What was getting silly is now getting insane. BBC NEWS | ER drops scene over Janet furore

Jerky Treat rants and raves about the kind of people who tend to be attracted to her. Japantics, who think their comedy schtick (that worked so well in a foreign land) will work equally well on an Asian-American. I hesitate to say “Go, sister!” (since she’s not my sister, and I’m not on Jerry Springer) but … Go, sister!

There’s a war *still* on, soldiers and civillians are dying, Presidents are either lying or being lied to, and what gets Middle America standing up braying for blood? Justin Timberlake accidentally showing a bit of Janet’s breast. Really.

And it’s not as if it was the whole breast – the nipple was covered, fortunately. And it’s nothing you haven’t seen on album covers.

Call me a sick pervert who’s jaded by the sight of breasts (when I’m anything but, probably) – but what is the big deal here? It was an accident, they cut away quickly. So it gave 7 year olds a quick thrill and a moment which post-post-Gen-X comedians will joke about and refer to in 2024 – but otherwise, does it really matter?

There’s a current blogging campaign so that people can say they support the BBC.

Aside from the fact they’re my employers, I do whole-heartedly support the BBC. I’ve always wanted to work for a media organisation that’s a slight cut above the rest, setting the standards (to a large extent) for the others to follow. Plus in an age of multi-nationalism and disunity, when families barely sit around the dinner table let alone the TV set, the BBC is one of the few things that can unite the UK on occasion. And it’s a darned good brand, that stands for decency, independence and giving people the facts, ma’am. And interesting stories, comedies and dramas to boot.

However, even with the latest drama, I don’t quite believe the BBC is under total threat – except on the odd occasion like a war something – which, it can be argued, is when we need an independent BBC the most. But the last week has shown that the BBC’s independence of the “government” is ultimately a mirage, and will always be so while we have the licence fee. But who’s to say that market forces would create a better animal?

The only people who are anti-BBC (IMHO) are right-wing fundamentalists who are determined that market forces are always right (when they’re mostly not). And while us left-wingers/whingers are constantly assaulted by the right-wing media and the constant Bush/Blair attacks, the battle to “save the BBC” is of slightly less importance. Then again, I guess getting rid of Bush/Blair is kinda impossible.

Anyway…

The whole Am I Hot or Not phenomenon was bad enough – now I’ve just stumbled across a Chinese-only version of the site, featuring just Chinese people.

Call me romantic, but I’d like to believe that we can find people of all races attractive (or hideously ugly), and not just those of a particular race or creed or hair colour.

Having said that, I’ve lived with two (white) flatmates, and inordinately fascinated with Chinese women. If my sisters ever came round, you’d have to pick up their chins off the floor.

• Shane Ritchie
• “Signature unreadable”. Wonder what programmes he/she’s made
• Faye Ruck
• Ian Fenn (ex-flatmate with a propensity for Googling himself)
• Dawn French

Still, more ways for spammers to target BBC staff.

See the ad here