This relates to an article by Paul Moss…though you might have thought it was by Occupy’s Paul Mason: Boom times in Dubai are attracting more and more Westerners – but a night with the expat elite was an awkward experience for the BBC’s Paul Moss.  A weekend stopover in Dubai – a friend had asked some of her friends who live there to take me out. So, here I … Continue reading →

Another open thread…..

    The BBC breathlessly reports that a Bridgwater social club has gone up in smoke and are claiming it was definitely an arson attack by the far right EDF who very definitely attacked it because it was rumoured the club had received a membership application from a Muslim, and in a positive move for community cohesion the club was actively considering letting him join. Locals say there are EDF links to the … Continue reading →

  The ‘Right Wing’ Patrick Mercer was an agreeable target for the BBC…they had no problem setting him up for a fall. The Chairman of the Energy and Climate Change Committee, Tim Yeo, was a different matter altogether….and even now as the BBC reports this latest potential scandal they downplay its significance, miss out ‘evidence’ and in fact actually deny that some of the claims were made despite them being highlighted … Continue reading →

Stop the world, but Mandela is ill, again, and BBC instantly go into full panic. I dread to think what their coverage will be like should this ancient communist loving terrorist commander pop his clogs.

Here you go, a new Open Thread! Wasn’t it fantastic that Her Majesty put John Humphrys in his place the other day?

          Seems to be a slightly different tone from the BBC when reporting the same story, that of the US PRISM electronic intelligence gathering revelations.   This side of the Pond the Brits get this headline: GCHQ US spy claims ‘chilling’….allegations that Britain’s electronic listening post GCHQ has been gathering data through a secret US spy programme and the report adopts a pretty negative attitude towards … Continue reading →

    The BBC’s World At One  (7 mins 30 secs) dignifies and white washes Mau Mau terrorism. The BBC’s Gabriel Gatehouse talking to one of the, as he calls them, Mau Mau veterans: ‘I must say sir you sound very magnaminous considering what you went through.’ …the ferocity and barbarity of what went on at that time has left deep scars…on the victims of torture. Not the ferocity and … Continue reading →

    Spot the difference: From the Daily Mail: Cashpoint card snatches treble: Romanian crime gangs responsible for 92% of thefts from cash machines, police believe Number of thefts carried out by cashpoints has trebled in the past year Police intelligence suggests 90 per cent are linked to Romanian immigrants Cost of card fraud expected to total £400million by the end of this year     From the BBC: Bank … Continue reading →

              This is a response to some of the points raised in the comments about the last post on A&E …a good debate …thanks to everyone who had a go. The real point is to ask whether the BBC should have taken the King’s Fund’s press release at face value or should it have questioned the figures more deeply. Looking at the King’s Fund’s report … Continue reading →