UPDATE: A stealth edit? The BBC article now includes MillerCoors’ statement that they filed the paperwork beforehand. They don’t tell quite the full story, but this more or less negates my claim. News Sniffer doesn’t have it yet, so I can’t prove anything as I didn’t take a screenshot.
In case there are any lingering doubts, here’s more proof of the BBC’s bias and dishonesty when it comes to reporting on the budget crisis in the US. They’ve put up a report about a problem caused by Minnesota’s shut down f the state government.
Minnesota shutdown puts MillerCoors beer sales in doubt
Beer giant MillerCoors may be forced to stop selling 39 popular beers in stores and bars in Minnesota because of the state’s ongoing government shutdown.
The company failed to renew their brand label registration before a budget dispute prompted a shutdown on 1 July.
This is in fact serious business. They’re going to have to start actually removing product from shells state-wide, which is a very, very costly undertaking on top of the revenue loss. Now, being fan of real ale and proper beer in general, I’m the last person to shed a tear over people being deprived of this cheap swill, and the possible boost in business for real craft brews, of which there are plenty in the region. But that’s beside the point. What I’m complaining about here is the reason the BBC reports for this happening:
State employees who process alcohol licence renewals were laid off when the government shut down, Minnesota official Doug Neville said.
Oh, did he, now? Since this is a US issue, my first instinct is not to believe what the BBC reports when it comes to obviously partisan politics. Neville could be merely protecting a Democrat government. So let’s see what the local paper has to say about it:
The company tried to renew in mid-June, but the process got delayed when they wrote a check for too much money. Green said they sent in a new check, which the state received on June 27, but nonetheless got a letter three days later saying their brand licenses had expired.
“We believe we’ve followed all applicable state laws on this,” Green said.
In other words, this is happening not because the state employees who process the paperwork were laid off due to a government shut down (caused by nasty old Republicans preventing saintly Democrats from saving the state, no doubt), but by general incompetence on both sides. The BBC is in no doubt whose fault it is, and they don’t want you to have any doubts either:
The government shutdown in Minnesota began over a budget impasse.
The state’s Democratic Governor, Mark Dayton, had called for spending cuts and tax increases, while the Republican-led legislature rejected higher taxes.
Well, at least they don’t call the Republicans “newly empowered” this time. Must look into getting that style guide updated. In any case, the BBC reports that Neville claimed that the paperwork wasn’t done because the employees were laid off, but clearly that’s not what happened. In fact, this looks an awful lot like the Minnesota state government deliberately obstructed the license renewal and is damaging businesses across the state to score political points.
What Neville really means is that the paperwork can’t be redone now (or since the day after MillerCoors got their expiration notice) because the employees are laid off. But that’s not why it got canceled in the first place. Except you don’t know that because the BBC didn’t give you the information you need.
Why did the BBC leave it out of context like this? Don’t they know what actually happened? Or do they know all too well, but censored the facts out in order to support their Narrative? The “More on this story” links at the bottom currently go to national sources, not local ones. Yes, I realize these change as they are updated on some schedule, but the only valid links should be local papers. Both the Time and CNN items actually tell the truth, so why can’t the BBC? It’s not good enough to lie in the report and only put a link to the truth at the bottom. Curiously one wire report has the Neville quote about the employees being laid off.
Once again the BBC reports on a US issue from the anti-Republican perspective, even allowing a little white lie in the process. And hey: if this is really down to sloppy churnalism necessitated by the 24/7 news cycle we demand from them, then what’s the point of it? Once again I say that the BBC can just shut down its entire newsgathering service on the US and simply replace them all with a news aggregator. You’d get more information that way, and less bias.
And have you complained about it to the BBC?
They haven’t responded to any of my complaints about their reporting in years.
David P,
Fair point. Does anyone know of any complaint to the BBC which has made a damn bit of difference to their output ?
Grant…er no. In fact I once sent so many in I think the thick beeboid students who answered them must have had brain failure.
I waited nearly 6 months to get one back and then it was the standard beeboid drone response.
I guess the complaints department of the BBC keeps those useless pillocks with a degree in media studies in a job though.
Yes, we know we got that awful CBBC 9/11 feature changed dramatically. But that’s because Drudge picked it up after this blog made a fuss about it, and not in response to an individual complaint sent in. There’s no real way to tell about anything else, of course, as nothing is ever acknowledged other than “lessons have been learnt, we think we got it about right.”
Martin/David P,
Notasheep, who posts here and has his own website , is a skillful master of complaining to the BBC. And he just gets fobbed off with lies and subterfuge.
On the other hand, if no-one complains, the BBC will claim they are perfect . But, they will do that anyway.
Blush!
Looks like a marketing opportunity for Irn Bru.
Would have thought that the health nazis at the BBC would approve of nasty unhealthy old beer being restricted to a brown bag under licence…MillerCoors actually make something people want, so will be hated and feared by the commentariat and the bureaucratic gasbags like the Westminsher/Washington classes!
If Carter or Clinton had called it “prohibition”-as opposed to the Republicans way back-well that would be exactly what would be demanded by now.
Passive drinking on the way then!…get your research grant applications in c/o the BMA/Harrabin etc…
When it comes to evil Republicans destroying the country to protect the rich, the BBC is on the case. Even when it’s not real.
Prohibition was enacted when Democrat and Socialist Woodrow Wilson was in charge, with a Democrat-controlled (with the support of the Progressives) Congress. The original Nanny Stater. Since it was a Constitutional Amendment, enough states had to then ratify it. No prizes for guessing which party controlled most of them at the time. The BBC usually supports it when Nanny Staters try to tell you how much you oughtn’t to drink anyway.
As for Carter, he is in fact responsible for creating the freedom in the US to have a craft beer cottage industry which people in Minnesota will be turning to after the bilge is off the shelves. His greatest accomplishment as President, in my opinion. Of course, he did it out of nepotism to help his brother, but we all reap the benefits today.
Update on Minnesota – it appears that the Dem Governor who was trying to use a state shut-down to force the raising of taxes has now backed down – apparently under public pressure and complaints from public service workers laid off. That is – his deliberate politicking and brinksmanship over the state budget has failed. BUT – this does not necessarily read across to the US national-level negotiations on budget and debt increase, where Obama is politicking like crazy but pretending to be “the only adult in the room”.
http://hotair.com/archives/2011/07/14/breaking-dayton-caves-will-call-special-session/
See what happens when you threaten to take away our adult beverages?
The humanity!
(Good work with the update)
Presumably “What made Milwaukee Famous” was saspirilla then!
Jerry Lee and Rod are walking proof of the benefits of cranberry smoothies, so no doubt the rewrite is on the way!
BBC guilty of omission again!!!
Wouldn’t it be great if Rupert Murdock and News International turned its guns on the BBC for its blatant barefaced unconceiled bias and noncompliance with its charter.
Its all the fault of those beastly Republicans isnt it? If only they would behave, do as they are told and toe the line then all would be well and the president could get on with saving the USA through increasing the debt and spending more money while raising taxes. Golly gosh jeez, those Republicans sure are selfish and mean.
Its well known in BBC circles that to get out of debt you have to borrow more and more, its obvious isnt it? Cant afford to make the repayments? Just borrow more, its a completely fool proof method. Its also well known in BBC circles that everything bad is the sole fault and responsibility of the Republicans and everything good(not much of that right now, due to the Republicans) is solely dowm to Obama. In fact if it were not for those meddling selfish blundering Republicans the USA would be thriving and unemployment would not be 9.2% and rising fast.
So to recap, only the nasty Republicans are preventing Obama from raising the debt ceiling and raising taxes so he can borrow and spend his way to socialist heaven. Of course the BBC forgot to inform us that Obama stormed out of a meeting like a spoilt kid because he couldnt get his own way, naaaah not important eh?
So raising taxes and raising the debt ceiling would allow Obamas USA to stumble on or a little longer on borrowed time, it would fix nothing but his ratings and shore up his vote base just in time for his re election after which who gives a sh*t? Certainly not Obama whose only concern is lavishing money on his support base by embarking on yet more short termist petty politics.
Funnily enough, and I am completely surprised by this, the final collapse, if Obama gets his way will occur just as a Republican gets intot the whitehouse after Obamas 2nd term. The entire object of raising the debt ceiling is to give Obama another trillion or two to squander to ensure his re election in 2012 and to hell with the consequences for the USA. Just think what another 2 trillion borrowed dollars could buy, enough pork barrel spending, lots of socialist client state spending, more government non jobs, what could possibly go wrang? And when the final collapse happens it will not be Obamas problem.
THE BBC: PROUDLY SERVING THE DEMOCRAT CAUSE FOR DECADES.
David, the truth is this: as the old joke goes:- the Democratic party is like the UK’s Labour party and the Republican party is like the UK’s Labour party.
In my experiecne over the last seven years in the USA and many regular (tiwce a year) trips home, there is nothing like the US Conservative movement (except for Daniel Hannan) in Britain. The tea Party Movement would never happen in the UK (please God I’m wrong). The elites run the show!
No wonder the BBC finds it difficult to fully grasp the ideas behind US Republicans/Conservatives. It’s like asking a fish to explain birds – a fish cannont comprehend life above water or outside a goldfish bowl.
I tihnk you do a better job of explaining the issues from a conservative viewpoint than any current BBC reporter.