McCain for President

Charles Krauthammer tells you why. Here's two reasons:

"McCain's critics are offended that he raised the issue of William Ayers. What's astonishing is that Obama was himself not offended by William Ayers.

Moreover, the most remarkable of all tactical choices of this election season is the attack that never was. Out of extreme (and unnecessary) conscientiousness, McCain refused to raise the legitimate issue of Obama's most egregious association -- with the race-baiting Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Dirty campaigning, indeed."

More of Justin Webb's unbiased coverage of the US presidential election

Skip the hard news just concentrate on the Barack Obama feel good stories...

Love and untogetherness, check the picture of the Barack Obama cutout being adored whilst John McCain's and Sarah palin's are not, then read the text:

"My BBC colleague Jeff Overs took this rather fine shot outside a political memorabilia shop - seems to sum up the whole election at the moment. He's getting the love; they are looking untogether."

Only another week of campaigning to go Justin, can you keep it up?

BBC bias

Delicious.com reveal the newspaper sites with the most links from the BBC Editors blog. You will be shocked to learn that the list of the top four is as follows:
Guardian 56
Telegraph 31
Independent 24
Mail 18

No other paper received over 6 links.

Now why would the BBC have more links to the Guardian than any other paper and so many to the Independent? Could it be that they are the two most left of centre newspapers? I wonder how many of the links to the Mail are critical or sneering and how that compares to the links to the Guardian and Independent?

Maybe I'll find the time to do a links:readership calculation, somehow I think the Independent will rank rather high on that basis.

The BBC's left of centre bias is just so obvious isn't it.

The BBC's UK political polling is skewed towards Labour

Political Betting has the details that:

"One most Fridays when parliament is sitting BBC2’s “Daily Politics” programme announces the results of its latest ComRes poll on matters of current concern. This generally gets picked up by other parts of the media who treat it, quite naturally, like any other ComRes political poll. It’s not and the BBC should say so.

For the Daily Politics polls have one fundamental difference compared with the standard ComRes voting intention surveys - there’s no effort to ensure a politically balanced sample which almost inevitably means that its skewed towards Labour supporters.

In every single ComRes voting intention poll since they introduced past vote weighting the influence of Labour supporters has had to be scaled back when working out the final figures - yet the BBC allows its political surveys on matters a significant current political interest to be carried out without this adjustment.

It’s been known since the early 90s that a disproportionate number of Labour supporters respond to unsolicited randomised polling phone calls. Who knows the reason? Ipsos-MORI think it’s because they get too many public sector workers answer the phone. Whatever - those involved in polling recognise the issue and do something about it."

Now why would the BBC choose a polling method that benefited the Labour party?

Road Safety

I commend this article from the Waendel Journal about this Labour government's obsession with speed and drink-driving:

"In 2006 excessive speed was reported in 15% of all accidents and in 26% of fatal crashes. In the current figures given by the Department for Transport (2007), drink-driving was a factor in 6% of all accidents and 16% of road deaths.

The figures are too high. But what is being done about the causes of the 74% of fatal crashes where excess speed was not a factor and the 84% of fatal crashes where alcohol was not a factor? Why is there this relentless focus on speed and alcohol when failure to look properly, driver or rider error or poor reactions and losing control of a vehicle or motorbike were the overwhelming contributory factors in deaths and serious injuries on our roads?"

Internet censorship

Australia joind China, North Korea etc. How long before the UK joins them, after all it will be for the sake of the children - "will nobody think of the children".

"THE Federal Government is planning to make internet censorship compulsory for all Australians and could ban controversial websites on euthanasia or anorexia.

Australia's level of net censorship will put it in the same league as countries including China, Cuba, Iran and North Korea, and the Government will not let users opt out of the proposed national internet filter when it is introduced.

Broadband, Communications and Digital Economy Minister Stephen Conroy admitted the Federal Government's $44.2 million internet censorship plan would now include two tiers - one level of mandatory filtering for all Australians and an optional level that will provide a "clean feed", censoring adult material."

Barack Obama's medical records

John McCain has released 1,173 pages of medical reports, Barack Obama has issued a 276 word summary letter. Does Barack Obama have something to hide? Are we even allowed to ask that question without being accused of being a racist?

Meanwhile Sarah Palin is being hounded by various media outlets for her full medical records, I haven't noticed any such interest in Barack Obama's medical records.

Just like his birth certificate and educational records most of the US media seems to be operating under some sort of code of omerta.

Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand - the guilty men

Excellent work - Ross and Brand as Brady and Hindly. The media over reaction has been extreme, but I can't help think that the BBC have emphasised this story to draw attention away from Peter Mandelson and Gordon Brown's troubles.


Thanks to bbdo via Dizzy Thinks for the spot.

US Presidential election debates

Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.

Thanks to Dizzy Thinks for the spot.

Peter Mandelson defiantly not answering the question

The BBC have a short interview with Peter Mandelson on their website, do watch the piece of video at the top of their page. You will hear Peter Mandelson ignoring the questions about whether he discussed aluminium tariffs with Oleg Deripaska and you will see that famous Mandelson thin lipped smile. I wonder if the interviewer, Richard Galpin, will find himself being posted to St Helena soon?

Maybe someone could hold Peter Mandelson and Gordon Brown to account for not answering questions that are posed to them. Maybe Jeremy Paxman could summon the tone and persistence he used when famously interrogating Michael Howard. Maybe the BBC could actually do some hard news investigating rather than obsessing about two overpaid pillocks.

All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others

It makes a change for this government to look to Animal Farm rather than the more usual 1984 for its George Orwell inspired legislation, but today's news that "Prospective MPs may no longer have to give their full address when standing for office, under plans being considered by the government." is an example. Apparently

"the government had to make sure voters "have the information they need" while ensuring MPs, candidates and their families "have the privacy they need"."

We will be tracked 24/7, they have privacy issues - marvellous.

Gordon Brown's 1997 promise

"I am determined that as a country we never return to the instability, speculation, and negative equity that characterised the housing market in the 1980s and 1990s. Volatility is damaging both to the housing market and to the economy as a whole. So stability will be central to our policy to help home owners. And we must be prepared to take the action necessary to secure it. I will not allow house prices to get out of control and put at risk the sustainability of the recovery."

Will anyone hold him accountable for breaking that promise?

Barack Obama, Louis Farrakhan and universal change

That's Louis Farrakhan the ever pleasant Supreme Minister of the Nation of Islam:

"You are the instruments that God is gonna use to bring about universal change, and that is why Barack has captured the youth. And he has involved young people in a political process that they didn’t care anything about. That’s a sign. When the Messiah speaks, the youth will hear, and the Messiah is absolutely speaking."

Will the US media or the BBC report these comments? Of course not as Barack Obama in their eyes could well be the messiah.


Thanks to NewsBusters for teh spot.

Spreading the wealth

Barack Obama might support spreading the wealth in principle but how about in practice?



Thanks to Theo Spark for the spot.

And so the Government finds more ways to restrict freedom and raise "green" taxes

The Climate Change Bill contains provisions that will set a legally binding target for reducing UK carbon dioxide emission by at least 26 per cent by 2020 and at least 60 per cent by 2050, compared to 1990 levels..

Some say we are ruled by fools and idiots, I think they are more calculating than that. These people want "control" and the climate change "science" gives them the excuse to take that control.

Jonathan Ross & Russell Brand the diversionary story continues

The BBC continue to lead with the in-house story rather than Gordon Brown's avoidance of answering David Cameron's question at yesterday's PMQs or Peter Mandelson's refusal to four times answer a simple question about whether he discussed cutting tariffs with Mr Deripaska.

I wonder why the BBC have chosen these priorities for their news coverage.

All hail the messiah - Obama, Obama

Of course, "he's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy"

The most important news story?

Is the story of Russell Brand's resignation and Jonathan Ross's apology really the biggest news story in the UK? The BBC certainly think so as it accounted for over half of the Radio 4 7 o'clock news complete with serious tones of voice. Surely the fact that the US has cut interest rates by a third from 1.5% to 1% is of rather more importance, let alone Gordon Brown's dire performance at PMQs today when he refused to answer a single one of David Cameron's questions.

Windows 7 complete with bug

Take a look at this BBC report and check-out the screen expanding bug - you have got to love Microsoft...

Here is a rather more polished demonstration of Windows 7


For the geeks amongst you this is a video showing bits from each of the major iterations of Windows from 1.01, through 2.03, 3.0, 3.1, Windows For Workgroups 3.11, 95, NT Workstation 3.51, NT Workstation 4.0, 98, ME, 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista. How many have you worked on? My tally would be 12 out of 14, I was outside of the Microsoft operating system and then was on DOS for a long time before moving to Windows v 3.0. Ah the different iterations of DOS, happy days... and as for CP/M...

"Name-matching is not a standard check conducted or made available in the credit card processing industry"

So said Barack Obama's campaign team when asked why they were accepting untraceable donations. Read the full story at The Washington Post. Revealling and of course not likely to covered by the pro-Obama press and media.