Monthly Archives: September 2008

WOSS – THE SIX MILLION WONDER?

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I notice that Amanda Platell has picked up the weekly scam that is the Jonathan Ross programme. She points out that on his Friday night show last week, Ross felt compelled to ask gorgeous but utterly vacuous Kelly Brook why she smelled so good. It turned out she was launching her new perfume. As a PR stunt, it was shameless. As TV, it stank. Worse still, we are asked to fund this egomaniac on stilts.


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LAY OFF LABOUR

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What do you make of the news that a senior BBC executive told reporters to ‘go easy’ on the Labour Government now it is lagging behind the Tories in the polls. According to a well-placed source, the man in charge of BBC Radio 4’s flagship “Today In Parliament” told his staff that it was right to be ‘aggressive’ when things were going well for the Government but not when it was in trouble. Some of those present were outraged by the comments attributed to Peter Knowles, editor of the BBC’s parliamentary programmes, at an ‘away day’ gathering in London. Naturally the BBC denies this but then again they would say that, wouldn’t they?


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General BBC-related comment thread!

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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 also be moderated. Any suggestions for stories that you might like covered would be appreciated! It’s your space, use it wisely.

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“Sikhs and Hindus accuse BBC of pro-Muslim bias”

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Via the late Archbishop Cranmer, this in the Independent.

Hindu and Sikh leaders have accused the BBC of pandering to Britain’s Muslim community by making a disproportionate number of programmes on Islam at the expense of covering other Asian religions.

A breakdown of programming from the BBC’s Religion and Ethics department, seen by The Independent, reveals that since 2001, the BBC made 41 faith programmes on Islam, compared with just five on Hinduism and one on Sikhism.

Critics say the disproportionate amount of programming is part of an apparent bias within the BBC towards Islam since the attacks of 11 September 2001, which has placed an often uncomfortable media spotlight on Britain’s Muslims.

The godly Archbishop notes :

Apparent bias?

The Christians have been saying this for years. The BBC has said it would be content to consign the Bible to Room 101 but not the Qur’an, and there are numerous instances of the denigration of the name of Jesus but not that of Mohammed; scorn being poured over the declining Church of England but not the ascending Mosque of England; and the incessant questioning to the point of ridicule of the foundational tenets of Christianity (frequently during Christmas or Easter), while the claims of Islam are treated with reverence and submission (especially during Ramadan and Eid).

Of course Hindu and Sikh licence-fee payers should feel cheated.

But there is a very simple remedy. If a few more Sikhs were to become as militant as those who forced the closure of a theatre in Birmingham; and a few Hindus became as militant as their co-religionists in Orissa, the BBC would feel obliged to redress the imbalance.

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A WORD OF THANKS

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Just wanted to say a word of sincere thanks to Natalie, Laban and Hugh for their excellent contribution to the site this past week, I hope readers are enjoying the diversity of opinion!

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OFF WITH THEIR HEADS..

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How brave of the BBC to broadcast this story concerning a request from a most senior judge to kill the owners of TV channels which broadcast immoral programmes. Relax though, it’s only Saudi Arabia’s most senior judge calling for the beheading of those at the top of broadcasting corporations producing filth. As the BBC correspondent notes “fighting militant Islam can be difficult.” I’d say. Then again the BBC is keen to portray Islam as the religion of peace so I guess the beheading of offensive broadcasters is just tough love?

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A NEW LETTER FROM AMERICA.

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Did you read that Radio 4 is planning to bring back “Letter from America” – the thoughtful programme presented by the late Alistair Cooke for more than 50 years, but re-vamped, re-named and presented by the broadcasting phenonomen that is…Justin “Obama” Webb. They have GOT to be kidding…..! As if it were not bad enough that nxt year they are bringing back “I’m sorry, I haven’t a clue”……

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Let’s not be hasty.

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In this BBC article, US marks seventh 9/11 anniversary, it says:

Mr Obama said in a statement “the terrorists responsible for 9/11 are still at large, and must be brought to justice,” in a reference to the hunt for Osama Bin Laden, who the US believes masterminded the attacks.

(Emphasis added.)

Damned if I can see any reason for that phrasing other than to cast doubt on whether it was Osama Bin Laden who masterminded the attacks. Wasn’t Bin Laden’s own video claiming responsibility good enough for the BBC?

We’ve had this despicable pandering to conspiracy theorists before. There was something of a flare-up a year ago today, as it happened. It ended with worldwide hostile interest courtesy of a link from the Drudge Report and condemnation of the BBC from a former head of the Joint Intelligence Committee and BBC governor. See this roundup post.

I’ll finish with some further observations from commenters. From “George R”:

In its report on 9/11 anniversary, the BBC presents the events of that day passively and anonymously:

“..four hijacked planes hit the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvanian field.”

From “Pat”:

On today of all days a topic on the BBC HYS page is ‘Should the US review its war on terror?’

From “Martin”:

… I keep wanting to know where the ‘unsubscribe’ button is on the BBC’s website.

(Added later.) I do find it depressing to reflect how I came to write the above post. Before going to bed last night I scanned the BBC website and, remembering what happened last year, I thought, “At least they wouldn’t dare peddle that line agai– oh. They would.”

Finally, just to lay to rest any doubts: the title was intended as sarcasm.

UPDATE, 13 SEP: The wording of the BBC article has now been stealth-edited to “…in a reference to the hunt for the al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.” The “Last Edited” field at the top of the page says “17:33 GMT, Thursday, 11 September 2008 18:33 UK”. This is untrue, as I noticed the original and offensive wording that prompted my post hours later than that and it was still there the following morning.

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LAUGH, I NEARLY PAID MY LICENSE FEE.

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I was watching the BBC2 Comedy programme “Mock the Week” and was struck yet again by the venom spat out dressed up as “humourous topical comment”in the direction of John McCain and Sarah Palin. “Lightning-fast” Russell Howard and “one of Britain’s most insightful and cutting comedians” Andy Parsons in particular were letting their bias show, with comments about Palin being “stupid” because she did not “believe” in AGW and McCain dying. Naturally there were no jokes about Obama. The thing about these hard left comedians is they lack the guts to laugh at their own political icons. Instead they remain fixed in 6th form student grant aspic – and we fund them via the license tax.

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