This is the front page for BBC Online’s country profiles. Look at the photos: JFK, Gorbachev and Mandela An AK47-wielding kaffiyeh-wrapped terrorist/”militant” A faceless (hence inscrutable) Asian woman in a coolie hat on a bicycle The Eiffel Tower What would Edward Said say? Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

Some days ago, there was a lively discussion thread on Afrocentrism at the BBC. A BBC Online article is supposedly about teaching history of the Empire in schools: ‘School history lessons should focus more on the British Empire to explain modern UK life, a think tank says. MPs and historians were among those who contributed to the Fabian Society’s review on “Britishness”.’ Bear with me here – what photo would … Continue reading →

…used to be a feminist issue. Now the BBC has found another reason for it – slavery. Wouldn’t ya know it – when those darned Yanks are not bombing innocent kite flying Ba’athist secret police, their slaving past is apparently making people fat: “Back in the 1850s more than 100 slaves worked the cotton fields on the 1,250-acre Rosswood farm, one of many such plantations along the Mississippi Delta. Then … Continue reading →

Apparently, acording to the headline, the UK economy is “remarkable”. Rub your eyes and read on: “Macroeconomic stability in the UK remains remarkable,” its report said. But, it did warn that the Chancellor needs to rein in spending to stop budget deficits widening further… It added that Mr Brown’s success in sticking to his golden rule – of borrowing only to invest during the economic cycle – depended on “a … Continue reading →

So the BBC, itching to say some really nasty things about George Bush’s Iraq ‘adventure’ and Saddam’s trial, daren’t say it themselves but instead outsource the job to one of our admirable academic fraternity. Imagine though: would the BBC even consider the same approach to calling Saddam an evil and criminal dictator, in the circumstances? I think not; they would never allow it to be said, let alone themselves say … Continue reading →

Well, if Gordon Brown says so and you have a BBC show to plug: “I hate the idea of creating a committee or a quango for this purpose, but a focussed group with a clear objective to create a new blueprint for entrepreneurial flair in Britain wouldn’t be such a bad idea. Let’s bring together the relevant government bodies, private companies, leaders in education and gurus from all walks of … Continue reading →

Ashley Pomeroy notes the Beeb’s disgust with the emancipation of the huddled masses of the estates from sharecropping by that wicked Thatcher – or the right to buy. On the left is the news report from the time – read it and weep at how neutral-ish it seems compared to now. Look at the blue boxed editorial – and wake up: “Many people who bought their homes under Thatcher’s “Right-to-Buy” … Continue reading →

A whole article on the transformation of New York from 1970s bankrupt Democrat hell-on-earth to naughties Republican safe place to be, and only one, oblique, reference to Giuliani: “Maybe some of the credit is courtesy of Mike Bloomberg, the coolly pragmatic tycoon and philanthropist, recently re-elected mayor after spending $60m (£34.3m) of his own money on his campaign. Unlike his feisty predecessor, Rudy Giuliani, this mayor has a soothing style … Continue reading →

Well I never. Australia, Iran and Arabia have obesity problems, but in the US, it is a reflection of ideology: “Yet the US obesity problem has particular resonance, perhaps because it is reflection of the modern way of life the country typifies, with its junk food and technology of convenience.” Just what part of anti-American bias does Mr Davis not understand? If “The US is one of the worst affected … Continue reading →

So, the government has dropped the test for hate-preaching imams. Afraid? Be very afraid: ‘The Home Office said it hoped that a tougher English language test for foreign-born religious leaders would automatically mean they had a knowledge of British life. An official said: “If someone has to take a test showing showing they are a confident user of English, both written and spoken, they will have inevitably learnt about life … Continue reading →