Did Ed Balls lie on the BBC in 2011?

Judge for yourself, first an interview with Andrew Neil for the BBC's Daily Politics


And then with Adam Boulton on Sky

I leave you to draw your own conclusions as to the veracity of Ed Balls's line of argument but just look at Ed Balls' staring eyes in the last part of the Sky video; is Ed 'Blinky' Balls trying desperately not to blink?

Writing of Ed Balls's relationship with the truth reminded me of a piece I wrote in 2011. Here's a long extract that you might find interesting (where did I find the time to write such long pieces as recently as 2011?):

'... the documents published overnight in The Telegraph that Ed Balls was a prime mover in the Gordon Brown campaign to replace Tony Blair as Labour leader and Prime Minister are quite shocking. Shocking but not surprising as I think we all knew where Ed Balls' loyalties lay and what he and his fellow conspirators were up to. However there was never any solid proof and so Ed Balls could use 'plausible deniability' tactics; no longer!

The plot, codenamed Project Volvo, was launched as London was under attack from Islamic terrorists in the 7/7 attacks; great timing?

It is also being reported that Mr Brown ordered Mr Balls to take a 'brutal' approach to cleanse the Labour Party of Mr Blair's influence.

If this subject interests you and it should, then The Telegraph is a must read to today as it lays out for us what Ed Balls was up to and what his priorities were during some difficult days during the last Labour government.

This is the document index

Do read through the documents they are fascinating, here's some of what The Telegraph discovered:
Here The Telegraph report on who Ed Balls' co-conspirators were and there are some familiar names (my emphasis):

'Around him, Mr Brown formed his “small group” of six that would win him the job of prime minister. Other members included Ed Miliband, now Labour leader, and Douglas Alexander, the current shadow foreign secretary. The team was completed by Sue Nye, another long-term aide; Spencer Livermore, who became Mr Brown’s director of political strategy in No 10; and Ian Austin, a former spin doctor who became an MP in 2005.

In July 2005, each of the members of the “small group” was given responsibility for different parts of the campaign.

Ms Nye, who became Baroness Nye last year, was in charge of recruiting business leaders and managing the relationship with the Parliamentary Labour Party, alongside Mr Brown. Tom Watson, Dawn Primarolo and Ann Keen were seen as key supporters in the Commons, as was Nick Brown, who was later Chief Whip.

Mrs Keen, who lost her seat last year, was Mr Brown’s ministerial aide, while Miss Primarolo was a long-serving Treasury minister. Mr Watson was one of several junior ministers who were to resign in 2006, forcing Mr Blair to tell the country he would be gone within a year.

Several figures were considered for managing the business aspects of the coup. Shriti Vadera, a former UBS banker who became a minister in 2007, was a key Treasury aide with excellent City links.

Alan Parker, the founder and chairman of the Brunswick Group PR company, was named as an adviser on image issues.

An unexpected name is that of Louis Susman, whom Barack Obama appointed as US Ambassador to Britain in 2009. He is mentioned in relation to fund-raising, though it is not clear what role he ever played, if any, in the plot.

Mr Miliband was in charge of developing policy, with the MP Michael Wills, later justice minister, and the Brown adviser Neal Lawson. Wilf Stevenson, who also became a peer last year, led the Smith Institute, the think tank where Brownite theories and concepts were developed.

Stewart Wood, a senior adviser to Mr Brown and a fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, was also handed policy matters. He has also been ennobled. Eric Salama is another key figure. Mr Salama is the chief executive of Kantar, part of the global communications company WPP, and was considered for a senior policy role.
Mr Livermore handled Mr Brown’s image, to make him a plausible prime ministerial figure. MT Rainey, an advertising specialist, and the film director Anthony Minghella were also suggested.

American consultants Bob Shrum and Stan Greenberg were involved in polling on Mr Brown and Mr Blair’s strengths and weaknesses . Mr Austin was in charge of media strategy, dominated by the spin doctor Damian McBride.'

Here The Telegraph show the document showing Gordon Brown's demands for the transfer of power from Tony Blair to himself; nowhere is a democratic vote mentioned.

Here  The Telegraph show a presentation that includes this does list Gordon Brown’s 'weaknesses':

'Humourless, dour, moody, aggressive, unapproachable'

And that's from one of his supporters. It would be interesting why his supporters thought that someone 'moody, aggressive, unapproachable' would make a good Prime Minister. Maybe Ed Balls saw something of himself in the 'moody' and 'aggressive' descriptions?


Of course the release of this documents raises some very interesting questions for the Labour Party and for the wider British public. More of those questions in a moment, but it would be interesting to know how The Telegraph obtained these documents? I suppose one should ask whose interests are served by the release of these documents? It would be tempting to say the Conservatives but I think that their long-term interests are served by keeping the vile Ed Balls near the top of the Labour party. Ed Balls turns so many people off with his smirking, aggressive and repellent personality as showcased almost every time he is interviewed, even by a friendly BBC interviewer. Maybe the leak came from a disgruntled Blairite, maybe someone (or a supporter of someone) who has recently lost out to Ed Balls and/or another of Gordon Brown's inner circle (such as Ed Miliband). Now who might fit that description? 

Leaving that aside, the release of these documents leaves the Labour party having to face the facts that the people who plotted to depose their party leader (the man who won them three general elections) and the people who denied so plotting, are now at the very top of their party. What sort of loyalty can the likes of Ed Miliband, Ed Balls and Douglas Alexander expect now that their past actions have been so exposed? Also I wonder how other figures in the Labour party feel now that they know for certain that Ed Balls is a plotter, who might he plot against next?


Meanwhile one Telegraph commentator seems to have rowed back from describing Ed Miliband in rather derogatory terms. Toby Young's piece is entitled 'The Telegraph's scoop will cut short Ed Miliband's time as Labour leader' but its URL indicates that another earlier title may have been dropped - 'http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tobyyoung/100091597/telegraphs-extraordinary-scoop-is-proof-that-ed-miliband-is-gordon-browns-bch' I presume that last word was 'bitch'...


The BBC could not really ignore this story but they are downplaying it. There is just one article that I can find on it and that is already just the number 5 story on the front page. The coverage is sparse and ignores some of the more explosive revelations.The story does not even feature in the BBC's top stories on the Radio 4 08:30 news bulletin, anyone would think they were trying to downplay the story; I wonder why?

I also like the whining comment at the end of The Guardian's piece about the leak investigation:

'The investigation will raise questions about whether the new government was involved in the leaking of the papers.'

Yes that's the real story!


One fact that seems to be garnering too little interest is that Ed Balls has now been proved to be a liar. Ed Balls has denied several times that there was a plot to overthrow Tony Blair, he has indeed previously insisted he had "never ever" been involved in attempts to undermine colleagues. take a read of this Guardian piece from July 2010 about Ed Balls' BBC interview:

'Ed Balls, a Labour leadership contender and a close ally of Gordon Brown, today rejected suggestions that he took part in an "insurgency" against Tony Blair and insisted the differences between the two men amounted only to "creative tensions".

In a fractious interview on the BBC, he dismissed as "total, absolute nonsense" any idea that he had been party to a coup against Blair in 2006, which led to him announcing his intention to quit the following year.

...

He said: "I was the chief economic adviser to the Treasury. I was never involved in an insurgency, I was very close to Gordon Brown but I also saw Tony Blair very regularly, but we had our disagreements."'

In the light of the recently released documents why should anyone trust a word Ed Balls says again?'

Did you spot some of the names in that article? Not just Ed 'Blinky' Balls but Ed 'Junior' Miliband, Douglas Alexander, and the ever delightful pair of Tom Watson & Damian McBride. It's odd how this Telegraph story disappeared so quickly from the media and how the BBC managed to minimise any coverage at the time. I just thought you might like to be reminded of the story...

Have The White House, The State Department and Barack Obama lied to us?

Glenn Beck believes so...

Listen especially to the questions Glenn Beck asks from 7:07 to 8:13 and ask yourself why these sorts of questions are not being asked by any mainstream news channel or even the BBC? Are the unbiased media so set on helping Barack Obama be reelected that even a pretense of unbiased reporting is beyond them?

'Former head of Sky News Nick Pollard'

The BBC are relentless in informing us that 'Former head of Sky News Nick Pollard has been asked by the BBC to investigate why the Newsnight investigation was dropped last year. He will look at whether there were any management failings by the BBC. He will also look at the handling by the Newsnight investigation of material that might have been of interest to the police or relevant authorities.'

Oddly the BBC seem completely uninterested in telling us that prior to working at Sky he had worked at the BBC. BFBS tells us that:

'Nick Pollard, 58, has had a distinguished career in British journalism spanning four decades, and has extensive experience in domestic and international news coverage. Nick says he "sort of fell into journalism" when he joined the Birkenhead News on leaving school at 17 and has enjoyed it ever since. He has worked for BBC Radio News, BBC TV News, and, for 13 years, ITN where he was Executive Producer of News at Ten. Most recently he was Head of Sky News for 10 years from 1996 to 2006, scooping four RTS 'News Channel of the Year' Awards in a row and winning two BAFTAS for Best News Coverage.'

Wikipedia tells us that:

'He was born in Birkenhead and was educated at Birkenhead School.^[1] He started his career in journalism as a reporter at the Birkenhead News, and later worked for the BBC in Liverpool and London.^[1] He was executive producer at ITN for 13 years, before joining Sky News where he worked from 1996 to 2006.^[2][3] In 2009 he was appointed as chief executive of the Services Sound and Vision Corporation (SSVC), responsible for providing broadcasting and cinema services to British forces and their families.^[2]'

Alongside the above note the news as revealed by Guido Fawkes that  the law firm chosen to 'gather evidence for these two inquiries has... previously defended the BBC in litigation cases on numerous occasions' and that 'No less than six of their current lawyers have worked for the BBC in the past.' Also that  'Most interestingly of all, this year Reed Smith hosted a series of conferences entitled “Protecting the Media”.

Hmmm this investigation is looking all totally above-board isn't it?

The Jimmy Saville affair

I've been following the Jimmy Saville affair with some interest, watching and listening as various BBC bigwigs twisted and turned in the unfamiliar glare of scrutiny. I heard parts of the DCMS quetioning of George Entwistle and the Radio 4 Media Show last night where Steve Hewlett asked some direct and pertinent questions of David Jordan, the Director of Editorial Policy and Standards at the BBC.Take a listen and enjoy the sound of a BBC chief frantically trying to explain without saying anything of note.

Meanwhile we have heard that BBC Trust Chairman Chris Patten has warned the government not to question the corporation's editorial independence in relation to its handling of the Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal. Thinly veiled threats from a CINO to a dripping wet Conservative led coalition. In any case, the BBC tell me that 'The purpose of the BBC Trust is to work on behalf of licence fee payers, ensuring the BBC provides high quality output and good value for all UK citizens, and to protect the independence of the BBC.' Did you spot that 'work on behalf of licence fee payers' not try and stop anyone criticising or investigating alleged wrongdoing at the BBC.

It seems to me that there is a lot more to come out re the BBC in the Savile affair.
I don't think anyone doubts that Jimmy Saville was a paedophile. It also seems that he seemed not to bother covering up his activities whilst working on BBC premises.
So how did managers not know what was happening on BBC premises when others have admitted that they knew? A BBC employee was having sexual relations with underage girls on BBC premises and rather than censure him or fire him, the BBC continued to employ him and use him to front more programmes, including ones that involved him being put in close proximity to children.

If all the above is true, and does anyone think it isn't, then how can the BBC avoid taking corporate responsibility for the abuse?



By the Way: If you haven't yet done so, may I suggest that you watch the Panorama Report into the Newsnight Jimmy Saville story, it is absolutly fascinating .

The Jeremy Bowen Rosh Hashonah complaint

The BBC have not replied to my previous complaints or issued me with a case number, so I have tried again.

Your Complaint

Type of complaint:

BBC Online

What is your complaint about:

BBC News Online

URL:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19601920

Complaint category:

Bias

Contacted us before:

Yes

Reason for contacting us again:

Haven't received a response yet

Reference:

-

Complaint title:

Choice of date for Twitter Q&A was discriminatory

Complaint description:

I have complained about this twice so far but have yet to receive a reply or even a case code. I am not going to let this drop, please have the decency to respond to my complaint. The BBC's Middle East Editor, Jeremy Bowen, chose one of the holiest days in the Jewish calendar to hold a Q&A on the Middle East. That disenfranchised all religious Jews and the vast majority of not particularly religious Jews. In response to my query re this choice of date Jeremy Bowen responded via Twitter that "the timing could be better" that he "did know it was Jewish New Year" but that it was ok because "it doesn't stop quite a few Jews using social media!". Jeremy Bowen's choice of day for this Q&A clearly discrminated against religious Jews, who would be unable to take part in the Q&A and thus created a biased debate. Surely an unbiased BBC Middle East Editor would take care to ensure that no interested parties would be unable to take part in the Q&A. Would Jeremy Bowen have held such a Q&A on a Friday during Ramadan? When considering this matter, do bear in mind that eremy Bowen's anti-Israel bias was confirmed by the Editorial Standards Committee of the BBC Trust who published a report into three complaints about him in April 2009. The Editorial Standards Committee upheld three complaints against Jeremy Bowen on grounds of accuracy and impartiality.

I will not let this one drop...

"It's not optimal"

I'll tell you what's not optimal, Mr President, having you as President.

Jewish reaction to thousands of antisemitic Arab cartoons: No riots, no injuries, no deaths | CiF Watch

http://cifwatch.com/2012/09/23/jewish-reaction-to-thousands-of-antisemitic-arab-cartoons-no-riots-no-injuries-no-deaths/

The Beeb gloated over Hackgate. It's trembling now – Telegraph Blogs

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/cristinaodone/100186094/the-beeb-gloated-over-hackgate-its-trembling-now/

What Muslims should actually be angry about - The Commentator

http://www.thecommentator.com/article/1888/what_muslims_should_actually_be_angry_about

Obama or Carter

Thanks to Theo Spark and PolitiZoid for the video spot.

Are Labour MEPs anti-Semitic?

"Examples of the ways in which antisemitism [sic] manifests itself with regard to the State of Israel … could include … applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior [sic] not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation."
http://instmed.org/2012/10/22/are-labour-meps-anti-semitic/

The one hundred and sixty fourth weekly "No shit, Sherlock" award

This week's award is presented to The Times newspaper for the headline ‘BBC misled its viewers….’

‘BBC misled its viewers….’ 

'No shit, Sherlock'

BBC Middle East specialists past and present

My views about the BBC's Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen are well documented. I think it fairly clear that he is biased against Israel. So I was intrigued to read Richard Millett's piece that reports the anti-Israel and worse sentiments of former BBC Middle East correspondent Tim Llewellyn.

It would seem that such sentiments are de rigeur in the BBC Middle East department, and indeed beyond. I presume that is why the BBC are so keen and have spent so much licence payers money  on keeping the Balen Report secret.

President Morsi as the BBC won't show him

Whilst the BBC persists in portraying the new Egyptian President as a moderate voice, evidence to the contrary abounds. The latest example is reported by The Commentator:

'A new video has shown Egypt's newly elected Muslim Brotherhood President taking part in prayers this weekend as the preacher urged Allah to, "destroy the Jews".

 In footage obtained by MEMRI (the Middle East Media Research Institute), Morsi was shown praying intensely as cleric Futouh Abd Al-Nabi Mansour, the local head of religious endowment, declared, “Oh Allah, absolve us of our sins, strengthen us, and grant us victory over the infidels. Oh Allah, destroy the Jews and their supporters. Oh Allah, disperse them, rend them asunder. Oh Allah, demonstrate Your might and greatness upon them. Show us Your omnipotence, oh Lord.”

The service took place in Matrouh governorate’s el-Tenaim Mosque and was screened on Egyptian state television on Friday.'

Why is there not a word  about this on the BBC news? It's almost as though they are trying to protect the Muslim Brotherhood from criticism and to hide the rampant anti-Semitism that exists across much of the Muslim world.

Schadenfreude

I don't speak German, most of the words and phrases I know come from Second World War comics I read as a child. However I do know one proper word and that is 'Schadenfreude'. If you don't know what Schadenfreude means then let me tell you; it means pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others.
The news that the BBC news department is in apparent turmoil gave me some pleasure but then I read that the BBC foreign correspondent John Simpson has said:

"This is the worst crisis that I can remember in my nearly 50 years at the BBC. I don't think the BBC has handled it terribly well. ... All we have as an organisation is the trust of the people the people that watch us and listen to us and if we don't have that, if we start to lose that, that's very dangerous I think for the BBC."

Ah Schadenfreude.

Israel's Jewish-Arab demography: The Real Numbers | Jewish & Israel News Algemeiner.com

http://www.algemeiner.com/2012/10/21/israels-jewish-arab-demography-the-real-numbers/

Afghan girl 'beheaded for refusing prostitution' - Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/9615231/Afghan-girl-beheaded-for-refusing-prostitution.html.
This crap has to stop...

Fishing can be dangerous!

I've only been on that sort of a fishing trip a few times, and there were less waves, but I didn't realise how dangerous it could be.


Thanks to Theo Spark for the spot.

People died in Libya, why and when did Barack Hussein Obama know the real reasons?

I'm sick and tired of the lies, let's kick Obama out of the White House.

Three wise monkeys?

It would seem that of the last Labour misgovernment, one was blind in one eye (Gordon Brown) and one had partial deafness (Jack Straw). So that's 'see no evil' and 'hear no evil'. Somehow I don't think I'll find a 'speak no evil' amongst that lot.

LABOUR ARE BIG FAT FAKES | CYBERBORISjohnson

http://cyberboris.wordpress.com/2010/02/02/labour-are-big-fat-fakes/

Some Monty Python songs to cheer up your friday night

"I bet you they won't play this song on the radio"

"Sit on my face"

And finally not a song but one of my favourites...
Precision Drilling

Red Ed's Sponsored Walk

http://rededswalk.org.uk/ Lovely piece of satire at expense of Red Ed Miliband.

You thought the whole 'EUSSR' thing was over the top? Have a look at this poster – Telegraph Blogs

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danielhannan/100185609/you-thought-the-whole-eussr-thing-was-over-the-top-have-a-look-at-this-poster/
I've blogged about the way that communism's crimes against humanity are ignored or excused by much of the media and establishment. This is just another example.

Waitrose magazine display oops

http://twitter.com/whosseentony/status/258544234104225792/photo/1

Oh how modern Saudi Arabia is becoming

Just before the 8am news on Radio 4's Today programme this morning was a piece about Saudi Arabia's first female film-maker. The piece included a list of the restrictions placed upon women in Saudi Arabia: unable to drive, to work, to associate with men who aren't family members etc. etc. etc. Of course these restrictions were described as being in place because Saudi Arabia was a 'conservative' country. for the BBC it is always good to associate bad things with Conservatives, subliminal messages rule! However what also struck me was that the BBC have in the past ran little pieces attacking Israel for some inequality that women allegedly suffer from in Israel and yet here was a report on life of women in Saudi Arabia and the restrictions were just 'conservative', there was no horror, no censure.

I have no idea why, but Mrs NotaSheep came to bed singing this tonight...

Dead Kennedys - California Über Alles

Labour had large deficit pre 2008 financial crisis

UK deficit under Labour worse than thought. 2007 was £73bn not £38bn http://t.co/ygrL5yb2 @BBCNews will you report or protect your Labour allies?

Life in the 'concentration camp' that is Gaza - New iPhones snapped up in Gaza despite high prices, poverty

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSL5E8LFL8H20121015?irpc=932

FRANCE: Jewish community subjected to unprecedented wave of anti-semitic attacks by Muslims | BARE NAKED ISLAM

http://www.barenakedislam.com/2012/10/15/france-jewish-community-subjected-to-unprecedented-wave-of-anti-semitic-attacks-by-muslims/
Meanwhile in the UK the BBC prefer to worry about reporting such attacks in case it increases the threat of Islamophobia. To the BBC Muslims must be protected whilst Jews can suffer.

George Galloway becoming less popular...

http://m.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/oct/14/george-galloway-losing-respect-Bradford

Easy Guide To Recognizing Antisemitism & Racism disguised as Anti Israel Rhetoric

http://adam-rustymikeradio.blogspot.co.il/2012/10/easy-guide-to-recognizing-antisemitism.html

The BBC still spreading anti-Israel lies

The BBC still have several reports on the Jenin 'massacre' on their news website. One is here and is titled 'Jenin 'massacre evidence growing'
The report contains some prime examples of Palestinian/BBC lies and distortion, including:

'A British forensic expert who has gained access to the West Bank city of Jenin says evidence points to a massacre by Israeli forces. Prof Derrick Pounder, who is part of an Amnesty International team granted access to Jenin, said he has seen bodies lying in the streets and received eyewitness accounts of civilian deaths. The Dundee University expert said the Amnesty investigation has only just begun but Palestinian claims of a massacre were gaining foundation as the team continued its analysis. He said: "The truth will come out, as it has come out in Bosnia and Kosovo, as it has in other places where we've had these kinds of allegations. "I must say that the evidence before us at the moment doesn't lead us to believe that the allegations are anything other than truthful and that therefore there are large numbers of civilian dead underneath these bulldozed and bombed ruins that we see." The professor said recovering the bodies would be difficult because many buildings collapsed during bombardment. He said: "We know there are families who were there and killed and buried. "We were on the ruins yesterday and two elderly men came forward, each of them pointed to where their houses had been and one of them told us that 10 members of his family were buried under the rubble." ... A United Nations special envoy described the the devastation as "horrific beyond belief". ... Palestinians claim hundreds of bodies are buried beneath the rubble, but Mr Shoval said only about 65 bodies had been recovered, of which five were civilians.'

In 2002 it might have been understandable how a news organisation, especially one opposed to Israel's right to exist, might allow such distortions onto their news website. But 10 years later after a UN report was issued that indicated that in fact 52 Palestinians had been killed and that more than half of those were combatants and not civilians, should the report not have a correction added to it?

The UN report criticised the Palestinians and not just the Israelis for having exposed civilians to danger. Should the BBC report not contain that extra information?

At Jenin, as Daniel Taub (a senior Israeli Foreign Ministry official), said:

"There was no massacre, and statements by the Palestinian leadership talking about hundreds of civilians that were killed were nothing more than atrocity propaganda".

Propaganda that 10 years on the BBC are still happily spreading.

The author of that BBC report was Tarik Kafala, now happily ensconced as the BBC's Middle East Editor. Does that help to explain the BBC's anti-Israel agenda?

Barack Hussein Obama

Mr. Obama described the call to prayer as "one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset."
More here - http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/06/opinion/06kristof.html?_r=1

Trouble in Catalonia

Much of Spain was ruled by Muslim conquerors from 711 and 1492, and Salafists believe that the territories the Muslims lost during the Spanish Reconquista  still belong to them, and that they have a right to return and establish their rule there.

More here - http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3393/catalonia-islamic-republic

When you could understand rap

Grandmaster Flash - The Message

Are you American, Jewish and planning on voting for Barack Obama?

Are you American, Jewish and planning on voting for Barack Obama?
If so then please watch this video...

Dear William Hague - some historical facts re Jerusalem

'
Dear Mr Hague:

I write in support of a petition I have recently signed, asking the British Foreign Office to alter its position on what has become an unnecessarily vexed question concerning the capital of Israel. As you know, Israelis are unanimous in regarding Jerusalem as their capital, not Tel Aviv (where the British embassy is currently located), nor Haifa nor Jaffa nor Petah Tikva nor anywhere else in the country. 

It is not hard to understand why the first Israeli parliament chose Jerusalem as its seat, even before it had built an edifice suitable to the needs of the men and women who sat in its chamber.  For many centuries, Jews in the Diaspora had clung to a hope, not only of a return to the Holy Land, but to Jerusalem in particular, the erstwhile home of its holiest Temple and the scene of so many primary events in Jewish and Christian history. This might be dismissed on the grounds that religious belief should not determine a city’s status, but many cities derive their significance from their role as religious centres, from Mecca and Medina (the latter having been the first capital of Islam), to Karbala’ and Mashhad, to Varanasi (Benares) and the Vatican City. This original attachment, intensified by daily prayers while facing Jerusalem and repeated wishes to return there, was later supplanted by the governmental, educational, trading, defensive, legal and bureaucratic concerns of the capital of a secular state.

As a people who have been deeply wronged in the past, Jews have tried to build their own state along lines of equal citizenship, a single legal system, human rights, and the protection of all holy places. But when Jordan occupied East Jerusalem from 1949 to 1967, Muslim holy places were renovated while 58 synagogues were destroyed and 38,000 Jewish graves were demolished. In addition, Jews were not allowed to set foot in their own holy places, notably on the Temple Mount. By contrast, when Israel retook Jerusalem in 1967, the Temple Mount was handed to a Muslim authority on account of two Islamic structures built on top of it, the al-Aqsa mosque and the Qubbat al-Sakhra or Dome of the Rock.

Such depredations and a lack of reciprocity have made Israelis wary of a Muslim takeover of East Jerusalem, where the holiest sites are located: the Temple Mount, the Western Wall (the Kotel), the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Mount of Olives, and the famous Jewish graveyards, still vandalized horribly by Arab criminals.

But the Palestinians have made it their business to turn Jerusalem into a bastion of Islamic holiness, not just because the al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock are there, but because they now claim that there has never been any Jewish connection to the city or to the land of Israel. There was, they boast, no Jewish Temple there. All Biblical references to the Temple and to Jerusalem as a city built by King David are summarily and ahistorically dismissed. 

Given that Muslims have demolished the holy places of more than one religion, the Jews are rightly concerned lest Jerusalem fall under Islamic control. In Saudi Arabia for decades now, the government has been engaged in the destruction of Islamic holy places in Mecca and Medina. Lest you think me in the grip of some obscure fantasy, I should explain that the Wahhabi form of Islam, which governs Saudi Arabia, is utterly ruthless in its condemnation of anything that may be worshipped instead of God. They have demolished over 200 historical sites to prevent pilgrims praying at them. In Mali, a similar form of Islam – Salafism – has recently demolished dozens of shrines belonging to the Sufi form of Islam. And in Iran, the government has demolished all the holy places and cemeteries of the persecuted Baha’i religion. Israel, by way of contrast, protects and nourishes the large international headquarters and two holiest shrines of the Baha’is, places now recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Is it surprising that the Israelis, backed by Jews and others like myself round the world, are desperate to maintain the integrity of the city, knowing as they do that Muslim Arab rule would carry a greatly heightened risk to the Old City and its environs? Israel has been generous towards Muslims and their holy places, but they fear that if increased pressure were to come from Saudi Arabia or Iran or, nearer to hand from Hamas, everything Jewish might be eliminated. Palestinians have taken control of the Jewish Tomb of Rachel, the third holiest site for Jews. They have commandeered most of the Ma’arat Ha-Machpelah, the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron and made access for Jews to a tiny space very difficult, as I can personally attest. This is the second holiest site for Jews, containing as it does the tombs of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah.

In the earliest days of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad adopted from his Jewish neighbours the practice of turning towards Jerusalem during the five daily prayers. But in the year 622, a few months after his arrival in Medina, he did an about turn during one prayer session and from then on directed his followers to pray towards his home city of Medina. He severed all direct ties with Jerusalem, and in the centuries that followed Jerusalem was never a provincial capital, nor the heart of a Muslim country or empire. Medina in the first years, then Damascus, Baghdad, Istanbul and other cities became the capitals of Islam. Cairo was the major city in North Africa, Fez and Rabat capitals of the west, Esfahan, Tabriz, Tehran and others the royal cities of Iranian dynasties. And so on. But Jerusalem was never given such signal importance. This is significant. Palestinian wishes to make Jerusalem defy centuries of insignificance would lock us into a dispute that could last one thousand years.

For this reason, Jews everywhere will refuse to relinquish a city that was theirs from the beginning, and they will not reward people who have tried to take what was never theirs, who have tried to deny the historical record concerning the Jewish presence in a city that has been Jewish for 3000 years. To confirm the place of Jerusalem at the heart of Jewish life and prayers and as the eternal capital of their only homeland, Jews and Israelis appeal to honest governments to do the right thing and recognize that Jerusalem is the city where all the key aspects of Israeli life converge. No Israeli regards Tel Aviv as his or her capital. It is demeaning to treat Israelis as children by telling them this or that foreign government knows better than they and their government when it comes to designating Jerusalem their capital. I do not think you treat any other capital city in this way. You do not call Cork the capital of Ireland, nor Glasgow the capital of Scotland, nor the cathedral city of St. David’s the capital of Wales, nor Marseilles the capital of France. I do not believe the Foreign Office means to be insulting in this matter; but if foreigners called Birmingham the capital of England and the UK, would you not feel aggrieved?

Israel’s enemies call in all seriousness for the destruction of the country. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called on all Islamic nations to ‘exterminate Israel’ (my translation). The Arabs, faced by their repeated failure to achieve this by military means or terrorism, have turned to secondary means, saying that there never any Jews in Israel, that they themselves were there first, an impossible 9000 years ago, and that Jerusalem was always an Arab city (a claim that directly contradicts the accounts of Arab historians like al-Tabari). It is a cheap and dishonest attempt to rewrite history itself and to introduce confusion into a simple narrative. Denying the historicity and modern reality of Israel, of Jerusalem, and of Israelis by refusing to liberate the city from the string of fictions that has tied so many in knots, allows falsehood and deceit to rule in international affairs. Britain is still a great country that is admired the world round for its probity. I do not doubt that you, like myself, wish to see that image remain untarnished. But I have to say that it is in some measure tarnished when you try to steal the Israeli capital from the Israelis themselves.

Yours sincerely,

Dr. Denis MacEoin'

This letter has been sent by Denis MacEoin to William Hague and others at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Please spread the word... I wonder if Tarik Kafala, the BBC's Middle East Editor, could usefully learn something from this letter?

Happy Birthday Lady Thatcher

Lady Thatcher is 87 today, happy birthday...


That should upset a few of the foaming at the mouth lefties that occasionally infest this site.


Odd company she keeps:

 

Norwegian researchers: electric cars pollute as much as normal cars | IceNews - Daily News

http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2012/10/12/norwegian-researchers-electric-cars-pollute-as-much-as-normal-cars/

Missing something?

The BBC's report on the latest US jobs figures is still reporting that:

'The US unemployment rate fell last month to its lowest rate since January 2009, figures from the Department of Labor have shown, surprising analysts who had been expecting a small rise.

Last month's rate came in at 7.8%, down from 8.1% in August.

The latest numbers also showed that the US economy added a further 114,000 jobs in September, beating expectations.'

What is odd is that whilst Breitbart can manage to report that:

'...it turns out that number wasn't right. They forgot to include CALIFORNIA, the most populous and economically depressed state in the country. A source at the Labor Department brushed aside the omission by saying that, sometimes, if a state office is under-manned they don't complete all the jobless claims in time to report them to BLS.'

The BBC cannot find the time or space to report this. Now why would that be... The pro-Obama bias at the BBC is beyond a joke.

The most deluded comment of the year?

"Europe got through two civil wars in the 20th century and we have established peace thanks to the European Union. So the European Union is the biggest peacemaker in history"
Herman Van Rompuy after EU was awarded Nobel Peace Prize.
Someone explain that at the time of both world wars there was no supranational body in Europe so these were not 'civil wars'. Also that the EU is not a country yet and whilst I have breath left in me,I will fight to ensure that the UK will not be a member of an EU superstar.

Six Sure Signs Someone You Know Is an Islamophobe

Six Sure Signs Someone You Know Is an Islamophobe

Hamas in their own words

"Hamas must declare that it was formed to eliminate the state of Israel, and that Israel is an entity that must disappear. [Hamas] should declare that its political, military, and social plan is the liberation of all the land by means of resistance"

The words of Kana'an 'Obeid, an advisor to the Hamas government in Gaza, in an October 8, 2012 article in the Hamas newspaper Al-Risala.

Is that clear enough for the British Foreign Office, for the BBC? Will the BBC even report these words?


Thanks to Jihad Watch for the spot.

Please watch this video Ed Balls. Ed Miliband, Stephanie Flanders and anyone else in the Labour/BBC cabal who believe that raising taxes is the answer to raising tax revenue

The Laffer Curve explained so even an idiot could understand it.

Now the two Eds are alledly highly intelligent men, despite much evidence to the contrary. Whilst Stephanie Flanders is supposedly a highly intelligent woman, albeit historically in two cases with terrible taste in boyfriends. So please try and grasp what is in this video. Oh and where do you think the 'hump on the Laffer curve is?

Goat Family needs a new home!! | Rehoming & Adoption | RSPCA special appeals

Give my people a home....
Could I persuade Mrs NotaSheep?

A bus driver tells a boy his mother should have aborted him and the manager of the company makes no effort to apologize. That's terrible public relations.

A bus driver tells a boy his mother should have aborted him and the manager of the company makes no effort to apologize. That's terrible public relations.

Now it's personal...

Now it's personal...
'several goats were killed' - Hamas bastards

Whose prophet? The BBC respond again.

Further to this post, the BBC have responded again and guess what, it's another brush-off:

'BBC Complaints - Case number CAS-1686621-QX7B8H Dear Mr Maybeagoat Reference CAS-1686621-QX7B8H Thanks for your further contact. We apologise for the delay in replying. We realise that our correspondents appreciate a quick response and we’re sorry that you had to wait on this occasion. We appreciate your further comments regarding the use of 'the Prophet Muhammad'. We forwarded your further concerns to Stephen Mitchell, now head of programmes for news, who explained in response that it remains the case that we have no policy in this area. He added that on balance we tend not to ban words nor do we impose them on editors who have particular programmes with particular audiences in mind, unless there’s a difficult issue involved where deviation from a given set of words would cause problems. He further added that we have no evidence that any of our many varied audiences are unable to understand our current usage, nor are we aware of any widespread offence caused by our current policy, hence our continued pragmatic approach within the space and time constraints of broadcast journalism. Should you now wish to proceed to the second stage of the complaints process, it's now open to you to write to the Director of BBC News: HelenBoadenComplaints@bbc.co.uk Helen Boaden Director BBC News Room 5601 Television Centre Wood Lane London W12 7RJ Should you choose to escalate your complaint our procedures stipulate you do so within 20 days of receiving this correspondence. Thanks again for taking the time to contact us. Kind Regards Claire Jordan BBC Complaints www.bbc.co.uk/complaints NB This is sent from an outgoing account only which is not monitored. You cannot reply to this email address but if necessary please contact us via our webform quoting any case number we provided.'

So no real answer and an invitation to next contact Helen 'impartiality is in our DNA' Boaden. I will be doing this. It is interesting that I am given a strict limit as to how much time I have to respond to this email. The BBC, as I was firmly told recently do not operate under the same restrictions:

'... we do not undertake to reply within 10 days although we will of course respond further to you as soon as we can. The time taken depends on the nature of the issue, how many other complaints we have to investigate and it can also be affected by practical issues, such as whether a production team is available or away on location. For these reasons we ask you not to contact us further in the meantime and apologise if you experience any delay. This is an automatic email sent from an account which is not monitored so you cannot reply to this address. However if it does prove necessary to contact us, for example if you experience continued delay, please use our webform and quote any case number we provided.'

Whilst all are equal, it would seem that to the BBC, some are more equal than others.

But not Israel?

The Guardian reports that:

'The BBC's news coverage of religion, immigration and Europe is to be scrutinised in an independent review following accusations of liberal bias.

Lord Patten, the BBC Trust chairman, said the review was an acknowledgement of "real and interesting" concerns from some quarters about the impartiality of the BBC's news coverage.
The corporation has long faced accusations of liberal and leftwing bias from politicians and other sections of the media.

The BBC's coverage of controversial topics including immigration, religion and the European Union will come under the spotlight in the review, which is expected to be published in early 2013. It may also include coverage of Islamophobia.

It is the fifth impartiality review by the BBC Trust, the corporation's governing body, and follows an internal 2007 report that described a "largely unconscious self-censorship" that led to certain opinions being routinely under-represented.

Patten said the review would focus on immigration, religion and Europe because those are the topics that provoke most concern from the BBC's critics. He told a Broadcasting Press Guild lunch on Wednesday: "The subjects we thought we would cover, because they are subjects we have had criticism from time to time about breadth of voice issues, are Europe, immigration and religion.'

On the one hand these are all areas where the BBC is guilty of bias, on the other hand  why not include Israel? Oh hold on the reviews have been ordered by Lord Patten, that answers that question then.

There is, of course, already in existence a report into the BBC impartiality, or otherwise, on the matter of Israel and the Palestinians. It's called the Balen Report, maybe the BBC are planning on releasing it very soon?

An anti-Semitic mural on the streets of London?

Tower Hamlets Council says the following:

'Community concerns about Hanbury Street 'mural'

Whilst the mural that has been put up on a building in Hanbury Street is not on council property, the council is responding to a number of complaints about it and working with the police in order to establish how best to proceed.

The Revd. Preb. Alan Green, Area Dean of Tower Hamlets and Rector of St John on Bethnal Green, who serves as Chair of the No Place For Hate Forum, said: “Whilst I appreciate street art in Tower Hamlets, it must always respect the principles of our diverse community. This mural uses images that have for centuries been used to incite hatred and persecution against Jewish communities. There is no place for such incitement against any community in this borough”.

Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman added:  “I have received a number of complaints that the ‘New World Order’ mural on Hanbury Street has anti-Semitic images. I share these concerns.

"Whether intentional or otherwise the images of the bankers perpetuate anti-Semitic propaganda about conspiratorial Jewish domination of financial and political institutions. I am of the view that, where freedom of expression runs the risk of inciting racial hatred, as for example when the EDL attempted to march in Tower Hamlets last year, then it is right that such expression should be curtailed.  I have, therefore, asked my officers to do everything possible to see to it that this mural is removed”.'

The East London Advertiser has the following:

'A Tower Hamlets councillor complained to the Met Police Borough Commander about the mural in Hanbury Street—in what was once the heart of the East End’s thriving Jewish community.

Tory Group leader Peter Golds is due to meet senior police tomorrow (Thurs).

He has also asked Mayor Lutfur Rahman to use planning law to get the giant 20ft by 30ft work removed.

“I am horrified at this mural,” Cllr Golds told the Advertiser.

“It bears a similarity to anti-Semitic propaganda in pre-war Germany.

“As well as the anti Jewish overtones, there is even the quasi Masonic and dollar bill aspect to encourage conspiracy theory.

“The fact it has appeared over Yom Kippur and the Jewish New Year gives added menace. This is absolutely appalling.”

He is calling for prosecution under ‘race hate’ legislation after receiving a flood of complaints from the public.

The mural by an American artist calling himself Mear One has been condemned by Tower Hamlets Inter-Faith Forum.

Its chairman, The Rev Alan Green, Church of England Area Dean and Rector of St John on Bethnal Green, said: “This mural uses images that have for centuries been used to incite hatred and persecution against Jewish communities. There is no place for such incitement against any community in this borough.”

Mayor Rahman has asked council officers to “do everything possible” to remove the mural, which is on private property owned by a curry restaurant businessman.

The Mayor said: “The images of the bankers perpetuate anti-Semitic propaganda about conspiratorial Jewish domination of financial and political institutions.”

Comments have appeared on blogsites such as Rebel News for ‘dissident analysis for the global resistance’.
These include: “The characters on the two ends of the table are clearly caricatures of Jews—this mural is racist.”

Another says: “The mural is Nazi propaganda.”

A Third reads: “Ignorant racist conspiracy-mongering rubbish.”'

The International Business Times reports:

'A mural in the heart of bohemian east London has caused uproar among local politicians and community leaders who have accused it of being anti-Semitic - in an area with a long Jewish and immigrant history.

But Mear One, the American artist who painted the mural on a wall on Hanbury Street, off Brick Lane, has denied charges of anti-Semitism.

The painting depicts caricatures of wealthy Jewish men playing Monopoly, using the backs of hunched people as their table.

In the background is a pyramid with an eyeball in it - synonymous with the Illuminati conspiracy theory. To one side of the painting, a man holds up a placard that says: "The New World Order is the enemy of humanity."

"I have received a number of complaints that the 'New World Order' mural on Hanbury Street has anti-Semitic images," said Lutfur Rahman, the mayor of the local council, Tower Hamlets.

"I share these concerns. Whether intentional or otherwise the images of the bankers perpetuate anti-Semitic propaganda about conspiratorial Jewish domination of financial and political institutions.

"Where freedom of expression runs the risk of inciting racial hatred, as for example when the EDL attempted to march in Tower Hamlets last year, then it is right that such expression should be curtailed. I have therefore asked my officers to do everything possible to see to it that this mural is removed."

Rev Alan Green, a local dean, also condemned the picture.

"While I appreciate street art in Tower Hamlets, it must always respect the principles of our diverse community," he said.

"This mural uses images that have for centuries been used to incite hatred and persecution against Jewish communities. There is no place for such incitement against any community in this borough."'

IBT quotes Mear One's defence:

'"My mural is about class and privilege. The banker group is made up of Jewish and white Anglos," he wrote.

"For some reason they are saying I am anti-Semitic. This I am most definitely not.

"I believe in equality and brother- and sisterhood on a global scale. What I am against is class. Ruling class - this is a problem and we need humanisation."'

Tosh! Here's more from the IBT:

'Local Tory councillor Peter Golds urged the police to pursue Mear One under race hate legislation.

"I am horrified at this mural," Golds wrote in a letter to council bosses. "It bears an awful similarity to anti-Semitic propaganda produced in pre-war Germany.

"As well as the anti-Jewish overtones, there is even the quasi-Masonic (and dollar bill) aspect to encourage conspiracy theory.

"What will be done about the person or persons who has produced this and when will it be removed?

"The fact it has appeared over Rosh Hoshanah/Yom Kippur gives added menace."''

The fact that an apparently anti-Semitic mural can appear on the streets of London and there is equivocation about its significance speaks volumes about the real rise of anti-Semitism in the East End, the rest of London, the UK and Europe.

Are the Israelis that incompetent?

Many anti-Israel protesters make the claim that Israel is 'trying to empty the land of Palestinians'. Are they?

The Palestinian population in the West Bank has increased from 462,000 in 1948 to 2.38 million in 2005.

The Palestinian population in  Gaza has increased from 82,000 in 1948 to 1.37 in 2005.

The Muslim population of Jerusalem has increased roughly 5 fold from 1967 (when Israel re-unified the city) to 2009, from 58,000 to over 278,000.

The Jewish population of Jerusalem increased only by a factor of only 2.8, from 196,000 to 480,000 over the same period.


Either the claim that Israel is 'trying to empty the land of Palestinians' is untrue or the Israelis really are incredibly incompetent in their pursuit of that aim.

Another site that will try to hold the BBC to account

I spotted on Twitter this morning that the excellent Guardian Comment Is Free monitor has now been joined by a sister service - BBCWatch.

BBCWatch's first post runs thus:

'Welcome to BBC Watch

BBC Watch is a sister project of CiF Watch (founded in 2009 to monitor the Guardian’s ‘Comment is Free’ website) with the independent support of CAMERA (the Committee for Accurate Middle East Reporting in America). 

Its aim is to monitor BBC output on the subject of Israel with the object of ensuring adherence to the BBC’s own editorial guidelines and its legal obligation to provide accurate and impartial news, information and analysis to its funding public.  

The BBC is the largest broadcasting organisation in the world today and also one of the most influential. However, the BBC’s coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict has long been a source of frustration to many, with severe criticism of its standards of accuracy and impartiality being voiced.

When the BBC fails to meet standards of accuracy and impartiality, it matters not only because of the effect this has on public opinion in the UK and worldwide, but also because the BBC is in fact neglecting its duty to increase the understanding of the people who fund it. As the former Chairman of the BBC Trust, Sir Michael Lyons, once wrote:

“The day the BBC accepts reporting that is mostly true is the day we no longer deserve the licence fee.” 

The BBC Watch website includes background information on the BBC itself and its editors, on the editorial standards to which it aspires and on existing reports about, and critiques of, BBC content. It also provides information to the general public about the different ways of getting involved and on complaints procedures. 

Our regularly updated blog page will examine BBC output and provide complimentary information.  
We welcome public participation in alerting us to BBC errors or distortions. Please contact us at contactus@bbcwatch.org.

In the meantime, feel free to check out the different areas of the website and follow us on Twitter at @bbcwatch and like us on Facebook.'

That the BBC's reporting is anti-Israelis accepted as beyond reasonable doubt, so BBCWatch will have much material to report on.

Maybe BBC Watch along with blogs such as mine will manage to increase the pressure on the BBC to such an extent that they have to make their coverage of Israel fairer. Of course I know that won't happen, the BBC is irredeemably anti-Israel, but that shouldn't stop people trying to hold them to account, documenting the bias and spreading the word.

It's BORIS

Highlights from his speech to the Conservative Party Conference



Thanks to Guido Fawkes for the video.

The one hundred and sixty fourth weekly "No shit, Sherlock" award

This week's award derives from a tweet I saw yesterday:

'Aides admit Kirchner is using the Falkland Islands as a smokescreen to mask domestic failings #Falklands http://t.co/vZtkUlDM -- Falkland Islands (@falklands_utd)'

 Argentina's Kirchner is using the Falkland Islands as a smokescreen to mask domestic failings - "No shit, Sherlock"

The BBC view would seem to be that Turkey responding to being shelled from Syria is fine but ISrael responding to being shelled from Gaza is not.

The way that Israel is criticised for responding to the regular rocket and mortar fire indiscriminately aimed at its population from Gaza has always struck me as unfair. This has been brought into especially sharp focus by the way that Turkey has been given a free hand to respond to similar fire from Syria. Rather than post myself, here's what regular Biased-BBC commenter Pounce had to say on this subject this morning - I couldn't have put it better myself:  

'Pounce says:

October 8, 2012 at 7:59 pm

Compare the anti-Semitite@bBC.Com
Turkey
Turkey responds to Syrian mortar fire in Akcakale
Turkish artillery has returned fire on Syria for a fifth day after a mortar landed in a border village.Five people were killed in a similar incident, reportedly in the same street in the village, Akcakale, last week.
So the bBC reports impartially when Muslims shell…Muslims. In fact the bBC goes to great pains in which to say that Turkey is actually quite justified in returning fire to those idiots across the border who like to lob mortars into the neighbours back year. I quote:
Sunday’s shell in Akcakale landed in the grounds of a public building near the centre of the village, but there were no casualties as people had already been evacuated, Turkish NTV said. Media and local officials said Turkey immediately returned fire. An Associated Press journalist said at least six mortars could be heard.
Wednesday’s incident in Akcakale triggered international condemnation. The UN Security Council said the incident showed the “grave impact” of the Syrian crisis on “regional peace and stability”.Turkey’s retaliation was the first time Ankara had taken military action across the border since the Syrian uprising began. And on the next day, Turkey’s parliament authorised troops to launch cross-border operations and strike at Syrian targets for a period of one year. On Friday, Turkey moved tanks and anti-aircraft missiles into Akcakale, though Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country did not want war.

Pounce says:

October 8, 2012 at 8:10 pm

Now read up on how the bBC reports the same thing when Jews are the victims:
Israel launches strikes on Gaza after rocket fire
The Israeli military has carried out strikes on the Gaza Strip after Palestinian militants fired about 50 mortar rounds and rockets into Israel.Several children were among those injured when Israeli forces shelled areas east of Khan Younis.Earlier, rockets launched from Gaza landed in Israel’s Eshkol region and near Kerem Shalom. No-one was hurt
Notice the more condemning reporting style from the bBC when the jews hit back, Oh and those strikes from the IDF 20 tank shells and 1 airstrike.
Turkey on the other hand is on its sixth day of firing back. Yet nowhere in the bBCs turkish article do they show a picture of a man running with a baby in his hand.

The bBC, the traitors in our Midst'

"hug a hoodie"

The BBC report that:

'BBC political editor Nick Robinson said the Conservatives, under Mr Cameron's leadership, had gone from a party promising to "hug a hoodie" to one willing to allow the public to "bash a burglar".'

There's a problem with that line and that is that as the BBC admit here:

'...David Cameron never says 'hug a hoodie'; that famous phrase was in a press release issued by Labour'

So why is Nick Robinson perpetuating a falsehood?

The NHS - 'envy of the world'

I know I have posted this sort of article before but the stories and statistics are depressingly regular. This time it's The Telegraph that reports:

'Forty-three hospital patients starved to death last year and 111 died of thirst while being treated on wards, new figures disclose today. ... The Office for National Statistics figures also showed that: * as well as 43 people who starved to death, 287 people were recorded by doctors as being malnourished when they died in hospitals; * there were 558 cases where doctors recorded that a patient had died in a state of severe dehydration in hospitals; * 78 hospital and 39 care home patients were killed by bedsores, while a further 650 people who died had their presence noted on their death certificates; * 21,696 were recorded as suffering from septicemia when they died, a condition which experts say is most often associated with infected wounds. The records, from the Office for National Statistics, follow a series of scandals of care of the elderly, with doctors forced to prescribe patients with drinking water or put them on drips to make sure they do not become severely dehydrated . Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, said the statistics were a grim and shaming reflection of 21st century Britain. "These are people's mothers, fathers, and grandparents," she said. "It is hard enough to lose a loved one, but to find out that they died because they were not adequately fed or hydrated, is a trauma no family should have to bear." Michelle Mitchell, Charity Director of Age UK, described the figures as "deeply distressing" given that such deaths were avoidable. '

The last time I spent a night on a NHS ward, I barely slept as the nurses chatted at the nurses station all night long. They didn't walk the ward, they didn't see if anyone was wide-wake (me) or in need of pain or comfort (the chap in the bed opposite me), they just chatted about boyfriends, clubs etc. Previous to that, at another NHS hospital, I had a drip put in by a nurse who spilt some blood as the drip went in... and wiped the blood off of her hand onto her apron and wandered off to the next patient. I was too weak to comment on the lapse in hygiene at the time. It seems to me that up until the late 1980s, nursing was seen as a caring profession for (mostly) girls whose educational levels were maybe not of the highest level but who wanted to care for people. They cared and they did their best for the patients, the matrons kept them up to the mark and the doctors provided the medical expertise. Hospitals were clean, run well and patients needs came first. This all changed and under Labour it changed vastly. Now nurses see themselves as health professionals, too grand to clean up a patient's vomit or excrement, there are nursing auxiliaries for those menial tasks. So patients see less of the nurses and more of all but untrained staff whose English is often poor and who are on very low wages. Nurses earn more and patients have worse care.

You can shower on an airplane!

Emirates is the only airline to offer in flight showers. This chap gives you a tour of the facility during an Airbus A380 flight at 39,000 ft.

That nice Jeremy Vine (updated)

I never had much of an opinion about Jeremy Vine. I have not listened to his radio show although I believe his taste in music is  not too shabby. I know who he is, could recognise him if I saw him on television and to be honest had no idea of his politics. In fact the only time I had mentioned Jeremy Vine on this blog, it was in this post where I commented:
'If you'd like to hear Ed Miliband making the same points on the Jeremy Vine show and being taken apart by Jeremy Vine then you can here for the next 7 days. It is nice to hear a BBC presenter actually tackle a Labour politician about their economic policy past, present and future.'

However this weekend it all changed when I was made aware of this tweet from Jeremy Vine..

Here's the brief Twitter conversation that ensued...

As you can see, my response was polite and clear. Jeremy Vine's response to me was disingenuous. My response picked him up on this and as a result 'that nice Jeremy Vine off of the radio' got personal and insulting.

I did respond...

As did Peter Martin, a tweeter new to me...

As well as Red Karateka...

To whom I responded...

I wasn't around much yesterday so didn't see the following responses to my tweet checking if this really was Jeremy Vine...

 This morning I have responded...

 I await Jeremy Vine's response.

UPDATE:
It would appear that Jeremy Vine has responded by blocking me on Twitter. Note that I just asked him a reasonable question and he was the one who insulted me. I wonder if he will respond to an email now?

Cuddles - The Big Bang Theory style

Sheldon and Amy 'getting it on' - well as much as Sheldon and Amy can.

I have come late to The Big Bang Theory but I am rather enjoying it. I suppose I will have to find the early series to watch as well as so far it's just been Season 5.

Yahoo! Video Detail for Team Obama facing donor scandal?

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KLqIHra3BQbg0AnVP8w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTB1a3ZwNWRpBHNlYwNjZC1zcgRzbGsDdmlkLXNlYXJjaAR2dGlkAw--?c=29&l=6%3A09&p=obama&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fscreen.yahoo.com%2Fteam-obama-facing-donor-scandal-014702805.html&sigr=126vda1bf&tit=Team%20Obama%20facing%20donor%20scandal%3F&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fd4.yimg.com%2Fsr%2Fvideo%2Fthm-300x300%2F3f549ebc-9d87-3f1a-808e-9f3b3a05a4e4&vid=00011217095&sr=lt&mid=798460693&pid=3f549ebc-9d87-3f1a-808e-9f3b3a05a4e4

The Forrest Gump of Israeli Advocacy | Jewish & Israel News Algemeiner.com

Just read this...
http://www.algemeiner.com/2012/03/14/the-forrest-gump-of-israeli-advocacy/

The gadget Show's Suzy Perry caught stripping on camera

Yes I think it's a setup too!

If you're going to go 'Back to the future' then beware other more well connected time travellers

Thanks to BuzzFeed for the spot.

The greatest orator of our generation?

Ezra Levant's review of the first presidential debate held in Denver on October 3, 2012.

I am so pleased that Barack Obama has finally been caught out for the fraud that he is. I know that the BBC and most of the US media have been protecting Barack Obama for years and won't stop now but it seems that the US public have finally been exposed to the truth.

"I'll fix it, I said I'll fix it, OK!!!"

Sorry, Mrs NotaSheep!

Barack Obama having to listen for a change

The Commentator - Cheering? For Gordon Brown?

Q) Why did 80,000 people boo George Osborne?
A) Because that's the capacity of the Olympic Stadium.
It would have been more accurate to say
A) Because they are utterly ignorant of public finance.
http://m.thecommentator.com/article/1635/cheering_for_gordon_brown_

The two faces of Barack Obama

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=LKTtr_XuEP8&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DLKTtr_XuEP8%26feature%3Dyoutu.be&gl=GB&client=mv-vf-uk&safesearch=always

This is the face of the Religion of Peace and Tolerance, or at least the face of the actions of the Religion of Peace and Tolerance

Pastor Umar Mulinde (a former Muslim) was doused in acid by Muslims after a Christmas Eve church service last year in Uganda.

Have the BBC ever reported the story of Pastor Umar Mulinde?

As in the above video, Pastor Mulinde not only discusses the acid attack and his conversion from Islam to Christianity, but also his view of Israel, and the Christian attitude towards persecution, I doubt that the BBC will be interested.

The BBC's view of the first Presidential debate

The BBC reluctantly report that: 'Polls show Romney won TV debate with Obama' but look at the comments that follow the report. Actually don't look at all the comments, just the 'Editor's picks', here they are as of now:

'Comment numbe 382. vinod 51 Minutes ago This was just a debate so don't build bridges on sand.Election will tell more.It is sure U.S. has to change,that does not mean president.Obama is a good debater but he has history of more than past nearly four years to prove what he says so how can he be bolder?He is honest,no doubt..

Comment number 159. ScotUS1992 3 Hours ago I completely disagree that Obama was 'hesitant'. He was pausing when answering the questions because he was actually thinking about the question and giving intellectual answers! Romney seemed like he was reading off the prompter and as if he spent the night before memorising a script - he basically sounded like an actor, but without the emotion of a normal person.

Comment number 79. AndyEsbjerg 4 Hours ago There is only one poll that matters, and that is the election itself! I just hope that voters remember which party got them into this economic mess in the first place. Romney strikes me as the type who wishes to "Divide and Rule", whereas Obama does seem to want to help the poorest and disadvantaged in US society. I ask Americans what do you want, equality for all, or winner takes all?

Comment number 73. Nikki 4 Hours ago I literally can not believe what i'm reading!?!?! Just because he gave a more "aggressive" debate, doesn't mean he knows how to run a country properly... I have not read a single piece of evidence to show that Romney would be good in power. So why is he even in the running still!?!?! Give us Barack! If the Americans are dim enough to want him out, then there should be a place for him here ^^

Comment number 65. Nick 4 Hours ago I do find it worrying how many people in the USA, subscribe to the GOP and its "small government"/"low taxes for the well off" agenda, which manifests itself in a distrust of a national health system. I bet most of these people would no longer have such a high opinion of "small government" if they found themselves in hard times and the government refused to help.'

So of the five editor's picks, all five are pro-Obama none are pro-Romney. Who said that the BBC are biased? Are there really no decent pro-Romney comments that the BBC have received?Here's a few that I found:

'466. TeaPartyBrit 2 Minutes ago Shock Horror. A somewhat right wing US politician, a Republican even, comes across better in a debate with that darling of the left, Barack Obama. All you left wing, anti-Americans, spitting your careless bile, may have to face up to the fact that you socialists and your servants in the chattering classes do not have a monopoly on intellect, in the UK or the US. Watch Biden v Ryan.

464. Rather_Be_Cycling 3 Minutes ago Of course he did. FInally Romney's prudent economic vision gets through to voters without the endless "filtering" by the obscenely left-wing bias of the mass media.

463. Alexandre Bykov 3 Minutes ago Unfortunately, Obama's performance was flat. It seems that he could not do well without a teleprompter (?).

424. PhilSpace 30 Minutes ago 'Obama and Romney in Denver Dual' - the headline on the BBC want's to make you believe that this was close, they were equals. But the CNN and CBS data shows that this was a runaway victory for Romney. If you watch the video Obama was just outclassed and looked embarrased to be there. The headline said Romney 'won'. He didn't 'won' he won. BBC hate it that their guy 'lost'.'

And that's just from the first three pages of comments. By 100% of the 'editor's picks' being pro-Obama, s the BBC not admitting that their editor is biased in favour of Barack Obama?

Anybody fancy lodging a complaint with the BBC re this example of bias, I don't have the time today?

Killer quote from last night's Presidential debate

It's by Mitt Romney:

"Mr. President, you're entitled as president to your airplane, and to your own house, but NOT YOUR OWN FACTS"

Post-debate, Chris Matthews lapses into panic mode [VIDEO] | The Daily Caller

http://dailycaller.com/2012/10/03/post-debate-msnbcs-chris-matthews-lapses-into-panic-mode/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
At least Chris Matthews accepts that MSNBC is pro Obama. I wish the BBC would admit their bias.

150 years of lesbians

From 1855...

To 1998...

For the intervening years take a trip to Autostraddle

If you're watching the US Presidential debate tonight, some pointers as to when (not if) Barack Obama is lieing

The Washington Examiner lists some of the "poker tells" which Barack Hussein Obama displays when answering questions.Here's a few:

'First, the president begins a pattern of "ahs" and "uhmms" which are as embarrassing as they are revealing. The awkward pausing punctuated by these semi-stutters increases in frequency as the president senses his own flailing about.

Next, the president begins filibustering. His average length of answer in every press conference is already epic, but he has been getting worse as the presidency has dragged on. Pressers are not battles between the "reporters" and the president. Very few not named Jake or Ed bother the president with fastballs. The struggle is simply between the president and the effort he has to land the plane anywhere near where it took off, so far does he wander as he rambles through the minutes he is obliged to spend appearing to take questions.

...

"tell No. 4," the president's feigned outrage that anyone would interrupt or question him. When this happens, his countenance displays a disapproving sneer and his voice clouds with displeasure. It is practiced. It is also profoundly anti-democratic and arrogant, and if he plays this card on this stage, it will backfire.

Watch as well for nonresponsive self-pity, verbal essays on how difficult it was when he took over and how hard he has been working. Self-pity and self-regard are not designed to endear him to the unemployed or even the economically fragile, so he will be coached to try to avoid displaying his sense of outrage at being thought a failure or "in over his head," but the president's sense of his own immensity is so great as to blow past such base political calculations.

Finally, watch for the parade of straw men, the president's favorite rhetorical trick. He will set up arguments that have never been made in the service of Republican goals that have never existed, and then he will denounce both. If the appearance of a straw man serves as a trigger in a drinking game, many bottles will empty by the end of Debate No. 1.'