OPEN THREAD

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Friday and a new one of these. Am rather busy hence lack of posts, it would be helpful if a few others could post to try and keep momentum going.

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  1. Jeff Waters says:
    February 12, 2012 at 12:50 pm

    PM ‘faces fight of life’ on NHS Why is this peice of political posturing by the Labour Party deemed worthy of a headline?

    What Labour are saying is not new and it’s not interesting, so I hardly see how it classes as news…

    Jeff

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  2. As I See It says:
    February 12, 2012 at 1:05 pm

    Ahh…The Big Question. If you can bear it. The Beeb choice for second string debate – the ghastly three-shirt-buttons-undone Nicky Campbell. What shade of orange is that tan? – evidence if ever there was for global warming if he has picked up that glow in the Highlands and Islands this Winterval. Has he had some work done? I’m no expert but is he a bit tight round the eyes? On the NHS or did he go super-Bupa? I know he is a feminista so he should demand his self-image rights.

    Two part show. Number one (goes without saying) Labour Party talking points on the NHS. Must bring a glow to the cockles of Andy Burnham’s heart. Just me or does he look as if he has had some work done? Or was he cloned from Alan Hanson? Can’t be that, Burnham is a through and through Toffee. Anyway he was only present on The Big Question in spirit and on Nicky’s shoulder.

    Hey beeb, nice choice of pro-reforms GP: machine gun delivery female of Far East Asia descent who speaks fast and loud and utterly incomprehensively. I caught something that sounded like ‘plenty dollar’ and ‘mmmmmm, love you long-time’ at least it did to my very jaded ear.

    Game of two halves and as for the second half – the ritual cultural attack on the GB – so we talk about religion. Not sure how long this can go on of a Sunday. That’s so X-ian centric. Lets shift it to a Wednesday and call it Mittwoch. Those Europeans know what they are about. As for the content of the discussion and the debate you really really don’t need to know. Just remember these two classic statements….

    ‘You are in a different world, you must recognise that!’

    ‘We’ve got to understand that society has moved on!’

    Reality as brought to you by the BBC.

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  3. Millie Tant says:
    February 12, 2012 at 1:05 pm

    Just watching the Sunday Politics where they have Sidiq Khan on. A helpful caption appears on the screen to tell us: “He is the first Asian and the first Muslim to attend Cabinet”.

    What about Saeeda Warsi who does attend the Cabinet? Is that Beeboid sloppiness or a very sly use of “Cabinet”? They can’t claim it is “the Cabinet”, because that means the government and they don’t say “Shadow Cabinet”, maybe because it is not true or because, anyway, it sounds like a thin claim to distinction or achievement, so they make it sound almost like the Cabinet but without actually saying so.

    Why let a small detail like the difference between government and opposition get in the way of a bit of Beeboid puffery and promotion of their favourites?

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  4. RCE says:
    February 12, 2012 at 2:28 pm

    R4 News at 1’s coverage of Whitney Houston’s death featured an interview with R&B singer Beverley Knight.

    I wonder if anyone can think why the BBC sought the views of this particular Labour supporting, Gordon Brown seranading, Stonewall activist has-been?

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    • cjhartnett says:
      February 12, 2012 at 4:14 pm

      Desperate stuff from the BBC.
      Amazing how quickly the life in two minutes cliches get formed.
      I used to think that if Rick Rubin wanted to produce you, then it was time to get your estate in order….turns out that you should worry even more if Paul Gambaccini is trailing you with a notebook.
      How come he`s Radio4s goto guy for absolutely anything to do with happening groovy pop culture?…
      Beverley Knight?…Beverley Hills?…you can see the BBCs editors getting a bit confused with it all!

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  5. Millie Tant says:
    February 12, 2012 at 2:33 pm

    I see there is another row brewing over Beeboid Jeremy Clarkson’s remarks, this time about people with facial growths.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/9072474/Charity-calls-for-BBC-apology-after-Jeremy-Clarkson-facial-growth-jibe.html

    But it’s all right with the Beeboid Corporation:

    A BBC spokesman said that there were no plans to edit Mr Clarkson’s comments about growths out of tonight’s show, but declined to comment further.

    Carry on, Jeremy.  Just don’t mention gollies.

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  6. Craig says:
    February 12, 2012 at 3:01 pm

    Sorry, a lot of re-cycling here of a couple of previous comments:  

    Allan Little’s history of the euro, Europe’s Choice (Radio 4, 1.30pm today, Part 1), though not uninteresting, came across (to me) as the official BBC line on the years leading up to the birth of the single currency.    

    It began with Blair’s chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, attacking Mrs. Thatcher, then went through all manner of key players – Douglas Hurd (pro-European); David, Lord Williamson, former Secretary-General of the European Commission (pro-European); John, Lord Kerr, former UK ambassador to the EU, member of several pro-EU think tanks (pro-European); Sir Nigel Wicks, former aide to Mrs Thatcher who went native in Europe (pro-European); plus Joachim Bitterlich, Helmut Kohl’s advisor; Dietrich von Kyaw, former German ambassador to the EU; and Jacques Lafitte, French former advisor to the EU Commission. Finally, on came Ed Balls to blow his own (and Gordon Brown’s) trumpet.    

    So, a BBC programme about a controversial period of recent EU and British history and not a single Eurosceptic in sight. (It comes to something when Balls is the closest thing to one).     

    These were all players in the story, but there was an ‘independent expert’ too. Who did Allan Little pick? A disinterested academic? No, it was the arch-Europhile Timothy Garton Ash.     

    There are two more episodes to come. When will we get the first Eurosceptic? Will we get a Eurosceptic voice at all?  

    Well, Episode 2 was again not without interest, but there were still no Eurosceptic voices.   

    There was Alistair Darling, giving his own oh-so-independent account of the post-election EU summit where the first bailouts were agreed. He was followed by Blair’s pro-European chief of Staff Jonathan Powell again. Europhile John, Lord Kerr also returned, as did Ambassador von Kyaw and French EU advisor Jacques Lafitte. New voices were former EU commission president Romano Prodi, Greek budget minister Peter Doukas, Greek economist Miranda Xafa and two former UK ambassadors to the EU, Sir Stephen Wall (a Europhile – Denis MacShane loved his book on Europe! – and part of the pro-European Business for a new Europe) and Sir John Grant (also part of the pro-European Business for a new Europe).  

    So many Europhiles!  

    The thesis of the programme seems to have been this: National governments (plus the markets) were responsible for the present Euro Crisis. The European Commission wasn’t powerful enough to stop them. That’s the problem. So there’s now going to be more powers for the pan-European institutions to keep national governments in check. The ‘talking heads’ were agreed. 

    Allan Little did mention the ‘democracy’ issue, but John, Lord Kerr said that democratising the EU is not what’s needed at all. The EU should be an unpopular policeman doing the right thing.   

    Still, at the very end Allan Little promised that the third and final episode would look at the issue of popular discontent, so maybe, just maybe, we’ll get some non-elite, non-Europhile voices next week. Probably not though.

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  7. Craig says:
    February 12, 2012 at 3:02 pm

    The final episode did give some space to a Eurosceptic voice – as Umbongo predicted, a single Eurosceptic voice. That was Sampo Terho of the True Finns, introduced as a “nationalist”.

    Unlike the other (pro-European) contributors, Allan Little’s commentary undermined his comments by suggesting flakiness, introducing one statement with the words “The True Finns are now flying a conspiracy kite” and afterwards adding that it’s “a seductive conspiracy theory”. Allan Little also carefully labelled him as “Eurosceptic”, while none of the pro-Europeans/Europhiles was described as “pro-European” or “Europhile” – the nearest we got was having one Europhile former manderin described as “a reknowned British European”.

    Arch-Europhiles Sir Stephen Wall, Timothy Garton Ash and Lord Kerr returned to shape the narrative in a pro-EU direction. Added to them was Quentin Peel of the Financial Times, another known pro-European (he called the EU “a really exciting project” during the programme). 

    Ed Balls also returned to give his (unchallenged) self-justificatory slant on events. He and Blair’s chief of staff Jonathan Powell made several appearances across the series. There were no Tories – except for one single appearance from pro-European Douglas Hurd in the first episode.

    Why allow Labour such eminence in a series covering some 23 years of recent history? Why not a single British Eurosceptic? There was a clip of the Polish foreign minister attacking British Euroscepticism but Allan Little clearly thought it wasn’t necessary, even then, to grant British Eurosceptics a response. 

    This episode’s central thesis followed on from those of the earlier episodes – that the current crisis has been cause by too little EU intervention, due to Germany not wanting to throw its weight around enough – a highly Europhile thesis. 

    Europe’s Choice was, I believe, the BBC making its position on Europe crystal clear again.

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    • cjhartnett says:
      February 12, 2012 at 4:20 pm

      Thanks for these Craig.
      Bad enough you having to do the Sunday slot way back, so hope you`re getting a lie-in instead.
      As to this series…as soon as you see the list of “contributors”, it`s easy to colour in the blue with yellow stars that is compulsory for the BBCEU colouring book that passes for the narrative.
      No Andreasen, Hannan, Farage I`d imagine…anything about the 1999 financial scandals?…Buttiglioni?…nah, thought not!
      Stalin could only dream of such monoculture disguised as tolerant diversity 

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  8. David Preiser (USA) says:
    February 12, 2012 at 3:08 pm

    I keep forgetting to mention this:

    Barack Obama’s shameless Falklands betrayal will overshadow David Cameron’s Washington visit

    On behalf of my President, I apologize for this failure to aid an ally. Not in my name!

    Still, I guess this fits right in with the BBC’s position that the US shouldn’t get dragged into an unwanted war by an ally.

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  9. David Preiser (USA) says:
    February 12, 2012 at 3:27 pm

    Regarding the BBC’s apology over airing Malaysian propaganda films (an apology not meant for your ears), I’ve been thinking this really isn’t such a big deal because they didn’t know every financial dealing of the production company from which they acquired the features. I mean, they can’t be expected to scour the records and know everything.

    But then I noticed that they paid £1 for them. I know the BBC acquires lots of content from third parties, just like everyone does, but surely somebody must have wondered why it was so cheap. The other question is, why did the BBC want to show such a series on Malaysia anyway? Just to fill out air time and save money since they’re having to absorb the World Service? Ah, I think I’ve answered my own question: it’s all the fault of nasty ToryCutz!

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  10. pounce_uk says:
    February 12, 2012 at 6:07 pm

    After many a year in the army I am surrounded by many of our fellow countrymen be they Irish, Scottish or Welsh and I get on fine with them, however I note when it comes to sport while I will always back their teams when playing against a foreign team, they will always back the other side when it comes to England. When it comes to the home sides playing each other I have always watched with an open mind feeling that the better side will win.
    Until today when I wanted the Welsh to wipe the floor with the Scottish and I asked myself what the hell am I thinking, these are my fellow countrymen and I am taking sides.

    That people is what scares me about nationalism, where equality goes out of the window and you become superior to the other side due to  rabble-rousers playing the victimcard. (As currently found in Scotland)

    Yet to the likes of the bBC, the only nationalists in the UK are white English people. Funny that. The country who the rest hate so much but in the end when their economies go down the plug hole they all come to England in which to find work (My parents included they came from India) 

    Nationalism is ugly, yet the bBC promotes that it is a good thing unless it it English people celebrating their country. Then its pure racism.

    The bBC the traitors in our Midst.

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    • Barry says:
      February 13, 2012 at 9:20 am

      I think pride in one’s country is a good thing but sadly lacking amongst many members of the middle class in England unlike, say, America. I think the problem is deciding where pride ends and nationalism begins. And where does patriotism fit in?

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  11. George R says:
    February 12, 2012 at 6:30 pm

    INBBC typically takes side of Somalis/al-Shabaab, not the side of U.S and West.    
       
    INBBC, in effect, blames U.S for stopping people in America of Somali origin from sending money to Somalia, where al-Shabaab Islamic jihadists rob and kill.    
       
    Itr is well known that people of Somali origin living in  e.g. Minnesota (and in UK of Cardiff and London area, e.g.) are politically and financially supportive of al-Shabaab in Somalia.    
       
    “‘Lifeline’ US-Somalia remittances on hold”    
       
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16858818        
       
       
    ‘Jihadwatch’    
       
    Somalia: Americans rise in rank inside al-Shabaab

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  12. Teddy Bear says:
    February 12, 2012 at 6:33 pm

    BBC spends £19,000 treating stressed out staff at The Priory

    Besides the obvious rankling that the headline suggests, there are several other concerns that come to mind about this article today from The Telegraph.

    Let’s first take this paragraph;
    The BBC would not reveal whether executives were referred to the centre for mental health issues or for drug addiction, but confirmed it had spent £18,949 on treatments in 2010 and 2011 because there was a “compelling” business reason to do so.

    Anybody who has spent time complaining to BBC about their coverage will know immediately that this is BBC jargon to justify any excuse at all. One can also say that if the BBC made better business decisions, than the £80m expense and £38m loss debacle over the Digital Media Initiative. Or the £2BILLION spent on the unnecessary move to Salford. Perhaps without decisions like these there wouldn’t be any ‘compelling’ reason to seek treatment at this exclusive centre.

    I wonder how much in bonuses those responsible for those ‘decisions’ got. Any wonder the BBC want to focus on bankers?

    Then given they need treatment, what’s wrong with the NHS that most of us have to rely on? The usual hypocritical propaganda that the BBC foist on us about not seeking special schools or private health care, somehow doesn’t seem to apply to them.

    Then we have this paragraph;
    However, it is understood that the corporation agreed to spend licence fee payers’ money on the care centre because its staff were “severely stressed” because of a series of initiatives which had not gone according to plan, and the pressures of cost cutting.

    Now we’re entering the propaganda machine. I don’t know where Katherine Rushton, the author of this article, gets ‘her understanding’ from, and she certainly doesn’t reveal it. Sounds like she is a BBC lackey looking for a job there. If the BBC can twist anything to suit their agenda, like blame the government or bankers, even where they themselves are clearly at fault, they don’t miss the chance. Since also the excuse of stress is pure conjecture, why is it in the headline without quotation marks?

    “Blame it on ‘stress over cuts” – home run for the BBC. 

    Cut them out altogether – stress over!

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    • john says:
      February 12, 2012 at 7:40 pm

      Try this, and it wont cost 19 grand :
      Stand any “severely stressed” BBC headcase upright in a bath of cold water.
      Using an extension lead and a toaster, switch on, throw in and see if that does the trick.

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      • cjhartnett says:
        February 12, 2012 at 9:11 pm

        Presumably using a windmill generator though, in order to be “kind to Gaia”.
        Hopefully the Beeboid will be happy enough to soak in the bath for the necessary three hours!
        Strangle them with the extension cord if we`re in a rush eh?

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    • My Site (click to edit) says:
      February 13, 2012 at 8:19 am

      ‘because of a series of initiatives which had not gone according to plan,’
      On that basis £19k seems quite low, then. As there is a Mendelian aspect to the hiring, possibly a resistant strain to rampant hypocrisy has been developed?
      http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2010/09/impartiality_is_in_our_genes.html

       ‘and the pressures of cost cutting.’
      Trying to shoehorn ‘it’s the cuts, the Cuts, THE CUTSSSS!!!’ into everything from Horrible Histories to Newsnight must take its toll on even the most compliant drone.

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  13. George R says:
    February 12, 2012 at 6:45 pm

    SYRIA.

    INBBC, Bowen and their love of  their political mentors, the Arab League.

     Arab League  wants a global ban on criticism of Islam, and now wants people of the West to pay for, and the West’s troops to die for intervention in Islamic Syria!

    “Syria unrest: Arab League ‘seeks peacekeeping mission'”

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17004530

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  14. Martin says:
    February 12, 2012 at 10:32 pm

    There appears to be some gloom over at the BBC regarding Greece, it looks like the BBC have noticed that things are a bit undemocratic!!

    No shit BBC, you’ve only just noticed that the whole EU project is undemocratic? Will you be giving back all the blood money you’ve taken from them over the years then?

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    • dave s says:
      February 12, 2012 at 11:05 pm

      The BBC is giving the impression the rioters are right wing/communist? extremists -surely not ,they mean militants- opposing a valiant Greek governing class. This class which is  trying to hold on to the Euro and is handing their nation over to German overlords( although the BBC is at pains to avoid actually saying this.
      Compare and contrast RT ( yes I know it is Russian and therefore must be biased!) which produces a range of views including the obvious one that the Greeks will default and have to leave the Euro.
      The poor old BBC once again allows it’s predudices to get in the way of reality.

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  15. As I See It says:
    February 12, 2012 at 11:28 pm

    The BBC reports on Greece keep getting stuck in their own narrow leftist agenda. Over and over again I hear the buzz words austerity, anger and public sector cuts.

    A Greek commentator on BBC News 24 was just pressed on the rise of the far right. (Sigh) He explain to the Beeboid drone ‘Greece doesn’t tend to have extreme right parties, it tends to have extremists of the left’.

    He could telll that he was going off message and added that some obscure far right party polled 3%. That much? Horrror of horrors!

    He knows what side his bread is buttered so he added that there is some growing resentment of immigrants. Now he should get a repeat invite.

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  16. Jeff Waters says:
    February 13, 2012 at 5:53 am

    ‘The vote came amid violent scenes in capital, Athens, and elsewhere, with protesters outside parliament throwing stones and petrol bombs.’

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17007761

    When will the BBC learn the difference between protesters and rioters?!?

    Jeff

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    • Ron Todd says:
      February 13, 2012 at 7:55 am

      Easy, if they are opposing a left wing agenda they are rioters otherwise they are protestors.

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    • My Site (click to edit) says:
      February 13, 2012 at 8:25 am

      ‘When will the BBC learn the difference between protesters and rioters?!?  ‘

      Well, they have created (apparently) a new ‘Protest Editor’ in the form of Paul Mason,, but not sure he is actually any more use in learning differences other than between left and not left enough.

      http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/fromthewebteam/2012/02/friday_10_february_2012.html

      ‘Our Economics editor Paul Mason is in Athens where protesters have clashed with police’

      That notion, by the way, has been ‘referred’ now for 4 days, without explanation or advice. Maybe they just didn’t know what to do?

      Interesting choice for one of the main economics guides the BBC offers the UK public.

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  17. Will says:
    February 13, 2012 at 8:02 am

    Dame Nikki & his senile business expert Mickey Clark on R5 at 7am were pushing  the line that all Greece’s problems were due to tax evasion. As if paying ever more tax would promote growth & would enable excessive public spending to be afforded

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  18. Martin says:
    February 13, 2012 at 8:30 am

    Interesting ‘slip’ from Dame Nikki on Radio 5 this morning, the 8am news started with the queen of Radio 5 stating that “The Government is cutting 150,000 jobs from the public sector”

    This went on for a minute and then Dame Nikki said “We are talking about Greece of course”

    Really Dame Nikki? For a minute I got the impression you were just trying to panic people AGAIN.

    Yet more shit journalism from the BBC.

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  19. Fred the Ted says:
    February 13, 2012 at 8:34 am

    Whenever I hear the word ‘controversial’ in the BBC I anticipate misleading information. This morning 8am on Radio 4, the BMA proposals regarding organ transplantation were thus described. According to the neews reader the proposal is to keep the brain dead alive in intensive care units until organs can be excised. But the BMA for thirty years have recognised that the brainstem dead are dead and that it is a cadaver that is being ventilated. The importance of the BBC’s version is that it maintains confusion regarding the boundary between life and death, which is favoured by exponents of euthanasia and casts doubt on the certainty of brainstem criteria. Expect a scientific discussion eventually on doubts regarding the accuracy of brain death.

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  20. George R says:
    February 13, 2012 at 9:16 am

    Of course, BBC-NUJ campaigns for education as social engineering.  
     
     
    Alternative views:  
     
    1.) Melanie Phillips:
      
    “Stand aside, Vince. We need a minister who’ll stop the rot in our universities”  
     
     
     
    By Melanie Phillips  
     
     
    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2100281/Stand-aside-Vince-We-need-minister-wholl-stop-rot-universities.html#ixzz1mFf2I7ox      
     
     
    2.) BBC-NUJ:  
     
     
    “Vince Cable in stand off with MPs over Offa boss”  
     
     
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-16946484

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  21. As I See It says:
    February 13, 2012 at 9:40 am

    It is difficult to tell at what point the EUtopia will qualify for Beeb approved assisted euthenasia so for light relief the camp Beeboids mourn the demise of a Diva.

    Hold that thought and with grinding inevitabilty Dame Nicky revisits the legalise it, I’ll advertise it debate.

    Another 50-50 debate. In the blue corner British public opinion and in the red corner the heavy-weight challenger Beeb-Guardianista-supportworkers-emotive recovered addicts.

    There are two rather telling lines. One caller says ‘I don’t agree with the decriminalisation…..it’s completely unpopular….’

    Nicky Campbell ‘….unpopular? huh, depends what circles you move in….’

    Many a true word said in jest.

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