The BBC has been on its favourite hobby horse today….bashing the police. (08:33)
John Humphrys sounds shocked that of 2000 complaints against the Police only one may result in a police officer being sacked.
What isn’t apparent of course is the seriousness of the complaints which might have some relevance as to whether it merits sacking someone.
You could equally ask how many BBC staff are sacked as a result of complaints…and I’ll bet the BBC gets more complaints than the Police.
Humphrys goes into full on moral arbiter mode and starts to lay down the law stating that ‘We have a right to know what is going on in our police force….if they are doing something wrong we should know.’
Yes, he’s right.
So why did the BBC spend £300,000 hiding a report into BBC anti-semitism?
Do we not have a right to know how the BBC are conducting themselves…because the results of their actions could be quite devastating…..the existence of Israel, at the very least its peaceful existence, depends upon a true and accurate portrayal of events in the Middle East…..and that is not what we get from the BBC.
Such a scenario is plausible because it is happening…Israel is being delegitimised as a nation and therefore open to ‘morally justifiable’ attack by Muslims to ‘retake’ it.
Of course Israel is not alone in falling victim to media lies and attempts to radically alter people’s perceptions…as mentioned above the police are a frequent target of the BBC, as are Tories and often the Army…and now the Bankers.
Dominic Sandbrook in the Mail suggests that such vilification could result in a nightmare scenario where the mob takes over….as the Media plays its part in demonising all Establishment figures and inciting anger against them……
‘I would argue that — in an age when newspapers and television are dominated by outrage at bankers’ greed, the occupation of major financial centres by protesters and riots on the streets of Europe’s capitals — this Hollywood blockbuster has a frightening relevance that has little to do with the terrible crimes of a lone lunatic.
And the film’s British writer-director, Christopher Nolan, is not alone in giving artistic expression to the moral and political crisis threatening the West.
This week’s other big opening was the National Theatre’s brilliant new production of Shakespeare’s play Timon Of Athens, presented against a background of avarice and corruption in the City of London.
In scenes that uncannily mirror the plot of the new Batman movie, the mob storms the city of Athens.
The 99 per cent, it seems, will have their revenge on the tiny elite who held them down. Only a few years ago, productions like these would have felt strident and exaggerated. In the summer of 2012, however, they feel shockingly timely.
Thanks to the impact of endless scandals, the reputation of our political and financial elites has sunk to an all-time low.
For the first time since the Hungry Thirties, capitalism itself is in danger of becoming a dirty word.’
Highly dangerous stuff…it is right that people who are corrupt should be jailed and those who are incompetent or negligent punished but whipping up the crowd into a frenzy of anti-banker or anti-capitalist violence is not the answer…because it wasn’t Capitalism that failed, and we need Capitalism, even Lenin acknowledged that….it was greedy or reckless people that racked up the debts…including one Gordon Brown.
My car does not ‘fail’ if I drive it into a hedge…it is me that is repsonsible…the car is innocent!
Yep, my thoughts exactly.
You’d think the BBC of all corporations would see the dangers inherent in adopting a policy of no smoke without fire.
That goes double once you remember that the BBC claims it can dismiss whole swathes of complaints as the complainants are ‘obviously’ biased. I’m pretty sure that some of the folks complaining about the filth are not entirely trustworthy.
You could bet yer life on that last bit!, DJ. Just like you could on ridiculously ever self righteous Al-Beeb getting tons more complaints than our police and on hilariously hypocritical ignoramus Humphrey’s not instead just shutting his silly old toothless trap and running along and fetching that elusive Balen Report we all paid for for us all to have a thoroughly good butchers at. Because until Balen’s released to the public, Al-Beeb’s credibility is totally screwed and Humphrey’s gob is just a joke.
_____
Cracking stuff!, Alan.
The BBC and ‘Right to no’…
‘bet the BBC gets more complaints than the Police.’
By memory in terms of escalated through to ECU/Trust, on par.
Oddly… make that uniquely… the BBC sees its quaint internal whitewashing system to be entirely appropriate in keeping their own house in order.
May explain them spending small fortunes in staff salaries to decide they are comfortable in the belief that they are about 110% right 122% of the time.
Plus, of course, having ‘investigated’ themselves to reach such a conclusion, they can then rig the system such that any complaint not upheld internally counts as a strike against the complainant to tally up for an expedited banning.
Interesting system.
I wonder how the BBC would react if the police adopted the same one?
Guessing this will be a thread the cherry vultures will be steering clear of:)
The vast majority of people who lodge complaints against the police are complete toe-rags who literally have nothing better to do.
It could be argued there are a number of people who would like to see the country brought to its knees so they can start again and build their socialist/environmental utopia. No doubt some such people work at the BBC, or have close links to it.
The problem is, and they never seem to consider this, who or what will create the wealth needed to fund welfare, health care, education etc etc which they surely will want to keep in their socialist paradise? Whenever do you hear anybody on the Beeb point out that The City generates 12% of the Exchequer? Any thoughts how we might substitute that from elsewhere if you have your wish and destroy the biggest single wealth creator the country has got?
These Left-wing, socialists, progressives etc think they will run this country, after they have had their revolution.. Most have never a real days work in their life. Doing a real days work would kill them after one day. They know all the theory but nothing practical. These BBC/Leftys are the sort of people if they were lost in a place full of snow they would still die of thirst.
The Balen switch is a spectacular non sequitur Alan, well done.
It wasn’t the smoothest segue, but when the BBC express faux outrage at others’ lack of accountability, they are wide open to charges of hypocrisy.
Of course, you could’ve addressed this point, but as usual you went for an aspect of the post that is of tertiary importance (at best). Which establishes that there is no defence to the central thrust.
Cheers Jim.
Accountability ;->. I wonder how many F.O.I. requests the BBC has refused to answer using the information held for purposes than those of journalism, art or literature maneuver? Given that most of the operations of the BBC fit into those categories I would say most of them.
BTW in a BBC exercise in hypocrisy here is the BBC – Freedom of Information website.
As a publicly funded organisation, the BBC is fully committed to meeting both the spirit and the letter of the Act. OR NOT.
“Journalism, art or literature” eh?
Be nice to use FoI to find out which one the Balen Report is!
Doubt very much that it`ll be “journalism” in any accepted sense of the word.
As for the police-the BBC do this “good cop/bad cop” literally don` they?
Police give May a hard time or fight the cuts…good cop.
Police dare to try and take on the BBCs pet victim groups?…bad cop!
So simple eh?
Police say race not an issue in Muslim paedophile grooming = good cop.
Police say Mark Duggan carrying a gun when shot by marksmen = bad cop.
I am sure the BBC’s anti-Israel bias helped fuel the vandalism of arms firm EDO the other year, and the (Jaffa-born) judge’s decision that because EDO supplies the Israeli military, the vandals shouldn’t go to prison.
An attitude which was shared by Caroline Lucas. What next – will it be OK to beat up hassids in the street?
sorry i see israel bias, they don’t go on about the concentration camp called palestine enough and the jailing of kids & adults without trials. the bbc is full of jews and at times they are critical just to avoid being obvioulsy biased to israel (tokenism articles).
but the bbc and sky avoid the real internment and ethnic cleansing of the israeli’s.
They do go on about Palestine, but not as a concentration camp as that is a figment of your imagination. That is a very offensive and insensitive accusation which is made worse by being completely untrue. There is no “Ethnic cleansing” by the Israelis: the only side openly wanting to wipe out the others is the Palestinian and their friends in the Arab World and the MSM.
Now find some instances of the BBC being pro-Israel biased and share them with us. Please then have a look at this site and you will see thousands of instances of anti-Israel bias by the BBC.
Well, Sky is mainly staffed by ex BBC journalists (check google). They also buy their news from the BBC and that is why identical news appears simataneously on both channel, BBC and Sky on the freeview channels it doesn’t give us much choice
The BBC do have a consistent attitude to the law: they see a verdict that they don’t like – they say change the rules.
just seen it in Bham when 3 asians killed by a car during riots last yr. bbc say arrested as thought it’s a conviction. arrested for them means guilty, that’s why we see so much hysteria and comments on the web about people arrested because so many now see that as guilty before they have even had a trial.
we saw it in the old bloke arrested for the murder of a young woman i think in the south west about 2 yrs ago then it eventually results in the conviction of an immigrant not this old bloke whose life was made hell by the sun, mail, now, bbc and sky etc
the BBC & sky should just mention ALL the facts and let us make up our own opinions instead of showing their bias to either left or right. Better still on their 24 hr (repeat the same old news every 15 mins) channels they should have two reporters covering the big items each day, one for the left and one for the right, maybe then we could get some where near the truth.
I have a complaint against the bBC and all media come to that; what happened to the reporting of the defence part of the case. Go on Google News, type Tomlinson, you will find entries all the way upto July 3, then nothing until about the 18th.
I have not read any substantial articles about the whole of Harwoods defence, which must have concentrated on Tomlinson’s health and lifestyle. Why the lack of reporting bBC, I want to know.
There is probably just cause to submit complaints to the BBC every day for their inaccurate and unbalanced reporting. Usually the BBC emphasise certain points and omit important facts in order to promote their message.
For example, the BBC’s dislike of Israel, Christianity, conservative (sound) economic policies, capitalism, Republicans and their championing of Islam, mass immigration, socialism, gay super-rights, EU, Obama, out of control man made global warming, is very obvious.
Unfortunately many people still trust the BBC to provide them with the truth. Others like me don’t take them seriously anymore but look elsewhere for more complete accounts of news, history, science etc.
Consequently I have never made a complaint to the BBC, but I am nevertheless very concerned at the consistent stream of misinformation being fed to the public. There are many more concerned people like me who do not make our voices heard, largely because trying to make a living takes most of our energy. Also I am not naturally inclined to making big protests and carrying banners around.
The problem is that opinions are being passed off as indisputable facts by an organisation held out to be impartial and funded by extortion. As many on this blog have said before, the solution is to withdraw the licence fee which has no place in a “free” society.
‘Unfortunately many people still trust the BBC to provide them with the truth’.
Nail hit squarely on head. They still manage to trade on their reputation for trust and impartiality – why? – because they slyly spin that it is still so and people believe them, just as they did Tony ‘just a straight kind of guy’ Blair.
‘I have never made a complaint to the BBC, but I am nevertheless very concerned at the consistent stream of misinformation being fed to the public.’
May I respectfully suggest that you consider doing so?
Leaping straight to civil disobedience in the form of fee withdrawal is a big step, and the law, very certainly skewed by the establishment in favour of its megaphone, does not take kindly to not following procedure.
Yes, any complaint is a waste of time, and perversely only adds to a statistic whereby they count their own rejection as further proof of their 110% rectitude.
But if valid, and well put, it will have an impact, as one of a thousand cu… let’s call it water drops.
Better yet, as the STASI-esque nature of the BBC cannot resist self-delusional claims of representation requiring legions of extra support staff to maintain, and vast record keeping in complement, it will all be on file.
And karma appreciates irony when it comes to entities who make great play of holding power to account.
When I get back from my hols, I need only wait a further month until the BBC Complaints system gets back from its (longer, school term-based model) ‘break’, to pursue the answers I am demanding as to why they have hired staff to not only cookie-cutter attempt to blow off any legitimate complaint without engaging a brain cell, but also engage in surfing the internet seeking to cross-index critics of their regime in a self-defeating attempt to suppress any who would ask questions of those they are compelled by law to fund despite clear failure in service delivery and Charter obligation.