161 Responses to CHRISTMAS OPEN THREAD

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  1. noggin says:
    December 27, 2011 at 12:40 pm

    turned on radio.
    12 30 5live news … trailer, peter allen & the el beeb celebration of the arab spring this friday from 6pm, (oh brother!), now the news …
    The world is dangerously unprepared for a growing number of disasters, likely to happen through … bah bah BAAAAHH! climate change, fears over man made glob……….CLICK!…….. thats it…off switch.

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  2. Martin says:
    December 27, 2011 at 2:22 pm

    Nice to see the leftist plop pumped out by the BBC gets noticed by others.

    http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/graemearcher/100126148/im-sure-harriet-harman-enjoyed-that-dr-who-but-did-anyone-else/

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  3. David Preiser (USA) says:
    December 27, 2011 at 3:23 pm

    Just caught a short report on the New Channel about how some are complaining that the “rich” countries aren’t “paying their fare share” into the UN relief fund, aka redistributing their wealth. Britain isn’t paying enough, yada yada. It was reported as fact that this was vital, no chance of a different viewpoint as to whether or not it did any good or where the money really went.

    I’m unaware of a report on how that money is misspent and goes to kleptocrats. Has the BBC ever done any serious work on the other side of this story? Hopefully an intrepid defender of the indefensible will use his or her skills and superior intellect to show me what I’ve missed. And hopefully it’s enough to balance out all the pro-UN wealth redistribution reports.

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  4. David Preiser (USA) says:
    December 27, 2011 at 5:43 pm

    News from the Maldives the BBC surely won’t be highlighting:


    People want traditional form of Islam in Maldives: President


    President Mohamed Nasheed yesterday called on citizens to reject religious extremism and continue to support the “traditional form” of Islam that has been practiced in the Maldives for the past 800 years.

    Speaking at the rally held at the Artificial Beach by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) “in support of moderate Islam”, the President said that the party is accused of being anti-Islamic because it does not support the idea of marrying children or keeping concubines and circumcising girls.

    He said that the issues have to be cleared out for the public by scholars and that relevant punishment according to the religion need to be written down in the constitution. He also called on opposition politicians and religious scholars to state clearly, where they stand on religious issues for the 2013 presidential election.

    “Should we ban music? Should we mutilate girls’ genitals? Should we allow nine year-olds to be married? Should we forbid art and drawing? Should we be allowed to take concubines? Is this nation building?” he asked his critics.

    “This is an old country, people have lived here for thousands of years and we have practised Islam for more than 800 years. In 2011, we are faced with a question, how should we build our nation: what we will teach our children, how should we live our lives and what we will leave for future generations?”

    A sliver of credit where due: there’s a link to it in the “Elsewhere on the Web” sub-section when I did a search for Nasheed’s name (don’t know what page it actually appears on). So at least one News Onilne sub-editor is doing his job properly.

    Considering the noise being made all day on the BBC News Channel about the Jew-on-Jew clash in Israel, this ought to receive nearly equal treatment. It’s the President of the country making a major statement, certainly as significant as the sweeping cultural changes the Beeboids declare are happening in Israel. Or is he only worth the BBC’s time when he’s useful to support their Warmist agenda?

    If there’s complete radio silence on the BBC about this – meaning they don’t do their own report on it – it will be proof of the double standard and poor journalistic practices we complain about so often.

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    • Umbongo says:
      December 27, 2011 at 7:15 pm

      But DP, according to this BBC report http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8312320.stm , in 2009 the Maldives were in imminent danger of CAGW induced inundation.  What happened?  I can only deduce that an intercession by Mohammed with Allah has staved off disaster for the time being.  Accordingly, it appears that to keep Allah placated a bit of female genital mutilation goes a long way.

      Maybe there’s a lesson here for those orthodox Jewish rioters.  If they insisted on circumcising women while blowing up some churches and murdering a few Christians, possibly the BBC would tone down its anti-Israel narrative for a bit.

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      • David Preiser (USA) says:
        December 27, 2011 at 7:41 pm

        Umbongo, I think the lesson actually to be learned here is that it’s the polar bears who need to start following fundamentalist Islam in order to stop those icebergs melting.

        Perhaps Marcus Brigstocke can work that into his next comedy routine.

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  5. James M. Gowland says:
    December 27, 2011 at 5:48 pm

    A comment from a guy called ‘SeatPitch’ on twitter: “No Football League Show last night due to a “budget decision”. Not back till 14 January. In other news Alan Hansen earns £40k for every MotD”

    Basically the BBC are happy to pay pundits a shed load of money to do the Premier League highlights, but budget cuts mean theyccan’t show lower league highlights over Chritsmas (even though they have a season long contract for Football League highlights).

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    • David Preiser (USA) says:
      December 27, 2011 at 6:08 pm

      And they’ve ramped up spending on their US division with the specific goal of attracting US eyeballs and revenue. Delivering Quality First again.

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  6. George R says:
    December 27, 2011 at 6:19 pm

    An alternative review of 2011 for BBC-NUJ.  
     
    While BBC-NUJ propagandises us (on our own money) with its ‘leftist’ reviews of 2011, and the political wonders of its ‘Arab Spring’ (Islamic Winter), and of the (illegal) ‘Occupy’ and ‘UnCut’ fiascos, here’s an alternative review:  
     
    “2011: The Islamic Supremacists Advance”


    by Robert Spencer  
     
     
     
    http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=48391

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  7. George R says:
    December 27, 2011 at 8:24 pm

    They’ve nothing better to do: close them down!

    “BBC accused of poor taste by filming Tony Blair obituary – even though the former PM is just 58 years old.”

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2078915/BBC-film-Tony-Blair-obituary-PM-just-58-years-old.html#ixzz1hlhrQ09R

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  8. Millie Tant says:
    December 27, 2011 at 9:24 pm

    Just had a look at the Radio 3 Schedule and the first thing I see is this:

    Coming Up
    Belief   21:30 – 22:00 
    Sarah Joseph talks to Joan Bakewell about her conversion to Islam.

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  9. Martin says:
    December 27, 2011 at 10:00 pm

    Subtle anti Englishness from the BBC. Three men go to New England.

    In a cartoon at the start showing them crossing the Atlantic  Griff Rhys Jones is depicted as a Welsh flag, Dara O’Briain gets an Irish flag and Rory McGrath (born in England) gets a…… Union flag. Why no England flag BBC?

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  10. Martin says:
    December 27, 2011 at 10:12 pm

    Anyone else notice the BBC have changed their reporting over the shooting of the student in Manchester?

    Gone is the WHITE PERSON and the RACIST attack from the reporting on the news.

    I suspect the Police have had a word in their ear.

    Yet more crap reporting from the BBC.

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    • Barry says:
      December 28, 2011 at 8:50 am

      In a sense, they probably got it right first time by reporting the full facts (apart from the racist motive, which must have been pure conjecture).

      It’s their refusal to report the race of non white criminals that is so racist and reprehensible.

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  11. George R says:
    December 27, 2011 at 10:40 pm

    BBC-NUJ politically supports the actions of ‘Occupy’, and ‘UkUncut’, but not those of ‘Fathers for Justice’.

    ‘Daily Mail’

    (An article, on fathers’ rights, typically written by a woman, who describes herself as a ‘single mother’ (do men descibe themselves as ‘single fathers’?)

    “Thousands of children have spent Christmas without their fathers. That’s criminal, Mr Clarke”

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2079088/Thousands-children-spent-Christmas-fathers-Thats-criminal-Mr-Clarke.html#ixzz1hmF77gPc

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  12. John Anderson says:
    December 27, 2011 at 11:09 pm

    From US websites – but NOT from any BBC news headlines I have heard – the Military Wives Choir and Gareth Malone swept to No 1 in the UK charts for Christmas – their record outselling in just the week of its issue all the rest of the chart combined.

    Gareth Malone has rightly become a novel sort of star on BBC – because his enthusiasm helps amateurs become singing performers. 

    Yet the BBC seems very muted about this particular Choir and its No 1 success.  I only heard about the Choir’s Christmas feat by accident – from US websites.

    I wonder why ?   There surely cannot be any latent hostility among BBC newsfolk to the armed forces  ?   OUR armed forces ?

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  13. Jeff Waters says:
    December 28, 2011 at 1:22 am

    Any chance we could have a new open thread please?

    Thanks

    Jeff

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  14. gillyches says:
    December 28, 2011 at 10:28 am

    I was amazed to hear, this morning on the Today programme (28 Dec 2011) Tracey Emin called a ‘Tory Stooge’!!!!  She kept her cool and stated that she had a democratic right to vote for who she wanted to vote for.  The fact that her vote was even brought up was disgraceful… she was there to provide editorial assistance on the programme for goodness sake!!!

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  15. My Site (click to edit) says:
    December 28, 2011 at 10:32 am

    http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tobyyoung/100126269/todays-front-page-story-about-nhs-cuts-reveals-the-guardian-to-be-an-upmarket-version-of-the-sunday-sport/

    One imagines that the Graun headline became, by right of passage, the BBC day paper review default?

    What market version that makes Aunty, Lord alone knows.

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  16. George R says:
    December 28, 2011 at 12:05 pm

    EGYPT: virginity tests – must have nothing to do with ISLAM, because INBBC doesn’t mention Islam….

    “Egypt court stops virginity tests in military prisons”

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16339398

    Wait…

    ‘Jihadwatch’ –
    Egyptian court rules against “virginity tests” on female protesters

    [Excerpt]

    “The ‘virginity tests’ are a sexual assault carried out by the state, designed to intimidate women into staying home. Authorities can then use the supposed ‘results’ of the tests as one way of writing off those who do show up to protest as women of ill repute, and therefore as bad Muslims acting contrary to Sharia’s principles, who have thus forfeited their right to protection.
    The women victimized by this scheme could be charged with prostitution, or may have their reputations ruined and be set up for rejection by their family and friends, along with possible further violence.”

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