Thursday 2 November 2017

Nearly Another Flipping Week Over Open Thread


Just because this open thread is headlined 'Nearly Another Flipping Week Over Open Thread' doesn't mean that you have to confine yourself to comments about tomorrow's non-existent edition of Radio 4's Nearly Another Flipping Week Over. That would be silly. So please feel free to comment below on any BBC programme you like. Even Eat Well for Less? (if you really have to). Thank you.

47 comments:

  1. Why on earth is the BBC wasting huge amounts of money on stuff like this...the prospect of the removal of President Trump via the 25th Amendment.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-41604407/the-25th-amendment-could-it-be-used-to-unseat-trump

    Even the pee-poor reporter accepts the chances of it being used are "fairly slim" (= non-existent, unless he is rendered incapable of performing his duties, in which case that's precisely what the Amendment is designed for). Amusing seeing them use a Steve Bannon quote to justify their narrative...when was the last time they quote Steve Bannon approvingly? :)

    It's simply another example of the BBC's extreme Trumpophobia.

    Talking of which...on Today, Radio 4, I heard two examples in quick succession of what I call "Trump fishing"...fishing for anti-Trump responses. One was from Frank Gardner, trying to get an American Muslim infiltrator (disrupting IS and AQ networks) to say that Trump's travel ban would make his work harder...the guy refused to bite on the line despite Frank's prompting.
    The one was I think Justin Webb trying to get a Japanese government spokesperson to criticise Trump's statements on North Korea as unhelpful (which would have been immediately translated into a headline suggesting Japan saw them as provocative and reckless).
    Another fail! - the Japanese guy also refused to take the bait.

    Still, fishing is all about hoping to catch the big one - a nice juicy Trumpophobic headline...The Today Team won't be put off their favourite pastime! They don't care if hours go by with nothing to show for it, they will still be there, rod in hand so to speak.




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    1. To answer my own question...this gives a rather more sinister answer: if you fail to follow the lib-left agenda the globalist elite will try and get you removed from office on mental health grounds, despite your democratic mandate.

      https://www.buzzfeed.com/lissandravilla/politicians-are-reaching-out-to-psychologists-making-claims?utm_term=.aiQPN7Wk2N#.wh6leP4Wje

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  2. BBC News website continues to put negative slant on good economic news:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41747940

    'Growth figures raise chances of rate rise'

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41754354

    'Growth up: Now get set for the Budget'

    From Kamal Ahmed:

    'Philip Hammond is under increasing political pressure from cabinet colleagues...'

    It just doesn't fit the BBC narrative . Sickening!

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    1. Yes, just listening to the headlines on R4 News, the newsreader stressed:
      - the growth figures are SLIGHTLY up
      - they are LOWER than same quarter last year
      - this INCREASES the chance of interest rate rise next week

      Wow ... good news really really has to be buried deep!

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    2. Yep...and no acknowledgement that during the EU Referendum campaign the Carney and OECD were predicting a recession immediately after the Brexit vote. Since then we've basically had growth as usual, maybe one or two decimal points off the average.

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  3. Was having fun this morning on twitter simply noting the discrepancies in good news vs. bad news and various broadcasters' reactions to these... depending...

    One Remain clown unleashed a very 'remain' response about what I did and did not know; did and do not do.

    Amusingly, and unsurprisingly, in trying to explain his inaccuracy I discovered the berk had pre-blocked me, so his effort was at best floating in the ether between us or reduced to getting ardent colleagues excited.

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  4. I don't want to sound paranoid...but have you noticed all these weird programmes on Radio 4 about such themes as "risk" and "confidence" (more like lack of confidence)...

    We know that the BBC think nothing of manipulating public opinion, whether it be news, drama, soaps, lifestyle programmes, sport, or children's programming - they will promote no borders PC multiculturalism.

    So we shouldn't really be surprised that the ideological tentacles extend to these sort of "reflective" radio progs...planting seeds of doubt re the Brexit process is how I see it. Put it this way, you aren't going to be hearing any stirring progs about adventurous Brits, brave RAF pilots, innovative Brits...downbeat is the required mood music. Maybe once Comrade Corbyn is elected and Brexit has stopped we will be treated to stirring martial music, heroic workers overachieving production targets, and the huge successes of socialism in Venezuala, Vietnam and Cuba.

    Just heard a couple of items on Peter Snow's (pretty pathetic) "Time Machine" (although Steve Jones is always a treat). One was all about how borders are going to disappear. The other was about how red haired white Scots are going to be replaced by, in effect, Africans. Nothing wrong with addressing those possibilities but how very BBC! :)

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  5. I saw that a couple of times as I was walking past reception at work yesterday. (We have the BBC News Channel on all day, for some reason). The BBC's blurb is explicit about the link:

    "Residents on Canvey Island in Essex are calling for independence from the rest of the county.
    Councillor Dave Blackwell, who is the leader of the Canvey Island Independence Party (CIIP), says local people want to be able to determine their own future.
    The battle to self-govern echoes that of Catalonia in Spain, 700 miles (1,126km) away."

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  6. And here's another way - despite the fact that there are two views of who controls the Catalan Government, report that Spain has "taken charge" of the Catalan Government, as though that is an accomplished fact.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41785292

    But the Catalan Government website remains the same despite Spain having "taken charge".

    http://www.catalangovernment.eu/pres_gov/government/en/news.html

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  7. The David Dimbleby 3 knuckle shuffle. You've seen it before, you'll see it again. If someone in a QT audience asks a question that may be tricky to answer, Dave asks another member of the audience their view. When he gets something benign, he concentrates on it and turns to the panel like a pound shop medium.

    Here is an example :

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xpDdEMkLRU

    Start at 20 mins 30.

    Dave skips the first audience member's point, then a bloke in a checkered shirt makes a very pertinent point that blows the previously established "what shall we do?" narrative of the whole conversation out of the water.

    Then a bloke in green makes his point to which Shami responds with a return to the 'caring' narrative and Dave sits back in safe hands. We are all one.

    What this conversation omitted entirely was that it is politicians that send soldiers to war, and that politicians by doing this have declared an enemy. If politicians want to invite that enemy 'home', then they shouldn't expect their soldiers to be loyal to politicians in the future.

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  8. The BBC's coverage of the Catalonia crisis has been pathetic. I've had to go elsewhere just to get some basic facts. The BBC website made it sound like the Catalan government had accepted its dissolution, which as far as I can see it hasn't.

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  9. Our MSM and the BBC in particular are I think completely underestimating the power of the Catalan national movement. What's to stop them organising a motorcade of tens of thousands of cars to travel north to protest in Brussels? It's not that far away. They could do that every weekend. Then there is the scope for the Catalans to disrupt the Spanish tourist industry.

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  10. Is there no escape from the dreaded B word? An interesting-looking item on the Radio 3 schedule: "The Meaning of Flowers: Bluebells" is introduced thus:
    "Bluebells are a British icon, voted our favourite flower but now a besieged Brexit symbol."
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/schedules/p00fzl8t

    It's news to me. Is this widely known?
    Other than that, it sounds like something worth a listen. It's on at 10 45 tonight for anyone who might like to tune in.

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    1. The headline: 'Bluebells Bloom Despite Brexit'?

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  11. Okeedokee then, here we go. Manafort falls.
    The Guardian, and I suspect the BBC, will still cling to a narrative that is about 180 degrees from the truth.
    Todays Guardian articles are pretty good for background but omit certain words, such as Podesta and Clinton, as I suspect will the BBC.....
    ....until the Podestas get the attention they deserve after which the Clinton's name will be mud.
    Clinton, Obama aand the DNC may have just ensured a second term for Trump. Oh, the irony.

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  12. Noticeable how the BBC (and most of the MSM) are playing down the support for Puidgemont in Belgium. It was only by reading the Telegraph that the Belgian coalition partner, the New Flemish Alliance has strongly supported the Catalan nationalists. Why would the BBC keep this info from us? Because it wants to portray the Catalan nationalists as completely isolated.

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  13. Did you know the BBC has a "New York" correspondent? No, neither did I...that must be about 20 people they've got based over there permanently to no good effect. Anyway she told us the terrorist responsible for the murders today shouted something...what might that be? She didn't tell us. Luckily ITV news had told me earlier that the something shouted was "God is Great" (not true actually - the correct translation is "Allah is the Greatest"...meaning better than your gods - but better than nothing I suppose).

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    1. Some bloke from an obscure Asian republic apparently. Motivation? Mustn't speculate as it doesn't help with social cohesion.

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    2. The BBC are being counterproductive by neglecting to include these identifying words routinely. When the facts emerge, the reaction of disgust is actually stronger and more acute - because the Beeb have tried to keep their public in the dark.

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    3. Meanwhile back on Planet PC, where the BBC lives, they give over huge amounts of webspace to special (but not very convincing) pleading...

      http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-41763388

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    4. Here is the BBC News website report:

      http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41825577

      If you read down you will see: ...The driver emerged holding what appeared to be two handguns and made a statement "consistent with a terror attack"... This must be their new code for “Allahu Akbar".

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    5. Monkey Brains - The anecdotal story (presented as fact) you linked was given prominence on the main BBC front page yesterday.

      Much more important than this story of someone wanting to kill us with a homemade Ricin bomb.

      http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-41834570

      Buried away on the Derby page, and I only stumbled on it via a link on the daily East Midlands Live page.

      The suspect's name makes it unlikely enough that this story would be given any prominence by the BBC, the fact that he's a refugee (not mentioned until deep into the report even here) rules that out entirely.

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  14. Jon Sopel has joined the dots with his tweet last night.

    https://twitter.com/BBCJonSopel/status/925469281986514944

    "London, Barcelona, Berlin, Nice, Paris and now New York. Fabulous cities now having this dreadful thing in common: #VehicleAttack"

    I mean, really?

    I'm undecided whether this is propaganda, delusion, or the sheer idiocy of Beeboid group think.

    Unsurprisingly, the responses are not going well for Sopel or the BBC.

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    1. I notice he hasn't included Jersualem...another big city that has suffered "vehicle" attacks. Any particular reason he missed that off, given in fact that was the place the method was first perfected as I recall.

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    2. Indeed.

      And Stockholm? Edmonton? Ohio State University?

      Perhaps not considered by Sopel to be 'fabulous', or perhaps he's just losing count.

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  15. Do people feel that in recent months we have begun accelerating at an alarming rate towards the dystopian future? I'm thinking of Universities now vetting lectures and visiting speakers for safe space political correctness. I'm thinking of the BBC ramming Fake News down out throats by all means possible - particular the Fake News genre of unfiltered "individual views" presented as genuine experience, giving a false perspective on everything from Sharia to shagging. I'm thinking of the Police issuing videos progandising on behalf of a religion (no need to ask which one of course). I'm thinking of the dangerous and dehumanising "transgender" mania. I'm thinking of the farce of UKIP electing a man who is middle life was until very recently a member (and parliamentary candidate) of the Liberal Democrats, the most pro-EU and pro-mass immigration of all the mainstream parties.
    I am thinking of Corbyn and McDonnell, strong supporters of the IRA-Sinn Fein movement, now leading one of our two great political parties. Meanwhile people with perfectly sane and moderate concerns about mass immigration and the spread of Sharia are smeared as "far right" and "fascist".

    Wherever you look, the picture is very bleak, I am afraid to say.

    I'd like say also that I do not think I am naturally a pessimistic person. My parents and grandparents had seen great improvements in life opportunities. Even 30 years ago you could see reasons for optimism in the improvement in housing provision as lots of people moved into new homes that offered a decent lifestyle, together with the general rise in incomes. But what do we have now? An ever worsening housing crisis and for most people real disposable income flatlining or in decline.



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    1. We can all share your concerns MB. To my mind, the turning point was the 2017 General Election which Theresa May called in order to gain the nation's support for Brexit.

      Just as soon as the election was called the BBC were saying 'Of course this election won't be about Brexit at all', and then proceeded to reduce the intellectual of debate down to the traditional two-party slanging match in which any serious debate over the implementation of Brexit was comprehensively avoided - after which they claimed 'victory' for Labour and Jeremy Corbyn, promoting him as a PM in waiting.

      This was and remains disgraceful behaviour our national broadcaster, which must be challenged.

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    2. "This was and remains disgraceful behaviour our national broadcaster, which must be challenged."

      Labour decided not to play on the EU field and the BBC were happy to oblige. The pesky need to implement the referendum result hasn't gone away. Too bad there wasn't a General Election during which competing approaches could be outlined and voted on. It's only the most important decision to be taken for fifty years.

      Like Anonymous infers the traditional two party pie fight and the opportunity to leave May politically crippled was so much more attractive.

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    3. From memory, it was 'sadly' Nick who said 'Of course this election won't be about Brexit at all' . He was remembering the Heath Government, when Ted went to the country over the miners strikes and the three day week. Then, of course, the Heath Government was overthrown - and of course we know where the BBC stand on all things miner related.

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    4. Sadly Norm not Nick.

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    5. I am afraid I share your concerns. The moral relativism and post modernist dogma that fuels all of this has been with us for a long time. What I have noticed across much of the BBC programming post election, is a certain normalisation of what once even the BBC would have regarded extreme far-left positions.

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    6. The only way that the BBC can see the Brexit vote reversed is by the election of a far-left Labour Government. To fan the flames, the corporate mindset must be to maintain a strong pro EU anti Brexit narrative, whilst at the same time withholding and discouraging any support for the elected Conservative Government in their broadcast output. Bad news is celebrated if it can be shown to damage the Government, and good news is watered down usually with some negative connotation.

      If the above outcome was ever achieved by BBC Labour, we would soon come to see a genuine dystopia - with all exits barred.

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    7. I fear the gradual acceptance of the far left by the BBC goes beyond Brexit.

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    8. If Labour are now the party of Remain, how do Corbyn and Mcdonnell plan to carry out their policies of nationalisation from within the EU structure? It would be too much to expect the BBC to press them for answers - best keep the plans vague.

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    9. The trouble is that Parliament has a large proportion of MPs from all parties who are in fact in the Remain camp - despite what their constituents might think, and despite whether they were elected from a Leave majority area of the country or not.

      The BBC are pleased to exploit this Remain loophole within Parliament. On the Brexit issue, it can be deduced that Parliament itself does not adequately represent the majority (Leave voters') point of view.

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  16. Guido has an article regarding JRM's 'despite Brexit' BBC claims last week that Craig reported on here.

    https://order-order.com/2017/11/02/bbc-home-of-despitebrexit/

    It hardly scratches the surface however.

    Simply doing a search on the BBC's own website turns up pages and pages worth of results:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/search?q=despite+brexit&sa_f=search-product&scope

    A google search reveals even more:

    https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=%22despite+brexit%22+site:bbc.co.uk&ei=lFT7Wd3KEsTxatv2qegI&start=10&sa=N&biw=1920&bih=984

    Plenty there for someone to get their teeth into were they do inclined...

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  17. Fake News Alert:

    BBC Headline says there is "outrage" among Tory MPs at promotion of Defence Secretary to Chief Whip. No MPs quoted.

    Opening of item then downgrades this to "disquiet". No MPs quoted.

    Then as the item goes on it becomes even less impressive "surprise" and I think maybe "concern"...this is done presumably so it can fit more with the couple of Tory MPs who do speak...in very anodyne terms about possibly querying if this was the best way to approach things or noting he will have a lot of work on his hands getting up to speed with his brief.

    So, this is the BBC today: peddling fake news from anonymous sources.

    We could all play at that game. There's nothing to stop me saying I heard today that there is concern within BBC staff about the reasons why Tony Hall has failed so far to give any personal explanation of whether or not he has been involved in any cases of sexual harrassment. See? Easy! But it's not news.

    Surely "outrage" should be reserved for well, outrage...you know, like when a Jihadi tries to murder people on the Westminster estate.

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    1. Sorry, meant Chief Whip to Defence Secretary of course...

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  18. 2nd Nov. 6pm News, BBC 1.
    Interest rates are rising and, in the opening sequence, the Beeb pulls off a propaganda double whammy worthy of Dr Goebbels: we see a well-fed, elderly woman; she is smirking with selfish glee as she tells us that she is clapping her hands together. Clearly, she is one of these selfish old folk who benefit from the pensions triple-lock, get a heating allowance & free bus passes, while creating a housing shortage by refusing to die. To compound the crime, she sounds uneducated and has what the Metropolitan Elite might call 'an ecky-thump northern accent' - clearly, she is a Brexit supporter, so probably a racist. I wonder how many vox pops they had to do before they hit pay-dirt!

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    1. I heard her comic turn on the radio...it was like being transported back in time...I expected Arthur Askey to come on at some point and make some weak joke about a Full English Brexit to the accompaniment of a bass drum marking the punchline.

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  19. Correction: In fact she said, 'I'm rubbing my hands together!' In the 10pm edition, they did not lead with her & her contribution was edited. Perhaps they realized the bias was a tad too blatant!

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  20. Interesting vignette in these times of troubled inter-gender interactions.

    Ann McElvoy on QT was giving us her pedestrian views on kneegate and related matters but on about three occasions she complained (without much good grace) about Dimbo introducing her as a "veteran" commentator. Why? It's a perfectly honourable appellation, in fact a mark of approbation. It seemed to me that while on the one hand AMcE objected to the idea that women were there in Westminster to provide an attractive diversion for powerful men, on the other hand, though well into her sixth decade at age 52, she still wants to be considered young and alluring. In fact it was rather sad.

    I think it is just a rather neat illustration that these things are far more complicated than our boneheaded opinion formers would like us to believe.


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    1. Yes. Edwina Currie, on 'This Week' was much better value & did a splendid job of hand-bagging the Harperson! Incidentally, if you count Brillo, Labour was outnumbered 3 to 1 - somebody must have slipped up!

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    2. Petronella Wyatt on Today today was definitely going off message, even saying that being groped as a young woman journo was flattering...such loyalty to Boris you might say! - above and beyond the call of duty perhaps.

      I think Petronella Wyatt was right in saying a lot of this came down to good manners and she also declared that men and women are different, offending against the PC ideology of Today.

      Times change, things move on...I don't think anyone wants to return to the days of women being constrained from complaining about oppressive behaviour by male managers or so on. However, unless we deliberately wish to create a kind of sex-oppressed Victorian Era Mark II - even more joyless because of PC ideology - we need to be careful.

      Just going back a couple of nights to a Newsnight special as well on the subject. We were treated to a moralising sermon at the beginning from Evan Davis. It entered very dangerous territory because it's starting thesis was that there were two ways you could stop this sort of thing - either have women cover up or have legal penalties. See what he did there? He did that old BBC thing of giving you two choices and only two and not examining them properly either.

      I object to the idea that "covering up" guarantees women's safety, since we know women in South Asia and the Middle East are incredibly vulnerable to abuse on the street and at work. That approach only "works" where you have Taliban restrictions on where women can go and what they can do.

      This was another example of "Sharia creep" on the BBC since Davis was effectively acknowleding as correct the disgusting ideology that suggests women bring on assault through display.



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  21. This is worth a read as the possibility of a far-left Labour Government is being espoused by the BBC.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-41834559

    After years of disruption to car production at BL which was at that time effectively a nationalised industry, the car workers, traditional Labour voters, who valued their jobs and were aware of the importance of productivity if their jobs were to be made safe, turned against Red Robbo.

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  22. After reading a favourable review of HIGNFY on here, I again ventured to watch it last night after a lengthy gap.

    It opened very promisingly with Quentin Letts and even Ian Hislop starting on a path of satirising the current "sex scandals" - Letts pointing out there has been no actual sex yet!

    But the chairwomen, one Jo Brand, quickly intervened and delivered a long schoolmarmish homily to the naughty boys that these issues are just not funny and shouldn't be subject of their barbs. The audience (clearly left over from QT) cheered and whooped the right-on lecture, as BBC audiences do. After this the show was very tame and subdued, just some perfunctory mocking of Trump.

    It was remarkable and chilling at the same time. Satire on the BBC really is dead. There are absurdities and pomposities that cannot be mocked on the State Broadcaster. White, middle age males are guilty just through being alive.

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    1. Chilling indeed! Have you noticed how the women who are the most strident in their condemnation of sexual harrassment are commonly those who are least likely to attract it themselves? I'm just off to barricade the doors, ready for when the PC hit squad comes calling!

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