THE ULTIMATE TRAGEDY…

I was reading this item by the charming BBC ace correspondent Orla Guerin. It seeks to inform us about the real threat facing Pakistan – poverty. In particular, it concentrates on the decision by a Pakistani father to poison his family to death. Ine survives – this is her story. Why do I think Orla is missing the ultimate tragedy? Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

They Say We’ll Have Some Fun if …….

A B-BBC reader wonders why we’ve missed an important part of the story about Summer Camps in Gaza. I quipped about Mr. Naughtie’s unproductive chat with Jon Donnison and his cosy tête-à-tête with John Ging on the subject of Hamas torching the UN kids summer camp in Gaza. But I did note later that others had tackled the issue more broadly. I’m not an investigative journalist. I’m not a journalist … Continue reading

NO SMOKE WITHOUT….

For the BBC, it’s simple. It’s about a constant stream of newthink and newspeak, telling us that we should accept immigration, that any form of patriotism is evil, and that fear of danger from minorities – especially from Muslims – is idiocy. Thus, this story about the Great Fire of London becomes an exercise in Goebbels-style propaganda. The facts are that back in 1666, Britain was in the middle of … Continue reading

Question Time LiveBlog 1st July 2010

Question Time tonight comes from Ipswich, parliamentary seat of Conservative Ben Gummer, son of John Gummer. On the panel tonight is the Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, the shadow home secretary Alan Johnson, Telegraph columnist Simon Heffer, Professor of Classics Mary Beard and social policy campaigner Dame Dr Camila Batmanghelidjh (go to that link just to look at the outfit). David Vance, TheEye and David Mosque will be … Continue reading

Loadsamoney

Sir Michael Lyons thinks the public would be reassured if they were allowed to know roughly how much the BBC pays its stars and executives.It’s that word everyone’s so fond of: “Transparency. “Transparency alone is not enough. Knowing the extent of something disturbing is a good start, but it isn’t the answer to the public’s dissatisfaction. We want reassurance that we’re getting value for money, not just that Graham Norton … Continue reading

THE LAW THAT SHOULD BE ABOLISHED

I thought that Emma Boon from the Taxpayers Alliaance was given quite a tough time on Today this morning as the BBC covered the Coalition suggestion that the public can decide which useless laws should be scrapped. Give it a listen. However it struck me that there is one piece of legislation that does need to be repealed without further ado – and THAT is the one forcing us to … Continue reading

TALK TO THE TALIBAN

I found it telling that the Taliban chose the BBC as its propaganda conduit to declare it sees no reason to talk to NATO. John Simpson, that doyen of fairness and impartiality, was the point man in this exercise, and as he gushes the Taliban believe they are winning the war so why bother talking? What annoys me most about this is not the way in which Simpson and the … Continue reading

OLIVER’S ARMY

I see the BBC is doing everything possible to big up Jamie Oliver given Andrew Lansley’s polite but accurate observation that the Nanny State is not our friend and that Oliver’s army of dinner ladies serving his “healthy” meals was less than successful. Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.