THE DETROIT SPINNERS

I was interested in this BBC report hailing The One’s advice to the bailed out US car-maker’s not to “squander this chance to reform bad management practices”. Well, I fully agree that bad management practises SHOULD indeed be reformed, but how about not squandering this chance to reform extortionate and unaffordable trade union practises, as in those that lie so close to the heart of the UAW and which has made such a devastatingg contribution to the Detroit car manufacturing industry? Why is that Justin Webb sees no reason to ponder on the one-sided nature of the statement made by Obama? Is this the start of what we will now experience for years to come – with the BBC just pliantly going along with the Obama PR machine, just as it has been going along with the Labour PR machine for well over a decade here in the UK?

ANY QUESTIONS UPDATE.

So I didn’t get to hear this when it was broadcast last night but unfortunately I did catch the repeat earlier today and I have to say that it really was a classic in sustained political bias. As ever, the beat is left. For once there were no politicians on the panel – with Univeral Shami (Left) Gulam Noon (Left) Joan Bakewell (Left) and Peter Obourne ( (No fixed position or indeed no fixed hairstyle) – but there was quite the consensus amongst this commentariat. They all agreed it was vital that a public enquiry was held RIGHT NOW into the disgraceful UK “invasion” of Iraq; they mostly all agreed that until the Palestinian question was sorted out there would be no peace inIraq or Afghanistan; they mostly all agreed that our capitalism of the past twenty years was morally wrong and that Brown’s Masterplan of digging deeper when in a hole was the inspiring way forward; Joan Bakewell came across as a really bitter uberleftist, Shami is so sweet when she talks of her patriotism whilst simultaneously bitterly undermining the basis for our armed forces ever going into action. The audience whooped and cheered each time every left wing cliche was spouted. When it came to the issue of whether it was right to have liberated Iraq from the Saddamite diktat, out of an audience of 300-400, around half a dozen felt that our presence had achieved at least some good. This programme achieves the impossible and makes Question Time seem almost fair and balanced and it is another instance of the BBC using its taxpayer funded bully pulpit to endlessly propagandise left wing values.

General BBC-related comment thread!

Please use this thread for comments about the BBC’s current programming and activities. This post will remain at or near the top of the blog – scroll down for new topic-specific posts. N.B. This is not an invitation for general off-topic comments, rants or chit-chat. Thoughtful comments are encouraged. Comments may also be moderated. Any suggestions for stories that you might like covered would be appreciated! It’s your space, use it wisely.

WHAT A GAY DAY

The BBC reports that the United Nations, that fine body of..ahem.. recognised global moral authority, is having a bit of a problem getting all of its members to sign a declaration decriminalising homosexual acts. The Sodomists charter, put forward by la belle France and the Netherlands, seeks to stop legal punishment of homosexuals. Given the tendency in Islamic nations such as Iran, for example, to hang gay people, I suppose that is a fair enough aim but the assertion by the BBC that “Gay men, lesbians and transsexuals worldwide face daily violations of their human rights” seems remarkably close to propagandising on behalf of the militant gay lobby for my liking. Since when did the right to gay sex become an inviolable “human right”, exactly? And how does the BBC quantify this assertion? Does it consult with the transsexual community and compile a data-base of transgressions against trannies? There are certain topics that engage full-on BBC editorial sympathy; Eco-wackery is one, Gay Rights is another. The fact that the UN cannot even agree on a definition of terrorism is ignored by the BBC as it evangelises on behalf of the Gay, Lesbian and Transgendered community.

EYELESS IN GAZA

Been away for a few days folks so just trying to catch up on the news! I see that Hamas, those nice people for whom the BBC carries such a candle, have decided to declare open season on Israel just in time for Christmas. As the BBC puts it, “The Egyptian-brokered deal began on 19 June but has been tested regularly by Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel and Israeli operations in Gaza. ” Just wondering why the BBC equates Hamas terror attacks with Israeli efforts to, erm, prevent rocket attacks. Testing indeed.

BURNING DOWN THE HOUS

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By the way, did you read the BBC report detailing how the Church where the Obama family go to worship has been burned down in a suspected arson attempt? Alright then, it didn’t happen but if it did, I figure it would be splashed across the BBC. Fair bet? So, isn’t it interesting that when the Church where Sarah Palin worships is torched, not a word from the BBC. Maybe she never existed?

IT ALL STARTED IN AMERICA

I noticed the BBC had Nicola “Superwoman” Horlick on this morning, explaining why one of the hedge funds her company manages had assets worth $20.9 million invested with the alleged fraudulent hedge fund run by Bernard Madoff. Bramdean, whose shares crashed 23.75p to 42.75p on the news, said that the sums tied up with Mr Madoff represented 9.5 per cent of its assets. I was entertained by Horlick’s line that in the worst case scenario, if everything is lost on this fund, investors will be only down 4%. Happy days, eh? So why did the BBC have her on in the first place given its hatred of capitalism? I suggest that it is because Nicola merrily went on to divert attention from her own company’s pooor judgement in this investment by claiming that the crisis was caused by poor regulation in the States. This fits into the ongoing BBC/Brown narrative that everything bad starts on the other side of the Atlantic. If all else fails, as it look it has in the Madoff situation, just blame Bush!


NO FRIEND OF ISRAEL

You just know that when Jeremy Al Bowen is invited to update us all on the situation concerning Israel and the disputed Palestinian territories, well, those pesky Jews aren’t going to come out of it too well. And so it was that Jeremy embarked on the usual cliched mantra which all boiled down one thing; the lack of peace in the region is Israel’s fault, the Palestinians are innocent, especially the doves in Al Fatah.

I STILL HAVEN’T FOUND WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR

Following on from the posts by Natalie and Laban, I was interested to listen to the item concerning on Today this morning concerning the British doctor Humayra Abedin, who has been freed from family captivity and the prospect of a forced marriage by a court in Dhaka. There seems to be a missing word and it begins with M…..?