Reply to: Griffin on Question Time: The Highlights

[NotAllThere]

He looks like Einstein compared to some of the posters on here ...

Yeah, well - so does Einstein

[Zippy]

Bloody foreigners, coming over here, nicking our sinecures, telling us what to think... etc.

See me later

[Zippy]

Is it that, and this is a really wild guess; that Straw is an idiot?

He looks like Einstein compared to some of the posters on here ...

[wobbegong]

Originally Posted by d000hg
Straw looked an idiot.

I can explain that.

Is it that, and this is a really wild guess; that Straw is an idiot?

[minestrone]

I couldn't disagree more on that point - that's exactly what we should do.

These people survive by spreading fear and distorting perception. Comedy works by removing the former and readjusting the latter.

Without comedy we would never have had the classic Hitler has only got one ball...

Yes, Woody Allen and Jerry Seinfeld came a generation too late to stop the holocaust.

[BrowneIssue]

The Yank lives, works and pays taxes here. She became a British citizen in 1997. She is also on the board of Trustees of the British Museum so I think she knows a little bit about Britain.

Bloody foreigners, coming over here, nicking our sinecures, telling us what to think... etc.

[Zippy]

Was I the only one who wondered during the introduction "WTF is a Yank doing on a show about British politics?"

P.S. I haven't watched it in full yet - Jack Straw on top of several pints had me hitting the off button pretty sharpish.

The Yank lives, works and pays taxes here. She became a British citizen in 1997. She is also on the board of Trustees of the British Museum so I think she knows a little bit about Britain.

[Sysman]

Bonnie Greer [interrupting]: "Don't you try to tell me about no KKK. I'm a 'merican."
[rapturous applause, cries of 'Right on', 'mmm hmmm']

Was I the only one who wondered during the introduction "WTF is a Yank doing on a show about British politics?"

P.S. I haven't watched it in full yet - Jack Straw on top of several pints had me hitting the off button pretty sharpish.

[Flashman]

For those of you who didn't watch the program here is the full transcript of what was probably the most tedious controversial Question Time yet.

Dimbleby: "Good evening. I'd like to welcome our panel tonight. Well, all of them bar one, of course"
[audience laughs nervously]
Griffin: "I .."
[audience boos enthusiatically]
Dimblebore: "That's really quite enough from you, Mr Griffin"
[applause. Cries of 'quite right']
Dumbledore: "First, I must just apologise for the screaming and breaking glass you may be able to hear. I'm told that the UAF have peacefully stormed the building and are now peacefully smashing the place up".
Dumbledore: "..and so, to our first question. Gentleman with the cross face.."
Angry Asian: "Nick. Is it that you love Churchill and hate Muslims, innit?"
[wild applause, jeering]
Griffin: "I didn't ..."
Baroness Wassup [interrupting]: "Yes, you do, don't you, you do"
[prolonged applause]
Dumbledore: "Moving on now. I've got photos, Mr Griffin, of you standing near a man from the Klu Klux Klan. Does the very existence of these photo's not prove, beyond doubt, that you'd very much like to strap a black man to the front of your pickup and drive all round the bayou at high speed?"
Griffindor: "Well, I ..."
Bonnie Greer [interrupting]: "Don't you try to tell me about no KKK. I'm a 'merican."
[rapturous applause, cries of 'Right on', 'mmm hmmm']
Dumbledore: "I must just apologise for the smoke the audience may able to smell. I'm told that the UAF have peacefully ripped open the filing cabinets, piled up all the scripts and books in the building, and set light to them".
Dimblebore: "..and now, for another question"
Lone non-nutter in audience: "Is it not possibly the case that some of our problems with immigration stem from Labour's policies in this area?"
[audience falls silent, confused]
Chris WhoHe: "What? Is it me? Sorry. What was the question?"
Jack Straw: "I'd like to answer that by reading out a long list of Labour's achievements, allowing the audience to refill their glasses and go to the toilet."
Baroness WhoShe: "Well that's not true is it, and ..."
Dimbleby [interrupting]: "I'm sorry, we'll have to move on. Mr Griffin is just sitting there, smiling, and no-one has booed him for nearly five minutes"
[applause, booing]
Dumbledore: "Moving on. Mr Griffin, I've got a puppy in this bag. Very cute. But it's a black puppy. Am I right in thinking that you, and members of your odious party, would like to kick it to death and then eat it?"
Griffin: "Well, that would be illegal and.."
Straw [interrupting]:: "As a member of the Government, and a Justice Minister, can I just say that I would be more than happy to change the law, right now, if I felt that it would make you look bad, Mr Griffin, or indeed make me look better."
[applause, shouts of 'go on Jack']
Dimmock: "..and so to another question. You sir, what would you like to ask the panel?"
Teenager: "Hey, Mr Griffin: instead of calling you Nick, I call you Dick"
[thunderous applause, teenager high-fived by all in the next row]
Dumbledore: "I must just apologise for the triumphant howling you may be able to hear. I'm told that the UAF have peacefully killed a BBC security guard, and are parading his head on a pole around the car park".
Dimbley:"..but now, time for one more question, and perhaps on a slightly different topic. You, sir.."
Angry black man: "Griffin, Why don't you **** off to the Antarctic? it's all white there"
[hysterical laughter, applause, cries of 'yeah!']
Dimbleby: "Well, I'm afraid that's all we've got time for tonight. Some pretty impressive, incisive debate this evening, I think you'll agree. And to the audience, I would ask you to leave by the western exit, as the UAF have peacefully brought down a police helicopter in the eastern carpark, and are currently hacking the occupants to death with machetes. Goodnight!"
[applause, music, lights fade]


This exclusive poll taken immediately after the programme, shows the seismic affect on the political landscape:
BNP: 0% change
Labour: 0% change
Conservative: 0% change
Lib Dem.: 0% change
Questions on other matters: 0%
Police: 100 grand in overtime
The public: nagging sense of an evening wasted

[cojak]

I have not watched whatever is on that youtube video but if anyone thinks the show contains anything to highlight for amusement they should give themselves a kick up the arse for treating something so serious as trivial and as comedy.

I couldn't disagree more on that point - that's exactly what we should do.

These people survive by spreading fear and distorting perception. Comedy works by removing the former and readjusting the latter.

Without comedy we would never have had the classic Hitler has only got one ball...

[malvolio]

What everyone is missing (including the BBC) is the difference between controlling immigration, which has a valid objective, and forceful repatriation of any non-white people regardless of where they were born, which I would find abhorrent.

Care to guess which one is in the BNP's charter?

[centurian]

That would be a hatchet job. Actually, maybe a scalpel job?

More like Texas Chainsaw Massacre. However, they would probably get away with it - because that's what they do all the time.

Remember the episode after Angus Deayton was caught with hookers and cocaine. They gave him both barrels. Absolutely hilarious though.

My criticism would be that they didn't let Bonnie Greer loose on him as she seemed to be the best of the lot of them.

Agreed. You saw Nick Griffin laughing and clapping at her put downs. I'd love to know what he was really thinking...

[NickFitz]

FFS, I post a link to what I think is an amusing (and skilful) edit of the programme intended to satirise all the kerfuffle, and all the kerfuffle comes charging in stamping all over the satire

I have not watched whatever is on that youtube video...

So why are you commenting in this thread? What's next, somebody starts a thread about the price of North Atlantic cod, and people go off on one about Japanese whaling in the Antarctic?

At this rate, General will cease to be the place for civilised, structured and well-informed debate

Oh, and don't forget to put your clocks back

[BrowneIssue]

If they just let him come on the program and give his chat without this whole circus made by the left nobody would have cared, nobody would have noticed. The fact that the people there could not take on a reasoned argument with the man just strengthened his position.

I agree with you.

From the charter...

"The BBC shall be independent in all matters concerning the content of its output"

I suppose you think the other night they held that that?

By having him on the programme, yes. The way it was handles was indeed poor.


I think having him and his ilk on sensible, properly managed news programmes is a good thing because it gives the satirists the ammunition they need to attack him. The price of that is the ignorant who take no interest in dull and worthy current affairs programmes and no grasp of what the satirists are getting that. But I would rather that than allow large parties censorship of small ones.

I despise big party politics and the two-party state we are heading toward; I can see us going the same way as the USA where there are two indistinguishable parties and it is a president calling the shots anyway with all dissent forbidden. If the BNP get the idea into people's heads that they don't have to vote the way their parents voted, they will have done some good.


Edit: it might have been better to have him on Radio 4's Any Questions instead of Question Time.

[minestrone]

I'm not so sure about that - the BBC's charter is to "entertain, educate and inform" not "participate in government-led censorship of minority parties".

From the charter...

"The BBC shall be independent in all matters concerning the content of its output"

I suppose you think the other night they held that that?