News they feel you just ought to hear

No, not that some parent has fed his fourteen year old heroin, but that an evil Devonian has been riding his motorbike at 122 mph with his son on the back. This is featured among the top news stories in the UK tonight.

Riding a motorcyle in this way is of course irresponsible and wrong, but the selection of this 50 something white male to be made an example of is pure BBC preachiness. They love to tweak the nose of middle Britain, they probably consider it part of their job of (ahem) educating and informing. In fact it is attempting to add a trial-by-media system to our court system. It’s an endemic attitude at the BBC and it’s one of the things that shows how it acts out what Andrew Marr (see right) called the BBC’s ‘cultural liberal bias‘.
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37 Responses to News they feel you just ought to hear

  1. Libertarian says:

    BBC abandons ‘impartiality’ on warming
    Again and again the BBC has been eager to promote every new scare raised by the advocates of man-made global warming, says Christopher Booker.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/christopherbooker/4413474/BBC-abandons-impartiality-on-warming.html

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  2. archduke says:

    one wonders how many rapes, murders and assaults have NOT been reported on today by the BBC.

    instead we get some nutter doing 122 mph on a bike.

    ed you are right to point this out – we truely are getting into Pravda territory.

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  3. archduke says:

    Libertarian | 02.02.09 – 10:39 pm

    i could do with a bit of “warming”.

    was half hoping to open up a vineyard in southern england in my old age.

    although, based on our record breaking snowfall, i think i should prepare for igloo making instead.

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  4. archduke says:

    newsnight debate on the strikes and foreign workers was interesting to say the least.

    there was jabba the hut, Keith Vaz , to slither on “xenophobia” and “BNP” in order to tick all the boxes and poo poo the workers concerns.

    if thats the One Eyed Cyclops idea of a response, the we truely are in Weimar Germany territory – Keith Vaz just recruited several thousand more to the strikers side.

    this is going to get far worse than it gets better.

    lets stand back from this for a bit – imagine the EXACT same scenario happening, but the government was Tory.

    how do you think the BBC coverage would be?

    and how what you think the likes of Keith “jabba the hut” Vaz would be saying – or any of his new liebore drones?

    at the least the Tories are honest in a way – a lot of them actually really DO believe in free markets rather than pretending to.

    must admit this striker thing is highly entertaining – it is a joy to see the left tie themselves up in knots.

    and their only answer is “BNP!!!”

    well, since they say it all the time, maybe the strikers might give them a BNP answer.

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  5. Ethan says:

    Read the article. As a biker my take on this is that he said “as it started to rain he pulled back on the throttle” – meaning he SLOWED DOWN to 122mph.
    Sounds bad. But consider that his bike will do 0 to 60 in about two seconds and a hundred in probably about five seconds. It does NOT take long to be doing what cage drivers (what we call car drivers) consider Kamikaze speeds.
    So a bit carried away with the power -easy done. Should not be public enemy number one. IMO he’s a pr4tt and should get a hefty fine for endangering the kid but nothing more.
    Fastest bike I ever had topped out at 130 and was a heavy old 1100cc. I have done that kind of speed on the public road but it was a deliberate choice and I was on my own. Secondly the road was empty and it was middle of the night.
    I’m also not ‘Jack the Slipper’ either.
    I totally agree with the comment about BBC preachiness. I’m a respectible 46 yo bloke so square I’m a cube!
    More BBC lets slag off middle england whilst
    they regularly go out of their way to promote slamic xplod homicide cultists. Well look how thats all turned out BBC!
    Not what I pay my licence fee for.

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  6. pounce says:

    Personally I don’t have anytime for a parent who feels that he can do over a ton with his son on the back of his bike on a wet road. The BBC has a right to report such a story.
    However.
    Tonight on News 24 they aired vids of people enjoying the snow. One such example showed a young man on skis being pulled by a car down a suburban street (With parked cars) as somehow a fun thing to do.
    For the BBC to report one as a crime and the other as fun only highlights the confusion that besets the bBC when it comes to moral integrity.

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  7. pounce says:

    Oh they have the vid on the website. However its a lot shorter. (Well they did cut out that girl doing a moon walk in a foot and a half of snow)

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  8. Anonymous says:

    Do the BBC point out the dangers of cattaging?

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  9. Libertarian says:

    Panorama

    John Sweeney follows the missing millions, and asks if it is time to close the tax havens down.
    Broadcast on:BBC One, 8:30pm Monday 2nd FebruaryDuration:30 minutes

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00hd3x0/Panorama_Tax_Me_if_You_Can/

    For as long as I can remember, the BBC have been asking this question.

    As the Panorama producers seem ambitious but rather tired, allow me to suggest a few novel topics:

    -The Welfare State seems to cause as many problems as it solves, John Sweeny follows the missing millions and asks if its time to close it down.

    -The EU has been an expensive straitjacket for many of the original members, John Sweeny follows the missing millions and asks if its time to close it down.

    -The BBC destroys competition, costs billions and may not always tell the whole truth, John Sweeny follows the missing millions and asks if its time to close it down.

    -British workers are bypassing the costly Unions and holding wildcat strikes and secondary picketing, John Sweeny follows the missing millions and asks if its time to close them down.

    -The Health & Safety executive costs millions and threatens traditional freedoms, John Sweeny follows the missing millions and asks if its time to close it down.

    -Liberty and its Chief Shami Chakrabarti were elected by nobody yet appear to be quoted and courted by all, John Sweeny follows the missing millions and asks if its time to close it down.

    -Polly Toynbee is a millionairess expat who thinks that she can preach to the British public about how much tax they ought to pay, John Sweeny follows the missing millions and asks if its time to close her down.

    John Sweeny…………Good for a laugh!

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  10. Dave S says:

    The BBC and it’s friends in the liberal elite which is now inextricably entwined with the corporate state will do and say any thing to take our minds of the great depression of the 21st century.
    Anything at all. Just look at the seriously over the top coverage of the snowfalls.
    122mph motorcyclists are just not really news except in the deluded minds of the BBC.
    As in most human events money and power are at stake.
    The huge and completely indefensible salaries paid to this elite are now at risk.
    According to the Sunday Times the boss of Channel 4 is paid the absurd some of 1.21 million to head a failing channel. How envious the BBC boss on a mere 816,000 must be.
    And it goes on and on. Six figure plus salaries to 339 other BBC employees.
    These are termed essential to attract the best talent. Rubbish and they know it.
    It is just pure greed. And it is now endemic throughout our commercial and public life. They live at the expense of us all. Now we are going to have hard times and the pain should be shared equally. But this elite used to wealth and privilege has no intention of letting go. The media is to be used to denigrate and destroy those who seek fairness and justice for all of us. These so called “wildcat’ strikes really frighten them. The proles are revolting. They think we are anyway. We don’t understand the issues blah blah blah.
    In any free society all sovereignity rests only with the people. It is our will that matters and our wishes that must decide the fate of our nation.
    Perhaps the hard times to come will produce leaders who reject the notion that we are not meant to be the masters of our country and government and will serve only us. The BBC will fight such men and women all the way.
    That is why it is so dangerous to us all

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  11. Aaargh says:

    I think you’re being a little purist here.

    Pictures lead the news.

    This is a human interest story, it has a great video and is entertaining.

    If it were a Black guy from the Hood, it’d get the same treatment.

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  12. Rob says:

    I was listening to a progamme on Radio 4 on Friday called ‘Feedback’ (?) and the presenter made a reference to a report on BBC reporting of the Israel-Palestine conflict, saying that it claimed that BBC reporting was ‘pro-Israel’.

    Was this a bungled reference to the suppressed Balen Report? Or was he referring to another report?

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  13. frankos says:

    Libertarian

    don’t forget the 12 billion the gvt has wasted on computer schemes!!
    This was mentioned this morning and conveniently buried before the plebs wake up

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  14. Ed says:

    “If it were a Black guy from the Hood, it’d get the same treatment.”

    I don’t think so, but agree with Ethan above.

    The worst part about the story is the video which accompanies it- full face shot of offender as he walks along somewhere near the court in dark glasses. He is named, and an expert is brought in to condemn him. The whole thing is set up and reeks of selectivity, judgementalism, and kangeroo justice.

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  15. mikewineliberal says:

    Ed

    You’re reading an awful lot into this. An attack on middle england!

    I didn’t hear or see any coverage of it on
    the BBC last night. So hardly one of the main stories But it’s a perfectly valid story anyway, unusual because his son was on the back and because a custodial sentence is threatened.

    You’re not the 14 year old in
    question are you?

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  16. Garden Trash says:

    MWL,
    “I didn’t hear or see any coverage of it on
    the BBC last night”

    It was probably on after your bed time.You do seem to watch TV and listen to the radio than is good for you.You need a social life,try joining the Boy Scouts or an amateur dramatic society.

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  17. mikewineliberal says:

    I try to watch what I comment on on this site. A surprisngly rare trait on b-bbc; which relies heavily (too heavily) on the BBC’s website.

    The BBC’s true glory is its radio (and Today is its prophet). This country would be a lot poorer without it.

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  18. Grant says:

    The biker wasn’t black or a muslim then ?

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  19. Aaargh says:

    >The whole thing is set up and reeks of selectivity, judgementalism, and kangeroo justice.

    What he did was extreemly dangerous.

    He put the lives of himself, his son, and other people on the road at risk.

    Personally, I’d ban him from the road and fine him.

    I think the BBC were right to report on this.

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  20. fadeaway says:

    You could look at this the other way –
    how amazing it is that the BBC, contrary to its usual practice, has had a pop at a hedonistic baby boomer on a motorbike.

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  21. Mesmereyesed says:

    Ethan:
    As a biker my take on this is that he said “as it started to rain he pulled back on the throttle” – meaning he SLOWED DOWN to 122mph.

    Ethan, its been a while for me I admit, but as a biker you ought to know that to ‘pull back’ the throttle is to accelerate, while to ‘roll back’ the throttle is to decelerate, or slow down.

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  22. deegee says:

    which relies heavily (too heavily) on the BBC’s website.
    mikewineliberal | 03.02.09 – 9:08 am

    My major source for BBC stuff is the World Service through my car radio. In the interests of safety I don’t drive with a stopwatch, a notepad and a pencil. In the interest of my own credibility I like to link to sources and authorities and double check that I haven’t heard wrong.

    It will just have to be the website

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  23. Ethan says:

    Mesmereyesed: I see what your saying but If I wanted to go faster I’d say I ‘twisted’ the throttle myself.

    However given the contextual proximity of this phrase “as it was starting to rain” …I don’t consider it a reasonable response to ‘increase’ speed because its starting to get wet and therefore slippery.

    If it was me riding and it started to rain I would decrease my speed. Then again I have not owned a sports bike merely a ST1100 which as you know is a tourer (oh and a few big trailies).

    Maybe sportsbike riders increase speed in the wet.

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  24. Anonymous says:

    Ethan:
    Read the article. As a biker my take on this is that he said “as it started to rain he pulled back on the throttle” – meaning he SLOWED DOWN to 122mph.
    Sounds bad. But consider that his bike will do 0 to 60 in about two seconds and a hundred in probably about five seconds. It does NOT take long to be doing what cage drivers (what we call car drivers) consider Kamikaze speeds.

    ————————————-

    Are you mad?, the twat on the bike was doing 122 mph in crap weather, with his 14 year old son on the back. the speed limit is 70 mph, the twat on the bike was doing 52 mph over the speed limit, I have no sympathy for him, and if his attitude is the norm for bikers than I have none for you either.

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  25. Mesmereyesed says:

    Ethan, it may seem counter-intuitive but, short of a monsoon-type downpour, to accelerate into the rain is a common enough reaction – on a motorway, for instance – at least for me and for those I know: all the quicker to one’s destination/shelter; tyre compound and tread technology being very advanced these days. Isle-of-Man TT racers on pretty much standard tyres, for example, keep up a fair lick on ‘normal’ roads, come rain or shine.

    Anyroadup, to ‘twist’ a throttle could mean either to slow down or to speed up, it being a non-specific term. The term used in the report was to ‘pull back’, meaning to accelerate. Local conditions would apply but, in my experience, a reasonably smart move.

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  26. frankos says:

    MWL
    The BBC’s true glory is its radio (and Today is its prophet). This country would be a lot poorer without it.

    Actually £140 richer

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  27. Ethan says:

    Mesmereyesed The term used in the report was to ‘pull back’, meaning to accelerate. Local conditions would apply but, in my experience, a reasonably smart move.

    Well sorry but I disagree about increasing speed in the wet. I slow down in the wet (and slippery). I too ride all year round and find that caution has served me well.

    You may be right about that bloke’s actions but your interpretation seems just plain wrong to me.

    Then again I also only filter when traffic is moving at walking pace or stationary. Some sports bike riders I have seen filter at stupid speeds even when both lanes are doing 70+. I consider that pretty foolish too. You’ll never see a Pan doing that!

    Takes all sorts doesn’t it.

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  28. Joseph says:

    122 mph on a UK road?, bloody hell!, the bike must have good suspension to survive a trip on some of the UK’s roads!.

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  29. mikewineliberal says:

    frankos | 03.02.09 – 4:30 pm

    Yes, that too!

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  30. Caveman says:


    The biker wasn’t black or a muslim then ?
    Grant | 03.02.09 – 9:14 am | #

    And right at the other end of the extreme – what if it had been Jeffrey Archer? The establishment would have to temporarily bring back the death penalty.

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  31. Mesmereyesed says:

    Caveman, for the record, are you saying that this is would be a good thing or a bad thing?

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  32. Caveman says:

    I thought 7 years for perjury was obviously way over the top for Jeffrey Archer, but he ticked all the right boxes to justify being picked out for special vindictive treatment by the legal establishment – far more boxes were ticked than for the 50 year old biker.
    In his book he mentions all the cons he mixed with in jail who were incredulous when they compared their crimes and sentences with his.
    A trouble-maker criminal the other day was fighting on a bus and a peacemaker intervened aged about 65. The lout attacked him and killed him – 4 years as he did not mean to kill him.

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  33. Mesmereyesed says:

    I’m only human too, but I think peers of the realm – the chosen ones – should set, and abide by, the highest standards, or either resign their positions or have them stripped away. So, personally, 7 years, or 3 and a half (for good behaviour), doesn’t seem excessive to me in Archer’s case, given his ‘previous.’

    To me, it only seems a travesty when compared to the appalling example you gave of the poor man who intervened on the bus.

    But then I consider that in general anyone who enjoys power over us, and that includes both the BBC and the judiciary in particular, should be more accountable…

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  34. brummiedave says:

    Just a thought. In the eyes of the beeboids what was the motorcyclist’s greater crime? His speed or his carbon footprint?

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  35. Caveman says:

    Mesmereyesed – another point about prison is it depends who the company is more than the length of sentence.
    The lady who committed the ‘crime’ of firing a puff of air from an airgun in Bolton near the foot of a gang member after months of torment from the gang shared a cell with some lady banking fraudster, or similar, so that was not too bad. If I went to prison for non-payment of a TV licence and I shared with decent people, especially people who had not paid it on principle, I would not mind it. I would see it as a relaxing holiday.
    But Jeffrey Archer had to share with proper criminals.
    A certain type of criminal does not mind the company found in any prison.

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  36. Mesmereyesed says:

    Well, Caveman, as someone who has done some time (20 months, courtesy of the French authorities some 25 years ago as a feckless and youthful adventurer), I have to say that the deprivation of one’s liberty was, for me, punishment enough. A year is probably enough of anyone’s time, in my experience. It certainly was for me. Archer, as is his nature, managed to turn his experiences to his advantage by writing about it (to the tune of 3 friggin’ volumes). But while the length of sentence is of critical importance, you’re essentially right: very much depends on with whom one is sharing time and space, particularly so in the cell when banged up with them for 22 hours a day, every day… [shudder]. Sartre summed it up best: “l’enfer, c’est les autres.”

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  37. caveman says:

    Mesmereyesed,
    You say ‘shudder’ and ‘banged up with them for 22 hours a day’ and even the thought of what you say makes me shudder. That must have been one heck of a life experience. I can imagine how alarming it must be to see certain individuals are going to join you in your cell, and how relieved you must have felt at other times when different people were selected to share with you.
    Anyway, at least you became good at French, although you could not really put on your C.V. how you learnt to speak the language so fluently, including all the swear words.

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