Britannia Radio

RADIO 4 TODAY TAKES LOGICAL NEXT STEP

The Today programme is now producing its own anti-government protest songs. It was only a matter of time, I suppose.

Business presenter Adam Shaw sat down with Robbie Williams' songwriter Guy Chambers to come up with a tune about government pension proposals. Listen to the result here.

Lyrics:

We make two big journeys in our story it's often said,
One when we are married, one when we are dead.
I thought we were protected by a golden trust,
Now I've been abandoned, your words have turned to rust.
I'm betrayed
This bed we made
Went off the rails
We lie on nails
I'm betrayed
Our dreams they fade
We had a deal
And still you steal


Tomorrow, Sarah Montague and Bernie Taupin bring us their jaunty ditty Let's Raise Taxes On Carbon Emissions.

Incidentally, is anybody else getting more than a little sick of BBC journalists doing these "look at me" reports which serve little purpose other than to raise their own profiles and create a bit of ego-soothing Twitter buzz?

SUB MORONIC

Professor Paul Valdes of Bristol university has been working assiduously for years to induce panic about the climate using models. He's very unhappy that the level of panic is not high enough. He's produced a new report that tells us that the problem with existing models is that they are too stable - they don't show the sort of catastrophe that has happened in the past. The greenie message is loud and clear. We must spend billions more a year on taxing industrial production and end human activity as we know it. 

Richard Black, of course, loves his message and seeks to report on it by making it clear that he approves of every syllable, while at the same time, putting two fingers up at sceptics. His way of doing so is ludicrous even by his standards. First he tells us patronisingly that models predict metal fatigue in aircraft. Gosh, what a revelation. Then he says: 

In the acrid climate blogosphere there are many commentators who would agree with Professor Valdes' contention about lack of confidence in computer models.Their conclusion, typically, is that society should not take any steps to mitigate emissions until the projections are surer. Going back to the analogy of aeroplanes, this is tantamount to arguing that it's fine to get on board any craft unless it's been shown to be unsafe.

Let's get this straight. What a BBC so-called science correspondent clearly believes is that because "models" can predict metal fatigue (a relatively simple function of stress and a few other variables), they must also be able to predict climate (a system with so many variables that experts in the field can't even agree on even where to start in their analysis). 
This is a sub-moronic argument that I would blush to feed event to a three year old. Meanwhile, in the real world, genuine scientists are pointing out how complex the climate system actually is. Well worth a read.

Understandable Silence

>> THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2011

It’s understandable that the BBC has chosen to wait for the grand finale before reporting any news about the forthcoming Gaza flotilla, even if the build-up has caused a stir elsewhere.So far they have had nothing to say about the elaborate preparations currently taking place in 12 European countries and various other far-flung locations. I’ve been searching the BBC news pages each day to find a reference, but the website only comes up with stories concerning the fiasco which created nine martyrs last year. This year’s extensive preparations by pro Palestinian Peace activists haven’t made the cut. Normally one might just think that’s fine and dandy, after all, ‘if it doesn’t bleed, it doesn’t lead’. But as this stunt is deliberately designed to provoke Israel, and the peaceful protesters are evidently hoping it will lead to another violent confrontation ending in bloodshed, Israel’s supporters would say background information is essential. That is, if there were to be any hope of fair reporting, if and when the anticipated drama unfolds. 

I find several reports about this more newsworthy than the BBC does. Apparently, the fashion for using ‘Lawfare’ as a weapon against Israel has been adopted by the Israelis and redirected at the flotillistas, with knobs on. Melanie P explains on her blog that warnings concerning potential accountability for Hamas’s future acts of terrorism are causing suppliers and maritime insurers to pull out. Various other delays and impediments to the preparations have taken yet more of the wind out of their sails.
A number of the recruits on stand-by are elderly, which means that their value as human shields all but equals that of babies and toddlers. Some of us might interpret this as the cynical exploitation of expendable useful idiots, while others will see pensioners’ participation as endearingly brave and selfless.
Ha’artetz has run some stories about preparatory workshops designed to whip up an atmosphere of defiance mixed with fear, creating amongst the passengers such an expectancy of violence that it is very likely to be self-fulfilling. That will provide the requisite anti Israel message for the media.
There have been reports that they intend to kill IDF soldiers, but having seen that this wouldn’t fit the agenda, they are hastily backtracking on that.
The BBC hasn’t reported any of the above, but the Guardian has, putting the case for the flotillistas. The Guardian is not under any obligation to be impartial, so it’s understandable that, as Just Journalism points out, they’re not bothering to report that Israel has promised that after an inspection of the cargo, which must be carried out as per the conditions of the blockade, they will deliver all the humanitarian aid on board, safely and lovingly to Gaza. Similarly, the Guardian hasn’t reflected on the fact that ‘there doesn’t seem to be a practical reason to send the aid.’ But, again that is understandable, since the media’s orchestrated campaign to delegitimise Israel is a given, and the Guardian is not constrained by a charter which limits their freedom of expression. Unlike the BBC whose motto might be
‘if you can’t say something bad, say nothing.’
So the BBC has been silent, in strict, officious accordance with the genetic impartiality it’s so proud of.