tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32720549000187468452024-03-13T00:02:06.783+00:00 Is the BBC biased?...and any other matters that take our fancyCraighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741318067991857821noreply@blogger.comBlogger8822125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-42138707175458079182023-07-01T11:11:00.001+01:002024-01-07T08:02:51.572+00:00Blog Closed - Final Open Thread<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_XiOC5s25w-AlkOkJchsgP50O3MZ_sHTBmWUMviy9izz1ndGfJbc6717apakX1u6MshnWIeEZdGaCRO1LZ4eKo068za_wNs9NEAYkWIX_b91yXg9wD4RE59MtBjJhkNzYFzQ7SVY_LVATWB_trBH-wEORwEeXxx9FY7M4Jm4ORPh84QaurbV_zcDS" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="1024" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_XiOC5s25w-AlkOkJchsgP50O3MZ_sHTBmWUMviy9izz1ndGfJbc6717apakX1u6MshnWIeEZdGaCRO1LZ4eKo068za_wNs9NEAYkWIX_b91yXg9wD4RE59MtBjJhkNzYFzQ7SVY_LVATWB_trBH-wEORwEeXxx9FY7M4Jm4ORPh84QaurbV_zcDS" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p>suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02693686958796849316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-61068580892446094762023-05-23T17:06:00.001+01:002023-05-24T16:38:11.354+01:00The Most Contentious Story<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQYfSGy5QSt7M7Pyoz9ZIR_6Z0z8s62l47D-bGcjNm7o2TomG3i762iXB7eN-5Pt_bMf0nXJQgUm-nR35LY2WmjCITVr0Odw0x8erzv10WvXDhvGp9ABWBie6_HpQkfzvnshwIY7v0YbZogY7Sn5zK6KuCIUF1rVnXiu0RDbHS-sRV_rV38J9LFNT1/s1312/Screenshot%202023-05-23%20at%2017.04.53.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1312" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQYfSGy5QSt7M7Pyoz9ZIR_6Z0z8s62l47D-bGcjNm7o2TomG3i762iXB7eN-5Pt_bMf0nXJQgUm-nR35LY2WmjCITVr0Odw0x8erzv10WvXDhvGp9ABWBie6_HpQkfzvnshwIY7v0YbZogY7Sn5zK6KuCIUF1rVnXiu0RDbHS-sRV_rV38J9LFNT1/s320/Screenshot%202023-05-23%20at%2017.04.53.png" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p>Sadly, </span><a href="https://honestreporting.com/outrage-cnn-wont-publicly-apologize-over-amanpours-shootout-comment/" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">Honest Reporting</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> has lowered its expectations enough to </span><a href="https://twitter.com/HonestReporting/status/1660747193022824448?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">claim </a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Christiane Amanpour’s ‘apology’ as a victory. </span><p></p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en"></p><div style="text-align: justify;">SUCCESS: Following our campaign for a public apology, <a href="https://twitter.com/CNN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CNN</a>’s <a href="https://twitter.com/amanpour?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@amanpour</a> says live on air: “I have written to Rabbi Leo Dee to apologize and make sure that he knows that we apologize for any further pain that may have caused him.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">See the full story here: <a href="https://t.co/ppmGQL5927">https://t.co/ppmGQL5927</a> <a href="https://t.co/PxWeyB0id0">pic.twitter.com/PxWeyB0id0</a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;">— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) <a href="https://twitter.com/HonestReporting/status/1660747193022824448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 22, 2023</a></div></blockquote><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I misspoke and said that they were killed in a shootout instead of “a shooting”</span></p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sorry, but apologising for accidentally uttering the word “Shoot<i>out</i>” rather than “Shoot<i>ing</i>” isn’t fooling anyone. It doesn’t ring true at all. Would any standard English speaking person, let alone a seasoned TV presenter, really say <i>“killed in a shooting”</i>?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">They’d say “were shot”, surely. Or “shot and killed.”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In any case, the girls’ mother died of her injuries so wasn’t literally killed in a ‘shooting’ <i>or</i> a ‘shootout’ because unlike her two daughters Maia and Rina, Lucy survived for three days after which several of her organs were donated to various recipients.</span></p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: left;">Interestingly, the above tweet was taken from Honest Reporting, but I tried to find it again on Amanpour’s own Twitter feed. I’m no expert on the minutiae</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="text-align: left;"> </span><span style="text-align: left;">of Twitter, but it seems that Amanpour has clipped the apology in question so that only the ghostly remains of the printed sub-title are on view. The apology itself has gone down the memory hole.</span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: left;"> </span></p> <script async="" charset="“utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en" style="text-align: justify;">Writer, broadcaster and disability activist <a href="https://twitter.com/TheSineadBurke?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheSineadBurke</a> discusses making history as one of <a href="https://twitter.com/BritishVogue?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BritishVogue</a>’s five trailblazing disabled cover stars. <a href="https://t.co/9RYeqXBICe">pic.twitter.com/9RYeqXBICe</a></p><div style="text-align: justify;">— Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) <a href="https://twitter.com/amanpour/status/1660702157853605913?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 22, 2023</a></div></blockquote><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I do realise that this isn’t a blog about CNN but I did come upon it while looking at the latest adventures of the BBC's Jeremy Bowen. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">By virtue - if nothing else - of sheer longevity, Jeremy Bowen has become a BBC National Treasure. </span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The BBC has been featuring a lunchtime series of Bowenisms as well as a Bowen edition of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001m9zd/the-media-show-11-jeremy-bowen-seeing-through-the-fog-of-war" target="_blank">The Media Show </a>with Ros Atkins. </span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The BBC’s claims of impartiality have been seriously holed below the waterline, not least by Bowen, who, on <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/peter-principle.asp " target="_blank">The Peter Principle</a>, maybe, has risen from intrepid reporter to International Editor of BBC News. </span></p><blockquote><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jeremy Francis John Bowen is a Welsh journalist and television presenter. He was the BBC's Middle East correspondent based in Jerusalem between 1995 and 2000 and the BBC Middle East editor from 2005 to 2022, before being appointed the International Editor of BBC News in August 2022. </span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">If Bowen did indeed set out in 1995 with no baggage, such an aspiration was scuppered when his Arab friend and driver Abed Takkoush was killed. </div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en" style="text-align: justify;">On this day in 2000 Abed Takkoush, long time driver/producer for the BBC in Lebanon, was killed by a shell fired at 1km range by an Israeli tank crew. They tried to kill cameraman Malek Kanaan and me with the tank’s heavy machine gun. Their excuse - we might have been terrorists <a href="https://t.co/syiL7MvHuX">pic.twitter.com/syiL7MvHuX</a></p><div style="text-align: justify;">— Jeremy Bowen (@BowenBBC) <a href="https://twitter.com/BowenBBC/status/1528678630146158593?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2022</a></div></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">Bowen fans and the BBC blame immature and trigger-happy Israeli soldiers for this unfortunate occurrence; this may have been the incident that changed everything. Bowen has recounted the tale umpteen times, always exonerating himself from any responsibility, but plainly wrestling with feelings of guilt, which have been eating away at him from that day till this.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This features in <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001jkt1" target="_blank">Episode 2 of his podcast</a> series alongside another tragedy that has acquired myth-like status for Bowen as well as a vociferous number of like-minded anti-Israel activists. This was the shocking <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/aug/15/palestinian-doctor-izzeldin-abuelaish-gaza-war" target="_blank">killing</a> of Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish's daughters during another flare-up of violence in Gaza </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Understandably, such experiences have affected Jeremy Bowen; the BBC could legitimately have given him an honourable discharge and a fat pension. But of course, they promoted him.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In one of these broadcasts, he does address the issue of impartiality, asserting, quite rightly, that human beings are necessarily partial; yet he feels that he himself was as impartial as a BBC Middle East editor needed to be. Yet he didn’t seem troubled by the gruesome slaughter of the Fogel family, for example, which suggests his empathy is selective. In other words, not impartial at all.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Overall, Jeremy Bowen seems incurious about the root of the conflict. The language he uses shows that he sees it exclusively from a pro-Palestinian perspective, where the apparent ’underdog’ status justifies one or two necessary deviations from impartiality. The emotional bond he has with his Palestinian fixer <a href="https://twitter.com/rushdibbc?lang=en" target="_blank">Rushdi Abualouf</a> verges on the mawkish. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Look, we know which side Jeremy Bowen is on. He - and the BBC itself - barely even bother to hide it, which brings us back to Christiane Amanpour, who is cited in the credits to one of his lunchtime podcasts. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Update:</p> <script async="" charset="“utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/JbKgwazkVs">https://t.co/JbKgwazkVs</a> Alan Dershowitz is on it!</p>— Israel75 (@IFNY2775) <a href="https://twitter.com/IFNY2775/status/1661056571869216774?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02693686958796849316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-21896265813030595072023-04-01T23:29:00.001+01:002023-04-02T07:41:46.475+01:00April 2023 Open Thread<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLYXSkvScuu0tDACiEoz4swZe-SHkIxTQog-iX1ITEt2lr4ufR6E64CWLVxUjVyzxJKHQDR1tz-VIfc3E_hkigGlyhOG-mDuxx0pXs08jVVM1m9zP0ozzKGE3S60QBic2oO1s0pbuFvEB3qEFOOrWcll-J_Wg0bTwSoRiVf5e_pOe2MjNOJi8uUapx/s788/tv%20centre.PNG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="459" data-original-width="788" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLYXSkvScuu0tDACiEoz4swZe-SHkIxTQog-iX1ITEt2lr4ufR6E64CWLVxUjVyzxJKHQDR1tz-VIfc3E_hkigGlyhOG-mDuxx0pXs08jVVM1m9zP0ozzKGE3S60QBic2oO1s0pbuFvEB3qEFOOrWcll-J_Wg0bTwSoRiVf5e_pOe2MjNOJi8uUapx/s400/tv%20centre.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></blockquote>Oh, to be in England<br />
Now that April's there,<br />
And whoever wakes in England<br />
Sees, some morning, unaware,<br />
That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf<br />
Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,<br />
While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough<br />
In England—now!</blockquote><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr Browning isn't wrong. Hello to you all and thank you for continuing to comment.</div>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741318067991857821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-57434336432158052852023-03-01T23:04:00.009+00:002023-03-02T07:10:23.564+00:00March 2023 Open Thread<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5XwL9nK3Uq_cFR7xJwFjCfUZMMB4ULObymuz06aMfRrpKdYmTXCQz54W0wM2FUfM4dsqWcp7cnYuKr6qNrNW3jaf1ewAX9-wM2PLs_qBtm7PmpKOk-3lQlSvJ61gq9o9BO2i9qnkBcZYV3KTQDT0HnT7KQHbo0-EAwVXJXQ4Z0xhyC0L-Xz22c4jw/s739/daffs.PNG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="322" data-original-width="739" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5XwL9nK3Uq_cFR7xJwFjCfUZMMB4ULObymuz06aMfRrpKdYmTXCQz54W0wM2FUfM4dsqWcp7cnYuKr6qNrNW3jaf1ewAX9-wM2PLs_qBtm7PmpKOk-3lQlSvJ61gq9o9BO2i9qnkBcZYV3KTQDT0HnT7KQHbo0-EAwVXJXQ4Z0xhyC0L-Xz22c4jw/s400/daffs.PNG"/></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br />Hello. Time for a new open thread. Thanks for your continuing comments.</p>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741318067991857821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-87958784970614544292023-02-01T23:02:00.013+00:002023-02-02T07:11:20.017+00:00February 2023 Open Thread<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR0mEn_dbdy5trJe_Uok2iQB0x5A8XuZ-SCcI1THupSp8qO9YMnND5porUNq1AJC8PqtVXfoYcjZUytS3vfmFl0WOlNYdcVTLe8dAZFVnHw5jqRbbX26f-XaZNhmlcnZsRD4jSQy_GKvbjtvRylknAJs02pZBm9fSeXbov1pl-1sSfBmSgLsUNh3Zc/s701/b%20b%20c.PNG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="417" data-original-width="701" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR0mEn_dbdy5trJe_Uok2iQB0x5A8XuZ-SCcI1THupSp8qO9YMnND5porUNq1AJC8PqtVXfoYcjZUytS3vfmFl0WOlNYdcVTLe8dAZFVnHw5jqRbbX26f-XaZNhmlcnZsRD4jSQy_GKvbjtvRylknAJs02pZBm9fSeXbov1pl-1sSfBmSgLsUNh3Zc/s400/b%20b%20c.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Happy February and thank you for commenting. What will the BBC get up to this month?</div>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741318067991857821noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-77464177726060805442023-01-26T19:55:00.000+00:002023-01-26T19:55:50.023+00:00New Year January 2023 Open Thread<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrkJFJw0C-8jODinQo4plM4DTUgtM3VzgAXlr17PJd31Nfaqd9bFkTJ6vVddgHByp31xPKCjCH_amVZaNxcwPZkUbdNe4KNpREAvbNFccmbJOctKiU2kBpFEqpBzk2gc5HYq-pXGP7eg7ASWsQPNZbvvQ3wfE9gl-utgCAQtkhaLEM5zXuvegSJceF/s746/2023.PNG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="428" data-original-width="746" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrkJFJw0C-8jODinQo4plM4DTUgtM3VzgAXlr17PJd31Nfaqd9bFkTJ6vVddgHByp31xPKCjCH_amVZaNxcwPZkUbdNe4KNpREAvbNFccmbJOctKiU2kBpFEqpBzk2gc5HYq-pXGP7eg7ASWsQPNZbvvQ3wfE9gl-utgCAQtkhaLEM5zXuvegSJceF/s400/2023.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Happy 2023! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sAqxHvIb0HA" width="320" youtube-src-id="sAqxHvIb0HA"></iframe></div><br /><div><br /></div>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741318067991857821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-49963934826474637002023-01-26T19:54:00.006+00:002023-01-26T20:02:08.452+00:00Something's not quite right<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There’s nothing currently on the Beeb about the latest Ghislaine Maxwell revelations. The last time we heard about it was on the BBC website this time last year when they reported that “Prince Andrew <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-60393843" target="_blank">has settled</a> a civil sexual assault case brought against him in the US by Virginia Giuffre.” </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And there’s no trace on the Beeb of one of this blog’s <a href="https://isthebbcbiased.blogspot.com/search?q=John+Sweeney" target="_blank">former staples</a>, our ex-Panorama<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>friend, ’roaring’ John Sweeney, either.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I hadn’t been aware that Sweeney has made the Maxwell /Epstein affair into a major project. A number of people have rushed to be seen to <a href="https://watch.talk.tv/watch/vod/51625368" target="_blank">condemn </a>the Maxwells - </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">well, they would, wouldn’t they </span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">- but there’s many a slip-twixt cup and Virginia Giuffre.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/dec/23/hunting-ghislaine-podcast-john-sweeney" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>:</span></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #0f0f0f; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Hunting Ghislaine, which reaches its conclusion this Thursday, has been a huge hit, so far notching up 6 million listeners. Its success clearly feels like a redemption. “I’d like to thank Tony Hall,” says Sweeney, “for ruining my life.” He blames the BBC’s former director general for his departure from the corporation after 17 years. “I had a very bad 2019,” Sweeney admits. His investigation of the English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson was shelved by the BBC after it was revealed that Lucy Brown, one of Robinson’s followers, had pulled off a sting on Sweeney. “I fell for it. I was fool. I drank too much with a source who was scheming against me.”</i></span></blockquote><p></p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now for Jeremy Kyle.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After a spell of <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/jeremy-kyle-show-cancellation-controversies-26435810" target="_blank">cancellation </a>and subsequent semi-rehabilitation, </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jeremy Kyle is back - complete with characteristic obnoxiousness. He attacked lawyer Alan Dershowitz with such venom and rudeness that even the below-the-line commenters on one of its Youtube iterations appeared flabbergasted at the venomous tone of the attack, given that Kyle’s de-cancellation</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">was allegedly based on a promise ‘to be </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">good</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">.’</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Pity that Dersh was unwise enough to appear on the programme - maybe he wasn’t familiar with Kyle. Oh well. Too late now.</span></p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"How do you sleep at night when you earned money defending such a vile human being?"<br /><br />Jeremy Kyle asks the question of Jeffrey Epstein's lawyer Alan Dershowitz.<a href="https://t.co/85SRrC1FT5">pic.twitter.com/85SRrC1FT5</a></p>— TalkTV (@TalkTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/TalkTV/status/1617973172514717697?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>But guess who was also featured by Kyle!</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our old friend Sweeney!</span></p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"Ghislaine Maxwell was messed up as a human being long before Jeffrey Epstein."<br /><br />Journalist John Sweeney compares Ghislaine Maxwell to her "psychological bully" father Robert Maxwell and says she is a "chip off the old block".<a href="https://twitter.com/jkyleofficial?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JKyleOfficial</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/johnsweeneyroar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@johnsweeneyroar</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JKLive?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JKLive</a> <a href="https://t.co/5MHvrV2SaZ">pic.twitter.com/5MHvrV2SaZ</a></p>— Jeremy Kyle Live (@JeremyKyleLive) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeremyKyleLive/status/1617969608077574144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2023</a></blockquote><p class="p7" style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have to say that there’s something not quite right about <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/will-prince-andrew-rue-ghislaine-maxwells-help-sr3wghbg2" target="_blank">That Photo</a>. It’s Andrew’s position. I feel that if the hand that appears around the young lady’s waist really belongs to his left arm, then his left shoulder would be turned towards the camera much more than it is. Not exactly forensic, I do concede.</span></p><p class="p7" style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p7" style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG4e6shLX45UU_a8tzPKH8A46GG-ShebcS1i_jQffZF63UsUk_defiu6emu8eMcS02yrjqR2Z7B1IQBc99f50gCHwvrnKsCTRXhRvg73NMe7ijddMCOQrTiylNE0geLsncmqYV1Jqsxf10tX6MaEg2XwbEySvb2TlC7yR8Hg9rp-Efr_kTp6GQiEUW/s1042/_methode_times_prod_web_bin_7f11809a-9b4c-11ed-8201-2ed91f44d1e8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1042" data-original-width="1042" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG4e6shLX45UU_a8tzPKH8A46GG-ShebcS1i_jQffZF63UsUk_defiu6emu8eMcS02yrjqR2Z7B1IQBc99f50gCHwvrnKsCTRXhRvg73NMe7ijddMCOQrTiylNE0geLsncmqYV1Jqsxf10tX6MaEg2XwbEySvb2TlC7yR8Hg9rp-Efr_kTp6GQiEUW/s320/_methode_times_prod_web_bin_7f11809a-9b4c-11ed-8201-2ed91f44d1e8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="p9" style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p7" style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I haven’t got a particular axe to grind here - I do admire Dershowitz (because of his other writings) but I don’t have much sympathy for Ghislaine, apart from the fact her punishment seems harsher than absolutely necessary. Perhaps she’s ‘taking the flack for Jeffery’ and I suppose if someone has to do it, it may as well be her.</span></p><p class="p7" style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p7" style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">P.S. </span></p><p class="p7" style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Forgot to mention :</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSJynhNBEEQ0lzfhKw0yd20NWcwZU7dYv9toZQMKD9sO9_2EYxaErivNbf4vngkAtQZIlCM9n_NfCuBSzvxo5gI2fY-s-baPcrR8EgSOgIgimRSMElybQgtMa54wC1IUq1n9EYZRHGFfvbZtkftOQi1AMTUZKWKLsrAml2xRK0JfINVMgmgkJ_sAIA/s2544/Screenshot%202023-01-26%20at%2015.58.44.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1380" data-original-width="2544" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSJynhNBEEQ0lzfhKw0yd20NWcwZU7dYv9toZQMKD9sO9_2EYxaErivNbf4vngkAtQZIlCM9n_NfCuBSzvxo5gI2fY-s-baPcrR8EgSOgIgimRSMElybQgtMa54wC1IUq1n9EYZRHGFfvbZtkftOQi1AMTUZKWKLsrAml2xRK0JfINVMgmgkJ_sAIA/w400-h217/Screenshot%202023-01-26%20at%2015.58.44.png" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p>suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02693686958796849316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-13196720459179467052023-01-15T14:51:00.002+00:002023-01-15T14:51:45.567+00:00Losing battle<p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have virtually given up watching the BBC. When I do ‘dip in’ to see if I’m still a right-wing, Islamophobic bigot I’m quickly reminded why I gave it up.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It wasn’t total surrender, but this battle, if that’s what it is, looks like one I am bound to lose. When I heard about a 10-part podcast starring Shamima Begum I knew the end is even nigher than I thought.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This morning I listened to Claire Fox and Michael Portillo chatting about this issue on GB News. The case for the defence appeared to be that the BBC is approaching the topic critically and not simply giving a reinvented, media-savvy individual a platform to court sympathy and to ease her return to the UK. We mustn’t jump to conclusions, must we?</span></p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">'Sometimes allowing people to speak damns them...'<br /><br />Claire Fox joins Michael Portillo to discuss issues around free speech after Shamima Begum began to tell her story in a 10-part BBC podcast.<a href="https://twitter.com/Fox_Claire?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Fox_Claire</a> <a href="https://t.co/g2j863ozj0">pic.twitter.com/g2j863ozj0</a></p>— GB News (@GBNEWS) <a href="https://twitter.com/GBNEWS/status/1614595894749581312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="“utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">The argument for the </span><i style="background-color: transparent;">prosecution</i><span style="background-color: transparent;"> was that the BBC hasn’t given such a platform, (or any platform at all) to the abused girls from the UK’s cities and towns, by predominantly Muslim men popularly known as grooming gangs. I suppose both cases are products of ‘grooming’. One might argue that the BBC itself has been groomed.</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I ought to watch the podcasts before opining further, but I have a feeling that I’ll be made to feel that </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">I’m</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> in the wrong.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02693686958796849316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-106471796867202562023-01-14T14:00:00.000+00:002023-01-14T14:00:38.932+00:00Sorry/not sorry<p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLI9DLxybmWJ9VmEGQSkH2oGyQwoHqBpp-DEzsRtWaLqrbbus2wtr6lXwjx4lpiqQnX1q9fmX5MeCPieXFwep4XCMgidH181q7L5kdWCoBqWEDc1iFHeq8VEVehqtb95-REsOFaZHnCf7IyaG-yfcLXEof0NmNjg9px74gDmhf9iSqb2L_dpZV6Cqk/s1644/Screenshot%202023-01-14%20at%2013.50.59.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1250" data-original-width="1644" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLI9DLxybmWJ9VmEGQSkH2oGyQwoHqBpp-DEzsRtWaLqrbbus2wtr6lXwjx4lpiqQnX1q9fmX5MeCPieXFwep4XCMgidH181q7L5kdWCoBqWEDc1iFHeq8VEVehqtb95-REsOFaZHnCf7IyaG-yfcLXEof0NmNjg9px74gDmhf9iSqb2L_dpZV6Cqk/s320/Screenshot%202023-01-14%20at%2013.50.59.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I stumbled upon the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001hckw/the-media-show-what-the-culture-minister-really-thinks" target="_blank">Media Show </a>last night. </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A conversation between presenter Katie Razzall and Michelle Donelan turned to issues around the BBC’s impartiality.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Katie Razzall:</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“…….Tim Davie the Director General has made it one of his main focuses…</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Michelle Donelan</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“…….however - I would also say that there is a difference between having a plan and delivering that change, and it is certainly not ‘job done’ by any stretch of the imagination, and we only have to look at a plethora of different examples that have come up to highlight that. But there is still a problem.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Katy Razzall</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“What examples?</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Michelle Donelan</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Well if we look at the incident of the bus with the alleged antisemitism, if we look at…….</span></p></blockquote><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Well, we <i>didn’t</i> ‘look at the alleged antisemitism’ because there were more pressing matters to discuss such as Prince Harry, Jeremy Clarkson, and Gary Lineker.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At the end of the interview, when Ms. Donelan had left the room, and who knows, the premises, Ms. Razzall read out a rebuttal writted on a piece of paper <span class="s2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(© Spike Milligan)</span></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Well that was Michelle Donelan, Secretary of state for digital media culture and sport and she made reference to how the BBC had reported an antisemitic attack on a group of Jewish students in 2021. Let me just add to that what the BBC have said about reporting that incident which was in part based on a video of the incident filmed from inside the bus. The BBC has said that while <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0023/247163/BBC-News-Online-and-BBC-London-News-2-December-2021.pdf" target="_blank">Ofcom has found</a> that our reporting was not in breach of the broadcasting code </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">the BBC executive complaints unit ruled in January 2022 that more could have been done sooner to acknowledge the differing views about what could be heard on the recording of the attack. The BBC apologised at the time for not acting sooner to highlight the contents of the recording were contested.”</span></p></blockquote><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Recollections may vary.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The scale of the problem was exaggerated</span></li></ul><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This wasn’t on the BBC but it’s another example of Sorry/not sorry.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5YuWCUsfNxE?start=610" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>
</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Media Show should have invited Shami Chakrabarti to investigate. </span></p>suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02693686958796849316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-16518287034626235012023-01-12T13:41:00.000+00:002023-01-12T13:41:07.603+00:00Look out!<p style="text-align: justify;"> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCISZyKCXJnJHUSDC1Uwz6dmZDwT3cQw96n1_IjngeZ8LMV8FdrdBGmRXxmHJna18WdTFlPctG2O5iKi0AohD0ISYsU-hRN-jYMU-JpO-10yXa9XCLmQpWxa479fqx39PtzeFP4nA8TvYAMf4a-4BqpvrD1A4fhVltdeEpVwENGfRm-cccFvyYtfIF/s585/Shaima_Dallali__4_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="585" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCISZyKCXJnJHUSDC1Uwz6dmZDwT3cQw96n1_IjngeZ8LMV8FdrdBGmRXxmHJna18WdTFlPctG2O5iKi0AohD0ISYsU-hRN-jYMU-JpO-10yXa9XCLmQpWxa479fqx39PtzeFP4nA8TvYAMf4a-4BqpvrD1A4fhVltdeEpVwENGfRm-cccFvyYtfIF/s320/Shaima_Dallali__4_.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />The NUS is belatedly <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-64228726" target="_blank">looking at</a> antisemitism.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> (Is this an attempt to rehabilitate the Labour Party?)</span></span><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Come on guys. Let’s not wang on about the Oxford Street bus incident and other low-hanging fruits that skirt over or miss the underlying problem.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s a much more fundamental issue, which the <a href="https://assets.nationbuilder.com/nus/pages/108/attachments/original/1673471780/Independent_Investigation_into_Antisemitism_Report_NUS_12_January_2023.pdf?1673471780" target="_blank">NUS</a> is unlikely to fully confront anytime soon. </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The BBC is dutifully fulfilling its holocaust-day-related obligations but the media’s annual mawkish celebration of that tragic historical event is not enough. Constant ahistorical pro-Palestinianism is hobbling rational debate. Antisemitism (and its proxy anti-Israelism) </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">is back with a vengeance in </span><a href="https://www.thejc.com/news/news/nus-inquiry-brands-student-union-hostile-environment-for-jews-10g0G1VtbfW7tFpFPxxfGm" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">Britain</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, </span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><a href="https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19298/jew-hate-universities" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">America</a>,<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">and </span><a href="https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19293/european-union-war-israel" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">Europe</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">. Look out!</span></p>suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02693686958796849316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-38218774506190256242023-01-12T12:44:00.001+00:002023-01-12T12:44:17.213+00:00The Royalty Delusion<p style="text-align: justify;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJJDHDKdvlWR08tUB_8dV2Bo2MJcWFWRPajGwqcJ09ladhfZg6RmbMl1roZmZItmr080W-8UrHZQyFQ8-kaMU4BQBJyHqvtp6pUF967ThkpF2NR1QbqDKDs-NOtgKLADisbEOwehPd5fXk29rK6FqjoKoVmddpSjT4BorrgnUe5iIidyo_OzMqCZrL/s1132/Screenshot%202023-01-12%20at%2012.39.38.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="912" data-original-width="1132" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJJDHDKdvlWR08tUB_8dV2Bo2MJcWFWRPajGwqcJ09ladhfZg6RmbMl1roZmZItmr080W-8UrHZQyFQ8-kaMU4BQBJyHqvtp6pUF967ThkpF2NR1QbqDKDs-NOtgKLADisbEOwehPd5fXk29rK6FqjoKoVmddpSjT4BorrgnUe5iIidyo_OzMqCZrL/s320/Screenshot%202023-01-12%20at%2012.39.38.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My attention span seems to have a slow puncture. The more it shrivels the narrower my interests become, so my observations on Prince Harry’s psychological melt-down are no doubt superficial and ‘knee-jerk’.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The upshot is that the author of “Spare” whose name I can’t quite recall has had to squeeze a few drops of juice out of a somewhat barren lemon. The conclusion has to be that Prince Harry is just an ordinary man; a bit dim, but so are most of us. The problem is that he has very likely burst the Royalty Delusion; the myth in which we must all collude in order to preserve the monarchy. Many of us believe the monarchy needs to be preserved, so to find the country in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HykF5KX4STA" target="_blank">King’s New Clothes</a> situation is a bummer. The Royal Family is in the <i>altogether</i>, but let’s just keep the little boy who noticed quiet for the time being. Apologies to Danny Kaye and Co.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p>suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02693686958796849316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-90564119961519437252023-01-08T05:43:00.001+00:002023-01-08T05:43:35.878+00:00Daindruss Times<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jeremy Bowen has been promoted from <i>Middle East</i> to **<i>International**</i> editor and has been mostly covering the war in Ukraine but he still can't resist pontificating on Israel/Palestine. On 4th Jan 2023, Today programme<span class="Apple-converted-space"> (</span>19 mins to 9<span class="Apple-converted-space">) </span>Nick Robinson called upon him to report upon a dastardly provocation that <a href="https://melaniephillips.substack.com/p/the-israeli-canary-in-the-wests-cultural?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=77655&post_id=94904890&isFreemail=false&utm_medium=email" target="_blank">Melanie Phillips</a> describes as:</span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“a Jew walking for 15 minutes on the site that is most sacred to Judaism … without fanfare or media attention, early in the morning when the compound was almost empty and didn’t pray there </span>or say anything to stir up trouble.”</p></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">The Arab press calls <a href="https://twitter.com/AJEnglish/status/1610173541323874309?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1610173541323874309%7Ctwgr%5E49d6af3e5af451d89f4762d0450804fc2bd8e9f3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aljazeera.com%2Fnews%2F2023%2F1%2F5%2Fmiddle-east-round-up-ben-gvir-enters-al-aqsa" target="_blank">this</a> “storming” the al-Aqsa Mosque!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Here’s a near-as-dammit transcription of the item I heard on the Today Programme last Wednesday </span><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001gk5x" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">at 19 minutes to nine. </a></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nick R</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, why did a brief visit by the new Israeli security minister to the Alaska (sic) mosque compound in Jerusalem lead to such international condemnation and also to warnings of violent retribution from Hamas? China and the UAE have now called for a UN security council meeting to condemn the visit. Jeremy Bowen knows the area well, he’s our international editor and joins us on the line. “Morning, Happy New year to you Jeremy!” (Bowen mumbles) “Deliberately naive question if I may Jeremy - a daft laddie question - he didn’t pray, he didn’t enter the mosque at all, so why the fuss? “</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">JBowen</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Well, it’s very symbolic. Ah, the piece of ground in question, which Jews call the Temple Mount in English, and Muslims call - <i>Palestinians</i> call The Noble sanctuary in Arabic, ah it’s probably the - it’s <i>certainly</i> the most disputed ground - piece of ground - in the Middle East and quite possibly the world - it’s holy to both religions - the holiest place for Jews, the third holiest place for Muslims and it’s also a massive national symbol, particularly for Palestinians; and now this particular individual, Itamar Ben-Gvir is the most prominent group …. prominent of a group of militant right-wingers on whom the new government of mister Netanyahu relies for support, and they’re driving the ideology of the government and of course his supporters say that they’re elected fair and square, that’s democracy; but Ben-Gvir, he’s a police minister but he’s got a long criminal record of which includes incitement to racism and supporting a terrorist organisation.”</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nick R</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Huge symbolism then, as it is it’s <i>him</i> going <i>there,</i> but I guess what everybody’s watching is to see the underlying question of what policy actually changes under this new wide coalition.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">JBowen</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yes, well, Netanyahu’s come back to power, relying on the votes in the Israeli parliament of these hard-line right-wingers, which, y’know, Israelis in the election liked the look of their coalition and voted for it. It’s not just a question of supporting harder action against Palestinians in the occupied territories, although that’s a big part of it. The— in Israel when they form a new coalition government they have a … they put out a political agreement, a statement. Now, this is often, not at all um, ah, <i>brought in</i> ‘<i>to the letter’</i>, but it’s clear that Ben-Gvir and his colleagues, they want big changes inside Israel to make it more religious, more their version of how a Jewish state should be and this horrifies many secular Israelis, and what would that mean? It means putting orthodox Jewish beliefs ahead of the rights of women - of LGBTQ people, of Arab citizens - 20% of the population of Israel is in fact Palestinian Arab. Ben-Gvir says those people need to know who is the landlord of the country, by which he means “the Jews.“ And they’re also, there are talks about removing much of the independence of the Israeli judiciary which for Netanyahu may have the result of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>rescuing him from his own trial, which is continuing, on very serious corruption charges and all this at a time when the West Bank is very tense and anything that stirs the pot there is… daindruss!</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nick R</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When you say tense Jeremy I’ve heard people predicting that it could ‘blow’ this year, that we could see very serious trouble indeed. On the West Bank that might be the excuse the Hamas wants to move out of its stronghold in Gaza and move in, do you think that’s a likely scenario?</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">JBowen<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tensions are very high on the West Bank, and also in Palestinian parts of Jerusalem without question and it’s a really <i>daindruss</i> situation, it’s a really <i>daindruss </i>cocktail of a new generation growing up of Palestinians, a lack of hope, a feeling that um their aspirations towards - towards independence, towards freedom because there are millions of people who’ve been under a harsh military occupation now for generations, if you feel that that’s never going to go away - one thing that Netanyahu’s government has given another hard right-winger Mr Smotrich a lot of authority over settlements to expand them and so it’s a very difficult and <i>daindruss</i> situation; it’s a really nasty cocktail. Last year in 2022 something like 150 Palestinians were killed in the area by Israeli security forces, and more than 30 Israelis. Now Netanyahu. in his politics, has tried to play a double or a treble game, where he says one thing and does something else, reality and rhetoric being separated, but hard-liners like Ben-Gvir are very serious about imposing their views - and now can Netanyahu control them? Does he want to? and at the same time there’s this rising tide of anger among Palestinians and it’s just one serious incident, I’d say, at any given time, away from a very serious situation.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Nick R</b></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jeremy, thank you.</span></p></blockquote><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It did occur to me that the disdainful description of the new Israeli government: </span><i>“militant<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>‘hard-right-wingers’</i> <span style="font-family: inherit;">that's </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">“putting orthodox Jewish beliefs ahead of the rights of women, of LGBTQ people, of Arab citizens”</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> looks oddly hypocritical when it comes from someone who happily overlooks the illiberal “orthodox religious beliefs” of his favoured ethnicity. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">On this occasion, only Nick Robinson specifically mentioned the word “Hamas” but that particular absence from Bowen’s narrative was conspicuous.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p>suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02693686958796849316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-14349679224046638792022-12-01T17:26:00.001+00:002022-12-01T17:27:57.144+00:00December Open Thread<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTlizF497h_EgAn9UxHv--BIhYn8E-L84SbzeOsxZ4nGkBekGq_hihe_8HtRPDWwuLpbDVzs0emeEgkoh7M5OHEhs1LFJ3FTq3uu6NuQl8JCGeHcVC-NGtzjMXv5Nyq9FI8Jm9IQP9eW4DcZ1L7sM7tss4bd2RR0CAfTLH1HXHW5YBxPLt6uLQJekB/s745/GARY%20LINEKER.PNG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="514" data-original-width="745" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTlizF497h_EgAn9UxHv--BIhYn8E-L84SbzeOsxZ4nGkBekGq_hihe_8HtRPDWwuLpbDVzs0emeEgkoh7M5OHEhs1LFJ3FTq3uu6NuQl8JCGeHcVC-NGtzjMXv5Nyq9FI8Jm9IQP9eW4DcZ1L7sM7tss4bd2RR0CAfTLH1HXHW5YBxPLt6uLQJekB/s400/GARY%20LINEKER.PNG"/></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's beginning to look a lot like time for a new Open Thread.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hope all's well with you and thank you for commenting. </div>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741318067991857821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-78230761180366623462022-11-10T09:25:00.000+00:002022-11-10T09:31:14.178+00:00November Open Thread<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNAgHL2JdsTfJY4PqoPqtlUBPDM5_jrdZNknWbXtl5OLH5s-H7tvyTCCUOLs6rcmrEPg5T4s6rEhFwnMLmcwx2ttgE3uQEaV_lceKjqtum6aGNIR22wfeCQrohV5YITLBSbAGc04ECVD3g1_x7a8XFIrjf_V1Qnlj099Cecg40xhB782ooxSR38YAK/s627/NOVEMBER%202.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="627" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNAgHL2JdsTfJY4PqoPqtlUBPDM5_jrdZNknWbXtl5OLH5s-H7tvyTCCUOLs6rcmrEPg5T4s6rEhFwnMLmcwx2ttgE3uQEaV_lceKjqtum6aGNIR22wfeCQrohV5YITLBSbAGc04ECVD3g1_x7a8XFIrjf_V1Qnlj099Cecg40xhB782ooxSR38YAK/s320/NOVEMBER%202.PNG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As November winds blow into Morecambe and I fear for my roof, here's a new open thread.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hello to all of you and thank you for commenting. </div>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741318067991857821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-34600670019836467082022-11-10T09:15:00.009+00:002022-11-10T09:43:04.664+00:00Profiling<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">You may have read <a href="https://order-order.com/2022/11/09/bbc-forced-into-humiliating-edit-of-kemi-hatchet-job">at Guido Fawkes</a> or <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11407785/BBC-pulls-Radio-4-profile-Kemi-Badenoch-claims-botched-hit-job.html">in the <i>Daily Mail</i></a> that the BBC had to temporarily withdraw <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001dwjn">their latest Radio 4 <i>Profile</i></a> of Conservative cabinet minister Kemi Badenoch.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The programme has now been edited and made available again, but the BBC is being tight-lipped about what they've changed, according to the <i>Mail</i>:</div>
<blockquote style="text-align: justify;">The BBC would not reveal what had been changed in the episode, but it is understood that a claim in the original broadcast, that Mrs Badenoch, 42, had stuck 'male' and 'female' signs on the doors of gender-neutral toilets at her leadership launch venue, was corrected. </blockquote>
<div style="text-align: justify;">This story has a few interesting implications, especially concerning journalism. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Firstly, I'm intrigued that the <i>Daily Mail</i> couldn't find out what the BBC changed. I've been able to find out though, thanks to TVEyes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The <i>Mail</i> correctly 'understood' the first change - concerning these signs:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw4NlfmQty3FgGWy4GTClQ39oIcPEr3s7h6kXvPgY5CU1c2qKN_F_7qTc1WjQ3X5bOaIJLIHhEMpK-LGE_YW4g33JU3avyA2GAWM_aTSLOkqQEFAhyOh2wuBzuLfYutQMxhljUukWxaXE-mG9GCiXQEaUyVYSr7v_TcV1Sk-Qug71uFWekuPGPVjbdUg/s698/men%20and%20ladies.PNG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="698" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw4NlfmQty3FgGWy4GTClQ39oIcPEr3s7h6kXvPgY5CU1c2qKN_F_7qTc1WjQ3X5bOaIJLIHhEMpK-LGE_YW4g33JU3avyA2GAWM_aTSLOkqQEFAhyOh2wuBzuLfYutQMxhljUukWxaXE-mG9GCiXQEaUyVYSr7v_TcV1Sk-Qug71uFWekuPGPVjbdUg/s400/men%20and%20ladies.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">The original broadcast said:</div>
<blockquote style="text-align: justify;">This summer, after Boris Johnson quit as PM, Badenoch threw her hat into the ring to become leader, sticking 'men' and 'ladies' signs on the doors of gender-neutral toilets at her launch venue.</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: justify;">This caused a stir on Twitter with many people quoting <a href="https://twitter.com/MForstater/status/1546954192610377728">a Twitter thread</a> on 12 July - the date of Mrs Badenoch's leadership launch - by leading 'gender-critical' voice Maya Forstater. This called journalists out at the time about it:</div><blockquote style="text-align: justify;">
This story is not what you think: These are the toilets at Policy Exchange. I first noticed these signs on 17th of May at meeting about sex based rights with various gender critical groups. At first i thought the paper signs had been put up specifically for our benefit. What I think is happening here is that Policy Exchange (or their landlords) put in nice new gender neutral toilets and the staff don't like them. They probably feel uncomfortable. Men leave the seat up etc.. so they've put the signs up for everyone's comfort.</blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">Yet here was BBC Radio 4 repeating this discredited claim four months on.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The edited version goes like this:</div>
<blockquote style="text-align: justify;">It was reported that 'men' and 'ladies' signs were cellotaped on the doors of gender-neutral toilets at her launch venue but evidence later emerged that this had been done before the event. </blockquote>
<div style="text-align: justify;">Even this edit risks being misleading. "Evidence later emerged that this had been done before the event" might suggest that rather than Kemi herself 'sticking' up the signs, it was done "before the event" i.e. done <i>for</i> the launch. What Maya Forstater, and others, showed is that those signs were up a couple of months <i>before</i> the launch, so not connected to Kemi Badenoch in any way.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Indeed, it's so potentially misleading that <a href="https://order-order.com/2022/11/09/bbc-forced-into-humiliating-edit-of-kemi-hatchet-job/">Guido Fawkes apparently misread the revised version</a> as a simple repetition of the debunked claims from the original version:</div>
<blockquote style="text-align: justify;">Despite the editing, the profile still reeks of W1A’s woke inclinations. It repeats debunked claims about Kemi removing gender-neutral toilets at her campaign launch, albeit with a caveat.</blockquote> <div style="text-align: justify;">Maybe the programme needs withdrawing and re-editing again to remove this ambiguous wording?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What both Guido and the<i> Mail</i> missed though was the second edit. The original broadcast said:</div>
<blockquote style="text-align: justify;">It's not just race. LGBTQ activists have accused Kemi Badenoch of being anti-trans Ben Hunte, a senior reporter with Vice World News. "I've had for a number of organisations and individuals who are really concerned about Kemi Badenoch's behaviour in government. I've exposed a leaked recording of Kemi Badenoch saying that trans women are men", the government insisting her comments had been taken out of context. "I have released a report about the equalities minister saying she doesn't care about colonialism." She's been criticised for abstaining on a vote to extend same sex marriage rights to Northern Ireland. And this week, ITV News reported that Bedenoch has now paused work on a promised ban on the use of conversion therapy. "There have been a number of situations over the past year that really do kind of raise your eyebrows about what it means to be an equalities minister when you don't necessarily believe in all forms of equality within your portfolio". </blockquote>
<div style="text-align: justify;">The revised version edited out this line:</div>
<blockquote style="text-align: justify;">And this week, ITV News reported that Bedenoch has now paused work on a promised ban on the use of conversion therapy.</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: justify;">That <a href="https://www.christiantoday.com/article/a.government.rebuke.for.itv.news.editor.after.conversion.therapy.story/139433.htm">concerns a 'scoop' by ITV's Paul Brand that the Government took to Twitter to dismiss</a>. BBC Radio 4 clearly got cold feet about Paul Brand's journalistic 'scoop' too.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Both Guido and the <i>Daily Mail</i> note the inclusion of the activist-like Ben Hunte. The <i>Mail</i> uses the c-word about him - "controversial":</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNnZmqstkdEiNZ52jU3PSWqwTj1o4lkJurwENhW-yw3ZqQGELHrb_FVedwb-nvyNQ59Na5rDabWPGSIAeVjbfL2YyPkd3GgHkGJl49PmbmEdInl87M3mrNHmkrXqMoZ-fVW_LMmdez4jS-yh5zSLrGx5zxyPoAV_pcngw4pUtW-_LbskidcZTOfwzK5g/s770/controversial%20Ben.PNG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="117" data-original-width="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNnZmqstkdEiNZ52jU3PSWqwTj1o4lkJurwENhW-yw3ZqQGELHrb_FVedwb-nvyNQ59Na5rDabWPGSIAeVjbfL2YyPkd3GgHkGJl49PmbmEdInl87M3mrNHmkrXqMoZ-fVW_LMmdez4jS-yh5zSLrGx5zxyPoAV_pcngw4pUtW-_LbskidcZTOfwzK5g/s400/controversial%20Ben.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">That made me smile because of how Radio 4's website introduces this programme. They also use the c-word about Kemi Badenoch, asking "Is the controversial trade secretary and equalities minister a future PM?":</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRePOuefslOGLc_883MMVUuT4w7qvmduE0DjvdIU_s8okcR4OueEFwMnNau6861tcvBfZ9yMMO4jmux4cu1sO_K2sAVb4KXiATLFcaF_p7DB5t4T5IJPGU5tJCazZPQWzFEk3Ft-fC0APxoMuznFJX7DC1RnD7OQd7kf9PQkcvjNMVHZ_4SmIxXKuayA/s815/controversial%20Kemi.PNG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="746" data-original-width="815" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRePOuefslOGLc_883MMVUuT4w7qvmduE0DjvdIU_s8okcR4OueEFwMnNau6861tcvBfZ9yMMO4jmux4cu1sO_K2sAVb4KXiATLFcaF_p7DB5t4T5IJPGU5tJCazZPQWzFEk3Ft-fC0APxoMuznFJX7DC1RnD7OQd7kf9PQkcvjNMVHZ_4SmIxXKuayA/s400/controversial%20Kemi.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">Another thing that struck me about controversial Ben Hunte's controversial inclusion is that Radio 4 - unlike the <i>Mail</i> - didn't mention that Ben used to work for the BBC [<a href="https://isthebbcbiased.blogspot.com/search/label/Ben%20Hunte">and got the Corportation into quite a few scrapes</a>]. <i>Profile</i> simply introduced him as "a senior reporter with Vice World News". None of his contributions were re-edited.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A final thing is that the version you can now here on BBC Sounds - which begins by saying that the programme has been edited, but not why ["This programme has been edited since broadcast"] - ends with quite of list of BBC staff behind this edition of <i>Profile</i>: the researcher, producers, production co-ordinators, and editor. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Not sure I'd have wanted my name on this piece of BBC broadcasting. Maybe they'll be tempted to edit those out next?</div>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741318067991857821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-75841484763673392342022-10-01T13:07:00.001+01:002022-10-01T13:07:36.796+01:00October Open Thread<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKPbjS1VZkejIjo2zxtOejX0sZpfkXmIy_lpq2otXH6d8ujCJ8f8zZDviTCdaHbpdUTCCi1OhvLpZo_2VbMlVVT3zfmdMwk_0aRCPFy07_V5pSo5ox31kKjNelqqlZJ4O8N3EWcm5-IhNXD0OLib9GfV0MhwKMjs6xj3xo8KwqjphyjBK6olYMaVmQ/s901/BROADCASTING%20HOUSE%20map.PNG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="608" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKPbjS1VZkejIjo2zxtOejX0sZpfkXmIy_lpq2otXH6d8ujCJ8f8zZDviTCdaHbpdUTCCi1OhvLpZo_2VbMlVVT3zfmdMwk_0aRCPFy07_V5pSo5ox31kKjNelqqlZJ4O8N3EWcm5-IhNXD0OLib9GfV0MhwKMjs6xj3xo8KwqjphyjBK6olYMaVmQ/w432-h640/BROADCASTING%20HOUSE%20map.PNG" width="432" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Welcome to the October Open Thread! Thank you for all your comments and for helping keep us going.</div></div>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741318067991857821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-54505367800261212532022-09-02T21:11:00.000+01:002022-09-02T21:11:01.652+01:00September Open Thread<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIwWkXxx71d-bcljt6B8p30Gj3K76IqLugW0h61TsAomlTtrOraREemaAOgmbLo9qSSEyqX18pFHAzFIfIxPamtdhGIEbBm7nrkT71jT8ljJxpHL_qwyfoNltwghI4n88kUhaosErsVUVnruJeqE7jLADP--Yfge2JCb0z-vLTOYeGRUp7Px47HKoN/s2300/Screenshot%202022-09-01%20at%2015.17.09.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2300" data-original-width="1772" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIwWkXxx71d-bcljt6B8p30Gj3K76IqLugW0h61TsAomlTtrOraREemaAOgmbLo9qSSEyqX18pFHAzFIfIxPamtdhGIEbBm7nrkT71jT8ljJxpHL_qwyfoNltwghI4n88kUhaosErsVUVnruJeqE7jLADP--Yfge2JCb0z-vLTOYeGRUp7Px47HKoN/w294-h382/Screenshot%202022-09-01%20at%2015.17.09.png" width="294" /></a></div><br /> <span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote>The ancient animal, which was thought to be humans' earliest-known ancestor, may have lost the anus during evolution.</blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><p>New Open Thread (and if you don't like it, well, we have others.) </p></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></p>suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02693686958796849316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-38814387205844469022022-09-02T21:09:00.000+01:002022-09-02T21:09:51.870+01:00I was wrong<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> If you’ve been paying attention you’ll know I hardly ever watch the BBC these days. I keep mentioning that to account for my prolonged silences interspersed with off-topic observations..<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj91oFC0L58cPo7on31qTvsiQU7Ex6o1lLsUm_tTLxyT5ao8aofY3kWWlYKbtaQA_Jihgx2Qgl0nZwMvZ_nc1HjUQTXmvunUrQo3GK_ZXeT2hh1t8BRtSbTL7aUhHXCUVssi54XdvLYGIyTfA0rKZhTksmDY1RIj9YeslOWvieY-9S1qvTMmV5Q2yyY/s2186/Screenshot%202022-09-02%20at%2014.10.43.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1516" data-original-width="2186" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj91oFC0L58cPo7on31qTvsiQU7Ex6o1lLsUm_tTLxyT5ao8aofY3kWWlYKbtaQA_Jihgx2Qgl0nZwMvZ_nc1HjUQTXmvunUrQo3GK_ZXeT2hh1t8BRtSbTL7aUhHXCUVssi54XdvLYGIyTfA0rKZhTksmDY1RIj9YeslOWvieY-9S1qvTMmV5Q2yyY/w378-h263/Screenshot%202022-09-02%20at%2014.10.43.png" width="378" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">However I have to comment on the reappearance of Abdel Bari Atwan, whose services I thought had been quietly<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>dispensed with by the BBC.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I was wrong. He was on Dateline again on 19th August, following the attack on Salman Rushdie.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Melanie Phillips <a href="https://melaniephillips.substack.com/p/the-bbcs-perfectly-sealed-thought?utm_source=email" target="_blank">has written about </a>this topic </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">as has <a href="https://www.thejc.com/news/news/baroness-deech-complains-to-bbc-over-comments-by-palestinian-commentator-in-wake-of-rushdie-attack-4W5ujZptASZSPvyqFol6YL" target="_blank">the Jewish Chronicle</a></span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">both citing the most outrageous of his remarks.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The BBC, of course, has no intention of reprimanding or silencing Atwan as they think he represents legitimate views, and letting him air them is an expression of the BBC’s even-handedness.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><blockquote><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The problem is, however, that along with the rest of the left the BBC genuinely thinks it is indeed upholding balance, fairness and objectivity. It believes that it represents the political centre ground. That’s why it views its critics axiomatically as extremists who can safely be disregarded.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"></p></blockquote><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To be fair to Bari, as we like to call him on ITBB, he did imply that carrying out the actual fatwa</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">in it’s original form (death to Rushdie the blasphemer) was a tad beyond its sell-by date, but he defended the principle that such blasphemy as Rushdie’s was “</span><i style="font-family: inherit;">very, very cruel when he talked about the Prophet Mohammed and his wives” which was also “very, very dangerous”. He added: “About 90 per cent of the people of the Muslim world believe that freedom of expression [is] practised only to insult Muslims”.</i></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i></i><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m not sure if Dateline itself isn’t about to be axed. I read it somewhere. Maybe they’ve realised that it’s a tiny bit politically biased.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Melanie Phillips doesn’t stop there. In her criticisms of the BBC, as well as Atwan’s other offensive remarks, she mentions the infamous Balen report about the BBC’s bias against Israel.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It has never seen the light of day, and its ongoing secrecy has been defended to the tune of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>around £300,000 (of licence fee-payers dosh) in legal fees. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>She refers to her own appearances as the token right-winger who is</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“almost never given the opportunity to address the lies told about Israel.”</span></p>suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02693686958796849316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-3918317593755748292022-08-29T20:57:00.000+01:002022-08-29T20:57:17.670+01:00August Open Thread<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipNjqIDOfGAOzhgi-shD3N4TzA1C9h2QDJg8n4tPhrSLjyDasRD4MaziBLrRE6OLzyQQIc4d7ZqAoqogxtEpB6XDhpCsduPkbpUEiTwjgvmu3T43wGMFx1W847UtIRokRnnRqAz3Lntem0lB7Cc9wahk-d_-p4gwDpI1qn2iUmqkwuB4ATUxy_y9Bd/s762/huw%20meme.PNG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="449" data-original-width="762" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipNjqIDOfGAOzhgi-shD3N4TzA1C9h2QDJg8n4tPhrSLjyDasRD4MaziBLrRE6OLzyQQIc4d7ZqAoqogxtEpB6XDhpCsduPkbpUEiTwjgvmu3T43wGMFx1W847UtIRokRnnRqAz3Lntem0lB7Cc9wahk-d_-p4gwDpI1qn2iUmqkwuB4ATUxy_y9Bd/s400/huw%20meme.PNG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Seven months down, five to go. Thanks for your support and comments, and here's to a splendid August!</div>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741318067991857821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-63393318025880786092022-08-29T20:56:00.000+01:002022-08-29T20:56:18.507+01:00Some truths<p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Emily Maitlis’s truth.</span></b></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Following in the footsteps of </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XIEFKEw4co&t=12s" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">Dorothy Byrne</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> (formerly of </span><a href="https://isthebbcbiased.blogspot.com/2019/08/mid-week-mixed-bag.html" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">Channel Four</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">,)</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Emily Maitlis (formerly of the BBC) delivered the </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0dRBtSAvLM" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">MacTaggart memorial lecture</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> at the Edinburgh International TV festival. </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjtKmkuGF0Z4Nxn8B_aXj8hqGgi2ygWgGG7AL2Jf3sad8MrDGoo65rUlqyTbG6nypcTlbYWsMR-J3boBn5fFsoKNsE9Ko94hv33MkYY2BlC--wJeOSdqlCp6FHrjHsUrJcnRslfJHavxKhwKif_UvEHPAymmpkqII-QS66tsSiHXZcVJ_McBrGDQyF/s1500/_methode_times_prod_web_bin_0ca1afaa-255c-11ed-bb7e-0eb11fc7ccd4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="1500" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjtKmkuGF0Z4Nxn8B_aXj8hqGgi2ygWgGG7AL2Jf3sad8MrDGoo65rUlqyTbG6nypcTlbYWsMR-J3boBn5fFsoKNsE9Ko94hv33MkYY2BlC--wJeOSdqlCp6FHrjHsUrJcnRslfJHavxKhwKif_UvEHPAymmpkqII-QS66tsSiHXZcVJ_McBrGDQyF/s320/_methode_times_prod_web_bin_0ca1afaa-255c-11ed-bb7e-0eb11fc7ccd4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Emily Maitlis wants a <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/emily-maitlis-wants-a-remainer-bbc?utm_medium=email&utm_source=CampaignMonitor_Editorial&utm_campaign=BOCH%20%2027082022%20%20House%20Ads%20%20HT+CID_b1b007c9ebeb275f5c553e694e76a5e3" target="_blank">Remainer BBC</a> by Tom Slater<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"What’s striking about Maitlis’s critique, which has been curdling among elite Remainer media for a while, is that it essentially posits attempts at impartiality as bias.</span></p></blockquote><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Maitlis certainly struck a chord. <i>“The BBC <u>is</u> biased!”</i> screeched everybody under the sun. Fact!</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">However, trawling through the wide spectrum of tittle-tattle online, it seems that half the commenters agreed with Emily that the BBC is biased to the right, and the other half agreed with<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>- well- us - that the BBC is biased to the left. (‘Half-and-half’ may not be strictly mathematical)</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’ll just throw in the following quote for the hell of it because it tickled me.</span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Channel 4 boss </span><a href="https://metro.co.uk/2022/08/25/emily-maitlis-praised-for-calling-out-active-tory-agent-on-bbc-board-17241036/" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">Ian Katz has said</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> he thought Maitlis’ speech was ‘brilliant’, and that it served as a powerful reminder that ‘due impartiality is the bedrock of journalism.’</span></p></blockquote><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhfniW8-0ZbVD_Ly7_CU7rgXYa893yhhC3NGSnj9RdiZ8_DEkXeTKz4rbM3WRcvo4NgAm8xFsREeyJSDBNCnD72tAj-r5OVWBxRcTFm2-MFJ5DssHXdoPlyDFBPCc8r6a5BTy3qvELPLxmyaUCWhFaH0w2wsS55Q6bmkwB9CYCqdeC-ZFr6y5co0u1/s1500/_methode_times_prod_web_bin_6565a5a6-271e-11ed-9092-6adde03bf612.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="1500" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhfniW8-0ZbVD_Ly7_CU7rgXYa893yhhC3NGSnj9RdiZ8_DEkXeTKz4rbM3WRcvo4NgAm8xFsREeyJSDBNCnD72tAj-r5OVWBxRcTFm2-MFJ5DssHXdoPlyDFBPCc8r6a5BTy3qvELPLxmyaUCWhFaH0w2wsS55Q6bmkwB9CYCqdeC-ZFr6y5co0u1/w290-h163/_methode_times_prod_web_bin_6565a5a6-271e-11ed-9092-6adde03bf612.jpg" width="290" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">Nevertheless, the </span><a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bbc-disrespects-listeners-says-axed-host-roger-bolton-dqrbsjklj" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;" target="_blank">anti-BBC vibe</a><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"> is growing, whichever way you look at it. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">Despite, not because of,</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">the woefully ineffectual pushback from the likes of the BBC's chief content officer, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4B-9LVgM8w" target="_blank">Charlotte Moore</a>, one might even sympathise with the BBC. (You know, as the underdog.)</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEVryGlKrFYGlStoymXYWDuIG7zheDDIhJVIWlRD_vQ1DnHXfh9vKRWp_zUGLMYu-21gF0qzhpAoCW2CCTRbwssXBGrdgGAz8OIyAALxAmrgasj8IgEB5ccQ8X7T8hxNOWiDvgK1WSO69aPIgWh7rQh0guz-W5CGVjXZj8OT7w7O8KkgZ1gQ7muO4L/s2540/Screenshot%202022-08-29%20at%2020.45.29.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2166" data-original-width="2540" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEVryGlKrFYGlStoymXYWDuIG7zheDDIhJVIWlRD_vQ1DnHXfh9vKRWp_zUGLMYu-21gF0qzhpAoCW2CCTRbwssXBGrdgGAz8OIyAALxAmrgasj8IgEB5ccQ8X7T8hxNOWiDvgK1WSO69aPIgWh7rQh0guz-W5CGVjXZj8OT7w7O8KkgZ1gQ7muO4L/s320/Screenshot%202022-08-29%20at%2020.45.29.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">BBC insiders <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bbc-insiders-back-emily-maitlis-over-claims-of-tory-meddling-52p8sbw33?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Best%20of%20Times%2C%20Saturday%20August%2027%2C%202022&utm_term=audience_BEST_OF_TIMES" target="_blank">back Emily Maitlis </a>over claims of Tory meddling</span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"BBC insiders have said Emily Maitlis was right to call out Sir Robbie Gibb as an “active agent” of the Tory party who interfered with editorial matters.</span></p></blockquote><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6FxbtrSChkXYVKdGfh9NUMCm-1D21w_QBi_XBbI8jwcbSzH6Sbz-4iPcgtcVd1QdVuWGNcYo4DdSYXS4ZVNq1HQIgL9Mo4deH8sb9DPvNIuGKlu3BG-3Pv4LPPMieptdbv2Jm9lsCrkdpeqxhsbaxC2p6Qna22wUJYXMed9LghfJgui1zJd7Eurf5/s1180/_methode_times_prod_web_bin_0c602920-257c-11ed-bb7e-0eb11fc7ccd4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1180" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6FxbtrSChkXYVKdGfh9NUMCm-1D21w_QBi_XBbI8jwcbSzH6Sbz-4iPcgtcVd1QdVuWGNcYo4DdSYXS4ZVNq1HQIgL9Mo4deH8sb9DPvNIuGKlu3BG-3Pv4LPPMieptdbv2Jm9lsCrkdpeqxhsbaxC2p6Qna22wUJYXMed9LghfJgui1zJd7Eurf5/s320/_methode_times_prod_web_bin_0c602920-257c-11ed-bb7e-0eb11fc7ccd4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Enough already. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sir Robbie Gibb’s position on the BBC Board appears (to Emily Maitlis and others) to constitute conclusive proof that the BBC is biased to the right.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">+++++++++++++++++</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Eddie Izzard’s truth</b> (Strange but true)</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Izzard <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-62687966" target="_blank">intends</a> to “Stand for Labour in Sheffield central”</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This BBC article is notable for slavishly adhering to gender make-believe from the</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">“if I sez I’m a lady, then I’m a lady” school of abandon-all-reason.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">All the way through this piece Eddie, wearing a skirt, is “assigned” “she” by the BBC.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Comedian Eddie Izzard says she hopes to stand as a Labour candidate in Sheffield at the next general election.</span></p></blockquote><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjabsNmjIeGNri1xnzzVKTshBWpAURJsJFWTTcfJ3G-Gd6qt6W6qx1OlB9jheeEpb_xfSO4p97USI4EBTSLddzeB8WdoZ_aMfF7rQRTFAmtXxhs1i5sH2TPMHocm9z-bn2y4yMeOrey1_CcUVZEKHGgp-kLJ2rI4hMA6u1h2FTAktdfSKYviuTdIlRS/s976/_126453912_mediaitem126453909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="976" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjabsNmjIeGNri1xnzzVKTshBWpAURJsJFWTTcfJ3G-Gd6qt6W6qx1OlB9jheeEpb_xfSO4p97USI4EBTSLddzeB8WdoZ_aMfF7rQRTFAmtXxhs1i5sH2TPMHocm9z-bn2y4yMeOrey1_CcUVZEKHGgp-kLJ2rI4hMA6u1h2FTAktdfSKYviuTdIlRS/s320/_126453912_mediaitem126453909.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many female pronouns gratuitously (and dare I say almost maliciously?) shoehorned into a teeny bit of reporting. Is someone<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(other than me) ’avin’ a laugh? </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m seriously wondering if the BBC has gawn mad. </span><a href="https://order-order.com/2022/08/26/eddie-izzard-targets-sheffield-for-mp-hopes/" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">Here’s</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Guido. Amongst the comments, 259 at the time of writing, (which was roughly the day before yesterday) I spotted a delicate question that most other contributors failed to ask. Where on God’s earth did those b00bs come from?</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">+++++++++++++</p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jeremy Bowen’s (personal) truth</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jeremy Bowen has written another book you’ll be glad to hear.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s called The Making of the Modern </span><a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-making-of-the-modern-middle-east-by-jeremy-bowen-review-gwzwcmm8f" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">Middle </a><span style="font-family: inherit;">East: A Personal Story</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_9HvHapUcvaYhInA7YmrrphBJg1iZ8A-DE3bEUIwTl27gv5Dr2NG0qOGZj7PD_-mLZfWlHmaY4Ps_QOK7zspI2yVL6M2DaCokIUsvRVAASl3_Z2gJnd1_OZgjgMi6trW0bi-fd5665hUgRTVp6kVAE3H3PCAHprUw1rVIslE-B_EKnQmXmPJTNF_o/s1433/_methode_sundaytimes_prod_web_bin_03a9b156-22df-11ed-bf78-57ebd2e3e25c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="1433" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_9HvHapUcvaYhInA7YmrrphBJg1iZ8A-DE3bEUIwTl27gv5Dr2NG0qOGZj7PD_-mLZfWlHmaY4Ps_QOK7zspI2yVL6M2DaCokIUsvRVAASl3_Z2gJnd1_OZgjgMi6trW0bi-fd5665hUgRTVp6kVAE3H3PCAHprUw1rVIslE-B_EKnQmXmPJTNF_o/w269-h151/_methode_sundaytimes_prod_web_bin_03a9b156-22df-11ed-bf78-57ebd2e3e25c.jpg" width="269" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The reviewer Justin Marozzi is a fan - I saw that on the twitter.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Well, I won’t be reading any more of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Jezzer’s personal stories and I wish I could unread the ones I’ve already read.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">++++++++++++++++</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>“Marriage”</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> untruth</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The other day I mentioned the BBC’s 4-part drama Marriage starring Sean Bean and Nicola Walker plus James Bolam and some other actors.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Once again, public opinion fell into two (weirdly passionate) camps, which we’ll call - ‘For’ and ‘Agin’.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Newspaper reviewers raved about it. Carol Midgley in the Times thought it was the bees’ knees while<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>James Innes-Smith in the Spectator <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-utter-misery-of-bbc-s-marriage" target="_blank">was less</a> keen.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Torrents of negativity poured in after just one episode. The prolonged silences interspersed with inane dialogue in episode one instantly brought about an irresistible compulsion to switch-off-the-TV.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This ‘more naturalistic than actual naturalism’<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>genre is not new. It was captured more effectively several decades ago.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> I</span>n 1971 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Works_of_Mike_Leigh" target="_blank">Mike Leigh</a> produced “Bleak Moments.” </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Leigh’s early output was characterised by similarly ‘realistic’ conversations that elevated the mundane to poignant-verging-on-poetic. The semi-improvised dialogue revelled in outrageously inane banter that was doleful, yet humorous, compelling, and entertaining yet somehow believable.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In my humble opinion, “Marriage” was charmless; the casting was wrong - the production failed to give the illusion that Sean Bean, as an unreconstructed northerner, and Nicola Walker were a couple.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The adopted daughter-of-colour bore no hint of resemblance to either of her adopted parents, either in accent, turn of phrase or familial idiosyncrasy. The sub-plot-by-numbers was equally unlikely and unconvincing.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Note: If I ever hear protracted whingeing about a <i>baked potatah</i> at an airport I’ll eat all the above words.</span></p>suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02693686958796849316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-9927765763186516152022-08-29T13:04:00.027+01:002022-08-29T19:23:49.121+01:00Roger and out...time for Amol again?<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The closing section of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001bcp0">this week's </a><i><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001bcp0">Feedback</a> </i>on Radio 4 was a question-and-answer session directed at its sacked presenter Roger Bolton, marking his very reluctant last appearance. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As the embittered 73-year-old BBC veteran couldn't interview himself, the programme got a faithful listener to put the questions. She turned out, bless her, to be the living embodiment of a stereotypical elderly Radio 4 listener - with views to match.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Everyone loved Roger and she loved the BBC, and at the end of this long-farewell love-in they agreed on the corporation's importance/necessity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Roger wasn't keen on the present BBC bosses though, and <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/4b8838da-2712-11ed-9092-6adde03bf612?shareToken=ed28793e2255c8d87b7d21e2e9b36bb0">repeatedly slammed them for being reluctant to come on his show</a>. Many of his criticisms will strike a chord with 'people like us' who know how the BBC handles such 'watchdog' programmes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unfortunately, he has also subsequently gone on <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/aug/27/labour-pledges-strengthen-bbc-independence-protect-funding">to tell <i>The Observer</i> </a>that Emily Maitlis was right, especially over her criticisms of the BBC's Brexit coverage for not being anti-Brexit enough.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I see <a href="https://isthebbcbiased.blogspot.com/search/label/Roger%20Bolton">in our archives a huge pile of often very long and detailed pieces</a> slamming Roger Bolton for being biased on that issue - and several others. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He's not been shy about it either, openly stating his disdain for criticism of the BBC from 'people like us'. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He's never been a wholly impartial champion of the Radio 4 listener. Though he's had his moments, he's mainly been the champion of that stereotypical Radio 4 listener, and been given free range by the BBC, until this year, however far he's strayed on <i>Feedback </i>into various kinds of advocacy. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And regular readers might also recall yet more exhaustingly long posts here recording his anger at John Humphrys after JH slammed the BBC, especially over pro-EU bias - despite JH later stating that he'd voted Remain himself.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As we said at the time, Roger Bolton truly took the hump against the former <i>Today </i>presenter for straying from the BBC straight and narrow. It also sounded like he strongly disagreed and that he took it as a personal affront. JH became a regular <i>Feedback </i>target thereafter. I wrote here, several times, about it seeming something like a vendetta.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What Roger Bolton's saying now as an 'ex-BBC presenter' is <b>exactly</b> what we claimed he believed while being an active BBC presenter because, whilst hiding being BBC impartiality, he frequently wasn't impartial, framing discussions in certain ways and asking particular questions in differing ways and giving his own opinions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I know he has many fans - maybe some of you - but I think the new BBC management are well shot of him - as they are of Emily, Jon and Lewis. Clear the whole lot out, and take Mark Easton and Jeremy Bowen with them off to LBC too, to join James O'Brien and our old friend Rob Burley where people don't have to pay for them!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If only those BBC bosses can now hold off from the urge to really 'troll' their underlings - and the public - and make Amol Rajan the next <i>Feedback </i>presenter. I'm hoping if gobby Gary L gets the Golden Boot from <i>Match of the Day </i>after one too many egregious tweets about women footballers and bras that Amol will get that gig too. Plus <i>Gardeners' World </i>and <i>Fake or Fortune</i><span style="text-align: left;"><i>? </i>And if, as we hear, the BBC is bringing back that old ITV Saturday night classic of bread-and-circuses British TV <i>Gladiators, </i>I'm hoping Amol will be the new Ulrika alongside Mishal Husain. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've given up my old habit of predicting <i>Newswatch</i>'s Samira Ahmed for every job vacancy as she never gets them, especially since her pay row triumph over the BBC. She may mouth off on Twitter from time to time, and join protests, and write articles, and be very anti-Nigel Farage, but she's much better at keeping her opinions to herself <b>while broadcasting</b> than Roger Bolton and she reads out views she almost certainly doesn't agree with without the Boltonian distancing tone. If only she hadn't humiliated the petty, vindictive, defensive BBC, a BBC that bears grudges.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Not that I'm stirring...</div>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741318067991857821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-19341849334339902112022-08-24T12:17:00.007+01:002022-08-24T12:17:57.128+01:00When's the funeral?<p> </p><p>"The BBC lives or dies by its impartiality"</p><p><span style="color: #0000ee;"><u><br /></u></span><a href="https://order-order.com/2022/08/24/bbc-bias-twitter-bitchfight-henderson-versus-lineker/" target="_blank"></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7PtCZ1cRwVdldSbpMgNG9bBt_miC5rhUYfgBFoE8Sf9JTEP7qFSGBBL-lPYD-jmkeZyHHBLwV1cMmst-6vA4LUdD69pBNYLewiWAjJycHDF1GGCo1tcSMX-OnwkDhlvGz-XLwAxMZtC9e0O9huunDkVkdfO6MmJCTyw4RBQVguHuNf1cuJFoXhNXv/s1806/Screenshot%202022-08-24%20at%2012.14.30.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1166" data-original-width="1806" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7PtCZ1cRwVdldSbpMgNG9bBt_miC5rhUYfgBFoE8Sf9JTEP7qFSGBBL-lPYD-jmkeZyHHBLwV1cMmst-6vA4LUdD69pBNYLewiWAjJycHDF1GGCo1tcSMX-OnwkDhlvGz-XLwAxMZtC9e0O9huunDkVkdfO6MmJCTyw4RBQVguHuNf1cuJFoXhNXv/s320/Screenshot%202022-08-24%20at%2012.14.30.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://order-order.com/2022/08/24/bbc-bias-twitter-bitchfight-henderson-versus-lineker/" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://order-order.com/2022/08/24/bbc-bias-twitter-bitchfight-henderson-versus-lineker/" target="_blank">Some hilarious comments under this!</a></p>suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02693686958796849316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-63688089203626209012022-08-23T07:07:00.013+01:002022-08-23T07:33:03.627+01:00Again<p> </p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's a sign of something deeply rotten in the state of our country that once rare events, which not so long ago would have dominated the news for weeks, now just come and go. A nine-year-old girl was stabbed in Boston, Lincolnshire last month and overnight we learn that another nine-year-old girl has been shot dead in Liverpool. Quite rightly, both the Sky News, ITV News and GB News websites have been leading with this horrific killing. The BBC wasn't, but is now. The media needs to get back to making such crimes <b>not normal </b>by not moving on so quickly. </p>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741318067991857821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-15400276238926439102022-08-20T16:07:00.009+01:002022-08-20T17:05:52.793+01:00Mark Easton gets it wrong again<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And talking about the BBC getting its facts wrong...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As <a href="https://isthebbcbiased.blogspot.com/2022/08/august-open-thread.html#comment-5955396671">Arthur T notes on the open thread</a>, blog favourite and arch-BBC narrative setter Mark Easton has been rebuked again by the corporation's Editorial Complaints Unit.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here's <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact/ecu/bbc-news-600pm-bbc-one-12-april-2022">that ruling</a> as it appears on <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact/recent-ecu">the BBC website's Executive Complaints Unit Findings page</a>:</div><br />
<blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">BBC News (6.00pm), BBC One, 12 April 2022</span></b></div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>18 August 2022</b></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<b><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Complaint</span></b></div></b><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">In a report on the Prime Minister receiving a fine for breaching lockdown restrictions the BBC’s Home Editor said:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Now each one of those Fixed Penalty Notices requires the police to believe that a criminal offence has been committed. Now it doesn’t go on anybody’s criminal record but it will go on the Police National Computer.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A viewer complained that this was incorrect, as breaches of lockdown restrictions incurring a fixed penalty notice were non-recordable crimes. The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the BBC’s editorial standards of accuracy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<b><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Outcome</span></b></div></b><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Home Editor acknowledged that he was mistaken in saying the offence would be recorded on the Police National Computer. As the error could have misled viewers as to the seriousness of the offence, the ECU accepted that it was a breach of the relevant editorial standards.</div>
<b><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Upheld</b></div></b><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<b><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Further action</span></b></div></b><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The finding was reported to the Board of BBC News and discussed with the programme-makers concerned.</div></blockquote><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;">As ever, beyond being published on a part of the BBC website very few people read [and being picked up by the odd newspaper], what is the BBC doing to make this known to BBC viewers who might have been misled? A prominent apology/correction on BBC One's <i>News at Six</i><span style="text-align: left;">?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">I've scanned TVEyes to see if any apology/correction has been broadcast on BBC One since this ruling was published two days ago. You won't be surprise that it brings up no results.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;">Note also that it took four months and an escalation to the ECU to even get this. The BBC's complaints process isn't fit for purpose.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">You really do have to watch them like a hawk.</span></div><p></p>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741318067991857821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-29354718659760733772022-08-20T14:25:00.023+01:002022-08-20T16:02:54.743+01:00"It's not the BBC. You know, you actually get your facts right"<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">"It's not the BBC. You now, you actually get your facts right," Liz Truss playfully said last night to GB News's Alastair Stewart. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Recently departed BBC presenter Dan Walker, clutching somebody's pearls, <a href="https://twitter.com/mrdanwalker/status/1560908217265307648">described that</a> as "an incredibly dangerous slur. Dangerous for Liz Truss, for every viewer…for all of us."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Others might say that it's more worrying that so many influential types on Twitter are saying what Dan said as the BBC should never be immune from criticism. </span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">By coincidence, I had to fact-check the BBC twice yesterday and twice found them to be factually wrong.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Once came on <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20220819143906/https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-62602913">a report</a> about a social media user being banned from a couple of platforms which ended; </div><div><blockquote style="text-align: justify;">The BBC has approached Google, which owns YouTube and TikTok, for comment.</blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">I checked that because I was pretty sure TikTok is Chinese-owned - hence how controversial it is - and, yes, TikTok <b>is</b> owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, not by Google. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The BBC did stealth-edit it later <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-62602913">to read</a>, though <a href="https://www.newssniffer.co.uk/articles/2355231/diff/1/2">it took them several hours</a>:</p></div><blockquote style="text-align: justify;">The BBC has approached Google, which owns YouTube, for comment.</blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">The other one concerns the partying Finnish PM Sanna Marin, who the BBC News Channel spent hours on Thursday/Friday calling "the youngest prime minister in the world at just 36 years old". Radio 4's main <i>Six O'Clock News </i>on 18 August twice called her "the world's youngest prime minister," So this was stated as a fact across the BBC's channels for many hours. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">As lots of others were calling her that too I've still no idea why I fact-checked the BBC over that but I just felt the need to check and on doing so was surprised to read that she isn't. That's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dritan_Abazovi%C4%87">Dritan Abazović</a>, prime minister of Montenegro. He's 39 days younger that she is. Sanna Marin <i>was </i>the youngest PM in the world back in 2019 but hasn't been since Mr Abazović became PM in April this year. Clearly no one at Radio 4 or the BBC News Channel bothered checking. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_state_leaders_by_age#10_youngest_serving_state_leaders">It's really not hard to do so</a>. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">To paraphrase Liz Truss, this was the BBC and, you know, they actually don't get their facts right.</p>Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741318067991857821noreply@blogger.com0