…doesn’t mean the Beeb has to agree. This “story” is bogus. President Bush, after all, was not slow to declare a state of emergency along the Gulf Coast. Mayor Nagin’s reaction to this “news” is laughable and hypocritical but the Beeb is happy to serve us New Orleans sludge.
Update: DFH, one of our B-BBC commenterati has two very helpful posts here and here. Auntie can’t get away with what she once did.
I’ve complained to the BBC. Will I get a reply? Yeah right…
_____________
I wish to make an official complaint about this mornings interview on the Today Programme. The interview took place at 8.10am and was conducted by John Humphries. The lady being interviewed was Colleen Graffy.
John Humphries was intolerably rude. He interrupted, berated, shouted at and browbeat Ms Graffy. Every time she tried to give a calm and reasonable response to one of John Humphries rants, she was shouted down as the interviewer descended into further righteous indignation. This does not qualify as “intelligent speech” and failed to inform the audience of anything buy the BBC’s own prejudices.
I also note that BBC interviewers never behave in this manner when interviewing people who are anti-American, pro-Kyoto, left wing, islamofascists, etc. How strange…..
I am sick of the constant bigoted poison that the Today programme spews forth on a daily basis. There is no attempt at balance and presenters regularly take sides in debate, especially when defending the BBC’s own pet projects/campaigns (Kyoto, Make Poverty History, New Labour, George Galloway, Islam, Multiculturalism, anything EU, etc).
I wish this complaint to be fully investigated and I expect a prompt reply.
heres the direct link to the interview Grimer refers to above (realplayer format):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain/ram/today4_guantanamo_20060303.ram
John,
This one
perhaps?
I Googled Michael Grade Interview to get it, but I don’t know if it’s the one you’re looking for.
I found this quote near the bottom of the page:
The licence fee depends for its continuance on one thing and one thing only and that is the overwhelming support of the majority of the licence fee payers.
Man’s got to be kidding. He must live in a dream world. He’s never heard of enforcement and fear of imprisonment?
Question Time is now so biased and rigged it is impossible to watch.
The Today programme are repeating the views of a terrorist and his lawyer as gospel truth. I cannot believe they are that naive, it is simple, cynical opportunism.
I used to listen to the Today programme many years ago when driving to work. At the time I thought it was biased and unreasonable. Having listened to that Gitmo article and interview, I realise that the programme has sunk to depths even I thought wasn’t possible.
John Humphreys is a completely biased, yobbish **** and should be fired immediately. I just about restrained myself from punching through my monitor screen.
OT My comment above re HYS has been removed from the HYS front page.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/default.stm
No more “You views on Bush visit”
But obviously “Do you prefer a happy ending” is still there.
harrys place has a report on the HuT islamo nutters and Claire Short (Westminister, Wednesday)
http://hurryupharry.bloghouse.net/archives/2006/03/03/short_on_debate.php
I used to watch Question Time religiously, but gave up after the 9/11 broadcast. Whenever I’ve had the misfortune to catch snippets of it ever since I simply shake my head in disbelief that the BBC’s foremost vehicle for political debate with the public has degenerated into the kind of forum one used to see in Student Unions in the 1980s – the audience not just partisan but pathologically left wing and grievance-mongering, and where anyone expressing any kind of opinion even moderately to the right of centre is howled down as a fascist/racist/misogynist/etc.
Any Questions is no better – in fact it’s probably worse. Balance? forget it – if you believe in any of the following:
a) appeasement and “understanding” of our enemies, no matter what the provocation;
b) enforced wealth distribution;
c) prisons as a vehicle for education and endless counselling, not punishment;
d) schools as a means for homogenising us all so that everyone is equal;
e) unquestioning commitment to the NHS regardless of cost, regardless of its being the largest employer in Europe outside the Red Army (sorry, post-Soviet era make that the largest employer in Europe);
f) white guilt;
g) sayying sorry for all the things your ancestors did which make you feel guilty, regardless of context;
h) the centralised State as the empowerer and provider; or
i) Brussels and the United Nations as functional and beneficent supranational state entities
then you will be cheered to the rooftops as a panellist, whatever the vacuity/mendaciousness/illiteracy/insanity of the comment you have just made.
Every generation says it, but this time it’s true – the country really is going to hell in a handbasket, and the BBC is like a demented pilot feverishly urging the whole sorry mess on to its destination.
Reanna – welcome, good post.
Thanks Ritter
The Mother from Hell has made it onto the BBC
“Women ponder future under Hamas”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4767634.stm
remind me – why is the EU funding these lunatics ?
Reanna welcome, you could add “Africa is all our fault” and “Hamas good , Israel bad” but i get your point.
Archduke, why are you funding them – you elected them didn’t you?
You didn’t? Oh well, at least you’re not paying for them.
You are? Doh!
Next time an Israeli child is blown up in a shopping centre we can all reflect on how our taxes helped to pay for the bomb, and how they will help to provide welfare payments for the bomber’s family.
Thanks for the welcome Archduke.
Rob White,
Yes, I see that they’ve hidden What do you make of Bush’s visit to India? but still kept it open and yet they’ve left Childhood obesity on the main page, even though that debate is now closed.
I just posted this comment to What do you want to talk about on the main Have Your Say page:
You should be talking about the lack of fair play by ‘Have Your Say’ editors. As an example, why did you whip the ‘Is Islamism the new global threat?’ topic off the main page less than a day after you first aired it? Is it because the majority of commenters did indeed regard Islamism as a threat? It was attracting a good deal of interest. You should stop being so coy and put it back on the main page where it belongs.
Reanna -> i wont bore you with the details, but theres a serious democratic deficit in the EU.
for starters, the EU Commission is appointed. not elected.
I know Archduke, that was kind of my point
Archduke,
Thanks for the link. I listened to Humphries ‘interview’ Graffy. He seemed all primed and ready to attack even before he’d posed the first question.
The pompous, judgemental, unprofessional ass has no business working in the media.
He’s a good example of so much that’s wrong with the BBC.
it was horrible Bryan – and I , as a listener, was left none the wiser about the issue.
Graffy, to her credit, just managed to squeeze in the “al qaeda are trained to lie” right near the end.
The U.S. is being far too polite about this constant barrage from the BBC – next time, they should put one of their attack dogs, like John Bolton up for interview.
That’ll wipe the pompous smugness off John Humphries in no time.
Complaint about Humphries piss-poor so-called “interview” with Graffey duly made. Lets see if we can top 200.
ritter-> i had to watch an episode of “Band of Brothers” again, just to remind myself that the Yanks are our allies – so shocked was i with the virulent anti-americanism on offer from “Today”
According to my count John Humphrys interrupted David Cameron no less than 81 times in just 16 minutes.
And yes, the cynical Hmmm, the “Oh really?”, the “Ah, but” all come in after just two or three words of the interviewee trying to say something.
I also complained about the Graffy interview – before I had read the comments here. How ironic it was that near the end (after a good deal of his own monologue, outrage and interruptions) he complains that ‘we are running short of time’! There was also the intellectually feeble question about “which state the US was at war with” (repeated two or three times), when everyone, even the most left-wing, know the issue is how democracies are to combat an al Qaeda network who are _not_ a conventional state-run enemy army. If he had a point to make (sorry, a challenging question) on this matter surely the way is to ask something like ‘what evidence do you have that [Gitmo] is effective in tackling alQaeda’ or similar. Instead, his ranting repeated non-question was going to enlighten the listener not one iota, apart from to make it seem even more obvious that he was emotionally charged against the interviewee rather than achieve anything useful for the listener to learn.
D Burbage -> i have an idea. i’m going to transcribe the interview and blog it.
maybe if this sort of thing is in black and white, it would make the bias even more apparent.
On topic! I’ve blogged about the Katrina warning video here. As far as I can see the BBC is wrong in its assertions. Also, a new video has emerged which shows Governor Blanco (Democrat) saying the levees hadn’t been breached – hours after the first reports that they had. I haven’t heard the BBC making a big deal about that today, have you?
AP News – 1722hrs – on CNN. Christian church attacked in West Bank. People dressed as pilgrims threw firecrackers into the congregation causing panic, many injured. At the same time over on BBC News 24 we are introduced to a “tabloid ism” The new lib Dem leader is described as “King Ming”.
(Reminds me of Flash Gordon and his arch enemy)
It appears the BBC is selective as to what it takes off the AP wires.
Stand by BBC license payers, Tessa Jewell will shortly issue a white paper on the subject.
Here’s another piece re. the Graffey Incident this morning:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4769604.stm
Apologies if it’s been linked to previously. The piece points out:
The US has said it is holding Mr Odah because he is a dangerous “enemy combatant”, who travelled through Afghanistan with the Taleban, fired AK-47 rifles while at an al-Qaeda training camp and fought against US and coalition forces. He dismissed the general allegations, branding them as “rubbish” and “absolutely untrue”.
No mention was made of Graffey’s statement that Odah has admitted to being in the company of armed terrorists in Afghanistan, travelling with them and being armed himself. This was a genuine low point for the BBC this morning.
BBC News still considers the alleged bird flu pandemic newsworthy. Odds
1 in 100 million of catching it.
80,000 to 1 of being murdered in a British street in any one year.
I note a large amount of people are now noticing the extreem amount of anti-American bias. It is clear to me that the BBC has got very used to controling party political debate and elections in Britain. It is now trying to do it to other countries. It is in a unique and powerfull possition to do this.
The BBC does not like capitalism, because free people would not give them 3.5 billion pounds. As the BBC thinks America is the bastian or this “evil”, they dont like America in general.
However,it has had an extream bias against the Republican Party for as long as I can remember. As does the American media/press. When the Left Wing become the Establishment, like in Britain, the whole world, now has to watch out.
To any American friends out there,that is, if we have any left. Please feel free to show what you think of the BBC and your own media bias, as much and as often as you can.
Please dont get as complacent as we got, otherwise America could end up like here. Instead of the other-way around. Believe me you wont like it. Any of it, at all.
BTW
Just so I can be the first person in Britain not to be to intimidated to say so. I LIKE GEORGE BUSH. and love America and Americans. Do us a favour this time the Nazis compleatly take over Europe. Do not bother getting killed to stop it. Just give us an American passport. Then do the whole world a favour, and blow the whole sorry mess off the planet.
This morning’s Today needs to be thoroughly fisked
– the sheer number of anti-Bush items
– the prominence they were given
– the inaccuracy of much of the reporting
– the silly questions that were asked and the important questions that were not asked
– importantly, the information available on the internet and from other parts of the media that had already contradicted the thrust of the BBC’s coverage (such that most of us here knew more about the topics BEFORE the programme than the BBC listeners knew AFTER the programme = failure in its Charter duty to INFORM and keep balance
– the manner of much of the interviewing
– the tie in with the website and the prominence given to ant-Bush stories today over more significant NEWS, plus the failure to include the US lawyer’s rebuttal and her mention of the instructions in the Al Q manual to claim torture and to lie
– above all, the appalling performance by John Humphrys.
t was horrible Bryan – and I , as a listener, was left none the wiser about the issue.
Graffy, to her credit, just managed to squeeze in the “al qaeda are trained to lie” right near the end.
Do you mean Professor Colleen Graffy ?
I really like her….just my kind of woman
i’m currently recording the 8:10 interview to wav format so that i can transcribe it. i’ll have it posted up on my blog later on this evening.
Rick -> yes thats her. “Republicans Abroad” – the U.S. embassy has given her a job:
http://www.usembassy.org.uk/ukpapress13.html
Colleen Graffy has some serious heavyweight legal experience. This wasnt mentioned on the Today site or the Today interview.
from here
Colleen Graffy is an Associate Professor of Law at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. Originally from Santa Barbara, California, Professor Graffy is based in London as the Academic Director of Pepperdine University’s London Law Program. She was called to the Bar of England and Wales and is a Barrister of the Middle Temple. Professor Graffy writes on legal issues in the United States and Britain including COUNSEL, The Journal for the Bar of England & Wales, the NEW LAW JOURNAL, the ABA JOURNAL, NEWSWEEK and various U.S. law reviews. She is a frequent commentator for radio and television on Anglo-American political, legal and cultural issues. She teaches post-graduate law students in public international and international environmental law and professional responsibility. She holds a B.A., an M.A., a Law Degree and an LL.M
sarge uncensored
Thank you very much, for bringing up that point. At a risk of repeating myself. This is a bit of state propergander,for all to see. Un yet no-one seems to see it. Have we learned nothing from that CJD bullshit?
Other forms of Big goverment advertising are breaking out all over the place. More even in the last few mounths. Half the adverts on the radio are payed for by the TAX PAYER. If I wanted to pay for advertising, I would get rid of that old bike of mine.
Its the BBC that we trusted to not let our democracy be abused like this. But of cause they are doing the same thing now themselves.
Seems like a deal has been done.
Oops, I’ve just noticed that the breach/overtopping thing was discussed on another thread here yesterday. Could’ve saved myself some time and just linked here.
I bet one of you has already mentioned the Governor Blanco video too.
I promise to check in here first in future.
“Seems like a deal has been done.”
I think the BBC is in full election mode for HILLARY CLINTON….
I am utterly convinved that they are ACTIVELY TRYING TO GET HER ELECTED…..
They did their best with J Kerry, but he was just too much of a nerd for anyone to take seriously……so now, they put all their might behind a push for Hillary….wihvch basicly means attacking Bush, but ignoring “news” that shows Democrats in a bad light, such as the New Orleans Govenor….
Believe it….the left hate Bush so much, they’ve locked arms with extremists and bigots…….I’m affraid the BBC is going to get worse before it gets shut-up for good…..
But people are waking up to it now, and everything that gets rumbled flys back in their faces……keep at them, they are bloody dangerous and need to be brought down.
I’m laughing my butt off at the current round of (D)HYS “discussion” threads. The whole world is falling down around all of us and they are running things like:
“Do you prefer happy endings to sad ones?”
“Tackling childhood obesity?”
And my personal favorite:
“Should water meters be made compulsory?”
Freakin’ hilarious!
“Should water meters be made compulsory?”
last time i checked water companies were private.
why bother with meters? shouldnt market forces dictate that water should become more EXPENSIVE in the case of a drought?
Susan,
They’ve taken your favourite water meters off the page as well as childhood obesity.
Meanwhile Bush’s visit to India is back as the main feature on the HYS page.
But I don’t think anyone is gonna see this headline on the BBC anytime soon:
Hamas expects resumption of military training in Russia
And knowing Russia, they’ll probably get it.
BBC’s Radio Times preview of tonight’s Timewatch programme on BBC2
It follows the search for the remains of two US pilots shot down during a bombing mission over Vietnam in 1967….the resources devoted to retrieving two American bodies after 40 years seem somehow excessive when about a million Vietnamese troops also died in the war.
Excessive it may be, but why only set that off against the Vietnamese dead? (Presumably all killed by the US invader?)
I just had a sudden thought. It happens sometimes:
When Hamas is welcomed in South Africa, that towering example of moral rectitude, they’ll no doubt be wanting to know about Russia’s military training of the ANC during the dark days of Apartheid – which have now been superseded by darker post-Apartheid days.
Come to think of it, this might well be a reunion of old comrades.
Susan,
They’ve taken your favourite water meters off the page as well as childhood obesity.
Water meters and childhood obesity are still front and center on the UK (D)HYS page. I guess Nanny Beeb thinks that Brits are much more worried that their children might “catch” childhood obesity than that their children might get blown up by a few of the lovelies who marched outside the London Danish embassy a few weeks ago. . .
why bother with meters? shouldnt market forces dictate that water should become more EXPENSIVE in the case of a drought?
archduke
How do you then price water if it is average-costed through Council Tax ? I can simply consume wastefully and you go dry.
How does water become “expensive” if it is not priced ?
Tessa Jowell seems to have had a really easy ride from the BBC. All the press this morning led with Jowell, saying that there were lots of questions unanswered.
The BBC led instead with Gitmo.
Of course that has nothing to do with the fact that the size and also the duration of the licence fee is largely in Jowell’s hands. She has been effectively captured as Sec of State by the BBC, her White Paper was totally anodyne, and she has made little threat to cut back the power of the BBC and its gargantuan costs – so they would not want a new Minister in her place. Besides, she is part of the multi-culti crowd that the BBC likes so much.
Like I say – none of this has any bearing on the BBC giving her the easiest ride since Noddy got from his car.
i’ve transcribed the Humphries/Graffy interview on Today, (08:10), and blogged it for posterity…
http://islamophobic.blogspot.com/2006/03/bbc-gitmo-and-colleen-graffy.html
its there now – in black and white. the hysterical rantings. the bile. the downright odious anti-americanism that infects the “today” programme.
“Excessive it may be, but why only set that off against the Vietnamese dead?”
will. thats odd – because the retrieval of G.I. bodies is irrespective of the war. they’re still finding bodies from WW1. its quite big deal for the Americans, to trace all their missing in action.
in other words – they actually do give a shit about their armed forces. unlike the BBC.
dumbcisco -> “Tessa Jowell seems to have had a really easy ride from the BBC.”
that story smells to high heaven. if anything it reeks of money laundering more than bribery.
it stinks. it smells – it could bring down the government itself. methinks somebody said “back off”…
where is the boy king David? i’m not impressed. The Tories should be after this one like rabid Rottweillers.
archduke – well done with the transcript.
Fifty years ago transcripts were freely available from the BBC. Indeed the Listener magazine consisted largely of transcripts. Each one needed laborious shorthand then typing – and then re-typing to deal with corrections. Nothing like as easy as the word processing era, when a first cut of most interviews could be gained from speech conversion software, or at the very least from audio typing.
The BBC would be ashamed to produce the true transcripts of a lot of Humphrys’ stuff.