Media

Erm…

Bernie Russell Media
I watched John Prescott on Newsnight last night blustering on about how Gordon Brown wasn’t a bully, etc., etc.

It was pure Prescott – a jowl-wobbling, syntax-mangling  rant, that was, at times, almost impossible to understand.

But what did come across loud and clear in his defence of Brown was when he said that “he was the man who didn’t want to go into the ERM [Exchange Rate Mechanism]…and thank God we didn’t.”

That’s not true. Brown supported our entry into the ERM, as did most of the political establishment.

So is this another of those things that’s been purged from the history books, like, say, Tony Blair’s membership of CND?

Or  given that we did go into the ERM, is it just Prescott not really knowing what he’s talking about, as usual?

Erm.. yes

Losing faith in the BBC

Bernie Russell Media
Writing in the Times today on the BBC’s decision to appoint a Muslim as its Head of Religion, William Rees-Mogg says:

What I do not understand is why the BBC did not choose its head of religion from the majority English church, which is plainly the Church of England.

He points out that “that would have been more democratic and professional”.

The piece that passeth all understanding
I must say I don’t quite understand why he doesn’t understand.

Because I understand perfectly well.

I understand so well, in fact, that I’d have been astonished beyond all understanding if the BBC had appointed a Christian.

Nuff said, I think.

Missing link

Bernie Russell Media
Missing link
The Guardian carried a a report about the planned march through Woolton Bassett by the extremist Islamist group, Islam4UK.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/04/wootton-bassett-islam4uk-parade-troops
http://www.islam4uk.com
There is widespread opposition to its taking place, and the Guardian reports that a Facebook group opposing the march “quickly attracted more than 120,000 members”. (At the time of writing, membership stands at 201,047.)
The report links to the Islam4uk web site, but for some reason, doesn’t carry the link to the Facebook group.
Can’t think why. Anyway, here it is.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=228021139869&ref=mf

The Guardian carried a report about the planned march through Woolton Bassett by the extremist Islamist group, Islam4UK. Continue reading →

Gawdless help us

Bernie Russell Media
Gawd help us
Had a tweet today from a friend of mine (a bit of a Comrade) tagged #godlesschristmas.
So… a Godless celebration of the birth of the Son of God…how does that work?
Eat
I suppose if you want to eat yourself fatter…
Drink
…and drink yourself senseless…
And be pretentious
…you just ignore the tedious spiritual stuff and get on with it.
Party people
It seems odd to me though. I mean, I’m not a Comrade, so I don’t celebrate the birth of Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, Mao, Ho Chi Minh, Pol Pot, etc., etc.
And if a Comrade were to invite me to a festive do to mark the birth or mourn the passing of any of the above, I’d politely decline.
I wouldn’t think, OK, they’re mass murderers, but what the hell, it’s a chance to pig out.
But it’s somehow fine for atheists to think, OK, well, I don’t believe any of this God thing, but, what the..er…whatever they say in place of hell, it’s a chance to pig out and prig out, so ding dong merrily on high.
Still…
Merry Christmas to all.
Nuff said
PS
I read they’re calling themselves Brights now.
Pretentious? Nom de Derrida, certainement pas!

Had a tweet today from a friend of mine (a bit of a Comrade) tagged #godlesschristmas.

So… a Godless celebration of the birth of the Son of God…how does that work? Continue reading →

Fee news at the BBC

Bernie Russell Media
Free news at the BBC
The BBC has announced that it won’t be charging users for its online news service.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/24/bbc-wont-charge-online-news
Trust me, I’m a chairman
BBC Trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons said that the corporation has “no intention of diluting BBC commitment to universal access to free news online”.
Fee at last
The more perceptive among viewers, readers, listeners, surfers, etc. will have spotted the weirdness in this.
The BBC already charges for online news. They charge everyone via the licence fee.
They top-slice a chunk of the fee and use it to fund www.bbc.co.uk.
(Every time I think about how the licence fee works, it seems weirder.
Nuff definitely not said.)

The BBC has announced that it won’t be charging users for its online news service. Continue reading →

Moderation madness

Bernie Russell Media
Moderation madness
I’ve been moderated again. The Guardian has deleted yet another of my comments from its CIC (Comment is Cheap) site.
Fry oh Fry
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2009/nov/20/stephen-fry-twitter?
I made the comment after reading a piece from the Great Man on the Guardian’s Digital Content blog.
The Living Saint was complaining about rude and ill-mannered comments and tweets on blogs and Twitter.
He said: “Their resentment, their desire to be heard at the most vituperative level, at the most unpleasant and malevolent, genuinely ill-willed malevolent, level is terrifying.”
Fry not
Englands’ Premier Wit, you’ll recall, was so upset at the treatment meted out to him (a tweet actually described him as boring) that he quit Twitter for good.
Well, for a week or so.
Fry indeed
Some may think his case is rather undermined by his reaction to Jan Moir’s comments on the Daily Mail web site about the death of pop star Stephen Gately. He tweeted:
“I gather a repulsive nobody writing in a paper no one of any decency would be seen dead with has written something loathsome and inhumane”.
Class act
Yes, it oozes class – upper class in fact. But it’s not what you’d call moderate, is it?
Second-class post
Anyway, to get to my post. I read the piece and wrote the following:
This article should has been removed by a moderator. Comments should also have been deleted.
We mustn’t – simply mustn’t – risk upsetting Stephen.
Fell at the first offence
When I went to reread it (as one does..), I was shocked and appalled to see the following:
This comment has been removed by a moderator. Replies may also be deleted.
Maybe they were being funny.
Then again, the Guardian isn’t known for its sense of humour.
Nuff not said

I’ve been moderated again. The Guardian has deleted yet another of my comments from its blog site. Continue reading →