Notably Limited Personality


Before she met me, my wife hadn’t a clue about the things I write about here. She still struggles to accept quite a lot of it. But I know something is changing when she points things out to me that even a few months ago would have gone unnoticed.

On this occasion, it was in an interview with the Prince of Darkness on Channel 4 news.

“This is really weird,” she said, “the interviewer is speaking normally, but it’s like Mandelson is trying to hypnotise everyone.”

The reason this brought a wry smile to my face was that I had, just that day, been digging into Mandelson’s links to the murky world of Neuro-Linguistic Programming - that “leadership”/change/personality-splitting technique used by the likes of Common Purpose.

I’d been digging because a friend had pointed out to me what happened if I typed http://www.petermandelson.com/ into my web browser of choice.



As you can see if you click on the screenshot above, the site I was taken to was, in fact, NLP Connections, run by a guy called Chris Morris.


Here’s what Chris Morris has to say about himself:

“I originally became interested in the field of hypnosis as a student studying psychology and then later I returned to it when I was working in professional politics. It seemed clear to me that a politician could present the exact same argument in many different ways, and some of those ways would be greeted with great enthusiasm while other ways would be harshly rejected. As a speechwriter, I studied the language in thousands of speeches and began to notice more and more that the most persuasive politicians use many of the same language patterns that hypnotists use, and I became curious about that.”

Hmmm …

So I decided to write to the dark Lord himself, and ask him, “what gives?”
(via writetothem.com)

Lord Mandelson
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW

Dear Lord Mandelson,

I was interested to find that when typing the domain name
petermandelson.com into my web browser, I found myself at a website
called NLP Connections, run by a Mr Chris Morris.

I was wondering if you are aware of this situation? Are you a supporter
of Neuro Linguistic Programming? What is your relationship to Mr
Morris?

In the hope that you can shed light on this matter, I’d appreciate it
if you would, if possible, reply by email.

Yours sincerely,
etc, etc.

That was on the 29th October. As of today, I have had no reply, but a visit to http://www.petermandelson.com produced this:


Screenshot taken today

So, there you go. I suppose that’s some kind of result.

Here’s what we know:

• petermandelson.com was registered by Chris Morris in 2001.
• For a couple of years afterwards, Peter Mandelson ran a genuine website, as can be seen by looking at the Wayback Machine’s archive. The site was run by Chris Morris.
• At some point, probably about the time Mandelson ran off to Europe, he stopped running his website, and for some time the petermandelson.com domain name pointed at a 4dmedia.co.uk placeholder page.
• At some point, Chris Morris misconfigured his webserver, either deliberately or by accident, so that anyone typing petermandelson.com into their browser is taken to Morris’ NLP website.
• Morris has suddenly fixed his “error.”

As a result of all this, and my wife’s observation, I’d like to know:

• Was Chris Morris ever employed as a speech writer to Peter Mandelson?
• Are Chris Morris and Peter Mandelson friends at all? Have they ever been?
• Did Peter Mandelson know of the “misconfiguration” of Morris’ webserver?
• Did he support the use of his name in this way?
• Has Peter Mandelson ever had training in Neuro-Linguistic Programming? If so, how much, and at what level?
• Has Peter Mandelson ever had any association with Common Purpose?

From UK Column

I think you're making a lot of a rather banal mistake. All the domains I own point to my default site (this one), unless they are specifically set up with a website of their own. When I stopped running Peter's official website, the domain was left hanging - and it therefore pointed here by default. That is the only reason it pointed here. When I realised it was causing confusion, I re-directed the domain to a blank page.

I would like to take this opportunity to apologise for the confusion.

I personally don't think that Peter, Lord Mandelson is at all limited. Throughout his career, he has shown himself to be exceptionally able.

But it's nice to see again the accusation-by-relentless-questioning technique of Senator Joseph McCarthy - a technique still used by some let's-get-somebody "investigative" journalists. Reminds us that, for some people, the world is still a shabby and dishonourable place.

The decent journalists I know write under their own name each time and every time. I'd also point out to the above poster that Chris Morris has never made a secret of any of the above information, so to suggest somehow that he has, or that there is some deep, dark, and "murky" secret or purpose going on, is just plain old-fashioned conspiracy-theory thinking.

Eric Robbie.

I'm reading the teeth-nashing comments on that UK Column website and what a bunch of crazies they are. Apparently I'm Jewish. (Who knew?) Richard Bandler is gay. (Someone should tell his wife!) And together we are members of the Bilderberg group and spreading zionist propaganda via mass hypnosis on the BBC.

I didn't realise my life was so exciting.

You have to wade through all the stuff about George Bush being behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks and so on, but it's quite funny. If you have the time.

Actually, I think most of the wilder comments about me were written by the same one or two people.

By the way, all credit to Andrew T Austin and Nick Kemp - they found out about the site a few days ago and kindly let me (and many others) know about it. Actually, that was the same day that the weirder comments started appearing there too - when the tone shifted from regulars of that site generally bitching about politics and NLP to then suddenly several anonymous sockpuppets all popping up at the same time and claiming to know me personally. What a coincidence!

Nothing better to do guys?

It's an old, old, old propaganda technique.

Link someone's name to some nasty words in a single sentence ... leak that thought to the public (gossip and innuendo work well for this) and ... before you know it ... you have smeared someone's reputation.

Of course, sometimes such a technique can backfire on you.

But how, exactly, that can happen is a topic for another day.

Take care.

And, Chris, don't let the 8@5+@rd5 get you down!

Venus

Personally I just think Chris is an evil b*stard who's sole intent is to take over the world, bit by bit.

He uses his hypnotic techniques on the world to lure us all in before he finally pushes that big red button and turns us all into walking zombies.

This reminds me of an episode of spooks. That's one of the things I love about TV though, you can just turn it off when you get bored and carry on in the real world.

I might write a book about a fictional character named Slick Damp who's a renegade against the evil empire and whose single mission is to take down and eradicate the evil individuals in our world. Perhaps the book will end where the character wakes up at his keyboard after a looooong day dream and realises that he's now just a washed up old man who spent way too much time tanning his face by way of CRT tube.

It's just an idea.

Yes, Jamie, but *what* an idea!!!

Lol!

Venus :-)

Hmm, would that be the same Slick Damp I spoke to when I was enquiring about a Frank Farrelly course, since his website seemed to suggest he was Farrelly's sole UK agent? He seemed unusually fixated on this website, ennumerating its failings while at the same time using hamfisted 'persuasion techniques' to get me to buy a DVD. So subliminal were his skills, that I still haven't sent off for it.

Im pretty sure the guy that wrote the article worked in the same place as me when i worked in a call centre and the editor of the column definately did. Both were nice to talk to until anything like this sort of subject matter came up then it was like their eyes glazed over robot style and went all serious!

Although I very much of the form that everyone is entitled to an opinion I had to laugh when someone at work asked why the Bilderberg group was set up, and the simple response was 'World Domination'!

Only conspiracy theorists can interpret teaching positive psychology to children as a form of manipulative mind control as someone in their comments box has done! Maybe they would prefer 8 year old worried about their weight with low self esteem.

Let's call a spade a spade. You can see here that Nick Kemp has been trying to make something of this non-issue for a while now. I believe that many of the nastier comments about me on the UK Column site originate from him too - hiding behind a bunch of anonymous sock puppets, as is his pattern.

As most forum regulars already know, Nick is absolutely obsessed with NLP Connections. Notice his reaction on this thread when someone mentions Peter Mandelson's real views about psychology and influence techniques - Nick just turns the thread back round to make it all about NLP Connections again. Adrian has it absolutely right - even if you ask him about something else entirely, it seems Nick will still turn it round to being a rant about this site, and he's even willing to lose a sale because it's more important to him to smear us than to respond to the enquiry.

And why? Here's the truth. Nick was banned from NLP Connections three years ago for using multiple fake accounts to promote and spam his products. Rather than just admit it and move on, he has been trying to get his revenge on me ever since.

Talk about holding a grudge!

Before that time, he posted here pretty much every day and delighted in the place. He gave us an endorsement and a testimonial and sent out messages promoting us to his newsletter list. He loved us.

The site didn't change - his relationship to the site changed. He was exposed as a con artist, and he is still angry about that.

He can't seem to help himself though. You can see here that he was caught doing the exact same thing in another group as far back as 2003-2004. That's been displayed in other places too over the years. It's a compulsion that's been going on since long before NLP Connections - and I'm glad that most people now see it for what it is.

Rant over.

This gets weirder. Mr Kemp has now emailed me as follows:

Hi Adrian

Perhaps rather than making snide personal comments about me you on nlp
connections, you would welcome a discussion in an arena which is not
carefully moderated "a la Mandelson?" by Morris, ex business partner of Paul
Mather, with whom I have had several very illuminating conversations.

I look forward to your response

Regards

Nick Kemp

Connoisseurs of the English language may note its round abuse by Mr Kemp in his missive, unless of course I've got so used to being in these parts that I speak fluent Mandelsonian.

This is a really interesting thread because it perfectly demonstrates the idea of junko logic and I'm sure most of you have picked up on the NLP 101 style tactics of Mr Kemp. It seems to be the way he works and I'm quite certain almost everyone here has picked up on that fact.

I love this idea that NLP Connections is a "heavily moderated forum" yet for this thread to even still be here and for the first post to have remained in-tact, that just can't be the case. Unless you use some twisted logic as I'm sure Nick will to try and make out that this thread is the exception. That's the kind of thing lonely old men do in their minds.

Doesn't he realise how transparent that structure is?! You're supposed to see mention of an ex business partner, combine that with his suggestion that this place is heavily moderated, and conclude that Chris has done something wrong and is covering it up. It's like first year NLP.

I happen to know Paul Mather as a friend and I can tell you he has no time for Nick Kemp whatsoever. In fact, he hates Nick Kemp for the mind games he played with him and with others. The "illuminating conversation" they had was when Nick rang up Paul and used sneaky language to get Paul to agree to things. Now he uses those things to smear Chris with, not caring that they're not even true.

It makes me chuckle to think that Chris was one of Kemps students at one point and now that Chris is doing what NLP is all about and making a success of himself, look who comes around the corner trying to rubbish everything Chris does. Funny how these smear campaigns always seem to start up when Chris is just about to launch a new training course AND at the same time Nick announces his own course with a similar name to the one Chris is running. Talk about playground bullying. Unfortunately for Nick the kids around here won't just stand back and watch while a good guy like Chris is picked on.

It's a shame that Nick is insulting every member of this forum by calling them an idiot in his assumption that we wont notice what he's doing with his oober cool Nelp skills. Perhaps we should all go and train with the guy so that we can learn his amazing Jedi powers and then he'll graciously "test" us for the rest of our lives by telling the world we're evil horrible people.

Ultimately it's up to every individual what they choose to think about Chris and whether they tend to stick up for the under dog like Chris has done all his life or jump on the band waggon in the hope of a cheap thrill.

I'm just glad there are some really good trainers out there who don't do this kind of thing to people. The bottom line is, we're all human and noone deserves to be bullied, harrased and to have their livelyhood put in jeapords just for the cheap thrills of one old man.

I welcome thumbs down on this one because I just know that some people don't value the same things as I do and some people will even try and convince us that it's all in Chris's head. I think some people clearly live in a more subjective world than the rest of us.

Jamie

Good evening guys,

My good friend Mr Dixon pointed me in the direction of this thread. By the time I'd got to the second paragraph, I smelt a rat.

There were no "enlightening conversations" between myself and others. Who'd have thought apparently leading trainers would go to such lengths as making unsolicited calls in an attempt to dig up dirt on an awesome free NLP resource and its creator.

When Chris and I started NLPC, we were regularly under the spotlight. Within days of launching NLPC, a parody website was setup with the sole intention to mock us, credit where credits due, it was hilarious. Chris and I were flattered that we'd already began to generate such interest.

I'm not sure what they'd say their motivation is. Personally I like to think they're jealous of what we'd achieved and what Chris has gone on to achieve with the site.

We all know who's behind stunts like this, as do the powers that be and we all agree, it's a petty, dirty attempt at defamation of character, fueled by jealousy and resentment. Karma is a wonderful thing though, because it's their reputations that's in tatters, not Chris's.

I laughed our loud at their use of domain neighborhood tools, that they'd used to generate the list of sites Chris is apparently related to. As a web master I know too well that hundreds of thousands of unrelated websites can be linked in some way, using such tools.

Anyway I don't want to be too harsh on the guys behind these flawed attacks. It must be frustrating to be nearing retirement and only having achieved mediocre success at best and have to watch Chris's career grow from strength to strength.

Maybe they feel more successful now? I hope so. Otherwise they may setup more websites to mock my sexuality. Yikes

Wishing you all well,

Paul

Thanks for clearing that up publicly Paul. I'm glad people can now read your side.

And I agree it's disgusting that a trainer approved by the Society of NLP has rung up a student and used sneaky language to try and trick you into saying something you didn't believe and didn't want to say. And when you wouldn't say what he wanted you to, then he used more sneaky language to try and trick other people into thinking you had said it anyway.

Maybe John La Valle will have something to say about whether this is acceptable behaviour from a Society of NLP trainer.

The reason this brought a wry smile to my face was that I had, just that day, been digging into Mandelson’s links to the murky world of Neuro-Linguistic Programming - that “leadership”/change/personality-splitting technique used by the likes .....

So this is the murky world we inhabit? Eh?

Murky company excepted.

John

It's so obvious it's the same person with a bunch of sock puppets.

I find his demands for you to answer his questions and referencing you as "Morris", detestable.

The bullying has to stop, it's like being regressed back to the playground.

It'll be interesting to see how John responds to the report of Nick's persistent bullying. If we were back in school, he'd have been forced to move to another school by now, perhaps one for juveniles.

Chris, just relax... you are far more important in this universe than that guy will ever be and other people's jellousy and attacks is part of being a "chosen one". Accept your destiny!

Oh... and please send to me my plane ticket info. haha

Chris

chris_morris wrote:

Actually, I think most of the comments about me were written by the same one or two people.

I think you're probably right - and my guess is that s/he isn't a million miles away, as they used to say in Private Eye

'Nuff said

Be well

Andy B.

Hi guys,

One thing to remember is that this is a great site to be able to talk, have fun, have discussions etc. etc.

There are some fantastic trainers to get advice from, this is also given freely, by top people in NLP.

Chris has given this opportunity and has worked hard to make a success of his career, as Gabe rightly puts it *the chosen one*.

Have fun

Val

What's all this about the *chosen one*?

Chosen by who, and for what? Are you all going to eat me?