Another of those rare occasions

Only rarely are the BBC's left-wing, anti-Israel prejudices challenged on 'entertainment' shows. I have provided two examples before:

First from 2009 when Marcus Brigstocke dared to criticise Islam:

'Do you want to hear a Radio 4 audience clench its collective sphincters?

...  the end of Marcus Brigstocke's spot in tonight's Now Show. Marcus Brigstoke takes a "satirical" swipe at God, the Bible and Christianity and his audience are happy to laugh along. Then he says that people ask him if he would say similar about Islam and he says he would and has and then points out some home-truths about the Koran and the audience is almost silent, silent that is apart from the sound of sphincters being clenched.

...  From the Christianity section of Marcus Brigstocke's spot re the 10 Commandments: "God spent the first four flattering himself and being jealous..... Good grief, he's like a paranoid, menopausal housewife with an adulterous husband..." (laughter and joy from the audience)... Then Marcus Brigstoke says "And in case you'd wondering... would you say all of that about Islam? Er yes, yes I would (nervous titter) ... including all of the details of the beheadings, the under-age sex, the misogyny and the fact that Mohammed was illiterate (some very nervous laughs and sphincter clenching) It's all right, don't be scared for me, I've done this before (relieved laughter).'

 Secondly from 2011 again the Now Show:

'Radio 4's Now Show is generally a safe place for lefty types. The humour is safely aimed at Conservatives and those further to the right, the NHS is sacred, the Daily Mail worthy only of disdain and so on. So I was somewhat shocked last night to hear John Holmes's rant on yesterday's show. It's target was The Guardian and its hypocrisy. The Now Show audience seemed a trifle nonplussed by the attack on one of the good guys and so the laughs were sparse and a little forced. I hope it did the audience good and that this is the start of a less leftist viewpoint on BBC Radio 4 satirical shows, although somehow I doubt it.'

Yesterday I heard another example, on Desert Island Discs of all places. The castaway was Julie Burchill  and you can hear the programme here. One of the eight pieces of music chosen by Julie Burchill was Hatikvah - The Israeli National Anthem - and Julie explained why. Julie Burchill even chose that piece of music as the one she would have if she was allowed only one, rather than eight records. Unusually Kirsty Young did not ask about that choice of music.

When I heard this yesterday, I thought that I could also hear the sound of beeboid heads exploding. This morning I turned to the Desert Islands Disks section of the BBC website and what do I see?

Well it's still up there but I can still hear BBC teeth being clenched!

What about the Ummah?

'Charity: Calling rich Muslims... your number plate is up

Poor Pakistan. "We have nothing – no one cares!" comes the cry. It goes without saying that our country must give everything it can to assist them. But wouldn't it be absolutely brilliant to see the mega-rich Muslim world – for once – give aid in proportion to its means?

I don't know an awful lot about Islam – probably about as much as the average Muslim knows about Christianity or Judaism (for example, the fact they resemble apes and dogs, according to some Islamic school textbooks) – but I do know about the Muslim concept of "umma".

This refers to the one-ness of the international community of Islam, which is apparently the reason the sons of Saudi millionaires murder, by proxy, innocent strangers (including fellow Muslims) on London buses and in New York skyscrapers, in order to advance the cause of the poor Palestinians.

In a month when it was revealed that a Dubai billionaire paid NINE MILLION POUNDS for a NUMBER PLATE for one of his cars and that shoppers from the Gulf states are expected to spend £250m in London this summer, I hope that the sum these countries and individuals give to their brothers and sisters in Pakistan is very large indeed.

Or the filthy rich Muslim countries of the Middle East could well be laying themselves open to accusations of filthy hypocrisy, too.'

Julie Burchill in The Independent with similar thoughts to that which I have expressed before. The Saudis and other oil rich nations seem curiously reluctant to send large amounts of aid to the Muslim brothers in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, why? The Independent's resident ill-informed commenters are of course out in force below her article and help to explain why I prefer not to read the Independent unless I have to.



Thanks to A Tangled Web for the spot.

Are Greens hypocritical?

Do bears defecate in the wood, is the Pope a Roman Catholic...

Julie Burchill slugs it out with George Monbiot and the standard sneering Toady presenter.

"A cheap holiday in other people’s misery"

An excellent article by Julie Burchill on the habit of Western women travel writers to eulogise over holidays in Muslim countries despite the appalling restriction on the lives on native women. Here's the ending (do go and read the rest):

"I can’t list all the ways in which the lives of these women are ruined, but the obscenity of “honour” killings and the epidemic of forced marriages to old strangers will do well enough. “Honour”, “pride” and “shame” are words which are flung about a great deal in Arab/Islamic culture, and as these women are such great fans of the whole rotten spectacle, I would sum up by saying: “Shame on you, ladies, for showing so little pride in your own hard-won Western freedoms and grovelling to such a shameful, woman-hating, life-denying excuse for a culture.”

I blame Turkish Delight adverts myself."