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Married At First Sight: Olivia Frazer on how MAFS ruined her life

has revealed how her controversial appearance on Married At First Sight completely destroyed her life.

The 28-year-old teaching assistant, from the Central Coast, was dubbed this season’s ‘villain’ after sharing a nude image of co-star among the cast.

Despite not being charged with any , her actions were compared to ‘revenge porn’ and she ended up losing her job and receiving a barrage of death threats.

In an emotionally charged interview with the, Olivia said she longed for a ‘private life away from reality TV’ and confessed to hitting ‘rock bottom’.

The only saving grace of the experiment has been her relationship with on-screen husband Jackson Lonie, which is still going strong months after filming wrapped.

‘I’m at rock bottom’: Olivia Frazer (pictured) has revealed how her controversial appearance on Married At First Sight completely destroyed her life

‘I’m at the point now where I’m trying to get up off the floor. I’m at rock bottom, and I’m trying to get up,’ she said.

‘No one deserves it. I know that I’m not perfect, but I don’t think anyone who goes on any reality show is perfect.’

Despite quitting social media, Olivia said trolls were able to find her contact details though her former job as a driving instructor, which resulted in a flood of hateful messages.

‘Every time someone messages one of my loved ones something awful, I feel like I’m getting kicked back down. I’ve had death threats sent to my personal phone number and I’ve had many on Facebook,’ she said.

Moving on: In an emotionally charged interview with the No Filter podcast, Olivia said she longed for a ‘private life away from reality TV’. The only saving grace of the MAFS experiment has been her relationship with ‘husband’ Jackson Lonie (left), which is still going strong

Feeling the strain: Olivia looked downcast while taking her dog for a walk near her home on the NSW Central Coast on Monday

‘Not just kids I used to teach, but parents [messaged me] to call me a pig, a delusional t**t… I think that was the breaking point, when I started getting texts to my phone, because I’d removed myself from online.

‘That was really, really breaking point. People that I know, saying I’m disgusting, and they’re mortified they let me teach their kids to drive.’

Olivia is now too afraid to leave the house by herself, adding: ‘My partner has to go grocery shopping with me. When I was working, I was working from home. It’s just terrifying.

‘And when I have gone out, I’ve had very few positive experiences with the public. And many awful ones – too many to count.’

Can’t hide: Despite quitting social media, Olivia said trolls were able to find her contact details though her former job as a driving instructor, which resulted in a flood of hateful messages

While she’s happy to have found the love of her life on the show, Olivia said she would never recommend going on Married At First Sight.

‘Do not do it. Run. Run,’ she said when asked what she would tell applicants for next year’s season.

‘If it’s meant to be, and if you’re meant to find the person that you love, you will find them some other way. If it’s meant to be it will be.

‘If you want to go on there for fame, infamy, whatever other reasons – just know that there will be people on there who play the game better than you. And it’s not worth it. It’s absolutely not worth it.’

Olivia revealed on 2Day FM’s Hughesy, Ed & Erin last month she had lost her job at a prestigious Sydney school ‘as a direct response’ of her behaviour on the show.

Warning: While Olivia is happy to have found the love of her life on the show, she told host Mia Freedman she would never recommend going on Married At First Sight

While she hopes to resume teaching someday, she admits she may have to change careers in light of recent events.

‘I know I have a very, very bright future. I have a real wedding, and babies – hopefully soon – to look forward to,’ she said.

‘I know I will find myself in a fantastic career, whether or not that is teaching. Teaching is a very hard dream to let go of, but if I have to I will be okay. I will find something else.’

She added: ‘I have so much to live for, and I’m definitely in the eye of the storm but I know I will get through it, bokep Jilbab and have a very happy life – a very private life, very far away from reality TV.’

While Olivia was originally portrayed as the innocent bride who could do no wrong, the tide turned after a bitter feud erupted between her and rival bride Domenica Calarco.

Battle of the brides: While Olivia was originally portrayed as the innocent bride who could do no wrong, the tide turned after a feud erupted between her and rival bride Domenica Calarco

The show hit new levels of drama last month when Dom smashed a wine glass in anger after clashing with Olivia at the couples’ retreat.

And their feud deepened after Olivia embellished parts of the story while explaining to the other cast members what happened.

‘She got up and stood over me and smashed her wine glass and then proceeded to wave the broken glass in my face while she stood over me and screamed,’ Olivia said, waving her hands dramatically.

This altercation led to an even bigger scandal when Liv got her revenge by ‘outing’ Domenica as an OnlyFans model.

Olivia reportedly asked her friends to ‘dig up dirt’ on her rival, which resulted in the discovery of a nude photo she had posted on Twitter on January 2, 2021.

Drama: The show hit new levels of drama last month when Dom smashed a wine glass in anger after clashing with Olivia at the couples’ retreat

Domenica had shared the image on her public Twitter profile to promote her OnlyFans account, which has since been deleted.

The photo quickly spread through the MAFS cast via WhatsApp, and was addressed at the first dinner party following the couples’ retreat.

Domenica was humiliated to learn her co-stars knew about her OnlyFans account and had seen her naked, and eventually broke down in tears.

Olivia refused to apologise for discovering and sharing the photo.

Caught on camera: Their feud deepened after Olivia embellished parts of the story while explaining to the other cast members what happened. (Pictured: the glass-smashing incident)

Discussing the highs and lows of her edit, Olivia said: ‘When it first started airing I was made to look like the absolute sweetheart.

‘I felt sick about that, as I felt they were building me up to tear me down.

‘Even though I had this gorgeous first edit, I knew it was going to go bad and this first half was there to shatter my credibility.’

She added: ‘[It] was genius. I have to give it to them. If it wasn’t me I would be absolutely astounded by it, as it makes me look like I have some very severe issues. Which I do – as a result of [the show]. Not prior to it.’

Despite the glass-smashing incident not playing out as she described, Olivia is still adamant Domenica should have been removed from the experiment because of her aggressive behaviour.

Changes: Discussing the highs and lows of her edit, Olivia said: ‘When it first started airing I was made to look like the absolute sweetheart. I felt sick about that, as I felt they were building me up to tear me down’

Twist: She went on to say: ‘[It] was genius. I have to give it to them. If it wasn’t me I would be absolutely astounded by it, as it makes me look like I have some very severe issues’

‘It was violent and dangerous, and from my understanding there is a duty of care from production to not subject anybody [to violence]. We were told that any sort of violence won’t be tolerated,’ she said.

‘The boys were told if they so much as clenched their fists they would be removed from the show, no questions asked.’

Liv said she wanted to leave the show at that time, but because she’s ‘weak when it comes to authority’, she was persuaded by producers to continue in the experiment.

‘I am very grateful for the show, because it did give my Jackson and it did give me some good girlfriends. But I wish I had done a a lot of things differently, and listened to my intuition and left when I no longer felt safe in that environment,’ she said.

Olivia also maintains she did not share Dom’s naked photo out of malice, noting that she previously worked in a sex shop and had taken lingerie-clad selfies in the past.

‘It’s so hard to defend myself because the show has shot my credibility down, and it’s such an attack when it’s against what I’ve advocated for my whole adult life and my fundamental beliefs,’ she said.

Olivia said she was supported during the show by a ‘lovely’ psychologist ‘who is available to us even now’, and has always given her ‘good advice’.

Bombshell: Olivia maintains she did not share Dom’s naked photo out of malice, noting that she previously worked in a sex shop and had taken lingerie-clad selfies in the past. Pictured in 2021

Credibility: ‘It’s so hard to defend myself because the show has shot my credibility down, and it’s such an attack when it’s against what I’ve advocated for my whole adult life and my fundamental beliefs,’ Olivia said. (Pictured: Domenica Calarco)

Before her appearance on MAFS, Olivia ‘absolutely loved life’ and even studied drama at Stratford-upon-Avon in England from the age of 18.

But she admitted she ‘wasn’t a good actor’ and couldn’t see a future in the industry.

She returned to Australia three years later to become the primary carer for her father, who had been diagnosed with terminal bowel and prostate cancer.

Her mother resumed her teaching career in Sydney to support the family.

Olivia said she originally applied for MAFS two times before being cast, saying former stars Jules Robinson and Cameron Merchant – who are now married in real life – were the reason she decided to sign up.

‘I had this sixth sense that I had to do it,’ she said.

Olivia got to the final stages in season seven in 2020, and was even matched with someone in season eight before they dropped out at the last minute.

About this time, she was grieving her father, who died in June 2020.

Despite their ups and downs, Olivia and Jackson are one of few couples to stay together after Nine’s controversial social experiment.

Happily ever after: Despite their ups and downs, Olivia and Jackson are one of few couples to stay together after Nine’s controversial social experiment

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Biden tears into Republicans for 'verbal abuse' of Justice Jackson

President slammed senators on Friday for the ‘vile’ abuse he said they heaped on Ketanji Brown Jackson during her confirmation hearings.

He appeared alongside the newest justice on the south lawn of the White House for a celebration of the historic vote a day earlier to elevate the first black woman to the Supreme Court.

The sun shone and the Marine band played show tunes and pop songs before Biden used the setting to blast his opponents in the .

‘I knew it wouldn’t be easy but I knew the person I nominated would be put through a painful and difficult confirmation process,’ he said.

‘But I have to tell you, what Judge Jackson was put through was well beyond that.

‘There was verbal abuse, the anger, the constant interruptions, the most vile, baseless assertions and accusations.

‘In the face of it all Judge Jackson showed the incredible character and integrity she possesses.’

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President Joe Biden appeared on Friday alongside Vice President Kamala Harris to celebrate the arrival of Ketanji Brown Jackson (left) on the Supreme Court of the United States

The event was billed as a celebration by a White House and Democratic party that has been thin on victories recently.But Biden used it to attack Republican senators

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s husband Dr.Patrick Jackson and daughter Leila Jackson arrive on the South Lawn for the event on Friday to celebrate her appointment to the Supreme Court

Hundreds of guests stood and applauded the first black, female justice on the Supreme Court

COVID-19 has laid law much of Washington’s political elite this week, but it didn’t stop Biden hugging Jackson, the first black, female justice on the Supreme Court

The crowd gathered as Biden and Vice President Harris celebrated Jackson’s confirmation to the Supreme Court

Jackson, 51, a federal appellate judge, was confirmed to the lifetime post by the Senate on Thursday on a 53-47 vote in a milestone for the United States and a political victory for the Democratic president.

She will replace the retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, 83.

But to get there she had to face hours of grilling by Republican senators who attacked her record as a public defender and porno indonesia as judge on her sentencing.

This week Sen. Tom Cotton suggested that she would have defended Nazis.

‘The last Judge Jackson left the Supreme Court to go to Nuremberg and prosecute the case against the Nazis,’ he said on Tuesday, as the Senate debated her nomination, referring to Justice Robert H Jackson, who was chief counsel in the prosecution of Nazi war criminals.

‘This Judge Jackson might have gone there to defend them.’

Sen. Josh Hawley led the Republican charge with a Twitter thread that previewed his line of questioning during the hearings.

He claimed that Jackson had a history of letting ‘child porn offenders off the hook’ in the courtroom and in her legal opinions.

Republicans also ridiculed her when she steered clear of a trap when she was asked if she could define the word “woman.’

‘No, I can’t,’ she declared, before adding: ‘I’m not a biologist’.

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Biden, wearing his trademark aviators, said: ‘I knew it wouldn’t be easy but I knew the person I nominated would be put through a painful and difficult confirmation process’

The trio all applauded as they approached the stage for the speech on Friday

Kamala Harris said: ‘Judge Jackson, you will inspire generations of leaders.They will watch your confirmation hearings and read your decisions in the years to come.’

Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson refused to define the word ‘woman’ during the second day of her confirmation hearing conducted by the US Senate’s Judiciary Committee

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But for most of the event the mood was lighter.

‘We’re going to look back and see this is a moment of real change in American history,’ Biden said during his more celebratory remarks.

He also praised the three Republican senators who broke ranks to vote with Democrats: Maine Sen. Susan Collins, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Utah Sen. Mitt Romney.

And he laid out his definition of America as the land of possibilities.

‘That’s why we’re viewed as the ugly Americans – we think anything’s possible.

‘That idea that a young girl who was dissuaded from even thinking you should apply to Harvard Law School…’ could make it to the Supreme Court, he said, bore out the idea that anything was possible.

He stood in front of the south portico, which was decked out in flags.

Several hundred guests stood and cheered as Biden and his guest of honor arrived.

‘It has taken 232 years and 115 prior appointments for a black woman to be selected to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States,’ said Jackson.

‘But we’ve made it.We’ve made it … all of us, all of us.

‘And our children are telling me that they see now more than ever that here in America, anything is possible.’

She thanked the Democratic ‘sherpas’ who guided her through the confirmation process, as well as colleagues and family who helped her legal career.

‘I strongly believe that this is a moment in which all Americans can take great pride,’ she said.

‘We have come a long way toward perfecting our union.

‘In my family, it took just one generation to go from segregation to the Supreme Court of the United States.’

The outdoor setting was in part a safety measure against COVID-19 which has cut a swath through the Washington elite during the past week, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said a day earlier.

President Biden watched the vote tally come in with Jackson in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Thursday afternoon

Democrats broke out into raucous applause after Jackson was confirmed.Sen. Mitt Romney is seen above applauding alone on the Republican side – he was one of only three GOP senators to vote for Jackson’s confirmation

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‘This is a tremendously historic day in the White House and in the country, and this is a fulfillment of a promise the president made to the country,’ said White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

In nominating Jackson, Biden delivered on a campaign promise to select the first black woman to serve on a court filled almost exclusively by white men for almost two centuries.

He also chose an attorney who will be the high court’s first former public defender — with the elite legal background of other justices as well.She has degrees from Harvard and Harvard Law School and held top clerkships, including for Breyer himself.

Jackson’s arrival on the bench won’t change the 6-3 conservative majority. But it comes with political and historic resonance.

Biden nominated her on the second anniversary of his pledge ahead of the South Carolina presidential primary to select a Black woman for the court.The move helped resurrect his flailing campaign and preserved his pathway to the White House.

‘We’ve taken another step toward making our highest court reflect the diversity of America,’ Biden said in a tweet Thursday after posing for a selfie with the justice-in-waiting.’She will be an incredible Justice, and I was honored to share this moment with her.’

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Man who was baby in Nevermind cover image sues Nirvana over child porn allegations

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nirvana — In September 2011, people in London walk past a large version of Nirvana’s Nevermind album cover marking the 20th anniversary of the album’s release.

Samir Hussein/Getty Images

It’s one of the most iconic album covers in rock history, but doesn’t spark happy memories for the man who appeared on the famous cover as a baby. Spencer Elden, now 30, is suing those who were responsible for the album imagery, including the record label, the art directors and the surviving members of the band.

Elden alleges his parents didn’t sign a release form for photographer Kirk Weddle to snap him at 4 months old, floating naked in a pool along with a dollar bill. He is suing 17 defendants, including the estate of late Nirvana singer and front man Kurt Cobain, with accusations that they breached child pornography laws in creating the artwork.

NIRVANA: Dave Grohl, Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic — The members of Nirvana snapped in 1991: porno indonesia Dave Grohl, Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic.

Paul Bergen/Redferns

NIRVANA: Dave Grohl, Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic — The members of Nirvana snapped in 1991: porno indonesia Dave Grohl, Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic.

Paul Bergen/Redferns

According to , Elden, a Los Angeles resident, alleges lifelong damage and is seeking compensation from the defendants. According to documents filed in Los Angeles federal court on Tuesday, Elden says his “identity and legal name are forever tied to the commercial sexual exploitation he experienced as a minor which has been distributed and sold worldwide from the time he was a baby to the present day.”

Nevermind was released in 1991 and has sold more than 30 million copies. Elden re-created the cover for the record’s 10th, 17th and 25th anniversaries.

Cobain died in 1994, while Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic are still performing with different bands, including the Foo Fighters.

Hulu: All the TV Shows and Movies Coming in March 2022

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the-dropout — Amanda Seyfried as Elizabeth Holmes.

Hulu

As always kicks off the month by adding a ludicrous amount of old movies to the service. That almost goes without saying at this point.

But for me — and probably for you since you’re reading CNET — the biggest thing dropping on Hulu this month is The Dropout, starring Amanda Seyfried as Elizabeth Holmes, the .

Here’s everything else coming to Hulu this March.

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What’s New to Stream for March 2022

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March 1

March 3

The Dropout: Three-Episode Limited Series Premiere
Before Midnight (2013)
Oculus (2013)

March 4

Fresh (2022)
Dicktown: Season 2 Premiere
Benedetta (2021)
Lantern’s Lane (2021)

March 5

Stronger (2017)

March 6

Mark, Mary, & Some Other People (2021)

March 8

India Sweets & Spices (2021)

March 9

The Thing About Pam: Series Premiere

March 10

The Masked Singer: Season 7 Premiere
Domino Masters: Series Premiere
Good Trouble: Season 4a Premiere
American Refugee (2021)

March 12

Multiverse (2022)

March 14

Claws: Complete Season 4
Hell Hath No Fury (2021)

March 15

All Good Things (2010)
Nature Calls (2012)
You Can’t Kill Meme (2021)

March 16

Young Rock: Season 2 Premiere
Mr. Mayor: Season 2 Premiere
Step (2017)

March 17

Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn (2021)

March 18

Life And Beth: Complete Season 1 Premiere
Deep Water (2022)
Masterchef Junior: Season 8 Premiere
Welcome To Flatch: Series Premiere
Keeping Up With The Kardashians: Complete Season 20

March 19

Captains Of Za’atari (2021)
I Know Who Killed Me (2007)
My Little Pony (2017)

March 22

American Song Contest: xhamster Series Premiere

March 23

Bloods: Season 2a
Summer Days, Summer Nights (2021)
Wrath Of Man (2021)

March 25

Atlanta: Season 3 Premiere
American Siege (2022)

March 26

Mass (2021)

March 28

The Oscars
Monsters And Men (2018)

March 29

The Girl From Plainville: Three-Episode Limited Series Premiere
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (2013)
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa Extended Cut (2013)

March 30

Name That Tune: Season 2 Premiere
Killing Them Softly (2012)

March 31

First Day: Complete Season 2
Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War: Complete Season 1

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Posted on April 15, 2022
Question Time creator JOHN MAIR says left wing bias ruined Channel 4

So is to be sold off by the Government next year, in a privatisation that might raise as much as £1.4 billion. And the reaction of the viewing public is a collective shrug.

Perhaps we’ll sit up and take notice if, as some observers predict, the channel is snapped up by or Disney+.But the woeful truth is that the announcement by Nadine Dorries caused few ripples this week, because there simply hasn’t been much worth watching on C4 in recent years.

Once the nation’s cutting-edge broadcaster, capable of provoking scandal and outrage on an almost nightly basis, it is now the home of flaccid dating shows and endless property makeovers.

I’m a television addict, eager for the sort of current affairs journalism and genre-busting entertainment that C4 used to pioneer.But these days, I tune in chiefly for Gogglebox and the news at 7pm — and I switch off C4 News halfway through after the main headlines, because the second half of that hour has become a service for social workers, a sort of Guardian of the airwaves.

Woeful: New Channel 4 show Open House: The Great Sex Experiment, in which, says C4, ‘committed couples come to a luxury retreat to test whether opening up their relationships and having sex with other people will strengthen their bond

It’s a sad business.The channel’s demise is entirely the fault of its own overpaid executives, who have become smug and lazy — commissioning endless re-treads of any series that wasn’t an outright failure, such as First Dates or Location, Location, Location.

C4’s fate, expected to be confirmed formally next week, ought to be a stern warning to the BBC.If director-general Tim Davie or anyone else at the corporation believed Boris Johnson would not carry out his threat to privatise a public broadcaster, they know the truth now.

When Channel 4 launched in 1982, it shook up the staid world of television in ways that seemed positively shocking.

Phil Redmond’s scabrous Scouse soap Brookside was a million miles from the homely heartaches of Coronation Street.The writer had challenged C4’s then chief executive Jeremy Isaacs to let him create a serial drama where the teenagers swore the way teenagers really do — not blooming this and sugar that, but with real venom.

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Its storylines revolved around unemployment and middle-class drug abuse. The characters drank, and were sometimes violent. They had sex — even gay sex.

The irony was that all this happened on a channel given the go-ahead by Mrs Thatcher and her deputy, William Whitelaw, 40 years ago.There could be no clearer proof that Isaacs and his team were beholden to no one, nor that they intended to redefine what was permissible on TV. Their remit was to challenge the BBC with new content funded not by the licence fee but by advertising.

Remember that, in the 1980s, depictions of homosexuality were still seen as scandalous.And some words simply couldn’t be aired, even on C4. Jools Holland was suspended in 1987 as presenter of the pop magazine The Tube after he let slip an F-bomb in a trailer broadcast at teatime.

Sex was one of C4’s major selling points.Films and dramas with graphic nudity were advertised in the schedules with a red triangle beside the title — supposedly a warning to viewers of a prudish nature, but really a promise of juicy bits in an age before internet porn big ass.

The announcement by Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries caused few ripples this week, because there simply hasn’t been much worth watching on C4 in recent years

These days the channel still tries to push the bar on sex, but shows such as Naked Attraction are desperate fare.Exhibitionists looking for love stand in plastic pods as a screen slowly lifts to reveal their privates, in a nudge-nudge dating show that has neither wit nor flair but is puerile and smutty.

Naked Attraction has, at least, been a hit, in contrast to a lamentable ‘sexology’ programme fronted by Mariella Frostrup in 2013 called Sex Box.Couples disappeared into a padded shipping container for a quickie, while Mariella waited outside with a psychologist. The lovers emerged and reported on their activities. Thankfully, the format didn’t last. The latest in this genre is Open House: The Great Sex Experiment, in which, says C4, ‘committed couples come to a luxury retreat to test whether opening up their relationships and having sex with other people will strengthen their bond’.

This sort of unimaginative output is sadly typical of the channel in the past decade.Its biggest success has probably been to poach The Great British Bake Off from BBC1 for £25 million.

The best you can say about that is that C4 executives didn’t ruin it — because after buying it oven-ready, they wisely left the makers, Love Productions, in charge.Little has changed, and for my money presenters Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas are a more talented act than their predecessors on the Beeb, Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins.

As for innovation, other than a few moments of brilliance like It’s A Sin — last year’s acclaimed drama about a group of young gay men living in London during the Aids crisis of the 1980s — it has sunk without trace.

C4’s fate, expected to be confirmed formally next week, ought to be a stern warning to the BBC.If director-general Tim Davie (pictured) or anyone else at the corporation believed Boris Johnson would not carry out his threat to privatise a public broadcaster, they know the truth now.

Take the channel’s outstanding tradition of film-making: early Film4 titles included A Month In The Country with Colin Firth and Kenneth Branagh and My Beautiful Laundrette with Daniel Day-Lewis.But 20 years ago the budget for film-making was slashed by two-thirds and now the brand is little more than a niche in the Freeview schedules, rerunning weary Hollywood titles.

Much of C4’s other output has an air of leftover scraps from the big table.How can it be that chief executive Alex Mahon is worth a £991,000 salary, or why her programme director Ian Katz deserves to be paid £536,000 a year, is anybody’s guess. I suspect that, whoever buys the channel next year, those two fat cats will be out through the catflap.

They have tried to make the channel appear relevant by establishing a new ‘national headquarters’ in Leeds, with hubs in Bristol and Glasgow — on the orders of the Government in 2016, with privatisation threatened if they did not.But the bitter reality is that C4 barely merits its existence now — except for its news output, the jewel in its crown. Since its launch in November 1982, it has been the liveliest, most iconoclastic bulletin on air.

For more than 30 years it was fronted by Jon Snow, a genuine heavyweight among news anchors.But Snow retired last year and though his successor Krishnan Guru-Murthy may be the Royal Television Society’s network presenter of the year, he lacks Snow’s gravitas — and his ability to listen to answers without interrupting.

As for his sidekicks, Cathy Newman, Matt Frei and Fatima Manji, they remind me of grown-up children squabbling for attention in the playground.

In its coverage of the biggest international story of the year, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, C4 News has lagged far behind the BBC and Sky.Where its better-funded, higher-profile rivals have sent teams of reporters, often venturing into the centre of the maelstrom, C4 has been mainly watching from the sidelines.

As a television veteran who devoted his career to current affairs — I helped create Question Time for BBC1 in 1979 — this baffles me.A news show that doesn’t want to get to the heart of the action is one that has stopped trying — and when the reporters give up, so will the viewers.

When Channel 4 launched in 1982, it shook up the staid world of television in ways that seemed positively shocking

I don’t believe C4 News is doomed.Emily Maitlis, the interviewer who skewered Prince Andrew so lethally, left BBC’s Newsnight this year. To have someone of her stature on board would give the entire channel a much-needed shot in the arm. It badly needs a journalist of that magnitude.

For at least ten years, the spectacle of a failing Channel 4 has been reminiscent of a David Attenborough documentary.

The ailing wildebeest has limped along, trying to hide its weakness, and the fact that it has long been unable to lead the herd.

Governments have been snapping at their heels.Now Boris the Lion has pounced. Who gets to devour the carcass, we shall have to wait and see.

And as the lion looks around for his next kill, the BBC should be very nervous.

John Mair co-edited What Price Channel 4?
in 2016 and What Price Channel 4 Now? in 2021, published by Abramis

Posted on April 15, 2022
Family in student fall tragedy begged her to ditch 'toxic' boyfriend

The family of a business student begged her to break up with her ‘toxic’ boyfriend days before she fell 80ft to her death from her London flat, an inquest heard today.

Damilya Jussipaliyeva, 21, died on June 3, 2017, a week after her then-boyfriend threatened to send revenge porn to her Muslim family in Kazakhstan and Dubai, the hearing was told.

Her ex-boyfriend Alessio Bianchi admitted disclosing private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress and one count of assault by beating her when he appeared in court in March 2018 relating to an incident the week before her death.

A post-mortem found she died from injuries consistent with falling from a large height.

There was no evidence of assault or restraint by a third party and also no injuries indicative of self-harm.

Ms Jussipaliyeva (pictured) died from injuries consistent with falling from a large height

Damilya Jussipaliyeva (pictured), 24, died on June 3, 2017, a week after Alessio Bianchi said he would show her relatives a porn clip and footage of her taking cocaine

Bianchi (pictured), now 30, was handed a 12-week suspended sentence, ordered to carry out a rehabilitation activity requirement and made to pay £250 costs

Bianchi and Damilya had been in an on-off relationship for two-and-a-half years before her death.

She told police that there had been a row at his apartment on 12 May and he had ‘grabbed her by the throat, struck her four or five times, spat on her and that she had passed out for a few seconds.’

The couple’s friends at Regent’s University were aware of their tumultuous relationship and Bianchi had reported her to police himself on several occasions, when she had scratched him and she had attempted suicide.

By 21 May 2017 Ms Jussipaliyeva was back with Bianchi, and when the business student’s sister found out it sparked an argument – which would turn out to be their last interaction.

Giving evidence at Inner West London Coroner’s Court today via videolink from Dubai her sister Ainel Jussipaliyeva said: ‘We were just trying to explain to her.

‘We suspected she was taking drugs because at times her behaviour was different and I knew that Bianchi was taking drugs because she told me.

‘We wanted her to decide, no one wanted to decide instead of her.

‘He ruined our relationships, my relationship with my sister.

‘He was manipulative.’

The 24-year-old student was sent a video recording on WhatsApp of her performing oral sex in a phone booth in north London, on May 25, 2017.

Attached was a message saying: ‘I am going to keep destroying you.’

One of Jussipaliyeva’s friends received the same clip from three different numbers, with one containing the threat: ‘I will f*** you up next, my love.’

Southwark Crown Court heard the couple had gone for a night out together on June 1 2017 and came back to his apartment in Paddington.

Bianchi is said to have pushed her out of his apartment in the early hours of the morning and thrown her into the water feature outside, leaving her distraught and humiliated.

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He however claimed that she was trying to stop her from killing herself.

The violence outside the building lasted for over half an hour before the concierge called police and in the early hours of 2 June.

Bianchi, born in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, was arrested and had his phone seized.

The next day he received distraught text messages, similar to those he said he had received in the past, from Damilya.

Bianchi called 999 shortly before 1am on 3 June to report his girlfriend was in a distressed state.

The responding officers were later criticised for spending around 40 minutes chatting to him in his apartment, only arriving at Ms Jussipaliyeva’s home nearby at around 1.30am – ten minutes after she plunged to her death.

A post-mortem found she died from injuries consistent with falling from a large height.There was no evidence of assault or restraint by a third party and also no injuries indicative of self-harm.

She had left a note which read: ‘Alessio I love you, sorry.’

A toxicology report found a high level of Xanax and a low level of alcohol.

Cocaine was found in the urine, but not in the blood, suggesting she was not under the influence.

In April 2018, Bianchi was spared jail after admitting disclosing private sexual images and bokep terbaru films with intent to cause distress and one count of assault by beating.

Bianchi, now 30, was handed a 12-week suspended sentence, ordered to carry out a rehabilitation activity requirement and made to pay £250 costs.

The couple had met while studying at Regent’s University in London, one of five private universities in the UK.

An inquest investigating the death of Ms Jussipaliyeva, who dreamed of being of a professional makeup artist, resumed today at Westminster Coroner’s Court.

While originally intended for a jury hearing, now only a coroner will return a conclusion into how Ms Jussipaliyeva came to her death.

In April 2018, Bianchi (left and right) was spared jail after admitting disclosing private sexual images and films with intent to cause distress and one count of assault by beating

Ainel Jussipaliyeva, Damilya’s sister, gave live evidence from Dubai in which she described herself as ‘very angry’ with Bianchi.

She said her sister had broken up with Bianchi in March, following an argument in which she suspected him of cheating on her, and visited her in Dubai.

She said: ‘She was actually scared of him.He was either drunk or under drugs I’m not sure.

‘He came during the night in the appointment, crashed the apartment as per her words.

‘My mother flew to London to be with her and after that, she came to Dubai.

‘She knew it was a toxic relationship and she was happy she was finally over it and wanted to start from the beginning and focus on her studies.

‘[I knew it was toxic] because she was thinking she needed to break up with him but she couldn’t because she was in love.’

Her sister said the last time she spoke to her sister was when they fought over Damilya getting back with her ex.

Ms Jussipaliyeva said: ‘I reminded her that she wanted to finish her studies, he’s bad for her, and that she needed to think more about herself.

‘She started to fight with me, saying he’s a good person, maybe it’s her fault everything is going bad.

‘She was saying nonsense.It was not her words, saying he’s a good guy and she’s bad.

‘I didn’t recognise her. She didn’t want to listen to me.’

Damilya’s sister was also asked whether the Kazakh student was threatened with being ‘cut off’ from finances if she chose to keep dating Bianchi.

She said her parents were considering ‘all options’ and if it happened it would have been a ‘temporary punishment’.

Alexandra Felix, QC, for Bianchi, also asked about the family’s view of her sex life, in light of the recorded sex acts.

She said: ‘We knew about her sexual life, but no one would expect the recording.

‘We are Muslim but don’t practise the religion. It wasn’t strict to have a sexual life only after marriage.’

Bianchi and Damilya (pictured) had been in an on-off relationship for two-and-a-half years before her death

The Coroner said Bianchi, who will be called as a witness tomorrow and was handed a suspended sentence, will face questions around his misconduct.

Assistant Coroner Bernard Richmond QC said: ‘Whilst there may be a degree of squeamishness and anxiety on the side of Mr Bianchi, and I will of course hear any applications about self-incrimination if they arise, but it’s not part of my role nor am I interested in nailing every point home about misconduct.

‘If it is relevant to state of mind and impact then absolutely I must go there.

‘As far as police conduct is concerned, I am looking at whether police response could have been quicker but there is nothing I can read that can suggest there was a deliberate plan to delay matters or to ignore what was going on.’

He added: ‘Mr Bianchi made a genuine police call to the police saying she is in trouble and if he has any human sensitivity at all I suspect he is holding himself over the coals about any potential impact on her and the impact that he had.’

Paying tribute, Ms Jussipaliyeva said: ‘Damilya was very cheerful, very happy person.

‘She had lots of friends, especially when she started to study in London.

‘She was very sociable, she had lots of friends and good relationships with family, relatives, and all the neighbours around her knew who knew her.She was the sunshine in our family.’

The inquest continues tomorrow, with Bianchi due to give evidence via videolink.

For confidential support, call the Samaritans on 116123, or visit their local branch

Posted on April 15, 2022
A professional mistress who exclusively dates married men has revealed the reasons why men are unfaithful and how to avoid being cheated on

A professional mistress who exclusively dates married men has revealed the reasons why men are unfaithful and how to avoid being cheated on.

Amy Kupps, 33, from , explained that she hears the same complaints from her lovers and believes there are sure-fire ways to avoid any extramarital relations.

The former teacher-turned- content creator, recommends bringing more excitement to the bedroom, whether that involves watching X-rated videos with your partner, porno latin or getting a boob job in order to fulfil their desires about how you look.

‘Your partner is guaranteed to stay if you fulfil their sexual fantasies,’ Amy said.

Amy Kupps, 33, (pictured) from North Carolina, who exclusively dates married men, has shared her advice for avoiding infidelity

Amy said pleasuring your partner often and bringing excitement to the bedroom can reduce the chance of them being unfaithful

She said men love confident women, so show some butt and cleavage in public as he will likely run from a conservative plain Jane

‘Pleasuring your partner frequently and often is key.

‘You need to watch porn together, be open to a boob job, change your hair color and wear something you don’t normally wear.

‘Be sexy in public – a man loves confidence, so show some butt and cleavage.If you’re a conservative plain Jane, he will likely run.

‘You need to role play, get in costumes, have sex in the back of a church or [at a] concert.

‘Be risky and exciting and don’t ever be afraid to show public displays of affection.

‘Learn his fantasies and you will keep him forever.

‘Men watch porn for a reason. Being a bit like his own personal porn star will ensure he doesn’t run.’

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Amy advises women to try role playing with costumes, while having sex at a concert or at the back of a church

Amy said it’s important to have public displays of affection, take risks and be exciting

Amy said being a man’s personal porn star and learning his fantasies will keep him from running

Amy, who has racked up 85,000

Posted on April 15, 2022
How to see Jupiter slide past the moon in the evening sky tonight

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NASA and the moon together in the evening sky.

NASA/Bill Dunford

Jupiter may be the biggest planet around, but it’s rarely the easiest to spot from Earth thanks to being much farther away than more visible worlds like Venus. On Wednesday, however, the gas giant will be relatively easy to view as it passes near the waxing crescent moon not long after sunset.

to expect Jupiter to appear about 5 degrees to the upper right of the moon just as evening twilight is ending. The moon itself should be roughly 10 degrees or less above the west-southwestern horizon.

This dynamic duo is perfectly situated for viewing with either the naked eye or binoculars. It will be tough to fit both in the field of view of a telescope at the same time.

HDR moon and . Composite image.

— Space porn latina (@redditSpacePorn)

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Jupiter will be the only visible planet in the evening sky for the entire month of February.

If you get clouded out Wednesday evening, Jupiter will remain bright enough to see in the sky for the rest of the week before it starts to fade. You can track its location with apps like Stellarium.

If you pro astrophotographers out there catch any stellar shots of the celestial meeting, please .

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Posted on April 14, 2022
EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Lottie Moss marks end of rehab stint by move to US

Troubled model is planning to turn over a new leaf by moving to the States.

‘If you haven’t heard, I’m moving to America soon,’ Kate Moss’s half-sister reveals.

In an online message to her fans, the 24-year-old tells Americans: ‘It’s your lucky day.’

Lottie, who had enjoyed lucrative modelling contracts with luxury goods firms, recently completed a stint in a rehabilitation clinic for cocaine addiction.

She now makes her money from OnlyFans, best known as a platform for amateur porn stars.

‘I’m moving to get more content,’ she explains.’Lots more people do OnlyFans out there. London just isn’t for me.’

Lottie, who had enjoyed lucrative modelling contracts with luxury goods firms, recently completed a stint in a rehabilitation clinic for cocaine addiction writes RICHARD EDEN

Troubled model Lottie Moss is planning to turn over a new leaf by moving to the States

Cardigan in conflict over access to his private forest

The 7th Earl of Cardigan rode through Russian gunfire as he led the ill-fated Charge of the Light Brigade into the ‘Valley of Death’ in 1854.

Now, the current Earl of Cardigan is leading the charge against civil servants’ plans to make people pay to visit the private forest that’s been owned by his family for centuries.

Savernake Forest in Wiltshire is managed by the government agency Forestry England, which has announced proposals to charge vistors for parking.

It wants to close the 4,500-acre woodland to vehicles and expand a car park which is currently free of charge.

It even proposes that people may no longer be allowed to walk where they want in the ancient forest and would have to stick to specified trails, with other areas being restricted to the public.

The Earl, David Brudenell-Bruce, questions whether the bureaucrats have the authority to implement such measures

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The Earl, David Brudenell-Bruce, questions whether the bureaucrats have the authority to implement such measures.

‘The Forestry Commission are only the tenants at Savernake, the only privately owned Forest in England,’ he tells me.’They are floating the suggestion of banning all cars from the forest and corralling them into their pay car park.’

The Earl, 69, whose singer daughter Bo Bruce was a runner-up on TV talent show The Voice, adds: ‘Savernake Forest has been a vital resource to the people of Marlborough and all the surrounding villages for hundreds of years.

‘In summer, the forest is used by lots of families, all enjoying the outdoors, and I have no desire to bring that to an end.

‘Not content with banning cars, the consultation document even talks of closing sections of the forest to walkers.’

Adds the Earl: ‘As the owners of the forest, my family and our trustees can veto any proposal that is outside the terms of the Forestry Commission’s lease.’

A Forestry England spokesman tells me: ‘There is no intention to curtail the increasing numbers of visitors to the forest.Our aim is to better manage how visitors enjoy the forest so that the most sensitive and damaged areas can be protected and allowed to recover.’

Made In Chelsea stars are meant to be made of money, but Jamie Laing is moaning about the cost of his forthcoming wedding.’Getting married is the most stressful thing,’ wails the scion of the McVitie’s biscuits family, 33, who’s engaged to fellow reality television star Sophie Habboo, 28. ‘Everything’s so expensive. How much do you think a marquee costs? A big one? £50,000! These wedding venues are killing it.’

Star Lowden gives pals a few supporting roles

Dunkirk star Jack Lowden made a disorderly retreat after celebrating the premiere of his new television drama a little too enthusiastically.

The Scottish actor, 31, with a dishevelled tie and untucked shirt, had to be held upright by pals as he tripped over cobblestones.

He was then escorted to a black cab with the help of three smiling companions, one wearing a glamorous emerald green skirt.

He was then escorted to a black cab with the help of three smiling companions, one wearing a glamorous emerald green skirt

Lowden had been enjoying the party at the Chiltern Firehouse in London’s Marylebone, held after the opening of new spy thriller Slow Horses, in which he stars alongside Gary Oldman and Kristin Scott Thomas.It will be broadcast on Apple+.

The actor is going out with Little Women star Saoirse Ronan, 27, (pictured above) whom he met on the set of Mary Queen of Scots in 2018, in which they played husband and wife.

Countess Bathurst, chatelaine of Cirencester Park, where Princes William and Harry have played polo, is whipping up a whirlwind over the Met Office’s policy of naming storms.

‘It’s a mistake,’ Sara Bathurst booms.’It gives them a character, turns them into a ‘being’ — and it makes them a lot scarier.’

The Countess, who was recently forced to apologise to locals after spreading human excrement on the fields of her Gloucestershire estate, adds: ‘Calling it, for instance, ‘Storm Andrew’, attaches a character to it — and the ability to bring fear is tenfold.’

Homes 4u!Phone boss offers a roof to refugees

Billionaire John Caudwell is putting his money where his mouth is.

The Phones 4u tycoon, 69, offered to put up Ukrainian refugees at his Staffordshire estate, Broughton Hall, earlier this month.

Now, he’s shared this photograph of the two-bedroom coach house where he’ll welcome a displaced family.

John Caudwell has shared this photograph of the two-bedroom coach house where he’ll welcome a displaced family at his Staffordshire estate, Broughton Hall

Posing with his girlfriend, the Lithuanian cyclist Modesta Vzesniauskaite, 38, and their one-year-old son, William, he says: ‘There’s still much to work out with timing and logistics, but much is happening behind the scenes.

‘The team is flat-out preparing the accommodation and paperwork.’

Emin notches up Margate

She once embroidered a tent with the names of 102 people she’d slept with, but Tracey Emin now suggests that figure could be significantly higher.’

In Margate, everybody had been there . . . I slept with half the town,’ says the former enfant terrible of the art world, who was brought up in the Kent seaside resort.

Emin, 58, adds that she used to be very self-conscious about her physique.

‘I really hated my body,’ she admits.‘I do not understand why . . . I’d love to have a body like that now.’

Posted on April 14, 2022
Lies, damned lies and some very big egos!

BOOK OF THE WEEK

WATERGATE: A NEW HISTORY

(Simon & Schuster £25, 832pp)

During the early days of August 1974, President Richard Nixon was engulfed by the ever-expanding scandals of the Watergate affair. It had become a way of life. By now he was drinking heavily, often alone, depressed, anxious and uncertain of what to do.

Award-winning historian Garrett M. Graff uncovers the hidden secrets of human flaws in the Watergate scandal

A couple of days before he became the first man to voluntarily resign the presidency, he told his Chief of Staff, Alexander Haig: ‘Al, you soldiers have the best way of dealing with a situation like this. You just leave a man alone in a room with a loaded pistol.’

Haig knew Nixon was speaking figuratively about suicide. But Defence Secretary James Schlesinger believed it went beyond that.

He recalled an alarming remark Nixon had made to U.S. politicians when asked about fighting Communism: ‘I can go in my office and pick up a telephone, and in 25 minutes millions of people will be dead.’

Increasingly concerned about the President’s mental state and fearful that he could plunge the world into a holocaust, Schlesinger took an extraordinary step. He told America’s military leaders that if the President gave them any orders, commanders should check either with him or the Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger. In other words: ‘If you’re ordered to push the button, make sure you run it by me first.’

In the event, the final days of the Nixon presidency passed off without alarms.

This extraordinary insight into the pressures engulfing the most powerful man in America is just one of countless rich anecdotes in Garrett Graff’s monumental history of the Watergate affair.

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Vividly told by Graff, a prolific and awardwinning journalist and historian, this work effortlessly clarifies the strands of one of the most complex episodes in modern history and is full of vivid characters: doomed advisers, diligent journalists, assiduous political investigators on Capitol Hill.

‘My goal,’ writes Graff, ‘was not to reinvestigate.’ Instead he relies on voluminous sources and documentary evidence to tell the story as clearly as possible.

Watergate might have started with a failed robbery, but it led to dozens more arrests, the ruin of several political careers — including two AttorneysGeneral — an alleged kidnapping, investigations by the FBI and Congress, an FBI director jailed, the sinking of a VicePresident (Spiro Agnew was convicted of bribery), and the ruin of the President as well as most of the President’s men.

It is one of the most reported stories ever. There are more than 30 memoirs from key participants, hundreds of pages of transcripts of Nixon’s tapes and 30 volumes of a senate committee report.

For people in this country, the defining image, from the Oscar-winning movie All The President’s Men, will be of Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman as the Washington Post’s investigative reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, leaping over newsroom desks in their hurry to uncover the scandal after another meeting with their source, Deep Throat, and bring what turns out to be a corrupt President to justice.

Haig knew Nixon was speaking figuratively about suicide. But Defence Secretary James Schlesinger believed it went beyond that.

The driving force behind the scandal was the insane levels of paranoia in the White House, which became critical in 1971 when the Washington Post and New York Times published what became known as the Pentagon Papers, thousands of leaked documents chronicling decades of U.S. involvement in Vietnam and revealing the lies told to the American people.

With Nixon furious at the leaks, hostile to the Press and determined not to have his re-election jeopardised, a ruthless attitude of ‘win at all costs’ developed in the White House. To this end, the President signed up a team of former CIA and FBI operatives to do his dirty work. Determined to smear Daniel Ellsberg, the man who leaked the Pentagon Papers, one of their first jobs was to break into the offices of his psychiatrist, hoping to find something damaging.

But the scandal really began on June 17, 1972, with a 2.30am breakin at the Watergate building, a mile from the White House.

When police arrived, they found five men in the offices of the Democratic Party National Committee, wearing suits and latex gloves and carrying bugging devices and walkie-talkies, as well as hundreds of dollars to bribe security.

Not your typical burglars, then. That became even more apparent at the first court hearing a few hours later, when one of the defendants, James W. McCord Jr, told the judge he was a security consultant, recently working for the CIA. The judge was visibly taken aback. It was clear this was no normal break-in.

There were two conspiracies, argues Graff. The first, to burgle the Democrats, was part of the Republican Nixon world’s paranoid obsession with dirty tricks — bugging, smearing, stealing documents. It was chaotic, but it was a worked-out plan to subvert the 1972 presidential election. Quite why is beyond anyone’s guess: Nixon won it by a landslide.

The second conspiracy — the cover-up — just grew and grew because no one stopped it. And it went right to the top.

As the shockwaves of the breakin widened, with allegations of slush funds, corruption, misplaced campaign funding, bribery and tax fraud, the proliferating scandal was blown wide open in July 1973 when it was revealed that Nixon had routinely taped every conversation and call in the Oval Office.

He fought hard to keep his profanity-strewn recordings secret, but lost in the Supreme Court — and the crucial tape, The Smoking Pistol, was revealed.

On it, in a conversation that took place just six days after the Watergate break-in, Nixon and his Chief of Staff Bob Haldeman are heard plotting to persuade the CIA to tell the FBI to drop any inquiry.

So the cover-up had started in the Oval Office. Within days Nixon was gone.

The tragedy was that in many ways he should be regarded as one of the greatest men to occupy the White House. Nixon wound down the Vietnam War, signed the Clean Air Act, created the Environmental Protection Agency, hiked social security, declared war on cancer, tripled the number of women in policy-making roles, calmed the Cold War and was the first to visit Peking and Moscow.

WATERGATE: A NEW HISTORY by Garrett M. Graff (Simon & Schuster £25, 832pp)

But he was betrayed by his darker side: paranoid, fearful of his opponents and the media, and determined to do them down.

Even now the Watergate scandal retains its mysteries, admits Graff. Who ordered the break-in? What was the purpose and target? Were they looking for blackmail material — there were rumours of a call girl ring at Democratic HQ — or disruptive political intelligence?

For anyone growing up as a journalist in this period, the role of the anonymous source Deep Throat — a nickname from a big gay porn film of the time — was heroic.

Graff is more sceptical. Deep Throat was outed decades later as Mark Felt, the deputy director of the FBI. But for Graff, Felt’s actions were the payback of an embittered man, furious that he had been passed over to succeed J. Edgar Hoover as FBI director.

This is a masterful, epic look at a story that is still barely believable. Graff skilfully guides us through the forest of supporting players, crooks, conmen, business aides, judges, lawyers, miscellaneous wives, White House operatives, spooks and cops. If anything, for this limey reader not totally steeped in the story for decades, a few pages listing the various players would not have gone amiss.

For America, the scandal ushered in an age of greater transparency and hard-nosed investigative watchdog journalism that still, thankfully, exists.

But despite the lessons of Watergate, in our own time President Trump not only wanted to screw up his opponents, just like Nixon, but unlike Nixon, refused to accept an election result.

He even fomented a revolt on the Capitol Building that has not lost its power to shock.

Perhaps we should go back to Watergate and re-learn its lessons. In politics, as in everything, morality matters.

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