Tricky time for the Far Left BBC . SNP on the rocks – Islamic terrorist refused entry to the UK – Biden using the military – Chinese virus cases rising again – EU infighting – which anti british narrative does it push this time ?
Weekend Thread 27th February 2021
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When the BBC is defunded, probably within the next three years, I guess there will be a scramble to acquire the various ‘stations’ which will become either free-to-air, or subscription, and operations of such will be in the hands of private enterprise.
I suppose the news outlets will struggle, as they’ll be tainted by the left wing sort of Guardian wibble, and therefore only heard or even watched by the diminished bunch who seem to wallow in this sort of ‘neo autocue-reading’, but if it makes them happy, then leave them to it – it’s their money after all!
Football, and all that money associated with the premise of ‘culture’, but ignored by many normal citizens, can have its own band, and the clubs’ people can therefore deal with their own accountability to commercial responsibility. Other sport can take whatever slice of whatever their aspirations are; for instance, ultra-minor ‘sports’ like darts or snooker can also form their own group, as the aficionados of such ‘entertainment’, can easily fund themselves, so the red-top rags will probably be more than interested, and good for them!
As for the ‘proper’ arts, like ballet or opera, there will have to be some sort of ‘elite’ warning on the packet, because most people really won’t bother unless they want to watch something other than ‘Nessum Dorma’ for the forty-eighth time. I am always ready to listen to a new piece, of music, and because I’m often sleepless in Kent, a delightful piece by Respighi or Delius on Classic FM works wonders, but of course, this is at night, and the earphones are well-inserted to allow Senora O’Blene to continue her slumbers! I’ve found so much new classical music this way, and long may it continue! (I ignore the ‘news’ of course, much as I ignore paintings and the other arts, unless they’re done properly, which nowadays doesn’t do much for me)!
The soaps can have their own band as well! That includes the unlistenable Archers, and the awful Eastenders, so the red-tops can buy the lot, and charge what they like!
Pop music will be a strange one, so presumably, like Absolute Radio, they’ll probably have to break down the genres and find out what suits them best. I’m probably not the best bloke to ask about this, as my likes are firmly in the Genesis, Pink Floyd, Pat Metheny camp, but I know that the awful din of ‘rap’ and similar mindless rubbish will have to be paid for by that lot on their own!
As for plays, series etc, they can sort themselves out, as most citizens have enough to see on DVD already, without having woke stuff hurled down their throats at every opportunity!
I’m sure I’ve left so much out in the above, but no doubt, all our good chums here will want to agree or disagree on the ways that the BBC is eventually broken up and sidelined as just another number on the dial!
Hmmn, I’m not so sure the BBC will be defunded in that time frame, Scrobie. This Government is weak, the PM is weak and has no overall strategy for his Cabinet Ministers to work to. In addition, he is ‘going’ green with some foolish international grandstanding all because we – the UK – is hosting some global jamboree that will spill a lot more CO2 into the air later this year.
There will be a slow attrition of the BBC over time and faced with a slump in income the BBC begging bowl will join that of the NHS, education, military, Police, Local Authority Mayors, City Mayors and other groups under the nose of our Government.
‘Morning, UP2!
I was thinking about all this an hour or so ago, and drafted a post as above, just to get my head round what might occur…
When Fed put the Weekend offer up, it seemed too good to be true, so I’ve possibly left out much of what I wanted to say, nevertheless, the ‘bones’ of a discussion are now here for posterity!
You’re probably right about the time element for the awful BBC to go sub, but it’s a start, and it’s a bargaining point to some extent, and wishful thinking sometimes brings dividends (I’ve just bought a new lawnmower on line, so today is going to be a goodun, even if I’ve got the timing wrong)!
Ride on or push me pull you, Scrobie? I haven’t cut grass with a mower in a long, long, time. Keep a wild garden for the wildlife so it is a bit labour intensive. I have to snip around the ant heaps (both reds and blacks) and in between the brambles with shears although I might try a hedge trimmer when the grass gets really long this autumn.
Hopefully, the paying public will trim the BBC for us, with increasing numbers cutting their household expenditure by £159 per annum, by cancelling their TV Licences and moving legally to a subscription service plus catch up TV on ITV, C4 & C5.
It’s a rechargable Flymo, Up2! I used to have a big Webb self propelled machine for the allotment, but after giving that up, (giving all the veg away), it really was too big for just home, so I flogged it yesterday!
Really like your wild garden concept! All our front garden is the same, with everything allowed to do what it wants (established shrubs and mulch etc.), but the back is more ordinary for flowers and veg! I like to mow the wide verge outside as we’re at the start of the village, and it makes the whole place look nice and tidy!
As for the BBC’s bloated spend-fest, I too am looking forward to using the £159.00 on something where I can make a difference, not watch/listen to woke, weak dross, and biased autocue-reading!
Yes. The non-paying public will force the BBC to cut down its gross expenditure and live within its means. The more it tries to pursue the over 75s to pay up, the worse it seen as, and more people will not pay.
Catchup links to last posts on previous thread
– page 4 started at 8pm Friday
– page 3
Snuff – I think in addition quite a few of these useless bastards make money by appearing on panels on political shows and BBC “comedy” shows etc . I am afraid they would not want to give up these easy gigs.
BBC is not going to be defunded as it is too important to all governments. The BBC provides the government of the day, a global voice that is listened to, and trusted by a large number of people around the world. No other broadcasting or website has this worldwide trust anywhere else – including mega rich American ones.
My fear is that the government will move BBC funding to general taxation. Then it is out of reach of criticism. Although I dont think the government will do it, as that would make it appear that the BBC is a state media, and thus lose its global credibility.
Sooner or later there will be a backlash to PC and wokeness, and too a change in the culture, as this generation passes away (along with us). So let us continue enjoy kicking the BBC and hope it changes due to pressure. Once it was great.
The way the media market should work is that normal Britons should decide where the money is spent.
But whether its the BBC or Sky, ITV etc its Islington liberal elite who make the decisions where money is spent.
Boris/Carrie and the Tory elite are all Islington liberals, hence their reluctance for reform;
they don’t want to cede control of the BBC resources to normal Britons, they want to keep it with their own class ..the Islington liberals.
I dont think its just the Islington class. If I was PM, I wouldn’t like to lose an organisation of such global reach as the BBC. It allows the UK government to punch above its weight.
BBC WEB-SITE Watch #1 – ‘well, there’s a thing’ as they say
Not the BBC directly, but you remember that guy who was complaining about the UK newspapers yesterday? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-56218934 Well, knock me down with a feather! He’s all over the front pages – of some of them – again today.
Fraud?
Yes, I think so.
Ha ha ha! Nice one, Up2!
And the dreadful Grauniad says that the Baaaahgoom kid MAY not return to the UK!
I thought the ruling was that she damn well won’t! There’s no ‘may’ about it!
(There are three sorts of ‘may’…’May, may and Theresa might)!
Baagoom Baagoom.
But the tide of Sharia following continues illegally. So does it matter?
“SNP on the rocks”? Really? Says who? All is fine in Scotland! The BBC is 110% on Nicola Sturgeon’s side:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1403146/bbc-news-nicola-sturgeon-snp-election-covid-briefings-scotland-latest-news
For the many who may not be inclined to click on the link (admittedly the whole article hardly says anything new), the headline puts it in a nutshell:
BBC bias: Beeb accused of giving Sturgeon ‘free rein’ to attack political rivals
And that ends my shortest contribution for the shortest month of the year!
Angle – in truth those who have swallowed the ‘braceheart ‘ propaganda will continue to believe in ‘independence ‘. But the reality of independence ? No subsidies from the South – in independent Shetland – if they want that – limited oil income and a small population … earning taxes from a poisonous brown bottled liquid and tartan? Good luck with that
Mr salmon is a formidable speaker – I thought he was pretty good yesterday – I think crankie might do for herself next Wednesday .
But whatever more factions in the SNP is good news . I just hope that if there is an independence outcome in any new referendum Scotland becomes a full foreign country and doesn’t look south to blame England for its problems . It can winge about Brussells ….and queue for the vaccine …
What a touching tribute to Sir Tom from ‘four young performers’. A clip obviously paid for and produced by the BBC themselves.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-56218917
They included the line ‘you taught us the value in the power of walking’. Talk about missing the point.
Absolute virtue signalling tripe given the usual full BBC production treatment of haunting piano music.
Of course I don’t need to tell you that the group is Bearded Asian male, African female, white female and a white guy. The BBC’s interpretation of ‘equality’ : one of each.
It might bring a tear to your eye. Or the shameless way they are using Tom’s death for their own agenda might make you put your foot through the screen.
Maybe the BBc just wants a tick box oldie? I wonder if they got him to pay his TV licence before he died .
Wouldn’t surprise me if their debt collectors hound his family for a few months.
I find it quite sickening that they are trying to baste their agenda with his good name. I wonder if they have claimed ‘his dying wish was to remain in the EU’ yet (in quotes because someone else who barely knew him said it).
John C:
a white guy.
It is possible that the White guy is not just a normal White guy, but has other attributes that make him one of the special “White guy”
Its come to such with the BBC, that even when they tell the truth, they can not be trusted..
Avoiding Albeeb for many and obvious reasons.
This morning the wireless is on, and so far on the Toady show the China virus has barely a mention, even the latest doom and gloom show from Van Tam the Bogey Man hasn’t had a mention? The propaganda is weak today.
Do they have other targets in their sights? The Saudis are getting some limelight but this isn’t really in the same league as lockdown/Covid…
Have they:
accepted the vaccine, read the rhunes of real public opinion(not the Covid bed wetters)
Mourned the end of lockdown but realise Spring is on the way and it will be disregarded…
Realised the save the NHS message is not being swallowed any longer?
Decide their luvvie dinner parties need to start again
Need their holidays to Tuscanny and the like?
What’s changed?
Wyvern – I enjoy the way the MSM goes after Arab countries – Saudi for topping a journo and UAE ? For the nutty princess .
I wonder if they think anyone gives a damn ? I mean – they are Arabs who just live off oil money – otherwise – worthless …
Funny how journos make a big deal about dead journos …
Fed, thought Khashoggi was the brother/son/nephew/cousin of a dodgy arms dealer?
Up2 – is there a non dodgy arms dealer – reap and sow comes to mind – funny how things change when the Middle East isn’t that important any more …
Fed, I’d like to think that BAe Systems is a non-dodgy arms dealer.
Yes, it is interesting how things drop off the BBC radar. Especially now that President Biden has done his bit to shore up the Assad regime.
Funny that the BBC did not mention former President Trump’s attitude to the Assad regime following the bombing attack this week or last. Trump was more in line with the BBC’s way of thinking.
Up2
You misread my comment* – obviously no british arms dealer could be ‘dodgy’ its only the dirty foreigners … in fact my unit trust specialises in ‘green’ landmines, cluster bombs and nerve agents – its called “world of weapons ‘ ( which for reason the spell check suggested ‘ strapons’)
*
Its your fault you didnt realise words were missing
Fed, I was sort of ‘pulling your leg’ a bit in that BAe are a corporate, subject to some sort of ‘rules’ but in contrast Adnan Khashoggi was an independent or freelance.
Up2
After seeing the run ins that stew runs up i always feel defensive here because i fear i will be told i missed a similar comment on the 24th at 10.21 which i might have scanned too quickly .
If anyone knows of a high return non green amoral investment vehicle let me know .,. After all nuclear missiles dont kill people – people kill people …
Fed, true – unless they are in the Democratic National Congress in the USA. I gather that Pelosi and others in the DNC in Congress and Senate are insisting that China Joe shares the nuclear codes with them.
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!
Guardian huff and puff at the Khashoggi affair shows how their metro-lib outlook simply can’t allow them to accept reality.
It might be far more than unpalatable, even outrageous, but if an opinionated pain, contributor to the antithesis of all things Saudi, the Washington Post, bad-mouths the feudal heir to the throne of a feudal kingdom and belittles him in public, what did the spotty overweight wretch think would happen?
Western values only apply when they suit Saudis. For the rest of the time they write their own rules, and sitting on most of the world’s cash gives them a bit of an edge.
Fair is foul, and foul is fair
This morning the Daily Mail does some… er, what did we used to call it…? Oh yeah, that was it… investigative journalism. You’ll remember, that old fashioned notion our news media once had about holding truth to power.
‘What IS the truth about covid deaths‘ – ummm, that there’s been hundreds of thousands of them?
That’s certainly what our government, our self-aggrandising public health officals, our self-interested vaccines-to-sell big pharma and our sainted NHS have told us.
‘Demands for inquiry as families reveal loved ones wrongly certified as virus victims’ – gosh… why would that have happened? Cui bono? – And I’m not referring to the lead singer in U2
Kudos to the Mail: ‘More than 100 readers wrote heartbreaking letters following a moving article by Bel Mooney last Saturday‘
Just to remind ourselves: ‘My dad Ted passed three Covid tests and died of a chronic illness yet he’s officially one of Britain’s 120,000 victims of the virus and is far from alone… so how many more are there?‘
Well, we’ll see if we get an inquiry into this national scandal or whether too many powerful vested interests would be under threat to ever let that happen.
Fair is foul, and foul is fair
If only this were football we could call for a quick VAR check on covid. You can trust them slightly more than PCR tests.
‘Don’t wreck it now‘ – says the bullet-headed Jonathan Van-Tam in the Express: ‘Covid battle not won, it’s too early to relax‘ – channelling Frankie Goes To Hollywood there. Relax? We’ve done little else isolated in our homes since Boris borrowed the notion of lockdowning the healthy into quarantine as a virus control method – from Xi Jinping.
I suppose we have to mention that publicity-shy formerly royal couple of celebs. The Daily Star’s lampoons do the best job of puncturing their pretentions: ‘The Fresh Prince of Hot Air. He invades his own privacy. Then does a toe-curling rap… And blathers on about some crap’
Apparently Her Maj is amused her grandson is making an absolute arse* of himself : ‘One’s very happy, Harry is happy!‘ (Express) [Note to moderators: *= posh pronunciation of ass]
The Guardian’s frontpage concerns itself with princely matters and matters arabic: ‘Saudi crown prince approved Khashoggi murder – US report‘ and: ‘Supreme court rules Shamima Begum may not return to UK‘ – the religion of peace, eh? What’s a good liberal to do with them?
Suddenly our national press at long last notice there’s been some: “Double, double toil and trouble” going on in Holyrood: ‘Salmond donounces Sturgeon: “Scotland’s leadership has failed”‘(Telegraph)
Wee Krankie is now also surely quoting Lady Macbeth and perhaps regretting her attempted political murder of her former ally and mentor: “Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?”
AISI, unfortunate pic of Alec Salmon “Please Miss, may I be excused to go to the toilet?”
On his return, he then dumps all over the SNP.
Asiseeit
I liked the way that salmond accused crankie of using a covid sermon as a party political – I’m sure OFCOM will readily be investigating that … or not …. or is it McOFCOM?
Not much economy of scale in all these repeated jobbys…. population sizes .. 50 million 6 million 4million 3 million – off the top of my head – London 8 million SE 23 million . ….
See the Indy, noted online BBC one degree of separation feed of record, is bigging up Sadiq bigging up the need for postal voting to get him back on the job of killing off London.
Once noted impartial broadcasters with entire floors of cousins swing behind the little sea cucumber (weaselism is a scourge) how can he lose?
One letter in the Mail:
I agree with Bel Mooney that Covid death figures are distorted.
I work for a coroner’s office in the West Country. A death certicate is laid out with 1a as the main cause of death, and 1b and 1c as contributing factors. No 2 can be any medical condition that the deceased was suffering from, but which did not lead to or contribute to their death.
I have seen cases where a person dying of chronic lung disease or cardiac failure may have tested positive for Covid, but it had nothing to do with their death.
However, if it gets listed as no 2 on the death certicate, it is added to the daily Covid figures.
I believe actual deaths due to Covid would be many thousands fewer if the figures were compiled correctly.
STEVE HAWKINS, Truro, Cornwall.
You can hear again The Now Show at 12 .30 pm Radio 4 .
There’s anti Trump and anti Brexit as you would expect . To counter this , to allow them to say they’re impartial and balanced ( and some of them think that ) there’s a little dig at Sir Keir Starmer _ for the usual reason that the “comedians “ give for their satire ~ he’s not effective in bringing globalist socialism to power .
Nibor, pretty good British-Chinese stand up Ken Cheng. He shows promise. Hope that he will get plenty of BBC Radio air-time.
Now show – public school boys – one the son of a bishop – the other a “punt’ ( spell check ) …
Interesting, not least because Chris found it marvellous.
@GW Whatever tweet Chris Mason retweeted there
was deleted about half an hour after you posted
from Ryan Wilson @rhwilson83
Producer on The Jeremy Vine Show, BBC Radio 2. #WhatMakesUsHuman podcast. NI exile. ????️???? Views mine.
‘Views mine’. A Vile staffer.
The thick plotten.
Also retweeted by @SamCoatesSky
‘Man’.
Bound to be an internal inquiry.
Plus more Hannah, who clearly has the same PR as Megharry.
Looking at the Twitter comments it seems people want a smartly dressed ‘man’ rather than an ability to understand and explain the weather.
This is BBC in a nutshell. Do a PPE, History of Arts or English degree and you can be the BBC Science or Technology Expert or a weather presenter even though you are not qualified. Now getting even worse with their increased LGBT, BAME quotas.
Owain has a huge cult following
hence the supportive tweets.
But shows will end up being about him rather than the actual issue.
Fabulous. How he gets his upper body clothing on is a mystery.
The % diversity of bbc weatherpersons would be an interesting stat.
They only employed him because he is a BAME.
Hannah Ingram-Moore back in the news again along with Michael Ball singing. Hannah took 5 days this time to be back in the news – getting slower. She needs to try harder otherwise she will end up like Greta and be forgotton about.
BBC News just said Michael Bublé is recording a new song “to mark the funeral on Capt. Tom”.
Have these people no shame?
David Bowie beat him to it.
Sort of.
As retweeted by… guess who…
You get four goes.
Not on who is actually a scientist, obvs.
Other not so rare sightings involve more on the feet lady, and the only 24yo in the village to get unflattering tweets.
11:30am FooC
Nick Bryant in New York talking about the city is re-opening
… be doing his best to avoid the Cuomo scandal and other similar ‘stuff em in nursing homes to make hospital stats look good’ scandals in other states.
– Kenya : long doctor & nurse strikes.
…”So far Kenya is relatively unscathed by Covid-19. But, as Lucy Ash reports, the death of one young doctor from the virus has stirred outrage and exposed the failings in the country’s health system.”
– Belarus, a journalist is on trial for investigating the death of a protester
Since the general election, more than 400 journalists have been detained. Abdujalil Abdurasulov
– French feminists say Paris street renaming programme is going too slow.
Joanna Robertson reports.
There could be light at the end of the tunnel ! I don’t
mean the BBC who will not stop its LGBTQ and BLM
organization agenda until hell freezes over.
No It’s Barclays Bank. For the first time in weeks
their leader picture on the main page of their
On Line service shows a CAUCASIAN family !!!
Some one will get the sack for that.
Not on Al Beeb yet,12 illegals cross Channel, all test positive with Covid.
Nigel Farage is doing a much better job than Border Farce and the “Home Office”
Our Government treats its own people with contempt !
Snap.
Human Rights Laws are becoming far more important than the human rights of the British people.
We are becoming more at risk by importing terrorists and criminals, not forgetting the Covid that we have been locked down for.
We have a Royal Navy and Royal Marine force to defend this country from invasion at the same time we are paying ‘protection money’ to France .
Has Al Beeb broadcast anything about it yet ?
NF on talkRadio. The French Navy are still escorting the invaders (lots en route today in clement weather). One boat at Dover this morning with 12 on board – all 12 tested positive for covid.
We are paying the French to export the virus to us.
TOADY Watch #1 – “It’s alright for him, he’s a millionaire and gets paid £300 a day to sit and stand and waffle”
I was multi-tasking at the time so my recollections were of JustRemainIn Webb hosting some consideration of the dire financial state of the UK. Present were Marxist Michie and Remainer Clarke (Peer) and possibly A N Other of some think tank.
I do clearly recall that Prof. Susan Michie was not asked by Justin what her political stance is. She is said to be a Marxist. Interesting that the BBC should not clarify that key background point. I note that that brief burst of political clarity and openness about political positions – after Lord Hall was censured following a complaint being upheld against the BBC in about 2018 (part of the Post EU Ref backwash) has now been allowed to lapse.
Lord Clarke (Remainer-Con) was in firm ‘I’m alright, Jack’ mode and used the BBC to encourage Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, to increase taxes on old age pensioners in Wednesday’s Budget. He, is after all, a millionaire – if not multi-millionaire – largely at public expense.
OT, but a laughable indication of the BBC/NGO revolving doors that see activism passed off as ‘news’.
This is from Compass, supposed public advocacy group but actual lefty NGO of mystery funding and inordinate MSM influence.
***
Your questions for Paul Mason
At Compass we don’t shy away from hard conversations. In fact we started a whole podcast just to have more of them.
Every fortnight we host politicians, activists and thinkers from across the progressive movement on our live podcast call #ItsBloodyComplicated.
We want you to be part of it.
Become a Compass member to join the conversation
March podcast dates and guests
In March on #ItsBloodyComplicated we’ll be joined by progressive journalists Paul Mason and John Harris as well as former chief speechwriter for Ed Miliband, Marc Stears.
John and Marc will dig into how we find strength and inspiration in the ordinary. We’ll discuss Marc’s new book Out of the Ordinary: How Everyday Life Inspired a Nation and How It Can Again.
With Paul we’ll reflect on Keir Starmer’s first year as Labour Party leader – on the party’s Covid-19 position, internal party divisions and vocal debates on the best way forward. And critically how we as progressives should be strategising.
***
I don’t think I am a member, or would wish to become one, and may need to reassess my understanding of ‘progressive’ further, and beyond the BBC EdGuds version.
Interesting who the BBC have employed and still invite on though.
Next, James O’Brien in convo with Emily Maitlis on how having views your own can translate into book sales. If you have a tan, and dog.
Blimey – i didnt realise kier starmer is leader of the Labour (minorities )Party –
Letter from NElondon
Friday – the lockdown is over – the streets are full – the normal friday afternoon traffic jam because of a fatal at the start of the M11.
Forget the government briefing and van dam talking 3-0 — its done ….
To the vax centre – Q – no – an hour early – do come in sir – reflective jackets and clip boards . No humour – not even black or coloured –
Are they developing the humour vaccine ? If so the BBC needs more than a dose .
95%white staff 95% vaccees. Local ‘community ‘ at least 25% coloured .
I got the feeling that take up is good but not great ….
After effect ? Very slightly swollen leg – which is strange since they stabbed my left arm – nothing else apart from thinking about spring cleaning but putting it off to write here of course ….
Why does it matter whether people test positive or not? To say it is important is to yield ground to the catastrophists.
Feel a campaign brewing?
Person who loves chekkies coming.
For someone who probably was ‘loved’ when she started in TV and who has attained a position of privilege she has a lot of hate for the UK and its people.
Pidgin.
Stooge prostituting herself.
You cannot possibly ‘love’ the world service.
Just goes to show where you get by being a Play School presenter – as long as you have certain other characteristics.
Personally I always rated Brian Cant more highly but he did not have certain other characteristics.
The iceberg.
An iceberg the size of London has detached itself from the Amery Ice Shelf in Antarctica.
BBC breakfast interviews scientist. Who twice says it is natural and nothing to do with climate change as there is no increase in water temperature at this area of the continent.
However they still managed to winkle it out of her that perhaps, it may be so it needs investigation.
..
Anyway, on another subject… GB Electricity National Grid Demand and Output per Production Type.
I note our windmills are whirring round this morning producing a massive 4%
Thought all the climate change killed my hamster bunkum had morphed into covid killed my hamster tripe. Good old bbc.
Are the Texan ones still frozen ?
All been defrosted and back in the ocean…
From our own biased correspondent
Nickolas Bryant – for ever anti trump does one of those long tedious ‘sketches’ of lockdown and new york . You could play a game –
“How long before he mentions the True President “ ? I laughed when he gave President Trump s habitual and now traditional slap down .
Any mention of the false regime and the false president ? No – dementia sufferer in the bunker – msm looking the other way . No change
“Police boss wants cannabis trial for prisoners”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-56215137
I think the office of “Police Commissioner” is not a good idea .
How did that woke position ever come about ? What PM thought of that office?
Here is the rub, do you want free telly tax , free housing and the freedom to use cannabis ? Get a room in jail .
We don’t need any “Commissioners”, with its overtones of the Soviet Union, or any “Czars”, harking even further back to Tsarist Russia. Nasty foreign imports, as are the problems (usually from the US) that they purport to address.
Same with that ‘government wrapped its ‘arms around various people ‘ – you won’t hear Hancock talking about that and Care Home deaths until the inquiry Report in 2030 …
Re choosing new Ofcom boss
“Peter Riddell told @BBCRadio4’s #TheWeekinWestminster such pre-leaking risked undermining confidence in system of public appointments.
He favours strengthening the independent element on interview panels.
– Murdoch exec Paul Potts is ‘senior independent panel member’ on Ofcom panel
Mr Murdoch is a commercial rival and fierce long-term critic of the BBC.
His executive, Mr Potts is now on the panel to choose the new chair of Ofcom which regulates the BBC.
Mr Riddell told @BBCBenWright he was “very struck” to have “people ringing me up who were perfectly plausible candidates, saying ‘is it worth my while putting my name forward when there’s a No 10 preferred candidate’
and I said I’m assured there’ll be proper competition.”
C’mon BBC (“The Worlds Most Trusted Broadcaster”) you are still broadcasting news aren’t you? Well tell us about the next World War which seems increasingly likely to start anytime in the South China Sea. No, won’t you? Here let me help you, compliments of Bloomberg.
A current and accurate appraisal of the position leading up to the massive concentration in the World of warships that World has ever seen. That’s real news, less the muslim/transgender/black/white rubbish our Most Trusted churn out to the remaining plebs who watch it.
In fact, most of our capital vessels are there right now, liaising with Australia’s fleet et al.
And, for jam on the bun:
https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/china-warns-uk-against-sending-carrier-to-south-china-sea/
Bo Jo better have second thoughts about cutting the British Army down to its lowest levels since ‘Pontius was a pilot’.
G
Funny I read that on Bloomberg a couple of days ago – apparently we are sending one of those carriers and it’s’ groupies to the South China Sea as well .
I said when the False President took over that there would be testing ‘ sabre rattling so maybe this is an example ?
Meanwhile there are problems with containers and ports and supplies …. up goes the oil price …
Fed,
Yes, Doris the tramp has pledged:
“Johnson (now Prime Minister) said at the time in response to concerns raised regarding freedom of navigation in the South China Sea:
“One of the first things we will do with the two new colossal aircraft carriers that we have just built is send them on a freedom of navigation operation to this area, to vindicate our belief in the rules-based international system and in the freedom of navigation through those waterways which are absolutely vital for world trade.”
https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/china-warns-uk-against-sending-carrier-to-south-china-sea/
Sometime in the near future I can imagine gangs of woke lefty protestors chucking a statue of Captain Tom into the nearest canal for some perceived ‘ism.
Just as Drake and the like were heroes in their time Captain Tom is a present day hero.
Maybe they will find something in his Army career to get upset about but we all know, lefties only want more and more (and they get it) so they will surely find a way to trash him.
On bbbc radio newcastle this morning they put out a description of someone who attacked a woman. I didn’t catch much, just the end bit, but they described him as a white man.
Does that mean they are going to start giving out the colour of suspects now (ha ha)
More likely it’s because we all know who it will be, depending on the crime, when they don’t describe him as white and they don’t need to tell us.
I heard that the covid cases are now rising in some areas.
Could it be that we can never reach 0 levels, even if covid is wiped out, because so many cases/deaths currently include covid whether it’s a cause or not.
Also, the tests are well known for giving the wrong results in so many cases.
We can only get to 0 covid if the deaths are genuine covid and the tests only gives positives when it’s genuinely covid.
Current numbers contain a baseline of errors and manipulated results which will still apply when covid is over although they will manipulate the figures again to show the graphs etc they want to use to scare us and make us do what they want and so keep control over us.
I have three kids aged 16, 9 and 5. They NEVER watch television. They have ZERO interest. They have alternatives.
“If you misbehave you will be sent to the living room and made to watch TV!”
Lurch is making a list.
When the temperature drops suddenly would Zurcher turn the wind up a bit?
More new articles from the BBC TV Licensing Blog for the weekend:
– TV Licensing Gentle Reminder Letter
– BBC Bosses Slammed for Over-75 TV Licence Amnesty
If you haven’t already done so, please download our totally free ebook TV Licensing Laid Bare.
The 70 page book is packed full of information about the harassment and intimidation meted out by the BBC in the name of TV licence enforcement.
So, ‘views my own’ opinion meets one degree of separation immunity when being given profile by a mate.
http://isthebbcbiased.blogspot.com/2021/02/jon-sopel-and-case-of-wtf-eyebrow.html
Got it.
“So, ‘views my own’ opinion meets one degree of separation immunity when being given profile by a mate.”
I must be getting old, that makes zero sense to me..
Young, blonde, not great with facts.
http://isthebbcbiased.blogspot.com/2021/02/aye-right-sarah.html
No, not Marianna.
But very bbc.
Twice the age of Marianna.
I would ask readers to read this page written by the BBCs Gavin Esler and tell me if this does not indicate MASSIVE Left wing bias:
https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/opinion/the-statue-debate-what-to-do-about-adolf-hitlers-head-191462/
Estler knows perfectly well that this has got nothing to do with statues at all.
There is not a person alive that has been harmed by Colston but quite a few that have benefitted from his philanthropy, (he didn’t have to give his money away). Why stop at a statue? Why not pull down Colston Hall? Ethically there is no difference.
(‘Some’ would say that the ‘urinator’ got a raw deal – its strange how many a protestor causing damage has been let of yet that poor man probably didn’t even know where he was. Also perhaps the statues that he wanted to defend were the ones that Gavin’s mates wanted to damage, how would he know which ones they had in mind?)
Incredible.
Wales v England rugby.
And what do we get at half time?
A feature on LGBT !!!!!!!!!
Of great interest to …..almost none of the viewing public.
And here’s the irony. They interviewed Nigel Owens, the great ref. who came out some years ago. And even he basically said in terms that you shouldn’t be too thin-skinned and a bit of joshing is fine.
Not what the right-on BBC want to hear. They only thrive on victims.
And half the England squad took the knee. Wales didn’t, but the BBC didn’t discuss that. Also, the film of the knee taking was from the rear of the players and at a great distance. Probably to counter trolling.
….and worth mentioning that on the BBC’s own HYS, one Sonia McClaughlin is getting a lot of flak for her really appalling goading of players in the post match interviews.
If the stadium had been full of taffmen there would have been a lot of booing. Not at England, but the allowance of silly political virtual signalling. It should not be allowed to enter sport. Disgraceful.
I think when things get back to normal after lockdown , this silly virtue signalling will cease .
The BBC Clare Balding LGBT video is a bit contradictory
… “You can’t perform as a sportswoman cos you have their fear of outing over you”
.. “as soon as you go into women’s team sport everyone assumes you are automatically a lesbian”
BTW I wonder if lesbians have a higher testosterone count
and are therefore stronger in many aspects of sport.
They did the same a few days ago with the women’s football
DS, what was the runner up prize?
Two nights out with JS ?
Wonder what happened to thecwinners?
Looks genuine
people have tweeted it over the years
Here’s a couple more
BBC2 9pm Bill Conolly night starts
preceded by tribute to Ronnie Barker
and then Dad’s Army
I don’t know where the woke-TV schedulers have gone.
I guess they are preparing something big.
Not the BBC but will they be asking questions about what appears to be some very dodgy sums?
Maths is not my strong point although I like to think I am reasonably numerate. It strikes me that the 26 Feb 2021 update to the UK ‘R’ rate is wrong. If the figure for 19 Feb 2021 is 0.6 to 0.9 with a daily growth rate of -6% to -3% then the figure for 26 Feb 2021 cannot be the same 0.6 to 0.9 of the week before.
Either the daily growth rate was wildly wrong on the 19th Feb – and was actually zero – or the ‘R’ rate on 26th Feb must be around 0.4 to 0.5 at the lower end (say 0.45) and 0.6 to 0.7 (say 0.65) at the high end. If you have better math than I, please check my sums and correct me.
There seems to be something decidedly fishy about this.
I don’t think it’s fishy
If you start with 100 infected people, and an R rate of 0.7
then you end up with 70 new infected people
A 7 days test to test period seems reasonable
And in reality cases do seem to drop by 30% per week
The bad news, is that is NOT a super fast decline
Week1 : 27K .. Week2 : 18K .. Week3 : 12K .. Week4 : 8K
Week5 : 5,600 .. Week6: 3,900 .. Week7 : 2,744 .. .. Week2 : 1,920K
.. Week9 : 1,344K .. .. Week10 : 941
My guess is a 0.7 R rate is not maintained
cos people start to go out more
but OTOH if the weather is better Covid drops anyway.
Yes, Stew 70 new infections but they may not infect others. If you set daily decline parameters then it suggests because vaccinations are increasing, decline in hospital spreading, weather improving and people behaving better – possibly or by sheer chance – then decline must occur on a daily basis. The ‘R’ rate though hasn’t declined.
Again, if you set a daily rate of decline then that must be taking into account the behaviour of virus mutation, tending to become milder with increasing mutation. So why is the ‘R’ rate the same?
I intended to put up the link but forgot. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-r-number-in-the-uk#history
Nope, you haven’t convinced me.
“Yes, Stew 70 new infections but they may not infect others”
that’s the whole point of the R rate stat
Some infect 5 some none , on average they infect 0.7
so you end up with 49 infected next week
100, 70, 49 etc
The R rate is with all the factors in play
It’s not like the R rate is 0.7 and you get less new infections cos of vaccinations
that has already been included.
In making the R rate vaccinations create a lowering effect , whereas people being more lax creates a rising effect.
A daily decline rate of -5%
compounds to 30% over a week
You can run it through just like an annual -5% compound interest rate, over 7 years
https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/finance/calculators/compoundinterestcalculator.php
I did, Stew, which is why having the same figure a week later doesn’t work. Either they have their decline parameters wrong or the new figure is wrong. Get it now? Yet another suspect statistic. Where’s Marianna to fact check it?
This is the killer thing: Government policy on the Pandemic is being predicated on dodgy data. ‘Guided by the science’ and ‘Data not dates’ are driving us to bankruptcy as a nation.
We know the deaths figures are excessive, they have been overstated for a variety of reasons. There is considerable doubt around some of the other claims about overloaded hospitals. PH(E) have been disgraced and they were a statistical provider for some time. The ‘R’ figure is all important, then its not important and doesn’t get mentioned for days or weeks. Now it appears to be gibberish anyway, no better than a damp finger held up in the wind.
Definitely very ‘fishy business’.
@Up2Snuff You seem to be arguing that you expect the R rate to keep coming down with increased vaccinations.
I do but only a tiny bit.
The first thing is that the cases seem to effect young people rather than old people
and young people have not been vaccinated
Sure once the oldies immunity has kicked in they can’t get it from the youngster, but the youngsters contacts are likely to be 90% other young people.
Also new infected people enter the country everyday on dinghies etc.
Brilliant observation, Eddy.
Did I hear right, the flypast was a WW2 Dakota – Pratt & Witney powered? Oh well, at least that was an American, allied aircraft, eventually.
A flypast with a Dakota?
I went to a primary school near an airport. We would hear a Dakota about to take off in the morning. By the time we went home it would be still struggling to get over the boundary fence.
Luvverly machine, Jim.
One sunny morning there was this incredible sound, almost as if the world was about to end + WW3 had started with a bang + a major earthquake taking place + a previously unknown volcano erupting nearby. The house started to shake, the windows rattle.
I opened a window to see the back end of a DC3 clearing – by not a lot of feet – the top of a house nearby. It sounded like three of its engines were running really rough (it only has two, btw) and it seemed like it must have breached the 500 feet ‘safety’ level.
I hope they managed to get the thing fixed otherwise if it was flown at air displays a lot of other people would be getting that ‘end of the world’ experience.
Up2snuff
I used to fly to the Channel Islands in early 1970s by DanAir in a Dakota , it was primitive with seats like deckchairs ! , you couldn’t see much out of the windows because of the sun’s reflection on the bare aluminium wings ….Great Fun though , Happy days when this Country was still Great and pre BBC Biase
The UK coachbuilding factory
that makes hearses using a Mercedes chassis
https://www.fearghasquinn.com/
But the flag was probably made in Taiwan….
In bluepill world, Britain is the Saudi Arabia of Wind
In the actual redpill world
Gridwatch says Wind is currently generating less than 1GW.
… That’s Pathetic.
Boris’s Banana republic is not a safe place to invest your money
Anthony Zurcher, BBC’s senior North American reporter, sees a partially visible Christian, cross flag, as a T, as in Trump, thinks it’s a new variation of the Confederacy flag..
You couldn’t make it up…
“BBC reporter at CPAC sees a Trump variant of the second official flag of the Confederacy, or maybe not”
https://twitchy.com/brettt-3136/2021/02/27/bbc-reporter-at-cpac-sees-a-trump-variant-of-the-second-official-flag-of-the-confederacy-or-maybe-not/
Gets hammered in the comments..
‘Quit making excuses. You mistook a common flag, seen outside churches all over America, for one of your sweaty fantasies about your political opponents.
You sound like a world class expert at explaining “US politics to Brits.” ‘
Soapy will love the irony to this.
Might even crank that WTF eyebrow a notch.
‘Epidemic’ ‘frontline’. Dear me.
There are 350M Americans, and 70M in the U.K.
Just noticed what the reach of these clowns is.
Oh, and…
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/social-distancing.html
Sleepy close enough he could sniff Soapy’s eyebrows there. Soapy wishes.
GW,
For our most trusted, its post haste to the parallel universe again. Surely they should be giddy by now?
Certainly having a weekus horribilus so far.
And this is…. brave…. given BBC reach and standards.
Here’s Groper being optimistic and idealistic.
Oh, no he’s not… he’s gunning for soundbite glory.
And one of BS’ awards next hand around.
” as we tackle disinformation”
their typo “as we go about disinforming”
Labour forget about the Jews again.
I heard the BBC use the headline this morning about Scottish Labour
and I thought, surely Disraeli was the first ethnic-minority party leader
.. though he didn’t wear it on his sleeve.
In BBC and Labour woke bubbleworld Jews don’t count.
I stupidly had on the R4 Midnight news
and still after 10 hours they are using this line
“the first minority ethnic leader of a political party, in Britain”
BBC web article has been changed
to “first non-white leader of a major political party”
BAME always has been a code-word for non-white
eg BAME job scheme = whiteys can’t apply
Original bbc page
I did add an edit last night, but maybe I forgot to press Save
It is true that Disraeli was baptised at 12
but your ethnicity, ie parents and heritage is a different concept to what your religious practice is.
Disraeli was Jewish by ethnicity.
Maybe the BBC should have just re-arranged the words – the ‘first leader of a minority Party who is of ethnic origin’ – now that Labour have joined the Conservatives as a minority Party in Scotland?
Great painting. Great face.
Remember the one of Ms. Abbott?
On this topic…
Yes June,
And while my wife and daughters watch the always female-friendly drama series and the cliched teenage tales anytime and anywhere, they haven’t bothered with any of these programmes and, to their credit, see them for what they are.
The person who pays the subscription, me, hasn’t watched anything now offered by Netflix for months.
Twitter is pushing this at me as news
“Aljazeera :Five Black British figures history forgets”
… It’s dated Dec 2nd
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/12/2/five-black-british-figures-history-forgets
One is listed as 1840 black writer
I suspect that is from abolitionist times
when white campaigners would ghost write books and make the ex-slave had written it.
CPAC is the main Conservative political festival in the US
Cruz and Trump will speak there
Further to Lurch’s effort above, and the Whinestone Cowboy reporting of BBC Ecosse ITBB has noted that yet again they can dish it out but at best are coy about admitting anything.
http://isthebbcbiased.blogspot.com/2021/02/mind-your-language.html
Marianna will need to do another story on the dangers of fake news. Or feet.
All unconscious bias training and wokery must come to an end along with Al Beeb . We are a freedom loving nation.
This message must be driven home to this timid Tory Party.
Are you with me ?
“Freeports: What are they and will they make the UK money?”
Of course they will.
But the EU will not like it. ????
During the “NI Troubles” the government used a prison ship to house criminals .
The government could hire one of many empty cruise ships offshore to house all illegal asylum seekers until they are processed. That would reduce the number of Channel invaders and keep the people in this country safe. A lot cheaper than the 4 Star hotels the government use. Al Beeb will not like it
Hi Taffman
What matters to me, is I like it 🙂
Taffman, It won’t happen
#1 cos of Covid
#2 cos illegals have a habit of hijacking ships
but using an island as a quarantine zone, would have been sensible.
There is no proper reason to catch illegals and then leave them free in the community.
StewGreen
Not with ‘Bootnecks’ looking after the little cherubs.
If you can’t trust the official number of covid deaths, there’s still something you can rely on – Taxes will be Stealthy and Green
Captain Tom’s funeral makes the frontpage of most of our Sunday papers. Make of that what you will.
I rather admire the old chap’s own: ‘…cheeky epitaph…‘, as related in the Sunday People: ‘I told you I was old‘ – that’s up there with Spike Milligan’s classic “I told you I was ill”
The point being it comes to us all in the end. You know how they say that about death and taxes. The sunday’s certainly have something to say about taxes – but we’ll come to that soon enough.
The Express acknowledges that Captain Tom found himself, in what turned out to be his twilight year, promoted, not just to Honorary Colonel and a knighthood, but to symbolic status: ‘You may be gone, but your message and your spirit lives on...’
And what would that message be? The more money you pump into our sainted NHS the bigger the hero?
The Express appears as happy as a sandboy in anticipation of the coming budget: ‘Rishi’s bounce back budget! Chancellor will unveil £5billion recovery fund for high streets, pubs and shops‘
With whose cash, we wonder?
The Observer observes the same proposal: ‘Grants offered to striken shops and pubs‘ – but frets: ‘NHS fears its pleas for cash will be ignored‘ – I think here the phrase “beggars belief” to be appropriate.
The Mail did some sterling investigative journalism yesterday on the supposed covid death numbers, suggesting the grim milestones so beloved of our media, may have been made of sand.
The Sunday Mail revels in the vaccines: ‘A single jab is giving 90% protection!‘ – is the screamer headline. ‘Exclusive: Astonishing new figures show both vaccines are slashing hospitalisations‘ – first off, one would hope that important health statistics are not being “exclusively” disseminated to selected journalists. And secondly, as experts and scientists should tell you – correlation is not causation.
It’s to the broadsheet cartoonists, rather than the headline writers, that we must turn for some more indepenedent insight. It was traditionally the job of the Court Jester to speak the unspeakable and to lapoon even the King with impunity: ‘These expected tax rises: They are being tried out on older age groups first, aren’t they?‘ says Matt’s everyday couple reading their newspapers (Telegraph)
‘He can’t come to school – he has a swab stuck up his nose!‘ says Newman’s harassed mother on the phone to a teacher (Times)
Back to the headlines and the on-message journos…
‘32 million virus tests by post to reopen schools‘ says the Times serious headline. How much will that cost, is what I’m asking? But in larger print the Times has: ‘Stealth rise in income tax to pay covid bill‘ – seems the income tax threshold will be frozen and over the next few years inflation will be the Chancellor’s friend.
The Telegraph concentrates on the purchase tax side of things: ‘Sunak plots raid on parcels and freelance workers‘ – a new “Green” tax on online deliveries is in the offing. I guess branding any tax as green is justifiable, in that money is often referred to as green – right?
Income tax masquerading in the guise of National Insurance will be raised on the self-employed warns the Telegraph. For no particular reason other than, one assumes, no “frontline” public sector employees will be affected.
It’s a pipe dream, I know, but I’d prefer to see those who were furloughed repay their debts in instalments and those who take vaccinations pay at the point of access. And I’m not saying I wouldn’t pay for mine – if I choose to take one… or will it be two, or three… or however many we end up having. It’s the illusion of getting these lockdowns and mass vaccination programmes or free that’s killing us.
There’s a rather important report in the Sunday Times which provides an insight into the political bent of our media: ‘Double life of Fleet Street editor who secretly supported IRA bombings‘ – this is Roy Greenslade former Daily Mirror editor and media columnist in the Guardian – natch.
As we say a respectful fairwell to Captain Tom, there’s no guard of honour, no flag-draped coffin carried by squadies, for departed characters in the BBC’s deadbeat miserablist serial Eastenders: ‘Shaz bins dead dad‘ (Daily Star)
From soap to Oprah (see what I did there?) the Observer lauds a favoured lefty broadsheet celeb: ‘The interviewer turned therapist‘ – whereas our own Jeremy Kyle, king of the chavs, is public enemy number one. Keep up. Oprah was once touted as the Democrat Party’s answer to Donald Trump.
One almost has sympathy with the Observer feature: ‘I didn’t sign up for this. How covid pushed mothers to the edge‘ – I assume they mean Lockdown response to covid but heyho… but they have to go and spoil it with identity politics: ‘The pandemic, gender inequality and women’s rights. By Natasha Walter‘ Natasha, luv, I won’t bother with your article on the basis it sounds like you’re repeating what you wrote every week as an essay on your right-on social science course at Uni.
‘How careless England let it slip‘ (Telegraph) – no, not a general lament, not a bugel blast last post at the state of the nation. It’s the rugby, and boy do our papers love to bemoan national sports defeats.
Give us something on a lighter note, you say?
Debbie McGee, widow of TV magician Paul Daniels, fresh from a bitter battle with his son over the estate, appears in the Sunday People: ‘Why I’m ready to love again‘ – what do we reckon about her prospects? Not a lot, to coin a phrase. On the other hand, she may be in her sixties but I guess she’s picked up a trick or two.
“”what do we reckon about her prospects? Not a lot, to coin a phrase.
Oh, I don’t know, as Mrs. Morton might have said. “What first attracted you to millionaire widow Debbie?”
Must be a few ‘toy boys’ out there.
A writer on a different forum made a comment which I think deserves a greater audience.
The Tories have been in power now for 11 years and during that time there has been an explosion of far left ‘woke’ activism, and the Tories far from doing anything to prevent this, have at best been ambivalent or Neutral, and at worst joined in with it.
The conclusion is that the Tories are themselves the problem, and they are in no small part encouraging this woke nonsense.
Only this past week we saw the Tory appointed Director General of the BBC laying out an incredibly woke diversity plan, there was no criticism from the Tory part what so ever.
Then we saw the House of Lords return a bill to parliament because of the woke language used.
This bill had its origins straight from number 10 and aimed to give maternity rights to government ministers, yet instead of referring to women or mothers, the language was of pregnant ‘people’. airbrushing women completely out of the picture.
I’m sorry for those clinging to a view that somehow Boris and the Tories might hold a vestage of conservatism, but they are today further to the Left than Labour are, and are almost certainly being run by Carrie Symonds aka Princess Nut Nut. I had hoped Dominic Cummings would keep Johnsons nose to the grindstone, however now he has gone, wokery is running wild in the Tory party.
Boris’s Tories are just another Islington Socialist party made up of posh people.
– Love mad green policies
– terrified of cutting spending ..ie keep throwing taxpayers money away
– Are big on virtue signalling
– Never believed in leaving the EU
– Did not stand up for the Grooming raping gangs victims.
– Are open border globalists.
– Participated in the school bully gang behaviour against Trump.