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Jodie, waving her sonic screwdriver around  It's the Doctor Who season finale tonight. If you won't be watching you won't be alone.  The season's viewing figures are now well below any other season since the show came back from its long hiatus in the mid 2000s, and as this series has gone on the ratings have kept on falling. Apparently, the figures are now back to the low they reached just before the programme was axed in the 1980s.  It's just one of those things that the last two episodes have been the best of the season by some margin, but the damage was done with that string of truly terrible episodes earlier in the season and, unfortunately, they used up their supply of good faith. People switched off, and even word-of-mouth that the series has picked up again probably won't encourage many to switch back on.  What's the problem? Well, there's all the heavy politically-correctness for starters, made worse by the fact that it has so

At least in my head, I like to think of this site as being something of a 'blog of record' as far as certain BBC-related matters go, so having missed most of the last two weeks I'm feeling the need to fill a few gaps. Your comments are proving very helpful in helping to plug them, so thank you. ******* I ******* First, there's that anonymous 'whistleblowing' Guardian piece by a BBC insider. I saw mixed reviews for it here on the Open Thread . It took me a while to figure out exactly where the piece was 'coming from', but the fact that the writer twice uses the word "reactionary" - once about Danny Lockwood, the other time (literally) about 'people like us' - and then proceeds to call the leavers of the ERG "far-right" left no room for doubt that the writer is a BBC left-winger. And although it puzzled me initially that the BBC Anon sounded queasy on the question of Brexit and was against both Mark Francois and A

I've a suspicion that the BBC's Moscow correspondent Steve Rosenberg might be regretting sending out this tweet : Here's a selection of the 1.3K replies: Does the BBC have a maximum testosterone requirement?  Did you cry? Are you okay? I'm so sorry this happened to you. Imagine being this fragile. I'm so sorry chocolate in different shapes happened to you. And they say that reporters aren't heroes. Jesus. White chocolate isn’t that bad. Calm down. Please show us on the doll where the evil confection hurt you. Not to mention they are....WHITE 😡. I'll bite the bullet for you then. I would give them a shot. Awww, did it hurt your widdle feelwings? Do you need your binky? The Virtue Signal is strong with this one. What’s it like being the softest most beta male alive? One like = 1 prayer for Steve. Come on guys, let’s show our support in this trying time! What's life like, walking around in abject terro

Edward Thomas, Thaw   Over the land freckled with snow half-thawed The speculating rooks at their nests cawed And saw from elm-tops, delicate as flower of grass, What we below could not see, Winter pass. Well, we can hope! Thanks for all your comments.

Abu Ali al Askari’s statement from earlier today Abu Ali al Askari, the security official for Iraq’s Hezbollah Brigades (or Kata’ib Hezbollah, KH), put out a statement earlier today via Twitter warning Iraqi contractors of working with American soldiers stationed in the country. Speaking to the “owners of Iraqi transportation and security companies,” al Askari sends a “final and irreversible warning” to annul their contracts with US forces. The official also extends this warning to those Iraqis with diplomatic and economic ties to the American troops. The Hezbollah Brigades gives a deadline of March 15 for these annulments to occur; otherwise, al Askari vaguely states that “they will bear the responsibility for their stance of reluctance and stubbornness before God and the people.” Turning his attention to Iraq’s security forces, specifically those in the Interior Ministry and counter-terrorism units, the KH official says that “in order to preserve your history and your loyalty t

[unable to retrieve full-text content] from https://ift.tt/1U3Vuxy via Defense News

Presumably attracted by this story, “ Vandalism in Jish”   Tom Bateman channels the message that “Israel is a racist endeavour” on the Today Programme. "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a rare denunciation of the attack, saying he “strongly condemns the graffiti and property damage in the village of Jish. We will find the lawbreakers and bring them to justice. We will not accept any attacks on our citizens.” I'm going to wait for BBCWatch to clarify some of the ambiguous material in this report, ( I’m sure they will) so I ought to leave this (mainly) as a transcription. (Some of the names are phonetic approximations)   Mishal Husain. “18 mins past seven. Israel will have its third election in a year on Monday. Testament to the deadlock in the political system with Benjamin Netanyahu unable so far to get the majority he needs for his tight wing bock. But going into this election, the Arab-Israeli parties are claiming to be making significant ground.

One of the joys of blogging is being introduced to things you are completely unaware of by readers.  I knew of the once-famous poet Stephen Spender (friend of Auden, whose collected poems I treated myself to a month back. Over 900 pages!) but I knew nothing of one of his brothers, Humphrey Spender (1910-2005) until Arthur T introduced me to him this weekend, telling me that, having studied architecture, Humphrey became a photographer working on the Mass Observation project .  I've been reading up on him and looking at his remarkable photos of Bolton, Lancs (aka Worktown) and The Potteries.  I was going to add some of those photos of Bolton to this post but Bolton Council has their copyright plastered all over them. So here instead are a selection of Humphrey's varied paintings, which I very much like.  And while on the subject of being introduced to things, Saturday Night is Music Night, so here's Pentangle's theme to 1960s BBC series Take Three Girls

It's turning into quite the day for culture warriors. (What's new?) My Twitter feed (which I keep as wide-ranging as possible) has divided very sharply. If you believe one camp, Sir Philip Rutnam represented the rotten heart of the Civil Service, presiding over disaster after disaster at the departments he ran. If you believe the opposing camp, he was the epitome of a decent public servant, a kind man of scrupulous integrity. One camp says that Sir Philip was bullied, the other that Priti Patel is the one really being bullied. One camp says his exit's an excellent thing, a win for a government seeking to drain the swamp, while the other says it's a bad thing and that it will actually harm the government, especially Priti Patel. Basically, one side says 'Priti bad, Sir Philip good' and the other side 'Priti good, Sir Philip bad'. Everyone said what I expected them to say, on either side, until I came to Spiked's Tom Slater, who - breaki

So Lord Justice Singh sang from the same hymnbook as Mr Justice Supperstone and Mrs Justice Lang and rejected David Keighley's bid for a judicial review into the BBC's methods of measuring impartiality. The judges ruled that the BBC can use opinion polls as proof of their impartiality, if they so choose, as there's nothing in the BBC Charter to legally prevent them from so doing. Moreover, the judges ruled that such audience surveys are actually a rational means of measuring impartiality. They also ruled that the BBC isn't obliged by law to adopt any particular methodology. "This is a matter left to their judgement", they say. Like Ofcom, the BBC has "expertise" in the matter. Kathy at The Conservative Woman writes that this judicial brick wall leaves Ofcom as the only remaining option, though Ofcom is crammed with people with close links to the BBC. Mrs Justice Lang also landed David with heavy costs of approximately £18,000. "S

Source:- Why India’s Light Combat Helicopter could be a game changer Attack helicopters have been in the news lately. Earlier this week, a government-to-government deal for eight Apache helicopter gunships for the Indian Army was signed during the visit of President Donald Trump. In September 2019, the Indian Air Force (IAF) began taking deliveries of the first batch of their 22 Apaches contracted for under a $1.1 billion deal in 2015. With the Indian armed forces set to operate 30 of these highly capable machines, it’s easy to lose sight of the indigenous Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) being developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday inaugurated the new LCH production hangar at HAL’s Helicopter Division. HAL officials said the LCH “is completely ready for induction and the complex fully geared up for its production”. I have been following the LCH’s development and flight testing over the past four years, and in my opinion, it has progre

By Stijn Mitzer in collaboration with Calibre Obscura Turkish air and ground strikes which commenced late on the 27th of February 2020 on positions of the Syrian Arab Army (SyAA) and affiliated forces hit a large number of targets throughout Idlib and Aleppo, leading to the complete collapse of government forces along this part of the frontline and allowing rebel forces to continue their advance after recapturing the strategic town of Saraqib. Launched in retaliation after the killing of 33 Turkish soldiers in an airstrike, Turkey has now entered a new phase in its war in Syria, and at present the long-term implications can only be guessed at. To purposely strike a Turkish military position only to get completely annihilated in retaliatory strikes raises the issue of whether the current organisation in charge of regime operations is capable of dealing with the situation it faces. The catastrophic outcome of the regime's (and Russia's) attempt at directly challenging Turk

Saraya al Quds publication “Revenge of the Truthful” On Feb. 23, 2019, Saraya al Quds and other members of the Joint Operations Room (a coalition of Palestinian militant groups) launched operation “Revenge of the Truthful” for what it saw as a “brutal crime” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) committed against one of its fighters. IDF Spokesperson’s Office: Saraya al Quds fighters planting an IED A Saraya al Quds fighter is killed and the decision is made to retaliate The catalyst for the events that led to the start of operation “Revenge of the Truthful” began Sunday morning at the security fence near Abasan al Jadida in the eastern Gaza Strip. Two fighters from Palestinian Islamic Jihad were identified approaching the security fence by IDF observation posts. The fighters were observed planting an IED near the security fence and the IDF reacted by shooting at the cell. One fighter was killed and the other managed to escape. The IDF sent a bulldozer and a Merkava IV tank int

Heather James Fine Art Palm Desert, California The featured exhibition at our Palm Desert gallery brings together outstanding treasures by impressionist pioneers and masters of representational modernism, highlighting the exceptional reach of artists now considered monumental figures in art history.  This exhibition brings together outstanding treasures representing the dynamic ideas and theories that sprung forth from this time. Starting with the Impressionist pioneers Claude Monet, Gustave Caillebotte, and Alfred Sisley, these artists turned towards technological and scientific advances to capture a rapidly changing society both in the city and in the countryside. As the impact of Impressionism spread, artists like Frederick Carl Frieseke, John Hubbard Rich, and Henry Richter put a uniquely American spin on the movement’s tenets. At the same time, other artists springboarded into a new modernism. From the representational modernism in John Singer Sargent, Robert Henri, J