Is American journalism failing?
People who watch US news or The Daily Show with Jon Stewart will know that one of those minor feuds between celebrities – in this case, between Stewart and Jim Cramer, a hedge fund manager turned journalist, of CNBC’s Mad Money – has been brewing over The Daily Show‘s repeated attacks on the low quality of reporting by the financial network, CNBC.
It came to a head on Jon Stewart’s show in one of the most compelling pieces of television I’ve seen in a long time. You need to watch this. Now. (3 parts)
continue reading… »
Taxpayers Alliance exposed!
Are the Taxpayers’ Alliance a politically motivated, right-wing conservative group? Anybody applying the duck test knows the answer. But not the Taxpayers’ Alliance themselves.
It is “outrageous” to claim they are on the right, or that they prefer any political party, their campaign manager Susie Squire spluttered on LBC Radio, when host Nick Ferrarri described them as across “the party political divide” from Labour, and when Chuka Umunna challenged Squire’s claim that “we don’t have a party preference”.
Given their insistence on non-partisan independence, logically, how outraged the Taxpayers Alliance to find themselves traduced by their inclusion in Tim Montgomerie’s post, intended to dramatically illustrate the “growth of Britain’s conservative movement“, with two very pretty PowerPoint slides showing a sparse lack of activity in 1997 and a crowded market of ideas in 2009.
continue reading… »
The Davies Agenda (sic)
[Note: the latest Carnival on Modern Liberty is by Cabalamat]
David Davies MP has modelled himself as a staunch opponent of political correctness, but the truth is that he – like most people obsessed with the horrors of PC – is all for it really. He just has different political priorities, as his recent outburst shows.
Sadly, I suspect that Davies is rather more representative of his party than David Davis MP, as the fairly lamentable Tory showing at the Convention on Modern Liberty a fortnight ago made plain. Any party which has a Shadow Home Secretary who can utter the phrase “fewer rights and more wrongs” without cracking up can be fairly described as being “confused” (if one were feeling so generous).
continue reading… »
Top Stories and Blog Review – Sunday 15th March
Nationwide
Restaurants fight ban on tips as wages
Lord demands crackdown on bank excess
Cable: ‘RBS would break Scotland’
Riots erupt as republican held over murders
International
Mosquito laser offers new hope on malaria
Pakistan clamps on protests amid fears of coup
G20 make pledge to restore growth
America cheers as Stewart eviscerates Cramer
DAILY BLOG REVIEW / by Jennie Rigg
Think you’ve got what it takes to be a netcaster? We’re recruiting. Email us a link to your blog and a convincing reason to pick you to
and we’ll consider you.
Craig Murray shows how much the government cares about your views – they delete your emails without reading them. Hands up all who are surprised? … Anyone? *wind whistles* *bell tolls in distance* *tumbleweed rolls past in a desultory fashion* … Anyone?
Septicisle is very sensible about the Luton protests; Meral Ece makes the same point in more pugnacious fashion.
El Presidente Baroness Ros Scott reports on what Vince Cable is doing at the Scottish Lib Dem Conference (generally being awesome, natch).
Laurie Penny hangs an interesting discussion of how the media treats women’s mental health on Britney Spears
Scholars and Rogues despair of the journalistic profession when America’s most respected journalist is a comedian.
Jonathan Calder discusses the anonymity of children under the law.
Stephanie Flanders has some predictions as to what the G20 will mean for Gordon Brown.
Mr Quist puts his head above the parapet on faith schools.
And if you crave more linkage then hop along to Septicisle, or browse through previous Netcasts
Moving on from the miners’ strike
It’s about midday on a glum, sunless Saturday. On Cheapside, there’s the usual obstacle course of street traders, buskers and charity fundraisers: a BNP stand stocked with parka-clad pampleteers and studied scowls, a bunch of trade unionists pushing anti-fascist leaflets into the palms of passers-by, and a group of pan pipe players whistling – of all things – the tune to My Heart Will Go On.
Turn left onto Mayday Green, and among the pound shops, charity shops and pasty-picking pigeons, there’s a boarded-up store front carrying a proud advertisement from the council: Barnsley is Changing.
In a sense, they’re absolutely right.
continue reading… »
Top Stories – 15th March
Nationwide
Restaurants fight ban on tips as wages
Lord demands crackdown on bank excess
Cable: ‘RBS would break Scotland’
Riots erupt as republican held over murders
International
Mosquito laser offers new hope on malaria
Pakistan clamps on protests amid fears of coup
G20 make pledge to restore growth
America cheers as Stewart eviscerates Cramer
DAILY BLOG REVIEW / coming later
Tory authoritarian instincts come out
Conservative MP David Davies has called on abusive protests against serving military personnel to be outlawed. The Monmouth MP has tabled an amendment to a bill governing religious hatred that would extend protection to the Armed Forces. It would make it an offence to incite hatred against serving soldiers.
…
“What I’m suggesting is that British soldiers, who I think are our finest young men and women, the cream of society, should also be protected from that sort of gratuitous abuse they experienced last week,” he said.
Update: Iain Dale doesn’t understand the laws he’s criticising.
Gun control and school shootings
While I tend to be for the most part as socially libertarian as you can get, one of the things I tend to disagree with the actual libertarians on is gun control. One of the undoubted major reasons why gun crime in this country is for the most part incredibly rare, especially when compared to other countries is thanks to the draconian nature of our laws; you could argue that we’ve never been major gun lovers over the last century in any case, and that we’ve never had the sort of constitutional protection like in the United States which has encouraged mass gun ownership.
But it’s almost certainly a factor as to why we thankfully haven’t experienced the school shooting massacres that the US has become notorious for and which Germany experienced its second of earlier this week.
continue reading… »
Top Stories – 14th March
Nationwide
Beginning of the end for tax havens
Is bailout money is flowing abroad?
Mandelson: £2,000 to trade in used cars
Payoffs bill clears first hurdle
International
Boy threatened to blow up school on Hitler’s birthday
Obama calls for military dialogue with China
Japan pledges a third round of spending
Shoe-thrower fans unite online
WEEKEND VIDEO / by Sunny
Primate sexuality, via Boing Boing
The ‘not in our name’ card
Peter Whittle, director of some obscure organisation called New Culture Forum writes on Conservative Home:
But I would ask the Baroness [Sayeeda Warsi], why were there no Muslim voices in that crowd angrily denouncing the protesters? Why did there appear to be virtually no Muslims amongst the crowds lining the pavement? Why is there no ‘Not in Our Name’ campaign by moderate Muslims? These are the questions to which we need answers.
This sort of bigoted drivel is still too prevalent in our media unfortunately. Maybe Peter Whittle could let us know the last time he went on a march against the BNP. If he hasn’t been, then one can only assume he sympathises with them. Going by that article I wouldn’t be too surprised either.
Update: No surprise the NCF is supported by this shower of neoconservatives. (via Tom Griffin). Ben joins in.
You can read articles through the front page, via Twitter or RSS feed. You can also get them by email and through our Facebook group.
» Why Cameron’s claim of 600,000 jobs created is plainly wrong
» By using age to allocate NHS funding, Lansley rewards Tory voters
» The rise in domestic violence deaths is not an “isolated” problem
» Adrian Beecroft highlights mindset of Tory right
» The US is now a model for the Eurozone to save itself
» The IMF plan to revive the economy doesn’t go far enough
» The Boris brand is weaker than his friends think
» Nine things you can do to halt Lansley’s destruction of our NHS
» Incidents like this shame us all
» Taxpayers Alliance want to cut taxes, mostly for the rich
» We’re turning The Spirit Level into a film: help us in that goal
|
15 Comments 37 Comments 10 Comments 24 Comments 22 Comments 69 Comments 44 Comments 25 Comments 13 Comments 30 Comments |
|
LATEST COMMENTS » john b posted on On Beecroft: it is already quite easy to sack people » john b posted on On Beecroft: it is already quite easy to sack people » Unity posted on The rise in domestic violence deaths is not an "isolated" problem » So Much For Subtlety posted on On Beecroft: it is already quite easy to sack people » rb posted on Red Tory Blond: gay marriage "homophobic" » Unity posted on The rise in domestic violence deaths is not an "isolated" problem » So Much For Subtlety posted on Adrian Beecroft highlights mindset of Tory right » So Much For Subtlety posted on The rise in domestic violence deaths is not an "isolated" problem » George W posted on On Beecroft: it is already quite easy to sack people » bluepillnation posted on The Boris brand is weaker than his friends think » Cylux posted on On Beecroft: it is already quite easy to sack people » Just Visiting posted on The rise in domestic violence deaths is not an "isolated" problem » Robin Levett posted on The rise in domestic violence deaths is not an "isolated" problem » Trooper Thompson posted on On Beecroft: it is already quite easy to sack people » Just Visiting posted on Red Tory Blond: gay marriage "homophobic" |
