OPEN THREAD

Morning folks. Just spent 45 minutes on BBC Nolan Show re my criticism of the Olympic Opening ceremony. I brought up the fact that Labour MP Paul Flynn had already tweeted it was a paean to Socialism. Nolan did not want to discuss this. Instead the plan was to paint me as the world’s biggest begrudger which was rather confounded when the first caller fully agreed with me. I feel Aidan Burley’s pain! Anyhoo –  a new open thread for you all whilst I go into a dark room and meditate.

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114 Responses to OPEN THREAD

  1. DJ says:

    And then there’s this:

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2180863/London-2012-Olympics-Labour-Party-delighted-Games-socialist-opening-ceremony.html

    So, in summary, in three days we’ve gone from anyone who says it was leftist being a tinfoil hat wearing kook, to liberals openly celebrating it as a giant ‘screw you’ to the right. So it looks like another busy day for Winston and his pals deleting unfacts.

       49 likes

    • #88 says:

      …and this.

      A tweet from Diane (Divide and Rule) that the BBC ignored, but then again, she’s only rubbing the Tories nose in the Opening Ceremony:
      Diane Abbott MP‏@HackneyAbbott
      Wonderful tribute to the NHS (including 300 children) Eat your heart out Andrew Lansley #olympicceremony

      Collapse Reply
      Retweet

      Favorite

      1:47 PM – 27 Jul 12via Twitter for iPhone · Details

      27 JulWILL quinton‏@williamquinton0

      @HackneyAbbott a bit of a fairy tale representation..no hard assed nurses..

      Expand

      27 JulAlison Denham‏@paddymaid

      @HackneyAbbott You’re rather assuming he has one, Diane.

      Expand

      27 Juldarrenmichael‏@darrenmichael

      @HackneyAbbott wonderful. Very emotional and a great two fingers up to Cameron.

      Expand

      27 JulParents‏@Parentsofdis

      @HackneyAbbott please don’t play politics tonight nows not the time,great event!

      Collapse

      1:49 PM – 27 Jul 12via Twitter for iPhone · Details ;

         14 likes

    • Span Ows says:

      And this:

      http://www.standard.co.uk/comment/comment/is-this-the-scene-that-won-labour-the-next-election-7987077.html

      Ian Birrel in the Evening Standard: “After Danny Boyle’s rose-tinted NHS homage, Coalition attempts at its essential overhaul could be political suicide”…
      “Meanwhile the case for reform grows more urgent, the funding choices more stark. Ironically, the end result is that a sentimental segment of an otherwise exhilarating Olympic ceremony will only make it that much harder to save the very institution put on show with such pride to the world.”
      Posted by Span Ows at 3:29

         17 likes

    • David Preiser (USA) says:

      Aha, David Vance is busted: he’s really a Labour luvvie for thinking that the opening ceremony had Left-wing political overtones.

         3 likes

  2. Biodegradable says:

    Oh dearie me David!

    Please don’t waste your sympathy on Aidan Burley:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aidan_Burley#Nazi_controversy

       2 likes

    • Wild says:

      You may think that a toast “to Tom for organising the stag do, and if we’re perfectly honest, to the ideology and thought process of the Third Reich” was a joke in bad taste, but the difference is that when a Labour Member of Parliament toasts the ideology and thought processes of Stalin or Mao or Castro they are not joking.

      P.S. It may be the case that French prosecuting authorities announced they had started a preliminary inquiry into the event, but given that the French collaborated with the Nazi’s in the not too distant past that has to be the biggest joke of all.

      It is the usual thought fascism by the sort of anti-Semites and Stalinist apologists who profess to be defenders of liberty.

         32 likes

      • #88 says:

        Unlike Burley, Ed Balls went the whole way and actually wore the Nazi uniform

           41 likes

        • Richard Pinder says:

          And Ed Balls still likes the red bit of the NAZI flag. It represents socialism.

             23 likes

    • Lloyd Reith says:

      Because Wiki is the font of all knowledge. NOT.

         3 likes

  3. Umbongo says:

    I can understand that the (British) world and his wife are pleased that the GB team has already won two medals and my congrats to the two ladies who earned them. But, you know, we (well, not me, I knew what to expect) look to the BBC news – on the serious channels anyway eg Radio 4 – to convey information about what’s happening in the world. Sure, 2 medals won might be worth a 10 second mention but not half the news: a hysterical Becca telling the world that she’d won a bronze (I understood before the Games started that she was a shoo-in for at least 2 golds) was overkill.
    BTW, call me Mr Grudge, but let’s be clear about this: to us non-competitors (or this one anyway) who have paid for this fest, only a Gold cracks it: anything else is a wooden spoon.

       17 likes

  4. geyza says:

    I loved how the capitalist spirit created the drive and ingenuity to create the industrial revolution and made Great Britain the greatest trading country on earth at the time. I loved that this was honoured in the ceremony.

    I am glad that Brunel was honoured in such a way and I loved that Tim Berners Lee was recognised too.

    Yes I disliked the sections of the ceremony that were overtly left wing, but like it or hate it, the left have had a profound effect on our country and are part of our heritage. I wish that they weren’t, but they are and that is that. So as a celebration of ALL of Britain, it was right to show this too.

    It was a fully British celebration and highlighted the right wing and the left wing. It was full of patriotic pride and was fully inclusive of all Brits, left and right.

    The group of BBC hating right wingers I sit with at work all loved the ceremony and felt it was entirely appropriate.

    Of course the highlight for me was the Queen taking part and the “pushing past James Bond to parachute out of the helicopter” was utter genius.

    I loved it and felt nothing but national pride throughout.

       9 likes

    • Mat says:

      Well good for you !
      Me personally I feel no pride in a contrived attempt to pander to the lowest form of nationalism banging on about how we are all one world while shoving the flag [ note the flag !that most lurvies like Tranny boil hate!] in all those foreigners faces still not too surprised after the slum dog effect I.e Danny makes millions but leaves a paltry trust fund [his lawyers won’t say how much wonder why??] for the poor he made millions off !
      I feel more pride in watching Bradley Wiggins/ guy Martin /Nigel Lamb then I will feel in this biggest of the sell out games ! nothing against the athletes who are shamefully are being traded by the IOC to sponsors like cigarette cards but that’s the way it is !!
      I’m British by birth I don’t need some eye candy that makes Liberace look tasteful to tell me that I have it written in my passport and I got that for £80 quid not £13.5 billion !

         26 likes

    • Reed says:

      I quite enjoyed the whole spectacle, with some exceptions.

      My main complaint was the complete lack of science references, whilst pop culture dominated. We have an enormously important scientific heritage to be proud of, with many scientists and discoveries that have had a huge impact on the entire world.

      The list is almost endless…
      Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Michael Faraday, Francis Crick, Stephen Hawking, Robert Hooke, Bernard Lovell, Alan Turing, Charles Babbage, James Clerk Maxwell, John Herschel, Thomas Young, Paul Dirac, Alexander Fleming…

      Perhaps I missed the science part, just before Dizzee Rascal (???) took over the show…

         11 likes

  5. deegee says:

    I have only vague memories of Beijing. Did the London openong out socialist the Chinese?

       15 likes

  6. Aerfen says:

    This letter in today’s Guardian was effectively an admission of the political propaganda behind the Olympic ceremony – if one was needed!

    Mitt Romney, Aidan Burley, Toby Young, the EDL – your boys took a hell of a beating tonight.

       22 likes

  7. Ben says:

    Well done to Rebecca Adlington. I thought she swam a really brave race. I was also pleased that it was one in the eye for BBC supported scum comedian Frankie Boyle http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2179938/Frankie-Boyle-takes-Twitter-mock-Olympic-swimmer-Rebecca-Adlington.html

       19 likes

  8. Alex says:

    Don’t think the BBC will be reporting this atrocious attack on a British soldier, from an Olympic ‘security’ guard (The offender was ‘Asian’ which basically translates into Muslim, outside UK MSM groupspeak). Allegedly, the soldier was spat at and called a ‘baby killer’ by this wretched walking bag of pus.
    If this had been the other way round it would be headline news. If the BBC fails to report this, then it can only be described as appalling pro-Muslim, sorry Asian, censorship.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2180930/Olympics-2012-G4S-security-guard-faces-sack-calling-soldier-served-Afghanistan-baby-killer.html

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/news/9437491/G4S-Olympic-guard-investigated-after-spitting-at-soldier-and-calling-him-baby-killer.html

    Disgusting!

       43 likes

  9. Sir Arthur Strebe-Grebling says:

    I see that the BBC this morning interviewed one of the seven young people who lit the Olympic flame. No prizes for guessing which one they chose.
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19044445

       33 likes

  10. George R says:

    “Mail Online claims 35 per cent global lead on BBC News”

    http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=49736&c=1

       15 likes

  11. Alex says:

    Mr Vance, just heard the Nolan radio show on the iPlayer… You must have felt like Colonel Custer. A snapshot of what those who disagree with the Left are up against; no debate or opposition allowed. Silence and ad hominem is the left-wing’s tactic… Offense is defence.

       33 likes

    • David Vance says:

      Felt so frustrated. My voice was muted at key moments and THAT really rankled with me.

         25 likes

      • Alex says:

        Yep, can totally understand your frustration… the other guest kept on speaking over you as well; typical leftist ambush. Not familiar with this Nolan chap but from what I gathered his line of reasoning was simply to avoid an in-depth political discussion and stick with the populist opinion of the event’s ‘spectacular logistics’, which was a trap, in a way, because not many could disagree that the resources, preparation and technical logistics/choreography were excellent … However, strange that he didn’t wish to discuss at length the cultural and ethnic minority politics surrounding the inclusion of the Windrush, the rapper Dizee Rascal, Scottish singer Emeli Sandé, the ode to the NHS and the disproportionate quota of ethnic minorities including the overtly politically correct gesture of the flag carrying section containing Doreen Lawrence and Shami Chakrabarti, both lovely people I’m sure, but an undeniable Left-wing statement on multicultural Britain. If you had tried to discuss the ethnic minority allocation, I’m in no doubt that you’d have been hounded off the show for being ‘waycist’ and bigoted.

           29 likes

      • Nicked emus says:

        Still took the cheque I am sure …

           9 likes

      • Ian Hills says:

        Any chance of Fox News opening a branch in Britain?

           5 likes

        • johnnythefish says:

          If the BBC maintained its commitment to ‘impartiality’ we wouldn’t need it however, as things stand, I’d agree with you.

          Plus we have BBBC infiltrators like Laura ‘some would say the Tories have now had 2 years to sort out the economy and can’t go on blaming Labour’ Ginsberg on ITV, spreading their Labour propaganda.

             5 likes

  12. billybuff says:

    Does anyone know if the BBBC is reporting the ‘Asian’ security gurad incident? It doesn’t appear to be on their web site?? And regardless of whether they are reporting it or not what the hell were the organisers doing giving a job as a security guard to someone who clearly appears to sympathise more with those which we are defending against than those that we are defending? ( Like I really need to ask why :0( ) Weren’t ANY background checks carried out on these people?????

       24 likes

    • noggin says:

      it appears there is no time/space to report it …
      never mind this might cheer you up.
      BBC. “Black player ‘victimised by club’
      ooohhh! brother!

         15 likes

      • noggin says:

        oh … and i agree with you 100% by the way.
        al bbc, a news report as we speak? …
        ………………….. (sound of crickets).

           9 likes

    • Aerfen says:

      This is a consequence of legislation preventinmg ‘discrimination’. It leaves no room for common sense. It is obvious that NO Musssslims should ever be employed ins ecurity roles in Britain, as a consequence of their fellow Mussslims acts. Yes it would be hard on the genuinely pro British anti violence Mussslims but its even MORE improtant to save lives and keep the population safe – or it should be, if we had a Government with any common sense and balls..

         16 likes

    • Dysgwr_Cymraeg says:

      Dez will get his mates to cook up some kind of obscure post.
      Dez?

         3 likes

    • Dysgwr_Cymraeg says:

      Dez will provide a link for you as soon as one appears.

         1 likes

  13. Dave says:

    The BBC defended their pisspoor coverage of the cycling roadraces (the commentators were reduced to looking at long shots of the cyclists and trying to figure out what was going on). There were no updates, timings, accurate identification of the cyclists- all the things you’d expect and get when watching the Tour de France. Apparently it was nothing to do with them as they have to take the pictures given to them by the official broadcaster, who say it was all our fault for tweeing too much and overloading the internet. OK.
    So what on earth are the 750+ staff that the BBC have sent to the games doing? They’re not operating the cameras or directing the broadcasts or doing the technical stuff like uploading the signals to the satellite.
    750+ staff! Doing what precisely?

       26 likes

    • Reed says:

      …and yet British Eurosport’s commentators knew every rider, every location, every tactic of each group of riders, where they train, what teams they usually ride for…just about anything you’d need to know. I’ll bet they have a miniscule fraction of the BBC’s budget aswell! (I think they were ex-cyclists themselves, thus the in-depth knowledge)

      I you have Sky – Channel 410

         12 likes

      • Ben says:

        I’m glad it’s not just me who thinks the BBC coverage is really poor.

        I’m on holiday at the moment and am using a Freeview box, but the coverage is really limited with a disproportionate amount of time being devoted to football and tennis. Given this is an opportunity to see loads of other really interesting sports I think the BBC is failing badly again.

        Also watching the canoeing slalom and the cross country eventing over yesterday and today it was incredibly frustrating to not be able to see split times and comparisons with other competitors at a similar stage. This is the sort of information that is a given these days and it is inexplicably absent.

        Also I was watching the judo and really enjoying it but it was incredibly annoying there were no replays of the crucial moments until about 2 minutes after the bouts were finished.

        I have also been exasperated at the crappy commentators who half the time do not even seem to know the rules of the sports they are commentating on. They must have picked them by drawing their names from a hat on the first morning.

        In summary BBC sports coverage of the Olympics is crap. The commentators are crap and the technical aspects of the coverage is crap.

        Also, can anyone answer me why the BBC have to cover the Olympics at all? Why not leave it to the private sector and save the taxpayer some money? I’m sure Sky would have created some specialist Olympic channels available to all through Freeview. Or ITV I’m sure would have been able to do it? I really don’t get it.

           8 likes

  14. Daniel Smith says:

    Looks like the BBC has put news on hold during these Olympics. News24 has been turned into 24-hour Olympic watch, so far wall to wall coverage. Anyone flicking over in the hope of seeing what might be happening in the world will be sorely disappointed.

       17 likes

    • Doyle says:

      It’s not just BBC. ITV News at Ten main news story – British gymnastic team wins bronze medal … whoopdie doo. Meanwhile in Syria …

         6 likes

  15. Edna says:

    http://honestreporting.com/bbc-israel-and-another-olympic-asterisk/
    http://www.israellycool.com/2012/07/30/hey-bbc-what-size-are-all-these-countries/
    It looks like the BBC have ,once again, shown their true colours. They have amended their website (the one with the ‘seat of government in Jerusalem’ !!!!!!) regarding the area of Israel – they now say that the information comes from the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and includes Jerusalem and the Golan.
    Israellycool has asked the BBC the following:-
    Does the BBC note whether the Russian figures include the Kuril Islands?
    Does it note whether Pakistani and Indian figures include parts of Kashmir?
    Does it note whether Indian figures include Lathitila?
    Does it note whether Armenian figures include Nagorno-Karabakh?
    Does it note whether Chinese figures include Aksai Chin or Taiwan?
    Does it note whether Serbian figures include Kosovo?
    Does it note whether UK figures include Gibraltar, the Falkland islands and Chagos archipelago?
    Does it note whether Georgian figures include Abkhazia?
    Does it note whether Moroccan figures include the Western Sahara?
    Does it note whether Ethiopian figures include Badme?
    Does it note whether Cypriot figures include Turkish Cyprus?

    I wonder if he’ll get a reply.

       19 likes

    • deegee says:

      I interpreted that as a variation of the Israel says trope. Meaning they say it but it hasn’t been confirmed so they are probably fibbing. If the Israelis will lie about the area of their the country they live in occupy who knows what else they can’t be trusted with?

         1 likes

    • RCE says:

      That complaint is heading straight for the memory hole.

         1 likes

  16. Louis Robinson says:

    Has it given the Falklands to Argentina yet? Or Gibraltar to the Spanish?

       15 likes

    • Ron Todd says:

      I would have liked to see the olympic flame take a detour through the Falklands and Gibralta.

         15 likes

  17. George R says:

    Brendan O’Neill:

    “Celebrate or be
    forever cast out!
    “The hatred heaped on a Tory MP who criticised the ceremony suggests this New Britain isn’t as diverse as we’re told.”

    http://www.spiked-online.com/site/article/12693/

       19 likes

    • Dave s says:

      Pretty much nails the liberal left and media classes. What it also might indicate is a complete lack of confidence that this “New Britain” has any real staying power. That it is all smoke and chimneys so to speak.

         14 likes

    • johnnythefish says:

      The intolerance of the minority-supporting Left. See it everywhere, every day.

      People in Britain live in a politically-correct straightjacket, unless they are part of an approved minority, in which case they are amongst the priveleged few.

      Fascism, anybody?

         13 likes

  18. George R says:

    ‘British’ Islamic jihadists (of Pakistan origin) violently active in SYRIA to impose Shariah law.

    Islam Not BBC (INBBC) still censors this.

    ‘Zee News’ has oxymoronic headline:

    ‘British Pakistanis supporting Syrian extremists’

    http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/british-pakistanis-supporting-syrian-extremists_790743.html

    ‘Jihadwatch’:-

    “As soon as Assad has fallen, these fighters want to introduce Islamic law, Sharia, in Syria”

    http://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/07/as-soon-as-assad-has-fallen-these-fighters-want-to-introduce-islamic-law-sharia-in-syria.html

       11 likes

    • johnnythefish says:

      Looking on the bright side, it’s an export success story (of which only our multiculti friends on the Left would approve – it’s their creation, after all).

         5 likes

  19. Pounce_uk says:

    So here I am reading the news and I come across this article about Population growth in Iran. According to Karen Zarindast the population of Iran has been stagnant for 30 years and the ultimate Mullah has decreed for all the faithful to do their duty.
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19052458
    The thing is the Mullahs did just that in 1979 which is why the population in 1979 went from 37 million to 74 million today. In otherwords the population has roughly doubled in that time span yet according to the bBC that equates to stagnation.
    Yet again the bBC misinforming the Plebs.
    http://www.google.co.uk/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=sp_pop_totl&idim=country:IRN&dl=en&hl=en&q=iran+population

       13 likes

  20. David Preiser (USA) says:

    DV, regarding your Nolan appearance:

    First, I think it’s silly for Nolan – but typical of the BBC attitude – that he used the number of viewers as proof that the ceremony was great. It’s a false metric, and has been the BBC mantra since they last rewrote the Charter and Agreement: ratings = quality.

    Second, Nolan’s first actual line of defense was that your criticisms were wrong because putting the ceremony together was an amazing technical achievement. I don’t recall you complaining about any technical mishaps, so he’s using a smokescreen. And again he brought up viewer numbers as if it was proof of anything other than the enormously wide reach of the BBC’s tentacles.

    Playing some silly pop tune as a defense that the ceremony wasn’t politicized didn’t work. Other than the NHS, Nolan didn’t seem to address the serious points.

    Also, with that caller from Belfast, Nolan refused to address the man’s complaint, then dismissed it out of hand, saying that nobody else cared about it. When a second caller felt the same, Nolan belittled the opinion with, “nobody has died here,” and then dismissed it again by saying that there could be no objection to the “Team GB” deal because there was an NI athlete in the opening ceremony. I did enjoy, though, his scrambling to figure out if the BBC was right or wrong about using the term. Inconclusive, I think.

    My takeaway from the entire segment: if you don’t agree with Nolan (or any defender of the indefensible, come to think of it), you’re “going out of your way to be offended”.

    Nolan was really unable to defend any of the real points, other than calling you names and citing viewer numbers.

       22 likes

  21. Pounce_uk says:

    Anybody read the bbC report on how a PAl was shot dead by the jews at a checkpoint.
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19046515
    According to the bBC
    1) He was shot dead in a car
    2) The car was in the wrong lane and was simply reversing when fired upon
    3) The men were on their way to prayers.

    And according to Ma’an (Pal news agency) here is what the bBC doesn’t report.
    1) That car was actually a Transit Van
    2) It held 14 men
    3) According to Ma’an the van turned round on been informed of a check point and when told to stop didn’t, which is when the police fired, hitting three men. The Van still drove off.(According to the Israeli press, the van tried to drive through the check point, but still drove off.)
    4) The men in the van were all workers on their way to work.

    Strange how the bBC version doesn’t fit in with the eye witness account as reported by the Pals.

    Even stranger is how since last week over 10 missiles have been fired into Israel. A Heavy machine gun was fired at Israeli troops and how an IED was detonated inside Israel as they patrolled the Gaza border. Yet harm the hair of a Muslim and the bBC lies out of its back teeth in which to band the jews gulity of everything and anything.

    The bBC the traitors in our Midst.

       24 likes

    • Ian Hills says:

      Like when troops fired at a harmless bunch of Iraqis on their way to a wedding. Apparently it’s local custom for guests to fire off their rifles as they drive at speed towards army checkpoints, that is if you believe prosecution whore Cherie Blair.

         7 likes

  22. Pounce_uk says:

    I forgot to mention in my last the bBC didn’t report any of the attacks on Israel, just as they refused to mention how Hezballah released a film of its terrorists launching the attack inside Israel f(from Lebanon) where they kidnapped 2 soldiers and which kick started the Israeli-Lebanon war which while it sent Lebanon back into the stone age. The bBC has no problem shouting out Allah won the day.

    The bBC, the traitors in our Midst

       15 likes

  23. David Preiser (USA) says:

    I bet Lech Walesa has just been put on the BBC’s sh!t list:

    Walesa Endorses Romney

       13 likes

  24. Popeyes says:

    I have never heard of Nolan before. But I listened to some of his show in iPlayer. Is he high on drugs?

    I presume he is presenting a manic extreme opinion show, with DV invited on to be demonised.

    Very funny when the first caller agreed with DV. But Nolan soon found a caller just as extreme as himself and the other guest.

       13 likes

  25. Earls Court says:

    At least a Olympics in the UK is a once in a lifetime event. Also the first time the Olympics have been held in an Islamic state.

       18 likes

  26. pounce_uk says:

    So how many people have read the TB article on the bBC news website today.
    ‘Frightening’ TB screening gaps in those most at risk
    In 2011 there were 9,000 new cases of tuberculosis, with 70% occurring among recent migrants to Britain from countries where the disease remains prevalent.

    So the bBC reports how the UK has higher rates of TB than a large number of third world countries and those that have it aren’t getting screened.

    Here is how the bBC reported in 2003 when the Tories wanted to screen all immigrants into the country for TB:
    Immigration plans raise questions
    Dr John Moore-Gillon, of the British Lung Foundation, said: “TB is not simply imported, we are seeing a rise in many sections of the UK-born population as well…….Meanwhile Mark Oaten, Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said: “This is another worrying step in the war of words over asylum and immigration between Labour and the Conservatives. “Michael Howard knows perfectly well what bigger game he is playing, and history proves it is a very dangerous one.” Lisa Power, head of policy at Aids charity the Terrence Higgins Trust said the policy was prejudice-based rather than evidence-based.

       14 likes

    • pounce_uk says:

      Sorry the above was 2005 and here is how they reported on testing for TB and HIV in 2004:
      Warning over immigrant HIV tests
      Ministers have been urged against introducing mandatory HIV tests for every immigrant arriving in the UK. The Institute for Public Policy Research, a leading left-wing think tank, says such a move could create more problems than it would solve. In a report, it warns that testing immigrants could force those most in need of healthcare underground…..But in its report, the IPPR says mandatory screening is ineffective, costly and may have negative rather than positive impacts on public health. It suggests that the public are being misled about the benefits of introducing the tests. The report, which was written by Dr Richard Coker of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, urges ministers to introduce a “welcome health check” after they arrive in the UK. It says extra money should also be used to prevent the spread of HIV and TB abroad.

         9 likes

      • pounce_uk says:

        Also in 2005 from the bBC:
        Immigration plans raise questions
        Does Britain have an immigration problem?

        Conservative leader Michael Howard certainly thinks we have – in January his party paid for a full-page advertisement in the Sunday Telegraph to tell us so. And he is determined to keep it high on the pre-election agenda, clearly convinced that it has resonance with voters…..Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality (and a former Labour party member of the London Assembly) argues that given a large number of those arriving are from inside the EU, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, then any immigration clamp-down would need to start there. If not, he suggests, then Mr Howard has given enough space to racists to present Conservative policy as wanting to keep out people with dark skins. Michael Howard says that it is a “disgraceful allegation”.

           9 likes

        • pounce_uk says:

          Now that the leftwing stance of not testing immigrants at the border but in the community has failed, will the bBC offer an apology for referring to anybody who wanted testing to take place as a racist.

          The bBC, leftwing arsehole traitors in our midst

             19 likes

  27. Jeff Waters says:

    Tweet by Mark Mardell:

    @BBCMarkMardell
    Romney at Solidarity memorial – hasn’t mentioned Cultural factors in Polish economy yet http://t.co/FvSff7u5

    When I read this tweet, I thought ‘What an odd thing to write’. But this article makes it clear what Mardell was getting at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-19052534.

    He is implying that Romney’s reference to the Israelis as being a hard working people was racist because he didn’t heap similar praise on the Palestinians…

    Jeff

       12 likes

    • Jeff Waters says:

      From Mardell’s tweets, he seems to have an unhealthy obsession with Mitt Romney:

      Jeff

         8 likes

      • Alfie Pacino says:

        … and a similarly unhealthy love of all things Obama. His attacks on Romney are paid for out of our licence fees. This nasty piece of work is an utter disgrace. Day in and day out.
        Obama can’t buy publicity as good as offered for free by the BBC.

           16 likes

      • David Preiser (USA) says:

        It’s Mardell’s job to be obsessed with Romney right now. He’s the BBC’s US President editor, and Romney is a threat to the President.

        It’s very, very interesting, though, that Mardell believes that all Romney opponents would be “aghast” – not confused or turned off or any other minor emotion, but “aghast” – at what is essentially a pro-Jewish comment. This is very revealing of Mardell’s twisted personal belief system. I don’t think Alan Dershowitz would disagree with Romney’s statement. It’s kind of tempting to say that Mardell actually believes that the President and His supporters are not so fond of Jews……

        Why would Romney mention the Palestinians at all in a speech aimed at making Israelis applaud and hoping to peel a few more disappointed (evil, rich) Jews away from the President? There’s nothing to be gained even back home by it. Is Mardell really that biased that he doesn’t understand that? How many votes would Romney gain for doing that?

           13 likes

  28. deegee says:

    It’s no great secret that Saudi Arabia produced two female athletes out of thin air rather than be disqualified from the Olympics. It is unclear what if any experience the judoka Wojdan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shaherkani has at any level of the sport. Even if Saudi Arabia allowed women’s competition it’s hard to imagine a 16 year old would be able to cope with Olympic standards.

    Yet the BBC doesn’t see fit to mention this. The girl may pull out rather than be disqualified for wearing Sharia compliant (by strict Wahabi standards) body covering. Olympics judo: Saudi Arabia judoka could pull out in hijab row.

    If I was her father I would probably us any excuse to take her out. Not that anyone can be sure that this is her father’s reasoning. I hope for her sake, whatever the reason, that she doesn’t compete. She could easily be hurt in a tough contact sport.

       3 likes

  29. George R says:

    INBBC’s MARDELLprovides insuilting headlines, but does not explain or criticise the use of the word ‘racism’ against ROMNEY in Israel.

    Apparently some anti-Romney Arab has said, without justification, that Romney is a racist, and without context or challenge the anti-Romney Mardell merely repeats it to close down debate on Romney’s support for Israel.
    This is totally disgraceful spreading of racist political propaganda by Mardell.

    This is the racist propaganda which Mardell is spreading:

    “Palestinians attack Mitt Romney for ‘racist’ comments”

    (By the way, until a few minutes ago there were no quotes around the word ‘racist’ in headline.)

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-19055643

    In tit-for tat fashion, here’s an equivalent headline:

    ‘Biased-BBC.com attacks Mark MARDELL for “racist” comments.’

       11 likes

    • George R says:

      The politically desperate MARDELL, Obama supplicant, hits journalistic rock-bottom and uses race card against contender ROMNEY.

         9 likes

    • David Preiser (USA) says:

      Mardell won’t criticize the racism charge against Romney: he agrees that what Romney said was wrong. His “reporting” makes that very clear.

         4 likes

  30. George R says:

    As BBC-NUJ could have discovered, if it had wanted to:-

    “Olympic Opening Ceremony Hijacked by Far-Left”

    Posted by: Paul Weston.

    http://britishfreedom.org/olympic-opening-ceremony-hijacked-by-far-left/

       3 likes

  31. +james says:

    After watching the Olympic opening ceremony this song popped into my head..

       3 likes

  32. +james says:

    What with the Olympics being on 24hrs on the BBC for the next two weeks, I don’t think there will be much bias. Unless they start to support the Chinese:)

       2 likes

  33. billybuff says:

    A good day of sport today. Unexpected bronze for the gymnasts, other great performances elsewhere….meanwhile Zoe Smith scrapes 14th in possibly the worst ‘sport’ in the entire games…guess which athlete the BBBC chooses to have in the studio??? Yes you guessed it….

       2 likes

  34. billybuff says:

    Classic bbc moment just now on BBBC news24. A guest appears representing ‘the centre for human rights in Saudi arabia’ The presenter asks him ONE question about the judo controversy concerning the Saudi woman wanting to wear a head scarf (which the IOC has caved in to) and the guy gives an answer saying she shouldn’t have be allowed to wear it!!! This was NOT the answer the BBC expected from a Human rights activists!!! So the presenter interrupted him, talked over him, read him the Judo rules which state ‘NO headware is allowed’ (as if this helps her argument!) then cuts him off….what a complete joke. How do people watch this without seeing what is going on before their very eyes??

       10 likes

  35. As I See It says:

    Hilarious moment on radio from Stratford this morning.

    During 5 Live (where the BBC mix sport and left-wing politics) Olympic Breakfast when Nicky PC Campbell

    “I’m luvvin’ wimmins’ football”

    interupts an interview to ‘give respect’ to the Russian and Chinese national anthems.

    The sound of the old Soviet tune striking up as a backing for Gameshow and his floundering as what was the approved BBC line to take (oh please!) – whether to show respect (you are kidding right?!)

    Oh my, it made my day! I do hope there is a podcast.

       8 likes

    • As I See It says:

      If only the basketball match just kicking off (?) had been USA versus Israel. If only.

         0 likes

  36. As I See It says:

    I’ve just put 2 and 2 together and made 4.

    Now I’m no fan of the Olympics. Like the vast majority of fellow Britons I don’t habitually pay to watch hobby sports – this only happens when the BBC, the Government (Labour in power at Westminster and in London at the time) and the IOC combine to force me to pay for their overblown sack races, egg and spoon etc.

    And then there is the three-legged race. I refer, of course, to the Paralmpics.

    I’ve no objection to disabled people doing sports. In fact I don’t mind some of my taxes going toward helping them to do sports. However I do feel (and don’t mind saying) that the BBC hyping the Paralympics I find toe curlingly condescending.

    But consider this – could it be that all this Paralympic hype might lead to a side effect where the British public begin questioning the burgeoning welfare bill? Could it be that a significant proportion of those on disability benefits might actually be able to hold down a job? Considering we have just seen dozens of their counterparts at the Paralmpics happily whizzing about in competive sports.

    I’ve had this thought and I think the BBC and its fellow travellers have had the same thought.

    Panorama last night.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01lldrc

    Disabled or Faking It? Well what answer do you reckon the BBC come to? I watched it and as I expected the answer was along the lines of evil Tories unfairly bash the disabled.

    BBC reports the message put out by disabilty campaigning ‘charity’ Scope

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-19048294

    Benefit cheats ‘colour attitudes to disabled people’

    The thrust of the article and the content of the radio version is that ‘the negative media coverage’ and the focus on cheats adversly affects the disabled.

    The Tories will never, never reform the welfare state before it reforms the BBC.

       6 likes

  37. George R says:

    India’s power cuts: lessons for UK.

    “India’s power grid crisis deepens”

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-19060279

    In its report, high-cost greenie BBC draws no parallels with its own anti-coal, anti-natural gas, anti-shale gas, anti-nuclear fuel advocacy, and the ‘lights out problem’ in a future Britain.

    Christopher Booker, 2011:-

    “New figures show the lights may go out sooner than we thought”

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/8470256/New-figures-show-the-lights-may-go-out-sooner-than-we-thought.html

       3 likes

  38. George R says:

    SYRIA.

    ‘Daily Mail’s Michael Burleigh refers to inadequate news analysis of Syria (including that by BBC):

    “BBC news reports vividly conveyed the random violence that has erupted in the last month on the streets of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city and the industrial and commercial hub of the country. But gun battles on a single street tell us very little about the broader picture, regardless of the bravery of the reporter dodging sniper rounds.”

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2181530/Syria-Aleppo-gun-battles-street-tell-little-broader-picture.html#ixzz22D66ejC5

    In particular, Burleigh refers to TWO specific and important aspects of the Syrian conflict of direct relevance to British people, which INBBC appears to censor.

    1.)
    “Meanwhile, there are more worrying developments than what is happening on Aleppo’s streets. Let’s start with what concerns us in Britain, which we can do something about. One development almost passed unnoticed, but it is really our business.
    “Last week a British cameraman and a Dutch journalist inadvertently strayed into a jihadist training camp in northern Syria. They were captured and threatened with death before a rebel force got them out.
    Many of their jihadist captors spoke fluent English with Birmingham or South London accents. So the British government has done nothing to stop the outrageous export of British Islamist fighters to foreign conflicts. Will they be arrested on their return? I doubt it.”

    2.)

    “Secondly, the Greek government has quadrupled the number of border guards it has stationed on the Greek-Turkish border. This is the softest entry point for illegal immigrants into the EU. The Greeks are worried about a flood of Syrians entering their already hard pressed country. Once into Greece, of course, they can go anywhere in the EU, including here.”

       3 likes

  39. Santiago says:

    More BBC propagandising for the demographic jihad:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01lhfs7

       3 likes

    • Sir Arthur Strebe-Grebling says:

      No need to worry.
      The presenter Razia Iqbal says ‘There are fifteen million Muslims in Europe. The continent looks completely different now compared to how it looked two decades ago. I want to talk to people for whom navigating that change is almost a daily challenge.’
      So, according to that last sentence, she must be going to talk to millions of ordinary Britons.

         10 likes

  40. Louis Robinson says:

    Mark Mardell”s Obama re-campaign continues:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/19059956

    “When questions about Monday’s remarks on Palestinian culture and the economy were shouted at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw, the Romney press secretary told one journalist: “Kiss my ass, this is a holy site.”
    He’s apologized since. But it shows the levels of frustration.

    The frustration is with me too. Boorish reporters shouting questions at a Polish war memorial is OK, Mark? Is it, Mark?

    Mardell adds: “Secondly from the media, that Mr Romney won’t answer any questions and that even his press team finds it difficult to respond to the most basic inquiries about what their candidate has said.”
    Hey, mark, have you or any one of your craven pack ever asked a single tough question of the Blessed Obama. YOU WOULD’T DARE!
    Echoing the Romney spokesman, Mr Mardell, “Kiss my ass.”

       6 likes

    • John Anderson says:

      Mardell’s clear objective is to avoid reporting the REAL news – what Romney actually said about the vigorous Polish economy – low Government spending, avoiding debt, huge cutbacks in the scale of Government. “It worked”. Clear contrast with Obama’s policies.

         0 likes

  41. Louis Robinson says:

    Missed the word “election” in my “re-campaign”. Oops.

       1 likes

  42. George R says:

    “RUSH LIMBAUGH SLAMS UK OLYMPICS OPENING CEREMONY AS
    ‘MORE SOCIALIST’ THAN CHINA”

    (inc video clip).

    http://www.theblaze.com/stories/rush-limbaugh-slams-uk-olympics-opening-ceremony-as-more-socialist-than-china/

       3 likes

  43. +james says:

    An Irish perspective from about the odd casting of the BBC Shakespeare productions.

    Kevin Myers: A speech so intoxicating it would cause Long Kesh veterans to cry ‘God for Harry, England and St George!’

    http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/kevin-myers/kevin-myers-a-speech-so-intoxicating-it-would-cause-long-kesh-veterans-to-cry-god-for-harry-england-and-st-george-3178883.html

       2 likes

  44. Alfie Pacino says:

    What the papers say ridiculing Peter Hitchens, misquoting him and passing it off as fact. Hitchens is more than a little miffed – worth a read: http://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/2012/07/what-the-papers-didnt-say-and-what-they-did.html

       4 likes

    • johnnythefish says:

      Very good article, with clear evidence provided of BBC bias. But I particularly liked this:

      ‘Multiculturalism is nothing to do with race. It is to do with abandoning the idea of one unifying national culture to which all are expected to belong, and choosing instead to promote a series of solitudes with their backs turned upon each other (some readers say, trying to be clever, that we no longer have much of a British culture to offer, but that is precisely because we abandoned it so long ago). Those who have sought to defend a unified national culture have been, and are still being, smeared as racial bigots’.

      Which is where I reckon the majority of people on here stand. Not racists, not anti-immigration (though anti-mass immigration), not anti-multiracial, just pro- a common culture which binds everybody together.

      The leftie thickos just don’t seem to get it.

         3 likes

  45. Guest Who says:

    ‘misquoting him and passing it off as fact.’
    Or, in other words, BBC SOP. I have never understood Mr Hasan’s pervasive representation across the airwaves in speaking for the nation. It always seems more serving the narrow narrative of those who, as one here likes to trot out, ‘pay his cheque’. It might be worth asking BBC CECUTT to explain why we are continually treated to a ‘review’ guide whose material appears to be deliberate misinformation, whilst factual footage of the BBC’s most favoured son exists to place his sympathies in context. Given the story topic – portraying a view to suit a skewed political slant backed by underhand techniques to ensure unquestioning support – this is nothing more than typically ironic.

       4 likes

  46. Ron Todd says:

    Last night watched a programme called ‘midwifes’ did not intend to not something I would have any interest in, but I caught the beginging and it said raising birth rates services under strain etc. So I had a little bet with myself that every single woman seen giving birth (in more detail than necessary thank you very much) would be white British. I won the bet and finished of a nice bottle of red as a reward.

       6 likes

  47. Jeff Waters says:

    ‘Religious hogwash’: Jeremy Paxman rapped over using phrase to introduce Bible story on Newsnight

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2181737/Religious-hogwash-Jeremy-Paxman-rapped-using-phrase-introduce-Bible-story-Newsnight.html#ixzz22H1FRNAP

       2 likes

    • johnnythefish says:

      Richard Dawkins is the new Messiah, preaching the religion of nothing – because that is what he believes in. It is an equal conceit to believe there is no creator (whatever form that might take) as to believe there is.

      Perhaps he’d look less of an idiot if he took an agnostic stance.

         1 likes

  48. billybuff says:

    Nicky Campbell et al interview people at the club of the British rowing ‘eight’. They choose to talk about the fact that one of the team is a Muslim which gives the interviewee a chance to say ‘how polite he is’ and that he ‘visited morocco to feed kids’. Did they talk about the religious leanings of the other team members?…What do you think??

       4 likes

    • Ron Todd says:

      Did he go to Morocco to feed kids as a penance for not fasting while training and competing?

         2 likes

  49. Maturecheese says:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-19074195

    Do you think that the last sentence in this article (“A black guy who was a complete hero arrived and wrestled the guy on to the grass,” she said.) would have been written if the ‘Hero’ was white?

       3 likes

    • +james says:

      To be fair it is a quote from a witness.

         1 likes

      • Maturecheese says:

        Fair point, but I don’t believe that they would have printed a quote that said a white guy was a Hero. We all know the BBC just loves ethnics.

           1 likes

  50. deegee says:

    Truly half a story.
    Israel ultra-Orthodox lose army exemption The expiry of the Tal Law mostly effects two groups in Israeli society: the Ultra Orthodox and the Arabs whom the BBC doesn’t mention. Why?

    I’m tempted to say because the first group can be used as an example that evil Zionists don’t represent all Jews although I expect the real reason is laziness. The BBC was copying someone who actually reads Hebrew.

    There is another aspect that no one seems to have thought of. Religious women are exempt if they chose to be. This applies to groups such as Druse and Circassians whose men are conscripted and the modern Orthodox who would volunteer even if not conscripted. The answer for the Modern Orthodox is that many girls do alternate national service as teachers, hospital orderlies, etc. Such a national service requirement might be the answer but the BBC doesn’t discuss it. Let me hazard a guess here – because they have little understanding at all about how Israel works.

       0 likes