437 Responses to START THE WEEK OPEN THREAD…

  1. Jeff says:

    This afternoon’s drama on Radio 4 was yet another excruciatingly awful piece of sub 6th form propaganda.
    DCI Stone and his team were called in to investigate the suspicious death of a drunken, wife abusing, rapist. His best pal, a racist thug, so thick and uncouth he sounded as though would eat spaghetti with his fingers, witnessed a dispute between the drunken oaf and an “Asian” chap. This Asian turned out to be the boyfriend of the girl the white brute had raped and therefore became the prime suspect in the lout’s suspicious death. Of course I needn’t tell you not only was the “Asian” innocent (I’m sure you’d worked that out) but he was also an undercover operative working with MI5 to stop terrorist attacks. He then got murdered, therefore giving his life for this country.
    I don”t think Pravda could have produced a more obvious or mind numbing piece of propaganda.
    I can just imagine a clique of middle class pseuds sitting around a spreadsheet ticking boxes. “White racist thug,” tick. Decent, honorable Muslim”, tick. “Thick racist friend of thug”, tick.
    I’m looking forward to next week’s episode when a transgender immigrant from Poland is rescued from thuggish white racists by a brave Syrian refugee.
    Blimey, hope no-one from the Beeb is reading this…

       66 likes

    • GCooper says:

      When the Stone series began on R4, some years ago, it was just about bearable but the last few series have seen the wick turned up to maximum, so that the propaganda has reached ludicrous levels.

      I stopped listening three or so series back and now read the story outlines in advance, as I skim through the week ahead.

      I doubt if there is now more than one R4 play every quarter which isn’t some kind of Left wing morality play designed to teach the audience ‘correct thought’.

      What’s so infuriating is that they must know people have become aware of this, but they also know there is absolutely nothing we can do about it.

         36 likes

      • callinson says:

        Except stop listening to these dreadful dramas. Tune out early and often. You know it makes sense…..

           14 likes

    • gaxvil says:

      R4 plays went down the pan some time ago – avoid.
      R4 Xtra still plays some good old prog’s though.

         22 likes

      • RJ says:

        I didn’t bother posting about this last week, but on Thursday 1st December I heard 5 minutes of the afternoon play, between about 2.45 and 2.50. It was a conversation between two characters talking about terrorism and listing every non-muslim terrorist group of the last 50 years. They even threw in some non-terrorist groups like the People’s Temple Group who committed mass suicide at Jonestown and the Branch Dividians, 76 of whom were wiped out by the FBI at Waco. The play was set in 2016 so I was surprised (not really as it was the BBC) that they weren’t discussing muslim terrorism

           27 likes

    • scribblingscribe says:

      Jeff, Radio 4 plays have long since ceased to be dramas about human beings living in any recognizable world.

      The propaganda is so ludicrous you feel yourself to be whacked in the face by a shovel.

      Long since gave up.

      Surely the nadir of BBC drama was the Spooks series where bombs were going off all over London. Guess who was responsible? Yes, the Jews.

      The BBC once commissioned writers, including Muslim scribes, to write a drama about the London underground bombers. The BBC editors were so horrified that the motives identified by the writers didn’t fit into the Guardian/BBC world that they blocked the development. They also blocked a drama about the sinking of the Belgrano because the writer wouldn’t change the sections sympathetic to Margret Thatcher.

      Haven’t seen or heard a BBC drama in a very long time. Stay with US imports

         16 likes

    • Rob in Cheshire says:

      It sounds like the sort of rubbishy propaganda produced in Stalin’s Russia, full of kulaks as the enemies of the people, and brave Stakhanovite workers exceeding their coal quotas. I think many at the BBC would have fitted in very well at Soviet Radio.

      Of course, dishonourable mention must be given to the insane “Bonekickers”, both for its stupid title, and the fact they managed to find a plotline in which Christian militants beheaded a peaceful muslim. This was proof to me that there really must be a parallel universe, and the BBC lives in it.

         10 likes

      • Up2snuff says:

        Neverwhere was good as was Pilgrim, both R4 Afternoon Dramas. The latter has finished completely and Neil Gaiman’s latest Neverwhere was a one-piece. How long before we get more, if I recall correctly, was not stated.

        Needless to say, both were not real-world stories and did not have to virtue signal at every opportunity.

           2 likes

  2. scribblingscribe says:

    Please stop what ever you are doing, watching the BBC, drinking a yard of ale, having sex with ten people or clearing out the coal cellar.

    get over to 38 degrees. I was sent an email by the BBC, leftie, head in their undies folk there, to stop the protests against the high court action seeking to have a vote in Parliament on Brexit.

    I said no and when asked why said:

    “In our unwritten constitution, there needs to a separation of the executive, the legislature and the judiciary.”

    Sadly, I cannot see where you go on the site to say no(!!!!) and add your own voice to balance out the well meaning greens and Marxists it has on its mailing list. But it needs to be done.

    https://home.38degrees.org.uk

       26 likes

    • ToobiWan says:

      What a tag line “38 Degrees is the angle at which snowflakes come together to form an avalanche – together we’re unstoppable.” Avalanche? A slushy mess more like!

         12 likes

    • JohnW says:

      I received the same email. My response as to why I also said “No” was:

      “The referendum should be implemented automatically according to the vote of the British people. I also detest the EU”

         15 likes

  3. Alex says:

    A report has been released today raising serious concerns about the inability of certain communities to integrate into the cultural life of this country. However, this report has quietly (but conveniently) slipped away on the BBC site. But, do not worry because the BBC still have this story holding strong on the priority list:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-38185816

    The BBC seem to be using the term ‘Right-wing’ a lot these days, too. They use this as a red herring to divert from the real issue which we all know too well.

       30 likes

  4. gaxvil says:

    Late question on May, Sturgeon wearing Mrs Overall’s head-scarf.
    Do these sort ever visit, Sikh, Hindu or Buddhist temples? Maybe they just don’t report it?

       17 likes

    • RJ says:

      Speaking of Buddhists, I note that the muslim Prime Minister of Malaysia was complained to Aung San Suu Kyi, Prime Minister of Burma, that in the on-going violence between muslims and buddhists in her country the muslims aren’t winning.

      Please supply your own Windsor Davies quote.

         16 likes

  5. Al Shubtill says:

    There are many people posting here using the Casey Report as a stick with which to beat the wonderful Muslim-Pakistanis who have migrated their way over here and have being propping our failing economy up ever since.
    These people are just the same as we are and we just need to make more of an effort to integrate with them.
    This video below illustrates the type of ingenuity and sophisticated problem solving that these delightful people bring with them.

       14 likes

    • Grant says:

      Al,

      The donkey was lucky that it did not get raped. Well, not on camera anyway.

         9 likes

    • Peter Grimes says:

      Analingus with a donkey – terribly louche and sophisticated.

      Should it be renamed assalingus?

         3 likes

      • Grant says:

        Peter,

        LOL ! For God’s sake , don’t copy this to the BBC. They will be chasing the foals .

           3 likes

      • Dysgwr_Cymraeg says:

        You cunning linguists think you’re clever eh?

           3 likes

        • Peter Grimes says:

          Well I can’t do it in Welsh.

          On reflection though, analingus might be derived from the French for donkey, ‘ane’ (sorry, can’t do the circonflet) so no need to change it!

             0 likes

          • Dysgwr_Cymraeg says:

            Well, I dont know what cunnilingus is in Welsh either…lol…
            My cunning linguist comment was meant to be a pun on it.
            I’ll get me coat then….

               0 likes

  6. carterdaniel says:

       7 likes

    • MartinW says:

      State Dept Kirby mentions reports by reputable aid agencies. I wonder if the so-called ‘White Helmets’ are considered a reputable agency by the Obama régime? (if Obama can call the Syrian Government a régime, then I reserve my right to reciprocate!). As for the film, I have felt for some time that these RT reports have more an air of authenticity about them that do some (most?) of those emanating from the BBC. Of course, there will be bias, but there is general truth here.

         5 likes

  7. Grant says:

    Supreme Court, Brexit case. Why the hell are there 11 Judges on this ? Is there any precedent in UK law for this ? What the 4X is going on ?

    Smells like intimidation and a stitch-up to me.

       24 likes

    • Grant says:

      Mind you , nice work if you can get it. The result is a foregone conclusion, of course. British Justice, RIP .

         17 likes

      • Grant says:

        Looking at brief profiles of the Judges, it seems that they are almost all Left-wing. Maybe two exceptions. They are all elite establishment. No evidence that any of them has ever had an original thought. I hope I am mistaken.

           19 likes

        • Peter Grimes says:

          I would suggest that in the case of Jonathan Sumption at least that you are wrong. Read a few chapters of his unfinished masterpiece of scholarship on The Hundred Years War, four weighty volumes to date and at least one more to come, and you would be in no doubt at all as to his intellect and ability to marshal facts. Even the legal profession thinks that he is the cleverest of them all, not just of Supreme Court justices.

             2 likes

          • Grant says:

            Peter,

            Sumption is one of the exceptions, in political terms. I used to work with him when he was a tax barrister and hold him in high regard in that field. But, that does not negate my point. I said “almost all left-wing “. One thing I would say about Sumption is that he is easily swayed by money !!

               5 likes

        • Oaknash says:

          Grant looks to me like the establishment –
          1 They could not stop the referendum because it had been promised by the Government

          2 They could not stop the result of the referendum because of the attention the whole process was getting

          3 However they can try to nullify the result of the referendum by using a drawn out process of smoke and mirrors to create an emasculated fudge. And with all these worthy judges on the case who could ever doubt their motivations. I expect they hope that after a year or two of this we will all drift back to watching the telly or just lose interest – however I think for once they may have got things wrong and could well be playing with fire.

             27 likes

          • Grant says:

            Oak,

            Excellent summary of the situation. The politicians and the judges have to be forced to accept that they are the servants of the people, whether they like it or not. ” Be no man so high that he is above the law “.

               19 likes

  8. Dover Sentry says:

    If the Supreme Court decide against Brexit, there will be a large number of Conservative and Labour MPs quivering in fear at the prospective loss of their safe seats.

    “”Oh dear, how sad, never mind””

    I now hate the lot of ’em.

       40 likes

  9. Jeff says:

    Anyone else watching the finest comedy the Beeb have done since Fawlty Towers? I’m referring to their coverage of The Turner Prize. Please take a look. You’ve not seen such a gathering of pretentious, half baked wankers since the last Lib Dem conference. Chief exhibit is a massive (and I do mean MASSIVE) arse; the cheeks being pulled apart by equally large hands. It’s both grotesque and revolting, but of course these posers love to shock.
    The daft bint presenting this crap (sorry) gave us the usual spiel about what this was supposed to represent. Sweetheart, it’s a gigantic arse! That’s it. It isn’t a metaphor for Brexit, it doesn’t represent mans inhumanity to man; it’s a bleedin’ great fat arris.
    Beam me up Scotty!

       50 likes

    • Grant says:

      Jeff,

      Can I take it that you are a “tit man ” then ?

         12 likes

    • RJ says:

      What’s the problem?

      The Turner Prize is for self proclaimed “artists” who can’t draw, can’t paint and can’t sculpt, but who have mastered the “art” of self-publicity.

         30 likes

      • MartinW says:

        We need to hear more about the stuckists, but the BBC has been thoroughly ‘serotered’.

           3 likes

        • Cranmer says:

          I took quite an interest in the Stuckists back in the day but I agree the BBC has gone a bit quiet on them. If you believe wikipedia it’s quite a big worldwide movement now.

             1 likes

  10. Brett says:

    Jeff, you have summed it up perfectly!

       9 likes

  11. Brett says:

    Ps, dont encourage scotty to beam you up! You really dont want to be beamed up scotty!

       6 likes

  12. quisquose says:

    As part of The Guardian’s ongoing mission to criticise white people we have this classic:

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/05/white-people-integration-louise-casey-review-muslims

    Quite a surprise that they allowed comments, and as usual they aren’t exactly in agreement with the Guardian Dogma. I particularly liked this comment from Anarchy4theUK:

    “Dear guardian, do you think there could be a link between your ‘white people are to blame for everything’ narrative & the fact you have to beg your (largely white) readership for money?”

    It seemed quite relevant following a conversation I had with a Muslim taxi driver today. I was getting some new tyres on my car, as was the Muslim chap with his taxi. He said that he liked my car, and we then engaged in conversation for a good 15 mins. He told me that he came to the UK from Pakistan when he was 7, which I would estimate was about 35 years ago. He told me about the bullying he received when he was a kid, but with a glint in his eye said it was all worth it now because he was going to see the UK as a Muslim nation within he lifetime, so he that laughs last laughs loudest as they say.

    Anyway, at some point I brought up the BBC and he smiled. He thought that the BBC was an irrelevance and admitted that neither he, nor anybody he knew, actually paid the TV tax.

    It must hardly surprise many of us to be told that this particular demographic is less likely to have bought into the British invention of paying for the BBC. So this got me thinking about the BBC’s strategy in view of changing demographics. We all know about the BBC’s racist employment targets, and programming. If they hope that pandering to this particular demographic will engage them into the licence paying concept, I think they will be shown to be as fatally deluded as The Guardian.

       47 likes

    • StewGreen says:

      The Guardian deleted that innocent comment
      Did you do a screen-grab?

      ” Anarchy4theUK 4h ago
      This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our community standards. Replies may also be deleted”

         18 likes

      • Guest Who says:

        Those Graun ‘community standards’ seem as sensitive as BBC HYS ones when it comes to uncomfortable truths.

           9 likes

      • quisquose says:

        Unfortunately I didn’t screen-grab that comment.

        Given the blatant duplicitous character of The Guardian and BBC I now fully understand why you screen-grab often.

           4 likes

    • Rob in Cheshire says:

      Crapita must know where the muslim ghettoes are, and I doubt they send their fabled “detector vans” around those mean streets.

      I had a friend who handled motor insurance claims, and he found that when dealing with the inevitable whiplash claims from Pakistanis in Blackburn, you never knew who you were dealing with. Everybody was someone else’s cousin, and names seemed to be interchangeable, as were addresses. Several families in one case were apparently living in the same corner shop, at least according to the paperwork. The insurance company usually ended up paying somebody just to close the case.

      Don’t you feel enriched?

         17 likes

  13. Thoughtful says:

    Everyone should take the time to read this piece which applies just as much to the UK as to the USA:

    http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/218925/helping-anti-semites-immigrate

       4 likes

    • Demon says:

      “dogmatic tolerance of dogmatic intolerance is not virtuous; it’s foolish.”

      Excellent quote from that article.

         12 likes

  14. StewGreen says:

    11pm Radio 4 New Men’s prog starting
    Will it be calling for revolution against the matriachy ?
    Or will it be full of male guilt ?

    The Inadequacy Edition
    Radio 4 introduces The Male Room
    – late night discussion featuring the conversations men don’t often have on air.
    We know that men can talk, but what are the subjects they could be tackling instead of diverting into sport? *
    In this opening programme we tackle male feelings of inadequacy and inarticulacy in the company of five guests.
    Jules Evans runs a philosophy group at Saracens rugby club.
    Johnny Green was the road manager of the Clash.
    Ogaga Emuyevan is co-host of the 20Something podcast.
    Kate Smurthwaite is a feminist stand up.
    And Mark Hayhurst started the Talking Stick men’s group in Surbiton.
    The presenter is Olly Mann, the producer is Miles Warde.

    * see : sexist stereotype …many of us he watching sport

       9 likes

    • Grant says:

      FFS !

         6 likes

    • Cranmer says:

      Will the BBC be advertising Woman’s Hour with the words ‘We know that women can talk, but what are the subjects they could be tackling instead of diverting into shoes?’

      Thought not. Think I’ll watch my DVD of ‘Master and Commander’ again which is all you really need to know about ‘mens’ issues’.

         7 likes

  15. Thoughtful says:

    Untitled-542.jpg

       30 likes

  16. Thoughtful says:

    Amazing meltdown of new Richmond Fib Dem MP while being interviewed by Julia Hartley Brewer

       25 likes

  17. Mr.Golightly says:

    What is the collective noun for a group of Liberal Democrats?

    An idiocracy, an embarrassment, a circus, a deceit….? Any suggestions?

    3B100F9300000578-4001028-image-a-21_1480962264732.jpg

       18 likes

  18. BRISSLES says:

    The Addams Family ?

       17 likes

    • Nibor says:

      Now please don’t be rude about LibDims . They can’t help having faces like bags of spanners .

      And it’s unkind to suggest their new MP abuses the right to be ugly . Her face was obviously set on fire and then put out with a shovel .

      I can now understand Piccasso paintings , they are as realistic as LibDims .

         12 likes

  19. taffman says:

    Why is Is Carney getting involved in politics ?
    “He told his audience that politicians and central bankers must act to ensure people do not lose faith in the current system.”
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38210169
    My retort to that statement is he lost faith with the people of Great Britain with his predictions and warning on Brexit fear.
    IMHO he should be sacked .

       35 likes

    • An English Gentleman says:

      Taffman….

      I wholeheartedly agree and have posted such previously on this forum. Every time he goes public and opens his mouth (far too often for a B of E Governor) he does some kind of damage to the country. He is former goldman sachs, a committed pro EU submissive and entertains ambitions to be the Prime Minister of Canada. I really do think he is one of the worst BofE governors there has been.

         29 likes

    • EnglandExpects says:

      Carney sees himself as far more than Governor of the Bank of England. An Eddie George he ain’t . He is a member of the international elite with a seamless career to develop,with an ever upward trajectory . Even the role of MD of the IMF won’t be big enough for him if the French Lady’s disastrous tenure continues until the end of her term. Meanwhile, as he waits for better opportunities to come up, he condescends to stay at the Bank until 2019. He will continue to make ‘globally significant’ pronouncements well beyond his brief so that he can continue to look the other Davos big- wigs in the eye.And keep his CV up to date.

         19 likes

  20. taffman says:

    Turner Prize ?
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38212014
    In the words of John McEnroe “You Cannot Be Serious”
    Turner must be rolling about in his grave

       16 likes

    • thirdoption says:

      I still remember, whilst at school, being shown the latest and greatest “piece of art”. It was bought by the Tate Gallery in 1972 and called “a pile of bricks”. This stunning piece is pictured below.

      bricks-tate-gallery.jpeg

      Apparently they paid a fortune for it. I realised then that you can fool some of the people all the time.

         24 likes

      • Nibor says:

        Oh look , LibDim brains ready to be despatched .

           6 likes

      • Lobster says:

        I’ve got an exact replica in my back garden – I’m having an extension built.

           17 likes

      • Andrew Caplan says:

        Beautiful.

           5 likes

      • Sluff says:

        Some years ago I was going round the Tate Modern and one of the rooms was closed for redecoration. The room doors were open and you could see a set of stepladders in the middle of this room which was otherwise empty. So I stood in front of the ‘room closed’ sign to obscure it and then I stared at the stepladders as if in deep contemplation, rubbing my chin. Sure enough, several people started to do the same but without knowing the room was closed they treated it as an exhibit.
        Step ladders for sale. BandQ £30. Tate Modern, shall we say £10,000?

           18 likes

      • Doublethinker says:

        Can those who post on this site please acknowledge that the Tate Modern is one of the great uplifting assets of our country. Where else can you get Such side splitting laughter for free? It’s not only the exhibits that are laughable but also those visitors who take this rubbish seriously. When I do get to London , which isn’t often, I try fit in a visit to the TM just for the laugh
        Seriously though I think that the TM and the Turner prize and the general silliness of much of the arts establishment are symptoms of something that is deeply rotten in the liberal elite of this country. This elite seems to have a set of values that are completely at odds with those of most of the country. This difference in values is of course starkly revealed in the ongoing arrogant opposition of the elite to the democratic will of the people on Brexit.

           17 likes

        • Grant says:

          Thank God, I haven’t foot in London for over 30 years. Apologies to any of you who live there and like it. Somehow I think I can live without the ” Tate Modern”. What is it anyway ? A new kind of sugar or comedienne ?

             8 likes

          • Andrew Caplan says:

            Remember, though, that there are many art galleries in London, most of them exhibiting art that actually requires talent.

            And the silly stuff isn’t confined to London by any means:

            27032010165.jpg

            As so far as classical music is concerned, members of the Manchester School are as guilty as any.

            Try David Matthews instead:

               6 likes

        • Cranmer says:

          About 45 years ago H.R. Rookmaaker wrote a book called ‘Modern Art and the Death of a Culture.’ It completely skewers the world of ‘modern art’ and its pretensions and analyses how we as a culture got to this point. I found it in a second hand shop for 20p years ago and assumed it was totally forgotten but it seems it still has something of a following. Well worth a read if you want a good academic refutation of the sort of thing the Tate Gallery promotes.

             12 likes

          • Grant says:

            Cranmer,

            A similar thing has happened in western classical music. How some people can sit through hours of boring crap and say they like it is beyond me. I simply do not believe them !

            Sir Thomas Beecham was asked “Have you heard any Stockhausen ? ” Reply ,
            ” No, but I believe I have stepped in some “.

               10 likes

        • Beltane says:

          The most frustrating aspect of ‘modern art and its appreciation’ is the level of condescension it engenders, effectively saying to those of us left unimpressed: ‘Ah well, if only you were intelligent enough, you too could appreciate the message, the subtle nuanced intention behind the work….’ etc. etc. etbloodycetera.
          It goes hand in hand with reading the Guardian, believing the BBC, seeing immigration as beneficial, regarding islam as a peaceful religion and thinking Tim Farron is significant.
          And, of course, believing that wind farms produce cheap electricity.

             14 likes

          • Lobster says:

            I think this old clip from Doctor Who sums in up perfectly.

               8 likes

          • Cranmer says:

            Beltane – abstract conceptual art is probably the most ‘elitist’ and ‘inaccessible’ of all art forms, precisely for the reasons you mention. There are many definitions of what is good art, but mine is that good art should a. be recognised as art wherever it is, not just because it is in a white-walled gallery, and b. creates an emotional and intellectual response in the viewer without requiring a miniature essay on the wall next to it to explain what it means. ‘Pile of Bricks’ for example, fails on both counts.

               12 likes

            • Rob in Cheshire says:

              Cranmer:

              I’d add that art must involve skill on the part of the artist. To see the work of, say, Rossetti or Klimt is to know that no-one else could have made it. For me, Philistine that I am, a pile of bricks or an unmade bed does not produce that feeling.

              I think the great Johnny Rotten summed it up quite well: “Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?”.

                 9 likes

          • Demon says:

            The crit of the Turner Prize winner in the Telegraph was fulsome in its praise. It’s clearly a case of the Emperor’s New Clothes – the stupid try to pretend they’re intelligent by claiming that these abominations have genuine artistic merit. The genuinely intelligent know it’s all a pile of crap and say so. I love art (true art) and this ain’t!

            Most people think the Turner Prize is named after Britain’s (arguably) greatest artist – JMW Turner. But it’s actually named after Alf Turner who works down the sewers as he is an expert on that kind of output.

               11 likes

  21. taffman says:

    Isn’t it ironic ?
    The Remainers are are dragging the Brexit vote through the courts on the basis that it is a fundamental democratic right of Parliament to decide on the conditions that the UK leaves the EU ?
    An undemocratic EU at that .

       31 likes

    • gaxvil says:

      You can gold plate a turd – still a turd.

         6 likes

      • Rob in Cheshire says:

        Wait until you have heard weird Will Gompertz talk for half an hour about a Turner Prize winning golden turd before you make such a sweeping statement.

           5 likes

  22. nogginator says:

    BBC Newsnight – Louise Casey Report. some drawn out non specific filmclip
    absolute waste of airtime, lots of waffling, talk about Polish community?
    Some open borders airhead headteacher “we now need to be champions of diversity”
    Ameena – Its about all of society, its not about muslims, we ve got to re educate ourselves, I mean what are british values, no dogs no blacks, no Irish etc
    Same old regurgitated tropes.

    Just absolute garbage, an insult to anyone s intellect, utter bollox
    SCRAP THE BBC!

       42 likes

  23. boohanna says:

    I know this is completely off topic but it is Tucker…..Being vewy vewy cwuel to an SJW.

       19 likes

    • Grant says:

      boo,

      Any chance of Tucker getting a job with the BBC ?

         3 likes

    • Al Shubtill says:

      Great line by the Tuck at the end to the young progressive as he rambles on:

      “We’re doing our best to understand, thanks a lot.”

         5 likes

  24. ThomasR says:

    Dame Casey’s report comes out on a Monday ? This gives the BBBC four days to bury the “narrative”, so don’t hold your breath on Thursday night expecting a question about it on QT and it will be long gone by Friday’s Any Questions. A bullet successfully dodged !

    Anyway what’s required is more money from the filthy Tories to splurge on Support, the first priority of which would be to top up the pension scheme I’ll wager.

    Nothing to see here.

       14 likes

  25. Guest Who says:

    As ever, the BBC really knows what dominates ‘news’ at this time of year…

       16 likes

    • embolden says:

      “Sharia Council” is that the newspeak term used to avoid the uncomfortable truth that Sharia is a legal system with “COURTS” and “JUDGES”? a legal system competing for influence with the English legal system?

      How can there be equality under the law if there are several competing “legal systems”.

      Ban it, make clear, in statute if necessary, that sharia proceedings are unrecognised in English Law before someone has the bright idea of applying it to non muslims as it is in many Middle Eastern states.

         25 likes

  26. Guest Who says:

    https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/dec/05/black-woman-althea-efunshile-channel-4-rejected-ex-arts-council?

    This is a disgrace.

    I shall be writing to the head of OFCOM.

       7 likes

  27. Aborigine Londoner says:

    Nice to see politicians noticing the bias:

    Let's see if @BBCNews and @SkyNews can report this without using the words 'despite Brexit'https://t.co/5IHLypSBoJ— Peter Whittle AM (@prwhittle) 6 December 2016

       13 likes

  28. AsISeeIt says:

    Thoughts on the present Brexit debate

    There was a lack of planning for Brexit – this is simply because the executive and the civil service were united in their adherence to the EU. They were assuming their support for the Remain side would sway the vote and so no planning for exit would be necessary. Indeed PM Cameron’s arguments were based around Brexit being economically and politically unthinkable – any prior official planning or preparations would have lent credence to the idea that Britain could happily survive Brexit.

    The present legal challenges – these are a direct consequence of the Government’s previous bad writing of the Referendum Bill. Parliament is supreme. The In/Out popular vote could quite easily have been made binding by the very same Parliament which wrote and approved the original legislation. The fact that legal holes can now be picked is proof of either sloppy law making or the planting of deliberate loop holes.

    The Tory Government has no stategy for Brexit – this is the most disengenuous of anti-Brexit claims. Assuming the EU negotiate in good faith (which is a leap in faith, but let’s assume) how can anyone at this stage spell out what the EU will offer us as terms? Past experience of EU negotiations suggests the EU gives up nothing and takes years about doing that. My assumption would be a timed out exit – that’s unless our side caves in at the eleventh hour to EU demands for cash contributions and continued open door immigration.

       33 likes

    • embolden says:

      Thats a sound post AsIseeIt.

      Part of the difficulty here is that our dumbed down media obsessed media find it almost impossible to tell any story that requires an attention span longer than a gnats.

      The situation is that the UK government hasn`t triggered Article 50 so there is no negotiating position.

      Furthermore the EU have already stated that they will not discuss “free movement” (i.e. open door immigration) nor any of the other “four freedoms”.

      The mandate given by the referendum is to leave the EU.

      The BBC, meanwhile, rather than discuss the Supreme Court proceedings, falls back on interviewing TV scriptwriters who have written courtroom dramas and TV critics..(that`s Today, this morning)to discuss boring nature of the legal proceedings. The same tone was adopted on PM last evening.

      So the BBCs coverage of the most significant legal case in the recent history of the British state is to turn it into a jokey discussion about media presentation rather than the constitutional issues being raised.

      Their job is to educate and inform….They are a disgrace and an impediment to peoples understanding of democracy and the issues around Brexit. I suspect this is deliberate.

         21 likes

      • Al Shubtill says:

        My opinion of Peter Hitchens, whom I used to rate very highly, had gone down somewhat over the past 12 – 18 months (his obsession with the drug laws and soft pedalling on Islam are among the reasons for this) however he makes some excellent points re Brexit, UKIP and politics generally in this interview; it is well worth watching.

           5 likes

        • Grant says:

          Al,

          Peter suffers from being the dim brother of the great Christopher Hitchens. He can never stand in the shoes of ” The Hitch “.

             4 likes

    • Philip_2 says:

      I would just like to add that it was Tony Blair that created the ‘Supreme Council’ in response to claims (at the time that we were beholden to Stuffgart rulings (now called ECHR). Many of the ‘Supreme Court’ judges were chosen for their beliefs in the EU) by just 5 civil servants. Before that the House of Lords was supposibly the “high court’ which is now stuffed to the rafters with Labour and Liberal peers. It is clear that Cameron and pro Minsiters never expected to loose (what with the BBC and every civil servant in the country being threatened with loss of pension rights), but not all, may I add. The fact that the United Staes ‘Supreme Court’ is far harder to exploit for left wing agendas and is publically held on TV and their past life examined in great detail for ‘bias’ and ‘convictions’. Our Supreme Court has none of that at all. We have eleven judges and almost all are ‘pro EU’ judges and seven of them openly campaigned for ‘remain’in the EU under Cameron. That the ‘will of the people’ are to be sytematically ignored (if you belong to the BBC or elite judgements installed by Tony Blair and Co.). The US would not allow this, nor should we. There was a clear mandate to leave the EU.

      http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3999994/Quagocrats-choose-judges-secret-puts-British-shame.html

         6 likes

      • Doublethinker says:

        Philip
        The list of Blair’s mis government is long, mass immigration done in secret with no mandate, Iraq war, criminally lop sided devolution, surrender of our EU rebate, appointment of cronies to positions of power , selling honours for party funds, squandering billions on the public sector for no benefit. There are others and On top of that he nearly took us into the Euro. Has any other PM such a catastrophic record? Only Brown can come close Labours incompetence should rule them out of office for years to come and yet the BBC is trying rehabilitate this dispicable man and give him a platform to cast his malign influence over Brexit.

           11 likes

        • Dysgwr_Cymraeg says:

          We got lucky as regards Bliar and entering the Eurozone. It was only Macmental Broon’s spite and hatred of Bliar, that made him determined to keep us out of it. He set such strict criteria, he knew we couldnt meet, and succeded in frustrating Bliar completely. Oh how he must have cackled and laughed himself to sleep every night.

             6 likes

      • Dover Sentry says:

        Thanks for posting that, Philip_2

           1 likes

  29. Thatcherrevolutionary says:

    Was sent this email today and had to share –

    ‘A guy looked at my Corvette the other day and said I wonder how many people could have been fed for the money that sports car cost.

    I replied I am not sure, it fed a lot of families in Bowling Green, Kentucky who built it, it fed the people who make the tires, it fed the people who made the components that went into it, it fed the people in the copper mine who mined the copper for the wires, it fed people in Decatur IL. at Caterpillar who make the trucks that haul the copper ore. It fed the trucking people who hauled it from the plant to the dealer and fed the people working at the dealership and their families. BUT, I have to admit, I guess I really don’t know how many people it fed.
    That is the difference between capitalism and welfare mentality. When you buy something, you put money in people’s pockets, and give them dignity for their skills.

    When you give someone something for nothing, you rob them of their dignity and self worth.
    Capitalism is freely giving your money in exchange for something of value.
    Socialism is taking your money against your will and shoving something down your throat that you never asked for.’

       51 likes

    • scribblingscribe says:

      The BBC and the left in general, have never under stood you cannot have the welfare state without wealth creation. You cannot have the NHS without wealth creation and you cannot have the tax payer funded BBC without wealth creation.

         27 likes

    • boohanna says:

      Corvette eh?….

      You forgot to mention the thousands of oil workers employed to run the V8.

      If it was adapted to run on Greenpeace-approved ethanol biofuel though then thousands would have starved to death because of the diversion of lands for the biofuel crops.

      Such is the evil of a beautiful American V8….Ah well.

      Mine has a big blower as well sucking all the available oxygen from the atmosphere.

      I’m wracked with guilt.

         18 likes

      • gaxvil says:

        Just a thought, is China still bringing online coal fired power stations at the rate of one per month?

           8 likes

        • Old Goat says:

          Oh yes, they are busy people.

             7 likes

          • Al Shubtill says:

            The Germans are building new coal fired power stations too: maybe they’ll let us buy some electricity from them (as well as from the French) once we’ve closed all ours down and when the wind isn’t blowing?

               12 likes

            • StewGreen says:

              Drax today brought a plan to build 1.2GW of gas power stations, 4 little ones.
              Our crap media failed to understand it will cost £2bn to finish them.

                 10 likes

    • Philip_2 says:

      Just like to add to that a FACT OF THE WEEK (from Mail on Saturda by Andrew Piercey) I quote: ‘American GDP per capita is $56,000 per head. whilst in Cuba it’s £6,000. As John Redwood says: ‘Why do some people still think ‘Fidel Castro’ did a good job?’ The BBC socialists are forever exaggerating the benefits of socialism whilst ignoring the facts that it makes ordinary people (the workers they talk about) poorer.

         19 likes

      • Dysgwr_Cymraeg says:

        A bit like the uk labour party then….folk keep on voting labour and keep on getting poorer.

           9 likes

  30. BRISSLES says:

    Much reporting of late on Muslim self segregation.
    The following opening paragraph (excellent essay in the D/Mail) sums up all there is to say about Britain today…..
    “What a strange thing it is to stand in a street in Britain asking some-one if they know of a white family living in the neighbourhood.”

    It may not be a popular thought, but for me, there are two words that do not sit well together, they are… British Muslim. And I suspect the populations in Europe are as one on this, Dutch Muslim, French Muslim etc etc. It is a religion that does not gel with any other community and is only containable in Muslim only countries. The Islamic ghettos of this country do not benefit the UK in any way, feeding only their own communities locally and ‘back home’ economically, their women cannot speak our language, they do not harvest the fields for our farmers, they are not in service to the ‘elite’, so their purpose of being here is ? – of course, its housing, free education, free health care, ample benefits and to encourage Islam to seep into our way of life.

       48 likes

    • ToobiWan says:

      “…so their purpose of being here is ?” Taxi drivers (aka pimps) and dodgy “Indian” eateries spring to mind, B.

         7 likes

      • Lobster says:

        But the dodgy “Indian” eateries do help those companies manufacturing diarrhoea pills and toilet rolls …..

           4 likes

        • Al Shubtill says:

          “Very few British people wold walk down a street full of Pakistanis, or Somalis, or Arabs and feel in any meaningful way that the people around them were now just a part of the British people.

          No good thing that exists in the U.K., NOT ONE, exists because Muslims in the U.K. created it.
          EVERY good thing that exists in Britain exists because and only because – British people created it.”

             22 likes

          • BRISSLES says:

            No good thing that exists in the U.K., NOT ONE, exists because Muslims in the U.K. created it….

            Well said Al S

               5 likes

            • Al Shubtill says:

              I can’t claim the credit for it Brissles, hence the quotation marks, it was a contributor at GoV; though I can’t recall who it was.

                 0 likes

  31. gaxvil says:

    Turner prize winner who does, ‘junk sculpture’ – come look in my garage – consisting of old shoes, snooker chalks etc., just had to use her acceptance speech to tell us to get ourselves brainwashed and join the hive.

       12 likes

  32. Philip_2 says:

    Well this is a bit late. But This Sunday (on Radio 4) I was not surprised to learn that the BBC’s most treasured Marxist visionaries is to be finally honoured with a statue outside the BBC HQ! (here ). (After being turned down by Mark Thompson in 2012) It will feature George Arthur Blair (better known as George Orwell). We are told that the official delay (in years) was because some nasty (Tory) MP’s had questioned the impartiality of the BBC (happily Cameron ensured that’s not the case) and its public funding of its ‘news and opinion’ Is ‘Charter proof’ and fullfils its Charter obligations 1624% or most of it sometimes. The BBC won that argument (Cameron is such a wimp) so we (listeners) have agree to jointly celebrate that famous BBC impartiality – by erecting a national public hero that he is ‘not’ left leaning, but bordering on the ‘right’!). So the argument (as to being impartial) – is not a real argument at all, (says the BBC) as it has a Royal Charter to ‘prove it’. And the gushing morning female presenter went on to give some interesting examples of this popular workers socialism bio (this is radio 4).

    The fact that he (Orwell) took part in the war against the fascists in Spain (that was the Tory party obviously) but wait there’s more, he was a keen life long Smoker (and rolled his own using old newspapers), very left wing that. And the fact that he never had a proper job (very BBC that).

    Which is a bit odd as there are records of him having a job at the heart of the BBC. Which I learn he hated so much that much of his book is about the BBC as being about ‘big brother’ in the same way as the BBC then applied that to envisaged ‘global corporations’ such as (cough) the BBC world service.

    The BBC are really quite clever in segwaying into programmes that support George Orwells expectation of one world economics and one world politics (which the EU equates) and turning that on it head and offering the only alternative to capitalist ‘globalisation’ is de facto EU (by inference).

    The BBC are quite open about this, and claim all sorts of links to George Orwell and one of the most interesting is the programme on BBC TV called Room 101. It was hosted by the popular comedian Paul Merton. But what you might not know is that it did exist at the BBC and was an ‘interrogation room’ for suspected Marxists (then run by Mi5) during the Spanish war and world war two to avoid media infiltration. Well it worked right up to the time when Tony Blair Labour abolished the term ‘Treason’ and asked the feared Mi5 to withdraw from the BBC HQ as the ‘Cold war’ had ended and there was no case to answer (as Treason had been abolished by Blair’s government). Mi5 was withdrawn as being supeflous.

    Anyway I am rambling on a bit (as usual) – as I just happen to be reading a Maths book on (odd puzzling numbers) called ‘As easy as Pi’ (by Jamie Buchan). And I have got so far as reading page ‘101’ which features BBC programmes of the same name. Todays BBC announcement makes perfect sense (to the BBC). I quote the following in full..

    ‘The room where dissenters are tortured with their greatest fears in George Orwell’s 1984. Orwell worked for the BBC for some time, and is thought to have numbered the room after a hated conference room on the first floor of BBC Broadcasting House. Such was the influence of room 1010 in the novel, that the chief of the Stasi, Erich Mielke, had the rooms in his building renumbered so that his office would be Room 101 and , in a wonderfully circular development, the BBC now have a well-known television programme called Room 101, in which celebrities discuss their pet hates’.

    Its extraordinary similar to how the BBC denies any involvement in politics (claiming fictitious impartiality) whilst co-ordinating media attacks on sceptical public figures who question what the EU is modelling itself on having no democratic values and being a socialist republic in the making. More recently the BBC repeat that the ‘tyranny of the EU referendum’ should be ignored as if they had a mandate. This is very much the World of George Orwell (2016).

    The fact that George Orwell donated his book and works to a left wing institute called the fawcett society which proffers ‘free rights’ to Orwell’s prophetic book prediction is not lost on the BBC lefties. The fawcett society is entirely Marxist and a long term Labour party contributor. Something the BBC knows only too well.

    George Orwell is an excellent refection on the BBC financial mismanagement and corporate greed Orwell had in mind from careless global corporates. The novel clearly hints at the ‘corporate unaccountable giants’ of his age (1930’s). The BBC is clearly highlighting their hero whilst ignoring that it is itself a global corporation (that inspired the novel). It also less ‘political’ than say ‘Keir Hardy’ or ‘Trotsky ‘on a totem pole outside the HQ that inspired room 101.

    Let us not forget the words of another BBC plaudit by Anthony Burgess (Spy)
    ‘”1984 is a fantasy about disaffected journalists, novelists, poets, professors, and schoolmasters imposing an idealistic philosophy on the countries of the West — amalgamated into the superpower Oceania — which is no more than a notion of the nature of reality forged in an Oxford or Cambridge common room.” Anthony Burgess

    Except we have the EU recreating that fantasy and its now real. Plus the fact that the BBC actively promote and support ‘thought crime’ which is used everywhere on the BBC as a ‘news filter. It’s called (by the BBC) ‘News and Opinion.’ ( we call it BIAS) and disbelieved by most of the UK population (as being false propaganda). But the real target audience is ‘overseas’. Repeated on the World Service as an undisputable ‘fact’.

    Thought control is key. (excerpt)

    “O’Brien was looking down at him speculatively…. ‘There is a Party slogan dealing with the control of the past,’ he said. ‘Repeat it, if you please.’”
    “‘Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past,’ repeated Winston obediently.
    “We, the Party, control all records, and we control all memories. Then we control the past, do we not?’
    “’But how can you stop people remembering things?’ cried Winston, again momentarily forgetting the dial….
    O’Brien’s manner grew stern again. He laid his hand on the dial….” Page 205

    “You are a slow learner, Winston,” said O’Brien gently.
    “How can I help it?” he blubbered. “How can I help seeing what is in front of my eyes? Two and two are four.”
    “Sometimes, Winston. Sometimes. they are five. Sometimes they are three. Sometimes they are all of them at once. You must try harder. It is not easy to become sane.” Page 207
    (Excerpt from http://www.crossroad.to/Excerpts/books/transformation/orwell.htm

    More Film Excerpts from 1984 (Film and free audio clips) can be found here.
    http://www.apfn.org/apfn/1984.htm

       17 likes

    • gaxvil says:

      My very brief roundup – all going swimmingly:-
      1)Outside threat to create insecurity – they can make it whatever they want it to be
      2)Monitoring, specifying and sanctioning speech
      3)Obfuscation, guilt and paranoia fostering
      4)The sanctifying of the ‘good’, the demonizing of the ‘bad’

         6 likes

    • Grant says:

      philip,

      Reading your comment and will come back to it. Re. Spanish Civil War, Orwell became very disillusioned with the communists, especially when they were killing each other !

         8 likes

      • Grant says:

        philip,

        Excellent post ! The BBC and the EU represent everything Orwell hated and stood against. For Beeboids to claim him as one of their own is an insult to his memory. As usual the BBC stand reality on its head. A truly evil organisation.

           13 likes

  33. G.W.F. says:

    Here is a so called BBC journalist who is a so called editor of an alleged satirical magazine, giving the BBC line in a so called lecture on Orwell.

       8 likes

    • Grant says:

      GWF,

      Can’t even bear to look at his face, let alone listen. Orwell used to work for the BBC but turned against it latterly. Today’s BBC is straight out of 1984. I am sure wee Ian would have made that point. LOL ! Prat !

         15 likes

  34. StewGreen says:

    Times steps away from #ProjectFear2
    with headine ‘Britain to grow fastest of G7’

    not much other news today

    ITV 10:40pm John Pilger has his new doco “The Coming Wa with China”

       2 likes

  35. G.W.F. says:

    Brexit means Brexit said this dreadful Prime Minister.
    But her ramblings quoted by her broadcasting company descend into some of the most shallow comments every produced in politics.

    ‘Mrs May, who is on a two-day visit to Bahrain, told BBC deputy political editor John Pienaar: “People talk about the sort of Brexit that there is going to be – is it hard or soft, is it grey or white. Actually we want a red, white and blue Brexit: that is the right Brexit for the UK, the right deal for the UK’.
    She added: “I’m ambitious for what we can achieve. Because I believe that a deal that is right for the UK will also be a deal that is right for the EU.”

    Will no one in the Tory Party stand up to this phony?

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/38223990

       14 likes

    • Dover Sentry says:

      (Thanks GWF)

      What is best for Britain is to LEAVE as in the terms of the Referendum.

      Already, May is stating that that the terms will be ‘what is best for Britain’. What she really means is ‘what is best for the elite and stuff the voters’.

         18 likes

    • gaxvil says:

      Essentially, May is putting out a message along the lines of Trump but to, “Make Britain Great Again”.
      For some reason I’m just not that convinced. She’s been PM for a while now and I would have liked to see something other than more of the same.

         8 likes

      • Grant says:

        gax,

        What has she done so far ? Sweet FA . Useless woman .

           4 likes

      • Cranmer says:

        Previously Mrs May told us ‘Brexit means Brexit’ – now we’re told Brexit means the ‘right sort of Brexit’. This would seem to contradict the first statement as it implies there is more than one type of Brexit. I fear that the appeal to patriotism (the last refuge of a scoundrel, as Dr Johnson called it*) implicit in the ‘Red, White and Blue Brexit’ is an attempt to sugar-coat a soft-Brexit compromise.

        *there is nothing wrong with patriotism. Johnson was objecting to it being used to manipulate people for political ends.

           9 likes

    • nogginator says:

      “Brexit means Brexit said this dreadful Prime Minister”.
      The Tory party as always is lying through its teeth.
      It is the test of a government and its leader, to not lie, be open with parliament and the people … its test after first doing so is to go forward and achieve it, the Tories fail abjectly every step of the way, they are incapable of being honest, they like Cameron/Osborne are clueless lightweights
      incapable of being open about even the most basic of plans, its obvious their only concern is the selfservative agenda, not the nation, and not the population.
      May and Hammond after failure, on borders, prisons, economics and immigration they are an absolute liability and misleading the nation

         13 likes

  36. gb123 says:

    Quote from an IBT article on the EU Brexit Negotiations.

    “Barnier has so far visited 18 of 28 EU nations ahead of the talks and hopes to complete his tour of the remaining 27 states by the end of January 2017.”

    Seems like they have been studying Obama maths and show why we don’t need “experts” to educate us as they know best! Please give me a salary of 28,000 and give me 18,000 with the remaining 27,000 by Jan.

    http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/eus-chief-brexit-fixer-urges-uk-to-keep-calm-and-negotiate-as-he-unveils-timetable/ar-AAlbYyC?li=AA59G2&ocid=spartanntp

       8 likes

  37. gaxvil says:

    Not sure if there’s something wrong with my TV but the Morrisons Christmas ad appears to show two English, Caucasian children with similar male and female parents.

       18 likes

    • JimS says:

      They don’t feel the need to ‘compete’ with John Lewis, Tesco and Debenhams then?

         12 likes

    • AsISeeIt says:

      On the subject of disproportionate ethnic casting of actors for appearance in advertising I was reminded of this relatively recent (2013) bit of research into the opinions and beliefs of us plebs…

      http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/british-public-wrong-about-nearly-everything-survey-shows-8697821.html

      ‘Immigration: some 31 per cent of the population is thought to consist of recent immigrants, when the figure is actually 13 per cent. Even including illegal immigrants, the figure is only about 15 per cent. On the issue of ethnicity, black and Asian people are thought to make up 30 per cent of the population, when the figure is closer to 11 per cent’

      Now I wonder what might have given us know-nothing dunces the wrong idea about the ethnic make-up of the British population?

      Come on you liberal cultural betters, you can’t have it both ways. You can’t constantly push exaggerated BME quotas at us through the media and then bemoan us wrongly guestimating the relative size of their population.

         18 likes

      • RJ says:

        ‘Immigration: some 31 per cent of the population is thought to consist of recent immigrants, when the figure is actually 13 per cent. Even including illegal immigrants, the figure is only about 15 per cent. On the issue of ethnicity, black and Asian people are thought to make up 30 per cent of the population, when the figure is closer to 11 per cent’

        Compared to the “White British” population immigrants will have a much lower percentage aged over 65. I wonder what the percentage comparision of “White British” and immigrants is for fighting age men?

           4 likes

  38. nogginator says:

    I checked Panto Nikki s phone in on 5Dead – re the watered down Casey report.
    To find the usual Al BBC penchant for virtually no phone in, and over half the time
    spent in a cosy Panto chat with :-
    Muslim Women s Network,(the Al BBC s latest in a long line of taqiya artists to go to) and …
    Naz Shah MP another of dubious background, probably dubious affiliations, who after getting caught out has now, erm … “seen the light” lol.
    This pair droned on the usual broken record crap, Islamofauxbia, waycism etc etc.
    They only needed S Warsi involved … BINGO! full house!
    Yep! The same hoary old tropes, foreign policy, its so unfair, religion of peace ya da ya da ya da.

    Did the Al BBC not get the memo? … the Islamic community is the main problem in the report!

    Stop this only “muslim to muslim” business … STOP IT! the games changed, wise up or perish.
    We don t need a muslim only “big brother”, that achieves nothing, only your next erm “Al BBC Celeb” (muslim of course)
    … unless maybe one that has Tommy Robinson, Robert Spencer, Anne Marie Waters for example, real objective, real knowledgeable people involved.
    (that would get the ratings up 😀 )

    http://bbc.in/2fZfLYL

    SCRAP THE BBC!.

       26 likes

  39. JimS says:

    I love the new BBC Radio 4 comedy this evening. it is called PM.

    Eddie Mair said, over to Mark Mardell to hear from his “experience and expertise”. I’m still laughing now! Seriously though how can asking one of the BBC’s proven idiots to express an opinion be in any way ‘impartial’ reporting?

       22 likes

  40. An English Gentleman says:

    I was stuck in traffic this evening and I thought ‘Let’s put the news on’. So I duly tuned in to R4 PM (why do I never learn)…….I came in to a discussion about the problems that pedal cyclists have when they have headphones on listening to music etc..then we forward onto a ‘cyclist’ for his opinion……well, it turns out that this particular ‘cyclist’ was ‘visually impaired’………..I switched off, of course.
    Total listening time about 15 seconds………

    Is this really the best that bbbc r4 can broadcast, or are they just broadcasting to half a dozen people in islington??

    I just give up

       21 likes

    • Lobster says:

      A visually impaired cyclist??? I amazed he’s still alive!

         7 likes

      • Up2snuff says:

        Especially in London, more so if the v-i-cyclist IS – by chance – from Islington or a similarly politically blessed borough. 20mph limits and bumps & humps everywhere bring cars, vans, lorries and buses into continual and close proximity to cyclists, whether fully or partially sighted.

        Eeeeek!

           4 likes

  41. Dover Sentry says:

    Not mentioned by the BBC:

    “”Qandeel Baloch’s brother confessed to killing the model, who challenged social norms in Pakistan with her racy online posts””

    http://news.sky.com/story/brother-of-slain-social-media-star-qandeel-baloch-charged-with-murder-10685146

    Those murder inciting racy posts of hers!! Her brother of course had no choice but to kill her and he has no regrets, apparently.

    The ‘Religion of Peace’is out there somewhere, but is has as yet not been found.

       24 likes

    • gaxvil says:

      It’s like going back in a team machine – we would struggle to communicate with folks at, for example, the Salem Witch Trials and this is no different. We need a to wall them in ’till they’ve caught up but that could take a wee while.

         6 likes

  42. Peter Sausages says:

    Ha Ha just had to laugh at my Mum, after seeing the BBC Christmas tv promo, quote: Bloody hell that advert is full of non whites and gays the BBC sickens me’ Well done mum !!!

       17 likes

    • Dysgwr_Cymraeg says:

      What the hell does she think then of the Amazon ad that has a vicar and an Imam almost falling in love?

         2 likes

  43. taffman says:

    Yet again, The Welsh Assembly fails Welsh children, their answer? – more Assembly Members!
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-38208738

       8 likes

    • Dysgwr_Cymraeg says:

      I would pose a question, and that is to ask whether the race by the authorities and parents to push the little ones through welsh medium education is causing them to fall behind in core subjects.
      A third of this test is reading.
      Do they use reading in Welsh? I dunno the answer….but either way there are advantages/disadvantages to either Welsh or english, depending on your first language.
      Everyone and his uncle crows about Welsh medium education, maybe it’s time to rethink…
      Either way, it seems Kirsty Williams thinks more of the same is the answer……and more of the assembly ( members) will never improve anything.

         7 likes

  44. cockneyboy says:

    Does anyone here know the whereabouts of Sarah Olney? I have been desperately looking but unable to find. I thought the BBC/MSM might be falling over themselves to interview the victorious one. No luck so far, perhaps I need to try harder.

       13 likes

  45. Zelazek says:

    I watched “Lawful Killing: Mark Duggan” last night. One of those programmes where you draw conclusions that you just know are not the conclusions the programme-makers hope the audience will come to.

    The best contributor was the forensic pathologist Professor Derrick Pounder. He clearly demonstrated that Duggan’s arm must have been stretched across his waist area at the time of the first shot. The police officer who shot him therefore clearly had reasonable grounds for believing Duggan was reaching for a gun.

    Witness “B” stated that Duggan had his arms up above his shoulders when he was shot. Witness “B” was clearly either lying or mistaken.

    Simon Israel’s experience was blown out of all proportion. It was clearly a simple but understandable mistake for the police to initially claim there had been an exchange of fire. At that point all that was known was that one man was dead and a police officer was injured. It was only later discovered that the injured policeman had been struck by a police bullet that went through Duggan’s body. The “exchange of gunfire” line was not something that the police ever formally said.

    Bottom line is that it was a lawful killing.

    The only real question is what were the BBC’s true motives for broadcasting this programme?

       19 likes

    • Dover Sentry says:

      The BBC love a riot to report on ‘subjectively’.

      They can then bring in gleefully their narratives:

      1. Anti-Police. Bonus if it’s the Met.

      2. Anti-Tory Cutz. Always a good thing to blame.

      3. Anti-Tory policies. Any will do.

      4. Pro-ethnic minorities. There will always be a very high proportion of black rioters and looters. And the police will have a very high proportion of white males. A great opportunity to champion ethnic minorities, and again bash the police.

      5. Pro-Grievance. Inner city ethnics will scream prejudice and racism whilst walking away with their garnered window shopping.

      The BBC will open their ‘standard issue emergency box of phrases’ and distribute among their reporters:

      a) It has been said…
      b) Reports state…
      c) There are those in the community who say….
      d) Local community leaders demand from the police..
      e) Parallels have been drawn with….
      f) We have interviewed a rioter. We cannot show his face or identify him and his voice has been disguised. Here is the interview which objectively….

      Back to stock footage of the 1985 Totenham riots…

         13 likes

    • cockneyboy says:

      If the BBC were trying to alter public opinion then they are flogging a dead horse. Most of us believe in the rule of law, however this has to be balanced against how effective the police are in controlling it, paticularly with violent criminals. There is no doubt that Duggan was a drug dealing gangster who had been involved in violent altercations with (alleged but unproven) involvement in murder. The Police were tipped off that he was carrying a gun and acted accordingly. The outcome was as we know.
      Lawful killing or not most people I know really could’nt care – you live by the gun you die by the gun.
      I don’t recall the east end bank robbers of the late 60s complaining too much when the Police shot a few of them and deliberately issued a statement on television that they would do so, with no hesitation. But perhaps this had something to do with their culture?

         14 likes

  46. gaxvil says:

    Can anyone point me to the argument for why, if you do not consume any bbc TV output – you must still pay.
    Thanks in anticipation.
    Hell, needs someone with the resources of Miller to take this one thru’ the courts.

       3 likes

    • Up2snuff says:

      gaxvil, think it’s an Act of Parliament some good time back; receipt of any broadcast in real time requires payment of a fee. Radio was then exempted, probably in some supplementary amending legislation.

      Thus, even if you never watch BBC TV but do watch a real time TV broadcast from another terrestrial or satellite broadcaster then you are required by law to buy a TV Licence.

      A Gina Miller approach would do you no good, either: Parliament has had its say on this, UK wide as well. 😉

         7 likes

  47. scribblingscribe says:

    Have just been reading the ‘Cardiff local development plan’ which is looking to build 45,000 new homes. Great, except hidden in the ballyhoo of the document is this:

    “2.9 There are two Gypsy and Traveller sites in Cardiff (Rover Way and
    Shirenewton) providing a total of 80 pitches. The population in these sites is
    growing and there is a demand for new sites. The Council has a legal duty to
    meet the need for Gypsy and Traveller sites in the Local Development Plan
    (Welsh Government Circular 30/2007). The latest study in 2013 found a need
    up to 2026 for an additional 108 pitches plus 10 transit pitches.”

    So, the gypsy sites will increase by over a third. Wonder if the citizens of Cardiff are aware of this joyous growth in folk famous for leaving horses to die by busy main roads, not paying taxes, the increase in crime and keeping slaves, (one man kept as a slave in cardiff for over 20 years by these folk eager to enrich our lives).

    For anyone who thinks I am not reading my Guardian:
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/12/too-many-gypsies-travellers-prison-education

    Where the Guardian says 0.1% of population is Gypsy, yet 5% of the prison population is Gypsy. Though the Guardian blames everyone bar the Gypsies.

       10 likes

    • taffman says:

      Who pays for the ‘gypsies’ homes here ? You can be sure that they don’t.
      BTW they are not true gypsies, they are mainly exiled travellers from the Irish Republic.

         6 likes

      • The Duck says:

        If our area is anything to go by then it’s the local council who foot the bill.

        A few years ago a group of travellers decided to take up residence in a layby not far from our town, which then blocked access to a farmer’s field. Instead of moving them on they were allowed to stay until, eventually, they moved them into a car park in the town itself. They then put up a handmade sign demanding a site of their own! About two years ago they were given their own site, which includes several permanent buildings at a cost of roughly £3m. For a group of so called “travellers” I find it odd that they haven’t done any travelling in the last 8 sodding years!!

           5 likes

        • taffman says:

          The Duck
          The same here!

             1 likes

          • The Duck says:

            @taffman……What made it worse, and I forgot to mention this in my previous post, was where the car park they were using for a couple of years actually was…………..wait for it………Next to the Jobcentre!!!

               3 likes

  48. Dover Sentry says:

    In one way, I wish that Cameron (some say that he is known as ‘Prototype May’), was still PM.

    Imagine his discomfort at having to meet Trump after all the aggressive bilge he spouted about him?

    Will the BBC Director General have a chance to meet him?

       4 likes

    • RJ says:

      DS, do you think that Trump would have agreed to meet him? Trump has a sense of humour – he’d have used Nigel as the go-between.

         4 likes

      • Dover Sentry says:

        RJ, Trump would have humiliated Cameron. But without malice, of course.

        Nigel is about to be launched with interesting consequences for May, now identified as ‘Cameron’s feminine persona’.

        This is a quote from May today re Trump:

        “”Theresa May has said that Donald Trump is “very easy to talk to” – despite taking him to task during the US presidential election.””

        What planet or galaxy is she on? Is that all she and her advisors can say? Trump will change the world. But is that all she can say? And she is our leader?

           4 likes

  49. scribblingscribe says:

    Nothing on BBC news web site yet, regarding the bribe of a quarter of a million quid to the Greens to stand down in the Richmond By Election.

    Do I hear the chink of prison doors being opened?

    The Greens ought to have mentioned the offer to the electrical officers, even if they didn’t accept it. However, if they did accept the bung then they, all who knew along with the bung provider are in the shit.

    Oh thank you Guido.

    http://order-order.com/2016/12/06/green-party-offered-250000-not-stand-richmond/#disqus_thread

       9 likes

    • Dover Sentry says:

      And thank you, scribblingscribe. Things are become even more interesting.

         3 likes

    • The Duck says:

      Thanks Scribe, that’s now my favourite story of the week!

      If the BBC do report this, and that’s a big “if”, expect it to be buried and then to disappear very quickly.

         4 likes