Anything Political

[Cliff Ton 9,949]

He worked for the BBC on the World Cup in Qatar. He wouldn't say anything about the Qatari government's attitude to a number of topics....."I'm only here to report on football".

[Stuart.C 428]

As I don't follow football or Lineker (or any other sport) I missed his comments and only caught the fuss about it after.

 

The Beeb are in a Loose / Loose situation.

Wrong if they do something, wrong if they don't.

 

Regarding the action the Beeb have taken, it all depends on what's in Lineker's contract, something which until recent times would have remained private, but expect a full copy if it to be leaked in the next days / weeks by someone "in the Public Interest".

 

[Oztalgian 2,855]

According to the media Gary Lineker is paid $1.35 million pounds by the BBC.................For what?

[MRS B 278]

Gary Lineker isn’t employed by the BBC, he’s freelance. I see that most of the other pundits on the programme have said they won’t appear and some football clubs have refused to speak to the BBC post matches.

[Stuart.C 428]

Yes Mrs B, Lineker is freelance, under contract, but not totally free.

 

He'll have terms and conditions in his contract about behaviour on and off the screen.

I doubt the Beeb can or will penalise him financially, depends on his terms, but if they do no doubt it will probably end up in court.

[Alpha 162]

Lineker and Co.

 

Do we really want to listen to this inane talking head drivel anyway?

 

Get rid!

[philmayfield 5,356]

He used to come to my local, sometimes with David Gower, as they shared the same agent, Jon Holmes, who lived in the village. Never liked the guy, even less so since he grew that stupid facial hair which makes him look like a dodgy moneylender!

[DJ360 6,347]

@ Oz.

We could argue for a very long time about ways of solving the UK's immigration issues, but that is not the issue here.

Lineker is being attacked for criticising the language used by the Home Secretary. Braverman has been deliberately  using offensive, inflammatory and inappropriate language in the HOC ever since she became Home Secretary. Anyone who has witnessed her performances on Prime Minister's Questions knows this. She has no grounds to complain when a PRIVATE CITIZEN uses his own PRIVATE Twitter feed to express his OWN PRIVATE VIEWS.

In addition, the BBC has no right to censor Lineker's private Twitter feed.

Also, the fact that a whole raft of BBC presenters who all just happen to be Tory supporters, including Andrew Neill, Fiona Bruce, Jeremy Clarkson etc., etc.  have routinely made far more biased and inflammatory comments without censure. In fact Kuenssberg, another bona fide Tory is still in post ( and promoted) after deliberately doctoring commentary by Corbyn to cast him in a bad light.

The BBC is run by the Tory Party, with both its Chair and DG being Tory donors ( and worse )  BBC presenters are clearly only required to maintain silence about Tory actions. They can say and do what they like re: the opposition.

[DJ360 6,347]

4 hours ago, Stuart.C said:

As I don't follow football or Lineker (or any other sport) I missed his comments and only caught the fuss about it after.

 

The Beeb are in a Loose / Loose situation.

Wrong if they do something, wrong if they don't.

 

 

His comments were not made on the BBC or in a sport context. They were made on his own private Twitter feed.

4 hours ago, Oztalgian said:

According to the media Gary Lineker is paid $1.35 million pounds by the BBC.................For what?

 

Irrelevant to the issue 

 

1 hour ago, Alpha said:

Lineker and Co.

 

Do we really want to listen to this inane talking head drivel anyway?

 

Get rid!

 

Again, irrelevant.

 

1 hour ago, philmayfield said:

He used to come to my local, sometimes with David Gower, as they shared the same agent, Jon Holmes, who lived in the village. Never liked the guy, even less so since he grew that stupid facial hair which makes him look like a dodgy moneylender!

 

I too do not follow football and have at best a neutral view of Lineker as a person. However, this row is not about football, salaries etc. It is about Govt. attempts to use their Political control of the BBC to suppress criticism of their utterances, language and policies.

Very important principles are at stake here.

[DJ360 6,347]

5 hours ago, Cliff Ton said:

He worked for the BBC on the World Cup in Qatar. He wouldn't say anything about the Qatari government's attitude to a number of topics....."I'm only here to report on football".

 

As I recall, he made comments about human rights etc., in Qatar which had been previously  agreed with the BBC. But that was in the context of a sport programme. His recent comments were made in his capacity as a private citizen, on his private Twitter feed.

The BBC might have a stronger case if they pursued their Tory presenters such as Neill, Clarkson, Kuenssberg, Bruce, etc., etc with equal vigour.

[Stavertongirl 1,681]

 Whilst not supporting the decision of the BBC or what Lineker wrote I just wondered due to his status(?) as a celebrity of sorts can he still be classed as a private citizen? Probably going to get shot down by those that know. more then me but the fact he is a household name means his remarks would get more coverage than a normal “private” citizen? 
 

 

[Stuart.C 428]

3 hours ago, DJ360 said:

I too do not follow football and have at best a neutral view of Lineker as a person. However, this row is not about football, salaries etc. It is about Govt. attempts to use their Political control of the BBC to suppress criticism of their utterances, language and policies.

Very important principles are at stake here.

 

What evidence have you got the the Government have somehow influenced or worse, the Beebs actions.?

 

I seen it reported that others think the same but as of yet have seen no hard evidence like copies of leaked emails or transcripts of phone calls between any relevenat parties.

 

Just in case it's relevant, I've have no allegiance to any Political party, never have, never will have and in the past I've voted for all the major parties and would do in the future.

[DJ360 6,347]

1 hour ago, Stavertongirl said:

 Whilst not supporting the decision of the BBC or what Lineker wrote I just wondered due to his status(?) as a celebrity of sorts can he still be classed as a private citizen? Probably going to get shot down by those that know. more then me but the fact he is a household name means his remarks would get more coverage than a normal “private” citizen? 
 

 

It's a fair point Stav, but if that rule applies, then why is it not applied equally to all BBC presenters? I've already named several who are known Tories who have got away with far worse,, whilst actually broadcasting on BBC, not just Tweeting

Did you hear what Fiona Bruce said on QT the other night when she basically dismissed Johnson Sr's reported domestic violence as 'just a one off'?

It seems she has apologised and no doubt she will just carry on until the next time, but she is not only a known Tory married to a major Tory, but she lacks the political insight to properly chair QT. She's both biased and out of her depth.

[Oztalgian 2,855]

2 hours ago, DJ360 said:

Did you hear what Fiona Bruce said on QT the other night

No but I do know that she won "Rear of the Year" in 2010

[Stavertongirl 1,681]

Didn’t see QT but heard about it. It is horrorific and an apology just doesn’t cut it I am afraid. As a woman she should be totally ashamed of herself for such an unforgivable comment.

I do agree the rules should apply to all equally, but unfortunately as usual some are more equal than others. In the present situation could the fact that the BBC has to go cap in hand to the government for the licence fee have any bearing if pressure has been applied?

[DJ360 6,347]

14 hours ago, Oztalgian said:

No but I do know that she won "Rear of the Year" in 2010

 I'd say she's better qualified for A**e of the Year.

[DJ360 6,347]

14 hours ago, Stavertongirl said:

Didn’t see QT but heard about it. It is horrorific and an apology just doesn’t cut it I am afraid. As a woman she should be totally ashamed of herself for such an unforgivable comment.

I do agree the rules should apply to all equally, but unfortunately as usual some are more equal than others. In the present situation could the fact that the BBC has to go cap in hand to the government for the licence fee have any bearing if pressure has been applied?

I agree about Bruce. She's led a charmed life at the BBC up to now but the 'nice middle class girl' veneer is wearing very thin these days as her attitudes and associations, along with her journalistic limitations become increasingly evident.

As for political control of the BBC. Clearly funding issues are part of the story, but I think it's far more instructive to join a much wider set of dots. In my view the present Tory Party has been totally captured by nefarious far right actors, who have insinuated themselves into the very centre of power.

Surely nobody seriously  believes that Truss came up with her crazy plans all by herself? She's too dumb for that, but not too dumb to be installed as a 'puppet' by the quietly determined, oil and tobacco funded 'Institute of Economic Affairs' and other crooks installed at 55 Tufton Street. Just because their plans blew up in all of our faces doesn't mean they've gone away.

They are still quietly circumventing parliamentary democracy at every opportunity and that includes using their influence over the BBC from within to manipulate the news and suppress opposition voices.

It was obvious to close observers that the hysterical bluster repeated daily in parliament by the Sunak/ Braverman double act was just a clumsy attempt to divert attention  away from troubles at home, whilst simultaneously pointing the finger of blame at 'illegal immigrants'. It has to be said that this is classic far right, borderline fascist political behaviour  and that Lineker's comparison with 30s Germany was spot on. The clearly joint Govt./BBC response has, if anything, proven Lineker's point and backfired badly by bringing Govt. interference in BBC impartiality into sharp focus and increasing, rather than diverting scrutiny.

[DJ360 6,347]

18 hours ago, Stuart.C said:

 

What evidence have you got the the Government have somehow influenced or worse, the Beebs actions.?

 

I seen it reported that others think the same but as of yet have seen no hard evidence like copies of leaked emails or transcripts of phone calls between any relevenat parties.

 

Just in case it's relevant, I've have no allegiance to any Political party, never have, never will have and in the past I've voted for all the major parties and would do in the future.

Stuart, it's more a case of spotting numerous clues, incidents etc. I'm a lifelong fan of the BBC, in terms of its quality of programming, it's socially liberal attitudes etc., but I'm increasingly appalled by the BBC's obvious political bias in favour of the Tories. 

Just watch  how Fiona Bruce 'chairs' discussion on QT. Also note how BBC main news programmes tend not to ask the questions which are obvious to those of us who observe politics closely.

Ask yourself why the BBC repeatedly 'platforms' unelected far right characters who front dubious 'Institutes', which are in fact political lobbying organisations funded by oil/fossil fuel/ tobacco and other interests which need to block environmental/conservation measures for their own survival, but which will also naturally favour tax breaks for industry and the  rich. The BBC's excuse is 'balance', which is patent nonsense.

And finally...have a look at this:

 

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0VboHdtrd8WfeUvuAR29DqJCh6b7biLVcUXWn3sujSHswznmhQdrHurCr21wTBQ85l&id=304806723192068

[mary1947 1,876]

Just one question do we not live in the UK?   Well maybe more.

 

I was under the impression that in the UK we had freedom of speech? 

 

Did not the top man of the BBC give a vast amount of money to the Tory Party?

 

Did he not know that we have other political parties besides them?

Where doe's equal rights fit into this?

[DJ360 6,347]

On the drive home from my Daughter's a little while ago, I heard the BBC Radio 4 News. They mentioned the Lineker issue and played a recording purporting to be Man U fans claiming that Lineker was out of order. Presumably, the BBC with its vast resources was unable to find anyone who supports Lineker.

THAT is what I mean by 'spotting numerous clues, incidents etc '  That sort of constant low level distortion and sloppyness is endemic within BBC News.

[Rob.L 1,027]

And while they’re all ranting and raving about Gary Lineker, they’re not saying a word about others who’ve made clear their opposition to the government’s plans. Surprisingly, they’ve not made the Daily Mail’s front page.

 

Here are one or two of them.

 

Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York 

Paul Butler, Bishop of Durham

Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Bishop of Dover

Paul McAleenan, Roman Catholic Bishop

Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg

Rabbi Charley Baginsky

Paul Parker, Recording Clerk of Quakers in Britain

Leaders from the Baptist, Methodist and United Reform churches

[HSR 276]

Always wondered, does Lineker write his own crap pun's at the end of each MOTD?

 

RAF Scampton next week, will the BEEB cover it?

 

I'm guessing it won't be topic on

QT..

Alerta..

 

[Stuart.C 428]

If I was the person at the Beeb, or any other organisation that might have every man (person) cat or dog ready to jump on them for things said by people with an influence, who are employed by the Beeb whether it be direct or under contract, I would have had concerns over the reference to Germany in the 30's not the basic criticism of U.K Gov.

 

I suspect Gary Lineker didn't think the comment through as it could be interpreted as suggesting that U.K Gov would be planning to carry out exterminations in the future.

 

I suspect no one else in a similar position criticising U.K Gov has made a similar comparison.

[The Engineer 534]

Just looked at the BBC News home page.  Apparently the most important topic in the world right now is that a former top-flight footballer turned freelance pundit is to 'return to air' on the Beeb after resolving an issue about some comments he made on social media that didn't fit with their guidelines on conduct.

Over on ITV news, the main story is about some 'showbiz' awards in America.

Meanwhile, a war rages on in the Ukraine, there is unrest in Greece after a train crash that killed dozens of people and a large tech bank in Silicon Valley has gone bust.

[philmayfield 5,356]

He’s coming back now so we can all rest safely in our beds. I’m usually fast asleep in mine when he’s on the TV so I don’t have to watch the overpaid crisp salesman.