Timewarped BBC

The BBC online Have Your Say tonight is a classic. A 1950's classic. The BBC evidently consider it a relevant 21st century question to ask: "Have 20 years of capitalism been good for E Europe?"

The most recommended comment thankfully sets things a bit straight:

"What a typical topic here on HYS. Only the crypto commies and sofa socialists on this site (and apparently the HYS staff who pose these questions) would even come up with such an absurdity as this. Communism appeals only those who have never lived under it. And they cannot get their head around the fact that it's not economics but human liberty and personal freedom that it cannot ever enable or tolerate. It's as simple as that. Unless you live in Islington or Berkeley."

Difficult to put it better than that.

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WHY IRAQ IS A DISASTER

The recent success of the Iraq elections clearly runs contrary to the tiresome BBC narrative that everything our military has tried to achieve in that land has been a disaster. The "We're all doomed, it's a quagmire " theme has been a constant feature of BBC coverage for years now so how to handle some good news? Well, earlier this morning they trotted on journalists Sudarsan Raghavan and Patrick Cockburn to review whether the results will lead to greater stability. Cockburn was quick to put the boot on, determined to suggest that despite all the evidence Iraq was still a disaster. Begrudgery incarnate.

IS JONATHAN DIMBLEBY A RACIST?

I caught a trailer on Today this morning for the Jonathan Dimbleby hosted "Any Questions" programme on Radio 4 tonight and I noted that in it he made a reference to the Thatcher legacy including "golliwog". Grins all round. But since it was Dimbleby who used this word - in public - I was wondering should he not be suspended forthwith? Or, and this is just a guess, is this what we can expect from the BBC in future - the direct association of the name Thatcher and racist language? If so, it rather confirms the blatant political agenda behind the alleged "outing" of Carol Thatcher's private comments by unfunny comedienne Jo Brand.

As a further indication of BBC obsession on groupthink, there was a debate on Today between Thought for the Day contributor Anne Atkins (Church of England, mild) and Ben Summerskill (Gay and loud) on the use of language. Anne kept telling us how wonderful the BBC has been whilst the Stonewall Chief Executive got properly stuck into all who refuse to use only pc approved language. The BBC would be scared of a proper debate on langauge lest their innate fascism on the topic be exposed.