With ski resorts from Scotland to Scandinavia and down to Italy once again reporting great snow conditions this winter I thought it might be worth taking a little look back at some predictions for the ski industry, as reported by the BBC. 5 November 1998: As warm weather threatens to close some 200 Swiss ski resorts, British and Swiss scientists have begun a joint study to examine the impact of … Continue reading
This is a long post, for which, apologies. Ever heard of Cherrapunji, in the remote north-east of India? No? Well neither had I. But it does have a place in the Guinness Book of Records because it is the wettest place on earth, with up to 1,000 inches of rain falling in a year, though the average is nearer 350 inches. What’s the relevance? You may recall from previous postings … Continue reading
So, hands up all those who think that Arts projects headed by Alan Yentob to mark the refurbishmeof Broadcasting House costing licence fee-payers £3.9m is well worth it? It’s that “special relationship” that the BBC enjoys with the British public, right? Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.
Nicky Campbell’s “Big Question” returned to BBC1 this morning and the first question asked was “Are we too tolerant of Muslim extremism”. It was an interesting programme with one Muslim in the audience being given a lot of time to inform us that we are not overly tolerant and that Islamophobia is the major concern. (And guess what, UK Foreign policy was blamed by several audience members for Muslim anger.) … Continue reading
Have you noticed how eerily silent the BBC has become on the topic of ‘climate change’ since the Copenhagen fiasco? Newspapers and the blogsphere are chronicling that we are in the midst of one of the coldest winters in decades, but on the BBC, there’s nothing – not even their usual counter-assertions that in our torrid era, temperature graphs only go upwards, so this is only a temporary respite before … Continue reading
Here’s BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner on the Phil Williams show (Radio Five Live, 31/12/09) discussing the Guardian’s front page story about Iran’s involvement in the kidnap of Peter Moore and his bodyguards: “They’ve spent a lot of time and money and given cameras to people going into places that are too dangerous for Western reporters to go to. To some extent we’ve worked with them in the last few … Continue reading
Remember James Naughtie’s disgraceful interview with the Israeli Ambassador Ron Proser on Today 22nd December? I commented that Naughtie seemed unaware of ex President Jimmy Carter’s reputation as the most anti Israel US President ever. To further a point, Naughtie produced one of Mr. Carter’s notoriously disparaging statements, saying:“I take it you don’t regard him [Carter] as somebody who is anti-Israel in his bones!” “Does Naughtie know nothing about this … Continue reading
In yesterday’s mini round-up I began with the BBC interview with cherubic Qasim Rafiq, who appeared to be baffled by the behaviour of his best friend the baby-faced underpants bomber.The BBC’s apparent assumption that the twosome’s association with the UCL’s Islamic Society was as good as a character reference was baffling too. They accepted it as a kind of alibi and seemed to be satisfied that for this reason alone … Continue reading
New year, new open thread…..I will return tomorrow. Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.
You know the annual round-ups we get in the media at every New Year? This round-up is of items from the last couple of days, just to indicate the direction the BBC is taking. The interview with bushy-bearded Qasim Rafiq, the former best friend of the underpants bomber who swears that nice Mr. Abdulmutallab couldn’t possibly have been radicalized in the UK, or at the UCL, or in the Islamic … Continue reading
