Midweek Thread 5 February 2020

The Government has announced the formal consultation on decriminalising not having a TV licence . In view of that I would ask that those with an interest in ending the BBC in its’ current form consider submitting their views to the government .
It is the most practical first step to achieving our aim

The link to the consultation is here –

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-decriminalising-tv-licence-evasion

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507 Responses to Midweek Thread 5 February 2020

  1. Sluff says:

    The 52-48 vote in the Senate doesn’t mean anything.
    People clearly did not know what they were voting for.
    Clearly those who voted for Trump did so unlawfully.
    The Trump acquittal cannot therefore be allowed to stand.
    The Supreme Court must get involved and I am sure they will declare the proceedings unlawful.
    Only one remedy will suffice.
    What we need now is a people’s vote.

    Oh……..wait a minute…………….

       50 likes

    • Richard Pinder says:

      In my English Dictionary it includes ten things about the word “Trump”

      (1) A fine person
      (2) A reliable person
      (3) To outdo
      (4) To surpass
      (5) A decisive advantageous action
      (6) To proclaim with a fanfare
      (7) Outranks all
      (8) Bring about a happy conclusion
      (9) An Unexpected successful outcome
      And also
      (10) To Trump up a false charge so as to implicate an innocent man

         39 likes

  2. Sluff says:

    OT but not entirely unrelated to BBC favoured narratives.

    We recently visited the Wellcome Collection in London.
    On the ground floor, the toilets are now unisex. Around 15 cubicles, all floor to ceiling walls and doors. Quite claustrophobic. There were basins in the cubicles plus hand dryers. Yet immediately outside a row of basins and a condom machine. It was all rather disconcerting.
    Mrs S said she felt quite intimidated when she emerged to find a big burly bloke outside. We men meanwhile have to be a little careful – no blokey dialogue which may cause offence.

    So we ordinary members of the public do not like what we have been given. And all this for what reason? Because a pressure group has pushed ceaselessly for the ‘rights’ of transgenders, who represent maybe 0.1% of the population. And, sadly, some wokish snowflakes have been cowed into submission to earn their libtard points.

    To coin a phrase, for the (very) few not the many.
    Utterly, totally, pathetic.

       62 likes

    • Deborah says:

      Just as bad Sluff at the Albert Hall (proms visit so BBC related) but with a search ladies and gentlemen’s loos can be found. But it doesn’t matter what 99% of us want, if we say in public that we feel uncomfortable using gender neutral loos, then we are transphobic and will have the police after us for a hate crime.

         18 likes

  3. StewGreen says:

    I just listened on catchup to Mike Graham
    12:40pm He’s sneering at Trump repeatedly saying Trump refused to shake Pelosi’s hand
    I see no words or gesture of refusal in the video
    … yet Mike acts as if he’s seen the video when he clearly hasn’t

    12:45pm A caller goes into a story about the Eric Gill statue at BH
    then suddenly the recording jumps 2 mins and moves to MG saying “I’m not sure if that story was true”
    FFS it’s not a myth that Eric Gill was a paedophile so the church chose to take his works down, but the BBC didn’t.
    … So MG sounds so ignorant sometimes.

       28 likes

    • Banania says:

      I don’t think “paedophile” is the right word for Eric Gill. He was omnivorous, so to speak.

         1 likes

  4. vlad says:

    Why do I have the feeling this outspoken young French lady won’t be invited onto the beeb any time soon?

    (She’s now in hiding under police protection after insulting the religion of murder – after herself being insulted and threatened by them.)

    Below are two vids in the DM, one with English subtitles… and lots of bleeps.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7964739/French-teenager-does-not-regret-online-rant-against-Islam.html

    24289224-7964739-image-a-2_1580813303317.jpg

       30 likes

  5. vlad says:

    National Day of Mourning at the beeb over Trump’s acquittal.
    As of now the story completely dominates their Home page, with no less than 6 articles and videos.
    Which merely exposes the beeb’s obsession over a non-story the outcome of which was known from the start.
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news

       59 likes

    • Scroblene says:

      Too right, Vlad!

      Imagine my surprise, when R5Dead’s boring presenter decided to ask a bloke from Reuters a leading anti-President Trump question, and was immediately put down, and superbly!

      Even more surprise when a journo from The Boston Globe was asked about the Democrats and their ‘success’! Nope, not a good answer there either!

      I really did think for a moment, that there is a sort of ‘rattlement’ going on somewhere in W1A, and perhaps a reliance on the US press on the East Coast isn’t all that fabulous at the moment…

      Reuters normally paddle their own canoes anyway, but it was a superb few seconds, waiting for the upset of the R5 bloke to subside!

         43 likes

      • Fedup2 says:

        Scrob – I tend to use Reuter’s as a ‘go too’ news source because I know it hasn’t been filtered through the BBC editorial sponge which takes out facts which the BBC doesn’t like
        ( eg – that Islam is bad ) – and adds facts it like ( eg whitee / man is bad ).

           34 likes

        • Scroblene says:

          Good idea, Fed, I’ll do the same now!

          (When there was a fire in their offices in Fleet Street, in around 1970, a chum and I re-measured all the burnt bits for proposed restoration. I thought you might like to know that)!

             10 likes

    • andyjsnape says:

      the beeb ends the report in…
      Is this the end of the matter?

      It is for most people the end, but for the beeb…..

         27 likes

  6. Celtic_Mist says:

    BBC Watch – on the subject of the Arab-Israeli conflict

    “Listeners had already heard from a BBC correspondent in Washington and from one of the authors of the initiative, Jason Greenblatt, at the beginning of the programme and subsequently they heard over four minutes of diatribe from the Palestinian Authority’s Husam Zomlot.

    https://bbcwatch.org/2020/02/06/bbc-ws-radio-promotes-us-peace-plan-commentary-from-partisan-lobbying-group/

    The site has a long list of BBC bias

       18 likes

  7. JamesG says:

    Michael Grade on Today: “The British people love the BBC and don’t want to see it bullied by the government”.

       23 likes

    • fakenewswatcher says:

      James – I was staggered to hear that claim from this former bbc apparatchik – it is an outright lie. But then, we are used to lies from the beeb, especially when it comes to securing their funding. In fact, we are used to lies from the beeb, regardless of the topic.
      Looks like we need to prepare for an ongoing campaign of beeboids coming on to tell us how much the public loves the BBC, as the funding battle commences.
      And why did Nikki Morgan come on to give Toady credibility? She denied that government was trying to ‘get at’ the beeb for its opposition to Brexit. Did she feel obliged to pitch up because it was about funding? Did they con her to break ranks? Or are other ministers now going to pitch up on Toady?
      After all, if it is true that Hammond and Clarke have been nominated for the Lords, perhaps one can see beeb and Boris being the best of friends? ( All is forgiven, now that he has been elected with a big majority?)

         21 likes

      • Fedup2 says:

        James / fake
        At least Lou grades son still has a sense of humour saying such a dumb thing as the public love the BBC . First outright laugh of the day .
        This provides a helpful example of why the Lords is just a retirement club and how out of touch it is . My god – bojo even put the scatty Nicki Morgan in there to ‘sort out ‘ the BBC

        When she was interviewed on toady the interviewer kept asking why government ministers were avoiding Toady . It must really hurt . Which – obviously – is good to know and a good thing .

        Back To Micky Grade – he pointed out that when the BBC is ‘criticised ‘ ( some would say – found out ) – it hides ( see the TR panorama debacle ) . The classic sign of a bully , coward and state supported branch of the civil service .

           37 likes

      • Not Gwent says:

        “why did Nikki Morgan come on to give Toady credibility?”

        Either a credible institution worthy of investment or a time wasting tax funded bucket of negativity. I’d thought this decided?

           15 likes

  8. JamesArthur says:

    R4 oh how it has sunk……They hate Pres Trump. They hate Boris. and it has been vomited out this morning.
    and now TOady speaking to Nicky Morgan about the future of BBC..do they admit any failings NO…just point fingers at everyone else..as normal they think they got it about right..
    Oh for god’s sake Michael Grade is on and said the Government is bullying the BBC – and the British people love the BBC – on what planet?

       49 likes

  9. JamesArthur says:

    Following up M Grade said that if licence fee is decriminalised then if you don’t pay you can’t be fined as it is not a contract – interesting

    There will be lots of people not paying….

       30 likes

    • Not Gwent says:

      Never heard of encryption? Wow I’d imagined a State Broadcaster being blessed with bright sparks.

         11 likes

  10. fakenewswatcher says:

    What a cosy set-up the Commonwealth Secretariat is. Baroness Scotland seems in for ‘four more years’ as Secretary General. The fact that a member government (New Zealand) has withdrawn funding because of her alleged corruption, does not seem to have troubled many others.
    Looking at her details, one can see that governments like the Canadian and South African, have reasons why they would not have a problem with her. Or much of the Commonwealth’s African and Caribbean membership. But what about, say Britain and Australia? India?( I gather Boris is also opposed to her reappointment?)

       20 likes

  11. fakenewswatcher says:

    Mishal pushing hard on Toady to bully an interviewee, Alan Dershowitz, to condemn President Trump. What a surprise. Wasn’t there something about beeb ‘not bullying’? Or ‘impartiality’? (Joke)

       31 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      Fake
      Listening to bbc types going for President Trump – it is sometimes difficult to realise that they are after a democratically elected foreign head of state and not one who is answerable to British tax payers .

         31 likes

  12. Guest Who says:

    Anthony taking it well, safe to say.

       16 likes

    • Guest Who says:

      BBC News

      Trump’s reality show tactics add drama to tense occasion which laid bare US’s deep partisan divide, says the BBC’s Anthony Zurcher.

      ***

      This was illustrated by Pelosi in full rip mode. Zurcher is a clown.

         20 likes

  13. Fedup2 says:

    Fake
    The report said that Mrs Scotland is due for renewal as head of the commonwealth jolly for another 4 years and half the commonwealth want ‘other candidates ‘ – quite rightly ..

    If it has to be a British type there must be plenty of politically dead ex MPs trolling around looking for a quango job .

    It must be painful for the BBC to have a token Blair appointee being criticised for amongst other things – alleged corruption.
    She’ll be protected – and reading between the lines the Queen must like her otherwise she’d be spending more time with her pension .

    Funny how these QCs seem to have honesty / judgement issues ….

       26 likes

  14. Guest Who says:

    BBc Moaning Emole. Graciously impartial in every line.

    ***

    Trump acquitted by Senate

    Story detail

    US senators have cleared Donald Trump of abusing his presidential power by pressuring Ukraine to smear a potential White House rival in return for aid funding. He was also found not guilty of obstructing congress. A conviction on either charge would have seen him forced from office. But given his Republican party holds 53 of the chamber’s 100 seats, the two-thirds majority required for that was always unlikely. Instead, his re-election campaign says: “President Trump has been totally vindicated and it’s now time to get back to the business of the American people.”

    Some Republican senators criticised Mr Trump’s behaviour in recent days. But only former presidential candidate and long-time Trump critic Mitt Romney voted to convict the president, saying he was “guilty of an appalling abuse of public trust”. You can expect Mr Trump’s reaction to the case later. It doesn’t seem to have damaged his chances of re-election, with a Gallup poll suggesting his domestic approval ratings have hit a personal best of 49%, while 94% of Republicans approve of his performance in office. We look at what it all means for this year’s presidential vote.

       26 likes

    • Dover Sentry says:

      I blame the BBC as a ‘foreign power’ meddling 🙂

         35 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      Guest – it’s fascinating how the BBC avoided the real stories about Biden . Criticising Biden is , to the BBC , the same as criticising St Obama – something Which Cannot Happen .

      So having a Biden son ‘employed’ by a Ukrainian oil company despite no experience in the oil industry gets a free pass.

      Biden himself – and his age – mental capacity – and strange physical contact with wimmin also goes unexamined .

      I’m sure the biggest thing Mr Trump has learnt is that there are plenty of democrat spies in the State and Justice Department happy to try damage him – same on this side of the pond with the civil service leaking like a sieve to undermine BoJo / Dom Cummings .

         44 likes

      • fakenewswatcher says:

        Even Democratic pollster Zogby got the Mishal treatment on Toady, as he refused to blast Trump and declared the impeachment ‘a waste of time’. She didn’t like that and tried to pressure him into saying something nasty about Trump, but he merely ended up talking about the Iowa fiasco.
        So if the Dems could foresee a waste of time and money, why do it?

        I would guess 1) attack is the best defence and it throws a smokescreen over the Obama/Schiff/Pelosi etc. coup attempt, as well as the Clinton and Biden skeletons rattling away in cupboards,
        2) it tries to unite a bankrupt and disunited party at election time around hatred of Trump, given lack of policies and appealing personalities.

           18 likes

  15. Guest Who says:

    If the bbc thought this was a good idea, much is explained.

    #CCBGB

       32 likes

  16. Guest Who says:

    BBC Editorial Integrity.

    If Neil thinks his colleagues are worth defending, good luck to him.

       23 likes

  17. Fedup2 says:

    Stop the press – we are blessed at the moment .

    The SNP finance secretary derek McKay has resigned – right now – after being caught texting a 16 year old boy for ‘relationship ‘ purposes .

    And mr McKay , 42 , was due to deliver a Scottish budget today .
    What is it about sex and the SNP – Alex salmond grips the rail soon … just keeps giving ….. the Scottish sun must be due a gong for breaking the story at the best possible time … where is my popcorn … ? !

       47 likes

  18. G says:

    I have to say that during the 0600 news on Toady earlier, the reporter (is it Chris Buckler – Northern Irish accent) gave a pretty accurate report on the US Democrats Impeachment debacle and the current state of the US Polls. Could have blown me down with a feather! Wonders never cease……………..

       23 likes

  19. Dover Sentry says:

    BBC1 TV Breakfast News. 08.45

    Feature on a youth club in Harrow north London. BBC believe that youth clubs divert young street criminals away from knife. They want the Government to spend more of our money as 69% have closed down over the past 10 years.

    Amongst them was Mayor Khan.

    The BBC interviewed a black premiership footballer (Gray), who was able to leave violence behind. The BBC seemed to think that all black street criminals could become premiership footballers if they attend a youth club.

    Next on the sofa….black rapper JJ, who was no doubt diverted from crime by being a rapper. Off button operated.

       39 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      Dover
      Youth clubs provide excellent support for gangs organising and recruiting – places to stash weapons And drugs and stolen property , practicing attacks and hiding from plod – paid courtesy of your poll tax .

      When I looked out of the window at 11 in the morning recently I saw the police stopping a couple of the feral local black yoof – hoodies – gloves —. I think these animals had stashed their weapons before the police turned up . They were let go as the police couldn’t find the knives . …. youth clubs indeed ….

         30 likes

      • Guest Who says:

        BBC loves the youth, almost as much as SNP MPs. Apparently.

        There are certain application restrictions mind.

           28 likes

      • BRISSLES says:

        DS and Fed, so true.

        Sadly ‘youth clubs’ now are light years away from the youth clubs of the 50’s and 60’s when a different type of ‘youth’ attended them.
        My Dad started one in a disused school back in the early 60’s, and turned it into a Sporting Youth Club where all kinds of sports were available from kayaking to boxing to table tennis to netball etc. with ‘discos’ on a Saturday night. Drugs were unheard of, unless there were a few purple hearts knocking about – that seemed to send you to sleep. Yes there was the odd fight if a couple of teddy boys or rockers pitched up, but it was a rarity.

        Of course the main difference was the demographic. Unlike the latest version of David Copperfield that showed a diverse population in Dickensian Britain, in Harold McMillan’s Britain and in our part of the UK, the only BAME seen were at the American Air Bases. Its a shame that today’s liberals never had a taste of the Britain I grew up in, because I’m certain their views on diversity would be totally different.

           43 likes

        • JimS says:

          Just after the war the local dads got together and took down an old army hut and moved it to some spare land by the parish church where it was re-erected as a scout hut. A few years later the dads and lads extended it. The scout group grew and the local authority found them a bit of spare land behind the local school, i.e. without commercial value. It was leased to the scouts for £1 per year. The scout group worked its socks off raising money and was then able to get a ‘proper’ brick-built ‘hut’ put up.
          Unfortunately, not being lawyers, they didn’t fully understand the meaning of the lease so, 25 years later, the council took over ownership of the building. The council then charged them ‘a commercial rate’. Fortunately most of this is balanced by a community grant which is always paid late and only if the scout group has provided evidence that the support ‘diversity’ etc. Because the group now has a ‘high’ income, (the grant), and expenditure, (rent paid back to the local authority that pays the grant), they have to pay for an accountant to satisfy the Charity Commission, which they didn’t have to do when the rent was £1.

          So from a DIY local dads and lads group to which the lads ‘bought in’ it has become a full-blown, mostly girls, H&S, politically compliant, state-funded & state-controlled group that struggles to recruit adult leaders.

             36 likes

        • Fedup2 says:

          Bris – I think your last point is quite painful . Even in East London at a kid of the 60s I wouldn’t hear a foreign language ( even the French and German lessons were English ! ) . Yet now I often think I’m the only one in a street who speaks English –
          The rewriting of recent British social history is also painful because you can see what the Race industry is doing .

             22 likes

  20. Guest Who says:

    As a matter of interest, who are these people, beyond being awesomely diverse…ish.

       21 likes

  21. BigBrotherCorporation says:

    The BBC made a bit of a fuss about Lawrence Fox commenting on there being a Sikh in the film 1917, and how his presence seemed incongruous. Fox then apologised, saying he hadn’t meant to cause offence to Sikhs, who had, of course, fought in the Great War – the BBC lapped it all up and made sure we all knew what a ‘racist’ Mr Fox was and how he’d been pressured into making a grovelling apology.

    Last night I went to see 1917, it’s a pretty good war film actually, but I wouldn’t say it deserved all the hype it’s been getting, and like Mr Fox, I would question the historical accuracy of large chunks of it.

    The Sikh in question is a rather sympathetic minor character, part of a company, or so, of British soldiers, whose identity is not (I think) made clear, but whom seem to be part of some Northern English battalion. The ‘Yorks’ might have been mentioned? Anyway, it’s not so much the fact he’s a Sikh that stands out, as that he is a single Sikh in an entire company of white men and boys. I know a part of the Indian Army served on the Western Front in the Great War, where, according to all the histories I’ve read, they didn’t perform as well as expected (‘far from home’, ‘poor command structures’, ‘unused to the conditions’ etc…), so were relegated to support duties away from the front lines. They definitely included Sikh battalions, and their poor performance was unexpected, as back in India the Sikhs were considered excellent soldiers (as were the other ‘soldierly races’, such as the Buxari, Dogra etc…).

    Why is there a solitary Sikh in this company of Englishmen then? Okay, perhaps he could be some kind of remnant of a Sikh battalion, left behind, or lost, and taken under the wing of the English soldiers? Maybe?

    To me that didn’t seem (quite) as ridiculous as the ‘Devons’ though. Not to give the plot away, for any who want to watch it, but the main characters are sent out into Nomansland on an urgent mission to try to warn the ‘2nd Devons’ that they’re marching into a trap. Eventually, a company of the Devons is reached, resting in some trees before marching down to the frontline and their inevitable doom, but the ‘Devons’ turn out to all have what I think are scouse(?) accents and to talk what can only be described as modern London street slang ‘You ‘right mate?’! What’s more, a noticeable percentage of them are black!

    Now, I have to admit I’m not entirely sure of the ethnic makeup of Exeter, Tiverton, and Barnstaple in 1914, but I feel quite certain there weren’t too many black people (or scousers). I was a student in Exeter in the early 90s and there really weren’t many black people (or scousers) then, so I think it would be safe to assume that in 1914…. oh, I just give up. History is once again being rewritten, and for what reason exactly?

       63 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      BigBrotherCorporation

      I agree on 1917 being over hyped – but that’s the film industry isn’t it . The roger deacon photography is great but the ‘ one shot ‘ gimmick doesn’t achieve much In my opinion . It looked good .

      As for the Sikh ‘ tick box product placement ‘ – I suppose they have to have non whites now in anything . ( i d got a bit bored by then ) .

      Anyway – on accents – although ‘the pals ‘ regiments would have had local accents others didn’t .

      My grandfather was a Lunduner and was recruited into a Cornish regiment in 1913 which was based in Bodmin . Thinking about it – I wonder if he ever went to Cornwall at all .

      Will 1917 win oscars ? Who cares ? But it is funny to see the BBC getting all jingoistic over so called British films getting gongs – when the profits go back to Spielberg ….

         24 likes

  22. Guest Who says:

    Bubble on bubble.

       17 likes

    • Not Gwent says:

      State Broadcaster can be as big as it likes. I don’t want to pay for it thanks all the same. Those who value their idea of comedy and drama can subscribe.

         23 likes

  23. Emmanuel Goldstein says:

    In the DailyTelegraph there are lots of comments all saying that bercow doesn’t deserve to be ennobled and that he is not fit to be in the H of L.

    I disagree.

    I think he’s a perfect fit for that place full of chancers, donors who bought a lordship, cronies, boxtickers, yes men and women, brown noses, lickspittles, bent and corrupt liars and all the rest.
    It’s a den of all that is bad with humans.

    If offered (it will never happen, there’s more chance of the bbc making a positive programme about Brexit), I would 100% turn down membership.
    I want nothing to do with them.
    I would flush the lot of them (except for Pearson who is the exception)

    If Nigel or TR was to be offered ennoblement I hope they would tell them where to stick it.
    Unless it’s to do to them what he (Nigel) did to the eu.

       26 likes

    • G says:

      EG.
      “I disagree.”
      I agree with you but for a slightly different reason: All these buffoons now, to shortly be, added with Ken Clarke and Good Ol’ Phil Hammond, will be ‘corralled’ in one place – when the time comes(?), easy enough to clear the lot in one go. No stragglers missing the culling………….

         13 likes

  24. JamesArthur says:

    Wimmins hour
    Still looking for any angle to make female victims – apparently more men are dying from Coronavirus ( and it is their own fault, well in China) but it is the women that suffer more ( every where)…no real stats here just theories.
    Needless to say the interviewee was a woke university lecturer in female issues.
    Why is there never a balanced discussion on Wimmin’s hour – just one way message?

       27 likes

    • BRISSLES says:

      Oh come on James ! don’t you know that wimmin cant die – they have to look after the blokes who are suffering from heavy colds which they think is coronavirus !! 🙂

         8 likes

  25. theisland says:

    https://www.mylondon.news/news/south-london-news/east-croydon-live-live-updates-17698270

    Part of Croydon town centre near to East Croydon station has been cordoned off by police. Suspicious car abandoned on the pavement.

       13 likes

  26. theisland says:

    Re the consultation.
    The premise of the consultation is that the licence fee continues until 2027. The government is asking specifically about the implementation of an alternative scheme to collect it and states in the accompanying document (summary point 9) This consultation is not considering any other changes to the TV licence. Information given in these areas may be disregarded.

    Why do we have to wait? Can someone explain in simple legal terms exactly why the bBC’s Royal Charter cannot be revoked. The answer must be a lack of will to actually do anything – again.

       34 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      Theisland
      I think it is a matter of legal expectation that a public body can organise itself for a set period – so by 2027 it should be in a position to start preparing for defunding or with a bit of luck selling off of different bits which decent broadcasters want and then allowing the majority of the biased crap to die off as it runs out of money .

      However much we wish it – it’s going to be a long battle . Unless of course something happens which really cheeses off Conservative HQ more than the tedious sniping from every angle as those in the BBC see themselves as the Real Opposition .

      Even the outcome of the election hasn’t woken them to the essential fact that they are on the wrong side .

         15 likes

  27. Deborah says:

    5 minutes of Toady this morning just after the 8 am news. I presume it was Mishal interviewing a man about the Chinese virus. She was desperately out of her depth and hadn’t a clue what to ask the immunologist (or whatever he was) who had worked with the SARs virus. There were several silences followed by the same question being asked in a different way. But she was also desperate for him to say that the official figures from China were wrong. He wasn’t playing that game and just explained for many people, the symptoms would appear like a cold or that they may have no symptoms at all, so they wouldn’t bother going to a doctor. She wouldn’t give up – she wanted her headline. She was also very disappointed that you would have to be in close contact with someone for the virus to be transmitted and that you were safe at the opposite end of the room. Not at all what she wanted to hear.
    The BBC has stated they are cutting 450 jobs in the news department. Will they look at who is good at their job? Mishal just isn’t very good and when she realises she isn’t, she gets snappy and sneery. John H never did. However Justin is no better – but perhaps as a white male his job is at greater risk.

       35 likes

  28. Thatcherrevolutionary says:

    If the BBC is looking for female ‘victims’ this week, look no further than Sturgeon.
    Brexit/Trump/Boris/Sex Pest Finance Minster/Worst figures in every metric of Scotland’s performance/etc/etc/etc

    The SNP really are the gift that keeps on giving.

       34 likes

  29. Guest Who says:

    Golly, Amol has found an truly independent expert to provide just the quote the BBC required. Albeit with zero substantiation.

    BBC Radio Maaaate

    Netflix and the BBC are “incomparable” and the government doesn’t get that, says media analyst Claire Enders.

    https://bbc.in/3beBkh2

       10 likes

    • Guest Who says:

      And… what’s this… off to defend the team in the challenging, account-holding bear pit that is Ch 4’s Fudge a Tory show? Brave.

      https://tradingaswdr.blogspot.com/2020/02/dg-2020-3.html

         5 likes

    • Guest Who says:

         10 likes

      • NISA says:

        “The fashion of British politicians for beating up our institutions”
        Not something the BBC would do is it??? Oh yes they do, even indoctrinating our kids (e.g. Horrible Histories)

           17 likes

      • Terminal Moraine says:

        Claire ‘East’ Enders says being under criticism makes us “a stronger and more vibrant cultural environment…”

        Not sure that’s a defence that’s working so well in the eyes of the public these days

           10 likes

      • Guest Who says:

        Just a tad desperate, tbh.

           7 likes

      • Deborah says:

        Interesting that Claire Enders thinks the BBC has a ‘civil purpose’. It maybe does but unfortunately it no longer complies with that purpose. It should ‘inform educate and entertain.’ A fine example is the film/programme/snippet highlighted this week which was misinforming children about Britain in times past. It was neither informing nor educating, just misinforming and miseducating. The BBC is desperate to capture the Youth audience and really don’t care about older viewers. Even a few years ago I was horrified how little there was on a Saturday night suitable for either my mother or mother-in-law. They were both widows and a Saturday night was the very evening that it would have been nice to have had on something suitable for oldies (apart from the half hour of Dad’s Army for which each programme was on at least its 6th repeat). Saturday night is the night that young people are all out partying – or might be – their parents are also out being sociable (possibly) but at least many have at least another adult to keep them company. But the BBC is one of the first to highlight loneliness in old age and criticise the government and have people like Winifred on You and Yours demanding to know what the Government are doing about it. I could ask what the BBC is doing about the over 75s.

           16 likes

  30. G says:

    I just located a faded copy of, Desmond Morris’ book, ‘The Naked Ape’. Remember that? I’d read it back in the 60’s. I’m just into the intro where Dr Morris imparts this gem:
    “Truly primitive tribes have not existed for thousands of years. The naked ape is essentially an exploratory species and any society that has failed to advance has in some sense failed, ‘gone wrong’ Something has happened to it to hold it back, something that is working against the natural tendencies of the species to explore and investigate the world around it.”
    I’ll say no more.

       32 likes

  31. StewGreen says:

    What if Climate Models completely underestimate the amount of man made CO2 nature absorbs
    Quite an important post from a climate scientist.
    as ever treat extraordinary news with caution.
    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2020/02/05/nature-has-been-removing-excess-co2-4x-faster-than-ipcc-models/
    February 5th, 2020 by Roy W. Spencer, Ph. D.

       19 likes

  32. Terminal Moraine says:

    I’ve heard on this site that the BBC don’t do comedy… well now’s your chance to put that right. (Maybe blackface your CV first?)

       14 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      Terminal

      I wonder if ‘ under represented minorities ‘ is code for British men of the Right who don’t live in Metro world ?
      I guess not . I’m sure Katie Hopkins need not apply .

         28 likes

      • Terminal Moraine says:

        Fedup, make an application in stealth Nish mode… once you’ve made it to the inner sanctum you could try and get a few jokes about the EU in. Let us know how it goes…

           20 likes

        • Fedup2 says:

          Terminal
          I’m still waiting for my job application with Dom Cummings to come through ( i applied for the weirdo section ).

          The Guardian has done a long piece on Dom today . It’s not very good . They are definitely scared of him .And rightly so – he must have a lot of enemies just waiting
          ….

          As for the hideous have I got news – what about regular rounds on say

          Feminist humour
          Jokes from the mosque
          Greta s gags
          Spot the BBC comedy
          Labour Party comedy

             23 likes

    • thehoiman says:

      OK. Here goes…

      HISLOP: “Trump is stupid!”
      (cue audience laughter)

      MERTON: “Boris is an idiot!”
      (cue audience laughter)

      ALL: “Brexiteers are morons!”
      (cue audience laughter, followed by lengthy applause)

      Do I get the job?

         12 likes

  33. Terminal Moraine says:

    The one programme I see pushed on the home page as ‘talked about TV’ more than any other is a comedy called ‘Man like Mobeen’. This is the episode currently being promoted:

    “After the attack on his best friends and threats against his sister, Mobeen is armed, dangerous and out for revenge […] His attempts to make up for past mistakes see him pulled back into the world of unhinged crime boss Uncle Khan. Owing money to Khan, (with deadly consequences if he doesn’t pay him back) Mobeen struggles to undertake his criminal orders under the watchful eye of Khan’s useless nephew Nav. Now living at Uncle Shady’s “Safe House”, can Mobeen keep his family safe whilst staying out of jail? Or will the dark path he’s being forces down lead to him paying the ultimate price?”

    Worth bearing in mind during discussions on decriminalising non-payment to the BBC.

    CQndJCt.jpg

       19 likes

  34. vlad says:

    This is what Trump Derangement Syndrome does to someone.

    Jon, Catty, be warned!

    nancy-mad.jpg

       43 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      The international version of the BBC website has a piece about a bit about a region of Germany where the Afd has gone into some sort of coalition with a liberal outfit .

      Obviously the BBC website refers without restraint about Afd being ‘ Far Right ‘ – a description I’m not using any more because it merely refers to those who don’t believe on the BBC version of the world .
      Merkel wants them to vote again as AFd is seen by snowflakes as a bit too Right Wing – upto now there has been a conspiracy across all snowflake partys not to deal with AFD
      .
      A bit of panic in the air because the region in question was the first one to elect the Nazis as far back as 1930.

         31 likes

      • fakenewswatcher says:

        The bbc is SO predictable. Tragically, FDP (liberal) boss Kemmerich, has decided to resign after being legitimately elected as PM of Thuringia, with the help of the AfD. Pressure from that great democrat Merkel, who is currently visiting another great democrat, Ramaphosa, in South Africa, is -in part-to blame.
        Madam made it clear from Pretoria that she was unhappy with the defeat of Communist, Bodo Ramelow, the previous PM. (Her ‘own party’ actually supported Kemmerich, proving yet again that the CDU is not her own party at all!). So really, elections now count for nothing in the new Germany.
        If there are hints of the 1930s they are due to Merkel’s fascist methods, not the AfD. What is happening here is of huge significance, far TOO HUGE FOR THE BBC TO COMPREHEND, let alone report on.
        It seems that there will have to be new elections, until the desired outcome (Socialism) is reached. Don’t expect enlightenment from the MSM. They haven’t a clue what’s brewing, any more than they did in the 1930s, although one may be inclined to take an even more cynical view of their role, which I shan’t go into now. Unbelievable really, what is happening in Germany.
        The AfD is called ‘Alternative for Germany’ because Merkel declared there was NO alternative to her views on mass immigration, energy policy (green) etc.
        Now we know that that is literally the case, and where election results don’t suit her, they will have to be repeated.
        The home of Kemmerich was also paid a visit by Antifa, very powerful in Germany, with a little violence as a wee hint to the newly elected PM. Merkel’s informal shock troops, much like Hitler’s brownshirts?

           28 likes

    • BRISSLES says:

      Another American woman who has taken the Nancy Regan diet to extremes.

         5 likes

  35. NISA says:

    the BBC report on the resignation of SNP politician Derek MacKay somehow omits any reference to his party allegiance.
    Tory politician involved in scandal always appears to have party mentioned in headline or first para
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-51397956

       39 likes

  36. Celtic_Mist says:

    R4 13:28hr – sounds like another BBC broadcast on behalf of the Democrats – maybe listen later..

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_radio_fourfm

       10 likes

  37. G says:

    C_M,
    Yes, at that point I exercised the ‘off’ button.

       9 likes

  38. Emmanuel Goldstein says:

    Instead of resigning, why doesn’t SNP’s McKay change religion.

       15 likes

  39. Guest Who says:

    Pity.

       26 likes

  40. G says:

    The Governments Migration Advisory group have now suggested, as regards future importations:
    https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-immigration-system-what-you-need-to-know

       7 likes

  41. Celtic_Mist says:

    BBC has destroyed all of what used to be it’s best programs – or maybe it’s me because I have ‘woken up’ to their agenda.

    Same with Hollywood, where a case in point is Kirk Douglas, the media are pushing a narrative that even Douglas probably wouldn’t have recognised.

    Immigrant, Spartacus – slaves, etc etc –

       29 likes

  42. Guest Who says:

    BBC Radio 4

    Lawyer Funke Abimbola says she suffered “barriers” and “bias” when she tried to get into the profession.
    https://bbc.in/2UtU8mu

    ***

    She is still moaning and the bbc still thinks it is news.

    And since when could a lawyer not swing a gig?

       27 likes

  43. scribblingscribe says:

    A comment in The Telegraph following its piece about the BBC:

    “It’s not that I hate the BBC, it’s that the BBC seems to hate me.”

    I get that.

       49 likes

  44. andyjsnape says:

    OMG! Diversity in the gaming industry is now an issue, apparently

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-51364212

    Kate is happy because she has a women boss

    ffs

       19 likes

    • BigBrotherCorporation says:

      Only around 30% of those working in the ‘gaming’ industry are female… that’s shocking, truly it is… just out of interest what percentage of Prinary Teachers in the UK are male?

         30 likes

  45. taffman says:

    I understand our diligent, so called ‘Border Force’ has been operating as The Royal Lifeboat Institution this morning and has rescued more incomers from France.(again)
    Wil Boris send them back ?
    Where is Al Beeb on this, I bet they are just luvving it ?

       24 likes

  46. AsISeeIt says:

    BBC: “Germany AfD: Thuringia PM to quit amid fury over far right”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-51399445

    But wait a minute, isn’t this the way proportional representation and coalition government was supposed to work? Apparently not. Anyone slightly to the right of the limp centre right is to be frozen out and their voters disallowed their share of representation.

    It’s a cautionary tale for those here such as the Brexit Party and our Nigel who calls for a scrapping of first past the post.

       23 likes

    • fakenewswatcher says:

      AsI -This is all nonsense.
      1) Kimmerich, the newly elected Thuringia PM (who has now resigned), is FDP (liberal), and was elected with support of Merkel’s CDU and the AfD.
      2) This did not suit Merkel, who wants defeated Communist Ramelow to stay in power. This sounds weird, but a) scratch around in Merkel’s past as alleged AgitProp secretary to the ‘Free German Youth’ in the former GDR; and b) know that Merkel plans a coalition with the Greens to stay in power and c) know that the German Greens are known as the ‘watermelon’ party -green on the outside, but red on the inside. Then amid this confusion, you may see sense. The key: Merkel is a master of intrigue, who will do ANYTHING to stay in power. A political party, ANY political party, is no more than a convenient means to that end.
      3) Voting has become irrelevant. What counts now is what Merkel wants. The vote will have to be rerun. Even more weirdly, the AfD should really now vote for Communist Ramelow. Since it has been established that anyone voted in as Thuringia PM with the support of the AfD cannot remain in power, it follows that Ramelow will then have to resign.
      This is Alice in Wonderland stuff. Don’t expect the beeb to make head or tail out of it. They will be happy with the extremely superficial bandying about of the ‘far right’ label. And the AfD is only ‘far right’ if you believe that border control is ‘far right’.
      In conclusion, the system now works as illustrated by the newly appointed Merkel buddy and EU boss, Ursula vd Leyen. Ursula more or less managed to run what was left of the Bundeswehr into the ground (as Minister), so is well-qualified to lead the EU.

         8 likes

  47. taffman says:

    I can understand now why the Scottish Parliament wants to drop the voting age down to 16 .

       30 likes

  48. Emmanuel Goldstein says:

    Here in Sunderland I would guess that up to 50,000 homes have a garage or driveway.
    I would also guess maybe 150,000 people live in flats, apartments or homes such as terraced street housing, none (or only a few) of which have garages or a driveway to park up on.

    My question is this.
    Where do all these people charge their electric cars.
    Will the pavements be covered in extension leads hanging out from people’s windows.
    Can you picture it?

       37 likes

    • JimS says:

      Jeff Taylor was quoting a report that suggested there wouldn’t be enough electric cars to go around, so no drive, no car.

      Probably no-one in Sunderland will be able to afford one once the subsidies come off and the taxes go on.

         16 likes

    • Rob in Cheshire says:

      The idea is that the proles will not have cars at all.

         15 likes

      • Ian Rushlow says:

        The idea is that the proles will not have cars at all.
        Indeed it is – a House Commons Committee has recommended that personal transport be phased out by 2050. Even in the Soviet Union you could have a car, provided you waited 10 years or so for it. Our lords and masters are determined to learn from the ‘mistakes’ made by the USSR and ensure they are not repeated.

           8 likes

  49. s.trubble says:

    Brigadoon seems a better place now that this 4 FOLD has come up
    and it could become a 5FOLD
    1) Brexit

    2)Trump Victory

    3) The Clown McKay , Snp finance minister,,,( never heard of the Laffer Curve) has resigned and is now being hunted out the tribe in perpetuity………….and on the very day he was to present the Brigadoon finance budget… ( no laughing at the back)

    4) Rangers FC sign partnership deal with TrumpTurnberry – famous golf course and hotel on the Ayrshire coast…all should pay this area a visit…if only to see the west of Scotland sunsets.

    And the 5FOLD beckons

    Slug Salmond due to take the stand…..on sex charges…woooft

    If Dom Cummings is looking in its high time the SNP govt was put into special measures……….

       30 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      S.truubble

      Add another one – the Equalities Quango is due to report on anti semitism in the Labour Party – another whitewash in the offing with someone getting a complementary seat in the Lords ?

      Or a real finding about the hate the socialists try to hide.

         18 likes

    • Thatcherrevolutionary says:

      Don’t forget the increases in wait times, drug deaths, GDP defecit, and every conceivable measure of ‘Government ‘ performance in the negative.
      Shut down Holyrood.

      How many nurses would that pay?

         12 likes

  50. taffman says:

    Independant ……………..”Dozens of Caribbean nationals to be deported on first charter flight to Jamaica since Windrush scandal”
    Is Boris getting tough on criminals ?

       19 likes

    • StewGreen says:

      Ah is that why R4 PM had a long item
      saying that there must be delay in the deportation process
      And that even though the law clearly says that foreigners crims convicted of certain crimes MUST be deported
      .. the law should not be implemented
      cos maybe some of these guys could be reformed now.

      … I wonder if she visits the families of victims of those those who do reoffend .. to apologise personally.

         6 likes