BLACK DISRESPECT…

There’s no doubt whose side the BBC is on in Julia Gillard’s attempts to force her country into economic suicide by taxing “carbon” output. Australia is a “worst polluter”, so of course such measures are right. A picture of horrendous, belching CO2 (actually, most likely steam, but never mind – the message has to be rammed home by the BBC thought police) has been carefully selected to show just how bad it is. Yes, opposition leader Tony Abbott is quoted and it is made clear that 60% of electors also oppose the measures, but the thrust of the story is that coal-guzzling Aussies must take their medicine and Miss Gillard is a saint.

Meanwhile, Richard Black continues his vicious campaigning to discredit the hated deniers. Here, in a pile of statistical gobledeygook and obfuscation, he turns his fire on that nasty rag the Daily Mail and mentions specifically a story carried last week by someone he calls Christopher Brooker which had the effrontery to challenge the idea that we would all be frying but for Chinese aerosol particles. I posted on the story last week to show how biased the BBC’s coverage was.

Actually, Mr Black, it is Christopher Booker. I’ve been reading his journalism and his books for more than 40 years, and I would venture to suggest that he knows more about his craft in his little finger than you do at all. Here, in case you missed it, is his latest piece on the zealotry that you espouse; I would also recommend you read this – his sharp, knowledgeable book on the massive scam that your are perpetrating with such venom. Next time, though, if you want to attack such targets, at least use your spellcheck. And show some respect.

MONOPOLY

There’s a surprising interview from the ‘Today’ archive (from 2009) between James Naughtie and Will Hutton. Naughtie asks Hutton to speculate on the future of newspapers in the U.K. Hutton replies:

Well I think there is going to be a transitional period. It could last 10 years, it could be as long as 20 years, in which the way we’ve done it over the last period is plainly going to be uneconomic and there are not going to be new ways of doing it that ARE economic, and I think that what’s going to happen is that in Britain at least..I actually think the BBC..there’s a grave danger it’s going to become THE sole news provider in the country, with one or two organisations – maybe the Guardian/Observer, maybe News International, maybe the Daily Mail and General Trust organisations – just falling besides the wayside, and in this period actually people are turning more to the BBC. The evidence from OFCOM is that people are actually using television news and BBC radio more actually, not less. So we’ll be in a danger…we’ll be in a period when there’ll be a monopoly provider…

So, Will Hutton two years ago was predicting that the BBC was the main danger when it comes to a potential news monopoly in this country. That monopoly situation looks to be getting ever more likely.

He does offer some hope though that after 15 or so years of the BBC monopoly people would be so fed up they’d be flocking willingly to pay for news online. Cold comfort.

TOXTETH REVISITED

I noticed that the BBC ran an item on the Toxteth riots. Odd that an organisation with all the vast resource of the BBC can’t even get the decade in which this happened right. More to the point, note the way in which the BBC sets the story up….it was all caused by “perceived heavy handed” policing. I mean, is it possible to even blame the gentlefolk of Toxteth as they rampaged for the thuggery that characterised this period?

PULLING WHOSE STRINGS?

 A demonstrator dressed in a Rupert Murdoch mask controls puppets of British Prime Minister David Cameron
The BBC is hysterical in the sustained attack on Murdoch. Give THIS a listen to if you want to hear the comrades in full battle cry. I was particularly amused when Humphrys pointed out the global reach of the evil Murdock empire. So unlike the BBC!! And if that was not enough, try THIS if you have a strong stomach. There is NO pretence of balance here, just unrestrained bias against Rupert Murdoch. Note the image they use to accompany their Jihad against NI.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST

Where to start?

For the third consecutive day, the BBC devotes a huge amount of resource to further excoriating the Murdoch Empire. Having gained the scalp of the News of the World, the BBC agenda moves on. First, in order to sustain its deluded image of solidarity with “the workers”, the BBC line is that  lowly journalists have been sacrificed to save those higher up. Right on, comrades. So the new line is that closing NOTW is a despicable act and that justice will only be done when Coulson is imprisoned, Wade sacked, the BSkyB deal scuppered, Cameron damaged and Miliband elevated to the high moral gound.

Perhaps the greatest example of BBC bias is this interview with Chris Bryant, the new high priest of ethical standards and William Shawcross. Just listen to the interruptions Shawcross endures and compare that to the sympathetic silence afforded Mr Underpants.

If you then listen to the prime time slot, at 8.10am, it consists solely of a BBC journalist interviewing two other BBC journalists. Robinson is cheer-leading for Miliband (“He has found his voice this week” Robinson gushes) whilst Peston has the BSkyB  acquisition in the cross-hairs.

I know I have focused on little but this story for the past few days but it’s because it is quite horrific to see a media bully in the shape of the BBC use the N OTW story to further it’s own objectives. Press freedom, consumer choice – this means NOTHING to the BBC. It simply aims to further deepen its own monopolistic position, along with the likes of The Guardian.

Question Time LiveBlog 7th July 2011


Question Time comes tonight from Basingstoke, which is twinned with Isengard and Mordor. Locally known as Gaysinblokes it is a marginally stylish buffer between the twin dumps of Southampton and Reading. It only features a swimming pool, two instantly forgettable colleges and a massive nightclub called Liquid which is populated by tattooed grannies dressed as 17-year olds.*

On the panel tonight we have Dept of Work and Pensions Minister Chris Grayling, the most self-righteous woman in the entire Universe Shirley Williams, Wee Dougie Alexander, the unpredictable but usual voice of sanity Jon Gaunt and…wait for it…Hugh Grant

..right that’s right. Hugh Grant. This show has finally jumped the shark. An ugly-cheap-slapper-acquiring bloke who is notorious for trying too hard with high profile “girlfriends” to deflect the fact that he’s obviously gay. He appeared in some B movies. Years ago. Mug shot here, just for fun 🙂

Oh yes. That’s the BBC’s premier political programme tonight.

The LiveBlog will also stay open for the bizarreness of This Week with Andrew Neil, and Michael Portillo. They are joined on the Sofa of Mediocrity by the crater-faced failed postie Alan Johnson and the pompous Max Clifford. Sylvia Syms is promised as an extra (from Ice Cold In Alex? Surely not!), and a political round-up from Guradian bore Nick Watt.

David Vance, TheEye and David Mosque will be moderating the abuse here from 10:30pm. See you later!

* Note to the bloke who emailed me last week about the description of his town – I’ve never been to these places and it’s only humour, eh? *It’s a laugh* Go shoot yourself. Slowly.

CLOSURE?

Police officer at News International offices
Well, it’s a dramatic if not ruthless decision by the Murdoch empire to close The News of the World. In a sense one less trash newspaper is to welcomed, although it reduces competition and choice whilst ensuring that the leftist point of view increases, something I am certain the BBC will be delighted about. I’m just hoping that the disgraceful practice of phone hacking was restricted to NOTW and did not extend to papers of quality such as the Daily Mirror, to name but one. At another level, this decision by Murdoch shuts the attack on NI down, the crowd have gotten the (deserved) scalp they wanted. I suspect the BBC will now move to focus the attack on Cameron.