JENNI MURRAY - VICTIM OF THE VRWC

JENNI MURRAY - VICTIM OF THE VRWC

Woman's Hour presenter Jenni Murray was on Radio 4's Feedback today(approx 7 mins in) defending herself against feminist anger over a recent stand-up routine she did as part of Comic Relief. It seems Murray used the word "bitches" and had committed the unforgivable crime (in feminist circles) of calling herself a "girl". She pointed out that she was trying to be funny (the use of "bitches", for example, was part of a mock urban slang bit of the sort heard with tiresome regularity from "real" Radio 4 comedians such as Mark Steel, her mentor for the Comic Relief exercise). Before explaining the "ironic" nature of her comedy routine, Murray treated us to a brief history of the phrase "political correctness". Referring to herself in the third person, she reminded right-on listeners everywhere about the real enemy:

"Who would've thought that Jenni Murray, queen of all things politically correct, would've landed herself in trouble accused of using unacceptable language? Well let's deal first of all with those words "politically correct", the ubiquitous "PC". I never use them. It was an expression promoted by advisers to George Bush Sr during his presidency and was a plot by the extreme right wing in America to put down people like me."

A pillar of the BBC possessing a deranged antipathy towards an imagined "extreme right wing in America". Who'd have guessed, eh?

The BBC and The Obamessiah: The Veil Lifts Ever So Slightly

Something very interesting happened the other day: BBC News Online allowed through an article that was slightly critical of the President, and even pointed out His escalation of Bush's war policies. Because the BBC is generally relentless in their positive coverage, support, and plain old propaganda on behalf of the White House, I thought it was important to give credit where it's due, even if there are a couple of problems with the piece. If it wasn't such a rare event, it wouldn't seem so remarkable. But it is. Andrew North is actually allowed to frown, if only gently, at the fact that a Noble Peace Prize winner was the deciding vote in starting yet another war. Even the sub-editor tasked with writing the headline gets into the act. Libya: Barack Obama's step from Nobel winner to warrior Why it took Andrew North to do this and not the BBC North America editor, Mark Mardell, I have no idea. Mardell is the one who is supposed to be giving his insight on these things, explaining the issues to us, helping create that rapport with the US the BBC wants you to have. North begins by outlining the current wars He's running:

It probably wasn't what the Nobel committee had in mind when it awarded the Peace Prize to President Barack Obama two years ago. Two months later he ramped up the war in Afghanistan, sending in 30,000 extra US troops. Now he has ordered massive air strikes on Libya - with United Nations backing, but still with the United States in the lead. Judged by his actions, this supposedly anti-war president looks almost as warlike as President George W Bush. If you include Mr Obama's increased use of drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen, he's got the US involved in more conflicts than his much-criticised predecessor.

I have to say I'm impressed. This is the first time I've seen this presented in a BBC report. There have been others mentioning various elements individually, but no one has put it together like this and actually point the finger at the Nobel laureate this way. Of course, it's a bit silly to say that the current President is "almost as warlike" as His predecessor when the very next sentence contradicts it by saying that He is involved in even more conflicts, but I'll let that slide. After all, one can't expect a believer to abandon his faith all in one go.

Read more »

Being Had by Has-beens

Hilarious edition of The Reunion radio 4 just now on the Brixton riots. Discussion between some self-hating policemen, reformed rioters-done-good and Darcus Howe. Nostalgia for the days when institutionally racist rozzers were outwitted by dem oppressed unemployed rastas, cruelly forced to smoke dope and have loud parties because of hopelessness, uselessness, and being targeted under racist stop’n’search. “Not because street crime was mainly perpetrated by blacks?” asked Sue MacGreg feebly. “We needed to be left alone/provided with jobs ” was the conclusion. BBC blast-from-the-past Darcus Howe, spokesman for oppressed black communities, kept on and on about his fambley. As if we’ve forgotten all about his notorious spat with Joan Rivers over racism and his abandoned son. Multiculturalism. Appease it or lookout.

INDIFFERENCE?

>> THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2011

As regards the slaughter of the Fogel family by Palestinian savages ( and I chose that word very carefully), I commend this piece to you. It doesn't single out the BBC in particular, but then again, it doesn't have to. Sue covers Louise Bagshaw's article below. The one bit in Bagshaw's article that surprised me was this....

"Like many of us, I consider the BBC to be a national treasure. I am not a BBC basher; I have never before complained. I do not support nor do I condone the Israeli settlement building....."

You are spectacularly uninformed, Louise.

Question Time LiveBlog 24th March 2011

Question Time tonight comes fromLondon. On the panel we have ex-spook and future Foreign Secretary Rory StewartMP, the "ginger rodent" Danny Alexander MP, newt-loving nutter Ken Livingstone, rocker-druggie Mick's ex-wife Bianca Jagger and historian Niall Ferguson. Red Ken on tonight, eh? Doubtless Boris will be on next week for Mayoral election balance? No, thought not. On a positive note, though, QT will follow a Party Budget Broadcast by Red Ed which should cost him a couple of points in the polls. The LiveBlog will also cover the insane This Week, with Andrew Neil, Michael Portillo, a random lefty politician and a veritable smorgasbord of hangers-on. Let's see if they can top the owl-eyed and off-her-face fashion designer from last week who mumbled some disconnected views about nuclear power. TheEye and David Mosque will be cutting fuel tax here from 10:30pm.

Twitter To Replace BBC?

As Melanie Phillips says, Louise Bagshawe’s piece in the Telegraph is startling, but for reasons beyond the BBC’s insultingly cursory and misleading coverage of the atrocity in Itamar. Although Louise Bagshawe’s article was like a breath of fresh air, it’s astonishing that anyone, let alone an MP, had to write it. It was slightly disturbing that Ms Bagshawe was surprised it wasn’t reported prominently on the BBC and that she had to find out about it on Twitter, which surely implies that MPs normally rely on the BBC. Indeed we should all be able to count on the BBC’s ability to impart news and current affairs impartially and fully, but as it is we must just hope and trust that any MP worth his salt will be aware that if they want to know the whole truth - so help me God - they need to look beyond the Beeb. It is startling that Tweeting on Twitter is the only way one can get a response from the BBC, and astonishing that the response took the shape of an offhand brush-off. If MPs are going to involve themselves in foreign affairs, and they all have to vote on such things from time to time, it’s their responsibility to familiarise themselves with both the history and the current situation. Being shown round Gaza by CAABU or watching The Promise on Channel 4 is not enough. MPs should also be smart enough to recognise when and how the BBC’s coverage is slanted against Israel. They should understand that bias has been practised obsessively and continuously for decades and explains the mass ignorance facing us now. The comments below any article relating to Israel, anywhere, reveal the depth of hatred for Israel and Jews that the BBC has bestowed upon the public. Commenters frequently set out a string of falsehoods before launching into torrents of abuse. People believe that Jews somehow manipulated Britain into permitting them, illegally, to drive Arabs out of their homes at gunpoint, and from then on to oppress and murder the indigenous Palestinians willy-nilly. When the BBC bombards us with one-sided emotive and misleading reporting and omits everything that would let people reach a sensible and balanced conclusion, no wonder nearly everyone including Chris Patten hates Israel.

A LA RECHERCHE DU TEMPS PERDU

Have to laugh at the BBC's unremittingly bleak coverage of the Budget. The sneering tone ran across all their media formats. I caught Osborne being interviewed on Today (8.10am) and I thought he did rather well. He was quick to correct Naughie when he tried to mischaracterise what had been clearly said. And rightly so. Somehow, when Osborne said GROWTH, A MILLION JOBS - the BBC heard GLOOM, MISERY. You can see the BBC wincing that it is not Brown and Darling coming forth to talk their drivel each year at this time.

BUDGET SUICIDE

As Richard North sagely notes this morning, the most important priority with budgets is to watch what the chancellor is doing with his other hand or behind his back. Wee Georgie slipped in the news that the government was chillingly pressing ahead with plans to triple investment (to £3bn) in the Green Investment Bank, and also to put an insane floor on the cost of UK CO2 emissions. So the 1p fuel duty "relief" has to be seen in the context of intensifying plans to create more fuel poverty, ratchet up domestic fuel tariffs and to add more layers to the bureaucratic straitjacket that is crippling British enterprise and innovation. Richard Black, of course, is worried that this is not enough. He goes for his hectoring quotes first to an outfit called Transform UK, which is a predictable alliance of green fascists on the make. Next stop is EDF energy, one of the companies that is at the forefront of conning us about so-called green energy investment. And finally, of course, he brings in John Sauven, of Greenpeace UK, to warn that - despite Mr Osborne's craven acceptance of the need for spending billions more on green lunacy - his tactics amount to suicide and a failure to meet green policy promises. Anything that attacks a Tory chancellor will do. As usual, Mr Black ignores any opinion that might suggest alternatives, and funnily enough, I especially don't see a quote there from groups representing those such as pensioners and the poor who are facing continuing needless hardship as a result of all this idiocy and profligacy.

WHAT THEY DON'T REPORT...

>> WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2011

Anyone spotted this on the BBC yet? It's over on Harry's Place but the State Broadcaster with it's multi-billion resources seems to have overlooked it; 'Press Release: British Muslims for Israel condemns Jerusalem Bomb Plot British Muslims for Israel condemns the terrorist attack in Jerusalem today. Such acts of indiscriminate violence are never justified, hurt the cause of Palestinians and harden public opinion in Israel. Hasan Afzal, a spokesperson for British Muslims for Israel says “Today’s attacks seem to be of a piece with the extreme violence perpetrated against Israelis in the last few weeks. First we had the Itamar massacre, then a barrage of rocket attacks from Palestine into Israel and now the attack in Jerusalem. These attacks hurt all sides, and help no one.” Afzal added “Recent events have shown that groups such as Hamas and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade are determined to kill indiscriminately and use ordinary Palestinians as hostages to their cause. We urge all British Muslims to condemn these senseless attacks which block any attempts for peace and ruin the lives of both Israelis and Palestinians”. For further information, please call (+44) 7590 67 66 91 or emailBritishMuslimsForIsrael@gmail.com' Meanwhile.... There is a web report of the killing of 6 people by Syrian security forces outside a mosque....but not on the Radio....but the bomb in Jerusalem by persons unknown does make it in....the BBC manage to avoid mentioning the security wall that has stopped nearly all such attacks so far....the BBC phrases things so that we are lead to believe the lack of bombs is down to Palestinian goodwill and peaceful intent....'Jerusalem suffered a spate of bus bombings between 2000 and 2004 but attacks had stopped in recent years.'

NO INTEREST IN HIGH INTEREST

It's odd the things that Stephanie Flanders overlooks; A B-BBC reader observes; "Distinct lack of interest from the BBC economic reporters on the record borrowing for February. This gives the lie to Labour's, and Balls' claim of 'cutting too far too fast'. Shame the BBC cannot bring itself to delve into the figures and shed some light on Balls' claims...though John Humphrys let slip a non-Party line this morning in a reaction to the debt figures...'Presumably we've got to do something about that pretty sharply!' ...presumably not too sharply nor too soon. If we had record borrowing in February at a time when, as John Humphrys categorises them, we are having 'enormous cuts' I imagine if we weren't cutting we would be borrowing even more. Remarkably uncommented on by the BBC. Remarkable as the interest payments on the present debt is nearly £50bn...more than spent on defense or education....borrow more and that interest payment would go up even more...too fast and too far? Every household pays £1900 per year just to pay off that interest, the full debt burden on every single person in the UK is £14,814 each. Thanks Gordon, thanks Ed Balls, thanks Ed Miliband....all with their fingerprints on Labours 'Golden Years'. Apparently Balls is riding high in the opinion polls....he must have a very good PR team."

Comparing More Notes

Today I’ve been mostly looking at reports of the terrorist bomb in Jerusalem. Leaving aside the unnecessary inclusion of: ”Jerusalem suffered a spate of bus bombings between 2000 and 2004 but attacks had stopped in recent years.” and again further down: ”However the attacks have stopped in recent years. Jerusalem last experienced a bus bombing in 2004.” - duplication possibly intended to imply good behaviour on the part of Hamas - this time the BBC fares better than Reuters, who, according toElder of Ziyon have a poor track record where matters Israel are concerned. (Contrary to the impression given in my last post) Until Jon Donnison’s contribution pops up towards the end, when things revert to normal, the BBC’s effort seems reasonably informative. They actually include some quotes from named Israelis rather than the usual ‘Israel says.’ The BBC’s: “But an Islamic Jihad leader said a Palestinian attack would be a "natural response" to this week's Israeli strikes in Gaza.” is at odds with the Jerusalem Post’s: “Authorities said that there was no connection between the attack and events in the Gaza Strip in recent days. However, they suspected a connection between this attack and one several weeks,(sic) in which an explosive device was left on the side of a main road near Gilo.” - and the BBC is still eager to mention Wednesday’s airstrikes by Israeli warplanes, dutifully adding: “after Palestinian militants fired two rockets into southern Israel.” - though in my book, reversing these two events gives precedence to the wrong one. It seems strange that the BBC needs to include: “Islamic Jihad said it carried out the rocket attacks in reprisal for the killing of eight Palestinians near Gaza City on Tuesday. Four of those killed were members of one family and two of them were children” while the Fogel family ‘weren’t there again today’ (Oh how they wish they’d go away)

BUYING THE BBC TO SAVE MONEY

Interesting to read how the private sector could help us all by running parts of the BBC; I am advised;

"As the BBC comes under increased pressure from tightened budgets, the executives of the Birmingham-based commercial radio station brmb have come up with a solution to maintain localness and save money. There is serious debate about limiting BBC local radio stations to one or two locally produced shows a day with BBC Five Live filling the rest of the time. In light of this the management of brmb has offered to run BBC WM at a significantly reduced budget with a saving to the BBC and the licence payer.

The senior team behind brmb, Phil Riley and David Lloyd, have a track record of major achievements in the radio industry. Between them, they have experience of major roles in broadcasting in the UK from regulation to content creation and business management. They successfully rebuilt London talk station LBC, re-establishing the image of the station and its audience. The team also applied in 2003 for an OFCOM licence to run a commercial talk station in Birmingham ‘WBC’. Chief Executive of Orion Media (parent company of brmb) Phil Riley believes that it is unthinkable that the UK’s second city should not have a fully operational news talk service: “The suggestion is outrageous. This city creates a mass of news and sport stories everyday. It is unacceptable that the BBC should be cutting back on its service to the city. We already have an accomplished and credible news and sports team based at brmb ready and willing to provide the service.

“Great talk radio is about not just news, but local presenters, interesting guests and listeners who want to participate and reflect the richness of the area where they live.” The financing of the service is not an issue, Mr Riley says:“From our understanding of the costs of running BBC WM, we believe we could achieve a fifty percent saving. This would be great news for the listeners and the people of Birmingham and the country at large. Isn’t this the ‘Big Society’ in operation - a commercial business offering to provide a public service at a fraction of the cost?”

Have to agree with this....just think, a 50% saving simply by getting the BBC bureaucracy out of the way...