Midweek Thread 3rd March 2021

Busy time – The UK budget and the Scottish First Minister appearing before the Salmon inquiry . BBC narrative – whatever the government does is never enough and the SNP can do no wrong .

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357 Responses to Midweek Thread 3rd March 2021

  1. digg says:

    The most significant story floating around right now I see popping up in various places concerns those people who are finding out that their deceased relatives were wrongly attributed as having Covid.

    Whether this has a great deal of substance or not is beside the point, the implications, were it to be true are mind-boggling and I would expect a free press in a free society to be going after the facts to find out.

    In fact the opposite is the case the mainstream press are all pretending “nothing to see here” and blanking it en-mass.

    Come on BBC Panorama this ought to be right up your street!

    if this eventually breaks out and turns out to have legs it could and should see a serious bringing to account those at the highest levels who have been involved. There has been far to much suffering by innocent people to just sweep it under the carpet.

       48 likes

  2. Fedup2 says:

    Multiple stabbings in Sweden – not sure if it’s a Norwegian – but bound to be a ‘Far Right terror attack ‘ if the BBC gets round to reporting it – and now the weather …

    .. the attacker was apparently slightly shot by the Swedish police , put in a dinghy and sent toward blighty .( there is no evidence of this )..

       33 likes

    • StewGreen says:

      Eight injured after attack – suspected terrorist act
      A man in his 20s today attacked several people in Vetlanda. (= Vietnamese suburb)
      The man was shot by police and is now being taken to hospital.
      – Eight people have been attacked, some have been removed by ambulance,
      The police are investigating terrorist motives

      According to the police, the attacks have taken place in five different places in central Vetlanda, at intervals of a few hundred meters.
      – From the first call until the arrest, was about 15-18 minutes

         14 likes

  3. StewGreen says:

    Greenpeace’s BBC battalion under the comnand of General Harra
    Budget 2021: No ‘green revolution’ from Sunak
    – Critics have said Budget measures did not go far enough to address the scale of the challenge of climate change.
    – Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a change to the Bank of England’s remit as part of green measures in the Budget.
    – He also confirmed a infrastructure bank to invest mainly in green projects.

    – But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the Budget stopped “way short” of the action needed to tackle the climate emergency.

    – Mr Sunak shielded drivers from a fuel duty rise
    – and he clawed back money from a key home insulation scheme.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56270528

       20 likes

    • Lefty Wright says:

      Stew
      Well of course Herr Starmer and his MSM supporters would say that wouldn’t they?
      As an erstwhile Socialist /Marxist believer I took it for granted that living in a capitalist democracy I could and did, quite freely, buy or borrow from my local library the writings of such great thinkers as Karl Marx, Herbert Marcuse or even, if I had wanted, that other great Socialist leader Adolf Hitler.
      However, it never occurred to me at the time that perhaps in those parts of the world where the ideas of these people held sway it may be forbidden for me to buy or read material that was hostile to their ideology. Now I understand. The BBC and the rest of the MSM obviously do not.

         22 likes

  4. StewGreen says:

    Wow wind power is now delivering 50% of UK electricity

    …No , not really , it’s still less than 2%
    Tens of £billions of infrastructure that granny pays for
    basically useless.

       37 likes

  5. StewGreen says:

    Fullfact have sent the intern out

    The idea that “Agenda 2030” is a plot to create a new world order is part of popular conspiracy theory,
    which believes Covid is being used to help enslave humanity.
    We’ve taken a look into claims about references to it on the UK government’s website

    They don’t event mention its recent changed of name from Agenda21
    https://fullfact.org/online/agenda-2030/

       15 likes

  6. taffman says:

    “Brexit: EU says UK grace period extension breaches international law”
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-56262527
    Check out the “Comments”. They appear to be mainly from Rejoiners . Funny that ?

       16 likes

  7. taffman says:

    “Budget 2021: What does it mean for me in Wales?”
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-56256813#comments

    Check out the “Comments”. The omens does not look good for Drakeford and the WAG – Welsh Assembly Government if the May elections go ahead?
    I think that this party is gathering momentum ?
    https://www.abolishthewelshassembly.co.uk

       17 likes

  8. StewGreen says:

    Remember the BLM demos in London and 2 Australian journos were attacked on two different occasions ?

    \\ A nightclub thief who targeted women on Tyneside went on to assault a TV journalist during a live broadcast and shouted “Allahu akbar”.//

    Failed Algerian asylum seeker Sofane Yakr had absconded from Newcastle after being arrested on theft and false identity document offences when he brought fear to Hyde Park, in London

    Yakr, previously of Stanton Street, Newcastle, who has 14 previous convictions, pleaded guilty to common assault, possessing an offensive weapon, theft, two counts of possessing identity documents with an improper intention and possessing cannabis.

    Judge Amanda Rippon jailed him for 28 months

    https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/newcastle-nightclub-thief-assaulted-tv-19938856

       25 likes

    • Banania says:

      Why “failed” asylum seeker? He has obviously succeeded in staying here.

         9 likes

  9. StewGreen says:

    Vanessa Beeley has a Twitter thread
    claiming a BBC podcast and article doxxes her
    The other journo accuses her of being an Assad spy
    which she probably is, or a double agent
    Beeley then complains the BBC article doxxes her by showing her car where she lives in Damascas
    That’s hyperbole cos its a bright pink VW
    she’s in no way trying to be inconspicuous.
    The article shouts that since the car has an Assad poster she must be an Assad supporter.
    Neither side explain, that in such Arab dictator states everyone pretends to show allegiance to the ruler, cos you have to get through road blocks etc.

    Direct link to UK Column video seg

       12 likes

    • Guest Who says:

      There are many in the public eye who do not try to be inconspicuous, but highlighting them to assist location for the nutters tends to see such as the bbc get excited. Seems to depend if ‘on team’ or not.

      Here’s the Moaning Emole on one of the team, replete with ‘quotes’ and the inevitable anonymous spokesweasel.

      ***

      Meghan talks royals and ‘falsehoods’

      A second teaser clip for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s interview with Oprah Winfrey reveals Meghan saying she is not afraid of the consequences of speaking out. In an interview for US broadcaster CBS, the Duchess says she cannot be expected to be silent if the royals have a part in “perpetuating falsehoods about us”. It comes as Buckingham Palace says it’s investigating claims the duchess faced a complaint of bullying royal staff. In response to the report in the Times newspaper, Meghan’s spokesman said the duchess was saddened by the “latest attack on her character”.

      ***

      ps: ‘probably is’ is enough to secure a BBC sub role, if not editorial.

         16 likes

      • richard D says:

        I have noticed, Guest Who, that there is an awful lot of hot air being blasted around by the likes of the BBC about the Queen instituting an investigation into the bullying of two employees apparently working for Ms Markle while she was in the UK. This is, of course, held up by Ms Markle to be some kind of a personal vendetta against her.

        No-one in the BBC seems to think beyond this woman’s vanity to even mention that, if these apparently bullied people were members of the Royal household, the Queen would ave an absolute legal duty to have investigated any claims of inappropriate actions against employees. But hey – the BBC seems to have a great many apparently disinterested ‘expert analysts’ in their employ when it comes to certain issues

           34 likes

        • Guest Who says:

          I have noticed that, whatever the complex facts to the news, the bbc will spin a subhead and ‘quote’ to suit, which means good for BFFs, and as bad as possible for impartially identified foes.

          Hence….

          ‘Budget fallout – UK tax burden to be ‘highest since 1960s’

          Paying their essential job furlough funding to ‘tock aboot Meg-Meg go diss diss on White she elephant’ is not cheap.

             11 likes

          • Fedup2 says:

            ‘X ‘ has defended something – is a standard BBC news line .

            It doesnt normally say why there is a need to ‘defend’ nor from whom the ‘defending ‘ is needed –

            It is being used today against the chancellor .,, fun spotting this bias technique

               15 likes

      • BRISSLES says:

        No way back for Harrikins after his missus puts the boot into his family. Not much compassion there Megs, no class or manners either. If you want to moan about the in-laws do it in private.

        It could have been worse, she could have been part of Ashley Cole’s family ! she wanted to get her claws into him, but was introduced to Hazza first !!! 🙂

           9 likes

  10. Guest Who says:

    Also in the ‘mole, speaking of obsession, looking like a set up for Marianna to have a one on one with Lurch again. Don’t mention flags, love.

    ***

    Why are QAnon believers obsessed with 4 March?

    Their hero is no longer president but some followers of the fringe QAnon conspiracy theory have latched onto obscure, irrelevant laws in an attempt to keep the faith. It’s been six weeks since the inauguration of President Joe Biden.

    Donald Trump’s best chance to regain the presidency would seem to be the 2024 election. But some of his fervent followers who support the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory believe he’ll somehow be returned to power on 4 March.

    Read full analysis >

    Shayan Sardarizadeh
    BBC Monitoring

    ****
    Ah… M. Wrong Always. Got a jolly? Or still based in the W1A bunker? Maybe they think his Lurchesque misspeaking in lieu of fact checking has been forgotten?

       5 likes

  11. richard D says:

    Words matter. And with the BBC, they are made to matter in the way they label things.

    Note 1. The BBC has now instituted a new labelling tactic. Left-wing think tanks liked by the BBC and its cronies, like the Resolution Foundation, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the Institute for Fiscal Studies,etc. are now being introduced with a flowery title….like ‘The Social Justice think tank’, ‘The Low Pay think tank’, etc., etc. Whereas, any group with any views other than those allowed by the BBC (rarely consuilted by the BBC, of course) are simply described as ‘Right-wing’.

    Note 2. Just as happened last week when the Prime MInister announced a policy measure, the Chancellor’s budget statement was introduced by the BBC as “Rishi Sunak defended his budget proposals….”

    This immediately creates a negative impression with the listener as to what is being announced and by whom – it never seems to be a phrase used to describe any opposition party announcements, of course….and with the BBC being a leading opposition party these days, I somehow can’t see it ever introducing one of Tim Davie’s announcements in a similar fashion.

    As I said – words matter – and the BBC are becoming even more ridiculously partisan in their outlook and actions.

       43 likes

  12. AsISeeIt says:

    A slickly produced affair from the media but some very dodgy humour from me this morning

    Did you hear the one about the disappointed upskirter? He’s suing a Scotsman under the Description of Goods Act. (He was wearing a kilt) Never mind. Perhaps Radio 4’s Winifred Robinson will take up his case on You And Yours?

    The ‘i‘ newspaper tells us that after all the drama of yesterday: ‘Sturgeon sorry but defiant‘ – I believe the appropriate vernacular saying is “Her jaiket’s oan a shoogly peg” which the ‘i‘ translates into the Common Tongue (as the fantasy world of Game of Thrones had to invent but which England gifted to the world – until the Woke fantacists at the BBC tell us it was actually invented by a muslim in africa) – ‘No knockout blow in eight hours of evidence – but First Minister faces calls to quit

    We’ve some interesting differences of opinion in the press this morning. The Telegraph tells us: ‘Chancellor says £21bn personal tax raid is “honest”‘ and the FT agrees, heaping praise on Rishi for his supposed veracity: ‘Swishy Rishi sweeps in with goodies for voters as he outdoes his boss on honesty

    Leaving aside the faint whiff of homoeroticism which seems to surround editorials concerning Mr Sunak (you see I still assume most editorials are penned by chaps) one supposes the antipathy toward his “boss”, as the FT puts it here, stems from the fact the europhile broadsheet still can’t forgive Boris for Brexit. The pink paper’s own adjacent headlines would seem to give the lie to their honest Sunak trope: ‘Pain threshold. “Stealth” income tax raid poised to hit 2m people from next year‘ – do we still need to shove inverted commas around the word stealth? Anyway, as far as taxation is concerned, after a brief respite (increasingly pronounced “rest-bit” on the BBC) during the Thatcherite 1980s, the direction of our tax bills is decidedly – just as Tony Blair might well have enjoyed as one of his anthems – “The Only Way Is Up” [Yazz, 1988]

    In the ‘i‘ Isabel Hardman disagrees with all this honest Rishi piffle: ‘NHS faces long recovery – but ministers aren’t being honest

    Rishi Sunak spent much of the Budget telling the House of Commons that he “wanted to be honest” about the scale of the challenge facing the public finances. The Chancellor’s version of honesty turned out to be rather more of a slickly produced affair than brutal assessment of the scale of cuts necessary in time to deal with the costs of Covid to the public purse

    And here we come to the crux, the very nub, of the issue. On the one hand we have the Guardian: ‘Spend now, pay later: Sunak flags major tax rises as Covid bill soars

    Alternatively, there’s the Telegraph: ‘Cost of Lockdown will cast a shadow over us for decades

    They seem to tell the same tale but do you see the difference? The Guardian assumes a priori that Lockdown was the only, the logical, the inevitable, response to covid. They brook no alternative.

    The Globalists are now at their starting blocks, ready to sprint for home, just as soon as the weather warms up. Martin Wolf in the FT: ‘Where is the ambition for investment and enviromental policy?‘ – he asks.

    Meanwhile the tabloids are exacting some revenge on the surplus to requirements spare ginger heir, or rather his bully pulpit princess: ‘Palace’s probe into “bully” Meg amid freebie frocks row‘ (Sun)

    Careful now, you’ll have the BBC’s Women’s Hour down on you for misogyny.

    Speaking of intersectionality, we’ve had the BBC arguing the case for covid disproportionately affecting our BAME communities: ‘Virus “has disproportionate impact on BAME groups”‘ (June 2020) and for women: ‘Covid: Support “repeatedly skewed towards men”, say MPs‘ (Feb 2021)

    How about the gays? In terms of the vaccination roll out, are they getting their fair share of pricks?

       28 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      Three unconnected stories

      1 what happened to the budget leak about taxing online parcel deliveries ?

      2 where is the outrage about elderly social care not being dealt with ?

      3 where is the coverage of the multiple axe attacks in Sweden – possibly by a norwegian ?

      To me very often bias is about what is left out as much as what lands up as ‘popular’…

         35 likes

  13. JimS says:

    On Thursday May 20th I expect Radio Three will be hosted all day by Martha Kearney.

    She will, of course, only be playing Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 46, Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Sinfonietta No. 5 and Dmitri Shostakovitch’s Symphony No. 2. All in the key B major.

    What else can be expected on International World Bee Day?

       9 likes

  14. Sluff says:

    Apologies if late to the party.
    But this example of the world’s finest news organisation in action really brightened up my breakfast reading.
    Even the house newspaper covered it.

    https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/mar/03/bbc-cory-booker-impostor-hoax-interview

    https://thehill.com/homenews/media/541225-bbc-apologizes-for-interview-with-fake-cory-booker

    This remember is an organisation with a bigger news room than the whole of Fleet Street put together. Such research. Such professionalsim.

       26 likes

    • StewGreen says:

      It shows how few listeners the BBC has
      that not one person has a copy of the audio.

      Usually when you have masses of listeners, one of them turns out to be incidentally recording so there is a copy, even if the BBC immediately edit their original stream.

      ITBB’s monitoring service may have picked it up.
      but I noticed the other week it was taking 24 hours for Archive.org’s media service, so may be they missed it.

         4 likes

  15. StewGreen says:

    9am R4 The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Coleridge’s poem

       4 likes

    • digg says:

      Followed I think by wimmins hour which always seems like ten hours… they had an ex lady peer on moaning about women getting shafted over pension rights… the peer lady said successive governments had failed to address the problem. Of course our fearless lady interviewer interjected “Do you think Boris Johnson should apologise?” The peer lady started to reply “ I think successive governments owe an apol……..” the interviewer lady cut her off at that point…. “sorry we have to move on…..”

      The key point being that the cock-up started in 2009 when Gordon Brown was PM for Labour.

      Little things like that say a lot about the culture in BBC newsrooms!

      We know exactly how you fix the story lines BBC and why!

         24 likes

  16. Doublethinker says:

    Last week I posted that the tightening of asylum and immigration laws in Denmark had prompted me to rewatch Borgen. A couple of days ago the Telegraph reported that the Danes has reviewed the cases of several hundred Syrian asylum seekers and decided that Syria was no longer dangerous for them and therefore they were to be returned to Damascus. Bravo the Danes.
    I have now got to series two of Borgen when the blonde reporter briefly becomes a spin doctor for the conservative opposition but finds that they are considering an alliance with the ‘Freedom Party’ who want to stop immigration and don’t want to accept so many asylum seekers. The leader of the Freedom Party is , of course, depicted as a grouchy , nasty, old country bumpkin. The blonde reporter resigns rather than be forced to work for a coalition so opposed to migration etc etc.
    Oh how times have changed! In a decade the ‘Freedom Party’ agenda seems to have become government policy . No doubt dumb Danish liberals are crying into their breakfast cereals.
    Oh I forgot to add that the leader of the Greens in Borgen is a Muslim who resigns from his coalition government post in protest at the lack of green policies. He is depicted by a young Pakistani whose children are abused at school for being RoPers and who , apparently in what spare time he has left after saving the planet, doesn’t go around raping all the young blonde teenage girls in Copenhagen.
    It’s so PC as to laughable particularly as we know that in the real world the Danish people voted for a decidedly non PC government just ten years later. There is hope!

       33 likes

  17. Guest Who says:

    The kids in the bbc kindergarten have decided their peers can only understand pictures.

       12 likes

  18. Up2snuff says:

    TOADY Watch #1 – much mention of the Duke & Duchess of Excessive this a.m.

    But only in the newspaper review at 6.40 and 7.40 a.m. approximately. Sidelined by the Budget – allegedly. In the News Bulletins it is mentioned that the Duchess of Excessive has ‘inferred’ that HM has been telling porkies about her and encouraging ‘one’s household’ to do the same.

    That is not going to end well.

       19 likes

  19. Guest Who says:

    ????

       4 likes

  20. Tabs says:

    SpaceX’s Starship rocket lands but then explodes
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-56274183

    By Jonathan Amos “Science correspondent”.

    I would have thought a BBC Science correspondent should report facts using correct terminology, technical language and descriptions – but no, this is the dumbed down BBC.

    Examples in this report:
    “put down”, “reasonably soft landing”, “blew itself apart”, “left its launch mount”, “rose vertically”, “leaning over into the horizontal for the drop to the ground”, “scrub off speed”, “tail-down”, “suddenly leapt upwards”

    This article is written so bad that anyone interested in the science will go elsewhere for the facts. Anyone not interested in science won’t even read this so the entire article is aimed at noone – a bit like BBC3.

       24 likes

    • JohnC says:

      Absolutely standard trick of trying to tarnish good news with some bad. In that case because they hate Musk.
      Same as this: ‘Covid infections decline ‘slowing’ in England’. Which in reality means it has dropped to a level where such rapid drop-offs can’t happen.
      They don’t want any success stories for Boris. They are still seething with spite after Brexit.

         33 likes

      • Grumbler says:

        The law of diminishing returns applies to the covid drop. It’s never a straight drop to zero.

           11 likes

    • Up2snuff says:

      Tabs, I wonder how much CO2 has been emitted in the manufacture of those things? Seem to recall that’s the second one they have had explode this year and the fourth or fifth rocket lost all told. Maybe someone ‘High Up’ [ a Higher Authority 😉 ] is letting puny humans know what He thinks about this Global Warming and Climate Change nonsense.

      (Tongue in cheek emoticon) I assume there is not much left to recycle or re-use after the explosions.

         7 likes

  21. AsISeeIt says:

    Just BBC clickbait titling or another example of plummeting standards of education there at our national broadcaster:

    “Why are some bits of the UK doing better than others?”

    At first glance I’m unsure as to within which precise theatre of endeavour my local “bit” might be supposed to have been measured?

    One can guess we are on the subject of the budget and the economy.

    I duly click to find the “Reality Check team” have prepped this report and assume the BBC are playing the game of angel’s advocate for Labour – at that revelation I close the tab unread.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/56238260

       16 likes

  22. StewGreen says:

    7 days ago wind power touched 10GW
    How’s it done since ?

    Evl5QjmXcAEnWGb?format=jpg&name=small

       12 likes

  23. StewGreen says:

    Warning: contains video footage of a Green councillor putting on an American accent and pretending to be Rosa Parks to persuade other local politicians to vote for reparations

    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2021/03/03/woke-bristol-council-approves-slavery-reparations-atonement-motion

       15 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      A timely reminder of even more hair brained ideas which would have got an uptick in a comrade Corbyn government . ….

      …. why not call the overseas ‘aid ‘ budget -“reparations “ – the budget – by the way – is money borrowed by the government using UK taxpayers ‘ cash to pay the debt incurred – in order to give Uk politicians a feeling of moral superiority ….

      … as for the green coloured councillor – maybe if she likes Africa so much she should trade in her UK passport and get one from her ancestorial home land ….

      The sort of stuff to keep greens in the bin marked ‘loony’ except in dumb councils ….

      .. I watched 10 seconds and the facial expressions of fellow councillors said it all …

      Thanks – very funny

         19 likes

  24. Rich says:

    Take a look at the bBbc website Northern Ireland News page and the significance given to the pro-EU opinions of a foreign Foreign Minister.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/northern_ireland

    The bBbc deem the views of an anti-British, anti-Unionist Republican to be of more relevance and of more importance to the people of Northern Ireland than the other story on the same page that tells of the official withdrawal of support for the Good Friday Agreement by Loyalist paramilitaries.

    During the Brexit negotiations the bBbc, mainly through BBC NI, offered Ireland’s Leo Varadkar, Simon Coveney and the mainly Republican pro-EU “progressives” who offered them credence, much more positive coverage and open support than it did to any politicians who actually represented Northern Irish or British interests. It seemed to many in NI that Coveney was actually voted for by them and that “the north of Ireland” actually fell under his jurisdiction rather than him actually being a hostile pro-EU puppet from a nation determined to undermine the Northern Irish and British at every turn.

    The bBbc have long treated the Unionist majority in Northern Ireland as backward-thinking bigots and as someone from that community, it felt that to me and many like me that we were largely forgotten throughout the Brexit process as the Irish and the EU confected the border issues and threat of Republican violence that were so willingly bought into by the Conservative leadership.

    The graffiti that recently appeared in the Loyalist Sandy Row area of Belfast is sinister and shouldn’t be ignored, unlike, as it seems to many in Northern Ireland, the British and Northern Irish citizens in this part of United Kingdom.

    https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/politics/we-dont-forget-we-dont-forgive-michael-gove-address-scrawled-on-wall-in-staunch-loyalist-area-of-ni-3153704

    The Conservatives have undoubtedly shafted the Unionist people in Northern Ireland and the finger of blame points directly at Johson and Gove. I don’t see any unrest in the immediate future but discontent is definitely growing, Unionist people here are angry and openly distrustful of the British Government and while I certainly do not condone violence when a large group of people feel disenfranchised, belittled and betrayed I understand how it can happen only far too well.

       26 likes

    • Rich says:

      I’ve just re-read this.

      Sorry it’s so badly written, lack of practice and coffee I think.

      Still, maybe a job at the Mail Online awaits.

         7 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      I saw somewhere that some unionist para military group has binned the Good Friday agreement – …. I wonder if they are planning a ‘restart ‘ …… ? – with a target list more aimed at the EU than any one else …. nightmare …

         8 likes

      • Rich says:

        Fed,

        It seems pedantic but they are Loyalist paramilitaries, there are distinctions between Loyalism and Unionism. Growing up in the 70s and 80s the Loyalists were the terrorists, the paramilitaries, the gangsters. Unionists were the majority of people in Northern Ireland, those who supported the Union and wished to uphold it through peaceful and democratic means by supporting parties without any direct links to Loyalist groups like the UVF, LVF, UDA and Red Hand Commandos.

        Similarly there was a clear distinction between Nationalism and Republicanism. People who would normally describe themselves as Nationalists wanted to achieve a United Ireland through peaceful, democratic means and traditionally voted for the SDLP. Republicans were accepted to be those in the IRA, PIRA and INLA and their supporters. Those who openly voted for the IRAs political wing Sinn Fein when possible and accepted their romanticized view of violence being the only way out of their oppression under British and Unionist tyranny. This distinction however no longer exists.

        In recent times Sinn Fein have been allowed to rebrand themselves as Nationalists who speak for a wider Nationalist community. On an almost daily basis their unchallenged propaganda portrays them as being progressive,moderate and understanding. Basically, as is the Marxist want, they are being allowed to rewrite history and to reposition themselves on the right side of it by an accommodating media and the compliant and careless chattering classes. Their versions of historical events are being promoted as being the only truth, even in schools which remain conveniently for Republicans segregated. With much more emphasis placed in the teaching of Northern Ireland’s recent history in Catholic schools than in State schools the indoctrination goes unchallenged. The Unionist middle-class seem oblivious to this, far too clever for their own good, but the bBbc are without doubt complicit, in one of many ways, by blurring the lines between Unionism and staunch Loyalism, legitimising their similar treatment of Irish Repubicanism and therefore Republicanism itself.

        As Gerry Adams suggested when he said of the IRA, “they haven’t gone away you know”, the threat of Republican violence remains and their violence does continue, deliberately underreported by the likes of the bBbc.

        Why, who knows? They are undoubtedly frightenedof them but do they support them? Is it so far-fetched as to imagine that there are others within the bBbc with similar views to Roy Greenslade?

        There remains a distinction between Unionism and Loyalism but as support for Sinn Fein has grown, something which initially surprised many Unionists as their seemingly moderate Nationalist neighbours and workmates obviously voted in support of violent Republicanist terrorism, so to will support for Loyalists. This is something which has not, contrary to the portrayal of Unionism through the bBbc, always been the case.

           21 likes

        • Fedup2 says:

          Rich – you are right and my words were sloppy – but thank you for writing a ‘reminder ‘ of the recent past – and i guess it wouldnt take much to ‘kick off ‘ in a way the MSM cant ignore or suppress it…

             13 likes

          • Rich says:

            No bother Fedup.

            I apologise for being a bit long-winded this morning.

            To me, the media treatment of American conservatism at the minute seems very much like their treatment of our Unionist conservatism but on steroids. We’ve just had it at a lower level for a longer period, the bBbc are much more subtle than CNN.

            It can’t be a coincidence that so many US Republican voters share a common ancestry with many of us here.

               19 likes

  25. Philip_2 says:

    Revoke the TV license using legislation The results from the Petitions committee on (BBC) TV licensing that some us signed was debated in parliament. Its worth reading as DEFUND the BBC made a major contribution and clearly outlined how the BBC is able to claim to be representative at the same time as conspiring against the same people it claims to serve.

    This is just one of a long series of complaints against the BBC. Its worth reading as we do have some very vocal supporters and have made some hits on how the BBC operates. The core principal of paying for services you don’t want or care for (watch or listen to) is all wrapped up in the BBC Charter that claims it is supporting regional and local news. The arguments are here in the transcript. If we want the BBC to change (under Tim Davie), its best to know the arguments both for and against the BBC monopoly that exists. For may reasons it serves the purpose of government during a pandemic, war and propaganda. Much of which it is able to mask as ‘news and opinion’ that is protected by the BBC Charter. It does not deserve the Charter, the best we can hope for is drastic change of management and a cull of Marxist and Trotskyists that exist with impunity in the BBC feeding off the license fee.

    A long read (28 pages) transcript, but worthwhile: Debate was in parliament 1st March 2021.
    https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/1764/default/

    For a more political background of this struggle for representation… (and INFLUENCE)
    Which in another country would be ‘NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION’, something the USA is founded upon and ignored here in the UK. In large part the civil-service are able to cover up the distortions the BBC creates in RESEARCH papers to parliamentarians that the ‘Status-Quo’ should be maintained for threats against the UK (from whatever and whenever). So in short its a propaganda machine that can be used in an emergency and to boost public moral over a wide area. World Service being a prime example.

    Quality is just assumed. News and Opinion cannot be questioned by the public therefore, only by parliament (which takes us back to the start of the PETITION to lobby parliament to abolish the License fee). And why the BBC is effectively pay minimal tax on earning and NO CORPORATION tax (now 25% as of budget yesterday) on all other Media Broadcasters. Its unfair and it stinks. Thats the BBC.

    Read the research: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9145/

       22 likes

    • Doublethinker says:

      I watched the ‘debate’ online . There were about 8 MPs broadly in support of defunding and subscription service only, but 12 who supported the BBC , albeit with some reservations. The supporters trotted out the usual platitudes in defence of the LF, universal service , something for everyone, the old and lonely’s best friend, world class products, respected worldwide etc etc etc.
      As many posters have said no government will deal effectively with the BBC. The only way is to do it ourselves and refuse to pay for it.

         34 likes

      • G.W.F. says:

        I watched part of the debate, the BBC was well supported. By Jove, they even praised the BBC for providing us with the Teletubbies.

           8 likes

  26. Fedup2 says:

    Pollyanna – your comment is removed – any more and you will be too – trolling – bye bye .

       13 likes

    • Guest Who says:

      He!!!!!? Was gender presumed?

      First they get worried about you
      Then they can’t ignore you
      Then they stalk you
      Then they try and fight you
      Fail
      Then they go away
      Then they still can’t ignore you
      And then they come back, with mates
      And proceed to blow their logic apart
      Again
      And still you share facts on topic
      Then they look at their ratings
      So you keep laughing at them
      And still they can’t ignore you
      Then you win

      How long has Botney been at The BBC I wonder?

      Trustworthy and transparent.

      And lurking at the back.

         8 likes

  27. Up2snuff says:

    TOADY Watch #2 – she could bore talk for Britain (or Scotland) at the next Olympics.

    I intended to switch TOADY back on at 7.30 a.m. to hear Anneliese Dodds comment on yesterday’s Budget as Labour Shadow Chancellor. I missed the first bit though. Didn’t matter. JustRemainIn Webb didn’t ask many questions although, to be fair, he didn’t get a chance. Getting a word in edgeways was well nigh impossible.

    Did the Shadow Chancellor have anything worthwhile to say?

    No.

       30 likes

    • Emmanuel Goldstein says:

      Up2
      Anneliese Dodds.
      Is that the Labour ‘minister for being dragged through a hedge backwards’

         16 likes

  28. StewGreen says:

    11am FooC
    – Georgia, the arrest of the opposition leader brought thousands onto the streets in protest.
    Armenia, the country’s embattled prime minister accused the army’s generals of attempting a military coup. Rayhan Demytrie

    -Peru, hundreds of people secretly been inoculated
    inc former president and several government ministers. Dan Collyns

    – US one woman who chose to forego her long-term job as a teacher in favour of a less predictable, nomadic way of life in her camper van.
    ‘van-lifers’ depicted in the Golden Globe winning film, Nomadland. Sally Howard

    – Iceland has the least Covid restrictions in Europe on business and daily life.
    Tira Shubart reports on how Iceland is now getting ready to welcome summer visitors – with certain conditions.

    – Romania – Stephen McGrath meets an ornithologist, and reflects on the wonders of the natural world and the destruction it all faces at the hands of humans.

       8 likes

    • G says:

      “………Iceland is now getting ready to welcome summer visitors…..”

      Sure.

      Hope they are preparing themselves for more earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

         7 likes

      • Philip_2 says:

        Iceland will have a CO2 emissions problem then. The OC2 tax is a tax on CO2 emissions whatever the source. Dust may well cause a global cooling if extensive. So the tax on Volcanoes is already rolled out. If only we had a Volcano nearer the Glasgow climate change world conference to up the ante. Ban Volcanoes perhaps? Climate Change chant (BBC) cue…

           12 likes

  29. G says:

    From Gab:

    “National File
    National File
    @NationalFile

    9h
    ·
    President Biden disappeared from the screen moments after appearing to venture off-script by asking to take questions from the audience.

    VIDEO: White House Abruptly Cuts Off Live Feed After Biden Says He Wants To Take Audience Questions

    https://nationalfile.com/video-white-house-abruptly-cuts-off-live-feed-after-biden-says-he-wants-to-take-audience-questions/

    VIDEO: White House Abruptly Cuts Off Live Feed After Biden Says He Wants To Take Audience Questions
    The White House abruptly cut off the live feed feed for an event President Joe Biden was hosting with the….”

    Well, fancy that, who would have believed?

       27 likes

  30. Guest Who says:

    Lily Allen been scrambled with her Bbc embedded team and a pack of Kleenex?

       25 likes

  31. Fedup2 says:

    It seems that a Norwegian was responsible for the terrorist attack in Sweden yesterday – this Norwegian turns out to be an ‘Afghan refugee ‘ …. but Islam isn’t mentioned …. nor any demand to open ‘Alan’s snack bar ‘… the new normal …

    … look over there – a squirrel ….

       47 likes

  32. Philip_2 says:

    Police will not launch criminal investigation into Martin Bashir’s interview with Diana…

    Martin Bashir had been accused of faking bank statements in order to persuade Earl Spencer to introduce him to Diana, Princess of Wales

    No mention of that the BBC were involved in creating a lie that was later shown to be totally false fabrication. Effectively FRAUD by a national broadcaster that would have been a public prosecution if it were made by another esteemed public broadcaster. So OFCOM is this the new BBC normal a Death by misadventure?

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/03/04/police-will-not-launch-criminal-investigation-martin-bashirs/

       26 likes

    • digg says:

      Snap… as soon as I read what the police said about reasons for dropping the investigation I thought…. someone has had high-level “liberal-lefty media” to “liberal-lefty police” chat about this”

         12 likes

  33. Emmanuel Goldstein says:

    With loads of pensioners popping their clogs due to the Chinese flu there must be a big saving in pension payments.
    Same for the long term illnesses and obese and their medical costs.
    If it’s really over 100k deaths then that should work out at a tens of £millions saved in pension and other payments every year.
    Not a nice thought but I’ve not heard any news media mention it.

    Megan’s eyes looked nice on the opera interview but apart from that she’s become the new Yoko. Taking one of our popular lads and changing them. More Yoko than Wallis I reckon.

       27 likes

    • Scroblene says:

      There wasn’t much to change, sadly, EG.

      Marrying a Yoko type was always the sort of Opera/Jezza ‘Chalfonts’ style of stuff for the mental lightweights to watch during their sojourn on furlough/benefits and it’ll always be a rotten show for our Queen to have to think about when she needs a damn sight more love and affection that that sorry pair are hurting her with.

         11 likes

  34. Philip_2 says:

    China using Big Tech firms to attack BBC in state propaganda campaign, says report

    Same Twitter network used by Beijing to spread Covid conspiracies is now being used to discredit the BBC…

    I would just like to say that the BBC is perfectly able to discredit itself and we don’t need the Chinese to tell us that the BBC is somewhat an organ of propaganda. We live with it everyday.

    Ironically its how the BBC survives each crisis. So actually China is supporting the BBC. The BBC is upper class Russian inspired Trotskyists not your lower class Marxists. Oh No! there is a diversity!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/03/04/china-using-big-tech-firms-attack-bbc-state-propaganda-campaign/

       12 likes

  35. StewGreen says:

    Nadiya is doing this weeks Radio4 Charity appeal

       7 likes

  36. StewGreen says:

    Mike Graham on TalkRadio complaining that he’s being attacked by the Leftywaffe
    He’d put up a poll
    “Should we strip #HarryandMeghan of their British citizenship now?”
    That’s him trying to be loud and provocative like Piers Morgan
    It’s ridiculous at many levels
    the main one is banning/censoring people is the Cancellation Culture of Guardianland
    And don’t bully a guy who did serve in the military.

    So Comedy writer James Felton who’s got 280,000 Twitter followers moves in
    and ruins Mike’s poll Making it 30,000 votes for NO
    before Mike closed it
    (I don’t know how many of Felton’s followers are anti-Tory bot accounts
    He’s not a huge writer, but rather someone who is in a Twitter gang with James O’Brien )

    Mike was reduced to saying “No the real poll is on my account here
    ..which he was winning 4,000 votes to 800, but that is now going the other way too

    and saying “There’s a YouTube poll as well”
    ..only 600 voted there

       7 likes

  37. Fedup2 says:

    Bit of good news which will be shouted out across the BBC –

    The US has lifted tarrifs on UK goods in response by the unilateral action of the UK regarding tarriffs of US imports .

    Another win for Liz Truss – the SNP must be in mourning from scotch whisky to be flowing to the USA again …

    By the way – US tarriffs of EU goods – remain intact …

       35 likes

  38. Thoughtful says:

    I would like bring readers attention to this the words of Malcolm X – not someone I’d normally be looking to for quotations.

    https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/8869214-the-white-liberal-is-the-worst-enemy-to-america-and

    The worst enemy that the Negro have is this white man that runs around here drooling at the mouth professing to love Negros, and calling himself a liberal, and it is following these white liberals that has perpetuated problems that Negros have. If the Negro wasn’t taken, tricked, or deceived by the white liberal then Negros would get together and solve our own problems. I only cite these things to show you that in America the history of the white liberal has been nothing but a series of trickery designed to make Negros think that the white liberal was going to solve our problems. Our problems will never be solved by the white man. The only way that our problem will be solved is when the black man wakes up, clean himself up, stand on his own feet and stop begging the white man, and take immediate steps to do for ourselves the things that we have been waiting on the white man to do for us. Once we do for self then we will be able to solve our own problems’

       27 likes

    • JimS says:

      Which also applies to the ‘working class’ the world over.

      Any group with a grievance can be called upon to join their battle. The last thing they want is to fix the problems of their foot soldiers, that would probably clash with fixing the problems of another of their battalions.

      If the troops became happy the battlefield would be left to the generals.

         12 likes

    • Banania says:

      That is exactly what Candice Owens said recently when asked “How can I help black people?” She replied, “By doing nothing”.

         12 likes

  39. Guest Who says:

    I’ll bet.

    ‘Essential’ and nice wonga, despite zero audience.

       8 likes

  40. Philip_2 says:

    Crikey!! Its taken awhile but our complaints against the BBC appear to be justified! They discriminate against English Nationalist (as they do UK v EU). Well its official, we can now sue the BBC…! Reporting from the Telegraph today:

    English nationalists can be protected from discrimination under equality laws, judge rules
    People with firm political views regarding the culture, identity and politics of England potentially qualify to sue under equality laws
    ….
    (extract) on new ruling:
    ‘Judge Hyde concluded that Mr Thomas was entitled to claim for discrimination under the Equality Act as his nationalistic views could qualify as a philosophical belief, but his opposition to multicultaralism and Islamification undermined his claim.

    To qualify as a protected characteristic, a philosophical belief must be: genuinely held; a belief and not an opinion or viewpoint; a belief as to a weighty and substantial aspect of human life and behaviour; attain a certain level of cogency, seriousness, cohesion and importance; and be worthy of respect in a democratic society, compatible with human dignity and not conflict with the fundamental rights of others.’

    The BBC is guilty of outright discrimination against those it disagrees with, mainly philosophical Nationalists.. So this is new, but will it change the BBC?.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/03/04/english-nationalists-can-protected-discrimination-equality-laws/

       22 likes

  41. Fedup2 says:

    And more news – EU bans shipment of oxford vaccine produced in italy – to Australia.
    That will go down well . Brussels vindictive attitude clear to see now –

    Btw the krauts have approved giving our vaccine to over 65s – at last …

       27 likes

    • Sluff says:

      ……and to stick the knife in further, lets remember that the w***** at Oxford insisted on making the vaccine available at cost price. The EU have a long ignoble record of having their cake and eating it and we can expect no quid pro quo concessions to anything whatever.

      Personally, I’d ask AZ to make a bit extra in the UK and ship it to Oz direct.

         20 likes

  42. digg says:

    I can’t understand why so much of the media is getting onside with Megamouth and Sorry State Harry.

    I can clearly see what she is up to and it’s all about career building and therefore money. I believe that the only reason she is trying to pull the Royal Household and family into her delusional push for fame is that without them the media would show little interest and she wouldn’t be going anywhere.

    Meanwhile Harry is obviously failing to join the dots and is being dragged along like a pet poodle.

    I can’t figure out how long she can keep this pantomime going without pulling more and more pseudo gripes about “the firm” out of thin air but I have a feeling that it ain’t gonna end well for anyone and I don’t think she cares either as long as the dosh keeps rolling in.

       36 likes

  43. Sluff says:

    Red Nose Day is coming up.
    In which the BBC can feel superior on account of their virtue.
    And the advert for this is on at every opportunity.

    Its fronted by Romesh Rangasomethingorother.

    He may well be a decent enough sort of person but he is supposedly a comedian. Except I do not find him that funny, and he was always shown up by others in collegiate settings such as Mock the Week.

    But by being…ahem…not white, that’s all that counts, all bets are off, and the BBC just love him to bits.

    Tick. Tick. Tick.

       28 likes

  44. pugnazious says:

    The BBC’s been giving Markle lots of sympathetic coverage for her martyrdom….remarkable though that the BBC seems to completely dismiss bullying charges against her with no attempt to question if she did bully anyone…contrast the BBC’s reaction to claims that Priti Patel bullied her staff….no irony that the BBC is today reporting this ‘Philip Rutnam: £340K payout to official after Priti Patel bullying claims’ directly next to its love-fest story on Markle.

    In the BBC’s report we are told…

    ‘Buckingham Palace is investigating claims the duchess bullied royal staff.

    The allegations of bullying levelled at Meghan were published after the interview with Oprah was recorded.’

    Hmmmm….weren’t bullying and ‘difficult to work for’ accusations being made long ago as staff members fled to other employ?

    2018…”IT BECAME TOO MUCH’ Meghan Markle’s personal assistant ‘quit after being reduced to tears by Duchess of Sussex’s demands’’

    2019…‘The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s private secretary was first reported to have resigned last October. It came amid a string of staff quitting, prompting claims Meghan was difficult to work with.’

    Surely the BBC would mention all that context?….er….no. Bet they would if it had been Priti Patel.

    I think we all know Markle is an opportunistic chancer….’gold digger’ might be accurate if crude, harsh but true. A minor TV celebrity she had no intention of becoming a Royal family fixture kissing babies and opening schools etc….she saw her chance and took it…marriage to a millionaire prince was a golden career opportunity that would massively boost her profile and her star factor…and even if she divorced she’d be guaranteed to be a ‘royal’ celebrity for life. She knew exactly what to expect when she married into the ‘Firm’…the name gives it away…it’s work….you represent the UK on the world stage…thats why you get enormous privilege and wealth…in return you do your duty…Markle wanted the privilege and wealth without the ‘Duty’.

    Harry is the fall guy, the real victim here…..being used and exploited….shame he can’t see the totally unnecessary harm he is doing….if they wanted to leave then leave…and shut up….they’d still make millions but Markle wants more.

    She wants, and the BBC et al are happy to play along, to be the ‘victim’…and of course it’s all with undertones of racism.

    Sadly the BBC seems unable to question any of Markle’s claims….and Winfrey seems more than happy to feed Markle’s victim status with comments such as this…

    ‘ “How do you feel about the palace hearing you speak your truth today?”‘

    ‘Truth’? How does she know it’s the truth? Clearly not a hard hitting, indepth interview getting down to the nitty gritty with some uncomfortable truths.

    Expect the BBC to sell out our own Queen and country for the all new Princess Pushy as this story unfolds.

       38 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      Any moment one dips into the MSM you get ‘ markled’ – from a very personal point of view – the fact that she / he is still going on whilst the grandfather is ill in hospital seems a bit – self absorbed .
      Any negative view of markle makes her scream ‘ victim ‘ even more – chuck in thd colour angle and it is BBC heaven .

         22 likes

  45. Non Snowflake says:

    Here’s a statistic that you won’t see mentioned on the bBBC.

    I’m classed as an essential worker and spend a lot of time on public transport, mainly the trains with some bus rides thrown in. There are numerous signs and announcements onboard which say that you must wear a face covering unless you’re exempt.

    Well, I must deduce from my own observations that pretty much every single black person and every brown person are….ahem….”exempt”.

    That’s an incredible statistic. And the bBBC do love their statistics. But I haven’t seen them mention this one. For some reason.

       35 likes

  46. StewGreen says:

    Local BBC news ..MPs reaction to the budget
    oh look it’s the programme’s best friend Hull Labour MP Diana Johnson
    complains that Hull got nothing
    … when actually it’s part of the zone where factories can apply for Freeport status.

       12 likes

  47. StewGreen says:

    toTonight’s TV load of rubbish mostly.
    BBC1 11:45 repeat of Hardwoods doco abot Covid choosing PoC more.

    7:30pm ITV Does the UK want split up ?

    Channel5 Murder night
    – 9pm The new victims of the Ripper
    etc.

    BBC4
    9pm Black British movie night
    The movie about the Nigerian guy that marries a white woman in the sixties
    then doco about the director.

    PBS
    8:40 new Global Warming doco
    Can We Cool The Planet
    9:50 Plastic Wars

       9 likes

  48. theisland says:

    I am assuming this is a legitimate letter from the HO ‘Investors in People’.

    “While we are looking to move you from Napier, we will be bringing new people to the site.”

    As all our politicians know – crime pays.

       19 likes

    • taffman says:

      theisland
      What are the Tory MPs doing about this as it encourages more illegals to come in to the UK?
      I suspect that there has been secret deal been done against the wishes of the people of Great Britain.
      There will be trouble ahead. Standby for “Lessons to be learned”.

         14 likes

  49. taffman says:

    “Brexit” has its own sub heading on Al Beeb’s website and its nothing but fear! fear! fear!. Nothing but Negativity. Boris must know and see this.
    I note hidden away under another sub heading “Business” ………
    “US suspends tariffs on single malt Scotch whisky”
    What do the Scotts Nats think about Brexit now ?
    Any canny Scotsmen or even Scotswomen have an opinion on this ?

       15 likes

  50. taffman says:

    “Covid-19: Three UK terror plots foiled during pandemic”
    No mention of “far right” that I can see
    So who can it be ?
    Perhaps maxincony can help us out ?

       15 likes