Sunday 16 June 2019

Open Thread


Fresh as a daisy, new open thread and thank you for your comments.

150 comments:

  1. As Arthur Trof has noted, always interesting to see how the BBC uses pics and images.

    On Radio 4 Today's twitter account they have a banner comprised of three photos:

    https://twitter.com/bbcr4today

    The first pic is simply Extinction Rebellion propaganda featuring "climate" protestors with placards making dubious or fatuous claims.

    The second pic has a sandcastle with two flags stuck in it - the Union Jack and the EU's, with the former eclipsing the latter. You might accuse me of reading too much into this but I see this as a BBC metaphor: Brexit is an illusory project, built on sand that will be wrecked by strong tidal forces. Think I'm overdoing it? Well yesterday Hague, the notorious Eurosceptic-turned-Remainer warned candidates against building a "sandcastle" administration in the context of Brexit. It's always been a political metaphor with negative connotations.

    3. The third pic I can't make out...why would a BBC functionary choose such a poor pic for the banner? There must be a political reason! Either it's put there for fake balance (it balances the ER propaganda perhaps but it conveys no meaning and is thus neutralised) or it's so important to the BBC agenda they put it there, even though it conveys v. little. Anyone know what it is?

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    1. Yes, the selection of an appropriate photo has become an important weapon in the BBC's and MSM's armoury. It's easy to spot whose stock is on the rise or fall. Jeremy Corbyn for instance has routinely been shown smiling and waving to his supporters, pictured as wise, posed as a grandfather or academic. Lately, that image is largely absent.

      In the early months of her premiership, Theresa May was always shown with an unsmiling worried look against a dark background indicating isolation - to say nothing of the self-inflicted heavy chain necklace or the old blue fleece she often wore. However, when she pushed for her WA against the ERG foe, suddenly she was shown smiling and confident - often with a clear blue sky as the background.

      This is a subliminal art. Expect all photos of Boris to be against a dark background showing a frown or better still a smirk. He won't be shown as smiling and confident, or waving to his supporters. It is likely that a 'Boris scowl' will emerge with the subliminal message of contempt for all but his narrow band of the ERG.

      I have said that all photos should have an indication of the date and location of the photo in order to stop the abuse of stock photos.

      ps. Gove needs some help with styling.

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    2. Something to do with the oil industry? Is that an oil rig in the background? Or shipping?

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  2. A new Rory convert alongside BBCs John Simpson, Gary Lineker and John Sweeney.

    Robert Peston wrote today;

    “Most of the candidates are playing continuity politics in an era of profound discontinuity. Only one candidate - in style if not necessarily yet in substance - seems to intuitively grasp how much has changed.

    Rory Stewart is reassuringly bonkers. There is evidence in the wider country he is being heard. But his MP colleagues and Tory members may be so much in their Brexit bunker that they will fail to notice.”

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    1. Ex Beeboid and LBCer James O'Brien was also expressing "the lurv" this morning...

      I bet he is, as Peston observes, "being heard" in the wider country because he is constantly being promoted and advertised by our dreadful mainstream media.

      No one ever asks him any tough questions...the MSM love to go on about the Iraq War being illegal and a war crime. Rory Stewart, as a Deputy Governor, was a major player in that at a time when a lot of human rights abuses of Iraqi civilians were taking place. Does he ever get asked any searching questions about his time there and his complicity in what went on - especially given many say he was previously a spy? No.

      Imagine if Boris had been a Deputy Governor in Iraq! We'd never hear the end of it!!

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  3. An interesting stat, if correct. Unfortunately, It will not be discussed or scrutinised by the BBC, MSM or politicians.

    The Brexit Party – 26% in the final opinion poll, 28.9% in the actual count. That’s within a credible margin of error for opinion polls. Labour – 20% in the final opinion poll, 30.9% in the actual count.

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    1. Wow! That's a rather interesting observation...do you have a link or was that your own observation?

      And see my post below!



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    2. I would add that I think TBP need to be more proactive about this. They should be employing private investigators to check out whether everything was above board. For instance, how many people registered to vote in general elections in Peterborough are not actually UK citizens or other citizens entitled to vote?

      Farage has tended to accept the electoral process as genuinely beyond criticism even though in Thanet South I think it was, when he was standing, a ballot box went missing for six hours - something unheard of I would say.

      The government are complacent about electoral fraud and Labour actively connive in it. TBP need to be strongly committed to eliminating it.

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    3. I read it on Twitter hence the health warning. I’m not sure I saw any by-election polls for Peterborough. But YouGov published something similar for GE voting intentions just before the Peterborough elections.

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    4. I am not sure there was an opinion poll for the by election...which I would suggest is unusual. I am pretty sure in the past there have been by election opinion polls...I suspect the mainstream media were determined not to give TBP any encouragement or traction (which also explained the very low key reporting in the run up to the poll - contrasting with the extensive coverage after the vote).

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    5. I don't know if it has anything to do with the above but some of the figures quoted are the same: on the Saturday morning politics programme - is it called The Week in Westminster? - Anushka Asthana referred to an opinion poll, which I thought was voting intentions for a general election by Yougov, which she said was Brexit Party 26% and Labour and LibDems both 20%, with Conservatives in fourth place. I remember it because I was irked at the fact that she didn't give a figure for the Conservatives. Why would she do that? I don't get it when journalists give out figures in such a bizarre way but I've often seen it in written articles. They will quote four items as numbers but then the fifth as a percentage.

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  4. For those who are wondering about the Peterborough result, this might be of interest (from BBBC)...

    https://www.politicalite.com/peterborough-by-election/exclusive-police-investigating-mystery-man-who-claims-he-burned-brexit-party-votes/

    Probably a hoax (it's a bit odd to confess online to electoral fraud!)...but some Royal Mail workers have confessed online to not delivering TBP election material - which is a quite serious criminal offence, as far as I know. So not impossible someone might have taken it to the next level.

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  5. Sajid Javid says he is a "big fan of immigration".

    Is the man insane?

    I suppose it's only to be expected from the son of a South Asian migrant family and someone who made a fortune in the City, becoming a director of Deutsche Bank...but it's still very annoying!

    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/06/11/sajid-javid-announces-plan-to-scrap-immigration-target/

    Immigration is still running at over 600,000. We have to find housing for an extra 500,000 people per annum (population growth, nearly all driven by current and previous migration). That's about 200,000 housing units that need to be built every year, or 1 million every decade - just to cover population growth. Except they are not being built. The houses and flats that are built are often taken by overseas buyers - people like bankers from Deustche Bank.

    Mass immigration has caused a vast range of problems, including a very significant terror threat on which we have to spend billions every year to stop carnage on our streets as far as possible. Other problems associated with mass immigration have included tens of thousands of FGM cases, tens of thousands of victims of grooming gangs, hundreds of thousands of birth defects due to cousin marriage, huge rise in diabetes cases, environmental degradation as population growth removes natural habitat, increased prison population, education resources devoted to children with English as an Additional Language, extensive electoral fraud... the list goes on and on but I'll stop there.

    Anyone who says they are a "fan" of immigration needs to explain why they don't care about the things I've mentioned.

    Yeah, I know Boris (from a Turkish migrant family, a couple of generations ago) has said similar things in the past, but he seems to hold back more these days. We'll see...

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    1. He's looking to what might be seen as the immigrant vote or the Asian vote. That's why some are pushing him for leader, referring to his 'background', which means from humble background to university, banking, politics and now high office or at least the Home Office and candidate for even higher but it also includes the immigrant parents, the bus driver, and the Asian, Muslim status. This kind of thing has become current in the Conservative Party in Parliament but also in local government, if my area is anything to go by. Theresa May was actually accused by her own Westminster colleagues of being racist for wanting to control immigration and illegal immigration. That's a common notion among them now including with Cameron, Osborne, Gove and numerous others and he was one of them and openly defiant and disrespectful to May as PM, having been catapulted into a strong position by the need to save her and them from implosion over an immigration scandal exploited by cynical 'race' politicians and media. There was an MP, a supporter of his campaign, on the Politics Live today typically rabbiting on about identity and the modern progressive Conservative party. Boris Johnson has also been for immigration and I believe he still is and is one of the same set but with popular appeal. How it sits with some of the rest of his stances, such as his Euroscepticism I don't know. Perhaps some other prominent people who know him well don't believe it either. Or perhaps they just know and like Javid for his rightish economic stances, which incidentally, can support the cheap labour import strategy which entails mass immigration. He has reasons.

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    2. Sorry - my maths went awry - of course it's 2 million, not one million housing units we need to build every decade. A couple of Birminghams...Sajid gonna tell us how he's going to do that? No,thought not.

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    3. We've highlighted before the impossibility of building housing on this scale in London. To bring these numbers into an already overcrowded city merely degrades what is there, and what has to date been a matter for pride, to third world standards. Is to say that racist? No, similarities are there for all to see with the industrial revolution when many people moved away from the land to work and live in industrial cities (including London).

      It is pure folly to expect the outcome - of inadequate housing and amenity provision - to turn out differently.

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  6. The fresh and lovely daisy above reminds me of something I heard the other day: the name is a reference to the sun, from the yellow centre and the radiating petals, and means day's eye. [ Middle English dayesye, Old English dægesēge the day's eye].

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    1. Never knew that - thanks Anon!

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  7. That's strange - the world class most trusted media arm in the UK, the BBC (or so they tell us) has no trace of this story which appeared in The Sun:

    https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/brexit/9266026/brexit-irish-border-technology-brussels/

    Maybe it's because it shows all that Irish backstop stuff was a negotiating ploy and nothing to do with serious concerns about the border or the GFA.

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  8. The BBC are furiously pushing their views about the Conservative leadership election and are getting into quite a lather about it.

    They just can’t help themselves, effortlessly reporting opinions and their own prejudices as fact.

    John Pienaar talked of the candidates Inflated plans and unrealistic promises. Alex Forsyth challenging a local Tory official about a right wing takeover and a few people, mainly Brexit supporters getting to pick the prime minister.

    That was the Jeremy Vine take too and seems to be the BBCs new line of attack. A few right wing old men picking the new prime minister.

    The groupthink mentality at the BBC means just about everyone is now on message and nothing being reported is positive.

    It’s a disgrace but not unexpected. The upside is that the Conservatives and the candidates deserve the battering they are getting.

    I’m conflicted - our national broadcaster should not
    be doing this but I can’t help having a wry smile.

    Pienaar is right about the inflated plans and unrealistic promises though.

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    1. Yes I heard Pienaar earlier on the radio. I think he must be close to retirement. He doesn't even bother to produce a veneer of impartiality. Just stating those saying they are going to leave by 31st October are lying. Well, they might be but then Jeremy Corbyn is probably lying when he says he's not anti-semitic. Point is, BBC journos are supposed to be impartial and project impartiality, not the opposite.

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  9. Not BBC but exBBC. Robert Peston signalling his love for Rory again when he tweets;

    .@RoryStewartUK electrified this tent. He delivered the most coherent and lyrical launch speech of any candidate. On this showing the Tories have found a proper star. But they will reject him, because his “moderate” views are out of touch with his party. Labour will be relieved

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    1. Couldn't be more biased could it? Peston, ex FT, total Remainiac, is showing his true colours now he can see that Brexit might actually happen.

      For me Rory Stewart looks shifty at all times. His CV raises the sorts of questions you have when faced with a dodgy candidate for a job. His effete, languid delivery is unappealing to both normal men and women. It's a bit like a sixth former trying to appear intelligent by aping the manners of the headmaster.

      He says nothing original. He sees difficulty where a real leader would see opportunity.

      All in all a very uninspiring figure as far as I am concerned.

      But, surprise, surprise, the whole of the BBC. Sky and ITV love him so the lurv-fest will continue.

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    2. And Rory has backtracked tonight on the Labour motion tomorrow to stop a no deal Brexit after earlier today ‘being entirely supportive of it’.

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    3. "It's a bit like a sixth former trying to appear intelligent by aping the manners of the headmaster."

      Exactly right! Head Boy to a 't'. (But should that be headmistress?)

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    4. He's so dull I now automatically switch off mentally when I hear him.

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    5. Worse than dull. He makes me cringe.

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  10. Twitter is such a rich seam for mining bbc bias.

    You don’t need to look far. Why do beeboids feel the need to constantly virtue signal their liberal credentials by tweeting or retweeting a rag bag assortment of gripes, causes and complaints?

    In the last 3 days John Simpson has rubbished Trump twice and been furiously defending the licence fee increase by attacking and blaming the government.

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    1. When is Fran going to sack him for persistent breaches of the BBC's pretend impartiality? He leads a charmed life.

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    2. Arne - Yes Simpson is out of control. Perhaps another one close to retirement...about time...can you have a "World Affairs Editor" who can't manage the steps up on to the plane?

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    3. Fran's leadership skills seem to be on a par with Theresa's. Her appeals and injunctions are universally ignored.

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  11. Newsnight Watch:

    One segment on Rory Stewart wasn't enough...had to go back to him again! And then interview him in the studio...why don't they just let him present the programme?

    Emily agressively interviewing Bojo's representative...throwing out accusations of character faults and lying...But adopts a much cosier "more in sorrow than in anger" style with Sweetheart Rory. Long interview...now allowing him to speak at great length, no interruptions.

    Buzzfeed interview...the BBC love Buzzfeed as we know. It's a centre of lefty agitation. Without irony Maitlis quotes approvingly the fact that Buzzfeed released the Steele Dossier as though it was a document containing verified information. Mueller's lengthy and intense investigation showed it was a load of hokum. Quality journalism! lol

    BTW - since when did the BBC promote its commercial rivals so assiduously? When they are far left Clintonista-Obamites.

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    1. ...continued...

      Discussion of the Tory leadership. Why not get in three Remainers to discuss this? Yes, that's exactly what they did. Not just any old Remainers - Sonia Sadhu and Matthew Parris are from the extreme "Stop Brexit By Any Means" wing. Owen Bennett is a bit more balanced but he too is a Remainer.

      Wondering what poison Matthew Parris will use to undermine Boris Johnson's campaign?...oh right, lots of darkly hinting hearsay...

      Sonia declares her lurv for Rory Stewart. Followed by Owen. Matthew oddly silent...perhaps he's secretly backing another Remainer...Jeremy Hunt?

      Oh well - so Newsnight tonight, in summary, was "The Rory Stewart Love-In starring Rory Stewart, in association with Rory Stewart Productions, Copyright Rory Supporters Club 2019."

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    2. Gavin Esler tweets;
      Good to know some MPs are putting the country first. @RoryStewartUK really is a star. Let’s hope others join him

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    3. Lol - With Gavin's seal of approval how can Rory not succeed?

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  12. Interesting commentary from Dan Bongino (Fox News contributor) re the Hizbollah terrorist story...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-Rep-1u4qs

    He says UK will "take a huge bath" - declassification will be "devastating" for UK. Obama administration was using UK security services to target people opposing the Iranian deal.

    He asks why the London terrorist op has been hidden since 2015. It was covered up for political reasons, he claims. He's suggesting UK is now spinning things...trying to limit damage.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-Rep-1u4qs




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    1. Have the BBC reported the Telegraph story MB?

      Or have they buried it as unsubstantiated and not their type of story?

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    2. I think they did cover it briefly...I'll check. Probably one of their "now you see it, now you don't" jobs.

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    3. Well I'm not getting anything on Google Searches...

      This is a scandal - a man was arrested but we released him without charge. All to help out Obama, it would seem and maintain the Iranian Mullahs are "people we can do business with".

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  13. I have Tweeted the Met Police re the Hate Speech on Radio 4 - but is there anything else that can be done?
    https://order-order.com/2019/06/12/jo-brands-hate-speech/

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    1. This really demonstrates how far the BBC have fallen with left wing ‘comedy’.

      It is broadcast, it is condoned, it is not challenged by the presenter. It passes the BBC test as comedy. The left snigger at hate speech so long as it is directed at the right people.

      What has the BBC become?

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    2. Horrific! Remember this malign non-comedian was the person who got Carol Thather sacked for some silly comments about a black tennis player. But we know the BBC won't sack Brand, even though she incites violence against her political opponents.

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  14. I notice the BBC's Norman Smith didn't cover this part of Boris's speech in his summary...where Boris makes clear he will not stop speaking frankly (alluding, not so frankly, to his Burka letter box comment).

    https://order-order.com/2019/06/12/boris-political-correctness/

    Guido thinks it was important. So do I.

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  15. Toby Young in the Spectator quotes a report on the BBC News website on 6 July 2015 stating that the BBC would ‘cover the cost of providing free television licences for over-75s’ and ‘in return… the licence fee will rise with inflation’.
    https://order-order.com/section/media-guido/
    Now look who's popped up to tell us otherwise. Oh it's that bloke Clementi - he's a Sir - when did we last hear anything from him? I thought he had died or gone into hibernation. Funny how he can rouse himself from his slumbers when the BBC's money, hence its power, and politics are involved.

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    1. The BBC News report from 2015 is here:
      https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-33414693

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    2. Yep, don't expect Sir David "I've Got Plenty" Clementi to leap into action after Jo Brand was allowed to incite battery acid attacks on her political opponents on BBC radio...

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  16. Hidden deep in the BBC website so they can say they reported it.
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-48600923

    3.6 million more patients in the NHS system than people in England.

    The BBC are pointing the finger as fraud but don’t mention that the population numbers may be under- reported. Maybe it’s undocumented migrants, the wording the BBC prefer to use to describe illegal immigrants.


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    1. Yes, very interesting. "Moved on" or gone back to Nigeria after receiving free medical treatment, perhaps?...who knows? I bet they do NOT want to create a "hostile environment" for illegal migrants. Expect no details to be released about the results of this investigation although it should be subject to FOI requests.

      We need to get real in this country. I never wanted ID cards but it's pretty clear that (a) we don't really have any meaningful privacy thanks to the modern world of IT and communications and (b) all our services are being abused and only a system of biometric ID cards can roll that back.

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    2. MB - With you all the way. I, too, was of the, "I don't need to carry a card telling people who I am, I'm English" persuasion, but it's no good, the system is far too open to abuse.

      Having spent a great deal of time abroad, I no longer see a problem with carrying ID - we already do it anyway, in the form of driving licences & bank cards.

      When illegal immigrants are asked why they chose the UK, rather than, say, France, the lack of compulsory ID is top of the list, closely followed by the generosity of benefit payments and ease of obtaining them. Incidentally, I recently had a lot to do with the French health service: French doctors are not in the least bit squeamish about asking for ID/evidence of insurance cover. If their medics can do it, so could ours!

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    3. The very first thing you have to do when visiting a doctor / dentist in France is give them your Carte Vitale - similar to a credit card, with a photo. They slip it into a card reader and your status is displayed on the doctor's computer.
      Never had a problem.
      The French system does work and provides security for those who pay into the system. But now Macron is in power and it's starting to show cracks.

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  17. RORYWATCH:

    And today it's Evan Davis who's "feeling the lurv" for Rory...he says (with no hint of irony or shame) that "we journalists" are impressed by his campaign...well yes, obviously, you lot like him because you are all on the extreme "Stop Brexit" wing of Remainism.

    Had to laugh though when Evan mentioned this in discussion with local Conservative Party chairs...in the hope I think of eliciting some sympathetic plaudits for Rory Boy...the female party chair cheerfully responded to his entreaties with: "Well I've had a couple of phone calls from people telling me under no circumstances to vote for Rory Stewart...".

    I would ask anyone to note two things:

    1. Rory Stewart has drawn the sympathy and approval of huge numbers of people in the media and politics world who are out-and-out Remainers determined to stop Brexit. One can only conclude that they think he will stop Brexit.

    2. Who was it who May sent out to see her so-called "deal" (actually a divorce payment with conditions attached and not guarantee of future trade arrangements) on TV and radio? Why - Rory Stewart of course, the very same person whom Remainers love because they think he will stop Brexit. That tells you something about May's true intentions I think.

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    1. RORYWATCH

      The Tory rebels tonight are: 3 Stewart backers, 2 Hancock backers, 1 Gove backer and 4 undeclared

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    2. And another thing to note:

      Letwin is backing Gove.

      Could it get any worse?

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  18. Is there something about the Westminster Bubble which corrupts young minds and turns promising ingenues into Media Zombies parrotting Blair-Campbell-Cooper Soundbites?

    This thought was prompted by seeing Kate McCann on Sky News today.

    I first noticed her reporting for Sky News a few months back - maybe middle of last year perhaps. I was impressed. She spoke clearly, she didn't gurn, she didn't emote or use body language to add bias to the report. She seemed to be very able at giving clear summaries of what was happening in the world of Parliament and politics.

    Scroll forward a few months... I'm beginning to have my doubts...there was her interview with Carl Benjamin...OK, I'm not expecting her to show him the lurv after his comments, but her interviewing style was now aping that relentless, repetitive quality we see in Maitlis, Coburn the Barbarian, Kuennesberg and all the rest.

    Then saw her today, and she's starting to deploy all the snidey tricks to undermine Boris's campaign...perhaps Beth Rigby has been given her extra tuition?

    Whatever, it's sad to see someone talented throwing it all away to be "part of the crowd"...bit like snorting coke really.

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    1. Maybe she was told to conform by the old hands there or she wouldn’t survive. Got at, so to speak - to signal her social liberal credentials more effectively.

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    2. I wonder who instructed Beth Rigby to accuse Johnson of describing women as letter boxes and bank robbers. Saying someone looks like something...how hard is it to see the difference?
      He had a good answer ready and dealt with it smoothly, even flattering Rigby that it was a good question. It wasn't.

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    3. Perhaps Beth's offended he's never made a pass at her...There's seems to be something very personal about her animus towards Johnson - above and beyond the call of duty of even a Remainiac MSM journo.

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  19. The BBC have published a reality check tonight on Boris’s claims in his speech.

    Presumably Chris Morris thought it was a good idea to see if they could muck rake and do some damage.

    It failed to find anything to take issue with but they have published it deep in the website rather than waste the research and time spent writing it..

    Undoubtedly it they had found anything it would have been front page.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-48610813


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    1. Reality Check is simply an opinion column - BBC opinion.

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  20. Gobsmacking stuff on Moral Maze tonight. Best to listen for yourself than have me tell you what.

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  21. Unbelievable! BBC defends Jo Brand: "just a joke". If the "just a joke" defence is valid why doesn't it apply to Carl Benjamin?...VD didn't seem to think it applied to him. Perhaps she will now apologise since that was exactly his defence for his ill advised remarks.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48611424

    This BBC defence of Brand is extremely offensive. They laugh off Farage's concern. Farage has receive numerous death threats over time and on occasion I think has had the Police warn him of credible threats.

    Farage is not applying a double standard as this article claims. He's condemned Carl Benjamin and he's condemned Jo Brand.

    Millions of people in this country will find Brand's incitement to violence unacceptable.

    The BBC use their usual linguistic techniques - passive voice to the fore: "Brand, speaking after Mr Farage and a number of far-right European election candidates were covered in milkshakes during campaign walkabouts in May..." Covered? They had milkshakes thrown over them. Why not identify the assailants since you're identifying the victims in usual BBC fashion - the assailants were pro-Sharia or left wing activists, opponents of free speech.

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    1. I don't think it's much of a joke. Same thing with Benjamin. But I see Spiked has a headline defending the Brand one. I haven't read it yet.

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    2. This is has been said by one half of the BBCs favourite married couple (whom they both employ). The last line clearly isn’t BBC policy. She will be asked to retract and say she misspoke!

      The shows host, Victoria Coren Mitchell, defended Brand. She tweeted that Heresy was “supposed to be a show that stimulates debate” and she believed “all people should be free to make jokes about anything”.

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    3. My argument is that (a) some consistency is required and (b) the law must be upheld.

      As for consistency, well you can say jokes should not be subject to legal constraint. That would be my view generally, but it is clearly not the view of Parliament, the Police, CPS or the judiciary, so Brand cannot claim that because what she said was a joke it is protected free speech. It isn't under current law. It would have to be viewed on its content. Its content was unambiguous. She made clear she wouldn't do it herself but that is no defence against a charge of incitement.

      Brand is a very malevolent person so there is absolutely no reason to think she didn't mean it. If she didn't mean it, why did she say it? Was the late Jeremy Hardy "joking" when he used to do his little hate pieces on the News Quiz about how he loathed various right wing politicians. No.

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  22. BBC Sounds finds a good excuse to slip in some poisonous Borisphobia into their output. Charlie Brooker mouthing off about how he finds Boris "stomach churning" in his two minute hate.

    This is the new meme they are pumping out day and night - Boris Johnson is somehow a repugnant, low, dangerous character. Whereas Jeremy Corbyn is all light and air and kind to animals.

    The BBC are disgusting. They must go.

    https://twitter.com/BBCSounds/status/1138790181060980740

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  23. RORYWATCH:

    Tweets Gary Lineker

    If the next Tory party leader and therefore PM were to be elected by the general public, I reckon @RoryStewartUK would win hands down. Only candidate making any sense and reason of all the madness. It’s not though, so he more than certainly won’t.

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    1. Well done, Gary...you've proved you can take down dictation from Alistair Campbell.

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  24. Oh well, all in all a good day...yes there has been an unprecedented amount of Anti-Boris Bias and Bile - how would Boris describe it? "A tsunami of pseudo-moralistic sentiment" perhaps?

    But he held his own and reminded us that he can lift our spirits - and he is sticking to his 31st October pledge a pledge that expediency as much as anything else will require him to honour.

    Best part of the day was hearing Kevin McGuire have to admit that the vote in Parliament was a humiliation for Labour and meant no deal could not be ruled out.

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  25. Jo Brand makes a joke in very poor taste that wasn't even original and is defended resolutely by her paymasters the BBC. Carl Benjamin made a joke in equally poor taste several years ago but he is hounded mercilessly by the BBC and MSM. CB had a milkshake thrown at him during a lawful election hustings in May. The BBC reaction to this was one of condonation. Double standards BBC? Bias towards a legitimate political party BBC? HypocrisyBBC?

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    1. To add: both jokes alluded to criminal behaviour expressed for comedic effect.

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  26. Lovely to watch Rachel Sylvester, fanatically anti-Boris Remainiac journo who used to look so upbeat and smug when she thought the Hammond-Rudd strategy was working, now reduced to weakly whingeing about the predominantly "elderly and white" electorate of the Conservative Party. Er - memo to Rachel: you, like most senior political commentators in the MSM are no spring chicken - and you're white. Are you volunteering for early retirement?

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    Replies
    1. She's planning to be forever young.

      I see another one from that stable - Sam Coates - has turned up on Sky News as a political reporter, looking as pleased with himself as ever.

      Delete
  27. I think Boris should have nothing to do with the TV "debates" which should really be called "Get Boris set ups". The idea that someone like Emily Maitlis could referee them impartially is pure fantasy.

    Boris should just set up his own You Tube channel and put on some sensible interviews about his plans and policies conducted by reasonable interviewers.

    He should condemn BBC bias in clear terms, not just once, but whenever interviewed. It's a case of divide and rule - criticise the BBC above and beyond all. Call for a review of the over 75s decision. Suggest you might leglislate to exempt veterans. Go on the attack - that is the lesson of Trump. Condemn the BBC for its defence of Jo Brand...there are many more people in the country who despise her than like her. Force the BBC to defend her in the harsh glare of public scrutiny.

    Actaully, that's probably a good reason to give for not taking part in the BBC debate...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MB - Trouble is the BBC would spin non-participation as cowardice.

      I'm still chuckling at the way he brushed off Kuenssberg's carefully prepared diatribe yesterday!

      Delete
    2. Lol - Thank you Laura,within that minestrone of observations I think there is one substantial question.

      Delete
    3. Sisyphus, Of course the BBC will spin it as cowardice, but that's why you have to attack them aggressively. Say whatever you have to, to get your opinion on the front page...eg "the BBC is calling into question the licence fee with it's decision to charge aged veterans on limited means for their TV licences ...and also with their defence of Jo Brand's disgusting joke..." That will get him on the front pages..."spin that BBC". That's the way to do it, not by playing the BBC set-up game, where Emily Maitlis will read out a long charge sheet and return to it again and again while the "questions from the public" are carefully chosen to maximise damage to Boris Johnson.

      Yes, there were several oratorical gems. We need him after years of brain-numbing soundbites.

      Delete
  28. Rory the Tory is either having a nasty attack of Boris derangement syndrome or he's overdone the poppy-pipe: See Guido, "RORY STEWART PROMISES TO BRING DOWN BORIS IF HE PROROGUES PARLIAMENT."

    Perhaps it's just that the Beeb has lionised him so much that he really thinks he can roar - silly little man!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sounds like he's mixing in the magic mushrooms with the opium...

      BTW - notice how Rory Boy's drug use never gets mentioned now (are we really supposed to believe his only contact with drug culture was one opium pipe in Iran? really?? are we supposed to be that naive???) - whereas they still return to it with Gove and Johnson.

      Delete
    2. h/t Paulski on ConWoman

      Once you add up all the contenders who don’t have the name Boris Johnson, then I think you will find that Boris Johnson is actually the loser. Clearly from this result the members will want to vote for Rory Stewart, the only real contender with the momentum, to be prime minister.

      Delete
    3. Yes, and that is of course confirmed by the Electoral Calculus/ComRes poll analysis that showed Rory Stewart would reduce the Conservative Party representation to 51...job done as far as the BBC are concerned!

      Delete
  29. You wonder why Gary continues with all the lefty crap given all the responses (many rather funny) he gets...

    https://twitter.com/GaryLineker/status/1138755873059291136

    But then, if you reflect, it means he's got a job for life at the BBC (even though he's the wrong race and gender).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In my early days of work there were always obsequious bootlickers who ingratiated themselves with bosses to keep in favour.

      Virtue-signalling BBC tweeters are basically doing the same to remind the corporation blob that their social liberal credentials are still intact. It’s all part of the daily ritual to keep their job and salary. They are all at it.

      Delete
    2. Because he's privileged and protected in the BBC. Same as Jo Brand and that other one - I've forgotten his name - who attacked Katie Price through her disabled son. Despicable but protected by media such as BBC and Channel 4.

      Delete
    3. Frankie Boyle...he "joked" that Katie Price married an MMA fighter in order to stop her disabled son from r**ing her. Apparently that r**e "joke" is far less offensive than Carl Benjamin's r**e "joke", because the BBC have given Frankie Boyle a prime time TV series but haven't offered one to Carl Benjamin.

      Boyle has form. He also "joked" about how Jade cervial cancer would improve her husband's love life...yep, BBC don't mind those jokes. Jade and Katie had no "protected characteristics" it would seem.

      Delete
    4. Hidden away deep in the website, the PM has asked the BBC to respond on Jo Brand

      https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48623046

      Delete
    5. Thanks MB, Frankie Boyle of course. I didn't know about the Jade comments but one thing that struck me about Boyle was his extreme eagerness to assert his anti-racism credentials every time I saw or heard him. It was quite pathetic really. I also got the feeling that he's a very miserable depressed sort of person. At any rate it's quite a few years since and now I never would watch or listen to anything he has to say whether on the BBC or elsewhere. I am disappointed though that any public money is being spent on him - our money handed over to the BBC for quality public service broadcasting. How do they justify that? I suppose they don't even try.

      Delete
  30. Another awful reality check today, this time about where the leadership candidates stand on Brexit.

    Each candidates Brexit position is summarised at the end with ‘potential obstacles’. Those obstacles are pure subjective opinion. Needless to say and according to the BBC, Rory has the fewest potential obstacles and Boris the most.

    It’s an utter joke, the analysis is amateurish and incomplete, just as it would expect from reality check.

    How on earth do they get away with it?

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48496082

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well yes...as if we didn't know already, these are completely subjective!

      Rory's "potential obstacles" are according to BBC "Reality" as follows:

      "Attempts to get the existing deal through Parliament have been unsuccessful so far. Citizens' assemblies may well turn out to be just as divided on Brexit issues as Parliament or the country as a whole. "

      Here's my potential obstacle (probably shared by at least 17.4 million other people) that the BBC somehow missed:

      "Whether Citizens' Assemblies vote 100% or 50-50 for any particular option they will be seen as a transparent device deployed by Remainers to overturn the democratic decision of the people in June 2016."

      Delete
  31. in the public interest or written to damage the credibility of the leadership vote in the minds of the public?
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48395211


    in the public interest or written to damage the credibility of Boris in the minds of the public?
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48586077


    The BBC are playing fast and loose with politics here.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Arne: Re: your earlier comment on the "minestrone of observations," it evoked for me a surreal vision of Kuenssberg, Maitlis and Coburn, muttering incantations over a giant cauldron, à la MacBeth, ActI Sc.I ! :)

    Kuenssberg's face on 6pm news, as she admitted how well Boris was doing, was a joy to behold - she looked as though she was chewing a mouthful of Asian hornets! It's very clear that she, and the rest of the coven, are praying that Boris will drop a brick before the Tory party votes between the final two.ĺ

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lol ; )
      Not just praying, the coven are hard at work brewing poison in that cauldron. Hence the Kuenssberg personal attack masquerading as a multiple question.

      Delete
    2. Arne - Yes, I thought the hostility from Laura wasn't just about politics - perhaps Boris's crime is never trying to take advantage of her meagre charms!

      Delete
    3. How many women has Boris spurned? - that was my theory with Beth Rigby...Some of these female journos don't seem entirely rational when they talk about Boris (twice winner of the Mayoralty of London and currently defeating all rivals in the opinion polls, let's not forget). It is indeed as if they have something deeply personal against him.

      Boris was (is?) a known Lothario in the media world always with an eye for a pretty face or a shapely calf...so we could understand if some female journos feel pissed off at not being hit upon when some of their colleagues were and succumbed to the Johnsonian charms...:)

      They are going so low - why shouldn't we go a little lower...

      Delete
    4. Lol! To judge from the savagery of Fiona's attack on QT (comment below), he must've spurned her big-time!

      I do hope that a. Boris wins the Leadership and b. sets up an inquiry into the Beeb's failure to honour the impartiality requirement. Heads should then roll.

      Delete
    5. I'd have thought Fiona was right up his street. Maybe she spurned him...

      Delete
  33. Question Time: Fiona asks a question, then interrupts Theresa Villiers when she's about a minute into her reply; then launches into a Kuenssberg-style diatribe listing all Boris's sins, real or imagined. The audience response suggests it's stacked, as in the bad old days. Don't think I'll stay the course.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Good vid from Carl Benjamin -

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66Ej1KmxZZU&t=195s

    ReplyDelete
  35. Where are the BBC hiding the Jo Brand story on their website. I can't find it! That's despite it being front page news and the subject of discussion on LBC, I note. For the BBC this hate crime doesn't seem to have happened...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The BBC are in the spotlight over this - and squirming. They are defending the indefensible, whilst also adopting double standards - spot the difference in their attitudes towards Carol Thatcher and Carl Benjamin and that towards their own home-grown bastion of the left.

      Delete
    2. Found it - they buried it under "Entertainment and Arts"!

      https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48628007

      It's lovely the way the "Ministry of Truth" simply gives its two contradictory accounts from Wednesday and Thursday passing over the adamantine nature of its initial defence of "Our Jo".

      The BBC claims the programme is not intended to be taken seriously but that's simply a lie. This is how they describe it on their website:

      "Discussion programme which challenges established ideas and questions received wisdom

      Nowhere does it claim it is "lighthearted", "jokey", "comical" or "unserious". It is simply "a discussion programme". I think VCM would like it to be thought of as a witty examination of ideas that appear to go against conventional belief...something like that. Witty is not an antonym of serious.

      Why it's called "Heresy" I've no idea, since whenever I've heard it, it seems to be aimed at rigidly enforcing PC ideology, an ideology as intrusive and dogmatic as Medieval Catholicism.

      Delete
    3. It would be difficult to find a group of people who take themselves as unreasonably seriously as the BBC’s favoured comedians. re: The Now Show, The Mash Report etc. etc. Yet the justification for Jo Brand is that she “is only a comedian”. The feebleness of their excuses are more astounding than their hypocrisy.

      Delete
    4. Yes, Nish Kumar obviously thinks of himself as a brilliant and hard-hitting political commentator...was therefore very gratifying to see him brought down a peg or two or three by Melanie Phillips when he launched a prepared attack on her on Question Time...

      Delete
  36. Mohammed Amin goes for Boris Johnson's jugular. Probably sent in by his globalist buddies (he was on the board of PWC),in a last ditch attempt to derail Brexit.

    Here is a tweet from him yesterday. Notice how he uses the word Islamophobia:

    "Was on the BBC Radio 5 Live Emma Barnett show about Sajid Javid not being invited to last week’s state banquet for Donald Trump + Islamophobia in the Conservative Party + and my personal views on Boris Johnson."*

    And here is an article from Conservative Home in February of this year, a few short months ago...the article is headed "Mohammed Amin: It is time to abandon the word 'Islamophobia' ”. He argues the word is meaningless and/or dangerous!

    https://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2019/02/mohammed-amin-it-is-time-to-abandon-the-word-islamophobia.html

    Can we trust this guy? It shows how MCB activists (he was a leading light in that organisation which has its roots in the Muslim Brotherhood) use the word for political purposes as it suits them. He's also been a supporter of blasphemy laws to protect Islam and a critic of them.

    Will the "world's most trusted broadcaster" raise these inconsistencies? Will they criticise him for dividing communities with his defence of the Burka and his description of Boris as "Hitler-like"? Well they point out that Boris Johnson defended Muslim women's right to wear the Burka?

    * Nice of the BBC to invite him in...I expect there's a Conservative Hindu Forum somewhere - did the BBC invite them in to give their views on Boris Johnson? :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Warsi has also been tweeting with gusto about the banquet and phobia and did you see that clip of Mishal Hussain and Sajid Javid where she was asking him if it was because he is a Muslim? Can't remember where it was posted. Don't remember anyone quizzing him about his disloyalty and open defiance of the PM and whether PM's displeasure might have anything to do with it.

      I remember Warsi posing at No 10 in the sort of attire which isn't her normal wear and I don't remember her complaining when she was parachuted in because she is a Muslim. Ditto Javid. Haven't heard him moaning about being given the Home Office because of his 'background'. He's been plugging his claimed uniqueness for all he's worth during this campaign and now starting in earnest with the cards. He has quite a few at his disposal and a couple of ways to play them.

      Delete
  37. Jon Sopel exposes himself again...

    https://twitter.com/MAGA1Today/status/1139306189974409216

    The final stage of Trump Derangement Syndrome - general paralysis of the insane?

    ReplyDelete
  38. WATO - BBC Bias at its finest...the Two Minute Hate extended by a factor of 10. Get Boris, Bring Down Boris, Savage Boris, Call Boris Nasty Names, Trip Boris Up, Kick Boris in the Shins, Pull Boris's Hair, Make Boris Cry...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Always a biased programme with Marvell at the helm. However what is Boris promising? May’s WA with max fac instead of the backstop. At best, that’s what’s we’ll get with him as PM.

      Delete
    2. I thought WATO was biased...then I heard the Ten Minutes Hate at the start of Any Questions!...even extreme Remainiac Jonathan Dimbleby had to ask the audience to stop booing every mention of Johnson's name (I think Ash Sakar had brought along a lot of her friends).

      Johnson was described as "a vampiric monster, more evil than Genghis Khan and less kind to animals than Hit-ler" (well they all lie about Boris, so why can't I lie about them?).

      The Anti-Boris Alliance are getting desperate...their latest line of attack is "how many children does Boris have?" I don't know Matthew...how often did you go cottaging back in the day?

      Talking about Matthew Parris, I read his Spectator column from last week. It was ridiculous, all about how he almost became the victim of a computer bank fraud. I couldn't believe how stupid he was. I would estimate 99% of Spectator readers would have spotted the fraud within 30 secs of answering the phone...but Parris was still on the phone after 40 minutes, not realising the call was from a scammer!!! lol Well, one might sympathise ordinarily but in the case I immediately thought, this guy can't spot an obvious fraud but lectures us about how we didn't know what we were voting for when we voted Leave and thinks he has a better understanding of the EU than we do! :)

      Delete
  39. Kay Burley takes issue with Allison Pearson referring to Beth Rigby's poor diction...

    https://twitter.com/KayBurley/status/1139466609079332864

    But listen to this...

    https://news.sky.com/video/boris-johnson-challenged-over-previous-controversial-comments-11740408

    Her diction is lazy, appalling! She does say "parotter" not character first time. I've noticed before she drops her gs at the end of present participles e.g. doin'.In fact she'll pronounce "doing" as "doon". Government become "guvvernt", Cabinet becomes "Cannit", Prime Minister becomes "Pry Mister".

    The overall effect is that the listener has to work harder to just understand what words she is attempting to pronounce which interferes with understanding the point she is making.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Definitely 'parotter' - Maybe she should change her dentist...

      Delete
    2. Does she belong to the huntin', shootin' and fishin' classes? No, though she does drop the g it's more of a common or working class way of speaking. It's often attracted comment but she doesn't change it. That parrot or character thing is weird. I haven't heard that one before. Jo Coburn did a particularly noticeable Pry Minister yesterday.

      Delete
    3. Her dad was a Prof and she went to a good home counties grammar...I think she might be mimicking the lazy drawl of the self-assured aristocrat. Sound pretty weird though.

      Delete
  40. Kay really comes across as quite the slapper, if that had been in doubt before.

    Half expecting her to fling a hair extension or set Adam Boulton on her.

    I feel a ring full of mud could see good ratings.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's at times like these the female TV presenter's stilleto heel comes into its own - good for taking your opponent's eye out...

      I apologise if that caused offence. I was only joking, or fantasising or something - whatever it was that Jo Bland said...

      Delete
    2. Sorry, Brand...

      Delete
  41. Seems like there is substance to the claims of vote rigging in Peterborough. Two councillors have said the claims are credible.

    https://www.politicalite.com/conservatives/grave-concerns-two-pboro-councillors-speak-out-about-alleged-vote-rigging/

    So why no interest in this from the BBC or the rest of the MSM?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Breitbart article as well.

      https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/06/14/police-investigate-postal-vote-fraud-at-peterborough-by-election/#

      Delete
    2. Wonder what's the next step if fraud is proved - another by-election or automatic award of the seat to TBP? Either way, who decides - the Electoral Commission or a High Court judge?

      We need, not only to end postal voting, except in the PROVABLE case of illness/infirmity but also to enforce the no photography regulation, to prevent intimidation. I remember, when I was a child, that polling stations had a plod on the door to enforce the regulations - thanks to Theresa, we probably don't have enough plods now.

      Delete
    3. It looks like you have to put a "petition" into the Election Petitions Office...that is then heard by a judge (Crown Court?). I presume the Judge can order a re-run of an election.

      https://www.gov.uk/challenge-election-result/what-happens-hearing-trial

      The Electoral Commission has been useless and in fact is more of a danger to democracy than a protection of it.

      I agree entirely - we need to move away from postal voting and back to voting in person (with ID).

      There should be serious jail time for anyone found to have committed electoral fraud.

      Delete
    4. Yes, the Electoral Commission has more than its fair share of Remainiacs. I look forward to seeing our revered National Broadcaster covering Peterborough in depth - a Panorama exposé of electoral fraud perhaps...But don't hold your breath!

      Delete
  42. I've heard some joke writers don't want to work with Jo Brand anymore because of her outrageous remarks...so I am offering my services:

    "My dog's got no nose."

    "How does it smell?"

    "It can't, I threw battery acid in its face."

    That should bring the house down.

    OK, well how about this:

    "Men. What are they good for? Well, just so's you know girls, minced, they make very good cat food."

    Nothing offensive about that one.

    No? OK, last try:

    "The BBC are impartial, free and fair. That's why Newsnight interviewed only David Baddiel - my very good friend and creator of Heretics - when they wanted to get to the bottom of this offensive joke business."

    Yep - that's hilarious.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's the way you tell them! ;)

      Delete
    2. Contrast the wit and wry commentary of The Spectator cartoon with Brand. https://www.spectator.co.uk/comic/knife-crime/

      Delete
    3. The best battery acid joke was, of course, Tommy Cooper's, "Police arrested two kids yesterday, one was drinking battery acid, the other was eating fireworks. They charged one and let the other one off."

      Delete
    4. Q. Why did the chicken cross the road?
      A. To avoid getting battery acid thrown in its face by Jo Brand.

      Delete
  43. If you want to keep up with developments in the USA - I mean all those developments not covered by Jon Sopel, Anthony Zurcher, Nick Bryant Katty Kay and the other 30 plus staff they have in the USA - I would recommend Black Conservative Patriot:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Gn-ApX8DgU

    He tends to bring it all together.

    Hannity of Fox News is good as well but he's more of a news maker...

    ReplyDelete
  44. 10 pm News. Footage of the Leadership candidates arriving at today's hustings and, what do you know, somebody has parked a coach with 'Johnson Bros.' painted on the side. Pure coincidence of course - it hasn't been planted there to remind us of Boris's alleged lie!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. First rule of media studies: nothing happens "by accident"! :)

      Delete
    2. Second rule: If you can't make it, fake it.

      Delete
  45. Why the continued interest in the Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe case which was main item on the BBC news tonight?

    Would it be because there is more to his story than meets the eye and the BBC are coy about reminding us of the real issue at the heart of the case.

    The BBC said tonight that they are an ordinary family and that she was just on holiday when arrested. The repeated emphasis that she is British Iranian is also somewhat misleading. She has dual nationality but was travelling in an Iranian passport.

    Tehran’s prosecutor general said in October that was being held because she ran “a BBC Persian online journalism course which was aimed at recruiting and training people to spread propaganda against Iran”.

    She worked for BBC Media Action which provided training courses to Iranian citizen journalists and bloggers. Iran claims that they conducted activities against the security of the country by designing websites and carrying out campaigns in the media and were trained by Zaghari-Ratcliffe.


    It’s a difficult case but the BBC are using bias by omission presumably through guilt because they have a vested interest in the case. She was their employee at the time of the alleged crime.

    One more thing - why is a BBC charity training Iranians about websites and journalism when Iran opposes the BBC Persian service so vehemently?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I assumed they'd brought it up again in order to provide another stick with which to beat Boris - probably on Tuesday. I've always suspected that he was set up by the FO.

      Delete
    2. You make some important points Arne. While I am sure we all have tremendous sympathy for her plight, what Boris said was probably the truth.

      I think the Foreign Office are at great fault here. Surely the advice should be to anyone from the UK that they should not travel there for any reason whatsoever as they are likely to become potential hostages.

      The current advice is:

      "the FCO now advise British-Iranian dual nationals against all travel to Iran; all British nationals should consider carefully the risks of travelling to Iran"

      That's not good enough. It should just say: "Do not travel to the Islamic Republic of Iran. They operate Sharia law there which means you cannot expect any sort of real justice."

      Delete
    3. Sis, I think this is being seen by the Antiborisians as a potential stick to beat him with.

      Delete
    4. I believe that the BBC and MSM are relishing the idea of Boris as PM so that they can launch a no holds barred personal Trump-style attack upon him. All the half-truths and wilful misinterpretations of his words going back decades will be lined up in readiness. As MB has said on several occasions, Boris must be equally prepared with Trump style putdowns of which in this leadership election only he is capable.

      For all the criticism of his privileged background and education, he will have been trained to withstand verbal abuse. His quips especially if they are in Latin will send the average BBC journalist off to search Google to interpret his meaning - by which time his point has been well made.

      Delete
    5. I'm thinking the same about the Sunday Morning Live programme currently on BBC One.

      Delete
  46. RORYWATCH

    The article headline indicates that the story is about Hunt but Rory gets more space and words for his plan. This is another clever ploy by the BBC to promote their man.

    Bias by Trojan horse maybe - or does MB already have a name for this type?....

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48653990

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes they do a lot of that - allows them to keep articles they like up there for days, even weeks in some cases.

      Delete
  47. Mark Mardell doing well on TWTW representing the United Anti-Boris Media Coalition on Radio 4.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. His vox pops were all negative about Boris. He did find a pro-Rory couple though, of course.

      Delete
    2. "Rory we love you, Rory we do!"

      Delete
  48. Classic ‘whataboutery’ from Dominic Casciani in this report on the Trump Khan spat about London knife crime.

    Are the BBC trying to justify the knife crime epidemic in London by using statistics to say it’s twice as high in New York and other US cities? Shameful if they are.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-48651131

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trump doesn't run New York City. Khan is the politician who has the role of Commissioner for the Police in London (it's confusing because there is a Commissioner for the Met Police - a Police Officer - but Khan is also the Commissioner, the role that in other parts of the UK is a separately elected office). So Khan has full responsibility.

      As far as I know, knife crime is a responsibility of States in the USA, not the federal government.

      Delete
  49. On tonight’s news the BBC were again pushing the line that the next PM of our country is being chosen by just a few people, 313 Tory MPs and the membership.

    They are so annoyed by this that it is now a main line of attack across the BBC.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And yet they are happy for 315 MPs to cancel the democratic decision taken by over 30 million citizens.

      Delete
  50. RORYWATCH
    Listening to BBC radio 2 news this morning, the only clip they played on the C4 debate was the bin bag analogy by Rory. He and Boris were the only candidates mentioned.

    Why would they do that?

    ReplyDelete
  51. Must be serious! BBC have the Peterborough By Election malpractice on the front page and give a decent about of space to it:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-48665324

    Finally, they got there after studiously ignoring it.

    Well done to Politicalite which first broke the story.

    I was appalled to read that some 400 postal votes were disallowed for failing to have matching signature or address. That is a huge, huge figure. I've never heard of any such figure (about 5% of postal votes cast). Postal votes tend not to be spoilt. Very rare for addresses or signature not to match.

    Time to drain our own swamp. TBP need to pursue this through to the end.

    Perhaps the boss is away...the BBC also have the story about the Scottish MEP forced to issue a grovelling apology to TBP's Richard Tice on the front page. Wonders will never cease!

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-48664373

    ReplyDelete
  52. BBC deploying their old "concept merge" bias technique.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-48641058

    The lead blurb talks about Police investigating rise in "right wing" activity. The body of the article refers to the "far right" and links it to online postings and terrorism. The Home Office is quoted as saying it is committed to eliminating extremism "in all its forms". Does that mean they are going to eliminate Extinction Rebellion - a political movement pursuing extreme policies in defiance of democratic government, which would cause mass starvation, collapse of the NHS and deaths of tens of millions of people? Er no, of course not.

    H/T to Roland Deschain on BBBC


    This "concept merge" propaganda is one of the most effective tools in the BBC's kit, along with savage mockery and moral stigma. People see right wing, far right, Police investigation, online comments and terrorism linked in this seemingly lazy way (though I think it's actually deliberate) and they become fearful, particularly of being labelled "right wing".

    ReplyDelete
  53. Rory Cellan-Jones calls Rod Liddle a "racist git".

    https://www.thepoke.co.uk/2019/06/17/the-bbcs-rory-cellan-jones-had-the-best-takedown-of-rod-liddle-supposedly-racist-aside/

    I was wondering how this lacklustre BBC presenter has been able to cling on to his job, given he is the wrong age, race and gender. I thought it might have to do with the now-frequent "making public my disability" gambit (he's done it twice now - getting boring mate!) but researching the man I find that he is married to Diane Coyle, who just happens to have been on the BBC Trust from 2006 until 2015...that must have helped. Unbelievable! on the Trust while married to a senior reporter for BBC News (surprise, surprise, she was particularly complimentary about BBC News).

    Coyle, BTW is a full on EuroRemainiac. Despite being a much honoured economist, she has done her bit to encourage panic buying and stockpiling in order to produce the required "chaos" that can be blamed on Brexit. She did this in - surprise surprise - the Guardian:

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jan/14/i-dont-trust-the-government-to-look-after-me-or-my-dog-meet-the-brexit-stockpilers

    Of course it is also no surprise to find she is now a member of the Migration Advisory Committee and, like her husband, no doubt sees no connection between immigration from certain communities and electoral fraud.

    Drain our swamp!

    ReplyDelete

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