BBC hypocrisy

Yes, yes I know it's a target rich environment but the BBC are very quick to condemn that which doesn't fit into their leftist agenda whilst ignoring anything in the leftist agenda which might just be a tad inconvenient.

BBC.

Policing demonstrations by the English Defence (EDL) and opposing groups in Blackburn could cost about £500,000, it has been estimated.

The estimated cost, by Lancashire Police Authority, is something the force can "ill afford", its chairman said.

On Saturday, about 2,000 EDL supporters gathered on Northgate with about 500 rival protesters at a separate site.

Twelve people were arrested during the demonstrations.

Some shop owners said the event had led to a drop in trading.

Yes, policing demo's does cost money, though that alone should never be an excuse to stop a public right, which is what the BBC seem to incline towards whenever this subject comes up over the EDL. It's quite notable that nowhere on the BBC site is there any mention of the costs of policing the London anti-cuts protests or the student fees protests where a hell of a lot of damage was done and far more violence committed by protesters than at any EDL demo. Of course those demo's were a lot larger than the EDL demo's but still it's plain that when leftists and (so called) anarchists riot against government policies the BBC will deliberately fudge the issue of costs. For instance in 2009 the cost of policing the Tamil protests was £8 million and the cost of the G20 £7.2 million As the EDL space their protests around the country they aren't hitting any police authority on a regular basis and the right to protest is enshrined in Law though as a fellow blogger "The fuel injected moose"  who was at the demo (as an innocent abroad) put it...

If nothing else, we still have the right to protest in Britain. However, all this gave me the impression that they are trying to make it so difficult that we just won't bother.

And so we have the BBC also trying to tighten the screws as to the cost of such demo's too. I wonder how long it will take before a demo gets banned simply on account of costing too much? I suspect it will be sooner rather than later.

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Well here's to you Mr Robinson

 The BBC Newsnight did a section on the EDL last night with Jeremy Paxman interviewing the EDL's "self styled" (the BBC's description not mine) leader Stephen Lennon or  Tommy Robinson as he's known to the EDL and pretty much anyone else.



The intro by the BBC Asia Network presenter Catrin Nye who had been following the EDL leader around for 6 months clearly showed that the BBC are struggling to deal with the concept of the EDL with its multicultural, multiracial, multi ethnic and non sexist following. In six months all they managed to do was drop in some video scenes of demo's to show various chants and occasional violence at EDL marches, some of them clearly not EDL but the various groups that oppose the EDL. The interview afterwards with Paxman itself also failed to nail the EDL leader who held his ground and even tripped Paxman himself up at one stage when he tried to put words into his mouth.
The problem the BBC have with Tommy Robinson is he's genuine, he really believes what he's saying and it's struck a chord with a lot of people. No, he's not polished (but he's getting better) and he's no politician either (a good thing) but he more than held his own against Paxman who could only bring up facebook as an example of EDL racism, knowing full well anyone can write on a facebook wall and yes the EDL know facebook is a bit of a liability for them, but it is the way a lot of people in the EDL communicate with each other. If you want to see the real EDL though look at their forum instead, this is where a lot of their policy gets discussed, this was also where the the Pastor Terry Jones invite was discussed, criticised and ended up being rejected by the EDL leadership.
The next charge that was thrown was that white people are also paedophiles, well it's certainly true, though they don't tend to congregate in gangs at school gates and force prostitution on their victims by plying them with drink and drugs. Nor have they any protection from the law by screaming "racist" at them, nor does the white community protect them.
Robinson was clearly nervous, but he did well, Paxman was unable to demolish him as he has effortlessly done with pompous politicians. The EDL are no saints, but they are not racist (though they have had a problem with racists) they are not homophobic (though again they have had problems with homophobes) they support Israel, which mortifies the BBC and are clearly multicultural in a way the establishment struggle to comprehend. In essence they are sectarian and this is a concept the mainstream media and politicians in the UK (with the possible exception of Northern Ireland) clearly struggle to grasp. What's worse from their perspective is that the EDL continues to grow and evolve and is now costing them a lot of money in their efforts to contain it, though this mostly goes on efforts to try and keep the EDL's opponents from attacking them as well as the police, where there has been no opposition to the EDL during a demo there's been no violence so the link is fairly obvious.
The most telling thing about the interview is that the BBC did not invite comment from any opposition group such as the UAF. Oh I'm sure they would have had something to say, problem is though the entire BBC presentation demolished the whole racist, fascist, violent spiel that they use to describe the EDL. They would have looked stupid, so in this instance the BBC were smart to keep them away.
As it was, the EDL came out of the whole thing looking like normal, concerned citizens, not articulate and polished by any means, but clearly at odds to the media image. Yes the demo's frighten some people, but it keeps the media focussed on what the EDL see as a problem so it works well for the EDL. Where the real power of the EDL lies though is in its varied membership (though there's no official membership as such) Feet on the street counts for a lot particularly when it gets reported accurately in the MSM and all credit to the guys and gals that do this, brave souls and frontline warriors. Behind this though are the milder types who work behind the scenes, refuting stories where the EDL are misrepresented in the media as well as forums and blogs, dealing with misconceptions with a well aimed sentence or a withering comment. The truth after all is out there to be found and the facts about the real EDL are easy enough to find if you go looking. There are also Islamic experts too, informing all who come to the EDL forums about Islam and it's various practices. Some are in all 3 groups, others in only one or two, but their value to the cause shouldn't be underestimated or denigrated which is where the MSM and the righteous have it all wrong. They think they can undermine, disrupt or ignore the EDL, they can't, it's not a phenomenon they really understand as it stands outside their world view and experience.
All in all this was an own goal for the BBC, the EDL didn't come across as anything like they were accused of and their leader did not get Paxmanned as a lot expected.
Wonder what they'll do next.

More about → Well here's to you Mr Robinson

Not like it's their money

The Bloated Broadcasting Corporation has decided that it's going to carry on fighting the ex Top gear test driver (aka the Stig) for revealing to the world who he is.

BBC.

THE BBC is to press ahead and sue Top Gear’s The Stig despite facing a £200,000 legal bill after a judge yesterday refused to block the racing driver’s best-selling book.

Mr Justice Morgan Court refused to grant BBC bosses an ­injunction against Ben Collins’ autobiography because he said his identity as The Stig was now common knowledge.

Collins was sacked by the corporation who claimed his decision to write a book – and finally reveal his identity – would be a breach of contract.

But in the High Court, the judge said: “The fact that Mr Collins was The Stig was so ­generally accessible, the ­information had lost its confidential character.

“I do not see how any further harm will be caused to the BBC if Mr Collins is allowed to ­publish his autobiography in time for the 2010 Christmas market.”

Mr Collins’ book, The Man In The White Suit, is already a best-seller.

If the case goes to trial, it could ­triple the potential legal costs, already running at around £200,000, for the BBC and licence fee-payers.

A corporation spokeswoman said: “The BBC will always fight to protect its programmes and characters.”

The 35-year-old Bristol-based stunt driver has already been replaced and a new Stig has been chosen for the next series of Top Gear.

It would be different if the BBC was a private organisation, however they've decided to use my (and yours if you're a license payer) cash to sue Ben Collins despite the fact that we all know who he is now (and no I was never bothered about who the Stig was either) They've already racked up legal fees to the sum of £200,000 and intend to take it further, mostly because it's not their money they are playing with as far as I can tell. Whilst breach of contract is a fairly serious thing, in this case though, nothing was stolen, no trade secrets handed over, Collins simply decided to reveal who he was, a sack-able breach of contract, but not worth suing him over. They just needed to replace him with another mystery driver, not cost the license payer a whopping sum of money. A clear case that when it comes to the public's money, they don't care how much it costs, because it never affect them personally.

Now if the legal costs of losing a case came out of their wages/pensions/bonuses...

More about → Not like it's their money

When pets attack

The BBC is institutionally left wing biased, it even recognises it itself., though it often mistakes this bias for centre ground.
However during a general election it has to behave by the rules of impartiality. Even if the subject matter is anathema to them in the form of the BNP. Though various pets of the establishment obviously feel that impartiality should only apply to their choices, not the whole political gamut.

Independent.

Protesters are to gather outside BBC headquarters tomorrow as the British National Party's election broadcast is aired.

The BBC is accused by campaign group Unite Against Fascism (UAF) of giving "unwarranted and uncritical coverage" of the BNP during the run-up to the election.

The BNP's five-minute party election broadcast (PEB) is set to be aired on BBC1 at 6.55pm.

UAF's protest at Broadcasting House in central London will be supported by the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union (Bectu), as well as the Muslim Council of Britain and Jewish Council for Racial Equality.

A BBC spokesman said the Corporation was "obliged to treat political parties contesting the election with due impartiality", as set out in its charter.

He added: "Over the course of the election, we will ensure appropriate scrutiny as we would with any party."

This is correct, they may not like it, but they have to play by the rules during a general election. So no Question Time histrionics this time.

But UAF joint secretary Sabby Dhalu said: "The BBC has given unwarranted and uncritical coverage of the BNP during this election campaign, particularly on TV news and Radio 4, which has failed to challenge its racist scapegoating of immigrants and Islamophobia.

What part of impartial are you struggling with here? You've challenged the BNP many times and their popularity still grows, perhaps a look at some of the people you stand alongside (MCB) might give you a clue as to why.

"The BBC's justification for giving the BNP more coverage is the election of two BNP MEPs last year. This is misguided.

The democratic decision by over a million voters to elect BNP MEP's might have been misguided, but it's a fact you and your anti-democratic loons are going to have to live with.

"Giving the BNP a platform and failing to expose and challenge it gives the BNP a veneer of legitimacy.

Forgive me if I'm wrong here, but the BNP are a legitimate political party, which is far more than the ultra violent, anti-English, anti-free speech UAF are.

"The BNP is a fascist organisation, not a normal political party, and the public does not pay its licence fee to see fascists broadcast their politics of hate."

The License fee payers probably don't like to see their license fees go to pay any political parties message, or is he suggesting that only political parties that he approves of should have a say on tv?

You know I do believe he is.

More about → When pets attack

Doing England down, BBC style

Finally caught up with the new Dr Who, still not sure of what to make of him yet, bit manic, but he may settle in ok. However in classic BBC never allow England a fair hearing style there was one moment that made me sigh. The Dr had just met his new companion a young Scottish lady (12) and had identified her country of origin. Asking her why her parents hadn't heard the noise of his entry she said she was an orphan and had moved down from Scotland to be with her Aunt. Asked what's it like down here, she said (I'm paraphrasing) England? it's rubbish. (though I wonder what Scots made of the Dr's comment "you're Scottish, fry me something")
Yes I know it's acting, yes I know that some Scots have issues, but the BBC do have form for this especially in Dr Who and Torchwood where the pro British anti English sentiments of the production team often come to the fore.
In the last series in a parallel universe there was also a foreigner being taken away to an internment camp who said "you know how it is, England for the English" despite the fact that the BBC are consistent in their use of “Britain” and “British”, save only where a negative connotation is required and then it's always England, nowhere else, just England.

No doubt we'll be told it was a joke, no doubt we'll be told it's just acting, no doubt it will be inferred that we have no sense of humour. Yet oddly enough I can imagine the howls of rage if Scotland or Wales were constantly used in this manner.

It's just not funny any more, then again it never really was.

More about → Doing England down, BBC style