135 Responses to OPEN THREAD

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  1. Reed says:
    November 30, 2011 at 6:22 am

    Pat Condell’s latest – excellent stuff…  
     
    Wake up, Europe, and smell the treachery.  
    The Gathering Storm…  
     


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  2. john says:
    November 30, 2011 at 6:37 am

    As my bedroom > lounge > facilitater is not here, she’s on strike, I have had to make my own way and put on the TV.
    The BBC are absolutlely revelling in their coverage of the greatest strike since time began.
    I have only one thing to say, if the Tories don’t conclude just how biased the BBC are and do something about it, then I am afraid I will find somebody else to vote for at the next general election.

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  3. David Preiser (USA) says:
    November 30, 2011 at 6:39 am

    File this one under “the nuance of His finely tuned-brain”:

    While for once moving quickly (instead of getting Hillary to do it) to condemn anti-Western violence in the Middle East, the President referred to the British Embassy as the “English Embassy”.  The BBC bravely posted the video, but no mention that He screwed up.  Nor will there be, you can be sure.  I guess there’s no way to edit it for appearances like they’ve done in the past.

    Someone please make sure to tell me when Bacon and Derbyshire and Mardell and ol’ Justin and the new media darlings who are in charge of designing the BBC website and Addison and the HIGNFY writers start laughing at this one.

    It’s not uncommon for United Statesians to refer to the consitituent countries of Britain individually, rather than saying “the UK” or “Britain”.  But that’s only when we’re talking about the individual countries.  Nobody with half a clue ever says “the English government” (although I bet many people here wish there was one 🙂 ). The Obamessiah seriously needs some basic geography lessons, as this comes on the heels of Him saying that Hawaii is in Asia.  And we all know about the 57 states.

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    • Reed says:
      November 30, 2011 at 7:06 am

      This reminds me of that bloated loudmouth Alec Baldwin, who once tweeted that “Cameron should resign. England is full of people who could do a better job.” Sorry Alec, you dumbass, but not knowing the difference between England and the UK automatically disqualifies any of your opinions on our politics. Stick to reading other people’s lines.

      http://cdn.thejournal.ie/media/2011/07/baldcam-630×277.jpg

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      • Reed says:
        November 30, 2011 at 7:08 am

        Campaign for an English Parliament… 😉

        http://www.thecep.org.uk/

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      • noggin says:
        November 30, 2011 at 8:53 am

         “Obamessiah seriously needs some basic geography lessons”
        😀 and some diplomacy lessons
              and some economics lessons
              and some security lessons
              and some national defence lessons
              and some common courtesy lessons
              and some basic common sense lessons
              and some……..
              and some
              and some

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    • Roland Deschain says:
      November 30, 2011 at 8:11 am

      It’s something those of us north of the border have to get used to, David.  I still wince whenever Mrs Doubtfire says, in a Scottish accent, that she comes from England. (My kids love that film.)

      I’m afraid that when you become sensitised to it, you notice that a lot of people across the pond treat Britain & England as synonymous.

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    • As I See It says:
      November 30, 2011 at 9:53 am

      Spot on. You will never hear Campbell, Bacon, or any other Beebs taking a punt at that open goal. English Government – (if only).

      Now if the words had come from a Republican candidate….

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    • Millie Tant says:
      November 30, 2011 at 8:19 pm

      I don’t mind Americans referring to the UK or GB as England, if only because it is pleasing to hear somebody occasionally mentioning that forgotten place.   😉   Besides, half the people in this country don’t appear to know the difference between the UK and GB and they completely lose their bearings when it comes to Northern Ireland and the Republic. I don’t know what they teach in school these days.

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  4. London Calling says:
    November 30, 2011 at 8:10 am

    Anders Breivig verdict: “Insane”  
    BBC unable to resist equating holding “right wing views” with insanity and committing mass-murder:  
     
    “Surprise or not, Norway’s struggle to cope with this manifestation of right-wing extremism is sure to be affected by the verdict”  
     
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-15936276  
     
    Apparently extreme right-wingers carry out mass murder. Is that the bBC’s dividing line between between right wing, extreme right wing, and insanity? And extreme left wing views are…?  Understandable?

    Poor bBC never have got over the term “Nazi” being derived from Germany’s National Socialist Party.

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    • noggin says:
      November 30, 2011 at 8:59 am

      even when being continually put “straight”
      they never give up trying though
       here — “eight-minutes in”

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  5. My Site (click to edit) says:
    November 30, 2011 at 9:57 am

    kevinbakhurst Kevin Bakhurst Interesting day for Met to put their critical report on summer #riots out
    True, but they have learned from masters of the craft.
    And given that the BBC is addicted to carefully slected vox pops of sympathetic strikers all day, it can hardly complain if it decides to not mention other stuff it ‘feels strongly’ about, surely?

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  6. ap-w says:
    November 30, 2011 at 10:09 am

    As a bit of light relief it’s quite amusing to see the BBC’s embarrassment and self-flagellation that the sports journalists they invited to nominate the shortlist for Sports Personality of the Year didn’t include any women. It’s always a cringe-worthy programme but you can imagine how they will be over-compensating like mad on the night – Quick! Find some women we can give the Weepie Bravery Award and the Unsung Heroic Coach of the Year to!

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  7. As I See It says:
    November 30, 2011 at 10:22 am

    News creation – BBC-PC style.

    Yesterday morning the candidates for the BBC Sports Personality of the year were announced. (I know, who cares?).

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/sports_personality/15920702.stm

    The Beeb quote Carl Doran (editor of the show) as saying ‘Its one of the strongest fields I have ever seen during my time on the show and the race itself is too close to call.’

    Now I was getting ready to go out to work when I heard that arch-feminist Dame Nicky Campbell throw a theatrical minor on-air wobbly on the subject of there being no female nominees (go girl!).

    There was the same process used as in previous years apparently and there have always been females listed. His colleages (male and female) seemed a little bemused at his faux outrage.

    I come back from work in the evening and mysteriously the story seems to have taken off.

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/sports_personality/15936294.stm

    ‘Some of Britain’s top sports stars have criticised the absence of women from the BBC Sports Personality of the Year shortlist’

    Oh yeah? But we know what has happened here don’t we? The Beeboids broke the news when they phoned around and asked ‘how outraged are you about this?’

    Of course the story is grist to the mill to their mates in the left-leaning press.

    The Guardian picks it up on runs (like a girl?) with it.

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/nov/29/women-sports-personality-year-2011?newsfeed=true

    ‘The top 10 contenders for BBC sports personality of the Year are all male. It’s hardly surprising, given the sorry state of women’s sports coverage in the UK’

    Notice how the Gruan moves the story on to one about the coverage of female sport – which suddenly has become deficient.

    I guess since the Beeb have recently been edged out of Formula One there will be a bit left in the licence-payer kitty to dole out elsewhere.

    Maybe one day in the Beeb plan for the world all sports people will tick all the boxes – like Casta Semenya.

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    • Roland Deschain says:
      November 30, 2011 at 10:27 am

      Perhap’s they’ll start covering women’s motor racing now.  Lordy, can you imagine the entertainment value watching them park in the pits.

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      • As I See It says:
        November 30, 2011 at 10:48 am

        Agreed. I would like to pitch to the BBC the concept of a weekly round up of CCTV footage taken from Tesco car parks around Britain – both entertaining and cheap.

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        • Jeff Waters says:
          November 30, 2011 at 11:17 am

          That expert on all matters sporting Harriet Harman has weighed into the debate, tweeting:

          ‘Why no women on @bbcspoty top ten? Should be celebrating our great women athletes. BBC think again
          bbcspoty Why not Rebecca Adlington, Hannah England, Jessica Ennis, Chrissie Wellington, Keri-Anne Payne or Shanaze Reade?
          Nuts and Zoo on shortlist panel. Was the shortlist panel all men as well as the shortlist?’

          —-
          No doubt she will be taking this up with Mark Thompson at their next meeting, and subtly reminding him that, if Labour win the next election, they will be deciding how much money the BBC get…
          Jeff

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  8. deegee says:
    November 30, 2011 at 11:24 am

    Cognitive dissonance at the BBC?

    Richard Coles confronts accusations that the West is attempting to force gay rights on Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

    Most Western states are keen to spread gay equality around the globe.

    But some local political and religious leaders often claim that homosexuality is a foreign import – leading to charges that the West is engaged in a new form of imperialism.

    Looking to the past, Richard Coles attempts to sort out historical fact from political propaganda – exploring the degree to which modern gay identity is a Western construct which has no place beyond Europe and North America.

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