Welcome to the one and only edition of Blogwatch at this site. Today we look at a Hong Kong blog by George Adams called NOT The South China Morning Post which bills itself as the online satirical blog newspaper for Hong Kong committed to press freedom.

This site is a re-incarnation; during its hiatus the world of blogging emerged, much to Mr. Adam's disgust. In December I gave the site a plug and thought it held promise based on the good work of the first version. How wrong I was. And I'm not the only one.

The entries are in reverse chronological order and there is repeated linkage to other sites, exactly like blogs. The posts themselves are repetitive and revolve around either crude Photoshopping, slagging the SCMP or slagging fellow bloggers. I welcome anyone who can tell me the difference between NTSCMP and blogs, except that most blogs avoid bright yellow backgrounds and have a modicum of design nous. The pathological hatred of blogs at the NTSCMP is because bloggers have surpassed them in both content and interest.

For a "satirical" site it posts an interesting challenge: finding anything that is satirical. Satire is irony, sarcasm, or caustic wit used to attack or expose folly, vice, or stupidity. Insults are not caustic wit. Whining that Spike magazine is making the same obvious jokes as you site is not satire. What's worse is the NTSCMP seems incapable of seeing it; like many self-proclaimed satirists it cannot see the self-parody it has become. It is happy to subject all and sundry to its purview while taking itself far too seriously.

The original had satire and wit (it can be viewed in part here); the new version is desperate grasping at former glory. Undeservingly condescending it has all of 150 readers a day to show for 8 years of effort. Protestations of "quality not quantity" won't wash either. If a site has been as good as it thinks for that long it's readership would be something more akin to Randall's - a favourite target of NTSCMP. Most ludicrous of all is the enmity with which the NTSCMP treats other blogs. When it re-emerged many bloggers welcomed the new NTSCMP and could have remained a constant source of support and readers. Instead he chose to attack the very people that would have otherwise served as his fans. That has left him with a solitary fan and a spot in cyber-obscurity. I am looking forward to the rumoured print edition. It will be fascinating to see how it fares against Spike and if it manages to stay around as long as its competitor...but I fear it won't.

If it's solipsism rather than sophism you're after, I heartily recommend the NTSCMP blog for your daily dose of supercilious and sanctimonious smart-arsey.