WEEKEND OPEN THREAD…

Last day of January and a final Open Thread of the month! It’s been a busy month here on Biased BBC to welcome in 2014 and my sincere thanks to all my fellow writers and above all to you, dear reader, for coming here and sharing your thoughts on the BBC.

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344 Responses to WEEKEND OPEN THREAD…

  1. noggin says:

    stand by your beds folks!
    Panto (interesting hair) Campbell – AL BBC 1 – TBQs
    should women dress, ahem … “modestly”
    yes folks “Sunday Muslim Live” has finished
    so the BBC s next flagship religion show follows the same bloody pattern, pandering to the sensibilities of the 2% again … thanks Aquill

    what s the chance of a few Darth Vadar outfits turning up?
    on Al Beeb 1 .. oh come on … “world hijab day” and all that

       13 likes

  2. George R says:

    BBC-NUJ’s latest propaganda piece for Labour Party is a repeat ‘comedy’:-

    “Labour Party reforms could see unions and MPs lose say”

    Really? Again?

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-25992825

    “Unite’s £30 million war chest for strikes:
    Blow to Miliband’s curbs on Labour paymaster”

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2539637/Unites-30-million-war-chest-strikes-Blow-Milibands-curbs-Labour-paymaster.html#ixzz2s62g1r2c

    When will BBC-NUJ spin its third Labour Party fable of the day?

       13 likes

  3. Llareggub says:

    Chinese New Year – Year of the Horse. BBC’s New Year – Year of the Whores. So apt. Did anyone catch this piece which was mentioned in the Huff Post?

    http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1597334/thumbs/o-BBC-NEWS-570.jpghttp://i.huffpost.com/gen/1597334/thumbs/o-BBC-NEWS-570.jpg

       8 likes

  4. AsISeeIt says:

    Whilst radomly tapping the remote this evening I caught a fleeting glimpse of an old Top Gear on BBC 3.

    Guess what? I have suddenly realised why it is that Jeremy Clarkson and pals sit so awkwardly amid the rest of the supposedly wide and diverse BBC entertainment portfolio.

    Clarkson was making a joke about the supposed ‘inclusivity’ of his show. The joke was about caravaners but he quipped :

    ‘We’re even more ‘inclusive’ than a BBC Regional News Programme’

    Of course me, the studio audience and the wider viewing public knew exactly what he was talking about and could all take a guilty pleasure in the joke.

    And it struck me then and there that the very point of Clarkson vis a vis the BBC was not so much that he is any real sense ‘right wing’, but that he draws attention to the fact that the BBC has drifted inexorably ‘left wing’.

    So more horse power to his elbow.

       32 likes

    • MartinW says:

      I agree entirely with your sentiment, but not with your choice of the adjective “guilty”. For me it is just unqualified pleasure, plainly and simply!

         5 likes

  5. Alex says:

    I find it odious and nauseating the way in which the BBC always fail to mention UAF thuggery at EDL marches. UAF vermin rat filth scum, are basically Nazi-like jackboots, willing to do the Left’s vile bidding… their foul actions are always overlooked by BBC reporters, who are more interested in demonising a disenfranchised and voiceless English working class who are angry at being left to rot by snooty middle-class socialist excrement, a self-loathing middle class more interested in self-congratulating each other on being more holier-than-thou. I bloody hate Labour and their treacherous minions at UAF and Hate Not Hope.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-25999527

       32 likes

  6. Sir Arthur Strebe-Grebling says:

    Another indication of the biased urban beeboid mentality: they can scarcely believe that anyone can live without alcohol.
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25996438

       8 likes

  7. OldBloke says:

    Well, I suppose sooner or later it was going to happen. There are now *Christian Patrols* in London just as there are Muslim patrols. Let us see how the BBC bat on this sticky wicket?

       16 likes

    • DICK R says:

      Two sets of religious lunatics in the streets, I think there is going to be a need for athiest patrols soon !

         2 likes

  8. dez says:

    Not reported by B-BBC:-
     
    “The former managing editor of The Sunday Times and The Sun Richard Caseby has been appointed as director of comms at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).”
     
    “He replaces John Shield (previously employed handling comms around the Welfare Reform Bill proposed by Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith) who left the government department to take the role of director of comms at the BBC”
     
    http://goo.gl/F2E3Kq
     

       4 likes

    • LurkerDroneNumber141 says:

      Thanks for pointing this out. This obviously balances out all of those thousands of Labour supporting journalists, producers, directors, editors, “comedians”, actors, management and other assorted paedophiles and sex pests who make up the BBC’s workforce.
      I have no idea when this extremely significant appointment took place but I am certain that we will no longer see any instances of left wing bias in the BBC output. Let us also hope that it has a positive effect on the institutionalised sexual abuse that has come to light within the BBC in the last 40 years.

         27 likes

      • dez says:

        James Harding head of BBC news was previously employed as a journalist at the Financial Times and editor of The Times newspaper.
         
        Obviously just another one of those “thousands of Labour supporting journalists”. Just like Craig Oliver; previously in charge of BBC Global News and now Director of Communications for David Cameron.
         

           5 likes

        • LurkerDroneNumber141 says:

          I think that says somewhat more about the piss poor Cameron than it does about the BBC.

             14 likes

        • GCooper says:

          Down to your usual abysmal standard, dez: The Financial Times is a famously Labour supporting newspaper and (despite being owned by the ‘Beast Of The Right’, Murdoch) the Times has more than its share of comrades on board.

             18 likes

        • Dave s says:

          Cameron is a fully paid up liberal. Where did he come from? Why did he get control of the party?
          Why do we rural members so dislike him?
          He is no conservative.

             5 likes

          • Thoughtful says:

            Cameron is a Cultural Marxist, other than that he has few beliefs other than those the men in grey suits tell him he has to have.
            The usual unpleasant Tory greedy for money is greatly in evidence and Cameron couldn’t give a stuff as to who, and how many he betrays in order to get his hands on as much cash as possible.
            It’s obvious he doesn’t want to be re elected he can make more money in two or three speaking engagements as he can in a year of being PM and for him the only thing which matters is Money !

            The Tories are lining up his successors already, a year before the election is due !

               0 likes

        • johnnythefish says:

          So there must be loads of right-wing tweets then, eh Dez?

          Dig ’em out, son, and get back to us.

             6 likes

      • Frank Words says:

        Lurker Drone

        You have hit the nail on the head.

        A few appointments of people that are associated with the Conservatives is a fig leaf used by lefty BBC cheerleaders big and very small (and down right microscopic). The likes of Kevin Maguire and Alistair Campbell trot out names like Andrew Neil and Nick Robinson and (don’t laugh) Lord Patten to “show” there can’t be a bias.

        Just go back over the years of this blog or read the “twitter” accounts of BBC staff and journalists to see where their political sympathy rests. Read reports into the BBC by former employees and managers and they confirm the overwhelming liberal left bias.

        Andrew Marr. Mark Thompson. In their own words.

           22 likes

        • pah says:

          Can some kind person remind me why Robinson is referred to as ‘Toenails’. I’ve forgotten.

             6 likes

          • Dysgwr_Cymraeg says:

            Probably because he was so far up the arses of Liebor politicians only his toenails were visible perhaps?

            Pray correct if wrong.

               10 likes

    • Lobster says:

      Interesting article. But I notice that once again no comments are allowed “for legal reasons”. I have read the whole column twice and for the life of me I can’t understand what possible legal reasons would prevent any comment. Perhaps I am thick, so could someone explain please.

         9 likes

  9. Thoughtful says:

    Broadcasting house (radio 4) emitting it’s usual far left propaganda.

    Today it’s a series of socialist Marxist poems against the 1st World War where the traitors were calling on the ‘working class’ of both sides not to fight each other. No wonder Hitler wanted to get rid of them all !

       13 likes

  10. Guest Who says:

    What is the point of ‘the news’ – Alain de Botton – Newsnight – BBC News

    What do you think?

    Well, they have asked.

       7 likes

  11. Guest Who says:

    Including the source, the ‘report/not news’ top trumps agonising in the BBC over this one may be interesting…

    Daily Mail U.K. (@DailyMailUK)
    02/02/2014
    Lesbian couple allowed to adopt Muslim girl against the wishes of her family dailym.ai/1bPEdyg

       10 likes

    • Thoughtful says:

      The problem here yet again is Islam.
      Take a look at the religions instructions on adoption and you’ll soon realise why there are very few suitable Muslim families who want to adopt, especially a girl.

         8 likes

  12. George R says:

    “BBC blasted for ‘wasting licence fee’ over amount of staff being sent to Sochi 2014”

    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/457456/BBC-blasted-for-wasting-licence-fee-over-amount-of-staff-being-sent-to-Sochi-2014

       15 likes

  13. George R says:

    ‘Cranmer’:-

    “Censoring ‘Jesus and Mo’ establishes UK sharia blasphemy code”

    [Excerpt]:

    “The fact that both BBC Newsnight and Channel 4 News are censoring images of Mohammed establishes a narrow Sunni-sharia compliance: it is, effectively, a blasphemy code adopted by the state broadcasters. His Grace observed this development as far back as 2007. The UK now has a de facto blasphemy law which protects Allah, Mohammed and mosques more than it does the names of Jesus, YHWH or the Church of England. It is ironic that while Parliament has abolished the crimes of blasphemy and blasphemous libel as they relate to Christianity, the vacuum has been filled by politicians, police, the judiciary and media increasingly taking the view that Islam has to be treated with kid gloves, and blind eyes have to be turned to those professing Muslims who threaten murder or call for ‘Jihad’ against the apostate and the infidel.”

    http://archbishop-cranmer.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/censoring-jesus-and-mo-establishes-uk.html

       24 likes

    • Framer says:

      The Beeb has also censored out of existence the fact that the Syrian civil war is intra-Muslim i.e. that our lads going over their with charitable supplies are aiding one set of Muslims who are killing another set of Muslims.
      That can’t be said on the BBC as it is demeaning of Islam. Never ever will you hear a BBC interviewer ask why are you supporting this particular side in the civil war?
      It is that much more difficult to avoid now that the rebels are behaving so awfully. But avoided it will be.
      Thank the Lord, Hague (FO patsy) and Cameron got snubbed by the Commons vote last summer.

         9 likes

  14. George R says:

    Thailand and Islamic jihad murders: not for INBBC to report?

    ‘Jihad Watch’ has:-

    “Thailand: Muslims murder three soldiers and election official in jihad bomb attack”

    http://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/02/thailand-muslims-murder-three-soldiers-and-election-official-in-jihad-bomb-attack/

       13 likes

  15. LurkerDroneNumber141 says:

    Drones or UAVs? The search for a more positive name
    Given that this is the BBC’s favourite president’s weapon of choice, one can imagine the urgency amongst his fawning, media minions at the BBC to find a “more positive name”.
    My own suggestion would be “UMA” or Unmanned Militant Aircraft.

       7 likes

    • LurkerDroneNumber141 says:

      The rather nasty sounding names of individual aircraft types could do with a bit of a makeover too. Therefore, for the benefit of sensitive media luvvies, may I suggest that the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper is renamed to the “General Atomics Mozzie-Gone-2000”?

         8 likes

    • David Preiser (USA) says:

      Leave it to the BBC to make sure to point out that the President said He wants to reduce the use of drones, while failing to mention that He turned Bush’s drone wars up to eleven, and has a higher body count than any Nobel Peace Prize laureate in history. Even the HuffingtonPost is more honest. Perhaps in the audio version he gets around to it?

      However, this piece inadvertently raises a completely separate issue with this outrageous admission:

      As anyone working in public relations knows, if you control the language you are half way to defining an issue. It is the reason journalists get caught up in so many apparently arcane disputes.

      You mean like complaints about the BBC using Labour or activist terms like “bedroom tax” or “the Prophet Mohammed”, or “cuts” vs “savings” or the terrorist/militant/dissident debate? This is what the BBC thinks are “arcane disputes”. One has to wonder if this highly-trained, experienced media professional similarly objects to the BBC directives on not using certain emotive terms such as “divorce” or “break-up” when reporting on the issue of Scottish independence.

      More evidence that complaints just make them hold you in contempt more than ever. This is also the kind of thing that makes Beeboids increasingly angry and resentful of the timidity of upper management restraining staff from reporting what they feel is the truth about certain issues.

         10 likes

  16. Pounce says:

    Interesting article about the growth of Windfarms in Ireland. Apparently it is perfectly acceptable for the bBC to report how these huge white elephants (Is that racist that I a dark skinned bloke state’white’?) shouldn’t be built because the power from them is going to the UK (As a surplus) I quote the emboldened top side bar comment:
    “Are we going to ruin our environment to save the UK’s environment?”
    It seems that at the bBC anything that has a UK connotation can only be bad.
    Ireland’s rural protests over wind energy

       13 likes

    • LurkerDroneNumber141 says:

      How is it that they only ruin the environment in Ireland, whilst scattering the fucking things willy-nilly across the hills and dales of England is cause for rejoicing?
      I just searched the BBC’s web site for the term “windfarms ruin england”. I got ONE story from 10 years ago, featuring the BBC outcast David Bellamy.

         16 likes

      • Pounce says:

        Just completed my own search using ‘Windfarm protest’ as my parameters:
        http://www.bbc.co.uk/search/news/?q=windfarm%20protest

        Got 11 hits going back 12 years. Funny enough all bar the Scottish stories inform the reader why windfarms are being built, I quote from the top entry:
        “The UK is the windiest country in Europe and the deployment of wind farms could contribute significantly to renewable energy targets which aim to assist in combating climate change.”

        And there you have it, Windfarms are good for the Mother nature. Unless of course you are a bird.

           17 likes

    • David Preiser (USA) says:

      Pounce, your calling turbines “elephants” is quite apposite. After all, they require as much space and territory as elephants to function properly.

         6 likes

      • LurkerDroneNumber141 says:

        Plus they look completely out of place in the English countryside.
        Though elephants are, at least, useful.

           7 likes

  17. George R says:

    INBBC on Islamic jihad threat by Muslims against British & French people:-

    “France-UK effort against young Syria-bound Islamists*”

    ( * aka Islamic jihadists ).

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25981278

    The following is not for INBBC to report?

    Of no interest to British people?:-

    ‘Jihad Watch’:-
    “France: Two Muslim teenagers charged over Syria jihad”

    By Robert Spencer.

    http://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/02/france-two-muslim-teenagers-charged-over-syria-jihad/

       7 likes

  18. Pounce says:

    Another ineresting article from the bBC about just how Jewish is Israel.
    Row over demand for Palestinians to recognise Israel as ‘Jewish state’
    The bBC gives voice to Palestinians (Read that as Muslims) who are complaining about how the Town they used to live in has changed due to immigration I quote:
    “At a nearby table, Mahmoud strongly disagrees with Mr Netanyahu’s approach. He fears the impact it will have on him and other members of Israel’s Arab minority. “Every week we hear new reports that this is a Jewish state, there will be a transfer of the Arab population, we will be sent into exile. We ignore them. We are staying steadfast in our land,” he says.”

    So let me get this right, People in the Uk who complain about unbridled Immigration can only be viewed as …racists. Cue, UKIP,Tory Party, EDL etc…

    Yet when the same thing that is been done to: London, Birmingham.Leicester,Burnley, Dewsbury, Bradford ,Preston is done to the people of Jaffa (But with Muslims as the complaining locals,) Then the immigrants (Who initially all arrived from Islamic lands where they were all kicked out of) are to blame.

       17 likes

    • John Anderson says:

      That story by Yolande Knell is full of lies. Jaffa is still seen as having a strong Palestinian – or Arab – flavour, even after the bitterest of fighting in the 1920s through to the 1940s the Jews did not drive the Arabs out of the ancient port city of Jaffa. Tel Aviv has grown up alongside it – north up the beach – but has not crushed it. People visit Jaffa for the atmosphere, the old buildings – and especially the Arab food. There are dozens of eating places in the centre – some of them very up-market. For Knell to quote “Mahmoud” as saying that the Jews want to get rid of all the Arabs from Jaffa or from Israel is a lie – and she knows it.

         17 likes

      • George R says:

        INBBC’s Knell is a Muslim Brotherhood-Hamas political sympathiser from way back.

           14 likes

      • Lynette says:

        The BBC would never report this statement!
        One prominent Palestinian, speaking about his dispersed countrymen, noted that “Arab armies … forced them to emigrate and to leave their homeland, imposed upon them a political and ideological blockade and threw them into prisons similar to the ghettos in which the Jews used to live in Eastern Europe …. .” This prominent Palestinian Arab was none other than Mahmoud Abbas himself . He made this statement 36 years ago..

           7 likes

    • David Preiser (USA) says:

      Even when discussing the fact that Mohammedans object to Israel calling itself a Jewish State and the issue of settlements in the West Bank, the BBC refuses to mention that the reason any final agreement will include both a withdrawal from some and a land swap to keep some in place is that any ultimate Palestinian State will be Judenrein. The negotiations must do this dance around the settlements because Jews will be forbidden to live in a Palestinian Sate, something the BBC never admits.

      Even here the BBC can’t tell the full truth because it will make the Palestinians look bad, make Israel looks slightly less racist by comparison, and will cause the BBC to get the usual load of “complaints from both sides” about being a Zionist shill.

         13 likes

  19. Ember2013 says:

    “The Big Question” this morning asked the lesser question: “Should women dress modestly?” Which is the Islamic question rather than the truly western question, which needs addressing but never is, that is: “Should women be forced to dress modestly?”

    The latter question approaches the root cause of the issue but sadly the BBC is too scared to do so.

       21 likes

    • George R says:

      Another big question, which INBBC never asks:

      ‘Should British people have been forced to accept such mass immigration’?-

      “The 800,000 people living in Britain with little or no English.
      “Analysis of census figures shows how most people living in Britain who do not have a good command of English do not have a job.”

      http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/10605581/The-800000-people-living-in-Britain-with-little-or-no-English.html

         20 likes

    • pah says:

      “Should women be forced to dress modestly?”

      If they are Angelina Jolie. No.

      If they are Gwyneth Dunwoody. Yes Please.

      Simple answer really.

         13 likes

    • noggin says:

      flogged for not wearing Hijab? …
      Yaaaa! for “Hijab Day” (jazz hands everybody!)

      more
      “killed for not wearing Hijab”

         14 likes

      • noggin says:

        “beaten and raped for not wearing Hijab”
        its about freedom and choice isn t it
        N Campbell?

           14 likes

        • David Preiser (USA) says:

          You won’t see that middle-aged man called Nicky lecturing a woman in a hijab that things have “chaaaaanged” and she needs to update her religious beliefs, the way he did to that black Christian minister woman.

             19 likes

      • DICK R says:

        Interesting reportage, even a story such as this does not once include the forbidden word , neither the reporters nor the girls school friends can bring themselves to utter it .Such is the depth of fear of causing offence.
        MUSLIMS

           3 likes

  20. will says:

    Being “one of us” Roman Polanski has always been given a free pass by the BBC on his having buggered a 13 year old. To date any doubts about another of their darlings has been brushed under the carpet – will that now change?

    The adopted daughter of Woody Allen has renewed claims the filmmaker “sexually abused” her as a child in 1992.

    (declaration of interest – “Chinatown” is my all time favourite movie & fond of much of Allen’s output)

       11 likes

  21. The Poltergeist says:

    Third most important story of the day on the BBC Website? Labour donor and Gordon Brown fan, JK Rowling, says that Hermione should have gone with Harry Potter rather than Ron Weasley.

    Sorry – how in anyone’s warped universe is this news?

       18 likes

    • Guest Who says:

      ‘how in anyone’s warped universe is this news?’
      In the spirit of ‘But Sir; others are at it too’, I must concede Classic FM has it too. However, the looks on my wife & kids’ faces that it was on a ‘news’ break was worth it.
      Maybe there’s A. Journalist about to explain what motivates the newsroom these days?
      Frankly the big news is that it didn’t make top slot, given the boxes ticked across the board.

         8 likes

  22. George R says:

    The Labour Party-Trade Union political axis, as personified by Harriet HARMAN, shadow Labour minister, married to Jack DROMEY, ex-‘Unite’ boss, now Labour Party MP-
    Harman gets BBC-NUJ political platform on Marr today-
    “Harriet Harman dismisses fears of union ‘domination'”
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-26005919

    Or-

    “Harriet to the rescue”

    (July, 2013).

    HARRIET TO THE RESCUE

       16 likes

  23. David Preiser (USA) says:

    Don’t look now, but the BBC seems to have redefined one aspect of their Public Purpose as defined in the Charter:

    Worldwide to launch global male channel BBC Brit

    BBC Worldwide will launch a global consumer channel aimed at men.

    BBC Brit will focus on factual entertainment shows such as Top Gear, which is popular internationally and one of Worldwide’s chief money spinners.

    It’s the third consumer brand that will be launched by the BBC’s commercial arm.

    BBC Brit will sit alongside BBC Earth, which aims to become an online showcase for the BBC’s natural history programming, both here and abroad; and BBC First, a premium channel for the best in British drama that will first launch on pay TV in Australia.

    Worldwide CEO Tim Davie said: ‘There is a gap in the global market for a male-skewing fact-ent destination. BBC Brit will capture the maverick spirit of our premium factual entertainment programmes.’

    Davie confirmed that all three brands will be rolled out in the coming financial year and then on a market-by-market basis.

    The bit from the Charter I’m referring to is this:

    (e)bringing the UK to the world and the world to the UK;

    They’re now obviously interpreting that as “bringing the BBC to the world, and the world’s cash to the BBC”. Those in charge of the BBC have lost their way entirely. As John Redwood, MP, discovered, they believe the BBC’s Public Purpose is largely about ratings and commercial revenue.

       11 likes

    • johnnythefish says:

      They are also positioning themselves to become the WBC (World Broadcasting Corporation) within an agenda 21 framework.

      ‘Some would argue’ they already are.

         7 likes

  24. Guest Who says:

    A few days ago, maybe still noted on this very thread, we were treated to just how beastly it was to be a multi-hundred thou per annum senior Beebette confronted by her not, as such, being really worth it at all. Hugs all round.
    I was pondering the right woman for the job still as my ‘Snowjo..mail’ from Ch 4 came in just now:
    Are the Tories ‘culling’ left-leaning women from top jobs?
    Are the Tories “culling” left-leaning women from quangos and public bodies? It’s beginning to look a bit that way
    So far, so left. But then, joy of joys, I now learn another market rate talent in the public eye is to share her pearls with the masses. Yes, hotfoot from her triumph on stage, screen and PAC inquiry (another, I see, due Monday PM. Kept that one quiet, didn’t they?), we are presented… the BBC’s Lucy Adams.
    http://tradingaswdr.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/thats-entertainment.html
    Apparently ‘Lucy will answer questions’, though, a la Hugs, may be less keen on any such as what is covering her new hair-do and photos. #Foiexempted all the way, Luce. Ask Helen; maybe she’ll lend you one of her legal team?

       6 likes

  25. SilentMajority says:

    Further to evidence of the popularity of Top Gear on another thread. A mild comment from Andrew Marr today; “1767, Jeremy Clarkson just a boy”.
    Clarkson is several months younger than Marr, and ten years younger than Paxo, so I guess it was just a subtle way of separating himself from the plebs.

       12 likes

    • DownBoy says:

      Clarkson is popular and funnier than the entire BBC comedy output. They hate him but can’t touch him.

         14 likes

    • Guest Who says:

      Complements all round…

      @mediaguardian: Jeremy #Clarkson’s Top Gear ‘aimed at middle-aged men with a mental age of nine’ | Media Monkey http://t.co/kCmyzAzdLT

      Must rankle it’s one of few shows keeping Mark Byford’s index linked pension afloat and Hugs in legal support. Plus funding the PR assault that made sure the world quickly forgot Marr the man was just adjusting his work colleague’s VPL for her outside that bar.

         11 likes

  26. Dazed & Confused says:

    A damning indictment from (a Socialist) in Brighton of just what happens when the “Greens” come to power……Haven’t seen anything about this on the BBC…..Can’t think as to why…….

    http://notesbrokensociety.wordpress.com/2014/01/26/no-confidence-an-epitaph-for-green-politics-in-brighton-and-hove/

       16 likes

    • chrisH says:

      And there were massive demos in France(Paris and elsewhere) blasting Hollande for scapegoating the family.
      His abortion stuff and gay marriage stuff seems to have upset the French in their millions and those demos looked very large and very volatile.
      Don`t the BBC like to see a demo or some conflict in the offing?…they usually do!
      Ah, but aimed at the Lefties, the Socialists and is pro-hetero whites, anti EU.
      No, you`ll not be hearing anything about it on the BBC…so thank the Lord for RT!

         14 likes

    • Dysgwr_Cymraeg says:

      Thank you dazed, I adore these links, and take every one to my facebook page to educate some lefties.

         4 likes

    • stewart says:

      From linked article
      “the constant internal warfare inside the Green Party between Watermelon and Mango factions”
      OK watermelons I get, but what are mango factions?

         3 likes

  27. chrisH says:

    No-I`ve mulled it about,and need some help here.
    The Mail tends me that
    a) Manchester is the laziest city in the country with 40% doing nothing.
    b) Birmingham takes up more dole and benefits than anywhere else in the country.
    Isn`t this one for More or Less-or does the disparity in size in the cities cover the problem?
    Do you think Today would look into it…Fungi could surely sell a few BBC mixing desks…send Sarah there-she knows the working class well…who`ll forget her piece from Bradford when Shannon Matthews went AWOL?

       5 likes

  28. deegee says:

    The NUJ is planning to boycott Israel again. So much for journalistic objectivity

    Considerable talk about the National Union of Journalists boycotting Israel.

    I wondered how it would affect BBC reporting if successful and came to this conclusion. Not very much.

       11 likes

    • Dysgwr_Cymraeg says:

      Show ’em what they’d have to go without Pounce me ole china.

         5 likes

    • David Preiser (USA) says:

      But there isn’t a general anti-Israel (plus suspicion of most Jews) sentiment amongst the NUJ members at the BBC. Nah. Paul Mason is an isolated incident.

         8 likes

  29. George R says:

    MARR, in electioneering, ‘impartial’ political mode today:-

    1.) hostile with Tory GOVE on not renewing contract of Labour Party MORGAN;

    2.) friendly towards Labour Party’s HARMAN on power of trade unions in her party.

       19 likes

    • OldBloke says:

      Yes, how many conservatives are Trade Union Leaders? After all, I thought that there had to be equality in the work place, something that the Unions trumpet long and hard.

         7 likes

  30. Pounce says:

    It appears the bBC is going a little OTT over the death ( with a needle still in his arm) of Mr P Hoffman , yes the man the bBC spent 15 mins as the first news story at 8pm whom the bBC is trying to tell me not only was a great man, the greatest actor and of course a wonderful family man to his wife and 3 children had no problem leaving them all behind because he wanted to shoot up.
    FFS if he was that great , how come I didn’t know much about him. Just glad I bought Despicable Me on Blue Ray , saved me having to have much news on this evening.

       17 likes

    • GCooper says:

      Just wait till tomorrow morning. Somehow his death will be linked to ‘Tory Ktz’

         11 likes

    • chrisH says:

      I too have noticed this tendency to mope ceaselessly about actors or media type I`ve not heard of.
      Was it Vin Diesel a few weeks ago-and some old bird who appeared in 40s films?
      The BBC seem a bit scared of death-and the death of any number of minor actors or bit players seems to rattle them as they first hear it.
      Then we get the ululations and keenings…he was going to be a lawyer or black community leader no doubt!
      Noted too a lack of pop deaths to spout over-the downside of Gambaccini not being available to discuss it all.

         14 likes

    • Guest Who says:

      When you have 8-10,000 cubicle garden dwellers desperately seeking to justify their employment, and the career high is looking like being the one to byline what JK Rowling thinks about fictional characters’ speculative love lives, the rather exotic, if still sad demise of a minor Hollywood, critically-acclaimed actor will seem like manna from heave to be clung onto as long as possible.

         10 likes

  31. OldBloke says:

    Whenever I listen to BBC radio, where music is played, they almost always have a record by a black artist immediately before and after a news bulletin. By what appears to be a policy, it thus guarantees an air play by a particular genre at probably the most listened to (and remembered) timing on the radio. Has anyone else noticed this practice with the BBC?
    I also have a wager with my girlfriend that whenever I put the Radio on at whatever time of the day and purely random (Radio Devon) the record playing is by a black artist or the very next record is by a black artist. I have to say that in the last month of doing this, I haven’t lost yet!
    You see, Bias can be more than just the spoken word.

       7 likes

  32. thoughtful says:

    Jeremy Clarkeson on Top Gear seemed to reveal a home truth this evening when he commented on the 30 minute health and safety course people have to do before as he put it “they can operate the building”, being the new London broadcasting house.

    He talked about the silly things that everyone already knows like what a fire alarm is, and everyone knows a white running man on a green background shows the way to the nearest fire exit.

    But there’s a darker side behind it. Those people from third world countries which the BBC employs to fulfil it’s so called ‘diversity target’ have probably never worked in a building with such things and will have no knowledge of what they are.

    So everyone else has to sit through a lecture stating the bleedin obvious so ethnic colleagues don’t feel ‘singled out’, thus wasting 95% of the staffs time.

    When you that every single person even visiting the building has to undergo this before they are allowed in then it must be costing an absolute fortune. No wonder they have no money to make decent programs !

       20 likes

  33. stewart says:

    Just finished watching doomsday WW1 on Quest ,particularly impressed by eastern front footage I had not seen before -Reminded me, what is it the BBC provides that I cant get elsewhere?

       10 likes

    • Guest Who says:

      “… what is it the BBC provides that I cant get elsewhere?”

      Well, there’s these chaps who can turn up on your doorstep and threaten you with a fine or jail even if you’ve never felt the need to avail yourself of their employer’s services. That there is already quite unique.

         15 likes

  34. Katty says:

    Did anyone catch Dawn French on the BBC tonight – paying tribute to Roger Lloyd Pack (Trigger in Only Fools and Horses) – it was all going well until she mentioned with huge delight how Roger was a supporter of the Labour Party and how he went along to many anti-government protests.

    It’s not the mentioning of Rogers political leanings I minded – it was the way it was introduced and implied to the viewer how Rogers support for the Labour Party and his opposition to Tory cuts was a noble cause worth mentioning – got the impression that it would not have been the case if Roger had been a life-long Tory supporter.

    I thought that Dawn/French/ BBC appeared to make political capital from the passing of Roger Lloyd Pack in this tribute to a great actor who is sadly missed by everyone who loved the show..

    Anyway – enjoying Roger as Trigger in Only Fools and Horses – superb comedy entertainment!

       22 likes

    • Milverton says:

      Mentioning his political affiliation was an unnecessary inclusion I thought, with an element of “We accept you, one of us!” about it.

      I don’t care whether people are left or right, I care that the BBC are left, when they should be meticulously balanced, and proud to be so.

         16 likes

      • Deborah says:

        It appeared to me that Dawn French almost showed glee as she mentioned Lloyd Pack’s membership of the Labour Party, as if it would encourage others to think if this was Trigger’s political party it is the right one for me. Perhaps whoever wrote the obituary forgot that Trigger was someone of little brain. Besides it was unnecessary and if the late actor had been a member of the Conservatives you just know it would have been brushed under the carpet.

           3 likes

    • Deborah says:

      It appeared to me that Dawn French almost showed glee as she mentioned Lloyd Pack’s membership of the Labour Party, as if it would encourage others to think if this was Trigger’s political party it is the right one for me. Perhaps whoever wrote the obituary forgot that Trigger was someone of little brain. Besides it was unnecessary and if the late actor had been a member of the Conservatives you just know it would have been brushed under the carpet.

         2 likes

  35. thoughtful says:

    According the BBC news Katarzyna Maria Gacek, from Oldham has been charged with the murder of her 7 week old baby.

    Forgive me but Gacek is not exactly an English name, nor is she even a British citizen, she is in fact Polish and is living in Oldham.

    OK it might be semantics but the BBC are supposed to have their grammar & pronunciation spot on.

       12 likes

    • Dave666 says:

      I noted that initially no name was mentioned. In these cases we all know what to expect as if they are “British” 9 times out of ten we will get a picture to accompany the story. We now have a new tradition of shouting SUPRISE! when the media reveal the full facts

         6 likes

  36. Sir Arthur Strebe-Grebling says:

    The beeboids are in heaven with their distorted view of what constitutes ‘news’ .
    An unknown junkie luvvie has killed himself.
    A Labour luvvie is unhappy at losing her quango sinecure.
    Another Labour luvvie wishes she had made even more money by writing a different book.
    Another Labour luvvie MP made a speech in the Commons about homosexuals at the Winter Olympics.
    A racist film has won the approval of lots more luvvies.
    etc … all at our expense of course.

       27 likes

    • Dave666 says:

      So it’s not just me who didn’t know who this “famous” actor bloke was.

         11 likes

      • DownBoy says:

        Was his acting as good as Pete Seeger’s music? All these famous, important people I’d never heard of. Still, maybe that’s my fault and not the bbc’s. The bits of Seeger they played didn’t seem much cop so maybe it was just the Stalinism they liked.

           2 likes

  37. Geoff says:

    Diverse paper review on bBC News right now Randeep Ramesh (Guardian!) and Henry Bonsu broadcaster from Colourful Radio (yes you guessed it) a station that has “received good reviews” from, yes the Guardian, and ironially the Guardian was the first up on the review…..

    Its incestuous!

       17 likes

  38. The PrangWizard of England says:

    Just caught the trailer for tonight’s BBC ‘Inside Out’ television programme here ‘in the south’ (not ‘south of England’ but that is by the way for now). Meanwhile back to the plot. It’s about muslim converts. We see the reporter entering a room in a kind of supplicant posture and shaking hands weakly with the imam, who I presume remains in the room to ensure his converts behave. Pan to a group of women wrapped up in so many clothes it must be -20c. in the room and all looking very unhappy. The question highlighted in the trailer is something like, ‘how do you feel when people attack the extremists among you?’ Answer, ‘it makes us feel we must defend them even though they don’t represent our views’.

    Given that this is a trailer it is presumably intended to be the point of the programme, the message is that is we, the victims of Islamist terror must stop criticising, as it’s all our fault.

    Inside out – good name for the programme ironically.

       18 likes

    • BBC Heart Labour says:

      Don’t know about you, but this morning the trailer was showing during the local South Today news segments of BBC Breakfast.

      News it isn’t of course, but naturally anything pro-Islamic gets an “all areas” gold pass on the BBC.

      In the piece they say they are interviewing the locals, cue a couple of women wearing scarves on camera toeing the BBC line – Can’t imagine them balancing the programme by interviewing some of the local, British public.

         11 likes

  39. AsISeeIt says:

    On the theme of BBC news obsessing over the death of a little known luvvie, I wonder if anyone outside of the biz we call show could interpret the meaning of this BBC headline phrase…

    ‘Tributes are continuing to come in for….’

       9 likes

    • Frank Words says:

      Well it must be for Tony Hateley the much travelled footballer of the 1960s, or possibly Christopher Jones who starred in David Lean’s “Ryan’s Daughter”……

         5 likes

    • Guest Who says:

      “Content!” gasped the producer, “Must get content! 15 hours still left to fill”.
      Meanwhile, in a Resting UK luvvie’s PR agency, a phone rings…

         5 likes

    • AsISeeIt says:

      Answer my own question as to the meaning of : ‘Tributes are continuing to come in for….’

      – Yes folks, he’s still dead.

         6 likes

      • Frank Words says:

        So is Nelson Mandela and I’ve been waiting over a month for him to roll that stone back.

           14 likes

  40. AsISeeIt says:

    Agenda, what agenda?

    Seems we are spending more money on cosmetic surgery.

    But but but, “the cost of living crisis” is our ruling meme here at the BBC.

    BBC News Channel delivers the solution to the conundrum:

    I paraphrase very slightly….

    ‘People are desperate to improve their self worth, they will happily go to a Pay-Day Lender to finance their boob jobs’

    So the apparent contradiction in the BBC story about Britain is explained.

    Normal service has been resumed.

       16 likes

    • Frank Words says:

      So that’s is what’s meant by Austerity Britain. Not having enough cash (sorry Wonga) to pay for a tattoo or have your nails painted.

      C’est la vie.

         16 likes

    • Guest Who says:

      Seems that the ratings success of ‘Benefits Street’ and viral reach of ‘Year of the Whores’ has seen a rethink at the BBC, so their new CoJ course is being renamed ‘Boob Job’.

         10 likes

  41. Thoughtful says:

    “The UK should follow in the footsteps of the US and send a delegation of gay sports stars and broadcasters to the Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia, a Labour MP has said, amid growing concerns over the introduction of legislation outlawing the promotion of homosexuality. ”

    I wonder if he will be expecting to send such a delegation to the Islamic country of Doha Qatar during the world cup where not only is the promotion of homosexuality banned but Homosexuals are not allowed in the country and the penalty is imprisonment and possible whipping.

    As if that wasn’t bad enough they have recently introduced medical testing on travellers to ‘detect’ gay people and stop them from entering the country.

    Now it would only be fair and equal to treat every country in the same manner, but when it comes to Muslim countries it seems that different laws apply, and there is no equality despite the treatment being far worse than that of Christian Russia.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/house-of-commons-25960767

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Qatar

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2449051/Gulf-states-introduce-medical-testing-travellers-detect-gay-people-stop-entering-country.html

       12 likes

  42. Guest Who says:

    Be interesting to see how much of this afternoon’s fact-based outing will see BBC market-rate luminaries still trying to deal in concepts like ‘belief’, ‘astounding uncuriosity’, ‘oddly forgotten whispering corridor conversations’, etc…
    http://order-order.com/2014/02/03/one-question-pac-should-ask-mark-thompson/
    It mentions a question to be asked. Be interesting if it gets answered or, well, you know….
    Hope the PAC is on the ball. One doubts the members are not Guido readers.

       3 likes

    • Guest Who says:

      This from within is a new one to me at least:

      If a Paxo or a Humph got an answer like that from a corporate oversight chairman, I wonder what the the BBC response would be?
      Interesting precedent set by Mr. Patten there.
      I wonder how A . Journalist may feel about it?

         4 likes

    • David Preiser (USA) says:

      Guido will be disappointed here. He’s also being a little casual with the facts. although one can hardly blame him, as Thompson and Boaden have been as well. The license fee has paid for some very clever lawyers who coached Thompson to say this: “In the broader matter of Jimmy Savile’s alleged wrong-doing, I have no knowledge of any complaints or queries about him or his behavior during my time as DG (2004-2012), nor in my previous long period as a BBC manager.”. I say the lawyers were very clever because, as the article I’ve linked to explains:

      (Thompson joined the corporation in 1979 as a production trainee and held management positions from 1996 onward. Savile’s BBC career ran from 1964 to 1994, with subsequent guest appearances as late as 2006.)

      Thompson didn’t say he never heard any “rumors” during the time he worked at the BBC. He said that no complaints were made and no investigations while he held management positions, i.e after Savile had retired from regular work at the BBC. And as far as I’m aware, Thompson worked in completely different fiefdoms from Savile the entire time, and wasn’t high-level enough for any official complaints to reach his desk anyway. So of course no official complaints were filed which reached his desk while he was in management at any level, never mind DG. This is typical BBC legally-defined “accuracy”. I’m pretty sure they’ve all acknowledged hearing rumors, but claimed not to believe any of it, and ignored it.

      The HuffPo has a slightly different quote: “During my time as director general of the BBC, I never heard any allegations or received any complaints about Jimmy Savile.”

      Again, the BBC lawyers will win this one, as you know they’ll simply claim that he meant “official” allegations rather than rumors or gossip at dinner parties.

      As for “Hugs” Boaden, she knew about the allegations, or she couldn’t be able to claim that she told Thompson that’s what Newsnight’s story was about. But that lawyer letter was meant to protect Thompson, really.

      Do I believe the BBC lawyers’ claims? No, not for a second. But we have to go on the statements, and the lawyers fixed it.

         5 likes

      • Guest Who says:

        ‘the lawyers fixed it’
        And if they have, you will probably be right, then.
        Doesn’t stop one hoping for a Shakespearean twist still, though.
        But in the new media age, where the process is open to as much scrutiny as result, I remain uncertain that while deploying Clintonian semantics may see another skirmish emerged from unscathed legally, a few more subtle grazes to reputation, credibility, etc will remain in the public domain, and consciousness.
        Yes, much is down to ‘how it looks’, but the BBC can’t really complain about that as they are the masters of the edit.
        What still remains front and centre in my mind at the moment is that very unpleasant pink-erring-on-red face of Chris Patten swinging between petulance and bluster as a very persistent, polite young reporter invites him to account for a few things he’s been paid to oversee and has managed mostly to overlook.
        I almost imagined him suddenly exploding with ‘The Truth? You want the Truth? You can’t handle the Truth!’.
        However, the silence from the entire audience that greeted his first idiot response may have been more powerful.
        Following up with pompous patronising and an ignoble plug pull hissy fit at the end was just cherry and sprinkles.

           1 likes

  43. Charlatans says:

    When was the taxpayer obligation changed to tribute ‘shooting up’ actors, rather than promoting the criminality and basic stupidity of such incidents? I lost a son to drugs and it really sticks in my craw when I see such promotions pushing my nose into my sons grave, especially when it is indoctrinating all and sundry that this is an official British tax funded indoctrination we want to mentor our children with:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/search/news/?q=hoffman

    3 February 2014
    Obituary: Philip Seymour Hoffman

    US & Canada / NEW 44 minutes ago
    Philip Seymour Hoffman, who has died aged 46, was one of the most well-respected actors of his generation. He was known as an original and versatile…
    Stars pay tribute to actor Philip Seymour Hoffman

    Entertainment & Arts / NEW 1 hour ago
    Tributes are pouring in following the death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman at his home in New York on Sunday. The Oscar-winning actor, 46, was…
    Hoffman: Tributes and film clips

    NEW 2 hours ago
    Hollywood actors pay tribute to Philip Seymour Hoffman who was found dead on Sunday after an apparent drug overdose.
    In pictures: Philip Seymour Hoffman

    Entertainment & Arts / NEW 3 hours ago
    Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman has been found dead in his New York apartment aged 46.. …
    Ken Stott: Philip Seymour Hoffman was ‘compelling’

    NEW 4 hours ago
    The actor Ken Stott pays tribute to Philip Seymour Hoffman, who died aged 46.
    Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman dies

    US & Canada / NEW 4 hours ago
    The film and theatre world is mourning the death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman at his New York home. His body was found after a friend called…
    Newsbeat’s week in pictures: Monday 3 February

    Front Page / NEW 5 hours ago
    Oscar-winning American actor Philip Seymour Hoffman is found dead in his Manhattan apartment.. …
    Hoffman death and “cronyism” row – the papers

    The Papers / NEW 7 hours ago
    Tributes are paid to Oscar-winner Philip Seymour Hoffman on a number of Monday’s front pages after he died aged 46. The Metro and Independent…
    The Papers: Monday’s front pages

    NEW 12 hours ago
    Broadcaster Henry Bonsu and the Guardian’s social affairs editor Randeep Ramesh discuss the morning’s papers for the BBC News Channel.
    Philip Seymour Hoffman: Hurt, Coogan, Costner and Bacon pay tribute

    NEW 12 hours ago
    Stars in the UK and US are paying tribute to the actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who has been found dead in his New York home at the age of 46.
    Tributes pour in for Philip Seymour Hoffman

    US & Canada / NEW 12 hours ago
    Fellow actors, critics and fans of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, widely considered one of the most talented actors of his generation, have been…
    2 February 2014
    12 Years a Slave gets pre-Oscar boost at Critics’ Circle Awards

    Entertainment & Arts / NEW 12 hours ago
    The London Critics’ Circle ceremony, at London’s May Fair Hotel on Sunday, began on a sombre note as news broke of actor Philip Seymo

       8 likes

    • F*** the Beeb says:

      What are you suggesting, then? That they sweep his death under the rug and pretend it didn’t happen? Or that they exploit his death to push an anti-drug/pro-drug war agenda that many people simply don’t agree with?

      I feel sorry for you for losing your son but it’s the attitudes of those who still see drugs as a perennial enemy, thus closing down any chance of informed debate on the matter, that are exacerbating the problem and turning it into a self-perpetuating mish-mash of emotive clouding. The hypocrisy is that many of those guilty of this still drink excessively and don’t see the irony simply because of some arbitrary ruling that alcohol should be legal while other substances are not, despite also causing thousands of deaths per year.

      Don’t get me wrong, I’m not claiming it’s good to use drugs or anything like it. I’m just saying it’s not appropriate to be making judgments on someone who’s died in their 40s, especially when said person has actively tried to help themselves and sadly failed to sustain it.

      Condolences again for your loss.

         2 likes

      • Charlatans says:

        F***theBeed, am not suggesting the BBC should sweep under the carpet. Obviously such a great actor is going to get enormous coverage.
        My point, (sorry not made very well due to my great interest in the subject), is that our taxes cover a Public broadcasting remit. It should be a matter of course that the BBC should always combine some sort of health and education warning when reporting criminal activity and drug issues. I feel that it should always highlight some way the dangers of getting into such addictions and helplines etc, rather than glossing over it in a ‘celebrity’ ratings war.

           4 likes

    • Deborah says:

      I get the impression that the BBC is always soft on reports about cocaine, from large amounts found to reports of stars (for example Nigella) admitting taking the stuff. When I hear that some TV or film personality has died in their 40s or 50s following a heart attack I now wonder if it is cocaine related. I assume the BBC buildings and social gatherings are riddled with the stuff.

         8 likes

  44. LurkerDroneNumber141 says:

    Indeed.
    What I see, from the tone of the “tributes” is how common place hard drugs are within the social circles that that the child abusers of the BBC move in.
    To die of “an overdose” is mentioned in a sort of offhand way as if it’s an entirely natural death and likely to happen to anyone normal, well balanced human.
    Of course, it is a matter of record that the BBC is happy to employ people with a known and documented history of hard core drug abuse. Richard Bacon and Will Self to name but two.

       12 likes

    • DICK R says:

      Aged 46 and still to stupid to know that this shit will kill him,what a DEAD IDIOT!!!

         7 likes

      • F*** the Beeb says:

        Your comment isn’t helpful in the slightest, Dick. I actually find myself siding against the consensus of this site on this occasion, not least because it has absolutely nothing to do with BBC bias since it’s in most of the print media as well.

        You don’t have to agree with what he did or even sympathise with him, but calling him a ‘dead idiot’ when he’s not even in the grave yet smacks of self-indulgence and putting yourself on an imaginary pedestal, the exact same shit that we (correctly) call the BBC out on in other areas.

        Show a bit of respect, and if you can’t stomach that, at least show some restraint. It’s to everyone’s benefit that you do.

           5 likes

        • Mat says:

          Sorry but a couple of things I didn’t know him so cannot say if he was good or bad so will call him neither he live then died to arrive at any judgment would be wrong for me to do but then the BBC and many are more then happy to label others who die through their own choices as reckless and stupid just take the level of attacks on the fat/smokers/drinkers /anyone who eats salt /gun owners or if fact anyone who isn’t like them !

             7 likes

        • Pounce says:

          Actually I disagree. yes this story is very sad and yet we have been flooded with faux mourning for this poor man. As I posted earlier, I didn’t know him from Adam, yes, I have seen him in a number of films, yet to me (And no doubt many others) he didn’t stand out from the crowd. Now IMHO he didn’t warrent over 20 mins of coverage from 8pm last night. Yes he died a horrible death, the fact remains 5 mins would have been too much.

          As for speaking out about how he died, a grown intelligent man, with 3 children and a partner and he sticks a needle in his arm. Sorry But in anybody with an once of common, that is pathetic behaviour and deserves the title…Idiot.

             13 likes

          • Sir Arthur Strebe-Grebling says:

            It is symptomatic of the metropolitan bubble that the BBC inhabits. They think junkies are normal. Just look at their campaign for Nigella Lawson not to be prosecuted for her self-confessed crimes. Only yesterday they ran an article expressing amazement that anyone could live for a month without alcohol.

               6 likes

            • David Preiser (USA) says:

              It’s more a case of Hoffman being beloved by actors and directors and film/stage people. He was one of those actors that actors loved, and was equally respected as a stage director and writer. Industry insider opinions mostly, and he was certainly well known by movie and theater buffs. Yes, that’s probably why he, like so many others before him, got a pass for any harm caused in his personal life. The film and stage and media luvvies sure do like to enable these people right up until the time they do themselves in.

              The general public may not even have heard of him, or be that fascinated by him, but he’s been hugely lionized by the film/stage community and film junkies (sorry) for a long time now. This is an outpouring of their love and respect for Hoffman and his work. General public interest or knowledge is irrelevant here. As with many of these celebrations, it’s about the opinions and feelings of the people doing the reporting more than about what the audience wants or thinks.

                 4 likes

  45. George R says:

    “Tube strike: Talks planned stop London Underground walkout”

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-26015021

    Supplementary for BBC-NUJ-

    “Sun-seeking strike boss Bob Crow accused of treating workers with contempt as new pictures show him dancing poolside with girlfriend in Rio.
    “RMT leader, who earns £145,000 a year, accused of making empty promises.
    “Statements were being issued in his name while he relaxed in Rio de Janeiro.
    “He was pictured deepening his lobster-red tan on Copacabana beach.
    “Also visited the famous Christo Redentor statue overlooking the city.
    “The holiday, which included a cruise ship jaunt, cost around £10,000.”
    By ARTHUR MARTIN and GERRI PEEV

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2550685/Sun-seeker-Bob-Crow-faces-backlash-Tube-strike-looms-Union-chief-accused-treating-workers-contempt-pictures-emerge-dancing-girlfriend-visiting-Christ-Redeemer-statue.html#ixzz2sGmgiUs7

       7 likes

  46. Arthur Penney says:

    Is there such a thing as a poor socialist leader?

       7 likes

  47. Dave666 says:

    So more blah blah blah on LLoyds Someone must be trying to drop their share price again. Back to Milliband wanting to split up large banks including Lloyds. Hold on a second who pushed Lloyds into merging with Halifax after BBc was doing it’s best to flat line the share prices. Many people tell me that the BBc does not try to engineer a crisis in these situations. However any time there is a petrol shortage there they are outside the petrol station with the large queue Northern Rock there they are filming a large queue “don’t Panic” they tell you. just watch and see how many examples you can spot. But hold on a second who was in charge when Lloyds was merged, and didn’t they short circuit the monopolies commission, why I do believe it was Labour.

       1 likes