General BBC-related comment thread

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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127 Responses to General BBC-related comment thread

  1. George R says:

    ‘Daily Mail’

    “BBC to screen ‘black episode’ of EastEnders”

    Is this BBC ‘multiculturalism’, or BBC ‘apartheid’?

    Inevitably, one of the black characters in the episode talks about white racism.

    No doubt there will be an all white episode soon, when a white character will talk about black or arab racism…

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1153903/BBC-screen-black-episode-EastEnders.html?ITO=1490

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  2. JohnA says:

    Summary of the REAL news about polar and glacier ice, which the BBC freezes out of its global warming narrative :

    http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/02/media_credibility_not_ice_caps_1.html

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  3. Allan@Oslo says:

    Vote rigging in Glenrothes on a large scale, proably a dry-run for the General Election. NuLab will be ‘learning lessons’ for its marginals under threat from the BNP in order to do what needs to be done.

    http://www.order-order.com/2009/02/glenrothes-electoral-commission.html

    This is not being reported, as far as I know, by the BBC.

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  4. George R says:

    ‘Londoner’s Diary’:

    ‘Put Campbell in time capsule’

    “The BBC’S extraordinary love-in with Alastair Campbell continues. Back in 2004, during the aftermath of the Hutton Report, Campbell played a hand in the demise of both the director-general Greg Dyke and chairman Gavyn Davies. Now the BBC can’t get enough of its old tormenter.

    “Tony Blair’s former spin-doctor was last year given a Radio 4 slot to talk about the Belgian singer Jacques Brel and has been a guest of Kirsty Wark on ‘Newsnight’ despite telling staff there in 2005 to ‘f*** off and cover something important, you t**ts.’

    “Tonight Campbell has been interviewed by Dermot O’Leary for his Time Capsules series on BBC Radio 2. The interview tracks the ups and downs of Campbell’s career, as well as some of the music that has been the soundtrack to his life. It is thought the high-ups in White City now regard the Hutton Report fall-out as ‘a bit old hat’ and have clearly decided to forgive and forget.

    “But not everyone has such short memories. Claudio Rojas of Bush House recently complained it was ‘ outrageous’ that Campbell was being received with open arms by the BBC.”

    http://londonersdiary.standard.co.uk/2009/02/put-campbell-in-time-capsule-.html

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  5. Gerald Brown says:

    George R

    I’m still waiting for the second round response to my complaint about the open mike he was given on Five Live Sport some time ago for a party political broadcast. He seems to turn up on Radio Five sports programmes every time Burnley are featured in the coverage. As that game was at Burnley and I wonder if he actually lives there now did I pay for free transport, tickets and hospitality?

    Is he the only fan of Burnley the BBC know of?

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  6. jonathan says:

    Yesterday the BBC reported on the launch of Gordon’s ‘real help now’ recovery website.

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7905279.stm

    Helpfully (well for Gordon anyway) the author of the article repeats Downing Street’s spin of why the website is necessary: “No. 10 confirmed the site’s launch, saying the idea behind it was to enable people to find details of all the support it was giving workers, employers and homeowners “in one place”.

    But overnight it appears that there have been one or two changes to the ‘real help now’ website • [Hat-tip: Coffee-House]

    “Efforts taken by the Scottish Government to help the economy through the recession have been “airbrushed” from a UK Government website less than twenty-four hours after they were listed on a site launched by the prime minister.
    Yesterday (Monday) the UK Government’s “real help now” website highlighted SNP Government action, such as the Council Tax freeze and flexible business support, as key efforts being taken to combat the financial crisis • today the items have been removed and replaced with a link to an out-of-date Scotland Office statement.
    Commenting on the change, SNP shadow Scotland Office spokesperson, Angus MacNeil MP, said: “Just hours after launching this website and Gordon Brown has already had it airbrushed. He is now looking more like Winston Smith than his spin doctors’ preferred role model of Winston Churchill.”

    I’ve just checked BBC Scotland’s website and the BBC’s UK National Politics web-pages; no mention of these alterations anywhere. Strange isn’t it, how a small publication like Spectator magazine can spot these stories but our National broadcaster with £3.5 billion of our money • can’t.

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  7. jonathan says:

    Has anybody-else seen this pile of tripe masquerading as entertainment?

    EastEnders to air black landmark:

    “EastEnders is to air the first episode featuring an entirely black cast for the first time in its 23-year history. Tonight’s programme will focus entirely on characters Patrick Trueman, Denise Wicks, fiance Lucas, and her daughters Chelsea and Libby.
    Patrick reminisces about London in the 1950s after his arrival from the Caribbean in the episode.
    The action will be set chiefly in his house, which is also the home of the other characters.
    The family discuss history around the dinner table as they mark Shrove Tuesday, and it is revealed that Patrick (played by Rudolph Walker) was involved in the 1958 Notting Hill riots.
    He goes on to discuss what it was like living as a black man in 1950s Britain and the racism he had to contend with. When it is decided that the UK is a less racist place to live, Chelsea questions this, saying it still exists but in a less obvious guise.

    Patrick Trueman, currently separated from his wife Yolande, first appeared on the programme in 2001. Denise and her daughters have been in the show for three years and involved in a series of high-profile storylines.
    It was once thought that Patrick was Denise’s long lost father, but this was proved not to be the case.”

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7907262.stm?lss

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  8. David Preiser (USA) says:

    jonathan | 24.02.09 – 3:21 pm |

    Refresh the “Real Propaganda”….I mean, “Real Help” page. You’ll see different news items from different regions load into that spot on the upper right. It’s not airbrushing at all. Just lame in other ways.

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  9. vicky says:

    EastEnders to air black landmark:
    jonathan | 24.02.09 – 3:34 pm |

    Would anybody in their right mind actually enjoy this i wonder, it sounds utterly dreadful,a steaming pile of p.c turd no doubt written by a one legged black lesbian dwarf.

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  10. Grant says:

    RR 9:57
    I would have thought that, if the BBC were to refer to Shrove Tuesday, they would use the term “Mardi Gras” instead !

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  11. David Preiser (USA) says:

    I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the Today segment on British mosques “letting down young Muslims” (@ 0733).

    In strictly deadpan fashion, Ed Hussain (introduced as a former extremist) from the Quilliam Foundation gives Humphrys his explanation of how the real problem in British mosques is that the imams don’t speak English, or “understand the context” of the jihad questions from youths seeking guidance. Of course, he did not get around to mentioning which non-English speaking imams would have advised against jihad, but never mind. Hussain says that because they are unable to get useful guidance from the imams (again, which non-English speaking ones were giving non-violent guidance?), the youths naturally looked elsewhere. Quite casually, he starts listing the places they might go: university Islamic societies, clubs, and “websites that tend to self-radicalize”. The non-English speaking imam supposedly can’t counter the stuff these kids find elsewhere. Yeah, that’s the problem.

    To his credit, Hussain does say that one problem with these foreign imams is that they are “psychologically connected” to the old country, like Bangladesh and Pakistan. However, by saying this he contradicts his own claim that the problem with the imams is that they don’t speak English and can’t give helpful guidance. Humphrys got in a couple of good shots earlier, but let this go entirely. Too bad, because that reveals what a sham this whole thing is.

    What made me laugh out loud, though, was the rebuttal to Hussein’s claim that 97% of imams in Britain are from overseas came from Seyyed Ferjani – from overseas, speaking in a thick accent. He counters Hussein’s claim about the problem being foreign imams by saying that it’s not really a problem, but things could be better.

    End result: a red-herring, distracting from the real problem, and even denying it.

    In the accompanying online report about the Quilliam Foundation’s findings, they do a little better. But only on the World Service does the BBC let Ed Hussain speak openly about British values such as “tolerance, plurality, and liberalism”. Unfortunately, the effin’ Beeboid presenter defended mosques against Hussain’s charges! Unbelievable. The one time the BBC lets on somebody saying something intelligent about Muslims in Britain, and they get it wrong. Come to think of it, having somebody else on Today to rebut his claims, combined with this segment, makes me think that the BBC somehow thinks this guy is somehow wrong.

    The intellectual failure of the BBC to deal with this problem is on full display today.

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  12. Grant says:

    pounce 10:27
    I suspect that in the tiny BBC mind, “militant atheists” are being confused with “hamas militants”.

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  13. JohnA says:

    News at 5pm on Radio 4 headlines an “apology” made by Rupert Murdoch about a cartoon that appeared in the New York Post (a small and fairly insignificant paper). The race-baiting mob alleged that the innocuous cartoon was actually depicting Obama as a chimp.

    Why is this headline news or the BBC ? Who in the UK gives a monkey’s ?

    Obviously it is just a chance to have a shot at Murdoch.

    But the good news is that Murdoch is steadily beefing up the Wall Street Journal, strengthening the general news content, adding sports coverage etc. Unlike other papers, it has been winning readership.

    I bet by the year is out Murdoch will have started a full-scale circulation war against the near-bankrupt New York Times. It is far from clear whether the NYT can survive. Which will deprive Jason Webb of many of his themes.

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  14. It's all too much says:

    PC alert – the BBC discusses race relations with

    “All Black Eastenders”

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/4796869/BBC-to-screen-all-black-episode-of-EastEnders.html

    I wonder if the programme will utilise the same narrative as the “White” season?

    Nope we have reminiscences about the race riots of the 50’s and how nothing has changed really……

    If anyone has the stomach please watch and report back

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  15. It's all too much says:

    From the official BBC page

    “He goes on to discuss what it was like living as a black man in 1950s Britain and the racism he had to contend with.

    When it is decided that the UK is a less racist place to live, Chelsea questions this, saying it still exists but in a less obvious guise.”

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  16. George R says:

    Note the difference in attitude of American authorities compared to British authorities to Dutch MP, Geert Wilders.

    Note the difference in attitude of Fox News, compared to BBC, regarding Geert Wilders:

    ‘Jihadwatch’ (Youtube video clips)-

    “Wilders on Beck and O’Reilly”:

    http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/025002.php

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  17. Jon says:

    George R | 24.02.09 – 6:38 pm |

    What impression does this give of Britain in the US?

    It makes me sick.

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  18. JohnA says:

    Jon

    US blogs have been full of criticism of the UK over this.

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  19. TPO says:

    Her’s someone whose pissed on his chips.

    Accused ‘doused chips with urine’

    http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/gloucestershire/7908366.stm

    Unfortunately it’s the BBC with only half the story again. The headline should read Muslim nutter infects food with urine and faeces.

    UK Muslim charged with poisoning food, children’s books with urine, feces

    http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/021087.php

    Apparently this is not an isolated incident where muslims are concerned.

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  20. JohnA says:

    BBC 10pm news grinding on about the Government’s refusal to release Cabinet minutes around the time of the Iraq war decision. (All about Lord Goldsmith’s legal advice)

    Secrecy of Cabinet docs, the 30-year rule etc is designed to preserve confidence that Cabinet colleagues can discuss policy privately, without grandstanding. It is a long-standing constitutional practice.

    People may disagree with it, of course – but how come the BBC rates this to be the top news story tonight ? Obsession with Iraq anything to do with it ?

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  21. Jon says:

    Hang on – I thought Ireland was the only country who has not ratified the Lisbon Treaty.

    “One has to look at things soberly: How much power does the Bundestag (eds note: Germany’s federal parliament) still have?” asked Di Fabio. A second justice, Rudolf Mellinghoff, said he didn’t really understand how Germany’s parliament would benefit from handing over competencies to the European Union.

    In particular, the court indicated deep skepticism about provisions in the Lisbon Treaty which would allow for the EU to have a say in German criminal law. Given the doubts, it seemed this week unlikely that the court would rubber-stamp the treaty without demanding changes. The court also placed a discussion of Article 146 of the constitution on the agenda for Wednesday. The paragraph stipulates that a national referendum must be held if any part of the constitution is superseded. ”
    http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,606952,00.html

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  22. George R says:

    The BBC, and the deceptive way it presents IMMIGRATION numbers for the UK –

    BBC news web headline:

    “East European worker influx slows”

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7906277.stm

    BUT, the BBC avoids the bigger picture, in the introduction and headline to its politically biased report:

    “But figures also show a 290,000 RISE {caps added} in overseas-born UK residents, which hit 6.5 million in the year to June 2008. ”
    That BBC sentence is thrown in with the BBC’s attempt to keep the focus on EU immigration into the UK.

    The more honest picture is presented by the ‘Daily Mail’

    “One in nine people living in Britian now born overseasa as 300,000 more foreigners settle in the UK”

    [Extract, first paragraph]:

    “The number of people born overseas settling in the UK grew by 290,000 in the year to June 2008 meaning one in nine people now resident in Britain was born abroad. ”

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1153928/One-people-living-Britain-born-overseas-300-000-foreigners-settle-UK.html

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  23. The Bias Must End says:

    George R | 24.02.09 – 10:46 pm

    I was just about to post the same thing.

    Yet again, the BBC is misleading the public on immigration by spinning a rise in immigration as “East European worker influx slows”.

    From This Is London:
    The number of foreign citizens given the right to settle in the UK was up by 17 per cent to 145,965, with more than 60,000 of these approvals granted to overseas nationals working here.

    This is another example of the BBC focusing on immigration from Eastern Europe, rather than on the bigger picture.

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  24. Ian Looker says:

    This is not so much a b-BBC post as an irritating nursery-BBC post. Does anyone else get upset by their ubiquitous style of addressing people in current affairs programmes? For example on Radio Four this evening:-

    Interviewer: Charles Kennedy is the Liberal Democrats’ spokesman on [whatever it was]. (Turning to him) Charles Kennedy, why is it …?

    In normal life you would expect him to say, “Mr Kennedy, why is it …? But the BBC and maybe others have adopted this odd convention, presumably because either (a) the BBC believe thousands of listeners will have switched on since the first sentence started and won’t know who is being interviewed, or (b) they judge many of the listeners have an attention span of less than five seconds and will have forgotten whether this is Charles Kennedy, Ludovic Kennedy, Nigel Kennedy, John F Kennedy or Sarah Kennedy.

    I have only ever heard Enoch Powell query the practice, many years ago of course. Wouldn’t it be magnificent if someone for once had the nerve to look the interviewer square in the eye and reply, “Well, Jeremy Paxman, the reason is …”

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  25. David Preiser (USA) says:

    James Reynolds whitewashes Hillary Clinton’s first visit to China as Sec. of State in his latest China post.

    Clinton hears delicate criticism

    He talks about what he opines must have been an awkward moment for Hillary when she was reminded that there was a lack of progress on womens’ rights issues in China. Hillary made a big women’s rights speech in China about 10 years ago, and this was supposed to be a hint of criticism.

    For balance, Reynolds mentions praise for her campaign on behalf of AIDS patients in China.

    This is criticism? What about this criticism, James?

    US human rights groups were furious that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared to be letting China off the hook on her current visit to Beijing.

    Just before arriving in the Chinese capital, Clinton told reporters that while she would press concerns over human rights: “Those issues can’t interfere on the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis and the security crisis.”

    Her remarks have been widely interpreted in the US as a signal that she is prepared to put human rights on the back burner.

    A spokesman for Amnesty International USA said he was “shocked and extremely disappointed” by Clinton’s remarks.

    “The United States is one of the only countries that can meaningfully stand up to China on human rights issues,” the spokesman said. “But by commenting that human rights will not interfere with other priorities, Secretary Clinton damages future US initiatives to protect those rights in China.”

    This was briefly mentioned at the beginning of Saturday’s Today, where James Naughtie was talking to Quentin Sommerville. Sommerville expressed his shock that so far the change they had all hoped for was nowhere to be seen. It’s the same as President Bush used to do, said Sommerville. Human rights are pushed to the back burner, they only want to talk about the money. No mention, though, of criticism from groups the BBC usually has plenty of time for when it comes to bitching about US foreign policy.

    Realizing what had just happened, almost defensively, they both started covering The Obamessiah’s ass by pointing out that the US has serious debt and China is buying debt, and quickly moved on.

    Funny how the BBC still hasn’t mentioned any real criticism of Hillary about Tibet.

    Last year it was Booooosh’s Evil Foreign Policy, now it’s slight disappointment, softened with understanding.

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  26. GCooper says:

    BBC ‘News’ website: “Council taxes are forecast to rise by an average of just 3% in England this year as local authorities seek to help families hit by the recession.”

    JUST three per cent? Can anyone recall ZaNuLabour’s latest, lying, inflation figures?

    As for councils ‘seeking to help…’

    There comes a point when the BBC’s pro-government bias reaches such a peak that it might as well shut up shop and admit it is nothing but the propaganda division of Brown’s junta.

    That point has now been reached.

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  27. Robin Horbury says:

    BBc Breakfast this morning has a story about a group of officials visiting Antarctica to see the “devastating effects of climate change”. There’s only one problem. Antarctica is getting colder.

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