BBC staff stop work in protest

[Loonman]

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,8543230%255E401,00.html

BBC staff stop work in protest
By Peter Wilson
January 31, 2004

THE BBC plunged deeper into its worst crisis yesterday as thousands of staff around the country walked out in support of their deposed leaders and opinion polls showed many Britons thought the Hutton report into the death of weapons scientist David Kelly had been "a whitewash".

Some 56 per cent of voters told a Daily Telegraph poll that law lord Brian Hutton was wrong to lay all the blame on the BBC, while 49 per cent agreed in another poll that the findings were "a whitewash".

The BBC, the world's largest public broadcaster, was reeling yesterday from the report's scathing criticisms of its role in the lead-up to Kelly's suicide.

[stepnw1f]

1. Wow..

this is huge!

[Loonman]

2. The Brits got sand

I can say that much for them, they know when enough is enough.

[Just Me]

20. I am so impressed with the British.

The Americans should follow suit and be stand up like the British people!!! Only, many Americans are still living in a dream while a nightmare is taking place. *sigh*

[MoonAndSun]

3. The Brits really know how to show their displeasure with bullshit that

comes from their government.

What the hell is wrong with the American people? I am so disgusted with Americans sometimes. Most of them only care about Jacko, Brittany Spears, etc. Where is the outrage from our fellow Americans about what bush* has done to this country??:mad:

[Occulus]

11. What's wrong with us?

Think Reagan and air traffic controllers. Think postal employees in the '70s.

Strikes frighten the establishment, because strikes give the people power.

[Cooley Hurd]

15. You answered your own question...

Think Reagan and air traffic controllers.

That was a huuuuge blow to organized labor...

[koopie57]

19. alg0912

could you make that green monster run just a little faster cuz I would like to see it catch the weasal.

[0007]

24. The American folks will soon pick up the spirit -

London usually starts the trend, much like Broadway Plays and fashions that first come to New York from the UK.

I think BBC got screwed also.

[codegreen]

4. power to the people!

rock
on!

[SpiralHawk]

5. American Media take note of this Act of Courage

And then hang your individual and collective heads in shame, for you have been moral cowards in the face of vast corruption and secrecy here in the Bush government. You are fully complicit.

But stand in the corner with your heads bowed for just for an hour or so. You have work to do.

Tell the truth without favor or malice. Let justice be done.

[nolabels]

12. American Media is a reflection of it's people that consume it...........

to some extent. Artificial sweeteners and artificial news, theres a pattern there, somewhere...

[qanda]

6. Do you think the apology was the final straw?

I thought that was so wrong. Maybe Blair should apologize for sending all of those innocent people to their untimely deaths.

[JPace]

7. I am married to a Brit.....

after generations of being abused by
aristocracy the British people have
developed a keen sense of their rights.

Our people (Americans) have little or
no history of this and are overly
trusting of the privileged classes.
Most here believe they want to be
like them.

[puppeteer]

9. I agree totally.

For the longest time I could never figure out why so many blue-collar and lower-middle class people would possibly call themselves Repubs...

Then one evening my Dad opened my eyes... We all want to be rich, successful, powerful, able to actually get something done by our government and privileged. Who are the only people who have a better than average chance at that? Republicans. Makes a lot of sense to me.

But how can people vote for a party which actively works against them? Well, for that, see the weak and corporate-owned media.

The other point he made was that our general culture is one which breeds the attitude that "i'm smarter than everyone else." So many people are absolutely against believing that they might be wrong and will not take responsibility for anything. Right.. Republicans.

To me, D's need to start pounding the fact that when D's had control, the little guy did MUCH better. Not to say that the national party wasn't corporate whored too, but nowhere near the level that the current prostitutes in DC are.

[JPace]

17. Another piece of the mystery is that Americans

are taught from childhood to admire
independent behavior, to be strong,
don't cry and solve your own problems.

This creates a class of people who
do not see the value in shared social
responsibilities. That our connections
and sense of oneness is as important
as individual strength.

This means that only those individuals
who choose to make a study of social
problems see the value in taxation as
a way of lifting all boats and being
a safety net for those less fortunate.

Others resent social obligations and
become repugs until they fall through
our poorly designed social nets themselves.

Europeans have a stronger sense of social
connectedness and demand more of their
governments (and themselves) than we do.

[Pikku]

26. This should dissuade most Americans from that POV

http://www.buzzflash.com/interviews/04/01/int04001.html

Particularly if they read the book and saw that the big Republican machinations had nothing to do with their well-being, but rather with the sustenance of republican buddies and contributors.

It's a pyamid scheme, folks. The regular wage earners are at the bottom.

[Aries]

8. Direct action gets the goods!

Now it's time for U.S. workers (and media) to learn that!

****************************************************************
http://www.boondocksnet.com/editions/marot/marot20.html

American Labor Unions
By Helen Marot

Chapter 20
Direct Action

Is the antithesis of political action but not necessarily opposed to it
-- Comparative value as a labor weapon
-- Object of direct action
-- Present advocacy opportune.

Direct action is not necessarily opposed to political action, although the term originated in the desire to distinguish between organized labor's efforts to secure its objects by more direct methods than political representation.

It arose out of labor's disappointment in the efforts it had expended politically. Labor had found that its representatives sitting in state councils rife with the doctrines and influences of a capitalist society, gradually lost the point of view of those whom they were there to represent.

It found also that political action, delegating, as it does of necessity, all action to representatives, offered the mass of the workers little if any opportunity for experience or initiative in the solution of their own problems. Direct actionists claim that the object of the labor movement is to minimize the delegation of power and to increase the power of the mass of the workers, individually and collectively. The plaint of labor is, in fact, that one group of people has assumed the direction and management of affairs of another group, that capital manages and speaks for labor, with a consequent weakness to labor of unused or enslaved powers.

Labor can only learn to do by doing, is the idea back of direct action. Representation gives labor no exercise and no opportunities to develop.

[Stanchetalarooni]

10. Don't need no weatherman anyways.

I hope they let the sports guys continue. Soccer, rain or shine!
BTW....who was it that won the US vs Afghan goodwill game?
Or the US vs Irac......US vs Iran?......US vs Syria?.....Korea????
Anybody got a quick link to a 2005 World Atlas?

[nolabels]

13. So the brits don't want to listen to the lies anymore?

10 Downing street harbors liars and murderers. Gee what a surprise they would try to cover it up. A sulute to them brave people that quit and stoped thier work in protest. BRAVO!!!!!!

(Next stop,?)

[Barrett808]

14. Wow, things really are falling apart

We may not even recognize the political landscape a year from now.

[truthspeaker]

16. time for Labour backbenchers to step up

They let Blair off the hook on the first reading of the tuition fees bill, but I think they if they vote it down on second reading they can still force a confidence vote.

At that point they can issue an ultimatum to Blair: we'll vote to keep Labour in power if and only if you order an independent judicial investigation - with the power to see classified documents and interview anyone they want - into the whole Iraq fiasco.

[Oilwellian]

18. Whoa!

Good for BBC staffers! Yoo hoo! American journalists! Helllllooooo! Are you going to take a similar stand and report the TRUTH or are you going to remain complicit?

[JawJaw]

29. SOLIDARITY!

BBC email went around yesterday asking for donations from all staff for a £4000 advert in today's Times newspaper expressing support for the bosses that have just resigned. I gather they raised well over that within hours.

Blair has REALLY pissed off the BBC, now. The honeymoon is over.


(also, a poll today on rival news channel sky news put trust in BBC at about 80% compared to 20% trust in Blair's government!)

[pacifictiger]

21. the difference is

profit trumps integrity.

[proud patriot]

22. Good for them

Solidarity !

[lostnfound]

23. Remember Spanish journalists protested too last year?

The death of a colleague in Iraq. That's two major protests of journalists this year in western countries. http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03/04/16/2157251&mode=thread&tid=6

How much of that do you think is rooted in Bush? Tonight Greg Palast mentioned on Flashpoints the debate over whether Tony Blair is PM of Britain or Exec VP of Britain under George Bush.

[Barkley]

25. No Justice, No Piece!

Go Brits!

[loudnclear]

27. Just wish our journalists had the same moxi...

but I guess they would be out of a job permanently.

[BattyDem]

28. Good for them! But I'm jealous

I want to live in a real Democracy with informed citizens, too! How did this country get so stupid so fast?

[Rebel_with_a_cause]

30. In what way was the BBC report inaccurate?

The UK govt's dossier was a royal screw. There were no WMD, Saddam wasn't a threat to anybody, and any "evidence" reporting as such was a complete fabrication.

If you want "inaccurate," look to Tony Blair.