Lewis Goodall - Next Pawn In Tory BBC War

Even before last month’s General Election, alleged Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson was letting it be known that the Tories’ reward for all those BBC slips-and-errors-honestly would be to turn on the Corporation and use it as a whipping boy. The licence fee settlement, which lasts way beyond the period of a five-year Parliament, was perhaps going to be revisited as part of Bozo The Clown’s New Populism™.

Lewis Goodall - latest target of vindictive Tories

The first sign that the Tories were not just bluffing came when Bozo’s new Government decided it would boycott the Radio 4 Today Programme, making the announcement the weekend after the election. As the Guardian reported at the time, “Downing Street is threatening the future of the BBC by insisting it is seriously considering decriminalising non-payment of the licence fee, while boycotting Radio 4’s Today programme over the broadcaster’s supposed anti-Tory bias”. Anti-Tory bias? Are they kidding?

More like the softball interviews handed to leading Tories were now deemed not to be softball enough. Meanwhile, Daily Mail pundit Dominic Lawson had signposted the next front to be opened up in the Tories’ anti-Beeb Blitzkrieg as he sneeringly attacked Lewis Goodall, whose return to the Corporation from Sky News had just been announced.

Press Gazette had announced in September that “Sky News political correspondent Lewis Goodall is joining Newsnight as the nightly BBC Two current affairs show’s policy editor. Goodall left the BBC, where he was a producer and reporter for more than four years, to join Sky in 2017. He joins Newsnight in November this year”. Lawson’s take was ominous.

“This over-excited twerp (on a Guardian writers' profile page, Goodall was previously described as a 'Labour activist') has been snapped up by the BBC to become the 'Policy Editor' of Newsnight … No wonder senior Tory ministers are increasingly unwilling to appear on the current affairs programmes of our licence-fee funded broadcaster”.

Who might be behind the assault on the BBC?

They were? Whether they were, it seems that they are now: the Mail on Sunday, as reliable a Tory conduit as any, has today told readers “The BBC faced a fresh Government boycott last night after handing a plum job [no, just a job] on Newsnight to a former Labour activist who likened Boris Johnson to Enoch Powell”. Over the former’s racist populism.

But do go on. “The threat follows the appointment of Lewis Goodall as Newsnight’s policy editor. He is the author of a string of aggressively anti-Tory comments on social media … Mr Goodall, 30, takes up his position this month after moving from Sky News, where he posted a series of highly opinionated Left-wing comments on Twitter”.

That, though, was not sufficient reason for the Tories to boycott Sky News. And the MoS has one of those “sources”, even if it is only a Tory SpAd: “Last night, a senior adviser to a Cabinet Minister told The Mail on Sunday: ‘There is no way I am going to let my Minister go in front of someone like Goodall, and plenty of others feel the same way. Newsnight has been moving off our radar for years - this will just speed up the process.’”

This is disingenuous bullshit: he’s the policy editor, not a presenter, so nobody will “go in front of” him. But good of the Tories to let us know that Goodall is their latest hate figure.

Questioning politicians is about to get seriously hazardous. So much for free speech.

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Ayesha Hazarika - What’s Your Problem?

Among the ranks of reliably small-e Establishment pundits, many of them equally reliably right-wing, who fetch up with tedious regularity on panel discussions, a few have until now stood out as being moderately interesting and sensible. On the right, that means the likes of Isabel Hardman and not many others; on the left, apart from the dogged presence of Owen Jones, there have been voices like that of Ayesha Hazarika.

Ayesha Hazarika

Ms H has at least been prepared to talk about Labour and its policy offerings without the coating of dismissiveness and derision doled out by many of her peers; this has been a refreshing change when the likes of Fraser Nelson, Isabel Oakeshott, and the appalling Julia Hartley Dooda are given so many broadcast media opportunities.

But sadly she has allowed herself to get carried away in her knee-jerk defence of Labour leadership hopeful Jess Phillips. Ms Phillips, in whose defence I posted recently, has now declared her candidacy and to that end secured an interview on The Andy Marr Show™ this morning. Ms Hazarika wanted the world to know that she also knew Jess.

“I’m excited that the brilliant [Jess Phillips] is running. I interviewed her for [BBC Newsnight] years ago & she said she would love to be leader. Good for her for going for it. She’s fearless, funny, warm & has HUGE charisma. Lots of folk joining to support her. Will be interesting!”. I don’t go with the “HUGE charisma”, but each to their own.

But then came objections to Ms Phillips’ candidacy, and Ms H went totally OTT: “Anti-Semitic cranks attacking [Jess Phillips] & threatening to leave Labour if she wins is brilliant. Thank God decent people like her stayed to fight for the soul of the party. This is now a proper battle with good people putting themselves forward to break from the past”. Why is someone who disagrees with her an “Anti-Semitic crank”?

Whatever. She was by now on to sniping at Labour’s current leader. “There is something so very tragic about this letter. Sums up the futility of where we are right now” she responded to Jeremy Corbyn’s concern at the potential for escalation in the Middle East.

Which is a serious business. If she thinks it is “tragic” and “futile” to seek peace in a war-torn powder keg like the Middle East, then she needs to give her head a shake. But she was already on to deciding who should be an acceptable Jezza successor. “Along with [Jess Phillips], [Keir Starmer], [Lisa Nandy] & [Dan Jarvis](if he stands) are all smart, decent, thoughtful politicians who can start to right the wrongs of the last few years & begin the tough process of making us seem even remotely attractive to the public again”.

Royal “we”, is it? This moderate intermission ended with more gratuitous attacks on those taking a different view. “You’re SO right weirdo anonymous account. If you want a say on who’s the next Labour leader, join the party”. Abuse as well. And again: “I’m sure your disapproval will be nothing but a boost for [Jess Phillips] Go for it righteous anonymous account. Tell us all your issues with a moderate outspoken brave woman. Let’s hear it!”

The all-knowing Ms Azareka then added “Temptation is to pivot too far one way which of course RLB/Lavery will do if they run”. How the heck does she know what Becky Long Bailey would advocate? She might be A Very important Media Person, but only gets one vote in the Labour leadership contest. Democracy is a great leveller.

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Iran Crisis - Where’s Bozo?

Last week, US forces, via a targeted drone strike, killed Iranian military commander General Qasem Soleimani, along with others, as he left Baghdad Airport by car. As the BBC has reported, “Soleimani was the mastermind behind the country's activities across in the Middle East, and its real foreign minister when it came to matters of war and peace”. Combover Crybaby Donald Trump claimed sole credit for the action.

As the UK allegedly enjoys a “special relationship” with the USA, how much notice did Bozo The Clown have of the drone strike? Well, none at all, actually. Nor, it seems, did anyone else, including every EU member state, Saudi Arabia, and, yes, Israel. What we have here is a wayward US President willing to put the UK’s interests in harm’s way without even consulting us first. That’s not good enough.

Donald, where's yer hairspray?

So where is the PM, and when is he going to get tough with his pal Don? And that is where we see just how committed Bozo is to the job, because on Friday, and indeed on Saturday, he wasn’t. He’s not here today, either, a situation that Londoners will know all too well, as he declined to interrupt his holiday in Canada (which was meant to help patch up his marriage) to return and deal with the aftermath of rioting in the capital back in 2011.

The propaganda ain't making it

Small wonder there has been a level of adverse comment that will not be assuaged by the propaganda offering made by today’s Mail on Sunday, which reassuringly announces “BORIS JETS IN TO FACE IRAN CRISIS”. The reality, as Rukmini Callimachi has told (see here thread HERE), is that her US sources say “the evidence suggesting there was to be an imminent attack on American targets [why Soleimani was killed] is ‘razor thin’”.

Trump had nothing to back up his decision to take out the Iranian General. He has no plan as to how he closes out the potential trouble it may cause. But even though Bozo may be as useful as the proverbial chocolate fireguard, he should at least be showing some leadership - by actually being here in the UK. He isn’t. Hence the derision.

The Observer’s Carole Cadwalladr mockingly asked “The Sun Speaks: Where is our People’s Prime Minister? Where is his carry-on baggage?” A day later she added “I was pissing about but is Mustique Man still awol? Seriously?”. He was still AWOL. She was not impressed. “Has he *still* not turned up? Jesus. It’s sort of fascinating. Why go to all that effort of backstabbing everybody you’ve ever met & betraying any political belief you’ve ever had to get a job you can’t even be bothered to turn up for?”

Otto English was not surprised. Bozo refusing to recall Parliament? “Get used to this Britain. Nothing comes before Boris and his holidays. This isn't Johnson refusing to recall parliament... it's Johnson refusing to come back from his holiday”. Quite.

BBC presenter showing no trace of bias whatsoever

And while Andrew Neil sneered at Jeremy Corbyn urging restraint and de-escalation with “But not the belligerent actions and rhetoric coming from Iran?” (well, he had to take the opposite stance to Ms Cadwalladr), Paul Bernal brought the bad news for the UK: “Boris Johnson might as well stay on holiday. The UK is pretty much irrelevant now (and will be even less relevant after Brexit), he’s pretty much irrelevant and will do whatever the Orange Baby asks him anyway, so he might as well be sunning himself in Mustique”.

Bozo might be irrelevant on the world stage. But he should be doing it here. And now.

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Top Six - January 5

So what’s hot, and what’s not, in the past week’s blogging? Here are the six most popular posts on Zelo Street for the past seven days, counting down in reverse order, because, well, I have places to go and people to see later. So there.

6 Murdoch Oz Climate Change Denial Shame His home country is literally on fire, but Rupert Murdoch’s Australian papers are pretending it’s not really happening.

5 Happy New Propaganda Year Another year, another message from alleged Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson recycled by the right-wing press as if it were unvarnished fact.

4 Keir Starmer Sparks Press Panic The news that Starmer was the favourite with Labour members to succeed Jeremy Corbyn spooked the right-leaning press. Which means if he does indeed succeed Jezza, it’s going to get very dirty very quickly.

3 Guido Fawkes - Backing Nazis, Not Jews The Great Guido showed his commitment to exposing anti-Semitism by downplaying Nazi salutes from visiting football supporters while attacking a Jewish Labour MP who had stood up to them. Another fine mess.

2 Jennifer Arcuri And The Bozo Diaries She’s got 50 volumes of diaries and intends to publish - how is the Tory-supporting press going to ignore her?

1 Danny Tommo Buggered In Bognor The amateur comedy kidnapper declared that three women finding pills in their takeaways was evidence of a grooming gang at work. Except he has stuff all evidence to back up his wild conspiracy theory.

And that’s the end of another blogtastic week, blog pickers. Not ‘arf!

Julia Hartley Dooda Conspicuous Consumption

It was the economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen who wrote in his seminal work The Theory Of The Leisure Class of Conspicuous Leisure and Conspicuous Consumption - the idea that those with sufficient wealth did not need to work, at the same time ensuring the world knew they had the leisure time, with enough cash to flash, and as ostentatiously as possible. Which brings us to self-promoting TalkRADIO host Julia Hartley Brewer.

Pretentious? Who, Moi?

Ms Hartley Dooda does work, but only in the morning, you understand. She also ensures that she has sufficient time away from her Murdoch-funded megaphone to lord it over the lower orders. For her, there is not only an ample amount of Conspicuous Leisure, but plenty of Conspicuous Consumption with which to accompany it, often by engaging in long-haul flying and other environmentally deleterious pursuits.

So it was that this very modern example of Veblen’s characterisation checked in with her adoring Twitter followers last Thursday and trilled “Morning. Guess where I am”. She wanted the whole world to know that she was somewhere Very Exclusive and Very Expensive, which could only be reached from the UK by Very Expensive and Very Long Haul flying. But this was a campaign destined to turn out not necessarily to her advantage.

Soon, one enterprising Tweeter had photoshopped her into a slurry tank (no further comment required). Worse still was the steady stream of responses that simply said “Skegness”. These even outnumbered those who wanted her to know that they did not care, a state of mind with which she should by now be familiar.

Yet worse for Ms Hartley Dooda was one Tweeter who reminded her of her casual and indeed derisive attitude to climate change: “In Sydney sitting in a water tank that's about to be attached to a helicopter........... hopefully”. Meanwhile, it did not take long for someone to place the photo as taken from the rooftop infinity pool at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore, which is exclusive and expensive enough - even for her.

But then a problem entered: Ms Hartley Dooda has serious past form for, shall we say, being less than totally tolerant of those who are Followers of The Prophet. And soon enough, Matt Youde was along to remind her that she was in one of those Very Difficult Positions: “A multicultural society where each main ethnic group takes it in turns to (exclusively) elect the president and the current head of state is a Muslim woman in a hijab. You must hate it”. No point waving her wad at that minor fact.

Ian Wilson had a similar take on life in the city state that is Singapore: “In the country where I used to live and where my wife is from. A country that taught me much about how people with different religions and ethnic backgrounds can live in harmony, with mutual respect for their differences. Wasted on you, mind”.

All that Conspicuous Leisure accompanied by Conspicuous Consumption has counted for nothing: being an ostentatious poser and trying to rub the hoi polloi’s noses in the crap has resulted in little more than indifference and derision.

Julia Hartley Dooda’s world must be terribly sad if she has to blow so much cash in order to make herself happy. But at least it keeps her well away from 99% of the population.

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Murdoch Oz Climate Change Denial Shame

Australia is experiencing a catastrophic series of bushfires; temperatures just west of Sydney have reached the mid-40s Celsius in the past 24 hours; coastal towns are having to be evacuated by sea; hundreds have lost their homes; and amongst the unfolding apocalyptic scenes, the country’s centre-right Prime Minister appears utterly clueless as to what to do. Also, a player familiar to UK media watchers is at work behind the scenes.

December 20: there are bushfires ...

The Murdoch press is maintaining its climate change denial, and at the same time relegating the bushfire news to play down what many Australians know all too well is happening. While papers in the UK like the Guardian made those fires their front page lead on Thursday last, the Murdoch Australian showed only the aftermath of the fires, which in any case was clearly only the second lead in that day’s second edition.

... December 24: there aren't any fires. But we're talking about climate ...

Worse, as the Guardian has reported, “the Australian’s first edition ran an upbeat picture story about the New Year’s Day picnic races at Hanging Rock … Sources at the newspaper said the newsroom was short-staffed over the holidays, however it was noted that resources were found to attack the ABC with gusto over its New Year’s Eve concert”. There are always enough Murdoch resources to attack the ABC.

... January 2: Oh yes there are fires, and it's bad ...

That report continued “The Australian is not the only Murdoch-owned newspaper that has been accused of downplaying the bushfires. On New Year’s Eve, Melbourne’s the Herald Sun also relegated the bushfires to page 4, even as thousands of Victorians faced a serious bushfire threat … On the same day, Sydney’s Daily Telegraph blamed the Bureau of Meteorology for inaccurate weather predictions”. And it got even worse.

... Oh all right, we'll put them in our later edition then

The Courier Mail “carried the optimistic news that ‘Onion Oracle’ Halwyn Hermann was predicting rain using an old German tradition. They even compared the Onion Oracle’s predictions to those of the bureau of meteorology”. Climate change? Political issue. Don’t talk about it. Guardian calling out the Australian? Just press infighting.

So how bad is the situation? Bodie Ashton has given us some perspective. “More Aussie land is currently burning than exists in the entire country of Belgium. The smoke is causing breathing problems in New Zealand, 2,000km away. Half a billion animals have been killed. Eight people are dead … One-seventh of the state of Victoria is on fire. The fire front in the state of New South Wales is so long that, if you made it a straight line, it would stretch from Sydney to Afghanistan. The fires are being fought by volunteers”. Do go on.

“The Australian government refuses to discuss the fact that the NSW fires have now been burning for three months, and will still be burning in three months. Climate change is a ‘political issue’ that shouldn’t be discussed at this time … Many of the volunteer firefighters are unemployed; their benefits have been suspended because, while they’re saving people and habitats and homes, they can’t apply for the requisite number of jobs per week the government expects them to to continue receiving benefits”. Getting the picture?

“The Australian Prime Minister, at the height of the crisis, went on holiday to Hawaii, which his office first denied and then insisted he was trying to get home, but it’s impossible to get flights from Honolulu to Sydney … The NSW emergency services minister has also gone on holidays. And in the midst of this, the PM has declared that the country should take heart from its brave and courageous...cricketers, who are playing against New Zealand”.

Recognise the UK parallels yet? Politicians lying, benefit sanctions, deflection, denial … but back to Ashton’s thread (see it all HERE). “Also, while the entire country faced catastrophic fire warnings (so no barbecues, people!), the cities all had fireworks displays. One, in Adelaide, very unsurprisingly caused a (thankfully limited) brush fire. Millions were spent on these. But not to pay the firefighters”. There was a 250,000 strong petition urging cancellation of the Sydney New Year fireworks. It went unheeded.

As to the idea that “there are bushfires every year, so what’s the problem?”, well, this: “It is true that Australia has bushfires every year, but the sheer scale of this event is unprecedented, as well as the fact that the fire season is now so long that typical preventative initiatives, such as backburning, are far too dangerous”. And there is more.

“The devastation in Australia right now far exceeds the Amazon fires or the California fires by many orders of magnitude, and there is no expectation that it will recede for at least several more months. In parts of Sydney, breathing the air is equivalent to a pack of cigarettes. The average temperature across the entire country has been above 40C. Australia is roughly the size of the contiguous United States. Imagine it being that temperature on average anywhere in the country, from Denver to Boston, Seattle to NYC”.

Scott Morrison: clueless Murdoch stooge ...

This is the disaster that Australian PM Scott Morrison, another in a long line of Murdoch-backed nonentities, has been both unable and unwilling to confront. He has failed to show leadership. Worse, he cannot show leadership. But he can depend on the Murdoch press to do its utmost to pretend it’s not really happening, and all the while kick the ABC instead.

... whose real boss gives his opinion on climate change

No one issue shows more clearly the corrosive effect of Murdoch’s hideously warped priorities, and his unforgivable pretence that climate change is not really happening.

His home country is literally on fire and he doesn’t care. I’ll just leave that one there.

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