Is this Cameron's Sepp Blatter moment?

[Chris Newman]

And the latter immediately following the former, at that; the prospect of his being Prime Ministr's appalling enought, but that of "Clarkson as a Radio 3 presenter" speculated upon by the author here is surely infinitely worse?

Fear ye not, dear sir. 'tis our Gilly firing a warning shot across the Trust's bows. We'd have Patten spliced to the mainbrace and up the yard arm in no time. That would certainly be stretching resources! Ouch!!

[Lateralthinking1]

Surely the point is that Cameron is virtually Clarkson. He is in No 10 already.

[ahinton]

Surely the point is that Cameron is virtually Clarkson. He is in No 10 already.

Whatever one may say or think about either, the fact that ther surnames each begin with a C, end in on and have a couple of other letters in common is pretty much where the comparison ends. - and, had the former publicly declared that strikers should be shot in front of their families, the latter might just be one step closer to occupying No. 10 than he is now...

[Mr Pee]

And now we have a council official, who actually took part in the strikes, saying that those who complained about Clarkson's comments should be shot:-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/8939692/Council-official-claims-Jeremy-Clarkson-critics-should-be-shot.html

Watch out, Lat.......

[ahinton]

And now we have a council official, who actually took part in the strikes, saying that those who complained about Clarkson's comments should be shot:-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/8939692/Council-official-claims-Jeremy-Clarkson-critics-should-be-shot.html

Watch out, Lat.......

Has no one yet publicly advocated the shooting of Clarkson himself?

[Mr Pee]

The clip below shows Chris Patten and Mark Thompson defending Jeremy Clarkson at the Culture Media and Sport select commitee on Tuesday.

I'm not sure who the grumpy, humourless Scottish MP is, but I think he should "calm down dear."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16183485

[scottycelt]

The clip below shows Chris Patten and Mark Thompson defending Jeremy Clarkson at the Culture Media and Sport select commitee on Tuesday.

I'm not sure who the grumpy, humourless Scottish MP is, but I think he should "calm down dear."


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16183485

... you should hear some of the others up there!

However, I agree entirely ...

I also agree with Patten when he says there is occasionally a brand of 'humour' found on both the Right and Left of the political spectrum that he doesn't share.

[french frank]

The clip below shows Chris Patten and Mark Thompson defending Jeremy Clarkson at the Culture Media and Sport select commitee on Tuesday.

I'm not sure who the grumpy, humourless Scottish MP is, but I think he should "calm down dear."

It wasn't 'a defence' of Clarkson: it was an explanation of why the BBC did not intend to sack him. (FWIW - I agree with that decision: on precedent, if neither Ross nor Brand was sacked it would have been excessive to sack Clarkson).

Still, pity to have wasted so much of the little time available to grill the BBC bosses on this issue.

[Lateralthinking1]

Two millionaires defending a third. A rare privilege indeed to hear the used car salesman speaking. I am beginning to wonder whether he was born with a rare gene. One that links his number of mouth movements to the income of the person he is defending.

The policy of reducing Clarkson's comments to "stupid", and placing them in the category of all stupids, is very disingenuous. Russell Grant on SCD is nicely stupid. That's a totally different thing. However, it is wholly in line with the remarks of a fourth millionaire, the PM, to whom they are kowtowing.

The people who decide whether something constitutes humour are the audience, not the performers or the controllers. Just ask any proper comedian wanting to earn a few bob. 2011 - the year of the Thought Police. "If we say it is humour, it is humour".

Supposing Clarkson had used the word "raped" instead of "shot". He would have gone by now. In the media, the idea of killing is becoming far too acceptable. Isn't the DG a Catholic? Let's have some sanctity of life please, particularly at teatime when families, who are paying for these toffs, are expecting to be entertained.

[Mr Pee]

Two millionaires defending a third. A rare privilege indeed to hear the used car salesman speaking. I am beginning to wonder whether he was born with a rare gene. One that links his number of mouth movements to the income of the person he is defending.

There's a used car salesman being questioned? Where? I thought they were Chris Patten and Mark Thompson, Chairman of the BBC Trust and DG respectively. Still, if one of them is a used car salesman then he's probably a fan of Top Gear.

The people who decide whether something constitutes humour are the audience, not the performers or the controllers. Just ask any proper comedian wanting to earn a few bob. 2011 - the year of the Thought Police. "If we say it is humour, it is humour".

Indeed, it is the audience who decide, and the vast majority were more than capable of seeing JC's comments as the joke they were intended to be. It was only a few humourless grumps and Trade Union officials who were fed up with their Day of Inaction- anybody remember that, other than for Clarkson's remarks?- that didn't see the joke, and then of course the usual suspects joined in, most of whom had never watched "The One Show" in their lives.

Supposing Clarkson had used the word "raped" instead of "shot". He would have gone by now. In the media, the idea of killing is becoming far too acceptable. Isn't the DG a Catholic? Let's have some sanctity of life please, particularly at teatime when families, who are paying for these toffs, are expecting to be entertained.

Well, he didn't use the word "raped" did he? And how do you come to the conclusion that the idea of killing has become acceptable? I don't think it has. If Clarkson had meant it seriously, that would be a different matter. But he didn't, as both Patten and Thompson explain, and as is made perfectly clear if -I'll say it again - you read the transcript.

[Lateralthinking1]

Thanks. I am missing your excellent photos on the animals thread.

[John Skelton]

Still, pity to have wasted so much of the little time available to grill the BBC bosses on this issue.

Exactly . Mark Thompson must be loving it: nice bit of inane 'controversy'.

[Lateralthinking1]

Thompson really is extraordinarily unimpressive, isn't he. In a more just world, he'd be selling tinsel and razor blades in Strutton Ground.

[teamsaint]

one rule for the rich, one for the poor.

[Ferretfancy]

Lateralthinking1

I had an ancestor in the 1840s who lived in Strutton Ground, but I don't think he sold razor blades, in any case they hadn't been invented then.
I like to slip in these bits of irrelevant historical information, it improves the tone, I always say.