342 Responses to Midweek 28 December 2022

  1. Fedup2 says:

    From the DT

    The BBC is “rewriting British history to promote a woke agenda”, a group of the country’s leading academics has warned, as they cited multiple examples of “bias” in its documentaries.

    A report said the BBC was failing in its duty of impartiality by allowing “politically motivated campaigners” to present “tendentious” views of British history as fact.

    Lord Roberts, the author and broadcaster, accused the BBC of pursuing a “fatwa” against Sir Winston Churchill. The dossier said documentaries on subjects including slavery, colonialism and the Irish famine distort the truth about Britain’s past through inaccuracy or omitting important facts.

    Marie Kawthar Daouda, a lecturer at Oxford University, said the BBC needs to “stop apologising” for Britain’s history. Jeremy Black, the former professor of history at Exeter University, said the BBC was guilty of “systemic failure” through an inability to present a rounded picture of the past.

    The report was compiled by History Reclaimed, whose co-editors are David Abulafia and Robert Tombs – both of whom are professors emeritus at Cambridge University. Supporters of the organisation include Lord Chartres, the former bishop of London; Vernon Bogdanor, professor of government at King’s College, London; Niall Ferguson, the broadcaster and fellow of Stanford University, and Lawrence Goldman, emeritus fellow of St Peter’s College, Oxford.

    A midterm review of the BBC’s royal charter, launched by the then culture secretary Nadine Dorries earlier this year, is currently examining whether the corporation needs to be reformed to help it achieve greater impartiality.

    The authors of the report, titled Can We Trust The BBC With Our History?, called on the BBC to tighten its editorial guidelines and set up an advisory panel of historians to reduce “groupthink” among programme makers.

    Programmes highlighted in the dossier include The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan, in which the comedian visits Freetown in Sierra Leone and discusses Britain’s role in the slave trade, without mentioning that the city – so-called because it was the destination of freed slaves – was set up by the British.

    A current affairs programme suggested the Bengal famine of 1943 was a consequence of racism on the part of Churchill, despite the fact that Britain sent large shipments of food to the Indian region in the face of wartime food shortages.

    Lord Roberts described it as an example of a “fatwa” he says the BBC has been conducting against Churchill for years, while Zareer Masani, a historian of Indian heritage, said he was “appalled” by the BBC’s claims.

    Meanwhile, an episode of the archaeology series Digging for Britain aired a claim that British policy during the 19th century Irish potato famine amounted to the “extermination” of a people and that aid was refused – even though prime minister Robert Peel ordered the purchase of American maize to feed 500,000 people in Ireland and ruined his career by suspending the Corn Laws to allow untaxed imports.

    The report also criticised Enslaved with Samuel L Jackson as well as a BBC Radio 4 documentary about Sarah Forbes Benetta, one of the only black women in Victorian high society.

    A spokesman for History Reclaimed said: “Abuse of history for political purposes is as old as history itself. In recent years, we have seen politically motivated campaigns to rewrite British history in a way that undermines the solidarity of our communities, our sense of achievement, even our very legitimacy.

    “The BBC, of all institutions, should never accept as fact arguments put forward by politically motivated campaigners. Sadly, it appears that tendentious and provocative arguments seem to be given preference, and they have often been relayed without proper concern for accuracy.

    “At their best, the BBC’s programmes are of high quality and are widely praised. But regrettably, it seems that the BBC, for all its merits, does not always respect the objectives set out in its charter and its claim to be strictly impartial.”

    Prof Tombs, co-editor of History Reclaimed, said: “The report identifies a pattern of failure by the BBC that points unmistakably to conscious or unconscious bias.”

    Dr Alka Sehgal Cuthbert, director of the anti-racism group Don’t Divide Us, said: “When a public institution such as the BBC helps normalise a radically critical, minoritarian view of Britain’s history, it makes the possibility of a culture-in-common for a nation’s citizens – old, new, and yet to be – more difficult. This is not a public service.”

    A BBC spokesman said: “We place the greatest importance on accuracy and bring audiences a breadth of viewpoints, perspectives and analysis across thousands of hours of news, current affairs and factual programming, covering a range of historical topics.

    “Across the entirety of our output there will, of course, be occasions when people disagree with or want to challenge what they have watched or heard and we have well publicised routes for them to do that.

    “Cherry-picking a handful of examples or highlighting genuine mistakes in thousands of hours of output on TV and radio does not constitute analysis and is not a true representation of BBC content.”

    Commentary: BBC should build unity around British history, not slander it

    By Marie Kawthar Daouda

    The BBC has a glorious past. For French or American audiences, BBC adaptations of Shakespeare and Dickens are canonical. But why should a national broadcasting corporation be ashamed of being British?

    We hear so much about the evil deeds of the British Empire, but an episode of History of Africa dedicated to the British involvement in the ending of slave trade is yet to be seen. In the meantime, The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan fails to mention that between 1808 and 1860 alone, The West African Squadron captured 1,600 slave ships and freed over 150,000 African slaves.

    We have heard a lot recently about the Benin Bronzes and their restitution but, in its coverage of the question, the BBC systematically failed to mention that these objects, work of enslaved hands, were seized in 1897 as an act of retaliation after the massacre of an unarmed party of British envoys and a large number of their African bearers, and that the following British expedition put an end to slave trading in Benin.

    The way the BBC depicts British history might be the only way many people ever will access this past, and this inaccurate, biased and divisive slandering of the Empire will not do much good.

    The BBC claims to be committed to reflecting the diversity of Britain. Promoting diversity of skin tone is a rather cheap substitute for diversity of opinion. In 2020, quotas were announced as targets for 2023 – 50 per cent women; at least 20 per cent black, Asian, or minority ethnic; and 12 per cent disabled.

    As for ethnicity targets, are potential employees supposed to take a genetic test to qualify for one of the first categories? Britain is diverse, and so far, it has become inclusive by allowing skilled people, regardless of sex or skin tone, to make use of their talents in all sectors. The quota policy is inherently divisive and nurtures a victimhood mentality, while obfuscating hard work, personal achievements, and merit.

    There is no shame in promoting a shared British identity. In its early years, BBC radio was shaped as a polite, slightly high-brow, family-friendly universe, more keen on creating a national British cohesion than on reflecting regional particularities.

    During the Second World War, this national dimension took on much greater importance. Addresses from Winston Churchill or George Orwell kept people informed of the situation but, more importantly, gave the audience something to look forward to, and thus created a sense of togetherness.

    For the French, “L’appel du 18 Juin 1940”, when Charles de Gaulle stood as the leader of the Free French, was a beacon of hope. And in October that year, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret spoke during the Children’s Hour, telling them that “all shall be well in the end”.

    Family, faith, and tradition are realities shared by many Britons of various skin tones, and understood by the vast majority of humanity. Many, in Britain and abroad, regardless of faith or ethnicity, will join in to watch the Carol Service and for the King’s Speech.

    If Britain’s national broadcasting institution does not respect British identity, why would other countries? Building unity around British history and tradition is sorely needed – and the BBC could and should help to create it.

    Marie Kawthar Daouda is stipendiary lecturer in French at Oriel College, University of Oxford
    ENDS

       56 likes

    • taffman says:

      Fedup2
      “If Britain’s national broadcasting institution does not respect British identity, why would other countries? Building unity around British history and tradition is sorely needed – and the BBC could and should help to create it.”

      And what will our so called ‘Tory Government’ do about it?

         34 likes

    • Flotsam says:

      The BBC seeks to defend the indefensible with pathetic PR speak.
      They’ve been “found out” by people of standing, qualified to judge, but they still persist in pretending they are impartial
      The problem is of course that it isn’t just history that’s a problem. It’s now, politics, current affairs and social engineering.

         34 likes

    • digg says:

      My take is that the diversity drive within the BBC has resulted in certain groups demanding the BBC tell lies to advance their causes.

      Meanwhile no one in the BBC who can actually see what is going on speaks out for fear of course of being attacked as racist etc.

      These people demanding the twists in history have an agenda, and that is power and control so it will continue. This will get progressively worse until either someone with balls takes the reins or the service collapses under the weight of its own deviance.

         4 likes

  2. pugnazious says:

    ‘BBC guilty of ‘rewriting British history’ to promote woke agenda in ‘biased’ documentaries ‘

    ‘The BBC is “rewriting British history to promote a woke agenda”, a group of the country’s leading academics has warned, as they cited multiple examples of “bias” in its documentaries.

    A report said the BBC was failing in its duty of impartiality by allowing “politically motivated campaigners” to present “tendentious” views of British history as fact.

    Lord Roberts, the author and broadcaster, accused the BBC of pursuing a “fatwa” against Sir Winston Churchill. The dossier said documentaries on subjects including slavery, colonialism and the Irish famine distort the truth about Britain’s past through inaccuracy or omitting important facts.

    Marie Kawthar Daouda, a lecturer at Oxford University, said the BBC needs to “stop apologising” for Britain’s history. Jeremy Black, the former professor of history at Exeter University, said the BBC was guilty of “systemic failure” through an inability to present a rounded picture of the past.

    The report was compiled by History Reclaimed, whose co-editors are David Abulafia and Robert Tombs – both of whom are professors emeritus at Cambridge University. Supporters of the organisation include Lord Chartres, the former bishop of London; Vernon Bogdanor, professor of government at King’s College, London; Niall Ferguson, the broadcaster and fellow of Stanford University, and Lawrence Goldman, emeritus fellow of St Peter’s College, Oxford.

    A midterm review of the BBC’s royal charter, launched by the then culture secretary Nadine Dorries earlier this year, is currently examining whether the corporation needs to be reformed to help it achieve greater impartiality.

    The authors of the report, titled Can We Trust The BBC With Our History?, called on the BBC to tighten its editorial guidelines and set up an advisory panel of historians to reduce “groupthink” among programme makers.

    Programmes highlighted in the dossier include The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan, in which the comedian visits Freetown in Sierra Leone and discusses Britain’s role in the slave trade, without mentioning that the city – so-called because it was the destination of freed slaves – was set up by the British.

    A current affairs programme suggested the Bengal famine of 1943 was a consequence of racism on the part of Churchill, despite the fact that Britain sent large shipments of food to the Indian region in the face of wartime food shortages.

    Lord Roberts described it as an example of a “fatwa” he says the BBC has been conducting against Churchill for years, while Zareer Masani, a historian of Indian heritage, said he was “appalled” by the BBC’s claims.

    Meanwhile, an episode of the archaeology series Digging for Britain aired a claim that British policy during the 19th century Irish potato famine amounted to the “extermination” of a people and that aid was refused – even though prime minister Robert Peel ordered the purchase of American maize to feed 500,000 people in Ireland and ruined his career by suspending the Corn Laws to allow untaxed imports.

    The report also criticised Enslaved with Samuel L Jackson as well as a BBC Radio 4 documentary about Sarah Forbes Benetta, one of the only black women in Victorian high society.

    A spokesman for History Reclaimed said: “Abuse of history for political purposes is as old as history itself. In recent years, we have seen politically motivated campaigns to rewrite British history in a way that undermines the solidarity of our communities, our sense of achievement, even our very legitimacy.

    “The BBC, of all institutions, should never accept as fact arguments put forward by politically motivated campaigners. Sadly, it appears that tendentious and provocative arguments seem to be given preference, and they have often been relayed without proper concern for accuracy.

    “At their best, the BBC’s programmes are of high quality and are widely praised. But regrettably, it seems that the BBC, for all its merits, does not always respect the objectives set out in its charter and its claim to be strictly impartial.”

    Prof Tombs, co-editor of History Reclaimed, said: “The report identifies a pattern of failure by the BBC that points unmistakably to conscious or unconscious bias.”

    Dr Alka Sehgal Cuthbert, director of the anti-racism group Don’t Divide Us, said: “When a public institution such as the BBC helps normalise a radically critical, minoritarian view of Britain’s history, it makes the possibility of a culture-in-common for a nation’s citizens – old, new, and yet to be – more difficult. This is not a public service.”

    A BBC spokesman said: “We place the greatest importance on accuracy and bring audiences a breadth of viewpoints, perspectives and analysis across thousands of hours of news, current affairs and factual programming, covering a range of historical topics.

    “Across the entirety of our output there will, of course, be occasions when people disagree with or want to challenge what they have watched or heard and we have well publicised routes for them to do that.

    “Cherry-picking a handful of examples or highlighting genuine mistakes in thousands of hours of output on TV and radio does not constitute analysis and is not a true representation of BBC content.”

    Commentary: BBC should build unity around British history, not slander it

    By Marie Kawthar Daouda

    The BBC has a glorious past. For French or American audiences, BBC adaptations of Shakespeare and Dickens are canonical. But why should a national broadcasting corporation be ashamed of being British?

    We hear so much about the evil deeds of the British Empire, but an episode of History of Africa dedicated to the British involvement in the ending of slave trade is yet to be seen. In the meantime, The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan fails to mention that between 1808 and 1860 alone, The West African Squadron captured 1,600 slave ships and freed over 150,000 African slaves.

    We have heard a lot recently about the Benin Bronzes and their restitution but, in its coverage of the question, the BBC systematically failed to mention that these objects, work of enslaved hands, were seized in 1897 as an act of retaliation after the massacre of an unarmed party of British envoys and a large number of their African bearers, and that the following British expedition put an end to slave trading in Benin.

    The way the BBC depicts British history might be the only way many people ever will access this past, and this inaccurate, biased and divisive slandering of the Empire will not do much good.

    The BBC claims to be committed to reflecting the diversity of Britain. Promoting diversity of skin tone is a rather cheap substitute for diversity of opinion. In 2020, quotas were announced as targets for 2023 – 50 per cent women; at least 20 per cent black, Asian, or minority ethnic; and 12 per cent disabled.

    As for ethnicity targets, are potential employees supposed to take a genetic test to qualify for one of the first categories? Britain is diverse, and so far, it has become inclusive by allowing skilled people, regardless of sex or skin tone, to make use of their talents in all sectors. The quota policy is inherently divisive and nurtures a victimhood mentality, while obfuscating hard work, personal achievements, and merit.

    There is no shame in promoting a shared British identity. In its early years, BBC radio was shaped as a polite, slightly high-brow, family-friendly universe, more keen on creating a national British cohesion than on reflecting regional particularities.

    During the Second World War, this national dimension took on much greater importance. Addresses from Winston Churchill or George Orwell kept people informed of the situation but, more importantly, gave the audience something to look forward to, and thus created a sense of togetherness.

    For the French, “L’appel du 18 Juin 1940”, when Charles de Gaulle stood as the leader of the Free French, was a beacon of hope. And in October that year, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret spoke during the Children’s Hour, telling them that “all shall be well in the end”.

    Family, faith, and tradition are realities shared by many Britons of various skin tones, and understood by the vast majority of humanity. Many, in Britain and abroad, regardless of faith or ethnicity, will join in to watch the Carol Service and for the King’s Speech.

    If Britain’s national broadcasting institution does not respect British identity, why would other countries? Building unity around British history and tradition is sorely needed – and the BBC could and should help to create it.

    Marie Kawthar Daouda is stipendiary lecturer in French at Oriel College, University of Oxford ‘

       24 likes

  3. Zephir says:

    This one stinks..is there a reason why a named suspect is not named ???

    Telford, ring any bells ?

    “Woman is brutally raped near a primary school on Boxing Day as police hunt a named suspect. A woman was raped near St Mary’s Primary School at 10pm on Boxing Day.
    West Mercia Police are searching for a named suspect after the attack”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11580313/Woman-brutally-raped-near-primary-school-Boxing-Day-police-hunt-named-suspect.html

       39 likes

  4. Zephir says:

    A culture of medieval misogyny, one for the far left and bbc feminists surely ???

    Not a mention on their Asian page, but happy to attack Afghanistan over wimmins rights

    Must be quite a few Pakis working for the bbc

    (BTW…you call us brits, aussies etc I can call you pakis)

    “Pakistani rapist is released from jail on the condition he marries deaf victim who gave birth to his child
    Dawlat Khan, 25, was jailed for life in May having raped a deaf woman. The rapist and the victim are from the same extended family and agreed a deal.
    Khan would be released from prison if he was prepared to marry his victim.

    The decision has outraged rights activists, who say it legitimises sexual violence against women in a country where a majority of rape goes unreported.

    Rape is notoriously difficult to prosecute in Pakistan, where women are often treated as second-class citizens.
    According to the Asma Jahangir Legal Aid Cell – a group providing legal assistance to vulnerable women – the conviction rate is lower than three percent of cases that go to trial.

    ‘This is effectively the court’s approval of rape and facilitation of rapists and rape mentality,’ Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir, a lawyer and human rights activist, said of the Peshawar court decision.

    In 2021, Pakistan introduced a law which would see repeat rapists chemically castrated, but within two days of the law passing, it was condemned by leading imams as ‘un-Islamic’.  ”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11581043/Pakistani-rapist-released-jail-condition-marries-deaf-victim.html

       30 likes

  5. Guest Who says:

    Looking at you guys, BBC.

       25 likes

  6. Foscari says:

    BBC Imaging Watch- I will reiterate this over and over again
    because in my opinion it is inverted racism. Does Getty’s
    the business the BBC use for public interest imaging such as
    utility bills etc. Only use black models. Or do the BBC insist
    that black models are used. I expect it’s the latter.

       31 likes

    • Zephir says:

      Using the word “inverted” implies that only true racism is anti black which I say is not true, it’s like using “anti semitism” instead of what it is : racism pure and simple.

      If we use “their” language we are already on the back foot. They have invented their own words and language to defend their own racism.

         23 likes

    • Ian Rushlow says:

      It’s a symbiotic/parasitical relationship. The BBC, as Britain’s leading anti-White racist organisation, insist on black models (except when illustrating articles about knife crime). Getty Images openly state that their mission is to make money ‘move the world’, ‘challenge historical biases’, ‘aspire to a higher level of inclusiveness and greater understanding of diversity’, ‘move the world towards increased understanding, acceptance, participation, sustainability, and creativity’. Naturally, they ‘stand against racism, intolerance, and hatred. We reject and condemn any form of racial injustice, mistreatment, and discrimination, and the exclusion of any marginalized communities from society.’ In other words, the usual Marxist/Woke/Globalist/Virtue Signalling crap that dovetails into the BBC editorial teams.

         24 likes

    • StewGreen says:

      “inverted snobbery”
      A form of snobbery where the practitioner deprecates the target for attributes that would normally be considered desirable (particularly wealth).
      ‘they waste their money I can get everything for 50p from the charity shop’

      So “inverted racism”
      A form of racism where the practitioner discriminates against white people rather than black people.

         8 likes

      • Zephir says:

        Nope, inverted is used in snobbery because it refers to a hierarchy of class where the higher looks down upon the lower, therefore inversion is required for the reverse.

        As I said, you are using the language of the left as they maintain racism is impossible for the minority to exercise on the majority, it is quite possible. And, even by that twisted logic, there are many areas in the UK and elsewhere where blacks and asians outnumber whites.

        And, by your logic, what do you call the racism exercised by blacks against Chinese asians so prevalent now ?

        Sideways racism ? or just racism plain and simple.

           6 likes

        • StewGreen says:

          @Zephir inverted snobbery is snobbery.
          Inverted racism is racism

          PS I see no evidence that it is “the language of the left”
          I first used the phrase myself from my head
          I have never seen a lefty source use the same term.

             1 likes

          • Zephir says:

            The left have frequently said that only minorities are victims of racism, therefore creating a false hierarchy of racism to allow the indigenous population to be the only proponents of racism.

               3 likes

            • StewGreen says:

              Yes I agree there
              When we say the BBC does inverted racism, it is a power org and powerful people using racism against a less power the general working class public.

              The Cambridge Dictionary does use power in the definition
              “a person who makes it known that they do not like things related to high social position but approve of things related to low social position”

                 2 likes

  7. digg says:

    A. The BBC this morning pushing the line that enormous mountains of food are ending up in waste because of Christmas splurges on too much food.

    B. Odd, only last week they were trumpeting about all the millions of poor folk being unable to afford food this Christmas.

    I guess B’s attempt to lash the government is old news whereas A is a new bone for the BBC attack dogs. (Climate, rich folk, whitey etc. etc. etc.)

    They will never reform now and start to report the news with any sort of balance, It must always have an “anti” message, especially if it’s anti white British – time they were gone!

       37 likes

  8. Thoughtful says:

    The next ‘plandemic’ being planned?

       11 likes

  9. AsISeeIt says:

    Tendentious, pledges and sneaky Nando’s edition

    Sometimes you just have to smile: Union chief: It’s a matter of time before we synchronise strikes… Mark Serwotka, general secretary… Public and Commercial Services Union… Paul Nowak, the new head of the TUC (Times)

    Meanwhile, in a place far far away from their pie-in-the-sky socialist utopia, back down to earth in our complex grubby real world: Postal walkout may hit teachers’ strike ballot (Telegraph)

    House cartoonist Matt may be away – he takes more holidays than an ecumenical version of Judith Chalmers – but sometimes it’s the mere juxtaposition of two straight-facedly delivered headlines that can raise a wry smile.

    2022 will be warmest year ever for UK, Met Office says (BBC)

    Freezing U.S. jet stream to hit UK in New Year (Daily Express)

    The coronaphobic ‘i’ newspaper asks readers: Do you want to live to 120? Scientists trial new drug in UK which delays ageing

    Meanwhile the same left-leaning title complains: Taxpayers to fund Hancock and Johnson’s Covid inquiry defence (‘i’) – perhaps if our press had held these characters to account at the time, instead of endorsing their every fear whim and dictat, we wouldn’t need the inquiry. But MrAsI forgets himself – the left-leaning ‘i’ even more so than the rest of the mainstream broadcasters and press, along with Sir Keir, would then and will now only complain they wanted Lockdowns earlier, harder and longer.

    Just to rub it in: Politics Hope at last that populism is in retreat (‘i’) – and yet the self-same frontpage of the ‘i’ happily rabble rouses about the former PM and health minister receiving legal aid. What they actually regret is the sight of any popular support for the right.

    The Telegraph brings two popular news topics together in a rather interesting and perhaps usefully explanatory manner: ‘Not long Covid for some, but menopause’… Women may think they have long Covid when they actually are going through the menopause, experts believe – those experts really are brave souls chancing their careers in a way not seen since Galileo legendarily challenged the Papacy over their mistaken notion the Sun orbits the Earth

    Sneaky Nando’s – shouts today’s edition of the Sun: £30m gift tokens paid to civil servants… Vouchers for the likes of Greggs, Primark and a cheeky Nando’s were dished out over a year… Yet half worked from home.

    Greggs, Primark and a cheeky Nando’s – have our modern day civil servants devolved into a bunch of grubby plebs? Can you imagine for a moment Sir Humphrey Appleby with a Gregg’s sausage roll, a Peri Peri chicken or a £2.50 T-Shirt?

    I do sense some synergy here in government thinking. Or as the union bosses would say – it’s synchronised. Did you know Primark sell the Gregg’s logo range of sportswear – don’t laugh.

    Have Tories given up on cutting tax? – as if the Daily Mail needed to ask

    BBC is ‘going for woke in rewriting British history’… a group of the country’s leading academics has warned, as they cite multiple examples of ‘bias’ in its documentaries… allowing ‘politically motivated campaigners’ to present ‘tendentious’ views of British history as fact. (Telegraph)

    It is a deeply-held BBC in-house contention that their news may appear to lean to the left only because the print press leans to the right.

    It is MrAsI’s contention that the Times has begun something of a tryst with the Labour Party: Labour vow to combat antisocial behaviour… Party pledges to ‘prevent, punish and protect’

    Deterioration of law and order being something of public concern at present: PM plans to tackle crime after nation rocked by wave of murder and violence… Rishi’s pledge to make Britain’s streets safer (Daily Express)

    That’s an awful lot of pledging going on there – from the two synchronised sides of our same bent penny.

       27 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      Notice how top union official have to have the letters w.a.k.o. In their surnames …. ..

      .. it has to be time for a new strike – maybe power workers or even – yes – the BBC – ,,… I understand the medical mafia intend to widen there strike – maybe they have killed enough I’ll people yet – but they must be pretty used to doing that …. Let’s call it the Liverpool pathway ….

         14 likes

    • taffman says:

      “2022 will be warmest year ever for UK, Met Office says (BBC)”
      “EVER” !
      Do they have records going back to the beginning of time, ie Genesis?
      Or just propaganda & fear ,fear, fear

         18 likes

  10. G says:

    How quaint but typical. Western Power, now called, “National Grid” have just sent an email entitled: “Lets Get Ready for Winter”. Are we at the very end of December 22 or perhaps August/September 22 when people are just beginning to think, ‘winter’?

    Can these people be trusted to get anything right?

       19 likes

    • StewGreen says:

      It’s cos they only just realised that the power supply situation could get very tight.

      “You may have seen in the news recently information relating to emergency power cuts throughout the UK this winter.
      As someone in your property is on our Priority Services Register, we want to reassure you that whatever the reason for a power cut this winter, we will do our very best to keep you updated on what’s happening.”

      Mail ends
      “These National Emergency power cuts are unlikely this winter, but we are prepared in case they should happen”

      https://link.nationalgrid.co.uk/t/j-4243916B1EF60B8E2540EF23F30FEDED

      Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its impact on global energy markets mean the UK and Europe face a challenging winter.
      The energy industry is prepared and has well-established procedures in place if there is a national energy shortage.

      One part of these procedures is planned emergency power cuts, called ‘rota disconnections’. These are very rare and temporary
      https://www.nationalgrid.co.uk/winter-hub

         8 likes

      • Dickie says:

        “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its impact on global energy markets mean the UK and Europe face a challenging winter”.
        Oh, nothing to do with sanctions on Russian gas and oil then🤔

           4 likes

  11. StewGreen says:

    “Gas prices are falling yet the energy companies are still charging big prices ,
    they’re evil capitalists”
    shout the lefty sages @RichardJMurphy and @BeckettUnite of that union

    FFS the gas prices they are quoting are from the FUTURES market.

    Gas bought today on the futures market is cheap
    cos it gets delivered in the summer when the market is not tight.

    Gas used today was bought in the futures market in the past when prices were high.

    If there are some European cold snaps that will bite into stocks
    but generally prices should fall
    then in mid summer those futures prices should rise again.
    https://www.ft.com/content/6f83306f-14ef-458f-a47e-1cac9c6c6dc6

       16 likes

  12. Fedup2 says:

    I heard a tiny bit of an interview with the new head of the TUC . He is really into ‘sitting down at the table ‘ – particularly the government – to end the strikes they are responsible for …

    Even when challenged about how nurses can’t really get 19% can they – he went on the ‘im not here to do deals’ …

    I’ve said it before – I get a bit blubby reminiscing the 1970s with ‘free collective bargaining ‘ and union leaders caring less if people die as long as their members get the 19% …

    ..here to long strikes … perhaps an opportunity to crush militant unions – oops – sorry – blue labour – pay up …

       15 likes

  13. StewGreen says:

    libmob think everywhere is Waitroseland
    It isn’t

    FlEQEjLX0AIZgAV?format=jpg&name=small

       9 likes

  14. StewGreen says:

    There’s farming
    and there’s the BBC’s idea of farming

       17 likes

    • Zephir says:

      Dorset ? Palm trees are common in the English south west and north west Scotland due to the Gulf Stream warming the UK and have been for a long time.
      If in any doubt have a look at the climate in similar latitudes to the UK such as Warsaw, Moscow, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador.

         26 likes

    • StewGreen says:

      p0dqqwhl.jpg

         1 likes

    • G says:

      They can grow whatever they like right now. Just wait until Klaus’ plan catches up with them and the Government buy the farm on Compulsory Purchase a ‘la Netherlands. Which chemical will the WEF / EU announce is dangerous next?

         5 likes

  15. vlad says:

    BBC guilty of ‘rewriting British history’ to promote woke agenda in ‘biased’ documentaries – DT.

    We here have known it all along but at last normies are waking up to the treasonous bias of the rotten Corruption – oops, Corporation.

    DEFUND THE BBC NOW, before it destroys what’s left of our nation.

    PS. Is treason still a capital offence? If not, I’d settle for life imprisonment.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/12/28/bbc-guilty-rewriting-british-history-promote-woke-agenda-biased/

       29 likes

    • Chevalnoir says:

      … not connected, but did anyone spot the diabolical sacrilege in the recently shown ‘Dam Busters’ film? When I saw that it was to be shown I thought, as you do, this could be interesting … Sure enough, Guy Gibson’s black labrador was run over/killed by a passing car and, in the film, the code word for the dams breech success was to be ‘Nigger’. Guess … they managed to change it to ‘Trigger’ so as not to offend. Beyond belief and crass …

         32 likes

      • Ian Rushlow says:

        Apparently the Dam Busters is being re-made in 2023. The dog will be removed altogether, as its death may offend animal rights activists. As some consider the movie to be openly Germanophobic – and hence, indirectly anti-EU – all references to Germany are being removed. Instead, all the action will take place at Chesil Beach in Dorset, where the first trials of the bouncing bombs took place. Rather than use a fleet of 19 Lancaster bombers, which would have had a huge carbon footprint and might be seen as glamourising air flight, a single experimental electric bi-plane with solar cells will be used. The lack of diversity amongst the crews is clearly problematic to a modern audience, and therefore 80% of them will be black, 70% will be wimmins, 50% will be members of the LGBTQWERTY community, 40% will be Vulnerable Refugees ™ who have made the Dangerous Crossing Over The Channel In Small Boats ™. Sponsored by Pfizer and produced by Disney, the film has already been voted film of the year in advance by a select audience of Guardian readers and BBC newsroom staff aged 18 or under.

           55 likes

        • Fedup2 says:

          Ian – so so wrong . The target will be coal powered fire stations – not nice green renewable dams . And can’t waste water either ….

          There will be a ‘live twitter feed ‘ if constant inputs from queers and animals rights groups as well as lawyers for anyone seeing ‘upsetting scenes ‘…

             20 likes

        • Mustapha Sheikup al-Beebi says:

          In news just in, the leading role of transgender eco-warrior Wing Commander Gaia Gibsdottir, the woman in charge of the raid, is to be played by Whoopi Goldberg.

             18 likes

      • G.W.F. says:

        Before it is removed. A dog of colour

           7 likes

        • Fedup2 says:

          A lot of views – and the comments describe a sad state of affairs where the country can only accept one version of life ….

          … I got sidetracked by another you tube of Katie Hopkins v the BBC where the ‘interviewer ‘ reads off a script aimed at catching ms Hopkins ‘out’… same style that the hugely over promoted meeeshal tick box Hussain uses…..

             17 likes

  16. Zephir says:

    Current Twitter CEO Elon Musk declared that Twitter will promote “reasoned” skepticism of scientific data.

    “New Twitter policy is to follow the science, which necessarily includes reasoned questioning of the science,” Musk wrote.

    “The science is anything that His Eminence Lord Fauci says it is,” Saad quipped. “His Excellency is science.”

    Musk responded by observing, “Anyone who says that questioning them is questioning science itself cannot be regarded as a scientist.”

    Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton tweeted, “Bad news for transgender extremism, covid totalitarians, and climate alarmists.”

    Journalist David Martosko called upon followers to recognize Musk’s announcement has massive implications. 

    “Isn’t it remarkable that this is a departure from what we’ve seen for many years?” he asked. “I hope it also means it will be acceptable to examine who’s funding science and what kind of restrictions that places is on scientists.”

    Mathematical physicist, economist, and the managing director of Thiel Capital, Eric Weinstein expressed hope that the change could be a major shift across a variety of subjects.

    “This. Changes. Everything. If true,” he wrote. “Is that a 1000% commitment to biologists that they can stop *lying* about biological sex, healthy reproductive development, ‘herd immunity’, genetic differences between geographically separated populations, horse paste, Wuhan Inst. GoF, etc.?”

    https://www.foxnews.com/media/twitter-users-applaud-fume-musk-declares-twitter-follow-science-allow-questioning

       17 likes

  17. Zephir says:

    That same day, Musk announced that the Twitter platform’s staff previously “had an internal Slack channel unironically called ‘Fauci Fan Club.’” This comes amid an ongoing series of “Twitter Files” showing the public the inner workings of Twitter before Musk acquired the platform.

    Musk also tweeted a statement that put Fauci’s institutional accountability in question.

    “Almost no one seems to realize that the head of bioethics at NIH – the person who is supposed to make sure that Fauci behaves ethically – is his wife,” Musk wrote.

       24 likes

  18. theisland says:

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11580861/Dover-Border-Force-official-arrested-illegal-immigrant.html

    A Border Force official was arrested on suspicion of being an illegal migrant
    The man, aged in his late 30s, is understood have originated from the Balkans
    For over 20 years he has lived in the UK; training and working for Home Office
    He is believed to be one of four officers arrested in a separate corruption case

       21 likes

  19. tomo says:

    BBC Travel

    Tübingen: Europe’s fiercely vegan, fairy-tale city

    This year, we published many inspiring and amazing stories that made us fall in love with the world – and this is one our favourites.

    Located in a German region famed for its frugality, Tübingen is known for its fiercely green reputation, where veganism and environmental friendliness are the default setting.

    The reality is, as per usual – hidden in the last several paragraphs

       10 likes

  20. taffman says:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-64111492
    Will the British government go the same way to protect our people ?
    Or will they carry on as normal just as they did with the channel invaders ?

       12 likes

    • Ian Rushlow says:

      A government spokesman, speaking on terms of strict anonymity, states:
      “Of course we will not impose restrictions on Chinese arrivals. We have spent billions this year on vaccines from Moderna – it would be helpful to have a new wave of infections in the UK to use up the unwanted stock, plus prove the wisdom of our decisions. And Scientists and Experts ™ have proven that Vulnerable People ™ who cross the Channel are incapable of being infected by or spreading disease. So there”.

         22 likes

  21. tomo says:

    Anybody seen a mention of “charger hell” on the BBC?

       30 likes

    • tomo says:

      Ah.. it’s a taste of the future…

      makes sense now

         1 likes

  22. Philip_2 says:

    And the BBC were so keen on COVID lockdowns, you have to wonder how that could happen again and why the BBC are stil encouraging another every Winter and most of the Summer.

    Well, we have the answer today

    China’s Covid nightmare is the final proof: lockdowns were a total failure
    – By Matt Ridley (Telegraph today)

    (edited)
    “Until 2020, lockdowns were never part of the plan to control pandemics. The reason they happened was twofold. The internet for the first time allowed economies to limp along, at least for the middle class, while locked down. And an inordinately gullible admiration for China had spread within academia and the World Health Organisation.

    Richard Horton, the editor of The Lancet, wrote in 2017 that, after Xi Jinping had stated that Marxism is to be the foundation for a healthy China, “medicine has a great deal to learn from Marx”. This was shortly after receiving a Friendship Award from the Chinese government. “China has a socialist, collective system (whatever criticisms people may have),” tweeted Susan Michie, now a senior adviser to the World Health Organisation, “not an individualistic, consumer-oriented, profit-driven society badly damaged by 20 years of failed neoliberal economic policies. #LearntLessons.”

    “I am convinced that we have a unique opportunity to entrench a new idea of ​​the Left,” wrote Roberto Speranza, the health minister in Italy, about the decision to implement a national lockdown. “It’s a communist one party state, we said. We couldn’t get away with it in Europe, we thought … And then Italy did it. And we realised we could,” said Professor Lockdown himself, Neil Ferguson of Imperial”.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/12/28/chinas-covid-nightmare-final-proof-lockdowns-total-failure/

    The BBC were ONLY following orders! (of course they still are and that’s the worry). Any chance to impose Marxism and the BBC are like ferrets.

       20 likes

    • Philip_2 says:

      Addendum: (DT letters confirming COVID leak was ‘deliberate’)

      “Rand Paul in the US Senate established that the virus was created via gain of function research in the wuhan laboratory which was funded by Fauci and the NIH. It was then ‘leaked’.
      So the BBC did know it was all false.

         21 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      The Chinese virus was Definately a ‘world changer ‘- the degree to which populations could be made to comply to social control like lock downs had never been tested in real life – apart from -say – full on wartime conditions .

      But there was a real enemy – a virus – which was a threat to life ( or so we were / are told ) .

      The interconnection of different states also didn’t help – if one state was locking down – then the political / medical pressure to do the same was irresistible – particularly with the MSM pushing grieving next of kin .

      The longer term consequences of the demonstration that the population could be made to conform – are unknown – and pretty sinister – in my opinion .

      The state just needs a demon to frighten us – a bit of moral blackmail – about – say they’re blessed NHS – and they can demand and get what they want . .

      The population put absolute faith in the directions of the State – based on fear – with associated bribes of furlough et al – whether thar can be pulled off the next time might not be so ‘easy ‘ – recalling that the main messenger was Johnson – for whom – at the time – people had regard …

         24 likes

    • digg says:

      The Marxist Globalists realised that all they needed was to get the Media, The Police, and a selective bunch of pseudo scientists signed up and they were able to control the Government into draconian measures and thus pull off the biggest push in advancing the cause of Marxism the West has ever experienced.

      This was never a health emergency, it was an outright totalitarian power grab.

         6 likes

  23. Up2snuff says:

    The BBC propaganda is endless for anti-Brexit and pro-Global Warming and Climate Change.

    – Last night, BBC R4 The World Tonight: Al Saki Bookshop is closing and Brexit is to blame. Arabs don’t come to London any more, they prefer European countries. We may have dodged something there. Razia Iqbal asks “Has Brexit affected your business, do yousell many books to Europe?” Well, people have to be prepared to pay the taxes and postage” came the reply. To my knowledge books are tax exempt – could be wrong on that.

    This morning Framing Today the Narrative of Climate Change. A gentleman from Antigua has immigrated into the UK and is growing food with his English partner in Dorset. Global Warming and Climate Change is mentioned frequently. It was a relief to get to the Eleventh Day of Christmas ‘Tweet of the Day’ with Alison Steadman.

    Thank you BBC for bookending my day with your propaganda.

       25 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      Avoid

         9 likes

      • Up2snuff says:

        Fed, I like the current ‘bed at booktime’ so that is why I caught a lughole full of BBC anti-Brexit and I like Tweet of the Day so inevitably I get a bit of BBC Framing The Propaganda Today. I actually listened to a chunk of Toady, as well, as it was Edguested by someone interesting, the boss of GCHQ. Phew! That Avril Haines woman talks a lot.

        If I don’t listen to BBC R4 I wouldn’t be able to post here. And if I didn’t listen to R4 you would have to. Just think what I have saved you from. 🙂

           15 likes

        • Fedup2 says:

          Up2 – I understand – I used to ‘do ‘ farming today but it is as depressing as that food programme I also no longer listen to . The BBC just loves the misery and the approved messages ….
          I see their book of the week is by a deceased approved author . I fell for the spin and got the big boom she did – yet another Henry 8 – but her writing is so bad I’d gone after 5 pages ….

          Im sorry hostile to the output that finding anything without the approved message is rare … although they do repeat Jeeves from another age …..

          … I take it the chippy coloured gal from hackney – so loved by the palace – has a guest spot on Today before she gets her New Year MBE – or they give her a peerage to give dot Lawrence a bit of company ….

          As for Today on Friday – another one to swerve – unless you wanna hear wall to wall dead coloured Brazilian footy player ….

             16 likes

  24. BRISSLES says:

    ‘Arabs don’t come to London anymore, they prefer European countries’. Pity the rest of the world dont’ either.

       31 likes

    • Zephir says:

      If the above bbc statement is true, the more important issue is :

      What were bbc moron kidults doing while everyone else was studying physical geography at school ?

      And why are non-educated thick as sh@t bbc kidults allowed to lecture us ?

      Or do the bbc muzzies regard the UK as part of Asia now ?

         12 likes

  25. Eddy Booth says:

    “Goblin mode, permacrisis, gaslighting: What’s your word of the year”
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-63910433

    Err. maybe :
    Vaxicuted = basically “died suddenly” after jabbing.
    Vaxcident = Post-vaccine accident on roadways etc, caused by mini-strokes, blood clots etc

    exutd-I07-Ym7-F.jpg

       33 likes

  26. Docmarooned says:

    Unbelievable! Not content with inflicting the nation with the unmitigated garbage Mrs Browns boys the other day they now have the cheek to repeat it tonight.

       22 likes

  27. Sluff says:

    Our wonderful world class NHS has done it again.
    It would be hilarious if it were not so serious.
    Will there be any accountability? Of course not.
    Shall we clap?

    ‘Doncaster surgery sends cancer text instead of festive message’
    ‘ A GP surgery accidentally told patients they had aggressive lung cancer instead of wishing them a merry Christmas.’
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-64116668

    Truly appalling and pretty devastating for the recipients.
    But hey, it’s a nationalised industry that can do no wrong so who gives a fig for the pleb public that pays for it all ?

       25 likes

  28. tomo says:

    A quick internet search shows me that “racism” is a public health crisis too as far as some insane people are concerned.

    No doubt this theme will permeate some BBC coverage of the world as 2023 continues…

       7 likes

  29. TrickCyclist says:

    Oh dear, I’m awake in the wee hours, what we might call “The maxincony shift.”
    I just ran the Pixel Refresher on my telly (I wouldn’t buy an OLED again; they suffer from screen burn) and it came back on to BBC News.
    They were going on about what Pele’s legacy meant to black Brazilians/race relations in Brazil – just as they were in the three or four times I glanced at the channel earlier in the evening.
    I found myself pointlessly saying aloud, “Oh FFS! Give it a ****ing rest!”
    But we all know that they never will.

       27 likes

    • Zelazek says:

      Heavy rain is noisily sweeping through Caledonia tonight and I too find myself awake during the maxincony shift.

      Not BBC but did anyone watch C4’s Prince Andrew The Musical? I had hoped this crazy idea might work. But I just didn’t find it very funny. Nor were the songs memorable apart from one melody but that was only because it reminded me of a song by Pete Atkin, the guy who provided the music for Clive James’s songs.

      Some drag artist played Margaret Thatcher, some black Zimbabwean Prince Charles. Don’t know if I was supposed to find this outrageous or not notice.the casting.

      I think I found the whole thing strangely predictable.

         15 likes

  30. Zephir says:

    One for the bbc ? fat chance

    “Why Britain’s electric dream is driving so many of us to distraction: As Tesla owners are forced to queue for hours to charge their cars, one disillusioned motorist who’s just faced a nightmare Christmas journey reveals how.”

    A range of around less than 100 miles in the cold………and 45 minutes to charge, with many chargers not working.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11583677/Why-Britains-electric-dream-driving-distraction-One-motorist-reveals-how.html

    The best comment on this story:

    “Get one with a tow bar. Tow a 75KVA diesel generator on a trailer. You could go for days with that. Problem solved”

       22 likes

  31. taffman says:

    “National Archives: Tony Blair said Putin should be on ‘top table’ “

    One for maxincony.? By the way where is he/she? Has he been banned or realised that his / her efforts are counter productive to the woke broadcaster?

       16 likes

  32. taffman says:

    As the weather improves with the approach of spring and summer, one wonders what plans do our Consocalist government have to defend our borders from invading criminals ? The people of Great Britain have had enough of huff, puff and bluster !
    Take note Conservative MPs , because your jobs are on the line.

       25 likes

  33. Guest Who says:

    Unit 73… W1A.

    My word of the year is ‘misinformation’.

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/12/29/bbcs-fake-worst-drought-in-china-claim/

    No reason.

    China is of course where fake Xmas trees are made, so look out world.

    https://www.enn.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=71740:climate-change-contributing-to-real-christmas-tree-shortage&catid=8:news

       7 likes

  34. Fedup2 says:

    From the DT – enjoy

    STARTS
    The BBC is “warping modern Britain” by allowing a Left-wing, politically correct bias to infuse the storylines of drama series, a new report has said.

    Some shows are described as being close to outright propaganda because of their criticisms of Brexit, the police, capitalism, the nuclear deterrent and government agencies.

    The Campaign for Common Sense reviewed more than a year’s output of BBC drama and found that the corporation was presenting a version of the UK that few viewers would recognise.

    As well as lecturing viewers on topics including climate change, the BBC indulges in its own form of social engineering by over-representing minorities, the report suggested.

    One former culture secretary said the corporation was at risk of alienating viewers by “retreating into some minute view of the world” that bore no relation to the experience of licence fee payers.

    It comes after a separate report accused the broadcaster of “rewriting history” by using documentaries to promote a woke agenda.

    The BBC is currently the subject of a mid-term review of its royal charter, ordered by former culture secretary Nadine Dorries, who warned that reforms might be needed to help it achieve greater impartiality.

    In October last year Tim Davie, the BBC director-general, launched a 10-point plan to improve impartiality, promising that the BBC would regularly review its output to make sure shows are reflecting a range of viewpoints.

    The report by the Campaign for Common Sense argued that Mr Davie still has a long way to go to make good on his promise.

    Among the series examined in the report is Vigil, a detective drama set on board a Trident-armed submarine in which a Russian spy infiltrates the crew.

    The Government and the security services cover up major incidents, and one anti-nuclear campaigner declares: “There’s no way our Government can claim that these weapons are safe and secure. It’s time to get the nukes out of Scotland.”

    Feargal Dalton – a councillor for the SNP who is a supporter of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, despite serving on a Trident submarine during a career in the Royal Navy – acted as the drama’s senior script consultant. He has in the past described nuclear weapons as “despicable”.

    In an episode of EastEnders, Brexit is likened to Covid by the character Sharon Watts, who throws a glass of water in someone’s face and says: “We’ve had Brexit and Covid, we don’t need you here.”

    Conspiracy thriller The Trick pits heroic climate change scientists against climate sceptics, oil producers and the centre-Right. It features a monologue warning that humanity has “around 10” years to prevent climate collapse and endorsing the efforts of climate activists who “understand what needs to be done”.

    Meanwhile Liverpool-based police drama The Responder, starring Martin Freeman, features a cast in which almost half of the police characters are black or Asian – despite the fact that Merseyside Police has just 0.5 per cent black officers and 0.4 per cent Asian officers.

    Other dramas highlighted in the report include Rules of the Game, The Capture, Industry and Sherwood.

    John Whittingdale, the former culture secretary, said: “There is a widespread problem, which includes drama, of highly political statements being made on BBC programmes which would be instantly regarded as unacceptable if they were made in news or current affairs programmes.

    “Day after day it is a drip-drip, and in some ways it is more insidious than the effect that biased news coverage would have, because it is never questioned, people just accept it.

    “The consolation for viewers is that there is now a large variety of drama available from other sources such as streaming services, but the BBC needs to be careful to maintain its broad appeal, because the more it retreats into some minute view of the world, the less relevant it will be to viewers.”

    The Campaign for Common Sense, which champions free speech and tolerance, was founded by Mark Lehain, who went on to become an adviser to Nadhim Zahawi when he was education secretary.

    A spokesman for the Campaign for Common Sense said: “Too often in BBC dramas you can see only one side of an argument presented. And it’s usually the side of a liberal, Left-wing, woke viewpoint that has more in common with the echo chambers of Twitter than the majority of licence fee payers who are forced to fund the BBC’s output.

    “The BBC needs to understand that not everyone signs up to a world view where the bad guys are the police, Brexit, and Conservatives.”

    A BBC spokesman said: “The BBC’s world-class, critically-acclaimed dramas are enjoyed by huge audiences, year in year out. We work with the very best creative talent who represent all corners of the UK and reflect different views and perspectives, while also providing brilliant entertainment and escapism.

    “Cherry-picking a handful of examples in thousands of hours of output does not constitute analysis and is not a true representation of BBC content.”

    Commentary: BBC must rise above the banal, dreary politics of woke

    By Gareth Roberts, former BBC scriptwriter

    The Campaign for Common Sense report on BBC drama makes for grim reading – just as the grindingly miserable shows it reports on made even grimmer viewing.

    It provides receipts to prove that the BBC has transformed from broadcaster to an HR department that happens to have some channels attached – less an auntie, more of a scolding polytechnic lecturer.

    It is amusing to see the sheer volume of this stuff catalogued so meticulously – every sneery reference to Brexit, every cliched denunciation of British tradition, every painful shoehorning-in of the banal, dreary politics of woke. I know woke as a word to describe this has become low-status and déclassé, but we have as yet no alternative for the ideology that ate liberalism.

    There is no fragility or sensitivity in these shows, which are aggressive and full-throated. The section on EastEnders comes as light relief, and that should tell us all something.

    The modern world is often terrible, and police (The Responder) and clergymen (Inside Man) are often awful in real life, so depicting them as such in those shows can hardly be considered misleading. If you squinted very hard you might even think those two shows, both much smarter and better than the rest covered here, could be seen as a conservative critique of institutional decay.ENDS

    I find it strange that the DT can separate ‘woke’ from the BBC . To me the BBC is woke . There can be no separation .

    I’ve often said here that the methods the BBC uses to groom its audiences is that of Jo `Goebells – when ensured every aspect of national life was infected with the message . The BBC is just the same – equally evil .

       27 likes

    • Sluff says:

      Fedup2
      You could have saved yourself the trouble of the long post by just referencing Call the Midwife. Which we saw last night through increasingly gritted teeth and pretty much contained all of the above. In fact we started playing woke bingo.
      Squalid housing. Tick.
      Uncaring private landlords. Tick.
      Black single pregnant woman. Tick (are we allowed to say woman these days?)
      Rich person turning all charitable at Christmas. Tick.
      Nuns working for a cause not for money. Tick.
      Pregnant Asian woman who speaks no English. Tick.
      Black nurse. Tick.
      Character with Downs Syndrome. Tick.

      The only missing plot line was the bourgeoisie Dr Turner with his nice house, car, and kids. Surely he should have been put up against a wall and shot by the BBC’s Marxist revolutionary heroes?

         21 likes

      • Fedup2 says:

        Sluff – I like to cut and paste relevant pieces ( from the telegraph ) to show that there are others monitoring the BBC .
        I’ve never seen the midwife show – but I bet it’s popular with the various current maternity staff – particularly Telford – where the recent report on avoidable baby deaths – showed that lessons are seldom learned .

        I don’t know if the abortion ‘clinic’ is next to the maternity unit ….

           13 likes

      • Dickie says:

        ….and it was snowing. Bloody climate change.

           9 likes

    • JohnC says:

      I’m watching the latest series of ‘Shetland’ which was absolutely excellent before it went woke.

      I’ve noticed how the agenda-programming has changed. These days, they start off without it then gradually introduce it once you have watched a couple of episodes and are likely to keep watching.

      A general rule now is that if you glimpse any black people in the first episode, they will most certainly become main characters in the plot later. In episode 3 of Shetland, the two main black men we saw earlier turn out to be a wildlife photographer and an artist and – as usual – both are under suspicion by racist whitey. Of course both will be innocent in the end – and one will likely be instrumental in catching the whitey who did it.

      As well as this, the ‘new starter’ woman (who got raped by a whitey) from the first series is now Perez’s second in command and is now confidently barking out orders to the rest of the pale-and-stale in the office.

      Not sure how bad it will get from here or if I will manage to finish it – but there’s no wonder Douglas Henshall has quit.

      And it will be no surprise to anyone that the BBC are replacing him with a woman. He has been the only thing holding it together.

      And then when it all turns to complete shit, the BBC will respond by replacing her with a black man. Just like Dr Who.

      Another excellent program ruined by the BBC hijacking it as a vehicle for their social enginering agenda.

         19 likes

  35. Guest Who says:

    Charlie has lovely hair.

       4 likes

  36. Zephir says:

    RE Taffman:

    ““2022 will be warmest year ever for UK, Met Office says (BBC)”
    “EVER” !
    Do they have records going back to the beginning of time, ie Genesis?
    Or just propaganda & fear ,fear, fear”

    For the uneducated bbc morons: (From the Met Office)

    “The Central England Temperature (CET) series is the remarkable achievement of the scientist Gordon Manley. In the mid 20th Century Gordon Manley undertook painstaking research to uncover old weather records and diaries stretching back to the mid 17th Century and from these created the Central England Temperature series, providing an estimate of the monthly mean temperature of a region broadly representative of central England.

    This work was continued by the Met Office to maintain a Central England Temperature record to this day, providing monthly mean temperature from 1659, daily mean temperatures from 1772, and separate maximum and minimum temperatures from 1878. The different start dates reflect the historical availability of the different types of observations.

    The current CET series is, for historical consistency, comprised of observations from just three weather stations, forming a triangle encompassing roughly Lancashire, London and Bristol.

    a simple average is not the best way to estimate the national record. Instead we take a slightly more sophisticated approach. All available observations from a given date or month are interpolated to a uniform grid of points 5km by 5km covering all land areas of the UK. This gridding method also accounts for factors such as terrain height (mountain tops are cooler on average than lowlands), coasts (the sea can keep coastal areas cooler by day and warmer by night), and cities (the urban heat island effect means large cities are warmer than their rural surroundings). An average value is then calculated from the resulting grid of points. This approach provides the best estimate we have of national records.

    There are currently sufficient temperature data on our computer archives for this gridding method back to 1910, providing over 100 years of national records for the UK, Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.”

    https://blog.metoffice.gov.uk/2018/06/07/met-office-temperature-records-what-do-we-monitor-and-how-far-do-they-go-back/

       13 likes

  37. Guest Who says:

    The peroxide victim is in love.

       9 likes

  38. Guest Who says:

    Ian and Paul know what they are getting next year?

       2 likes

  39. Fedup2 says:

    BBC loves death – today they’ve got x2 – a foreign footballer and a fashion designer – a golden opportunity to broadcast a bit of approved propaganda .

    The former pope is dying … but when he goes to a better place methinks the reports will not be as quite effusive about him as they are about entertainers … indeed The opportunity to give Christianity – Roman Catholicism – a kicking – will be irresistible .

       19 likes

    • Zephir says:

      Pope doesn’t have 7 children and three wives so not many people to say

      “family man”

      “lit up the room when he entered”

      “promising footballer”

      etc etc

         14 likes

    • Guest Who says:

      Maybe the bbc can resurrect them for Easter?

         6 likes

  40. Up2snuff says:

    TOADY Watch #1 – Bjorn Ulvaeus reads six newspapers a day

    The BBC on TOADY therefore completely miss out the newspaper review at 6.40/6.45 a.m. and then again at 7.40/7.45 a.m., perhaps because the Bee Lady is too busy swooning over Bjorn in the studio. This morning’s programme is notable for having Sir Andrew Pollard a scientist effectively admit on air that he does not look at data. Amazing!

    “We know that Covid travel restrictions don’t work.” (Discussion is over testing travellers from China) Ahem! Cough. Splutter! Sir Andrew, please look at the data from Johns Hopkins University. Which nations had the least infections and the least deaths from Covid? Oh, the island nations, except our own. Now, Sir Andrew, put one and two together. What do you have?

    I do despair over the state of our nation and its scientists and politicians. Pathetic, Sir Andrew, pathetic.

       17 likes

  41. Zephir says:

    Katie Hopkins vs the bbc

    F2 alluded to this and thought it is worth posting for all to see biased bbc snakes in action.

    Note the biased questions from the bbc snake starting with “but” and asking the same loaded questions just reframed…

       21 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      Zephir – thank you – listening to this at x2 equally shows how the BBC type – of very limited ability – just reads from a clip board – desperate for the comment to get Katie cancelled ….

      Katie is back on twitter but also is Grahame linehan – who – you’ll know – co wrote father Ted but got cancelled for saying men and men and women are women …..

         17 likes

      • Zephir says:

        Ahhh Father Ted, time to pull out the DVD I have somewhere.

        I remember the car as their lottery prize that had a small dent in it they attempted to knock out, cue a few hours later….

           9 likes

    • Guest Who says:

      God that Beebette starts every sentence with ‘But…’ and as noted is trying to drag it to Beebgenda. What a sorry excuse for a human, much less a ‘reporter’.

         3 likes

      • Zephir says:

        Sorry I can’t resist:

           6 likes

        • JohnC says:

          lol – for some reason you reminded me of Laurel and Hardy where their car regularly fell to pieces.

          If anyone can watch this without so much as a titter, you must be maxi or one of the other humourless Lefties who lurk on this site because they love to hate.

          My favourites is at the 2:00 mark ..

             9 likes

  42. Fedup2 says:

    Today
    Bloody abba – so the BBC queer angle is fully explored by the BBC – as inevitable at the Eurovision Song thing …. the abba bloke must love it because of more cash .

    I have personal reasons for ‘dissing’ ABBA . When I was about 16 me and some mates who hide in the RE room after school and try to be the new `Lennon and McCartney ‘on the school Joanna – we’d try to compose but it just morphed into bloody ABBA songs ….

       4 likes

    • Zephir says:

      Regarding Waterloo:

      What do you get if you throw a grenade into Napoleon’s kitchen?

      Linoleum Blownapart

         13 likes

  43. Foscari says:

    Pele was a great footballer , one of the best. I expect that
    the BBC are going to treat his death in the same reverence
    as that of Queen Elizabeth.

       16 likes

  44. AsISeeIt says:

    Tributes, obits, record breakers but no magic wand edition

    Wherein we sadly fail to spot the wood for the trees

    On a day when football mourns the passing of probably its greatest star and most famous Brazilian… and viagra salesman to boot – Pele…

    Ooops there’s two AI auto moderation sensitive words in one sentence – Brazilian… and viagra

    The Brazilian… and viagraDaily Express declares: ‘No magic wand’ for pay rises

    One notices how our liberal culture has inducted Pele up into the hallowed halls of that arena it tends to term Black History

    World hails ‘devine’ genius who made football beautiful (Daily Mirror) – thereafter football was not just a few grubby white blokes kicking a ball around?

    All major national titles follow suit. We approve the honest sub-caption on the cover of the ‘i’ newspaper: Obituary and picture special inside – but cringe at the cliché-laden main teaser headline: Tributes to a magician

    The Sun allows our favourite crisps salesman and BBC millionaire in on the act: Lineker, Mbappe lead tributes

    The Daily Star is fairly frank and factual: Pele, greatest footballer of all time, dies at 82

    The FT even accents his (nick) name: Farewell Pelé

    Journos were not always quite as respectful: Pele: ‘I might have lost scoring record – but I’ll always have Viagra’ You’d think Pele would rise above it. Heh. (Steve Mitchell, writing 2 years ago for Paddy Power News ‘Winging it since 1988’)

    The Brazilian icon is understood to be fuming with the amount of piss-taking that goes on regarding his goal tally… when he became the first player to (allegedly) score 1000 goals, a good majority of those were bagged in non-descript friendlies and practice matches, with the Brazilian also claiming his solo effort in the movie Escape to Victory as an addition to the total.

    Annoyed at mention of the better authenticated goal record of his Portugese rival Ronaldo the Brazilian rose to the bait, so to speak:  “Can he claim to have been Japan’s first ambassador for erectile dysfunction? I can… Don’t talk to me about image rights, I was the face of Atari video consoles before this joker was even born.”

    Corporate endorsement contracts with Pfizer and Atari aside, the issue of environmental concerns came up. While Pele opined Ronaldo ought to be: “ashamed of himself for having a different car and jet, for every day of the week,”… the sandals he was wearing are made out of recycled tyres. “I was brand ambassador for these back in 2008, they gave me two thousand pairs of the bloody things. I got some mates to knock them out on Copacabana Beach, but I’ve still got around 1000 left. D’you want a pair?”

    Which I think just goes to show, as if the recent desert petro dollar oasis, gay rights, taking the knee World Cup didn’t make it obvious, that it’s about much more than just the football.

    The FT notices: Central banks’ gold rush pushes prices higher… particularly China and Russia rush to buy

    Whilst closer to home the Telegraph predicts: Biggest income drop for 100 years in 2023

     And the Daily Mail reports locally: Families’ growing moutain of debt… with tax burden highest since war average household now owes £16,200

    There is an outlying theory that debt-laden western governments are reaching the point where they will have to scrap their old debased currencies and instead switch to a new state digital format ie Central bank digital currency

    We’re considering a CBDC for the UK because there are more ways to pay for things than there used to be. More and more, people are choosing to pay electronically rather than use notes and coins… Many other countries (and groups of countries) are exploring the idea of a CBDC. They include the USA, China and the EU. (Bank of England)

    But we pay for stuff electronically online already. So what is the point of this new digital version of the pound sterling? Just trust us on this one: The Bank of England or the Government would not be able to program your money or restrict how you spent it. (Bank of England)

    Speaking of the dangers of new tech… to quote one of Barrack Obama’s favourite phrases – this could be teachable moment…

    Teachers urge Government to intervene over AI essay ”chatbot’… that can write convincing essays will lead to mass cheating on homework and exam coursework (Telegraph) – Please Sir! Why don’t you simply go back to setting exams under exam conditions – no electronic devices allowed?

    We’re getting decidedly mixed messages in the media about curbs on the latest spread of covid from China: Ministers resist Covid curbs on Chinese coming to Britain (Telegraph) – that makes one nostalgic for early 2020, eh?

    The coronaphobic ‘i’ is on the Chinese case: UK to ramp up analysis of Covid tests of Chinese arrivals. Exclusive Labs to prioritise checks for new varients

    The globalist FT remains equivocal: Entry terms for Chinese visitors under review

    I guess there’s no magic wand to keep out covid infections

    And finally (-ish), in the spirit of former BBC children’s TV favourite Record Breakers, as presented by Roy Castle and the McWhirter brothers, Ross and Norris (before the IRA shot the former twin) we bring you…

    If you’re the tallest, the smallest, if you beat them all,
    If you’re the fattest, the thinnest, if you always win,
    If you’re the fastest, the slowest, if you really go,
    Then you’re a record breaker, a record maker,
    you’re a Record Breaker!

    There’s one for the teenagers.

    We’ve already heard from our frontrunner leading contender: 2022 provisionally warmest year on record for UK (Met Office) – Provisionally? Seems just like curbs on Chinese arrivals in the UK the jury is still out on that one. I’m guessing the Met Office will green light it soon enough. Possibly they’ll wait for the impending cold spell to pass so it sounds more convincing.

    Our BBC are busy doing the ground work for the doom mongers: Almost 25,000 wildfires fought in England during summer – wildfires… so much more scary than those former grass fires.

    In the meantime we’ll go with: Netanyahu returns as PM… for a sixth term as Israel’s premier, with his coalition described as the most rightwing in the country’s history (FT)

    So he’s a Record Breaker! Apparently there’s no need for any of those provisional provisos like what policies he may bring in.

       18 likes

    • Up2snuff says:

      AISI, have the Guardian ceased publication of their print edition? Are they another example of ‘go woke, go broke’?

         11 likes

      • AsISeeIt says:

        Interesting observation. The Guardian conspicuous by its absence from the BBC newspaper line up this morning. I hear there’s a form of time deadline for inclusion. I’m guessing Guardian staff work/life balance issues may be the problem. Maybe you can’t send your frontpage to the Beeb if you’re WFH

        Online as top story they go with: Dame Vivienne Westwood: fashion designer dies aged 81 – as if we couldn’t have guessed.

           12 likes

  45. Flotsam says:

    NHS (Liverpool)
    Due to an accident in an outdoor sport event a couple of days ago, a friend of mine badly dislocated his shoulder. An ambulance was asked for…….seven and a half hours wait!
    We opted to drive him in ourselves…..the A&E wait…..On the board a fourteen hours wait!
    However our man was in such a degree of pain that he couldn’t be left and was sorted in an hour or two including two x-rays.
    It leaves me wondering what would have happened if we didn’t have people and transport.

       19 likes

  46. Althepalerp says:

    From the Irish Times. Nowhere on the BBC . . . .
    Gerry Adams told Irish officials he would not have stopped Canary Wharf bomb
    IRA spectacularly ended its ceasefire in February 1996 with a massive explosion in London’s financial district

       15 likes

  47. StewGreen says:

    The thruth about about creepy man Andrew Tate being arrested will come out over time
    (24 hours after he had a high profile spat with Greta Thunberg the PR machine)
    but interesting how “impartial” journos jump in

       7 likes

    • StewGreen says:

      BTW the viral idea that Tate was traced by a pizza box is strange
      Tate lives in Romania he has a house there. AFAIK he wan’t on the run.
      Even a lefty in a long fact check calls it bunk
      https://www.calmdownben.com/p/romanian-cops-did-not-find-andrew

      BTW truth is difficult on this case.
      eg people tweet that he was released and then appeared on Tucker’s show
      but that is fake new, cos that was all about a previous arrest in August.

         4 likes

      • Up2snuff says:

        TWatO Watch #1 – did I really hear Jonny say that?

        Jonny Dymond is caretaking TWatO this week as the Montacutie is having another of her hols. At least it wasn’t NaughtyNaughtie in charge although it might as well have been. I thought I heard Jonny say that Andrew Tate advocated violence against women by men. In the vox pop clip of Andrew Tate himself talking, either in interview or on his on-line ‘show’, Andrew Tate advocates the exact opposite and says that men should come to the defence of women when, presumably, they are being attacked by other men or women.

        Jonny Dymond misrepresenting someone on air? Wouldn’t be the first time. He has form on that.

           7 likes

    • StewGreen says:

      Oh Helen Lewis also calls the pizza box story fake
      Unusual cos shes a kind of beeboid a freelancer that is paid by the BBC to present shows
      Her long thread
      https://twitter.com/helenlewis/status/1608766423756832771

      libmob think the story is great hubris
      so they so want it to be true, so it is true to them.

      Oh at 10:30am Andrew Tate’s official account just tweeted
      “The Matrix sent their agents.”
      It hadn’t tweeted for the previous 36 hours

         6 likes

      • StewGreen says:

        Oh BBC news tweeted that he was arrested at “what appears to be his villa in Bucharest”

           2 likes

    • Guest Who says:

      Mr. Tate seems like a prize tool.

      Dan Walker is no journalist.

      Dan Walker was never impartial.

      Dan Walker is an even bigger tool than Mr. Tate.

      Since he lost the BBC gig he has been desperate for the spotlight in luvviedom and leaps on any saddo story like this going.

      Hope that clears things up.

         9 likes

  48. StewGreen says:

    I flicked onto Radio4 for a moment and got Clive Myrie telling us Jazz is all about protesting racism
    It’s a repeat from 2 months ago “Jazz and protest The Truth about Jazz”

       12 likes

  49. StewGreen says:

    First they do big stories about factories closing
    Then their anti-Brexit mates clap like seals

    Then today BBC Local news run a story saying ‘it looks like someone has bought the factory as an ongoing thing’
    It’s tentative and to be confirmed in February

    “Iceland Seafood has today signed a letter of intent with a respected industry player to sell the majority share in its subsidiary Iceland Seafood UK Ltd. “Grimsby factory

       9 likes