Editorial control

Over on BiasedBBC I posted about the BBC's juxtaposition of an article on re-classifying cannabis with an article on the effects of alcohol in the workplace.

Some people thought that a bridge too far: as if the BBC would actually position their stories strategically!

Well, I had to chuckle when I saw the Sun's frontpage on the web this evening:



I wonder if I am the only one to have been impressed by the caption "inside the mind of a monster" alongside Gordon Brown's face (as well as that abominable Austrian dad's). (image via Iain Dale)

That UK Janus face again

Complicated country, Britain.

As we enter a new year, Mark Steyn picks up two stories which show the two sides of Britain:

The NHS worshipping side, and the martially soaring spirit.

See, what we need is to divert a little of the latter to rip into the former, and then we'd be kicking, so to speak.

An amusing Beeb-based opening to 08

Sometimes the deference shown by the BBC to the statements of the so-called authorities of questionable nations can be hilarious. Sometimes it's just foolish and unfair, since the Beeb can be so critical of western governments with whom they wish to pick a bone- for example the US.

Well I think in this case it's the former.

"Malaysian Health Minister Chua Soi Lek has admitted that he is the man who features in two widely circulated DVDs of an unmarried couple having sex.", runs the lede (italics and emboldening mine).

Later we learn "his own wife and children had accepted his apology.". So what was the point of the "unmarried couple" thing? He's married, alright, so why the tricksy little moralistic-sounding intro? Or is that just to help me with my google search- ahem, not that I would, of course (and anyway it doesn't seem to produce anything)

I dunno. It does get funnier though, when they quote:

"I am the man in the tape," Mr Chua, 60, told reporters.

"The girl is a personal friend."

Mmm. Certainly what I call a personal friend.

It's a little cruel, and perhaps slightly unwise, but I have to confess I found Allah very funny is his riff from the Iran debacle/kerfuffle/distraction.















I also have to confess that, though I should have known better, I thought young Batchelor was a girl. Those doe eyes!

ps. Devil's Kitchen, I notice, is a tad more up front along similar lines.

Clinton sets fundraising record
Pope 'moves closer to sainthood'

Headlines found side by side at teh BBC

Just a selection of my favourite of Meccawood's latest towerblock busters, as found via DumbJon and supplied by Right Wing News



Alahu Akhbar Cinema

Now showing! :

Fatwa Gump
4 Beheadings And A Funeral
Throw Israel From The Train
Indiana Jones & IN THE NAME OF ALLAH WE SHALL AVENGE THE LAST CRUSADE. PEACE BE UPON YOU.
Martyring Private Ryan
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Abu Ghraib
Honey, I Martyred the Kids
Ali Wonka and the IED Factory
Schindler's List Never Happened Either
The Good, The Bad And The Infidel

The serious questions of cultural hegemony and the inability of much the world to entertain itself (perhaps it should try feeding itself first) remain, of course.

Tricky language, English.

I came across a little item from Robin Aitken at BBC Radio 4's Today website, and the phrasing of its description, though unexceptional, amused me. Aitken's the man whose book is doubtless embarrassing all the right people at the Beeb. A video of his comments, filmed by Doughty St., can be seen at Biased BBC here. The item:


"Jackie Elliott
Robin Aitken's interview with Jackie Elliott before he was executed"

I can't remember anything about Jackie Elliott, but I think Aitken has so far survived Auntie's ire, so I suppose Elliott's a gonner and Aitken is merely in a critical condition.

Breaking news from the BBC:

LATEST: Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov wins Turkmenistan presidential election. More soon. (ie. they'll tell us the rest of his name).

Light entertainment

BlameBush is fantastic; so good in fact it's well capable of outlasting the Bush presidency (which many now feel they can outlast, unfortunately).

But, I was thinking about the website, and something about it struck a chord, and I remembered who it reminded me of- Peter Simple, the Michael Wharton column.

In the persona of LiberalLarry, we get such gems as this:


"Putting aside for a moment the severe physical trauma a grown adult’s open hand can inflict on a little baby’s backside, a child who is spanked can also develop serious psychological disorders, such as self-discipline and respect for authority. As studies have further shown, parents who were disciplined as children are 78% more likely to discipline their own kids. It’s an endless cycle of abuse that no one has had the courage to fight until now."

This is brilliant. Scrappleface has the 'translation' of the latest Ayman Al Zawahiri tape. I hope it really gets up his nose. Kind of a Christmas message. (via LGF)

...

which goes rather well placed alongside Ammedinejad's latest pronouncements. WWJD?