The one hundred and eightieth weekly "No shit Sherlock" award

'Ian Hislop: Press regulation deal 'worrying''

per the BBC

"No shit, Sherlock"

John Prescott chairing Have I Got News For You!

Beyond satire - John Prescott to chair 'Have I Got News For You' tonight. I object to any part of my licence fee going to this boorish fool and I hope that he is treated with the complete lack of respect that he deserves. Certainly any pulling of punches by Ian Hislop will be looked upon with grave displeasure by this NotaSheep.

I would have thought that the tub of lard that was used when Roy Hattersley failed to turn up for the third time would make a more eloquent and intelligent chairman than the former Deputy Prime Minister and recently enobled John 'cocktail sausage' Prescott.

Finally someone does call attention to Mark Steel's politics

Mark Steel, just one of the sneery socialist comedians that the BBC like to employ at our expense, was finally challenged about his political leanings by Ian Hislop on "Have I Got News For You". Do watch it if you get the chance, he really, really didn't like being called out. I wonder if Ian Hislop has read my November 2007 piece about BBC bias that included this passage:

"Whilst I am on the subject, the death of Alan Coren the other week (a death that really upset me, as this was a comedian whose writings and radio performances I have been enjoying since I was at school) has meant that the News Quiz has lost its last semi right of centre voice and with Mark Steel's Socialist Worker humour ever more to the fore the programme is getting closer to being crossed off my must listen list. Mark Steele is a regular BBC commentator on Radio 5 Live where his political affiliations have never been mentioned (so far as I am aware), despite his being invited to discuss politics on a semi-regular basis. Simone Clarke was denigrated by the media for being a supporter of the BNP a party whose views many would find no more repugnant than those of the SWP."

So not a Stalinist but a Troskyist, but I don't think an apology from Ian Hislop is in order. Now where is that pause button, a screen dump of Mark Steel's flabbergasted face would make a nice desktop background.

Question Time - Thursday 18 September

The panel tonight looks promising:

Harriet Harman - Labour deputy leader and possible candidate to replace Gordon Brown, with the added bonus of being oddly popular with the Labour party grass-roots and very unpopular with the general electorate. A Harriet Harman lead Labour party could drop below 15% in the polls. Bizarrely for the daughter of a Harley Street doctor who is also the niece of an Earl and who went to St Paul's girl school, she seems to want to return to the days of class warfare.

Alan Duncan - Conservative shadow secretary of state for business, enterprise and regulatory reform. Good on economics and strongly critical of Labour's record.

Lynne Featherstone - Liberal Democrat Spokesman for Youth and Equality Issues. An irrelevance from an increasingly irrelevant party.

Ian Hislop - The editor of Private Eye magazine and a very good satirist. He has been increasingly critical of Labour's record recently and if on form could destroy Harriet Harman.

Simon Wolfson - Chief Exec of Next, a donor to David Cameron's leadership campaign and was a board member of the "Vote No" campaign.


Do my eyes deceive me or are the right of centre in a majority tonight, presumably the audience and David Dimbleby will hep to redress the balance.


Line of the evening from Ian Hislop, something along the lines of "Gordon Brown said he'd abolish boom and bust, well he abolished boom".


And here is some video of Ian Hislop doing his stuff...