Centre-left bias in the ‘independent’ British media

I am NOT a fan of ‘right wing’ politicians such as DONALD TRUMP and his apparent – but not officially confirmed-  British ‘supporter’ and political party leader NIGEL FARAGE, but IMO there was in the years 2015 – 2019 (at least) opposition by the so-called ‘quality’, ‘terrestrial’, mainstream broadcast media in Britain (namely, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5) towards anyone outside the political ‘centre’ ground. This was especially evident on the day before the US Presidential election in 2016 when there were numerous anti-Trump programs, of which more below.

The BBC (and similar) are supposed to offer political impartiality, yet broadcasted numerous programs in 2016 and 2017 that were mostly critical of Trump, but not his Presidential rival Hillary Clinton. This media bias, IMO, resembled Clinton’s campaign strategy: focus on Donald’s apparent flaws and Hillary’s apparent strengths (her  ‘positive’, feminist, ‘power-to-the people’ speeches). Other strategies included focusing attention on Trump, but not Clinton: ‘ask no questions; tell no lies’. More cunning was to criticise both candidates, but to make sure that Clinton was seen as the lesser of 2 evils.

On the evening before US election day (7th November 2016), British TV schedules for the mainstream broadcasters included the following programs:

1)”Michael Moore In Trumpland” (Channel 4), a repeat of an earlier C4 broadcast (29/Oct/16) in which the famed  documentary maker Michael Moore tried to persuade Trump supporters to vote for Clinton.

2)”Have I Got More News For You” (BBC1), a repeat of the shorter version broadcast on 4/Nov/16. In this popular, long-running, satirical BBC current affairs quiz, the general view of the panellists and host and scriptwriters was that Clinton was the lesser of 2 evils. One guest, ANDY HAMILTON (who played the comedy role of SATAN in his BBC radio series “Old Harry’s Game”), described Trump as “mentally ill”. He quoted a statistic that indicated that Clinton told the truth 24% of the time, but Trump only 4% of the time. Temporary Host VICTORIA COREN MITCHELL, reading from a script, concluded the show by saying that both were the worst Presidential candidates ever.

Mitchell (Oxford-educated) is the daughter of the famous British satirist ALAN COREN who like his daughter was a regular on BBC TV. Coren was editor of the satirical “Punch” magazine and a newspaper columnist. Mitchell said that she had “…friends outside the law…”, when interviewed by the satirist IAN HISLOP for the BBC Radio 4 series “Chain Reaction”. To elaborate, Mitchell said that she had a kind of split personality: “In certain company, I’m sort of louche and I smoke and swear and gamble and have friends outside the law; and in other companies I’m sort of looking shocked at somebody who said something slightly offensive, and I – a God-fearing wife and mother – can’t believe they’re saying such things…” (episode 3, series 11).

Mitchell’s equally famous husband DAVID MITCHELL is a successful comedy actor/writer and regular BBC panel show host/panellist. As a student, he was President of Cambridge University’s renowned “Footlights” theatrical club that has spawned many successful comedians. He was a regular contributor to a Channel 4 satirical/current affairs show.

3) “The Unbelievable Truth” (BBC Radio 4 Extra). David Mitchell is anti-Trump, as evidenced in the BBC Radio 4 panel show that he has hosted in recent years – “The Unbelievable Truth”, in which guests have to speak on a subject whilst disguising a few truths amongst all the lies. The relevant episode had been originally scheduled for the day before the election, but was actually broadcast a week earlier (30/Nov/16). That said, the episode was repeated on the day before the election on BBC Radio 4 Extra. Donald Trump was the subject matter for the guest JOHN FINNEMORE  (who has written for numerous shows involving David Mitchell). His talk was full of sarcasm and putdowns, backed up by Mitchell and the others.

4)”Trump’s Unlikely Superfans” (BBC1), originally titled “Trump’s Youngest Superfans” when broadcast on the BBC’s teen-oriented on-line channel BBC3 in October 2016. It featured ‘unlikely’ fans, so-called because they were black or female or non-heterosexual, etc, i.e. those deemed by some to be the targets of Trump’s alleged racism and sexism. The show’s presenter was ANGELA SCANLON, whose tone when interviewing (or narrating) was wary, sceptical and incredulous. Remember that the BBC is supposed to be impartial, so when a BBC presenter like Scanlon professes on-screen to being “sad” or “shocked” or some negative emotion, that is adding a layer of interpretation on top of the basic content, even if the basic content is true. Judging a politician or political party by their fans can be misleading if you only focus on the more ‘extreme’, controversial, supporters. The Democrats have extreme members too, but where are the documentaries on the BBC, etc, about them? Nigel Farage’s UKIP party and supporters got similar treatment from the British ‘quality’ media. It can be like shooting fish in a barrel, and is lazy but effective journalism.

Scanlon said that she found Trump’s view of politics as entertainment as “scary”. She said that the booing aimed at her (and other similar reporters), prompted by Trump at a Trump rally, felt like a “witch-hunt”, though one could apply (rightly or wrongly) the same tag to her and other Trump critics.
Almost inevitably, Scanlon interviewed a member of a tiny white racist party that wants black people to have their own country. She interviewed two pretty female twins who exhibited the ‘dumb blonde’ stereotype.

Scanlon is quoted on a BBC website saying of Trump: “He’s not polished, so people believe what he says, because he doesn’t always say the right thing, and therefore what he says must at least be honest.”

The show’s BBC3 Commissioning Editor DAMIAN KAVANAGH (BBC3 Controller) had other controller roles on other BBC channels, including the Children’s channel CBBC. He worked at Channel 4 as Head of Features and Factual Formats.

5)”Conspiracy Files: The Trump Dossier” (BBC2), a repeat of its airing on BBC2 on 3rd Nov 2016. The BBC’s TV and Radio listings magazine “Radio Times” advertises the program as follows: “With the US Presidential election just a few days away, this documentary explores how Donald Trump has made use of conspiracy theories to further his campaign. Should he lose the election, many believe he will cite a collusion between the media and the establishment, but he has given credence to the “birther” conspiracy theory about Barack Obama- a claim he has since disowned- and made insinuations about the Clintons’ political careers and Ted Cruz’s father.”

Using Trump to discredit conspiracy theories, and vice versa, is also like shooting fish in a barrel. The “Radio Times” reviewer for the show, DAVID BUTCHER, full of not-very-impartial disdain for Trump, wrote: “The occasional series that does admirable work dismantling rusty conspiracy theories finds a basement full of them at Trump Towers. Donald Trump has stoked paranoia among his more extreme followers…Most shamefully, he claims the current elections are being rigged, which is why he might lose. These and other theories are given longer shrift than they deserve- in order to be blown apart.”

6)”Rich Hall’s Presidential Grudge Match” (BBC4). American comedian RICH HALL is successful in Britain and has already declared recently on BBC Radio 4(“Rich Hall’s US election breakdown”, episode 3, 02/nov/16)  that Hillary Clinton is the lesser of 2 evils, a stance he continues in this documentary on the history of nasty, dirty, US presidential campaigns. He jokes in a rap: how can Trump control America when he can’t control his hair? There is more airtime given to Trump soundbites than Hillary Clinton. Hall interviews someone who points out that Clinton sometimes adopts a Christ-arms-out pose, which I think could be seen as subtly positive. Hall interviewed a man who said that the best Presidents are pragmatists, e.g. Bill Clinton and possibly Hillary if she wins. Hall says at the end of the show that he won’t go back to America in a hurry if Trump wins.

7)”The Agenda” (ITV), a political debate show that discussed Brexit and the US election, and involved Britain’s Brexit champion and UKIP Party leader NIGEL FARAGE. Intriguingly, he said he didn’t agree with Trump on all issues and didn’t officially endorse him. Farage said little to defend/promote Trump, which was left to one lone Trump supporter against 3 Trump critics. The host was ITV News’ Political Editor ROBERT PESTON: Oxford educated and the son of a Labour Party Life Peer (House of Lords). Peston previously was the BBC’s Business Editor. He hosts the ITV political show “Peston On Sunday”, and in one interview with “Wiki-leaks” co-founder JULIAN ASSANGE cut him off when Assange started dishing the dirt on Hillary Clinton.

One of Trump’s and Farage’s critics in “The Agenda” was British comedian/novelist DAVID BADDIEL (Cambridge University “Footlights” performer) who rose to prominence in the cult BBC Radio comedy show, “The Mary Whitehouse Experience”, of which a fellow comedy performer/writer was HUGH DENNIS (Cambridge educated),  yet another public Trump/Farage critic. Dennis co-hosts the BBC Radio 4 satirical series “The Now Show”, of which the episode before the US election (4th Nov) concluded with an anti-Trump song by ADAM KAY. Trump was discussed by “self-confessed leftie” and Chatham House (RIIA) representative XENIA WICKETT who didn’t think Farage’s meeting with Trump had made much impact on US politics, much to Dennis’ approval. Wickett said that Trump would support Russian President Putin more than Hillary, unless Putin “crossed a line”, in which case Trump would retaliate harder than Clinton. Wickett said that we should be “nervous” of a Trump presidency, but also that he will be reined in by Congress, etc.

Wickett, at the major ruling-elite ‘think tank’  CHATHAM HOUSE (RIIA) , is currently the head of its US & Americas Programme and is the Dean of RIIA’s The Queen Elizabeth II Academy For Leadership in International Affairs, of which the latter’s Advisory Board include:
A)its’ chairman and RIIA co-President, the Right Honourable Baroness MANNINGHAM BULLER, ex-MI5 Director General; Chairman of the WELLCOME TRUST.
B)the Queen’s private secretary Sir CHRISTOPHER GEIDT, who successfully sued for libel when accused of training the brutal Cambodian KHMER ROUGE as an alleged member of the SAS.
C)Dr JOHN HOOD, chairman of the RHODES TRUST; ex-Vice Chancellor of Oxford University; CEO of the ROBERTSON FOUNDATION.

The above QEII academy is supported currently by the US oil company CHEVRON; the British Government’s FCO; and STANDARD CHARTERED Bank, of which the latter (a British multinational bank) once employed Hugh Dennis’ brother JOHN  as a special adviser to the bank’s chairman. John Dennis worked for the FCO and was Her Majesty’s Ambassador to ANGOLA, a major oil producer in Africa. The Dennis brothers’ father, JOHN, was an Anglican Bishop and a senior administrator (Prebendary) at St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Wickett has an indirect 9/11 connection, because after 9/11 she helped launch the Office of Homeland Security Affairs, having worked at the US Government’s National Security Council where she was a special adviser at the Homeland Security Group. Wickett belonged to the PEACE NEXUS FOUNDATION as Executive director. Other Board members in 2016 include: a)VICTOR ANGELO, a former UN employee and special representative of the UN Secretary General on several African countries; b) the PeaceNexus co-founder HANSJORG WYSS, whose WYSS FOUNDATION conserves approx. 14 million acres in the USA & Latin America. Wyss served at Harvard Business School’s Board of Dean’s advisors.

On that “The Now Show” episode, someone mentioned famous British ‘national treasure’ DAVID ATTENBOROUGH (nature presenter) and his opposition to Trump’s denial of climate change.

8)”The Graham Norton Show” (BBC1), a repeat from the previous week. David Attenborough was one of Norton’s guests on his chat show. Although the US election wasn’t discussed, it was noticeable how many Clinton fans/Trump critics were on the show – a precaution maybe? There was BEN AFFLECK (American actor and Clinton fundraiser); STING (singer/songwriter/actor/environmental activist/Clinton fundraiser); MATT SMITH (lead role in “Dr Who”; regarded Hillary as the lesser of 2 evils).

Attenborough publicised his new BBC One series “Planet Earth II”, the first episode aired 2 days before the election (6th Nov). Interviewed also in the BBC’s “Radio Times” for that election week, he was critical of Trump’s denial of climate change, joking “…We could shoot him…It’s not a bad idea…” Attenborough doesn’t like Brexit and referendums and post-truth politics where experts are distrusted or ignored. He wants us to trust the experts, which to me hints of H.G.Wells and the Fabian desire for an unelected scientific dictatorship. He wants Brexit to refine agricultural/environmental legislation to suit Britain.

Attenborough’s long BBC career encompassed Controller and Director of Programmes at BBC2. Educated at Cambridge and briefly the LSE, he is a Fellow of the Royal Society; was President of the prestigious BA (British Association For The Advancement of Science, now called the BSA)  and received a CBE and OM (Order of Merit) from the Queen. His famous actor/director brother Sir RICHARD was chairman of Channel 4 and Chancellor of the University of Sussex.

9)”The Jonathan Ross Show” (ITV), a repeat from the previous week. Again, no discussion of the US election, but the star turn was American actor MICHAEL DOUGLAS, a Clinton and Obama supporter and “UN Messenger of Peace” who wants gun control. Another guest, KEITH LEMON, presents the ITV2 show “Celebrity Juice”, of which the Halloween special – broadcast not long before the election- was advertised with the guests dressed as fictional horror characters-  and one as Donald Trump (He’s a monster- get it?).

10)”The Simpsons: Please Homer, Don’t Hammer ‘Em” (Channel 4), a repeat. Was this episode meant to be an echo of Clinton’s feminist rhetoric and Trump’s sexism? Homer’s wife Marge becomes a successful carpenter but is stifled by male sexists who don’t want a female carpenter.

There are more TV and Radio programs broadcast in the week before (and after) the election that I shall discuss below.

Some of the biased programming subtly echoed the main divisive topics of the election, e.g. race, gender and sexual orientation. For example, on the evening before the election (7th Nov), BBC1 broadcast the emotional re-enactment drama of a real high-profile murder of a young black boy in London  in 2000: “Damilola, Our Loved Boy”, one of numerous programs broadcast throughout November 2016 as part of the BBC’s “Black and British” season of programs that celebrated the positive contributions of black people to shaping modern Britain and its’ history; and highlighting the difficulties/prejudices that black people have faced. While I support the move towards racial equality and integration, I am suspicious of the timing of this BBC project, which coincides with – and counters – the racism (real or alleged) of Trump and his supporters, and the Brexit fall-out that some say is encouraging white racists/nationalists to persist with their Britain-is-historically-white belief. Why start the season now? Why not last year? Or earlier? Why not start on the 27th November, which is the anniversary of Damilola’s death, though the killing wasn’t apparently a racist act, as the convicted killers were young black boys. It might have been a homophobic murder, some have speculated.

The new – and black – face of BBC history documentaries, DAVID OLUSOGA, shot to rapid prominence recently despite having produced history documentaries for a decade, as pointed out in a BBC “Radio Times” interview: “Someone at the BBC, I [ interviewer SARFRAZ MANZOOR] suggest, seems mightily keen to fast track his career…Olusoga’s rise has been so fast that he has yet to have his own Wikipedia entry.” (“Radio Times”, 5- 11 Nov 2016). Curiously, Olusoga and Damilola were both born in LAGOS in NIGERIA, a country where homophobia has been commonplace.

The success of Trump, Brexit and other ‘right-wing’, ‘nationalist’ politics is, IMO, aiding the Ruling Elite’s desire for the devolution of nation states into smaller regions (and city states) that take their orders from transnational institutions (UN; European parliament; World Bank; etc). London, California, Catalunya, Scotland, etc, are campaigning for independence. The Ruling Elite want us all eventually to adopt a new global identity, culminating in no identity, no ego – just empty vessels plugged into artificial intelligence and/or the subconscious mind/universal mind.

Promoting this global identity and ‘cosmopolitan’ ethics for the world is another Trump critic given prominent BBC airtime around the US election: the cultural theorist KWAME ANTHONY APPIAH, who is gay and the London-born son of a black African politician father and a white well-connected English mother. Kwame delivered the prestigious BBC Radio 4 “Reith Lectures” for 2016, a series of 4 lectures dubbed “Mistaken Identities”, focussing on the way that our identities are shaped by religion, nationhood, race and culture. In his 3rd lecture (on race and colour), broadcast on 1st Nov  and repeated 5th Nov 2016 (a few days before the election), Appiah said of the US election that “…white nativists have found a presidential candidate to rally behind.”, I.e. Trump. In his 4th lecture (the day of the election, 8th Nov), he dismissed the notion of a ‘western’ identity, and said that we shouldn’t lock ourselves into any specific identity. This fits in with the Ruling Elite’s intended mergers of ‘Eastern’ and ‘Western’ civilisation; ‘left wing’ and ‘right wing’; socialism and capitalism; male and female; science and religion; etc.

Appiah’s tweeting shows a photo of him shaking hands with President Barack Obama. Appiah’s teaching career is indirectly funded by a Rockefeller, because Appiah has been a Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University’s CENTER FOR HUMAN VALUES, which was funded by LAURANCE S. ROCKEFELLER, a ‘New Age’ phony who I discuss in my article “New Age Rockefellers And the UN”.

Rockefeller publicly met with the Clintons during Bill Clinton’s presidency to talk about UFOs.

Appiah was educated at Cambridge University. His mother, PEGGY CRIPPS (MBE), was a children’s author and the daughter of the British Chancellor of the Exchequer SIR STAFFORD CRIPPS, the Lord Privy Seal. Appiah’s father was a politician in Ghana and Ghana’s representative at the UN. Appiah had teaching posts at Yale, Harvard, Princeton and New York University.

Appiah said that race and nationality are social inventions being used to cause deadly divisions. Appiah, a few weeks before the election on October 26th, accused Trump of encouraging racism for political gain. After the election, Appiah tweeted about his country of America : “I feel a great sense of shame.”

More pre-election bias:

10)”President Trump: Can He Really Win?” (More4, a channel 4 offshoot, 5th Nov), a repeat of a Channel 4 airing in March 2016. Presented by MATT FREI, who also presented an earlier Channel 4 documentary of Trump in January 2016 called “The Mad World Of Donald Trump”. I’m surprised that Channel 4 didn’t broadcast that one just before the election. In the “Can he really win?” Documentary, Frei dispenses with impartiality when he narrates: “Thanks, but no thanks, Donald”, in response to Trump’s election plea to black voters to vote for him because ‘what have you got to lose?’

Matt Frei, German-born but educated in England at Westminster School and Oxford, started his career at the BBC then became Channel 4 Europe Editor and also its’ Washington Correspondent.

11)Although I am focussing on the ‘terrestrial’ broadcasters, I need to briefly write about the main satellite TV provider in Britain: the Rupert Murdoch-founded SKY that owns “Sky One” and other British TV channels. I havn’t seen any Sky documentaries, but some research reveals that although Murdoch once backed the Republicans, he has become publicly more left-leaning in recent years, in keeping with his left-leaning sons. Murdoch was accused by CBS News in 2006 of supporting Hillary Clinton (“Rupert Murdoch Loves Hillary Clinton”), after he hosted a fundraiser for Hillary. Murdoch’s parent company NEWS CORPORATION is a major financial donor to Hillary. News Corporation’s HQ in New York is in an extension of the Rockefeller Center complex of buildings.

SKY is currently (2016) chaired by Murdoch’s son JAMES, a naturalised US citizen whose wife KATHRYN has worked for Bill Clinton’s charitable foundation “Clinton Climate Initiative”, a subsidiary of the CLINTON FOUNDATION that was founded by Bill and has involved Hillary and their daughter CHELSEA. James Murdoch has donated to both Republican and Democrats, and also the Clinton Foundation. He reputedly influenced his father’s support of climate change, so no surprise to hear that James is an ally of Bill Clinton and his ‘green’ ex-vice-president AL GORE, of whom one of Gore’s daughters is said to have befriended James at Harvard University.

James’ left-leaning brother LACHLAN is currently executive co-chair of News Corporation and its’ subsidiary “21st Century Fox”.

12)”Sunday Feature: Let Her Speak” (BBC Radio 3), aired 6th Nov, two days before the US election. Presented by a regular host of the BBC’s flagship news analysis show “Newsnight”, EMILY MAITLIS, who back in 2015 described Trump as defining the “post-truth age” where evidence is rarely needed. Her Radio programme considered how women throughout history have tried to make themselves heard in a man’s world, thus echoing the feminist rhetoric of Clinton in opposition to Trump’s sexism. Of course, Hillary Clinton featured, in a mostly positive way, although Maitlis did point out the accusations that Hillary was a liar, corrupt, crooked, cold, etc, though with no suggestion that Maitlis agreed with such views. One of the Hillary sound-bites was of her responding to the accusation that she played ‘the woman card’ by saying that “…if fighting for equal pay and women’s healthcare is playing the woman card, then deal me in.” Maitlis asked Clinton’s chief of speechwriting LISSA MUSCATINE (Harvard Graduate and Rhodes scholar) if Hillary needed to address her femininity head-on.

Emily Maitlis, Cambridge educated, worked at Sky News and Channel 4 before moving to the BBC. Her banker husband MARK GWYNNE began his career at the Rothschild-influenced stock brokers SMITH NEW COURT (in 1994), which had sold a large stake to N.M. Rothschild & Sons. The stock brokers were later bought outright by MERRILL LYNCH, of which Gwynne became Head of its’ European Equity Syndicate. Gwynne was a trustee of the SHACKLETON FOUNDATION, which supports social entrepreneurs and disadvantaged youths.

13)”Who’s Won The White House?” (BBC1), aired the day after the election (9th Nov). Presented by Emily Maitlis, this program demonstrated, IMO, how to incorporate imbalance in a subtle way, by screening the imbalance first, followed by corrections to the imbalance – a common newspaper trick. The initial imbalance was the 5 women and just one man who appeared in the first 10 minutes, with the men dominating the second half to even things out. It’s usual for viewing figures to decline as a show progresses, so it’s best to get your main message over before viewers start departing. The show began with Maitlis interviewing 2 anti-Trump women who weren’t happy with the result.

Afterwards, another female BBC presenter, FIONA BRUCE (Oxford-educated feminist) interviewed 2 women and one man, of which one of the women was the BBC correspondent and Chatham House council member LYSE DOUCET (OBE). Doucet’s sister ANDREA (Cambridge postgrad) is a successful Canadian government-backed Sociology Professor specialising in gender and feminist issues. Andrea authored the award-winning book on the shifting attitudes to parenting: “Do Men Mother?”

The man interviewed was the ex-British Ambassador to the USA, Sir CHRISTOPHER MEYER (KCMG), former Press Secretary and government spokesman to the British Prime Minister JOHN MAJOR, of whom the latter is currently (2016) a Chatham House co-President alongside Baroness Manningham Buller, mentioned above in part 2. Meyer sits on the board of the missing children organisation PACT (Parents and Abducted Children Together), set up by his wife CATHERINE MEYER (CBE).

Emily Maitlis started the show with the standard incredulity of the mainstream media towards the result (“extraordinary”, “against the odds”, etc). Why so, when the polls never suggested it was a foregone conclusion? The main tone of the program was one of concern about the possibility of authoritarianism, sexism, racism, etc in the new government. That ‘shocked’ reaction of the media manifested in a Channel 4 continuity announcer saying that because of the “Shocking result” of Trump’s victory, one of their programs on the election result would be extended. That C4 program was the extremely anti-Trump satirical show “The Last Leg: US Election Special” (Channel 4, 9th Nov), whose regular “Last Leg” presenters made it clear how disappointed they were. Adding to the chorus of disapproval were the 3 main guests:
A) ex–Fabian Society chairman and ex-Labour Party Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer ED BALLS;
B) BBC TV quiz show host and producer RICHARD OSMAN, educated at Cambridge;
C) the sister of the main Brexit campaigner BORIS JOHNSON: Rachel Johnson, who in 2015 criticised Trump for his stance on Muslims in America. The Johnsons’ father, STANLEY (a Euro MEP), briefly worked for JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER III on population issues; and worked at the World Bank and European Commission.

In a desperate attempt at ‘balance’, “The Last Leg” interviewed long running Channel 4 news presenter JON SNOW, who wasn’t able to say anything to reassure the 3 main presenters. He said the result was  “…a real shocker…absolutely incredible… the destruction of politics”. The only attempt to defend Trump came from the man that much of Britain loves to hate: PIERS MORGAN, though even he said of Trump that he wouldn’t “personally endorse him or vote for him…”, and Piers said that he voted to remain in Europe.

14) “Sky News” documentary on Hillary Clinton (5th November 2016), a few days before the election. Contrary to what I said above, I did eventually get to see some SKY propaganda: I recorded the last half of this pro-Hillary report/documentary that featured lots of the standard piano music that accompanies ‘positive’ biographies, I.e. slow, poignant, gentle piano notes whilst fans say nice things about the subject, in contrast to the ‘horror’ background music typical in anti-Trump documentaries. Dismissing the lurid allegations against Hillary (e.g. the Whitewater Affair) was her longtime ally and  friend PATTY HOWE CRINER, who belonged to various Arkansas political groups supporting Hillary. Criner had known Bill Clinton since childhood and worked in Bill’s Campaign office in 1974. She – don’t quote me on this – became his Press Secretary when Governor of Arkansas in 1979, though I haven’t been able to verify this Press Secretary job. The only critic of Clinton that I heard in  the Sky documentary was notorious Republican KARL ROVE, a prime force behind George W. Bush’s Presidency, and he has been a FOX News political contributor (Fox is run by Murdoch). That said, Rove was not a Trump fan in the run up to the election – once describing him as a “complete idiot”.

The documentary climaxed with Hillary in her classic arms-out-Christ pose at the same moment as the words “American woman” (music lyrics) were played by the documentary, although the average viewer might have missed the less prominent lyrics that followed: “American woman, stay away from me…American woman, mama let me be” (“American Woman” sung by LENNY KRAVITZ).

15)”Recycled Radio” (BBC Radio 4, episode 2, series 5,”The Voice”), aired 4th Nov, four days before the election. Satirical cartoonist GERALD SCARFE explored the power of the voice in this episode, described by BBC “Radio Times” magazine reviewer DAVID CRAWFORD as follows: “…But the tone becomes insufferable when Donald Trump pops up to reveal how to seduce an audience.”

16) After the “Conspiracy Files” (programme discussed above in part 3) , there was an advert for 2 programmes on Trump available on the BBC’s on-line service, of which one was “Panorama: Trump’s Angry America”, originally broadcast on BBC1 a few months earlier in July. It focused on the people who feared a Trump presidency. The presenter, HILARY ANDERSSON – coincidently or not – also has a Lagos connection (For Lagos, see above in programme no. 10 when I discuss the “Simpsons” and race). Andersson was once the BBC’s Lagos correspondent.

Andersson would go on to present another BBC1 “Panorama” episode on Trump, aired just after the election result on 14th Nov: “Trump’s New America”, although it was originally titled “America’s Most Hated President?” in the BBC’s “Radio Times” magazine that is published several weeks in advance, so that original title reflected the unpopularity of both candidates. Andersson interviewed both sides of the political divide, so naturally she interviewed stereotypes- the first one in the documentary (get your message over as soon as possible) being a typical white ‘hick’ Trump supporter who acknowledged his lack of education but said that he knew “BS” (bullshit, I.e. Hillary) when he heard it. He didn’t want open borders and globalisation. Andersson interviewed male gun-toting Trump supporters in the form of an amateur Civil Defense group who were practicing their monthly emergency training – armed, of course.

Clinton supporters who were interviewed included one of President Obama’s principal election campaigners and Hillary  Clinton’s adviser on the youth vote: JEN O’MALLEY DILLON who said that she was “terrified” (really?) that a Trump government would not be able to unite a divided country. Another Clinton supporter was female (most Clinton supporters interviewed were female whilst the Trump supporters were mostly men) and scared (apparently) so was filmed purchasing a gun for protection. She said that Trump supporters were scared of change.

17)The other BBC online programme advertised after the “Conspiracy Files” was “The Unswayables: Trump’s Loyal Army”, originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4 just before the US election on 31st Oct and 2nd Nov, and presented by ‘respected’ journalist MICHAEL GOLDFARB (NOT the ‘right wing’ American neocon of the same name) who earlier in the year wrote a BBC Online article on Trump: “Donald Trump and the Politics of Paranoia” (Jan 2016). The left-leaning Goldfarb has written newspaper articles for “The Guardian” (centre-left British); “The New York Times” (liberal stance); “The Washington Post” (both centre left and right). At Harvard University he was a Fellow of its’ J.F. Kennedy School of Government.

Goldfarb reported at America’s NPR (National Public Radio) as its’ London Correspondent. NPR is a ‘non-profit’ media outlet linked to charitable Foundations such as the Ford Foundation and not so long ago received a 1.8 million dollar grant from George Soros’ Open Society Institute. NPR is a major part of America’s ‘public broadcasting’ that had begun in 1967 by the US Government, resulting in 3 major providers: NPR; PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) and CPB (Corporation For Public Broadcasting). NPR evolved from the Ford Foundation- funded NERN (National Educational Radio Network).

NPR receives federal funding from the CPB, of which the CPB’s Chairman in the 1980s was SHARON ROCKEFELLER, wife of J.D. (“JAY”) ROCKEFELLER IV. “Jay”, a Democrat, has been an Obama supporter; US Senator; Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Sharon was a Board member of PBS; PepsiCo; Stanford University. Sharon is also listed as a Bilderberger, but I haven’t been able to confirm this. Sharon is currently (2016) the President/CEO of WETA, a Washington member of PBS. WETA owns the  “PBS NewsHour” daily news programme, which has been funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and Ford Foundation, amongst many others.

NPR’s political stance is difficult to summarize. It has been criticised by both sides of the political divide. Its many donors have included the Ford Foundation; Wal-Mart; Citibank. NPR’s current CEO (2016) is JARL MOHN, a Democrat supporter.

Goldfarb currently is the London Correspondent  of “GlobalPost”, which has syndication agreements with PBS and the major network CBS. GlobalPost was purchased recently by NPR member WGBH, the latter co-founded by RALPH LOWELL (cousin of Harvard University President ABBOTT LAWRENCE LOWELL) and Harvard University President JAMES B. CONANT.

18) “8 out of 10 Cats” (More4, an offshoot of Channel 4), aired on the day of the election (8th Nov). This episode of the light-hearted current affairs panel quiz series (which is also broadcast on Channel 4) was mostly anti-Trump, with just one Hillary dissenter who disliked both candidates. The biggest Trump critic was feminist Comedian/actress AISLING BEA who in that month had become the show’s first ever female team captain, so yet more feminism to coincide with the US election and general shift towards a ‘New Age’ society when masculine and feminine qualities will merge.

Bea has appeared on numerous mainstream TV shows in Britain. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin, she is the granddaughter of the Gaelic novelist/poet MICHEAL O’SUILLEABHAIN, a senior Schools Inspector in Ireland who helped establish the comprehensive school system in Ireland.

19) “Have I Got News For You” (BBC1), aired 3 days after the election (11th Nov), the BBC’s flagship satirical show was again completely critical of the now new President Trump, with no mention of Hillary Clinton. The show opened with host CHARLIE BROOKER uttering a long, noisy cry of anguish, and concluded the show by reading from the autocue that after years of America trying to foster democracy on the world, “…democracy may, in fact, be shit”. This fits in with the Ruling Elite’s plan to get rid of democracy (not that we had much of it in the first place), though I am acutely aware of the rise in direct democracy which no doubt will be controlled by the Ruling Elite. Satirist Brooker has written and presented numerous TV/Radio shows for the BBC and Channel 4, including the Channel 4 satirical show “10 O’Clock Live”, of which another co-presenter was Trump critic David Mitchell (see above in Programme no.3). The other “Have I Got News For You”  panellists included RICH HALL (see above programme no.6) and actress/comedian MAUREEN LIPMAN (CBE) who is very anti-Nigel Farage and anti-Brexit. Lipman is a Jewish Zionist and has served on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Jewish cultural magazine “Jewish Renaissance”.

20)”Frankie Boyle’s US Election Autopsy” (BBC2), broadcast 12 days after the election (20th Nov). Comedian Frankie Boyle hosted this BBC show in which he posited that Trump was the worst person in the world to be US President, and that anyone else could do a better job. To discuss this and other issues were his panel of 4 guests, of whom the first 3 to be interviewed were female feminist Trump critics, while the lone male who appeared last was the above mentioned RICHARD OSMAN (“The Last Leg”) discussing the American film industry. Hillary Clinton was criticised, though as usual nothing too damaging, e.g. she looking awkward whilst sitting opposite  a black gospel singer singing; not dealing with e-mails very well. Boyle described Hillary as “no feminist”, then paradoxically said that Hillary’s feminism is a particular type of feminism.

The 3 feminists were comedians SARA PASCOE, KATHERINE RYAN and MICHELLE WOLF. American comedian Wolf appeared again on BBC2 (“Live At The Apollo”, 29th Nov), saying that although she didn’t like Hillary, she nevertheless had wanted her to be President. To be a powerful President, you have to be a “bitch”, Wolf said. In America, Wolf contributed to “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah”, a satirical chat show on “Comedy Central”. Noah described Trump as “one deranged fuck”. Wolf also worked with Trump critic SETH MEYERS  as a writing supervisor on his NBC show “Late Night With Seth Meyers”. Left-leaning Meyers was an Obama supporter and once was a guest comedian at a White House Correspondents Dinner attended by President Obama (2011).

Wolf previously worked in investment banking in New York, at BEAR STEARNS, followed by JP MORGAN CHASE after Bear Stearns collapsed in the 2008 global financial crisis. JP Morgan Chase was defended by President Obama against criticism, saying of the bank’s Chairman/CEO/President JAMIE DIMON that he “…is one of the smartest bankers we’ve got”. Dimon, a long time Democrat Party donor, studied at Harvard Business School where he was a classmate of SETH KLARMAN, who would team up with the Bear Stearns-connected RICHARD PERRY on “The Israel Project”.

Richard Perry (Jewish) is the nephew of the Bear Stearns CEO (during the 2008 crisis) JAMES CAYNE. Perry, a hedge fund manager, started out at the Jewish-founded bank Goldman Sachs, working under the future CFR chairman and US Secretary of the Treasury (under Bill Clinton), ROBERT RUBIN (Jewish). Perry was Rubin’s teaching assistant at NYU Stern. Perry, a Democrat, supported Obama.

Perry and Klarman were both active in “The Israel Project”, a supposedly non-governmental, independent educational organisation (based in Washington and Jerusalem) offering information on Israel and the Middle East. The pair co-hosted in 2010 an event for the pro-Arab/Palestine activist ZIAD ASALI, the founder of the AMERICAN TASK FORCE ON PALESTINE (to end the Israeli-Palestine conflict by creating 2 separate states). Klarman (Jewish) donated much money to Jewish and Israeli causes. Although a Republican, he supported Hillary Clinton not Trump, whom he regarded as totally unqualified for the job.

When Bear Stearns collapsed in 2008, its Chairman of the Executive Committee was ALAN GREENBERG (Jewish parents) whose son TED also worked in banking and was a writer in the 1980s for the NBC chat show “Late Night With David Letterman”. Alan Greenberg participated in the talks that led to JP Morgan Chase (which he and Wolf would consequently join) buying Bear Stearns.
More  feminism came from the BBC not long after Trump’s victory, with the start of their annual “100 Women” season (Nov and Dec 2016), started on 21st Nov, though to be fair it usually is broadcast around this time of year. It focuses on the challenges of women around the world. BBC Radio 4 began broadcasting a radio serialisation of a ‘feminist’ novel within a week (14th Nov) of Trump’s victory: “The Power”, which had only been published a few weeks earlier on October 27th by VIKING (owned by Penguin Books), just 12 days before the election. “The Power” is about a world where men are scared of women, due to a discovery by teenage girls of a hitherto dormant power that they can naturally generate: an electric shock. One of the women is guided by a ‘voice’ in her head, and she believes in a female ‘God’ and wants a matriarchal society, so shades of the 19th Century occult novel “The Coming Race”, by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, which was a proto-feminist novel, I believe.

“The Power” was authored by a BBC Radio 4 Presenter- NAOMI ALDERMAN, whose previous novels were also serialised by BBC Radio 4.  Oxford educated Alderman was a computer game designer; University professor; wrote the “Doctor Who” novel “Borrowed Time”, so more occult themes. Time is lent out by aliens at a rate of interest. Alderman won a young writer award, so received mentoring by famed Harvard educated novelist MARGARET ATWOOD (they became friends). Atwood’s novels contain feminist themes, though she doesn’t describe herself as a feminist.

Alderman grew up as an orthodox Jew, but rejected her religion, she said, though she is ambivalent as to whether she still believes in some sort of deity. Her challenge of orthodox religion in her novels is, to me, part of the Ruling Elite’s ‘New Age’ transformation and unification of old mainstream religions, e.g. her novel “Disobedience” (2006) features a lesbian who rejected orthodox Judaism. Alderman’s novel “The Liars’ Gospel” features a ‘Jewish’ Jesus in the sense that the novel challenges the divinity of Jesus, though Alderman herself said that she doesn’t completely deny his divinity.

Feminism and emasculation were evident a month after the US election on 9th Dec. Firstly, on ITV, was the film “Junior” (1994) about a man who becomes pregnant and wears women’s clothes. He is played by former top bodybuilder ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, whose macho ‘he-man’ roles softened over the years, culminating in this 1990s ‘new man’ film role. Secondly, on BBC1, was “The Graham Norton Show”. Joining Norton (gay) on his guests’ sofa were 3 women and one effeminate man.

The effeminate man in question was the famous British transvestite GRAYSON PERRY, a Trump critic who was promoting his semi-feminist book “The Descent Of Man” (published a few weeks before the US election on the 20th Oct). The book advocates the need for a new male identity that is more kinder, gentler, feminine than the traditional ‘macho’ masculinity that has been so destructive to society. Perry’s female ‘alter ego’ CLAIRE dresses in women’s clothes and wears makeup.

Perry (CBE) is a prize-winning artist (Turner Prize); BAFTA winner; and delivered the prestigious BBC Reith Lectures in 2013. He has appeared often on mainstream TV/Radio (BBC; ITV; Channel 4) and was the Arts Correspondent for “The Times” newspaper. He supports the Labour Party (centre left) and when younger shared a house with future pop star BOY GEORGE (gay androgynous-looking singer/songwriter).

The other Graham Norton guests included American actress and Democrat supporter CARRIE FISHER and prominent British lesbian feminist SANDI TOKSVIG (OBE) who had recently replaced fellow Cambridge “Footlights” performer STEPHEN FRY as presenter of the BBC’s popular TV quiz panel show “QI”. Cambridge educated Toksvig was at Footlights at the same time as Fry, HUGH LAURIE and EMMA THOMPSON. She co-founded the WOMEN’S EQUALITY PARTY in Britain in 2015, and spoke about it in a TED talk just before the US election in October 2016. The TED talks are supposedly a platform for ‘great ideas’ that are ‘non-partisan’ and ‘global’. TED’s ‘Brain’s Trust’ currently (2016) includes technology ‘giants’ BILL GATES (Microsoft) and Google co-founder LARRY PAGE. Past TED speakers have included Bill Gates; BONO (pop star and Gates ally); Bill Clinton and Al Gore.

Toksvig’s father CLAUS was an influential Euro MP and a Vice President of the European Parliament.

Toksvig has presented and appeared on numerous mainstream TV/Radio shows, including the host of the satirical, topical, “The News Quiz” on BBC Radio 4.

Toksvig co-founded her political party with  CATHERINE MAYER, a family friend of TED speaker BONO and pop star BOB GELDOF (“Live Aid”). Mayer was a close friend of Geldof’s ex-wife PAULA YATES, hence became a godmother to Yates/Geldof’s daughter TIGER LILY. Yates presented Channel 4 programmes. The Geldof/Mayer connection is strengthened by the marriage of Mayer to record producer ANDY GILL, who produced an album by singer MICHAEL HUTCHENCE (INXS lead singer). Hutchence had an affair with Yates when she was married to Geldof. Hutchence would die (suicide apparently) a year after Geldof and Yates divorced. Yates died 3 years after the divorce, officially due to a heroin overdose.

Mayer achieved her own fame as the author of a controversial biography of Prince Charles, which initially had been sanctioned by the Prince, but he distanced himself officially from the book afterwards. Personally, I believe he privately approved, but wanted to avoid media criticism. Charles, wrote Mayer, wants to redefine the Monarchy for the modern age. Mayer said that as a result of the biography she has changed her sceptical view of the Monarchy to that of a reluctant Monarchist.

Mayer spent over 10 years at “Time” magazine, becoming its’ Editor-At-Large. She was President of the London-based FOREIGN PRESS ASSOCIATION. Her father lectured at Manchester University (Andy Gill was born in Manchester) where he taught future comedy writers BEN ELTON and RIK MAYALL, co-creators of the BBC TV sitcom “The Young Ones”, also co-created/written by Mayer’s sister LISE MAYER.

LISE MAYER married British comedy performer/actor/writer ANGUS DEAYTON, yet another BBC stalwart who for many years presented the BBC TV panel show already mentioned-  “Have I Got News For You”, until a scandal forced him to resign. Oxford educated Deayton collaborated with fellow Oxford man, the legendary RICHARD CURTIS (“Four Weddings And A Funeral”) in their Bee Gees parody group. Curtis teamed up with Ben Elton to write the “Blackadder” BBC TV sitcoms. Curtis and Bob Geldof and Bono organised the “Live Aid” sequel twenty years later: the “Live 8” concerts, which Bill Gates spoke at. It’s a small world!

Moving onto the year 2018, the feminist comedian SARA PASCOE (see above) injected an anti-right wing comment in a BBC program on the unrelated subject of monogamy. In criticising monogamy she jokingly included the Biblical story of Adam and Eve, saying: “…if they can’t make it work in paradise, what chance have we got under a Tory government?” (i.e. the right wing or centre-right Conservative Party government). See “Sara Pascoe Vs Monogamy” (BBC2, Sept 13th 2018).

In 2019, the veracity of official American history – as well as Trump – was challenged in a BBC series that exposed “American History’s Biggest Fibs”, the follow up to the British version (“British History’s Biggest Fibs With Lucy Worsley”) back in 2017, not long after the Brexit referendum result. While I welcome any uncovering of historical lies, the timing of these 2 series was significant – both designed to challenge the romanticism of nationalism and historical national icons, at a time when the Ruling Elite want to see the death of the idea of the Nation State. Trump and other Right wing politicians got criticised for exploiting the romanticised view of the Boston Tea Party as a popular act of rebellion, an event that apparently was not viewed positively at the time, according to the BBC documentary. The British version got repeated less than 2 months before the official Brexit leaving date (BBC4, Feb 12th 2019).

3 days before the Brexit-oriented General Election in 2019, there was a BBC1 documentary that escaped the media regulators (in my opinion). It was about the Conservative Party’s controversial and much criticised national benefit scheme known as UNIVERSAL CREDIT, which the other main parties opposed, especially the Labour Party. That documentary (“Panorama: Universal Credit: One Year On”; BBC1, 9th December 2019) reinforced the criticism. It was broadcast on the same day (9th December) as the Labour Party’s last TV election broadcast before the election, which focussed on improving the NHS. Also on the same day, a much publicised NHS news story was problematic for the Tory leader BORIS JOHNSON, who was interviewed by a ITV News reporter about a young hospital patient photographed lying on the floor without a hospital bed. Johnson received much criticism for his seeming reluctance to confront the photo and story directly. The Labour Leader, Jeremy Corbyn, had naturally exploited the story in front of the media by holding up the photo of the young patient.

After Trump ‘officially’ lost the 2020 General election, there was a seemingly concerted campaign by much of the mainstream media to deliberately ignore any evidence that the election had been rigged. When pro-Trump protesters consequently broke into the US Capitol building in Washington in January 2021, the deaths of some of the protesters was ignored or played down by many media outlets. For example, ITV News Washington Correspondent, ROBERT MOORE, made no mention of the deaths in his exclusive British TV documentary aired on January 12th 2021, “Storming the Capitol: The Inside Story” (ITV). Intriguingly, he and 2 colleagues were the only mainstream media crew who filmed the invasion. Why? To reduce the amount of potentially conflicting reports?

Moore did briefly acknowledge the deaths in an online ITV article advertising his documentary, but he didn’t make a big deal about it in a way he probably would have done if all the deaths had been police officers. His article made it quite clear who the villains were when he wrote:

“It was a stunning police failure and a huge coup for this ragtag band of far right militants…What defines this group is the depth and darkness of the conspiracy theories they hold. They have contempt for the media, and many see Congress as being riddled with criminals and communists…There was a venom in their language – an anger in their stride – that revealed this to be a far more serious breach of security than first understood…From what I saw, it’s a real danger. When white militancy, bitterness over a lost election, and ominous conspiracy theories all collide, then democracy is in peril.” (Storming the Capitol: ITV News team who filmed pictures that shocked world reveal inside story of what they saw”, ITV News online, Jan 12th 2021).