the humour of the late left-wing Labour MP Tony Banks, “known for acid tongue and sharp wit“, who “will be remembered for his hilarious insults“ “Tory MP, Terry Dicks, was dismissed as “living proof that a pig’s bladder on the end of a stick can be elected to Parliament”. The former sports minister, who became Lord Stratford last year, showed reputations did not intimidate him when he accused Lady Thatcher … Continue reading
(I’ve changed the date on this post to reflect the transition from first saving to final form) I think I was a scout for two weeks, though I can’t remember exactly. I had been promised it would be way different from the hateful cubs pack I was a member of, but it was sufficiently like it to bring out a nervous reaction that saw me resolutely glued to the sofa … Continue reading
I followed this link to an “On This Day” article about the 1985 airlift by Israel of Ethiopian Jews to Israel. I have no bias complaints about that article itself. It actually said that the Jews had suffered particular president under “Marxist President Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam.” But I noticed several funny things about the “Timeline Israel/Palestinians” covering the 1950s to the present. I’m afraid this is going to take … Continue reading
Justin Webb reports the White House reaction to Pat Robertson’s latest foot-in-mouth episode and promply manages to fall into the common Beebish tendency to see any nutty statement by a Falwell or Robertsonas a fair representation of Bush’s “right-wing religious base.” Well, I have it on good authority that Mr Robertson has already experienced a taste of said “wrath” just lately. Mysterious as the Beebocracy may find this, Pat Robertson … Continue reading
BBC Eye is a Beebwatching blog by “Cerdic”, who started the Beebwatch blog before blogs existed. His post for today says: Five Live Drivel continues to not surprise. In awaiting Charles Kennedy’s statement (no, not ‘mine’s a pint), they said that the Shadow Cabinet was split over his possible departure. Since the Shadow Cabinet is currently Conservative (I know the BBC hopes the LibDums will become the official opposition, but … Continue reading
Andrew Zalotocky writes: What did you think of “The Christmas Invasion”? It didn’t seem overtly political, which makes me wonder why the BBC web site had that story promoting it as such beforehand. I can think of three plausible explanations: 1) The “peace message” story was a heavy-handed attempt to ensure that the audience got the right message 2) It was the loose cannons at BBC Online giving it their … Continue reading
Not many posts while I was away, I see. I suspect that, with the honourable exception of Laban, the Biased BBC shock-jocks were unable to post due to a prior commitment to getting some serious hung-over layabouting done. Never mind, other bloggers took up the slack: Read Adloyada on one award the BBC won’t be boasting about – namely an ironic award from Honest Reporting.com. Readers provided a full laundry … Continue reading
reports on the trial of Saddam Hussein, declaring ‘Saddams’s trial is not a farce’. Pootergeek is concerned for him. I think I have just read John Simpson’s final serious news report. It is in many ways a frightening document; I am afraid on his behalf. Apart from the factual content that we have come to expect from the BBC even at its most feeble, it breaks metropolitan media convention in … Continue reading
with this sympathetic story of Christians in Iran. Commerce and security matters are newsworthy, but what about those who suffer? Why the silence? Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.
“John”notes It’s My Story, 9 minutes in*: “It’s My Story : The Vietnamese Buddha Documentary about a Buddhist master returning to Vietnam for the first time since the war. Discussing the Buddhist monks who immolated themselves in protest at the Vietnam war the presenter drops in this staggering bit of amoral relativism: ‘I kind of think about what happened at 9/11 and I suppose I’m trying to figure out how … Continue reading
