457 Responses to Start the Week Thread 27 April 2020

  1. Fedup2 says:

    I thought – just for a change – an update on stabbing killings in our great English ? Capital .

    Well it’s week 18 – last year killings were running at about one every four days but this time round – the total to date is 21 including the 2 babies murdered in Ilford yesterday .

    So really not a lot changes … except perhaps the other deaths which may have been catalysed by the lock down -.’ Domestic ‘ murders and suicides ….

    The numbers of course take weeks to come through and anecdotal evidence suggests doctors are being allowed to play fast and loose with causes of death .

       29 likes

    • LastChanceSaloon says:

      Fed
      “anecdotal evidence suggests doctors are being allowed to play fast and loose with causes of death .”
      It is much more than anecdotal and began decades ago.
      There is also evidence that some Doctors are honing their skills in the NHS before applying for jobs at Dignitas.

         20 likes

  2. Fedup2 says:

    Report of 329? Covid related deaths in hospital in the last 24 hours – with – if I remember 336 the 24 hours before

    Now – I stopped believing the figures ages ago but that has the whiff of a downward trend about it .

    Geographic and demographic stats would help …. as well as non prior conditions …

    Over to the crew here who really do the numbers …

       23 likes

    • Emmanuel Goldstein says:

      Fedup.
      Soon we’ll be able to pop down the pub and start ending the lockdown.
      To begin with only selling ‘yard of ale’ to keep the distancing but gradually working towards pints.

         20 likes

  3. Beltane says:

    You know that scene near the end of ‘The Great Escape’ where our chaps are milling about on the grass, stretching their legs, and the tail-gates drop down to reveal the machine guns? Well, wouldn’t it make a great video and strike a popular chord with the public to computerise the likes of Dickie Attenborough and Gordon Jackson and replace with more up-to-date and suitable candidates? Alistair, Piers and Peston spring to mind of course, along with Polly, Beth, Laura and Emily (all in ATS uniform) Norman Smith, Marr, Myrie, O’Brian….the list goes on, though other suggestions are welcome.
    I know I’d watch it, on YouTube, naturally.

       21 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      Beltane – I would shout About ‘ spoiler alert ‘ but if anyone hasn’t seen ‘ the great escape’ – where have they been ?

      If anyone is looking for a new film to Avoid – can I suggest ‘ midway ‘ – I’ve not seen the whole thing but there are bits on YouTube which are so CGI bad as to be ‘corny ‘ to anyone familiar with war films .

         14 likes

      • Beltane says:

        ‘….I’ve not seen the whole thing….’
        Left midway through Fed?

           10 likes

        • Fedup2 says:

          Ha ha – yes Beltane – no need for a spoiler alert on ‘midway ‘ either – but it looks as though it makes the most recent version of ‘pearl harbour ‘ look positively realistic . ….

             7 likes

          • Van Helsing says:

            Fed,

            I’ve seen it. Yes, the whole movie.

            The CGI is poor and the battle scenes are so unrealistic that they look like they come from a video game. The script overdoses on the cheese and there’s an abundance of ham in the acting.

            That said, it sticks pretty closely to the facts and there’s a refreshing absence of unwanted and unnecessary wokeness, in contrast to, say, The Darkest Hour.

            All told, then, it’s better than the trailers suggest. Moreover, it’s considerably better than the made on the cheap movie about Midway that Chuck Heston starred in back in the 1970s.

               6 likes

            • Fedup2 says:

              Van – thanks – I’m guessing they had a bit where F16s ‘splash the zeros ‘ Or I’m I getting those films mixed up …..

                 4 likes

              • Van Helsing says:

                Fed,

                Now you’re talking. It was F-14s and the film was ‘The Final Countdown’, a far better film than ‘Midway’.

                   6 likes

                • Halifax says:

                  Tora Tora Tora was a good film. But if you want to watch a good film about the Japanese in WW2 watch The Eternal Zero…..Its in Japanese but worth a watch..needless to say unlike BBC TV series it contains no women action hero’s BME Or LGBTQ roles….https://m.imdb.com/title/tt2404217/

                     4 likes

    • EUTV says:

      Beltane – I’d cast the BBC as the prisoner who takes it upon himself to broadcasts the ‘news’ of the escape plans to the Germans.

      OK, I made him up but you know it makes sense.

         6 likes

  4. digg says:

    I came across this article re Journalistic coverage of the Government handling of the epidemic.

    It says pretty much everything that I would say….

    https://www.effiedeans.com/2020/04/journalism-is-missing-mood-country.html?m=

       21 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      Digg – the big picture is often difficult because of being stuck in the moment

      But if we follow the media through the Brexit / commons debacle ( Project fear ) then their lack of connection during the General Election campaign and now Covid –

      They are lost to us . Hate , negative , blame , mistakes and finger pointing when people want more and better

         34 likes

    • EUTV says:

      I think I’d agree with you. Well spotted and a good share.

         2 likes

    • dfhunter says:

      @digg

      thanks for that link, loved this extract –
      “If we had had the modern journalist profession in 1940, we would have lost the war. They would have complained about the Governments disastrous mistakes at Narvik. It should have known that the Maginot line wouldn’t work. Journalists would have demanded that Churchill should have been immediately sacked for the defeat at Dunkirk”

      “Lily of St. Leonards” post sums up the BEEB to a tee.

         0 likes

  5. Celtic_Mist says:

    The BBC is not required to give the actual number?

       29 likes

    • Van Helsing says:

      In fairness, C_M, they’d have to find someone who can count to over 100. AFAIK their staff only have an aptitude for handling large numbers when it comes to checking their pay slips…

         21 likes

  6. Celtic_Mist says:

    I didn’t know the ######s were on Instagram

    Screen-Hunter-157.png

       10 likes

  7. Fedup2 says:

    Having ended my relationship with the BBC I think the next step is The Guardian . With BoJo back poisonous columnists like Simon Jenkins are back on the case . I’ve got to the state of jumping straight to the comments and must stop – they are so disappointed BoJo didn’t die – and the spite and hate is back in full force – same for the Crace ? Creature and the various girl columnist clones they have –

    I wonder how many non public sector people pat for the Guardian ? I suspect not many .

    I think I’m done with it -paywall or not .

       37 likes

    • Beltane says:

      Surely no thinking involved Fed? My insights into the Guardian are gained from other websites – I would never dream of buying a copy, but then, neither do the overwhelming UK population.
      The coverage the wrinkled organ gains, thanks to the BBC, is out of all proportion to its merit or relevance, though when it inevitably follows Volkischer Beobachter into oblivion, the world will be a better place.

         28 likes

    • Lefty Wright says:

      Fedup2
      I kicked the Guardian addiction years ago and my psychological health blossomed.

         11 likes

      • Fedup2 says:

        Lefty
        I used to look at the Guardian to see the latest in the ‘thinking ‘ of the enemy – but I know the tune so well now that I don’t think I have to see the line it takes – same with the BBC – you know it will lace its propaganda into anything and everything .

        Maybe the white heterosexual make minority will get a fair shake through some civil rights movement….

           12 likes

    • Banania says:

      Congratulations! I hope there is a local support group to help you through the first difficult weeks. And well done!

         0 likes

  8. Beltane says:

    With predictable praise levels for St.Jacinda and her ‘eradication of the Corvid virus from NZ’ on most news channels, I wonder how many will note that the land mass is 10% greater while the population of approx 5m is a very small proportion of our official 65m (and counting).
    That’s around 46 per square mile compared with our 1010, though for our msm such figures don’t count.

       38 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      Beltane – I never realised how far NZ is from Anywhere until I got there .
      And there is limited access to the country and it is easy to control .
      I suppose the biggest threat of spread would be Auckland but even there the population is not so huge as to be beyond control .

         17 likes

    • G.W.F. says:

      We have space here but government/Home Office strategy is designed to keep us close together. Cops have put a blockade on Snowdonia and I believe 10 people were either arrested or turned back for driving to Snowdonia to have a climb up the mountain.
      Keep the herd together, better to manage the cull.

         13 likes

      • Banania says:

        WHY are they doing this? It is SO STUPID.
        And what happened to that dreadful person who was caught swimming in the sea in South Wales?

           0 likes

  9. fakenewswatcher says:

    Fed -We know the Guardian’s begging bowl is always out. But their circulation is poor, so I assume that -behind the scenes- money is flowing from bbc to Guardian?

       30 likes

    • Oldspeaker says:

      Excellent point fnw, in fact so many guardianistas crop up appearing or writing for the bbc some of that money flow is not really behind the scenes either, just one side of the spotlit area. How about equal bbc time for Tucker and PJW?

      Thinking on it shouldn’t the bbc be compelled to have regular contributions and commentary from recognisably centrist and right of centre (far right in bbc speak) personalities? They would receive equal pay and time already given to bbc left of centre and dare I say it far left bbc favourites. At least the bbc would then be a little more representative of the nation as a whole.

         22 likes

      • Fedup2 says:

        Definitely demand that the BBC and all taxpayer funded outfits declare how much they pay for any media .
        Perhaps the coming austerity will force them to cut back .

           19 likes

    • Lefty Wright says:

      fakenewswatcher
      I doubt that the Guardian’s consultancy service comes for free.

         4 likes

  10. Guest Who says:

    Imagine.

       39 likes

  11. pugnazious says:

    ‘“Such characteristics of the virus render the traditional response, which emphasizes lockdown and isolation, ineffective,” said Kim Gang-lip, South Korea’s vice health minister. “Once it arrives, the old way is not effective in stopping the disease from spreading.”’

    And indeed the government’s own pandemic response plan stated that once a disease was here there would be no stopping it.

    ‘It almost certainly will not be possible to contain or eradicate a new virus in its country of origin or on arrival in the UK. The expectation must be that the virus will inevitably spread and that any local measures taken to disrupt or reduce the spread are likely to have very limited or partial success at a national level and cannot be relied on as a way to ‘buy time’. ‘

    The Media huh? Mike Graham tells Peter Hitchens that Sweden is in crisis as death rates soar….over 2,000 in the latest daily figures. Unfortunately that’s the total deaths for Sweden, the daily is 80….and if you scale Sweden’s figures up they are doing much better than the UK.

    Anyone fed up with being told how great South Korea is? Well…is it really so great in its reaction to C19? We’re told it was so briliant because it learnt its lesson from Sars…but surely didn’t we all? Didn’t health authorities responsible for planning for an epidemic/pandemic take that and other diseases into account?…er…yep…..

    ‘The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in China, the occurrence of epidemics of SARS in China and a number of Southeast Asian countries, and its spread to countries elsewhere, have presented major challenges to public health systems throughout the world. Although very few true cases of SARS were detected in the United Kingdom, the public health response to the threat of SARS was considerable. The main components of this response were the early detection, isolation and reporting of cases, and the provision of comprehensive information to health professionals, cases, their contacts and the public. ‘

    Sounds pretty much like the plan of action for C19 and indeed pretty much the same plan South Korea had.

    The BBC et al tell us that ‘mass testing’ is the key….testing to see if you have it….

    ‘South Korea has tested more than 250,000 people since the outbreak began, and has the capacity to test 15,000 people a day. It has conducted 3,692 tests per million people’

    15,000 a day eh? We’re doing near 20,000 ….10,000/million….and the BBC complains.

    The total testing in the UK so far…670,000….Korea….601,000.

    The UK had the same policy of track and tracing, of quarantine and self-isolation for mild cases, and of testing those most in danger.

    Whatever South Korea did to keep the figures down it wasn’t just testing or track and tracing or containment….there must be something else that meant they got ‘lucky’.

    ‘“South Korea could deal with this without limiting the movement of people because we knew the main source of infection, the church congregation, pretty early on,” said Ki Mo-ran, an epidemiologist advising the government’s coronavirus response. “If we learned about it later than we did, things could have been far worse.”’

    It’s possible C19 was spreading in the UK long before we realised it and by then it was too late…if we’d had a mass, concentrated outbreak as in SK perhaps it would have been different…note…

    ‘What looks like a handful of cases can be hundreds; what looks like hundreds can be thousands.
    “Such characteristics of the virus render the traditional response, which emphasizes lockdown and isolation, ineffective,” said Kim Gang-lip, South Korea’s vice health minister. “Once it arrives, the old way is not effective in stopping the disease from spreading.”’

    So what he is saying is that the lockdown is completely useless once the disease has established itself.

    The first cases were in January, two Chinese visitors, the numbers only ramped up mid-March…the BBC et al puts out the idea that we should have tested everyone in the country essentially…what else could have been effective testing-wise? Everyone would have had to have been tested immediately for the BBC plan to succeed as the outbreaks were random and infrequent with no obvious epicentre or source…the government chose to test those who had the symptoms and then track and trace…however this stopped mid-March as cases increased, so even track and tracing was ineffective in the end.

    It was the BBC and other hyssterical media types that pressured the government into the lockdown and abandoning its programme…one very similar to South Korea’s…and now the BBC et al say if only we could be more like South Korea.

    Looking at that I’d like to know what the clever people at the BBC think is the answer…testing isn’t really the answer nor is track and tracing if, as it would seem, C19 may have been far more widespread than anyone knew. The lockdown certainly isn’t the answer….it merely puts off deaths….so the new mantra of ‘stopping a second wave’ is nonsense…we were told quite clearly that lockdowns create second waves not stop them…when they are relaxed the second wave comes…so do we keep the lockdown forever or live with the disease and accept a level of death which may not be anywhere as bad as we’re told to expect?

    As Hitchens says destroying your economy, your society, your schools, your welfare and health systems based on a belief that we might ‘probably’ suffer a certain ‘unacceptable’ level of death is madness.

       23 likes

  12. Sluff says:

    Hilarious yet also serious point.
    At 1658 on BBc1 Huw asks their ‘person at Westminster’ what is likely to be covered by Matt Hancock at the news conference.

    Why speculate? The conference starts only two minutes later?

    Because it gives the BBC a chance to state what IT thinks is important. Then afterwards if the topic does not get a mention the headlines become ‘Government fails to discuss XYZ’, ‘Hancock refuses to mention ABC’, ‘No announcements on PQR from government’.

    All totally desperate stuff and a clear case ofbover-staffing.
    And not on 80% furlough, and guaranteed jobs……

       34 likes

  13. fakenewswatcher says:

    TV1 Briefing: Wow, Hancock is going to let the public ask questions…
    Unlikely that beeb and media will like that?
    Next thing Laura will think she’s only human?

       28 likes

    • pugnazious says:

      Yep FNW…no doubt Brillo is penning another outraged flourish denouncing Boris for talking directly to the people rather than allowing it all to be filtered through the likes of the BBC who know what’s good for us and what’s good for us to know.

         22 likes

  14. Sluff says:

    ………yes yes yes.
    Hancock announces the BBC will not get the first question……it will be from a member of the public!
    I like the idea that an ordinary Joe can give better value than Laura Doomsberg and her cronies………

    So much for the BBC guessing at what might come up……a waste of their time and our money is thus revealed.

       28 likes

  15. fakenewswatcher says:

    Sluff- we may actually get a short, sharp, single question, requiring a short, firm answer. The media ask several long-winded questions, easy to evade, creating confusion, giving questioned too much time to think. They are too enamoured with their own voices. Everyone from Laura to RP think it’s all about them!
    I hope the public don’t try to imitate that!

    Lynn in Skipton asks a single, somewhat personal, but not really penetrating question. Can you hug a grandchild? Whitty says it all depends on age and health state. A little obvious.
    On comes the very, very important Hugh Pym of the bbc. No surprise. He gets a follow-up. Lengthy (some might say) waffle from Hancock, who could go on forever with his answer.
    On comes R.Peston. Second time: NO SURPRISE…
    He could also go on forever…

       20 likes

  16. Fedup2 says:

    Each daily briefing will have a section put aside for some lefty journo to ask the ‘ Dominic Cummings question’

       19 likes

  17. fakenewswatcher says:

    Fed: I wonder what comment Surkeer will make on the beeb afterwards? He loves the ‘testing’ stick to beat government with (again)? Or will it be: we need to know how we get out of lockdown and would like to see a plan…

       6 likes

  18. Blackwell says:

    Public service announcement:

    Injecting yourself with disinfectant is hazardous to your health.

    Worth stating for readers of this site.

       13 likes

    • Oldspeaker says:

      Thanks for that, I was 50-50 on it for a bit, now maybe they’ll stop putting Formaldehyde and Glutaraldehyde into vaccinations.

      I should say in the manufacture of, trace amounts can still be present though.

         15 likes

    • The WestWyvern says:

      Thanks so much Blackwell. Really useful advice that.

      How’s Maxi?

         8 likes

    • LastChanceSaloon says:

      Ho ho ho, I have not laughed so much since Jo Brand last made a joke about Tories and acid.

      Do you have a great-great-grand-child?

      If so send them here, we like adult entertainment.

         3 likes

  19. Oldspeaker says:

    This is along the lines of how I remember the bbc of yesteryear,
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/5bBE5791M9/The_fight_for_Dragon_Island

    An overview of a situation on the other side of the world that I wasn’t aware of and nice pictures. Most importantly after reading I didn’t feel like I’d been reamed by agenda, does that mean the writers of the piece are in trouble? Well done to them anyway.

       6 likes

  20. Sluff says:

    On BBC1 6 pm news Laura Doomsberg features the effect of the lockdown on an elderly man called Hector Woodhouse from Linlithgow.

    There is a facebook page for a Hector Woodhouse of Linlithgow. Six friends are featured.
    Two have photos with the 12 EU stars inside a blue heart!!!!!

    What Is the random chance of that ???????
    Or could it be another BBC set-up job making sure their desired messages are broadcast?

       45 likes

  21. Celtic_Mist says:

    According to BBC –

    https://www.bbc.com/ukchina/simp/52051889

    Screen-Hunter-158.png

       9 likes

    • Celtic_Mist says:

      In the Chinese article –

      China
      In terms of gross domestic product (purchasing power parity) (GDP (PPP)), China has ranked first in the world. The Chinese economy has grown tremendously in the past 10 years, but economists say it is just the tip of the iceberg.

      Foreigners working and living in China can best feel the tremendous changes China has experienced. “The Suzhou Industrial Park where I am located is a glorious place with shopping malls, parks, restaurants, and transportation is also very convenient,” said Rowan Kohll, author of “1-Minute Chinese” (1-Minute Chinese): “When I first came to China 15 years ago, the whole place was still farmland and marshes. This is very common in China, and the whole country is changing.”

      The changes in China have attracted many innovative entrepreneurs to look for opportunities, and many have come to Shanghai as a business city.

      The American John Pabon founded a business consulting company in Shanghai. He said that Shanghai is an innovative business city, and everyone is looking for opportunities from morning to night. But unlike New York, where Pabo previously lived, Shanghainese “is more willing to listen and provide advice.”

         7 likes

    • StewGreen says:

      UK has 1% of world population.

         10 likes

    • Kaiser says:

      hmmm I’d rather be switzerland ta

         5 likes

  22. fakenewswatcher says:

    I was right. Surkeer popped up on beeb TV news at 6pm, as sure as night follows day.

       10 likes

  23. StewGreen says:

    Leeds woods search after Rawan Hussain, 16, disappeared
    Look at the hordes of police
    have they been given a secret Covid19 vaccination or something ?
    news tweet

    EWoC9mrWoAMfAkZ.jpg:small

       26 likes

    • Oldspeaker says:

      Would guess some kind of risk assessment was undertaken Stew, maybe resulting in the above behaviour being deemed acceptable, incredible anyway. If the information we are fed about covid is accurate then they really are putting their lives on the line.

         14 likes

    • Eddy Booth says:

      Has a front line police officer died of COVID-19 yet?
      They should be dropping like flies if lack of social distancing and carrying on as normal are really hazardous..

         20 likes

    • Lefty Wright says:

      Stew
      Or perhaps they know something about the dreaded lurgi that we don’t.

         10 likes

  24. Celtic_Mist says:

       27 likes

    • Celtic_Mist says:

      John Ashton – Wikipedia

      National Health Service reforms
      In 2012, the Independent published an editorial claiming that Clare Gerada, the head of the Royal College of GPs would lose out on valuable contracts if NHS changes caused increased competition.[22] Ashton was one of 23 signatories in a letter to the Independent criticising the NHS reforms as “ultimately damaging the health of the people of England” and rejecting as “grossly misleading” the earlier article.[23] He received a letter from his primary care trust advising him that it was “inappropriate for individuals to raise their personal concerns about the proposed government reforms” leading to questions being asked in parliament.[24] Health minister Simon Burns claimed the letter wasn’t from the department and that primary care trusts should not be heavy-handed.[25] The local BBC station was telephoned by “someone from Conservative party HQ”, and told it should inform viewers that Ashton was a member of the Labour party and his criticisms were politically motivated, a suggestion which Ashton described as “an outrageous smear.”[4]

      President of the Faculty of Public Health 2013–2016
      Age of consent
      In November 2013, Ashton said society had to accept that a third of all children were having sex at 14 or 15. He believed a debate was necessary about lowering the age of consent to 15 so that NHS advice was available.[26] Ashton said that in countries where the age of consent was lower, teenage pregnancies were also lower. David Cameron said there were no plans to change and, whilst David Tucker of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children supported a debate, he doubted if reducing the age of consent would help. Nick Clegg and shadow public health minister Luciana Berger both opposed the move but called for better sex education.[26]

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ashton_(public_health_director)

         18 likes

      • Fedup2 says:

        Looks like Mr Ashton would be popular amongst certain Groups of third world Muslims raping white girls whilst authorities count the days to their promotion / pension …..

           15 likes

    • StewGreen says:

      Oh look a Labour union promoting the prog
      .. just as if they’ve been involved in the background of the programme all along.

         19 likes

      • StewGreen says:

        Loaded headline
        : Has the BBC failed the nation ?

           27 likes

      • Beltane says:

        If the BBC were not so staggeringly arrogant, and with regard to the weight of public opinion currently against them, you might have thought they’d have pulled Panorama and put another repeat of Dad’s Army on.
        The fact that they didn’t speaks volumes, but I don’t think they will benefit from the decision. Then again, perhaps Ashton’s appearance fee made airing the garbage unavoidable.
        Most notable repetition among the plethora of unsubstantiated venom was ‘the goovernment’ this and ‘the goovernment’ that, without a single mention of NHS management or procurement responsibilities .
        Still, look on the bright side, programmes like this can only hasten the end of the licence fee.

           18 likes

        • Celtic_Mist says:

          At this point in time, the BBC is only concerned about its own survival. I don’t think playing one side off against the other will work.

             5 likes

  25. StewGreen says:

    Local ITV news : long item about Leeds school’s appearance on Britain’s Got Talent shown last Saturday
    and how Simon Cowell had visited the school.

       6 likes

  26. StewGreen says:

    All afternoon Radio Humberside news bulletins carried this item
    “3 Hull Labour MPs have written a letter to thank keyworkers”
    … Oh is that news or is it PR ?

    That item is merely cutNpasting Labour PR
    MP’s Tweet

    Radio Humbersides near blackout against Labour MP Diana Johnson, continues
    … There are even some days where the station doesn’t air her at all.

       17 likes

  27. fakenewswatcher says:

    Lengthy feature on a family celebrating Ramadan at home from Debby Tubby, on beeb tv. R4 also had a feature.
    Last night we had a mixed bag from Remona Ali doing ‘Something Understood’ on R4, all about the feminine side of the Divine. If u were a leava, you may not have taken to Remona. For me it was the Offa switch.
    After weeks of ‘edgy’ black ‘poetry’ from Chicago, we finally got a feature on Kielder Water, on the R4 poetry spot. Relief: Peaceful and reflective, rather than complaining and aggressive. Worth a listen, as indeed was last week’s ‘Something Understood’.
    Then again, Greg Dyke, formerly beeb, might have called it hideously w….
    Oh dear, it’s the great Amol Rajan spread across the One Show sofa. If you want to see all about him getting a haircut at home, be quick. Big diamond earring and snazzy shoes, so presumably beeb pays well?

       19 likes

  28. BRISSLES says:

    Oh god, Simon Callow – actor, is on now moaning that his work has dried up, and how his ‘industry’ needs financial help, apparently the public ‘need’ what art and entertainment will offer for their mental well being. They aren’t exactly pulling their weight at the moment are they, – no, after all this is over, mankind will realise what’s important for survival like food, health, family, friends, electricity, and rubbish disposal.

    So other priorities take precedent than watching well paid actors being able to work when most of the population cant, and how we are supposed to social distance inside a cinema or theatre is anyone’s guess. Sit 3 seats apart ? fine, but what about those behind and in front of you ?

    Its like the saying “we’re all in it together’, yeah right, except the likes of the Beckhams, the Greens, the Cowells, the Bransons, who are all in their own little group together.

       28 likes

    • Kaiser says:

      I only watch films that are free now, DVDs that are gifted , I wont go to the cinema to watch the bilge they put out.

      Like not paying the BBC every penny I can avoid giving to these grifters is another nail in their coffin

      On the subject of the bbc I keep getting letters saying I keep watching their shi*e on Iplayer

      is this a new line from capita my son claims he doesnt use Iplayer

         24 likes

    • EUTV says:

      Brissles – I’d clap for “the arts” if actors and others took one for the team and ask the government not to subsidise them anymore.

         14 likes

  29. G.W.F. says:

    Not strictly BBC bias but has anyone else noticed how the virus scare is bringing out the population reducers of left and right? Basically, the theme is that measures to protect the elderly and vulnerable should not hamper the economy. After all, without a strong economy the useless eaters would not be supported, so they might as well die for the good of the nation.
    Sadly, the Conservative Woman, once a sensible outlet for rational conservative views, is questioning the need to protect lives. And of course consigning to pending purgatory comments that disagree.

    https://conservativewoman.co.uk/in-a-fight-to-save-our-nation-we-cant-all-survive?fbclid=IwAR1u7aQzlUe8ycnBI6xz-kNbixUNe-8MxtR_kILDU3vIhyNQxIFDD0ZxlME

       5 likes

    • Banania says:

      The question is, not whether we should protect lives, but, are the measures being taken effective in doing that? If, whatever approach the government takes, the outcome is much the same, then we ought to follow the example of Sweden.

         0 likes

      • taffman says:

        Banana
        The question is, are Al Beeb helping the nation to get through this pandemic or are they hindering the government in the hope of bringing it down?

           1 likes

  30. Guest Who says:

    BS and Huw liked this. So probably not likely to be as persuasive to others as hoped.

       8 likes

    • dfhunter says:

      notice Austin won’t let us plebs reply to his pathetic comment –

      “Interestingly, much of this type of criticism comes from veterans of the Brexit battle who seem to think that this crisis offers an opportunity to renew recent grudges with the media.”

      what a know nothing nob.

         0 likes

  31. Non Snowflake says:

    Last night I recorded “The Elephant Man” on bBBC1. This is my monthly dose of being associated with the festering agenda-ridden national TV channel, and I try to keep it very much to a minimum.

    Anyway……I’ve just watched the movie, but at the start of the recording there is the final 3 minutes of the local (Midlands) news.

    The newsreader is a BAME female just finishing one story.
    Next story is about a Sikh community in Wolverhampton. The voice-over is from another female, named Mandeep Johal.
    Next story has a voice-over from another female, named Satnam Rana.
    Next story has a voice-over from another female.
    All finishing with the weather forecast from another female.

    And white men? Well in one of the stories there was a white man on a treadmill in his own garage doing his own version of the London Marathon, surrounded by females of course.

    Bear in mind that this was just the final 3 minutes of the local news, I shudder to think what the rest of the programme must have been like.

    Essentially, if an alien landed and watched this, he/she/it would think that females were in charge of everything, authoritative on everything, many of them BAME, and that white blokes were basically figures of fun.

       35 likes

  32. taffman says:

    “Brexit: No EU mini embassy in Belfast – Gove”
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-52446386
    They still want to keep their claws in us ?
    Do we have a ‘fifth column’ in the form of MP Dr Phillipa Whitford?

       12 likes

  33. Guest Who says:

       24 likes

  34. taffman says:

    “The Cabinet Office minister told MPs the government believed it was “still entirely possible to conclude negotiations” on the existing timetable.”
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-52446702/brexit-uk-eu-trade-talks-can-follow-timetable-gove
    Thats the words we Brexiteers want to hear – as long as we are not giving anything away or as long as we are not being sold down the river .

       27 likes

  35. taffman says:

    “More than 90 migrants picked up in Channel in eight boats
    More than 1,000 migrants have been intercepted by Border Force vessels trying to reach the UK so far this year.”
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-52449088
    ‘The Border Farce’ is working overtime. Why do we have a Royal Navy to defend our shores when this lot is intercepting (ferrying ) them in while we are in lockdown. French officials intercepted four more boats, with 44 migrants on board.
    At one time the Home Sec described such an incursion as a “serious incident”. Note how its not headline news any more. It is almost as if our Tory Government want them to come in ?

       33 likes

  36. Guest Who says:

    “..a health centre contact…”

    This is what passes for a journalist these days?

       25 likes

    • Oldspeaker says:

      That’s where we are are GW, NHS boss anyone? A line from childhood springs to mind, went something like this “and if (insert name) had told you to jump in the river would you have?”. Another went “you know what thought did? Stuck a feather in the ground and thought it would grow into a chicken.”
      I have no idea if it’s applicable in this instance or not because I never really got it. Heard them often, think I must have been a slow learner.

         13 likes

    • Eddy Booth says:

      Father Jack used to sup Toilet Duck

         9 likes

      • Oldspeaker says:

        Now your talking, brilliant. Heard he drank alcohol too, which I think can double for disinfectant.

           9 likes

    • Oldspeaker says:

      Intrigued I’ve had a quick look and cant find specific reference to Kevin Maguires ‘British Woman’. There are a few Dettol-covid links, this being one.
      https://www.newideafood.com.au/coronavirus-cure-in-dettol-bottles-slammed-by-scientists.
      I’m sure Kevs standards are higher than mine and he rigorously fact checked before twittering.
      Fact is we all do stupid things, some more than others. I think if spraying Dettol on your food is one of them then what Trump says would be the least of ones worries.

         15 likes

    • taffman says:

      Kevin
      some say “it never happened “.

         10 likes

    • JimS says:

      Just supposing that was true, it is hardly likely that she would have watched the president’s briefing, far more likely that she got the idea from a UK news source.

      Quite possibly she wasn’t really listening, she might even have heard or read similar items during the day/week and assumed this was ‘important’ advice.

      For people in the UK what the US president says or does at his briefings is of no real matter. But our ‘journalists’ are so keen to keep in with their fellow TDS sufferers that they churn out these stories ‘for a laugh’, not realising that normal people aren’t into the ‘joke’.

      If there is ‘blood on anyone’s hands’, it is the Maguires and Maitlis’ that have it.

         16 likes

      • stanley_plank says:

        Definitely. The lame media should be held responsible for their dangerous lies. If she had have watched the actual briefing she would have quickly learnt he said no such thing, especially in the context they have placed it.

           13 likes

      • JamesArthur says:

        Absolutely Jim

        The MSM are too self centred to realise their ‘Fake news’ about POTUS and their reporting is what ‘may’ have prompted these acts – if they ever really happened which I doubt…the vast majority of the UK don’t watch the USA briefings live…just the BBC cut version with their voice overs

           8 likes

  37. Guest Who says:

    BBC News

    “One day I will tell you there are no new cases… until then we’ll be here to help you understand what’s happening every step of the way”

    https://bbc.in/CoronavirusBBC

    ****

    Uh huh.

       10 likes

    • Eddy Booth says:

      That reminded me of someone
      But who??
      I got it Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore

         5 likes

    • Banania says:

      “We’ll be here to help you understand what’s happening every step of the way.” Gosh, how patronizing.

         0 likes

  38. taffman says:

    Despite the negative publicity on Al Beeb and the MSM the betting odds for Trump are 10/11 while Biden is evens.

    Note how Boris invited questions from ‘Jo public’ today, thus showing up the so called ‘news reporters’. Is this the work of Cummings ?

       19 likes

  39. StewGreen says:

    Radio4 is using lockdown time to repeat
    its eco-propaganda serial of 9 x Episodes
    11pm every Monday “Forest 404
    .. She uncovers a set of sound recordings from the early 21st century that haunt her.
    They are recordings of rainforests – places which no longer exist
    – and Pan feels compelled to hunt down the truth about how the forests of the old world died.”

       5 likes

  40. taffman says:

    “Stories that shape us”
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories
    Is “US” Al Beeb ?
    Because I am pretty certain its not the readers and posters here!
    Of course, that is with exception to maxincony .
    Is he still in his safe space ?

       7 likes

  41. Celtic_Mist says:

    At this point in time, the BBC is only concerned about its own survival. I don’t think playing one side off against the other will work.

       8 likes

  42. StewGreen says:

    Medialand is not the real world
    Of 40 replies to Kirsty , only 1 person didn’t take “the too wow to be true” claim at face value

       29 likes

  43. lordelpus says:

    Nice to see that the Government is paying NHS staff who have sadly died of Covid-19 a £60,000 payment.
    Nothing can compensate for the loss of a loved one,but this does at least show some appreciation of their efforts.My only concern is that the MSM,along with the”caring and charismatic”Sir Keir Starmer may be pushing for others to receive compensation.Starting with public transport staff,not forgetting BAME people who have been victimised unfairly by this racist virus!
    Not forgotten the name of this site! but am currently watching Sky News.The first 15 minutes was taken up by Beth” the butch,” sneering at Boris’s early morning appearance.Followed at 10-30 by the Press Preview, and with two regular snowflakes Stig Abel and Jenny Kleeman as guests.BIAS WHAT BIAS?

       23 likes

    • StewGreen says:

      I’m sorry I don’t buy into the black and white narrative
      that all NHS staff are heroes

      and people outside it are just not as good.

      I expect some negligent NHS staff have actually given Covid19 to patients in their care.

      BTW no NHS staff working in Intensive Care have died
      when i checked the data on Sunday

         24 likes

      • Piku says:

        “I expect some negligent NHS staff have actually given Covid19 to patients in their care.”

        Do you have any evidence to support that statement StewGreen or is it just something you hope is true? Never mind, it fits in nicely with the rest of your posts, i.e. making stuff up.

           2 likes

        • Guest Who says:

          You just set an awesome precedent there for future ‘news’ ‘reporting’, sources say, I have learned.

             6 likes

        • Nibor says:

          I expect it Piku and so do my family members who were nurses in the NHS .

             6 likes

        • The WestWyvern says:

          Hey Piku, how’s life under the bridge with Max-incontinency and the Blackwell Trolls?

          Have you got any examples of Pro-Tory news from the BBC, or perhaps a critical feature they have done regarding the incompetance of NHS procurement teams, middle managers and CEOs – whom have failed in their primary role of ordering, stocking and supplying to the ‘front line’?

          Nah, thought not.

             8 likes

          • taffman says:

            Back again Piku?
            Looks like you are emulating maxincony , sneaking in by the back door where no one will spot you.
            Do you have to anything to post about Al Beeb’s right wing or left wing bias, or are you just an Al Beeb employee or troll ?
            Over to Piku……………………………………..

               2 likes

  44. StewGreen says:

    9am R4 STW was much better cos Marr Wasn’t presenting
    It was Kirsty Wark

    and again the prog benefitted fro it breaking the “No False Balance, science-means CONSCENSUS” rule

    The two psychologists were not in lockstep
    At one point the excited woman shouted
    “and there is this amazing experiment that shows people will…”
    .. The Warwick Uni guy responded
    “no, the thing is that experiment FAILED REPLICATION
    .. a lot of such do”

    19m0s She had made the claim that an American experiment had proved that if you move the student signature part of an exam paper, to the TOP of the page instead of the bottom
    .. that makes a huge difference to the rate of CHEATING
    ..and than in fact this worked on insurance forms.

    David Halpern “my team had problems getting that to replicate
    and it now emerges there were also problems with the original study”
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000hmmb

       9 likes

    • JamesArthur says:

      Stew

      MSc in Psychology in hand I can say – most psychology is poor science and most of the ‘famous’ studies fail the replication test

      Which is why many people studying psychology go into FMRI scanning of the brain and call themselves neuroSomethings…

      Works for BBC though..they can use anything that suits their narrative when it has a lick of science (which they don’t understand or question)

         8 likes

  45. StewGreen says:

    R2 just now “And now for the first Climate Change song
    .. Backwater Blues by Bessie Smith
    ..it was in the New Scientist* podcast last week”

    * New Scientist is not an actual science magazine,
    but rather a vehicle for pushing advertisements selling flashy stuff
    at people who think they have an interest in science.

       10 likes

    • pugnazious says:

      BBC pushing the climate change opportunity once again…

         12 likes

      • Guest Who says:

        That social distancing and PPE use in the green activist community is as unique as BBC reporting.

           7 likes

    • Guest Who says:

      BBC News

      Three Americans who voted for Donald Trump in 2016 rate the US president’s response to the virus, including his recent comments about disinfectant.

      bbc.in/35b9Hmp

      ***

      Three, eh? Walk ins, or found camping in Jon’s Fiat 500?

         12 likes

    • Guest Who says:

      NS is a joke.

      It was constantly advocating flying to Tasmania to go on eco tours.

         2 likes

  46. pugnazious says:

    South Korea’s method of tackling C19 has been trumpeted as the exemplar….never mind the UK pretty much followed the same path and methods….until pressured to change course by the BBC et al.

    The BBC criticises Sweden despite Sweden doing better than we are…the BBC praises to the rooftops South Africa…yesterday telling us restrictions were being lifted because of the brilliantly effective lockdown…the BBC also tells us it was ‘early’, presumably a dig at the UK because here it was apparently far too slow….

    ‘Could it be that South Africa’s early, and strict lockdown, and its aggressive tracing work, are actually working? Or is this just a small lull?’

    One problem…South Africa imposed their lockdown on the 26th…

    ‘South Africa has announced a 21-day lockdown starting at midnight on March 26, 2020.’

    We imposed ours from the 23rd.

    The BBC has spent the last month telling us Africa was about to be swept by the plague and devastated…just a couple of weeks ago it was telling us South Africa was pretty much doomed…now it’s all happy clappy hurray for South Africa…’if ony Boris had done what they did’…whatever that was….just got lucky…and their population is average age 20…ours 45…so a lot older and more vulnerable.

    South Africa says they have had 4,500 infections and 87 deaths….sorry but that’s nothing to do with a lockdown…the numbers fell rapidly very shortly after the lockdown and we know there is at least a three week lag in deaths showing up…so little to no correlation….and you just can’t believe a country like South Africa[nor so many others in Africa] have such low figures due to great health services or fantastic government competence and effective action.

    Another country the BBC likes to tell us is doomed but this time because it failed to follow the BBC script of strict lockdown…Japan…372 deaths……how so?

    The BBC’s reporting seems to bear no relation to the reality and the actual figures…they just seem to make it up…they have a script…anyone not following lockdown is bad, anyone who locksdown is good….it’s completely bizarre, more Soviet-like Pravda than anything else.

    Clearly there is a lot that we don’t know about what is going on and how the disease spreads [assuming we are beng fed accurate figures] and differences in how countries react….however despite all the totally contradictory evidence and different, and successful, approaches the BBC still sticks to one line….lockdown, lockdown, lockdown.

    Japan in lockdown? Hardly…and yet only 13,500 infections and 372 deaths….please explain BBC.

       11 likes

    • StewGreen says:

      Really is South Africa doing well on adult HIV infections
      and on TB infections ?

         13 likes

    • EUTV says:

      The BBC also recently did an item telling us how wonderful and kind the drugs gangs were. it seems there are no go areas for the Police and so the gangs filled the vacuum to distribute essential supplies to residents. Apparently and without irony we were told their ‘distribution networks’ were of great value to the cause.

      One is left wondering what this will cost the residents when normal extortion, murder, rape and robbery returns to the streets.

         14 likes

    • G says:

      Pug,
      “‘Could it be that South Africa’s early, and strict lockdown, and its aggressive tracing work, are actually working? Or is this just a small lull?’”
      No, simply its black. And that’s of paramount importance to show blacks superiority.

         5 likes

  47. Celtic_Mist says:

    The panorama program incited a lot of hate!

    I have reported this series of tweets (total 4)

       4 likes

  48. Celtic_Mist says:

       2 likes

  49. Celtic_Mist says:

    The BBC has asserted that the government was responsible for the deaths of front line NHS because of the PPE shortage

    Who is responsible for strategic stores of PPP, is it the government or NHS Supply chain?

    https://www.supplychain.nhs.uk/customer-service/create/catalogue-and-ordering/
    “Online Catalogue and Ordering Account If you are an NHS trust customer requiring access to our Online Catalogue and Ordering system, you will need to contact your Trust Administrator to set up your account.
    Our Online Catalogue and Ordering system provides pricing information, the ability to order products, change or view existing orders and complete other tasks relating to orders.”

    https://www.supplychain.nhs.uk/savings/price-ranking/
    “New ways for trusts to identify savings Our at a glance price ranking sheets have been developed so you can review supplier prices with ease.
    Opportunities to save
    Save by spending less time ordering – simple online ordering and consolidated invoicing reduces administration time. Save time and money – no need to go through your own tendering process. Achieve your savings targets – we can help you lower your operational costs. End to end electronic capability – helping you reduce purchasing costs.

       18 likes

    • Celtic_Mist says:

      NHS England prepared for and participated in Exercise Cygnus, a
      three-day exercise looking at the impact of a pandemic influenza
      outbreak, and the significant impacts on health delivery a widespread
      pandemic in the UK would trigger.
      • NHS England has led the EPRR annual assurance check for NHS
      England and the NHS in England in 2016-2017 against updated NHS
      Core Standards for EPRR. This included a ‘deep dive’ into Business
      Continuity and fuel disruption preparedness.
      • The Board should also be aware this paper will inform the NHS
      England assurance provided to the Department of Health in relation to
      EPRR

      Click to access board-paper-300317-item-10.pdf

         11 likes

      • JimS says:

        The NHS England paper above refers to a ‘statutory requirement’ placed on NHS England.

        In plain English that means that ‘government’ has made laws which NHS England is expected to comply with, government has done its job, it looks like it is NHS England that hasn’t done its.

        I wouldn’t be surprised if NHS England has been sending regular assurances to the minister that they are compliant.

        Unrelated but similar, I recall that six months before the defence minister at the time had been ‘assured’ that Eurofighter would be ready an extra two-years delay ‘suddenly’ appeared. It turned out that everyone down the line was too scared to tell their boss that things weren’t OK and hadn’t been for years, a case of “Yes Minister! (fingers crossed behind back).

        I don’t envy anyone at the top of a reporting chain.

           6 likes

    • Guest Who says:

         8 likes