The BBC has an article out to commemorate the anniversary of Senator Joe McCarthy’s claim that 205 members of the State Department were Communists: 1950: McCarthy Launches Anti-Red Crusade. There is a link also to Secret McCarthy papers released. My feelings when writing about McCarthyism are similar to those of Jonah Goldberg expressed in this article. There are two messages to get across. Message One: McCarthy was a state-backed bully … Continue reading →

(from Blithering Bunny) Nicholas Vance has another good post up today at Last Night’s BBC News, about the PC blather that is in the BBC’s new manifesto as they attempt to get their Royal Charter renewed (and follow the link to The Telegraph story). On that note, I liked this letter to The Times recently: I have recently paid my BBC licence fee and the debate about the future of … Continue reading →

(from Blithering Bunny) An extraordinary letter from Peter Mandelson to Michael Grade (Chairman of the BBC), obtained by The Times: PETER MANDELSON, the European Trade Commissioner, has mounted an attack on John Humphrys, the Today programme journalist, complaining to the BBC of his “virulently anti-European” views and claiming that the “anti-European bias” of some BBC presenters is a “problem”. In a stinging letter, obtained by The Times, to Michael Grade, … Continue reading →

(from Blithering Bunny) Criticism of the BBC’s activities in Nepal from Indian paper The Statesman: BBC’s coverage of Nepal raises questions Sudeshna Sarkar in Kathmandu Feb. 6. — British Broadcasting Corporation’s coverage of the recent developments in Nepal raises questions about ethics. On 1 February, Nepal’s King Gyanendra dismissed Prime Minister Mr Sher Bahadur Deuba and his Cabinet, announced a new council of ministers under his chairmanship and imposed a … Continue reading →

(from Blithering Bunny) Watching BBC 2’s Kilroy: Behind the Tan. In an act of questionable judgement, Kilroy, it seems, has been letting a camera crew follow him around for a long time. The producer, who was constantly asking him questions, clearly sounded unsympathetic. So why did Kilroy do it? Surely he knew that it was a hatchet job in the making? And hatchet job it was, although everyone involved did … Continue reading →

(from Blithering Bunny) Some praise for the Beeb for a change. The show Dragon’s Den is one of the best TV shows in years. If you haven’t seen it, people who have ideas for businesses get 5-10 minutes to pitch their idea to five very rich business people, to try to convince them to invest in their ideas, which range from new inventions to disposable carboard furniture to couches that … Continue reading →

(from Blithering Bunny) Last night Newsnight interviewed José Manuel Barroso. I was out and missed it – but it can be seen on the BBC2 Newsnight website. (The streaming video worked fine on my 1Mbit connection – a bit jerky and fuzzy, but really, this spells the end of conventional TV). The first segment, presented by reporter Paul Mason, was actually not too bad. It was very shallow, of course, … Continue reading →

(from Blithering Bunny) BBC News 24 covered Kilroy’s launch of his new party Veritas today (which blogger Jonathan Lockhart seems to be involved in). Some people have suggested previously that the BBC would give Kilroy a lot of publicity in order to split the hard right/anti-EU vote (and also so that Kilroy would make himself look foolish with his extreme comments). But it may have backfired. Kilroy raised a lot … Continue reading →

(from Blithering Bunny) Earlier tonight there was a new Aussie sketch show on Paramount called “Skithouse”. One sketch featured a man who was interested in buying a car from another man. The buyer’s method was to fire questions at the seller about his life until he slipped up – without thinking, he revealed that the car was a lemon that was costing him a fortune to keep on the road. … Continue reading →

. Nicholas Vance rightly points out the BBC’s awful double standards in its presentation of, for want of a better word, TERRORISM. This contrast in particular is striking: ‘I’ve finally determined how the BBC defines the word “terrorist.” A “terrorist” is someone who kills a Briton, whether civilian or military. … Watching John Simpson on Sunday’s Panorama attempt to clarify Iraqi government claims about civilian deaths caused by “terrorists” by … Continue reading →