Two, no three, quick links

  • “And what is your concern about Boris?” London Assembly member James Cleverly writes that “This was the question which greeted callers into Dotun Adebayo’s show on BBC Radio London last night.” His criticism related to the person answering the phones, not to the show itself.
  • The link above came via Iain Dale, who also says, “So in the most successful week for the Conservatives since 1992 THIS WEEK doesn’t have a single Conservative on the programme.”

  • From EU Referendum, a post about Re-inforcing a worldview:

    The Australian: “Rain brings hope for bumper crop.”

    BBC: “‘Big Dry’ hits Australian farmers.”

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    65 Responses to Two, no three, quick links

    1. backwoodsman says:

      How about the latest national polls showing nulab have effectively evaporated and the bbc lead is….a TV commedy show award was rigged by itv !!
      Sealing your own death warrant chaps !

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    2. Martin says:

      I commented on this last night. Michael Portillo came over as a right bad loser. And lets be honest, Portillo is a loser.

      Boris Johnson had the balls and the personality to run for Mayor, unlike Portillo who is a coward.

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    3. Travis Bickle says:

      Congratulations to the BBC for managing to invite the whole of the Dorking Labour Party to Question Time, and of course getting the planted question about Boris read out from the audience.

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    4. Martin says:

      And don’t forget the “15% interest rates”

      Is there a week when that never comes up?

      I really do with Boris Johnson’s siter would fuck off though. She’s not Boris and she doesn’t speak for him. The BBC are going to wheel her out everytime Boris says something that the BBC wants to attack her for.

      Did the BBC ever wheel out Livingstone’s family members when Ken fucked up?

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    5. Roland Thompson-Gunner says:

      Bit early in the morning for the foul mouth, isn’t it?

         0 likes

    6. Robin says:

      My patience with gratuitous swearing and insults on this site is wearing thin, to the point that I think it’s a huge negative. I shall not be returning for a while (after years of being a regular). If it’s still there when I return – goodbye for keeps.

      Biased BBC does an important job. But it could do so just as effectively on a more civilised and polite basis.

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    7. Hillhunt says:

      Roland Thompson-Gunner:

      Van Owen sends his regards.
      .

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    8. David says:

      I know it shouldn’t amaze me, but it does. This is how the BBC frame the 49/23/17 poll story:

      http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7391549.stm

      It has one person quoted – Labour. It swallows his bullshit. It reminds us of how humble and reflective Brown is. It softens the criticism against him. It’s getting to the stage where I can’t even roll my eyes at nonsense like this.

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    9. Hillhunt says:

      Excellent analysis, Natalie. Just a few thoughts:

      a) How do we presume to know what the callers were saying to the call-handler? If many of them were expressing concern about Boris’s election – 57% of Londoners did not make him their first choice – it’s reasonable to ask what their concerns are.

      b) Dale’s point is a false one. The fractures within Labour are a big story – especially the survival (or not) of Brown – and asking shades of Labour opinion to air their differences is not at all a guaranteed positive for the party.

      c) The rain headlines are a story about recent weather. The BBC’s is about a long term trend and is based on figures from the Australia Bureau of Statistics. They’re not the same story.
      .

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    10. koop says:

      i am afraid that Portillo is a useful servant of our media class, who in the interests of “balance” get to use him as a token Tory. For them, balance = Diane “I love Mao” Abbott, i.e. hard left, and Portillo, i.e. soft left.

      this comment left by someone on conservative home really sums the bbc up i think,and the fact that portillo did’nt vote for boris anyway kind of proves the point.

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    11. Phil H says:

      I had to turn Question Time off last night; I just cannot stomache the odious Piers Morgan. He is the worst type of socialist – one who is rich, does not live in the real world (he prefers Lovey Dovey Media World)can afford high taxes and thinks everyone else can too. Nice to see Dimbleby allowing Piers to constantly interrupt Heseltine without giving him the chance to reply. Nice usual balance!

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    12. Travis Bickle says:

      Phil

      I rather suspect that Morgan, like Polly and all the other Labour luvvies, actually doesn’t give a toss about whether anyone else can afford high taxes or not.

      His namedropping, with adding his own opinion about what senior politicians, rather explained why he would be the sort of bore that other guests would immediately move away from at parties. And nice to see his predictably snide comment about high profile personalities and drugs fell flat as a pancake, especially as Purnell appeared to be struggling with that one.

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    13. Martin says:

      Yes and on the BBC story about the polls. I love thos quote.

      “…However, other recent polls have suggested the gap is smaller…”

      Now which polling company got the local elections right you BBC assholes?

      What the BBC means is that the Polls used by the poncy leftie media (like the Guardian) show the gap closer.

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    14. Martin says:

      Hillhunt: You really are a prat. Just what % of the voters voted McLiebour last time around Hillhunt?

      I’d point out that the Mayoral election in London attracted more voters than ever, perhaps that shows people were interested?

      Oh and I thought Boris won?

      Another sad prick loser it seems.

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    15. Phil H says:

      Travis

      You’re absolutely right; Piers is a typical self-righteous socialist that would send normal people to sleep.

      The bigger issue, I’m sure you will agree, is what is the point of Question Time? How many others joined me in switching off last night? If week in, week out they continue to invite a biased panel, take loaded questions from teachers/social workers/civil servants, how can they claim it is a true political debate?

      It is very symptomatic of how out of touch the BBC is and if I were a Beeboid I’d be very worried about this. Roll on the day when the licence fee is shared out amongst other broadcasters to provide public service broadcasting.

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    16. will says:

      “…However, other recent polls have suggested the gap is smaller…”

      So the 44/24 in the local elections is a small gap, is it? So let’s ignore this stuff from the tacky red top Sun, should we?
      Grasping at straws BBC.

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    17. Triple G says:

      save a seal, club a beeboid

      cheers

      The Gas Guzzlin Geeza

         0 likes

    18. Phil says:

      Koop:
      Diane Abbott and Michael Portaloo were at school together – Harrow Grammar, I think – and were a regular feature together in the coffee bar of the History Faculty library at Cambridge in the early-mid seventies. Maybe they were working on their nice little earner of a double act.

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    19. Hillhunt says:

      Martin:

      Hillhunt: You really are a prat. Just what % of the voters voted McLiebour last time around Hillhunt?

      Despite the elegance of your language, I fear you miss the point. If a majority of the population did not want Boris as its first choice, there’s a good chance they’ll be ringing in to talk shows to express their concerns. If that’s so, a BBC employee saying to them what are your concerns about Boris? is not evidence of a conspiracy, it’s a mundane description of their duties on the night.
      .

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    20. koop says:

      thanks for the info phil.

      off topic,been caught stealing.

      http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article3901709.ece

         0 likes

    21. Martin says:

      Hillhunt: And Ken was popular? I don’t remember anything but “praise” for Ken on the BBC.

      As for McLiebour, they didn’t get more than 50% of the vote at the last election, but the BBC does not reflect that on thelikes of QT or other phone-ins’s.

      If you’re going to use that argument Hillhunt you have to apply it to all.

      That’s why the BBC is supposed to be balanced in its output. But it isn’t.

         0 likes

    22. BaggieJonathan says:

      hillhunt,

      Great point, spot on, all it needs now is you to show me the evidence by linking to the BBC’s previous what are your concerns about Ken when he was elected.
      You aren’t just pontificating bs, you do have evidence and can link to it can’t you
      hillhunt
      hello
      hello…

         0 likes

    23. Martin says:

      Phil H: Yep When the BBC do th eshow from the north, Wales or Scotland, the Tories are roundly booed all the time.

      So you’d think that when the broadcast from dorking (Tory homeleand) the Tories would get cheered? Er no. Still McLiebour get cheered.

      And why didn’t Morgans attempts to get British soldiers murdered get mentioned?

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    24. Phil H says:

      Martin

      Is it because the BBC is anti-armed forces by any chance, or is it purely a coincidence?

      What I’m looking forward to is QT under the next Tory govt in 2010 – I am sure (as you’ll agree) the panel will be regularly made up of 3 Tory supporters, a chairman who’s a Tory supporter, and a couple of token lefties. Of course I could be wrong (more likely dillusional that this would ever happen on the Beeb)

         0 likes

    25. Hugh says:

      Hillunt: that does seem a bit of a weak argument. Why on earth would you simply assume those phoning in have a problem with Boris? 57:43 – not the safest bet is it?

      As for Dale’s point, it’s not false: This is not the first time when Labour have been in trouble that a BBC programme has taken this tack: ‘We’re letting them stew in their own juices’ is the usual defence. Only, I don’t remember them ever letting the Tories stew in their own juices, they simply get someone in to stick the knife in. And Matthew Taylor and Kevin Maguire? That’s not going to be the most vicious criticism is it? You might have a case if it was Charles Clarke.

      In any case, what both of those guests will definitely agree on is that any Labour PM is preferable to a Tory one. How’s that worse for Labour than simply having a pro-Conservative on?

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    26. archroy says:

      Was everyone else as sick as I was when Moron said “The camera doesn’t lie”? The Press Complaints Commission didn’t agree!

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    27. archroy says:

      Hillhunt: “If a majority of the population did not want Boris as its first choice, there’s a good chance they’ll be ringing in to talk shows to express their concerns

      If the majority of the population can’t be arsed to vote, there’s little chance they’ll be ringing in to talk shows to express their concerns. As always the assumption is that the people who don’t vote are supporting your viewpoint.

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    28. Gibby Haynes says:

      Piers Morgan eh? The same Piers Morgan who – about President Bush falling off a Segway – wrote, “You’d have to be an idiot to fall off, wouldn’t you Mr President.” “If anyone can make a pig’s ear of riding a sophisticated, self-balancing machine like this, Dubya can.”

      Here’s a video of Piers Morgan falling off a Segway and breaking a few ribs:

      I’ve never broken any of my bones, but I hear that breaking a rib is the most painful bone you can break.

         0 likes

    29. Phil H says:

      Poor Piers – I bet the British Army collectively cried in anguish at seeing that video.

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    30. Abandon Ship! says:

      “The errors were discovered during an audit for the BBC Trust.”

      Errors? Errors? You couldn’t make it up. What a bunch of hypocritical
      child abusers. Read the article and make yourself wretch:

      http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7392213.stm

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    31. Dr R says:

      It seems that lying, cheating Auntie has yet again been caught stealing.

      Not content with fleecing the public out of £3 billion a year, the disgusting organisation is now stealing from charities.

      ead all about it at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1941180/BBC-holds-on-to-charity-phone-vote-money.html

      Interestingly on the Today Programe this morning we had the bumptious Humphries vilifying ITV for, err, the same thing. What realy amused me was the way he said: “We asked Michael Grade to talk to us but he refused..” in that way that BBC propagandists do – as if the whole world owes these greedy little lying shits everything.

      Disgusting organisation.

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    32. mister scruff says:

      nick robinson spinning for the snot gobbler…

      http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/2008/05/opening_up.html

      why am i not surprised…

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    33. Martin says:

      Mister Scruff: We can even offer the reader a chance to see the great clunking fist at it in the bogey department.

      Yum Yum!!!

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    34. It's all too much says:

      Firstly, to echo another comment, isn’t the language getting a bit ripe?

      Secondly did anyone hear ‘Feedback’ on Radio 4 at 1:30 this afternoon? I am not tech. lit. enough to link this, but you can hear it on “listen again”.It featured a response to numerous well founded complaints about the very markedly different treatment of Cameron and Brown by Humphries. I heard both interviews at the time and with the Tories he was over excited and as aggressive as possible, just stopping short of personal abuse. With Broon there was a reserved sycophantic reverence. The difference was blatant.

      Humph was obviously unappologetic and announced (again quite aggressively) that he wasn’t biased and he used ‘different styles’ to suit his interviewees. So that’s ok then.

      Presumably style 1 – aggressive and irrational attack dog is applied only to ‘Tories’ and Stle ‘2’ the ‘please don’t Hutton us again’ brown(!) nosing is reserved for Labour in power. We have seen the resurrection of style 3 – ‘we must help get this lot out’ (What’s your concern about Boris) – for labour when out of power

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    35. It's all too much says:

      http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/noscript.shtml?
      /radio/aod/radio4_aod.shtml?radio4/feedback

      this might work to link to feedback

         0 likes

    36. David Preiser (USA) says:

      Hillhunt | 09.05.08 – 11:58 am |

      b) Dale’s point is a false one. The fractures within Labour are a big story – especially the survival (or not) of Brown – and asking shades of Labour opinion to air their differences is not at all a guaranteed positive for the party.

      What a giveaway. Of course in your mind – and in the minds of the Beeboids responsible for this – Labour’s plight is more important than the Conservatives greatest electoral success in ages.

      Come see the bias inherent in the system.

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    37. mister scruff says:

      gordon brown – “a briton invented the ipod”

      http://www.order-order.com/2008/05/like-al-gore-invented-internet-gordon.html

      errr.. right. well a briton did design the look of the casing, but it was a yank who did electronics.

      in any case, that brit has been living in america since 1992…

         0 likes

    38. Martin says:

      mister scruff: The chattering classes are thick. I get fed up hearing people in the media say a Brit invented the internet. I presume they mean Tim Berner-Lee who as anyone with a brain knows only really developed the idea of the web browser and HTML that gave us the WWW.

      The internet has been around since the 1960’s.

         0 likes

    39. Phil says:

      Good news:
      Boris has just cancelled the 40, yes 40, GLA subscriptions to the “Morning Star”, thereby saving the taxpayer ten grand.

      http://iaindale.blogspot.com/2008/05/exclusive-boriss-first-act-as-mayor.html

      Bad news:
      The Beeb will probably compensate for this by taking out another 40 subscriptions paid for by the tellytax-payer. I mean, what’s another 40 on top of what it takes already?

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    40. mister scruff says:

      ” Martin | 09.05.08 – 4:44 pm”

      and to make matters worse, he invented the web browser at CERN – which is in Switzerland.

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    41. TPO says:

      Further to the debate about the QT programme broadcast from Dorking and stuffed full of far left activists. Dorking sits at the centre of the Mole Valley constituency.
      Here are the details of the constituent parts of the council following the local elections in May 2007:
      23 Conservatives, 15 Liberal Democrats and 3 Independent.

      http://www.molevalley.gov.uk/index.cfm?Articleid=3076

      In the General election in 2005 the result was thus:
      Conservatives: 27,060
      Liberal Democrats: 15,063
      Labour: 5,310
      UKIP: 1,475
      Veritas: 507

      http://www.search.com/reference/Mole_Valley_(UK_Parliament_constituency)

      Before I left the UK I lived to the west in neighbouring Waverley where the Dim Libs got wiped out in the local elections in 2007:
      51 Conservatives, 3 Liberal Democrats, 3 Independent.
      In most of the wards Labour doesn’t even bother to field a candidate.

      It’s a similar story in the other constituencies that are adjacent to Mole Valley. Horsham, Reigate, Epsom & Ewell, Esher & Walton, Woking.
      The anomaly is Guildford with a large student population, but even there with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats jostling for the seat, with each of them getting over 22,000 votes, the socialists get a derisory 5,000.
      So just where did the BBC garner all of these far left trots for the QT audience? They`re certainly not a fair representation of the local populace.
      I think it is symptomatic of the increasing desperation within the BBC that there is a realisation that the game may be up. All pretence of impartiality is giving way to out and out overt support for Labour.
      I didn’t see it, but I understand that the BBC gave free rein to Yasmin Alibi Brown and Polly Toynbee to rant on about the evil `Daily Mail voters` after the odious Livingstone was booted out with no counterbalancing view. That on top of the thinly veiled attempts by the BBC to sway voters with bogus polling results should be the last straw for the Conservatives.
      It would not surprise me that following the 6th May 2010 there will be a day of reckoning for the BBC.

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    42. Gibby Haynes says:

      …and to make matters even worse (for the BBC anyway), the internet was invented by the Americans. And to make it worse still, it was invented by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), an agency within the US Department of Defense charged with developing technology to be used by the US military.

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    43. Hillhunt says:

      David P:

      Of course in your mind – and in the minds of the Beeboids responsible for this – Labour’s plight is more important than the Conservatives greatest electoral success in ages.

      Excellent point. Unless you recognise the embarrassment potential of Labour factions being invited to air their resentments in public.
      .

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    44. George R says:

      “BBC failed to pass on charity cash”

      (BBC Trust ‘shocked, as in film ‘Casablanca’.)

      http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23483274-details/BBC+failed+to+pass+on+charity+cash/article.do

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    45. George R says:

      ‘SHOCKED!’: Captain Renault, ‘Casablanca’, the BBC Trust and charity cash:-

         0 likes

    46. David Preiser (USA) says:

      Hillhunt | 09.05.08 – 5:14 pm |

      Excellent point. Unless you recognise the embarrassment potential of Labour factions being invited to air their resentments in public.

      Well, sure, anybody can fantasize. You think I’m going to swallow any old thing you can think up? I don’t buy for a moment the idea that the BBC would think a potential airing of dirty Labour laundry is a more important topic for a programme than an historic Tory victory. Even if the entire panel goes after each other tooth and nail, this would be a good thing as it would appear that Labour is trying to sort itself out. Some good ideas (to Labourites) will be aired, fingers pointed, and Labour will get some nice attention. Not much negative effect there, I’m afraid.

      Any chance you can actually explain why Labour’s plight is more important than the near-historic Tories?

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    47. Expat in New York says:

      I have another link to add from Bishop Hill:

      http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2008/5/9/gordon-ramsay-says-africans-are-expendable.html

      Why is the BBC carrying this story? With the quote from the Soil Association it looks like another:

      “seductive mixture” of well-connected talent, high-profile and well-meaning lobbyists, and the sympathetic involvement of production departments

      http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6764779.stm

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    48. shitfer says:

      The alternative meaning to well known words game:
      Countryside = the murder of Piers Morgan

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    49. John says:

      I had thought that a concerted campaign of complaint to Ofcom detailing clear examples of Al-Beeb’s blatant bias would have been the answer here. However, when you consult Ofcom’s website and look to complain about the way their Broadcast Codes are being flaunted by Al-Beebs’ “undue prominence of views and opinions” you are told:

      “This section of the Code does not apply to BBC services funded by the licence fee or grant in aid, which are regulated on these matters by the BBC Governors…”

      So, there you go – Al-Beeb polices itself and is above the law.

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    50. Martin says:

      John: Yes I posted on this the other day that same section.

      Why is it the Police have the IPCC but the BBC do it internally. McLiebour supporting leftoids investigating left wing bias? I think not.

         0 likes