40 days ago
I start with the US elections and then as to what is happening and what will happen in the Ukraine war. On both counts the British media are lying to us all. Russia is winning but it is making ground so slowly and at such a cost that threats that it will be in Kiev, let along Poland, if we do not hand over more cash and arms are just untrue. Meanwhile Trump is still a hot favourite to win.
54 days ago
In the spring of 2022 Ukraine and Russia were ready to start Turkey/Israeli brokered peace talks. But, facing the partygate crisis at home, Boris Johnson bullied Ukraine to fight on. Almost two years later the Ukrainians have lost nearly all of the meagre gains they made in the much vaunted 2023 “counter offensive.” And on all fronts Russia is now advancing, taking out the“fortresses” Bakhmut and Avdiivka and village after village across the line. The gains are measured in hundreds of metres a day in each area where fighting is underway. They are not huge on a daily basis and each day sees body bags shipped home to both Kiev and to Moscow on a horrible scale. But Stevie Wonder can see that it is Russia that is advancing. However…
424 days ago
The Americans warned Russia that President Joe Biden was going to Kiev precisely so that there would be no missile attacks during his visit leading to further ramping up of tensions. And, indeed, there were zero attacks on the Ukrainian Capital yesterday. None by plane, none by missile, none at all. However…
503 days ago
The British mainstream media, led by the appalling Daily Mail has, from the start of the war in Ukraine bigged up Russian Casualties, bathing in the blood of every dead Russian. Day after day there are videos straight from Kiev showing Ukrainian snipers getting kills at record distances, drones blowing up Russian tanks or some other heroic act meaning more Russian mothers will be mourning their sons this Christmas. But there is a big omission.
511 days ago
In these days when every comment about Ukraine can see one black-listed by someone, I find myself having to preface this article by saying that I am no apologist for either President Putin or for Joe Stalin. However, having tried for the past year to re-write the present with the ghost of Kiev, the Auschwitz style gold teeth and other spoofs, Ukraine is now trying the most monstrous rewrite of history, a claim that the Holodomor was an act of Russian genocide. The clear implication is that Russians like genocide against Ukrainians. The tweet below sets the case.
533 days ago
As always in commenting on events in Ukraine I have to flag up at the start that Russia was wrong to invade since in the current febrile atmosphere not doing so sees one branded a Putin apologist. And that means that you are questioned if you dare to challenge what is almost certainly fake news and, on this conflict, in Briitain, the Daily Mail is the biggest villain on that score.
557 days ago
I can never understand when folks cheer on the untimely death of their fellow man. But day after day we are treated by the Western media to videos of Russian tanks being blown up and articles delighting in how many Russian dead now lie on the fields of Ukraine. I am in no doubt that some of those soldiers dying horrible deaths were bad men who did very bad things. But many, probably the vast majority, were just young men fighting what they were told (wrongly) was a just war and fighting by Geneva rules. Why should we celebrate their deaths?
2896 days ago
As Ben Elton would say, " a bit political, a bit political." Isn't it sweet the people of Europe sending a message that we don't like Russia and that the Ukranians are all really nice folk? How right the EU was to meddle and ensure that the democratically elected rulers were replaced by a bunch of ultra nationalists supported by, inter alia, large numbers of Jew hating Nazis, which as their first act made Russian speakers second class citizens, thereby provoking an inevitable civil war. Oh, sorry we are not meant to mention the second bit are we. That is the inconvenient truth the twits who rave about last night's Eurovision campfest gloss over.
So I have a song for Russia to enter next year just to put the record straight
3708 days ago
I think that I must have watched all of thirty minutes of the Winter Olympics and that is only because I have always had a very soft spot for Hazel Irvine. Cripes, is that the sort of thing one should admit to in print? I digress.
Did the BBC really need to send such a large team to cover the Games? There were in fact more BBC staff at the Games than members of Team GB. That is, I am afraid just so BBC.
North of the games there is a different drama playing out in the Ukraine. I rephrase: if you have woken up after snoring in front of the Men’s 20 km cross country ski where they also shoot guns event, there is real drama in the Ukraine. So on the BBC news we have reports from two different reporters on the ground (each with a camera crew). Switch to Newsnight and there is another BBC reporter with a camera crew. Over on radio 4 I can hear another chappie.
And guess what none are breaking news. All are simply relaying events with a slightly different emphasis but basically importing facts. How many BBC reporters are now in Kiev and how many BB support staff? Anyone care to hazard a guess? Can anyone actually justify it?
Can anyone explain why the BBC needed so many folks on the ground at the Olympics? Surely all we need is non-stop Hazel Irvine from the studio with pictures brought in from Russian TV and a few expert commentators for the odd sport about which Hazel does not have a truly encyclopaedic knowledge?
As ever, organisations where there is no bottom line to worry about are always rather poor when it comes to basic cost benefit analysis and cost control. Meet the BBC.
