Category Archives: Uncategorized

Hilariously the Beeb has decided to balance its earlier anti-Palin, Democrat-supporting comic turn by liberal commentator Joe Bageant, on which I commented a while ago, with an anti-Palin, Democrat supporting comic turn from liberal commentator Jamie Stiehm. So, on the one hand you’ve got a Democrat supporter who reckons the party needs to make greater efforts to understand small-town America to counter the Republican’s cynical appeal to its worst instincts. On the other, you’ve got a Democrat supporter who reckons the party needs to persuade small town America to abandon its attachment to small town values, which are being cynically exploited by the Republicans. The full range of opinion, then.

Big news from the Beeb: McCain doesn’t know who the Spanish PM is. It was also the lead on their round-up of the day. As a demonstration of the value of publicly funded news, it’s worth reflecting that if the BBC hadn’t picked up on this, we may never have heard about it; only the Guardian and Independent in the UK seem to have run it. Of course, sometimes other gaffes don’t seem to capture the BBC’s imagination to quite the same extent, but you can’t have everything.

Did the Today programme really get through the entire morning without mentioning the polls, which see the Tories leading by 28 points on 52%? I wasn’t able to listen to it all, but I did catch Naughtie’s two way with their political correspondent, his interview with Prescott on the chances of Labour’s recovery and the news summary on the same topic, as well as the paper review: No mention. The website is doing no better. But can the Beeb really get through the day without giving the figures?

UPDATE: I have spotted a reference to the poll in the last paragraphs of this story. Of course, it’s a shame the Conservatives’ best polling in about 20 years doesn’t get a little higher up the story, and that the journo feels it necessary to balance the figures for those certain to vote (the normal headline figures) with the only slightly better ones for support among the general public – something none of the fuller accounts I linked to felt compelled to do. But, still, it’s better than Naughtie.

The BBC’s Climate Wars receives a less than glowing review from James Delingpole in the Spectator:

A Church of England official has issued an apology to the descendants of Charles Darwin for the Church’s ‘anti-evolutionary’ fervour towards his Origin of the Species.

I wonder if in about 150 years’ time the BBC — presuming it still exists which I won’t let it do, I promise, once I’ve become your emperor — will make similar amends for having been wrong about absolutely everything from Israel, Europe, Islamism and multiculturalism to women, children, animals and, above all, global warming.

‘God, what a bunch of complete and utter ****ers we all were,’ their apology could say as it floats in shimmery holographic form over icy London streets dominated by minarets, wind turbines and huge packs of semi-domesticated polar bears. ‘We could have contributed something useful or interesting to the climate-change debate. Instead we gave you Earth: The Climate Wars (BBC 2, Sunday).

It’s worth reading the rest. Is this the worst review the programme received or are there other nominations?

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.

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.

If only the English weren’t such chavs, says Mardell, “with no intention of censure and certainly not moral superiority”, as he reports on a tantalising and – to me – baffling and pointless curry-house conversation.

England’s crowded: so what(’s new), says Easton – just in case anyone was a little misled by his earlier blog entry which, er, seemed to suggest it wasn’t. Still, he remains “unpersuaded that we cannot cope with the extra people”. Whodathunkit.

Paul Mason is hallucinating. He’s amazed some people have never read Atlas Shrugged. I’m amazed he’s economics editor but read music.

Paul Mason has replied to a comment on his blog criticising it for being, well, a bit left wing. “Where the hell do the BBC actually find people as left wing as you?” asks the reader. Mason’s response:

If you are American you may not be used to this but the UK consensus is “liberal” and I am happy to be slap in the middle of it. On science, on the desirability of avoiding mass unemployment, on the world being older than 3,000 years.

To start with, I’m not sure a Trot who – as an adult – is still fond of aping Che is really even in the middle of the left-wing. Surely he’s closer to the Galloway fringe? But it’s instructive that’s where he’s aiming, so let’s have a look at that left-wing consensus in the UK:

• Support for the death penalty: 49%
• Global warming: 40% reckon it’s not as bad as claimed, and most oppose green taxes
• EU: 74% favour a looser relationship with the EU or withdrawal
• Immigration: 60% reckon there are too many immigrants, and, er, 20% describe themselves as “racially prejudiced”.
• Conservatives polling 46%; Labour 27% 

All positions, I’m sure, we can see are well reflected in the Beeb’s coverage.

Hat-tip to Libertarian in the comments

UPDATE: Tories are now on 52%; Labour on 24%. Looking forward to the BBC reports reflecting this new consensus.

More from the home of Trotskyist economics at Newsnight, this time on the Lehman debacle. It’s a place where irresponsible lending is ‘forcing debt down the throats’ of low income families; where the bank’s failure is really down to fat cat investment bank bosses trying to protect their future earnings; and where the real question when it comes to assessing the scale of the crisis is ‘so how does this compare to the miners’ strike?’

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.