It is always a surprise to me to hear reports of "bullying" at the BBC. Not because I am surprised that there is "bullying" at the BBC, but that I am surprised that anyone is surprised by it, such that they think it worthy of reporting. Neither am I particularly moved by the concept of 'bullying' in such an institution. After all, it is a large, state-owned, Establishment-oriented corporation, whose very existence is owed to the Establishment’s need to control culture and the ‘information space’. And where would the British Establishment be, were it not for institutions, from the public boarding school through to the Army, through Oxbridge, the Civil Service and Parliament itself? What are they, if not formally and informally institutionalised 'bullying'?
We are, after all, still in a moment characterised by confusion about ‘what is a woman?’, one that apparently required an institutional process – the intervention of the Supreme Court – to establish a fact such that the fact could begin to prevail through the institutions. For a time, it was considered an act of 'bullying' to claim that sex was a fact established by chromosomes, and that consequently those who asserted such a claim were worthy of actions that would otherwise constitute ‘bullying’: termination of employment, cancellation, loss of status and so on. And so we must be equally clear about the term ‘bullying’.
In a long article in UnHerd, former head of political programmes at the BBC Rob Burley discusses the broadcaster’s “commitment to
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Typical Beeb article I’d have said, why write a sentence, when you can write an essay.think we are all aware what the beeb is.
I quit over the Sachsgate Scandal involving the pompous unfunny twat Jonathan Ross, and the then odious but now reformed Russell Brand.
I think that BBC Verify is being de-emphasised, which could really mean disbanded. Anyone know more?
Women, why is it always women?
It was the Establishment that occupied Wall Street by giving activists occupations, because woke ideologies had been authored by those same interests, and had been designed, not as ideologies, but as business plans.
It’s state capture by the transnational corporations, aided and abetted by the state bourgeoisie.
Break it up, sell it off, reclaim the branding which is an insult to every right thinking Brit. Let the market decide if their output has any value.
As the Pythons stated in the early 1970s, in fact all right-thinking people are wrong.
Spot on as usual by Ben.
The purpose of the BBC was always to give the illusion of informing the public and “shaping debate”, while at the same time concealing from them anything of real importance.
Laughably, the BBC apparatchiks seem to think they’re supplying “leadership” on such issues, whereas the reality is they’re just playing the role of useful idiots for forces they seem to be incapable of understanding and unwilling to research (although behind the scenes it’s probably don’t go there or you’ll be cancelled).
Regarding ESG, you only need to realise that its biggest pusher until recently was Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager with AUM greater that most countries’ GDP, to understand it was all about controlling the flows of money (as opposed to “saving the planet” or “social justice”).
They’ve only pulled back because vast quantities of energy are required to power the data centres which are the backbone of the control grid being rapidly implemented.
The whole background and architecture of this is described in detail in linked essays on the escapekey Substack, which should be essential reading for DS subscribers I should think.
Defund the BBC. Let them stand or fall by their own output.
Was the ‘long march’ driven by a few activists? I suspect the long march was driven by the the Establishment foot soldiers’ attitudes changing to seeking institutional support for individual self-actualization and moral sentiments. Celebrity endorsement by activists was just a topping of sprinkles to make the new moral sentiments attractive.
I’ve posted this here before but worth repeating as an additional insight into BBC mindset. I had some correspondence during “covid” with a member of their dis/mis information unit regarding coverage of anti lockdown protests. A couple of key snippets: “We have no obligation to give a platform to erroneous ideas” and ” But the speakers were not expressing mainstream views that would benefit from airing and debate.”
Those two quotes are astounding Tof. None so blind as those that won’t see, eh?
What I found most interesting was not the opinions but the willingness to admit to them – either a blunder or a sign of absolute confidence that no reasonable person could possibly disagree that people like him ought to be gatekeepers. Probably what happens if all the people you spend time with always agree with you about everything, or pretend to.
Don’t shed too many tears for Unsworth.
Years ago I made an FoI request, simply requesting the total number of complaints over a 5 year period v those upheld.
After a year’s battle, involving my MP, the BBC DG et al and a BBC threat to make me pay their legal costs, they capitulated.
Unsworth was involved in their resistance.
The answer, by the way, was 0.014% of 250,000 complaints every year upheld at Stage 2. Why it’s pointless complaining to this wholly unaccountable political organisation.
Excellent article, as always. Thank you. Ref your final sentence, it should be excluded forever, defunded and abolished. Unsworth is blatantly hypocritical. The continuing existence of the ridiculous “BBC Very Iffy” unit, despite all the garbage and bulls**t it has pumped out, is proof positive that the Beeb is irredeemable. It is broken beyond repair. Bury it.
FUBAR
Many years ago Digital Equipment Corporation (who?) computer manuals often used an example file name of FOO.BAR. I laughed a lot when I found out what FUBAR meant.
Foo and bar are the first two metasyntactic variables, used to stand in place of any as yet undefined or example variable. I’m not sure of the precise origin of these, but a more complete list is as follows:
foo,bar,baz,qux,quux,corge,grault,garply,waldo,fred,plugh,xyzzy, andthudThanks for that – also
plughandxyzzyare magic words in the Adventure and Colossal Cave games on early computers.