, a number of people can see the implications of the Telegraph’s story yesterday. Of those, Tim Blair has gone to town on it very pleasingly- and on the journalistic standards which have brought us to this situation. Even if that Iraqi Colonel was wrong in the intelligence he gave, the fact remains that the ‘sexed up’ 45 minutes claim that was all there was left of Andrew Gilligan’s story … Continue reading →

. Here is an example of how the BBC’s thought processes continue to work. What would the news pages look like if they reported every university based ‘think tank’s’ report? Could they perhaps be trying to vindicate their own well known position on the justifications for war in Iraq? No mention is made of the political affiliations of this ‘think tank’. Glancing across the BBC’s Iraq ‘In depth’ page, I … Continue reading →

‘Bad’ news like this and this and this and this. Or even awkward news like this and this. [Update.To sum up- news on WMD’s, growing reason to believe in links between Iraq and Al Quaeda, the reality of Saddam’s genocidal brutality and Iraqi support for the US against the old regime- more or less in that order] Today may be Sunday, but it’s a very news rich day. Time to … Continue reading →

What’s THIS? (thanks etc to Healing Iraq) Update. I’ve realised that this Turkey, unlike the Presidential one, has a real political message- though not one that has been adequately reflected by BBC coverage of Iraq. Reading Healing Iraq and other sites, and looking at this pastiche, I’d say that Iraqis’ biggest fear is being delivered back into a Baathist quagmire. Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

It’s nice to know one is not alone in one’s views. At about 5.50pm today Radio Four had on one of those “listeners’ feedback” programmes. It said that “few of those who wrote in supported the Plain English Campaign.” Then it replayed the Rumsfeld clip, followed by audio clips from three members of the public saying nice things about how Mr Rumsfeld was clear and concise. I was left feeling … Continue reading →

. Perhaps it seems that this blog is wildly supportive of George Bush. Maybe it seems that we have a blind attachment to a Trans-Atlantic fantasy known as the ‘Anglosphere’. Or maybe it’s just the quality of the opposition (ironically, and weirdly, considering that we have a Labour Government in the UK- and I do mean Labour), and the way the British Press with ample encouragement from the Beeb snuggle … Continue reading →

. I think someone should start a ‘Stop Mad Matt Frei’ campaign. I don’t want him reporting on the US in my name. Why can’t the BBC employ someone who actually likes the country, or at least can keep their dislike under rational lock and key? This article is I suppose intended to be light-hearted, but it’s the kind of humour that in many circles would just (or ought to) … Continue reading →

. Further evidence of the BBC’s failings when it comes to their much vaunted World coverage. This article at BBConline originally ran with a headline something like ‘Report Condemns Nigeria Human Rights’, or something very similar. Now the headline is ‘Nigeria ‘Upholding Human Rights’ ‘. So, great news story. I wonder if they’d run a similar one about the UK: ‘UK ‘Upholding Human Rights’ ‘? Sounds snappy, doesn’t it? On … Continue reading →

The Plain English Campaign gave a gobbledegook award to Donald Rumsfeld the other day. If you are interested, I gave my plain opinion of the Plain English Campaign on my blog here. In this post I’d just like to point out, that of course the BBC zoomed in on this story like flies to honey. As usual, the Beeb did not waste any valuable sneering energy on actually examining Rumsfeld’s … Continue reading →

, this one’s for the diehard fan. What I mean is that there’s nothing new in it, and certainly not the polemical tone, but it makes some connections that might interest some people. Greg Dyke’s recent speech (see several posts below) was interesting for his suggestion that ‘the free marketers have got it wrong’. The Val Macqueen article I’ve linked to goes ballistic in response to Dyke’s superior tone, courtesy … Continue reading →