226 Responses to WEDNESDAY OPEN THREAD…

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  1. Rufus McDufus says:
    July 31, 2013 at 7:38 am

    Should be interesting to see how the BBC report this story.
    A 12 year-old girl was raped on Saturday by 2 men. This story just came up on Sky’s breaking news ticker so I googled the story and the only mention so far is here: http://www.london24.com/news/crime/police_appeal_after_12_year_old_girl_raped_in_walthamstow_by_two_men_1_2308170
    I had to wade through the Stella Creasy twitter stories to find it.

    Police say the victim described the first man as dark-skinned and of mixed race, with a diamond stud in his left ear and a London accent.

    He told the girl his name was Mo and that he was 17.

    She said he had big brown eyes, short hair, was very skinny and wore a black puffa-style jacket with a hood, black chinos, black trainers and a grey/black T-shirt.

    The second was described as black and very tall with big lips. His hair was partly shaven and he wore black trousers and a red and blue shirt.

    The third, who did not rape the girl, was black and had a moustache.

    He wore a blue-coloured hooded top and a red and blue cap, and told her his name was Miles.

       56 likes

    • Mark says:
      July 31, 2013 at 7:44 am

      Vibrant multiculturalism in action.

         50 likes

    • A.D. says:
      July 31, 2013 at 9:31 am

      The BBC link fails to include the description or the third individual. This information could help the police find the other two individuals.The Police gave out descriptions of all three because they want them caught,the BBC not so much.
      There is something very wrong with the BBC.

      http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-23513254

         60 likes

      • Dysgwr_Cymraeg says:
        July 31, 2013 at 12:29 pm

        Probably short of space in their digital world, ya know, the world that hasn’t enough room for antisemitism in it’s headlines.

           21 likes

    • MartinW says:
      July 31, 2013 at 9:33 am

      According to the BBC this morning, it was just “two men”.

         41 likes

      • Richard Pinder says:
        July 31, 2013 at 5:55 pm

        If the BBC says “two men” and not “two white men” then that means they are “two black men”.

           34 likes

    • Alex says:
      July 31, 2013 at 10:33 am

      “The second was described as black and very tall with big lips” – LOL!

      For too many years, aided by the BBC, authorities have been afraid to mention the ethnicity of criminals for fear of being branded racist. How pathetic is that? So, when groups of Pakistani Muslims gang rape 14 year olds they are referred to as ‘Asian’ (not exactly narrowing it down) and when crimes are committed by black youths we often don’t get any mention of ethnicity. Interestingly, when crimes are committed by whites then most wanted posters are practically drawn up and plastered on doors.

         67 likes

    • Rufus McDufus says:
      July 31, 2013 at 12:06 pm

      OK, so the BBC are reporting it now but it’s not on the fron page, just low down in the ‘England’ section. They have actually published a fair amount more detail than I expected but there’s still some omissions:

      Officers said the first suspect claimed he was 17 and called Mo. He was very thin, mixed race and had a diamond stud in his left ear.

      The second was described as black and very tall. His hair was partly shaven and he was wearing black trousers and a red and blue shirt.

      The third, who did not commit rape, said his name was Miles, police said.

         9 likes

    • Jeff says:
      July 31, 2013 at 1:29 pm

      I’ve seen this story on the BBC rolling news, “two men” and immediately read between the lines. It’s astonishing how coy the Beeb become when any crime involving an ethnic minority is being reported. However, on the other hand, I will always remember their response when the foul mouthed white woman racially abused people on the tram. It was top story for a week. It seemed every time I watched the news there she was effing and blinding.
      Still, it’s a question of priorities I guess.

         50 likes

    • Doyle says:
      July 31, 2013 at 4:33 pm

      Mo, short for Maurice perhaps?

         12 likes

  2. dave1east says:
    July 31, 2013 at 7:59 am

    when does the bbc disguise fascism as `scholarship`?

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-23359693

       28 likes

    • Alex says:
      July 31, 2013 at 10:48 am

      Indeed. If that ‘scholar’ was from the EDL or BNP the noun would be in inverted commas.

         20 likes

  3. Henry says:
    July 31, 2013 at 8:10 am

    Guido Fawkes points out another connection between the BBC and Labour – in a story they run about England’s teacher training system
    .
    A close friend of mine who works in education suggested to me that the thrust of the story – that we risk a future shortage of teachers – is probably correct; but accepts the point that the BBC’s sources, as well as half its employees, are yet again leftist in orientation – to a striking degree

       41 likes

    • johnnythefish says:
      July 31, 2013 at 3:32 pm

      As ever, it’s what the BBC don’t tell you which conceals the truth behind the story. An obvious BBC/Labour stitch up, disguised as a piece of honest research by a bona fide think tank. And they have the brass neck to pull up Humphrys for lack of impartiality in his reporting of the benefits system. Bloody disgrace.

         25 likes

  4. George R says:
    July 31, 2013 at 8:20 am

    Will Griff Rhys Jones now be banned from BBC?:-

    “A Nimby? No, I’m fighting to save the Britain I love: TV star GRIFF RHYS JONES on his crusade to stop wind farms and solar panels wrecking his favourite landscapes.”

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2381610/GRIFF-RHYS-JONES-crusade-stop-wind-farms-solar-panels-wrecking-favourite-landscapes.html

       62 likes

    • Richard Pinder says:
      July 31, 2013 at 6:06 pm

      Will Griff Rhys Jones now be banned from the BBC?:-

      Yes, because I guess that according to the BBC Trust, writing articles for the Daily Mail would be biased, but writing articles for the Guardian, would not be biased, as members of the BBC Trust only read the impartial Labour party and Hacked Off approved Guardian newspaper.

         27 likes

    • Phil Ford says:
      August 1, 2013 at 2:49 pm

      I doubt anyone at the Corporation will be calling Rhys Jones in for doctrinal reprogramming any time soon. In his Mail article he is careful to state the following:

      “…I am deeply worried about global warming: I accept the evidence without demur. The world is getting hotter, and we are going through serious climate change.”

      On his recent QT appearance he was similarly cautious to measure his words very carefully, given the likely retribution he would suffer if he were to speak out of turn (aka: telling the truth) on climate issues. His statement above is the standard get-out clause for anyone in the pay of the BBC wishing to say anything on CAGW and keep their career with the hateful Corporation.

      Rhys Jones is a canny operator: he’s a multimillionaire as a result of selling his services to the BBC via his own TV production company. Wouldn’t want to endanger any of that fat license payer largess, would he? Beware of false prophets!

         10 likes

  5. Dave666 says:
    July 31, 2013 at 8:32 am

    It’s anti-fracking morning on breakfast. (and Sky) looks like the usual suspects are out in a not very large protest. What will the hippies do when the lights go out? Protest I imagine. Apparently they have already there for 7 days. Lucky they don’t have a job to go to or look for then. Local poll is quoted however 67% didn’t bother to reply, wonder how many of the protesters are actually locals.

       47 likes

  6. Henry says:
    July 31, 2013 at 8:36 am

    Wow the Beeb are on form at the moment, with more sex-offender-hysteria. Witness this piece, where it is strongly implied (à la Labour) that anyone not convicted, but merely accused or suspected of a rape* should have their DNA stored by police.
    .
    There are implications here for the presumption of innocence, and stigmatizing of those not convicted, but the BBC repeats Yvette Cooper’s opinions with no counterbalancing argument
    .
    * this is the crime they’re actually talking about, though the article is a tiny bit coy about it at first

       24 likes

  7. Banquosghost says:
    July 31, 2013 at 8:44 am

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-23490395

    Slough is the most ‘diverse’ area outside of London. Together with neighbouring areas, Hounslow and Southall it has a huge amount of what the BBC calls immigrants living in sheds and ramshackle buildings at the bottom of residents gardens.

    The above link is on the local Berkshire news bit and to their credit there are links covering this story going back four years.

    What the BBC does not mention and should is that the vast majority, if not all, the ‘immigrants’ living in these illegal buildings are from Pakistan. I have no empirical data to give you as proof except from my own eyes when working for the police in Slough and on cases covering Hounslow and Southall.

    I would suggest these immigrants are predominantly illegal, I mean, if they were legal then surely they would have housing? The BBC covers this as a local interest story where to my mind it should be front page news. Thousands and thousands of illegal immigrants living in majority Pakistani areas of England and after four years of knowing about the problem the local authority (Labour) the local MP (Labour) still haven’t evicted these people or at the very least checked them out. Its all very well saying they are aware of the problem and Fiona McTaggart bitching at the Government for not giving Slough more money to deal with the problem when nothing is done.

    I may be wrong, they could all be perfectly legal entrants to this country and find themselves temporarily without accommodation so live in a filthy rat hole until things get better for them but somehow I doubt it.

    The BBC is being coy about this story, its half a report form them without any crossing t’s and dotting i’s.

    Rant over!!

       64 likes

    • Rufus McDufus says:
      July 31, 2013 at 9:16 am

      Bet someone finds a way of using their vote though!

         43 likes

      • Arthur Penney says:
        July 31, 2013 at 4:09 pm

        Multiple times per election. It is amazing how many people can live in a 10′ by 10′ shed.

           21 likes

        • Rufus McDufus says:
          July 31, 2013 at 7:31 pm

          …Within easy reach of a postbox and with pre-supplied pre-paid envelopes!

             12 likes

          • Banquosghost says:
            July 31, 2013 at 7:56 pm

            Not that far away as the crow flies in deepest Surrey is this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-23503210

            Giving the BBC its due its named the guy who fiddled the polls with ghost voters etc., a chap called Mohammed. The guy who brought up the potential fraud is also a guy called Mohammed. Wonderful voting practices that have enriched our diverse country.

            Incidentally someone from Labour getting snotty about dodgy voting practices must have a seriously brass neck!

               15 likes

    • Old Goat says:
      July 31, 2013 at 9:34 am

      Ripe areas for fracking, then…

         35 likes

  8. noggin says:
    July 31, 2013 at 9:40 am

    did anyone catch VD 😀 … Drearybyshire on 5live, doing a segment on escalating sexual harassment suffered on public transport? … as she put it on trains, buses …. and ………………. taxi cabs
    hmmm care to give us the percentages VD?
    or expand on this
    “BBC radio host Sam Mason, a single mother, was fired after she called a taxi company and requested a “non-Asian” driver to take her 14-year-old daughter to her grandparents’ home; preferably a female driver”
    Gatestone institute
    uk taxi rapes … no women is safe in a cab?

       33 likes

  9. Deborah says:
    July 31, 2013 at 9:57 am

    Today programme this morning (Wednesday). Item about Labour have linked with soldiers’ charities for an event or something re discrimination against soldiers . Too soon to be able to ‘Listen Again’ to give you an accurate analysis I am afraid. But several times with emphasis we were told ‘Labour…..’ And yet everybody in the report except for the LABOUR MP were only willing to speak off record and for their names not to be given. So how accurate the story was and how much made up by the BBC and the Labour propaganda machine I can only imagine.

       23 likes

    • George R says:
      July 31, 2013 at 10:05 am

      “Are British soldiers joining the English Defence League?”

      (‘Channel 4’ -6 min video clip.)

      http://www.channel4.com/news/edl-reborn-how-anti-muslim-group-appeals-to-soldiers

         18 likes

      • Ken Hall says:
        July 31, 2013 at 5:11 pm

        Yes they are in increasing numbers, because they join up to fight and DEFEND our nation. The want to defend Great Britain and they want to defend England. Many of them returning from Iraq and Afghanistan know what we in the UK are going to be up against in the not to distant future here if we keep “tolerating” Islamic intolerance, hatred, bigotry, sexism and violence against women.

        You know, the sort of extreme violence against women and children that lefties never get upset about, because it is all fine according to Mohamed.

        The kind that social services turn a blind eye to, because they do not want to upset “community relations”

        Yet if a white male so much as makes a rude comment, these feminist harpies fly off the handle and demand loads of new laws to protect them from having their feelings hurt a bit!

           28 likes

        • Rufus McDufus says:
          July 31, 2013 at 7:33 pm

          I’m going to be incredibly sexist here and will probably be sentenced to 15 years’ hard labour, but most of these dhimmis do seem to be women don’t they?

             12 likes

          • Ian Hills says:
            July 31, 2013 at 10:53 pm

            A recurring dream of mine concerns Harriet Hormone forced to wear a burkha in the Commons….and no-one can hear her….it must be my age…

               16 likes

  10. Alex says:
    July 31, 2013 at 10:08 am

    Interesting:

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2381398/BBC-triggers-fresh-bias-row-censuring-John-Humphrys-programme-lifted-lid-welfare-state.html

    If you don’t dig the BBC groupthink then you’re superfluous to requirements, you catch my drift?

       36 likes

  11. Guest Who says:
    July 31, 2013 at 10:12 am

    Interesting, too..
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23514483
    Quality reporting.

       9 likes

    • Alan Larocka says:
      July 31, 2013 at 10:52 am

      Was she aware that Morsi views her as second-class?

         13 likes

    • The Beebinator says:
      July 31, 2013 at 11:09 am

      what a girl, just goes to show that there are great politicians out there who you can vote for. Think i’ll vote for her next time…..oh wait a minute…..

         17 likes

    • The Beebinator says:
      July 31, 2013 at 11:13 am

      from the comments in the link

      5.
      hew-and-cry
      7 Minutes ago

      “Wow- we are being represented by a former CND accountant who speaks no foreign languages and owes her position to a whim of the late and unlamented Gordon Brown. She has never held any elected office in UK but is one of the worlds highest paid “politicians”- says all you need to know about the EUSSR really, doesn’t it?”

         56 likes

      • Cosmo says:
        July 31, 2013 at 12:08 pm

        Even her piers in Europe say she is a waste of space.

           20 likes

      • Ian Hills says:
        July 31, 2013 at 11:08 pm

        Is that the same CND which took bribes from the USSR? Apparently the ledgers were written up in invisible ink, like when Labour treasurer Jack Dromey took bribes from peerage hunters.

        He’s suffering from selective amnesia too.

           13 likes

    • JaneTracy says:
      July 31, 2013 at 10:58 pm

      The most recommended comments all criticise both Baroness Ashton and Gavin Hewitt for his appalling toadying!

         7 likes

  12. Pounce says:
    July 31, 2013 at 10:18 am

    So I had the news on at Midnight and the bBC headlines was about how poor little Welsh boy Manning (Just wondering when somebody will play the British card) is going to go down for a very long time and all I saw was a party political broadcast from a suspected sex offender who while professing his innocence has locked himself away inside the embassy of a dodgy south American government so as to stop the Swedes from airing his sexual peccadilloes in court for all the world to see.
    Nice to see the so called impartial bBC acting as the propaganda arm for leftwing political interests.

    The bBC, the traitors within our midst

       48 likes

    • chrisH says:
      July 31, 2013 at 12:19 pm

      Only the BBC would cite a bail bond breaking squatter in a lefty Latin American Embassy as a “character witness” for wee Bradley.
      I assume he sent out a carrier pigeon, or did a rooftop gig to shout his views down by loudhailer.
      Double Bradleys sentence now that Julian has spoken out…and will someone send Assange to Jordan, now that we like their legal system!

         25 likes

  13. nofanofpoliticians says:
    July 31, 2013 at 12:40 pm

    This breaks with convention doesn’t it?

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-23519563

    Normally, the process is that you get nominated, the nomination is considered and if approved by the appropriate authorities it gets announced in the fullness of time.

    This page has been updated twice since I first spotted it, and BBC seem to be doing a running commentary on the process. She will be a hero to the BBC if she is ennobled.

       26 likes

    • nofanofpoliticians says:
      July 31, 2013 at 12:48 pm

      My point is that you could (almost) conclude that the BBC is lending its support to the nomination, in a way that is not normally seen.

         24 likes

    • Sir Arthur Strebe-Grebling says:
      July 31, 2013 at 1:12 pm

      Unfortunately the precedent is Helen Newlove, whose only qualification is that her husband was murdered by a gang of drunken chavs, made a life peer in 2010.

         18 likes

    • Banquosghost says:
      July 31, 2013 at 1:34 pm

      So to become a peer you have to slag off the police at every opportunity, accuse all and sundry of racism, accuse the police of smearing your family, be a member of Liberty and a president of the UAF and support Labour in everything they do. I see now where I have been going wrong all these years.

         56 likes

  14. George R says:
    July 31, 2013 at 12:45 pm

    EGYPT.

    Will pro-Muslim Brotherhood INBBC report the following, or censor it?:-

    “EGYPT: CHILDREN ON FRONT LINE OF PRO-MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD DEMOS DRESSED IN WHITE ‘DEATH SHROUDS’ FOR THEIR ‘MARTYRDOM’: ‘I AM READY TO DIE!'”

    http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2013/07/egypt-children-on-front-line-of-pro-muslim-brotherhood-demos-dressed-in-white-death-shrouds-for-thei.html

       20 likes

  15. Aerfen says:
    July 31, 2013 at 12:54 pm

    Just heard St Stephen the Martyrs mum Doreen is to be made into a Nulabour lord! So now she has officially been given the right to influence the laws of our country.

    Thank goodness they can’t give her an hereditary peerage eh?

       42 likes

    • Joshaw says:
      July 31, 2013 at 1:23 pm

      A victory for single issue politics.

      Now that she’s more than just a grieving mother, I’d like to think that her pronouncements will receive greater scrutiny. Not holding my breath though.

         41 likes

    • Fred Bloggs says:
      July 31, 2013 at 1:38 pm

      I have viewed the three parlimentary interviews. In order of presentation; One with St Doreen, one with Hogan Howe, the last with Mick Creedon. The last one is the most illuminating as he is the investigating officer. Points of interest:
      1) Creedon made it clear that the infiltration was of militant groups; these groups do attach themselves to cause celebre for publicity. Implying that Lawrence came under scrutiny because it had been infiltrated by activist groups.
      2) Simon Francis made his allegations the day before his book came out. That so far he was not prepared to make an official statement to the police.
      3) St Doreen and Khan her solicitor had not made themselves available so he Creedon could explain what has happened.
      4) So it became clear as St Doreen was on first, could make her unsubstantiated allegations, as she had not had an explanation from Creedon. Which she had not had as she had not made herself available – I think this is known as plausible deniability.

         30 likes

    • Lost Over There says:
      July 31, 2013 at 2:36 pm

      No space in the Lords for Kriss Donald’s parents then?

      Wrong type of killer?

         34 likes

    • nofanofpoliticians says:
      July 31, 2013 at 1:41 pm

      Even without the factual evidence to the contrary outlined elsewhere in the blog, the first paragraph of the article (the Sackur bit) simply doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.

      Even if true, it assumes that there is some kind of a barrier somewhere, looping around the world which stops any potential iceflow melt from disbursing across the oceans. That is the only way that water levels could rise in such a way for the the island be lost and it is quite simply rubbish.

      At times like this, I go back to my dear-ole-dad’s gin and tonic test (which is, if you put a gin in a glass, and fill the glass with ice and wait for the ice to melt, it doesn’t overflow the glass.) There’s no real difference.

      Poor from the bbc as per usual.

         15 likes

      • A Scientist says:
        August 1, 2013 at 9:59 am

        Your Dad’s gin and tonic test isn’t worth much when applied to the Greenland ice sheet. The second largest in the world after the Antarctic.

           6 likes

  17. ember2013 says:
    July 31, 2013 at 1:54 pm

    I see Doreen Lawrence is to be made a peer. Does that mean one of the relatives of PC Blakelock will be heading for the Lords too?

       42 likes

    • Aerfen says:
      July 31, 2013 at 2:20 pm

      How about Charleene Downes mum? Or does your daughter being turned into kebabs disqualify?

      Lee Rigby’s?

         51 likes

      • Dysgwr_Cymraeg says:
        July 31, 2013 at 9:36 pm

        All shades of politicians have just stuck the proverbial two fingers up to the british public, and basically said, fuck you!
        What are you going to do about it?

           15 likes

  18. Alex says:
    July 31, 2013 at 2:25 pm

    Is this a cynical vote-winner by Labour? Will the BBC ever let the white race in Britain get on with their lives instead of making us all feel guilty at least a few times a year?

    I feel very sorry for this nice lady who so tragically lost her son to violent, racist thugs, but when was the last time we heard about the family of Kris Donald who was viciously murdered by Pakistani thugs in Glasgow more recently? Or about all of those families of the victims of Muslim grooming gangs? Another case of white victims forgotten about by the BBC and the Left because it dinnae fit the narrative.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-23519563

       56 likes

    • Andy S. says:
      July 31, 2013 at 4:33 pm

      I’m afraid I’ve lost any sympathy I had for Doreen Lawrence years ago. She’s made a career out of being her murdered son’s mother and has become a race-baiter who’s no better than the likes of Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson Jnr.

      Strange I’ve never heard her moaning about the high number of young black kids murdered by other black kids. A previous poster hit the nail on the head when he described her as a “single issue” activist.

         57 likes

      • Joshaw says:
        July 31, 2013 at 5:12 pm

        Many people I know who don’t have strong views on racial matters say they are tired of the sight of this woman.

        I know this isn’t very scientific, and “many people” sounds a bit BBC, but I think she may be in danger of over exposure. Time will tell.

           26 likes

        • chrisH says:
          July 31, 2013 at 7:44 pm

          Why isn`t she sharing her title with hubby Neville?…who also lost a son I`d have thought!
          Or am I missing something here?

             12 likes

  19. Reed says:
    July 31, 2013 at 2:27 pm

    Well well well, what have we here…via Guido…

    BBC Outsource “Bedroom Tax” Bashing to Private Sector Firm

    Newsnight have been caught red-handed using a private firm to try stir up outrage toward’s the government’s, legal, tweaking of Housing Benefit changes. The bizarre email below was sent by Support Solutions, who boast that they have “carved a niche as a provider of revenue optimisation, strategic positioning and learning & development services.” The font sizes alone are baffling:

    After a day of mourning on the airwaves after the legal challenge against the spare room subsidy cut was quashed, it would appear from this that the Beeb are struggling to find enough “victims”. So they’ve called in the private sector…

    bt.jpg?w=480&h=449

    http://order-order.com/2013/07/31/bbc-outsource-bedroom-tax-bashing-to-private-sector-firm/

    Can Newsnight sink any lower? So much for the BBC’s ‘flagship’ news programme.

       59 likes

    • Joshaw says:
      July 31, 2013 at 2:42 pm

      Proof, as if proof were needed, that the BBC adopts a political stance and then trawls for evidence to support it.

         50 likes

      • Andy S. says:
        July 31, 2013 at 4:36 pm

        Do you think Dez, Scott, Colditz or any of the other D.O.T.I.s will bother to comment on this revelation?

        I, for one,will not be holding my breath.

           25 likes

        • Joshaw says:
          July 31, 2013 at 5:06 pm

          Does it matter?

          I think you’re in danger of inflating their egos.

             15 likes

        • A Journalist says:
          August 1, 2013 at 10:52 am

          Imagine for a moment you’re a journalist reporting this story. What is the impact of this change? Would you email/phone a wide number of people to try and find out more? Of course. That is journalism. Just because the other people contacted haven’t said anything to Guido isn’t evidence of bias. All you’re seeing here is journalism in action. I don’t quite understand why you are so vexed by it. Do you know Newsnight hasn’t also tried to find young happy families newly moved into a larger house? A pensioner who will cheerfully say they are happier in they’re smaller flat? Any actual evidence for this flimsy allegation of bias?

             8 likes

          • Guest Who says:
            August 1, 2013 at 11:18 am

            ‘Do you know Newsnight hasn’t also tried to find…’
            —
            When discussing ‘ journalism ‘, perhaps not the best thing to raise, especially around the Newsnight brand.
            As I recall, last time it cost th… us around £185k plus costs.
            But then, it was a different integrity.
            And the BBC’s unique journalism ‘in action’ is always a joy to behold.

               12 likes

            • Gomez says:
              August 1, 2013 at 6:15 pm

              Many idiots and bigots on here but your pomposity deserves a medal, GW. Truly.

                 8 likes

              • Guest Who says:
                August 1, 2013 at 6:35 pm

                Always happy to garner feedback of such calibre as folk get redirected back to tangibles.
                Not sure the BBC will be too thrilled, mind.
                Many thanks.

                   3 likes

    • Lost Over There says:
      July 31, 2013 at 2:54 pm

      “Newsnight have been caught red-handed using a private firm to try stir up outrage toward’s the government’s, legal, tweaking of Housing Benefit changes”

      That was careless of them. Especially coming so soon after the false reports about Lord McAlpine and Help for Heroes, both from a “private firm”

         56 likes

    • Guest Who says:
      July 31, 2013 at 5:24 pm

      ‘Can Newsnight sink any lower?’
      —
      When there appears no actual bottom limit to trigger any tangible reaction, it seems far greater potential depths remain yet to be plumbed.
      Their morning preproduction meetings after the latest foul up must be a hoot.
      However, the ongoing erosion to the BBC’s credibility by outsourcing their desperate attempts at garnering ‘sources who say’ to package as speaking for the nation, is possibly looking a tad ragged by now.

         22 likes

  20. Gunn says:
    July 31, 2013 at 3:07 pm

    The BBC reports on a change to how GDP will be calculated in the US – R&D expenditures will no longer simply be consumed costs in the year they were incurred, but instead will be treated as creating assets for the business or government department in question:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23501037

    There is bias here, but its quite subtle and requires some thought about what the changes will do. Firstly, the BBC article itself is close to useless to understanding what the changes are and how they affect things.

    We’re treated to a simplistic explanation centring on films, where we’re told that whilst a blockbuster film’s box office receipts and DVD sales etc are counted in GDP, the costs to make the film aren’t. This is misleading, and I suspect whoever wrote this article knows it. Technically, R&D costs (including the creation of entertainment such as films) are bucketed with all other costs of production for a company. So to state that the cost of making a film isn’t counted in GDP is the same as saying that the cost of employing the company’s lawyers isn’t included in GDP.

    To really understand what the changes are, one has to follow the trail to the document linked in the BBC article.

    What we’re told there is that R&D spending will be assessed as creating an asset, to represent the future benefits that accrue from the spending. All well and good one might think, but the problem is that identifying the value of the asset is difficult. The paper goes into some depth, taking about modelling the expected future cash flow, and how different industries or government departments / projects would be assessed based on historical data. R&D costs will be taken out of current year expenditure, and instead we will count the value of the asset as an investment. In future years, the asset will be written down, with the write down going to expenditure in those years.

    So here we see the heart of the changes – ‘R&D’, a fairly nebulous term (particularly when applied to government expenditures) will be taken out of consumption for the year, and relabelled as an investment creating an asset. The value of that asset is subjective (as hinted to in the paper, but never directly stated), and in many cases unmeasureable (the paper even helpfully tells us that government R&D which isn’t made publicly available is still counted as an asset as the government itself produces economic benefits by delivering public services – this is risible on several levels, particularly as it will be impossible to evaluate how good the models being used to calculate value by the government really are).

    So, what the US is implementing is a way to hide government expenditures as investment assets, at the same time as inflating GDP by potentially double counting the effect of R&D (the ‘asset’ created now, say a film, is counted as an investment based on what we expect to get from it in the future, then in the future we also count box office sales etc).

    We’re helpfully told by the BBC that “Some claim that the decision might be seen as a political ploy by the Obama administration to inflate the US economy – although this is a view that’s widely been discredited.”

    Thanks BBC, now tell us specifically who claimed that, what the details of their criticism were, and exactly who discredited the claims and how. Of course they won’t, because I suspect it would make the Obamessiah look bad.

    The critical requirement, in my view, for any technical journalist writing a piece like this is to be able to explain in layman’s terms what the changes will do, and to evaluate the overall impact in a neutral and substantive way. The BBC journalists are unable to do the former, and ideologically refuse to do the latter. Its part of their ongoing campaign to normalise the idea that government is good, and that it spends its [our] money wisely by ‘investing’ it in ways that we wouldn’t if we were simply left to spend our money as we see fit.

       20 likes

    • Rtd Colonel says:
      August 1, 2013 at 12:15 pm

      Didn’t Enron pull a similar stunt – that ended well …

         5 likes

      • Gunn says:
        August 1, 2013 at 1:02 pm

        Yes, the similarity occurred to me too when I read the document explaining the changes.

        The accounting profession has much to answer for in my opinion, as they should be reviewing these changes in detail and being strongly critical where necessary.

        For some reason, the trend seems to be to introduce new methods of accounting in order to ‘show relevance’ or some such when in fact they should be extremely conservative in their approach.

        Another example from a few years ago were changes to the way that derivative instruments were accounted for (this was before the financial meltdown of course). The key problem is that those at the top of the accounting profession and in the various oversight bodies simply aren’t as bright as they think they are, and worse, are considerably less bright than the guys going into finance. You end up with quants running rings around the accountancy guys, who rather than saying all the additional complexity reeks of bullshit, try instead to pretend that they understand the changes and write them into their revised accounting standards.

        What compounds this problem, particularly in the US, is that the accountants there aren’t even professionals in the way its understood in the UK; they are more properly termed ‘technicians’ i.e. people who can follow a set of rules but don’t necessarily understand the intent behind them. Where the UK profession always looked at substance over form, the US ‘profession’ is very much rules focused, making it easy for smart guys to find and exploit loopholes.

        Sadly, the trend in the UK over the last few years has been to dumb down our own profession through the adoption of various ‘International Standards’ that are overly prescriptive and so ironically reduce the ability of accountants to find problems because the rules have them looking in the wrong places.

           5 likes

    • David Preiser (USA) says:
      August 1, 2013 at 7:26 pm

      Well said, Gunn. There’s a sound economic concept deep underneath what’s going on (of course it would be good to better track how investment relates to results – businesses do it regularly, and economists have understood this for a century or more), but this article is just explaining White House policy, which is the BBC’s forte.

      This is just going to be used by the President later this year to justify more spending. The US spends more on this stuff than any other country.

      PS: Another Beeboid in the US? Good thing budget cuts that affect Newsnight and other important areas of the BBC haven’t stopped them hiring journalists over here, eh?

         2 likes

  21. #88 says:
    July 31, 2013 at 4:11 pm

    Tell a lie often enough….

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b037kxq6/5_live_Breakfast_Your_Call_30_07_2013/

    Gameshow is really pulling out all of the stops this week. Yesterday’s rambling and slightly worrying phone-in asking why some men hate women took on a life of its own and surprise, surprise it took on a party political flavour with Cameron in the firing line.

    28:45: A woman from Liverpool fingers Cameron, mentioning Nadine Dories. ‘Frustrated’ Campbell helpfully offers the caller. In this debate about abuse, the listener is reminded that Cameron called Dorries frustrated – And if that’s not enough Gameshow has another bite at Cameron’s Dorris comment at 59:00.

    No context is offered, no explanation. Just the inference that Dorries was belittled (and accused of being frustrated – sexually?).

    Judge for yourself – here is the clip – the context being that for weeks Dorries’ attempts at amending the social care bill, to stop NHS funding of abortion counselling had been repeatedly obstructed by her Lib Dem coalition partners. Like many MPs who believe that the Lib Dems influence on policy was disproportionate, she believed that the tail was wagging the dog.

    Perhaps Cameron shouldn’t have given up…but his answer contained non of the disrespect that the BBC imply when they repeatedly show or refer to this well-worn clip

    BTW: Knock about Nicky, ‘couldn’t help himself’ when a Tory MP [55:00], described a tweet sent to him by a teacher, using the ‘C’ word. ‘Was it Conservative?’, our Nikita laughs, to the amusement of his lefty coterie, who were hanging on the lines.

    At the risk of being accused of being abusive an having my laptop removed – the cretin no doubt has been taking lessons from Sandi Toksvig.

       32 likes

  22. Pounce says:
    July 31, 2013 at 5:29 pm

    Does the bBC have a policy of under-reporting Islamic crimes and over-reporting anti-Muslim crimes

    Mosque explosion tattoo man arrested
    A man photographed at an English Defence League rally with a tattoo on his ribs of a mosque being blown up has been arrested on suspicion of stirring up racial hatred.

    And here’s how the bBC and the Old bill deal with a Pakistani dressed as a suicide bomber in Feb 2006 a few months after Muslims Yes Muslims murdered 52 people on the streets of London by….Suicide Bombers.
    Man apologises for bomber protest
    A man who dressed as a suicide bomber during a protest about cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad has apologised for his behaviour….Scotland Yard said Mr Khayam would be interviewed informally over the protest before they decide whether to investigate.

    “This man was at a political demonstration and he was clearly, we believe, making a point,” said Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Steve House. “None of the officers there looked at him and perceived him to be a risk to the public.”

    BTW bBC, Mohammed the Paedophile/Mass Murderer and Warlord isn’t my fucking Prophet.

    The bBC and British Police not fit for purpose

       40 likes

  23. The PrangWizard of England says:
    July 31, 2013 at 5:33 pm

    The BBC is morally and financially corrupt. It must be broken up and scattered to the fours winds.

       26 likes

  24. Pounce says:
    July 31, 2013 at 5:34 pm

    How the bBC under-reports Islamic criminals.
    bBC version:
    Merseyside motorist caught doing 165mph banned
    A man caught driving at speeds of up to 165mph on the M57 motorway on Merseyside has been banned.

    Shiad Mahmoon, 23, was in an Audi when he was followed by a police helicopter at 05:00 BST in June 2011. Liverpool Magistrates’ Court heard he was eventually pulled over by officers on the M62 motorway. Mahmoon, from Oldham, was given a three-year driving ban and told he would have to retake his test at the end of his ban period.

    And the Liverpool Echo version:
    165mph driver taunts: “Catch me if you can”
    A cocky driver caught at record-breaking speed on a Merseyside motorway laughed off a three-year road ban – telling a court: “I’m still going to drive – catch me if you can”……Yet unemployed Mahmoon shrugged off the road ban after he was sentenced, boasting: “I’m still going to drive – catch me if you can.”

    British Police stated:
    “Our message to anyone who flouts the law to such a degree is that we will use all the technology we have available to bring you to justice.”

    And yet this Islamic Idiot shoves two fingers up to the law during the holy month of Ramadan.

    The bBC and British Police not fir for purpose

       33 likes

  25. Pounce says:
    July 31, 2013 at 5:44 pm

    Will the bBC report the jailing of this racist:
    ‘I’m going to break every white bone in your white face’: Asian footballer jailed after racist tirade against match referee
    An Asian footballer who racially abused a referee and threatened to kill his family after he was sent off during a match has been jailed for his 20-minute rant. Wasar Ahmed, 23, launched a foul-mouthed racist tirade against Ian Fraser after he gave him a red card warning the official: ‘I’m going to break every white bone in your white face.’ As the other players and spectators looked on, angry Ahmed was escorted off the field shouting: ‘I’m going to burn your white house down and kill your wife and kids – I know where you live. I’m going to come and find your house.’

    A quick search at the bBC, shows me they haven’t bothered their arse in reporting this racist hate crime. Gee I wonder why

    The bBC, the propaganda arm of Islam. paid for by you.

       40 likes

  26. Pounce says:
    July 31, 2013 at 5:49 pm

    What do you know:
    Former Surrey police officer charged with rape
    A police officer has been charged with rape and other sexual offences dating back to the mid 1990s. Salim Ismail, 50, is accused of two counts of indecent assault, one of rape and one of attempted rape.

    Reading the headline do you get the impression this Islamic rapist (What is it about Muslims and rape?) is no longer a policeman. which doesn’t explain this next snippet from the bBC:
    He served as a police constable in Surrey between 1993 and 2002, and is now serving with West Yorkshire Police.

    So he’s still a policeman, I wonder why the bBC lead with the headline, maybe it’s so you don’t click on the link to see just who has been raping who

    The bBC and British Police not fit for purpose

       33 likes

    • Aerfen says:
      July 31, 2013 at 8:24 pm

      And when it was on Radio Four news at 7 o’clock this evening the newsreader noticeably lowered his voice so one barely caught his name. I actually thought he said ‘Sunny Ismail’, and I don’t have a hearing problem. How many listeners missed it altogether ? Most, so the BBC hopes.

         11 likes

  27. stuart says:
    July 31, 2013 at 6:12 pm

    socalists are all barmy nutcases who live in denial about there past crimes that they have commited on the population of the uk since 1997.now i read that the same socalists who screwed us over for 15 years are promising more of the same if they get relected in 2015.i swear all these socalists and thiose who intend to vote them in again should all be certified mentally ill.

       18 likes

  28. flexdream says:
    July 31, 2013 at 6:39 pm

    Juror: George Zimmerman ‘got away with murder’

    That’s the surprising headline on the BBC. Surprising because the jury unanimously acquitted Zimmerman of murder. Looking at the ABC source BBC could have used as it’s headline ” Juror: George Zimmerman should not have been tried” but I guess that doesn’t fit the BBC narrative.

    http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23459963

       26 likes

    • David Preiser (USA) says:
      July 31, 2013 at 6:46 pm

      It’s also a misleading representation of the actual story. The juror said that they all emotionally wanted a conviction, but they realized the facts of the case wouldn’t let them. That’s not really the same thing as Zimmerman getting away with murder. Emotions are not facts, as much as the BBC and their defenders would like us to believe.

      Of course, the BBC has been rather coy about the facts of the case, and has on a couple of occasions pushed falsehoods about them. On which defenders of the indefensible still remain resolutely silent.

         31 likes

      • Andy S. says:
        August 1, 2013 at 7:03 pm

        It seems that ABC News edited the interview to make it appear the juror said that Zimmerman got away with murder. What really happened was that the interviewer asked the leading question “Did Zimmerman get away with murder?” The juror repeated the question out loud – obviously considering what was asked- and then said “We all have to answer to God.”

        A look at the unedited version and the broadcast version, while basically using the same words, the editing DID change the meaning of what the juror said.

           10 likes

    • Sir Arthur Strebe-Grebling says:
      July 31, 2013 at 6:50 pm

      bBBC racism at its best.
      A juror in the trial of a Florida neighbourhood watchman who killed an unarmed black teenager has come forward to say he “got away with murder”.

      But the 36-year-old, named as Maddy in an ABC News interview, said they could not find him guilty based on the law.

      The only non-white member of the six-woman jury, she suggested the trial had been little more than a sham.

      George Zimmerman was cleared after shooting dead unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in February 2012.
      Their first paragraph tells us that the victim was unarmed and black. Their third paragraph gives the (‘non-white’) race of the juror. Then, just in case we hadn’t got it, the fourth paragraph again tells us that the victim was unarmed and black.
      Contrast with their shameful non-coverage of Muslim crimes, where they never tell us the colour or religion of the criminals or their victims. Or of the numerous urban gang murders, where again they won’t mention anyone’s colour. Unless it’s one of those very rare cases where the murderer is white and the victim is one of their beloved black people.

         35 likes

  29. George R says:
    July 31, 2013 at 8:02 pm

    BBC-NUJ censors victimisation of non-Muslim woman worker in Cambridge school.

    Although Beeboids have massive monopolistic media power, they apparently fail to report this case of victimisation of non-Muslim woman worker:-

    ‘JihadWatch’:-

    “UK: Lunch lady fired for inadvertently serving pork to Muslim student”

    [Opening excerpt]:

    “Even Muslim leaders are not jumping aboard for this one, but it shows how far Britain has fallen, and how terrified it is of its Muslim population, to which it is utterly subservient. Those who speak out against the Islamization of Britain are smeared, vilified, marginalized — or banned from the country altogether.”

    http://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/07/uk-lunch-lady-fired-for-inadvertently-serving-pork-to-muslim-student.html

    ‘Jihadwatch’:-

       19 likes

  30. The Beebinator says:
    July 31, 2013 at 8:30 pm

    thank you EDL

    blackburn1.jpg

       42 likes

  31. Aerfen says:
    July 31, 2013 at 8:31 pm

    I know this is about the BBC but Channel Four is just as bad!
    Have just listened to the News, in a discussion of immigration the ‘balance’ was leftie but slightly uneasy about immigration David Goodhart

    http://www.channel4.com/news/david-goodhart-demos-eu-immigration-proposals

    against raging open borders supporter Jonathon Portas
    http://www.channel4.com/news/catch-up/

    It was very clear whose side the ref was on too!

       12 likes

  32. Aerfen says:
    July 31, 2013 at 8:37 pm

    This was followed with a feature on young entrepreneurs starring a very badly spoken black ‘yoot’ who has made a fortune videoing rappers, then the weather delivered by a mixed race presnenter with a reminder for the tiny Mohammedan minority of the exact time of Ramadan prayers tomorrow. Those not lucky enough to be living in social housing in London were advised to contact their ‘local mosque’.
    The propaganda never stops.

       18 likes

    • Aerfen says:
      July 31, 2013 at 8:57 pm

      At the moment we have a program on extreme diets featuring type two diabetes patients. Of course in such a *negative* role fatso ethnic Britons are VERY well represented, five out of the six guinea pigs, with just one fatty ethnic, Manjit; note well neither of the favoured groups, Black or Mohammedan, Manjit is a Hindu name.

      Much reminding of the fortune these horrible fatty Britons are costing the NHS.

         13 likes

  33. lojolondon says:
    July 31, 2013 at 8:59 pm

    This afternoon around 4pm, there was a long interview of a woman saying how bad the Gollywog thing was, how racist gollys are, how racist British and American society was in the 1900’s and how disgusting we all were and are.
    Lucky for her the BBC will broadcast her introspective, navel-gazing guilt trip, because I can’t imagine another broadcaster in the world that would waste their listeners time with such claptrap. But then again, all the others depend on adverts for revenue, which means they have to put on a decent show.

       23 likes

    • Aerfen says:
      July 31, 2013 at 9:01 pm

      Oh I think Channel Four would be more than happy!
      Even their adverts promote multikulti!

         10 likes

    • JimS says:
      August 1, 2013 at 2:02 pm

      It takes a certain sick mind to see Noddy as racist.

      So your average white man has a nodding head? His neighbours are friendly teddy bears as opposed to unfriendly real bears like polar and grizzly bears? And what exactly do skittles represent, some sort of European white ethnic? Obviously it was post-war propaganda for self-built homes too!

      Noddy and his Gollywogs pre-dated my first sighting of a Caribbean immigrant and I didn’t then and don’t now make the connection. Interestingly a black comedienne was making a fuss about Gollywogs recently and she admitted that when she showed these dolls to her, (presumably), black daughters they didn’t make the connection either.
      The whole race industry in the UK is an American import. There was no comparison between the treatment of the black American citizen and that of the black immigrant to the UK. Nevertheless we imported the advisors and their policies and laws. Then we started importing people from all over the world to ‘prove’ to the indigenous population how racist they are and ultimately to put them in the minority position ‘so you will know what it feels like’.
      The self-loathing of the Left knows no bounds.

         12 likes

  34. Dave666 says:
    July 31, 2013 at 9:30 pm

    Listening to Radio 4 news at 18:00 I was somewhat confused as to why the term “Of Polish origin” was used in the story to the brutal murder of Daniel Pelka. I would have thought Polish would have sufficed. And before anyone starts there are vicious scum everywhere it’s not a dig at this case. I just didn’t get why this phrase was used.

       12 likes

    • Aerfen says:
      July 31, 2013 at 10:41 pm

      I think its very clear why it was used, to send the message that anyone who rocks up and lives in Britain is ‘just as British as us’ whatever their ‘origin’.

      I very much doubt this Polish family had even taken British citizenship, however we are now obliged to pay for their detainment at HMs pleasure.

         16 likes

    • Ian Hills says:
      July 31, 2013 at 11:42 pm

      “Of Polish origin” sounds like “of white origin”.

         4 likes

  35. George R says:
    July 31, 2013 at 9:50 pm

    Ramadan.

    Is ‘Guardian’ breaking political ranks with INBBC somewhat, in reporting Ramadan ‘slacking’ in Islamic Republic of Iran?

    ‘Guardian’-
    “Tehran during Ramadan: ‘nobody is really in the spirit.’
    Some Iranians say observance of the Muslim fasting period is slacking, though no one will go so far as to break fast in public.”

    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/26/tehran-ramadan

    In contrast, INBBC is strict in its approval of all things Ramadan, and Islamic. (Is this simply down to the higher percentage of Muslims which INBBC employs, compared to ‘Guardian’?)

       14 likes

  36. Albaman says:
    July 31, 2013 at 10:03 pm

    “In contrast, INBBC is strict in its approval of all things Ramadan, and Islamic. (Is this simply down to the higher percentage of Muslims which INBBC employs, compared to ‘Guardian’?)”

    No doubt this comment from GeorgeR will garner lots of “likes” from his sycophants.

    So GeorgeR:
    Can you site examples of the BBC’s “approval of all things Ramadan”?

    Is this article an example of the BBC’s strict approval?
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23388205

    What are the figures which prove that the BBC employs a higher percentage of Muslims that the Guardian? I assume that you mean a higher percentage of each organisations total workforce but perhaps when you respond you could clarify this.

       10 likes

    • Manfred VR says:
      July 31, 2013 at 10:21 pm

      You are very boring, hope the BBC are paying you well for your Trolling.

         20 likes

      • Albaman says:
        July 31, 2013 at 10:26 pm

        No, as I have said on many previous occasions I have no connection with the BBC.

        I do note that you have provided no evidence to support GerogeR’s assertions. No doubt you gave him a “like” anyway.

           9 likes

    • Justin Casey says:
      August 1, 2013 at 3:14 am

      Albumen ….. Look what I`ve found ….. I admit it is from 2011 but i will try and find a more up to date set of stats for you to deny exists…

      Click to access rfi20111085_staff_ethnicity_at_31august2011.pdf

      Table one shows a simplified set of numbers…
      Total number of employees 19451
      Total number of majority employees 17066
      Total number of BME (middle east) 2385

      Pay attention to Table Two…. it gives a breakdown of ethnicity
      The FOI response specifically excluded staff working for: BBC Studios & Post Production Ltd, UKTV, BBC World, BBC Worldwide Ltd, World Service Trust (around 500 employees) and BBC Children in Need.

      According to the 2011 census, the total population of the United Kingdom is around 63,182,000…
      The number of Muslims is 1,591,000 or 2.7% of the total population of the UK….
      14.83214230630816 % of BBC employees were of Middle Eastern origin…
      A 2.7% muslim population is over represented in the BBC workforce by about 12% …….. So much for equality and cultural diversity eh???? The numbers are the BBCs` own….. Given via a FOI request in 2011….
      This proves the assertion that the BBC is operating a system of positive discrimination when recruiting staff…

         17 likes

      • dez says:
        August 1, 2013 at 4:12 am

        Justin Casey,
         
        “Total number of BME (middle east) 2385”
         
        Apart from getting your maths wrong, BME refers to; “Black and Minority Ethnic staff (Black, Mixed, Asian, Chinese, Middle/Near Eastern)”. Not ‘middle east’ you complete lunatic ;p
         

           10 likes

        • Gomez says:
          August 1, 2013 at 5:38 am

          Tread softly dez. There are very few fact fans around these parts.

             9 likes

          • Mark says:
            August 1, 2013 at 7:29 am

            Office of National Statistics figures for 2009 from ethnicity.ac.uk state that all minority ethnic groups make up 12.1% of the population, so there is still a slight BME over-representation at the BBC.

               11 likes

        • Justin Casey says:
          August 1, 2013 at 9:04 am

          When I referred to the letters BME I thought that by placing the words middle and east in brackets it would be accepted as a deliberate and false description of the true meaning of those letters, furthermore if you had actually bothered to read the FOI pdf you would not have felt the need to be such a facile and pedantic twat…
          As for my maths skills… I admit that there is a chance that i may have missed a few additions but at the time I was too busy doing further research on the BBC and its inability to translate the true representation of ethnic minorities in the UKs` populace which IN 2011 WAS ABOUT 2.7% OF THE TOTAL POPULATION.. by being an equal opportunities employer as well as a responsible and ethical braodcaster whose programming reflected the viewpoints of all sections of the license fee paying people who expect impartiality from the flagship TV corporation that is meant to represent everyone… So heres the updated numbers for you to ignore…
          The BBC employs 12.1% of its staff from ethnic minorities and Channel 4, 12% – all well above the national population average of 8%. ITV reflects that average, drawing 8% of its staff from ethnic minorities (up from 3.8% in 2004).
          Heres some numbers from the BBC itself
          The BBC has clear diversity targets which were set in 2008 and were for achievement by December 2012. Our 2012 corporate targets were:
          12.5% all staff BME (12.4% as at September 2012)
          7% Senior Manager grade BME staff (6.5% as at September 2012)…..
          12.5% are BME…. far above the percentage of the population ….
          How about this then…. Source… http://www.bbc.co.uk/diversity/workforce.html

          Divisional targets (2013 – 2017)
          Global News
          BME as of Aug 2012 45.6
          BME Target by 2017 45.5
          News
          BME as of Aug 2012 11.3
          BME Target by 2017 13.5

          Further down there are targets for `Future Media` projects and yet again the 17% BME target is almost double the percentage total of BME numbers….
          One last thing….. BME does not include Chinese or every person of mixed ethnicity….. and people who are disabled are not an ethnic group, yet the BBC once again attempt to disguise the true figures by including the disabled populace in thier BME figures and in doing so alter the true number of BME by about 4.5% of the total population of the UK…. Which if subtracted from the BME total equates to just over 8% of the UK total…. Although this is a close estimate it is not exact as it is estimated that over 2.5 million people are in the UK illegally.. The end result is still more or less the same BME population of the UK is 8-9 %… BBC employees who classed as BME 14-15 % … overepresentation of BME population in the UK 5-6 %….
          Number of complete twats in the employ of the BBC on this site … about 4 – 5 plus approx. 20-30 sockpuppet accounts used by BBC staff…

             24 likes

          • Aerfen says:
            August 1, 2013 at 11:58 pm

            What you have to bear in mind is that the TRUE BME figures are far far higher than the census suggets. Huge numbers of foreigners, for various reasons didnt register.

            However I see no reason why the BBC should aim to reflect anything more than the OFFICIAL BME population. There is no reasons why migrant birds of passage and illegals should expect to be represented by the state broadcaster. Come to that nor should recent arrivals IMO. It is prefectly acceptable if the state broadcaster reflects the balance of about ten years earlier, the last people to arrive at the party shouldnt expect first pick of the buffet, and jobs at the BBC are much sought after.

               3 likes

            • Justin Casey says:
              August 2, 2013 at 1:31 am

              HAHA!!
              “Huge numbers of foreigners, for various reasons didnt register” it was becouse they did not have resident status and were not entitled to be here…. The BME percentage according to the BBC includes the disabled (4.5%) population of the UK, since when is being disabled an ethnic identity???? They also include Gays, Lesbians, Transexuals, and Hermaphrodites in thier BME statistics too!!! Take the 4.5% and the 2% (illegal immigrants) away from thier BME total and you get a true total of between 8-9% BME in the UK being represented by a BBC BME total of 12.1%… Also heres a statistic from the BBCs diversity report….
              Divisional targets (2013 – 2017)
              Global News
              BME as of Aug 2012 45.6
              BME Target by 2017 45.5
              News
              BME as of Aug 2012 11.3
              BME Target by 2017 13.5
              and
              Further down there are targets for `Future Media` projects and yet again the 17% BME target is almost double the percentage total of BME numbers…. u can read it urself here… http://www.bbc.co.uk/diversity/workforce.html…..

                 1 likes

  37. Span Ows says:
    July 31, 2013 at 10:11 pm

    I was left with the impression that David Cameron has lost a court action against John Crudass…surely the BBC couldn’t be putting out such confusing bulletins?

       22 likes

    • uncle bup says:
      July 31, 2013 at 10:49 pm

      Yes NaT led with the judge’s criticism of Cameron although of course the actual story was Cruddas winning the libel case.

      So three questions for Wavy Davy.

      1. Why do you think Droidsville did this.
      2. Do you still ‘love the BBC?’
      3.. What are you going to do about it?

         22 likes

      • Dysgwr_Cymraeg says:
        August 1, 2013 at 8:34 am

        And Dopey Dave’s answers:
        1 Did what?
        2 Of course I do
        3 do about what?

        Did I get that right Fatpang?

           7 likes

      • Beeboidal says:
        August 1, 2013 at 9:09 am

        1. It’s the BBC. It’s what they do.
        2. I did once call it the British Broadcasting Cuts Corporation.
        3. Get Grant Shapps to say it’s not fair.

           4 likes

  38. George R says:
    July 31, 2013 at 10:36 pm

    Typical INBBC propaganda for Ramadan:-

    “Ramadan: When should children start fasting?”

    (inc video clip.)

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23495294

       11 likes

  39. ember2013 says:
    July 31, 2013 at 10:38 pm

    Newsnight begins tonight with: “Should Cameron apologise to Cruddas?”

    Rather than: should the newspaper involved apologise?

    Perhaps the BBC is asking: are politicians easily deceived by headline news? Which I suppose is true as quite a few are still taken in by the Climate change scares that pepper various broadsheets and online outlets.

       21 likes

    • #88 says:
      July 31, 2013 at 10:51 pm

      Newsnight again…’let’s get a Tory’.

      Can you imagine what might have happened if Cameron had refused to drop Cruddas? Newsnight, just as they did with Mitchell, would have kept the story going until they drew blood.

      And of course they take the opportunity to remind viewers of the posh boys image / Cameron’s ‘chumocracy’.

      This must be the 7th or 8th direct attack on the Government by the BBC, this week. The attacks seem coordinated and one can only suspect that they are a response the Tories recent successes, the good news stories they have enjoyed, Labour’s problems and the narrowing poll ratings.

         33 likes

    • Guest Who says:
      August 1, 2013 at 12:28 pm

      ‘Perhaps the BBC is asking: are politicians easily deceived by headline news?’
      —
      Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps…
      As the ironically comments-closed Telegraph story below on what constitutes a story in the MSM makes good example of, the BBC does rather seem to have form on what it even notices much less headlines.
      Which deceives many more than hapless pols.
      Especially victims of awful crimes and abuses sunk into the memory hole as their pigeonhole didn’t suit the BBC box tickers’ agendas.

         3 likes

  40. #88 says:
    July 31, 2013 at 10:41 pm

    Back to fracking.

    If anyone would like a bit of light relief and an example of a BBC employee doing his job, listen to this from 2:48:55. Particularly when Peter Allen gets to grips with a ‘know-all Greeny’ who clearly wasn’t expecting to be put on the spot.

    It reminded me of Allen’s demolition of BBCs smug Head of Standards, David Jordan over the Savile debacle.

    Utterly hilarious.
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b037kz60

       10 likes

    • Aerfen says:
      July 31, 2013 at 10:44 pm

      That makes a change, Peter Allen is normally right ‘on message’, certainly he was when talking about the ‘the problem of the housing shortage’, absolutely no mention of ‘the problem of overpopulation’!

         14 likes

  41. JaneTracy says:
    July 31, 2013 at 11:11 pm

    On Newsnight Paul Mason was reviewing a debate between Stella Creasey (Labour) and Toby Young (right-wing).

    According to Paul Mason a sense of impartiality is demonstrated by quoting a tweet which called Toby Young “a right tit”…

       25 likes

    • Wrinkled Weasel says:
      July 31, 2013 at 11:54 pm

      In the same piece, some American “expert” said that “all men are brought up to hate women”. This went unchallenged and unremarked.

      What if, for example, someone had said, “All Muslims are brought up to hate Christians”?

      This programme allowed an incitement to gender hatred to go unremarked and unchallenged.

      It was the first time I have bothered with Newsnight in months, and it will probably be the last.

         28 likes

      • Reed says:
        August 1, 2013 at 2:47 am

        “all men are brought up to hate women”

        …and no doubt it was a typically baseless assertion, the only evidence being the tiny percentage of male Twitter trolls who make threats towards women. Imagine the outrage if a Newsnight guest claimed that “all muslims are brought up to be terrorists”.

        …and if all men are brought up to hate women, who is responsible for a good deal of the rearing of these supposed woman-haters? This quote is nothing more than a rephrasing of the ‘all men are potential rapists’ nonsense. It’s misandry – sexism, pure and simple – the very problem this halfwit of a guest was complaining about, and one of the very few issues that the BBC is willing to apologise for… if it falls in the right direction, that is.

           19 likes

      • dez says:
        August 1, 2013 at 3:48 am

        Wrinkled Weasel,
         
        “In the same piece, some American ‘expert’ said that ‘all men are brought up to hate women’. This went unchallenged and unremarked.”
         
        She didn’t say “all men”.
         
        Another day, another lie by someone on B-BBC. This site never changes.
         

           5 likes

        • Banquosghost says:
          August 1, 2013 at 8:55 am

          Why not comment on all the other comments showing BBC bias? At this time there are 150 responses to the open thread yet you have cherry picked something and ignored the vast majority of examples. Why?

             17 likes

        • Beeboidal says:
          August 1, 2013 at 9:46 am

          If the expert we are talking about here is American journalist Quinn Norton, she said

          “The social problem is that men are raised to hate women”

          Without some qualifier such as some men or a proportion of men, then her words can be fairly taken to mean all men.

             27 likes

  42. Thoughtful says:
    August 1, 2013 at 8:56 am

    Interview on Today at 8:50 seemingly innocuous about changing electricity tariffs to incentivise (force) people to use more off peak units.
    Amazing crazy talk about everyone turning the fridge off for 10 minutes at the same time !
    No challenges to this nut casery and no doubt this is the shape of things to come as the UK is driven further onto the rocks , with the seeming intention of turning it into a third world state.

       18 likes

    • Old Goat says:
      August 1, 2013 at 9:52 am

      It’s part of a cunning plan to introduce Smart Meters (which, of course, will never become compulsory, nudge, nudge, wink, wink…). Bribe the plebs to allow them to be installed first, then pretend that there are so many installed it might be a good idea to “encourage” everyone else to have one.

      Nothing shifty, or untoward – an innocuous meter in your house – the gas/electricity man won’t have to bother you, you can see what you are using at a glance and “adapt” accordingly – what’s not to like?

      What they DON’T tell you, of course, is that the same Smart meter can be used to monitor limit your energy usage, whether you like it or not. First will come the warning letter, then the official visit, followed by the control “measure”, in turn followed by excommunication.

      The ploy that “Saturday electricity will be free” is just that, a ploy. Who, in their right mind, is going to hang around on a Saturday morning just to try and use every amp of current that they possibly can, just because it’s “free”? I bet it won’t really be “free”, and if it is, not for very long.

      But the gullible public will play ball, like they always do…

         16 likes

      • pah says:
        August 1, 2013 at 11:39 am

        That’s what they did with water meters. They started off as a whizzo wheeze to save money and then became compulsory for those not stupid enough to believe it.

           5 likes

  43. Rufus McDufus says:
    August 1, 2013 at 9:28 am

    I found this story amusing.
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23526439

    Now I haven’t got a clue which political party this guy belongs to, but for some reason a Spanish story is getting prominence on the BBC so there must be more to it.
    Ah yes, this guy’s party isn’t (as far as I can tell) the ‘hard left’ party of Spain, you know – the one that completely wrecked the economy… without so much as a peep from the BBC. Funny they bring up possible corruption charges now. Spain has been corrupt for as long I can remember!

       10 likes

  44. Rufus McDufus says:
    August 1, 2013 at 9:31 am

    Oh and another one –
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-23518194

    Note most of the councils are Tory so this is obviously front page news. What I’d like to see are the actual revenue figures, not the ‘profits’. If there’s some councils not making any profit at all from parking charges then I suggest that’s probably more due to their incompetence or accounting (or over-employment). Do the BBC touch on this? No, because they haven’t got a clue about the difference between revenue and profit.

       12 likes

  45. Umbongo says:
    August 1, 2013 at 9:58 am

    Chris Hopson, chief executive of Foundation Trust Network, and Mark Porter, chairman of the British Medical Association, discussed the decision consequences of the High Court re Lewisham Hospital. All agreed that the PFI financing of NHS assets has been a disaster. However, nobody was insensitive enough to mention that these disasters were engineered by a Labour government. The Today interlocutor remarked that these contracts were entered into “years ago” and implied that, rather than an ill-managed and badly negotiated dodge to procure off-balance sheet financing for a significant part of government expenditure, they were now a part of history and tradition much like the ancient ceremonies surrounding a coronation (and, BTW, a convenient stick with which to beat the present Conservative health minister who was trying to deal with the consequences of Labour‘s maladministration).

       12 likes

    • johnnythefish says:
      August 1, 2013 at 11:00 am

      ‘However we are where we are’ – oft heard on the BBC these days. How we got here has been consigned to the memory hole by the public-funded broadcaster who brings the nation 70% of its new unless, of course, they can find a way of pinning it on ‘Fatcher’.

      It stinks.

         10 likes

  46. Deborah says:
    August 1, 2013 at 10:10 am

    Our local news last night was criticism of a local hospital by the Care Quality Commission. A demonstration outside the hospital was shown and the interview was with a demonstrator who was identified as a representative of the Labour Party. As the other demonstrators also wore red rosettes I am not sure that they were entirely representative of the area (it has a Conservative MP and Council). I assume the idea is to reverse Labour being on the back foot on the NHS after Stafford. Have other posters seen other attempts on local news to show Labour as the party to trust on the NHS?

       20 likes

    • brett says:
      August 1, 2013 at 2:14 pm

      look east is one big labour election broadcast!

         11 likes

    • Richard Pinder says:
      August 1, 2013 at 6:28 pm

      That also happened in Beverley, East Yorkshire. The local Labour man is a Scotsman who was protesting outside the hospital, he was angry with the Tory party, presumably for not covering up the problems at the hospital, as Labour would have done in support of the management, he certainty was not in favour of the inspectors decision. At least no one has died at the hospital, but I do not think anyone other than Labour activists where outside of the hospital, protesting in support of the staff or more accurately the management but certainty not for the inspectors decision in support of patient safety.

         4 likes

  47. Joshaw says:
    August 1, 2013 at 10:44 am

    On a different note, BBC gets a hammering in some of the comments here:

    BBC Today presenter: ‘Opera is one of the least watched art forms in the world’

    I particularly liked: “What an extremely aggressive, ill-informed, strident and unpleasant woman she is”.

       11 likes

    • Reed says:
      August 1, 2013 at 11:05 am

      Ms Montague goes on to say that ‘the only people really watching opera are the richest, most educated in the world’.

      As many point out in the comments, this is absolutely not the case, and even if it were – so what! The audacity of someone with an upper-middle class, Emma Thompson style, highly educated sensibility dismissing an artform that only appeals…to people like her! This is BBC playing both the class warfare (by proxy) card and the inclusivity/dumbing down card at the same time. I know it’s a programme that tries far too hard to be provocative in its questioning, but at least they ought to be consistent whilst doing so.

      Wonder what she makes of The Last Night of the Proms !?!?

         15 likes

      • David Preiser (USA) says:
        August 1, 2013 at 5:09 pm

        Only the richest, most-educated? Yeah, that’s why the movie theater simulcasts are doing blockbuster business. Which is always going to be a shock to elite oikophobes. And that Sun ticket giveaway a few years back was a success. Which the BBC hated because it allowed them indoors.

        There’s evidence in the comments on this blog from July 2008, if they can ever get fixed for import.

        Maybe the lame avant-garde, political, aren’t-we-shocking, operas (or the latest burbling from darlings like Ades or Adams) are patronized only by white, wealthy, educated types, but that says more about them than about opera in general.

           4 likes

    • David Preiser (USA) says:
      August 1, 2013 at 5:17 pm

      Very interesting line in the comments there about Birtwistle and death metal fans, right above the insightful comment from Barry.

      The concert Ring from Barenboim and his orchestra was top notch, btw. It’s probably more enjoyable to watch that than the idiotic regietheater staging at Bayreuth this year.

         3 likes

  48. Reed says:
    August 1, 2013 at 11:59 am

    This is not BBC related, but as the topic has come up in this thread, I though some might be interested. It’s an insightful piece…the final line in particular. Have a read…

    In modern Britain it seems there are racist killings, and racist killings. And some are deemed very important. And some are “non-notable”.

    http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/seanthomas/100229154/the-murder-of-stephen-lawrence-and-the-strange-case-of-the-missing-wikipedia-entries/

       15 likes

    • Reed says:
      August 1, 2013 at 12:03 pm

      “Comments are closed.” Brave.

         13 likes

      • Joshaw says:
        August 1, 2013 at 1:15 pm

        The “wrong” sort of comments.

        I don’t agree that all readers have an inalienable right to comment on everything, but there’s a distinct pattern with the DT.

           9 likes

  49. Rufus McDufus says:
    August 1, 2013 at 12:04 pm

    Talking of peerages, the list of new peers is out today.
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-23529208

    Strangely they don’t mention that one of the new Labours peers, Sir Charles Allen, is senior adviser to Goldman Sachs. I would have thought that relevant considering the BBC & Labour’s continued attacks on the banking industry and their accusations that the banks are solely responsible for all the world’s woes despite the heroic actions of Gordon Brown, Balls & Darling to try and prevent a disaster.

       13 likes

    • Reed says:
      August 1, 2013 at 1:00 pm

      …doesn’t fit the ‘Tory bankers’ theme. BBC looks away.

         9 likes

    • noggin says:
      August 1, 2013 at 1:48 pm

      brian pillock, doreen lawrence, jenny jones green party
      give me strength … looks like the bbc have helped with selection

         21 likes

    • Umbongo says:
      August 1, 2013 at 4:49 pm

      It’s an object lesson in how inflation devalues a currency.
      Most of the drones appointed to the Lords are the dross – either members or wannabees – of the political class. The system comprises politicians either returning favours (generally consisting of cash paid on the nail to whichever party can ensure that the donor receives a generous reward) or appointing their own to join the (permanent) gravy train. Yes I know this has always happened to some extent but, generally speaking, two generations ago – to be raised to the Lords – you’d have had to put in a lifetime of (more or less) honest public service.
      Now? Take Doreen Lawrence as an example: she has had the unimaginable tragedy of having a son murdered. In consolation for that terrible event, rather than having the appropriate punishment visited on a small group of corrupt and lazy policemen who conspicuously failed to nail the perps in the first place, we have been gifted a new permanent, unelected legislator, an emasculated police force, the marxist invented crapola of “institutional racism” (of use wherever a lack of concrete evidence of “racism” cannot be found) and the turning over of an 800 year old legal principle. Now I come to think about it, Islington’s conferring of a peerage on one of its (adopted) own is a suitable reward for such wanton destruction of a civilised polity. The only thing left is Doreen’s elevation to the throne.

         13 likes

    • Louis Robinson says:
      August 1, 2013 at 2:31 pm

      You ask: “Is this what the BBC think of the royal family?” The answer is yes – until the knighthood beckons.

         12 likes

    • dave1east says:
      August 1, 2013 at 6:01 pm

      this was no error, it was deliberate. can you imagine a similar nelson mandela picture being broadcast?

         12 likes

      • Guest Who says:
        August 1, 2013 at 6:11 pm

        Bit of a NaughtieMarr punt then?
        Giggles over the shandies tonight at getting away with this one too.

           9 likes

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