Thursday 10 July 2008

Radio rant

We could feel the bile dripping from this comment, which was sent to us this morning.

Just thought I'd slot this in while the rage is still incandescent. Nearly crashed my car today listening to Jess Swann and Akhtar Khan (he of the incredibly posh accent) on Dubai Eye talking about counterfeit goods in Dubai. It was possibly the most badly researched (and presented) bit of broadcasting I’ve ever heard in my life.

Their conclusion was - pirated goods meant that ‘luxury’ items (i.e anything from perfume to pashminas) are available to the poor therefore it was morally justifiable.

Piracy poses a massive threat to the global economy and is built on established criminal networks that finance human trafficking, narcotics, terrorism and scariest of all, the massive shift towards counterfeit pharmaceuticals.

Ironically, it is the economies and health of Third World countries that manufacture the illicit goods that are most at risk, which is probably why people don’t give a shit. There is not much of a line between buying illicit handbags in Karama and lethal medication for your kids. Somebody take these idiots off the air today.

51 comments:

Anonymous said...

I heard the show today and also last week when they were talking about it with an IP lawer. They were reiterating the same as last week about how cfeit goods support illegal industries. Today wasnt about lux goods, it was about some guy in Fujeirah who got a fungal infection on his face from fake product. It was a woman who called up and started going on about poor people and lux goods which was off the topic. it went on for a while but it was about pharma health care products and illegal industries prostitution, HT etc.

Anonymous said...

tubbyboohoo.

what sort of cretin takes the time to get so exercised about this? fantastic insight: radio isn't very good in Dubai.

and what's more immoral - selling handbags that cost about 60dhs to produce for 7,500 dhs to impressionable women with too much money, or selling identical handbags for 100dhs to women who understand the value of money/transient nature of fashion?

as for the cant about buying fake goods equating to purchasing lethal medication for your kids - now who isn't researching the idiocy they are broadcasting?

all power to the Karama hustlers. they perform an important and real economic function, in an economy that verges on unreal. i hope (and suspect) they won't read the views of this absurd and patronising expatriate and henceforth give up all commercial activity in the wrongful belief that they are responsible for all the ills of the world.

would this poster like to see undercutting of prices made illegal the world over - or just in Dubai? and just in the fashion industry, or in all areas of commerce?

i denounce this poster as a useful idiot. a ninny spouting secondhand the propaganda of large corporations. i advise you all to ignore it.

now... why hasn't the nice little Chinese dvd lady visited the office today?

Anonymous said...

I've nothing against under-cutting prices but that's not what this is about. Buying a handbag for $10k is no more obscene than driving a car that does 8 MPG, it’s insane.
The root problem are the networks that manufacture and distribute, not the small businesses who sell. Piracy is a serious problem, counterfeit cough syrup containing anti-freeze killed 89 children in Haiti in 1995. Thousands have died since in India, Bangladesh and Malaysia. The networks that supply your DVDs support the networks that trade women from the Balkans, guns from China and moody decongestant from India. Try reading a book now and then you dim fuck.

Anonymous said...

I heard the show and thought he was playing to his crowd of (15) listeners. She was too excitable, but he was just downright stupid.
I don't know how on earth he has a job in radio. Controversial makes for good radio, when done well. Being a spiv for the sake of it, is bad radio.

Anonymous said...

He used to / still does present for BBC World. http://www.theedge-uk.com/akhtar_khan.htm

Anonymous said...

I cant see how some bobbins radio show would influence people one way or another.

Anonymous said...

don't let the ARN ad sales people hear you say that.

Anonymous said...

show me any media here that does controversial well. its unfortunately about as controversial as it is allowed and probably going to ever get. Any other show that has shown to be controversial has been taken off air per directive from the exec office. It happened with the old speak easy presenters Victoria and Nannette. Hopefully it wont happen again.

Anonymous said...

But the point is it wasn't controversial per se, it was just ridiculous. ARn have effectively aligned themselves with the pirating industry...and all the porn/slave labour that goes hand in hand with it. Shameful company stance - though I'm sure it's the result of one nerdowell 'presenter' rather than company policy.

Anonymous said...

I think James Pikeaway does a good job! Controversial albeit in a 'nice' way. I think the guy's got it right.

Anonymous said...

anon @ 10 July, 2008 16:49

Completely agree.

anon @ 10 July, 2008 17:53

You are the dim fuck. That is like assuming every idiot selling a bag of weed is responsible for funding the next terrorist attack.

So.. fuck off.

Anonymous said...

That’s right genius, and I suppose the Taliban are funded by weekly raffles and a tombola?

Anonymous said...

Counterfeit goods are an organised crime staple, like prostitution and drugs - how else do you think they maintain global distribution networks? If you buy counterfeit goods you are sending money up the chain to organised crime no mater how you want to justify it as some sort of noble, street level market economy sticking it to the establishment.

Anonymous said...

Well, there is nothing fake about Jessica Swan, she’s a 24 carat babe.

Anonymous said...

They will get their money somehow and are just as likely to get it from sales of genuine articles.Are they not all manufactured the same way?

Anonymous said...

RE manufacturing, as a former employee of Louis Vuitton there is no smilarity in manufacturing. The 'real' process in the case of leather is lengthy and tedious involving repeat washing, stretching and dying of cow hide and the finished product is the tan that ages. The monograms are also meticulously matched up at the seams. Fakes have cracks and are not alligned. Also, a genuine item has a tag sewn on the inside crease that is numerically coded in a way that represents the area in France (or more recently in Spain) including the date of manufacturing. Fakes also do not have this code. National Geo's 'Illicit' is a good DVD to watch to gain a basic (very basic) understanding of how the illicit trades work.

Anonymous said...

a 24-carat baby more like!
she should stop whining. then she'd be a bit more than a bit-part presenter on a station ranked 6th (in terms of ad spend) out of approx 6!

Anonymous said...

Criminal networks are in everything. So let's not kid ourselves here. Let's really be honest about things. Not to sound like a broken record, but I hardly find anything oil related less than criminal (all the oil majors). Criminal is criminal, no matter how you try to legitimize it.

Now, the question is, do you live your life and move on or get hung up on being the world police and boycott everything? You might as well move to a remote area and cut off all communication with modern civilization.

For me, I'll just turn a blind eye and gladly buy a fake Chinese product.. because they do it better than the original. Not to mention that it's the same damn factory making the original.

And no, I don't buy Vuitton. What kind of idiot spends their money on that shit? Unless you're a guy and trying to get laid. Even then, that's questionable.

Anonymous said...

"You might as well move to a remote area and cut off all communication with modern civilization."

We did!

Anonymous said...

What LV item is going to get me laid the fastest? The valise, the clutch bag or one of those chiffon scarves? I’m going to test this theory in Scarlett’s tomorrow night.

Anonymous said...

Jessica Swan on 103.8FM is great!

I agree I hear she's a total babe.

Anonymous said...

Does this mean my Chimmy Joo stilettos might not be legit?

Anonymous said...

Typical of this site. Always blaming the Choos

Anonymous said...

What about all those counterfeit magazines that ITP produce, Car Muddle East, Goat Boner, Herpie's Bizarre, Slime Out .. etc etc?

They look just like the real thing until you start reading, then BAM! It’s like being punched in the face with ten-ton typo.

I also hear they're produced in sweatshops full of under-paid and overworked children, this must be stopped, for the sake of the kids.

Anonymous said...

Say what you want about counterfeit goods like handbags and DVDs but shoes? You'd have to be crazy.

Don't cheat your feet.

Anonymous said...

Maybe switch to a more gentle station you can chortle along to guess the lyrics and perhaps win a prize.

Anonymous said...

Saw Insider for the first time yesterday. Awful. Amateur design, tedious, and it appears to be have been subbed by Stevie Wonder. Apparently Amy Winehouse is suffering from "emphysimia". Doctor!

Anonymous said...

interesting compare and contrast on 4 Men and iQ on Kipp - http://www.kippreport.com/brandtobrand.php?id=52

Anonymous said...

Then there was yesterday's Kipp story on blagging motoring journalists which was interesting reading. Anyone know who the Olga Petrovsky source is? Isn't Neil Petch's wife Olga??!!!!

Anonymous said...

It was possibly the most badly researched (and presented) bit of broadcasting I’ve ever heard in my life.

Tune in each weekday. They are consistently SHITE!

Anonymous said...

I agree, what a load of shyte.. all of it... revolting broadcasting. Go and read a good book and have a banana.

Jessica Swann

Anonymous said...

I quite like Insider, actually. But then I am quite probably a target reader and OK is very dull.
Still prefer Grazia UK though.

Anonymous said...

Speak Easy is just horrible. They should just play music instead!

Anonymous said...

I think there's a place for the show. Aktor 'erm, urm, what's next, let me see, erm, urm' Khan should be gagged though.

Anonymous said...

Front page of Gulf News today is a fucking disgrace, and anyone who works there should have a good hard think about things...

"Home Comes The Hero"? Seriously? And comparing him to Mandela yesterday?

Anonymous said...

Wake up moderator! That Gulf News story needs a whole new block of invective.

Anonymous said...

What was the front page?

Anonymous said...

Yeah, what a hero. Smashed in the head of a four year old kid with the butt of his rifle, and doesn't regret "for one instant" anything he has done. Well deserving of that headline.

Anonymous said...

who was the cover story about?

Anonymous said...

In Bangkok there is a museum to fake goods... it's quite cool.

There's a couple of funny stories about fakes in Thailand - both about handbags.

The first is a certain of very good, authentic copies were found about to be fake because they were BETTER made than the originals - better materials stitching .

The second is that the fakes were so good that the maker of the originals tracked down the fakers and put them on a contract to start producing for them.

Don't know if either of these is true but if a fake is good enough that you can't spot it, who gives a shit.

As for fake medicines - not good. However, if the major drug companies didnt try and price the developing world out of creating affordable healthcare then there probably wouldn't be a problem.

Anonymous said...

Counterfeiters are not in this game to help the poor by producing fake medicine. Neither are they helping the rich (or anyone) by producing fake aircraft components, think about that the next time you book a flight to Thailand.

Anonymous said...

Anon @ 1430.

Why should I think of that the next time I book a flight to Thailand?

And what should I think of when I book a flight to Duba? Cunts like you?

Anonymous said...

hahahaha. Just found this thread about five minutes after hearing that that Khan guy has been told to 'keep his personal thoughts' to himself on air. Do the powers that be at Dubai Eye read this blog? And...has his show improved at all (actually, is he even still on air). Now that's the crime...against radio!

Anonymous said...

Oh come now, Dubai eye is a seeting pit of talent. Take young Jeff here http://wwwjeffprice.blogspot.com/
He can get you a job ..in MEDIA.
He's lucky to keep his own fucking job let alone find them for others. What a tosser, i live in hope of the day our paths cross again and he should be lucky if it's not a drak alley.

Anonymous said...

Oh.My.God. I was unfortunate enough to tune into Dubai Eye this morning and...that Khan bloke is still on air! Why?
Dreadful.
Dubai eye should be ashamed of themselves. WTF does he have to offer? An air filler of the worst possible kind.
I now almost miss 'I love everything' Swann. The sidekick is of an okay standard, but that guy just umms and arhs at everything and offers nothing. The sport guys I listened to on the way home from the office, on the other hand, were good. In my professional opinion. (and no, I'm not them/friends of theirs)
Radio over here has a lot of improvement to make before taken seriously, or before it takes prescendence over CDs...

Anonymous said...

@17:12

what did Jeff Price do to make you so angry?

Anonymous said...

Bump this thread to the top.

having heard Mr Khan this morning, I think he deserves nothing more than daily ridicule until he is forcibly removed.

Anonymous said...

you're all complaining about speakeasy's presenters (the boring boring ever so boring jeff price and his halfwit sidekick suzanne, jessica 'the view' swann and aktar 'durham' khan) but they didnt hire themselves - its mathew johnsons fault, he signs the cheques.

why as no one blamed him yet? is he a nice guy?!

Anonymous said...

@04.51

Agree radio has a lot of improvement to make before being taken seriously, so does television. Dubai lacks a lot including tech and human resources, effective mentors, long term planning... everything that is required to produce international standard of broadcasting. Presenters are the end of the chain.

Anonymous said...

If you only knew half of what goes on behind the scenes

Anonymous said...

NEWS JUST IN

Well done Petch - Top Job mate!

ENG's Coast 103.2 - taken over by Channel 4 - all current Coast staff sacked this morning.

A couple of months back - idiot Aussie Jock Don Plenty was " let go" from Coast, then he rejoins his previous employer Channel 4, they take over Coast, put Don Plenty in charge - he fires everyone.

Anyone know what channel 4 plan to do with Coast 103.2?