Author Archives: David Vance

SUNDAY MORNING LIVE

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Well, the big question the BBC asks this morning via the pouting Suzanne Reid on Sunday Morning Live is..”Should the age of consent be lowered to 14″? Peter Tatchell was on to pontificate on this subject, hardly appropriate for a Sunday morning but the BBC seem to get excited about it.

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MANDELA WORSHIP…AN ONGOING SERIES

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Whilst figures such as Lady Thatcher and Ronald Reagan have always attracted BBC opprobrium, Nelson Mandela has been one of their heroes, beyond criticism, a knight in shining armour. Did you catch this latest gushing tribute to the elderly Marxist? It’s not that I think it fair enough to discuss Mandela but the sort of starry-eyed hero worship continually served up by the BBC does not provide the full story. It might not suit the BBC but perhaps there are other aspects to his life that merit consideration so we get a balanced view of this man? 

 

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OBAMALOVE…

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Have a giggle as we enter the weekend by reading Mark Mardell’s latest love poem to Obama.

It strikes me yet again that poorer black Americans have infinitely more patience than those who are new to economic hardship, (Mmm……is he trying to say w-h-i-t-es?) and they don’t expect change to happen overnight. But they, too, await results. There is little doubt that Mr Obama’s image is not all it was when he was elected. What is fascinating to watch is how much the upcoming elections force him to become another sort of president still – either more accommodating or more political and tactical.

Waugh, it’s all so unfair. How’s that hopeychangey thing workin’ out for you, Mark?

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MISREPRESENTING AS ALWAYS!

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I bring you this via the Libertarian Bulldog…

“The BBC has made available on its website a 54 minute recording of the discussion in Parliament about the quangos situation. The page is headlined:

Quango reform will cost jobs, warns Maude

No, really? Wow, who would have thought it.

I’m not watching the entire discussion so cannot say whether Frances Maude did or did not make such a warning. What I’m pretty sure of though is that he probably said something more interesting in his speech than the obvious. In fact the article quotes him saying:

For too long we have had quango pay spiralling out of control so that seven people in the Audit Commission are paid over £150,000 a year at a time when the average civil servant’s pay is £23,000.

Would it be too cynical to suggest that the publicly funded BBC didn’t want to bring too much attention to the positive sides of cutting government spending on non-government jobs?”

No, not cynical. 100% accurate

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FISHY BUSINESS

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Anyone catch the easy ride afforded to Nicola Sturgeon during this interview on the BBC? Note how Evan Davies gets lippy to start with, is given a verbal slap by the not so lovely Nicola, and then allows her to trot out one economic inanity after another without serious challenge. SNP delusionalism is given free vent without so much as a demur murmur.

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MINING THE BIAS….

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I’ve had several emails on the subject of BBC bias by omission concerning their coverage of the Chilean miners reascue. In essence, it comes down to one thing – a visceral BBC loathing of admitting the formidable contribution the US has made in bringing the trapped men out. Biased BBC contributor Jon Hunt spells it out in clear terms…

“Thereal heroes are American, not that you would know that fromany British news organisation (and we’re supposed to be America’s greatestally).  For example, the company whom the Chilean government contactedto rescue the miners is a certain Chilean-U.S. outfit called Geotec Boyles Bros. SA .  Theyimmediately contacted associate company LayneChristensen of Pennsylvania.

Itwas Layne Christensen who provided:

a)the mobile drilling rig built by a fellow Pennsylvanian company by the name of Schramm Inc. 

b) thespecial drill bits, manufactured by fellow Pennsylvanian company CenterRock

c) the drillersJeffHart and Matt Staffel – the real heroes of the operation, whom they flew infrom Afghanistan

Withoutthese guys and their specialist equipment the miners would still be down theretoday.

 So,how did the UK media cover this amazing side of the story – how the rescuedepended almost entirely on American equipment and personnel?

 AGoogle news search shows that JeffHart & Matt Staffel’s joint roles are widely reported throughout theU.S., South America, Germany, and Spain – but not by any UKnews organisation. 

 Overthe last month alone the BBC has produced ajaw-dropping 130,000 web pages reporting the Chilean mine rescue.  Andyet, theonly one that reports Jeff Hart’s pivotal role appears in theCorporation’s Spanish-language site – suggesting that the BBC’sSpanish staff are not as imbued with the same anti-Americanism as itsGuardianista UK staff – while there is no mention anywhere of Jeff Hart’scolleague Matt Staffel. 

Norhas the BBC reported the role of the U.S. companies involved:  Searchesfor LayneChristensen and CenterRock turn up zilch. 

Asearch for Schrammthrows up several reports which name it as the manufacturer of thedrilling rig, but only one mentions that it is a U.S. company. Meanwhile, a search for GeotecBoyles, to whom Layne Christensen reported, also produces nothing, but asearch for Geotec producesa BBC bulletin describing the company as “Chilean” andimplying accordingly that it was Chileans who were the key personnelinvolved in the rescue.  The BBC reports:

MrButtazzoni, the head of the Chilean mining company Geotec, said his drill hadalready cut through 464m (1,500ft) of rock. He said his team expected to breakthrough to the area where the miners are sheltering in 3-4 days.

– acomplete and utter mis-portrayal through omission.”

In the BBC world-view, American corporations are always evil so best ensure they get NO credit even when they help save lives.

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THE AXEING OF THE QUANGOS

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Listen to this interview by Sarah Montague and in particular focus on her tone when she engages with Conservative Francis Maude. The glacial edge is so obvious, hostility barely disguised when she gets going. I can’t understand why the Conservatives indulge the BBC, treating it as some sort of benign national treasurer when in fact it is an international malignancy.  

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SAY FAIRNESS, THINK WELFARE.

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It’s the big issue of the day. Well, it is the BBC big issue of the day. Are immigrants “drawn” to Britain because it is a fair society? Do they think they will be treated fairly, investigates John Humphrys. Mmm – I suppose if one translates “fairness” as meaning instant access to welfare largesse and an acceptance that assimilation is not required, then there’s not a fairer country in the world?

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