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Fabio, one interesting thing about your long post (I’ll give it a thorough read later but the highlights are certainly close to my views on a lot of things): the EU has repeatedly put in place policies that implicitly place the US in a superior position. An exampel is the EU’s insistence on the creation of EU-level universities to compete with Harvard and MIT – implying that they can’t be as good as the US without them.
The EU as an institution has an inferiority complex regarding the US, as do a lot of institutions that feed from the same mindset (like the BBC, for example). It proves absolutely nothing about whether one is better than the other – as you say, a pointless exercise – but it does prove what certain people believe about who is better.
Fabio P. Barbieri writes:
“This takes me to the second point – the person who implied that there is some sort of superiority in “Superman Comics” over “Tintin”.”
Your prolixity hides an inability to understand what was written. Perhaps being an Italian excuses you – but not when you choose to take me to task at such length.
The point I was making was not some meaningless comparison between two comics, but to mock a facet of British culture. Tin Tin was the staple fair of the children of yoghurt knitters, who wouldn’t allow an American comic in the house.
A penny to a pound, most BBC foreign correspondents were such children – and happily maintain a disdain for all things American.
As for your distaste for hanburgers and cherry cola, what constitutes good food is a matter of taste. Even an Italian’s view is only an opinion.
Anonymous:
“Muslims believe Mecca was founded by the Prophet Ibrahim”
Any relation to the Prophet Abraham?
One and the same. The greatest difference in the story is the son rescued from sacrifice in the Jewish/Christian version is Isaac (forefather of the Jews) while in the Muslem version it is Ishmael (father of the Arabs). It allows the Arabs to simultaneously claim Abraham built the Ka’aba in Mecca but was buried in Hebron.
We’ll know we are really in trouble when the BBC starts calling Abraham Ibrahim on the air.
I wrote: “the staple fair ”
I meant to write: “the staple fare”
Too much Christmas pudding, no doubt.
Gcooper: if what makes good or bad food, or good or bad comics, is only a matter of opinion, then so is what makes good or bad journalism, good or bad television. And that means that you have no reason to criticize the BBC. Relativism is the philosophy of fools, and by stating that there is no real, tangible, essential difference between Cherry Coke and (to mention a favourite drink of mine) Newcastle Brown, you are taking the side of the enemy. Or better, leaving yourself no place to argue against anyone at all.
Whoops, that was me.
David Gregory,
re BBC coverage of science
Well its hard to know where to start…
Maybe start with the amount of coverage. This is pitiful, compared to, say, the arts or politics or religion.
And when a scientific issue arises in the news, the coverage is often wrong, and shallow, and assumes that the viewer / listener is ignorant about science and probably uninterested.
Just one quick specific example is the “technology” page on the BBC web site – usually about 50% of this is computer games and playstations etc. This has got bugger all to do with technology. And its often tainted by the left-leaning ramblings of one Bill Thompson esq who is always whining about “digital divides” – a kind of 21 century “let them eat broadband” mindset.
Stay tuned – I will be back with some more examples.
Ciao,
Jack
I’m just watching the 10.30 news on BBC1. It was stated by the blonde talking head that “hopes that Saddam’s execution would bring peace were dashed by a series of car bombs” followed by GWB quoted as warning that Saddam’s execution WOULD NOT END THE VIOLENCE. The BBC did not say whose ‘hopes’ were dashed. Would someone, JR perhaps, please clarify?
Then John Simpson remarked that Saddam’s spirited defence during his trial and his calmness in the face of death will strengthen his legend – FFS! Firstly, Saddam was not tortured or beaten during his period in detention – had he so been, would he be “spirited”? And secondly, ‘legend’? Seriously, the BBC are building his ‘legend’, and his body isn’t yet cold.
Even when they’re signing off, the bias is all-pervasive. The talking head announced that “Saddam Hussein, the former President of Iraq, has been executed.” Former President?!? Just as gerald Ford was the former President of the US? Not quite the same, is it? But note that Augusto Pinochet was the former dictator of Chile, and that Fidel Castro is the President of Cuba. Any inconsistencies, BBC?
Allan@Aberdeen | 30.12.06 – 9:01 pm:
You say, with respect to a post by Fabio P. Barbieri:
“Fabio, you spelt ‘laziness’ incorrectly. Prepare for Reith’s attack on that error of spelling – but he will avoid attacking your arguments.”
Funny you should mention ‘John Reith’. He was seemingly having a whale of a time yesterday sneering as he does at the posts by the goodly contributors to this blog, such as these:
John Reith | 29.12.06 – 10:54 am
John Reith | 29.12.06 – 11:13 am
John Reith | 29.12.06 – 12:11 pm
John Reith | 29.12.06 – 1:27 pm
John Reith | 29.12.06 – 3:06 pm
John Reith | 29.12.06 – 3:17 pm
But then he fell silent and has not been seen since. It wouldn’t be because of a certain question that was thrown his way just 42 minutes later, would it? Specifically, this one:
“Surely, if the BBC was staffed by impartial reporters, they would not consider anyone their “enemy”, would they? Is this little slip by The Guardian not actually indicative of how the BBC is in fact stuffed to the rafters with political bigots? People who share the same bigoted DNA as the racists with whom even the BNP doesn’t wish to associate itself?
Jonathan Boyd Hunt | 29.12.06 – 3:59 pm
In my experience there’s nothing more guaranteed to incense a leftie than pointing out that the bigotry they display towards conservatives and their beliefs is no different than the racist bigotry exhibited by the far-right. And the reason they really, really don’t like it is because it’s an absolutely valid comparison.
Indeed, if anything, the far right is far less bigoted towards other races than the leftist Beeboids are towards Tories, thus confirming the average Beeboid as being worse, arguably, than the average BNP member.
If you’re reading this, John Reith, that is a valid point I’ve just made, isn’t it?
Have A Happy New Year everyone. I’ve been rather busy lately but I thought it was worth commenting on Al Beeb’s “DHYS” on Saddam Hussein.
If http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?sortBy=2&threadID=5096&edition=1&ttl=20061230233315&#paginator isn’t proof that Al Beeb mainly cater to moonbats/nuts I don’t know what is. George W. Bush is as bad, if not worse than Saddam was and should be executed as well. Oh Dear, oh Dear. I wonder what these people look like and what they’re smoking.
d_g writes:
“If http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/…3315&#paginator isn’t proof that Al Beeb mainly cater to moonbats/nuts I don’t know what is. ”
In a similar vein, there was some ghastly load of rubbish on R4 this afternoon (I really must stop listening to that station) in which listeners were asked to phone in their predictions for 2007.
It was as if the doors to a vast madhouse of Independent readers had been thrown open and the ensuing babble captured on radio.
I was quite depressed by the experience until I realised 1/ the calls were being filtered by BBC moonbats and 2/ Only moonbats listen to R4 these days.
Which is another reason I should stop listening to its dreary outpourings.
Fabio P. Barbieri writes:
“…if what makes good or bad food, or good or bad comics, is only a matter of opinion, then so is what makes good or bad journalism, good or bad television.”
This is clearly flawed. You cannot objectivise gustatory sensastions and experiences. Morality and ethics can be argued logically – the relative merits of your stew as opposed to mine can only ever be subjectively assessed.
Remember: both our stews would probably taste disgusting to a Japanese, yet all three of us would be amenable to logic.
GCooper: Funny, some of the best food I ever had was in a Japanese restaurant. And if you say that you can argue morality and ethics logically, I would like to see you try.
Anonymous writes:
“Funny, some of the best food I ever had was in a Japanese restaurant.”
You make my point for me. Though I suspect you can’t see why.
News you won’t hear on al-Beeb: 7 out of 10 Brits wanted Saddam executed…
http://medienkritik.typepad.com/blog/2006/12/the_death_penal.html
Here’s an excerpt from the comments to the piece Anonymous mentions:
“…The anti-capital punishment cause in Germany’s constitution, according to the Washington Post, resulted from legislation sponsored by an unrepentant Nazi not wanting to see his friends on the gallows. It was enthusiastically backed by German socialists with their own blood guilt.
In short, at the level of the European elite, opposition to capital punishment is a belief “cemented in blood,” as Hitler put it in his infamous remark to Stalin. For them, hanging Saddam is a scary first step toward doing some little something to punish those in the German press who excused the Soviet Union’s evil and murderous empire not so very long ago, and, even more tellingly, who recently condoned Saddam’s brutal rule in Iraq and attacked the US and Bush for removing him from power. This isn’t just about long-ago events. Their hands a being bloodied by their deeds even as I write this.
–Mike Perry, Editor of Dachau Liberated.”
“”President Bush praised the execution, from Europe came sharp criticism.” / A tempting -and in the media oft used- opportunity to again pit “Europe” against Bush. A more intellectually honest headline would have pointed out that the majority of the criticism coming from “Europe” has emanated from a tiny media-political elite. The rest of society is evenly divided.”
http://medienkritik.typepad.com/blog/2006/12/the_death_penal.html
A clear illustration that the political elite is not the country, the people are. When Tony Blair et al say that Britain does not support capital punishment – what he is saying is that his champagne socialists do not support capital punishment. He speaks for the country because of his postion but not for its people.
“Muslims believe Mecca was founded by the Prophet Ibrahim”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/country_profiles/820515.stm
No mention at all in the BBC’s “Timeline” of the Hashemites, actual rulers of Jordan who still consider themselves rightful guardians of Mecca.
I spoke to as many locals as possible yesterday to gauge the reaction of Saddam’s exacution.
Staff breakdown here in Baghdad is 65% Sunni 35% Shia – Although you wouldn’t know it.
Some people were openly elated at SH’s demise – Some, including the kitchen girls were strongly against it and they stubbornly argued that point, with some of the male members of staff as the day went on.
A few staff also thought that it was poor taste that he was killed at the start of Eid.
All in all, a mixed reponse – I did not ask the staff whether they were Sunni or Shia whilst discussing this subject. Everyone was happy to talk and nobody was short of an opinion!
It’s amazing how this sectarianism is being mis/over reported, sure there is a problem with it, but it is not as bad as you’d imagine – A lot of the crime/murders reported are just full on crime of kidnapping and extorsion.
And not all of the murders are innocent civilians, a lot of score setting and blood letting is down to the gansters.
Does anyone really know the mechanics of how HYS is written/moderated?
:?:Is there a specific staff member/department to do this?
:?:If so, why not name them?
:?:Is ‘moderation’ done on a rota basis?
:?:Is HYS the BBC equivalent of the obituaries or a stepping stone to better things?
:?:Are ‘experts’ called in to moderate specialised subjects?
:?:Is any moderation computer controlled, for example, by flagging keywords?
:?:Do subeditors moderate or journalists?
:?:Is HYS moderation outsourced?
I’m sure many of us at B-BBC would like to know.
Disillusioned_German: Italy abolished the death penalty in peacetime in 1879. The country did quite well without it until 1925, when a certain supposedly popular dictator decided that he really needed to discourage attempts on his life. Even so, until 1940, even the FAscist courts only sent three people to the gallows. (Although Fascist administrators in Lybia and Ethiopia were rather more profligate with native blood.) As soon as as Fascism was overthrown, however, the death penalty was abolished by the legitimate government; symbolically, on June 6, 1944, when Rome was freed and the Allies landed in France. At the time, Alberto Savinio – one of our leading essayists and painters, and the brother of Giorgio de Chirico – wrote a beautiful essay on the issue, which I read long ago. Since then, Italy has met and largely defeated the most formidable organized crime underworld in the West, and some of the worst terrorists, all without the pleasure of killing people. It is part of our heritage: the greatest name in all the Enlightenment as far as we are concerned is Cesare Beccaria, author of the searing essay “Dei Delitti e Delle Pene”, “About crimes and about penalties”, which changed the attitude of all Europe to torture and judicial murder.
This is because I was revolted by your insinuation that opposition to the death penalty has something to do with Fascism. In our country, it was only the Fascists, throughout sixty years of republican democracy, that supported it. And conversely, it is the strong Italian influence on the Vatican that has made the death penalty such an issue with the last couple of Popes. To us, hanging goes with tyranny, and not killing people with liberty. That is consistent from the extreme left to the constitutional right: even Berlusconi is opposed to it – which is conclusive proof that the mass of Italians are instinctively against it, since Berlusconi is a salesman and no more than a salesman, and his political beliefs consist of whatever he thinks he can sell.
You may ask, “What about Mussolini?” The answer is simple: Mussolini was under a death sentence from a military court, under military law, for high treason in wartime. He knew that perfectly well, which is why he was fleeing to Switzerland in disguise when he was caught; and that was the sentence the Partisans executed. Nobody objects to the death penalty under military law – at least, nobody sane. I disagree with a majority of my countrymen in that I regard the death penalty for mass-murdering tyrants, as was inflicted at Nuremberg, as quite justified; it is in my view an extension of the laws of war, inflicted on politicians who had made of their state an instrument of war against their own countrymen as well as strangers, and who therefore must be treated as armed enemies and traitors. There is no need to argue this here, I take it, but I just wanted to point out where I disagree with most Italians. But I am at one with them as regarding the death penalty as a stain on a country in time of peace.
P.S.: people who know nothing of Italy may imagine, from TV shows and reports, that the Mafia is invincible. It has, in fact, been in retreat for decades, everywhere outside Naples, and while still a serious problem, it is nothing like as powerful as it was in the fifties and sixties. And that is no coincidence: it is the result of decades of struggle by Italian authorities, who achieved it all without feeling the need to match the murderous notion of justice of the mafia itself.
GCooper: I was the anonymous in question. And if I “confirmed” your views, it can only logically be under the law of “heads you win, tails I lose”. If Japanese and Italian tastes are incompatible, you win. If they are compatible you win. Obviously I do not feel too crushed by losing under such rules.
The Royal Institution Christmas lectures have not been on the BBC for years, this year they were on Channel 5.
Has the beeb mentioned this yet?
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/29/africa/ME_GEN_Saudi_Shiites.php
Ummah anyone?
Happy New Year!
Of course they may choose to go with this:
http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-234/0612298743151307.htm
and a merry haj to all their audience.
I’ve just spat my lunch all over my lap. BBC2 is showing El Cid.
Curreently showing:
BBC 2 ‘ EL CID ‘
For update, see:
‘The Jihadist Dream to Liberate Spain’
http://frontpagemagazine.com/Articles
(December 25).
There’s no doubt that Al Channel 4
can be worse than Al Beeb in dhimmitude. See:
” Identity – and pro-Jihad work –
on veiled woman in UK ‘alternative’
Christmas message revealed” (Daily Mail):
http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch
(31 Dec.).
“The Royal Institution Christmas lectures have not been on the BBC for years, this year they were on Channel 5.”
David Gregory, this is the problem.
BBC Science output is now hard to spot. At the death of Tomorrows World none of the presenters had a science degree. No more Great Egg Race, no more Robot Wars.
You have to visit Sky, a wicked Murdoch company funded shock horror by people who choose to pay, to see Brainiac Science Abuse, which is entertaining and educational (they tell you why stuff happens as well as illustrate it)
An amazing amount of resources being used to sell the Religion of Peace™ – quite ‘disproportionate’…
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/europe/2005/muslims_in_europe/default.stm
Then click on the “Special Reports” link at the left hand side to see how many “Special Reports” are dedicated to Mo’ and his followers, (PBUH – Peanut Butter Upon Him)
BBC that well loved British institution?
Poll on attitudes in the UK
The poll does reveal some rays of optimism. Seven out of 10 people said they were proud to be British, and the nation’s cultural heritage — embodied in the works of Shakespeare, Dickens, Turner and Elgar — fills people with the greatest sense of pride.
Other aspects of British life that instil pride are our sense of humour (46%) and the country’s intellectual heritage (39%), epitomised by Newton, Darwin, Brunel and Keynes.
Just over a fifth of people (22%) cited the monarchy as a source of pride, but the number of respondents who picked the BBC (13%) and parliament (5%) was far lower.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-2524443_2,00.html
Just now, John Simpson has used the word “resistance” at least five times to describe the mostly non-Iraqi Sunni terrorists busy killing Iraqis and the occasional American. Now the anti-Nazi Partisan resistance movements in various parts of Europe may not have been composed only of saints and heroes, I think that to compare them with these nihilists, destructive, unprincipled butchers, is beneath outrageous. Of course this is a frequent Grauniad/Indiepindie/BBC usage, but it does not become any less abusive with time.
whoops… typo alert. “Nihilistic” for “nihilists”.
From BioD:
“An amazing amount of resources being used to sell the Religion of Peace™ – quite ‘disproportionate’…”
I’d mentioned product placement elsewhere on B-BBC and it is definitely happening. But I’d like to point out the selling of a retrograde, murderous superstition with the absence of programs of scientific merit – is there a link? It is known that islam doesn’t like science because it refutes the ‘teachings’ of the moon-god’s apostle e.g. “the sun sets in a muddy pool”.
The BNP Ballerina
Simone Clarke stands her ground
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=425586&in_page_id=1770&ct=5
The BBC and half the story.
US frees detained Iran diplomats
US forces in Iraq have released two Iranian diplomats detained in a raid in Baghdad last week, the Iranian state-run news agency says. The diplomats were handed over to the Iranian embassy in the city on Friday, the IRNA agency said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6216455.stm
and how the Washington Post reported it;
Iraq Expels 2 Iranians Detained by U.S.
BAGHDAD, Dec. 29 — Two senior Iranian operatives who were detained by U.S. forces in Iraq and were strongly suspected of planning attacks against American military forces and Iraqi targets were expelled to Iran on Friday, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials. The decision to free the men was made by the Iraqi government and has angered U.S. military officials who say the operatives were seeking to foment instability here.
“These are really serious people,” said one U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “They were the target of a very focused raid based on intelligence, and it would be hard for one to believe that their activities weren’t endorsed by the Iranian government. It’s a situation that is obviously troubling.”
One of the commanders, identified by officials simply as Chizari, was the third-highest-ranking official of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ al-Quds Brigade, the unit most active in aiding, arming and training groups outside Iran, including Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad, U.S. officials said. The other commander was described as equally significant to Iran’s support of foreign militaries but not as high-ranking.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/29/AR2006122901510_pf.html
The BBC and half the story.
Many thanks to Laura Rozen at War and Peace Blog for the story.
http://www.warandpiece.com/blogdirs/005358.html
Fabio. These skewed views are not just available on the BBC.
On Saddam, a well-known columnist in the Sunday Times (prop. R Murdoch) writes:
He knew Iraqis very well, and he knew what they liked in their leaders. The Saddam legend is only just beginning
and
He must have known that he had begun to create the legend of Saddam the martyr
The author? Simpson John.
Among the Sunday Telegraph Business Editor’s thoughts for 2007
And finally, the internet • again. You thought the hype got out of hand in 2006? Wait until next year. Cheap broadband connections and new video-on-demand services from the likes of BT, ITV and the BBC will revolutionise the media and telecom world.
The question for policymakers (and the industry) is how much the BBC is allowed to exploit its online dominance to the detriment of new entrants. Regulators would do well to look at this • and other government-sanctioned monopolies • before wasting too much time on the umpteenth review of supermarkets. But don’t hold your breath.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2006/12/31/ccom31.xml&page=2
Well said, Simone Clarke.
“I suppose I first started becoming aware about ten years ago. I remember seeing a story about someone who had been driving a car illegally. I don’t know where he was from but he had no licence and he ran over and killed a little girl. He was fined £65. If I don’t pay my TV licence I can get fined £1,000, yet he can take a girl’s life and get fined £65.
“I don’t know why it’s OK to be shot for your mobile phone and the thief be given a few months in prison but I’m not allowed to say, ‘I don’t agree with that’.”
From the link to The Daily Mail.
Following Channel 4 being a duped dhimmi over its 2006 Alternative (hardly veiled) Christmas Message,
see: “Identity -and pro-Jihad work of veiled woman…” (Daily Mail) at
http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch
(31 Dec.).
Will ther be a change of message
from Channel 4 for 2007? The following is from New Culture Forum:
” Channel 4 announces that its
Alternative Christmas Message this year will be given by Dr. John Sentamu, the Ugandan-born Archbishop
of York, known for his outspoken support of Christianity and the celebration of British culture. When questioned about this unusual choice, the Channel 4 spokesman said candidly: ‘We always aim to be provocative, so we thought it would be really daring to use the Archbishop.'” Read it all at:
‘Wishful Thoughts for 2007’
http://newcultureforum.blogspot.com
Of course, there’s nothing to stop the BBC from beating Channel 4 to the punch on this ‘wishful thought’,
except the mindset of dhimmitude.
Tim,
I’d love to see more blogging/photography of what’s really happening in Iraq.
People’s views are distorted by what is seen on TV, which only reports what is newsworthy.
I remember the first time I met someone from Northern Ireland (I was quite young) and saying how terrible it must be to live there. They were quite polite, but explained how most of “the troubles” were isolated to a few areas, and outside of that, life was all very normal.
The reports on the BBC on Thursday total 17 dead from bombs. Not good, but compared with the first night of The Blitz, or the average deaths in The Somme, hardly suggests a war zone.
An interesting thing about blogging is that people can write things that aren’t “man bites dog”. They can tell you that they went out for a very nice meal or saw a movie in Baghdad, London, Tel Aviv or Paris, and it’s easier to get a broader perspective on things.
How about a blog on “everyday life in Iraq”?
Allan@Aberdeen. I don’t understand how you can admire this ballerina. But more than that the MoS article also mentions that BNP leader Nick Griffin is ALSO a holcaust denier.
So how does admiring this woman sit with the Zionist tendancies on this board?
Anon, she said that someone can be fined £65 for killing someone yet failure to pay a TV licence can bring a fine of £1000.
As for holocaust denial, how did sh*t like that feature in what I copied? And WTF are you, BTW?
will | 31.12.06 – 1:00 pm:
You draw attention to an amazing poll that ought to be studied hard. So only 13 per cent of Britons are proud of the BBC eh? Incredible stuff. Thirty years ago it would have been 99 per cent.
This poll also draws attention to the public’s attitude to antisocial behaviour, impoliteness, an bad language, which, as it happens, is the subject of comment right now in the most recent thread: “Another Two Daisies On The Grave Of Lord Reith”
It seems that this is my day for raging about the BBC – perhaps because, being alone at home during a holiday, I have had more opportunity to watch it than usual. I have been very annoyed by the uncritical and adoring reporting of a British concert by “the pop princess” Kylie Minogue. You would think the Beatles had re-formed, with Lennon and Harrison risen from the grave. Kylie Minogue is an extremely mediocre performer, who relies on vulgarity to a quite extraordinary degree. Her songs are uniformly unmemorable, and her stage shows are grotesquely ugly. She is not even attractive: a long nose, weird eyes and horse teeth add up to a face that not even make-up and lighting can altogether redeem. But above all, she has never created a worthwhile song in her life. And yet the BBC treats her like royalty. This kind of bowing before the lowest common denominator, this uncritically admiring attitude towards undeserved success, this reduction of the idea of showbiz to sexual display making up for lack of talent, sum up what is wrong not only with the corporation but with the whole British journalistic profession these days. When was the last time that the BBC announced a tour by Bruce Springsteen or Bob Dylan, let alone an album by David Olney? When do they ever cover important staff changes at the Royal Opera House or London’s leading orchestras? These things are boring, you see; whereas a half-dressed, half-talented soap opera refugee prancing across the stage surrounded by huge beefy male “dancers” naked except for thin underpants – ah, that is news that everyone wants to know. And there I thought I was an “everyone”.
Hmm Swap Shop whilst looking back has been making repeated references to Noel’s new show Deal or No Deal on Channel 4. Lenny Henry was shown in make up with coincidentally, I’m sure, a poster about his new show on the mirror!
No adverts on the Beeb? Aye right!
Apologies if someone has already picked up on this from The Times (28th December)
How the BBC won a ratings battle but is losing the war
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3284-2520607,00.html
This bit is delightful when discussing the intellectual triumphs of Eastenders and The Vicar of Dibley:
‘To blinkered creative types such popularity is complete vindication for Mark Thompson, the Director-General. But, despite the BBC’s tradition of promoting loyalty above ability, such fawning is rare at Television Centre.’
A footnote to jr… You’re not Bob Trimmer from London are you? (see comments at the botom of the Times article)
A happy new year to all.
Tim Almond,
I will continue to blog through the new year.
Clearly, I have to be carefull in what I say.
Chrstmas here was OK, myself and my mucker Rob cooked dinner for all of the expat security team here. A great success.
After dinner, we called in the Iraqi guards for a shot of rum (Only if they wanted to) most did, and cigars, the rest of us manned the machine gun posts around the villa whilst the guards enjoyed theselves for an hour or so.
Funny thing, as we stood over the PKM’s (Russian machine guns) looking out into the darkened Baghdad streets, we started to sing silent night, hoping for a reply and a game of soccer with the insurgents, no reply came, oh well there’s always next year.
Happy new year from Baggers, Tim
Tim – take care over there.