Anyone surprised?

The problem with having work is you can't do the more fun stuff, like blog entries. Here is a cheap way to get one in. My world analyst, Irene, sent me this link.

To answer the headline. I am surprised that the BBC was able to assess itself. That is not an easy thing for true believers. The brain filters are tough to clean, let alone remove.

About a month ago I was listening to one of those radio-appointed experts in climate (works for the UN - that's a real job). When confronted with an account of the serious 1970's climate change panic, that the ice age is coming, see prior blog entry, he responded not by saying that scientists screw up badly all the time, he being some sort of scientist/bureaucrat, but rather said we were heading for an ice age, but our SUV's stopped the ice age from coming.

There is literally nothing one can say to such a person. The filters don't let anything in at all.

I wonder what he has to say about the current History Channel fare, which shows up now and then, on how the little ice age killed off the Norse who were herders and farmers on beautiful, GREEN Greenland. Eight hundred years ago, much of Greenland was not ice bound and a delightful paradise. You don't hear much about this for obvious reasons - filters

Gene

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WND" height="20" width="181">

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MEDIA MATTERS
BBC network admits it: We're biased toward left
Acknowledges failure to offer debate due to inherent liberal culture of staff

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Posted: June 17, 2007
10:50 p.m. Eastern

© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

The BBC, the British Broadcasting Corporation, has acknowledged the network is biased toward the left, following a report commissioned by the company.

A yearlong probe revealed the corporation especially partial in its treatment of single-issue politics such as climate change, poverty, race and religion, according to the London Times.

"It concludes that the bias has extended across drama, comedy and entertainment, with the corporation pandering to politically motivated celebrities and trendy causes," the paper said.

The report cites the danger of BBC programs being undermined by the liberal culture of its staff, who need to challenge their own assumptions more.

"There is a tendency to 'group think' with too many staff inhabiting a shared space and comfort zone," says the report.

It notes staff tend to mimic each other's common left-leaning values.

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A seminar on staff impartiality held last year is documented, with officials admitting they would broadcast images of the Bible being thrown away, but not the Koran for fear of offending Muslims.

The report also warns that celebrities must not be pandered to and allowed to hijack the BBC schedule, according to the London Telegraph.

It also offers 12 new principles for the corporation to adopt to safeguard objectivity, including:

"Impartiality is no excuse for insipid programming. It allows room for fair-minded, evidence-based judgments by senior journalists and documentary-makers, and for controversial, passionate and polemical arguments by contributors and writers."

A BBC spokeswoman said: "This report is about looking forward and how we are going to face the challenges of impartiality in the modern world."

As WND reported in October, an internal BBC memo revealed senior figures admitted the national news agency was guilty of promoting left-wing views and anti-Christian sentiment.

The admissions of bias were made at the impartiality summit. Most executives admitted the corporation's representation of homosexuals and ethnic minorities was unbalanced and disproportionate.