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Open thread – for comments of general Biased BBC interest:
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Jon | 17.03.07 – 9:11 pm |
Do you have a link for this quote?
It is truly disturbing to me, but alas, not surprising.
It is a great quote. One that nicely sums up socialism and the mind set of those who advocate it, including of course our dear Al Beeb.
“BBC faces huge fines in phones scandal”
(‘The Observer’ 18 Mar. go to ‘UK News’).
http://observer.guardian.co.uk
And who pays these “huge fines”?
sicktodeath:
http://eudemocrats.org/144/
“Referendums make the process of approval of European treaties much more complicated and less predictable”, asking “every member state” considering a referendum to “think twice”.
President of the Commission Jose Manuel Barroso (06 Feb 2007)
(Source: Het Financieele Dagblad).
Labour are spending £600m a year on management consultants in the health service.
“They’ve turned the NHS into a vast, inhuman machine, a pen-pusher’s paradise at the mercy of the management consultants’ latest wheeze, dreamt up, rolled out, cut back – then written off when the next ludicrous strategy appears.
“Labour have ripped the heart out of our NHS and replaced it with a computer.”
He will also refer to controversy over medical training reforms which saw thousands of junior doctors march in protest on Saturday.
http://www.express.co.uk/news_detail_pa.html?sku=11741911814235905-H5
PPP writes:
“Labour are spending £600m a year on management consultants in the health service.”
Indeed. But what’s the BBC connection?
Yesterday, my niece was up from London, where she lives with her Dutch boyfriend – he is from Utrecht.
Neither had heard of the riots in his home town.
archduke | 18.03.07 – 12:58 pm
Thanks.
“Neither had heard of the riots in his home town.
smallheathen |”
that just about says it all , doesnt it?
you get acres of BBC coverage on the latest goings on in Pallywood, but they cant even report on riots going on in one of our closest neighbours.
white dutch people rioting doesnt fit the BBC news agenda.
http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2007/03/130_arrests_in_utrecht_disturb.php
and there were riots in Rotterdam yesterday:
http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2007/03/arrests_after_farright_rally.php
it does make you wonder what else they arent reporting:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/default.stm
So the BBC isn’t biased, eh?
As London sinks ever more rapidly towards third world hellhole status, with yet another black on back murder reported today, the BBC fearlessly decides to tackle the issue on its lunchtime R4 ‘News’ programme.
And on whom does it call for perceptive comments? A black activist ‘yoof worker’ and Lyn Brown MP (ZaNuLabour – West Ham), who effortlessly soared to steal the ‘Silliest Baggage of the Year – 2007’ award by (presumably with a straight face) asserting the reason black children go around killing one another is because of the disparities of wealth in London.
There’s no need here to repeat the 1,001 reasons why what Brown said is tosh. She must be one the few remaining who still believes this sub-Marxist claptrap. But there is a point in asking why the BBC, if it is as unbiased as apologists like MrMinit, Cockney, Reith et al pretend, only gives air time to two voices, both excusing this savagery and blaming anyone but the perpetrators and their families?
Where was a spokesman from Migration Watch, pointing out that in large parts of South London today the prevailing accent is from Lagos rather than Lambeth, and suggesting that the consequences of mass cultural dislocation brought about by this government’s policy of unchecked immigration are, inevitably, chaotic? Where is the voice of anyone who dares say what the overwhelming majority of people in this country think?
Instead we get the BBC, silencing the opinions it doesn’t like, promoting those it does.
In just what way does this represent impartiality?
No doubt there will now ensue a period of deafening silence from our favourite BBC trolls who will return when they find a nit to pick about something else.
sicktodeathofit: My quote came from Alans link above:
http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/1980
“Instead we get the BBC, silencing the opinions it doesn’t like, promoting those it does.”
The problem with this stance by the BBC is that it does not work – you only have to read the BBC HYS comments page on issues of immigration to know that the BBC are fooling no-one.
from looking at the BBC America news page , you’d never guess that millions of Americans celebrated St Paddys day yesterday:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/default.stm
by contrast Drudge Report has it as the lead story:
http://www.drudgereport.com
interesting, isnt it?
The problem with this stance by the BBC is that it does not work – you only have to read the BBC HYS comments page on issues of immigration to know that the BBC are fooling no-one.
Jon
Except the leadership of the political parties.
Just now on TMS commentary – commentator (Agnew I think) discussing Pakistan’s early return home:
“You won’t be able to see for the smoke of effigies.”
Good stuff. No doubt he’ll be reprimanded for perpetuating such unseemly stereotypes.
archduke:
ok – ten o clock news ended. my bowl of shamrock is still fresh and uneaten.
Think yourself lucky mate. It’s not so long ago that we had neighBOOLah Kaplinski (that’s how she pronounced nebula) grandly announcing “And to day is St George’s Day”, short pause and then the sneer “For those of you that care”.
Could you just imagine “For those of you that care today is Eid” or “Bloody hell not Diwali again”.
IngSoc Is Doublethink:
Archduke,TPO,Jon,will,Baggie et al.
A great debate on TB and the Tories,and one in which I feel could be explored more.
I’m lucky enough to live in a fairly posh area in Godalming which is deepest stockbroker belt and more upmarket than Guildford. Imagine my surprise on answering the knock on my front door yesterday to find a Conservative party activist who has been drafted in from Croydon (of all places) to canvass for the forthcoming local elections.
He asks me if I will support the party at the local elections. I say that I will definitely support them in the local elections. He looks at me quizzically and I say, “Forget it”.
He asks why I won’t support them at national level and I tell him my opinion of New Tory Boy ‘Dave’. He starts to waffle about a floating core of 8 million who have come over to the party since ‘Dave’. I remind him about the 8 million core Tory voters like me who are seriously pissed off with ‘Dave’. He denies it and I slip in the stiletto.
“The party must be in serious trouble with its core support vote if they have to draft in people to canvas areas like this instead of Lib Dem/Labour areas”. Apart from the odd dim lib types who stick out like a sore thumb here, the whole area is a sea of blue (or was). He admits defeat and shuffles off. After he’s gone I get annoyed with myself because I forgot to throw in about the Tories slavishly courting BBC approval.
GCcooper
A black activist ‘yoof worker’ and Lyn Brown MP (ZaNuLabour – West Ham), who effortlessly soared to steal the ‘Silliest Baggage of the Year – 2007’ award by (presumably with a straight face) asserting the reason black children go around killing one another is because of the disparities of wealth in London.
Is this the ‘diversity’ that we are exhorted to celebrate?
The UK’s Eurovision Song “Flying the Flag” would appear to promote air travel. How long before the green lobby launches a campaign?
it is remarkable just how little news about the United States is on the “Americas” news page.
all the stories seem to fit the bbc’s leftist “knock the USA” bias
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/default.stm
iraq iraq iraq
“US accused over environment”
“Police indicted over NY shooting”
“US soldier guilty in Iraq killing”
“US rejects ruling on UK soldier”
and so on and on and on…
nothing good, apparently, ever happens in America.
I’m making a complaint to the BBC at the moment because a local radio presenter blatantly lied on air, he was so anxious to change the facts to fit his “correct” view.
Planning permission for a super-mosque was refused on our town after petitions containing more than 22,000 signatures were collected by local people. There were 600 signatures on a petition in favour of the mosque.
But on the local Al-Beeb radio station, the presenter said in tones of outraged-lefty righteousness, “There were more signatures on a petition *for* the mosque than against it, so why was it thrown out??!”
Now, how can 600 be more than 22,000, even in Al-Beeb’s twisted world???
The spokesman speaking for the mosque also got nearly *three times* the air time than a man from the council (not a spokesman against the mosque, the Beeboids wouldn’t allow that) plus all the usual obvious bias during both interviews.
I have complained and after 3 weeks have only received a reply saying they were “considering” my complaint.
They really couldn’t give a damn – they are in their own little pinko world. I’ll take the complaint all the way to the top, though – ie to the BBC Trust. The BBC Trust!!! There’s objectivity for you!
Right on Alex! I hope you came over as a cantankerous old bastard! 😉
” asserting the reason black children go around killing one another is because of the disparities of wealth in London.”
I have an idea for a political correctness of our own.
Anybody who denies free-will will lose their job.
You can find videos on youtube of the gangsta spackers bragging and gloating with their guns.
So they have their own computers. Must deprived eh? Well they are deprived.
In the brain department.
Anyone complaining against the Beeb’s party line is going to be cantankerous, in their book – obviously they think all we ordinary peasants should just smile and swallow their marxist agenda.
As far as I’m concerned, I’m complaining as a payer of the license fee – because everyone pays for the BBC, everyone *ought* to have a right to fair treatment.
I think you’ll find – even if your complaint is upheld – that the Governors will say “the particular person will be reminded on the BBC guidelines for reporting opinion polls” – full stop, end of story, now sod off.
My complaint, lodged 9 days ago, has not even been acknowledged.
I only complained directly to the BBC (Newswatch and the official Complaints page, requesting a reply) after “Andy Tedd(exBBC)” declared that I should do so rather than discuss BBC bias here on this blog. As I told him, it’s a waste of time, and publicizing BBC bias via B-BBC is more effective in bringing it to the attention of a wider public.
Re: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6433801.stm
The report at the URL quoted states the following:
“Israel captured the arid Sinai peninsula from Egypt in the Six Day war of 1967, with Egypt counterattacking in the 1973 war. The two sides signed a peace treaty in 1979 and Sinai was returned to Egypt.”
I feel that the use of the word counterattack misleads the reader into thinking that the Six Day War was started by Israel in order to ‘capture’ land, and that Egypt merely responded to this in 1973.
While it is true that Israel made a pre-emptive strike on the Egyptian air force, it was clear that an attack by several Arab states was inevitable, as the relevant BBC’s own “On This Day” entry makes plain:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/5/newsid_2654000/2654251.stm
‘The attack follows a build-up of Arab military forces along the Israeli border.
The Arab states had been preparing to go to war against Israel with Egypt, Jordan and Syria being aided by Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Algeria.
On 27 May the President of Egypt, Abdel Nasser, declared: “Our basic objective will be the destruction of Israel. The Arab people want to fight.”
Egypt signed a pact with Jordan at the end of May declaring an attack on one was an attack on both. This was seen by Israel as a clear sign of preparation for all-out war.’
A “counterattack” is generally understood to be an immediate response to an attack. After the 1967 war there were several years of relative peace before, once again, in 1973, Egypt and other Arab states decided to once again try to destroy Israel.
After six years of relative peace the Yom Kippur war can hardly be called an Egyptian “counterattack”. Again, as the BBC’s own “On This day” reports:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/6/newsid_2514000/2514317.stm
Thank you for your attention, I look forward to your response and an appropriate correction.
“New research reveals that households across Britain throw away just under a third of all the food they buy.
The waste food goes into landfill sites where it breaks down and causes greenhouse gases.
The government is keen to reduce the amount of food wasted in order to combat climate change but also as the country is running out of landfill sites to use as dumps.
The study was undertaken by the government’s waste body, Wrap and comes as more local councils are considering switching to fortnightly bin collections.”
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?threadID=5785&&&edition=1&ttl=20070318183550
This sounds pretty sensible – But isn’t a government report similar to a survey? Shouldn’t the BBC say that the report suggests.
This is a report commissioned by and carried out by a government financed quango.
Looking through the WRAP website I found this on the report.
“Jennie Price, Chief Executive of WRAP, said: “Our research has found that about half of the food we throw away could have been eaten. There is a real opportunity here for us to both save some money and help the environment by making a few small changes. The striking point which emerges from the research is that only 10% of those asked realised they were throwing much food away.”
http://www.wrap.org.uk/wrap_corporate/news/new_wrap_2.html
So it is a report based on a survey. There is no mention of how many people were “asked” in fact I could find no mention of the methodology used.
“We must not mislead our audience about the status of the information. The remit of a survey should not be translated into percentages but reported in straight numbers.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/guidelines/editorialguidelines/edguide/politics/surveys.shtml
This latter guideline refers to political surveys – but I would suggest that this is a political survey – and therefore the guidelines apply.
The survey may well be right – the idea that people should recycle more could be right – but the BBC reports this report as fact – there is no “other side” to the debate.
“US ‘blocks environment progress'”
Where is the “impartiality” in this piece –
“Germany’s environment minister, Sigmar Gabriel, says the United States has blocked progress on two key issues to protect the global environment.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6463143.stm
Read the whole piece and tell me what the US response to these “allegations” are – don’t bother its not there.
On the WRAP report – I have just found this
“Wrap also asked 1,800 people about their attitudes to waste – with just 10% believing they throw away a substantial amount of food.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6456987.stm
So it was a survey. So the BBC should use “suggests” and not “reveals”
“Reveals:
a. To make known (something concealed or secret): revealed a confidence.
b. To bring to view; show”
“suggest – imply as a possibility; “The evidence suggests a need for more clarification”
It’s been difficult enough challenging the presumptions, the closed minds, the ‘no-debate’ attitudes on climate change.
On the even more pressing issue of Europe and the role of Muslims, it’s even more difficult to challenge the presumptions, the closed minds the ‘no-debate’ attitudes, the self-censorship and even threats of violence from some quarters.
Can you imagine Al Beeb discussing the options for Europe laid out in this article in an open, expansive, independent, fair way?
“Europe’s Stark Options” by Daniel Pipes (‘Middle East Forum’ Mar.-Apr.2007).
http://www.meforum.org/article/pipes/4323
Not ‘at’ GCooper- But why this strange ‘@fredsmith’ affectation?
Is it a young person’s thing? And, if so, could we start giving out those nice Mr Blair’s Asbos to anyone who does it?
Thank you for the flattery on the youth front, but I’ll consider myself well and truly ASBO’d and not do it again. I noted though that you used a smiley – surely that’s quite a racy young persons thing as well 😉
Alan: The problem with Danial Pipes’ piece (and that of other Americans) is that they see Europe as one political entity – you could argue that it is going that way. The scenarios he quotes may well happen, but the trigger will be nationalism – and not any love for Europe (as in the EU).
All it would take is for say France or Germany to leave the EU on a Nationalist ticket to see the end of the EU ideal – and only then will the issue of “culture and tradition” find a foot hold in the national phsyche.
The present European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso knows this – that is why he doesn’t care too much for democracy. Only the break up of the EU will see the end of Eurabia.
Martin Belam notes:
“I noted though that you used a smiley – surely that’s quite a racy young persons thing as well ”
It was a concession to the sub-literate 😉
In all seriousness, I am interested in these new usages: how they start, where and why.
Jon writes:
“On the WRAP report – I have just found this…”
Go thou and read http://burningourmoney.blogspot.com/
A post there a few days ago revealed that WRAP is a government stooge operation ’employing’ (ha!) 200 people and wasting £80 million of taxpayers’ money a year to fabricate whatever studies and figures the government wishes it to.
As I posted here the day this fake report came out, it exposed not just the depth of mendacity employed by the “Greens” and their friends in government, but way the BBC is ever-willing to act as a propaganda mouthpiece for Bliar, Brown and co – especially when the message happens to fit the Corporation’s agenda, too.
This is precisely what we mean when we say the BBC is biased, but still we get morons and trolls popping-in here claiming we never produce any evidence.
how many licence fee payers and other brits support/celebrate st patrick’s day, vs those that celebrate the hajj, and what is the coverage given to the one vs to the other by the so-called BRITISH BC?
NHS Blog Doctor
David Cameron, video
http://nhsblogdoc.blogspot.com/
.
GCcooper: – I didn’t see the original piece, just picked it up from the (D)HYS spot.
The BBC, although they say the report was written by the “government’s waste body” – just take it as fact.
” amimissingsomething | 18.03.07 – 9:26 pm”
exactly. thats what i’m pointing out – the bbc doesnt give us the news. it agenda sets. and that agenda permeates its news output.
you then start to wonder – what other stories are they refusing to broadcast on. the Utrecht riots were one.
Biodegradable | 18.03.07 – 5:41 pm
Some time ago the BBC undertook to respond to complaints within ten days.
Looks like they’ve failed, yet again.
They are probably sitting tight and hoping you’ll just go away so they can continue unopposed with their slick historical revisionism. Anything to paint the Arabs as innocents in this conflict.
Be interesting to see if the BBC Trust responds. Unlikely, I think.
Compare and contrast again
Times
Iraqis: life is getting better
MOST Iraqis believe life is better for them now than it was under Saddam Hussein, according to a British opinion poll published today.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article1530762.ece
BBC
Pessimism ‘growing among Iraqis’
A new survey paints a pessimistic picture of Iraqis’ confidence in their own government and in coalition forces.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6464277.stm
Just how low can the BBC get?
They are probably sitting tight and hoping you’ll just go away so they can continue unopposed with their slick historical revisionism. Anything to paint the Arabs as innocents in this conflict.
Be interesting to see if the BBC Trust responds. Unlikely, I think.
Bryan | 18.03.07 – 10:05 pm
I’m probably on their “IGNORE” list. I’ll resubmit it in a few days.
Further to my opinion poll post above, the headline given to the results by the people who actually carried out is
Despite violence only 26% preferred life under Saddam
read it all here before the BBC spin machine gets to work
http://www.opinion.co.uk/Newsroom_details.aspx?NewsId=67
Are UK licence fee victims paying for this?
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=24837_The_Doha_Debates-_Suppression_of_Women_Good_or_Bad&only
GCooper writes:
“It was a concession to the sub-literate”
Thanks, it helped 😉
“In all seriousness, I am interested in these new usages: how they start, where and why.”
Good question. I’ve picked it up at work in the last couple of months where project managers or “change request managers” issue long responses to what is going on in a project, and then put @so-and-so, @such-and-such, @martin-effing-belam “what the yadda-yadda is going on with whatsitsname and what are you doing about it” as a way of directly questioning an individual in the middle of a group conversation. We also use a bug-tracking tool which encourages the same mode of address.
I suspect it probably comes from chat-rooms originally, but I’ve only experienced it at my current place of employ.
And I should add that my reply to such an enquiry is usually along the lines of “Sorry, what was that, I was busy nit-picking with Biodegradable and GCooper…” 🙂
>> Are UK licence fee victims paying for this?
Couldn’t say for sure – but I doubt it. The broadcast partner looks to be BBC World, which is commercial. A quick dig around says it is funded by these chaps – http://www.qf.org.qa/ – who look to be the Qatari equivalent of a local govmt development quango type org, except funded directly by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani rather than council tax.
I’ve been to Doha actually, seemed to be desperately trying to build to keep up with Dubai, but it was all a bit dull to be honest.
The intro does say that qf.org.qa ‘sponsored’ it but it’s not clear if that means they chipped in or paid for the whole thing. Anyhow, I just finished watching it and must say I found it interesting, and surprised that the motion that “the niqab is a barrier to integration” was carried.
And I should add that my reply to such an enquiry is usually along the lines of “Sorry, what was that, I was busy nit-picking with Biodegradable and GCooper…”
Martin Belam | 18.03.07 – 11:47 pm
I honestly can’t remember the last time you picked my nits 😉
I do get irriated in Spain when the “@” is used as a unisex substitute for either “o” or “a”, as in “internaut@s”, but then I don’t like the term “internaut” or “cybernaut” either, grumpy old sod that I am.
irriated=irritated
Biodegradable writes:
“but then I don’t like the term “internaut” or “cybernaut” either, grumpy old sod that I am.”
I don’t actually mind neologisms on principle, nor even devices like smileys (though I know purists hate them).
For me, the test is whether they serve a useful function and aid communication in ways that existing words or devices can’t.
Don’t care for the “@” device though, I must say, and I’m not even sure that it doesn’t add to confusion as it already has a perfectly valid Internet use in e-mail addresses.
“The UK has 529 quangos financed with billions of pounds of taxpayers’ cash – many of which are useless or duplicate each other’s efforts, a report claims.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4255709.stm
I know it is an old one but here the BBC says the report “claims”
Contrasted with the WRAP report.
“New research reveals that households across Britain throw away just under a third of all the food they buy. ”
but here it reveals – what is the difference – it can only be the BBCs agenda.
Jon writes:
“but here it reveals – what is the difference – it can only be the BBCs agenda.”
You’re right. There’s simply no other explanation for the BBC running that story he way it did (and as a lead item that day!) other than sheer laziness or as an act of propaganda.
GCcooper | 19.03.07 – 12:18 am
My objection to “internaut” or “cybernaut” is that I thought we’d got over the novelty of the “information highway” and all that. Do we really need a special term to describe somebody who uses the internet any more than we need one to describe somebody who uses the telephone?
I agree with you about smileys, but calling myself or somebody else a “cybernaut” seems a little self-concious and artificial. The Spaniards have their own “Internauts Association” – I don’t see why they can’t just call it the “Internet Users’ Association” 😉
http://www.internautas.org
This thread is 701 strong now.
We need another open comments thread.
Note to FBI: Remember Canadian Terror Plot & Beslan School Massacre
By Michael Cutler
The FBI has alerted law enforcement officials across the United States that they have information that aliens under recent investigations, with ties to extremist organizations have been involved with buying school buses and/or obtaining licenses to drive school buses – but they say that there is nothing to be concerned about!
http://counterterrorismblog.org/