Approaching the Anniversary

It's been almost 2 years since I've added a post, so I felt I owe an explanation.

As part of her ASBO, SSR has effectively had her defamation campaign(s) shut down. She's currently maintaining a blog of NWO conspiracies and religious ranting that is amusing, but irrelevant to this blog.

Karen, as you can see from the sidebar, has also been largely behaving herself. In fact she's been quite productive and seems to be directing her energies toward her researches. As I've stated from time to time, I'm not here to comment on her theory of the Ripper case (such as it is), but merely to set the record straight when she starts slandering various other people in the Ripper world. However up until the recent calm the various targets of her attacks have been holding their own quite handily, and the current truce seems to be holding for the moment.

All that could change on a dime, of course, but for now I'm content to enjoy the peace and quiet and tend to my orchids, ready to leap into action should the occasion arise.

And Then There Was One....

With all seven of SSR's personalities enjoying a well-earned rest at Her Majesty's pleasure (she got six months), her former acolyte has decided it is her turn to step into the limelight.

With "SSR" (Felicity Jane Lowde) and Karen's very public falling out and subsequent abandonment of the "Hargoon" blog, Karen lost the shield from behind which she launched the sundry attacks on everyone she felt did not sufficiently recognize her genius. However her months of sullen silence have come to an end as she has launched her own blog.

So far the brunt of her righteous wrath has been directed squarely at Bob Hinton, who she claims to be a Freemason and stalker (among many other things). Mr. Hinton is smart enough to defend himself adequately against Ms Trenouth's childish attacks, certainly, but we will continue to point out Karen's contradictions, slanders and outright lies as they occur.

The first major howler to appear under Ms Trenouth's byline is the astonishing claim that:

I would like it known, here and now, that an no time - EVER - has [sic] Felicity Jane Lowde (FJL) and I ever been friends, met, talked on the phone, emailed each other, know each other or wrote to each other. I do not like FJL - she also abused me by making hateful comments on her blog about me. I was just as happy to see that she was imprisoned for her harassment and stalking; however, it was the Ripperologist's collective celebratory reaction that caused me to reinstate my blog. FJL has no connection whatsoever with my blog; and I had no connection with hers. I am just fed up to here of the Ripperologists accusing FJL and I [sic] of being "bosom buddies", when she lives in England and I live in Canada. Get real, goons!

It's hard to believe that even Karen is foolish enough to believe that anyone will buy this, but apparently she's serious.

Fact: Karen was "SSR"s most fervent (likely her only) supporter and "contributor", with dozens of messages posted on that august forum. Even if we are to be generous enough to accept that Karen never caught on that SSR and FJL were the same person (which would not speak well of her investigative skills), her comment would still be a lie, as Karen posted comments on the the SSR site that were expressly addressed to FJL.

Here's one from from the Hargoon blog--keep in mind Karen's claim to have NEVER written to Felicity:

Hi Felicity,

How are you honey? Victim 1 to Victim 2 speaking. Ripperology is filled with misogynists who do not care, so much, for the female victims of JTR, they are more preoccupied with JTR - Just Their Riches! Or, in Dan's case - Just Their Readership, or JTR - Just Their Ratings. You get the picture.

No doubt Karen will attempt to side-step this obvious lie in some way. Someone with her knack of re-writing history will likely find a way of erasing this embarrassing fact from her mind.

And to further compound the lie that FJL's and Karen's respective blogs have nothing to do with each other, on July 3 Karen posted an entry that is almost entirely dependent on information from the SSR blog, and contains a lengthy quote from SSR (again we note Karen's disingenuous use of material written supposedly by someone she dislikes and has had no contact with). However there is a more important issue about this post than Karen's inability to tell SSR and FJL apart, which we will be commenting on separately.

Defeating the Hydra*

It is with mixed feelings that we announce that all 7 of SSR's personalities (occupying the body of one Felicity Lowde) are currently behind bars awaiting sentence after being convicted of harassment last month. It's quite a story, and we don't have room for the entire thrilling tale, but we present you with the encapsulated version.

• After a lengthy campaign of slander and harassment conducted on the Internet against a certain Rachel North (among others) which included the adoption of FJL's "SSR" persona and the establishment of the Hargoon log, Ms North pressed charges against Ms Lowde. This resulted in the arrest of the entire SSR entity, reflected in the "holiday" announced on the Hargoon log.
• FJL was released on bail, with the condition that she cease communication with or about her victims online. At this point the SSR mask was abandoned and FJL continued her campaign under her own identity on her personal blog . Since this was a violation of her bail terms, she was rearrested, had her computer confiscated and was re-bailed with orders not to use the Internet at all. This injunction was broken within hours.
• When the trial date came around, FJL was what our American friends call a "no-show". She was supposedly suffering from exhaustion, and had arrived at the Court, left a note to that effect and left. The trial went ahead without her and she was found guilty. A warrant was issued for her arrest, and FJL went into hiding to avoid sentencing.
• While in hiding, FJL continued to post the standard "SSR"-style drivel, most of it directed at Ms North, but alternating with claims of persecution (i.e. her conviction) and vindication (through a new trial). Attacks against Ripperologists, her former accomplice Karen Trenouth, and a variety of other people continued to appear from time to time.
• Finally after several weeks of living rough on the streets of Whitechapel (according to her own accounts), FJL was spotted at an Internet cafe in Brick Lane. The police were called and the erstwhile fugitive was apprehended. When she appeared in Court, FJL was remanded in custody until her late-June sentencing. It has been claimed that during that time FJL will undergo a much needed psychiatric evaluation.

You might be wondering why we didn't expose the FJL/SSR link long ago. While we alluded to it, and personally believed FJL and SSR to be one and the same, we didn't run across FJL's personal blog until shortly before SSR started their enforced sabbatical. Once we encountered the former's personal webspace--particularly after SSR-style ravings started to become the principle editorial content--the similarities were just to blatant to reach any other conclusion.

During the period when FJL's campaign shifted to her own blog, and her case worked it's way through the legal system, we decided to withhold all comment, out of a concern of interfering in a legal matter. We particularly did not wish out efforts to be attributed to Rachel North or other participants in the court case (since we are not connected to them in any way), nor did we wish to validate FJL's persecution fantasies. We honestly thought our job was done, but have recently been forced to reconsider for several reasons.

The first is that, while the author has been neutralized, her method of creating numerous blogs under a variety of usernames means that her venomous attacks are still out there.

The second is that a coterie of FJL's disciples have decided to pick up where their mentor left off. This is particularly true of former FJL accomplice/apprentice, now apostate, Karen Trenouth.

The final reason is our admittedly pessimistic opinion that FJL's stay at Her Majesty's pleasure will not rehabilitate her in the least. What we have is a respite, nothing more. Once Felicity is again on the loose, we fully expect her escapades to continue.

Watch this space.

*The Hydra was a nasty creature from Greek mythology that had seven heads growing out of a single body. Although not known to maintain a blog, the Hydra did spew poison with every breath.

New Look, Old Lies

We notice that the Hargoons have created a new blog, returning to it's original name "Shaming Stephen Ryder, Dan Norder, Tom Wescott & the Ripperologist thugs". Although there's nothing substantively new on the blog, the fact that they've taken the step of recreating it suggests an intent to revive their campaign of harassment, hypocrisy, and outright lies sometime in the future.

Case in point: the most recent (September 14, 2006) post.

In this characteristically dishonest attack on Phil Hutchinson (one of the Hargoon's favourite targets), they accuse Philip of gratuitously attacking a Casebook poster with no provocation.

Here's how they describe Philip Hutchinson and his actions :

One of the most vicious libelling thugs, Philip Hutchinson, has instantly started up libelling other authors again, and his acts are exposed here (followed by link).

Here's the post they claim Philip was responding to:

Hello All, The Whitechapel Society 1888 can confirm a full programme of speakers for 2006. We kick off our new season this Saturday, February 4th 2006 at 'The Princess Alice' pub, Commercial St, London E1 at 7.30pm. Our speaker is Stuart Sullivan and his presentation is, 'JACK THE RIPPER: A PSYCHOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION.' Stuart told The Whitechapel Society, "My research was conducted without any preconceptions and as a result, I believe this suspect, Thomas Donoghue, is as viable as any who have been suggested as the murderer." Stuart has maintained an interest in the Whitechapel Murders for over 20 years and we look forward this talk with great anticipation. We hope to see you there!

Best Wishes,

Frogg Moody.

WS1888

To which the Hargoon's claimed that Philip made this response:

Ooh goody. My parents read that toilet paper. I'll get them to save it for me. I'll be interested to hear what is said about the Ripper sites; one has a vested interest, you know. Who did they consult, Adrian?

PHILIP

Sounds pretty childish and nasty, right? Philip out of nowhere attacking either Mr Moody--a figure of some esteem in the Ripper community--or the efforts of a well-intentioned researcher whom Mr Hutchinson does not know. We'd call that disgraceful, wouldn't you? Well, if that was really what happened, we'd heartily agree. But of course it wasn't.

The post that Philip was actually responding to was from someone else, and it said:

Hi All,The WS1888 should be mentioned in this Friday's 'Daily Mail' in their 'Question & Answer' section dealing with the Ripper sites.

ADRIAN.

(WS1888 Editor).

Suddenly everything changes: Even the dimmest Hargoon can see that the "toilet paper" that Phil was referring to was the Daily Mail (an opinion likely shared by millions of people in England alone). Far from attacking Mr Moody and the WS1888 staff, Philip continues to have a friendly and constructive conversation with Adrian about the Daily Mail article (which he is also kind enough to provide for those reading from outside the UK).

Unlike the Hargoon's, we don't expect you to simply take our word for it. Check out the exchanges here.

Let's be frank, here. This is not a simple mistake, or misinterpretation of events. This is nothing less than a transparently dishonest attempt to smear Philip Hutchinson by manipulating the facts in a shameless way. And they have the nerve to call Philip vicious and libellous?

If the Hargoon's are willing to descend to this level intellectual honesty and discard allcommon decency in their campaign of harassment, how are we to judge the quality of their Ripper research, when and if it ever appears?

While it seems that "SSR" is still in hibernation (she has transferred her hate campaign to her personal blog for the time being) it's possible that the "Shaming Stephen Ryder, Dan Norder, Tom Wescott & the Ripperologist thugs" may well resume it's noxious efforts again very soon.

And when they do, we'll be here to call them on it.

Learning from Karen

We notice that the Hargoon's are back in harness and up to their old tricks. However we noticed that they've adopted one of Karen's favorite techniques--the disappearing post.

Here's what they posted:

The site has been edited, and dated/irrelevant posts permanently deleted.
Mainly to protect the innocent, or people that the thugs that frequent Stephen Ryder's casebook website deceived, who've seen their mistake. Alot of the thugs we exposed here were blaming innocent people and behaving with their usual thug-malice so we've removed alot of postings.

On the surface it's a welcome if ungracious admission of what we've been saying all along--that the Hargoon's have been targeting people for little or no reason, spreading cruel and untrue stories, and generally acting like the bullies that they claim to expose.

You'll notice that they don't actually admit they were wrong, they do not apologize to the people they've attacked, nor do they even give any indication who the innocent are. And in true thug fashion they blame everyone (including the victims) except themselves.

Buried in an earlier comments page, this pseudo-acknowledgement can be found:

There is no doubt that Bob has been wrongly treated by Karen. We try to be fair to Ryder victims in all their forms. However, he is best advised not to be a bimbo to ripper thugs.

Overdue, and insufficient, but a start. Note, however, that although they tacitly admit that they wrongfully launched their extensive smear campaign on no other evidence than the insane ravings of Epiphany author Karen Trenouth, there is no mention of (let alone apology for) the dozens of slanderous articles about Mr Hinton that have graced the Harpoon's blog. In typical thug fashion, SSR ends the post with a veiled threat directed to Mr Hinton.

While it is nice that SSR's meds have taken effect to the extent of acknowledging that their campaign against Bob Hinton and unspecified others was based entirely on the unsupported and often unfounded accusations of an embittered visitor to their site, it would be even nicer if the Hargoon's were to publicly apologize to those who were attacked on the same, flawed grounds. This includes (but is not limited to):

• Thomas Schachner
• Maria Birchwood
• Jana Oliver
• Magpie/Magpie Productions
• Lavender Lady
• How Brown and Tim Mosley
• Jukka Ruskeeahde

We call on the author(s) of Jack Rip's Lampoon to step up and do the right thing. They admitted they'd done wrong by editing their blog--now it is time to be open with who they wronged and to make a meaningful apology.

More of the Same

We notice that the Hargoons have changed the name of their blog yet again. But behind their latest facade the desperate truth bending continues unabated.

Their response to yesterday's exposé of their pathetic grasp of both Freemasonry and basic researching skills was hilarious. Here are some highlights, with commentary:

Our observation vis a vis the Masonic webring and the Intendant of the building, or lodge, earlier outlined, is the correct one. There may be the odd discrepancy but it's irrelevant. We don't build on it, it's an interesting observation.

The odd discrepancy? They didn't get a single fact right! Their observation "vis a vis the Masonic webring" somehow managed to omit the fact that said webring is defunct and has been for years. They took the duties of a person called the Tyler and ascribed them instead to a Masonic degree entitled "Intendent of the Building". They are now trying to re-introduce the original howler of the "Intendent of the Lodge" despite having been previously forced to admit that they were wrong about it.

And it can be hardly be "irrelevant" that a group of alleged "researchers" with a particular interest in a Masonic Jack the Ripper Conspiracy have publicly demonstrated that not only do they know nothing about Freemasonry, but lack the slightest ability (or interest) to research the most basic facts about it.

We do not care whether this Bob Hinton who is desperate to align himself with Stephen Ryders Jack the Ripper Casebook members ( he has only been a member for six months) is a Modern Mason or a Modern Mormon.

Really? Then perhaps you can explain why you have posted twelve articles referring to Bob Hinton's supposed Masonic connections in the past seven days! That doesn't include the repost that prompted our article and which you have since removed from your blog, presumably out of embarassment.

Perhaps you could also explain why you have created an entirely new blog entirely devoted to Bob Hinton's alleged Masonic connections. It sounds like you care very much. Almost to the point of obsession.

And the funniest part is that Bob Hinton says that he is not a Freemason in the first place, meaning it is more than likely that your efforts are entirely in vain. This is not the 18th century. Freemasons are not required--and seldom do--conceal their membership. Websites, rings, T-shirts, even bumper-stickers proudly proclaim Mason affiliations. Only in the paranoid fantasy world of the Hargoons does the image of a shadowy world of arch-conspirators still hold sway.

They also trot out the oft repeated lie:

We have no leaning toward any particular theory.

Which we've already blown wide open in an earlier post. But for convenience sake, the Hargoons have exposed the falsehood in the very same paragraph, which says"

They daren't discuss the conspiracy theory, because it reveals their ignorance and incompetence. So, they lampoon any freemasonry based observation whatever, as soon as they can, and in so doing, reveal triumphalism, desperation, and ignorance..

Lest there be any doubt that they are lying through their teeth, the preceding paragraph also reveals their true feelings:

We suspect that the 'Ripperologist baboobs' are simply up to their usual stunts, denying any type of conspiracy/Freemason theory as they have neither intelligence, information nor means to approach it.

Doesn't sound like they have a bias at all, does it?

One of their "anonymous" commentators added their two cents' worth (we hope she got change):

Yes, why is Bob going to all these lengths to deny his Freemasonry connection, and hoe does he know so much about the lodge in Wales and the masonic webring? I smell a stinking rat Mr Hinton.

To which we will reply, using small words. Mr Hinton did not go to any lengths to deny his Masonic connections, he merely pointed out that he is not a Freemason (lots of people aren't, you know). He does not claim to know anything about the lodge in Wales and the (non-existent) webring. We (not Bob) spent 10 minutes doing what the Hargoons should have done before posting their drivel on the Net--doing some basic research and checking the accuracy of their claims.

We find it notable that the commentator did not ask herself why the Hargoons seem to know so much about the Lodge in Wales, hmm? Maybe the Hargoons are the Freemasons, employed to draw attention away from the Masonic Ripper theories by creating the perception that all those who are championing such theories are puerile thugs of limited intelligence and questionable sanity. If so, they are doing a fine job.

But seriously.

If their research for the attacks on Bob Hinton and others has been proven to be so dismally inadequate--and it's not like it was even challenging research--then is it reasonable to expect that their research on the Jack the Ripper case will not likely be any better? No, we don't think so either.

The Great Masonic Muddle

We find it most amusing that a group such as the Hargoons--who believe a Masonic conspiracy lurks behind the Ripper crimes--are so proudly yet woefully ignorant about Freemasonry in general.

Here's the latest howler from the Hargoons:

While one of SSR's personalities is on a short break, the others have regurgitated some previously posted waffle about Bob Hinton's involvement with Freemasonry. Since it's a slow weekend we thought we'd check into some of their claims. This was just for fun, since it has been revealed that the "information" about Mr Hinton's Masonic connections was planted by an acquaintance of his precisely to prove that the Hargoons will swallow any old tosh about those they are harassing.

The results were both astounding and amusing. It also raises an interesting question: are the Hargoons so blinded by spite that they will post anything, no matter how distorted and inaccurate, to harass one of their enemies? Or are they simply so stupid and self-deluded that they really believe their "research" and "investigating" fools anyone with IQs above the double digits?

Here are their "claims" about that sneaky Mason, Bob Hinton.

The Warm Up

Claim: Bob Hinton is a member of the Lodge of Enterprise

Actually: Well, possibly, although Mr Hinton says that he is not a Mason at all. But what is the Hargoon's proof for this? Well, they went on the web and looked for a Lodge that had a website and was located in Wales. Get it? Bob is in Wales, Lodge of Enterprise is in Wales--obviously Bob must belong to the Lodge of Enterprise.

No wait, it gets worse.....

Claim: The Lodge of Enterprise is "very prominently affiliated to the Freemason Web Ring."

Actually: The Lodge of Enterprise does have a link to the E-mason webring on their homepage. A requirement of virtually every webring is that you put their webcode on your homepage. However had the Hargoons taken the extraordinary investigative step of clicking on any of the buttons in the webring, they would have received the following secret Masonic message

We haven't hosted the WebRing in years.
Sorry!

Only the centre, or hub, button leads to anything (we'll get to that next). So 20 seconds of further research shows a more likely scenario--the webmaster never got around to removing the code to a defunct webring.

Claim: "SSR2 believes they are affiliated to the Freemason webring to the extent they control it."

Again, quite possibly, although considering that the webring doesn't have a single active site anymore, we'd guess their duties as controller are not overly strenuous. Remember, this is the second time that the Hargoons have posted this piffle without even taking the 20 seconds of "research" it would have required to prevent themselves from looking like abject morons.

The Good Stuff

Here's where it goes from the sublime to the ridiculous. Remember that the Hargoons subscribe to a Masonic Conspiracy theory for the Whitechapel Murders--that is important. So how does their knowledge of Masonry add up? Read and despair.

Claim: Robert Hinton is an 8th degree Freemason. The title of the 8th degree is "Intendent of the Building". Robert Hinton's title and status: Intendent of the building.

The 'Intendent of the Building' is charged with admissions and Masonic code recognition, in other words, he evaluates the position of any member of the Masonic community seeking to gain admission to any one particular lodge, either from a Masonic group or elsewhere, by implementing code routines and evaluating their knowledge and status. This proceedure is known as 'G'. It usually involves a specific lodge related variation on the 'G' routine.The masonic handshakes and all that.

Actually: In this entire mish-mash of information, the Hargoons managed to get exactly one fact correct--that the title of the 8th degree is the "Intendent of the Building" (and that took a couple of tries and a hint from Bob, as they initially insisted it was "Intendent of the Lodge").

The Intendent of the Building is the name of the degree, not a job title. If a Lodge had six 8th degree members, they would all be "Intendents of the Building" (meaning you'd have to run an entire gamut of people checking your worthiness to enter--would make for a long meeting, no?). Likewise if a Lodge had no 8th degree members, there would be no-one to perform the duties describe above, would there?

The duties as described in the above paragraph are actually performed by the Tyler. The Tyler can be of any degree, from 1-33 (some lodges require that he be 3rd or higher, some require a particular standard of skill or knowledge), and does not even have to be a practising Mason. Another curious thing is that a Mason cannot act as Tyler for the Lodge to which he belongs. So much for Bob being the guardian and gatekeeper for the Lodge of Enterprise.

We'll say it again slowly in case the Hargoons drop by: If Bob is a member of the Lodge the Hargoons claim he is, then he can't perform the duties the claim he does. Inversely if Bob performs the duties that they claim he does, then he can't be a member of the Lodge they claim he is. And of course if Bob is not a Mason at all, theyve been taken for the suckers they are!

And how did we--lifelong non-Masons who are not even eligible to join a Masonic group--find this information? It took approximate 10 minutes of online research, including verification with independent sources.

The seven Hargoons who presumably have spent years developing a theory of a Masonic/Ripper Conspiracy didn't manage to correctly state a single readily available and verifiable fact --we can only hope the rest of their "research" does not meet the same dismal calibre as displayed here.

We'd strongly suggest, dear reader, that you keep this in mind when evaluating any claims made by SSR and their cronies.