BBC ready for Radio Four-letter words BBC RADIO 4 must challenge political correctness to satisfy an audience that no longer “wears tweeds and plays golf”, its controller says. Mark Damazer has declared that the principles underlying the station during his stewardship will be “dissent, excitement, thrills and fun”. Addressing the Broadcasting Press Guild, Mr Damazer also backed the Today programme, including the forceful questioning style of John Humphrys. He said: … Continue reading →

, as noted by PeterN in comments on the post below: The Red Service Sir – Just listen with attention to the ideological nuances on Radio 4, BBC television, and the BBC World Service, and you will realise that communism is not a dying creed (Leader, Jul 30). Oleg Gordievsky, London WC1 Gordievsky, for those unfamiliar with him, knows what he’s talking about. Born in Moscow in 1938, he joined … Continue reading →

amongst other BBC news productions, reported on Migration Watch UK‘s analysis of the government’s until recently (i.e. until after the election) secret estimates of the number of illegal immigrants in the UK. Migration Watch’s analysis carefully argues that the true illegal migrant number in the UK is approaching 750,000. But don’t worry Beeboids – the reports were as brief as possible (for example, Illegal migrant figure ‘too low’, appeared ever … Continue reading →

(for instance Stephen Pollard, Clive Davis, Harry’s Place, etc.) about the dreadfully biased studio audience selected to appear on last week’s BBC news special, Questions of Security (surely Questions of Terrorism?), the BBC has admitted that “there was a deliberately disproportionate number of Muslims in [the] studio audience”. Truly astonishing. ‘Disproportionate’ hardly begins to describe the situation – according to the BBC, “around 15% of the audience” was Muslim, “as … Continue reading →

Going back a couple of weeks, on the day of the BBC’s Annual General Meeting, Michael Grade, Chairman of the BBC’s governors, was interviewed on the Today programme. I believe he was interviewed once, however, looking at the reports of his words on BBC News Online and in the Daily Telegraph, one has to wonder if the Beeboids at News Online were wearing their rose-tinted ear-muffs that day (as usual). … Continue reading →

I was interested to read this article in which the BBC prominently reported accusations that Saddam was attackedon his way from the court room in which he was being questioned- accusations that have been denied by the US military. According to the article, the lawyers who made the claim did not “recognise the authority of the court and all the bodies that were interrogating Saddam as it had no legal … Continue reading →

to readers and fellow posters for my absence. I had a very busy period and then I was ill. I am afraid I am not up to posting or dealing with emails at the moment. Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

Rashid Ramda is an Algerian who has been in Belmarsh prison for the last ten years, accused of financing the 1995 Paris Metro bombings which killed 11 people, and fighting extradition to an uncivilised country where confessions are extracted by the use of torture. Judges agreed with him, blocking his extradition to France in 2002. This site chronicles Mr Ramda’s many fine qualities, the hideous regime under which he is … Continue reading →

Today we heard from Kofi Annan’s Chief of Staff (RealAudio) discussing the ‘search for a UN definition of terrorism’. March 17th, 2004. BBC Today programme, 8.35. “In the aftermath of the Madrid bombings, we discuss the difference between a freedom fighter and a terrorist.””We” being Leila Khaled, Palestinian hijacker and hostage-taker, and Danny Morrison, Sinn Fein/IRA publicity head (and the man who has the last word on what happens to … Continue reading →

has a good example of BBC think: Abroad Again in Britain BBC2 7:00pm – 8:00pm Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral boasts the highest spire in Britain. Jonathan Meades, who was raised in its shadow, returns to one of the country’s finest medieval buildings. He wonders how an atheist can love a building dedicated to the propagation of medieval superstitions and fears. Can you imagine that last sentence being used to refer … Continue reading →