should politics be banned on the forum?

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Pebble
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Re: should politics be banned on the forum?

Post by Pebble »

I think his gaffs and totally mad stuff like rolling his car at 97 then back behind the wheel a few days later gave him a lot of character and that amongst the stuffy royals is not a bad thing. For me his Duke of Edinburgh scheme that introduced the great outdoors for many young people was probably his highlight

Not so impressed with him shooting a tiger and then going on to be president of the WWF, don't know what to make of all that.

Overall I'm sad to see him go, so close to that 100 mark as well.

But Jeez - the coverage on the radio and TV is way way over the top.
Mike Sales
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Re: should politics be banned on the forum?

Post by Mike Sales »

al_yrpal wrote: 10 Apr 2021, 9:23am
There does seem to be rather excessive TV coverage about the Duke. Few references to his hilarious gaffes :lol:

Al
Wait till his missus falls off her throne.
De mortuis nihil nisi bonum.
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francovendee
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Re: should politics be banned on the forum?

Post by francovendee »

al_yrpal wrote: 10 Apr 2021, 9:23am Its funny, I was camping with the family in the Dordogne for Charlies Wedding. We watched on the camps TV. The French knew more about our Royal Family than we did! Coincidently we were in France at the Puy du Fuy for Diana's funeral, I never watched. Our Royals seem to fascinate people around the world.
There does seem to be rather excessive TV coverage about the Duke. Few references to his hilarious gaffes :lol:

Al
As I remember the fascination shown by the French to be more towards Diana than the institution of the monarchy.
I've heard of a group wishing to reinstall a monarchy here, along the lines of the UK's one but never see much about it in the press or on tv.

I think the BBC has mishandled it's coverage. It is a National event but radio 4 seemed swamped by it yesterday. I'm just glad we had Netflix to turn to.
Jdsk
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Re: should politics be banned on the forum?

Post by Jdsk »

francovendee wrote: 10 Apr 2021, 2:10pmI've heard of a group wishing to reinstall a monarchy here, along the lines of the UK's one but never see much about it in the press or on tv.
Are there four or five current lines of claimants?

I was always amused by Otto von Habsburg being an MEP.

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661-Pete
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Re: should politics be banned on the forum?

Post by 661-Pete »

francovendee wrote: 10 Apr 2021, 2:10pm I think the BBC has mishandled it's coverage. It is a National event but radio 4 seemed swamped by it yesterday. I'm just glad we had Netflix to turn to.
I don't think they mishandled it: rather, they had no choice. What the BBC is required to do on these occasions is, as far as I know, set in stone under the terms of Operation Forth Bridge which has been planned years in advance (there is a similar plan called Operation London Bridge - not to hard to figure out what that is about...).

Under the terms of these rules, it appears that the BBC is forced to switch to rolling news coverage for most of the day. And all presenters have to wear black. Apparently, the rolling news coverage was even halted for a while to allow the then presenter, Martine Croxall, to change into a black dress. Remember the fuss that was made when the late Peter Sissons announced the Queen Mother's death wearing a burgundy tie? Some folks even wanted to lynch the poor guy. They won't be letting that happen again...

OTT it surely is - but that's the law it seems. One reason why the monarchy is seen as such an irrelevance by many. At least we don't have as tough lèse-majesté laws as they have in Thailand...
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mjr
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Re: should politics be banned on the forum?

Post by mjr »

Yes,switching 5 BBC TV channels to rolling news (what updates did they have? "yes, he's still dead"?) and reportedly blanking another just shows how out of touch and patronising the authors of Operation Forth Bridge are.
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mikeymo
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Re: should politics be banned on the forum?

Post by mikeymo »

My television set has an off button. I use it when the programmes being shown don't interest me.
Bonefishblues
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Re: should politics be banned on the forum?

Post by Bonefishblues »

My choice of programmes was completely usurped on all Channels, including, as alluded to, one that was showing nothing other than a message on a screen. Disproportionate and badly-judged.

Not sure if linked via this Form or ano., but it's notable that BBC has automated their 'I want to complain about the quantity of coverage' feedback to the point where one only has to put one's email address in.
Ben@Forest
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Re: should politics be banned on the forum?

Post by Ben@Forest »

661-Pete wrote: 10 Apr 2021, 2:50pm Under the terms of these rules, it appears that the BBC is forced to switch to rolling news coverage for most of the day. And all presenters have to wear black. Apparently, the rolling news coverage was even halted for a while to allow the then presenter, Martine Croxall, to change into a black dress. Remember the fuss that was made when the late Peter Sissons announced the Queen Mother's death wearing a burgundy tie? Some folks even wanted to lynch the poor guy. They won't be letting that happen again...

OTT it surely is - but that's the law it seems. One reason why the monarchy is seen as such an irrelevance by many. At least we don't have as tough lèse-majesté laws as they have in Thailand...
I don't know about many seeing the monarchy as an irrelevance, according to Statista 62% of the UK population continue to support a monarchy with only 21% of the population wanting an elected head of state - the rest are don't know. Even among the youngest age group there's more pro than anti though the results are closer and with a lot more don't knows.

The coverage was pretty well wall to wall on ITV and Channel 4 as well who presumably don't have to carry such programmes - which suggests they know that there's a huge amount of interest in such events, there are 85 channels just on Freeview (taking 10 out for the various teleshopping channels) it's faintly amusing people's viewing habits are so important that they can't cope with 6 or 7 hours without the BBC.

I guess one thing the rolling coverage does is completely eliminates the possibility that other programmes might inadvertently cause offence. In today's environment it can be easily imagined that those responsible for showing a programme which has an 'elderly man dying' storyline, or a slightly off-colour joke about the Royals will be accused, rightly or wrongly, of showing a lack of respect.
mikeymo
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Re: should politics be banned on the forum?

Post by mikeymo »

Ben@Forest wrote: 10 Apr 2021, 4:45pm...it's faintly amusing people's viewing habits are so important that they can't cope with 6 or 7 hours without the BBC...
Because then they'd have nothing to complain about? Bleating about Auntie Beeb is almost an addiction for some people.
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661-Pete
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Re: should politics be banned on the forum?

Post by 661-Pete »

It seems there have been a lot of complaints to the BBC - similar to the sentiments here. You can't please everyone!

To be honest, we haven't switched on our TV for months - although we still have it (and the licence). I prefer to read the news on the web, and occasionally watch programmes in catchup. So this blanket coverage of PP's demise didn't bother me.

Memory lane time. I can still recall the events of 22 November 1963 when another notable death was announced. And again BBC TV (only the one channel then!) switched a lot of its schedules to accommodate all the tributes etc. etc. I was chiefly concerned that a certain programme I'd been looking forward to watching on the following day, would be cancelled. It had been billed as an exciting new adventure in Space and Time and I was intrigued. Luckily it wasn't cancelled after all; I watched it, and it looked like it was living up to my expectations...! The BBC even repeated the first episode the following Saturday, to pacify those who complained they'd missed it. And the rest, as they say, is history...

Sorry: I digress. But it's not politics anymore.
Suppose that this room is a lift. The support breaks and down we go with ever-increasing velocity.
Let us pass the time by performing physical experiments...
--- Arthur Eddington (creator of the Eddington Number).
Bonefishblues
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Re: should politics be banned on the forum?

Post by Bonefishblues »

Ben@Forest wrote: 10 Apr 2021, 4:45pm
661-Pete wrote: 10 Apr 2021, 2:50pm Under the terms of these rules, it appears that the BBC is forced to switch to rolling news coverage for most of the day. And all presenters have to wear black. Apparently, the rolling news coverage was even halted for a while to allow the then presenter, Martine Croxall, to change into a black dress. Remember the fuss that was made when the late Peter Sissons announced the Queen Mother's death wearing a burgundy tie? Some folks even wanted to lynch the poor guy. They won't be letting that happen again...

OTT it surely is - but that's the law it seems. One reason why the monarchy is seen as such an irrelevance by many. At least we don't have as tough lèse-majesté laws as they have in Thailand...
I don't know about many seeing the monarchy as an irrelevance, according to Statista 62% of the UK population continue to support a monarchy with only 21% of the population wanting an elected head of state - the rest are don't know. Even among the youngest age group there's more pro than anti though the results are closer and with a lot more don't knows.

The coverage was pretty well wall to wall on ITV and Channel 4 as well who presumably don't have to carry such programmes - which suggests they know that there's a huge amount of interest in such events, there are 85 channels just on Freeview (taking 10 out for the various teleshopping channels) it's faintly amusing people's viewing habits are so important that they can't cope with 6 or 7 hours without the BBC.

I guess one thing the rolling coverage does is completely eliminates the possibility that other programmes might inadvertently cause offence. In today's environment it can be easily imagined that those responsible for showing a programme which has an 'elderly man dying' storyline, or a slightly off-colour joke about the Royals will be accused, rightly or wrongly, of showing a lack of respect.
This is a cogent argument.
Bonefishblues
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Re: should politics be banned on the forum?

Post by Bonefishblues »

mikeymo wrote: 10 Apr 2021, 4:49pm
Ben@Forest wrote: 10 Apr 2021, 4:45pm...it's faintly amusing people's viewing habits are so important that they can't cope with 6 or 7 hours without the BBC...
Because then they'd have nothing to complain about? Bleating about Auntie Beeb is almost an addiction for some people.
This isn't
mikeymo
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Re: should politics be banned on the forum?

Post by mikeymo »

Bonefishblues wrote: 10 Apr 2021, 4:52pm
mikeymo wrote: 10 Apr 2021, 4:49pm
Ben@Forest wrote: 10 Apr 2021, 4:45pm...it's faintly amusing people's viewing habits are so important that they can't cope with 6 or 7 hours without the BBC...
Because then they'd have nothing to complain about? Bleating about Auntie Beeb is almost an addiction for some people.
This isn't
It's not meant to be a "cogent argument", Socrates.

It's meant to make a simple point, that people love whinging about the media, especially the BBC.

Especially here in these forae.
mikeymo
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Re: should politics be banned on the forum?

Post by mikeymo »

Pebble wrote: 10 Apr 2021, 12:21pmBut Jeez - the coverage on the radio and TV is way way over the top.
Are the off buttons broken on your television and wireless?
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