I’ve been away for a few days and blogging from me will remain light as I catch up on things, but I do have enough time to recommend the ongoing excellent analysis of BBC election coverage by the tireless Beeb Bias Craig. And those who only read the RSS feed for this blog are missing out on some great observations in the comment threads.
Let this be a new open thread, a modern open thread, an open thread fair for all. Ask not what the open thread can do for you, ask what you can do for the open thread. We are in this together, so come with us and build a better open thread.
I’ll second the comment about Craig’s website. There is some great stuff there and I would urge all B-BBC posters to visit it.
Just checked out Craig’s site – and also followed his links to NotASheep – all good stuff.
I particularly agree with Craig’s comments on Norman Smith. Not the slightest attempt for balance with that man. He is thoroughly dull, does not bring any insight to his (highly-paid) task – just grinds on with the bias.
Beeb Bias Craig is one of my daily must reads and his statistical analysis of the BBC’s bias in this election campaign is incredibly detailed and powerful BUT what can any of us do about it? As I se it the Labour/BBC nexus is winning this election, they don’t care if they have to share power with another left-wing party (the Lib Dems) so long as the evil Tories are kept out of Downing Street. I despair for this country if we have 5 more yers of left-wing idiocy ruining the UK.
Love the sarcasm DB. let’s hope we can produce less vacuous content than the trite trio, otherwise we wont have a Clegg to stand on!
And double ditto over Criag’s site. Since the third email digest last week the digest has been the B-BBC and beebbiascraig digest, with most featured posts being from Craig.
From Our Own Correspondent
1. Report from Zimbabwe, sympathic telling of a black farmer who took over a white owned farm. Beeboid chillingly glossed over the fate of the owner and happily repeated Zanu PF slognas about birth rigths ands so forth. We used to joke on this site that the BBC would find away to legitimise Mugabee – it has happed. Truly disgusting.
Then we had some climate change alarmist spewing all sorts of nonssense about glaciers and “greenhouse” gases. the usual by the numbers propaganda.
And we pay for this. Angry yet?
No danger of Mugabe’s anti-homosexual laws being enforced against BBC staff in Harare then.
Can’t find this one. Got a link?
This week the Spectator is running an absolutely sensational piece on the thuggish character of the man behind Labour money and much of Labour spin and the BBC, as far as I can tell, is ominously silent about it.
http://www.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/5912373/how-charlie-whelan-killed-new-labour.thtml
Perhaps someone should tell them its about Lord Ashcroft and then we can watch the BBC go into meltdown over the story.
Yes; the BBC is only politically interested, in its routinely biased way, in Ashcroft, not in Labour’s financial donor, Sir Gulam Noon, and other Muslim business men:
http://www.newenglishreview.org/blog_direct_link.cfm/blog_id/27101
Pounce mentioned the BBCs ‘no emotive words policy’ when reporting on the terrorist atrocities in Pakistan, the following sentence would shame a robot:
“The attack hit a crowd of refugees waiting for aid handouts.”
we also discover ‘ a funny grammar policy’ as well:
“A campaign of bomb attacks blamed of al-Qaeda, the Taliban and Islamist groups has killed more than 3,200 people in less than three years across Pakistan.”
Twin bomb attack on Pakistan camp for displaced
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8626845.stm
BBC hitting new low standards of English & reporting! This is what we do!
Great site, I love it…
Found a FOOC on SA while looking for the clip descreibed by NRG above.
BBC journalists are unable to present an informed and balanced appraisal of the situation in South Africa because they see it through the filter of their prejudice. An excellent example of this was the recent clip from Karen Allen on ‘From Our Own Correspondent’:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00rv5dh#p007b9rv
She starts off with a mocking portrayal of a female Terreblanche supporter in Ventersdorp and then moves on to an apparently more even-handed description of a white farmer named Harry whose friends have been murdered. But she soon proves her bias by claiming that Harry wants to return to the past as a solution to South Africa’s problems while a black businessman she interviews in Soweto wants to move to the future.But nothing displays BBC bias and ignorance more clearly than this statement:
Farm killings, fuelled by South Africa’s gross inequalities, have become big news. And because the majority of South African farmers are white, it has assumed a racial dimension.
Firstly, it is no thanks to the BBC that the killings have become news. Secondly, the farm killings are actually fuelled by the savagery of the killers more than any perceived “inequalities.” Thirdly, if Karen Allen knew the slightest thing about the gruesome nature of the killings, the rape and murder of farmer’s wives and daughters and the mutilation of the bodies of the farmers she would not casually conclude that the racial dimension is accidental. And whites are also continually murdered by blacks in a similar fashion in South Africa’s towns and cities. Whites are being deliberately singled out and targeted for revenge by blacks in the “Rainbow Nation.”
Great post IMO!
BBC racial prejudice, blaming the victim of murder for supposed crimes of others of similar race in the past? I wonder if that excuse will catch on over here.
Immigrants rape and murder white people and then claim they did this because they were upset that their ancestors may have been treated unfairly, perhaps the yuman rites commission should start using that as a defence, bound to be a lot of guilt trip payback on that scam.
Everyones a winner eh? The murderers/rapists/psychopaths get a sob story defence and the lawyers get rich and the victims? baaah, since when did they matter.
We all knew that SA would follow Rhodesia down the path of savage tribal stone age violence and decline, the timetable is almost the same and many people are going to get slaughtered in the process but its only white people doing the dying so who cares eh?
“if Karen Allen knew the slightest thing about the gruesome nature of the killings, the rape and murder of farmer’s wives and daughters and the mutilation of the bodies of the farmers she would not casually conclude that the racial dimension is accidental.”
I think she probably would.
I heard the report last week. She glossed very quickly over the murders “fuelled by inequalities”.
I’m a bit short right now – can I go murder some farmers ?
Note the lack of condemnation from other African leaders to what’s going on in Zimbabwe and South Africa – in fact they seem to view Mugape as some kind of hero.
Because of this I no longer give a rat’s arse about what goes on in Africa.
The prospect of the BBC’s glossy propaganda for the “Rainbow Nation” come the world cup sends a shiver down my spine.
I’ve just found out that the Labour Party candidate for Tonbridge and Malling for the 2010 election is Daniel Griffiths:
http://www.tonbridgelabour.org.uk/
He’s a journalist and has worked (and may still work) for the BBC.
One example of his work: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6983247.stm
I honestly understand the outrage concerning the BBCs coverage of the election and its general “right to rule” mentality.
Maybe we need a Bias Index-if half its output is biased then withold half our licence fee systematically. I don`t see why we have to pay for “The News Quiz” that treats Pope Benedict like Andrew Sachs and Sarah Palin like she is Rose West…or why we pay Jack Straws boy(shopped by his drug averse dad as I recall!) to tell us why Cameron is not fit to lace Browns boots as Martha Kearney slobbers over them!
About time we got active-if a hung Parliament is what is wanted…hang them!…if Cameron is the bat up their nightie then vote for him…and let Jeremy Hardy and bloody Brigstocke(see he is on again tonight…Wembley Hogg left us all rolling in the aisles did it not?) know that we will sell our votes to the BNP and give the money to the Hospice movement if they don`t shut up and go private…at least stop pimping off us as “the civilians”
Compare two current articles.
Slideshow: Classic cars in Gaza with Gaza tunnel smugglers trade in new cars
Have you ever wondered where your aid money goes in the (sic) ‘world’s largest prison’? They are restoring classic cars and importing/smuggling new ones.
What are the odds of having a live QT style chat on the evening of the General Election?
Yes, thats the plan Julio.
Excellent !
Also on R4 this afternnon.
Woman’s hours, a report on female politiicans voices an excuse to play an archive clip a strident socialist speech about nationalisation and public spending to protect jobs.
A diary piece by a Guardian reader dropping in anti-Conservative jibes.
Profile of a French socialist Beeboid touting as next President of France.
Anyone else see this article about BBC bias?
http://conservativehome.blogs.com/centreright/2010/04/an-outrageous-breach-of-bbc-guidelines-on-political-reporting.html
Here’s the article in question
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8626338.stm
The caption to the second picture says that the area has been a LibDem constituency since its inception: a safe seat.
Here is her Facebook page – it appears that Vince Cable is her friend.
I live in the constituency – the LibDem MP Susan Kramer has invented stories about much of the local hospital being under threat of closure. Her predecessor qwasw the evil Jenni Tonge.
Trouble is – the Tory candidate is “Zac” Goldsmith.
Another unbiasd BBC headline
TORY PUBLIC SPENDING CUTS MAKE BROWN SHIVER
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8627800.stm
Because the BBC won’t tell you about any of this:
Lord Monckton’s Complete Tax Day Tea Party Address: Al Gore, Where Are You?
(NB: May require registration to watch. I’m registered so have no way to tell.)
Anyone hear the comment on that exceptionally clean volcano in Iceland? Apparently ‘some reports’ (I think that was the term used) are claiming that grounding aircraft in Europe is keeping CO2 out of the atmosphere.
Only human-made carbon dioxide makes Gaia cry. Besides, you can’t tax and/or lay a guilt trip on a volcano. It just doesn’t listen.
I rather suspect the rest of what is pumping out might not be improving the air quality much, but there there is its carbon trading offset potential if your bonus is enhanced by a tick in a very narrow box.
The new Doctor Who actor Matt Smith has been barred from fronting a campaign to show gifted children that it’s “cool to be clever” because of the BBC’s strict impartiality rules.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/7600022/Doctor-Who-actor-Matt-Smith-barred-from-childrens-campaign-by-BBC.html
BBC Comedians are allowed to do Green Party fundraisers, Dr. Who celebs mouthing off for Labour…
Seems BBC impartiality only works in one direction!
For ‘clever’ read non comprehensives.
“Yes, you heard right: BBC sends thousands of staff on course to teach them how to LISTEN”
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1266771/Yes-heard-right-BBC-sends-thousands-staff-course-teach-LISTEN.html?ITO=1490#ixzz0lRjtDSNV
It is expected that this will be a particularly difficult course for all BBC staff.
From is daily output to blogs such as Nick ‘Hear no evil’ Robinson, one rather suspects they deeply miss, and are trying desperately to get back to being just the ‘British BROADCAST ONLY Corporation.’
Chums, BBC’s A. Marr and Labour’s G. Brown having a non-conversation on ‘immigration’ this morning, on these lines –
Marr: ‘Hasn’t Labour made mistakes on immigration?’
Brown: ‘We are a tolerant and diverse country.’
Marr: ‘Weren’t mistakes made on immigration under Blair?’
Brown: ‘We have a points system now.’
For what’s really going on with immigration into Britain:
“Huge rises in foreign students ‘undermines Labour’s immigration
policy”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/robert-mendick/7601393/Huge-rise-in-foreign-students-undermines-Labours-immigration-policy.html
“Brown’s mindset on full display”
(James Forsyth)
http://www.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/5921688/browns-mindset-on-full-display.thtml
With the governing party falling to third place in the polls BBC is shrilling that the main casaulity is the Conservative party. R4 currently in full hue and cry doing a hatchet job on Conservtive policy. No attempt at even a pretence of hiding the bias.
Yes, the BBC is consistently anti-Tory on ‘The World this Weekend’.
In comparison, Marr had a cosy chat with his chum Brown earlier this morning.
And Clegg’s policies, such as the following, remain largely unscrutinised by BBC:
“Is this what we’ve become?”
http://atangledweb.squarespace.com/httpatangledwebsquarespace/is-this-what-weve-become.html
Yes, the presenter Shaun Ley emphasised that the Conservatives are “the biggest casualties” in the latest polls.
The he added “a word of caution”: “In two of the polls no more than four points separate the three biggest parties and since the margin of error in any poll is 3 points we may actually be looking at a statistical dead heat”.
That’s true, but it’s also true that the same margin of error might also mean that we could be looking at as much as a 10 point Tory lead over Labour. It works both ways.
As a matter of interest, on Friday evening while BBC 24 was bigging up the YouGov poll and Cleggie, the YouGov poll was the only poll mentioned and noted on the ticker tape at the foot of the screen, Sky News – on a similar ticker-tape – displayed the results of ALL the current polls (about 5-10 seconds per poll) AFAIAA throughout the evening. Thus the state broadcaster edited out any indication that the YouGov poll might not be the only news in town. On Sky News meanwhile – which is owned by the same outfit which commissioned the YouGov poll in the first place – actually supplies impartial information (ie all the poll data available).
‘With the governing party falling to third place in the polls BBC is shrilling that the main casaulity is the Conservative party’
It is an odd stance, really. However, being in a marginal that Labour loses their deposit in, until the voters get to hear that a vote for Clegg isn’t a vote to keep Brown ‘doing his job’, outside of the M25 the BBC’s wishes may not have as much traction.
“£1.6m for 18 new BBC bosses as it ‘cuts costs’ ”
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1266787/1-6m-18-new-BBC-bosses-cuts-costs.html#ixzz0lSRhp56y
The volcano furore may well have the effect of pushing this country into a devastating economic crisis. That is accelerating what was already inevitable by a yet unknown factor.
Reality is about to hit us hard and the entire fantastic lunatic world of the liberal left will simply explode in their smug vacant faces.
Seldom has there been a more irrelevant election.
Hubristic to the last man and woman they put me in mind of the Trojans in their petulant disregard for reality and their insane belief in themselves and their misbegotten beliefs.
Maybe this is one of those “black swan” events that reorder and remake all our lives.
Did anyone catch Louis Theroux’s truly disgusting programme on the stinking BBC last night. Basically he set out to “explore” (ie ridicule) the use of drugs in treating children with ADHD in the USA. Yup, you got it… another rubbishing of America by the saintly Louis and his pimp funders (the BBC). Well while Louis was his usual smug. mendacious self, the American families he intruded upon were typically gracious and open, and to all but the most bigoted viewer (ie Beeboids) it became clear that these desperately unhappy children and their carers NEEDED help and at the very least medication was a viable option. What was so disgusting was the way Theroux exploited these children and their parents, with his vile knowing glances at camera. Luckily most of the kids thought he was a prize twat and said so. A horrible, nasty, wicked little programme. Perfect for the stinking BBC.
Given that any programme dealing with the problems of parents and children has an exploitative element, this was (unusually) a programme which IMHO explored with sensitivity and good manners a number of issues concerning the treatment by medication of difficult children . It seemed to me that Theroux got to the heart of the matter particularly with the boy of the family he stayed with. He both revealed the conflicted feelings of the parents who were concerned that their son meant what he said about committing suicide and of the boy himself with whom, I thought, Theroux developed a relationship within which the boy could relax and express his true feelings.
Whatever, it seemed to me that Theroux was able to reveal (at a fairly basic level) to interested viewers the difficulties in treating these children with drugs and, also as important, the effects of NOT treating these children. The programme was not – again unusually for the BBC – an anti-American tract. The programme did not pretend that Theroux was an expert nor did I see any “knowing glances to camera”
I once gave an English class the assignment to write what was the best thing that has ever happened to me. One of my class wrote, “the best thing that ever happened to me was the day they gave me Ritalin”.
There are many, many occasions when BBC reporters place their desire to be ‘politically correct’ above their duty ro report the news accurately.
So when they describe the Met’s Operation Trident as a unit ‘set up to combat serious gun crime in the capital’ they are not accurately portraying its role.
Are you, BBC?
Only the BBC could make a special feature about the 30th anniversary of Zimbabwe’s independence, mention Mugabe’s seizure of land from white farmers and harrassment and torture of his opponents, and still make it nearly a whitewash. Pun intended.
Mugabe is not portrayed as a saint by any means, but the tragedy he’s caused is barely spelled out, the atrocities only lightly touched upon, and the real cause of the country’s transformation from breadbasket to basket case isn’t even discussed.
It seems that the coca leaf-farming and chewing President of Bolivia is going to host some sort of forum to save Mother Earth from the ravages of AGW/ACC. The BBC report mentions that Bolivia is one of the countries that refused to sign the Warmist agreement at Copenhagen, but there are two glaring omissions.
1. Morales is in thrall to the BBC’s beloved Hugo Chavez.
2. Bolivia didn’t sign on to the Copenhagen deal because they joined with the other third-world….sorry…developing countries that were unhappy about the amount of cash being redistributed their way. And then the BBC’s beloved Obamessiah cut off the separate feed of US cash because of it.
Here are some far-Left, thoroughly environmental websites to explain this.
US Cancels Climate Aid to Bolivia, Ecuador over Copenhagen Oppostion
Bolivia Rejects U.S. Blackmail on Copenhagen Accord
U.S. denies financial aid to Bolivia over Copenhagen Boycott
I especially recommend the last one, because it includes the bonus hilarity of a statement that Bolivia is facing a water shortage because “climate change” is causing the glaciers to melt.