Do you remember the story about the Pyramids being closed on 11.11.11? Must admit I just glanced at it but turns out that even when the BBC reports seemingly innocuous stuff, it ain’t necessarily so. So…from the BBC report; “Egypt has closed the Great Pyramid outside Cairo after rumours that groups would try to hold special rituals on 11 November at 11:11. The rumours sparked an internet campaign to stop any … Continue reading
I suggest you might give this interview concerning the Leveson Inquiry on Today a whirl if you get a moment. Contrast the treatment of Roy Greenslade with that of Trevor Kavanagh. I was pleased when Kavanagh actually kicked back at the tangled Webb but it is a scandal that an interviewer takes such a blatantly biased position in the first instance. I’ve done a few debates with Greenslade myself on the … Continue reading
I was reading this item by Nick Robinson. In essence, he argues that the Coalition is using the Eurozone crisis to cloak a failure in its own policies for conjuring up “economic growth”. Robinson parrots the ludicrous Labour attack line with delight and I was amused by his suggestion that… “When I put it to George Osborne last week that the eurozone crisis was politically convenient for him, he replied … Continue reading
Saturday night’s Republican candidates’ debate was on the topic of foreign affairs. In that spirit, the BBC asked PJ Crowley, a former State Dept. flack, to come up with a list of what the media likes to call “3 am phone call” questions, after then-Senator Hillary Clinton’s campaign ad that was critical about her opponent, when she was running for President, not being ready for major foreign policy decisions. As … Continue reading
Our friend Yolande Knell addresses the Bedouin question. I think it is fair to say that she sees it solely from the Bedouin perspective. So much so that her article comes across as another bit of pure Israel-bashing.The fundamental issue concerns the human rights of a people who wish to hang on to their traditional way of life, when it clearly conflicts with the interests of certain other people who … Continue reading
I have long since given up on this government. David Cameron is not a Conservative, he’s a lefty, Euorophile, greenie fascist from exactly the same mould as the vile Edward Heath, the dangerous egomaniac who bounced us into the EU. Proof? Andrew Mitchell, Cameron’s international development secretary, has announced this weekend (reported in the Sunday Times P6, so not linkable)a £90m grant for the BBC World Service Trust (WST). This, … Continue reading
For Twitter fans, it’s a hashtag: #OccupyFail Here’s just a sample of what the BBC doesn’t want you to know about their favorite US political movement. A Petri Dish of Activism, and Germs The chorus began quietly at a recent strategy session inside Zuccotti Park, with a single cough from a security team member, a muffled hack between puffs on his cigarette. Then a colleague followed. Then another. Soon the … Continue reading
New open thread as requested. Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.
I just did something unusual. I listened to Feedback on BBC radio 4, whereupon I heard a strange item. Roger Bolton summoned Alison Hastings,chair of the Trust’s Editorial Standards Committee, to talk about the BBC Trust’s upcoming review of the impartiality of the BBC’s coverage of the Arab Spring.Oh Roger! You challenged Alison about the wisdom of appointing Edward Mortimer to conduct it, in view of his close friendship with … Continue reading
Isn’t Kevin Connolly like Mark Mardell? They’ve both got alliterative sounding names, their voices sound similarly sneery, and they even wear the same shirt.Kevin has been busy in the West Bank recording the sounds of a weekly Friday demonstration by Palestinians against Israeli occupation. “Israeli soldiers disperse the tiny crowd with a couple of volleys of stinging, choking tear gas!” The scoundrels! “It all feels a little jaded. A little … Continue reading
