Please use this thread for comments about the BBC’s current programming and activities. This post will remain at or near the top of the blog – scroll down for new topic-specific posts. N.B. this is not an invitation for general off-topic comments, rants or chit-chat. Thoughtful comments are encouraged. Comments may be moderated. Any suggestions for stories that you might like covered would be appreciated!
General BBC-related comment thread:
Bookmark the permalink.
John Reith
Perhaps I am being very stupid but it is NOT in the Top Stories section.
I repeat – this story is rendered invisible because the effing overpaid thought control pricks BBC deem it contrary to their political objectives.
John Reith:
…..and it’s linked under ‘other top stories’ on the UK front page.
John Reith | 15.02.08 – 11:42 am | #
Not any more it’s not!.
Five minutes later & it’s gorn.
The BBC website’s a bit like an old time burlesque show – all the interesting bits are kept tantalisingly hidden.
“Your BBC – the news is only three or four clicks away.”
On the front page currently – three “evils of capitalism” and one “Americans are gun nuts” stories.
“Your BBC – all the news we think you should know.”
The biggest splash on the BBC News page is their favourite topic – the supermarkets. And naturally they’re doing a HYS ‘Do the supermarkets stifle comeptition?’ (no loaded words there). I love the way the BBC gets so het up about competition when it gives them a chance to bash Tesco. Funny you never hear this case being made when it comes to broadcasters. Any chance they might right run a HYS “Does the BBC stifle competition”? No – thought not. Typical case of selective bias from the BBC.
John Reith said:
“It’s the number 2 featured story (complete with pic and flannel panel) on the politics front page.”
———————————-
Oh for heavens sake. If you hadn’t said that I would never have found that story! I opened up BBC Views online and couldn’t see it on the opening page. I therefore assumed the BBC weren’t running it as a story, as I never tend to dig any deeper on the website, as I’m sure the majority of people who visit the website are like. This is a very clear example of burying bad news for Labour.
It’s front page news on the Yahoo website, why isn’t front page news on the BBC website? Pathetic.
…And on the labelling trick – I notice Baroness Warsi (who was on the panel) is always described as “the shadow” minister – the BBC never mention the word “conservative” when describing Warsi…Oscar | 15.02.08 – 11:44 am | #
I’ve noticed that too.
Warsi is a) clever, b) popular and c) asian – therefore describing her as a Tory trips all the circuits in the corporate beeboid brain – “does not compute……”
Justin Webb interviewing Francis Fukuyama about the Guantanamo 9/11 trial:
Webb: The Bush administration has made it plain that they’re going to press for the death penalty… How much of an error do you think that is…?
Mr Webb’s next assignment is to find out when President Bush stopped beating his wife.
John Reith
Well? Where is the fucking story?
Pricks.
Have you noticed how the BBC report on Ken Livingstone referring the Lee Jasper case to the police and suspending him is not on the news front page, nor on the politics front page; to find it you have to go to the London news section where it appears under the heading “Mayor suspends funds row adviser”. Why so coy BBC? Surely this is major news? Oh no, sorry it concerns Labour politicians so it is a minor story; now if only a Conservative MP had received a parking fine, that would be front page news!
Dr R | 15.02.08 – 12:08 pm
It got bumped off the UK top stories by one about threatened intelligence cuts. It’s STILL number 2 on the Politics front page.
Oscar/spinner
Conservative community cohesion spokesman Lady Warsi
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7020848.stm
Labour Lord Ahmed and Conservative Baroness Warsi said Mrs Gibbons was in good spirits
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7122790.stm
254 results from a search of BBC News website with keywords: ‘Warsi” & ‘Conservative’.
http://www.google.co.uk/search?as_q=conservative+warsi&hl=en&num=10&btnG=Google+Search&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&lr=&cr=&as_ft=i&as_filetype=&as_qdr=all&as_occt=any&as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=news.bbc.co.uk&as_rights=&safe=images
John Reith
Aren’t you even a little embarrassed, or do you lack any trace of professional conscience or pride?
John Reith indeed! Hah!
Wow! Good work Reith. Now how about addressing:
1) Why the RUS report isn’t ‘above the fold’
2) Why is doesn’t link the report itself
3) Why the BBC report fails to mention multiculturalism
Anything to say?
Grimer
1) Why the RUS report isn’t ‘above the fold’
It is on the politics page – replete with pic and flannel panel. And up ’til a few mins ago was on the UK front page too.
2) Why is doesn’t link the report itself
It links directly to the RUSI website, which requires registration.
3) Why the BBC report fails to mention multiculturalism
The BBC report says:
Rusi attacks “misplaced deference to ‘multiculturalism'” and failure to “lay down the line” to immigrants.
– that’s the third sentence.
The BBC, a innocent black man and half the story.
Mayor suspends funds row adviser
London’s mayor has suspended his race adviser after a series of allegations of financial irregularities. Mayor Ken Livingstone said he had taken the step after Lee Jasper himself asked for the newspaper allegations to be referred to the police to investigate. An internal inquiry had already cleared Mr Jasper of any wrongdoing. The allegations concern money paid by the London Development Agency (LDA) – the mayor’s business arm – to a number of black organisations.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7246468.stm
The BBC writes up the suspension of yet another innocent man .(Strange how the BBC left out his personal connection to all the groups which received money then subsequently closed down months later) citing the Evening (racist) Standard as spreading rumour and rife in which to blacken this mans name. Strange how the BBC while the BBC waxes lyrical about Brixton base they leave out two very important facts;
1) Errol Walters the director of Brixton Base, is not only a personal friend of Jasper he just happened to go on holiday with Rosemary Emodi. Which is strange as they had no problem in exposing her trip the other month.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7203371.stm
2) That BBC article says about ½ Million is the figure under investigation.
Really?
More like 3.3 million.
Good job the (evil) ES tells the full story behind this corrupt man
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23436128-details/Mayor's+aide+'must+go'+over+cash+scandal/article.do
The BBC, a innocent black man and half the story.
Dr R
The RUSI story isn’t on the Times front page – nor on its politics page. Haven’t found the Times version yet.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/
BBC news 24 saying suicide rates for males under 24 are down due to….what for it……catalytic converters on cars
😆
not a mention from Anne Parry regarding catalytic converters, she didnt know why the suicide rates were down, she thought, a number of factors like, life opportunities and ppl actually seeking help from the medical profession….Al Beeb anti car at every opportunity
green is the new red
I stand corrected. I was cofusing it with the BBC’s ‘Cuts threaten UK Intelligence’ story.
I have to ask though, why isn’t on the main page? Seems like the BBC is trying to bury the story.
John Reith:
Dr R | 15.02.08 – 12:08 pm
Oscar/spinner
Conservative community cohesion spokesman Lady Warsi
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_po…ics/ 7020848.stm
I clicked on your first link –
JR.
And – you’re right! – they did say “Conservative”.
And the context- Conservative community cohesion spokesman Lady Warsi has described claims she is pandering to the BNP on immigration as “ludicrous”.
Hilarious.
Why don’t you take Dennis Healey’s advice and stop digging now.
Yes and isn’t it odd that the man doing the investigatino work into this was none other than… Andrew Gilligan.
John Reith
Yes, it’s very prominent on the Times UK News page.
So you think the story is adequately flagged by the vile BBC?
John, let me ask you something. Do you ever critically examine the organisation you work for, and if so, are you always this sanguine?
Pounce
the BBC waxes lyrical about Brixton base they leave out two very important facts;
1) Errol Walters the director of Brixton Base, is not only a personal friend of Jasper …..
The BBC story says:
One of them was Brixton Base which is run by Errol Walters, a friend and close associate of Mr Jasper.
From Al Beeb’s dhimmi ‘Country Profile: Saudi Arabia’:-
“It has always been in the ruling family’s interests to preserve stability in the region and to clamp down on extremist elements.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/country_profiles/791936.stm
Compare:-
‘BAE: secret papers reveal threats from Saudi prince (Bandar)’ –
“Saudi Arabia’s rulers threatened to make it easier for terrorists to attack London unless corruption investigations into their arms deals were halted, according to court documents revealed yesterday.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/15/bae.armstrade
Al Beeb and its associated Arabic TV service has a national security responsiblity to give a full picture of the Islamic jihadism with which the Saudis associate themselves,
world-wide, and the threat which the Saudis pose to the UK. See:-
http://www.asecondlookatthesaudis.com/
John Reith
So you think a story about Georgia and Russia, a handshake (I kid you not) and a gas leak explosion are all more important than the multicultural warning story from RUSI?
Well, if you do you are simply not fit for the job and I should not be compelled to pay your no doubt handsome wages.
I was wondering, do the BBC see us licence payers as ‘customers’ in the way Sky and Virgin Media do?
I can’t wait for the day when the licence fee is finally (and rightly) put to death. I used to subscribe to Virgin Media, but they monumentally pissed me off over a number of months so I cancelled, as should be my right. The BBC is way beyond pissing me off (the burying of the RUSI story a case in point in favour of a gas leak), and I would’ve cancelled years ago, but I’m not allowed to as long as I own a tv set. Doesn’t seem fair does it?
Sorry in advance for this off topic ramble, but I’d be interested in opinions.
A while ago, the BBC had a series “Tory! Tory! Tory!”. It is one of the few decent programs the BBC has made in the last few years and featured a man that made a flow chart showing everything wrong with the British economy and how everything linked together. It showed that pretty much everything that was wrong with the economy flowed out of Trade Union power. Hence, Maggie’s determination to tame the unions.
It occurs to me that every social problem in the UK stems from the Wellfair State. The wellfair state is in turn propped up by the BBC, which resists any attempts to reform it with the usual socialist alarmist methods. Unless the BBC is first defeated, no serious reform of society can take place. Anybody that proposes it will be destroyed by the BBC and their fellow travellers.
I’m coming round to the idea that the BBC is the single biggest problem in Britain today.
I’d elaborate further but I’m a bit hungover and not really up to it at present
Grimer: It’s not the BBC itself but the mindset of people who work for the BBC. They also dominate the chattering liberal press, the local councils, the civil service and Westminster. These are people that believe Socialism/Communism is GOOD and that Capitalism/self help is BAD.
You are talking sbout white middle class, gay, arts educated luvvie types that seem to set what is talked about by politicians and the media regardless of what “ordinary people” want.
Just look at how many “arts” people the BBC stick on Questiontime. When was the last time an engineer appeared on Questiontime. Who is interested in what some half wit pop star or actor thinks, except for the middle class Guardian readers that is?
King Henry: You are spot on. The argument is that so long as you own a receiving device you must pay the TV tax. This is not fair.
If you own a car but keep it off the road in your garage (perhaps to restore it) you are not required to pay road tax.
Additionally, if you drive a car on private roads only you are not required to pay road tax either.
And of course many people use roads who may pay nothing towards the cost (such as cyclists).
Why can’t we operate the BBC the same way? So long as I declare I don’t watch the BBC why shouldn’t the Government take my word for it?
They basically assume we are all liars, which is a bit rich coming from that corrupt bunch of expenses cheating fat bastards.
Why can’t I ask Sky to block BBC stations to my satellite box and then declare this to the BBC. No licence fee. Problem solved.
I laugh when leftie arseholes who support the BBC say “it’s good value for money”
Of course it is because EVERYONE has to pay for it!!!!!!
Sky would be excellent value as well if everyone had to pay for it (actually I think Sky is good value compared to the BBC- I don’t have the movie or sports channels but the £21 a month and I think that is good value)
Grimer,
I recommend Willard Cleon Skousen’s “The Naked Communist”. You will find that his philosophy pretty much parallels your own. It is superbly written and does a sterling job in demolishing socialist-communist dogma.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleon_Skousen
Also of interest is this following link re the goals of communism. It’s from 1963 but still just as relevant today, just replace the communists, who have more or less comprehensively disappered, by their banal eco-warrior cum islamic madman reincarnations:
http://www.uhuh.com/nwo/communism/comgoals.htm
Well have to consider that Thatcher would likely be in favour of immigration because she was a firm believer in the low wage economy.
Fact is, the CBI disagree with most of you on this forum, as do most business leaders, who are all in favour of mass immigration, the more the merrier.
Still, I was amused by Bush last night on Newsnight, his comments about Darfur could be read as “well, you Europeans can do your thing, and seeing as the Save Darfur folks oppose unilateralism, lets work through the UN”.
Zevilyn: Big Business wants cheap labour. They don’t want immigration. if they could get cheap labour from here in theUK they woul ddo.
The fact is we pay for millions of people born in this Country to sit on their arses day in and day out whilst we import people to do the jobs they should be doing.
The difference between business and camp liberals is that camp liberals see immigration as good for “multiculturism”, that for example means having Sharia law in the UK. For them it’s about ideology not money.
For example. I opposed the war in Iraq, but unlike the camp liberals the reason I opposed it is I don’t give a **** about the people of Iraq. If they didn’t like Saddam it was up to them to get rid of him. Every man woman and child in Iraq is not worth the life of one British soldier. I’d happily buy Saddam’s oil and I’d sell him weapons but I wouldn’t lift a finger to help them. That’s their business.
See. George Galloway wouldn’t like me 🙂
Small things, like choice of story and the prominence given, show the underlying bias. They often show it best, as they are where no care is taken to balance because the lefty scrotes think no-one will pull them up on it.
Why on earth is a feel-good story about someone having cancer diagnosed by a handshake more important to Londoners than the suspension of Lee Jaspers? The only place to find that story is way down a list of “other top stories”, while the cancer story gets one of the three prominent spots with a photo over the headline.
The BBCs piece on Ayaan Hirsi Ali is nauseating…
Islam critic asks for protection
a highly controversial film alleging that women were being abused under Islam.
johnj | 15.02.08 – 10:23 am |
Yet another proof that BBC is not liberal in any way any more, just Leftoid.
John Reith
The RUSI report is more important than its political implications. It has security and cultural implications as well. “Politics” is a ridiculous place to put it. What is your excuse for the positioning of the Lee Jasper story, yet another story of corruption around Labour politicians?
“The difference between business and camp liberals is that camp liberals see immigration as good for “multiculturism”, that for example means having Sharia law in the UK. For them it’s about ideology not money.”
Yes, considering the strain on the NHS it is safe to say that our government doesn’t consider even the most basic utilitarian concerns. It’s being done for ideological reasons.
I see the BBC are now mentioning the RUSI report. Oh well the fact that fat arseholes like Bob Ainsworth (why a twat like that is involved in running the armed forces amazes me – he obviously played with dolls as a child) is rubbishing it.
This crap corrupt Government has betrayed our armed foces. May they all burn in hell. Labour scum.
I JUST LOVE THIS QUOTE ON THE BBC NEWS WEBSITE
“It’s not really the MoD who are responsible – it’s that miserable, harsh, parsimonious Scotsman we now have as prime minister who starved the MoD of funds.”
Capt Philippson’s father
Does anyone think McOddjaw will be asked about this on Sunday when he bum chums up with Andy Marr again?
and link
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/7245533.stm
Another sloppy peice of value loaded journalism from Matt Frie
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7246075.stm
I quote Matt Frie,
“In fact, Mr Bush seems blissfully undaunted by his abysmal opinion poll ratings at home and abroad.”
The word abysmal is value loaded. In Matt Frie’s opinion, mr Bush has ‘absymal’ poll ratings. Why not use the term ‘below par’, or something less severe. In fact why not actually tell us what it is rather than try and paint a possible false picture by exagerating things? I don’t actually know what his poll rating is, or how it measures up relatively to past ratings. Reading Matt Frie I am still left not knowing, aside from being led to believe it is ‘abysmal’.
Matt Frie then goes on to say:
“So Mr Bush soldiers on, trying to secure a legacy for himself – although some might call it mere damage limitation.”
Okay, fair enough, some might call it mere damage limitation, but there are a lot of people who still support Mr Bush, obviously none of the limp wristed liberals or the intellectually challenged leftoids, but still, no sign of the alternative point of view (i.e. Iraq has turned the corner, there is hope for people there, and one day a strong democracy might flourish there bringing greater freedom and unity to the people. Time will tell. But the BBC have already judged the future if their output is anything to go by…).
In fact the rest of the article was Matt Frie trying to run Mr Bush down. It was another pathetic peice of propoganda and opinion spewed forth by a man I am fast beginning to detest. I suggest the BBC either replace him with someone with a much fairer opinion of America (or preferably someone who actually understands America and knows people outside of Washington and New York, which Mr Frie I predict does not), or hire someone to work alongside him, to provide the balance which is continually missing from this limp wristed liberal’s writing.
King Henry II | 15.02.08 – 4:26 pm |
This is quite typical of what the Frei tells his American viewers every night. He and his colleagues are constantly harping on what the world supposedly thinks of Bush, and how we need to redeem our reputation in the world. He states his opinions time and time again, as do Katty and Justin (although Justin hides it slightly better sometimes). They all keep telling us that we need to vote based on making him and the rest of the world feel better, rather than what we think is right for our country.
He comes to his job from the position that Bush has been a disaster for this country and for the world, and that we need to listen to him and his kind to learn how to behave properly. He and that lousy ex-CBS exec. producer created his entire BBC World News America propaganda show with the intent to “educate” us all.
Andy, thanks for the tip. I’ll have to check it out. At the moment I am ready Atlus Shrugged (got as far as the completion of the railway and the celebratory degrading sex session)
David Morris:
“Let’s be fair, it’s not the BBC’s place to be demonising or glorifying anyone”
Fair enough, now about the BBC’s deification of Al Gore……
David Morris | 14.02.08 – 11:15 pm |
And Barack obama…while demonising Hillary Clinton. The behaviour of Justin Webb is juvenile, the worst
I have seen on the BBC, going beyond bias to open delight in his own malice. Is this what the BBC has descended to?
It used to have grownups reporting in a serious, analytical, informative manner from America. Talk about dumbed down. He is it.
How about a regulator for the BBC to enforce impartiality with statuary powers to impose fines for each breach of impartiality say in size increments of o.1M up to of course 3.5B£ with the fines going to charity
Would keep BBC on it toes B-BBC could be appointed an adviser to the regulator
*I am reading Atlas Shrugged (bloody track pad)
Compare, and contrast, these two profiles of the same person: Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia;
1.) Al Beeb’s dhimmi biography ‘Profile: Prince Bandar’:-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4635383.stm
2.)Jihadwatch and Hugh Fitzgerald’s anti-Jihad analysis: ‘A tribute to Prince Bandar’:-
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/019962.php#more
He comes to his job from the position that Bush has been a disaster for this country and for the world, and that we need to listen to him and his kind to learn how to behave properly. He and that lousy ex-CBS exec. producer created his entire BBC World News America propaganda show with the intent to “educate” us all.
David Preiser (USA) | 15.02.08 – 4:37 pm | #
I particularly enjoyed the tail-piece to the interview David.
If I heard Frei correctly, he said words to the effect that – ” I really think the President was grateful for the time I spent with him…”
I think the expression my kids use to use about someone like him was “up himself”.
‘Small things, like choice of story and the prominence given, show the underlying bias.’
Every new media I have looked at, including even The Guardian website, gives greater prominence to the RUSI report than the BBC does.
Bias case proven. Nuff said.
Someone asked on this blog previously, ‘Could you ever imagine Matt Frei voting for Bush?’.
After last nights interview, Yes I could. (If you can imagine anyone voting for him?!?).
I thought they looked very friendly, joking and laughing together.
Bush made me laugh out loud though when talking about the Olympics in China he was saying that there would be protests by a number of groups in the run up: “the Dalai Lama crowd, global climate folk…’
More material here for the BBC’s unending tv and radio series ‘Uncovering Pakistan’.(I wonder what the religion of the protesters is, Muslim or non-Muslim? Right, same as last time);-
“Denmark warns nationals against travel to Pakistan over cartoon row”
http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/02/15/afx4660236.html
It good to see the BBC website reporting that 18 Nigerian Cross dressers are up in front of a Shira court. Why does Rowan Williams go there he wears a dress perhaps they will hall him before a Shira court