The previous open thread has agreed to stand down in favour of a new open thread, ushering in a fresh era of open threadness.
For those of you not up to speed on recent BBC output, here’s a brief summary of the main points:
OPEN THREAD
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‘Guardianistas-INBBC claim: INBBC is ‘scaling back’ on its Egypt presence!!!
“BBC defends scaling back World Service in Egypt”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/feb/03/bbc-world-service-egypt?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theguardian%2Fmedia%2Frss+%28Media%29
INBBC’s mass political propaganding empire in Egypt was rarely been so huge. How many are there now? Don’t forget to add the famous Eygptologist, J. Naughtie. Does that make staff total: 60? 70? 80? 100? out there. Or are there too many for INBBC to count?
And there’s the INBBC Arabic Service in the mix.
All that the INBBC hordes are doing out there (apart from cluttering up 4/5 star hotels in Cairo) is to show their ignorance on the Muslim Brotherhood, their disinterest in the plight of Coptic Christians; but INBBC propagandises, at our expense, for their own sort of ‘regime change’ in Egypt.
“the famous Eygptologist, J. Naughtie”
Oh, how funny. 😀 😀 😀
Obamessiah Corruption Update:
Obama issues global warming rules in January, gives GE an exemption in February
Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of GE, is now head of the President’s Economic Advisory Panel. Immelt also accompanied Him to the recent economic summit with China (no corruption there for GE profits, surely?). Not only that, but Immelt once gave instructions to his media employees (GE owns NBC and subsidiary news channels) to censor reporting which made the President look bad.
Now GE is getting an exemption from laws the President is forcing on everyone else. Coincidence, or corruption? The BBC won’t bother to even tell you about this at all. But when it was Bush, they were often reminding you of his ties to Big Oil and whatnot.
I hope B-BBC posters are following the Jim Devine expenses fraud case.
It is very funny. And incredible that Devine, who gives a brilliant impression of being even thicker than John Prescoot (genuine typo, but I’ll leave it in ) is pleading not guilty.
Also enjoy the BBC coverage and try and guess which political party Devine was an MP for.
Bizzare
The BBC news has just had a feature about that EDL fellow from Newsnight. And it wasn’t a hatchet job.
I am on holiday in Tenerife at present & as I have to pay for TV by the minute I’m not watching much, but what I have seen is wall to wall Egypt – except that in the 6pm BBC news they did find time for the important story of a pub landlady managing to get her sport coverage from a foreign supplier who undercut Sky prices.
I’m no fan of Sky but I do dislike the smug tax funded Beeboids taking delight at anything that is to the detriment of a free market competitor having the gall to compete with the would be monopoly supplier.
U.K.: Muslim officials sit during standing ovation for war hero
The English Defence League (EDL) opposes this Islamic disresrect of British soldiers; and INBBC’s political policy is the NUJ’s offical one of opposition and admonishment of EDL.
I noticed on the 10 o’clock news George Alligayer was using the curious phrase ‘pro-democracy activists’ to describe the Egyptian hordes. Since ‘protestors’ and ‘demostrators’ would seem perfectly serviceable and more accurate (and being used by the less biased Al-Jezeera) I wonder why the BBC has decided on this curious word except that in the BBC lexicon ‘activist’ is an automatic praiseword?
Islam Not BBC (INBBC) has increasing its number of ‘reporters’ milling around Tahrir Square, Cairo significantly of late.
None of them:
(a.) appears to know or care anything about the threat posed by the Muslim Brotherhood;
(b.) appears to be concerned for the plight of the Christian Copts in Eygpt.
But all of INBBC Egyptian chorus is politically campaigning for their own sort of ‘regime change’ in that foreign country.
Plaudits are not due to these INNBC legions in Egypt, which seem to include:-
Rajini Vaidyanathan
Khaled Ezzelarab
Richard Colebourn
Gavin Lee
Jeremy Bowen
Paul Danahar
John Simpson
Wyre Davies
Jim Naughtie
Ian Pannell
Lyse Doucet
Jim Muir
Magdi Addelhadi
George Alagiah
Yolande Knell
Tim Willcox
Rupert Wingfield-Hayes
Kevin Connolly
(I apologise to the many additional INBBC propagandists on Egypt omitted from this list.)
Only two women? Curious.
Where’s Kate Adie when you need her?
The BBC didn’t have enough headscarves to go around.
More BBC censorship:
Guantanamo Bay terror suspect ‘dies after exercising’
Awal Gul, 48, was accused of being a Taliban commander and part of the al-Qaeda network. He had been held without charges since October 2002.
How did he get there in the first place, I wonder? The BBC is silent on the matter. Of course, they dutifully quote his lawyer for the defense.
A lawyer for Mr Gul, Matthew Dodge, told the Associated Press news agency that the allegations against his client were “outlandish” and that the military had had no evidence to bring charges against him.
“Mr Gul was never an enemy of the United States in any way,” Mr Dodge said, adding that the Afghan had been “kind, philosophical, devout and hopeful to the end”, despite his incarceration.
Other than some stuff about excercise equipment and a play for sympathy (he had a number of children and grandchildren, don’t you know), that’s all we learn about this innocent lamb.
Here’s what the BBC deliberately censored from the very wire service article this sub-editor used for the news brief:
An announcement by the Southern Command in Miami called Gul “an admitted Taliban recruiter and commander of a military base in Jalalabad” who at one point allegedly operated an al Qaeda guesthouse.
Gul also admitted to meeting with Osama Bin Laden and providing him with operational assistance on several occasions, Southcom said.
So basically this guy worked directly with the man who launched a war of Muslims against the US. His lawyer lied on his behalf (which is what defense lawyers are supposed to do, I guess), and the BBC let that through and censored any information to the contrary. This man was not picked up for no reason, but was actually captured as part of a war against his organization. Not at all the innocent lamb the BBC makes him out to be.
Never, ever trust the BBC on US issues.
“Matthew Dodge”. Great name for a Human Rights lawyer.
The BBC might also wish to consider that He who must be worshipped set up the Guantanamo Review Task Force to review the case of each individual detainee. In its final report in June of 2010, it was recommended that only 48 detainees should be held indefintely.
Awal Gul was one of the 48.
INBBC’s Mr. Naughtie, after one day in Cairo, in Tahrir Square, of course, (along with a 100 or more other BBC staff), politically aligns himself with demonstrators.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9387000/9387264.stm
Well, many seem caught up ‘in the moment’.
I was amused at the SKY man on the spot (I think they have a few, in comparison to Aunty’s Army, which it appears could filed a 3rd body in the square) comment this morning.. ‘ ‘They are pouring out of the mosques to attack…’
As religions of peace behaviour goes, matched only by the clank of Blitzkrieging Zimmers from St. Mary’s Tunbridge of a Sunday, one supposes.
What i seem to be seeing is a bunch of late teens to early 30’s exciteable, scruffy bearded, blokes (women segregated to tend and wail) having a free-for-all with the actual banner each is supporting a tad vague. Even to them.
All matched in number by the MSM observer corps in the hotel boxes around the square egging ’em on, with the odd over-excited twat in the stalls gunning for a Pulitzer by trying to cop a rock.
Just saw Mrs. Clinton make a demand for unchecked media access in another country. I’m surprised she didn’t ask for the kick off to be moved to suit US TV schedules.
Bread a circusses more like.
INBBC in Egypt, which seems to mean Tahrir Square, Cairo, (along with much of MSM), want Islamic prayers this Friday to be over as soon as possible. Then INBBC staff can re-start political propagandising to TV cameras, with picturesque backdrop of rioters, for licencepayers to view back home over their meals.
Tucked away…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/dailypolitics/andrewneil/2011/02/more_about_the_muslim_brotherh.html
So far it has gleaned 5 comments.
I wonder how long before it’s closed?
Andrew Neil must either be lying or going senile. He says it’s hard to pin down what the MB is really about because they don’t put their opinions online or publish much in English. Yet he links to their website, which has the whole manifesto and everything they want printed in clear English. Loads of damning evidence there. What’s his problem? Is he saying that he can’t figure out how moderate they are even though they declare the Zionist Entity to be their sworn enemy, and want the full medieval Shariah installed, complete with chopping off of hands, etc?
Neil needs to either cut down on the Blue Nun, or start drinking a hell of a lot more of it.
For Mr Neil:
1. )
“Mubarak v. The Brotherhood”
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.8598/pub_detail.asp
2.) -and Mr Neil won’t like having Glenn Beck as a reference on Egypt, Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and Israel:
Glenn Beck show (go to Feb 3 video- 41 mins)
http://www.watchglennbeck.com/
Did you read the whole article? Apart from that peculiarity seemed good to me.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/feb/04/university-places-traditional-subjects-a-levels?CMP=EMCGT_040211&
Given this is in the Graun, and noting the first, highest-rated comment, one wonders what the BBC spin will be, or if it might be quietly sidelined?
Hundreds of INBBC staff are in Egypt to propagandise for Islamic protestors (who may want Sharia law) under the guise of ‘freedom and democracy’ cause.
But when it comes to ‘freedom and democracy’ cause to criticise Islam in Europe, INBBC is nowhere to be seen:
“The Roster of the Silenced: Second Wave“.
BBC sorry for Top Gear Mexico jibesCorporation says comments may have been rude and mischievous, but typical of some British humour
http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2011/feb/04/top-gear-mexico-insults-sorry?CMP=EMCGT_040211&
As, one is sure, they felt about that of the One Show’s Ms. Thatcher, who at least kept her fun private?
So many standards, so little consistency. Well, except where revenue is involved.
Unique.
Just look at the contortions the Beeboid Corporation twists itself into as it simultaneously apologises for yet seeks to justify its crassness.
It is worth a post of its own to show that extraordinary Beeboid statement quoted in The Guardian article. I was certainly unaware of what seems to be a new policy in the Beeboid Corporation and apparently enshrined in the guidelines. When Carol Thatcher made in the green room what she thought was a lighthearted remark in jocular vein, did these guidelines not apply? After all, it was just an example of British humour, wasn’t it? It’s what we do. We’re so funny…mwhahahahaha…
Carol Thatcher didn’t make humongous amounts of cash for the BBC. And perhaps the controller of BBC2 isn’t as humorless and Maoist as the former boss of BBC1.
From the BBC’s so-called apology to the Mexicans:
“Our own comedians make jokes about the British being terrible cooks and terrible romantics, and we in turn make jokes about the Italians being disorganized and over dramatic; the French being arrogant and the Germans being over organized,” the statement read. “We are sorry if we have offended some people, but jokes centered on national stereotyping are a part of ‘Top Gear’s’ humor.”
With this in mind, allow me to suggest this:
“Our own Martin makes jokes about the BBC employees using rent boys and terrible narcotics, and we in turn make jokes about the Muslims being disorganized and over dramatic; BBC management being arrogant and the BBC’s editorial agenda being over organized,” the statement read. “We are sorry if we have offended some people, but jokes centered on stereotyping are a part of Biased-BBC’s humor.”
If the BBC’s apology to the Mexicans is acceptable, is the above apology acceptable as well?
Heh. Very good.
(Doesn’t excuse comments along the lines of “I hope they get AIDS/HIV” though.)
Yes, of course. Why not? Laughing at Muslims and homosexuals is great sport and our national pastime. Oh, my aching sides. /sarc
But that quoted “apology” is pathetic. It’s not even honest. Bad cooks and terrible romantics? Is that it? Who are you kidding, Beeboids? The alleged stereotypes of Italians, French and German bear little relation to the actual stereotypes. They have been completely sanitised and translated into something bland, without bite or malice. How the Beeboids must have laboured to come up with something so anodyne. The actual stereotypes and the name-calling and attitude that go with them say far worse things than any of that – for instance, that they lack moral fibre, are cowardly, inferior, not to be trusted, lazy, selfish and humourless. Big difference between that and pretending that the stereotype is something harmless such as that they are not very organised. Well, they say that too of course but leaving out the rest is disingenuous.
David P,
Yep, nice one . Speaking of which, where is Martin ? He seems to have gone AWOL !
BBC accidently gives the EDL a party political broadcast. Fairly balanced for the BBC. And the talking head with the big beard at the end didn’t help.
This video of INBBC London comprises short film of English Defence League followed by anti-EDL ‘discussion’ by a Muslim, and by a Labour MP, a discussion from which EDL is banned by INBBC, who both want tomorrow’s EDL demo in Luton banned.
This is INBBC London carrying out its official NUJ branch policy of opposition to the EDL.
Of course, BBC-NUJ treats political groups which it is sympathetic with differently (including groups like ‘UK Uncut’ which takes direct street action on tax evasion issues). Groups such as ‘UK Uncut’ get sympathetic BBC-NUJ treatment on film, and get invited to friendly studio chat with Paxman.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/9383598.stm
The BBC is so biased why do I even bother
James Delingpole on Any Questions tonight, but possibly never again.
“You fat b@stard!” bBC Health Deprtment
At least that is what it always seems like.
Sure I would like to see the overweight tackle their issues, but because it is good for them, not to use a stick to beat them with, and in particular not merely using it as a cheap method of slagging a group of people when other groups, races, sexes, sexualities, etc have been denied the bBC, but fatty bashing is OK no PC problems there then.
The bBC don’t like to let a day pass without some health scare on weight or other.
They were humiliated on the bBC breakfast show this morning when the guest they had in who suffered from breast cancer was clearly not fat and stated that there was no causal link between the two. Their other useful idiot guest who had clearly been brought to tout the line that the bBC had already tried to set up, but she was forced to confess she had no direct evidence for her case at all. Hilarious.
They glossed over that one in ten people in the world are now obese. Given that few in the third world are likely to be obese, that means a third being obese in western countries is commonplace. that is obese, not just overweight. Yet they still treat it like the fat kid in the playground the only one in the class who you can all bully.
But then the crowning turd on the pile is this:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12287880
“A few years ago – probably only 10 years ago – your average patient was 12 to 13 stone, now that’s probably 17 to 18 stone. And we quite regularly see patients around 30 stone in weight and even bigger than that.”
So in 10 years average weights have risen 50%? At that rate everyone in the country will be 30 stone in ten years time. Oh please this is a total fabrication and yet its not only allowed to go unchallenged it is the whole basis for this sorry lying article. Its like the bBC’s Iraq casualties figures, off by a factor of ten at the very least.
and unchallenged is also:
“That is why we need this equipment. We are not just talking about those that are really heavy, even patients who are 16, 17 stone can pose difficulties”
There have been very many, a significant proportion of the poulation, who have been at least this heavy since the beginning of the NHS, why do they suddenly need these things when previously they did not. The article even admits the old ambulances could take up to 30 stone. And just how many people do you think are over 30 stone? Sorry but if it is one in a thousand that would be a significant surprise it was that many. its a pathetic attempt to claim the NHS is underfunded under the Tories by deliberate distortion of facts.
Even then the article is still a failure by bBC standards, they signally failed to get in jibes about fat Jews or fat Americans, tut tut bBC you really have let yourselves down.
I don’t often see people of that size or weight. Or even people weighing 25 or 20 stone. Even allowing for the possibility that ambulance staff may be more likely to come across them than I am, I am surprised if there really are very many weighing 30 stone in the population.
This is a funny one. Have people got larger..yes there is no ifs or buts about that. But hang on is it as big a problem as the vegi crowd make out? Well no, in fact people today have never been better informed about what to eat and what not to eat. Now if people choose to eat crap then either ban it or remain silent about it.
However there is another angle which isn’t reported. A few years ago I had to go to the local hosptial for tests. After getting my weight messaged, the lady (I don’t think she was a nurse) turned round to me and said that according to the chart I was obese and I should think about losing some weight. I was gob smacked. I then asked the lady to look at me and tell me to my face if i was’fat’ She replied she wasn’t allowed too. At the time in question I was running around 8 miles 4 times a week, I was going to karate (2hours stints) twice a week and i would spend most afternoons (an hour at a time) in the gym. I also had to undertake 2 Army PT lessons a week on top of that. My diet was 2 meals a day. (never did breakfast) and to this day I don’t eat fast food. The only way I could be classed as fat was if I was dropped into Ethopia. yet according to the NHS paperwork i was obese. Funny that.
Here is a picture of me taken at the time getting wet in Wales.
Yup what a fat bastard i was, best make sure that ambulance has reinforced floors.
Pounce,
Love the sunglasses !
Here’s an interesting comment from the Telegraph Blogs
What he should do is play up yesterday’s news of the landlady who, in the EU’s High Court no less, upheld her the right to receive satellite from abroad …in direct competition to domestic services. Much could be made of this—it undermines the fundamentals of the BBC. All Licence payers are told they are paying for the infrastructure—well, if we are receiving everything we want by foreign satellite now, that seems to have just gone out the window.
We should all be challenging the BBC Licence Tax and requesting foreign TV subscriptions in place of. Use the EU to bring down the BBC. When the BBC is gone the, the EU will follow.
So maybe getting rid of the TV Licence could be a human rights issue.
I paid a visit to the Beeboid news front page on the website where I spotted a headline under Features and Analysis:
Bad Trip
What is the point of overseas royal visits?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12348904
What a spiteful, mean – and otherwise pointless – load of biased drivel it turned out to be, posing a fatuous question in the first place and rambling back and forth about royal visits to Australia and what not before finishing with a pointed little parting jab that Australia may end up rejecting the monarchy.
So ignorant, ill mannered and utterly meritless that one would be forgiven for asking What is the point of useless speculative Beeboidery such as this on a news site? Can’t they find some news to report or some useful analysis to do?
What is the point of BBC overseas visits ?
Exactly, Grant. That thought crossed my mind as well.
INBBC attitude to Muslim Brotherhood (MB):-
1.) don’t do any independent reseach about MB history, global organisation, methods, and its aims to bring about sharia law, and eventually a caliphate.
2.) treat MB as desirable ideological comrades, unite with it against INBBC’s real enemy, the English Defence League.
Attitudes 1.) and 2.) above were very apparent in the sloppy approach of both Simpson today in his one-liner on MB (in the over-used Tahrir Square, Cairo): and similarly apparent in Esler’s weak show with the MB rep (given political respectabilty) in INBBC ‘Newsnight’ studio tonight, with MB rep getting away with mouthing empty slogans of ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’, with no criticism of MB support for Hamas, Islamic jihad, eradication of Israel, the imposition of sharia law, a caliphate, etc, which can be found in MB’s own material.
Fox News’ is streets ahead of INBBC in the level of analysis of MB (and its association with the political ‘left’ in the West).
One example of Fox News’ Glenn Beck on MB: (40 min video) –
-go to video for 3 Feb here:
http://www.watchglennbeck.com/
By contrast with BBC treatment of EDL. In the Midlands we have had a lot of discussion over the refusal of two Birmingham “Respect” councillors to join a standing ovation by fellow councillors for George Cross winner Matt Croucher.
The councillors have been widely condemned in the papers and by the public, but it is interesting to see how the BBC dealt with this.
On last nights Midlands Today we had voice over comments from critical fellow councillors on a screen, but no interview direct.
Then the odious Salma Yaqoob appeared in the studio for a chat (I won’t bother to call it an interview). Sitting comfortably on the padded sofa, I expected the presenter to bring out coffee and cakes.In contrast with any mention of EDL or BNP in which the words “far right”, “racist” or “right wing” must be used at least half a dozen times, no mention of Respects politics was allowed.
Nothing along the lines of “you claim to be an anti-war part but you have never once condemned Taliban killing of British troops or Afghan civilians, you’re critics claim you are an extreme left wing group, which is racist and anti semitic and plays for the racist vote in muslim areas” No of course not!
Its interesting that whenever Respect councillors are on Midlands Today, its left fascist politics are never discussed, its almost as those the BBC has agreed no harsh questions.
No mention either that Respect was found by George “Genocide” Galloway after he was expelled from Labour for supporting Saddam’s war machine and supporting the killing of British troops in Iraq.
Yaqoob was allowed to claim that her party was an anti-war party, whilst the “interviewer” made no attempt to challenge.
Nor was any opponent of Yaqoob allowed to cross examine Yaqoob either in the studio or by broadcast from elsewhere.
Nor was the there a street “vox pop” where the interviewer will go round the streets asking a carefully selected “random” group their opinions – why, afraid there would unanimous condemnation of Yaqoob?
Islam Not BBC (INBBC) previews Cameron speech by giving much of space over to Islamic apokesmen:
“State multiculturalism has failed, says David Cameron”
Unfortunately, Cameron’s weak critique does not explicitly include, as it should, reference to BBC-NUJ as daily propagandist for ‘state multiculturalism’.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12371994
Aunty Does Irony: An ongoing, occasional series….
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/dailypolitics/andrewneil/2011/02/more_about_the_muslim_brotherh.html#P106013501
The thread gets to all of 12 after this comment, before being closed.
Unique.
Any chance of a new thread ?