125 Responses to OPEN THREAD

  1. Betty Swollocks says:

    Dame Nikki, seems upset that most of his callers and texts say Ed Millipede’s speech was dull and uninspiring..Millipede does sound like Sylvester the Cat.

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    • Martin says:

      Yes Dame Nikki did his usual this morning of demanding that Labour supporters ring in as all the calls were in his view one sided. Of course it totally went past Dame Nikki that the opinion polls show most people think Red Ed is a useless weird twat.

      However, Dame Nikki’s call to arms is really for the BBC to ring up callers who have been on before (like the twat from Luton Shaheer or whatever his name is the Luton cab driver who is an expert in everything) to get them on air (yes BBC we know you do this) or they get their own employees to ring in as fake callers.

      We know this goes on, people who have worked for the BBC have admitted it.

      Then we had the dozy bitch who claimed that there was 120 billion in unpaid taxes that would more than pay for the cuts. Dame Nikki of course NEVER asked her the obvious question, why didn’t the one eyed queen from Fife collect it when in power?

      You can bet that Dame Nikki won’t be so even handed next week with the Tories.

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  2. George R says:

    “BBC accused of ‘belittling’ Florence Nightingale.

    The BBC has been accused of producing films that persistently ‘attack and belittle’ Florence Nightingale. ”  
     
     
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8792420/BBC-accused-of-belittling-Florence-Nightingale.html
     
     
     
    Not forgetting eg, Rod Liddle’s observation in recent years:  
     
    “Changing your name to Seacole will eradicate your inner racist” (2009).  
     
     
    http://www.spectator.co.uk/rodliddle/5385933/changing-your-name-to-seacole-will-eradicate-your-inner-racist.thtml

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    • George R says:

      “BBC accused of labeling Florence Nightingale ‘neurotic, sexually repressed.'”

      -Just like many Beeboids, eh?

      http://www.newkerala.com/news/2011/worldnews-76848.html

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      • ian says:

        So what if Florence Nightingale was neurotic and sexually repressed? Isn’t that better than being a uniformed butcher in a filthy NHS death camp?

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    • David Preiser (USA) says:

      Talking to the Nursing Standard, Prof MacDonald said she had been approached for her views about the pioneering nurse for the 2001 film but “I was ruled out because I was positive”.

      QED.  We’ve heard this way too many times now.

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      • Grant says:

        Can someone explain why the BBC should want to trash Florence Nightingale ?  By the way, in Turkey, she is revered almost as a National heroine ! 

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        • Grant says:

          PS.  It has just occurred to me that Florence represents the traditional, sensible, methods of nursing as not practised in today’s NHS, so the BBC hate her.

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  3. My Site (click to edit) says:

    The BBC has been accused of producing films that persistently ‘attack and belittle’ ‘

    Funded by…us.

    When it comes attacking and belittling, the BBC seems to be quite partial, if often uni-directionally.

    Which seems a bit ‘ist as well as provoking. And I though they were against that. In fact, isn’t it illegal thanks to soem of their mates’ efforts when last in office?

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  4. My Site (click to edit) says:

    Interesting comment here:

    150. macsarrie 
    27TH SEPTEMBER 2011 – 20:14

    Robert. I like your thinking but on the BBC’s most popular business based programmes (The Apprentice and Dragons’ Den) the way business is modelled is as a competitive, profit-as-the-only-criterion endeavour. Lord Sugar judges teams on profit. The Dragons judge investments on profit. It’s a poor role model.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15073459

    Doubt the poster will get a reply on that latest doubel standard, any more than those trying to get any sense on the ‘market trader’ story, where the BBC seems unable to explain who they invite on is, and how they got to use the nation’s airwaves. Ironcially, now in an internal tizzzy for him saying stuff counter narrative.

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  5. My Site (click to edit) says:

    Robinson’s latest…

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-15082341

    ‘Many here in Liverpool cheered it. The Tory press is already pouring abuse on it. What will the country think?’

    What the country thinks will be tricky to get on your blog, matey, as it has gone bradcast only. But I am sure YOU will tell us what WE think.

    And as to whether the negativity was Tory press only…

    http://www.leftfootforward.org/2011/09/milibands-speech-press-reaction/

    Lying piece of bunker-cowering, position-abusing lightweight. Robinson, no wonder you are a BBC editor.

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    • David Preiser (USA) says:

      Only yesterday Andrew Lansdale was being cynical and a bit negative about the speech as well.  Is he part of the Tory press now?

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      • Reed says:

        I think I remember Iain Dale once saying that Lansdale was one of the more decent and independently minded political journalists. Can’t find a link.

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    • Martin says:

      Will toenails refer to the LEFT WING press next week with Cameron? I think not.

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  6. My Site (click to edit) says:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15057004

    1. sandy winder 
    26TH SEPTEMBER 2011 – 8:49

    Why do you never ask or answer two questions, Steph?

    This entry is now closed for comments

    They are running, and hiding. Not sure it’s working.

     

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    • Jane Tracy says:

      The idea of the BBC having an economics blog was a good one. Unfortunately their own biases led them to select the “highly-respected” Stephanie Flanders.

      Floundering Flanders has then gone on to tell everyone that Greece will not default and that there will be no inflation. So the credibility of her blog has collapsed and the BBC has to close it quickly to avoid people pointing out the errors.

      This is all a shame when a decent blog rather than this poor apology for one would be valuable in difficult times. The irony is that the “fake” trader recently on the BBC gave more insights in 3 1/2 minutes than Steph has managed in 3 1/2 years!

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      • David Preiser (USA) says:

        The highly “credentialed” Stephanie Flanders.  She will coast for the rest of her life on those credentials, untouchable, and unaccountable for all her errors and bias.

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      • Martin says:

        She did allegedly shag the two ugliest men in Nu Liebore though.

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  7. deegee says:

    Gaza foreign press restrictions imposed by Hamas

    Typical BBC meme write an article that doesn’t directly involve your pet hates then in the last or second last paragraph paste in something to stay on narrative.

    In this case: In the past it has been Israel which has sometimes made it difficult for reporters to get into the blockaded Palestinian territory, our correspondent says.

    The implication (also in the article) that Hamas practises Western standards of freedom of the press there appeared to have been a misunderstanding while evil Israel is the constant rogue. That Gaza also has a border with Egypt is conveniently forgotten as is any evidence for the charge.

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    • Biodegradable says:

      “[making] it difficult to get into [Gaza]”, or rather exiting Israel to enter the Palestinian administered territory of Gaza, is not the same thing at all as insisting that all journalists are accompanied by government minders.

      Meanwhile, here’s some news the BBC is carefully avoiding reporting on – it usually likes polls.

      http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2011/09/jerusalem-arabs-still-prefer-israel-to.html

      http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2011/09/most-israeli-arabs-are-proud-to-be.html

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    • sue says:

      “Some other foreign reporters said they had also been asked to sign forms saying that if any news items critical of Hamas were published, local Palestinian journalists they work with would be held responsible.”

      “In the past it has been Israel which has sometimes made it difficult for reporters to get into the blockaded Palestinian territory, our correspondent says.”

      I love the BBC’s suggestive phrasing, “it has been Israel which has….” immediately associating Israel with the same behaviour as Hamas, i.e. making sinister blackmailing threats. ‘Local Palestinian journalists would be held responsible’ (if anything critical of Hamas were published.)

      If Israel issued and implemented such a threat, all Israeli local journalists would have been hung drawn and quartered long ago because when is anything not critical of Israel ever published?

      If they wanted to refer to Israel making it difficult for reporters to get into Gaza they BBC could easily have just said : “In the past some reporters’ access to Gaza  had been restricted by Israel”, or something without the subliminal implied equivalence.

      All these little things mount up.

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  8. Geyza says:

    Did anyone see BBC Breakfast at 7:30 this morning? Where Ben Brown rewrote Ed’s Speech because even the BBC realise that they cannot sell that steaming pile of shit to the public.  Ben kept a straight face as he said that Miliband never meant what we all actually heard him say about good businesses vs bad businesses, but what he really meant was something else and went on to mention tax credits for research etc.

    In other words, his speech was so appallingly bad that we cannot keep reporting on it without hurting labour, so we will invent another speech and praise that instead. 

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    • My Site (click to edit) says:

      his speech was so appallingly bad that we cannot keep reporting on it without hurting labour, so we will invent another speech and praise that instead.’

      It would be the job a PR agency woukld carry out.

      Not sure it’s one we should be paying the national broadcaster to conduct on behalf of a political party many may not support or feel it deserves.

      In fact, that seems to be beyond remot and into Charter-busting territory.

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  9. james1070 says:

    The BBC hace been doing this thing from the beginning. Here is an advert from 1923 telling the public to pay their radio licence. Licence dodgers are described as ‘pirates’. But the message is clear those who do not pay their licence are some kind of subhuman  missing link.

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    • Buggy says:

      “The Radio Ham” was much better when Tony Hancock did it. This actor seems to have no discernable talent whatsoever.

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  10. Will says:

    The BBC having failed to sell Ed’s speech to the nation found time in its conference coverage to provide a further 2 minute hate session (well maybe 5 minutes) against the evil Murdoch. Guest haters were Y fronts Bryant & Fatso Watson. Cutting Murdoch down to size & deploring the cost of the Sky subscription were the themes. It appeared to escape the notice of all that the BBC is more powerful than Murdoch & unlike Sky the BBC is financed by a tax.

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    • Reed says:

      Quite right, Will. Anyone who is appalled at the cost of a Sky subscription need not purchase one. It’s not compulsory, unlike the BBC.

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  11. Ben says:

    I’m not sure if this has been brought up before, apologies if it has.

    The BBC appears to have been in such a hurry to condemn city traders and the city generally that they failed to make basic checks on the authenticity of an interviewee that they had on their programme.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/8792829/BBC-financial-expert-Alessio-Rastani-Im-an-attention-seeker-not-a-trader.html

    It appears this guy is a total fraud, so how come he managed to get on air.  Would he have managed it if he was railing against one of the BBC’s statist principles?

    I suspect not.

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    • David Preiser (USA) says:

      The guy said that the BBC approached him.  So how did they find out about him enough to do that?  Peston sure thought he represented what really goes on in the world of banking, and he definitely exposed the BBC’s pro-Euro bias.  “But that doesn’t help any of us here.”  We must save the Euro!  Tell us how!

      Great stuff, even if I was equally fooled.  Although I guess technically he has been a trader on some level and probably has enough basic knowledge to do the public speaking trip.

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      • Martin says:

        Not the first time the BBC have made tits of themselves on air. you might all remember this classic from 2006

        http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/4774429.stm

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      • My Site (click to edit) says:

        The guy said that the BBC approached him.  So how did they find out about him enough to do that?  ‘

        There seems to be an awesome amount of ‘not me, gov’ around this already, so it appears that folk just…er.. appear.. on BBC mainstream shows to share their expert views as if by magic.

        Like much else their £4Bpa, market-rate talented media monopoly can manage.

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    • Billy-no-mates says:

      Apparantly there is a rumour this guy is part of a group called the Yes men
      and this is not the first time he is struck! Is this the same guy? Indian times article just to give some background for the video

      http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2004-12-03/india/27145508_1_bhopal-disaster-dow-chemical-spoof

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  12. deegee says:

    Sometimes the lead in from the main news page is worse than the article.

    West angered by Israel expansion

    The US, EU, France, Britain and Sweden express their disappointment as Israel approves the construction of 1,100 homes in the Jewish settlement of Gilo.
    House-by-house struggle

    Is ‘angered’ and ‘expressing their disappointment’ a synonym?
    Is there a house-to-house struggle in Gilo as implied by the link? The answer to this one is a clear NO. This is a link from a Bowen’s hit piece about Silwan, another issue and another geographical area from 15 July 2010.

    But the most egrious point is the complete acceptance of the Palestinian position. Gilo is a suburb of Jerusalem with a population of 40,000. It was created and annexed after Israel captured the area in 1967 from Jordan which had previously captured and annexed it in 1948. According to an Israeli municipal planner, most Gilo land had been legally purchased by Jews before World War II, much of it during the 1930s, and that Jewish landowners had not relinquished their ownership of their land when the area was captured by the Jordanians in the 1948 War. The Arabs and the BBC, of course, dispute this.

    Not surprisingly there is also much to object to in the main article.

    US-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians are deadlocked over the issue of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. No, they are not. There are no ongoing talks between Israel and the Palestinians. Even if they were they idea that any conceivable Israeli government would simply handover Gilo and expel her residents is optimistic to the point of dreaming.

    “We have long urged both sides to avoid any kind of action which could undermine trust, including, and perhaps most particularly, in Jerusalem, any action that could be viewed as provocative by either side,” she (Hilary Clinton) said: Ignoring the Palestinian bid at the United Nations. Just in case you haven’t realised the BBC position the subhead is one word ‘Provocative’.

    Gilo lies across a narrow valley from the Palestinian village of Beit Jala. It became a target for militants during the second Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation in 2000. A rather euphemistic way to describe snipers working, often against the wishes of the owners of houses in Beit Jala,  and targeting civilians.

    Meanwhile, the UN rapporteurs on housing, water, sanitation and food rights said there had been a “dramatic increase” in the demolitions this year. This is a further example of the BBC tagging unrelated issues that strengthen the narrative to the very end of articles. Despite the implication there have been no demolitions in Gilo. It is a wholly Jewish area separated from the closest Arab area by a gully.

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    • Biodegradable says:

      According to this comment on his blog the spokesman for the Israeli embassy in Spain, in reply to somebody, says that the building is yet to be approved, and most importantly 20% of the homes are for “Palestinian” residents of Jerusalem.

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  13. Natsman says:

    Buy and read Delingpole’s “Watermelons”, and get angry, get VERY ANGRY.

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  14. deegee says:

    Viewpoint: The end of a new beginning?
    This is an acknowledged opinion piece so I won’t criticise the contents just the BBC contribution.

    Unless the US has more than a veto to offer in response to the Palestinian UN membership bid, then President Obama’s 2009 Cairo speech to the Islamic world will have been just words, says former US Assistant Secretary of State PJ Crowley.

    Surely it was significant to inform us that that the administration Crowley served was the current one and all American efforts in the Middle East accured on his watch and presumably on his advice?

    Surely his resignation over the treatment of Wikileaker Bradley Manning and not Mid East policy was worth a mention.

    Most importantly. I think. the BBC ignores his current gig. He holds the General Omar N. Bradley Chair in Strategic Leadership, a joint initiative among the United States Army War College, Dickinson College and the The Pennsylvania State University — Dickinson School of Law. P.J. Crowley lectures the next generation of military and diplomatic officers on public affairs, apparently on loyalty and discretion about critisising the current President and his former boss. Still by the time his students come to their posts the new President will most likely be Republican. It will be alright, then.

    It must really have peeved the subeditors. Crowley supports the Palestinian bid whole heartedly and without conditions but he also attacks the ‘One’. What to do?

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    • David Preiser (USA) says:

      Like I said on the recent anti-Israel bias thread, I’m still waiting for a defender of the indefensible to show us a Viewpoint piece which does not come from the BBC/Left side of any issue.

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  15. jarwill101 says:

      Given the beeboids are so keen on assisted suicide, ‘the right to die’, shouldn’t they just stand back now & let New Labour go? God knows they’ve tried hard enough to inject life into this critically ill patient, dressed it up, made it up, & still it lies there, utterly bankrupt of credible policies, loathed by millions who can’t forgive it for so many past misdemeanours & want it gone. This morning, political doctors of all persuasions were seen shaking their heads grimly. I know the beeboids have much to lose if their party of choice slips away, but just for once, BBC, put the nation first. Stop the expensive, but futile treatment that we have to pay for, come out of denial & admit the patient deserves to die before it does any more damage.

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  16. David Preiser (USA) says:

    OMFG this has to be one of the most cynical, grotesque political manouevers I’ve ever seen.  Just now, the Labour Conference featured a guest speaker: a survivor of the mass murder in Norway.  He’s saying that he knows that the British Labour Party is a good friend to his country and his party, and that they’re all unified in the fight against racism and in support of multi-culturalism.

    The BBC condemned Republicans for using 9/11 for political purposes, but you know they think it’s a brilliant move for Labour to do it.  I don’t recall any Republican National Convention ever having a 9/11 survivor speak specifically to remind everyone to vote Republican.

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    • ltwf1964 says:

      scum is as scum does

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    • London Calling says:

      Just when you think Labour can’t stoop any lower, they surprise you, by going lower still. I pity the poor people of Norway with this racemongering sh*te  around their neck. You might be forgiven for thinking Anders had a point. Not to justify his actions of course.

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    • Demon1001 says:

      How cynical and dirty can they get!

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  17. Will says:

    Does Beeboid in Athens repeatedly using the phrase “tax hikes” rather than “increases” in respect of Greece’s efforts to bring down its budget deficit suggest that the BBC think it unfair  for public services to be financed rather than just appear by magic?

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  18. David Preiser (USA) says:

    Ugh, more live feed from the Michael Jackson death trial.  Is this really more newsworthy than what’s going on in the rest of the world?  Hell, I can think of five US issues alone that are far more important.  Nice priorities, BBC.

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  19. George R says:

    Why doesn’t Islam Not BBC (INBBC) report this?:

    ‘Jihadwatch’:-
    Iranian court upholds apostasy conviction and death sentence for convert from Islam to Christianity

    [Extract]

    “International pressure got the hikers freed; theirs was a fashionable cause in the mainstream press and among prominent left-wing figures. Would Hugo Chavez, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Cindy Sheehan, Noam Chomsky, and Sean Penn care to stand up for Yousef Nadarkhani’s human rights?”

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  20. Will says:

    On the 6pm BBC1 news Peston suggests that the proposed EU Financial Transaction Tax (paid disproportionately by UK taxpayers) would not be such a bad thing as it would reduce the socially worthless activites of the city. That must be true because it is a tax proposed by Adair Turner – fine fellow to  a Beeboid (but one of Oborne’s “GUILTY MEN” – former “chairman of the disastrous Financial Services Authority and chairman of the Government’s Committee on Climate Change”)

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    • Grant says:

      Will,
      The whole point of all EU policy is to shift the  financial centre from London to mainland Europe.

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  21. fred bloggs says:

    Shock – horror, the bBC and Labour are not in lock step.  The bBC are currently doing their ethnic bit, I think it is mixed race season at the moment.  However, looking at the labour conference a stange thing has happened, labour has not conferred with it’s publicity dept i.e the bBC.  The conference appears, in general, to be hiddeosly white.  A mixed message indeed.

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    • John Horne Tooke says:

      I think Baroness Ashton should be a synonym for “hiddeosly white”
      Cruel and unkind, I know,  but I could not resist it.

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    • NotaSheep says:

      To the BBC, of the three main parties, onlt the nasty Tories can ever be racist.

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  22. Martin says:

    The contrast between the BBC 6PM news and the ITV 6:30PM news is staggering. Last Night the BBC had Red Ed as the top story, ITV had him down the list.

    Tonight the BBC are gain bigging up Red Ed, ITV have his way down the story list.

    Also the BBC painted the Tories as anti EU over the proposed closer ties in the Euro zone AND the proposed 0.1% tax on city transactions. ITV just reported straight down the middle, the BBC had to turn it into a political left wing story.

    Tom Bradby giving Red Ed a hard time right now, Toenails performed oral sex on him.

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    • Grant says:

      Martin,
      The more exposure Red Ed gets, the better so far as I am concerned.
      Toenails going down on him ?  I have just thrown up my breakfast. Thanks a lot   ( porridge washed down wth Irn Bru, in case you ask ).  

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  23. Neil Turner says:

    Listening to Peter Allan on today’s 5LiveDrive, round about 4.45pm. He interviews a woman about so called “chick-Lit”, erotic books written for women. She referred to it as “clit-lit”, and invited Allan to “get between her covers”. The interview went on for over 5 mins, and many inneuendos received much encouragement by Allan and his co-presenter. At the end he signs out by telling her how it was a pleasure (or something similar). Bearing in mind children are overhearing this on the way home from the school run, I was shocked. Not just by the interviewees words, but by Allan’s encouragement.

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  24. Martin says:

    Does the name Andrew Rosenfeld mean anything to you? Well watching the BBC the answer is no, but the FT is all over it.

    This morning I wrote on the FT front page that Ed Miliband has been accused of “hypocrisy” for launching his moral crusade against ‘bad’ business while Labour officials are negotiating a £1m donation from Andrew Rosenfeld, a former tax exile.

    Rosenfeld is also controversial because in 2005, during the collapse of Allders, he refused to accept responsibility for its £68m pension deficit despite his large financial stake in the retail chain – through a vehicle called Scarlett Retail.

    http://blogs.ft.com/westminster/2011/09/how-rosenfeld-illustrates-the-flaws-in-milibands-good-bad-business-crusade/#axzz1ZGyrLGlX

    Rosenfled has history with the Liebore party, funny thing is guess which world class boradcaster doesn’t mention it anywhere (although references to his part with Liebore show up)

    Can you just imagine if Osborne or Cameron were doing this, the BBC wouldn’t shut up about it.

    Well done to Jon Snow for asking Red Ed about it as well.

    Over at the BBC zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Robert Peston zzzzzzzzzzzzzz Nick Robinson zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz 2 Ed’s Steph zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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    • Reed says:

      …and what about the Libdems 2.4 million quid from convicted fraudster Michael Brown, which I believe has never been returned because according to Nick Clegg “We took that money in good faith”.

      …but wasn’t there a similar silence regarding evil Lord Ashcroft’s donations to the nasty Tories? Er…no…perhaps not.

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  25. As I See It says:

    After the BBC coverage of Planet Dinosaur (TUC conference)

    Who Do You Think You Are (Lib Dem conference) 

    I must say I am enjoying Labour Conference….

    I can’t decide….Bang Goes the Theory, New Tricks, or is it…. Pointless…?

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  26. David Preiser (USA) says:

    There is now smoking gun (sorry) evidence that ATF actually paid cash – using taxpayer money – to buy automatic pistols and delivered them directly to Mexcian drug cartels.

    This is US Government officials deliberately providing weapons used to murder US Border agents and hundreds of Mexican citizens, all to create an atmosphere more condusive to enacting stricter gun control laws.

    This goes all the way to the President.  Remember, He told a sycophant over a year ago that His Administration was working on gun control “under the radar”.  This is what He meant.   The BBC has barely touched on this story, and certainly isn’t informing of you of the whole truth or any later developments.  Instead, the legion of new “digital media” BBC hires in the US have been busily creating soft magazine-style pieces of local atmosphere and color.

    In contrast, the BBC was all over every tiny thing Bush did, like the wiretapping noise.  Which was actually legal, and killed no one.   The BBC’s newsgathering priorities in the US are a joke.  All BBC employees in the US should be ashamed.

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    • Martin says:

      Also amazed at how little coverage the scandal of Obama and the green energy company (Solyndra?) has gotten. If it were George Bush the BBC wouldn’t shut up about it, remember how the BBC went on and on about Halliburton and Dick Cheney?

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      • David Preiser (USA) says:

        The BBC follows the farthest-Left Obamessiah-supporting media and blogs for the direction to take on US news. If it’s not headlines for a week on the WaPo or NYTimes or the HuffPo, they won’t bother reporting it at all, safe in the knowledge that their Big Media comrades haven’t either.  And then there’s the White House talking points to get through every day.  They are a disgrace to journalism.

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  27. Reed says:

    More from Labour’s young superstar :  
     
    “I don’t much like any form of elite education”  
    http://order-order.com/2011/09/28/rory-unreal-ironic-tweet-of-the-day/  
     
    Elite – “A group of people considered to be the best in a particular society or category”  
     
    In other words – excellence. One would think that this would be encouraged in the field of education. However, the demonisation of the concept of ‘elitism’ is a fine example of the left’s use of language distortion to create equality of outcomes and diminish the role of talent and hard work. Rather than excellence for some, they’d prefer mediocrity for all. (except where thay can get an advantage for their own and then pull the ladder up behind them)  
     
    Also – My Site – (from the previous open thread)  
     
    Gove responds to examination board’s policy re A-levels :  
     
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2042601/Michael-Gove-A-level-ranking-plan-insults-child-wants-succeed-merit.html

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  28. Martin says:

    Classic on Newsnight, discussion on the Euro shambles (with a fit bird by the way) but Peter Oborne keeps calling some knobhead in Brusels or somewhere an “idiot” and the bloke eventually walks out. Poor Paxman tried to tell Oborne off.

    Loved the way Oborne tore the twat from the FT a new one  as well, fit bird showing plenty of leg though 🙂

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    • Will says:

      It had all the appearances of Oborne having been dragged off set whilst we viewed Comrade Mason’s report from Greece. The studio sert & personnel remained the same but for the metamorphosis of Oborne into leggy blonde Europhile.

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    • My Site (click to edit) says:

      Shame Oborne blew it on the ad hom front.

      I recall Andrew Bolt’s filleting of a n EU lackey as much more nuanced… and effective.

      However, it is doing the rounds on the BBC blogs, and the mods are chilled too. The EU seems to have funded a rather inept crowd thus far, and they in turn are getting filleted.

      Odd that Paxman only kicked in after the 3rd round. Mr. Oborne seemed to be wondering when he was going to get what he was clearly agitating for.

      That daft Labour prodigy egg-in-face, the trader no one knew how he go there, and now this.

      The BBC seems to be expolding from within.

      Rather fun, actually.

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  29. Martin says:

    Yes I was expecting the BBC to use a big hook to drag him off stage like Les Dawson used to do.

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  30. Millie Tant says:

    That was a disgrace. The inept Paxman sat there like a muppet and did nothing to stop it until after the man had walked off. Oborne made himself look like a boor. How to destroy your own credibility and reputation in one easy session on the Beeboid Corporation’s supposed flagship political news and discussion programme.

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    • dave s says:

      It was very strange. I did find Mason’s report from Greece interesting. He seemed most concerned that the middle class was in an unpredictable mood. As a socialist he should know that all revolutions are really led by the middle class not the working class masses of historical legend. I sense real unease here.
      What if the Greek middle class really does cry enough and break the elite’s hold over them?
      Could it spread throughout Europe?

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      • Grant says:

        dave s,
        Could it spread through Europe ?  Let’s hope so. It is the only way we will get rid of the corrupt Left-wing elite who are ruining our lives. And I include the current pathetic UK “government” .

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  31. David Preiser (USA) says:

    Seeing as how there was so much wailing and hand-wringing at the BBC over the recent execution of a cop-killer in Georgia last week, I fully expect them to spend at least some amount of time discussing the impending execution of a man for the crime of converting to Christianity in a place a bit further to the east.

    Or is this not worth the BBC’s attention because no one doubts his guilt?

    They did find a moment to mention that that poor Saudi woman had her lashing cancelled, because, as we all know, the Saudis are really quite moderate these days…..um…..it was only going to be 10 lashes, a doddle, and surely with a wet noodle…..and it’s only the Saudi interpretation of Islam that leads to this sort of thing…..

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    • Grant says:

      David P,
      I posted above, but the BBC always seem a bit quiet about Obama’s support for the death penalty.

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  32. My Site (click to edit) says:

    As Mr. Black has eventually emerged from the relative security of obit duty, he seems to have walked straight into a bit of a ‘do’ by highlighting experimentation and ‘interpretation of results’.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15093234

    Unsure if having sycophantic groupies slapping -ve’s on simple facts is helping his cred much, mind.

    Meanwhile…

    http://omniclimate.wordpress.com/2011/09/29/fracking-bbc/

    I still have an open mind on frakking (drilling does derive benefits, but has also a less than stellar safety record), but the BBC’s stance on any enviro area makes it darn tricky not to err on empathising with anything not them, especially when well argued.

    When a BBC ‘report’ in favour of a stance is a credibility kiss of death, you know there is a problem.

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  33. My Site (click to edit) says:

    edwestonline Ed West Why dont they just replace Thought for the Day with 3 minutes of unadulterated Left-wing statist propaganda. Be basically the same thing
    Ah, but it is speaking to and for the UK public.

       0 likes

  34. My Site (click to edit) says:

    MrHarryCole Harry Cole RT @BBCNews: Harman: Tory plan to deny votes <- why are the BBC pushing such a blatantly distorted line?
    It’s a mystery mate. A mystery.

       0 likes

  35. Umbongo says:

    Another faux debate on Today this morning:  apparently real universities are failing to allow illiterates from the lower classes to become undergraduates.  Accordingly, Today invited the intolerably matey millionaire Peter Lampl (financier of educational pressure group, the Sutton Trust) to give the universities a bashing.  To defend them and big up another useless and expensive quango – the Office for Fair Access – Willetts (the “universities minister”) was invited to comment.  His defence demonstrated how socialist a CINO can be.  Unchallenged and undiscussed – indeed the over-arching reason for this farce – was the assertion that the “unfairness” of giving the undeserving something for nothing (while preventing the deserving get something for something) is damaging “social mobility”.  
     
    But, to repeat, there was no real debate here.  There was only criticism from the left answered by a lefty bleat from a coalition dildo.  What nobody mentioned is that even the corruption and downgrading of the examinations system so that my cat is now capable of getting at least 3 “A” levels (OK not A* but he’s only a cat) has not solved the problem of how you get functional illiterates qualified for tertiary education – even if that “qualification” is a meaningless measure of academic ability and knowledge.  But according to the narrative, there are still people out there who “deserve” a place at university because, although they’re academically useless, it would be “unfair” were they excluded.  Of course, no-one mentioned the fact that our state schools are, by and large, a disgrace to a civilised nation: that the correlation between the destruction in the 60s of the system enshrined in the 1944 Education Act plus the simultaneous corruption of our examination system and the present-day functional illiteracy and innumeracy of, what, 40% of school leavers is no accident but is a clear example of causality.  Don’t expect that discussion on Today though

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  36. My Site (click to edit) says:

    Over to you, Aunty, especially the four whores of the apocalypse..

    http://www.monbiot.com/registry-of-interests/

    Guessing those FoI lawyers’ fees kicking in about… now.

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    • Roland Deschain says:

      The other is with Penguin, to write a book about rewilding…”

      What the heck does that mean?  Is he writing about a dead horse?  Or just flogging one again?

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  37. My Site (click to edit) says:
  38. Radio2LunchTimeLoather says:

    Jeremy Vine published his script on Twitter earlier: http://lockerz.com/s/142916102

    I’m no fan of McGuinness but I do believe in “innocent until proven guilty”.

    http://lunchtimeloather.blogspot.com/

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  39. Reed says:

    Question Time audience :

    David Dimbleby is joined in Liverpool by Grant Shapps, Tim Farron, Caroline Flint, Janet Street-Porter and Peter Oborne.

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/question_time/9602150.stm

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    • Reed says:

      Sorry – panel not audience. :-[

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    • Peter Parker says:

      The BBC no-doubt looking to damage the EU referendum cause by having the aggressive idiot Oborne on to speak about Europe. In addition to making eurosceptics look bad he’s also anti-Israel and pro global warming alarmism.

      3-birds with one stone from the BBC’s perspective.

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      • Reed says:

        Normally they’re happy to give Nigel Farage a platform, as he has the potential to take votes from the Tories. I guess it was a toss up between damaging the nasty party or limiting the damage to the wonderous EU.

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      • Grant says:

        Yes,  of all the “right-wingers”  to choose from, it is interesting which ones the BBC consistently go for  !!!!  

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  40. My Site (click to edit) says:
  41. My Site (click to edit) says:

    Vastly funded bozo gets rewarded no matter what shock…

    http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2011/09/29/bureau-recommends-civil-servant-faces-conflict-of-interest-accusations-over-new-role/

    Now, who else falls under that category?

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  42. Reed says:

    Someone else who’s not very impressed with Labour’s new boy. He’s provided a seemingly worse for wear commentary.    
       
    http://www.maxfarquar.com/2011/09/lies-lies-lies-rory-weal-speech/    
       
    I expect this is what we all sound like while watching Question Time week after week.
    :-E

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  43. Richard Pinder says:

    Does anyone have information about a Climate Bloger disseminating climate misinformation called Paul Briscoe. He seems to be one of a number of scientists posing as a members of the public on important climate blogs using pseudonyms taken from the telegraph obituary pages. He is a prolific daytime AGW bloger on BBC Climate blogs especially Paul Hudson’s. Is he employed by the BBC? This blogger only mislead me into thinking that he did not know the difference between specific and relative humidity, but this was obviously not so, and was only meant as an attempt to confuse the audience.

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  44. Reed says:

    I expect she just covers up to avoid any potential problems or unwanted attention that might arise in these parts of the world as a result of being not clothed enough – a sort of ‘just in case’ policy. As to the apparently sympathetic outlook towards the Taliban, one can only assume that some journalists spend so much time amongst these people that they develope a kind of Stockholm Syndrome that skews the reality of the kind of unpleasantness that these groups really represent.

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  45. David Preiser (USA) says:

    Doucet isn’t wearing a hijab or any head covering.  That’s the French teacher.

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  46. David Preiser (USA) says:

    The Obamessiah hath spoken.  Perhaps the BBC will stop censoring the story now?


    White House Condemns Possible Execution of Iranian Pastor

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  47. Craig says:

    Tuesday night’s The World Tonight began with Carolyn Quinn giving a run-through of Ed Miliband’s flop of a speech. Not that you’d know it was a flop. She reported it without any critical editorialising, then talked to Blue Labourite Lord Maurice Glasman, who loved the speech (which he influenced) and thinks Ed’s great. She asked him a few very soft questions.

    Then it was off to a marginal constituency, West Wirral, for a chat to some voters. Reporter Charlotte Ashton talked to three of them. One Labour supporter found she warmed to Ed during his speech. The other, an anti-capitalist who stopped supporting Labour because of the Iraq War,  said he was more impressed that he expected to be. Finally a student, who voted Conservative last time, said he would now seriously consider voting for Ed Miliband on the strength of the speech.

    Parallel reality time again at the BBC.

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    • Craig says:

      The following night saw a lively debate between BBC favourite Will Hutton and BBC outsider Jon Moulton (of Better Capital) over Ed Miliband’s talk of ‘predators’ and ‘asset strippers’ – rightly featuring someone to defend Miliband, and one to attack him. 

      One highlight was this exchange between Jon Moulton and presenter David Eades:

      DE: There are cases where businesses have gone in basically to expatriate the money that they can make out of some of these companies, that is true enough isn’t it?
      JM: Well, you make it sound like it’s an evil thing to do. The idea of making money is the fundamentals of our economy, so let’s not knock that. Extracting money from successful businesses is the entire purpose of business. What happens to that money is open to argument and discussion.

      A BBC interviewer questioning from the Left. Jon Moulton sounded surprised, surprisingly.

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    • Grant says:

      “more impressed than he expected to be “.   Damned by faint praise !
      But, you are right, Craig, the BBC live in a different universe.

         0 likes

    • Reed says:

      Really, how many people who genuinely voted Conservative at the last General Election would now consider supporting Miliband’s Labour? Perhaps he suffers from a multiple personality disorder, or is a bit of a fibber.

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      • John Horne Tooke says:

        “Finally a student, who voted Conservative last time, said he would now seriously consider voting for Ed Miliband on the strength of the speech.  “

        Maybe he has now had over a year at the left wing academia. He may want a job at the BBC when he is finished like Matt Prodger. As long as he leaves out that he “once voted conservative” on his application form he too could be living off the taxpayer.

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  48. George R says:

    Oh, CANADA.

    As previously noted, BBC-NUJ hardly ever reports from Canada (unless there’s a royal visit); for most Beeboids apparently, Canada is something of a non-country. 

    Canada is, apparently, too white, too Western, too pro-British, with too large a British diaspora to be of interest to BBC-NUJ. (Compare how much attention France’s media gives to Canada. And how much attention BBC-NUJ gives to one of its own political favourites, Cuba.)

    Instead, we are fed heavy Beeboid Muslim ‘reportage’ for Islamic countries.

    And when we are graced with a BBC-NUJ report on Canada, what is it about? -that BBC-NUJ hobby-horse: ‘climate change’.

    “Climate change ‘could hit Canada GDP’ – report”

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15119210

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