WEDNESDAY OPEN THREAD

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Well, Monday’s open thread is heaving at the seams so this is timely. Has the BBC shown overt bias, care to tell us about it? The floor is yours!

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  1. Old Goat says:
    August 8, 2013 at 5:44 pm

    Not really pertinent here, I suppose (but maybe it is) – I had cause today, to write to Classic FM:

    They had played Claude Debussy’s “Golliwog’s Cakewalk”, but in true cop-out, PC manner, referred to it merely as “Cakewalk”.

    Sad, so sad,

       11 likes

    • Andrew says:
      August 8, 2013 at 6:24 pm

      Chris Morris (in the TV studio, having gone over for an update to a pretty London-traffic-reporter woman, whom he obviously ‘admires’):

      “It sounds like a Robertson’s factory out there!”

      Traffic woman (smiles uncomprehendingly): “Sorry?”

      Morris: “All the jams!!” (looks very pleased with himself).

      Woman: (laughing at Morris’ witticism and then finding one of her own)

      “Golly!”

      Morris: (looks patronisingly and lustfully at the woman, before moving on to the next item).

         14 likes

  2. Andrew says:
    August 8, 2013 at 6:11 pm

    Radio 4’s “PM” show at circa 17:40 – The Great Train Robbery, 50 years on. Predictably, the cunning robbery was set in the context of social change around that “pivotal” year of 1963. Because, as we all know, the 1960s were unconditionally a Good Thing, the crime can be seen as, well, certainly not a Bad Thing, if it can be tied in with the “end of deference”, poorer people hitting back at the establishment and the toffs, the Beetles, the Sexual Revolution, zzzzz zzzzz zzzzz. Is there a B-side? Can we hear that instead? Edward Mair, God help us, did provide a bit of balance and they did mention the coshing of driver Mills, who never worked again, but I had the distinct feeling that the BBC just could not condemn this act of violent, anti-social, criminal selfishness.

       17 likes

  3. George R says:
    August 8, 2013 at 6:12 pm

    INBBC celebrates the end of this year’s Ramadan:-

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-23613134

    ‘The Religion of Peace’ doesn’t:-

    http://thereligionofpeace.com/

       7 likes

  4. Louis Robinson says:
    August 8, 2013 at 7:03 pm

    Last night I heard “Bombing Boston”on the BBC World Service. It was another wonderfully wacky show from (who else) in which she talks to American Muslims who fear that law enforcement programmes are being used to profile, map and spy on them.

    Wow! American Muslims “fear that law enforcement programmes are being used to profile, map and spy on them”. Really? I can’t believe it! I wonder why?

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01dkgyr

    …And in next week’s “Assignment”: something about gays in Israel.

       11 likes

    • David Preiser (USA) says:
      August 8, 2013 at 7:07 pm

      The same Narrative Andersson was pushing in her Panorama feature, eh? Imagine that: the same angle on the same issue being pushed on an entirely different show in an entirely different part of the BBC under an entirely different management and editorial structure.

      The bias is naturally institutional because they all think the same way.

         12 likes

      • John Anderson says:
        August 8, 2013 at 7:30 pm

        The Assignment piece on the World Service was just a re-hash of Hilary Andersson’s Panorama rubbish. Has she never seen the interviews with the brothers’ mad and hateful mother ?

        So – we pay an American leftie to lie to the British people on Panorama – and then trail these lies to the rest of the world. If I were American I’d be fuming. But then, so much of the US media were also straining to blame the Boston bombings on anything but Islam.

           9 likes

        • David Preiser (USA) says:
          August 8, 2013 at 8:03 pm

          Your license fee hard at work. They used to do this sort of thing on BBC World News America as well. Until they cut the show down to a half hour a while back, the first half hour was mostly rehashes of international (or pet British issue) stories already shown on News 24 and/or the World Service. This won the show some Peabody awards for its international reporting, which is a joke, but that’s how these things work. A good portion of it was produced in the UK, paid for by the license fee, but because it was then broadcast in the US under the BBC Worldwide aegis, the waters became muddied.

          When I once tried to complain about some biased drivel from Justin Webb (back when he was the BBC’s anti-Palin editor, before being elevated to Today), I was told by the complaints drone that it wasn’t any of their business because Webb was officially under the auspices of BBC Worldwide. When I complained to Worldwide, I was told it was not their problem and I should go ask my father report it to BBC News.

          In this way, the BBC remains largely unaccountable and can shift things around on different ledgers to suit accounting needs. It’s also a straight path for the biased journalism to spread internationally. No memo needed, no editorial directive passed down from on high. The infrastructure and personnel make it happen naturally.

             9 likes

          • Wild says:
            August 9, 2013 at 5:42 am

            “the BBC remains largely unaccountable”

            Which of course is they way they like it. They are not facilitators they seek to enforce correct thinking – a correct thought being whatever accords with the interests of middle class Leftists – which just so happens to be themselves.

            A vote for the bloated and corrupt public sector party is a vote for social justice, and anybody who disagrees with that is committing a thought crime and needs to be re-educated.

               3 likes

  5. pounce says:
    August 8, 2013 at 7:58 pm

    To see how far the bBC have fallen in terms of reports factual news, compare their version of what is happening in Gibraltar with Al Jazera.
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23578178

    http://www.aljazeera.com/video/europe/2013/08/2013861828823522.html

    Anybody else get the impression that the bBC have left a lot out of their coverage over just what is happening.

    THe bBC, the traitors within our midst

       7 likes

    • David Preiser (USA) says:
      August 8, 2013 at 8:20 pm

      Interesting that Al-J cared more about how the issue was going to affect the poorest and most vulnerable while the BBC was all about the big picture.

      I’m sure the Beeboids had a good laugh while editing the piece when they stuck the shot of the snarling little dogs immediately after the Gibralter minister said Spain was acting like North Korea. No editorial comment there, I’m sure.

      Also, the BBC mention of the two referenda on remaining British made me wonder if they’re going to respect the opinion of the majority of that population in the same way they respect certain other referendum results.

         6 likes

  6. bodo says:
    August 8, 2013 at 9:55 pm

    “Met fraud squad to probe BBC pay offs”

    Oh lovely! If we cant get em for bias, lets stuff em for corruption. Hehe, Capone got similar ’roundabout’ justice. Anything that damages the Beeb is fine by me.

       15 likes

  7. Framer says:
    August 8, 2013 at 10:22 pm

    For some reason Mark Easton has gone off my radar for a year or more. Is he in Manchester or just not bothering to write much? His salary is so enormous I suppose he doesn’t need to.
    Anyway today he pontificates about the birth rate rise on the BBC website. He even mentions immigration in a ‘jokey’ aside, not that the BBC’s admitted failure to discuss that issue can ever be addressed.
    For the record he wrote, “There has been a lot of political debate about whether our immigration figures are good enough, but we’re pretty good at counting births and dead bodies, and we saw the largest number of births in one year since 1972. We are in the midst of a real baby boom. And people are living longer…”.
    So it’s the growth in oldsters that really matters.
    Now move along.

       12 likes

    • johnnythefish says:
      August 9, 2013 at 9:26 am

      Article from The Standard 2008:

      http://www.standard.co.uk/news/immigration-and-births-to-nonbritish-mothers-pushes-british-population-to-record-high-6816318.html

      ‘The soaring birth rate among immigrant mothers will soon become the main driver of Britain’s rapid population growth, Government experts have predicted.

      Immigration has been the biggest factor in increasing the population in recent years, and with millions of new arrivals starting families the birth rate is soaring.

      The Office for National Statistics said yesterday that it could be the main source of overall population growth as early as next year, overtaking immigration itself.’

      Got that, you dimmys (spelling options under review) at the BBC?

         3 likes

  8. George R says:
    August 8, 2013 at 10:47 pm

    “Met Police’s fraud squad investigating BBC pay-offs scandal.

    “Detectives from Scotland Yard’s fraud squad are investigating senior members of the BBC’s leadership over allegations of misconduct in public office, The Telegraph can disclose.”

    By Christopher Hope.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10232189/Met-Police-investigate-BBC-pay-offs-scandal.html

       11 likes

  9. Alex says:
    August 8, 2013 at 10:59 pm

    Some classic Far-left propaganda happening as we speak on Newsnight; unbelievable. The Left seem to be intent to impose their lesbian, gay and transgender on everyone in the world (apart from Muslims). How the Left can criticize Russia over its gay rights and stand shoulder to shoulder with Muslims with their hardline opinions on gays is yet another example of rank hypocrisy on the Left.

       19 likes

  10. Thoughtful says:
    August 9, 2013 at 8:16 am

    http://hmrc.presscentre.com/Press-Releases/Top-tax-cheats-put-in-the-frame-67ead.aspx

    Take a look at the names and the ethnicity of the people in the photographs, and ask yourself why it is that the only ones which the Today presenters mention are white British ones?

    In a later article they do discuss the case of Nasser Ahmed which is quite shocking, presumably the white didn’t have a sensational enough past or have defrauded enough.
    The fact that he is believed to have fled to Pakistan says it all.

       6 likes

  11. AsISeeIt says:
    August 9, 2013 at 8:43 am

    Rather tangential but you’ll get the idea…..

    WEDNESDAY OPEN THREAD

    ‘Russell Brand: Sachsgate was down to bias against BBC’

    ‘The so-called Sachsgate controversy erupted because of a bias against the BBC, comedian Russell Brand has said.’

    ‘He said: “Listen, Kirsty, after the show there were two complaints. After it was in the Daily Mail there were subsequently 42,000 complaints.”

    WEDNESDAY OPEN THREAD

    ‘Russell Brand on Desert Island Discs, review’

    ‘Russell Brand’s appearance on Sunday’s edition of Desert Island Discs has generated “only” 26 complaints, according to a Radio 4 spokesman.’

    Only 26 complaints – the BBC can safely ignore those Licence Payers then.

    Laura Harmes@lauraharmes
    Journalist and Breakfast Show producer at BBC Radio 5 Live. I like news, AFC, animal stories and trashy TV. And I love having a laugh! Manchester, England

    Laura Harmes ‏@lauraharmes 28 Jul
    Driver starts shouting a swearing at other guy and saying he wanted to get out and punch him. Licensed black cab. Do I complain to council?

    Henry Jones ‏@hdotjones 28 Jul
    @lauraharmes No – just say you’re appalled and refuse to pay!

    Marta Newman ‏@MartaNewman 28 Jul
    @hdotjones @lauraharmes no point complaining. I did a few months back and I needn’t have bothered. Council can only act if you go to court.

    Laura Harmes ‏@lauraharmes 28 Jul
    @MartaNewman really? So if 20 people complained about same driver they’d do nothing? That’s astonishing if true!!

    Marta Newman ‏@MartaNewman 29 Jul
    @lauraharmes they issue a driver with a warning providing there’s evidence of ‘wrong doing’ The Council’s powerless. I don’t use black cabs.

    Twenty complaints and the Coucil do nothing – how frustrating that must have been for this Beeboid.

       6 likes

  12. Roland Deschain says:
    August 9, 2013 at 8:58 am

    Unapproved Opinions of the Day

    ‘[Traditional Britain Group’s] Facebook page calls for Doreen Lawrence, the mother of murdered black teenager Stephen Lawrence, and “millions of others” to be “requested to return to their natural homelands” ‘

    I confess I’m something of a dunce when it comes to Facebook, Twitter et al, but I’ve looked and can’t see where it says that on their page. Is it an official posting or a comment someone left there? I’m afraid I’m very suspicious when it comes to a BBC agenda. After all, we’ve had occassions here when posts by commenters have been taken to represent the whole site.

    Here’s the paragraph that probably shows why the BBC has taken a particular dislike to this group, when there are so many undesirable groups to choose from:

    “Posts by the group on its Facebook page criticised the decision to make Mrs Lawrence, whose son was murdered in a racially-motivated attack in 1993, a peer.”

    Well, heaven forbid that someone should criticise on race grounds the ennoblement of someone whose entire claim to fame is based on race.

       8 likes

    • Thoughtful says:
      August 9, 2013 at 9:04 am

      “Mrs Lawrence, whose son was murdered in a racially-motivated attack in 1993”

      And there’s that assumption again. We have only the word of one witness, and that is untested. For all we know there could have been a fight started by the two youths which ended in the death of one of them, with the other concocting a story to give himself victim status.
      The point is that we will never know, but the readiness of the left to swallow any kind of story without evidence should be truly worrying.

         9 likes

  13. George R says:
    August 9, 2013 at 9:01 am

    BBC-NUJ propaganda for what it describes as: ‘British Asians’.

    “In pictures: British Asians”

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-23486552

       3 likes

  14. AsISeeIt says:
    August 9, 2013 at 9:11 am

    ‘Boy George has Tweeted his breakfast’ !

    More BBC-style journalism from Nicky Campbell coming up with his 5 Live phone-in debate.

    I begin to detect a theme here…. Stephen Fry Tweets something about linking Russia, Skiing and the Gays and suddenly the pet campaign issues of a tiny minority shoot right to the top of the BBC agenda.

       5 likes

  15. AsISeeIt says:
    August 9, 2013 at 9:23 am

    ‘Whassa-gay-seenlike-in-Moscow-Nikolai?’

    Unique journalistic talent on show from Campbell there. Now how much is my Licence Fee?

       6 likes

  16. Old Goat says:
    August 9, 2013 at 9:51 am

    We had a “solar expert” on this morning, telling us that the earth’s poles “flip” every million years or so, and those of the sun every eleven years. Utter surprise from our ‘educated’ hosts – they didn’t know, and had no idea. I did (with my secondary education) – I thought everybody did.

    No matter, the “solar expert” went on to tell us about sunspots and solar flares and CMEs, and how they could be “bad” for us – he didn’t mention Carrington Events, which have happened before and are potentially destructive. Although he did mention the Maunder Minimum, he failed to mention that this cycle (24) is linger than normal,and has a dearth of sunspots, and is similar in many ways to the Maunder Minimum- all important facts. Can’t have the public knowing that, can we? All our CO2 postulating would be out of the window, wouldn’t it?

    What did it for me though, was his assertion that the sun didn’t really affect our climate that much, after all, and that our changing climate was largely due to anthropogenic greenhouse gases. Oh, dear – our fault, again. We are so norty…

    So, he played right into the BBC’s green-stained hands, and spun a gross lie as well as showing his solar “expertise”. How I cringed.

    Then we had a load of guff about pregnant pandas. Oh, God…

       7 likes

    • Roland Deschain says:
      August 9, 2013 at 10:22 am

      Yes… panda might be pregnant, just when the Edinburgh Festival has got going. That’s very convenient.

      Sorry. Feeling a bit cynical today.

         2 likes

  17. Aerfen says:
    August 9, 2013 at 10:16 am

    Stephen Fry given free rein on Nicki Campbell this morning to push his Russia boycott agenda, his flawed logic unquestioned. Also allowed to be extraordinarily rude and patronising to a caller.

       4 likes

    • Mark says:
      August 9, 2013 at 11:53 am

      Fry’s status as a National Treasure is beginning to decline, as more and more people realise what an irritating narcissist he really is.

         5 likes

  18. George R says:
    August 9, 2013 at 10:16 am

    “Met police fraud squad is ‘gathering information’ over claims huge BBC pay-offs broke the law.
    “Scotland Yard tells Tory MP officers are examining fraud complaint.
    “Decision will be made on whether to launch full criminal investigation.
    “Reading East MP Rob Wilson asked for probe into severance payments.
    “A quarter of managers received more money than they were entitled to.
    By MATT CHORLEY, MAILONLINE POLITICAL EDITOR

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2387645/Met-police-fraud-squad-gathering-information-claims-huge-BBC-pay-offs-broke-law.html

       2 likes

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