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 →

BBC special reports are an interesting exercise in teasing out the stock-standard Guardianista/Islington mindset of its reporters. In the midst of a fairly sensible report (if full of journalistic clichés about little children and mothers wailing over bombed houses), the guard drops, and the soft Apocalypse Now anti-Americanism seeps out: “As the people of Baghdad tried to make do with little power, and in some areas no water, coalition officials … Continue reading →

Migrants or illegals? The BBC house style is all over the place: “Captive migrants freed in Greece Greek police have freed 96 illegal immigrants held hostage in a warehouse by people-traffickers… The migrants – said to be from Asia – are to be sent back to their countries of origin… Correspondents say Greece is on a major people-smuggling route from Asia and scores of illegal immigrants are detained every week. … Continue reading →

BBC Online comes to the party on Sydney: “Thousands of white men attacked people of Arabic and Mediterranean background on a Sydney beach the previous weekend. The violence was apparently sparked by an attack on two lifeguards. It led, in turn, to two nights of violence and vandalism by groups of men of Middle Eastern or Mediterranean appearance.” The earlier stages in the evolution of this file background can be … Continue reading →

– just as well the BBC are keeping an eye on things for the rest of us! Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

BBC: UK tables final EU budget offer The UK has tabled revised proposals for the EU’s 2007-13 budget at a summit in Brussels which is continuing into the night after a day of negotiation. The Times: Blair surrenders more rebate in search of EU deal Tony Blair made a further concession tonight on the rebate that Britain receives from the European Union to help break the deadlock at an EU … Continue reading →

(this is getting to be a habit), study this BBC Views Online article from 20:18 last night, ‘Santa’ party girl dies in crash, then complete the following sentence: The passenger is described by police as ______, 6ft 3ins tall. The driver is also believed to be ______. Clue: See this Times article, Girl, 5, dies in hit-and-run after Christmas party, which, unlike BBC Views Online, passes on the Police description … Continue reading →

Mean spirited, perhaps, to laugh at typos, but this is unintentionally rather amusing – BBC News Online have stopped their fatuous “Allies on trial“ online poll (just as the no votes were gaining ground), and have posted bar graphs of the results instead. I knew we were bad and all, deposing poor innocent Saddam, but breaching “the convention on the methods and means of WELFARE” is beyond the pale! Update:It’s … Continue reading →