm offensive. Usmanov had a group of journalists of the highest integrity (I wrote that with a straight face!) flown to Moscow in a private jet and put up at the 5 star Kempinski Hotel. This is an extract of the report of the ensuing pressconference by David Bond of the Daily Telegraph:

...The former British ambassador to the former Soviet state, Craig Murray, faced legal action after launching an extraordinary attack on him using his internet blog.

Then Thomas Wise, a little known British member for the European Parliament, accused him of being a "gangster and racketeer". Picking up on his remarks the Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood, when asked about Usmanov's involvement, referred to the mining entrepreneur's "murky" business past.

So, in an effort to dispel the mystery and set the record straight, Usmanov invited British journalists to Moscow, to explain his side of the story.

Speaking from his office, on the top floor of Metalloinvest, his mining company, which has a staggering turnover of $4bn a year, he said: "You cannot respond in kind to everything everyone directs at you. My conviction was false and it was proved to be a provocation by the Uzbeki KGB.

"I don't live in Uzbekistan. I am not even a citizen of Uzbekistan. I only visit the graves of my parents once a year. People talking about me as an Uzbeki businessman with shady dealings in narcotics? It's beyond my dignity to respond to all these allegations. One of the papers quoted Craig Murray, the ex UK ambassador, I don't even want to qualify what Mr Murray says about me....

“People talking about me as an Uzbeki businessman with shady dealings in narcotics?” I think we owe Usmanov an unreserved apology for saying this. From now on I will make absolutely sure I call him a RUSSIAN businessman with shady dealings in narcotics!

Anyway it seems that its back to business as usual for Usmanov. I wonder how many more people will start repeating Murray’s allegations after his next round of bully boy tactics?

Alisher Usmanov accused of fraud

Wow here's some news about Jabba the Uzbek which has nothing to to with the Craig Murray allegations! Alisher Usmanov has been accused in court papers of “fraud” and “unjust enrichment” in a dispute over one of the world’s most lucrative diamond mines.

Usmanov has been named in documents filed by lawyers acting for a firm controlled by the Oppenheimer family, the billionaire dynasty behind the De Beers diamond corporation. The action is being in Denver. At stake is the ownership of the Grib Pipe, a fabulously rich diamond mine in the Arkhangelsk region of northern Russia. The mining firm, Archangel Diamond Corporation (ADC) in which De Beers owns a controlling stake, claims it is entitled to an interest in the Grib Pipe, which was discovered in 1996. The Grib Pipe is now said to be one of the largest diamond mines in the world, with a prospective value of £4.5 billion.

ADC has alleged that Usmanov and other Russian interests “engaged in fraud in order to deceive” it over an agreement it says it had to take a 40% interest in the mine. (Usmanov was AGD, a Russian firm which is said to have benefited from the alleged fraud. Usmanov is said to have personally represented AGD in talks with ADC.

Foreign firms had been encouraged to develop exploration and mining concessions with a view to improving the local economy. Few in Russia expected that anyone would strike diamonds in the remote area. andmany companies withdrew after finding little of value. But in 1996 ADC unexpectedly struck a rich vein. It was shortly after this, the court papers allege, that Usmanov and others who were involved with a big Russian oil firm became party to a scheme to drive ADC out of Russia and take over the diamond project for themselves. The Russian firm in the joint venture was privatised and after this, ADC was denied access to develop the mine. The De Beers firm claims it has lost the $30m investment “as well as over $400m in profits” which it expected to win as a result of its 40% stake in a joint venture

Rollo Head, a spokesman at the public relations firm Finsbury, which represents Usmanov (wow and I thought Schillings was his PR firm given the way they have increased his public profile recently), said the case was not against his client and he was not a defendant. “Mr Usmanov refutes and rejects any allegations of fraud or other wrongdoing in relation to the case..

Alisher Usmanov, potential Arsenal chairman, is a Vicious Thug, Criminal, Racketeer, Heroin Trafficker and Accused Rapist

It seems that Jabba the Uzbek's shysters are at it again. Indymedia UK has been issued with a takedown notice from Shitheads, err Shills, err Schillings regarding posts repeating Craig Murray's allegations over Usmanov's past. If either of my readers has not yet seen Murray's actual allegations they are set out in full below. A further post to follow shortly.

"I thought I should make my views on Alisher Usmanov quite plain to you. You are unlikely to see much plain talking on Usmanov elsewhere in the media becuase he has already used his billions and his lawyers in a pre-emptive strike. They have written to all major UK newspapers, including the latter:

“Mr Usmanov was imprisoned for various offences under the old Soviet regime. We wish to make it clear our client did not commit any of the offences with which he was charged. He was fully pardoned after President Mikhail Gorbachev took office. All references to these matters have now been expunged from police records . . . Mr Usmanov does not have any criminal record.” Let me make it quite clear that Alisher Usmanov is a criminal. He was in no sense a political prisoner, but a gangster and racketeer who rightly did six years in jail. The lawyers cunningly evoke "Gorbachev", a name respected in the West, to make us think that justice prevailed. That is completely untrue.

Usmanov's pardon was nothing to do with Gorbachev. It was achieved through the growing autonomy of another thug, President Karimov, at first President of the Uzbek Soviet Socilist Republic and from 1991 President of Uzbekistan. Karimov ordered the "Pardon" because of his alliance with Usmanov's mentor, Uzbek mafia boss and major international heroin overlord Gafur Rakimov. Far from being on Gorbachev's side, Karimov was one of the Politburo hardliners who had Gorbachev arrested in the attempted coup that was thwarted by Yeltsin standing on the tanks outside the White House.

Usmanov is just a criminal whose gangster connections with one of the World's most corrupt regimes got him out of jail. He then plunged into the "privatisation" process at a time when gangster muscle was used to secure physical control of assets, and the alliance between the Russian Mafia and Russian security services was being formed.

Usmanov has two key alliances. he is very close indeed to President Karimov, and especially to his daughter Gulnara. It was Usmanov who engineered the 2005 diplomatic reversal in which the United States was kicked out of its airbase in Uzbekistan and Gazprom took over the country's natural gas assets. Usmanov, as chairman of Gazprom Investholdings paid a bribe of $88 million to Gulnara Karimova to secure this. This is set out on page 366 of Murder in Samarkand.

Alisher Usmanov had risen to chair of Gazprom Investholdings because of his close personal friendship with Putin, He had accessed Putin through Putin's long time secretary and now chef de cabinet, Piotr Jastrzebski. Usmanov and Jastrzebski were roommates at college. Gazprominvestholdings is the group that handles Gazproms interests outside Russia, Usmanov's role is, in effect, to handle Gazprom's bribery and sleaze on the international arena, and the use of gas supply cuts as a threat to uncooperative satellite states.

Gazprom has also been the tool which Putin has used to attack internal democracy and close down the independent media in Russia. Gazprom has bought out - with the owners having no choice - the only independent national TV station and numerous rgional TV stations, several radio stations and two formerly independent national newspapers. These have been changed into slavish adulation of Putin. Usmanov helped accomplish this through Gazprom. The major financial newspaper, Kommersant, he bought personally. He immediately replaced the editor-in-chief with a pro-Putin hack, and three months later the long-serving campaigning defence correspondent, Ivan Safronov, mysteriously fell to his death from a window.

Usmanov is also dogged by the widespread belief in Uzbekistan that he was guilty of a particularly atrocious rape, which was covered up and the victim and others in the know disappeared. The sad thing is that this is not particularly remarkable. Rape by the powerful is an everyday hazard in Uzbekistan, again as outlined in Murder in Samarkand page 120. If anyone has more detail on the specific case involving Usmanov please add a comment.

I reported back in 2002 or 2003 in an Ambassadorial top secret telegram to the Foreign Office that Usmanov was the most likely favoured successor of President Karimov as totalitarian leader of Uzbekistan. I also outlined the Gazprom deal (before it happened) and the present by Usmanov to Putin (though in Jastrzebski's name) of half of Mapobank, a Russian commercial bank owned by Usmanov. I will never forget the priceless reply from our Embassy in Moscow. They said that they had never even heard of Alisher Usmanov, and that Jastrzebski was a jolly nice friend of the Ambassador who would never do anything crooked.

Sadly, I expect the football authorities will be as purblind. Football now is about nothing but money, and even Arsenal supporters - as tight-knit and homespun a football community as any - can be heard saying they don't care where the money comes from as long as they can compete with Chelsea.

I fear that is very wrong. Letting as diseased a figure as Alisher Usmanov into your club can only do harm in the long term."

Tom Wise sticking the boot into Usmanov - the transcript

A few days ago I (and many others) posted a link to an audio clip of MEP Tom Wise laying into Usmanov in a European Parlliament debate on a common energy policy. Parliamentary privilege meant that he could have accused Usmanov of performing any sexual deviance or being the murderer of Cock Robin with impunity.

The European Parliament website has a transcript of the debate here (Thanks to Bloggerheads: the Alisher Usmanov Affair for the link). To save you a search here is what Mr Wise said:

Thomas Wise (IND/DEM). – Madam President, when the EU talks of a common foreign policy on energy, you need to be very aware of exactly who you propose to do business with. President Putin is on record as saying ‘The Commission should be under no illusions. If it wants to buy Russian gas, it has to deal with the Russian state.’

Gazprom is not a private company. It is a state-controlled tool of Russian foreign policy. It is, moreover, in the hands of President Putin’s political henchmen and, allegedly, organised crime. Take, for example, Alisher Usmanov. This gentleman, the son of a Communist apparatchik, is Chairman of Gazprom Invest Holdings, the group that handles Gazprom’s business activities outside Russia. He is the man we are doing business with. He is the man who cuts off gas supplies if client states dare to question Gazprom’s demands. Allegedly a gangster and racketeer, he served a six-year jail sentence in the Soviet Union in the 1980s, his eventual pardon coming at the behest of Uzbek mafia chief and heroin overlord Gafur Rakhimov, described as Usmanov’s mentor.

Usmanov bought the newspaper Kommersant. Three months later the journalist Ivan Safronov, a critic of the Putin regime who just weeks earlier had been vigorously interrogated by the FSB, as the KGB is now called, mysteriously fell to his death from his apartment window, still clutching a recently purchased bag of shopping.

According to Craig Murray, the former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan, it was Usmanov who ordered the cutting off of supplies to Georgia earlier this year. Please take note, Madam President, the Kremlin has now refused to sanction the construction of a pipeline to the EU over Georgian territory. These are the people you want to do business with. These are the people around whom you want to mould your foreign policy on energy. Commissioner, good luck. You will need it.

Schadenfreude can be a wonderful thing! It's nice to see a fat, criminal scumbag and his pack of legal vultures get screwed when they mess with free speech!

Up yours Usmanov!

God is not on the side of the big battalions....

Anyone who has visited the Shills, sorry Schillings website will know they have a list of case studies which show how they have successfully acted on behalf of their clients. Usually the “defendant” apologises unreservedly, withdraws the allegations, and is then is excoriated (and not in the verbal sense), his home is razed and the land salted; his wife is sold off to a Bangkok brothel to defray legal expenses. Well not quite, but I am sure that many people on the receiving end of a Schillings attack feel that way.

Tim Ireland new blog Bloggerheads: The Alisher Usmanov Affair has a link to Earthquake Cove which has a very funny and quite appropriate suggested addition to the Schillings case study list:

The problem
Our client was a lardy foreign oligarch looking to take over a leading British football club. The former British Ambassador to his country had published allegations about him which he considered to be false and defamatory.

The solution
We put the frighteners on the former Ambassador's webhost to such an extent that it shut down not only his blog, but also other high profile blogs which had nothing to do with it, including that of the Conservative candidate for London mayor, and others in elected office. The allegations then spread around the internet and the mainstream media like wildfire.

When I see how the blogosphere has made a premier and very aggressive law firm look utterly stupid and amateurish I think Voltaire was spot on when he said “God is not on the side of the big battalions, but on the side of those who shoot best”

MEP sticks the boot into Usmanov

England Expects reported yesterday that UKIP MEP Tom Wise would use parliamentary privilege to spell out the allegations against Alisher Tarakanovich Usmanov during a debate on the Saryusz-Wolski report "Towards a common European foreign policy on energy".


The purpose of the debate was to discuss the creation of a single energy policy for Europe controlled by an European Energy Minister . According to Craig Murray, Usmanov "ordered the cutting off of supplies to Georgia earlier this year". The allegations are thus relevant to the debate.


The Wardman Wire has a recording of Tom Wise’s speech. It is also available at Blip.tv


The rules governing parliamentary privilege, allow any news organisation to repeat what has been said in the European Parliament. I suppose Wise could have said that Usmanov buggers chickens and fellates donkeys and there would be absolutely nothing his shysters, Schillings, could do about it.


Oh yes, I was amused to see that Skuds points out that Alisher Usmanov is an anagram of "Harass in volume" and "Evil sour shaman". Nice one Skuds!



Update: According to the Guardian Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has said he opposes Usmanov's involvement in the club because it is not sufficiently clear how the businessman amassed his multibillion-pound fortune in Uzbekistan and Russia.

"He's certainly not an open book," the Arsenal chairman said. "Business is murky in Uzbekistan, and that in itself is an argument against him being involved in Arsenal. I wouldn't want him to be the owner of the club."

Intyerestingly the same article features a quote from Laura Tyler, of shysters Schillings, which stated that they did not intend to sue Murray directly over his statements because "they did not want to give him a platform to express his views". Murray says he stands by the allegations. "I was the ambassador in Uzbekistan. Usmanov is the country's most prominent businessman and it was my job to know about him."


So it is clear. Alisher Tarakanovich and his battalion of Bedford Square bastards (aka Schillings) were not interrested in anything in anything but gagging this story. If they had an ounce of integrity they should have insitgated libel proceedings.


The number of bloggers reported as commenting on the affair remains at 251. I would imagine the number is rather higher now.

Curious Hamster, Pickled Politics, Harry’s Place, Tim Worstall, Dizzy, Iain Dale, Ten Percent, Blairwatch, Davide Simonetti, Earthquake Cove, Turbulent Cleric (who suggests dropping a line to the FA about Mr Usmanov), Mike Power, Jailhouse Lawyer, Suesam, Devil’s Kitchen, The Cartoonist, Falco, Casualty Monitor, Forever Expat, Arseblog, Drink-soaked Trots (and another), Pitch Invasion, Wonko’s World, Roll A Monkey, Caroline Hunt, Westminster Wisdom, Chris K, Anorak, Mediawatchwatch, Norfolk Blogger, Chris Paul, Indymedia (with a list of Craig Murray’s articles that are currently unavailable), Obsolete, Tom Watson, Cynical Chatter, Reactionary Snob, Mr Eugenides, Matthew Sinclair, The Select Society, Liberal England, Davblog, Peter Gasston Pitch Perfect, Adelaide Green Porridge Cafe, Lunartalks, Tygerland, The Crossed Pond, Our Kingdom, Big Daddy Merk, Daily Mail Watch, Graeme’s, Random Thoughts, Nosemonkey, Matt Wardman, Politics in the Zeros, Love and Garbage, The Huntsman, Conservative Party Reptile, Ellee Seymour, Sabretache, Not A Sheep, Bartholomew’s Notes on Religion, The People’s Republic Of Newport, Life, the Universe & Everything, Arsenal Transfer Rumour Mill, The Green Ribbon, Blood & Treasure, The Last Ditch, Areopagitica, Football in Finland, An Englishman’s Castle, Freeborn John, Eursoc, The Back Four, Rebellion Suck!, Ministry of Truth, ModernityBlog, Beau Bo D’Or, Scots and Independent, The Splund, Bill Cameron, Podnosh, Dodgeblogium, Moving Target, Serious Golmal, Goonerholic, The Spine, Zero Point Nine, Lenin’s Tomb, The Durruti Column, The Bristol Blogger, ArseNews, David Lindsay, Quaequam Blog!, On A Quiet Day…, Kathz’s Blog, England Expects, Theo Spark, Duncan Borrowman, Senn’s Blog, Katykins, Jewcy, Kevin Maguire, Stumbling and Mumbling, Famous for 15 megapixels, Ordovicius, Tom Morris, AOL Fanhouse, Doctor Vee, The Curmudgeonly, The Poor Mouth, 1820, Hangbitch, Crooked Timber, ArseNole, Identity Unknown, Liberty Alone, Amused Cynicism, Clairwil, The Lone Voice, Tampon Teabag, Unoriginalname38, Special/Blown It, The Remittance Man, 18 Doughty Street, Laban Tall, Martin Bright, Spy Blog The Exile, poons, Jangliss, Who Knows Where Thoughts Come From?, Imagined Community, A Pint of Unionist Lite, Poldraw, Disillusioned And Bored, Error Gorilla, Indigo Jo, Swiss Metablog, Kate Garnwen Truemors, Asn14, D-Notice, The Judge, Political Penguin, Miserable Old Fart, Jottings, fridgemagnet, Blah Blah Flowers, J. Arthur MacNumpty, Tony Hatfield, Grendel, Charlie Whitaker, Matt Buck, The Waendel Journal, Marginalized Action Dinosaur, SoccerLens, Toblog, John Brissenden East Lower, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Peter Black AM, Boing Boing, BLTP, Gunnerblog, LFB UK, Liberal Revolution, Wombles, Focus on Sodbury…, Follow The Money, Freedom and Whisky, Melting Man, PoliticalHackUK, Simon Says…, Daily EM, From The Barrel of a Gun, The Fourth Place, The Armchair News Blog, Journalist und Optimist, Bristol Indymedia, Dave Weeden, Up North John, Gizmonaut, Spin and Spinners, Marginalia, Arnique, Heather Yaxley, The Whiskey Priest, On The Beat, Paul Canning, Martin Stabe, Mat Bowles, Pigdogfucker, Rachel North, B3TA board, Naqniq, Yorkshire Ranter, The Home Of Football, UFO Breakfast Recipients, Moninski , Kerching, e-clectig, Mediocracy, Sicily Scene, Samizdata, I blog, they blog, weblog, Colcam, Some Random Thoughts, Bel is thinking, Vino S, Simply Jews, Atlantic Free Press, Registan, Filasteen, Britblog Roundup #136, Scientific Misconduct Blog, Adam Bowie, Duncan at Abcol, Camera Anguish, A Very British Dude, Whatever, Central News, Green Gathering, Leighton Cooke (224), , Skuds’ Sister’s Brother, Contrast News, Poliblog Perspective, Parish Pump, El Gales, Noodle, Curly’s Corner Shop, Freunde der offenen Gesellschaft, otromundoesposible, Richard Stacy, Looking For A Voice, News Dissector, Kateshomeblog, Writes Like She Talks, Extra! Extra!, Committee To Protect Bloggers, Liberty’s Requiem, American Samizdat, The Thunder Dragon, Cybersoc, Achievable Life, Paperholic, Creative-i, Raedwald, Nobody’s Friend, Lobster Blogster, Panchromatica (251).


Football in Finland

Image courtesy of Beau Bo D'Or

Usmanov's bully boy antics discussed on Radio 5

The Wardman Wire has a recording of yesterday's Radio 5 discussion about the action taken by Alisher Usmanov (who may or may not be a corrupt, criminal scumbag) and Shillings (who probably don't eat babies for lunch but who may well sacrifice the odd virgin to Satan) against Craig Murray and Tim Ireland.

The discussion, which included input from Clive Summerfield, Bob Piper, Mr Eugenides and a libel expert, covered a wide range of topics, including the sequence of events that led to the removal of Craig Murray's site and the other sites, including the one for the London Bach Choir and British libel law in general.

It is very well worth a listen

Schillings surveying the wreckage

A little while ago I got a visitor from Sheffield. “Well big wow!”, say both my readers The visitor (IP address is 217.33.207.164) was Schillings “Shysters to the rich and famous – corpulent Uzbek oligarchs, a speciality”


Presumably, some minion has been tasked with performing Google searches to see how their bully boy tactics against Craig Murray have fared. The search that brought Schillings to the Poor Mouth was “Usmanov criminal”. The Poor Mouth was just one of nearly 43,000 results and what they saw on my post Alisher Usmanov and the "Streisand Effect" was mild to what came before and after.


Rather than gag Murray’s allegations dozens of websites blogs and fora now carry links to the allegations or the allegations in full. In addition, I am sure they will not be pleased to see their client described as a “c*nt-faced criminal” and “big fat lying cheating criminal c*nt”

Why can’t I stop laughing?

173... 192... 224... 251...292...302 and rising.....

It's amazing what the crass bully boy tactics of a corpulent Uzbek oligarch and his team of legal vultures (my sincere apologies to the birds of the genus Gyps) can do. At the moment over 300 bloggers from all across the political spectrum have expressed their outrage at Usmanov's antics.

Kudos to Chicken Yoghurt who is keeping the following list up to date.

Curious Hamster, Pickled Politics, Harry’s Place, Tim Worstall, Dizzy, Iain Dale, Ten Percent, Blairwatch, Davide Simonetti, Earthquake Cove, Turbulent Cleric (who suggests dropping a line to the FA about Mr Usmanov), Mike Power, Jailhouse Lawyer, Suesam, Devil’s Kitchen, The Cartoonist, Falco, Casualty Monitor, Forever Expat, Arseblog, Drink-soaked Trots (and another), Pitch Invasion, Wonko’s World, Roll A Monkey, Caroline Hunt, Westminster Wisdom, Chris K, Anorak, Mediawatchwatch, Norfolk Blogger, Chris Paul, Indymedia (with a list of Craig Murray’s articles that are currently unavailable), Obsolete, Tom Watson, Cynical Chatter, Reactionary Snob, Mr Eugenides, Matthew Sinclair, The Select Society, Liberal England, Davblog, Peter Gasston Pitch Perfect, Adelaide Green Porridge Cafe, Lunartalks, Tygerland, The Crossed Pond, Our Kingdom, Big Daddy Merk, Daily Mail Watch, Graeme’s, Random Thoughts, Nosemonkey, Matt Wardman, Politics in the Zeros, Love and Garbage, The Huntsman, Conservative Party Reptile, Ellee Seymour, Sabretache, Not A Sheep, Bartholomew’s Notes on Religion, The People’s Republic Of Newport, Life, the Universe & Everything, Arsenal Transfer Rumour Mill, The Green Ribbon, Blood & Treasure, The Last Ditch, Areopagitica, Football in Finland, An Englishman’s Castle, Freeborn John, Eursoc, The Back Four, Rebellion Suck!, Ministry of Truth, ModernityBlog, Beau Bo D’Or, Scots and Independent, The Splund, Bill Cameron, Podnosh, Dodgeblogium, Moving Target, Serious Golmal, Goonerholic, The Spine, Zero Point Nine, Lenin’s Tomb, The Durruti Column, The Bristol Blogger, ArseNews, David Lindsay, Quaequam Blog!, On A Quiet Day…, Kathz’s Blog, England Expects, Theo Spark, Duncan Borrowman, Senn’s Blog, Katykins, Jewcy, Kevin Maguire, Stumbling and Mumbling, Famous for 15 megapixels, Ordovicius, Tom Morris, AOL Fanhouse, Doctor Vee, The Curmudgeonly, The Poor Mouth, 1820, Hangbitch, Crooked Timber, ArseNole, Identity Unknown, Liberty Alone, Amused Cynicism, Clairwil, The Lone Voice, Tampon Teabag, Unoriginalname38, Special/Blown It, The Remittance Man, 18 Doughty Street, Laban Tall, Martin Bright, Spy Blog The Exile, poons, Jangliss, Who Knows Where Thoughts Come From?, Imagined Community, A Pint of Unionist Lite, Poldraw, Disillusioned And Bored, Error Gorilla, Indigo Jo, Swiss Metablog, Kate Garnwen Truemors, Asn14, D-Notice, The Judge, Political Penguin, Miserable Old Fart, Jottings, fridgemagnet, Blah Blah Flowers, J. Arthur MacNumpty, Tony Hatfield, Grendel, Charlie Whitaker, Matt Buck, The Waendel Journal, Marginalized Action Dinosaur, SoccerLens, Toblog, John Brissenden East Lower, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Peter Black AM, Boing Boing, BLTP, Gunnerblog, LFB UK, Liberal Revolution, Wombles, Focus on Sodbury…, Follow The Money, Freedom and Whisky, Melting Man, PoliticalHackUK, Simon Says…, Daily EM, From The Barrel of a Gun, The Fourth Place, The Armchair News Blog, Journalist und Optimist, Bristol Indymedia, Dave Weeden, Up North John, Gizmonaut, Spin and Spinners, Marginalia, Arnique, Heather Yaxley, The Whiskey Priest, On The Beat, Paul Canning, Martin Stabe, Mat Bowles, Pigdogfucker, Rachel North, B3TA board, Naqniq, Yorkshire Ranter, The Home Of Football, UFO Breakfast Recipients, Moninski , Kerching, e-clectig, Mediocracy, Sicily Scene, Samizdata, I blog, they blog, weblog, Colcam, Some Random Thoughts, Bel is thinking, Vino S, Simply Jews, Atlantic Free Press, Registan, Filasteen, Britblog Roundup #136, Scientific Misconduct Blog, Adam Bowie, Duncan at Abcol, Camera Anguish, A Very British Dude, Whatever, Central News, Green Gathering, Leighton Cooke (224), , Skuds’ Sister’s Brother, Contrast News, Poliblog Perspective, Parish Pump, El Gales, Noodle, Curly’s Corner Shop, Freunde der offenen Gesellschaft, otromundoesposible, Richard Stacy, Looking For A Voice, News Dissector, Kateshomeblog, Writes Like She Talks, Extra! Extra!, Committee To Protect Bloggers, Liberty’s Requiem, American Samizdat, The Thunder Dragon, Cybersoc, Achievable Life, Paperholic, Creative-i, Raedwald, Nobody’s Friend, Lobster Blogster, Panchromatica (251), Back off, man…, Dan Hardie, Krusenstern, Brendadada, Freace, Boriswatch, Fork Handles, Chris Applegate, Christopher Glamorgan, West Virginia Rebel’s Blog, Instapundit, Powerpymes, iDiligence Forum, Gizmotastic, Demos, Gary Andrews, Neweurasia , Never Trust a Hippy, sub specie aeternitatis, Bananas in the Falklands, The Sharpener, Virtual Light, Stu News, Scraps of Moscow, Danivon, As A Dodo, La Russophobe, PJC Journal, Mick Fealty’s Brassneck, dead brains don’t dance, A Comfortable Place, Bamblog, Robert Amsterdam, The Customer, No Longer at Ease, Rachel-Catherine, Humaniform, Mike Rouse, Chesus Yuste, anticapitalista, Aderyn Cân, Ulla’s Amazing Wee Blog (294), Ross200, Disruptive, Internazionale.it, The Obscurer, A Lefty Down Under, Things I Learned or Made Up, Pickled Bushman, Persons Unknown (302).

Football in Finland

I daresay the list will continue to grow.

Blogosphere mugs Jabba the Uzbek

Usmanov and his shysters Schillings are like a pit bull and its owner – An inadequate with a dog that should be muzzled and castrated. But I digress (I just felt like saying that) It is good to see that Channel 4 News has picked up on Usmanov’s stupid antics and the response across the blogosphere.

Going by the title “Blogosphere mugging for Usmanov” Channel 4 News notes the revolt across the blogosphere noting that over 100 high profile bloggers (plus the Poor Mouth) have posted on this outrage. Interestingly Channel 4 News noted that Usmanov's prison sentence was for corruption although he claims that this was “politically motivated" (why is my bullshit detector going off?)

Sunny Hundal of Pickled Politics appeared on More 4 News earlier this evening to discuss the case His interview can be seen at Mike Power’s Not a Blog. It is well worth watching (thanks to Tyger for the tip)

In addition both the Guardian and the Times are carrying the story with an emphasis on the closure of Boris Johnson's website. Johnson is unsurprisingly angry calling the closure of his website, calling it "a serious erosion of free speech". "This is London, not Uzbekistan., "It is unbelievable that a website can be wiped out on the say-so of some tycoon. We live in a world where internet communication is increasingly vital, and this is a serious erosion of free speech." He said. Bob Piper whose blog was also shut down (neither had anything to do with the case whatsoever) describes the shut-down of his site as “outrageous”