The BBC elevates the NHS to the position of unassailable criticism. I suppose there is something about this anachronistic monolith that absorbs vast amounts of cash that appeals to the State Broadcaster and all who work within it. This morning, David Cameron was on the Today programme for an interview concerning the planned changes he wants to make to the monolith. The BBC had already set the mood music for the interview by running interviews with all those interested parties with vested interests in maintaining the status quo. One could have been forgiven for thinking that Cameron was seeking to..PRIVATISE the monolith, rather than simply devolve power from the top to closer to the patient. You should listen to the interview if you get the chance. Cameron plays the BBC game by telling us how wonderful the NHS is and then tries to glance aside the fusillade of criticism from John Humphrys. I'd love some Conservative to find the courage to just once tackle the BBC's pro NHS bias - here is where the data lies that merits such criticism. But instead, this was all about Cameron being seen to be nice and caring and seeking a better socialised healthcare system. Here's some good news.."BBC faces hundreds of job losses" Now it's all very well for Jeremy Dear, leader of the NUJ, to whinge about HOW AWFUL it is but let's face it, we're all in this together.Thing is that a 20% reduction is not enough, it needs to closer to 100%. There is no way that the cash-stricken UK can afford the indulgence of the State Broadcaster on that multi billion annual fee it charges so alas it's time for Auntie to visit Dignatas. I'm sure all that world-class impartial talent can find alternative employment without feeding off us. Anyone catch Ed Miliband being "interviewed" by Andrew Marr this morning? Talk about sycophantic indulgence! Red Ed was allowed to rewrite political and financial history and then lecture the Coalition on effective economic policy. Marr seemed unwilling to pursue ANY angle that would give Miliband discomfort and the body language between the two was fascinating, with Marr as the all to obvious supplicant. From what I saw, Marr was basically doing everything possible to portray Miliband as the next PM which I suppose is the prevailing BBC ideology. Well, the excruciatingly awful Nicky Campbell "The Big Question" is back. Here are two of the topics chosen today; "Will bankers got to heaven?" and "Is Islam a better guide for life?" Need I say more? BBC in full on anti-Capitalism and anti-Christian mode for a Sunday morning! What would the chances be of the following "big questions" being asked."Will Trade Unionists go to heaven" and "Is Christianity a better guide for life"? Looking again at Justin Webb’s recent remark that US broadcasters see British rules about impartiality as an attack on freedom of speech, I did wonder whether he sees it that way too. I also wondered what he thinks impartiality actually is. Maybe he sees it as not being free to lay his own political views on the table during political interviews. Maybe instead of playing devil’s advocate, he longs to just play devil. But he’s not allowed to, so he dutifully does his job as best he can.AN ARTICLE OF BBC FAITH
>> MONDAY, JANUARY 17, 2011
REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL....
MIDDLE AGED, GIFTED AND BLACK
Can't wait for the BBC's coverage of this story. He's in the Tea Party (ergo racist), he supports Sarah Palin (ergo racist and also hate inciter) and..oh yes, he's BLACK. Mark Mardell, are you paying attention?If you don’t attend Tea Party rallies or listen to political talk radio, the name Herman Cain may not register. Cain intends to rectify that. He’s planning to seek the GOP nomination, so he’s spreading his blustery, relentlessly upbeat right-wing social and economic message, which can be heard weeknights from 7 to 10 on WSB in Atlanta. Cain is so exuberantly confident of his message that he has upgraded its status: he bestows upon audiences not speeches or talking points but “The Hermanator Experience.” He’s even trademarked the phrase. Truth be told, what distinguishes Cain’s message is less its content—“From the standpoint of our conservative beliefs and values, Sarah Palin and I are probably identical,”
Listen, can you hear that sound? Yes, it is the sound of BBC prejudices popping as their bias is challenged ...MR MILIBAND - WOULD YOU AGREE YOU ARE MARVELLOUS?
DO BANKERS GO TO HEAVEN?
All in the Mind
>> FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2011
However, as we know, when we criticise the BBC, reining in their personal opinions a little bit is not what we mean by impartiality. We detect it in tone of voice, ‘interruption quotient’, imbalance of subject matter, selectivity of interviewee and expert witness, and much much more. One of its most slippery manifestations, though, is bias by omission, and this shows up particularly in material that has anything to do with Islam.
The fear of “stirring something up” is palpable. The most recent example is the ‘Asian grooming’ issue, which can’t be discussed freely for fear of inciting the BNP, or causing a backlash, or worse, major civil disobedience.
I often link to Elder of Ziyon’s website, which is an invaluable source of information for anybody with an interest in Israel and the Middle East. It tracks the astonishing political shenanigans that take place in the Arab World as well as Israel-related goings-on.
If only the BBC were to tell us of some of the vitally important things they studiously ignore, I could probably hang up my keyboard, and we could live happily ever after. Or maybe not.
There is considerable evidence that most Arabs and their leaders are far from the earnest seekers of peace the BBC would have us believe they are. Their mindset is light years away from ours. We considers duplicity to be a character flaw. In stark contrast, many Arab leaders seem to relish getting away with trickery and deceit. With considerable ingenuity they tailor the speech to suit the audience, proudly providing each party with what it wants to hear, inciting hatred and whipping up self pity and smouldering resentment in front of their Islamic audience.
Mahmoud Abbas for example, our so-called partner for peace, has been telling the West that he wants peace with Israel, while addressing the wider Arab world in Arabic, in speeches calling for their help in eliminating Israel.
Even those who view the situation exclusively through BBC’s Palestinian-promoting news-filtering mechanism must view the assumption that peace will automatically follow on from the establishment of a separate Palestinian state with some suspicion. All the violence, terrorism and religious extremism that blights the Islamic world isn’t enough to convince the Western world that the I/P conflict is neither a regional dispute over land, nor a flashpoint that justifies the whole Muslim world’s discontent. We should see Israel as the West’s canary. Its vulnerability symbolises our own, and its potential annihilation would presage our own. Islam is causing trouble everywhere. Pakistan, Sudan, Tunisia, Turkey, everywhere.
In Lebanon Jeremy Bowen is too preoccupied with his vineyard story to notice that Hizbollah cannot accept that the UN might hold it responsible for the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister. A minor detail -they were responsible for it. Much of the trouble emanating form this will be directed at Israel.
Several Qassam rockets have been fired from Gaza recently, but the BBC Twits are too busy tweeting politically-motivated gossip amongst themselves to notice.
A fascinating article on Elder of Ziyon’s blog which originally appeared in a German magazine called Cicero describes an interview with a 23 year old, highly educated resident of the Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem. She studied here in the UK and has a fetching English accent. It explains that UNRWA has bestowed, exclusively upon Palestinians, everlasting refugee status. For Palestinians alone, this can extend over the generations. This young lady is passionately determined that one day there will be a single state - ‘from the river to the sea’ - where eight million descendants of the 1948 refugees will return to settle in Israel. She will be satisfied with nothing less. She herself has never been there, and she may or may not know that 54% of East Jerusalem Arabs would rather live in Israel than in a future Palestinian state.
This gives a glimpse of the mindset that is making peace unachievable. Another compelling study of the Arab state of mind is set out in the form of an excerpt from an awesome piece of journalism from the 1960s by the redoubtable Martha Gellhorn. I know following links is tiresome and tedious, but please if you only follow one, let it be that one. Elder has selected a passage from Gellhorn’s lengthy and detailed study of the history of Palestinian Arabs. Now that’s Journalism. Is there anyone at the BBC who is capable of undertaking such a project, even if there was a sudden, miraculous, uncharacteristic desire to try?
Monday, 17 January 2011
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