Being a Brit myself, I've never taken him seriously and I've always got the feeling that no-one else has ever taken him seriously, not even members of his own family. Being who he is and who his wife is, no-one dares to tell him to shut up so he is used to saying what he wants to without fear of the consequences.

Zuzu : just because the BBC receives state funding, that doesn't mean that they don't try to maintain a large amount of independence from the UK government. Look at the fallout over Dr David Kelly and the 2003 Iraq war dossier when the BBC refused to back down and reveal their sources when the UK government pressured them to. If that was the US, the news networks would have immediately folded like a pack of cards.

And if the BBC owns the radio transmitters, I think that entitles them to claim control over them, don't you think?

Zuzu : what has an illegal radio station got to do with the reputation of the BBC?

Why don't you hear about it on US media? I can't believe that you honestly asked that question! You got it from the BBC and not the US media because the BBC doesn't get down on their knees and pucker up to the US federal government - or any government for that matter.

The BBC has always been renowned for their fierce independence and their emphasis on the facts - whatever the cost.