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.
General BBC-related comment thread!
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My radio was tuned to 5Live this morning and the BBC that don’t report political opinion polls were happily reporting the latest poll, telling us that Gordon Brown and Labour were more trusted to deal with the economic recession than anyone else. Keep promoting “the narrative” BBC, keep pushing “the Party” line.
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I think the ratings-obsessed ‘news’ dumbing down is near completion.
Last night, Newsnight runs with the WAG ex-girlfriend of an ex-football team manager by way of serious insights into the country’s condition.
Meanwhile, on Breakfast News just now, to ‘discuss’ a ‘topic’ on lads mags, we are treated to a thuggish editor and a gobby feminist who took about 30 seconds to drag the whole thing into Jerry Springer territory.
The producers must have been in seventh heaven. As to any actual value…..
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This morning’s snippet from Radio 2 – “The feared meltdown on the High St has not happened, with sales falling only 0.5% compared with November last year…”
Headline from Reuters – “Retail sales dive: Retail sales fall at their sharpest annual pace in more than three years, a survey shows, in a grim portent of the Christmas shopping season”
That’s right, sheeple, trust the Beeb and Unky Gordon to lead you through.
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Random promotions of islam #3792
Virtual world for Muslims debuts
A trial version of the first virtual world aimed at the Muslim community has been launched.
Called Muxlim Pal, it allows Muslims to look after a cartoon avatar that inhabits the virtual world.
And it gets worse – the right-hand navigation has a link to Obama takes lead in virtual world and a crummy press-release “Online time is good for teens”.
Meanwhile on planet earth we can read that Sony is to cut 8,000 jobs.
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Peter | Homepage | 09.12.08 – 7:43 am | #
This then followed by a ‘debate’ on cigarette pack promotion, with two equally polarised, nonsensical ‘expert’ guests, who are no more than media hungry lobbyists with a point to push.
Meanwhile, irony free, we move on to a slot about Peter Gabriel’s new YouTube for ‘issues’, which exists because some governments and/or national media collude to push or supress agendas to keep control of the masses.
The very idea.
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Listening to the World Service today – a Marxist love-fest.
Apparently Syria (not a dictatorship, not a dictatorship) is poor because its ‘isolated by the West’.
That’s right, its not the fact that its a disgusting, brutal, corrupt, evil dictatorship = its us lot. We made it poor.
The BBC reporter thought that if there was peace in the Middle East (i.e. screw Israel) then Syria would come in from the cold.
This only works from a Marxist perspective. The poor ethnics are victims of White European domination. When us White Europeans decide, then Syria will stop being poor. Because poverty is a victim thing, the victim is never responsible.
The World Service is putting out Middle Class Marxism in the form of news reporting.
Its always the evil Jew and his Western alllies persecuting and keeping down the noble ethnic, victim of cruel opression.
If Hiter wrote news reports for the BBC, you wouldn’t find much for him to change.
This is The Protocols Of The Elders Of Zion in new form, instead of Jews running the world – its Jews and their Neo-Con friends running the world.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7772725.stm
BBC lurches from unquestioning nonsense in favour of Brown most ofthe time to unquestioning nonsense in favour of Cameron less of the time.
That is not balance, it is just poor.
Exactly how is it that no one at the BBC questions how Cameron makes Brown the most profligate in history, ruining the economy for ever more with debt, but fails to have a go at the USA, France, India, China, Italy etc who have all announced much BIGGER stimulus packages. There goes the world indefinitely then.
Presumably Cameron is secretly Maoist and thinks this will hasten the day of world revolution.
Or he is a hypocrite who picks and chooses his so called criticisms just like the Labour jokers.
Not even the hint of a challenge from the BBC, just a lot of quotation marks.
And could the reporter have put in any more ” ” of short phrases in one article, just what is the point of that.
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Well said tt.
It’s always our ‘isolation’ to blame, never their own piss-poor governments. This victim mentality is used to hide the grubby reality that socialist ideologies are responsible for restricting economic growth. That’s a fact. The Syrian government nationalized most major enterprises during the 60s and little has changed since. Syria did not legalize private banking until 2001.
It is a lack of reform that has held Syrian back, fuck all to do with us. But why let facts get in the way of a socialist love-in.
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Exactly how is it that no one at the BBC questions how Cameron makes Brown the most profligate in history, ruining the economy for ever more with debt, but fails to have a go at the USA, France, India, China, Italy etc who have all announced much BIGGER stimulus packages—
David Cameron is the leader of the Opposition in the UK not the US Italy etc. I happen to think that he is on the nail and we will be paying for Browns mad spending spree for perpetuity.
We now have the largest debt in British history, and if people really think these Labour tosspots have the slightest idea about getting us out of the shite, then the British people are even stupider than I thought.
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Their article on the Guantanamo trial is yet more proof of the fact that the BBC has become an anti-Western propaganda outfit. In the very first paragraph they highlight in bold the anti-America venom spouted by one of the five accused:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7772530.stm
In fact, the entire article is full of example of the BBC’s sickness. In particular, this caught my eye:
‘Fair trial’
So what did the nine family members of the 9/11 victims – specially flown in to Guantanamo to witness the proceedings – make of it all?
In a news conference at the end of the day they expressed a mixture of relief and loathing.
But above all they spoke of a sense of “pride” in the fact that these men were in their view being given a “fair trial”.
I note the subversive hack from the despicable “British” Broadcasting Corporation finds it necessary to distance himself as far as possible from the concept of a fair trial taking place at Guantanamo.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7768601.stm
This is worthy of being news at all? Highly debateable.
Even more shocking it is linked in the Middle East Page!
OK technology is possible (which it is also linked on), but it is by its own admission ‘aimed at muslims in western nations’.
There is nothing to do with the middle east at all.
Or are the BBC showing racist bias that all Muslims come from the middle east, oh dear.
Even by the BBC’s own biased judgement surely this is an error of bias.
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BBC ‘news’ report (one of several on this):
“In pictures: Hajj pilgrimage”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/7769689.stm
‘Dhimmiwatch’:
“Muslims stone Satan”
http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/023834.php
For BBC:
“Advent”
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/advent.html
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BBC ‘Today’ and how to dumb down:
8:45 Bankers form rock band;
8:49 John Milton 400 years since birth;
8:53 Bagpuss.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7772000/7772577.stm
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BBC News keeps calling the Greek Government the Conservative Party, it’s a new one on me, I thought the main parties were:
Nea Dimokratia (New Democracy) and Panellinio Sosialistiko Kinima (Panhellenic Socialist Movement)
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BBC news ‘report’, (inc. video clip):
“Missing GP ‘held’ in Bangladesh”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7772672.stm
Apparently the BBC mentions no religious connection in this case of forced marriage, even though a BBC reporter was in Bangladesh to investigate.
But the ‘Mail’ has:
“Fears for London doctor ‘held hostage by family in Bangladesh in plot to make her marry a Muslim'”
[Extract]:
“The boyfriend of a doctor who has allegedly been beaten and held captive in Bangladesh under a forced marriage plot today made an emotional appeal for her release.
“Humayra Abedin, 33, is allegedly being held hostage by her family since August in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka.
“Her Hindu partner says Dr Abedin’s Muslim parents have bound and gagged her, handing out violent beatings to get her to end their relationship and marry a fellow Muslim.”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1092822/Fears-London-doctor-held-hostage-family-Bangladesh-plot-make-marry-Muslim.html
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That BBC version is sanitised to the point of absurdity.
Are they really that terrified of mentioning the ‘M’ word?
You can be sure they would be less vague if it involved some socio-economic group they don’t like (Christian, Polish, Conservative American, you know the ones…).
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Notasheep:
Yes, I too had a bad start to the day, woken as I was by cheery newsreader reporting that Labour were in fact 9 percentage points ahead of the Tories in the polls, all based apparently on the public’s perception of Brown’s adept handling of the British economy. Any research dear BBC or, strange concept I know, facts, to back up the claim before you set about rallying the troops first thing in the morning? More Labour dogma, paid for by us.
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BBC ‘multiculturalist’ propaganda ‘news’ reporting;
-this happens to be a piece propagandising for Kurds in Britain:
“UK Kurds fight separate battles”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7746969.stm
Of course, when (not if) Labour succeeds in its pro-E.U. campaign to get 75 million Turks (95% Muslim), including Kurds, into the E.U., consequently several million of them will come to reside in the U.K.
And the Turkey-Kurd presentday war will involve violent disputes being waged in Britain, as they have been in Germany.
Labour and BBC: ‘multiculturalist’, pro-mass immigration to U.K., pro- E.U., -regardless of the consequences.
[ And on the same ‘news’ page there’s a politically ‘puff’ photo piece on ‘Somalis in Birmingham’.]
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Afternoon Play R4
“Liam, an 8ft 6ins recluse, lives with his mother, who is too fat to leave the house. Desperately short of money, she advertises for people to pay to come look at her giant son. Into their lives comes Sarah Jane, a dog-agent who reckons Liam can be ‘really big’…”
That’s entertainment!
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Nick Robinson is in a strange mood today. He seems to be as smitten with President-elect Obamessiah as Justin Webb is, but other than that I can’t tell what he’s trying to do in his latest blog post. Obamanomics is nothing more than a host of good ol’ US Democrat chestnuts, all rolled into one media-approved package. There’s nothing new to any of his policies. It’s just that he’s the one wearing the mantle this time around. Robinson’s either being willfully ignorant, or is just trying to come up with a way to slam Cameron, with a bonus slap at Brown.
Obamanomics
Unless, of course, he’s still smarting from the government pulling the VAT rug out from under him and his cohort, Peston. That might explain why there’s a bit of dishonesty about Mr. Brown, when it seems like Robinson’s supposed to be criticizing Call Me Dave’s latest criticism of him.
Brown’s “fairness” pandering and neo-Marxist big government dreams are nothing new, and certainly not a result of him merely trying to imitate The Obamessiah. I don’t know how Robinson thinks he can pretend that this is some new act, trying to ride coattails that haven’t even been officially worn yet.
I think Robinson’s main intent is to paint Cameron as a poor example of a young, dynamic leader offering “Hope & Change” (he’s right about that). But if he wanted to take a swipe at Brown, he could at least have found something real.
Robinson probably believes he’s just explaining Labour’s current tactic, and how Cameron’s latest remarks may or may not play into that. The chance to stick his tongue out at Mr. Brown is a bonus. It’s a very “political editor” premise, but the whole Obamanomics thing is very odd. It looks like he just made something, and let his personal prejudices take him where they may.
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The space above represents the vacuum of talent present in the BBC. Please feel free to fill it with any more stupid storylines
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Illinois Governor ‘is in custody’
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has been arrested by federal agents, following a corruption probe.
As governor, Mr Blagojevich is responsible for selecting someone to take up Barack Obama’s now vacant Illinois senate seat.
Mr Blagojevich’s arrest stems from charges related to the selection of Mr Obama’s replacement, the Associated Press has reported.
His chief of staff John Harris has also been arrested, according to Reuters.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/7773717.stm
No party is mentioned explicitly therefore he must be a Democrat. As someone said in the comments a while back it’s like reading Pravda.
If this had been a Republican politician there is absolutely no doubt at all that the BBC would’ve mentioned that fact in the headline or the opening sentence, even in the first draft of the story.
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The Blagojevich story has now been updated and expanded – and still no mention of the “D” word.
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John Bosworth 2:39
Is it the same “Sarah Jane” who posts here sometimes ?
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The BBC’s ‘multicultural’ picture of Somalis in the U.K.:
“British Somalis play politics from afar”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7747162.stm
There is quite a lot missing from the BBC ‘report’:
e.g.
1.) a ‘Telegraph’ report of 3 years ago:
“Somalis exiting Netherlands for Britain”
http://www.amren.com/mtnews/archives/2005/01/somalis_exiting.php
2.) ‘Mail’:
“The terror of Tesco’s finest…”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/moslive/article-1020934/The-terror-Tescos-finest–forklift-driver-Leicester-Somalias-feared-general.html
3.) Article of 2005, ‘Pub Philospher’:
“Somali immigration to the UK”
[Extract]-
“It appears, then, that the Somalis were given EU citizenship by liberal governments in Denmark and the Netherlands. When the electorates of both countries lost patience and elected more hard-line regimes, the Somalis found life more difficult and so, migrated to a more easy going place.
“As the Leicester report indicates, this places a huge burden on the local authority who have to deal with this sudden influx. The impact on the existing communities in the city goes mostly unreported.
“It also begs the question, how can such a large and concentrated migration of people into the UK over such a short period, go almost unreported by the British media? Maybe they just don’t want to worry us!”
http://pubphilosopher.blogs.com/pub_philosopher/2005/08/somali_migratio.html
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Yup! If you’re a Republican your party is important – even the cause of your greed. If you’re a Dem – A FREE PASS.
Examples:
News that Tom DeLay, Republican majority leader in the US House of Representatives, is to face criminal charges has provoked stinging criticism from many US newspapers.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4293102.stm
Disgraced former US lobbyist Jack Abramoff has been jailed for nearly six years for conspiracy and fraud.
Abramoff – who had close links to top Republicans – had pleaded guilty to the charges, which relate to the purchase of a fleet of casino boats in 2000.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4856470.stm
The longest-serving Republican in the US Senate has been found guilty of lying about gifts worth $250,000 he received from an oil company.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7694209.stm
By the way, corruption doesn’t just start out of thin air. Is the BBC doing any research into any relationship between Barak (‘See No Evil’) Obama (D) and Rod Blagojevich (D)? No. I thought not.
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The BBC has updated the Blagojevich once again, and still no “D” word.
I bet this is one story that won’t end up on the BBC’s Dear Leader page.
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Drudge headline at 11:23am ET
GRAND JURY SUBPOENAS ISSUED ON REZKO/OBAMA LAND DEAL
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Somthing missing from a BBC news report, can you guess what?
A democratic US governor of Illinois is arrested on charges of graft/corruption/dishonesty/trying to sell off Obamas old senate seat and indulge in blatant crooked dishonesty that would make Mandelson/Hain blush and the BBC report strangely ‘forgets’ to name the democratic party that this crook comes from!
If this had been a Republican governer then the BBC headline and editorial would have shouted Republican from the rooftops but because the BBC loves the democrats it tries to hide the fact that a democrat governor so close to Obama is a democrat.
THE BBC: WE PROTECT OUR FRIENDS AND DESTROY OUR ENEMIES!
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This particular open thread is solid gold for 100% examples of absolutely blatant BBC bias, in all the directions we’ve come to know and despise it! Send it to the top of the archive!
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PM’s tribute to Oliver Postgate wasn’t a clip of Bagpuss or Noggin the Nog but a replay of an interview in which he warned about the dangers of climate change.
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This BBC report (via AFP) provides terrorists the propaganda of a Somali lesson in Islamic morality, which is not criticised:
“Pirates ‘put down hostage revolt”
[Extract]:
“‘Some crew members on the Ukrainian ship are misbehaving,’ the pirate said.
‘They tried to harm two of our gunmen late Monday. This is unacceptable, they risk serious punitive measures.
‘Somalis know how to live and how to die at the same time, but the Ukrainians’ attempt to take violent action is misguided.'”
The BBC does not put in an anti-Islamic jihad critique, because …
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7773884.stm
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BBC 6 o’clock news has just opened with Camerons attack on Brown’s economic policy.
Though thsy are still calling Brown’s spending investment.
I can fortell somebody at the BBC will get a smacked bottom. Just hope that it is not one of those thatm.would like a smacked bottom.
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Even a brief glance at this BBC report on the terrorist attacks in Bombay raises two big questions:
India police ‘name Mumbai gunmen’
1. Why the scare quotes? Is this supposed to be an attribution? Someone else is saying that the police are naming the gunmen? It’s stupid because the article itself admits that this is from identifying the dead bodies of the terrorists….sorry, “militants”. So it’s not an attribution at all, but an accurate description of events. Why the formulation, BBC? Trying to keep the blame away from Pakistan?
2. Why is it necessary to get the opinions of Pakistani civilians about this? Indian civilians aren’t blaming this on Pakistan: the government and police are. The Pakistani government is given plenty of room to defend itself, and are even presented as trying to fight extremism in their midst. It looks like the BBC is spending a little too much effort helping the rebuttal. Why?
A deeper look at this report raises even more questions about the integrity of BBC reporting.
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The latest BBC update to the Blagojevich story (17:42 GMT) provides us with the first sighting of the elusive “D” word – in the sixth paragraph.
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I am trying to visualize what the BBC report would have looked like if the crooked governor had been from the BBCs mortal enemies(republicans)and it had been a republican president elect so close to the sleaze.
Today the republican party was rocked by news of a rebublican governor arrested on charges of fraud and corruption, this shocking example of republican sleaze by a republican governor with close links to the republican president elect that many unamed sources already accuse of being involved in fraud and corruption alleagations that wont go away. This latest of a long line of shocking examples of republican party sleaze is bound to rock the incoming republican administration at a time when the US is so divided by the recent election of an unpopular republican president with close links to the republican governor that tried to sell a senate seat to another republican.
Oh yes, the BBC would be throwing the word ‘republican’ like their lives depended on it!
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David Preiser (USA) | Homepage | 09.12.08 – 6:13 pm
That is odd.
From the article:
Reports say Pakistani police have also ordered the sealing of some offices used by Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the Islamic charity seen as a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba.
And who was promoting Jamaat-ud-Dawa propaganda on the Today programme last Friday? Barbara Plett.
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The ‘ministry of truth’ has now included ONE mention way down about the Illinois governors party affiliation, one brief fleeting mention only!
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I think they’re taking the piss now. Here are the opening two paragraphs of the BBC’s profile of Rod Blagojevich:
Rod Blagojevich ran for the Illinois governorship in 2002 promising an end to “business as usual”.
His predecessor, Republican George Ryan, had been convicted of corruption, and Mr Blagojevich became the state’s first Democratic governor in 30 years.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7773972.stm
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Must protect the Obamessiah, Must protect the chosen one, at all costs protect the hero of nu socialism, repeat after me, there is no link to the nu prophet!
The BBC cannot know if there is any link to Obama yet and yet they stress the fact that Obama is in no way involved in all this sleaze regarding HIS old senate seat!
Front page now has the story third down and already and you can bet they will try to hide the story away ASAP.
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Apparently, according to Peter Allen, the public is sick of hearing about Damien Green MP – where does he get his information? From some of his loyal followers, maybe.
An opposition MP is arrested under questionable circumstances and the BBC want to play it down. I wonder why – maybe it would damage our Great leader.
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Cassandra | 09.12.08 – 7:16 pm
Robert Grant, FBI special agent in charge of the Chicago office, characterized Illinois’ place in the pantheon of political corruption.
“If it isn’t the most corrupt state in the United States, it’s certainly one hell of a competitor,” Grant said. “Even the most cynical agents in our office were shocked.”
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2008/12/us-attorney-fitzgerald-press-conference-blagojevich.html
It is inconceivable that a politician could rise to success from the fetid pool of Chicago politics without being involved in many, many nefarious deals, and the President elect is no exception. Fortunately for him the MSM has shown little interest in the machinations of his rise to power, and if there’s one thing we can count on it’s the BBC’s continued reluctance to investigate his past, especially when the first foreign interview is still up for grabs. (How embarrassing will it be if Al Jazeera gets the first sit-down with the new Prez? The BBC was loyal to the Democrats during the election, sent more journalists than any other organisation to help Obama’s cause, and yet failed to get an interview with any of the main players. What a slap in the face if they don’t get the prime Obama gig.)
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DB,
Spot on as usual, Obama crawls down the shit filled sewer that is Chicago politics(that hasnt changed since Al Capone was a major political funder)and the BBC thinks the Obamessiah can climb out the shit filled sewer spotless!
One can only hope that the governor makes a plea deal by grassing up all his former comrades in crime to avoid all the anal rape delights that residency in genpop at Rikers island would entail!
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Cassandra:
“…One can only hope that the governor makes a plea deal by grassing up all his former comrades in crime to avoid all the anal rape delights that residency in genpop at Rikers island would entail!…”
Do you know how many beeboids you’re just made the days for?
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The Governor of Illinois looks very much like the love-child of one of the criminal Kennedys, probably the murderer and rapist Ted.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7773824.stm
vacuum-powered waste disposal?
Maybe not bias – but ultra green gullibility.
You throw your rubbish into a chute, and its sucked into a remote waste bin. Fewer bins to empty sure.. but at what cost? Hardware… plus all that power used to run it.
No matter, the Beeb reports it as the next great thing in greenism.
Dumb reporting. Dumb dumb dumb.
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Seig Heil! The ministry of propaganda reports on the governments proposed ban of cigarettes on display.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7771210.stm
“Critics say the moves do not go far enough to stop young people smoking. ”
Since when have BBC journalists started referring to themselves as critics?
Still, we can only hope da fuhrer soon enforces death by hanging for all smokers. A BBC wet dream.
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Has anyone else had the massive displeasure of reading Mark Eastons entirely redundant, foaming lefty blog.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/markeaston/
Scrolling through it is like having a socialist take a shit in your head.
He must cover every valued BBC agenda in one page, without ever adding any new information or interesting angle on the subject. It’s like reading a leftist Buddhist chant.
Nanny State Good – The rich bad – social workers good – the riff raff bad – the economy good – blah blah blah.
Please can someone post his address so I can go round to his huge country mansion and punch him in his smug, upper middle class, detached-from-reality, communist face.
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Obama and his incoming White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel were half of the team behind Blagojevich’s 2002 election victory. Also, Obama’s claim today that he had no recent contact with Blagojevich contradicts a statement made by his own senior adviser David Axelrod.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/12/questions-arise.html
I’m sure Justin Webb, Matt Frei and all the other BBC hacks in America are digging deep to uncover more revelations (NOT!).
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bodo: Yes and how would the Nazi party meaure what each person is throwing out?
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