Monthly Archives: May 2009

NADINE THE WHINGE

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Well, it saddens me to say this but Conservative charmer Nadine Dorries was appalling on BBC5 live this morning. She came across as a drama queen trougher apologist and whoever advised that this would be a good move is crazy. For once, just for once, the BBC interviewer Victoria Derbyshire, actually made some good points as Nadine dug herself into a hole six foot deep. Did you hear this – or perhaps I imagined it 😉

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MR BEAN AND THE WAR ON TERROR

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Did you share my misfortune in listening to this item on the BBC this morning?

Dhimmi David Miliband was in full flow as he explained how we don’t show enough respect to the Muslim world and that the modernisation afoot in Islam is not being given due recognition. Really? The bit that sickened me MOST was when Miliband got to insert the usual “There’ll never be peace until Israel and Palestinians are reconciled by the former allowing the latter to create their own little terror State” mantra, claiming that on 12 September the world was united in support of the USA. Not in the Palestinian territories, Mr Bean. They danced with joy as the Towers fell, you misrepresenting clown. Furthermore, Mr Bean then adds that he was impressed by Obama declaring that we are not at war with Islam. Fine. But that does not stop a significant section of Islam being at war with us, does it? Miliband gets the softest of rides possible in this interview and I suppose so long as he denies reality then that will continue.

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LOVING CASTRO

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Anyone else catch this paean to Cuba on Today this morning? The BBC just loves doing everything possible to big up the kind and charitable priorities of the Castro gulag of our times. Wonder if BBC reporter Michael Voss ever wonders why so many Cubans risk their very lives trying to escape this veritable nirvana on Earth? The bottom line is the BBC is shilling for Obama to restores diplomatic ties to Cuba.

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"typical urban dwellers"

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From the Socialist Unity blog yesterday :

Can anyone explain why Jeremy Vine’s show on Radio 2 this afternoon ended up interviewing John Rees, former SWP big cheese, as a studio guest representing typical urban dwellers, in a debate contrasting city life with rural living ?

Among the comments :

As National Secretary of Respect, John Rees appeared on the show many times, presumably the producers & Vine liked his style and so when they needed someone to speak on this subject called a few names on their list and JR came through. There’s no mystery.

The SWP have these weird connections in the BBC. A few years back, Paul Thatcher from Portsmouth SWP appeared on R4 as a “man in the street” disgruntled ex-Labour voter, neglecting to mention that he had actually stood against Labour in the previous general election as a Socialist Alliance candidate.

How strange that the SWP should have connections at the BBC when many of its ex and current members have presented or been involved in producing programs for it.

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Film Festival Fiasco

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See how the BBC reports the fiasco at the Edinburgh Film Festival. How dumbed down this is, and how casually they recount Ken Loach’s boycotting blackmail,

– (Loach) urged pro Palestinians to “stay away” –

and how little they are making of Ginnie Atkinson’s astonishing U-turn.

The item has been running at Harry’s place since 15th May, and updated on 19th, and today Melanie P has taken it up. The BBC plays it down, and carries on plugging Loach’s film about Eric Cantona regardless.

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QUESTION TIME LIVE AND EARLY!!!

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The panel will include Health Minister Ben Bradshaw, Conservative shadow foreign secretary William Hague, Lib Dem chief economic spokesman Vince Cable, former independent MP Martin Bell, treasurer of UKIP Marta Andreasen, and columnist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown. It kicks off at 9pm – much earlier than normal.

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It’s not the jokes, it’s how you tell ’em

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(NB: This post is not by Natalie, but by occasional B-BBC poster Niall Kilmartin.)

It’s not the jokes, it’s how you tell ’em: BBC red-button news this morning reported the arrests in the US. The final sentence of the report was:

New York has been on alert for a new terror assault since the 9/11 attack claimed by Al Quaida militants

(no emphasis in original) Al Quaida do indeed claim the attack and one would hardly accuse them of lacking militancy, so the sentence is not factually wrong. It seems an odd way to put it – except, I suppose, inside the BBC, where it presumably seems natural to phrase things to accommodate the ‘truther’ viewpoint. (As the post below suggests, some other viewpoints get less consideration.)

Similar ‘how you tell it’ thoughts occurred to me during last night’s 10 o’clock BBC news in a piece on the never-ending expenses scandals. As usual, numbers were balanced: they mentioned one Labour MP and one Tory MP (there are few LibDem MPs so I concede some difficulties in their mentioning a LibDem every time as well). The report on Hazel Blears consisted almost entirely of a summary of Labour MPs’ sympathy for her and criticism of Gordon’s criticism. It was all reportage of others’ views but it had a ‘sorry for her’ flavour and lacked balancing hostile remarks – except Gordon’s, and ‘her behaviour was unacceptable but she’s doing a great job’ (I paraphrase) is already balanced, whatever else you may say about it. No such considerate remarks were reported of the Tory MP whose ducks benefited from our taxes; no suggestion that spending public money on wildlife habitat was very much the norm these days. 🙂 To be sure, there were probably no sympathetic remarks to report: David Cameron’s statement about him was not as ‘balanced’ as Gordon’s about Hazel, and if any Tory felt otherwise, perhaps they (wisely) kept it to themselves.

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Different Strokes for Different Folks

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Honest Reporting links to JJ Goldberg’s article in Columbia Journalism Review where he analyses and compares coverage of the “debunked allegations” of IDF abuses in Gaza. (I use the quotes because I’m quoting.)
He is interested in how the story is framed, and notes differences in the way the American and British press present the subject.

JJ Goldberg acknowledges that the US ‘Jewish lobby’ is a factor that both affects and influences the American Press’s gentler treatment of Israel, but explains that this is understandable, no more sinister than any other pressure from any other organised interest group, and no bad thing. He is asking: What’s wrong with a Jewish lobby? Why shouldn’t Jews have an interest group? The Jews are good guys and valuable to America.

“It’s almost a clichĂ© these days to suggest that the presence of a well-organized Jewish community in America has a lot to do with the way Israel is treated by government and the media. It’s a mistake, though, to note the community’s ability to threaten and overlook its role as a leavening force in the larger culture. Jewish sensibilities help shape America’s sense of humor, U.S. attitudes toward civil rights, and much more. It would be astonishing if American Jews didn’t also influence America’s view of Israel—much as Irish Americans have helped mold attitudes toward Ireland.”

The article shows how the BBC’s Paul Wood seems to represent the British attitude. His reports, in sharp contrast, are blatantly critical of Israel, with emotive images accompanying inflammatory voiceovers, openly disapproving and condemnatory.

It is a fascinating exercise. What particularly interested me was the conclusion that:

“That’s a key difference between American and British coverage of the Middle East. The British Jewish community is well rooted, but it’s smaller—barely one-tenth the size of, say, the British Muslim community.”

It sort of hints that the ‘Muslim lobby’ has been busy influencing and affecting things here. If so, are we to assume that it’s understandable, natural, and quite okay, and we must accept that in Britain we have a culture that regards the phrase “Jewish Lobby” as shorthand for sinister cabal with dastardly intent, and the word Zionist as the embodiment of evil.

In saying this, I could be letting the Beeb off the hook, saying they’re only reflecting our culture.
But are they reflecting, or creating?

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VARIOUS

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Hi All.

Am going to be away from the site most of today but aim to be back for Question Time live tonight so please come along for our weekly entertainment!

On daily matters, Today was in fine form today.

Did you catch the item about Trade Unions putting forward candidates for election because the current government is morally bankrupt Obviously the Public Sector trade unions are paragons of virtue!

Then we endured Sir Richard Dalton – formerly our man in Iran – was on to ease concerns that Iran’s latest missile launch is just the Mullah’s seeking a way to find peace. Nothing to worry about, move along. Proof that Obama’s outreach programme is working.

Finally, the BBC had an item at 7.20am to make clear that whilst some of us may be a tad cross at the greed shown by our politicians, in actual fact we are all just as likely to engage in such cheating behaviour.

And we have to fund this crap….?

See you all later…

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