Mysteries (human)

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  Fashion Mysteries. Why does everyone swoon over Michelle Obama’s hideous unflattering outfits? Sarah Brown is endearingly dowdy; go Sarah! Beeboid fashion mysteries: Outside broadcast gear; Casual sporty anorak over formal collar and tie. All wrong. Jeremy Bowen- cool dude/Country and Western/Brokeback Mountain. Denim shirt, drainpipes, fancy belt buckle, leather jacket. Occasional scarf /cowboy neckerchief (red) You’re not a cowboy, cool, or a dude. Or a reporter. Boris Johnson (almost … Continue reading →

Hail Obama!

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Isn’t the tone of the coverage of the G20 excitable and sort of hysterical?“Obama Hails ‘historic’ G20 Summit” as a headline; subliminal message = “Hail Obama!, You’re Historic” Then there’s this weird article breathlessly describing the mardi gras. Halfway through, under the heading ‘Achievements’ Dominic Casciani has suddenly written: “The death of a man near the Bank of England appears to be a human tragedy.” Click through to read and … Continue reading →

Tiny Glimmer Extinguished

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On Wednesday, Aleem Maqbool brought us the violence between Hamas and Fatah. (Murders, knee-cappings and torture.) There was only one brief reference to Israel’s wickednesses; he actually stuck mostly to Pali on Pali atrocities. This morning John Humphrys let Jerusalem Post’s Gil Hoffman speak positively about Avigdor Lieberman – he was even allowed to be optimistic about the likelihood of peace under Benjamin Netanyahu’s regime. Announcing on hourly radio news … Continue reading →

Icing the cake with many layers.

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I’ve been watching the BBC live coverage of the evening’s G20 dinner. Interesting to watch the BBC modus operandi. It all begins with sweeping positive comments for Gordon- Gordon “couldn’t have wished for better from Obama” blah blah… “could have scripted it himself” blah blah. Typical Gordon-boosting. That basic line is then refined with sometimes contradictory observations. The subtext to this has been unquestioningly about increasing regulation (taken for granted, … Continue reading →

General BBC-related comment thread!

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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 … Continue reading →

APRIL FOOL A DAY EARLY.

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It’s my view that the BBC has wilfully chosen to present the news that Marks and Spencer’s sales have “only” fallen by 4% in the last trading quarter as a possible greeen shoot of recovery. This is sheer foolishness but I wonder of it helps Gordon as world figures arrive in the UK for the G20 summit to pretend that our “well-placed” economy is on the way up? Not waving, … Continue reading →

AN UNHOLY CHORUS

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What a sight to behold! Gordon Brown, flanked by fellow lefties Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd and the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, lecturing bankers on the need to behave morally. Setting the scene, the BBC had Druid Williams on this morning offering a series of empty-headed homilies concerning our need “to discover something of what it is to be human” – ie socialist. The Archbishop gets such an easy … Continue reading →

REDUCE OR REMOVE?

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Did you catch this debate on Today this morning concerning whether the BBC’s remit should be reduced over time to include only those programmes and services which the market would not provide? Former Sky TV executive, Martin le Jeune and the BBC’s director of strategy, John Tate, discussed what the corporation should be producing. I think that it is a very curious idea that the BBC should exist to produce … Continue reading →

ISRAEL DISPUTES GAZA DEATH RATES

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SCARY   ISRAEL DISPUTES GAZA DEATH RATES Total dead: 1,166 (1,434) Fighters: 710-870 (235) Non-combatants: 295-460 (960) Women: 49 (121) Children under 16: 89 (288)   “SUE” COMPARES SCARE QUOTES “RATES” I divided this “article” about discrepancies in “casualty” figures into two. A = Putting Israel’s case. B = Putting Palestinians’ case. Although there were about 55 more words reporting Israel’s case, the article still seemed biased against it. How, … Continue reading →