Fiona Bruce defended Stanley Johnson punching and breaking his wife's nose because he only did it once and was sorry but not a peep from the beeb This is a massive **** up by the beeb
Match of the Day will be broadcast without any presenters or pundits this weekend: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/mar/10/gary-lineker-step-back-match-of-the-day-bbc They've properly ****ed it!
So many alternatives to MOTD now that can be streamed on line or YouTube, the Beeb are walking a fine line and pissing off its dwindling popularity
Lineker is a prominent figure as in his own right, irrespective of his connections to the BBC. His views appear to be his own; he doesn’t speak for the BBC or BT Sport or any other broadcaster he may work for. I baulk at the idea that he has to suppress his own views because some people might conclude that this means that the BBC will not be seen as “impartial”. This latter point is the real political issue because the government uses bullying and threats to police the BBC’s output. Anything perceived to be left wing is criticised. But other political opinions don’t seem to be an issue. He’s a sports presenter too, not a political commentator. If he was politically influential then there might be more justification for expecting him to temper his personal tweets on political issues if he was seen to be speaking as a BBC representative. The small boats policy of the government is the latest step in the demonisation of would be immigrants and the repeated prioritisation of immigration as the main issue for government (when in a time of numerous crises, it really shouldn’t be) has fuelled feelings of xenophobia and racism. He might have been blunt, but Lineker said what many do think - the policy is cruel and the rhetoric surrounding it (and the effect it has) is reminiscent of the propaganda of the Nazis. Hatred is being stirred up and people should be free to speak up against it personally without censorship by their “employer”. I suspect Lineker will depart the BBC as it seems they don’t see him as indispensable as Clarkson was when Top Gear was taking in a load of cash for them. Others won’t hesitate in hiring him whatever he tweets.
Very rarely watch MOTD live any more ,mostly watch it on catch up and then FF to the spurs game or a bit of a match people are kicking off about I wonder if they will do what they did on HIGNFY and replace Lineker with a bag of crisps and keown with a bucket of ****
Apologies for delayed response S61, was out this evening. Will respond tomorrow and some interesting points to develop
On your last point, I hold a view which I know doesn't have much support but I think is logical. Which is indeed that no country has the right to deny people entry. I am perfectly happy with groups of people on a planet defining boundaries around themselves and making laws which define what happens within the boundaries. But almost by definition the Laws can't apply outside the boundaries. But a Law that says that no-one may cross the boundaries without permission of those inside has two logical problems. The first is that it creates criminals out of people who may be unaware of the Law or even the position of the boundaries. The second is that it is inconsistent with the rules that normally apply within the boundaries. Most nation states consist of a number of smaller entities with their own rules and by-laws but these are very limited by the Laws of the state. But if the UK is allowed to determine who can enter, then why shouldn't Oxfordshire, or Vale of White Horse? If I want to move from VOWH to Cardiff, I can do that without any permissions and Cardiff has to allow me to vote in their local elections and provide various services to me despite the fact that I have never contributed to Cardiff in any way. So I think anyone should be able to chose where the live on the planet in much the same way. There is also a third issue....nation states sign up to many international treaties. It is not acceptable to pass internal laws that are inconsistent with those. If there was a World Government then it would be for that body to decide who could move across borders and I can't see why they wouldn't come to the same conclusion as most nation states do and allow free movement.
Morning all Well, that was a busy old day, wasn't it? Anyway... Have a feeling there's more to come, so let's get the ball rolling. Lewis Goodall of the Newsagents podcast now has an LBC slot and this was from last night. Focuses on the classist nature of politics and in this case the attitude of Tories for footballers to stay in their place. We already saw it with the 'take the knee' debate, Rashfords free school meals and even the attacks on Gary Neville, when footballers dare to get involved in political debate. However, whilst the players appear to be far more representative of the 'real world' society, do the public truly relate to them in a way that might tip the balance in this Tory culture war? I'm not convinced that many can relate to them and fail to see beyond the wealth that the top players accrue.
