Chris Patten is the kind of guy who walks the plank last. So no big surprise to read that he has suggested that three out of five senior BBC managers could lose their jobs.

The former governor of Hong Kong praised the corporation for becoming more efficient but said viewers do not expect BBC bosses to be paid massive salaries and he wants to see a smaller, more accountable group in charge. Speaking at the Prix Italia in Turnin last night, he said: “There are still too many senior managers, around 2.5 per cent of the workforce at the last count.”

Cutting the bloat won’t remove the bias. Were the BBC uncoupled from the drug of the License Tax it would move instinctively to become less top heavy. That’s where the cut has to happen.

I thought this was interesting;  “Kenyan officials say they are in the final stages of bringing to an end the deadly stand-off with suspected al-Shabab militants at the Westgate shopping complex in Nairobi.” Erm, not quite. Kenyan officials refer to them as terrorists but the BBC feels a need to parenthesis around the term. Also, in what way are they “suspected”???? We have dozens slaughtered, Al Shabab stating it has carried out the atrocity, yet the BBC seems unsure? Further, I heard an “expert” on the BBC inform us that is a moderate side to Al Shabab? Really?

It’s Monday so time for a new one of these!

Germany is the most powerful nation in Europe, the most economically successful, the one with the most radical green programme…and one that is in the midst of an election.

You might have thought then that this would have been of interest to the BBC:

Germany industry in revolt as green dream causes cost spiral

Germany’s top economic adviser has called for a radical rethink of the country’s energy policies, warning that the green dream is going badly wrong as costs spiral out of control.

It seems not…I haven’t seen any recent mention of German problems with its drive to green the economy and energy sector….as it is seemingly having a massively damaging effect upon the economy and hence may be an election issue you could be persuaded of the case for a bit of news coverage by the BBC….especially as it reflects what is happening in our own economy and domestic fuel prices.

I’m certain the BBC environmental and political, and economic reporters are too busy elsewhere to report on the imploding of the biggest economy in Europe due to green policies….it couldn’t possibly be that they just don’t want you, the Public, to get the idea that all is not rosy in the Green garden.

The BBC does have time to report this outrage though:

Russia ‘seizes’ Greenpeace ship after Arctic rig protest

But if you are looking for a critical analysis of the IPCC’s leaked Fifth Assessment Report on climate change don’t ask the BBC or indeed the Guardian who have both launched pre-emptive strikes to try and stave off the critical sceptics:

This was from the BBC in 2012

 IPCC critical of climate change report leak

Don’t you just love the BBC…not investigating what the leaks say, or what others say about the leaks, but the BBC rushes to tell us what the UN tells us about the ‘leak’ itself and to defend the IPCC’s report whilst undermining any critics.

And the BBC doesn’t do it once…but twice…this from two days ago:

Climate leaks are ‘misleading’ says IPCC ahead of major report

And don’t forget this little white lie:

‘…the so called Climategate affair, in which leaked emails purported to show leading scientists trying to manipulate their data to make the report more damning.

Ultimately, several investigations showed the accusations of manipulation to be false.‘

 Well, only if you believe that those investigations were not a stitch up by the Establishment…which they were.

And then there is this classic from the Guardian:

Big business funds effort to discredit climate science, warns UN official

Climate change summit braced for counterblast from sceptics as report warns greenhouse gas emissions still increasing

Hardly a credible position to take when you consider the billions that are ploughed into the global warming scam by governments, big business and of course the BBC itself which provides extensive and priceless Media ‘cover’ for the corrupt politicians, fellow journalists and other cheerleaders for global warming.

An Israeli soldier is killed by a Palestinian and the story had all but vanished from the BBC website…relegated to the ‘most popular’ but now seems to have been resurrected on the Middle East page.

Interesting to see what they miss out in the report, the very short report….not much interest in a murdered Israeli soldier from the BBC?

A suspect – who Shin Bet said worked with the soldier – has been arrested.

The statement said he had confessed to killing Sgt Hazan in the hope that he could trade the body in exchange for the release of his imprisoned brother.

This information might have been helpful…all the way from the ‘China Daily’:

During the investigation in the Shin Bet, Amar said that the motive for murdering the soldier was to trade his body for the release of his brother, Nur Al Din Amar, a Tanzim Fatah operative imprisoned since 2003 for his involvement in several murderous attacks against Israeli citizens. 

The BBC’s report may be interpreted as seeking to elicit some sympathy for the Palestinian murderer…is there any doubt that he was driven to this desperate act when his brother, undoubtedly we might suppose, had been wrongly arrested and imprisoned by ‘occupying forces’ of the oppressive IDF?

You might want to compare the brevity of that report with the extensive coverage given to some diplomats who were ‘abused’ by Israeli soldiers as the diplomats decided to take part in a Palestinian protest…surely overstepping their authority and role.

A similar coyness and brevity is seen in the BBC’s reporting of the shooting in Kenya.

There seems to be a marked reluctance to mention the ’cause’ being ‘fought’ for by these gunmen.

The BBC refers to al  Shabab but refrains from mentioning Islam or Muslims until half way down the page.

Similarly this report from Pakistan:

Pakistan grapples with rising tide of extremist violence

It tells of attacks on Shias but not why they are attacked…because they are not considered ‘Muslim’ by Sunnis.

And curiously for a general report on extremism in Pakistan it makes no mention of Christians, Ahmadis, Hindus or Sikhs or any other group so targeted…this is the nearest the BBC gets to acknowledging their plight in this report:

Pakistan’s Shia minority, like the rest of the population, will not be protected.

An odd omission when this investigation comes on the same day of this report of an attack on a Christian Church:

Pakistan church blast kills dozens

There is absolutely no reason, or excuse, why references to such attacks aren’t made in the general report about extremist attacks if a much clearer, rounded view of things in Pakistan is to be appreciated. 

There should certainly be a brief ‘nod’  acknowledging these events when reporting similar ones for other communities…after all for over a year the BBC managed to append just about every report from the Middle East with the death toll from the Israeli 2009 Cast Lead operation in Gaza.

Anyone see the labour fest on Marr this morning. We had Lady Tuscany as the warm up act before the great Leader himself appeared. No matter how ingratiating Marr was Miliband was so poor that it really was a delight.

Hi all. Can see that Friday’s thread is fuller than empty promises from Miliband, so here’s a new one for y’all!

I note that Religion of Peace enthusiasts have been so active in the past few days. Whether it was slaughtering 59 people in a shopping mall in Nairobi, or mowing down dozens of Christians leaving a church in Pakistan, or blowing to pieces other Muslims attending a funeral  in Baghdad, the ROP has not left an opportunity to slaughter. Wonder what you reckon to BBC coverage of these acts of Jihad? I noted that they used the word “attackers” to describe the al-Shabaab Jihad boys last night.

Well then, great hatchet job by the BBC on UKIP today, contrasting nicely with their slabbering sycophantic coverage of Clegg and the gang. I caught the BBC 5 live afternoon coverage…the MOST important story in the world for several hours and a great way to ensure UKIP are damaged.  Bloom may not be coming up roses for UKIP but the reaction from the MSM in general, and BBC in particular, has been gleeful.

It was all going so well…and then those chickens started coming home to roost.

Leveson has been ‘disastrous’ says Guardian legal chief

The Guardian’s director of editorial legal services Gill Phillips has said the outcome of Leveson Inquiry has been “disastrous”.

Phillips told delegates: “What Leveson has come up with is the worst of all worlds.

“His attempt to please everybody and avoid being a dusty footnote on a shelf somewhere has led him down a road that has proved to be pretty disastrous.

“We don’t have anything that could be perceived as effective or credible by either side of the debate.”

I imagine that when an inquiry, supposedly wideranging, is actually predicated upon the sole intention of reining in one man and his supposed ’empire’ (it’s all relative….see below) things get distorted and that old law of unintended consequences rears its ugly but inevitable head.

From the Guardian:

Media plurality is now about much more than curbing Rupert Murdoch

The BBC, and online media, are included in the government’s consultation on plurality in the industry. And about time, too

The BBC, notes the DCMS, spends £430m a year on news provision – more than all other UK broadcasting put together. It reaches 86% of the population and accounts for 73% of TV news-watching. How, for plurality purposes, can you pretend it doesn’t exist?

Of course it operates under a pall of officially prescribed fairness and balance. But that, in itself, limits its plurality role. It can’t (see the latest contentious BBC Trust verdict) let John Humphrys loose for an individually crafted report on welfare dependency. It demands facts, figures and equivalencies, not personal perceptions. And the BBC is held to account for what it reports, not for what it leaves out. Sometimes it picks up a newspaper story and runs hard with it. Sometimes not. Sometimes Edward Snowden may as well not exist.

It’s often a negative power, but it is power. You can’t calculate pluralism without it. It’s the same online, as bbc.co.uk scoops up 40 million or so unique visitors in Britain alone. What’s the point of counting paper copies when the Telegraph can boast a combined monthly reach of 10.7 million? When the Guardian notches 12.4 million and the Mail 18.8 million. Even the Sun, at 16.9 million, doesn’t seem such a winner in company like this – and, as the consultation adds, that’s before you drop in the Huffington Post, Google News and more in a market place that obeys few conventional rules.