OPEN THREAD…


Monday morning – a brand new week of relentless bias from the BBC and a brand new open thread to pick it up!

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200 Responses to OPEN THREAD…

  1. fred bloggs says:

    I call this a ‘why did thet choose them moment’.  R4 ‘Today’, wanted discussion about deficiet/banks, on the support side was some non london banker I have never heard of.  On the ‘it was the Bankers that dun it’ side was bBC fav Billy (Labour is so good for London I have mover to Dorset) Bragg.  Bragg goes into loud pontificating mode for so long that he nearly scores an own goal, by demanding the lack of city regulation was a prime cause.  The bBC compare kept quiet and the lack lustre opposition said nothing.  Not a murmur that Brown was in charge of the non existent bank regulation.

    Is this another bBC tactic get both sides of a view, one pro but timid and the other against but loud mouthed.

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    • Roland Deschain says:

      Just what qualifications does Billy Bragg have that they keep wheeling him out for comment?

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      • It's all too much says:

        I heard Bragg on R4 for 15 seconds before turning it off.  The carefully affected mockney was more than I could bear.  He clearly will not accept that YOU CANNOT SPEND MORE THAN YOU EARN.  His qualifications – what more do you want – card carrying communist, cultivated cockney accent and a total lack of understanding of the basics of market economics?  Bragg is a pathetic and irritating throwback to the 70’s who has never forgiven the then British people (collective of communities?) for electing ‘Fatcher’.  Why is he so often on the BBC?  His music is a crap dirge at best so what else does he bring to the table?  I guess it is because he has a fringe hard left view and is a ‘national treasure’ to the trendies of the 80’s.  When will be the next time we hear from Freddy Forsythe on the right? Sometime never

        Basically half the BBC management went to Bragg  ‘gigs’ when they wuz student lefties – before 331 of them started paying themselves more than the Prime Minister and setting up a colony in Tuscany away from the benefits to society that they have brought me………….. I hate him and I hate the fact that the BBC feels that he has a legitimate voice and is qualified to discuss the state of the nation when no one off message gets a chance.  Perhaps I could go on and discuss endocrinology as practiced in East Gernamy – I know bugger all about, as long as I have the right attitude I am sure the BBC would oblige

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        • hippiepooter says:

          I guess the BBC think Bragg has ‘voice of the people’ kudos and will are more likely to swallow the bilge he comes out with because of it.

          If the cause to restore BBC impartiality wasn’t so side-tracked by the separate issue of the license fee maybe something could be got off the ground to counter its bias.

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      • NotaSheep says:

        Well Billy Bragg did record “Talking with the Taxman about Poetry”

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      • Cassandra King says:

        Billy Bragg? He is ‘on message’ and he is the kind of sick inducing ‘balladeer of the people’ that all leftists love. getting the message across via songs.

        He is also rich and lives the life of a rich person and his family follow the tradition of living the upper class high life while spouting the man of the people bullshite, private schools and healthcare and the best of everything while spewing bile at those who complain about having to accept third world competitors into the poorest areas that he would not live in.

        Two faced arrogant double standards, perfect beeboid material.

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    • Grant says:

      It is the ” Billy Bragg Corporation ” .

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  2. Martin says:

    What a shock, Radio 5 are covering the stick and ball hitting in a field from Wales, so the “evil Tories” have been pushed to the BBC website. So I goes over to the Radio 5 website to hear Vicki Pollard interviewing Liam Fox and I get the following message “We apologise this broadcast has been interrupted due to technical reasons”

    So the BBC are just not covering the Tories at all on their MAIN political/current affairs radio station. Why didn’t the BBC put the stick and ball hitting on Radio 4 longwave?

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    • NotaSheep says:

      Because the BBC would like to deny the conservatives the ‘oxygen of publicity’. Also they like cheering on a Europe team…

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    • john smith says:

      The BBC news website’s front page last week was all Labour, Labour, Labour. I had to look for coverage of the Tory conference, it is on another page the link right at the bottom rather amusingly with the Chilean miners.

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  3. Rueful Red says:

    Billy Bragg….. the Richard Dawkins of economics…..

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  4. Bupendra Bhakta says:

    The poor saps on Radio 5 Persistent Vegetative State this morning talking about Gideon’s (let’s face it) tiny tweak on Child Benefit to save a piddling one billion p0unds a year.

    The measure – stiff the rich – would of course be very Al-Beebeezeera friendly in the normal course of events, but spying a chance to drive a stake through the heart of the coalition (I’ve been watching Nosferatu, right) the 5ers went a tad gaga on it.

    ‘It cannot be underestimated…’ – Sheila Tittering-Coquette

    ‘A massive, massive change’. – Andy ‘I know nuuusseeng’ Ferity (sp?)

    ‘Big, big, big story’ – Pinhead

    Fellas, just, you know, tell us the story.  We can decide for ourselves how big, massive, gigantic and otherwise epoch-changing it is.  OK.

    And also witness that favourite tactic of al-beeb – reading out the rather suspicious text message (ie cooked up in the corner of the studio by a work-experience ‘intern’ after a quick speed-dial to Labour HQ).

    Quote – It’s so unfair, I earn £44,000 a year (conveniently just shy of the thresshold) and I’ll lose my child benefit whereas my sister and her husband earn £84,000 a year (again conveniently just shy of the thresshold).  Yeah right, pull the other one, darling.

    And to cap it all, as is al-beeb’s way these days, we had to have a quote from a union rent-a-gob (Barber) who of course criticised it.

    I actually breathed a sigh of relief (amazing I know) when they cut to Vassos ‘I-Am-A-Dalek’ Alexander and Dame Nicky who were at the golf and shouting ‘woohoo, woohoo’ a lot.

    Time to nail down the lid on Radio 5’s coffin. 🙁

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    • Guest Who says:

      Aunty is really an incorrigible minx, and also a bit schizophrenic, seemingly unsure from one minute to the next what is good or bad in terms of policy, but at least consistent with when it’s bad by party.

      Just caught the top of the hour ‘views’ on R2.

      So.. a Tory chancellor imposes a cut that can hardly be said to favour the core voter base, perhaps to shave a wee bit more wedge to pop in a pot left bare by the previous owners. With luck, after pensions for MPs and administration costs, there will be 3s 6d for actual vulnerable folk too. You’d have thought the BBC would be in favour.

      But no. 

      They head straight for the public sector union gob of choice (Mr. Barber, as above?) that will suit this narrative, who is appalled at this vicious stab at the heart of his members. And him alone. Main story.

      No one thought to ask him, for some reason, that if not from the higher paid then, just where the heck any cuts should be. The money pixie?

      If they can’t report this rationally, maybe they should just stick to golf.

      I am getting vexed. Seriously.

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    • Martin says:

      John Pinhead really is a joke. like Michael Prick his whole narrative is based on tittle tattle, not serious professional journalism. When Pinhead goes around saying that his job is to create the wedge in the coalition you know the man is a joke.

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    • Grant says:

      Of course, if Labour had hit the middle classes like this, the BBC would be applauding it.
      Why should the State pay people to have children in the first place ?
      One Labour MP was complaining it would hit her constituents particularly hard as many of them were Pakistanis with big families.
      Quite frankly, I think the UK is a sick joke and the coalition will do little to halt the comtinued decline.

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  5. Guest Who says:

    BBC top of the hour/main story creation and priortisation:

    From today’s MediaGraun:

    Coulson ‘listened to intercepted messages’

    Anonymous source tells Channel Four…’ ‘… who feed it to the Graun, where the BBC at last gets aware of it and then repackages the unsubstantiated Labour smear machine PR as another one of their now almost hourly factually wrong propaganda exercises.

    Oddly, no mention of anything on the 0 out of 10 controversy, for which they were proud sponsors but are now closed for comments upon? Sound familiar?

    Maybe it blew over? Or maybe the hive is unaware of this small ripple in the media infirmament?

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  6. Martin says:

    So just watching Beeboid 24 I see Emily titless interviewing Brendon Barber (why do we have someone from the Unions there again? was there someone at the Liebour conference from big business?) and some ugly fat bird from the Child Poverty Action Group who started waffling on about child poverty.

    If you want to stop so called child poverty (even though technically there is no child poverty in the UK) then stop giving handouts to the underclass that can’t stop breeding and make them get a job.

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    • Marky says:

      Would that underclass be those who are disabled which no-one wants to employ?

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      • Martin says:

        No Marky boy, you’ve obviously got some bad smack today. It’s the bone idle gits on council estates who don’t want to work. Perhaps you’re one?

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        • Marky says:

          No I’m not, I’m what is called disabled (although I don’t like thinking in those terms) but quite often put into the category of “bone idle gits on council estates who don’t want to work”. The reality of many people’s lives is somewhat different than what the media portrays it as. BTW I don’t use smack.

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          • Martin says:

            Marky, Osborne made it VERY clear he wasn’t talking about the disabled. I agree that employers should be encouraged to take on disabled people where possible, but those people need the skills and part of the problem from the wet left is that if you try to encourage disabled people to get back to education you’re seen as bullying.

            Stephen Hawking is very disabled but manages to hold down a full time job, yes he needs a lot of help but he manages it.

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            • Marky says:

              Sorry Martin but you really don’t know what it’s like. I could write tons about the government lies, cheating medical examiners, how employers don’t want disabled people (educated or not) depending on the disability and age, but it’s going way off topic about biased BBC. Stephen Hawking is a totally different case, you know it.

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  7. Grant says:

    Quote from BBC News in the most recent “Private Eye “:-
    “Is Vince Cable the new Karl Marx ? “.

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  8. Martin says:

    Classic John Sober on BBC news (looks like he’s been in the bar already) talking to Justine Greening about Child allowance “What about a single mother on 44 thousand a year” spouts the drunk

    44 THOUSAND A YEAR. Who the bloody hell needs child allowance if you earn that much?

    The BBC are SO desperate to spin this as Tory evil that Sober is so pissed he can’t even think it through.

    Does this arsehole really think most people out there care if someone on 44K a year doesn’t get child allowance?

    If I had my way no one would get child allowance, I’d scrap the benefit and raise the threshold at which the low paid start paying tax.

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  9. jeff says:

    I heard the interview with lefty sage Bragg this morning. This talentless tosser could irritate for Britain. The only thing that he has going for him is his supposed left wing/multicultural loving beliefs, but I strongly believe the bloke’s a fraud. He lives in a grand house in Dorset (hardly enjoying the unparralled benefits of mass immigration) and has almost zero musical ability. If he wasn’t a lefty luvvie he’d be strumming his guitar in Charing Cross underground instead of boring the arse off everyone with his peurile view of politics.

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  10. prpw says:

    I’m told by a reliable source in the UK that during the BBC’s live coverage of the Conservative party conference this morning, the live feed mysteriously cut out immediately after George Osborne alluded in his speech to 2 fratricidal brothers trying to stab each other in the back… as if the BBC engineer on duty had a hissy fit… was someone watching who can corroborate ?  

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    • Martin says:

      It went off on BBC and Sky. Also Radio 5 had a ‘technical ‘ issue with Vicki Pollard and Liam Fox so I couldn’t hear that either.

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  11. David Preiser (USA) says:

    No picture on the News Channel again.  How convenient.  I thought they fixed this on Friday a few minutes after the BBC union cancelled their strike for this week?

    Still, the Toy Conference has barely begun and already Maitlis had on Will Hutton to disparage the reduction in child benefit allowance.  Apparently it’s only a handful of immigrant families with eight children that the Mail and Sun will scream about, but they’re a tiny, tiny minority of those who claim the benefit.  Maitlis realizes this means that reduction scheme “will hardly save any money at all”.

    Maitlis was playing a different role last week:  that of dewey-eyed cheerleader. This week, it’s the concerned critic.

    It’s also very helpful that the London tube strike gives the Beeboids the chance to say “Winter of Discontent” and “the 1980s” every few minutes.

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  12. George R says:

    Censored by INBBC media empire (inc. ‘Education’ webpage):

    ‘Telegraph’ –

    “British schools where girls must wear the Islamic veil ”

    [Extract]:

    It [Ofsted] rated the school’s overall performance as satisfactory’ but noted that ‘the history curriculum is limited to Islamic history in Key Stage 3’.

    No doubt, INBBC will be further ideologically inspired by this approved Islamic practice on the presentation of history for INBBC to continue to do likewise on the history of Europe and the denial of the history of Islamic imperialism.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8038820/British-schools-where-girls-must-wear-the-Islamic-veil.html

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  13. David Preiser (USA) says:

    That’s the second critic of the Government in a row.  This one was concerned about health services, particularly for the elderly.  The only mention of a member of Government I’ve heard so far on the News Channel is when Maitlis said she saw Ken Clarke rehearsing his speech in the hall earlier.  “He’s something of a conference darling,” she sneered.

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  14. David Preiser (USA) says:

    The BBC News Channel has scored a hat trick.  Now we have three critics of the Government in a row.  This time it’s some woman from the Center for Social Justice.  She’s concerned about the same old song, afraid the nasty Tories aren’t going to do it right or whatever.

    Can they find anyone who isn’t going all negative about the Tory Government at the Tory Conference?  Is there a press chief or something?

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    • Marky says:

      Yeah I turned the TV on for 5 minutes this afternoon, watched a short bit of News 24, saw it was having a go at the Tories and tuned it off.

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    • Julio says:

      DP: You wouldn’t think from the BBC’s coverage that the Tories got more votes than any other part at the last election would you?

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  15. Guest Who says:

    They’d make Baden Powell proud…

    r4today   We’re looking for a woman who has lost her job in the last year as a result of public sector cuts. DM your email address if you can speak.

    Be prepared! Nowt like setting up the scene in advance.

    Helen, the genes are mutating again!

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  16. David Preiser (USA) says:

    Nice how the BBC News Channel was showing some vox pops complaining how low and dehumanized they feel for being unemployed before cutting back to the studio for some pointless news break.  After a few seconds, they cut back to the Conference, and apparently Chris Grayling is in the middle of a speech.  This means that they didn’t bother showing the first part and instead chose to show negative stuff.

    The day isn’t even half over.

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  17. Guest Who says:

    To get the BBC and the Daily Mail together takes skill…

    http://liberalconspiracy.org/2010/10/04/lazy-bbc-hacks-repeat-daily-mail-elf-n-safety-myths/

    Fortunately more on professional reporting skills that, in one case, only £3.6B can buy and I have to co-swallow without recourse.

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  18. David Preiser (USA) says:

    Unbelievable.  Just as Grayling starts to show a video about some Tory program success story, the BBC cuts back to the studio about a fuel industry investment scheme which will add £6 a year to everyone’s bill.  “That doesn’t sound very fair to me,” says the female Beeboid.

    This is really a joke.  It’s every bit as bad as everyone here predicted, and I’ve the news on barely one hour so far.

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  19. Martin says:

    The talentless slapper Maitlis really is showing her true colours (although not her knickers for a change) on News 24. What a bitter and twisted old hag. How would SHE suggest we get the economy sorted out?

    More immigrants? More pay for beeboids? more public spending?

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    • David Preiser (USA) says:

      She’s really useless.  Now she’s arguing with somebody who is defending the private sector, saying that it’s the private sector that has to pick up employment to get the economy going again and take up the slack for the reduced public sector.  The private sector has increased employment by 5 percent in the last six months, which is just what is needed.

      “So in other words, the private sector will have to pick up the slack for the public sector?”  What a star.

      Then she asks, “But where is the money coming from for the private sector to increase employment?”  Answer:  From the private sector.  Maitlis can’t understand the concept.

      Now we’re back to the Thatcher years with Lord Heseltine.  After Heseltine gives a decent defense of the private sector, Maitlis asks him the same question about the Tories’ failure to form a majority government she asked Lamont earlier.  Does he accept the Coalition or not?  Heseltine is being pretty pragmatic about it, which is not according to her script, so Maitlis asks if the Tories are going to have a “post-mortem” and “figure out what went wrong”.

      Can the BBC drive a wedge or what?  Back to Laura K, who has left the building (too many Conseravtives in the room?) and is now talking to the leader of the Conservatives in Scotland.  She says people like the Conservatives’ policies, and realize that it’s necessary and that those in higher tax brackets will understand.

      Now Laura asks this woman the same “Are you happy that you’re in a Coalition?” question.  Agenda?  What agenda?

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  20. David Preiser (USA) says:

    Oops, the BBC found a member of the public who thought it was a good idea to save money by reducing the child benefit scheme.  I guess the BBC cut away before they blew her up, as I didn’t hear any explosion or screams.

    Now it’s back to the studio for Emily Maitlis to talk to Lord Lamont about whether or not the idea of universal benefits like the child benefit or winter fuel allowance for pensioners might be outdated.

    Tories are hypocrites, says Maitlis.  Lamont blames the economic mess.  She’s got not response for that as it’s not on her prepared script, so she moves on to the next line of attack, housing benefits.  Lamont has a good answer, so Maitlis continues down her list.

    “Fairness” and “what about The City”, Osborne hasn’t bashed the bankers enough.  Robert Peston supplied that one, obviously.  Lamont disagrees with a coherent answer, so now it’s time for the final attack question:

    You didn’t convince the public that the Tories were good enough to form a majority government, so are you any good now?

    Grayling’s speech must be over, because now Laura K is talking to the Tory deputy chair and someone from the Left-leaning Social Market Foundation.  There were no right-leaning people in the entire building, never mind on camera, during the Labour Conference.

    Laura attacked Tory tax polices, of course.  “Fairness”, blah, blah, blah.  How many of those 350,000 families with three or more children where the parents are out of work were gainfully employed before the recent economic troubles?  Who knows, who cares.  All you need to know is that people with children will be affected by nasty Tory policies.

    Now it’s back to the studio for Maitlis to do a dramatic reading of a piece written for her by Stephanie Flanders which is – surprise! – attack on the Tory welfare policy.  Conclusion:  it’s crap because it won’t save any money (only 300 mil) and won’t even start until 2013.  

    I realize that since the Tories are in power, any coverage must include discussion of their policies and all that, but it’s all negative.  Even the two Tories the BBC have had on so far were forced to defend the Party against criticisms, and weren’t even asked what they felt about a speech or about the general mood of the Conference or anything like that.

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    • Guest Who says:

      I think they have all supped of the Kool Aid and are shaping up for a BBCTown special.

      It’s the only way to explain this Black Maria (It was called Hunt the.. er.. Queen of Spades at school) strategy.

      Having already gone too far, they must figure going the whole hog is worth it.

      Be a shame if the coalition holds and they are facing a few years of a less than impressed government and populace to explain their shenanigans.

      Mind you, the public can do sweet FA, and the government seems near mute as they oversee the funding of pure propaganda against their own interests.

      That i could accept, as the dozy berks are little better and deserve all they get.

      But having the UK’s political direction and social engineering controlled by a minor cabal… using my money… with £3.6B pa nationally broadcasting’s worth… to push a dogma-driven set of beliefs…seems a bit counter democratic. And hence a wee bit too unique. Thus… vexing.

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      • Guest Who says:

        Or… maybe they figure Gordo’s scorched earth policies worked soooo well, and is worth emulating.

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    • Martin says:

      That’s the problem with the BBC, they don’t see 300 million as real money, after all  that wouldn’t keep the BBC in Cocaine and 5* hotels for a year.

      300 million is a lot of money paid in tax by millions of private sector workers.

      I’ve a better idea, we can save 3.5 BILLION a year by getting rid of the BBC.

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  21. It's all too much says:

    Just a question – perhaps the BBC could answer it if they could drag their ‘journalists’ off the scent laid by the Labour PR spinners – you know, the one pointing at Ashcroft and Coulson (Hey, perhaps the title of the next BBC PC buddy cop drama)

    Anyway my question

    Will parents who ‘earn’ more than 40K in benefits have their child benefit removed?  Could be a lot of them out there who have nine kids and a state supplied six bedroom house.

    Bonus question – how many benefits claimants would actually be classed as higher rate tax payers if they actually earned it?

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  22. David Preiser (USA) says:

    Maitlis just gave me the opening lines for a song:

    (sung to the tune of Every Sperm Is Sacred)

    “Every cut is painful, every cut has victims….”

    Her actual words just now.

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  23. Deborah says:

    I was listening to the post 8 o’clock interview of George Osborne this morning and I am a bit worried.  I didn’t hear it all but James Naughtie didn’t seem to be interrupting George with long tortuous questions, George was allowed to speak.  Is all well in the Today studio?

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  24. Martin says:

    I notice that Emily Talentless was having a go at the claim from Osborne that no one should get more on benefits than the average wage.

    Needless to say Maitlis isn’t happy, getting that economic genius (Flanders) to work out what that means per week (£500). According to Maitlis there are 50,000 people who will be affected and “some of them will have children and some will live in London”

    Was she talking about herself? Perhaps she’s getting the boot. No doubt we will now get some crap from the BBC that Osborne’s cuts will be unfair to ‘wimmin’ who have a right to get drunk drop their knickers and get knocked up as many times as they like AND are entitled to live off the state (what we call a typical Labour voter)

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    • David Preiser (USA) says:

      Don’t forget her statement that it won’t save any money anyway as 300 million is a drop in the bucket compared to billions of pounds.

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  25. Martin says:

    Remember how the three Stooges kept telling us about all those species dying out? We said at the time that new species come along and that it’s always been part of the cycle of life, so what will these three dummies responses be to this?

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11443210

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  26. Martin says:

    Nobody should RELY on child benefit to bring up kids. If you breed em you pay for em.

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  27. Martin says:

    Huw Edwards trying to put words in the mouth of some bloke for Barnardos. Didn’t quite work out as the Welsh twat would have liked.

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    • David Preiser (USA) says:

      Now Edwards is giving his personal opinion on what’s important to “how we are as a society”.  He says the government gave the nasty bankers “enormous amounts of money”, so how does that square with taking money away from the poorest, etc.

      Phillip Hammond didn’t rise to the bait and gave the first proper defense of the Tory policies I’ve heard today by someone who is a member of the current Government and not Mrs. Thatcher’s.

      Now Laura K says that the child benefit deal is “controversial” and she’s hearing grumbling and “tensions” from delegates.

      Can we just declare the Tory Conference an abject failure and a return to being the Nasty Party and call it day?

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  28. davejanfitz says:

    funny that during the liebore meetings,interviews,outside broadcasts everything worked,but and its a big but during the tories meetings,etc it stops working…what is Mr Hunt going to do now,nothing so whats the point emailing him the info when he takes no notice…

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    • David Preiser (USA) says:

      Are you getting a picture on the News Channel, or audio only?

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      • Martin says:

        Picture and sound

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        • David Preiser (USA) says:

          Weird.  I’ve had no picture on the satellite feed (which I paid for via a subscription service) since it went out on Friday.  It wasn’t just me then, as they talked about it on air at the time.  But there is a picture on the IPlayer, so I have no idea what’s going on.

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  29. Martin says:

    How does a useless twat like Huw Edwards get a job at the BBC?

    Firstly he claims that the Tories child benefit changes will target the ‘most vulnerable’. What people earning 50K a year? Vulnerable?

    They Edwards STATED that people on benefits wouldn’t be able to ‘earn’ more than £25,000 a year. Since when do people on benefits actually earn anything?

    Also, there are double standards from the BBC, one person earning £50K a year pays tax at the higher rate, but two earning 25K a year don’t. So why is that fair BBC?

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    • David Preiser (USA) says:

      They only have to pay the one TV license fee, so there’s no problem.

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    • deegee says:

      Could this be why Ed Milliband doesn’t marry his girlfriend although they live in the same premises? Just speculating?

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  30. David Preiser (USA) says:

    Hands up all those who think low-income (or no-income) families use the child benefits cash to pay to send their children to day care centers.  If they do, then why not directly fund the day care centers in the first place?  It would save loads of money and the poorest and children wouldn’t be hurt the most.

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    • Martin says:

      The money just gets spent on fags, booze and bingo in many cases or is saved up towards the family holiday.

      Scrap the benefits and use the money to raise the tax threshold at which people start paying tax, that is the fairest way.

      The BBC are still peddling the lie though that the poorest will be hurt the most, no BBC 50K is NOT poor.

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  31. Martin says:

    So why did the BBC go to a nursery ONLY to get opinions on child benefit cuts? Of course the useless twats are all going to moan at losing benefits.

    How to get an audience that gives you the opinion you want.

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  32. Biodegradable says:

    Bias by Omission, just what we’ve come to expect from the BBC:

    Mairead Maguire to appeal Israel ban

    […]

    She won the peace prize for 1976.


    Israeli authorities said they refused her entry because she took part in an attempt to break the blockade of Gaza.


    In June of this year, she was on board the Rachel Corrie, one of a number of ships in an aid flotilla which was refused entry to Gaza and boarded by Israeli forces.

    […]

    So exactly what was omitted from that report?

    Only this:

    Máiread Maguire rebuked by Israeli judge

    An Israeli judge has warned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Máiread Maguire that the courtroom is “not a place for propaganda” after she called Israel an “apartheid” state during a deportation hearing.

    Well no, not even that.

    This:

    After the Rachel Corrie ship was boarded and redirected to Ashdod, Ms Maguire gave written confirmation that she would not attempt to enter Israel again.


    Despite warnings from Israeli foreign ministry officials that she would not be allowed back to Israel, Ms Maguire returned last week with a delegation of women.


    When she was refused entry to Israel, she reportedly caused a scene by blocking the plane gangway.

    BBC: Bias by omission, it’s what we do!

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  33. Martin says:

    Poor old beeboids, they will ALL be losing child benefit. Looks like they will have to find other income to fund their Cocaine habits.

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  34. Martin says:

    Sheena Easton now on TV hammering the Government. Funny that he never hammered Liebour when they were in power.

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  35. james1070 says:

    Smug Richard Black on Splatter Gate

    It’s a blog, you can leave comments.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/richardblack/2010/10/this_week_marks_a_first.html

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    • Heads on poles says:

      Expect this to be pulled soon – the comments are not going the BBCs way – shaaaame…..

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      • My Site (click to edit) says:

        The BBC are just as quick to censor comments they dont like as the Guardian comment is free mods are! I made a number of comments in Richard Blacks blog about his surprise at being targetted by alarmists…only to have those comments removed as being off topic!

        The sooner the BBC gets rid of its blogs the better!

        Also…anyone notice what else has been missing in todays news? VERY little mention of that race hustler over in the Netherlands! 🙂

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    • Roland Deschain says:

      There’s a charming poster there by the name of Greenpa.  On so-called climate deniers: “they are not genuine humans with genuine opinions“.

      As their world unravels, their true nature shines through.

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  36. Heads on poles says:

    The BBBC seem to be having many technical problems now that the Tories are having their conference.
    I wonder why that would be ………

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  37. Gerald says:

    Nearly crashed the car today.

    Listening to “The World at One” the BBC invited a female from the Child Poverty Action Group to expouse on child poverty.

    What caused me to nearly crash was the comment by her that we had to be careful not to discriminate against rthe Bangladeshi population who tended to have larger families!

    The point was obviously not picked up by the interviewer who could have asked whether that was because of the generosity of “national assistance” directly related to the number of children.

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    • deegee says:

      No, they have large families in Bangla Desh. They have them in Britain because of the generosity of “national assistance”.

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  38. Betty Swollocks says:

    Compare Tom Bradby’s assessment of the Tory Conference with toenails, i think the beeboids are quite shocked and upset that so many people are backing Osbourne’s welfare plan !!

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  39. David Preiser (USA) says:

    Revealing body language from Laura Kuenssberg right now.  She’s standing with arms folded facing the Conservative woman (Justine something) trying to defend – what else? – the child benefit reduction.  Standing next to Laura and also facing the Conservative is an advocate (Tim something) from some group or other and is also challenging the Conservative woman.  They’re standing side by side, ganging up on the Tories. “You’re targeting the children, it’s a tax on children, it’s not a progressive tax”.

    Does anyone remember a similar situation last week?

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    • Martin says:

      Nope, it was all very cosy and just WHO invites all these hangers on? The BBC? I don’t remember all these anti lot being at the Liebour conference last week.

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  40. Martin says:

    Jesus Polly bloody Toynbee again, why is that fat hag on every 5 minutes?

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  41. David Preiser (USA) says:

    Now it’s Polly Toynbee and Matthew Parris to declare that this is the Nasty Party attacking children.  Parris helpfully defends Osborne’s announcement by saying that “more than half” the comments in the Daily Mail support him.  And he’s supposed to be supporting the Tories against Toynbee and Kuenssberg?

    Which Party conference is this again?

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  42. Grant says:

    Interview on R4 at 5 pm today with female beeboid and William Hague.
    Incredibly aggressive , even by Beeboid standards. And Hague just took it . I don’t think the Tories have the guts to fight.

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    • My Site (click to edit) says:

      I dont know if its really that they dont want to fight but more of a “what is there to prove”? Its not like fighting back is going to change anything when it comes to the BBC. They will either edit the interview or not show it at all.

      On the other hand, if only this Government would grow a spine and send a very clear message that the BBC’s days of leftist bias are over.

      Chances of that happening? I expect thats next to zero!

      Mailman

         0 likes

      • Grant says:

        Mailman,
        Yes, I often wonder if it is Tory policy to appear calm and reasonable in the face of Beeboid attacks in the hope the viewers will sympathise with them, but I really don’t think it works and just emboldens the Beeboids. The ferocity of some of the “interviews” is almost hysterical.

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  43. It's all too much says:

    I wonder if this will make it to the BBC….

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/8042167/Pakistani-woman-killed-in-Italy-over-arranged-marriage.html

    “Livia Turco, a senior politician in the Democrats of the Left main opposition party, condemned “arranged marriages and violence against women” on the pretext of “ethnic traditions” that she blasted as “medieval practices”.

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  44. Martin says:

    Is Stephanie Flanders a total twat? She’s waffling on about the max 25K a year for benefit wasters saying that in the south east and London this simply isn’t enough.

    Of course what the dozy bint fails to point out is that 25K might be the average salary but that’s BEFORE TAXES are taken off, 25K’s worth of benefits is equal to a pre tax salary of about 35K not 25K.

    Someone on 25K probably lives off about 16K after all taxes.

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    • Amy Smythe says:

      Actually in Stephanie Flanders land the £25k is very valuable because the BBC’s “economic genius” cannot see any signs of inflation. This was an odd message to spread on the day that petrol prices went up due to a duty increase.

      However the one place where you do not see inflation is of course on her blog where after consistently getting it wrong she rarely mentions her view that it does not exist.

      Also she posts very little on economic issues but finds the time to post twice in a day on what are essentially political issues.

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  45. Martin says:

    Anyone else see Michael Prick on Newsnight trying to harass IDS? What an utter tool Prick made of himself. Did anyone actually catch what the prick was on about? All I heard was Prick rabbiting on about men divorcing their wives because they won’t get child benefit or something.

    What a w*nker.

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  46. james1070 says:

    Splattergated Update  
     
    Now on FOX NEWS not BBC  
     
    This is hillarous, Megyn Kelly takes this very seriously. I havent seen anyone this serious on TV since the Blue Peter sunken Italian garden was vandalised. It’s that serious.  
     
    http://video.foxnews.com/v/4358572/outrage-over-new-global-warming-video-warning-graphic-imagery/?playlist_id=87485  
     
     
     
    Apparently Glenn Beck will show this too.

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  47. George R says:

    “‘No Pressure’: New Environmental Campaign Glorifies Eco-Fascism”

    http://www.theblaze.com/stories/no-pressure-new-environmental-campaign-glorifies-eco-fascism/

    Glenn Beck featured this on his programme on ‘FOX NEWS’, tonight, (10 pm, UK time).

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  48. George R says:

    Beeboids will want this high-speed rail link built as soon as possible as that they can get out of their new Manchester offices and get to London as quickly and as often as possible, preferably at licencepayers’ expense.

    “Minister backs high-speed rail to Manchester and Leeds”

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11465786

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  49. Craig says:

    Thanks to David P. and Martin for their superb coverage of the News Channel’s take on the Conservative conference today.

    It was so different to last Monday (the only day of the Labour conference I monitored) when George Osborne (reacting to the IMF’s verdict) was one of only two non-Labour voices – other than a few journalists – not from the Left. Last Monday there were interviews with the following (non-Laborites in UPPER CASE)…

    Yvette Cooper, MP
    Len McClusky, Unite
    Peter Hain, MP
    Paul Kenny, GMB
    Stephen Timms, MP
    Jim Murphy MP.
    Alistair Darling, MP
    Iain Gray, MSP
    Hilary Benn, MP
    John McFall, peer
    Stephen Alambritis, Labour councillor (Merton), also head of Federation of Small Businesses, which is how he was announced
    GEORGE OSBORNE, Tory
    Jim Murphy, MP (again)
    RICHARD LAMBERT, CBI
    Charlie Whelan, Unite
    Douglas Alexander, MP
    Derek Simpson, Unite 
    Kitty Ussher, ex-MP
    Pat McFadden, MP
    Jack Straw, MP
    Will Straw, Left Foot Forward
    Gavin Hayes, Compass
    John McFall (again)
    Lance Price, former Labour advisor
    BOB CROW, RMT

    Here’s yesterday’s cast list (again ignoring journalists), with non-Tories in UPPER CASE)..

    George Osborne, MP
    MARTIN NAREY, Barnardos
    PAUL NOON, Prospect (union)
    Harriet Baldwin, MP
    NICK McCARTHY, Public and Commercial Services Union
    Philip Hammond, MP
    KATHERINE RAKE, Family & Parenting Institute
    John Redwood, MP
    Chris Grayling, MP
    Paul Goodman, ConservativeHome
    ANNE LONGFIELD, 4Children Charity
    Greg Barker, MP
    BRENDAN BARBER, TUC
    ALISON GRAHAM, Child Povery Action Group
    RICHARD LAMBERT, CBI
    SIR DIGBY JONES, former Brown minister (non-party)
    Justine Greening, MP
    LIAM BYRNE, Labour MP
    DR ANNA DIXON, King’s Fund
    Grant Shapps, MP
    Claire Perry MP
    WILL HUTTON, Work Foundation
    DR PETER CARTER, Royal College of Nursing
    Samantha Callan, Centre for Social Justice
    FIONA WEIR, Gingerbread
    Norman Lamont, peer
    Michael Fallon, MP
    IAN MULHEIRN, Social Market Foundation
    RICHARD LAMBERT, CBI (again)
    Lord Heseltine, peer
    Annabel Goldie, MSP
    MARTIN NAREY, Barnardos (again)
    Philip Hammond (again)
    STEPHEN ALAMBRITIS, Federation of Small Businesses/Labour councillor
    Justine Greening, MP
    TIM NICHOLS, Child Poverty Action Group
    Bernard Jenkin, MP
    Laura Sandys, MP

    Of course. yesterday contained a couple of big announcements on benefit reform (though the BBC concentrated mainly on one of them), and opposing voices were very necessary. Still, pretty much wall-to-wall Labour (22 against 3) one week, an equal balance of Conservatives (19) and non/anti-Conservatives (19) the next.

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    • matthew rowe says:

      Nice work!

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    • prpw says:

      Top work Craig – right on the money as always

         0 likes

    • David Preiser (USA) says:

      Nice one, Craig.  The numbers don’t lie, but even this heavily unbalanced list can’t show the completely different attitudes towards their charges by the Beeboids this week.  Last week, it was all smiles and chumminess, first-name basis friendly chats.  Yesterday it was attack, attack, attack, sometimes even a Beeboid having an activist with them to gang up on some hapless Tory MP (What up, Laura K?).

      Is that Bob Crow in caps on your Labour list not the same Union boss I’m thinking of?

         0 likes

      • Craig says:

        Yes David, that’s the guy. Crow attacked Labour from the Left. He’s not a member of any party now, though he’s close to Arthur Scargill and his Socialist Labour Party, having previously been a member of that party and of the Communist Party of Great Britain. The Labour Party has always been far too right-wing for Crow.

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        • Millie Tant says:

          Yes, I looked twice at that too. Also, Richard Lambert.  It’s correct that he is not Labour but he was the FT editor during the 90s straddling Blair’s ascent and Labour’s win in 1997 for which election I seem to remember the FT came out for Labour. Possibly still did in 2001 too. Not sure when he went to the CBI.

             0 likes

  50. Craig says:

    Martin’s point about the News Channel ONLY going to a nursery to guage reactions to the child benifit proposal is a good one. They did it four times (reporter Mark Worthington).

    The first time (at 12.07) the beeboid said there was a “mixed response” and talked to two parents, both going to be personally hit. One was worried, the other wasn’t.

    However, on the three other occasions Mark Worthington only put unhappy parents on camera and kept asking them questions about how much would they lose, how much of a struggle it’s going to be for, how do they feel, blah, blah…and began each report with this sort of comment:

    “They’ve all said more or less the same thing – that they don’t think that this is necessarily a great idea and there are some parents who will really suffer, those who just creep over that threshold” or “together they’ve all expressed a sense of misgiving”.

    It will be interesting to see what polling evidence says about all this in the coming days.

       0 likes

    • Craig says:

      Mark Worthington’s comments got ever stronger as the afternoon went on. His last report said “Together ALL OF THEM have expressed serious misgivings”. (What about the one who didn’t at 12.07?)

         0 likes

      • David Jones says:

        Skewered!

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      • Martin says:

        If the Government wants to put up taxes on beer and you go to a pub, guess what most in the pub will say.

        As usual the BBC decide what the answer is they want then find a way to ask the question.

        Perhaps the BBC should have asked these well off people if it was right that someone on low wages should pay tax to give them ‘benefit’s that as in a couple of cases the women admitted that the money was “paid into Tamara’s bank account for her savings”. Wow lucky Tamara, getting a nice little nest egg from the low paid.

        Perhaps the BBC think this is very Socialist?

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        • dave s says:

          Nothing is more indicative of the decline of a self reliant society than the whining of those well paid members of the middle class over child benefit. They should be ashamed of themselves. Their energies would be better directed to reducing the role and size of the state and thus the amount of our money it takes from us. Starting with the BBC tax of course.
          What it shows is how the last government turned so many of us into grateful state supplicants- which was and is the intention of the left.
          The state should be there for those in real need. Whining middle classes on 44k do not qualify  in any way.
          The BBC will seek them out because it relies on taxpayer handouts.
          PS is there more than one Polly Toynbee?

             0 likes

          • Millie Tant says:

            They are complaining that it is unfair they themselves won’t get it if they earn £44000 but someone next door with a partner and both earning £43000 each will get it. 

            Well, it’s not that the first one should get it as well: none of them should bloody well get it!

            Did that never even cross their silly selfish minds?

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