In tune with the Zeitgeist. That's what we are, mes braves. The Telegraph rejoices over the departure of Rod Liddle from today - and slyly notes that:

It is not as though the BBC cannot persuade its broadcasters to be impartial, when it wants to. After all, the BBC "advised" Ben Fogle, a presenter of its Countryfile programme, and Clare Balding, of Radio Five Live, not to attend the Liberty and Livelihood March, because it would compromise their positions.

And in the Sunday Times (registration required and no free link for overseas readers) Jonathan Miller is boldly refusing to pay his license fee. He writes:

I am amazed that anyone is surprised. The BBC and new Labour are close to indistinguishable. The BBC chairman is Gavyn Davies, who has given new Labour money and whose wife works for Gordon Brown. The director-general is Greg Dyke, who financed Tony Blair's political office. Tessa Jowell, the new Labour culture secretary, has eagerly given the BBC everything it wants: an above-inflation licence fee settlement, permission to launch new channels to be paid for by all licence payers - whether they watch them or not - and de facto control of the terrestrial digital network.

The BBC seems now to be embarrassed by Liddle's column. But even if he is forced to choose between Today and The Guardian, it will make no real difference. Never has this organisation been such a parody of the Ministry of Truth. And never has a licence fee seemed so inappropriate.

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ITN - Victim Fascists^*

I was watching the ITN news last night. I heard something like: "Blah, blah, blah...Prudential...blah, blah, blah...call centre...blah, blah, blah...Mumbai." Mumbai, as I am sure most readers know is the new name for Bombay, in much the same way as Beijing is the new name for Peking. The argument goes that that is what the natives call it so that is what we should call it.

But hang on it a minute. Do we refer to such places as Paree, Veen, Kurn, Balenthia, Nihon or Vanaytsia^**? Like hell do we. But that's what the natives call them. There's something funny going on here.

Is it because all these places have white (or in the case of the Japanese - token white) populations. Not quite. In the very same bulletin (I think) there was a report from Newcastle. All right thinking people pronounce this new-car-sl. But here was the reporter saying noo-cass-sl - just like the natives who are amongst the whitest of the white.

No, in fact these pronunciations are just the latest example of Victim Fascism with Indians, Chinese and Geordies cast as the victims.

^* Victim fascist is my new term for politically correct. There is something of a debate about this in libertarian circles at the moment. "Politically correct" has been found wanting and a variety of other terms such as "Virtue Fascist" and "Idiotarian" have been proposed. Time alone will tell which, if any, will get adopted.

^** Respectively Paris, Vienna, Cologne, Valencia, Japan and Venice.

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So, Liddle's gone

Rather a shame really. While he was still there we, and some of the wider public, knew that the Today programme was edited by class warrior scum and could use that knowledge to filter whatever it chose to broadcast. But now that he has been replaced by someone calling himself "Bill Rogers" whose views remain a mystery, we have no idea what correction need be applied.

This is all a little worrying. Over recent years and months it has been an advantage to know that John Simpson is an idiot but that John Humphreys is in fact rather sensible. Now that it looks like the practice of BBC jounalists writing newpaper columns is coming to an end, we'll just have to guess.

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