Professional Miserable Git Rod Liddle is back in the news again after yet another instance of Olympic standard freestyle foot-in-mouth got him suspended by the Labour Party, of which he still, by some miracle, continues to hold a membership. Liddle, whose time as editor of the BBC Radio 4 Today programme was not the Corporation’s finest hour, has fallen foul of the Labour probe into anti-Semitism and other forms of racism.
An unsavoury sleazebag airs his views
What provoked the suspension was a post on the Spectator Coffee House blog, where Liddle mused “I know who I’m supporting in the Corbyn-Hodge leadership contest” (it had been alleged that Margaret Hodge might run against Jezza as a “stalking horse” candidate by a few of the media’s Ron Hopeful wing). He concluded “I think, given the choice, I’m pretty firmly with Jezza. One deranged bien-pensant half of Islington versus the other. At least Corbyn isn’t smug. It’s one of the few things you can say in his favour”.
So why did Liddle get suspended? The Great Man has shared his thoughts with the Sun’s alleged “Westminster Correspondent”, Master Harry Cole, whose track record since formally taking the Murdoch shilling has included the Corbyn “Short Money” front page splash pack of lies that not even IPSO was prepared to excuse.
“Perhaps it is my suggestion that many Muslims are not favourably inclined towards Jews that provoked my suspension from the party - certainly it provoked a furious diatribe from the congenital idiot and Guardian journalist Owen Jones, who described it, with his usual semantic flair, as ‘rampant racism” was how Liddle explained himself to Cole. But both of them, plus Spectator editor Fraser Nelson, knew there was more.
The Speccy post includes the line that most likely got Liddle his suspension, but the Sun article just pretends it isn’t there, although it has been picked up by Jonathan Portes, and, yes, the same Owen Jones whom Liddle had gratuitously insulted in his conversation with Master Cole. And that original makes grim reading.
This is what Liddle said: “Re the anti-Semitism. There are a number of broad points to make. First, it is absolutely endemic within two sections of the Labour Party - the perpetually adolescent white middle-class lefties, and the Muslims - the latter of which now comprise a significant proportion of Labour activists and voters in parts of London and the dilapidated former mill-towns of West Yorkshire and East Lancashire. And Luton. And parts of the midlands”. And then came the sentence Cole ignored.
“For the Muslims, the anti-Semitism is visceral, an ingrained part of their unpleasant ideology”. And just for good measure, he shows an approval of settling arguments by resorting to violence: “Incidentally, don’t you wish John Mann had actually lamped Livingstone?” Liddle would not have been allowed to get away with referring to “the Jews”, so why should “the Muslims” go unpunished? Cole is being utterly dishonest. Again.
Cole’s pants were on fire over that Corbyn short money whopper. Now they are again. The flannelled fool is going to need permanent access to a fire extinguisher at this rate.
Liddle is a professional naughty boy who likes the attention and the money he gets from shocking the grown-ups. Insults are his stock in trade so let's just try to ignore his showing off.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there has been an elephant in the room of this manufactured 'Labour's anti-Semitism problem' since it started. Anyone who has worked in schools with a high proportion of muslim students will know that anti-Semitism among a high proportion of those students is the default position, as is belief in the most ludicrous conspiracy theory stuff about 9/11. It seems likely that this casual prejudice comes from their peer group, their backgrounds and their parents. History will provide reasons for this.
The type of kids I am talking about often come from families who customarily vote Labour, for all sorts of valid social and historical reasons. Ergo, Labour does not have an anti-Semitism problem but a proportion of one element of its support undeniably does. It is self-delusion not to recognise this.
“Westminster Correspondent” is another way of saying "Some arse head presenter who thinks their 'personality' is more important than telling the truth."
ReplyDeleteAlas, the two foremost examples of this are on BBC TV News: Norman "Arm Waving Moron" Smith, Laura "Oo Look At Me Twitching" Kuenssberg and Andrew "Nazi" Neill. But there is severe competition from C4 News Matt "American Dream" Frei and Lindsay "Government Propaganda" Hilsum (plus supporting info clerks Rugman and Miller). Coming up on the rails is Tom "Gosh Aren't I In Command" Bradby. Trailing in their wakes are the likes of Emily "Witchypoo" Maitlis, Kirsty "Low Level Drone" Wark, Evan "Weird" Davis, and Andrew "is Me Mouth Under Me Ear Yet" Marr.
Still, you have to say they are all, as it were, Trumped by the Murdoch-Rothermere jobsworths and the likes of Henry "Knob Head" Cole.
None of them are worth the proverbial carrot. Which is why Brit media "news" has become the laughing stock of the world - worse even than the Yank versions on Fox News. At least with the latter they are all unashamed gobshites and cowards, whereas "our" lot are hypocritical with it.