General BBC-related comment thread

! Please use this thread for comments about the BBC’s current programming and activities. This post will remain at or near the top of the blog – scroll down for new topic-specific posts. N.B. This is not an invitation for general off-topic comments, rants or chit-chat. Thoughtful comments are encouraged. Comments may also be moderated. Any suggestions for stories that you might like covered would be appreciated! It’s your space, use it wisely.

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159 Responses to General BBC-related comment thread

  1. RR says:

    At least the Beeb can count on some support from the churches. In their submission to to Ofcom review of public service broadcasting, the CofE and the RCs seem to have found common ground:

    “The Rt Revd Nigel McCulloch, Anglican Bishop of Manchester and the Rt Revd John Arnold, Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster said: “There is a real risk that the flood of information from a proliferation of digital channels could be confusing and bewildering creating a modern Tower of Babel rather than being enlightening. Public service broadcasting can be a comprehensive, authoritative and trustworthy guide in this environment. Therefore the full range of public service content needs to be made available across all platforms – internet, mobile and digital.”

    I guess this is one area in which “diversity” really isn’t welcome. It might confuse us.

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  2. adam says:

    A comment on our leftwing society.

    Only in ‘relative poverty’ Britain could obesity rates be linked to areas of high poverty.
    They discussed it on regional news last night.

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  3. adam says:

    Also “Wembly Community School” has 90% minority ethnic (BME) students.
    When does the minority become
    the majority and just who is this fictional majority anyway? All 10% of them.

    Isnt that discrimination? BME can make up no more than 30% of the population.

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  4. Cockney says:

    “Only in ‘relative poverty’ Britain could obesity rates be linked to areas of high poverty.”

    I thought that was a statistical truth? poor people generally aren’t very bright. unintelligent people generally tend to make themselves fat. what’s political about that?

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  5. Jack Bauer says:

    BBC Bias By Shameless Snidery

    “Four decades ago, during the Vietnam war, Mr Duyet was in charge of the notorious Hoa Lo prison–the place where Mr McCain says he was brutally beaten and tortured during five-and-a-half years as an American prisoner of war.”
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7459946.stm

    WHERE MR McCAIN “SAYS” … huh? You mean the torture of John McCain hasn’t been well documented over the past 40 years?

    You doubt McCain do you, Andrew Harding?

    Think he’s “lying”? Well clearly, because you then gave over a whole article to some Vietcong commie to claim McCain was “never tortured.”

    Despite the fact that as the son and grandson of Admirals, the capture, imprisonment and brutal torture of John McCain, and his fellow prisonerfs, is possibly one of the most widely documented POW cases to emerge from Vietnam.

    The fact that all his teeth were kicked out. The fact that his left arm is virtually useless and cause him constant pain to this very day?

    No bias here, of course.

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  6. John says:

    Why is BBC so isreal biased in the presentation of the news realted that region.

    After the recent peace deal Isreal attacked Gaza area and killed two people, in reply to that Hamas fired rockets that did no life damage. Now Isreal has blocked the border again.
    So who started it? Ofcourse Iseal but look how bbc reports it
    Rockets ‘violated Gaza ceasefire’
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7470530.stm
    and again

    Israel closes Gaza after rockets
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7472819.stm

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  7. Biodegradable says:

    Continuing on the issue of the BBC’s reporting of Jewish refugees from Arab countries:

    Recognising the Jewish ‘Nakba’

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  8. Biodegradable says:

    Why is it that you can tell an antisemite right away because he spells Israel Isreal?

    After the recent peace deal Isreal attacked Gaza area and killed two people

    Wrong. Israeli forces attempted to arrest two terrorists in The West Bank, not Gaza. The West bank is not included in any ceasefire deal. The two terrorists refused to give themselves up and shot at the Israeli forces instead.

    in reply to that Hamas fired rockets that did no life damage

    In actual fact hourse before the IDF operation in The West Bank Hamas affiliates had fired mortars at Israel from Gaza thus breaking the ceasefire.

    So who started it?

    The Arabs.

    … but look how bbc reports it
    Rockets ‘violated Gaza ceasefire’

    For once the BBC is right, although they lie in this report.

    Rockets ‘violated Gaza ceasefire’
    No injuries were reported after at least two rockets were fired from Gaza, the first since the agreement came into force in the Hamas-run territory.

    The first rockets, yes, but not the first attack.

    Note the date:
    Gunmen reportedly fire mortar shell into Israel in breach of truce

    Mortar fired at Negev despite ceasefire; no injuries

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  9. mailman says:

    John,

    You might want to actually do yourself a favour and study material before you talk about it.

    Israel did not violate the ceasefire. The attacks you consider a violation occured in an area not covered by the ceasefire.

    Or are you saying if Israel signs a ceasefire with Hamas that that ceasefire then automagically applies to Hizbullah, even though they are not signatories to that ceasefire?

    Mailman

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  10. Martin says:

    Jack Bauer: I commented on this very story the other day . I’m surprised David Vance hasn’t picked up on this piece of anti McCain crap from the BBC.

    AS you say, the BBC “suggested” that perhaps McCain hadn’t been tortured at all (unlike Gitmo where they are forced to eat three god meals a day, play football and pray as often as they like).

    The BBC failed in its report to mention McCain opposed Gitmo and the use of torture by the USA. You think in fairness the BBC might have just mentioned that fact?

    But no. After all the BBC are chanting “Osama Osama osama”

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  11. Jim T says:

    In Private Eye today – at the current EuroFootball fest the BBC has the biggest press contingent (compare the forthcoming Olympics farce). They took over the whole floor of a legal firm to convert to a studio, have more people there than the hosts Austria and Switzerland, and 15 (yes, fifteen) times as many as the country that started favourites, Holland, and the UK doesn’t even have any teams playing!! That’s where the tellytax goes – triples all round as PE often says.

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  12. David Vance says:

    Martin,,

    DV is exhausted and resting!

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  13. David says:

    David,

    News is beginning to break that Wendy Alexander has been found guilty over her leadership donations in Scotland, while Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper are being investigated over their property expenses allowances. This has all occured in the last two years and regards substantial amounts of money. Let’s see if the BBC give it as much attention as they did Spelman’s 1997 nanny…

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  14. Martin says:

    David: Spot on. I’ve just checked the BBC News website and they’ve “tucked it away” under Scotland!!!!!!!!!!!

    So why wasn’t Spelman tucked away under London?

    Anyone who thinks the BBC isn’t biased should hang their heads in shame. Spelman hasn’t been found guilty of anything, whilst Alexander (LABOUR) has been found out several times now.

    Yet the BBC don’t feel it’s worthy of either being on the main news frontpage or the main politics page.

    I bet Newsnight doesn’t send Michael Prick to investigate either.

    You can bet the BBC will bury this Labour sleaze story as quick as possible. Will radio 5 run a phone in on Labour sleaze tomorrow? Of course not.

    Peter Hain anyone?

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  15. Martin says:

    David Vance: You’ll be telling us next you work as hard as a beeboid!!!!!

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  16. BaggieJonathan says:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7473680.stm

    No mention of them being held for over 28 days.

    No mention of detention without charge.

    No mention of their possible threat of the death sentance if charged, tried and found guilty.

    How shocking.

    No, on second thoughts, it Saudi Arabia, not the UK or USA, how not shocking.

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  17. David Vance says:

    Martin,

    I wish – I could do with all that leisure time!!

    David,

    Yes, Wendy has broken a few technical rules over her financial affairs. Watch the BBC cover for her — Caroline Spelman must be sick.

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  18. mailman says:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7472846.stm

    Absolutely no mention of some of the dodgier allegations against the woman at all!

    In fact, if you read all of the articles on this murder you would think this woman was a virtual paragom of religious integration!

    Mailman

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  19. Martin says:

    Regarding Alexander. On BBC News 24 the studio beeboid droid was talking to some reporter in Scotland. When talking about Alexander being found guilty by some 7 member panel, the reporter said the two Labour MSP’s didn’t think she was guilty.

    So studio beeboid pipes up “oh this is just party politics then?”
    What and the Spelman story wasn’t stirred up by the Labour Party and the BBC?

    At least Spelman’s case is 10 years old.

    Peter Hain anyone?

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  20. BaggieJonathan says:

    Hillhunt
    aka ColinChase
    aka Mrs Rooney’s Ferret
    aka Jesus for Libtards
    aka Raj Pesaud’s Ghostwriter
    aka General Lee Nowtoosay
    aka Old Uncle Tom Cobleigh
    etc etc etc

    hillhunt,

    Will all one of you give the joke a rest now.
    Constant repetition is undoing what was (surprisingly) a little amusing from you.
    Even the extreme bbc apologists must be finding the one of you hard to follow now.
    In fact even you must be finding you hard to follow.

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  21. Martin says:

    I can’t find the results of the latest ICM poll on the BBC news website. Anyone help out please 🙂

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  22. George R says:

    BBC Report:

    “Knighthood goes to author Rushdie”.

    Significantly, the BBC, in reporting this story on its website, predominantly concentrates on:

    -global Muslim opposition to Salman Rushdie’s book ‘The Satanic Verses’, with neither reference to the contents of the book, nor a critique of such Islamic, anti-free speech demonstations;

    and the BBC report gives no indication that Rushdie has written many other books!

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7473506.stm

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  23. Cockney says:

    George, this is indeed a ridiculous article. A large story on Rushdie’s services to literature with a footnote para on the Satanic Verses controversy would be about right. I notice that Midnight’s Children, winner of the Booker of Bookers isn’t even namechecked. Ho hum.

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  24. Jack Bauer says:

    Martin:
    Jack Bauer: I commented on this very story the other day . I’m surprised David Vance hasn’t picked up on this piece of anti McCain crap from the BBC.

    Sorry, I missed your post.

    Yep.. this is an malignant opinion piece, not even cleverly disguised as news.

    Breathtaking in its blatant chutzpah. It’s like giving a convicted rapist a platform to dispute the victim’s testimony, whilst claiming they quite gpod friends.

    Blimey!

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  25. gus says:

    Can anyone give me an example of something……anything good about Arabs??
    Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know you libs like Arabs, but then again, you like Robert Mugabe, Saddam Hussein, and Fidel Castro. You’re sick freak.
    But I’d like to know of something POSITIVE that Arabs bring to us.
    Oil?

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  26. Roland Deschain says:

    Can anyone give me an example of something……anything good about Arabs??
    gus | 25.06.08 – 4:35 pm |

    I think your question would be better addressed to the Biased Arabs website.

    This is a site about bias in the BBC

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  27. Hugh says:

    Can someone give me an example of something positive gus brings to this site?

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  28. NotaSheep says:

    Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper under investigation by Parliament’s standards watchdog but shhh the BBC don’t want to tell you. I see that the BBC have now recognised that this is a story but are only reporting the story as the last of the “Other Top Stories” on the Politics page. Contrast that with the HEADLINE news that was the Caroline Spelman story.

    Would any passing Beeboid care to explain this?

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  29. George R says:

    The BBC: sympathetic to Saudi ‘one-eyed-Jacks’:
    The BBC merely transmits this at face-value –

    [Extract from BBC report]:-

    “The oil-rich kingdom – the birthplace of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden – has been waging a crackdown on militants since a 2003 wave of attacks on foreign compounds.”

    Some crackdown.
    See ‘Trusting the Saudis’ below (a article of 6 months ago) for critique of Saudi policy on returning Guantanamo prisoners.

    ‘Saudis hold 520 terror suspects’

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7473680.stm

    “Trusting the Saudis”
    http://www.newenglishreview.org/blog_direct_link.cfm/blog_id/11755

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  30. gus says:

    Apparently Roland and Hugh were too stupid to answer the question.

    Right Roland and Hugh.
    I mean, if you had an answer you might have given it.
    You had none. You’re a pair of impotent sissies. I’m laughing at you Roland and Hugh.

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  31. gus says:

    How is Bin Laden’s birthplace relevant to the price of tea in China?

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  32. Cockney says:

    Gus,

    Re: Arabs

    If you’re ever in London and you’re not as poor as your writing style would suggest check out this fine example of Arabian culture… mmmmmm

    http://www.noura.co.uk/

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  33. gus says:

    Cockney, you arent’ impressing me with your literary excellence.
    I’m so very impressed. You showed me a link to a restaurant.
    I’m still waiting for some Arab achievement.
    Anyone? Beuhler??

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  34. David Preiser (USA) says:

    gus,

    Any examples of BBC bias worth discussing today?

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  35. Jack Bauer says:

    I’m still waiting for some Arab achievement.
    Anyone? Beuhler??
    gus | 25.06.08 – 5:33 pm | #

    al-jezeera?

    Opps, sorry… that was started by former BBC-bots.

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  36. Biodegradable says:

    Any examples of BBC bias worth discussing today?
    David Preiser (USA) | 25.06.08 – 5:39 pm

    You could try here:
    http://www.hurryupharry.org/2008/06/25/the-bbc-and-israel/

    Or here:
    http://www.hurryupharry.org/2008/06/25/recognising-the-jewish-nakba/

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  37. Must remain anon says:

    Funny how the BBC are running with this on the front page of their website. Top Asian officer in race claim

    http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7473821.stm

    To the exclusion of this one. Now Met Commander Dizaei is investigated over £5,000 of designer goods he put on expenses.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1028132/Now-Met-commander-Dizaei-investigated-5-000-designer-goods-expenses.html

    Funny also is the fact that in the BBC website article they quote Dizaei as saying, “It will be a sad day for the police service if one of the UK’s most respected senior ethnic minority police officers is forced to challenge his treatment in court.”

    But then again when it comes to investigative journalism the BBC are so crap that they never found out what happened when Ian Blair took over at the Met and found out that Tarique Ghaffur was the only DAC that didn’t know about the investigation into Dizaei’s drug habit, his predeliction for entertaining prostitutes in his Rolls Royce (Yes he had one), damaging his own car and then trying to blame white officers for it and getting his muslim pals off of motoring charges.
    Blair ordered that Ghaffur be told about the investigation. Ghaffur’s first reaction was to gasp and say “Have I compromised myself”

    Read what you will into that, but just about everyone, except the BBC of course, knows how corrupt and maligning the influence of the Black Police Association is.
    Come on you BBC wankers. Do your job.
    Do some real investigation into how Asian police officers caught drug dealing are not sacked but moved sideways. How Black officers running extortion rings are allowed to retire on ill health.
    No of course they won’t. Doesn’t fit into the ‘social cohesion’ plan does it and not in the public interest is it!!

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  38. gus says:

    David,
    Any examples of BBC bias worth discussing today?

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  39. George R says:

    To bring the issues of Arab civilisation and the BBC closer together, we should always bear in mind the physically and ‘intellectually’ close proximity of the BBC World Service of the BBC (which is, of course UK Government-financed), to the rest of the licence-payer financed BBC. The recently installed BBC ARABIC TV SERVICE (of World Service) is located on the Mecca (East side) of Broadcasting House, in London. Who is to say that there is no exchange of political ideology between personnel at both sites? Given that this BBC Arabic TV Service broadcasts in Arabic to predominently Islamic areas of The Middle East, by, of course Arabic speakers, means that British tax-paying funders of that TV ‘service’ have little or no idea what propaganda is being put out at our expense. But here is a recent Israeli comment:

    “The BBC: A Propagandfa Platform for Jihadists”

    http://fieryspiritedzionist.blogspot.com/2008/03/bbc-propaganda-platform-for-jihadists.html

    Hugh Fitzgerald has this:

    “What Arab Civilization?”

    http://www.newenglishreview.org/blog_direct_link.cfm/blog_id/11197

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  40. David says:

    As expected, the Balls/Cooper story appears only on the Politics page, and tucked away nicely to the right:

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

    The Spelman story was top of the news agenda for at least 24 hours. What the hell is going on?

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  41. Martin says:

    BBC 6PM news. Top story flooding last year. “Climate change is with us and this is the concquence” claimed Government muppet.

    Er no. No serious climate change scientist can say for sure that ANY one event is a direct link to climate change. Oh and this report came out about the flooding.

    More crap from the BBC. I mentioned that the poll in the Observer that suggested most people think climate change is a load of bollocks (and the taxes that go with it) would lead the BBC to “big up” any old piece of shite as “climate change”

    The floods last year were caused by this bunch of shite we have in power concreting over the countryside,over population, not investing in new drains and building on flood plain land.

    Sod all to do with climate change.

    Still waiting for Wendy Alexander to get a mention.

    Regarding the Asian plod. Funny the BBC have this story but the Met Police are denying it at the moment.

    I smell another “undercover plod” story from the BBC.

    Peter Hain anyone?

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  42. Martin says:

    Hey the BBC mentioned about Ed Balls and his awful wife but only gets a very very very bried mention.

    “They insist they’ve done nothing wrong” said the BBC. End of story then BBC.

    But not that EVIL TORY CAROLINE SPELMAN.

    Funny the BBC faile dto bring up Wendy Alexander in the same article. I wonder why?

    Peter Hain anyone?

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  43. Martin says:

    David: 24 hours? Are you kidding? Spelman was top story for about 3 or 4 days. Prick was on Newsnight almost every night after he broke this “major story” (about all that Prick could break apart from wind)

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  44. Martin says:

    Forgot to put link to cause of last years floods.

    http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=14342

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  45. gus says:

    Must remain Anon:
    I loved this quote..
    “Funny also is the fact that in the BBC website article they quote Dizaei as saying, “It will be a sad day for the police service if one of the UK’s most respected senior ethnic minority police officers is forced to challenge his treatment in court.”

    Ahhhhh, the RACE card. Classic.

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  46. David Preiser (USA) says:

    The BBC’s Multiculturalism and Immigration agenda invades on Radio 3.

    Today’s “Performance on 3” features “Now Comes the Dragon’s Hour”, which the BBC describes as an “international music drama”. Their brief description:

    The story centres on a pregnant woman in a church, who imagines the future of her unborn baby and ponders the history of East End immigration.

    I bet everyone can see where this is going. The piece is by Tony Haynes, the director of the Grand Union Orchestra. This is an ensemble made up of a wide array of musicians from around the world who are exponents of various international folk traditions, as well as some Western jazz players. Supposedly there is some European Classical tradition involved, but from the clips I heard on their website, that was just part of Hayne’s training, and the music itself is more like “Worldy Crossover Jazz”. I guess that’s the idea because the protagonist is the singer in the bar of an airport hotel somewhere in South Asia.

    The website’s own synopsis of the story:

    A woman takes refuge in the church; she is expecting a baby. Contemplating the future this changing world holds for her child, she summons up the ghosts of past generations of East End merchants and traders • English, European, African, Chinese, Jewish, Bengali. With the aid of some remarkable musicians passing through the City tonight, they tell stories of their lives past and present • songs of love and war, migration and political upheaval, conjuring up the seductive sounds of the desert, the majesty of snow-capped peaks and fantastical visions of Chinese dragons • stories of life along the Great Silk Road…

    The Silk Road as a metaphor for immigration in the East End. The BBC “social cohesion”, multi-culti editorial policy usually doesn’t intrude much into Radio 3, but this is really too much.

    They do a great jazz series on Radio 3, and I’m not saying it should be exclusively (Western) Classical music or anything. However, too many times artistic programming decisions are made more on a culturally relativist basis rather than on solid academic musical grounds. Folk musicians from non-Western traditions are placed on stage as if their tradition was the non-white analogue to Western Classical music, which is simply not true.

    I’m not talking about which is inferior or superior or any of that. My contention is that Western Classical music has a much deeper, more sophisticated/elaborate/developed/varied and complex tradition and history (or series of traditions and histories) than non-Western folk traditions. I have studied Chinese, Japanese, and Indian “Classical” music as well as as Western Classical music, and there is a huge difference between the elaborate academic traditions and techniques of Western Classical music versus the rest of them. (I’m not talking about individual instrumental technique, of course. A great musician is a great musician, regardless of instrument or musical tradition.) It’s simply unfair and inaccurate to depict them all as equally developed and academically sophisticated. The BBC is going along with that narrative here.

    They’re also using a forum normally reserved for non-agenda driven music to do a little audience manipulation. I wonder if real East Enders appreciate being told that the history of their neighborhood is not their own. Or will we soon forget there was ever such a thing as a Cockney? I guess Finsbury is a lost cause, but still…

    They should put this on Radio 4 where it belongs, and bring “Red Priest” performances over to Radio 3.

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  47. Martin says:

    Don’t forget the Moozlums saved us from the Spanish Armada.

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  48. David says:

    Martin, fair point. I meant the online version; it was top story on the BBC website for about 24 straight hours. It was then taken down for half a day for something else, and then put back up over the weekend.

    David Preiser, excellent post. Reasoned, logical and absolutely correct. The BBC’s constant desire to place the value, significance and traditions of Eastern classical music on a par with that of the West is one of the reasons why I gave up on Radio 3 some time ago.

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  49. adam says:

    Cockney 1:22pm

    It is a statistical truth. That was what i meant.

    If there was real poverty in our country they wouldnt be a bunch of fatties.

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