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Allan@Aberdeen:
BioD's pointers to moslem 'entryism' are invaluable. It is evident that islam sees all portals into western opinion-forming as routes of attack. I wonder just how many of the BBC's staff are fifth-columnists like the commentators who claim to be Welsh. By fifth-columnists, I don't mean the PC-brigade: I mean muslims or white converts, the latter being particularly dangerous and treacherous.
Anonymous:
.
Inside the real Iran
"Iran's leaders seem intent on picking fights with the West. But, say David Blair and Damien McElroy, behind the poverty and paranoia of this fundamentalist regime is a young, educated and quietly rebellious population that is desperate to join the rest of the world"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/.../
wiransoc07.xml
archduke:
the "wales" angle is interesting. you might want to check out anything suspicious about Cardiff University.
Hitz Ut Tahrir reports... entryism... takeover of student union - that kind of thing.
Oscar:
Comparing the 15 servicemen's treatment with that of 'enemy combatants' in Guantanamo is a good example of the madness of moral equivalence gone mad.
It's not just dubious Welshmen (?) on the HYS site making this comparison. James Naughtie did his best to push this line in an interview with Christopher Meyer and an Iranian emigree on the Today programme this morning. Despite neither of the interviewees taking the bait, Jim pressed on regardless with the Gitmo equivalence meme. And further pushing the Iranian line the Today team did their best to discredit British accounts - preferring to highlight Iranian propaganda. From the Listen Again site:
0709 The Iranians have attacked the British military for stage-managing yesterday's press conference.
And in case you didn't catch that one:
0744 Iran has accused Britain of "theatrical propaganda" in the press conference held by some of those captured in the Gulf.
archduke:
look at how matt drudge reports
http://www.drudgereport.com/
"TIED UP, BLINDFOLDED AND WAITING TO DIE"
and the IBC?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
"Iran seeks goodwill over captives"
Oscar:
More soft spin for Iran from the IBC, this time on the trend for going 'tieless':
While dress codes are strict in Iran, the suit and open-necked shirt worn by President Ahmadinejad is to stress openness and approachability, says Dr Newman.
"He is a lay person and not a cleric, so wears a suit to show informality," he says.
The president's attire has become something of a talking point. At the height of his popularity, his trademark fawn-coloured windcheater - known to some as the Ahmadinejacket - spawned many a mini-trend, with entrepreneurs ordering copies of the garment from China to meet the demand from his supporters.
Whether his love of the open-necked shirt can be credited with starting the recent smart-casual tie-less revolution among some politicians and office workers in the UK is less certain. (i.e. covert dig at Cameron's tories - a two for the price of one scoop - promote Iran, attack the Conservatives).
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magaz...ine/
6528881.stm
Greencoat:
What's this big thing about not wearing a tie on official/formal occasions? It's just patronising laziness, a slight dressed up as a compliment.
As for President Ahmadjamajingjong and his crew, I can't till the Israel gets all 'disproportionate' on them.
Oscar:
Compare and contrast:
Guantanamo treatment 'inhumane'
Shaker Aamer's lawyers want him released from solitary confinement. A UK resident held in solitary confinement at Guantanamo Bay has had his rights under the Geneva convention violated, his lawyers have said. According to a motion filed in the US, Saudi citizen Shaker Aamer, 39, has been beaten, sleep deprived and subjected to temperature extremes. He has been treated inhumanely and must be removed from isolation, Mr Aamer's lawyers said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/53.../5361004.shttp:
Iran seeks goodwill over captives
The naval crew have shared their experiences with the media
Iran's ambassador to London has said Britain should respond "in a positive way" to the release of the 15 Royal Navy personnel held for 13 days ... Iran has said a press conference where the crew described being bound and held alone was "theatrical propaganda" that did not justify their "mistake".
....
The BBC's Frances Harrison, in Tehran, said Iran feels the press conference revelations were the result of sailors "being briefed" by the UK government who "dictated to them [the sailors]". She pointed out that Iran said it was "standard procedure" for military personnel who intruded into Iran to be held in isolation...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/65.../uk/
6534335.stm
archonix:
Greencoat, I don't like ties, and I avoid them whenever they can partly because they make me uncomfortable, partly because they anachronistic (they were designed to cover up the big buttons on people's shirts, back when they were more crudely made - we don't strictly need them anymore).
I suspect I may start wearing them more now. Ties as a political statement?
dave t:
But our guys statements and the GPS SHOW that they were in Iraqi waters...and despite this the BBC still take the Iranian line that the Marines etc strayed into Iranian waters.....
Meanwhile some murdering thugs enter Iraq from Iran to kill British and US soldiers, get captured and I will bet they are not in isolation with weapons being cocked at their heads....
Do the BBC not realise that Abu Grahib is run by the Iraqis and has been for ages now? But hey, why tell the truth when you can have another wee dig. If the Yanks and our Forces were so evil as the BBC keep claiming how come they are still allowed to broadcast their lies or omissions of the real story?
I note that most of the inmates at Gitmo have put on weight since getting there and that may don't WANT to go home! And with the full glare of the world's lefties screaming brutality I doubt very much if all these things that Amnesty claim actually happened. And anyway weren't Amnesty invited to go along to Gitmo but refused? Would they have seen the truth and found that they were wrong? Can't have that can we! I also note that immediately anything illegal happens at Gitmo etc the offenders are tried and jailed if guilty.
The war against "militant" Islam will be lost thanks to the likes of the BBC and the cowards of the left undermining the institutions and defence of the state.
Oscar:
More from the religion of peace to add to Baggie's excellent links:
Firebomb attack at Yemen mosque
Two assailants burst into the mosque during Friday prayers, spraying worshippers with petrol before setting them alight, Yemeni news sources said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ast/
6534433.stm
archonix:
I eblieve amnesty and other visotors to the place have argued that they were shonw staged propoganda and that the real conditions were obviously horrendous. Ironic, considering they're guilty of doing exactly that on behalf of the dictator on the far side of the fence of camp x-ray.
mick in the uk:
Is it just an urban myth, or is the lack of ties due to the perception that it (the tie) makes a cruciform shape when worn?
UK Daily Pundit:
BBC Wales Political Editor Hits Out ... at the BBC
http://the-daily-pundit.blogspot...its-out-
at.html
archduke:
" mick in the uk | 07.04.07 - 12:07 pm"
not an urban myth. radical islamists do believe it looks like a cross. its also a symbol of "western imperialism" , so its frowned upon in iran.
much the same way as the letter "X" is banned in Saudi Arabia as it looks like a cross.
Anonymous:
.
My Trip to Gitmo:
Terrorists who have the will to decapitate and amputate, blow themselves up, fly planes into buildings, use women and children as human shields and shoot infants in the back are prepared to commit extreme acts of violence to escape confinement. Confining them to an offshore detainment facility in the middle of the ocean with a tyrannical dictator outside the gates is an ideal solution to a difficult problem
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Arti...le.asp?
ID=27608
.
Biodegradable:
While dress codes are strict in Iran, the suit and open-necked shirt worn by President Ahmadinejad is to stress openness and approachability, says Dr Newman
Dr Newman is talking out of his bum - archduke and mick in the uk have it right.
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Islam...earing-
Ties.htm
http://home.planet.nl/~franc240/...nc240/
iran.html
The gents: do not wear ties. They are seen as a western decadency and are not appreciated. So, if you have a business meeting, no matter how important: don't wear ties!! Nobody will say anything and you may notice nothing. But the absence of ties is appreciated!
http://www.iran.embassy.gov.au/t.../
relations.html
Although officials of the Islamic Republic are not allowed to wear a tie, it is very common for visitors to do so although proper business attire need not include a tie.
Imperialist Fashion: The Necktie
Biodegradable:
So much for Dr Newman's theory. You couldn't make this up:
'Un-Islamic ties' spark raids in Iran town
Tehran, Oct. 1 - State Security Forces (SSF) in the town of Bukan, western Iran, raided several wedding ceremonies and arrested a number of young guests. The detained men have been charged with wearing ties.
Ties are considered by the Iranian regime to be “un-Islamic” and a symbol of corrupt Western influence.
The SSF released a statement denouncing ties and warning that anyone wearing a tie would be considered “immoral and un-Islamic and liable to be arrested.”
The same statement warned clothes store owners to refrain from selling ties and added that stores selling ties would be shut down.
The Fat Contractor:
Anonymous | 07.04.07 - 12:45 pm |
with a tyrannical dictator outside the gates is an ideal solution to a difficult problem
Somehow I can't see Castro being that hostile to America's enemies.
As to ties, I hate the patronising way people like Blair and his Beeboids don't wear ties with suits in order to look 'less threatening'. It's just another means of dumbing down standards.
A suit without a tie is slovenly.
The Fat Contractor:
Does anyone know why I cannot view haloscan comments after the number exceeds 600 comments (or so)? After this number I just get a black haloscan windoe.
I don't think this is a hardware problem (beefy machine in use). Is there a limit switch somewhere?
Apologies if this is the wrong place to ask ...
The Fat Contractor:
Doh! that's 'blank haloscan window'.
TPO:
Oh dear, it's that time of year again. The annual nutters conference.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/educa...ion/
6535089.stm
TPO:
Further to the above check out what the first ethnic minority president of the National Union of Teachers has to say about the workers' paradise of Cuba.
Who says the BBC has stopped doing comedy.
CarnackiUK:
Did anyone else hear the April 4th edition of 'Belief' on BBC R3? Joan Bakewell's guest was Jordanian calligrapher Nasser Mansour. Ms Bakewell indulgently allowed him to make da'wa and extol the spritual virtues of Islam. At the end of the show Mansour invited her to join the 'Community of Islam', possibly the first time someone has been invited to convert on a BBC radio show (or perhaps not.)
Mansour took the opportunity to practise a little taquiyya by saying that only representations of 'the Divine' were forbidden but that illustrations of birds, animals etc were allowed. Also the familiar refrain that muslims love Jesus (you know, that guy that managed to escape getting crucified and went on to accept Mohammed as the 'true Prophet'.)
One of Mansour's most interesting revelations was that - according to him - London has been a magnet for islamists for years because the Prince's School of Traditional Arts is one of the few places anywhere that teaches traditional Arabic arts such as classical calligraphy. Thank you, Prince Charles! (He has 'deep respect and love for the Islamic arts' fawns Mansour.)
Bakewell marvels how he can put up with London: "the materialism...the advertising..the vulgarity." Maybe it won't be long before she takes up his invitation to join the Islamic community.
paulc:
"The gents: do not wear ties. They are seen as a western decadency and are not appreciated. So, if you have a business meeting, no matter how important: don't wear ties!! Nobody will say anything and you may notice nothing. But the absence of ties is appreciated!"
A suit but no tie?
That 'fresh out of the cells' look?
Anonymous:
.
The paradise of Cuba.
http://www.therealcuba.com/index.htm
El Cid:
Ms Baljeet Ghale tells the NUT Conference (what a delightful acronum) that:
"She wanted an education system that valued diversity and accepted her right to support Tottenham Hotspur - but France in the European Cup, Brazil in the World Cup, Kenya in the Olympics and India in cricket but England in the Ashes."
Ah, I get it...she's not racist, but the only time she'll support England is when it plays another even more alien mob of red-necked white racists.
You couldn't script funnier typecasting if you tried!
El Cid:
AcronYm!!
Biodegradable:
El Cid | 07.04.07 - 2:49 pm
What's also notable is that it's fine for her to say that, but the BBC raises questions about 'dual loyalties' among British Jews when England plays Israel.
Oscar:
The same statement warned clothes store owners to refrain from selling ties and added that stores selling ties would be shut down.
Biodegradable | 07.04.07 - 12:51 pm |
And this from the religion that thinks it's an abuse of human rights if Muslims aren't allowed to wear niqabs and jilbabs in UK schools?
British Lion:
It's a shame there are so few updates to the actual blog these days.
The Fat Contractor:
CarnackiUK | 07.04.07 - 2:26 pm
"the materialism...the advertising..the vulgarity."
That's where I'd agree with fanatical muslims too. There is far too much materialism and vulgarity in our culture, the BBC being one of the main culprits.
I'd like to see an end to the way little girls are sexualised simply to sell tat. If you look at the way groups like 'The Pussy Cat Dolls' are sold to little kids on BBC programmes doing routines that wouldn't be out of place in lap dancing dars, then I can see Joans Bakewell's point.
However I don't want to chop anybodies hands off ...
Anonymous:
Weblog of the week:
http://www.sgtdub.blogspot.com/
anon:
Indeed British Lion
I was suprised there was no mention of "The Retreat", some kind of reality show on al-Beebzera wherein some "british" people (most of them obviously of asian descent) escape to some kind of islamic center and discover "peace" ...or something. I suppose it is just too predictible.
The Accused:
Check out this blatantly pro Islamic rule item on Somalia. No mention whatsoever of the atrocities committed by the Union of Islamic Courts and no mention of their persecutions etc etc. Just the unsubstantiated claim that without them piracy will start again. This is dhimmisim of the highest and most despicable order.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ica/
6534557.stm
Montag:
As long as 'socialist' goons like Baljeet Ghale get 'standing ovations' from the NUT and the usual smug publicity from the BBC, I think the UK has a few problems on the horizon. Note the selected quote on Cuba. It's also worth googling this character's credentials - an ardent socialist who supported an academic boycott of Israel. But of course these details are irrelevant to the BBC, who is so eager to give people like her a free platform.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/educa...ion/
6535089.stm
Bryan:
"Have" Your Say censors shut this debate down pretty abruptly:
Has the word "terrorism" lost its meaning?
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/
...=20070407164726
143 comments posted in less than 4 hours? (And those were just the ones they let through.)
Maybe they figured it wasn't going to be a popular debate?!
I'd love to see Reith wriggle out of this one.
Now I have to go out. If Reith pops in, I hope he doesn't say anything nasty about me behind my back.
Pickwick:
The Now Show and Any Answers were truly awful today.
TPO:
During the unfolding kidnap saga of the last two weeks did anyone wonder why there has been not one sighting of the Secretary of State for Defence, one Des Browne. Certainly didn't make it into any BBC studio.
Seems an explanation can be found here:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/
tol...icle1623907.ece
GCooper:
Pickwick writes:
"
The Now Show and Any Answers were truly awful today."
I don't listen to the former any longer (it's only kids showing off), but you're right about the latter.
Small wonder, though, when the carefully selected audience gave Wedgewood Benn huge rounds of applause and Dimblebore allowed the raving old lunatic to spout lies, quite unchecked.
Given the alacrity with which the chairman interrogates anyone he pleases, his decision to let Benn utter the clapped-out untruth that 'the West armed Saddam' can only suggest he wants that lie perpetrated.
And there are still idiots around who claim the BBC isn't biased?
TPO:
Peter Barron, editor of Newsnight, did not see fit to include my comment on the BBC's excrutiating Editors' Blog.
I can't think why when all I did was to question one sentence of his post 'Guido's keyboard-orientated pyrotechnics were no match for Michael White of the Guardian's verbal swordsmanship.
Clearly on Newsnight some tired old far-leftie hack inferring that someone is a 'prat' is classed as verbal swordsmanship.
I'd rather call it dumbing down, but then again the BBC is getting rather good at that these days.
TPO:
On the front page of bb.co.uk Middle East Section
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ast/
default.stm
HAVE YOUR SAY
'What would the British Government do if our navy was even 500 metres over its border?'
Mitra, Tehran
Well we know the answer to that Mitra. What is the BBC thinking of pumping out this nonsense.
Anonymous:
Up until recently the BBC used the weather forecast in the run up to the weekend up as 'idents' for various sporting fixtures they were covering ('light showers expected over Twickenham during the England v France rugby international which you can see exclusively on BBC2 at 3.00pm tomorrow').
Anyone else notice how, in the run up to Easter, the BBC weather forecast became a party political broadcast for The Green Party ('might be better to stay at home this Easter with temperatures here expected to be higher than in many southern European resorts...')?
How long will it be, I wonder, before the weather forecast will allow us to 'experience' the virtual climate of the Azores ('join BBC Radio Five Live at midnight tonight to hear the tide going out...')
Ralph:
''What would the British Government do if our navy was even 500 metres over its border?''
Kidnap some of are sailors and take them back to Iran seemingly.
Oscar:
A snippet from the ever decent Charles Moore's Spectator notes- explaining why Norman Lamont is more favoured by the Today (and other) studios than the hapless Des Browne (v.funny sketch TPO.)
...isn't it rather annoying to find Norman Lamont making speeches in the House of Lords, and elsewhere about how Iran is a much misunderstood country? Lord Lamont is the chairman of the Anglo-Iranian Chamber of Commerce and has business interests there.
Private Pyle:
Moar anti bush propaganda from IBC. Check out the mug shot.
Anonymous:
Baljeet Ghale (see Montag | 07.04.07 - 4:51 pm) raises an interesting point. What does it mean when people chooses not to support their geographical teams? I don't necessarily mean when there is some sort of divided loyalty e.g. Pakistan plays England in the cricket. What should London-based Ahmed do? But as a general question as in Baljeet Ghale supporting Tottenham Hotspur - but France in the European Cup, Brazil in the World Cup, Kenya in the Olympics and India in cricket but England in the Ashes. Can you be loyal to a country without supporting it's sporting teams?
A South African friend of mine once told me that in Apartheid-era South Africa the Blacks would cheer for any opponent of the geographical team i.e. Rep of S.A. Of course their support for any team but South Africa was a political statement of rejection.
Could you imagine a Cuban sitting in the stands (if they would let him in) and waving the flag of Cuba's opponent? Wasn't that part of Stalin's charge against the Jews that they were rootless cosmopolitans? What defines a rootless cosmopolitan more than rejecting the local/area/national team?
Oh, just to keep things on thread. What does it mean when the BBC appears to support the opponents of the English team? I don't mean when England plays Scotland. What is London-based Jock to do?
Montag:
Oh the irony...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ast/
6534273.stm
Anonymous:
Europe, Christianity and Islam
http://www.aina.org/news/
2007040...07040694930.htm
archduke:
" The Fat Contractor | 07.04.07 - 3:42 pm |"
i have a simple answer to that one in my house. the "off" switch.its remarkably effective. i have yet to experience "pester power" from mini-archduke. (or maybe that also because mini-archduke has never visited a MacDonalds. yes , certain things are just banned outright my house. rules are important for kids growing up.
and anyway - what a bunch of utter hypocrites those Islamists are - some of the most vulgar and materialistic people on the planet are the layabout playboy Saudi and Kuwaiti Princes.
and guess who funds Wahabbism?
archduke:
"I'd like to see an end to the way little girls are sexualised simply to sell tat. If you look at the way groups like 'The Pussy Cat Dolls' are sold to little kids on BBC programmes doing routines that wouldn't be out of place in lap dancing dars, then I can see Joans Bakewell's point."
The Fat Contractor | 07.04.07 - 3:42 pm
i do too. but theres a simple answer in our capitalist economy - dont buy that crap. they'll go out of business soon enough. there's a simple psychological game you can instill in your kids to put them off stuff like that (e.g. those whore like Bratz dolls) - just say that certain toys are for naughty kids. other toys are for good kids.
and who does Santa deliver presents to? yeah - the good kids.
simple. end of the matter.
had a bit of problem though when mini-archduke got a Bratz doll for a present from a distant aunt. had to explain that it wasnt the aunts fault - its just that the aunt was tricked by the Childcatcher (yeah - *that* one from "chitti chitti bang bang") who leaves naughty presents around the place. the kids that like the naughty presents end up getting nothing from Santa, and sometimes adults are tricked by him.
oh - i could go on and on about this. but the end result is the same - you need a bit of a brain to bring youngsters up. if you're a dumbass, then god help you in the today's world.
archduke:
" TPO | 07.04.07 - 6:02 pm |"
tpo - lets be honest here. it *was* a car crash and Guido was out of his depth. i saw it myself and even i cringed at it. White of course was his usual detestable self - but he ran rings around Guido - almost like a pit bull straining at the lease and then being let go to attack his target.
there's an impression i get on the right, that some on the right are lulled by the wishy washy world of leftist P.C. crap - and they think that the left are themselves a bunch of wishy washy Nancy Pelosi types. when in reality, there's a fair few bruisers of the old left lurking out there who'll eat you for lunch and not think about it.
its amazing how the left has managed to replace memories of the KGB and Stasi with wishy washy P.C. and greenery in the minds of the right.
since i originally come from the left, i know just how friggin dangerous they really are. and they take NO prisoners if you are getting in the way.
Guido obviously doesnt have that background, so he was caught out , big time.
Jon:
An interseting revision by the BBC in this piece.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ast/
6535359.stm
"The United States had nothing to do with Mr Sharafi's detention and we welcome his return to Iran.
"This is just the latest theatrics of a government trying to deflect attention away from its own unacceptable actions," he said."
was originnaly this:
"The Multi-National Force Iraq was not involved in his kidnapping or any kind of claims of torture
Lt-Col Christopher Garver,
US military "
http://newssniffer.newworldodour.../36099/diff/0/
1
They statement used does not deny anything, whereas the latter catagoricaly states that the US was not involved in the kidnapping. By using a different quote the BBC has left the matter in doubt.
Jon:
Actually if you read the original piece at:
The BBC seem to have a problem with US military spokesman Lt-Col Christopher Garver as all his quotes have been edited out in favour of White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe - I wonder why?
http://newssniffer.newworldodour.../36099/diff/0/
1
Jon:
TPO:
Further to the above check out what the first ethnic minority president of the National Union of Teachers has to say about the workers' paradise of Cuba.
Who says the BBC has stopped doing comedy.
TPO | 07.04.07 - 2:17 pm | #
It seems these days that ability or long time service means nothing - promote people to power just because they are an "ethnic minority" is fast becoming a joke - Don't misread me - If anyone is right for the job regardless of who they are then they should get it - but it seems that the people with the most idiotic and extreme views are put into positions of power for no other reason than there background. It has happened a lot in Unions, but also now affects other important positions of influence e.g. the Police, Criminal Justice, Local Government etc. It is this that will lead to the "destruction of Britain" and politicians will be helpless to do anything about it. Its creeping Britain bashing in the name of "fair play".
archduke:
i wonder why frances harrison never reports on stories such as this coming out of iran
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/...ic_in_Iran&
only
quote:
After a convicted thief’s hand was amputated in public in Kermanshah, Ayatollah Mohiyeddin Shirazi, an appointee of the supreme leader of Iran, criticized the halting of public punishments, and added, “Those who say that practices like amputating hands belong to the past are themselves part of the past.” He also claimed that imprisonment had no effect “on educating criminals and reducing crime.” ...
and these nutcases want to have nuclear weapons?
archduke:
hmm.. if the Israelis started beheading Pallywood terrorists in public, you'd hear wall-to-wall endless condemnation from Amnesty-Radio4-Today-BBC-CNN...the usual suspects....countless condemnations from the MCB and Mozzam eeg about the "oppression" of "Muslims"...
and yet this happens in Saudi Arabia and barely a whimper
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2...i-
Beheading.php
quote:
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia: A Saudi man convicted of fatally shooting another Saudi over a dispute was beheaded on Saturday, the Interior Ministry said.
The executed man, Hatem Bin Mohammed al-Mestadi, had gotten into a fight with the victim, who was identified by the state news agency SPA as Masoud Bin Ali Aljahni, then sprayed him with bullets. The nature of the dispute was not disclosed.
Al-Mestadi was beheaded in the Western port city of Jiddah, the ministry said in a statement carried by the SPA.
Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islam under which those convicted of murder, drug trafficking, rape and armed robbery are executed in public with a sword.
by contrast Israel has 30,000 terrorists in prison. many guilty of murder and just imprisoned for life. so tell me - who is the more civilised and the more compassionate and forgiving?
Ultraviolence:
"who is the more civilised and the more compassionate and forgiving?"
Or perhaps tempering vengeance with reality.
I wouldn't attribute it to compassion and forgiveness. Or at least I can't understand it that way.
Jon:
"The 15 Royal Navy personnel held captive by Iran are to be allowed to sell their stories to the media.
The Ministry of Defence said their experiences amounted to "exceptional circumstances" that allowed its usual ban on such payments to be lifted."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/65.../uk/
6536203.stm
I'm sorry but this is just too much for me. Are they still serving in the forces or not?
Whats going to happen next - they'll probably be invited onto celebrity come dancing. I know people on this blog may dissagree with me but it leaves a bad taste in the mouth IMHO.
My father served with the Royal Engineers in West Africa during the war and he never spoke to anyone about his experiences - even though I found out from my mother that he had had his arm nearly blown off going over a bridge, the bridge was bombed (how I don't know), but out of the 20 sappers who crossed the bridge he was the only survivor. The point being that old adage - people who experenced action in any war usually don't talk about it. The real heroes in my opinion are the silent ones.
Jon:
It is nice to know that this is not just my opinion.
"Thus the rot which infects the very top of our Armed Forces will go unrecognised and unchecked. The weaknesses will remain unaddressed and the guilty will go unpunished.
For the rest, the thousands of brave and unassuming service personnel who do their duty by their country – their jobs will be inestimably harder and dangerous. And more will die.
By comparison with this government, Ahmadinejad is an honourable and principled man."
http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/
Jon:
"Media Bias: How It Works"
http://powerlineblog.com/archive...ives/
017274.php
Interseting analysis of how media bias works (in this case rubbishing the views of an eminent scientist) - It may be interesting to comapre this with the BBC output.
Epi-Me:
Ive been away from the internet for two weeks and am not going to wade through 1000 posts to see if this was already mentioned so forgive me for my Easter induced lack of rigour when I hark back to lasy weeks crisis.
A couple of interesting things:
One morning a senator was off in Syria talking apparently about their support for "militant" groups begining in "H". This apparently pissed off the white house who says Syria support terrirists, though no names were mentioned. Surely the white house couldnt have been referring to those "miltant" groups could he?
Same day. When the hostages where released the BBC posited repeatedly a question as to wheather Britain was humiliated by Iran... eh?
Further the BBC repeatedly stated that Iran had come out looking like/portaying itself as a "Peace loving state"... eh, et aussi eh? encore.
archduke:
the Iranian Revolutionary Guards must be quaking in their boots:
http://bp3.blogger.com/
_rqH4fUbk...atcheloraz4.jpg
from here:
http://eureferendum.blogspot.com...-
dimension.html
and more from the "leaving a bad taste in the mouth" department...
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/
tol...icle1626726.ece
read the comments.
"It's Easter and they've just received their 13 pieces of silver. The Iranians knew what their real names were, but guess what, now the whole world does too.
jac, manchester, "
"I am serving with the US Army in Iraq. This debacle has made the British Forces a laughing stock and I find it incredible that my Navy & Marine colleagues are behaving like C-list celebirities when we are still out here trying to make a difference in a very hostile environment. What is the MoD thinking of? There can be no justification for their reckless actions in this matter. I feel that my contribution has ben devalued, and I am enbarassed to wear the uniform.
Maj Smith, Baghdad, Iraq"
"The MoD's new recruitment efforts are obviously going to bear fruit. What young leftist in Britain today wouldn't be drawn to military service by the promise of training in how to avoid conflict, aid the enemy's propaganda effort, and secure lucrative movie and book deals whilst doing so.
Adam, Los Angeles, US"
archduke:
lgf picks up in "hostages for cash" story
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/...r_Big_Cash&
only
great. not only are the mullahs laughing at us, we now have the Yanks reeling with utter disgust and contempt.
One of the hostages, Dean Harris, 30, an acting sergeant in the Royal Marines, told a Sunday Times reporter yesterday: “I want £70,000. That is based on what the others have told me they have been offered. I know Faye has been offered a heck more than that. I am worth it because I was one of only two who didn’t crack.”
I I I - me me me me...
whatever happened to selfless duty to ones country?
One can only imagine what Her Majesty thinks about all this...
The Fat Contractor:
archduke | 07.04.07 - 9:24 pm |
What an interesting household you must have! Funny though it is, it's possible you are storing up trouble for later years. How will you deal with Mini-Archduke when she asks you if her little friends mummy thinks her child is naughty because she has bought them a Bratz doll? Or when mummy collars you in the play ground after school? Interesting times ahead I think.
I can control my own kids well enough (I think!!) and neither have caused me any real trouble. But it's not my kids that concern me overly on this. I stopped them watching unsuitable stuff until I considered them mature enough. However other parents take a different view. I was well miffed a few years ago when I discovered my son had seen 'Alien' at the age of 8 at a friends house. Remonstrating with the parent just drew blank looks.
There lies the real problem, what kids absorb from others and not at home.
But it gets worse. When my daughter turned 8 there was a sudden dearth of suitable clothing. She suddenly had a choice between too small little girls and mini-prostitute clothing. We had to hunt high and low for 'ordinary' clothing. Girls seem to go from Barbie to nothing in the toys department. What on earth do you provide for them once they are 'inbetweenies' except the teenage crap that's on offer. I tell you, parenting would be so much easier if it wasn't for the outside world!
archduke:
fat contractor -> i'm pretty lucky actually. most of the parents in my part of middle england are pretty much in agreement and of the same mindset.
the *lack* of "multiculturalism" where i live really does help , as pretty much everyone agrees with the overall basics and common sense approach to bringing up kids.
not reached the inbetweenies stage though! i'm not looking forward to that.
Izzie:
Is anyone watching the Dateline programme on BBC24 now? I am so furious I have had to switch it off.
One Israeli guest is being shouted down by the idiot from AL Quds newspaper (spelling?), Bariatwan or something. He is insisting that the sailors were not tortured and treated well. Yes, they were not physically tortured, but psychologically they were. He is nothing more than a mouthpiece for Iran. And of course, the"Israelis are no better" argument gets thrown in for good measure.
This is the BRITISH Broadcasting Corporation? Disgusting. What the hell is happening to our country?
I really want to kick the TV to pieces
archduke:
american economy keeps booming
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070407/e...onomy.html?
.v=3
of course that doesnt fit the IBC's agenda... so it doesnt get highlighted.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...cas/
default.stm
Biodegradable:
Abdel Bari Atwan is a BBC regular. Friend of Bin Laden, believes every inch of Israel is 'occupied "Palestinian"' land, supports terrorism...
http://www.stateofnature.org/
abd...lBariAtwan.html
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/
w...,665078,00.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abd...d_al-
Bari_Atwan
Connell:
I think this is an example of a BBC reporter putting their view across..
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ope/
6532951.stm
The French electorate is notoriously fickle. And some, especially on the left, fear and dislike Mr Sarkozy for his tough stance on immigration - and worry that his policies would leave the weakest in society vulnerable, and divide this already fractured society still further.
Alan:
It is significant that the Iranian political opposition to Ahmadinejihad's Islamic regime re-prints today's 'Sunday Times' leading article approvingly. Al Beeb, please note.
"Misplaced Sympathy"
http://www.iranfocus.com
pounce:
The BBC the mouth piece for terrorists;;
Taleban 'kill Afghan journalist'
The Taleban in Afghanistan say they have killed an Afghan reporter abducted last month with an Italian journalist.
The group said it had killed Ajmal Naqshbandi as the government had refused to meet their demands to release senior figures from prison.
The Italian reporter, Daniele Mastrogiacomo, was released after five Taleban members were freed in exchange.
The two reporters and their driver, who was earlier beheaded, were captured on 6 March in Helmand province.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...sia/
6537097.stm
Kill BBC, I think you will find the correct term is murdered.
disillusioned_german:
Migrant workers hold LA protest
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...cas/
6536311.stm
Pretty much says it all when it comes to Al Beeb's (and the Left's) attitude to "illegals":
Let them in and give them citizenship (or at least the right to vote). They'll all vote for the Lefties who promise to give them hand-outs and therefore are going to change the political landscape. More aliens generally mean fewer rights for natives because the latter will be a minority sooner or later.
I pray that a Republican like Romney, Tancredo or Gingrich (should he decide to run) will become the next US President. Otherwise are American friends are doomed as well.
Happy Easter!
disillusioned_german:
Re.: Border Security.
I can't remember but maybe some of you can... were Al Beeb ever critical of the border "fence" between East and West Germany?
Alan:
British forces will get the traitorous message from the '15': it pays to surrender.
Is the MOD spoofable?:
"Kidnapped Servicemen were Game Show Contestants"
http://www.thespoof.com/news/
spo...adline=s1i17027
Alan:
We know now why Ms.Turney did not take part in the press conference of the '15' (the UK press conference, that is); she was lining up her contracts with, apparently, ITV and 'The Sun'.
Will Al Beeb be bidding for the services of any of the '15'? Doesn't it like to compete with ITV in the viewers' numbers game? Its recent ex-chairman, Mr. Grade has gone ahead. Come on, al Beeb, what's holding you back: PRINCIPLES?
Biodegradable:
Easter pleas for missing BBC man
Archbishop Sentamu aimed his message squarely at Mr Johnston's captors, insisting that "he is not your enemy".
"He is a symbol of ensuring the freedom of the press is not violated, an issue Palestinian journalists indeed are familiar with after facing routine attacks, harassment and arrests.
Somehow I don't think he's referring to these incidents:
http://www.aish.com/
jewishissues...Journalists.asp
Bryan:
The World Service's incomparable Lyse Doucet asked Moustafa Barghouti, Palestinian "information minister", what's happening with Johnson. He said the Palestinian "government" had met four days ago and agreed that they could not tolerate the continued kidnapping of Johnston.
Doucet gently asked him why only four days ago since Johnston has been missing for four weeks. (I suppose that passes for tough questioning from the BBC.) The excuse was that the government was in a state of transition but now they were going to get things moving. the Barghouti said something that made me sit up:
"The only consideration that may be delaying the action is that we want to be sure that he comes back safe and in good condition." Hmmm. So that could mean that rumour that a powerful crime family has him is true and that the Palestinians know very well who that is. Now it's a matter of carefully negotiating who gets what cut of the ransom - to be paid, presumably, by the BBC.
Barghouti is also active in trying to raise the number of Palestinian prisoners to be freed in "exchange" for Gilad Shalit. I think it now stands at 1500.
Typical of the extortionist Palestinians. It's already abundantly clear what their future "state" will look like.
The Fat Contractor:
Cash for Sailors
Is it not possible that Bliars government know that they are to blame for the hostages been taken, i.e by refusing permission for the ship to engage or dictating standing orders on engagement. So to deflect attention they are allowing the sailors to sell their stories and, thereby, become the story themselves. Whilst everyone is tut-tutting at their, understandable greed (no chance of promotion now) no one, including the BBC, is asking why they didn't fight back in the first place.
Alan:
Inside the real Iran.
I see that Al Beeb still hasn't posted nor condemned this current example of punishment in the Islamic Republic of Iran:
"Thief's Hand Amputated in Public in Iran; Official Cleric calls for Reinstating Islamic Punishments" (7 Apr.)
http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch
(scroll down).
paulc:
The BBC?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/...08/
wiraq308.xml
Says it all really.
Jon:
paulc: Quite agree - the BBC showing how low they really are - Don't expect the BBC to treat British heroes with any respect - it is obvious that their remit is to undermine the troops and not to enhance them.
Allan@Aberdeen:
One of the former members of the armed forces who was critical of the behaviour of the 'frightened 15' said that the whole fiasco was reminiscent of reality TV. I wonder when the first of the fifteen will be on Celebrity Big Brother. This is not in jest.
I also note that Faye Turvey was separated from her 3-year old child during her time on duty. Surely the RN can provide creches on board our ex-warships.
Let's face it - the Navy has become Blairified. That bastard (and his wife) has neutered our forces.
Bryan:
The World Service’s Mike Sergeant “reporting” from Jerusalem:
I’m right in the middle of the annual Jerusalem Easter crush. 30 000 people are trying to squeeze their way through the narrow streets….towards the spot where they believe Christ was crucified….Hundreds try to force their way through an Israeli checkpoint. For many people, coming here is a spiritual though not a particularly comfortable experience.
[Well of course with an Israeli checkpoint to squeeze through how could they possibly feel comfortable?]
The armed Israeli soldiers lurking on the sidelines here remind you that it’s a city with a long history of conflict.
[And the BBC reminds us of its deep-rooted prejudices: Israeli soldiers are armed? I wonder why. And they are lurking? I suppose that’s in readiness to pounce on some unfortunate Palestinian Christian.]
Tourism’s really suffered here but these people are undeterred:
[Statement follows from an American tourist who feels safe and is happy with the security.]
But the Israelis say that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre simply can’t hold many more pilgrims safely.
[Statement follows from an adviser to the mayor of Jerusalem explaining problems of space.]
archduke:
"Allan@Aberdeen | 08.04.07 - 7:11 pm"
I'm not ex-forces, so i am seriously hesistant to comment on this publicly.
you dont know the half of what i think about this fiasco.
but i hold back out of respect for the forces and generally an attitude that "they know best".
however, this recent news of selling their stories to the tabloids - AND being approved by the MOD , is seriously testing my reserve on fully commenting on what i think.
i'm biting my lip now and holding back. as indeed are many others.
Bryan:
Contd:
The Israeli safety concerns are easy to appreciate standing here
[huh? The BBC actually understanding the Israeli point of view? I wait for the “but” – ah, here it is]:
but restricting access any further wont be popular. Just ask Christians from the Palestinian areas. Many say they’ve been stopped from coming here for years.
[Complaints follow from a Palestinian Christian who says only a few permits were issued to Christians from Ramallah and Bethlehem but then, strangely, blames the West and the Christian world for “abandoning” and “forgetting” them. It’s not clear what he wants the west to do. Liberate Jerusalem from the Jews? Or liberate Ramallah and Bethlehem Christians from increasing oppression from their Muslim brothers? Mike Sergeant doesn’t clear the matter up for us.]
Israel says this year more permits have been granted to Christian pilgrims from the West Bank and Gaza but amid this mass of world Christianity theirs seems to be a dwindling presence.
[I wonder why that would be. It couldn’t perhaps have something to do with Muslims reducing the Christian population by driving Christians out of Palestinian areas, could it? Silly me, of course not. The BBC would surely have told us about it if that was going on.]
Bryan:
archduke | 08.04.07 - 7:39 pm,
I've got no objection to them being paid for their stories - after they've been stripped of their rank and dishonourably discharged from the navy.
archduke:
allan -> "
I also note that Faye Turvey was separated from her 3-year old child during her time on duty."
you HAVE got to be kidding me. are you serious? i dont know about the rest of you , but try to separate my woman from mini-archduke when she was age three, and Mrs Archduke would have beaten you to a pulp. In fact, i know of no other woman in my family that would do that. aged 10/11/12/13 - well, maybe - but age THREE???
no wonder the Iranians were able to spot a weak point in the team of 15. its bloody obvious.
archduke:
"Bryan | 08.04.07 - 7:45 pm"
no objection to that here either. i'm fine with that. but if they're still in service, i have serious objections to it.
knacker:
"not only are the mullahs laughing at us, we now have the Yanks reeling with utter disgust and contempt."
Can't speak for the mullahs, but you're right about Americans. The revulsion is across the board and transcends normal political and media boundaries.
Quaint attempts by your media (notably, The Torygraph) to write off the reaction as some kind of whacko temper tantrum from the extreme right are simply nonsense. IMO, the US media have for once picked up the authentic voice of the national mood. That is rare indeed these days.
You won't hear about it from Frei, of course, but the most spirited derision is on the blogs -- and it is everywhere. The politest suggestions range from issuing your Royal Marines with scented notepaper and matching garlands of pansies, to renaming that pitiful frigate the HMS Cornwallis. It goes downhill from there.
Your MoD and pols have managed to convince many of us that Britain is now the western capital of cowardice, grovelling and waffle. Congratulations. Maybe that idea about union with France wasn't so dumb after all.
What happened to Drake's Drum?
Agree with the suggestion above about Celebrity Big Brother, and, yes, it's not funny at all. The sad truth out here in the real world is we don't need you or anything that you make or sell.
Good luck with your "country", girls. You're gonna need it.
archduke:
" Connell |
I think this is an example of a BBC reporter putting their view across..
08.04.07 - 12:23 pm "
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ope/
6532951.stm
the quote Connell pointed out was:
"The French electorate is notoriously fickle. And some, especially on the left, fear and dislike Mr Sarkozy for his tough stance on immigration - and worry that his policies would leave the weakest in society vulnerable, and divide this already fractured society still further."
but surely logic dictates that if you stop the immigraton of militant Islamists then obviously society will stop fracturing and become more united. you basically stop the growth of a fifth column by clamping down hard on Muslim immigration.
i dont think Sarkosy wants to clamp down on English or Dutch people emigrating to France somehow...
all perfectly sensible - if you want to stop the Jihad spreading in France, you stop Muslim immigration.
sometimes the logic of beeboid reporters delves into the world of the bizarre and 2 plus 2 equals 5.
Bryan:
The whole thing has an April Fool feel to it. When I first read that they were going to be paid for telling tales of their cowardice I had a split-second feeling that it was April Fool. I can't believe that even Tony Blair's government would allow this. Churchill would have had those sailors up before a court martial or at the very least disgraced and demoted.
As I said in an earlier comment, the BBC must be delighted with the whole saga. The Iranians will be able to claim - convincingly - that the stories are lies told for financial gain and that their captives were in fact seized in Iranian waters and well-treated at all times. They have letters and TV appearances to "prove" that.
archduke:
" knacker | 08.04.07 - 7:59 pm "
you're right. i listen to american talk radio from over here in blightly and i've definitely got the whiff of it.
who would have thought that AhMahDinnerJacket would have split the British-American alliance? you have to hand it to him - he saw the weaknesses, the flaws, the achilles heels - and went hell for leather for it. their not dumb those iranians. they know their shit.
archduke:
"that the stories are lies told for financial gain"
exactly. why the MOD are approving this god only knows. because EVERYONE in the entire f**king world wont believe them once money is involved.
archduke:
" knacker | 08.04.07 - 7:59 pm |"
float the idea of an American Foreign Legion (along the lines of the French Foreign Legion...) to your congressman.
citizenship and relocation paid for after 5 years active service.
you'll be overwhelmed with applications from Europe. just because we have dhimmi governments doesnt mean that we are ALL dhimmi.
archduke:
and where did you get the pseudonym "knacker" from?
Bryan:
knacker | 08.04.07 - 7:59 pm,
Have a look at this forum:
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/...#57792;�
There's a flood of national condemnational for these sailors - although I see a number of comments also supporting them. There is certainly still hope for Britain.
dave t:
ARRSE (Army Rumour Service) are not supporting them very much either.
http://www.arrse.co.uk/cpgn2/index.php
archduke - don;t hold back - many of us veterans are screaming in anger just now. On the one hand we have Beharry VC whose story will not be told in case it shows that we are in Iraq etc for a reason and on the other we have little sailor boys holding Mummy's and Auntie's hand in the latest photos.....I swear if any of them had seen dead people they'd have screamed for lawyers, Max Clifford and compensation.
We got 50p a day for work of an objectionable nature in the Falklands in 1982. Not for killing Argies but for digging them UP again, putting the various body parts into sacks and then reburying them. War is hell as Sherman once said; perhaps we should start kicking those people who join up for the wrong reasons out.
I am being driven mad by the likes of Michelle Malkin whose anti British feelings have been seen on her blog in the past - she is loving the chance to slag our Forces and country off. Well done BBC - you disgusting sods.
Bryan:
ugh, condemnation.
archduke:
"archduke - don;t hold back - many of us veterans are screaming in anger just now"
its just that non-forces folks like myself should take a step back and let ex-forces and current forces folks take centre stage and comment on this. you guys have the experience and knowledge. that is all.
it would be uncout and disrespectful of me to really lose my rag publicly over this.
the phrase "i am very pissed off" should suffice as a comment from my civvie street self.
archduke:
"I am being driven mad by the likes of Michelle Malkin whose anti British feelings"
as an irish man, i've never really understood the "special" relationship. in anglophile and trade terms - yes, understandable - but lets face it - those yanks had a revolution against the empire. you HAVE to work that relationship - its *not* a given.
as for Malkin - cant blame her to be honest. from their point of view, they've got a kick in the teeth from their closest ally. not nice.
the Brits have let the side down so to speak. badly. and it'll take years to repair it.
i wouldnt fancy being a Royal Navy man walking into a bar full of U.S. Marines right now. i'd be laughed OUT of the bar.
archduke:
further to the above - here is what the Yanks now think of the Royal Navy
http://bp3.blogger.com/
_rqH4fUbk...atcheloraz4.jpg
not nice. years to repair - and they want to go ahead with tabloid "tell all" stories and pocket 100 grand or whatever in the process?
by contrast, here's what yanks think of their marines
http://www.sfgate.com/c/
pictures...rine_photo8.jpg
yes. its propaganda. but for f**ks sake, somebody over here needs to get a grip. fast.
archduke:
"passion of the christ".... on channel 4 now.
(the bbc is becoming more and more of an irrelevance...)
Allan@Aberdeen:
Archduke wrote:
"I'm not ex-forces, so i am seriously hesistant to comment on this publicly.
you dont know the half of what i think about this fiasco. "
I'm not ex-forces either but I have spoken to some of my colleagues who are and they are utterly disgusted by the entire affair: it's a dreadful indictment of our Blairite military. What one of my colleagues (ex-Navy) noted was that there was a time during his period of service when an offoicer could demnad of a rating that he "do 10" as a disciplinary measure - ten press-ups. Not any more! It's a breach of their human rights.
Another colleague (also ex-Navy) observed that the calibre of recruit had dropped noticeably over the period of his service, and that discipline is lax because the ratings and officers want to be molly-coddled.
This is the mark of Blair, no question - and it is deliberate.
Jon:
Nothing that happens in this country surprises me anymore. This only shows to me how 10 years of a completely corrupt government, who have nothing but contempt for the British people, have decided to make us a laughing stock. First it was in Education, then the Criminal Justice System and the Police and now the armed forces.
To top it all there is no-one waiting in the wings to put this right.
How can anyone abroad not think that all British people support the government when NuLabour has been elected 3 times in a row - does this not show support for their line? Well we all know that only 21% of the electorate actually voted for them but this is not widely reported especially by our good friends at the BBC.
archduke:
maybe its just me so - unwilling to admit that the forces have stooped so low.
the same british forces that burned down numerous towns in my homeland of ireland, and raped and pillaged like there was no tommorow.
in other words - a tough fucking bunch of hardened violent warriors, whom we had a lot of respect for. of course, my ancestors gladly shot a lot of them, but that was a tough war and that was that.
i am just perplexed because this is not the british army that my ancestors FEARED and fought against. fear was a big part - the reprasals were the stuff of legend. not saying that the brits were "wrong" - it was war. and that is what war is about.
GCooper:
Jon writes:
"How can anyone abroad not think that all British people support the government when NuLabour has been elected 3 times in a row - does this not show support for their line? Well we all know that only 21% of the electorate actually voted for them but this is not widely reported especially by our good friends at the BBC."
It is also the direct result of the policies of the BBC.
If advertising and propaganda didn't work, then Ford, Unilever and all the rest wouldn't waste their money on it.
The seizure of the British media by the Left has achieved a great deal of what it set out to do, as this latest farce has demonstrated only too well.
will:
all perfectly sensible - if you want to stop the Jihad spreading in France, you stop Muslim immigration.
Or encourage them to pass straight on through
Sangatte, the camp for illegal immigrants that France promised to shut down, is back in a new location close to Calais as organised gangs offer passage to Britain for as little as £200.
A Sunday Times investigation has found a network of Afghan gangs servicing a shifting population of 500 immigrants at any one time, seeking to enter Britain illegally.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/
tol...icle1626724.ece
Ultraviolence:
What's remarkable is how everyone treats this as a propaganda victory for Iran - as though propaganda is serious.
Jon:
Ultraviolence: Propaganda is very serious.
Just look at the GW lunatics - they use a tried and trusted method of propaganda - FEAR:
"When a propagandist warns members of her audience that disaster will result if they do not follow a particular course of action, she is using the fear appeal. By playing on the audience's deep-seated fears, practitioners of this technique hope to redirect attention away from the merits of a particular proposal and toward steps that can be taken to reduce the fear."
http://www.propagandacritic.com/
...ct.sa.fear.html
If you follow the BBC techniques for imparting "information" they use a comination of most types of proaganda techniques. But overall it boils down to this:
"The first stage is to focus attention on whatever injustices can be found within the present system. The second is to present the issues in such a way as to create sympathy for “victims” and hatred against “exploiters.” The third is to claim that the problem can never be solved until the present system is replaced by an entirely new one that offers justice and respect for the common man."
http://www.freedomforceinternati...&
refpage=issues
which is a classic example of Marxist propaganda -
Only the state can solve your problems, individuals can't - thereby forever increasing the power of the state ad infinitum
knacker:
Brian:
There is certainly still hope for Britain.
Yes, indeed there is. Where there's life... The hope, I suppose, must be that it's darkest before dawn. If you'll forgive all the cliches, it's way past time to start cleaning house. But the need really is rather obvious.
To be effective, as you know, you have to do it yourselves, sans Uncle Sam in every respect. Very little sign of that happening, so the decay will continue. Somewhere down the road, there's a point of no return. If that sounds ominous, and not merely a little hackneyed, it is.
Still, I certainly can't predict the outcome. Can you?
archduke:
http://news.bbc.co.uk
several of the stories (and highlighted on breakfast news) arent actually "news" - but plans/announcements on stuff thats going to happen in the future.
iraqi shias prepare for protests
(the protests havent happened yet.)
plan to help black boys acheive
(a union says something about a "plan" to happen in the future)
tories to hear schwarzenegger
(not news - its in the future)
bbc man missing for four weeks
(yeah. we know already.)
kazakhs promised aral sea aid
(something that'll happen in the future.)
by contrast, if you have a look at Drudge (a 1 man band operation) you actually get a lot more hard "news"
http://www.drudgereport.com
U.S. economy, the pope, Iran Nuclear Day, Space Nerd blasts off, MIT scientist/climate change, U.S. cold weather, Dow Chemical buyout, Solomon islands quake...
Abandon Ship!:
"Passover" anyone?
Apologies if already spotted, but go take a look at Harry's Place, where brownie has spotted an interesting addition by the BBC to the President of Iran's comments. An addition, by the way, that is absent in the quote in other news sources:
http://hurryupharry.bloghouse.net/
The BBC: "I luv Iran"
sean:
http://news.independent.co.uk/
me...icle2433039.ece
http://
conservativehome.blogs.co...ay_to_the_.html
stephen glover writes.
"Mr Cameron's policy of wooing The Guardian, or at any rate not being at loggerheads with it, is central to his strategy. The Guardian may have comparatively limited sales, but it is the BBC's in-house journal. The Cameroons are certain, after the
trauma of three successive election defeats, that the Tories can never win power again with the liberal media against them. The BBC is of course infinitely more powerful than The Guardian, but that newspaper occupies roughly the same role within the corporation as Chairman Mao's Little Red Book once did amongst Chinese Communists. Win The Guardian over, and you have almost won the BBC."
The Fat Contractor:
knacker | 08.04.07 - 7:59 pm & 09.04.07 - 8:07 am
Your real name is Ahmed from Cardiff and I claim my £5
Bryan:
Still, I certainly can't predict the outcome. Can you?
knacker | 09.04.07 - 8:07 am,
Nope, and I'm looking at this from the outside since I don't live in Britain.
archduke:
Kassam rockets still being fired into Israel:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Sat...icle%
2FShowFull
Hezbollah have re-armed to pre-war levels:
http://www.debka.com/headline.ph...ne.php?
hid=4043
Hez War part 2 coming?
archduke:
"Palestinian Suffering : who's responsible"
http://www.theaugeanstables.com/...os-responsible/
very interesting, comprehensive essay from the Augean Stables blog.
archduke:
more on the Pallywood definition of "ceasefire" - you cease, we fire.
http://wizbangblog.com/2007/04/0...e-gimme-
war.php
"During the truce, Palestinians have continued to fire crude Kassam rockets into Israel, although at a slower rate."
how nice of them. in a Pallywood version of a "truce", they'll agree to just cut back a bit with the rocket firing...
Biodegradable:
"Crude rockets" ar now officially "aimless rockets":
http://www.israellycool.com/blog.../7/
2865082.html
Biodegradable:
The BBC: "I luv Iran"
Abandon Ship! | 09.04.07 - 9:33 am
Here's Iran's Passover gift to the Jews:
http://www.memritv.org/search.as...?ACT=S9&
P1=1412
imli:
Report: BBC Reporter may have staged own kidnapping
By JPOST.COM STAFF
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Sat...icle%
2FShowFull
[Some of the comments resulting from this post below have been deleted and/or censored on grounds of poor taste or worse. Nor do the administrators of this site necessarily agree with those that have been allowed to remain. Since this story did appear in the Jerusalem Post, and hence is a story in its own right, I have let the thread stand - but I will state that I am in very little doubt that it is just one more of the many fanciful rumours that pop up in the fevered atmosphere of Palestinian politics.
There is nothing suspicious about him having waited for his captors. He presumably wanted to interview them. That is how Daniel Pearl was captured, if I recall correctly.]
Edited By Siteowner
Biodegradable:
Well, well, well. Whoda thunkit?
http://www.ynetnews.com/
articles...3385970,00.html
Palestinian security forces are looking into the possibility that BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston staged his own kidnapping, according to a report by the London-based Arabic language newspaper Al-Hayat on Monday.
Palestinian sources reported that Johnston received notice of his dismissal from the BBC, and subsequently fabricated the kidnapping in order not to lose his job. The BBC refused to comment on the report.
The report also said that Johnston was seen waiting for one of his captors for about 15 minutes on the day of the kidnapping, before accompanying him to an undisclosed location.
Johnston, a resident of Scotland, has been the BBC’s Gaza correspondent for the past 3 years, and was kidnapped on 12 March by four gunmen in the city. According to initial reports, he managed to drop his card on the sidewalk when abducted, which helped security forces identify him.
The report in Al-Hayat said that Palestinian security forces were looking into two possible scenarios with regards to the kidnapping.
According to the first scenario, Johnston is being held hostage by a Palestinian family in the Gaza Strip who hope to receive an estimated $5 million in ransom. The second scenario says he is staying with the family of his own free will.
The sources added that the family holding the BBC reporter hostage has yet to come forward with official demands of ransom in exchange for his Johnston’s release. “It seems the family that kidnapped him is afraid of the response,” the sources said.
The issue has become a source of concern for Palestinian security forces due to the pressure by the British, the United States, and Johnston’s colleagues.
The sources said that although the British want PA security forces to execute an escape operation, they feared that the family was “armed and backed by funds and weapons of other Palestinian sources, which were using them for other purposes”.
[See note above concerning the plausibility of this story.]
Edited By Siteowner
Bryan:
A Jew-free "history" of Gaza, for one thing and Israeli "responsibility" for the Gaza beach family deaths, for another.
dave t:
IF this is true about Johnston don't expect the BBC to report it!
Biodegradable:
dave t | 09.04.07 - 4:52 pm
My link above has been updated - BBC now deny it.
London-based Arabic language newspaper Al-Hayat reported Monday that BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston may have staged his own kidnapping. Shortly afterwards, the BBC stated that this report was completely unfounded.
We shall see. It is certainly all very odd. It's been a long time, apparently no demands. UK envoy talking to Hamas, etc., etc.
Anonymous:
"Shortly afterwards, the BBC stated that this report was completely unfounded."
Well...they would say that, wouldn't they......
Anonanon:
If the Al-Hayat report about a staged kidnapping is true then, as someone else has said, wow. If just the part about Johnston getting his notice is true then the gushing praise he has received from BBC bosses reeks of hypocrisy. If, as the Beeb claims, the report is unfounded does that mean that Palestinians are spreading lies to discredit Johnston and the BBC? Imagine the heartbreak that will cause!
Biodegradable:
[Reference to earlier deleted comment was itself deleted.]
Perhaps just as important as what he may or may not have fabricated is what he simply didn't report, and what the BBC continue to omit from their coverage of Gaza. For example:
Egypt uncovers tunnels on Gaza border
or
Internal violence flares in southern Gaza
In Gaza, a gunbattle between two warring families in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday killed three people, including a bystander, medical officials said.
Just as the BBC decide not to broadcast a programme about a British soldier being awarded a VC for fear of offending the anti-war brigade, so they don't want to offend the anti-Israel brigade by publishing hard news like the above. After all, they've invested a lot of time and effort convincing the world that the Israelis are to blame for the "predicament" of the "Palestinians". That's work they have no intention of undoing now.
Biodegradable:
Here's a typical piece from [deleted] Johnston in Gaza:
Palestinians' high-risk human shield tactic
Note that the fact that the use of human shields is prohibited by the Geneva Conventions, when Israel is accused of using "Palestinians" as human shields when the IDF enter suspected terrorist stronghelds we're told that in no uncertain terms.
Note also the inversion of "David and Goliath" in line with the attempts to show Arabs as today's Jews and Israelis as today's Nazis.
[Remainder deleted - and see note further up the thread.]
Edited By Siteowner
Biodegradable:
I meant to say Note that the fact that the use of human shields is prohibited by the Geneva Conventions is not mentioned.
Alan:
Here's reference to UK's under-reported (by e.g. BBC), migration problem:
"'Britain' is suffering an exodus of skilled staff " (9 April).(go to 'News').
http://www.dailymail.co.uk
Alan:
"Kiss and tell? Steady, boys, steady" by Robert Fox (9 Apr.)
http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk
Fox's conclusion:
"The Navy's management of this episode has edged towards shambles. This has not gone unnoticed in the two capitals that matter most in this crisis - Tehran and Washington.
"John Bolton, former US representative to the UN, and still a close Bush consigliere, told the BBC that all this makes the need for regime change in Iran more urgent.
"The USS Nimitz is now steaming from San Diego to lead the third US aircraft carrier battle group in the Gulf."
Ayayay:
Apologies if this has been covered before, but, I've been given and just read the "Grumpy Old Men" spin off book of the series, published by BBC books and written by the series Exec Producer. Good to see the BBC worldview extends to written media. Here's a couple of quotes:
"Who would've thought it? The kids who sang 'Ain't going to work on Maggies's farm no more' went off and elected her. And it's difficult to remember now how that felt, because one minute it was just a bit of a joke that this completely daft and dreadful old baggage had suddenly become the leader of the Tory party and was going around the place patronising everyone, and the next minute she was the bloody prime minister. It was one of those 'say it ain't so moments."
"One of my best mates, Robert Smallwood...He's a genuinely good bloke, sane and sensible in all sorts of ways. Hates the Tories..."
Alan:
" Something rotten..."
(about MOD and Navy '15' episode)
http://www.newcultureforum.blogspot.com (9 Apr.)
archduke:
bbc 2 navel gazing on the "importance" of the media in the 1970s...
err. no. it didnt matter AT ALL... too busy playing skateboards and cowboys and indians...
Greencoat:
That 'blaze away' article from the Kidnapped Kidder sticks in the craw as a notorious piece of pro-Hezbollox propaganda.
His present predicament is so condign.
Ultraviolence:
To Mr Life-is-Degradable:
Rarely is it possible for crap posted on a blog to have serious repercussions but that was a rare instance of significance.
Biodegradable:
Here's a typical piece from [deleted] Johnston in Gaza:
...
Note also the inversion of "David and Goliath" in line with the attempts to show Arabs as today's Jews and Israelis as today's Nazis.
[Remainder deleted - and see note further up the thread.]
Edited By Siteowner
Biodegradable | 09.04.07 - 5:40 pm
Comment deleted by Biodegradable to save siteowner the trouble.
:-|
Anonymous:
Anyone see Match of the Day tonight? The punditry after the Charlton game was interrupted by in-cockpit footage of a plane landing!
Not an incidence of bias, just...surreal incompetence.
Ultraviolence:
Your an inspiration to trolls everywhere Bio!
But seriously, we're at the crossroads now. Either we withdraw from Iraq or we take it to the next level and attack Iran.
Ultraviolence:
==The BBC is openly Anti-Semitic==
Compare these two statements: "On the occasion of the birthday of the great prophet, and for the occasion of the passing of Christ, I say the Islamic Republic government and the Iranian people – with all powers and legal right to put the soldiers on trial – forgave those 15. This pardon is a gift to the British people."
From the BBC: "On the occasion of the birth anniversary of the great prophet of Islam, and on the occasion of Easter and Passover, I would like to announce that the great nation of Iran, while it is entitled to put the British military personnel on trial, has pardoned these 15 sailors and gives their release to the people of Britain as a gift."
See for yourself here. You will not find any other report that includes the word PASSOVER.
The BBC is explicitly lying for Ahmadinejad - barefaced lying to cover up his genocidal anti-semitism.
Biodegradable:
Ultraviolence | 10.04.07 - 1:45 am
http://www.haloscan.com/comments...2767397/
#336872
Anonymous:
The most repulsive government in living memory:
"Sea anglers may be forced to buy a licence"
More than one million sea anglers will be forced for the first time to pay to fish under Government plans for a licensing system.
Ministers are proposing charges to cover beach anglers, boat fishing and charter trips, overturning a British tradition enshrined in common law nearly 800 years ago.
David Miliband, the Environment Secretary, wants to use the licence fee to help manage fish stocks.
Countryside campaigners see it as a stealth tax.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/.../10/
nfish10.xml
Anonymous:
We have joined the nuclear club, Iran gloats to the West
The leader of Iran has announced that the country had "joined the nuclear club".
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad boasted that Iran could carry out industrial scale uranium enrichment.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
pages...in_page_id=1811
Anonymous:
How the BBC is spending telly tax funds:
http://iaindale.blogspot.com/200...-
falkender.html
And the bias? Well, if Lady(!) Falkender was a Tory you don't think the BBC would have backed down do you?
archduke:
"in depth : muslims in europe"
its still there...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ope/
default.stm
Fred:
Littlejohn: Up the Shatt al Arab without a paddle:
The Ministry of Defence's complicity in this tawdry horror show is treasonable. But it's pretty much what we have come to expect from Blair's Brave New Britain.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
pages...in_page_id=1790
archduke:
"How long before the ludicrous Faye Turney pops up on Celebrity Fat Club? I bet they didn't let her get in the dinghy first. This is a woman who is capable of capsizing the Ark Royal if she shifts her weight to the wrong cheek."
i noticed that as well.
Are fitness levels in the Navy been lowered to such an extent that a tub of lard could join up?
justme:
I'm still waiting for a detailed Newsnight or Panorama report into this murder
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/
u...2052478,00.html
I haven't seen one yet although I may have missed it
Lee Moore:
And today's top story on the website is :
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ast/
6540083.stm
Iran nuclear 'landmark' angers US
By a curious chance, it seems that the BBC headline writer has chosen to highlight the US’s “anger” – something that the US spokesman didn’t mention. The effect is that the US is characterised as a choleric bull charging about the diplomatic china shop. Meanwhile the BBC headline writer has chosen to single out the US’s criticism, not mentioning similar criticism of Iran from the EU, the UN and the UK.
It would be easy to come up with a straight headline. eg :
US, UN, EU, UK condemn Iran
or
Iran nuclear landmark draws fire
bonkers:
not bbc bias..
i didn't know weather to laugh or cry
when i saw this on eu ref...
http://
eureferendum.blogspot.com...vulnerable.html
Arthur said: "I missed Topsy [Leading Seaman Faye Turney] most of all. I really love her, as a mum and a big sister. Not seeing her and not knowing if she was safe was one of the hardest parts of the whole thing. Then on the sixth day, when I was just about giving up hope, I was pulled from my bed in the early hours of the morning. They led me down a corridor and into a room, where I saw Topsy in a corner. I can't describe how that felt... just every emotion rolled into one. I ran up to her, threw my arms round her and cried like a baby. When I'd calmed down, she asked, 'Do you need another hug, a mother hug?' and I said, 'damn right'.
Bryan:
justme | 10.04.07 - 9:45 am,
If the racial roles of this murder were reversed, the BBC would have been all over the story like bees on honey.
Oscar:
From todays Telegraph:
They'll read your letter, but don't expect action, says Gillian Reynolds
When the radio says something that you know is misleading or wrong, what do you do?
In theory, you could do what they tell you to do and email or text. From the number of times the invitation is made and the frequency with which the response is mentioned, this seems to be the mode of audience response broadcasters now prefer. It assumes, however, that you have a computer or a mobile phone handy.
If you have neither, or your competence with them is limited, you're back to old-fashioned pen. And what, you ask, are the chances of a letter written by anyone to a network controller, or a producer, or Radio 4's Feedback, or a presenter being read?
High to middling, I'd say, because broadcasters are required to take note of complaints and corrections. The chance of getting a response with an adequate answer is very much lower. What may, after time, arrive is a form letter explaining general policy and a reassurance that your view has been noted. The mistake stays out there on the ether, uncorrected.
So now we know.
archduke:
"Lee Moore | 10.04.07 - 10:12 am"
typical IBC approach to headline writing - diplomatic criticism from the US is "anger".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ast/
6540083.stm
now a threat to bomb Iran within 24 hours - well, THATS what i would call "anger".
UN, EU and UK criticism is also left out of the headline - thereby focusing everything on those nasty Yankee imperialists.
the bbc might as well sell up and move to Tehran at this rate.
Anonymous:
archduke | 10.04.07 - 11:06 am |
UN, EU and UK criticism is also left out of the headline -
Could you suggest a headline that incorporates these?
The only constraint is that headlines have to be 31-33 characters (including spaces).
archduke:
"bonkers | 10.04.07 - 10:20 am"
sometimes i think that its all a ruse , designed to make us *look* weak to the Iranians, thereby encouraging them to give us a pretext to bomb the crap out of their nuke facilities.
then again, i'm probably entirely wrong, and American astonishment at our limp-wristedness is well placed.
archduke:
"Could you suggest a headline that incorporates these?
The only constraint is that headlines have to be 31-33 characters (including spaces).
Anonymous | 10.04.07 - 11:12 am | "
how about
"Entire World Condemns Iran"???
archonix:
"Western allies criticise Iran"
"US, EU, UN criticise Iran"
"Iran faces Western ire"
"US and allies 'condemn' Iran"
"Europe, US show Iran anger"
"EU, UN call for Iran 'showdown'"
"Allies condemn..."
Well you get the picture.
Anonymous:
...not exactly hard is it....
Maybe the people at the BBC are just dumb.......
They can't think unless they are attacking the USA, and kissing the arse of Islam.....
IiD:
Good Morning!
Just back from a very nice break in the wonderful countryside of Andalucia.It was a little chilly but the welcome was as always was warm.
I see that Al Beeb hasn't stopped producing garbage.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/65.../uk/
6538921.stm
I don’t give too hoots about if they have a story to tell because stories of ‘bravery’ go back to the dawn of man, but how much spin and gossip makes up BBC output is beyond a joke!
With some foresight George Orwell’s observations of the left wing media agenda in the UK during the Spanish Civil War holds currency even today:
“Here are the very people who for twenty years had hooted and jeered that the ‘glory’ of war, atrocity stories, at patriotism, even physical courage, coming out with stuff that with alteration of a few names would have fitted in the Daily Mail in 1918.”
http://www.george-orwell.org/Hom...onia/
index.html
But in the cynical ‘intellectual-stripping’ neo-left BBC continues to plough two fields-the one of money making spin of ‘bravery’ while further kicking in the gut any image that the UK has any ‘political backbone’ while the horrors of ‘PC-TV ‘ are finally catching up with us.
The total ideological slavishness of the ‘anti-war pop culture’ world view that has been a staple diet of ‘popular history’ in the last 10 years of IngSoc(which has never been and continues to be a hypocritical lie regarding war in reality) has sadly contributed to a gradual decline in the quality of out armed services today. While I firmly believe that the ‘cutting edge’ remain a dangerous blade and still live up to the fine traditions of the British Army, it now appears that the ‘best fighting force in the world’ has succumb to the PC double think of Airstrip One. Rather than focusing on the currently failing task in Southern Iraq or our holding efforts in Afghanistan it seems some section’s of Armed Forces have become musing journalists and rock stars in the close orbit of STWC .I feel sorry for Reg Keys because he is no more than a well meaning ‘talking dummy’ for SWP, but the amount of punditry from former and current members of HM Armed Services is seriously damaged the public’s understanding of modern conflict and is dangerously impairing the UK ability to act to aggression.
If we are meant to be the ‘cornerstone’ of NATO and UN operations, why does it appear we have an armed force more akin to a third rate European Country a la Finland, Belgium or the Slovak Republic? Friends and allies across the world have always felt reassured that when conflict did happen that the UK response would be robust.
http://www.fas.org/main/content....7&
contentId=162
My guess is that years of under investing, under recruiting and bad PR a la Greencut has now left the United Kingdom with no choice but appeasement while we struggle to cope. The question is where does the UK go from here? The Trident debate COULD of been a good time for the public to review the state of our armed forces and ask the fundamental questions of what is it we want but instead we get the tittle tattle from inside ‘King Brown’s Kingdom of Westminster!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_de...iry/
default.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotl...and/
6459061.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_po...ics/
6452315.stm
Is it me but have now gone back to 1938?
archonix:
I should add, all of the above put a subtly different spin on the story. Different characters become the antagonist depending on how you phrase the headline.
IiD:
archonix
I had to sit through the humour of "Borat" last night.....
It wasn't very funny needless to say
archduke:
"It wasn't very funny needless to say
IiD | 10.04.07 - 11:47 am |"
i thought this bit was hilarious...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B...h?
v=BrE6THsYIDQ
IiD:
Archduke:
My wife all went "are your far too serious" mode last night on me ,but I thought it was no different to Bernard Manning with a 'pink' twist.
I'm no prude when it comes to humour being a big Peter Cook and Python man myself, but this was nothing more than puerile juvenile shite IMHO.
archduke:
yeah , i agree iid - juvenile, and not on par with the greatness of python. still, there were some good bits in it, but not enough to justify an entire movie.
meanwhile, back in Pallywood, looks like a Hamas terror attack was prevented by Shin Bet:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Sat...icle%
2FShowFull
more here:
http://www.debka.com/headline.ph...ne.php?
hid=4047
archduke:
too much islam = not good for your cricket playing...
http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/...ory/
289265.html
Anonymous:
.
Britain Was Once Great Britain
But a word of caution: If Great Britain can cease to be great in so short a time span, any country can. All you need is an elite that no longer believes in their country, that manipulates history texts to make students feel good about themselves, that prefers multiculturalism to its own culture, and that has abandoned its religious underpinnings. Sound familiar, America?
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Arti...le.asp?
ID=27783
archduke:
"Back in February, after being buoyed by the success of his documentary An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore announced the Live Earth concerts - a series of concerts around the world that would try and, uh, guilt, um, the sun, into, er, not melting the polar ice caps as fast as it has been. Or something."
http://www.hecklerspray.com/mado...ey/
20067814.php
Jon:
"Dr Fox said the crew's return had been "handled appallingly" and that public sympathy for them had been lost.
"Serving members of armed forces have, in effect, been put up for auction in the most horribly undignified fashion, something that has not gone unnoticed overseas," he said"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/65.../uk/
6540137.stm
At least there is someone with the finger on the pulse (no pun intended)
archduke:
"Bolton: Iran Won"
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/...-_Iran_Won&
only
quote:
“Iran, sensing weakness, has every incentive to ratchet up its nuclear weapons programme, increase its support to Hamas, Hezbollah and others and perpetrate even more serious terrorism in Iraq.
The Fat Contractor:
IiD | 10.04.07 - 11:44 am |
Perhaps it's all part of 'Europisation' - how else is poor lil' Britain to defend itself without being part of a European Army?
Usual Blair/BBC tactic, denegrate and destroy something until people screem for a replacement they would never have tolerated before all the propaganda.
A Levels will be next -> International Baccalaureat (sp?) anyone?
Jon:
"She also said that there were times during her two-week ordeal when she cried herself to sleep."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/65.../uk/
6540137.stm
If these comments don't put other service personnel in danger - I don't know what will - She has now given a grean light for all the terrorists and rouge states in the world to "kidnap" British sailors. A very sorry state indeed.
archduke:
interesting Europe-wide poll reported in Jpost - majority in favour of pre-emptive military strikes on Iran
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Sat...cle/ShowFull&
67
whats more interesting is this paragraph:
Questioned as to the threat their countries faced from "Islamic fundamentalism", European opinion was more diverse. While 58 percent over all agreed militant Islam was a serious threat, the national responses ranged from 71 percent in Britain, 66 percent in Germany, 64 percent in France, to 24 percent in Latvia.
note that Britain comes out on top - and this in spite of the BBCs 24x7 pandering to Islam. the average Brit is quite obviously not buying the crap coming out of Al-BBC...
Jon:
archduke writes:
"note that Britain comes out on top - and this in spite of the BBCs 24x7 pandering to Islam. the average Brit is quite obviously not buying the crap coming out of Al-BBC..."
I would like to think that it is because of all the "crap coming out of Al-Beeb.." Maybe there are more people who distrust the BBCs propaganda then we think.
marshall:
I took a look at the comments on the HYS forum regarding whether the freed sailors should be able to sell their stories. I personally have no problem with them making money from their ordeal. However, I noticed how few comments in favour of them selling their stories have appeared and I have posted 2 already which predictably haven't appeared. Whether you agree or not there should be representation of all angles. I also find it strange that the selling of their stories is regarded by many as a propoganda coup to the Iranians. Seeing as most of the stories are of the brutality and ill treatment by the Iranians, how is this a propaganda coup?
IiD:
Jon
Dr Fox IMVHO is one of the few in the Westminster Bubble that has got a grip on the situation:
Funny Al Beeb also down "dumbs down" ISAF role in Afghanistan;
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/w...sia/
6540897.stm
archduke:
"Jon | 10.04.07 - 1:38 pm | "
"Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance."
"I make the enemy see my strengths as weaknesses and my weaknesses as strengths"
Sun Tzu, Art of War
however, the Iranians are probably reading the same book:
"Do not allow your enemies to get together. ... Look into the matters of their alliances and cause them to be severed and dissolved."
Jon:
Marshall - "Seeing as most of the stories are of the brutality and ill treatment by the Iranians, how is this a propaganda coup?"
This may be so but you underestimate the power of propaganda. The Iranians have released video of the sailors laughing and joking, with no sign of duress.
Then read statements like:
"She also said that there were times during her two-week ordeal when she cried herself to sleep."
and
"Arthur said: "I missed Topsy [Leading Seaman Faye Turney] most of all. I really love her, as a mum and a big sister. Not seeing her and not knowing if she was safe was one of the hardest parts of the whole thing. Then on the sixth day, when I was just about giving up hope, I was pulled from my bed in the early hours of the morning. They led me down a corridor and into a room, where I saw Topsy in a corner. I can't describe how that felt... just every emotion rolled into one. I ran up to her, threw my arms round her and cried like a baby. When I'd calmed down, she asked, 'Do you need another hug, a mother hug?' and I said, 'damn right'."
From these you will see that "selling" their stories to the media will wipe out the Royal Navys standing in the world with a stroke of the pen.
archduke:
"how is this a propaganda coup?
marshall | 10.04.07 - 1:45 pm |"
selling your MOD approved "story" for the 13 shekels of silver allows the Iranians to point the finger at the "corrupt" western "imperialists" who have no dignity and will do anything for money.
thats why its a propaganda coup.
Jon:
"...and will do anything for money."
archduke but thats not all - the stories I have seen so far - seem to be written by frightened little children when someone has taken their favourite toy away. Its the language of the nursery - not a fighting force.
IiD:
Marshall
OK there will be the "stories" about “stiff upper lipped British sailors” BUT because it has been ‘framed’ from a slanted point of view.Note the emphasis on the “money grabbing issue” from the resident ‘pacifists’ from 'cry me a river' IBC……
Anonymous:
"When I'd calmed down, she asked, 'Do you need another hug, a mother hug?' and I said, 'damn right'."
What a bunch of Pansies the UK military seem to be......
SO I geuss we won't be hearing too much bleating in the media about UK troops being the "Best in the world"......
I mean flipping heck..Britainia used to rule the waves...now, she can't even keep a rubber dingy out of Iranian hands.....
lol
archduke:
"how is this a propaganda coup?
marshall | 10.04.07 - 1:45 pm |"
you also forget the rabid anti-semitism of the Iranian regime - the "Zionist imperialist money grabbing bankers who control the world" meme.
and here we play into their hands by the MOD telling servicemen to sell their stories in a money grabbing way that fits into the anti-semetic idea of money-grabbing "Jooooos" who are in league with the "western imperialists"
the Iranians have won this propaganda battle on so many fronts that its astonishing that nobody has be sacked or court-martialled yet.
archduke:
" Jon | 10.04.07 - 1:56 pm |"
i agree. the stories are pathetically childish.
hezbollah and the Tehran mullahs must be laughing their heads off.
i'm hoping desparately that this is just a Sun Tzu style move on our part....
but the Blairisation of the military means that i have doubts on that count, and we really do have children running around with guns.
IiD:
I think Jon, Anon and Archduke are on the money.
For 10 odd years the ‘our’ armed forces have been softened by the fruits of New Labour.
I might be worth pounce and dave t commenting more but the real damage has been done over a number of years.
Think about the implications of the Deepcut Enquiry (as spun by IBC),HSE legislation and the Human Rights Act?
As seen in Northern Ireland (and this is a far more dangerous situation) the people who write up the ‘rules of engagement’ now so much in the thrall of the ‘image makers’ policy of ‘hearts and minds’ that they have seemed to have forgotten that there are no ‘rules’ in war and that all stands on victory or defeat.
They seem to think Iran is the X-factor.
Of course the Europhile viewpoint is that in future disputes will be settled by lawyers-clearly ignoring Thomas Hobbs advice:
“And Covenants, without the Sword, are but Words, and of no strength to secure a man at all.”
IiD:
Sorry archduke the 'British public' also think that:
"Only 37 percent of British voters and 23 percent of all EU voters agreed with the statement that, "Our country should spend more on defense and less on other things."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Sat...cle/ShowFull&
67
So the great unwashed DO thiink that a little bit of harsh language is only needed?
marshall:
I disagree. For me, I see the selling of their stories sort of as an insurance policy since we know how little help is given to former soldiers who suffered illness after the first Gulf War and how the government doesn't give two figs about servicemen/women who are just cannon fodder. Why shouldn't these navy personnel get some money out of their situation, they've been through a lot and I doubt the government would help them in any way (look how much the government has helped victims of 7/7 and their families - zero, whilst wasting £200,000 of taxpayers money for Islamic preachers to appeal against deportation). Besides, I doubt that it would have made any difference if they sold their stories or not since their silence would be read by the left-wing as implying guilt. As for the selling of their stories being seen as corrupt and doing anything for money. Isn't that exactly what the Iranians have just done - kidnap British sailors from Iraqi waters so that their oil revenues will increase whilst the standoff continues. Besides, anyone with any sense can see the irony in a country which hangs gays and teenage girls viewing the west as 'immoral'.
Jon:
Marshal writes: "For me, I see the selling of their stories sort of as an insurance policy"
I think you are confusing two issues here - I quite agree that the army etc. need more support after they leave the services but this is quite different to "selling" their stories.
archduke:
"marshall | 10.04.07 - 2:31 pm"
yeah i know all that. i was merely pointing out how this looks in the Arab/Islamic world and how we've played into the Tehran stereotypes of the West.
Coinciding with Easter and the story of Judas and his shekels of silver wouldnt have been lost on an Islamic audience either.
you also have to factor in the envitable comparision with the Islamic terrorist who's willing to blow himself up for his cause - versus our wimp out without firing a shot.
honour, dignity, and "saving face" are enormous cultural mores in the Arabic world, and i dont think we've done any of that. its not that selling stories is tacky in itself - its how it looks to people in the Middle East in our propaganda war with an assertive Iran.
Biodegradable:
The dhimmification of the BBC continues apace.
Does Pakistan fatwa promote intolerance?
Should the government do more to tackle hardliners in Pakistan?
Pakistan's tourism minister has rejected a fatwa against her by hardline clerics who want her sacked after she was photographed hugging a man.
Nilofer Bakhtiar says the fatwa has no legal value and denies she did anything wrong. She says a small minority in Pakistan feel threatened by women being empowered.
Is she right, or do you agree with the clerics that she acted inappropriately? Should Pakistan's government do more to stop the hardliners taking the law into their own hands? Send us your views.
"Is she right, or do you agree with the clerics that she acted inappropriately?"
WTF?!
archduke:
criticise the Goracle, and the Nazis come out of the woodwork..
http://
article.nationalreview.co...WRhOTVjYzQxZjc=
archduke:
"Biodegradable | 10.04.07 - 2:54 pm |"
White Dutch rioting for 3 days in Utrecht - not a whisper from Al Beeb..
but a fatwa on a Pakistani minister - oh yes, we'll go the full HYS on that one.
can somebody remind the BBC that Pakistan isnt actually part of Britain, and that quite frankly, i couldnt give a damn about what Islamonutters are doing there - Musharraf will have them all shot sooner or later. so what?
Biodegradable:
archduke | 10.04.07 - 3:03 pm
The point is the BBC is inviting us to discuss something which one would hope is a given. The question they ask is like asking us to give an opinion on whether ladies should be allowed to wear skirts that show their ankles.
Should women be allowed to drive?
Should unmarried women be allowed out of the house un-accompanied?
Should women be allowed to speak to men to whom they are not related?
"... or do you agree with the clerics...?"
This is the British Broadcasting Corporation FFS, and the year is 2007!
Jon:
"One of the hostages, Dean Harris, 30, an acting sergeant in the Royal Marines, told a Sunday Times reporter yesterday: “I want £70,000. That is based on what the others have told me they have been offered. I know Faye has been offered a heck more than that. I am worth it because I was one of only two who didn’t crack.”
John Tindell, the father of Joe Tindell, another of the hostages, said his son had turned down an offer of £10,000. “The MoD said if you want to earn money you are free to go out and do it. I was a bit surprised. The MoD said to the marines, ‘Go out there, tell the truth and make the money’.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/
tol...icle1626726.ece
What can you say!!!!!!!!!
Anonymous:
Somalia Crumbles, Again
The United States and its allies may have missed an opportunity to rescue a failed state.
Somalia, a failed state in the Horn of Africa that has become a haven for members of al-Qaeda and for other Islamic extremists.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
wp...7040901103.html
IiD:
Jon-
Didn't we have D lists to prevent this kind of clap trap?
Jon:
Its a shame this bloke didn't win the Conservative Leadership -
"Liam Fox, the Shadow Defence Secretary, raised doubts about the threat of climate change, saying: “I think there’s evidence on both sides. I think you have to look at the evidence as a whole.” But he said that he still supported policies to cut the use of fossil fuels to improve national security. “The fact that we are addicted to fossil fuels means that we’re pumping money into the economies of countries such as Iran, trying to build up nuclear weapons, and Russia, building up its military programme.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/
tol...icle1499950.ece
archduke:
britain on its knees
http://www.melaniephillips.com/d...m/diary/?
p=1486
and straight from the diary of Winston Smith, we find this:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
pages...e#StartComments
"Schools are dropping the Holocaust from history lessons to avoid offending Muslim pupils"
and on top of that, we (as in you and I - the taxpayer) are funding Pakistani madrassas:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/.../20/
nterr20.xml
"Mr Blair, on a visit to Pakistan yesterday to discuss anti-terror policy with President Pervez Musharraf, more than doubled assistance to the country from £236 million over the next three years to £480 million.
The extra money will go mainly towards encouraging moderate Muslim education in the network of Madrassa religious schools, which are blamed for turning many young people to extremism."
Anonymous:
"Liam Fox, the Shadow Defence Secretary, raised doubts about the threat of climate change, saying: “I think there’s evidence on both sides. I think you have to look at the evidence as a whole.”
Video:The Great Global Warming Swindle
http://video.google.com/
videopla...135300469846467
archduke:
10 years of blair - and the end result is that America views Britain as a security threat...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
pages...in_page_id=1811
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/.../04/
wterr04.xml
Chertoff is quoted as saying:
"Where you find some softness is in some elements of the media or in some elements of the intellectual class who convince themselves that this is our fault, or that there's an easier way to avoid the problem if we can just figure what price we have to pay. That is a plea to the sensibility of exhaustion and history has shown that's a very damaging and very destructive impulse."
some elements of the "media"? i just wonder who he might be referring to.
IiD:
Jon.
I've long taken the view the good doctor should be leading the Conservative Party.
Shame they ended up with call me Dave....
archduke:
interesting analysis here on our friends the Saudis and their funding of terrorists in Iraq
http://islamthreat.blogspot.com/...us-in-
iraq.html
"You might wonder why the Saudis would want to weaken us by using cloak and dagger policies like that. The answer is simple. They are afraid of us and what we might or would do in the case of another Saudi lead terrorist attack against American interests.
It is in Saudi interest that the US be weakened in Iraq and politically weakened by Iraq which would minimize to the least amount possible any American action against Saudi Arabia."
the embedded video shows a particularly target-rich environment that would have any Apache gunship pilot drooling for the trigger...
Alan:
An extract from a much longer piece here on Churchill and Islam:
"The British leaders who have followed Churchill (with the exception, perhaps, of Margaret Thatcher) have shown little of his independence of spirit, or individualism. Five years ago, Churchill was voted the greatest Briton of all time in a BBC poll. Those who claim to support Churchill think mainly of his role as a statesman, and as a warrior against Hitler and fascism.
"In today's politically correct Britain few people are prepared to openly criticize Islamism. A collective cowardice afflicts the chattering classes. Too fearful of the stigma of being labeled 'Islamophobe', leaders and media figures would rather buy into the lies of Muslim victimization than objectively analyze the threat that global radical Islam poses to democracy. Few are aware of Churchill's comments on Islam, and fewer still would dare repeat those words in public today."
(Adrian Morgan, 10 Apr.)
http://westernresistance.com
Jon:
This just goes to show how shallow the BBCs opinion of the voters in Britain are:
"Will Arnie encourage you to vote Conservative? "
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/
...=20070410165747
and the "New shiny tories".
I think this one sums it up for me.
"Added: Monday, 9 April, 2007, 12:02 GMT 13:02 UK
No, I will only vote for a party that takes Britain out of the EU, stops immigration and tackles crime. Protecting the environment comes way down the list, but then politicians are completely out of touch with the electorate and would rather pursue their own agendas.
Tommy Ruffe
Recommended by 116 people"
Anonymous:
archduke
see you and archonix are having trouble getting a headline that fits the 31-33 character constraint.
Also, I see you've resorted to the weird use of quote marks to try to flesh your candidates out..............
.....maybe that explains......???????
John Reith:
Connell | 08.04.07 - 12:23 pm
I think this is an example of a BBC reporter putting their view across..
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ope/ 6532951.stm
You may think that, but it’s not. The piece is a model of impartial reporting.
Your comment, however, isn’t.
You pull out one quotation that sums-up the views of Sarko’s opponents but don’t mention several other passages where Sarko’s supporters put their case. Anyone not following the link would be left thinking the piece was mostly anti-Sarko - while, in fact, Sarko supporters get the lion's share of the space - which is fine since the report is about Sarko's campaign rally.
Another false allegation of BBC bias.
archduke:
Joshka Fisher has observed that Europe is increasingly becoming an irrelevance in the globalised economy
http://euobserver.com/9/23803
(interesting article...)
amimissingsomething:
Biodegradable | 10.04.07 - 3:09 pm |
i have a few, too:
should non-muslims be allowed to visit mecca, or do you agree with the clerics/saudi government that they remain banned?
should non-muslims be given equal access to all roads in saudi arabia, or do you agree with the clerics/saudi government that non-muslims remain banned from certain roads?
should women adulterers and gays in iran no longer be hung from cranes until dead, or stoned, or do you agree wth the clerics that these punishments remain in effect?
archduke:
watch out for acres of Beeboid coverage of this in the run up to July:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/enter...ent/
6540277.stm
"The BBC has confirmed that it will be broadcasting the concerts on TV and radio in the UK. "
and interestingly:
"All profits will go to organisations including the Alliance for Climate Protection, the Climate Group and Stop Climate Chaos."
the head of the "Alliance"? - why its none other than Al Gore. nice bit of "i scratch your back if you scratch mine" between Al Beeb and the Goracle...
lets have a game of "spot the climate scientist" shall we:
http://theclimategroup.org/index...r_people/staff/
http://theclimategroup.org/index...advisory_board/
http://www.stopclimatechaos.org/...about_us/
10.asp
http://www.allianceforclimatepro...bout/who-we-
are
Anonymous:
Al Gore has been a luaghable joke in the USA ever since the 80s when him and his dippy wife tried to create the PMRC (Parents Music Resource Centre)....where parents could go find out what music was "bad" for their children.....
It soon won the rename of Pre Menstural Retarded C***s, and was laughed out of town.....
What I want to know, is when is Madonnas next album out....if it so happenes to be around the time of the gig, say no more.....as she pulled the same trick with Children in Need......offered to do a free set on the show, and "amazingly" her new album went to number 1 that very same weekend....all profits to Madonna of course.....
Just more multimillionaires who have their lot, and want to pull the ladder up on the rest of the world.....while still making millions for themselves.
And is'nt the BBC soooooooooo predictable in wanting to promote these 80s has beens...Phil Collins? Madonna....old crusties more like...the kids will not be impressed....
archduke:
"This is the British Broadcasting Corporation FFS, and the year is 2007!
Biodegradable | 10.04.07 - 3:09 pm | "
yeah , i agree with you. i worded my reply a bit clumsily i admit.
"amimissingsomething | 10.04.07 - 6:39 pm "
i've a few more
"Should Jews be allowed to visit Saudi Arabia, or do you agree with that states anti-semetic discrimination?"
"Last week, a man convicted of murder was publicly beheaded in Riyadh with a sword according to Islamic Law. Do you think that sword beheadings should be introduced to the UK in order to combat violent crime? And is a sharp sword preferable to a blunt rusty one?"
"The Iraqi Ayatollah Al Sistani has declared that non Muslims are as unclean as dog faeces. Should the Archbishop of Canterbury respond in kind by declaring all Muslims to be eliminated in a new Crusader war?"
Jon:
"Protest is held at power station"
"The Eastside Climate Action group said it was protesting against the facility in the face of climate change."
And if you want to join this small group of people the BBC give a web link to their site.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/engla...ire/
6541105.stm
archduke:
" Anonymous | 10.04.07 - 6:50 pm |"
from Madonna's wiki entry:
"Madonna has started production on her next album, and is expected to be released by November 2007.A box set containing three CDs and two DVDs marking the 25th anniversary, is said to be released sometime in October 2007."
so yeah - expect a lead single from the new album out around July...
Biodegradable:
UK Live Earth.
The concerts aim to set a "green example" for other music events by using measures such as eco-friendly electricity, sustainable lighting and carbon-neutral travel.
Back to the Middle Ages then?
Former US Vice-President Al Gore, who is one of those involved in organising the events, said he expected Live Earth to attract "an audience of billions".
At £55 per ticket that's a nice little earner!
"We hope Live Earth will launch a global campaign, giving a critical mass of people around the world the tools they need to help solve the climate crisis," he said.
Quite a list of "tools":
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Madonna
Snow Patrol
James Blunt
Genesis
The Police
Bon Jovi
Roger Waters
Kanye West
Kelly Clarkson
Wot, no Lord Bono?
The vote isn't going the Beeb's way either:
Will Live Earth make you think about climate change?
Yes
18.74%
No
81.26%
7827 Votes Cast
archduke:
" Jon | 10.04.07 - 6:57 pm "
funny how a bunch of lunatics protesting outside a power station gets a full page report, but the three days of riots in Utrecht pass unnoticed.
lets face it - they arent reporting the news.
archduke:
"Biodegradable | 10.04.07 - 7:02 pm | "
The Chilli Peppers "Stadium Arcadium" hasnt sold as well as their previous albums, so they need a boost to sell more copies of that one...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Red...ers_discography
Genesis agreed to reform in Nov 2006, and their "Turn It On Again" tour is kicking off this summer...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gen...:
_2006.E2.80.93
Also, in July 2007, Genesis are re-releasing 4 albums in SACD/DVD format (scroll down)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Gen...sis_discography
strange coincidence, eh?
Biodegradable:
Profits from UK Live Earth will go to, among others, these people:
http://theclimategroup.org/index...r_people/staff/
Not one of them seems to have ever had a 'proper job'.
These and other organisations like them are registered charities yet all of those people are paid handsomely.
Of course there is a 'Climate Change Industry' eager to keep the gravy train on the rails. They all have a vested interest in maintaining the myth.
Anonymous:
Well go figure.....
All the acts, have good reason to do "chariddy" work around that time then.....
All have albums and tours that will need promoting...
Jesus wept, the people at the BBC are just soooooooooooooooooo f***ing gullable....lol.
Morons...do they think we don't notice these things?
This is all about money and power....and sweet FA to do with the environment......
I hope the backlash is huge...and so far, it looks like it will be........another blunder buy the crumbling BBC....lol.
archduke:
kanye west has a new album out around sept 2007 - so expect a few lead singles for it around july/august time...
Biodegradable:
These and other organisations like them are registered charities...
Before Reith or some [deleted] like him jumps on me, I admit that The Cilmate Group is not exactly a registered charity. But it's as good as.
archduke:
"Biodegradable | 10.04.07 - 7:16 pm "
i've been reading through those bios, and its scarey stuff. not a single scientist who is currently working in the field of climate science. its packed full of the usual policy wonks
http://theclimategroup.org/index.../callum_grieve/
by contrast, the "nuclear winter" theory in the 1980s was lead, promoted and backed by proper scientists...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuc.../
Nuclear_winter
Jon:
Will Live Earth make you think about climate change?
Yes
18.74%
No
81.26%
7827 Votes Cast
Biodegradable | 10.04.07 - 7:02 pm | #
I like it!!
pounce:
Bio wrote;
"The dhimmification of the BBC continues apace.Does Pakistan fatwa promote intolerance?"
I noticed in both BBC articles on that story that they omit the fact that the Mullahs not only want her sacked but they also want her punished.
I wonder why the BBC left that out?
Jon:
"i've been reading through those bios, and its scarey stuff. not a single scientist who is currently working in the field of climate science. its packed full of the usual policy wonks"
That is not surprising:
"Where was the proof?
Imagine my amazement when, using the golden access key which a Reuters correspondent has, I couldn’t find any scientists who would say there was proof of any kind that the link between human activity and the climate was established. I talked to the world’s top climate scientists on both coasts of America, Britain and Germany. The closest any scientist came to saying there was a link came from Professor Stephen Schneider of Stanford University in California and then he was much more equivocal than he is now. Even today, when scientists from the warming side of the argument appear on TV debates, they still refrain from answering directly questions about the strength of the science. Nobody ever accused me of being anything but unbiased and balanced in my reporting that the link between humans and climate was precarious, to say the least.
Despite this, the world’s media, led by the egregious BBC, still reported human induced global warming as an established fact, without balancing stories with the truth that there were a substantial group of top scientists who disagreed. "
http://www.wintonsworld.com/
news...onframeset.html
archduke:
C.O.O.
http://theclimategroup.org/index...aff/jim_walker/
"Prior to his environmental career Jim was a professional athlete,"
Development Manager
http://theclimategroup.org/index...aff/jo_randell/
"Jo graduated with honours from Colgate University with a Bachelors degree in Art and Art History"
Carbon Finance Project Manager
http://theclimategroup.org/index...ff/josh_harris/
"Prior to joining The Climate Group, Josh worked for the Australian Federal Government’s Greenhouse Office."
Policy Director
http://theclimategroup.org/index...ff/mark_kenber/
"Mark is an economist who has worked on environmental issues for over a decade"
Head of Membership
http://theclimategroup.org/index...ichael_mcguire/
"Michael worked for four years in business development roles for the Guardian newspaper in the UK and at The Age newspaper in Australia. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Manchester Metropolitan University."
U.S. Director
http://theclimategroup.org/index.../nancy_skinner/
policy wonk - "Nancy has a long history of developing urban energy and environmental policy with governmental and non profit agencies."
http://theclimategroup.org/index...taff/rob_moore/
"Rob has spent his career to date working in the communications industry, specifically for advertising agencies Abbott Mead Vickers and Lunar."
Director Australia
http://theclimategroup.org/index.../rupert_posner/
policy wonk - "Rupert Posner has almost 15 years experience in industry, government and the environment movement developing environmental policies and working in communications."
Project Manager
http://theclimategroup.org/index.../sophy_bristow/
"Before working for The Climate Group Sophy worked for 5 years in broadcasting and communications as an Assistant Producer and Director of specialist documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4 (UK)"
Programme Director
http://theclimategroup.org/index...phanie_pfeifer/
policy wonk - "Previously Stephanie worked for Morgan Grenfell and Deutsche Bank for 7 years as a senior economist in the Global Markets Research group, focusing on European countries"
CEO
http://theclimategroup.org/index...f/steve_howard/
policy wonk. no career in climate science...
"He is also a founding member of HSBC’s Carbon Management Task Force.
Prior to his role with The Climate Group, Steve was a Partner in ERM where he led the work on Corporate Social Responsibility for clients as diverse as Kingfisher and ABN Amro and on climate change related projects"
Biodegradable:
For those like me who were unable to watch the interview with Leading Seaperson Topsy Turney, it's here:
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/...age_Turney&
only
I have to say I found her pathetic, and asked myself what somebody like her was doing in what was once known as the "Senior Service".
Biodegradable:
archduke | 10.04.07 - 7:39 pm
Basically, if any of them actually had to work for a living they'd starve.
archduke:
jon - > staggering article - thanks - and from a guy who was "on the inside" in Reuters...
http://www.wintonsworld.com/
news...onframeset.html
archduke:
the "live earth " poll is on here...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/enter...ent/
6540277.stm
archduke:
live earth poll:
no 80.98% yes : 19.02 %
8853 votes cast.
(is the tide turning? are people waking up to the charade?)
archduke:
interesting interview from 18 Dougty street
http://doughty.gdbtv.com/
player....65e2b98e44b9ef#
Iain Dale interviews Richard Sambrook, director of the BBC World Service and Global News.
GCooper:
Amusing to hear, on BBC R4's PM this evening, the programme's editor listing the areas in which, he believes, the programme is felt by some listeners to show bias.
Excluded from his list were partiality on behalf of the Left, social liberalism and 'Green' politics.
Either the man is a liar, or, if he genuinely believes what he said, he isn't even aware how the Corporation's news and analysis is perceived by so many.
Clearly, he is not a reader of this blog...
Jon:
Biodegradable:
"For those like me who were unable to watch the interview with Leading Seaperson Topsy Turney, it's here:"
Bio thanks - but no thanks.
Connell:
Connell | 08.04.07 - 12:23 pm
I think this is an example of a BBC reporter putting their view across..
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ope/ 6532951.stm
You may think that, but it’s not. The piece is a model of impartial reporting.
Your comment, however, isn’t.
You pull out one quotation that sums-up the views of Sarko’s opponents but don’t mention several other passages where Sarko’s supporters put their case. Anyone not following the link would be left thinking the piece was mostly anti-Sarko - while, in fact, Sarko supporters get the lion's share of the space - which is fine since the report is about Sarko's campaign rally.
Another false allegation of BBC bias.
John Reith | 10.04.07 - 5:41 pm | #
It would not be bias, if a BBC reporter had a similar quotation
when dealing with Ségolène Royal's election campaign eg..
Many on the right feel ...etc..etc...
But I know thats not likely to happen...
pounce:
I’ve been reading a number of news outlets (As well as a few blogs) these last few days ref the captured Royal Navy Sailors. Almost all to a tee are dismissive about how the sailors reacted. I just wish to put my pennies worth in.
1) The Sailors were kidnapped in open water by Iranian gunboats in under the guns of a combined naval flotilla.
2) The people who were captured would have been informed beforehand by the brass (Who would have been informed by the politicians) not to fire the first round in any entanglement with the Iranians. (In otherwords you have to be shot at first before you can fire back)
3) All of the sailors (and I include booties in that) would have heard about how Muslims have a penchant for lopping off heads for no reason what-so-ever.
With the above in mind how do you think those sailors felt at getting kidnapped under the cover of the guns of their ship as well as the guns of their allies.
Of course what has happened here is that the story has moved away from how the sailors were taken (What are the rules of engagement, what rules are the Navy playing to) Nobody (and I include the BBC here) seems to be asking the questions why those Iranian gunboats had a TV camera on board, how they knew to move in when the Lynx moved back to the ship and how the 15 sailors instead of languishing in some crummy dockyard on the Iranian side were despatched ASAP to Tehran before even the Admirals at Northwood even knew they had been nicked.
Lets be honest here the bigger picture isn’t about whether 15 sailors should get paid for telling their story. But about how the United Nations and EU are prostrating themselves in which to appease Iran. (Shades of the League of Nations and Neville Chamberlain seem to spring to mind)
As for getting paid, tell me is there anybody here who wouldn’t refuse £80000?
Talking about they shouldn’t get paid, she shouldn’t be in the navy and the Royal Navy is a joke,kind of deflects attention away from the real question about how this government has not only downgraded our armed forces but tied them up with political dogma in which to limit their effectiveness.
Half the idiots who bitch our brave servicemen, have no problem doing so from the comfort of the LCD screen and wireless keyboard. Spend a minute in their shoes. Try thinking brave thoughts as you are told by your prison wardens that your country has sold you out. (Hell half the British army think that way anyway) I think you will find the Iranians had been planning this for a long time. We are not the only people to employ physiologists. Note how all the sailors were separated. How they very quickly did as they were wanted to. (Anybody watch the Norman Bigley video?)
The first rule of warfare.
“Never underestimate your enemy”
Now you may wish to continue.
GCooper:
archduke writes:
"jon - > staggering article - thanks - and from a guy who was "on the inside" in Reuters...
http://www.wintonsworld.com/ news...onframeset.html"
That is a very interesting link, archduke - thank you.
A nicely designed blog (for once!) and yet another cogent voice raised against the Left's media hegemony.
archduke:
"pounce | 10.04.07 - 8:52 pm"
good post pounce. as an ex-forces person you have more of a handle on this than the rest of us. when you think about it the "selling stories" woo -hah is indeed a smokescreen for covering higher up asses....
pounce:
Thanks archduke for that. As a grunt during the 80s I had to endure many an idiot who presumed that because I was in the army I was actually a war monger. Wrong the last person who ever wants to go to war is the soldier.
Why?
Because he knows he can die.
Oh he will go, but more out of loyalty to his buddy, his squad, his troop, his squadron than to loyalty to his country. (Note I am talking about post WW2 here, where no physical threat to the UK has existed) He doesn’t want to die, he wants to live. So when I see the BBC bring out politicians from every shade of the spectrum in which to cry about how these sailors should die for their country before getting paid kind of gets me asking the question;
“Err Ming old fellow, I didn’t see you or your mates (who have just signed up to another £10,000 pay rise) catching the first flight out to Tehran. I mean these idiots had no problem in flying out to talk to Saddam, So why is Iran different.”
So on that note can any of the BBC clones here name me one politician who while berating the Brits for selling their story who not only actually refused that 10 grand pay rise the other week , but who flew out to Tehran to solicit our sailors release. Nah I don’t think they can.
pounce:
Just wondering how the BBC will write up the Scum match on ITV.
Man U scrape through lucky win.
The BBC hater of the British.
And I'm a Leeds fan at that.
archduke:
however, pounce, you have to admit that the term "fighting fit" has gone a bit, err, flabby, since the 80s
http://haddock-somethingfishy.bl...ghting-
fit.html
or maybe thats a navy thing. i dunno...
archduke:
anyways , i'm erring on the "sun tzu - all war is deception" school of thought. covering asses and befuddling the iranians in one go.....
archonix:
Anonymous | 10.04.07 - 5:21 pm | #
"Western allies criticise Iran" 29 characters
"US, EU, UN criticise Iran" 25 characters
"Iran faces Western ire" 22 characters
"US and allies 'condemn' Iran" 28 characters
"Europe, US show Iran anger" 26 characters
"EU, UN call for Iran 'showdown'" 32 characters
Are you saying that this 31 to 33 character limit is a minimum limit? I have seen very short headlines on the BBC website. I confess I've never spent the time to count them, but I would hazard that at least some were below 30 characters.
As for the "weird quotes", well, I was simply demonstrating that it's possible to put any spin you like on a headline.
I know, lets take a random sample!
DNA reveals Smith baby's father
Fans clash with police at Man Utd
Ukraine judges 'facing threats'
Sainsbury's suitors 'pulling out'
Websites urged to act on bullies
Ok, perhaps there's something to it after all...
Oh look, they're "padding" with 'quotes' too. Funny that.
I have to confess I wasn't aware of this 31 - 33 character limit when I did my little exercise, but that doesn't make a difference. Headlines can be written in many different ways, even with a strict character limit. There's one in my list above that fits the limit very nicely, gets the story across and yet manages to put a completely different angle on the whole thing.
Ok, lets try again then, bearing the limit in mind.
Western Powers Critical of Iran = 31
United Nations 'to condemn' Iran = 32
US and Allies Raise Iranian Ire = 31
Islamic Republic Given Ultimatum = 32
Europe, US show anger toward Iran = 33
Ahmedinejad claims 'unrepentent' = 31
That was entertaining... see the differences?
archduke:
feargal "cry me a river" keane is currently doing a sob piece about the Inuiit eskimos in the Arctic on Newsnight.
the end of the ice age in the arctic is presented as something terrible.
hello? not having minus 60 degree temperatures and instead having something a bit warmer is somehow AWFUL???
archduke:
sorry - that wasnt newsnight. that was the ten o clock news.
archduke:
incredible scare quotes here
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...rld/
default.stm
four "bombers" dead in casblanca
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ica/
6540369.stm
hello? three of them blew themselves up!!!
pounce:
however, pounce, you have to admit that the term "fighting fit" has gone a bit, err, flabby, since the 80s
You make a valid observation and a very valid point. As I’m not a Matlow I’m afraid I can’t speak for her or her service. However I will say one thing in her defence as large, fat or whatever people deem her to be. She was doing her job, which as everybody reads in the paper on a daily basis. (But not the BBC) servicemen and women aren’t having an easy time out in the Gulf. Maybe Haddock (the writer of that article) may wish to inform his readers of what service he has done to his country. As I mentioned before the armchair warriors know all the answers. Never for them the hot bunk. Never for them the fear of action stations, no for them when they die, they simply press the continue button on their Sony Play Stations when they die.
In other words I’d rather have a FUB next to me in a hot zone than an armchair general back in blighty telling me where I got it wrong.
Bryan:
Hmmmm, an atypical BBC moment with Claire Bolderson on Newshour this afternoon. She was talking to John Williams, former director of communications at the Foreign Office, and asked him what he thought European governments would make of some frank, anti-Iranian comments by John Bolton.
Wiliams: I find them dismaying....utterly dismaying to hear an influential American voice talking about regime change all over again. The....alarming thing that's happening is since the incident with the British service personnel held in Iran we have had two people who are both extremists dominating the airwaves across the world on this - president Ahmedinejad from Teheran and John Bolton from Washington and we really urgently need some serious, sensible, restrained voices explaining that there is another way of doing this....
Bolderson: ....you say "extremists'. I find it a bit harsh about Mr. Bolton. He does have quite a hard line point of view but the fact is that there are differences of approach, aren't there. In Washington there have been other people talking about the possibility even of military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities - not something favoured here.
Williams: I don't think extremist is too strong a word. He said this morning on BBC radio that we should be decisively increasing the pressure ultimately leading to regimne change. Does he mean war or not? He wasn't asked that, sadly, but I think he should be asked if he means war.
Would be nice if Mr. Williams addressed that last question to Ahmedinejad. But he probably wouldn't dream of doing such a thing. Interesting debate also about the "extremists". Problem is, "extremist" is one of the BBC's substitute words for "terrorist" so what Claire Bolderson is probably really saying to Williams is that it's a bit unfair to call John Bolton a terrorist. Still, it's good to see the BBC departing from the usual compliant agreement with the standard predictable shock and horror coming from Williams at the mere idea of a tough stand against Iran.
Bolderson, incidentally, is apparently no friend of Israel, according to this 2001 article:
http://www.camera.org/index.asp?...2&
x_article=335
But it could be she's learned a couple of things since then.
Jon:
archduke says:
" ..hello? not having minus 60 degree temperatures and instead having something a bit warmer is somehow AWFUL???"
archduke | 10.04.07 - 10:30 pm | #
You may like to know ( and I'm sure the BBC does) that the temeratures in the Artic were much higher between 1935 - 1945 then they are today. That is why "Climate Scientists and the Beeb" tend to look at temperatures after 1960 - which shows an increase. Like every other "measurement" it depends where you put your reference point.
Other details of Artic temeratures and how the sun does not actually warm the Artic is here.
http://www.warwickhughes.com/coo...cool/
cool13.htm
archduke:
"we have had two people who are both extremists dominating the airwaves across the world on this - president Ahmedinejad from Teheran and John Bolton from Washington"
whats so "extremist" about being against Islamofascism, suicide bombing terrorism, hanging gays and raped women from a crane and stoning "apostates" to death - and wanting to topple a regime that endorses all of that?
so therefore, by the same logic, Churchill was an "extremist" because he wanted to topple Nazism?
Block 813:
Surely, an "Extremist" is someone/anyone who speaks in absolutes...whatever they are talking about.
Which makes the BBC the biggest piece of shite extremist on the planet.
archduke:
" pounce | 10.04.07 - 10:37 pm "
i'm on your side pounce, but when i see videos like this, i start having doubts.
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/
..._Watch#comments
its that nagging "bad taste in the mouth but i cant really put my finger on it, but i support the forces..." kinda feeling...
then again - maybe the iranian propaganda *has* been effective in sowing doubt in our minds on the effectiveness of our armed forces.
Allan@Aberdeen:
Pounce wrote, on the subject of the frightened fifteen:
"Half the idiots who bitch our brave servicemen, have no problem doing so from the comfort of the LCD screen and wireless keyboard. Spend a minute in their shoes."
The problem with that is that the people who are critical of our military in this instance, may not be in the military themselves but would at least expect those who are in the armed services to behave with the responsibility which goes with the job.
I sit in my comfortable chair in front of my computer and I am critical of the conduct of those who facilitated the capture of our servicemen, and also of the behaviour of our servicemen both before and after their release.
Purple Scorpion:
More BBC bias. This time it was tonight's BBC1 10 o'clock "news". Foster parents get weekly payments from government. Astonishingly, grandparents don't. The BBC report showcased a hard-up grandparent, and then a prosperous looking official who said he couldn't see why grandparents shouldn't be paid like foster parents.
I'll tell you why, matey (though the BBC couldn't find time). Because there isn't a bottomless pot of fairy gold waiting to be doled out to grateful grannies. Because the money would come from parents of other children.
Cut at the end to Huw Edwards with furrowed brow. "If you are a grandparent and want to comment, you can go to bbc.co.uk/haveyoursay". And what if I'm a mere taxpayer and licence fee payer, Huw in your expensive suit which I paid for?
GCooper:
Bryan writes:
"She was talking to John Williams, former director of communications at the Foreign Office, and asked him what he thought European governments would make of some frank, anti-Iranian comments by John Bolton."
I've been so steamed-up about this loathsome, arrogant piece of work that I have had to force myself not to post about him before now. Sadly, he seems to have been on a personal PR campaign all weekend, being wheeled from one BBC studio to another to spout the same fawning, craven, grovelling nonsense to any BBC hack willing to give him air time.
The Williams line is pure appeasement and on the rare occasion it has been pointed out to him that all it has achieved has been to leave Iran laughing behind its hand as it gets ever-closer to being able to make a nuclear weapon, he has gasped like some scandalised Victorian maiden aunt at the alternative, which is to take action .
What is particularly depressing is that this miserable fool of a ZaNuLabour apparatchik is being interviewed at all. He is not, nor has he ever been, elected by anyone. He is a spin doctor. He is a dog, barking to fill the silence left because his masters (EU officials and government hacks) are too embarrassed and scared to be interviewed. His vacuous opinions are of no importance at all, save to give us an insight into the empty head of his former master, Jack Straw (himself a man of almost unimaginable worthlessness).
Williams and his air-headed band of smug cowards have brought us several steps closer to a nuclear war. The policies he is pimping have failed. If he is on air at all, it should be with his head bowed as he apologises to the world for his utter, irredeemable stupidity.
Jon:
Sorry to keep harping on about GW but I've been trying to find those elusive 2,500 scientists who wrote the IPCC report on climate change - I think I might have found them, as you may have guessed, the figure is actually slightly lower than 2,500:
"The narrowness of the IPCC process can be documented by the own words of the 21 scientists (yes- just 21 out of the broad community of climate scientists) who led the writing of the IPCC SPM. As written in the March 24, 2007 issue of New Scientist by
Piers Forster, University of Leeds, UK
Richard Somerville, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San Diego, California, US
Nathan Bindoff, ACE CRC, CSIRO MAR and University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
Guy Brasseur, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, US
Jens Christensen, Danish Climate Centre, Copenhagen, Denmark
Ken Denman, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, University of Victoria
Gabi Hegerl, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, US
Bruce Hewitson, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Eystein Jansen, Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Bergen, Norway
Philip Jones, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
Peter Lemke, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany
Gerald Meehl, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, US
Jonathan Overpeck, University of Arizona, Tucson, US
V. Ramaswamy, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey, US
David Randall, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, US
Thomas Stocker, University of Bern, Switzerland
Kevin Trenberth, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, US
Hervé Le Treut, National Centre of Scientific Research, Paris, and École Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France
Jürgen Willebrand, Leibniz Institute for Marine Sciences, Kiel, Germany
Richard Wood, Met Office, Exeter, UK
Francis Zwiers, Environment Canada, Toronto
[excerpts from the article written by the 21 scientists state,
“According to established IPCC procedure this report went through several formal and fully documented expert and government review processes, where many thousands of comments were responded to. It assessed the peer-reviewed literature published prior to July 2006. At all stages, including at the final plenary in Paris, the authors had control over the text; all CLAs were present in Paris.”
This statement means that the 21 scientists were able to chose what to include in the IPCC SPM and what to exclude. They can ignore peer reviewed results as part of their assessment. The 21 scientists listed above do not represent a cross-section of views of the human role in climate change. "
http://climatesci.colorado.edu/
Ultraviolence:
""extremist""
An extremist talks in absolutes.
As far as the nihilistic leftist (generally) is concerned all values are false and knows that there is nothing worth fighting over.
On the train once I listened to some gap year suburbanite retards complain that 'the whole world has gone mad' and then giggle. What could possibly be worth fighting over?
Moderate of course means peaceful, pious and inoffensive. Suburbia.
archduke:
but inoffensive suburbia is precisely what the American soldiers in Iraq are fighting for.
archduke:
" GCooper | 11.04.07 - 12:17 am |"
history will be kind to Bolton. however the likes of Williams will be firmly put into the Chamberlain camp.
archduke:
"Sorry to keep harping on about GW"
no need to feel sorry about exposing the global fraud that is MMGW. keep harping on about it...
archduke:
"be nice to america or we'll bring democracy to your country"
http://www.techeblog.com/index.p...s-with-america/
TAM4:
There is nothing incorrect about applying the term extremist to Bolton. As long as Bolton continues in his role of apologist for the terrorist regimes of the U.S. and Israel, the cap fits, if he is the acceptable face of the neo-con Zionists, oil and arms company profiteers in government in Washinton then we are in deep trouble if they ever let loose the bad guys.
Nothing from the whole cabal has the ring of truth Rice refers to 'a bombing in Lebanon this morning' referring to the U.S. backed Israeli air strikes upon a bomb shelter packed with children, disingenuously ignoring the fact that the bombing was carried out by Israel using U.S. supplied munitions and aircraft and with U.S. government encouragement and license, she herself was in part responsible for that bombing and the other hundreds of lives lost.
Bolton sneeringly belittles Britains involvement in the diplomacy that took place, secure in the knowledge that the British governments position was to unashamedly side with the U.S. and Israel's destruction of infrastructure and taking of Lebanese lives.
French involvement was justified as resulting from French 'historic interest' in the region, how much greater is this French interest than Britains 'historic interest' in the region and responsibility for allowing the Zionist squatters in Palestine to terrorise all the neighbouring countries and people. In that case if 'historic interest' is the guiding principle then it should have been Britain representing the Palestinians and Hezbollah and France representing Lebanon and Syria with the U.S. completely out of the picture.
Bolton stepped well over the line in this second part of the 'Summer War In Lebanon' in his quite appalling and slanderous attacks on Kofi Annan, further proof that U.S. financial control of the U.N. and even the location of the U.N. headquarters in New York is a terrible mistake which must be rectified and the whole nature of the Security Council apparatus needs radically overhauled or scrapped with authority being vested in the General Assembly where it legally and rightly should always reside.
The programmes mention of 100,000 cluster bombs does not mention that every cluster bomb contained at least 12 individual bomblets, still killing and maiming children and farmers particularly today and long into the future, so we are definitely in the region of one and a half million individual pieces of unexploded and delayed or disturbance detonated ordinance still on the ground along will millions of other mines Israel has planted throughout southern Lebanon which it will not disclose the locations of even to the U.N. who have multinational forces operating there.
This program, both parts has been invaluable whilst being a slick piece of pro-Israeli propaganda it highlights the utterly mad detachment from reality that pervades Israeli government and which the media both swallows whole and implicitly condones , it has backfired completely though as given enough rope the Israelis have started to hang themselves.
Danny Ayalon, former Israeli Ambassador to the United States typified this insanity with this prize gem of doublethink "after the civilians in this area were warned time and again to leave", which shows such compassion, we are going to blow up all your homes and towns and then sow hundreds of thousands of anti-personnal mines and bombs to prevent you returning' he boasts never questioning the sheer murderous insanity of committing such an attack in the first place.
This is ethnic cleansing/genocide admitted, confessed to the pre-meditated intent and subsequent commission of it, and he boasts of it proudly.
Thanks BBC, quite accidentally you have exposed the Israeli regime for the brutal murderous thugs they really are, keep it up.
Ultraviolence:
Suburbia = Existentialism LoL!
(sorry)
Bryan:
TAM4,
Your post is not worth reading, only deserving of the barest of quick scans. You're a mix of miseducation, propaganda and vile hatred of others.
When the Arabs, aided and abetted by the BBC and others, stop their terrorist atrocities against Israel, then Israel will have no need to defend herself. But evidently they can't bring hemselves to stop it. Too many of them are not big enough to resist the schooling in hatred they receive from the cradle on up from their teachers and parents and imams. The eventual aim of course, is to make the entire world Islamic. What a sorry planet that would be. Thank God for people like John Bolton.
In a way I feel sorry for you as you carry all that baggage around with you. You must be really unhappy. But you could try, at least, not to spread your unhappiness around the place. It's highly contagious and people could catch it.
(Let's hope this troll feed will be so unpalatable it wont come back for more.)
Stuck-record:
Archduke 10:35 pm
I laughed out loud at last nights Newsnight piece on Inuit Eskimos of the Arctic. Have the Newsnight editors no sense of irony?
The moment when they introduced the Inuit global warming specialist was hysterical. There he was, riding towards the camera -- on a petrol powered snowmobile! And he then proceeded to lecture us (i.e. the West -- not him) that we must cut down on our carbon emissions as (our) pollution was destroying the natural Inuit way of life -- which was illustrated by Inuit attempting to hunt for seal carrying precision rifles, which are a product of Western technology.
They then cut to a wonderfully ironic scene of an urban Inuit town; every house clearly pouring excess heat from their chimney stacks into the clean polar air; quickly followed by a shot of the aeroplanes that are required to supply the non-viable, non self-sustaining inuit settlements.
The message of the piece seemed to be that the Inuit should go back to their 'natural' way of life; living in igloos, eating frozen seal or moose meat, no medical care, no education, no prospect of anything but a hunter-gather lifestyle.
Cool.
Typical muddleheaded nonsense.
IiD:
Stuck-record
That is a beautiful piece of fisking!
Hit-tip
Did anybody catch the good Doctor Fox on Newsnight.....I gather that NOBODY came on to challenge him!
Bryan:
marshall | 10.04.07 - 1:45 pm,
This is probably a case of the HYS moderators not publishing your comments simply because they are being flooded, not because of bias. This topic has attracted thousands of comments in a short time. They can't publish them all.
They are a bit lazy in the way they go about it, though, just publishing a little batch, flushing a large batch down the toilet and then publishing another little batch. You can see that from the time stamp on the comments.
Believe me, they would have published your pro-cash-for-stories comments if they had seen them.
IiD:
pounce | 10.04.07 - 8:52 pm |
Good post!
I’m not for one moment saying that these guys shouldn’t tell there story, what I despise is the fact that some sections of the British media have manipulated this whole sorry saga to strengthen Iran’s hand.
The sniggering Harrison that I’ve just seen is typical of the false ‘patriotism’ of IBC
http://search.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/...e=all&x=23&
y=13
My argument is firstly the very emphasis on the ‘human’ side of the story suggests that the rules of engagement weren’t robust, but also a number of very troubling aspects as well as pointed out by Dr Fox and others. It also sends out a message that UK service personnel are ‘weak’ a very dangerous thing to say in a male dominated culture.
I also hold a belief that Mr Alan Johnston kidnapping is no coincidence either, and that the BBC briefly reported that our patrols are now well away only increases the military pressure in Basra and along the Iranian boarder-including some of Iraq’s most important oil instillations. The timing of an IRGC defection and the capture of IRGC commanders suggests there is a lot more to this.
Lastly, I think it is time to look at the state of our armed forces by both civilians and military-we all have a stake in the defence of our nations, so to ensure you have the right “kit” people need to be actively involved. The military is too ‘delicate’ to be allowed to be manipulated by PC doublethink.
I think we need to have some strait answers, because my gut feeling is that we are getting out of Basra, not for the good of the people, but because it supposedly allows “closure” for Brown.
Nep Nederlander:
A few things:
1. "Cambridge Spies" is being rerun at the moment, and it struck me how terribly sympathetic it is to the whole idea of upper-class Brits spying for the Soviet Union.
2. New comedy: is it just me, or are all the new comedy shows being pushed (and even older stuff like Catherine Tate) absolute rubbish? This can only be brought to you by the unique way the BBC is funded: no commercial channel would ever pay for that sort of crap.
IiD:
Nep
I picked up that ‘Cambridge Spies’ tosh from Free Record Shop typical of the lefty worldview.
I thought it was “Queer as Folk” in the 1930’s…….
archduke:
reuters (breaking) - explosion outside govt building in algiers
archduke:
yet more fuzzy headed woolly thinking
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_po...ics/
6542567.stm
The British and US policy towards Iraq has "spawned new terror in the region"
ok. so it has - funded mostly by Iran and Syria. so , should we lob a few cruise missiles at Iran? why no - of course not.
The report, Beyond Terror: The Truth About the Real Threats to Our World, said any military intervention in Iran would be "disastrous".
oh ok. so we cant do anything about Iranian terror in Iraq. might as all go home so , and let the Sunni v Shia genocide kick off. will the "Oxford Research Group" send a task force to the region to stop that happening?
GCooper:
Nep Nederlander writes:
"New comedy: is it just me, or are all the new comedy shows being pushed (and even older stuff like Catherine Tate) absolute rubbish?"
The decline in the BBC's ability to produce new comedy has been very obvious and nowhere more so than on Radio 4, traditionally the breeding ground of new talent.
It's tempting to say that this has been because of its obsession with exclusively hiring Leftist activists who think using the words 'Bush and chimp' in the same sentence is the height of wit. But the BBC has been hiring and nurturing Lefties for decades, so it probably isn't that.
Perhaps the decline is due to PC education? After all, a generation that doesn't crease-up uncontrollably when confronted by natural clowns like Bono, Thom Yorke and George Monbiot probably isn't going to bring us another P.G. Wodehouse, Peter Sellers or Peter Cook.
will:
BBC pathetic excuse #99
The BBC has rejected a complaint from the Roman Catholic group Opus Dei that a drama unfairly depicted its members as “murderers, thieves and adulterers”.
The lay group, whose members include Ruth Kelly, the Communities Secretary, complained about the BBC One crime drama Waking The Dead.
The programme portrayed the fictional head of the organisation as a shadowy figure pursuing money and power, and implied that Opus Dei was involved in the murder of the Italian banker Roberto Calvi in 1982. Opus Dei said that the drama presented its members as “self-serving hypocrites” who “cover up evil actions while hiding behind a veneer of piety and penitential rituals of self-flagellation”.
But Andrew Bell, the head of the BBC’s editorial complaints unit, said he could not uphold the complaint as he thought most viewers would not take the programme seriously.
http://
entertainment.timesonline...icle1637397.ece
Really, when they lapped up the Da Vinci Code, believe 9/11 to be Bush's one unbotched achievement & that the US never put a man on the moon?
Block 813:
GOOD.....that will piss even more people off.....LOL>......
The BBC is digging its own grave.
Block 813:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/
0,2...,264932,00.html
exgof:
I notice that when I vote on "Will Live Earth make you think about climate change?"
'No' obviously, that the Votes Cast remains at 16,153. Am I paranoid or would the BBC be censoring?
exgof:
And yes I did refresh!
Ralph:
Someone may have spotted this BBC report of the bombings in Casablanca:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ica/
6540369.stm
But it reads more like a parody of the BBC than an actual report.
Are they really bombers:
''Bombers' die in Casablanca raid'
Suspect everything:
'A police raid on suspected militants in the Moroccan city of Casablanca'
'a raid on an alleged militant hideout in a poor area of the city'
'Another three suspected militants blew themselves up during the police manhunt'
'when police raided a suspected militant hide-out in Casablanca's El Fida district'
'a third man blew himself up after reportedly jumping from a balcony'
'A fourth suspected militant'
disillusioned_german:
Al Beeb - a suspected News Organization (for militans!)
disillusioned_german:
Sorry, make that "militants"...
Umbongo:
pounce and others
Re the sailors/marines: you may be interested in the results of some research into the phenomenon of "collaboration" by POWs. After the Korean War the Pentagon was very concerned that a proportion of US POWs cooperated with the North Koreans: "cooperation" varied from very low levels of spying on colleagues right up (or down) to defection. The Pentagon was particularly concerned because of the Turkish contingent to the UN forces in Korea not one Turkish POW cooperated in any way with their N Korean captors. The research concluded that the reason for the different records was that the Turks kept their military heirarchy completely intact and dealt with their captors as a homogeneous unit, and the Turks only dealt with the N Koreans through senior Turkish captive officers: no individual soldiers (despite severe N Korean "persuasion") communicated anything except name rank and number with their captors.
It seems to me that not only were the 15 sailors/marines not trained - or even briefed - about what to do if captured but, insofar as it was possible, no effort was made by the officers to maintain military discipline and organisation within the 15-man group. The results of this we have seen and, given the Pentagon research, were entirely predictable.
To comment further: I have no experience of service life, but I can still appreciate the guts necessary for a fireman to enter a burning building or a Pte Beharry to earn a VC. I can also appreciate the peculiar gutlessness of servicemen who, on the verge of being freed, drool over their goodie-bags and kow-tow to their captors knowing full well that their reactions are being filmed for propaganda purposes. I don't expect heroics of our servicemen - particularly those not strictly in a combat role - but I do expect some passing relationship to self-respect in their behaviour when captured and post-capture. Money grubbing, in particular, is not an attractive or dignified sight: the example of the wife of the prime minister is not one to emulate.
will:
Lining up for the Tehran gig when Ms Harrison draws a veil over her procedings, is Jenny Hill, currently in Yemen.
R5 Upallnight desk person asks "When you go out & about, is Yemen a place where women can operate very freely?"
Hill replies "Actually the social code is so strong here that I find it quite easy to walk around, as I know people won't hassle me too much & they won't give me too much of a hard time."
Sounds like paradise!
Alan:
Re: - media discussion of the initial kidnapping of the UK 'navy 15' in Iraqi waters, why has there been hardly any mention of the role of the SPECIAL BOAT SERVICE (SBS), the navy 'equivalent' of the army SAS?
Obviously, except to Brown, Brown and Blair, the SBS needs strengthening in every way. See:
http://www.specialboatservice.co.uk
Alan:
Radio 4 'goes native':
"The Beeb's cultural cringe"
http://www.melaniephillips.com
will:
C4 News plays to a lefty audience, hopefully they will take notice of this in tonight's programme
Darfur: the Chinese connection
Our China correspondent Lindsey Hilsum is hard on the heels of the 'genocide games' - yes the new epithet for the baby Beijing Olympics. China's import of massive quantities of Sudan's oil leave her with unparalleled influence over that country, specifically in the region of Darfur.
Though they have talked about doing something she reports that in practical terms it is virtually nothing at all. Is china about to suffer what Russia experienced over the Olympic games?
& they will STFU about the US ignoring Darfur cos it has no oil.
Thanks to C4 for airing it - BBC take note!
Jack Hughes:
Yes I watched the "Inuit" thing on the 10 o'clock news last night with growing bemusement.
It was a classic "sandwich": some facts - then some leftist opinion in the middle - then some facts.
Strange bit at the start. The eskimo guy wanted to learn the traditional hunting stuff "so I can pass it on to my children". No mention of feeding those children or himself in the present tense.
Then the middle bit about the poor bugggers who had moved into the town. Hang on a minute - the climate change is happening in the future - not 2 years ago ? And their boozing - can this really be blamed on climate change even if its already happening ?
But very emotive stuff. Underlines the message even when it is totally irrelevant. Bit like music in a film.
Had to chuckle at the guy on a skidoo. These all have inefficient and polluting 2-stroke engines.
Sadly all this crapola really is working for the propagandists. My daughter really did think that leaving her bedroom light on all day had probably killed at least one polar bear.
Biodegradable:
Ralph | 11.04.07 - 2:57 pm
Funnier still is the constantly updated cut 'n' paste page devoted to the continuing saga of Alan Johnston (pbuh).
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middl...ast/
6543773.stm
Alan Johnston disappeared more than four weeks ago on his way home from work. It is feared he was abducted.
So, they know he disappeared because they can't find him, but they only fear he may have been abducted. Until you read a little further down...
The Palestinian government said it is "deeply sorry" he is still being held.
So, it is known that he is being held?
"His kidnapping is detrimental to our nation and our national cause," Mr Barghouti said.
Ah-ha! Mr Barghouti says he's been kidnapped!
Johnston was taken hostage by masked gunmen as he returned to his apartment in Gaza City on March 12.
So Johnston was "taken hostage" and it's even known that the ones who did it were masked, yet we're first told that it is only "feared he was abducted".
Spin on BBC, maybe it'll make you giddy!
Anonymous:
From Biodegradable's link:
We in the government are deeply sorry and ashamed that this kidnapping is ongoing, especially since he is a friend of our people and has done a lot for our cause.
Palestinian Information Minister Mustafa Barghouti
Hmm, an independent, non-biased gatherer of facts reporting for an organisation that is charter-bound to be impartial "has done a lot for our cause"? How so, Mr Barghouti?
Note to Beeboids - look at the thanks you get for helping the Paleosimians.
pounce:
The BBC, its love of Iran and a lie of a story;
US says Iran arming Sunni groups
The US military has for the first time accused Iran of arming Sunni militants fighting in Iraq
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ast/
6546555.stm
So the BBC reports on a story about how the Yanks are saying Iran is funding and feeding the terrorists in Iraq. But right at the end of that story the BBC inserts this little lie in which to try and discredit the US.
"The White House also denied Iranian state television reports it tortured a diplomat held in custody for two months."
Held in custody BBC? The last i looked Mr Sharafi was kidnapped off the open streets of Iraq and released by people unknown. If that is so how the hell can the BBC point in the direction of tortured while held in American custody? When even he doesn't even know who picked him up?
The BBC, Its love of Iran and a lie of a story
Jon:
"“The United States empire is on its way down and it will be finished in the near future, inshallah," Chavez told reporters, ending the statement with the Arabic phrase for "God willing."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/ 0,2...,214709,00.html
Hugh Sykes and now Chevez - could this be a way of spotting the new marxist?
GCooper:
Jack Hughes writes:
"Sadly all this crapola really is working for the propagandists. My daughter really did think that leaving her bedroom light on all day had probably killed at least one polar bear."
And that's exactly why the BBC is so dangerous. People take this stuff in, unnoticed, like arsenic in the drinking water.
It isn't just innocent children who fall to this Goebbels tactic - it's also the legions of middle class housewives who actually believe recycled paper 'saves the rainforest'!
Jon:
pounce : "The White House also denied Iranian state television reports it tortured a diplomat held in custody for two months."
Thats really sinister indeed. The BBc cannot even stick to a story line without putting its own propaganda at the bottom of the page, in order to take the readers thoughts away from the real message of the piece.
DennisTheMenace:
.
.
I Know this is not strictly B-BBC stuff but it's about one of the BBC 'Pin Up's' -
It'll make you laugh (I think ???) but its no joke -
A Disarming Election: Iran and Syria lead the U.N. Disarmament Commission
"....At the same time that Iran's President Ahmadinejad declared his country was now capable of industrial-scale uranium enrichment, the U.N. reelected Iran as a vice chairman of the U.N. Disarmament Commission...."
http://www.eyeontheun.org/editor...r.asp?p=319&
b=1
Just one more reason to justify the complete elimination of this bloated, useless and corrupt organisation.
Hey, lets spend the money we save on MMGW carbon offsetting ---- think of all those tree's that could be sucking up CO2 --- and the polar bears, the polar bears, saving the wee cuddly polar bears.
'
'
dave t:
"ANIMALS FORCED INLAND
Alaskan sea otters are starving! Why? Because there’s too much ice:
An unbudging sheath of sea ice has blocked off the waters where the Alaska Peninsula’s sea otters forage, forcing the starving animals inland on a search for food and making them easy prey for wolves and humans.
Some otters have waddled or slid on their bellies for several miles onto the tundra near Port Heiden, where they have been attacked by dogs, killed for their pelts or have died of malnourishment ...
Similar freeze-outs have been documented since the early 1970s.
Poor little guys; if only that ice could be melted somehow. "
http://timblair.net/ee/index.php..._forced_inland/
SO what is it BBC warming or cooling?
When can we expect a concert for these poor wee creatures?
dave t:
Comments on the Iran 15:
There are pictures which the BBC and others deliberately cropped which show most of the sailors NOT smiling waving etc when released.
Faye is a former school chum of my daughter in Meole Brace, Shrewsbury. She was big then and she's big now. Is there not a fitness test she is supposed to pass each year in the Andrew?
What is she doing offering mummy hugs to 20 year old so called men?
Given a 19 year old female medic won the MC in Iraq not long ago, rather makes wee Batchelor look very weak and unmanly. If he gets upset being called Mr Bean wait until he returns to his ship....
What were the officers thinking letting sailors take IPods on boarding ops? Off duty yes, on duty NO!
This whole affair seems very much aimed at taking the public eye (and Liam Fox's) OFF the senior officers on HMS Cornwall and at home in Northwood and the Admiralty.
I am sickened by the huge number of US and other foreign milblogs including people I know who are saddened and disgusted by the activities of the RN, the MoD and the sailors/marines themselves. Our reputation overseas and in the States has been dealt a major blow and we can see the Iranians in Iraq already pushing their warriors to attack our troops. Thus the Army suffers thanks to the Navy. No wonder General Dannat (CGS) is raging!
The Fat Contractor:
archduke | 11.04.07 - 1:09 am |
history will be kind to Bolton. however the likes of Williams will be firmly put into the Chamberlain camp
That depends on which side writes the history really ....
pounce:
The BBC, it's love of Islam and half a story;
Bosnia tackles 'foreign fighters'
Bosnia-Hercegovina has stripped almost 400 people of citizenship as part of an investigation into foreign fighters who settled in the country after the war.
...................
Bosnian media sees the investigation as a part of a drive against terrorism requested by the US.
..................
The justice minister, Barisa Colak, announced that citizenship was now being withdrawn in 367 cases where it had been illegally awarded. In response, a former commander in the Bosnian army, Serif Patkovic, said the decision was political and would split men from wives and children.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ope/
6547287.stm
The BBC runs a story on how Bosnia is removing those people (I wonder what faith they are?) who they have found to have a dodgy background. (ie.. Implicated in certain war crimes) But instead of reporting the facts the BBC has embellished the details with superfluous snippets which point once again at nasty little US.
But what takes the biscuit is how the BBC end with how a former commander in the Bosnian army Serif Patkovic is allowed to cry foul play over how families will be broken up…
So who is Serif Patkovic? Well he’s only the former commander of the 7th Muslim Brigade of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina and who was implicated in the massacre of a large number of their Croatian allies.
http://www.hercegbosna.org/engle...ki/
probing.html
You know BBC the type of people the Bosnians are currently getting rid of because of their shady past.
But then I only served in GV (look up the story) at the Precision Factory so know at first hand how bad the Muslims were. (and the BBC only gives the Serbs a bad name)
The BBC, it's love of Islam and half a story
Bryan:
But instead of reporting the facts the BBC has embellished the details with superfluous snippets which point once again at nasty little US.
True, but the word terrorism appears twice in these snippets, once even linked - gasp - with the word Islamic.
We should document these instances of the use of the T-word as they become more and more rare and finally vanish altogether from the BBC's narrow, blinkered little world.
There's an interesting new comment on the BBC's avoidance and abuse of the T-word on the Biting the hand thread:
http://www.haloscan.com/comments...?
a=39762#337214
Allan@Aberdeen:
I listen to Radio 4 in the morning for a few minutes because I find that it really does wake me up. There was much reportage over a racist islamaphobic sexual attack on a 33-year-old Algerian woman perpetrated by a group of white men who threw stones at her and her 1-year-old child. She had her scarf ripped from her and she managed to run away with her child. One Rabina Koreshi (spelling?) announced that racism is on the increase in Scotland and even though the woman has had her application for asylum rejected, we in Scotland want the illegals to remain.
After hearing all this, alarm bells were ringing in my head and I was wide awake.
1. Witnesses to the 'attack'? None mentioned, yet there is no public space in Glasgow where there is not anyone else to be seen (I'm remembering the recent 'racist attack' on a Sikh in Edinburgh which involved much breast-beating about Scottish racism and a great deal of police time)
2. The woman has had her application for asylum rejected and might even be deported: then along comes a racist attack.
3. The attackers "threw stones". Throwing stones is an arab past-time: it isn't what happens up here. Knives and glass bottles, maybe: stones - no!
4. The angle of attack by the guest (she was apparently a representative of a housing group which wants to spend my tax money on illegal migrants) was that whites have been beastly towards the uninvited guests in their midst and so are racist yet fails to mention the racist murder of Kris Donald (a 15-year-old white boy).
5. 'We' in Scotland do not want illegal migrants. That is established as fact and should have been challenged.
I'm now watching this one to see how it develops. What is noteworthy is that any apparent racist attack by whites on non-whites receives national airspace yet a racist murder in Scotland of a white boy is quarantined within BBC Scotland.
Stuck-record:
Allan
Oh good. It wasn't just me. My alarm bells were ringing all the way through the story this morning.
My problem was the strange 'expansion' of the story.
If an Algerian woman and her child were assaulted, it is a terrible and unforgivable crime. But the question is: why is this a major news item on the Today programme? If you look at the BBC website -- as of 8:30 this morning -- it is buried down in a sidebar on the Scottish newspage. It's not even on the front page.
Then the Today programme report didn't even focus on the assault. The main point of report was to allow the lady being interviewed, Miss Koreshi (?), to have a go at the government for its policy of deporting illegal immigrants and failed asylum seekers. She failed to answer what the connection between these two items was. She failed to answer whether or not the woman assaulted was a failed asylum seeker or illegal immigrant. She took issue with the expression 'illegal immigrant' anyway.
She then got into a bit of a pickle. This attack, and the government's eviction of failed asylum seekers proved that Scotland was increasingly racist and Islamophobic, but..., err..., Scotland was also increasingly supportive of failed asylum seekers; vis-a-vis all the white people who were turning up every morning to try to prevent failed asylum seekers being deported.
Why was this story given such prominent airtime?
Oscar:
So Johnston was "taken hostage" and it's even known that the ones who did it were masked, yet we're first told that it is only "feared he was abducted".
BioD
And to add to all the contradictions Mahmoud Abbas has asssured the BBC that Johnston is 'unharmed and in good health' - but on the other hand they don't know if he's been 'abducted'?
Allan@Aberdeen
I also heard the report on the 'racist' attack in Glasgow - where they announced in every news bulletin that it was perpetrated by a "white man" and involved a "sexual assault" and an "assault" on a baby - even tho' there were no witnesses.
IiD:
Good Morning
Pounce and dave t
As always very insightful comments.
What deeply concerns me is something that Umbongo touched upon.
“It seems to me that not only were the 15 sailors/marines not trained - or even briefed - about what to do if captured but, insofar as it was possible, no effort was made by the officers to maintain military discipline and organisation within the 15-man group. The results of this we have seen and, given the Pentagon research, were entirely predictable.”
I’m with most people in only being an informed laymen on these things but to be only armed with very light small arms in rubber dinghy’s who’s brief it was to interdict weapons shipments is surly asking for trouble, Doesn’t the Navy posses anything like the old Plastic Patrol Boats that the US Marines employed in Vietnam? It would be rather naive to think that the IRGC didn’t already know this fact and that the patrols were not of the highest quality in terms of moral and training but giving them something with a little more firepower at least would of deterred any stunts by the IRGN?
Or have I been watching too many A-Team episodes?
Block 813:
Rubber Dingys are fine for this work......what you NEED is Air Support....
Trust me, if Armed Attack Helicopters were hovering over head, with orders to defend the Royal Navys dingy fleet, the Iranians would have gone home, or to the bottom.....
But, as we know, Labour hates the military, so they don't have the kit, and apparantly, the chopper that was on station had to go back and refuel, so left the dingy undefended......then the Iranians swooped.....
The Navy then got in contact with London (Blair), and asked if they could interviene.....to which Nuber 10 said "No"......
Anyone who tells you different is a liar.
Rueful Red:
Robina Qureshi is a standard issue hard left fascist.
Rueful Red:
Sorry, here's the link. Fairly hot babe to look at, though.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob.../
Robina_Qureshi
Bryan:
I've been scanning the drawn-out HYS Johnston thread.
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/
...=20070412091114
It seems that 99% of the comments are pro-Johnston. (Or at least the ones the censors see fit to publish. I had a mild comment published and then deleted.)
But a few have slipped through the net in the past week:
Added: Sunday, 8 April, 2007, 14:18 GMT 15:18 UK
The suffering of the Palestinian Arabs as punishment for the crimes they commit, aid, abet, encourage against Israeli civilians and now against each other and the criminal assassins they regard as their heroes almost makes me believe in god. It certainly seems ironic justice at the very least. And to see Alan Johnston who championed their cause kidnapped with fate unknown and those who back him at Bush House in anguish over him is the icing on the cake. How exquisitely history plays itself out.
Mark, USA
Added: Saturday, 7 April, 2007, 10:14 GMT 11:14 UK
Like most American's I more or less supported the position of Israel, but it was the reporting of the BBC, and Mr Johnston that brought the plight of the Palestinians directly to me in a way that I could not ignore.
Nicholas Evancik, Atlanta, Georgia
--
The opposite is true with me. Watching BBC and reading Alan's reports, I realised that Israel was being targeted in quite an evil manner by a cabal of biased left wingers.
Therefore I became more pro-Israel.
Thank you BBC & Alan.
The Elitist
Added: Friday, 6 April, 2007, 10:46 GMT 11:46 UK
My petition goes for the West to stop creating divide and rule policy in Middle East and elsewhere in the world. Let other people live. All lives are sacrosanct and cultures are great. Respect humanity and don't give a damn to propagandists. You give pains to others and now you are realising the pain when you are getting. Say no to propaganda by media! BBC is a propaganda media too and say no to BBC.
Hick, France
Little points of light in the BBC black hole.
It's also interesting that most comments only attract one or two recommendations but the highly recommended comments include almost all of the early comments expressing scepticism about the quality of his reporting:
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/...1114&
#paginator
deegee:
Umbongo:
"no individual soldiers (despite severe N Korean "persuasion") communicated anything except name rank and number with their captors."
I have also read about this and agree in principle that British military discipline failed in Iran but it does raise one important question.
Given that the Turkish soldier was likely to speak Turkish and nothing else and only some Turkish officers would have been able to speak English and that there were very few or no Koreans/Chinese who spoke Turkish.
What could the individual soldier have told his captors and in what language?
Block 813:
....and every time the BBC dleets a few 100 more comments, a few 100 more people "figure it out"...
The 10s of Thousands they take to court every month, will always despise the BBC ever more......
The BBC is losing friends, and fast......doing the Live Earth mockery may be the final straw...when it is then known, world wide, as the backer of looney left wing propaganda, and the most hated Chancellor in UK History.
Bye Bye BBC...no wonder so many millions turn away every year.
Alan:
"Black kids to blame for knife and gun murders, says Blair." (12 Apr.)
http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk
First paragraph:
"Tony Blair yesterday admitted political correctness has hampered the fight against black gangs and called for a change in crime policy."
(And, it could be added, the 'political correctness' of the BBC is in there too.)
Mark:
I am waiting for CND to organise a march on Tehran to protest against Ah'm-on-a-mad-Jihad's nuclear build-up.
Or maybe not - CND don't want to stop our enemies from acquiring the weaponry they wanted the West to ban.
After all, they didn't protest against the Soviet build-up of SS20 missiles being pointed at us ...
Come to think of it, the West seems to have a 'unilateral religious disarmament' policy when it comes to downgrading its historical faith - we abandon our Christianity in the hope that Muslims will do the same with Islam.
Allan@Aberdeen:
Is there anything new on the attack on the Algerian refugee and her child by white racist islamophobes who are typical of the Scottish population?
Any word on witnesses to the stone-throwing etc?
Alan:
Al Beeb to dabble in political incorrectness!:
"Death to US: Anti-Americanism examined"
Justin Webb..."argues anti-Americanism is often a cover for hatreds with little justification in fact. His three-part series takes him to Cairo, Caracas and Washington but it begins where anti-Americanism began - in Paris."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...cas/
6547881.stm
( This series is on Radio 4, over 3 weeks, starting 16 April, at 20.00BST.)
Bill:
Daniel Finkelstein provides the real story behind the Alan Johnston kidnapping :
http://timesonline.typepad.com/comment/
"I know that the BBC is an impossibly difficult position as both reporter and employer, but the story is the links between Johnston's disappearance and the feud, civil disorder in Gaza since Israel's departure and Schalit. The BBC has a responsibility to report it."
will:
EU Referendum points out that BBC's Nick Robinson has, as usual, got his head up his a**e.
Inevitably though, caught in the Westminster "bubble" as he is, Robinson is thinking in terms of "the government" – i.e., ministers. But why would ministers want to avoid scrutiny of the events which led to the capture of the sailors and marines? These are operational issues and the primary responsibility rested with operational commanders in the field
http://eureferendum.blogspot.com...hes-
asking.html
Government ministers are, of course, far too interfering. But the BBC is always ready to place every matter at the door of No 10.
It seems to me ridiculous that the tens of thousands of highly paid public sector managers - from Perm Secs to generals to NHS administrators to headteachers - who are provided with delegated budgets & much discretion, are excused shortcomings as the media looks to the government.
Cameron & co following the usual political trait of siding with the media at the a**e kicking party, too short sighted to see that it will come back to bite them when they gain power.
Stuck-record:
Has there been any info, confirmation, denial or denunciation of the rumour that Alan Johnson had been fired by the BBC?
If there has, I missed it.
Alan:
Perhaps Al Beeb (and the rest of the UK media), will begin coverage of Algeria and Morocco, not as suitable holiday or property buying opportunities, but as the Al Qaeda islamic jihad bases they are:
"After Algeria and Morocco, Europe could be the next target for Islamic terror"
http://www.iht.com
(tap in 'Algeria' in Search box).
Anonymous:
Justin Webb is BBC Radio's chief Washington correspondent; Death to America - Anti-Americanism Examined is on Radio 4 next Monday at 8pm
"What is there not to like about the US? There are a number of possible answers, not all printable. But after weeks spent talking to anti-Americans in Paris, Cairo and Caracas, I am more convinced than ever that the anti-American mindset is often just that: a mindset, a prejudice. It is not racism - America has no racial profile to be hated - but nor is it simply a reaction to events and policies"
More
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
commen...2054879,00.html
Stuck-record:
It'll be interesting to see how the Beeb (with its party line of appeasement) manages to spin this one.
Alarm in Spain over al-Qaeda call for its "reconquest"
http://rawstory.com/news/dpa/
Ala...f_04122007.html
Al Qaeda bombs the Spanish train system because Spain is helping in Iraq.
Spain pulls out of Iraq and hopes Al Qaeda will leave them alone. Look, we're not America!
(Slight pause)
Al Qaeda call for reconquest of Spain.
What can the Spanish give them now?
Anonymous:
Jailed preacher of hate in court battle to stay in Britain:
Sheikh Abdullah El-Faisal, a Jamaican-born Muslim convert who urged followers at Brixton Mosque to kill Jews, Hindus and Americans, is due to be freed within weeks after serving two thirds of a seven-year sentence.
Photo. of him:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
pages...in_page_id=1770
Biodegradable:
Apologies if this has already been mentioned.
From Melanie Phillips:
The Beeb’s cultural cringe
A reader has sent me this correspondence between himself and a BBC news executive after reporter Hugh Sykes, in a report last month from Baghdad on BBC Radio Four’s PM programme, uttered these words: ‘…and the Deputy Prime Minister will, inshallah, be in hospital by now’. I reproduce it with his permission. Further comment is unnecesary.
JimBob:
I do find it strange that the BBC say hundreds but they don't quote it.
Then they show a picture with all of 7 people in it.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/engla...nds/
6549467.stm
I can't even find mention of these hundreds in any of the local papers.
I'm wondering if al_Beeb are pushing their agenda again?
Or am I just being too cynical?
Foxgoose:
Sorry if the following is a bit OT but I couldn't resist it.
Johann Hari writes twice a week in the Independent and is apparently a rising star - "Student Journo of the Year 2000" - "Young Journo OTY 2003" and occasional appearances on Question Time.
Today he reviews a best selling self help book called "The Secret" by an Australian - Rhonda Byrne.
Ms Byrne apparently believes that you can do great things with the power of positive thought - including curing yourself of cancer, getting a bigger house or even finding a parking space.
More bizarrely she even suggests that people died on 911 because "negative thinking attracts bad things".
Well, Johann's review was pretty scathing and I nodded my way through it more or less in agreement until the payoff paragraph:-
"This is the real secret - that the book is a pure expression of Bushism: a slop of rancid aspiration-speak masking selfishness, social collapse and religiose myth-making"
So once again - IT'S ALL GEORGE BUSH'S FAULT.
Whenever I dip into the Indie I tiptoe away in bemusement. Are these people really living on the planet amongst us?
http://
comment.independent.co.uk...icle2441967.ece
Ashley Pomeroy:
Another entry in the long-running Alan Johnstone saga:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/
theed...e_month_on.html
"(Since he disappeared, a month ago) there have been tenacious and determined efforts by members of BBC News both in London and in the Middle East to try to achieve his release. Our colleagues in BBC Scotland have offered Alan’s family their practical support. There have been diligent and sustained efforts behind the scenes by representatives of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and we have pressed our own contacts for all they are worth. It is a slow, difficult and frustrating process where rumour and speculation abound but there is almost no hard evidence about what has happened to Alan. However, we remain optimistic that he is safe."
I wonder when they will tell us who they pressed, and how hard, and what the "diligent and sustained efforts behind the scenes" amounted to, and what kind of price they paid, and how much; perhaps in thirty years or so, when the files are released.
Umbongo:
deegee
Good thought about the Turks and Turkish. I believe though (and this is depending on my pretty ropey memory) that all the Turks involved in Korea had to be able to speak/understand English fairly well because that was the "command language" used in Korea. After all, although it was a "UN" operation, in reality the major combattant and supplier of military material was the US.
paulc:
Apparently even former BBC executives share this site's opinion of Feargal Keane:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/
tol...icle1642549.ece
I wonder if he reads the offerings available here.
Trifecta:
Apologies if this has been mentioned previously but listening to the BBC working themselves up to a crescendo of righteous indignation about the selling of the sailors story makes me wonder if they were offered the story and were then out-bid?
paulc:
Some news that you won't hear from the BBC:
http://mreugenides.blogspot.com/
...01_archive.html
I say; you don't think this paints the UN in a bad light, do you?
pounce:
The BBC, Jeremy Bowen and his love for terrorists;
Media unite to seek BBC man's release
The one good thing that has come out of last four weeks since Alan Johnston, the BBC Gaza correspondent, was kidnapped has been the way that his colleagues have rallied around the campaign to get him home.
.....................
Since Alan was kidnapped, we have not been able to do justice to the Palestinian story in Gaza.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ast/
6550131.stm
Yup I couldn’t agree with you more Mr Bowen. I mean how the hell can you play the victim card for the Pals and berate the Jews when the pals have not only bit the hand that feeds them, but have done so, since time and time again.
As the Scorpion said to the toad after stinging it mid river during a piggy back.
"It's my nature"
The BBC, Jeremy Bowen and his love for terrorists
GCooper:
So the Met finally gets up off its hands and raids a drug den.
And what is the BBC headline on its increasingly risible website?
"We taught peace.... Anger as drugs police raid historic Rastafarian temple."
So, no touchy-feely Left-liberal solidarity with the ethnics bias, there!
Respec'!
Ben:
GCooper | 12.04.07 - 8:33 pm | #
yes and no mention to the kind of drugs being dealt there, by the tone of the bbc article you'd
think they were talking about cannabis
well i did anyway,but then i read this.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
pages...in_page_id=1770
One resident, who did not wish to give his name, said: "You used to have some old Rastas who ran the place and dealt a little dope. There was never really any trouble and they used to police the street.
"But over the last year or two you've had gangsters moving in selling crack."
Jon:
I am presently watching the "Battle of Britain" on Film 4 and I was just thinking to myself if the BBC made a remake we would probably lose!!
Alan:
This article strikes me as being a bold, intelligent response from a UK MEP, Gerard Batten, UKIP, to both the EU's attempt to censor language, (re- Islam, jihad, terrorism,etc.), and to Al Beeb's bias on Iraq war coverage.
Here's a sample:
'Batten cited British media coverage of the Iraq war - particularly BBC coverage - as an example of media not facing the real issue of who is doing most of the killing but seeking to place the blame on America and Britain instead.'
"Whatever we think about the Iraq war, whether it is right or wrong is irrelevant. It's not Americans or British killing these enormous numbers of people now, it's Muslims doing it to other Muslims," he said.'
"And you won't see any blame from Muslims in this country, or anywhere else in Europe, blaming Muslims for doing it."
Article: 'Don't Link Terrorism with Islam, EU Tells Gov't Spokesmen'
http://www.cnsnews.com
(go to 'International').
pounce:
Jon wrote;
I am presently watching the "Battle of Britain" on Film 4
Me too,(Well it's now finished)
I'm sure if the BBC were to use the likes of their infamous middleeastern reporters. The RAF would be accused of war crimes against the Nazis.
(I mean they were trying to kill us, just like plumbers are today)
pounce:
Jon more on what if with the Battle Of Britian and the BBC of toda.
BBC (Jul 1940)
Have your say;
Is the RAF right to defend the UK against the Luftwaffe.
BBC (Aug 1940)
Is the UK guilty of warcrimes by jailing German airmen without a courtcase?
BBC (Sept 1940)
Do you believe the Uk government's account of German air losses.
BBC (Oct 1940)
Will you be joining 'the not in our name' parade in London this wekend?
Anonymous:
Received this e-mail below from FrontPageMag.com
"The Hour [Resurrection] will not take place until the Muslims fight the Jews and the Muslims kill them, and the rock and the tree will say: Oh, Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, kill him!'" -- Hamas spokesman, Dr. Ismail Radwan, Palestinian Authority TV, March 30, 2007:
Maybe it's the fact that I'm a Jew that I take the determination of Hamas to kill me personally; or that I find it morally repellent that the Speaker of the House should pay a friendly call on the dictator of Damascus who hosts, protects and arms these genocidal jihadis, but I do. I find it equally depressing that my fellow Jews who fund the Democratic Party (an estimated 80% of its donations no less), and my fellow Americans who are not Jews and vote Democratic but do not wish Jews like me dead, are not burning up the phone lines, and crashing the Internet with howls of protest over their Party's collusion with our contemporary Hitlers. Because that is what they are. They are not "Hitlers" in the sense that Cindy Sheehan thinks George Bush is Hitler as a metaphor of her hatred for her her country. They are Hitlers in the sense that they are Hitlers. They want Jews dead. They are preparing the next war to see that the Jews are dead. And they will not rest until they complete the final solution or until they are stopped.
American defenders of the Nazi Axis which includes Hezbollah and Iran -- are located squarely on the left side of the political spectrum. The movement to stop America from stopping Iran has already begun. The voices of this fifth column include Cindy Sheehan, Rosie O'Donnell, Medea Benjamin, and their "anti-war" comrades at MoveOn.org. It would be a mistake to regard these individuals as marginal. They are the same crowd that brought us the war against the war in Iraq.
Genocide of Jews remains Hamas goal
by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook
Palestinian Media Watch pmw@pmw.org.il
As Hamas seeks international recognition by softening its tone in English, in Arabic it continues the calls for genocide of Jews. In a recent sermon on PA TV, Hamas spokesman Dr. Ismail Radwan made it clear that the classical Hamas ideology had not changed, including its continued incorporation of extremist Islamic beliefs into Hamas ideology and policy. He reiterated:
1. The Hour of the Islamic Resurrection and End of Time is literally dependent on the killing of Jews by Muslims.
2. The remaining Jews will unsuccessfully attempt to hide, as the rocks and trees will expose them, calling out "there is a Jew behind me, kill him!"
3. "Palestine& will be liberated through the rifle," a euphemism meaning that Israel will be destroyed through violence.
The Hamas spokesman ended with prayers to Allah to "take" Israel and the USA.
The following is the text of the Hamas spokesman's call for genocide of Jews:
The Hamas spokesman, Dr. Ismail Radwan, PA TV, March 30, 2007 -
The Hour [Resurrection] will not take place until the Muslims fight the Jews and the Muslims kill them, and the rock and the tree will say: "Oh, Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, kill him!"
We must remind our Arab and Muslim nation, its leaders and people, its scholars and students, remind them that Palestine and the Al Aqsa mosque will not be liberated through summits nor by international resolutions, but it will be liberated through the rifle. It will not be liberated through negotiations, but through the rifle, since this occupation knows no language but the language of force& O Allah, strengthen Islam and Muslims, and bring victory to your Jihad-fighting worshipers, in Palestine and everywhere& Allah take the oppressor Jews and Americans and their supporters!
archonix:
BBC News 11th of July 1940
BERLIN. The office of the Fuhrer today released a scathing condemnation of the British Air Brigade, also known as the 'Royal Air Force', for their part in ongoing offenses against French coastal towns and ports. The scathing rebuke comes just hours after the British government claimed that the German Luftwaffe had launched an 'overwhelming' assault against what they see as British territory off the coast of France. The British responded to this claim by launching a surprise attack on german air patrols over the Manche, a disputed waterway that seperates German-administered France from the disputed territories.
British Premier Winston Churchil was quoted as saying that 'so many' owed him 'so much' after making defiant claims about the status of the southern territories of Essex, Sussex and Norfolk, which some say are historically german lands.
The deposed king of England, King Edward, praised Fuhrer Hitler's acts, whilst significant protests were held in the city of London to protest the English resistance to Germany's peaceful attempts to unite the continent after centuries of bitter warfare.
Mr Churchill was later heard to remark that he would never give up his assaults on the German people, in what some are saying is a sign of his increasing paranoia and instability.
Bryan:
The Palestinians play games within games within games. If it's true that Johnston is being held by a powerful clan that is a law unto itself in lawless Gaza and is armed to the teeth, then it could be that this clan is negotiating with Hamas, demanding millions for Johnston's release.
Hamas, accustomed to leeching off the EU and others, finds the concept of extortion quite foreign when it is the object of the extortion and will be unlikely to part with any money. And it can't try to go in and get Johnston out because then the clan will surely kill him. So it makes soothing noises when questioned by the BBC, but meanwhile the deadlock continues.
It's likely that the whole of Gaza knows by now exactly where Johnston is and who is holding him. But nobody will breathe a word of it to the outside world for fear of antagonising his kidnappers and thus endangering his life.
Anonymous:
archonix,
Winston Churchill to Hitler's appeasers: "Each one hopes that if he feeds the crocodile enough, the crocodile will eat him last."
archonix:
*stealth edit*
Mr Churchill was leater heard to refer to The Fuhrer as a "crocodile", whom he was refusing to "feed", in what some are saying are increasing signs of his paranoia and instability.
*/stealth edit*
Bryan:
The BBC was cuddling up to the terrorists yet again, this time on the World Service in its description of the carnage in Iraq:
An audacious attack in Baghdad has left many people dead.
In one of the most daring breaches of security in Baghdad, a suicide bomber has....
In a spectacular attack, a bomb detonated in a truck has destroyed a bridge....
There the BBC goes again, stumbling over itself in its indecent haste to praise and support terrorist scum in their savage attacks on innocents.
Anything to undo what the coalition is trying to achieve together with Iraqis. It's crystal clear which team the BBC is rooting for.
Jon:
Can't remember seeing this on the BBC - This report was published in 2002.
"The research, published in a paper in the May 15 issue of Geophysical Research Letters, provides striking evidence that sunspots -- blemishes on the sun’s surface indicating strong solar activity -- do influence global climate change, but that explosive volcanic eruptions on Earth can completely reverse those influences.
It is the first time that volcanic eruptions have been identified as the atmospheric event responsible for the sudden and baffling reversals that scientists have seen in correlations between sunspots and climate."
http://www.innovations-report.de...icht-
10541.html
Could it be that "scientists" have made their mind up that CO2 is to blame and don't want to complicate matters by looking at other compelling research?
The blogger at http://errortheory.blogspot.com/...ew-
sunspot.html, looks at the way a leading climate "alarmist", Gavin Schmidt of NASA/Goddard Institute for Space Studies dismisses new reseach that upsets his "climate models". Error theory concludes:
"In short, the alarmists--the dominant force in climate science today--are not scientists. They are propagandists, doing what propagandists always do: picking and choosing what reason and evidence to account or dismiss in order to fashion the best case for their preferred conclusions. This can be done as easily with hard science as with any other sphere of reason and evidence. Of course it requires a willingness to embrace illogic. Schmidt’s rationalizations for dismissing contrary reason and evidence are, upon inspection, patently untenable. But he can still, in this mode, compile data sets and solve equations and build computer models. He can still be a "scientist," just an exceedingly bad and dangerous one. "
And I have to agree with him - The "scientists" and politicians leading this scare start on the presumption that MMGW is caused by CO2 any evidence to the contray is dismissed, even when the theory is compelling.
Anonymous:
archonix:
A strong admirer of Churchill, Rumsfeld has quoted him on many occasions lately, getting only into more hot water. In late August Rumsfeld said that his detractors reminded him of Hitler's appeasers: "Each one hopes that if he feeds the crocodile enough, the crocodile will eat him last."
http://www.winstonchurchill.org/....cfm?
pageid=649
.:
European cult of appeasement
"From the British city of Leeds to Livorno in Italy and from Luxembourg to Ljubljana in Slovenia, multiculturalism is pretty much a bust. Quicksand is the only common ground between Western values and militant Muslim fundamentalism. But some Islamist extremists have found willing partners among leftist radicals who never got over the end of the Cold War -- and jump at any opportunity to rumble against whatever government is in power".
http://wpherald.com/articles/
419...ppeasement.html
"The European cult of appeasement has given free rein to radical imams whose only goal is to Islamicize Christian Europe. The terrain is fertile".
Jon:
archonix | Homepage | 12.04.07 - 10:42 pm | #
Excellent stuff - you should write for the BBC.
I wonder if Herr Jeremy Bowen would be the BBCs Berlin correspondent?
Ashley Pomeroy:
"British Premier Winston Churchill"
That would be "The controversial British Premier Winston Churchill, whose increasingly belligerent pronouncements have been condemned by international organisations".
"QUOTE His fixation on war, and in particular his recent promise to bring destruction to Britain's beaches, cities, and countryside show that Herr Churchill is an apocalyptic madman UNQUOTE said German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop."
"Churchill, who was educated at Harrow, recently declared himself sole head of Britain's 'coalition government', whereupon he sacked tireless peacemaker Lord Halifax" etc
I assume an imaginary left-wing BBC of 1940 would pooh-pooh the RAF pilots for being a bunch of posh stiffs who were insufficiently diverse.
Anonymous:
You recently signed a petition asking the Prime Minister to
"Scrap the tv licence."
"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Scrap the tv licence."
Details of petition:
"The TV licence fee represents a monopoly that would not be allowed in any other industry. The licence fee was introduced in a climate that was very different from what we have today. Now people are presented with a large choice in television and radio content, but whatever they choose to watch they are forced to make a payment for BBC services even if they never watch the BBC and have no interest in the output they produce. This represents a monopoly where you have to pay for one companies services regardless of usage. With the many other methods of support and revenue generation available now there is no need to continue what would be rejected immediately by the monopolies and mergers commision in any other industry."
Read the Government's response
"During the recent review of the BBC's Royal Charter, the Government considered whether the televison licence was still the best way to fund the Corporation. We also sought the views of members of the public on this and other BBC issues as part of the Charter Review consultations. The television licence fee was widely considered to be the best way to pay for the BBC for the period of the new Charter, that is to say until 2016. None of the alternative funding options would enable the BBC to continue to provide its full range of public services while safeguarding the Corporation's independence. It was therefore agreed that no changes would be made.
We have committed to a review of the scope for alternative mechanisms for funding the BBC after the end of the current Charter in 2016. We expect this review to take place around the end of digital switchover in 2012-13, in order to allow for the necessary planning before any changes are implemented."
amimissingsomething:
some may appreciate this:
http://newsbusters.org/node/7586
Biodegradable:
Bryan | 12.04.07 - 11:19 pm
audacious
daring
spectacular
I don't remember ever seeing those words used, for example, when describing an Israeli counter terrorist operation in Gaza or the West Bank.
Anonymous:
The BBC -- 'A Powerfully Corrosive Internal Culture':
http://www.tcsdaily.com/article....aspx?
id=041207B
Anonymous:
Pakistan behind pro-Taliban tribesmen:
President Pervez Musharraf made a tacit admission yesterday that the Pakistani military has entered into a marriage of convenience with pro-Taliban tribesmen.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/...4/13/
wpak13.xml
Fred:
Hamas spokesman's call for genocide of Jews:
See the video
http://pmw.org.il/
Bulletins_apr2...007.htm#b120407
Fred:
Muslims Murdering Muslims:
Video shows the impact of a suicide bomber who blew himself up in the Iraqi parliament cafeteria Thursday.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=7..._1176398967&
p=1
Infection:
Shouldn't al-beeb be looking at the charitable status of OXFAM, a so-called charity that continually takes a political position. Now OXFAM want to resume aid to those nice guys at Hamas who lead the Palestinian people.
Check out the kind of nastiness they are in favour of:
As Hamas seeks international recognition by softening its tone in English, in Arabic it continues the calls for genocide of Jews. In a recent sermon on PA TV, Hamas spokesman Dr. Ismail Radwan made it clear that the classical Hamas ideology had not changed, including its continued incorporation of extremist Islamic beliefs into Hamas ideology and policy. He reiterated:
1. The Hour of the Islamic Resurrection and End of Time is literally dependent on the killing of Jews by Muslims.
2. The remaining Jews will unsuccessfully attempt to hide, as the rocks and trees will expose them, calling out "there is a Jew behind me, kill him!"
3. "Palestine& will be liberated through the rifle," a euphemism meaning that Israel will be destroyed through violence.
Bryan:
Biodegradable | 13.04.07 - 3:07 am,
No doubt the BBC has written a programme to warn its hacks about politically incorrect language. In the unlikely event of any of them slipping up and using positive adjectives in close proximity to "IDF" or "Israel" the programme wont let them carry on until they've done the necessary repair work. They probably call it BBC Word 2007 and make its use mandatory for all BBC writers.
Bryan:
You can always trust the Aussies to show some good, old-fashioned backbone:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-...fic/
6551003.stm
How the BBC must have gritted its collective teeth while publishing that bit of good news. Hell, it was even forced to use the word terrorism.
TheCuckoo:
Bryan - that makes so much sense now that you mention it. Quite obviously typing 'terrorist' causes the auto-correct feature to kick in and change it to 'militant', and that's why we don't get to read it much.
Just think how much easier it is to type in a report like this one http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ica/
6540369.stm
IiD:
Good Morning.
"For the first time, the BBC, Sky News, CNN and al-Jazeera have joined forces to simulcast a special programme, calling for his release."
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/...1924&
#paginator
Oh yes we got the full Abu Bowen ramblings on CNN yesterday, full of “friend of Palestinian” and “telling the story from the peoples view” (proving that Al Beeb is indeed biased), but what struck me was the fact when FOX journalists get kidnapped it reported some way down the list of ‘important events’ but when a Beebeoid is similarly given the same treatment then Mark Thompson is suddenly transformed into Kissinger…..
I hope, however, they will consult with the general public BEFORE handing over taxpayers cash to ‘unemployed Palestinian journalists’….
BTW-is 'simulcast' a word?
IiD:
The Cuckoo..
Even the headline makes no sence:
'Bombers' die in Casablanca raid
They can even bring themselves to say 'suicide bombers' or 'Al Quieda' any more....
Bryan:
Here's a sample from a page of the Alan Johnston HYS forum:
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/...5636&
#paginator
Added: Thursday, 12 April, 2007, 10:28 GMT 11:28 UK
I hope Alan is released along with the Israeli army concript as the pain of the families involved must be agonising.
However is he missed as a BBC news reporter or as an unofficial spokesman for the Palestinian cause?
People sem to forget that whatever the conditions are in Gaza it is not under Israeli occupation
The so called goverment of Gaza are more intersted in Israels destruction than it's own people welfare.
Alan should have been reporting Gaza growth not it's self destruction
Mark Israel, London
Recommended by 65 people
Added: Thursday, 12 April, 2007, 10:25 GMT 11:25 UK
I and my family look forward to Alan Johnston regaining his freedom and I pray that this comes about immediately.
Mr Johnston's capture advances no-one's cause instead it only serves to bring needless distress. It is with this distress in mind that Mr Johnstons friends and family are also in our thoguhts.
Findlay Osborn, Bunbury, Australia
Recommended by 2 people
Added: Thursday, 12 April, 2007, 10:25 GMT 11:25 UK
Alan was doing a risky job which benefits Palestinians in Gaza. He has risked everything to report on the experience of a suffering people. I am grateful for his dedication and would ask those holding him to consider what he has done for Palestinians living in Gaza.
Dev Mookherjee, London
Recommended by 0 people
Added: Thursday, 12 April, 2007, 10:21 GMT 11:21 UK
It was encouraging to hear that the BBC has "credible" evidence that Alan Johnston is safe and well one month after this began. Seeing the reports on the support for Johnson from Gaza and the West Bank has been encouraging but its long past time for Alan Johnson to be released.
Barry Kolb, Jackson, New Jersey US
Recommended by 1 person
Added: Thursday, 12 April, 2007, 10:20 GMT 11:20 UK
Mr. Alan johnston kidnap is deplorable and hope he is back and well soon.
BBC was always pro-palestinian, anti israel inspite of its claims to be neutral so its total irony. Hope you are well and back.
J.J, Kuwait
Recommended by 49 people
Added: Thursday, 12 April, 2007, 10:18 GMT 11:18 UK
it is obvious perpetrators of violence will not like news reporters very much.
It is unfortunate the world's eyes and ears on the ground should be treated this way.
I add my voice to the appeals for his immediate release.
i also want to assure the kidnappers that they might benefit from the alan's work some day.
Richard Adjani, Accra
Recommended by 0 people
Added: Thursday, 12 April, 2007, 10:16 GMT 11:16 UK
As an Israeli I have often found Alan Johnston's reporting uncomfortable. However, his kidnapping is outrageous. No journalist should be intimidated. Please let him go.
Sarah, Ringwood, NJ
Recommended by 28 people
Fascinating stuff. The comments pointing out Johnston's bias are evidently extremely popular and even though they have only been up since yesterday some of them have leapfrogged over other comments to appear on the first Readers Recommended page:
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/...20070413085636&
Hmmm, but overall, the comments expressing some opposition to Johnston and the BBC represent only about 2% of the total posted. So could it be that the BBC is censoring these comments and therefore the only way that the authors can express their point of view is by recommending the few comments that slip through the net?
Can't be. That would mean the BBC is biased and we've been assured that they are not.
Alan:
"New chairman of BBC quits the Labour Party" (13 Apr.)
http://www.timesonline.co.uk
(go to 'Politics').
Sir Michael Lyons, the new Chairman of the BBC Trust, said:
"What I have got to establish across the country, for people who don't know me and won't ever know me, is my impartiality and I didn't feel it was easy to do that and remain a member of a political party."
How reassuring. How convincing.
IiD:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/
tol...icle1637277.ece
“Asked about his relationship with the Chancellor, for whom he recently conducted an inquiry into local government funding, Sir Michael said: “He’s asked me to do three jobs for him and I’ve done them to the best of my ability. That’s where it begins and ends.”
Excellent-I’m sure he will be ensuring that ‘King Brown will be ruling the airwaves in the next 2 years…..
IBC-The Pravda for the Islamic Socialist Republic of Great Britain.
Stuck-record:
Has anyone else noticed the strange use of the word 'publicly' in BBC news reports about Alan Johnson's kidnapping in Gaza?
They did it again on the Today programme this morning, but I've heard it a lot, especially during the last few days. The phrase always goes something along the lines of:
"... and the BBC have had no contact PUBLICLY with Mr Johnson's kidnappers."
Now, colour me suspicious, but from a corporation that spends a lot of time, effort and money on the precise use of language (see 'scare quotes' etc), this recent use of the word 'publicly' sounds very much like the kind of thing a lawyer would advise them to say, so they could say, at a later date, with a clear conscience "well, we didn't say we weren't talking to them PRIVATELY."
I've a feeling the licence fee is going to take a big hit.
IiD:
Here is a piece on the AJ saga as NOT reported by Al Beeb:
http://timesonline.typepad.com/
c...bcs_john_s.html
“The BBC's John Simpson reported this morning on the kidnapping of his colleague Alan Johnston and gave the impression that almost everyone in Gaza deplored the abduction. His desire to emphasise just how much support there is for Mr Johnston was understandable, but also risks obscuring the real story.”
But then there is this interesting angle in JPost as well:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Sat...icle%
2FShowFull
“Also on Monday, the BBC denied reports in the Arab media that Johnston may have staged his own abduction. Simon Wilson, the BBC's Middle East bureau chief, told the Post there was no truth to any suggestion that Johnston might have done so, or that the BBC was considering firing him."
"Alan is a highly respected journalist. He was due to return to London in April after a three-year position in Gaza, to resume a full-time staff job with the BBC World Service," Wilson said.
Earlier Monday, the London-based pan-Arabic paper Al-Hayat reported that Palestinian Authority security forces were investigating the possibility that Johnston staged his own abduction. According to Al-Hayat, Johnston waited 15 minutes for his "captors" to pick him up, and has been held willingly in an undisclosed location for more than a month. “
And Wakipedia sums it all up:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ala...on_(journalist)
"On March 12, 2007, Johnston's car was found abandoned on a street, shortly after he left his office to drive home.[1] He had entered Gaza from Jerusalem earlier in the day,[6] where he had been for a dental appointment.[8] A business card belonging to Johnston was found at the scene, identifying him as having been in the car.[12] The BBC was alerted to his disappearance when he did not make a pre-arranged telephone call.[8]"
"According to Palestinian police, four armed men were spotted near Johnston's car,[13] and Johnston is believed to have been abducted at gunpoint.[2] A state of emergency was declared with checkpoints set up to find Johnston, who was in the final weeks of his posting to Gaza, where he had been stationed for three years.[13]"
"There were some reports that negotiations had begun to try to secure Johnston's release, although the BBC strenuously emphasized that it could not independently verify reports that Johnston had been kidnapped.[14] A week after his disappearance, the BBC admitted that it seemed certain now that he had been kidnapped.[15]"
"On March 21, Israeli sources reported that Johnston may have been taken by the same groups that captured Gilad Shalit in June 2006. However, this was strongly denied by both the Popular Resistance Committees and the Palestinian Army of Islam.[16]"
"March 26 marked the fact that his kidnapping was now the longest-ever of a foreigner in Gaza since abductions began happening in the Gaza Strip, which led to renewed calls for his release.[17][18]
In the midst of his third week in captivity, news agencies began reporting on speculation that Johnston had been kidnapped by a powerful Gaza family with criminal connections, and which was willing to switch support to the other faction in the Palestinian Territories should one displease them.[19][20][21] It then emerged that the family might be holding Johnston as a bargaining chip who would be released in return for ten Hamas gunmen who killed members of the family.[22]"
On the day marking the fourth week of his disappearance, a London-based Arab newspaper, Al-Hayat, reported that Gaza authorities were looking into the possibility that Johnston might have staged his own disappearance after hearing that he was soon to be fired.[23] At first, the BBC refused to comment on the report,[24] before issuing a statement, calling on press not to run the article in question "given that there is absolutely no truth to it".[25], adding that "there is no truth in any suggestion that Alan Johnston may have staged his own kidnap, nor that the BBC was about to dismiss him."[25]"
So AJ might of been getting the red card?!
Not clear cofeee has we say in Holland.....
Anonymous:
On the 12th April, the BBC posted this page which includes links to the national parties standing in the local elections on May 3rd http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_po...ics/
6549353.stm
To give them their due, the report is fairly balanced.
But I knew there had to be a catch somewhere. Sure enough, as of this moment (10:35am Friday April 13th), out of all the party links listed (Labour, Conservatives, Lib-Dems, Green Party, BNP, UKIP, and Respect), guess which one doesn't work?
Sorry, no prizes, the answer is going to be pretty obvious isn't it? Yep, it's the link to the BNP.
(One doesn't have to be paranoid although of course it helps.)
As we know they/you read this blog, perhaps someone at the BBC would be kind enough to fix this error?
John Reith:
Bryan | 13.04.07 - 9:45 am
Fascinating stuff. The comments pointing out Johnston's bias are evidently extremely popular and even though they have only been up since yesterday some of them have leapfrogged over other comments to appear on the first Readers Recommended page:
… Hmmm, but overall, the comments expressing some opposition to Johnston and the BBC represent only about 2% of the total posted. So could it be that the BBC is censoring these comments and therefore the only way that the authors can express their point of view is by recommending the few comments that slip through the net?
No. As usual, the paranoid explanation is the wrong one.
You have to register as a member to recommend. Most people don’t bother. By definition, recommenders are a self-selected minority, who represent only a tiny fraction of visitors to the site. They are more likely to be regulars; more likely to be partisan; more likely to be members of some kind of advocacy group acting in concert with likeminded others; more likely to want to shape public perceptions of the matter under discussion. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that their views are out of synch with those of the general population of passing visitors
IiD:
Reith
Tell us about the plight of 'unemployed Palestinian journalists”?
Or Hamas spokesperson knowing where your pal is and who's got him?
Or that AJ contract was up for negotiation and he was destined to end up in World Service?
Nope I guess it’s back to trolling for you my old fruit…..
JimBob:
JR
Therefore, it is not at all surprising that their views are out of synch with those of the general population of passing visitors
So what is the point of HYS?
more likely to be partisan; more likely to be....blahblahblah
Can you explain how you know this?
And do 'partisans' only represent one side of the political spectrum (i.e. the one you don't agree with).
I think you'll find your views and the views of the BBC are out of synch. Maybe that's all you need to accept to be able to progress.
e.g. the EU
How many articles do we get from the BBC telling us what a complete waste of money it is and ask the question 'why are we in it'?
What percentage of the population wants to be in the EU?
IiD:
Jimbob...
No they just censor the rest:
http://www.newssniffer.co.uk/bbc...ds/
mostcensored
JimBob:
IiD
BBCs response to the censorship (based on Reith's response) would probably go along the lines of:-
'those pesky partisans have hijacked HYS again....quick, delete them'
or
'the HYS is not correct, it doesn't seem to reflect on popular opinion....quick, delete them'
D Burbage:
Just censor anything : last para says there are 'calls' for a 'blog code of conduct' and those 'calling' for it imply that it should be from the 'Government'.
These monopolies don't like it up-em, do they?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/65.../uk/
6548653.stm
Umbongo:
Why was it left to an Iraqi spokesman in an interview with Naughtie to tell us explicitly that the Iraqi Parliament is not in the Green Zone? In other words "Fortress Parliament" is protected by the Iraqi police not by the US military. Why was this speck of information not given to us specifically by one of the 8,500 "journalists" at the BBC? This is vital information for the understanding of what happened yesterday. You have to read the map on this report very carefully to see where the Iraqi Parliament buliding is relative to the Green Zone: it is not clearly highlighted in the written report.
Bias - probably - the BBC can put all the blame on US military incompetence for this one.
Crap journalism - certainly.
Patrick Carroll:
On the way in to work this morning, I listened to a BBC World Service report by (I think) Jim Muir in Baghdad.
He described the Iraqi Governmnet as having been "installed" by the US and its allies.
Oddly enough, I seem to remember this gorernment being the result of two or three free elections. India ink on fingers, and all that. Funny that these should have escaped the notice of the BBC's Baghdad reporter.
Unless he's a hack propagandist propagating a big lie, that is.
John Reith:
JimBob | 13.04.07 - 11:09 am & IiD | 13.04.07 - 11:05 am
JimBob
So what is the point of HYS?
Clearly you didn’t understand my last comment. HYS is there to give people a chance to have their say.
My point was that the people who recommend comments are out of synch with those who post comments on HYS.
Bryan’s own analysis proves this. Bryan admits that only 2% of commenters posting on this HYS thread share B-BBC’s view of AJ’s journalism.
However, some of their comments have been catapulted out of the murky margins into the sunny uplands of the ‘most recommended’ section.
How come the views of a 2% minority get proportionately more recommendations than those of the 98% majority?
Because 25-50 dittohead activists have pressed the button to recommend them. That’s how. Point proved.
IiD
I know you fancy yourself as a bit of an armchair spook – so I’m surprised you so readily treat ill-informed gossip as if it were CX.
Alan Johnston is the only Western reporter based in Gaza, so his kidnapping ain’t going to free-up loads of job opportunities for out-of-work locals.
Lots of people claim to know who took Alan. Some may be Hamas. Others Fatah. Others still work for UK papers. Many of them are probably lying or just wrong. Some may be telling the truth. We’ll see.
AJ was not ‘destined to end up in World Service’ in the sense you imply. He belongs to World Service. His 3 year stint in Gaza was almost up when he was kidnapped. He’s due to return to Bush House – his home base. No mystery there.
Anonymous:
Pay back time for Labour on May 3 with ballots in more than 300 English councils:
"Tories demand Reid take direct action with France over Sangatte 2"
"Politically correct police force hiring officers 'who can't do the job'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
pages...in_page_id=1766
.
Nep Nederlander:
Reith,
We have seen regularly "recommended" numbers going down as well as up. do you not find this at all concerning?
"Because 25-50 dittohead activists have pressed the button to recommend them. That’s how. Point proved."
And you know this for a fact... how exactly? Funny how when the "right" answer is reached it's a perfect democratic system, but when the "wrong" answer is reached it was hijacked by activists.
Heron:
John Reith
While you may be partially right about who recommends comments, I would still say the most recommended comments are more reflective (demonstrably more reflective) of public opinion than the cherry-picked quotes (usually recommended by very few) that reflect the BBC world-view and are regularly seen to the side of related articles. Surely you're not so arrogant as to deny this?
Roger Chacksfield:
I e.mailed a complaint to BBC ref the non appearance of the BNP link, and asked for a reply, I am not holding my breath!
Bryan:
TheCuckoo | 13.04.07 - 9:26 am,
The first paragraph from your link:
A police raid on suspected militants in the Moroccan city of Casablanca has set off gunfights and suicide bombings that have left at least five men dead.
The BBC can't even bring itself to use the term "suspected terrorists". Next they'll be calling them "alleged explosives operators".
Allan@Aberdeen:
I had a wee chuclke to myself while listening to the news on BBC Radio Scotland. It was announced in disapproving tones that John Howard, Australia's PM, wants to prevent entry into Oz of migrants who are HIV-positive. Those who work within the BBC's bubble will all consider that a breach of human rights etc. and they believe that those outside the bubble all agree - but I don't. To me, foreigners do not have the right to consume funds allocated to a nation's health services.
There's the BBC: and there's the real world
Biodegradable:
... more likely to be members of some kind of advocacy group acting in concert with likeminded others; more likely to want to shape public perceptions of the matter under discussion.
John Reith | 13.04.07 - 10:52 am
You must mean the Global Zionist Hasbara Conspiracy™.
So who exactly is the paranoid one Mr Reith?
John Reith:
You must mean the Global Zionist Hasbara Conspiracy
nah....more likely the B-BBC crowd.
I haven't noticed, for instance, any particular correlation between Zionism and a belief that global warming isn't man made, but down to aliens/sunspots or whatever.
JimBob:
Here we have it
down to aliens/sunspots or whatever
Everything outside our atmosphere is science fiction. Sun spots according to Reith should be given as much credence as aliens.
Have you accepted yet that the moon governs the tides or is this to you something from the X files.
I no longer think you're biased. I now think you're thick.
Bryan:
John Reith,
The implement you are using to cross swords with us here is getting more and more rusty and blunt.
I know one has to register to recommend comments. I have. And one doesn't have to speculate to determine how many people have registered out of the contributors to any given thread. Just run your pointer over the names. Those with a link have registered.
In fact, I just conducted a 2-minute experiment on the first four pages of the Johnston thread. 14 people out of 60 are registered. Hardly a representative sample, but I think you'll find that the minority is not as tiny as you assume.
Now if you'd done your homework you might have noticed that the HYS team has introduced a new system, giving the following breakdown at the top of the page:
DEBATE STATUS
Total comments:1906
Published comments:1234
Rejected comments:0
Moderation queue:672
That's the breakdown for the Johnston topic. But there's an error here - there have been at least 2 rejected comments, not 0, as HYS would have it. Trust me.
Until very recently the BBC was positively touting for comments on this topic (which has been going since March 26th) because they weren't exactly flooding in. There's been a bit of a flood for the last few days but I don't believe it was enough to leave 672 comments unattended to. So I think the breakdown should read like this:
DEBATE STATUS
Total comments:1906
Published comments:1234
Rejected comments:672
Moderation queue:0
Just a thought, old chap. Sort of opening up the debate, you know.
Here's the BBC explanation of the "debate status":
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/help/...elp/
6499093.stm
You might want to come to the debate better prepared next time.
Lee Moore:
Ashley Pomeroy : I assume an imaginary left-wing BBC of 1940
Not imaginary at all. Churchill referred to the BBC as being a nest of socialists and communists, and as this article demonstrates, the BBC perfected its role as the leader of bien pensant pacifist orthodoxy quite early in its life :
http://www.aijac.org.au/review/
2...scribb2812.html
"For eleven years they kept me off the air. They prevented me from expressing views which have proved to be right. Their behaviour has been tyrannical"
TPO:
'so I’m surprised you so readily treat ill-informed gossip as if it were CX.'
John Reith | 13.04.07 - 1:57 pm |
You've never read CX then jr!!
Sorry been off for a little while. Little one brought the plague (Black Death I think) home from nursery complete with a side order of conjunctivitis. We're all still pretty much under the weather and I find it difficult to look at the screen so will limit my contributions for a little while.
Biodegradable:
Bryan | 12.04.07 - 11:19 pm
audacious
daring
spectacular
'I don't remember ever seeing those words used, for example, when describing an Israeli counter terrorist operation in Gaza or the West Bank.'
Biodegradable | 13.04.07 - 3:07 am |
Only once, on the 4th July 1976. Was listening to my shortwave radio (pre blackberry days) in North Borneo when the BBC World Service news kicked off with "In a sensational raid....." and the other adjectives were then used.
Since then they've become as rare as rocking-horse shit when describing IDF exploits.
Must off now, starting to get a blink rate as high as Milliband. Archduke will respond later on that ludicrous assertion on the Editor's blog about Michael White.
Umbongo:
Jonathan Charles tells us on BBC 24 at around 16:15 today that Iraqi MPs are commemorating yesterday's atrocity by "insurgents". JC further informs us that the perpetrators of this outrage are described by the parliamentarians (but not JC) as "terrorists". So - according to a BBC reporter - a suicide bomber is specifically in his view not a terrorist. It's OK though since - according to my understanding of the BBC reporting guidelines anyway - the word "terrorist" is so loaded with value judgements that its use could cause confusion in the minds of those ignorant licence fee payers out there.
Lee Moore:
Bryan's highlighting of the debate status statistics is instructive. It is clear from looking at this feature on the DHYS pages that some comments remain in the moderation queue forever. When a debate is closed, they disappear and these comments show up as the difference between the total number of posts and the total of those accepted and rejected. We don't know which posts remain in this moderation limbo forever, but they are certainly not just the last posts submitted - ie the moderators do not work sequentially through the posts checking them against the rules, and then moving on to the next post. We can tell that most obviously from the interminable climate change debate where the debate has been open since December, and the latest posts appearing are dated 11 April. About 1500 posts have appeared in the last month out of a total of 4991 posted. But there are still 2302 in the moderation queue, and it is obvious that these have not all been submitted since 11 April. So what remains in the moderation queue is determined by something other than when it was submitted. The only other criterion for slow passage through the moderation queue that springs to mind is the content of the post. But not content that breaches the rules, for in that case it would not still be in the moderation queue.
Biodegradable:
John Reith:
You must mean the Global Zionist Hasbara Conspiracy
nah....more likely the B-BBC crowd.
In case you haven't noticed we're so disorganised we couldn't arrange a piss-up in a brewery. From time to time somebody suggests we do something as a group but it never happens. We are a varied, international, cross-party group of people who who find common ground in our shared awareness of BBC bias.
I haven't noticed, for instance, any particular correlation between Zionism and a belief that global warming isn't man made, but down to aliens/sunspots or whatever.
John Reith | 13.04.07 - 3:41 pm
http://politics.netscape.com/sto...and-hurricanes/
How much did the Zionist-engineered attacks contribute to global warming?
http://www.erichufschmid.net/Glo...al-
warming.html
On 25 February 2007, the mysterious group of people who give Oscar awards decided to promote Al Gore's documentary on global warming.
The evidence suggests that Al Gore, Hillary Clinton, Barak Obama, and virtually every other government official who is given publicity and funding are puppets of the Zionist crime network that is often referred to as the New World Order or the Illuminati.
http://www.libertyforum.org/show...&o=?=5&vc=1&
t=0
the people who lied us into these wars, and likely staged 9/11 to have a pretext for these wars, are the same people who are denying global warming, and they are zionist extemists.
Search google for Zionism "global warming", it's a laugh a minute.
Bryan:
Only once, on the 4th July 1976.
TPO | 13.04.07 - 4:25 pm
Yes, Entebbe.
Bryan:
Biodegradable | 13.04.07 - 4:52 pm,
Give the BBC time and its reporting will be indistinguishable from those blogs.
Biodegradable:
Yes, Entebbe.
Bryan | 13.04.07 - 5:09 pm
Now that really was something you could honestly describe as "audacious, daring, spectacular" and "sensational".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middl...ast/
5101412.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/...000/
2786967.stm
Alan:
While the EU (and its politically correct supporters) continue their self-congratulations on 50 years of existence and increasing Islamification of Europe, there is another view which sees the coming results of this political submission:
" Is European Civil War Inevitable by 2025 " (This long article is in 2 parts.)
http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com
Anonymous:
The afore-mentioned break in the BBC link to the BNP website has been made good
Biodegradable:
Insurgents claim Baghdad attack
An alliance of insurgent groups linked to al-Qaeda says it carried out the deadly attack on the Iraqi parliament.
So let's be clear about this. This week's suicide bombings in Morocco and Algeria were claimed by groups "linked to al-Qaeda" too.
The groups accused of the Madrid and London bombings both had links to al-Qaeda.
Does that mean they're all "insurgents"?
Bryan:
Lee Moore | 13.04.07 - 4:52 pm,
Since a "queue" is something you get to the end of, "Moderation Queue" is a bit of a misnomer. If, for example, you send them a comment at 20:00 tonight and then check later and find that they've published a few comments with the last one at 20:05 and yours is not among them, then you know that it has been flushed down the loo, simply because the time stamp represents the time you send them the comment, not the time at which they post it on the thread, and the comments on HYS are always in sequence.
Not so, strangely enough, with comments to The Editors blog. Sometimes your comment will pop up when it seems its been discarded since others sent after yours have already appeared on the thread.
Bryan:
Roger Chacksfield | 13.04.07 - 2:50 pm,
If you and Anonymous | 13.04.07 - 5:41 pm are one and the same, congrats.
We are slowly getting through to the lumbering pachyderm we call the BBC.
pounce:
It seems that even the Asians of the Uk have noticed how biased the BBC is with its coverage of race relations;
http://www.pickledpolitics.com/a...m/archives/
1091
archduke:
"Must off now, starting to get a blink rate as high as Milliband. Archduke will respond later on that ludicrous assertion on the Editor's blog about Michael White.
TPO | 13.04.07 - 4:25 pm |"
i've been away the last few days.
what was that "ludicrious assertion"?
archduke:
in depth - "muslims in europe". its still there...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ope/
default.stm
Bryan:
Now that really was something you could honestly describe as "audacious, daring, spectacular" and "sensational".
Biodegradable | 13.04.07 - 5:25 pm
Yes, those must have been heady days to be in Israel. I'm sorry I wasn't.
Anonymous:
archduke:
in depth - "muslims in europe"...
"Arrestees who are being held at the Segbroek police station in The Hague have a compass in their cell which shows them the direction to Mecca so that they know which way to face when praying. The compass is painted on the ceiling of the cells.
Why can’t the Dutch give Muslims a moral compass as well? That’s what they really need.
A shockingly large number of prison inmates everywhere are Muslims. According to French researcher Farhad Khosrokhavar Muslims make up some 70 percent of a total of 60,775 prisoners in France.
Personally, I suspect there is little difference between crime and Jihad".
More
http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/2047
John Reith:
Bryan | 13.04.07 - 3:53 pm & Nep Nederlander 13.04.07 - 2:13 pm
Bryan – if, as you seem to, you really do believe that the BBC employs a secret roomful of censors especially to prevent you and your friends from posting comments on HYS threads, you have completely lost touch with reality.
As for Nep’s:
We have seen …."recommended" numbers going down as well as up
I don’t suppose a software glitch would explain that?
Thought not.
It doesn’t account for the little green men and the black helicopters you’ve seen too.
I reckon Lee Moore is getting warmer.
Mix in to his analysis: 1. The requirement to ensure that what gets put up reflects the relative balance of opinion of comments received; and 2. The need to sample more recent messages – so the whole thing isn’t lagging days behind…..and it seems to me - bob’s your uncle.
Anonymous:
Seems you were right Bryan .. "Alan Johnston: Your messages" has been updated ..
DEBATE STATUS
Total comments:
2511
Published comments:
1268
Rejected comments:
615
Moderation queue:
628
archduke:
" Anonymous | 13.04.07 - 6:41 pm "
the completely overlooked CBS 60 minutes story on an British ex-Jihadist hinted at that, where the former Jihadist mentioned that drug dealing was allowed as part of "jihad". If you were a Muslim dealer and donated part of your profits to the "cause" - and also did not sell drugs to Muslims (only Kaffirs) - then that was totally ok and you were considered part of the Jihad.
Bryan:
Seems you were right Bryan..
Anonymous | 13.04.07 - 6:53 pm,
Thanks for that.
John Reith | 13.04.07 - 6:51 pm,
Bryan – if, as you seem to, you really do believe that the BBC employs a secret roomful of censors especially to prevent you and your friends from posting comments on HYS threads, you have completely lost touch with reality.
I'll accept your gracious apology in advance. Sharpen that sword of yours for the next round.
pounce:
The BBC, breaking news and bad publicity for terrorists.
Heavy fighting' in Afghanistan
American and Afghan troops backed by warplanes have killed more than 35 Taleban militants in the southern province of Helmand, US officials say.
They say that the militants were killed during a fierce five-hour battle in the district of Sangin.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...sia/
6552857.stm
and here is the same story reported 24 hours ago;
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Leve...404031284&
par=0
Can somebody please explain how the BBC has no problem reporting within minutes how a British soldier has died, but when one of its Islamic misguided criminals gets slotted (never mind 35 of them) The BBC is not only slow on the uptake, but has a nasty habit of inserting a ‘meanwhile’ or ‘in other news’ article right in there in the first paragraph so as to not only defuse the impact of how badly the terrorists are doing out there, but also to push an image that NATO is losing...
Biodegradable:
John Reith | 13.04.07 - 6:51 pm,
Bryan – if, as you seem to, you really do believe that the BBC employs a secret roomful of censors especially to prevent you and your friends from posting comments on HYS threads, you have completely lost touch with reality.
The reality is, Mr Reith, that we have been told by you and other visiting beeboids that forum moderation (censorship) is carried out by a "third party" employed by the BBC.
For all our asking we have never been told exactly who this "third party" is, nor what exact criteria is used when moderating (censoring).
Insomuch as we (Joe Public) are not given this information the BBC's moderation (censorship) is indeed being carried out in secret.
That's a fact, not paranoia.
pounce:
Is anybody else here the least bit concerned about the fate of that BBC reporter.
Me I don’t give a jot and I’ll put money on it the vast majority of Brits aren’t bother either. (Which may explain how only 30,000 people have signed that petition)
Note to Liberals, BBC staff and Jeremy Bowen.
Nobody in the world takes the slightest bit of notice to petitions.
So please, please do us a favour and take the wall to wall coverage of how somebody who was paid to live in the area hasn’t phoned home for a few weeks off the bloody burner. I mean I don’t see the BBC spending as much time and effort when others get kidnapped So why is it different for a bloody reporter.
BTW if you are going to state that the BBC held a day of action, it would help if you did something constructive. Crying into the TV cameras about what a nice chappie this guy was to the terrorist cause doesn’t cause these idiots to lose any sleep. It’s about as much use as a chocolate fireguard. If you want to scare your bed fellows into action you really have to scare them. Say like saying that the BBC is going to pull out of the area. I mean the faithful wouldn’t dream of losing such a pro terrorist mouthpiece such as the BBC and before you could say Abdul is your mother’s brother. You’ll find Mr BBC reporter walking in of the streets claiming he was abducted by the US.
[Since you ask, I am concerned for his fate, as I would be for any human being in his position. Please keep discussion of this topic within bounds of decorum. - NS.]
Edited By Siteowner
mick in the uk:
Heard on radio 4 this morning, with reference to the terrorist attack in the Iraq Parliament buildings ...
"A person took his own life ..."
Bryan:
mick in the uk,
I don't believe it. No, on second thoughts if it came from the BBC I do believe it.
archduke:
"Insurgents claim Baghdad attack"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ast/
6553063.stm
bizarre. even when the Al-Qaeda Islamists themselves claim that they did it , the BBC is reluctant to mention Al Q or Islamist in the headline.
"Explosion targets Baghdad bridge
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ast/
6547361.stm
In Iraq, an "explosion" is something that walks around and targets stuff, like bridges.
cassis:
Reith
I've tried several times to log on to the HYS website. And I am denied access.
I guess my email address is blocked.
I was a Conservative supporter on the 'World Debate' forum (I think it was called) that is BEFORE 9/11 but after that, it became practically impossible to leave a comment - well - unless you were called Mohammed/Nazir.
That forum has since been abolished but I would love to know if Godless Infidell, Rovers Rovers, Grant Carlson, Lou Knee were still around,
But anyway - why I am still blocked?
Jon:
JR said "..but down to aliens/sunspots or whatever." Intersting you should mention aliens.
You must have heard of the lecture given by Micheal Crichton called "Aliens Cause Global Warming".
"My topic today sounds humorous but unfortunately I am serious. I am going to argue that extraterrestrials lie behind global warming. Or to speak more precisely, I will argue that a belief in extraterrestrials has paved the way, in a progression of steps, to a belief in global warming. Charting this progression of belief will be my task today.
Let me say at once that I have no desire to discourage anyone from believing in either extraterrestrials or global warming. That would be quite impossible to do. Rather, I want to discuss the history of several widely-publicized beliefs and to point to what I consider an emerging crisis in the whole enterprise of science-namely the increasingly uneasy relationship between hard science and public policy."
http://www.crichton-
official.com...es_quote04.html
I have to point out JR that this was a parody on the whole MMGW bias put out by the BBC "science" commentators among others. (He wasn't seriously putting forward the hypothesis.)
Connell:
What a f*kin twat, Marcus Brigstocke was in full flow tonight on the Now Show,
telling us how racist we all are.
Who the hell commisioned this rubbish and who apart from himself thinks its funny, Ronnie Barker must be turning in his grave!!
Jon:
Here is something else that is never mentioned on the BBC:
"THIS IS WHAT A TRILLION $ BUYS YOU:
Britains Hadley Centre, the "Met Office", which advises the UK government as its prominent climate research source on Kyoto, once published this graph. It shows their belief that by the year 2050 the net benefit of full implementation of the Kyoto Protocol would effectuate a temperature drop of just 0.06 degrees Celcius, compared to the year 2000.
This reduction would come at a global cost estimated at one trillion dollars."
http://www.friendsofscience.org/...index.php?
ide=6
And this is by an organisation that promotes the CO2 myth.
Jon:
"British Forces at War: As Witnessed by an American"
Excellent piece recommended by EU Referendum Blog
http://www.michaelyon-online.com...an-
american.htm
See the picture of the woman and child and note the caption.
"During the third entry, the terrorists were not home, but a woman and two small children were obviously present. 5 Platoon did not throw flashbangs, and their touch was so light that the small children did not cry."
This type of reporting should be done by the Jim Muers and Hugh Sykes of the BBC - but this would be too accurate for them - and it would not fit into their "cultural" mindset.
It’s a real pity really as I am sure if the BBC were to report in this manner not only would it help and support our troops but it would also show just what these so-called "militants" really are and help in their utter defeat.
Jon:
Funny but on my way home from work today I never heard this as the lead article on the Radio5 Live news.
"Rapist attacks woman pushing pram"
"The rapist is described as West African in his late 20s or early 30s, 6ft 2in tall, of slim build and with a shaven head. He had yellowing teeth and the bottom row were said to be decaying."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_ne...ter/
6553015.stm
JimBob:
pounce:
Is anybody else here the least bit concerned about the fate of that BBC reporter.
Not me, no. The BBC give scant regard for around 55 million people who live in this country so why should we care for one of theirs.
archduke:
i couldnt give a toss either.
the friend of my enemy, is my enemy.
so if Mr Johnston wants to do a "lord haw haw" in Pallywood with the Islamists that want to kill me and my family, well, he's welcome to them. couldnt give a toss. he made his bed - he can lie in it.
Jon:
I do understand your points but I am an optimist - I suspect I will be proved wrong but I hope one day the BBC will really see that even when they take the terrorist side - it does not spare them from the real intent of the terrorists cause. Do they really think that appeasing these "militants" that they will be rewarded by them - it only shows their utter weakness - but will the BBC wake to this fact I hope so.
dave t:
One point the BBC keep missing for some reason...the Iraqi Parliament is NOT IN the Green Zone and is guarded by Iraqi forces not US. Didn't stop the Beeb trying to insinuate that it was all the Yanks fault and it was a very bad day for the coalition. Strange that they also forgot to mention that the death rate has dramatically dropped thanks in part to the surge of US troops and the efforts of the Iraqi Forces.
18000 reporters and they keep missing what the rest of us find every day within minutes - the whole story....strange that.
Jon:
Do the BBC really think that a petition to free Alan Johnston will do any good - well if the BBC were recieving the petition they would not even consider it.
"BBC governors rejected a record 63,000 complaints from viewers over the decision to broadcast Jerry Springer The Opera yesterday prompting renewed criticism from offended Christian and “decency” campaigners"
http://www.mediawatchuk.org/news...The%
20Opera.htm
archduke:
"I do understand your points but I am an optimist
Jon | 14.04.07 - 1:14 am "
if its any consolation, i was a socialist until the Mohammed Cartoons. that was the tipping point that made me question a lifetime of belief.
it wasnt 7/7 or 9/11 that did it - it was an obscure Danish newspaper receiving death threats over a few cartoons. thats when it REALLY hit home to me. so yeah. your optimism is well grounded. if it happened to me, then it can happen to lots of other people. and indeed it has.
(mo cartoons were like a chain reaction that kicked off my discovery of ayaan hirsi ali, libertarianism, the cato letters and lots of other stuff. i seriously started to examine the concept of "freedom" and where it came from...)
archduke:
" dave t | Homepage | 14.04.07 - 1:30 am |"
indeed - it was nothing to do with american security. the Times reported that the checkpoints were made up of Georgian, Peruvian and Iraqi forces. the bomber didnt go through an american checkpoint.
archduke:
MacCavity the Cat was run away to the U.S.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_po...ics/
6554561.stm
the last sentence is interesting:
"The two men had previously never met face-to-face"
10 years in power and he hasnt met the american president? hello? bit odd that isnt it?
meanwhile, the bbc headline writers are at it again
"uk soldier killed in afghanistan"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/65.../uk/
6553637.stm
maybe he died in a road accident? or did his gun misfire?
err.. no
"The MoD said the attack happened after troops challenged a five-man Taleban team attempting to set up an ambush."
and then we get the "lets bash israel" crowd rearing its head again
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ast/
default.stm
"israel human shiled suspension"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ast/
6554487.stm
i dont remember Hezbollah suspending anyone over the human shields they used during the war of 2006...
archduke:
bbc news 24 just reported that the speaker of iraqi parliament said, and i quote, "that the insurgents would never win".
hmm.. i think a "t" word has been replaced there by the bbc.
Jon:
"...i was a socialist until the Mohammed Cartoons. that was the tipping point that made me question a lifetime of belief."
I can honestly say that I have never been a socialist, I am what you might call a traditionalist - I hate change just for the sake of it. When its not broken don't fix it. What turned me against the BBC was the Question Time programme after 9/11, that day the BBc made me ashamed to be British. I had thought until that time that we were indeed a country that believed in fair play and honesty. A country that rallied around our friends in their hour of need, but I was astonished that people living in this country were so full of loathsomeness and hatred at our great ally after they had experienced such a terrible outrage. Words cannot begin to explain what I felt and my disgust for the BBC in setting this up - since then they have gloated not over any atrocity carried out against the US and Israel but also Britain. But my optimism come from this site and others - where people from all walks of life and political leanings have come together to document the utter anti-western hating BBC. My optimism was again awoken when I saw the film by Davaid Aronovitch on the lefts embracing of terrorists, I have never agreed with hardly anything that Aronovitch says but I respect his views. I respect the views of all free people if I agree with them or not, and that is the difference between living in a democracy or a BBC induced Marxist state. This is probably why I have such a bee in my bonnet on the saga of MMGW - I am all for debate and free speech but not bullying tactics. The BBC is being used as a tool to control decent on important issues. Since finding this blog it has opened my eyes to the subtle and not so subtle way the BBC puts across its Marxist dogma. Eulogising over - keep up the good work (peacefully)
Anonymous:
Naturally, of all the eleventy-trillion photographs in the whole world of John Howard that the BBC has access to, the one they decide to use here is, er, unflattering...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...fic/
6553623.stm
cassis:
I happened to catch the beginning of The World last night, a news programme that starts BBC 4.
Lead item, Paul Wolfovitz's problems, with an extraordinary unflattering pic in the background.
No agenda there then.
/
pounce:
Jon posted the link;
http://www.michaelyon-online.com...an- american.htm
Thanks for that, I've forwarded it to all the lads.
Anonymous:
Good news from Iraq...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070...a/
iraq_ap_tally
...So, naturally no sign of it on the BBC...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ast/
default.stm
Bryan:
The BBC takes great pride in itself as a champion of
*minorities
*refugees
*the dispossessed
*the discriminated against
And it likes to see itself as fighting for the rights of the little man against the giant, uncaring, money-grubbing conglomerates.
So I expect that the following story, which combines all these elements, will soon be latched onto by the BBC like a bone by a bulldog:
Jewish refugee families press for equity
Alan:
"A real hero too much for the BBC "
by Andrew Pierce (14 Apr.)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk
( go to 'Comments')
Fran:
Archduke
I read this part of your comment
"and then we get the "lets bash israel" crowd rearing its head again
"israel human shiled suspension"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ast/ 6554487.stm
i dont remember Hezbollah suspending anyone over the human shields they used during the war of 2006..."
With interest.
I then put the words 'Palestinian' 'human' 'shield' into the BBC search engine.
Now it is unquestionable that Palestinian gunmen and terrorists use their civilian population as human shields as a matter of routine.
They store and fire Qassam rockets from built up areas and public facilities such as football pitches. Their gunmen hide behind stone throwing youths and children when security operations happen. They place their headquarters and their munitions stores in civilian apartment blocks.
One might, therefore, have expected at least some of the headlines to imply awareness of this fact.
Will you be surprised to hear that my search turned up piece after piece on the wicked Israelis using Palestinian civilians as human shields. The others headlined brave Palestinians or westerners acting as human shields to prevent the nasty Israeli troops from targetting Palestinians.
In several of those cases, the Palestinians concerned had been involved in the murder of Israeli civilians and openly desired the destruction of the State of Israel.
There was ONE, only one result in the first 3 pages which acknowledged Palestinian use of human shields in the headline.
So the BBC headline disputacious claims that the IDF use civilians as human shields when they are totally silent about the undoubted and routine Palestinian use of the very same tactic.
So, in the BBC's curious paradigm, Palestinians can't be responsible for the consequences their culture of sacrificing children at the altar of 'Hate Israel' - and the Israelis are wicked for daring to defy them by defending their children and their country from those who would annihilate them if they got half a chance.
More Jew-hatred anyone?
Alan Man:
archduke:
(mo cartoons were like a chain reaction that kicked off my discovery of ayaan hirsi ali, libertarianism, the cato letters and lots of other stuff. i seriously started to examine the concept of "freedom" and where it came from...)
You are not alone in this. I was in Denmark when 7/7 happened but it was not until the cartoon controversy that I realized there was something seriously wrong about Western societies, media in particular.
BBC epitomizes everything that is wrong by glorifying thugs and murderers and by calling terrorists 'militants' or 'gunmen'.
What strikes me is that so few newspapers actually published the motoons. They did not do this out of respect for religious beliefs but cowardice.
The 'misguided criminals' that blew up the London tube were not motivated by teachings of Al-Qaeda and they did not pervert the peaceful religion of islam. They were motivated by orthodox islam that specifically mandates violence against unbelievers.
Stuck-record:
Great amusement on the Today programme this morning.
John Humphrey's spluttering with moral indignation (and some considerable confusion) about the £250 million profit a hedge-fund manager has just been paid. Whatever your position re capitalism (I'm all for it, but still think that a £250 million salary is probably a wee bit too much for a single individual) it was very funny to hear Humphrey's confused hypocrisy. It's been mentioned many times on this site that one of the BBC's bugbears is capitalism = bad. So it was clear from his questioning that he genuinely believes that capitalism is a zero-sum game: you pay one person more, you must pay the other person less.
The simple concept that people might actually be creating money that didn't previously exist and taking a share of that, is lost on him. He clearly didn't understand the concept of what the city even does – in terms of investment in companies growth. It was explained to him by the two guests: one of whom was Ken Livingstone's financial adviser, who had presumably been invited on the program to back Mr Humphrey's moral indignation up. Unfortunately he failed to live up to his role, as his socialist master is totally in favour of the city (naked rampant capitalism) making as much money as it possibly can in order that he can get more tax -- to give to Muslim fundamentalist loonies.
Funny then, that Mr Humphrey's doesn't take the same zero-sum position over his own salary. I don't know the exact figure, but would presume that Mr Humphrey's -- in line with other major BBC figures -- would be paid a minimum of £500,000 a year. By his reasoning, does this mean that he's taking money out of the pockets of other poor BBC employees?
Or would he make the case that he is worth such an enormous 'fat-cat' salary because he brings viewers and listeners to the radio station; thereby increasing listenership? Err... no, that would be a bit too much like capitalism.
Fran:
Stuck record
Nice one!
archduke:
well done green fascists.
right after the kids programs on channel 5 theres a big scarey advert about "climate change"
http://www.climatechallenge.gov.uk
nice way to brainwash a generation of kids.
archduke:
" Stuck-record | 14.04.07 - 9:26 am |"
ha! nice one.
its rather nice to wake up to a fresh bit of fisking in the morning. thank you.
archduke:
"Alan Man | 14.04.07 - 9:17 am |"
i dont know if you remember the story of the Manchester based magazine that wanted to print the cartoons - but the police wouldnt guarantee the safety of the staff. the editor wanted to publish, but knowing that he and his staff might possibly get death threats he rang ahead to the local cops, just in case.
no guarantee of protection was provided, so he didnt publish.
that was one of the big tipping points for me during that debacle.
archduke:
" Jon | 14.04.07 - 3:36 am "
i just grew up in a socialist family - you know the type. grand-dad voted labour, dad voted labour - your aunts and uncles voted labour. that sort of thing. i didnt really "become" a socialist - more just grew up as one.
with increasing voter apathy and signs of traditional labour voters moving to the BNP (and even UKIP) ,it looks like i'm not the only one whos had to seriously requestion their politics in the wake of 911, 7/7 and Mo Cartoons.
MMGW is another one thats really making me see first-hand the bullying tactics of the extreme left.
Bryan:
Here's a breakdown of the comments to the Alan Johnston HYS
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/...#57821;�
at 3:53 pm yesterday:
DEBATE STATUS
Total comments:1906
Published comments:1234
Rejected comments:0
Moderation queue:672
http://www.haloscan.com/comments...2767397/
#337388
And here's the breakdown at 6:53 pm:
DEBATE STATUS
Total comments:2511
Published comments:1268
Rejected comments:615
Moderation queue:628
http://www.haloscan.com/comments...2767397/
#337415
And here's the current breakdown:
DEBATE STATUS
Total comments:1979
Published comments:1462
Rejected comments:0
Moderation queue:517
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/...#57821;�
I'm sure all those people who have had comments rejected (I'm one of them) will be happy to learn that the comments have now been unrejected, again, and will be checking the thread to find their published comments.
Funny thing is, though, that all those rejected comments that have now been welcomed back into the fold have not increased the total number of comments or the number of published comments.
Hmmmm. Technical difficulties, BBC?
Stuck-record:
Thanks Archduke
re the tipping point for each person.
Mine had been building for years before 2001. It was the drip, drip, drip of the constant hectoring tone on the Today programme/Newsnight and BBC News reports. I became increasingly frustrated with the obsession for constructing studio-based arguments between political apologists, and the reliance on punditry instead of trying to find out what was actually happening -- or even (horror of horrors) reporting what was going on -- in the world.
The last straw, however, was definitely 9/11. There were so much gloating that day and so much snide innuendo, from the usual suspects, that 'America had got a bloody nose'. I felt sick. To this day I will turn the radio off whenever Jeremy Hardy comes on. On the News quiz a few days after 9/11 he said something along the lines of "Tony Blair is going to love this"; presumably because it would allow him to do all the 'dreadful' policies that Mr Hardy disapproved of. It got huge laugh. 3000 people murdered, and a rich 'socialist' comedian gets a laugh out of it.
Eeuurgh.
archduke:
those Muslims. they are in Europe. and its in depth. again. for the zillionth day running...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ope/
default.stm
archduke:
"suicide attack on iraqi holy city"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ast/
6554887.stm
last time i checked , Karbala wasnt a holy city to 98 per cent of the British population.
and its quite remarkable how automobiles appear to kill themselves in Iraq:
"At least 47 people have been killed and more than 60 hurt in a suicide car bomb attack"
maybe the movie "Cars" is actually a documentary perhaps.
and the capital "p" appears later on:
"The attack occurred about 200m from the Imam Hussein shrine, where the grandson of Islam's Prophet Muhammad is believed to be buried."
well , at least they mentioned "Islam" before the "P" word.
archduke:
"British forces at war : as witnessed by an American"
Michael Yon writes about Brits in combat in Basra:
http://www.michaelyon-online.com...an-
american.htm
this picture was taken after the battle:
http://www.michaelyon-online.com...ezzo/
Photo9.jpg
(note how battle hardened they appear... makes a nice change from "those bad Iranians stole my ipod"...)
quote:
"In an operation that lasted over four hours, British forces killed 26-27 enemy and sustained no casualties. 5 Platoon fired more than 4,000 bullets before their guns began to cool, and about 15 of the enemy kills were accredited to 5 Platoon"
how come these battles are not being reported in depth by the BBC? i dont recall a 6 o clock news banner headline saying that our boys whacked 27 terrorists in a major gun battle.
Gloating Beeboid:
Tee Hee.
It seems 18 Doughty Street is changing its spots.
When Doughty Street launched, it said aiming for BBC-style impartiality/objectivity was a bad thing - and upfront, unashamed bias was good.
Now 18 Doughty Street is re-branding itself as a provider of ‘non-partisan….news and current affairs’.
When 18 Doughty Street launched, it employed B-BBC approved presenters. According to Guido, it’s now hired Yasmin Ailibhai-Brown and Peter Tatchell as presenters.
Or, as Andrew Marr might put it, it’s starting down the road of becoming an “urban organisation with an abnormally large number of young people, ethnic minorities and gay people.” (Well, if not ‘an abnormally large number’, at least – a few.) How long before a ‘socially liberal mindset’ takes root?
So why the volte face ?
Because Doughty Street’s diet of B-BBC-style bias allegations against public service broadcasters and generally reactionary assumptions drove even viewers who thought they we were signing-up for ToryTV away in their….um…..dozens. It seems there is insufficient demand for your B-BBC ideas prejudices- in fact, almost no demand at all, even on the internet.
The moral of this story is: the sorts of opinions and worldview that characterize this blog have turned out to be pure commercial poison. In the longer run, about the only place they’re ever likely to find expression is on licence-fee funded telly in a public service ‘cranks’ corner’.
What delicious irony....
http://www.order-order.com/
http://18doughtystreet.com/blog/123
bob:
Thanks for that, Archduke. Finally, I can feel informed on important news regarding the British forces that reflects so much credit on them. And, it goes without saying, it's positive news of our forces' success and bravery, which means we'll NEVER hear about it thru our "British" Broadcasting Company
archduke:
"Gloating Beeboid | 14.04.07 - 11:27 am |"
its more that they are trying to keep Ofcom off their backs.
Lee Moore:
Gloating Beeboid seems to have forgotten that even Fox badges itself as "fair and balanced." It also has a sprinkling of lefty presenters to "balance" the rather larger number of non lefties.
I'm afraid I've never watched 18 Doughty Street, but if you're going to hire a lefty presenter, then the Tatch would seem to be quite a good choice. He does at least appear to have a mind of his own, rather than just parroting standard progressive dogma.
I loved the reference to "pure commercial poison" by the way - a Beeboid would really know all about surviving in the tough commercial world, ie getting viewers to pay for your offerings.
The Fat Contractor:
Gloating Beeboid | 14.04.07 - 11:27 am |
Welcome my sub-bridge dwelling friend.
You, as with many of your komrades miss the point. I, and I suspect many others here, want to hear left wing views - anyone interested in politics would.
What we don't want is to hear only left wing views or only right wing views for that matter.
Campaigning against bias means having to listen to all sides, not just one.
But I wouldn't expect a beeboid to understand that.
Pickwick:
Has anyone heard any more about the Algerian asylum seeker and her baby who were attacked in Scotland ? (Today programme last Thursday).
UK Daily Pundit:
The BBC is Rotten From Top to Bottom
http://the-daily-pundit.blogspot...-to-
bottom.html
Gloating Beeboid:
Lee Moore | 14.04.07 - 12:21 pm
- a Beeboid would really know all about surviving in the tough commercial world
Well, one who'd started off at Granada, migrated to Thames, did a short spell at Central TV before jetting off to Viacom in the States for 3 years would know quite a bit about it, yeah.
The BBC stopped being staffed by civil servants way back when, believe it or not.
GCooper:
Sorry, GB - what drove viewers away from 18 Doughty St is far more likely to have been the self-referential 'after you, Claude, no, after you, Cecil', incestuous waffling of a handful of self-important young bloggers.
Whatever they (or you lot at the BBC) like to think, blogs are still pretty small beer in the UK and hyped out of all proportion to their importance.
If, as you claim, it was the politics that deterred the viewing hordes, how do you explain the vastly greater circulation of the Telegraph over that of your house organ, the Guardian, eh?
archduke:
pickwick -> try here:
http://news.google.co.uk/news?hl...&
ncl=1115275913
archduke:
"GCooper | 14.04.07 - 1:03 pm "
i didnt watch it too often either as i digest all my daily news via RSS, blogs and podcasts (mostly American). the "after you cecil" style was a bit off putting alright - i expected something a bit meatier.
Biodegradable:
The BBC stopped being staffed by civil servants way back when, believe it or not.
Gloating Beeboid | 14.04.07 - 12:56 pm
Not.
GCooper:
archduke writes:
'...i expected something a bit meatier.'
As did I. In fact I felt quite uncomfortable watching it. It was like having gatecrashed the Islington dinner party of a coven of apprentice lawyers.
Oh well... that's me banned from the comments section of most UK blogs
archduke:
any questions , radio 4
peter hain: orange skinned leftist
cheryl gillan: token tory
adam price: plaid cymru. left wing
lembit opik: crazy name, crazy guy. Lib Dim. leftist.
archduke:
"GCooper | 14.04.07 - 1:18 pm"
no your right. i was very uncomfortable with it at times as well... felt like an outsider "looking in".
i dont know how the likes of say, Hugh Hewitt in the U.S. does it - but when i listen to him, i actually feel PART of his world/discussion. even though he's a Christian rightie American, and i'm more of a Libertarian atheist Brit.
maybe its the class system in Britain rearing its ugly head - and it surfaced on Doughty street. you just dont get a feeling of that "class" thing on American talk radio..
just my two cents on this.
Ben:
g.b
The moral of this story is: the sorts of opinions and worldview that characterize this blog have turned out to be pure commercial poison.
and the fact your lot did so well
at the Television Society journalism awards says a lot about you as well.
will:
Stuck-record | 14.04.07 - 9:26 am
John Humphrey's spluttering with moral indignation .. presume that Mr Humphrey's -- in line with other major BBC figures -- would be paid a minimum of £500,000 a year.
Plus his wealth & income derived from his 1.5% stake in YouGov. A stake obtained for no cost in exchange for lending his BBC cred to regular BBC guest, Peter Kellner's enterprise.
GCooper:
Ben writes:
"The moral of this story is: the sorts of opinions and worldview that characterize this blog have turned out to be pure commercial poison."
I refer the honourable gentleman to the answer I gave earlier.
If you are right, how do you explain the miserable circulation figures of the Guardian as opposed to those of the Telegraph ?
Is there any chance of an answer, or are you another output-only device?
Block 813:
"The BBC stopped being staffed by civil servants way back when, believe it or not."
Sorry mate......Gordon Borwn and Blair decide who is your boss......and your wages are paid by tax...
Your'e no better than any other council employee...or in other words, you can't make it in the real world, so have to leach of others......and those who work at the BBC who do have talant, end up leaving and going to the States or ITV....lol. Rowan Atkinson, Ricky Gervais...etc..
And your'e left with 80s Thatcher Children like Dawn French and Lenny (Not been funny in 20 years) Henry......lol.
Thats why you get 5 Million for a "good" show now....where it used to be 25 Million......the BBC is shrinking and dying, and no amount of bleating from the hysterical and blind left is going to change it.........good riddence. lol.
Quite simply...the BBC is obsolete.....Old Empire Propaganda Garbage the world could and soon will do without.
Peregrine:
The interesting thing (to me anyway) is why Beeboids need to gloat. Do staff at Tesco crow when a small on-line organic food delivery service decides to stock non-organic food as well? I doubt it.
Of course comparing the BBC with Tesco is probably wrong, perhaps Iceland is more like it.
Block 813:
BTW...I notice the BBC is playing Gordons running to the USA to meet with GW Bush, as George begging for Gordon to come over.....
When the fact is, the reason Gordon got on a plane and flew over to meet GWB, is becasue GBW said "Here Boy", gave a few whistles...and Brown came running......
I mean, if Bush was desperate to meet Brown, HE would have got on a plane and gone to all the trouble.......
But no...Brown dropped everything, in the run up to Local Eelctions........and ran to his master as ordered.....
Stop telling porkies Beeb......we know Labour are slaves to GWB, and we know you are slaves to Brown.....no one believes you when you talk about Brown...we know your tounge is up his arse, he picked your boss FFS. lol
Go do as your master says...scribes. Real Journaliss need not apply.....not even those who fake their own kidnappings.
will:
And your'e left with 80s Thatcher Children
Last night watched last 10 mins or so of new Harry Enfield/Paul Whitehouse vehicle. Very obvious, very poor.
So Enfield left, became unfunny & then returned! (Shame to see PW off form).
Ben:
Is there any chance of an answer, or are you another output-only device?
g.cooper i'm on your side,it was gloating beeboid i quoted from this post
Gloating Beeboid | 14.04.07 - 11:27
The moral of this story is: the sorts of opinions and worldview that characterize this blog have turned out to be pure commercial poison.
my bit was underneath,
imli:
The NJU has voted on Friday to boycott Israeli goods.
1. How many BBC reporters voted for this? And if they voted on this issue, is this compatible with their job?
2. Will the journalists now go back to using pen, paper and landlines, given that most of the technology they use has been invented/built in Israel?
3. Can we find the names of the people who voted for the boycott, and will they declare their vested interest when they write an article about Israel next?
See this article: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Sat...icle%
2FShowFull
Gloating Beeboid:
GCooper | 14.04.07 - 1:03 pm
No, I'm sure you're right, it can't have been the politics that drove the viewers from 18 Doughty street in droves.
It must have been the sport or the entertainment.
And how very odd of you to imagine that when I spoke of your politics in a less than reverential way, that I was criticizing Telegraph-style conservatism!
You must think you're in the centre. It's visceral!
Don't get me wrong - I know just how popular mainstream conservatism is. I'd put a wedge on Cameron to beat Brown.
But no-one would think they'd wondered into a Tory dinner party if they visited this blog. Nor watched Doughty Street. There's a huge difference between Middle England and the la la land you inhabit.
As for print journalists - ok so they can disguise their true selves between some finely crafted words.
But point the unforgiving eye of a TV camera and the truth will out.
TV outs all fraud and insincerity.
My beat is that after ten seconds of watching Sweaty Dale mugging for his close-up, the audience was off to the pub.
Peregrine - why gloat you ask.
The difference is that my corner shop doesn't sell boxes labelled 'Anti-Tesco Bile'.
Doughty Street peddled little else than anti-BBC bile.
Done gloatin'. I'll be GB from now on.
Anonymous:
imli | 14.04.07 - 3:29 pm
did israel really invent the computer?
Anonymous:
Anonymous:
imli | 14.04.07 - 3:29 pm
did israel really invent the computer?...
"Why Jews Succeed"
Why does the Arab Middle East so wholeheartedly embrace anti-Semitism? I have always found it peculiar that, while many Arab countries suffer from a pitiful economic, political, and social backwardness, wherein no democracy or prosperity can be found, Arabs discuss their problems only within the context of their hatred of Israel.
But Israel is only a small country that occupies a tiny piece of land in the Middle East. A desert fifty years ago, it has become a thriving and prosperous democracy. How is it that this small nation is the cause of all Arab problems?
In the eyes of many Arabs, success is obviously Israel’s crime.
But here is the key question:
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Arti...icle.asp?
ID=234
GCooper:
Ben writes:
"g.cooper i'm on your side,it was gloating beeboid i quoted from"
My apologies, Ben. I misread your post.
GCooper:
GB writes:
"And how very odd of you to imagine that when I spoke of your politics in a less than reverential way, that I was criticizing Telegraph-style conservatism!"
You haven't a clue about my politics, you presumptious twerp. Well - save that I loathe ZaNuLabour and its cheerleaders at the 'when we win the election' BBC.
Clue: I'm not a Tory.
The only thing you're right about is the unappealing prospect of Iain Dale. Sadly, the rest is nonsense.
Incidentally, Dale's problem is at least half because he is regarded by many as a Tory wet. And just to prove the point, it appears he's recently been recruited by the very Telegraph you seem so approving of!
For the most part, 18 Doughty St consisted of half a dozen trendy young metropolitan bloggers chatting amongst themselves about politics and blogging to a potential audience of political junkies numbering, oh, dozens on a good evening.
And you think its failure represents some kind of triumph for the BBC?
What are they putting in the water down at White City, these days?
imli:
@Anonymous: Intel stuff is designed there and lots of software (MS, Apple and Open Source) is also written in Israel -- often core components that are used everywhere. So, if you want to boycott Israel, it is pen and paper for you, sorry.
Peregrine:
GB
Very strange because the 18DSt programmes I have watched (btw not the in-line bloggers on a comfy sofa chatting to themselves that reminds me so much of News 24 and MSM journos slapping each other on the back) have been decent interviews where individuals have been allowed to expand on their topic. With regards to Tim changing focus (see I can do spin speak as well!) if he had looked as if he got a decent nights sleep then perhaps he would be more presentable.
I still think my analogy with small organic shops stands. Many do market themselves as providing something that has been lost with the supremacy of the supermarkets and provide consumers with a choice that is not normally available, e.g. locally sourced meat of a considerably higher standard than the supermarkets are able to offer; however, they also offer some pretty awful stuff that has little right to be in a modern food chain.
Of course the main difference between supermarkets and the BBC is that they take complaints seriously. In the last report on possible anti-Israeli bias by the BBC (unlike many on this blog this is not what infuriates me about the BBC) there was strong condemnation for the way the BBC handles complaints. Rather than take that on board the BBC has smugly sat back and accepted that the report was generally favourable.
As for the commenters on this blog being in la-la land I would have thought a BBC full of arts graduates steeped in post-modernist thinking would see their views as equally valid as those of Guardian columnists. Unless, of course, some views are more equal than others.
Umbongo:
Funny that Humphrys doesn't become incandescent when some man-child signs a contract for, what, £30 million just because he can kick a ball. It's only people who actually create wealth who annoy Humphrys.
deegee:
Anonymous:
"did israel really invent the computer?"
Israel, through the Scitex company pioneered digital printing and scanning. Before digital printing photographs were printed onto bromide paper and then taken to a camera operator who photographed the picture through a screen using a large camera. The screen positive was then laid-out by hand to be rephotographed and printing plates made. Been there, done that - worked for a time at SCITEX - worked in newspapers who still used that method.
Imli's statement that most of the technology they use has been invented/built in Israel is not far from the truth.
deegee:
I wanted to comment on the NUJ boycott (my information came from the Guardian organ grinder blog) I couldn't find BBC mention of it.
Does anyone know:
What percentage of BBC people are members?
What percentage (and who) of the NUJ voting delegates are BBC?
What does the boycott mean in real terms i.e. how in theory and practise this should affect BBC publications?
Biodegradable:
The NUJ boycott of Israel:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Sat...rticle/
ShowFull
I just hope the Israeli government bears it in mind when renewing visas for British journalists.
Presumably the vote was taken at this same meeting yet there's no mention of it here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middl...ast/
6556147.stm
By the way, if 30,000 people have allegedly signed the petition calling for Al AnJohnston to be freed, and if the BBC employs 26,000 journalists, and assuming they all signed, then only 4,000 real people actually give two figs whether he's freed or not.
Biodegradable:
Imli's statement that most of the technology they use has been invented/built in Israel is not far from the truth.
deegee | 14.04.07 - 7:33 pm
See here, right hand column:
http://newsoftheday.com/
And here:
http://www.israel21c.org/
sandown:
As for "Gloating Beeboid", he and his fellow BBC employees are parasites on the wealth created by others. The BBC survives because of a compulsory tax on everyone who owns a television set.
Abolish the TV licence fee, and we will find out how many people, given the choice, really want to subsidise the BBC's sanctimonious leftist propaganda.
Bryan:
Sorry to harp on about this, but the elusive "Rejected comments" tally has now reappeared on the Johnston HYS - and other HYS forums.
DEBATE STATUS
Total comments: 2659
Published comments: 1462
Rejected comments: 636
Moderation queue: 561
So I think we'll have to give the BBC some credit for inching painfully a little closer to transparency.
But I wonder why the HYS "moderators" chose to publish this vile reply
Added: Friday, 13 April, 2007, 19:13 GMT 20:13 UK
Samuel Cohen of Jaffa: I only pray for safe return of Alan.
JOHN, LOS ANGELES
to this reasonable comment
Added: Friday, 13 April, 2007, 15:09 GMT 16:09 UK
Free Alan and Gilad Shalit.
Samuel Cohen, Jaffa Israel
when they chose to delete the folowing comment of mine only a few hours after posting it on the thread:
Added: Friday, 30 March, 2007, 09:23 GMT
Being kidnapped is not something I would wish on my worst enemy and I hope Alan Johnston is released soon. But if he was going to be seized by Gaza thugs anyway, he should rather have reported objectively on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, thereby providing a real service to the public.
Instead, he has coated the bitter pill of truth about this conflict with so much sugary nonsense about the "plight" of the Palestinians that he has made it seem that they can do no wrong.
I'd like to get access to the rejected comments for this topic - and others. I've no doubt that would settle the question of the moderators' bias once and for all.
Jon:
You can be GB from now on but I will call you by your real name "Gloating Beeboid" - becuase that describes the BBC to a tee.
"gloat·ed, gloat·ing, gloats
To feel or express great, often malicious, pleasure or self-satisfaction.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com...ry.com/
gloating
Jon:
"Prince William splits from Kate"
World headline news from the BBC - says it all more like the daily Mirror than a "serious" media outlet.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
Pickwick:
Archduke, thanks for that. Also,I agree with you about Any Questions.
archduke:
"Pickwick | 14.04.07 - 9:27 pm "
its the "throwing stones" bit thats got me raising a few eyebrows.
http://www.google.com/news?hl=en...&
ncl=1115275913
are there piles of stones lying around just waiting to be thrown in Scotland?
or indeed, if you walk into any council estate/rough area in the UK, are there piles of stones lying around?
how come we hear about knife attacks but not "stone throwing" attacks?
if you look at scumbag behaviour its generally either a) fisticuffs b) knives c) a bottle or in the worst cases d) a gun.
but "stones"???
Bryan:
By the way, if 30,000 people have allegedly signed the petition calling for Al AnJohnston to be freed, and if the BBC employs 26,000 journalists, and assuming they all signed, then only 4,000 real people actually give two figs whether he's freed or not.
Biodegradable | 14.04.07 - 7:57 pm
They started the petition with 300 journalists, not all of them BBC and then got 8000 people signed up, then they closed it for some reason and reopened it on 12/04 and got a further 20 000 by the end of the next day.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ast/
6518185.stm
With the endless publicity they've been pumping out, that's not a huge number. They even got the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, to appeal for Johnston's release.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ast/
6546059.stm
Good to have friends in high places.
archduke:
"did israel really invent the computer?
Anonymous | 14.04.07 - 4:43 pm "
Intels main R&D lab is in Haifa.
the chip you are probably using has been produced as a result of Israeli research.
archduke:
"Doughty Street peddled little else than anti-BBC bile.
Done gloatin'. I'll be GB from now on.
Gloating Beeboid | 14.04.07 - 4:20 pm "
you must have been watching something different to me. they interviewed Richard Sambrook, head of the BBC World Service, and it was quite a civilised and interesting interview, where Richard was allowed to put his point of view across.
Doughty was never advertised as a "bash the bbc" outfit. it was more pushed as an alternative to the soundbite style of interview on BBC news or "Today", allowing an interviewee room to breathe , over the space of a solid hour. a counter-balance to the perceived "dumbing down" of bbc news output. *that* was an interesting concept , that i think people of all political persuasions would welcome.
so, i dont think it was actually competing with the BBC per se - it was just offering something completely different, and indeed, something more intelligent at times. you could dip into Doughty as WELL as doing your newsnight & andrew neil binge.
speaking as a libertarian flat taxer, i never saw Doughty as being the bulwark of anti-statism, but more part of the patrician "one nation" Toryism that i have very little time for.
deegee:
Microsoft, IBM, Intel, Motorola and Cisco operate primary R&D centers in Israel
In addition the voicemail box on GSM mobile phones (what modern journalist could work without it?) was introduced by Israeli Company, Comverse.
I guess the promoters of the boycott thought they would have to stay away from oranges and chocolates.
archduke:
why is Prince William splitting from his girlfriend deemed to be bigger news than the gun battle in Basra where Brit troops killed 27 terrorists?
look at the main news page...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
sorry for Prince William and all that, but for gods sake, can we get a grip?
basra battle report:
http://www.michaelyon-online.com...an-
american.htm
finally tonight (10 o clock news) i see a battle report in basra - a different one to the battle in the link above. 8 terrorists killed.
no losses to us. but that report was after all the "prince william split from his girlfriend wooo ha"
its probably unfair to single out the BBC in this case - the rest of the British MSM will also be all over the Prince William story as well.. and thats just pathetic.
archduke:
" deegee | 14.04.07 - 10:24 pm"
they also have to boycott about 80 per cent of the worlds websites.
the language they are written in is PHP - which is owned by Zend Technologies - an Israeli company.
so, no internet , besides microsoft.com , for those journalists.
Anonymous:
Police in Basra were unable to confirm the eight dead men were from the Mehdi Army, but other local sources claimed they were from the Shia militia, loyal to Moqtada al Sadr.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/65.../uk/
6555339.stm
BBC fu*kwits!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehdi_Army
..."created by the Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in June 2003"
william:
Anonymous | 14.04.07 - 10:52 pm
try reading that BBC sentence again anonymous - I think you'll find they know what the Mehdi Army is and the second bit is explaining it...not imaging some other outfit.
william:
.....or an easier way to get it....
re-read the sentence and when you get to the phrase 'other local sources claimed they WERE from the Shia ......' imagine the word were in caps.
DumbJon:
Personally, I'm with 'Gloating Beeboid' - it's great that Doughty Street are bringing a gay guy on board, instead of being stuck with Iain 'pussy hunter' Dale.
See, it's the BBC's high-kwality research that makes all the differnece.
Anyway, how right-wing was Doughty Street anyway ? The Yazmonster and Deranged Pete were both regulars anyway. So were plenty of Libs. Even deranged 7/7 truther Rachel North was on there a lot.
Indeed, like a lot of the folks here, my problem with Doughty Street is that it wasn't ideological enough. It felt like you were bugging a Metropolitan dinner party. They'd have done better to find a Rush Limbaugh figure, someone with some drive, some aggression. That's not an ideological point either. A show with a committed Leftist would also have made better TV. You just wanted someone who looked like they actually believed in what they were saying.
archduke:
dumb -> thats exactly what i'm saying.
thats why i pointed out the likes of Hugh Hewitt in the U.S. by way of comparision - i disagree with the guy on a LOT of issues, but by god is he passionate about it. thats why i like listening to him. he's passionate about what he believes in - BUT, may i add, not disparging about people that have a different viewpoint.
doughty just felt like a "metropolitian dinner party" where everyone agreed with each other. it just didnt make for good TV...
archduke:
further to the above, the bbc would better serve us if it wore it stated that the likes of "Today" was actually a left-wing program. we could all adjust our attenaes and get stuck into the debate.
the "impartiality" clause on the bbc is what is killin it. if it stood up and said certain programs were from a certain perspective, then i think we would all accept that. as long as equal airtime was given to alternative perspectives. i would be happy with that. "impartiality" in today's world is utterly impossible.
archduke:
oops typos - "killin" is "killing"
and
"if it wore it stated that the likes of"
is
"if it wore its heart on it shelve and stated that the likes of"
David Gregory:
As an NUJ member can I just say I'm not impressed with this vote for a boycott of Israel. As posters here have pointed out it compromises the work of journalists in this complex area. I had no idea this vote was taking place, and will raise the matter at our next Chapel Meeting. It was at least a fairly close vote, plenty of NUJ members presumably feel like me.
Finally
Archduke:
Doughty was never advertised as a "bash the bbc" outfit.
Perhaps not, but they did ask for help with and create an anti-BBC ad didn't they?
Cheers
Dave (BBC)
Biodegradable:
so, no internet , besides microsoft.com , for those journalists.
archduke | 14.04.07 - 10:27 pm
The cell phone was developed in Israel by Motorola-Israel. Motorola built its largest development center worldwide in Israel.
Windows NT software was developed by Microsoft-Israel.
The Pentium MMX Chip technology was designed in Israel at Intel.
Voice mail technology was developed in Israel.
AOL's instant message program was designed by an Israeli software company.
Both Microsoft and Cisco built their only R&D facilities outside the US in Israel.
New Intel chips based on technology developed in Israel. Intel has replaced its basic series of processors with the new Core 2 Duo series, which has doubled the computing core, and was designed at Intel’s Haifa R&D center in Israel.
Source: http://www.newsoftheday.com/
Now see To Those Who Want to Boycott Israel - A Little Perspective
We thought it is a shame to do it, but if you do, do it right!
"HOW TO DIVEST FROM ISRAEL PROPERLY?"
Biodegradable:
Something else the NUJ will have to boycott:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Sat...Article/
Printer
Anonymous:
The NUJ boycotts Israel? How many journos have been abducted and held captive by the Jooze?
Jon:
So what is the purpose of all these "boycott Isreal" votes going around?
Can journalists really expect the public to believe their articles when they are trying to supress the views from a democratic country.
I thought journalists were employed to report the news but it seems that they believe the hyped up nonsense spewed out from the likes of Fisk and Al Bowen at the BBC.
I have a great idea lets find out who these journalists write for and start a campaign to boycott those newspapers.
And if any journalist from the BBC votes for this "boycott" then letters of comlaint should be sent to the BBC and MPs to inform them that this would be a breach of the code of conduct and the charter.
Biodegradable:
Anonymous | 15.04.07 - 2:41 am
http://pressgazette.co.uk/
articl..._israel_boycott
The controversial clause was part of a motion proposed by James Gosling, of the Press and PR branch, and called for the union to “condemn the savage, pre-planned attack on Lebanon” last summer and the “slaughter of civilians in Gaza” over the last few years.
A little late, the war's over and Israel doesn't occupy Gaza any more, but what the heck, it's never too late to throw the Jew down the well.
http://blogs.pressgazette.co.uk/...l-and-can-they/
Jon:
"One commenter on Harden’s blog notes that given Israel’s booming high-tech industry, boycotting the country could prove rather difficult:
"[I]f the NUJ are serious about boycotting Israel, they should throw out their laptops and cellphones: all Windows software was and is developed in Israel, and the Motorola, Nokia and most other cellphone CIM’s are all made there too. Back to Underwood manual typewriters and two tin cans with a string for the Fourth Estate!"
http://blogs.pressgazette.co.uk/...l-and-can-they/
Jon:
"The motion was passed on a vote of 66 to 54 out of a union of some 40,000 people. Democratic?"
http://staticsquid.blogspot.com/
He expects democracy in a marxist union - Unions are not (and never have been) democratic.
Jon:
"I've been reviled and abused by some fellow British journalists for suggesting in a series of articles (some published on Israel Insider) that they are partisan against Israel. One particularly anti-Israel BBC correspondent told another BBC employee that he personally wanted to "kill" me."
http://web.israelinsider.com/vie...views/
11156.htm
Jon:
"USC Students for Justice in Palestine
history, analysis, news, and event updates on the struggle for justice in palestine"
http://uscsjp.wordpress.com/tag/news/
A pretty nasty anti-Isreal, US etc site - but have a look on the right of the web site at the links to their Blogroll.
"A Mother From Gaza
Angry Arab (Asad Abukhalil)
BBC News
Counterpunch
Democracy Now!
Electronic Intifada
Electronic Lebanon
End The Occupation
Gaza's Mona ElFarra
Ha'aretz (Israeli newspaper)
Jewish Voice for Peace
Lebanon-Civilian Resistance
ME Children's Alliance
Noam Chomsky
Norman Finkelstein
Palestinian Pundit
Rachel Corrie
Third World Traveler"
Do you think that the BBC is included for its "impartial" news - I think not.
Anonymous:
If the NUJ instituted a boycott of the Palestinians on account of their abduction of a Beebie, what products would that involve? Suicide bomb vests?
Bryan:
And Kassam rockets.
Bryan:
try reading that BBC sentence again anonymous - I think you'll find they know what the Mehdi Army is and the second bit is explaining it...not imaging some other outfit.
william | 14.04.07 - 11:12 pm
Instead of the BBC informing us about the differences of opinion in this matter, how about it actually finding out what the truth is here? After all, it employs journalists doesn't it?
Anonymous:
NUJ - any plans to boycott North Korea? Zimbabwe? Iran? Sudan?
Anonymous:
I like this, Beeboids not knowing how to spell the name of their own BBC World News editor!
http://www.newssniffer.co.uk/art.../37235/diff/1/
2
Bryan:
As an NUJ member can I just say I'm not impressed with this vote for a boycott of Israel. As posters here have pointed out it compromises the work of journalists in this complex area. I had no idea this vote was taking place, and will raise the
matter at our next Chapel Meeting. It was at least a fairly close vote, plenty of NUJ members presumably feel like me.
David Gregory | 15.04.07 - 1:46 am
Fair enough. But given the fact that the boycott resolution was couched in terms demonising Israel over the Lebanon war and given BBC's obsessive anti-Israel reporting (and fawning support of Hezbollah) during the war, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that BBC journalists were among those voting for the boycott.
It would be interesting to know whether any of the following main culprits were at the meeting and if so, which way they voted:
Jeremy Bowen
Jim Muir
Hugh Sykes
Nick Thorpe
Orla Guering
But I guess they were too busy pumping out propaganda from their current locations.
Bryan:
Anonymous | 15.04.07 - 8:54 am,
Fascinating stuff. So John (or Jon) Williams, editor of BBC World News, addressed the annual Birmingham conference of the NUJ, where he paid tribute to Alan Johnston?
One would think that a logical extension of that address would be a vote to boycott the Palestinian "government" over Johnston's detention.
But, predictably, when thing are going wrong the anti-Semites jump on the Jews. Since they can't blame Israel for Johnston's abduction, the next best thing is to go back to the Lebanon war.
I wonder if Williams hung around for the vote to boycott Israel?
archduke:
it'd be a bit difficult to boycott the P.A. when their only export is the Kassam rocket and the suicide bomber.
on the technology front , the Americans seem to have a sweet deal dont they?
bung the israelis a few billion a year. and they get in return all that ground breaking high tech stuff that powers the global economy. israel is like another silicon valley for them.
besides exporting oil and terrorism, what have the Arab states developed?
archduke:
the NUJ boycott has made it to the front page of jpost.com
http://www.jpost.com
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Sat...icle%
2FShowFull
Anonanon:
The BBC's David Gregory writes: As an NUJ member can I just say I'm not impressed with this vote for a boycott of Israel. As posters here have pointed out it compromises the work of journalists in this complex area. I had no idea this vote was taking place, and will raise the matter at our next Chapel Meeting. It was at least a fairly close vote, plenty of NUJ members presumably feel like me.
Dave, will you come back on here and tell us how the reps from the various BBC Chapels voted? If you're not prepared to do that, is there any way we could find out?
I see from the NUJ conference blog that the union is also in favour of censorship :
The NUJ will renew its efforts to have fascist website “Redwatch’ closed down after delegates voted in favour of a motion to investigate the possibility of legal action.
And here's a photo of the Solidarity With Cuba (SWC) stall at the conference. I can’t see a Solidarity With Imprisoned Cuban Journalists stall. It’s amazing to think that there are journalists out there who believe the drivel promoted by SWC. Its website answers the question “Is Castro a Dictator?” with this laughable piece of reasoning: “If Castro is such a dictator, why did he receive such overwhelming support in the elections?” And its not just fringe loonies taken in by this nonsense; last week a glowing tribute to a SWC campaigner appeared in the Guardian - written by Jeremy Paxman.
The NUJ. Boycotting democracy. Supporting dictatorship.
archduke:
http://www.newssniffer.co.uk/art.../37235/diff/1/
2
interesting. that "story needs to be told" meme pops up again...
Jon Williams, editor of BBC World News, said: "Alan stayed when everyone else left because he believed that the story of Gaza must be told."
call me old fashioned, but i thought journalists were supposed to report the news, not tell "stories"...
OpEd:
archduke | 15.04.07 - 10:43 am |
It may have escaped your attention, but those things in newspapers with a headline at the top are called 'stories'.
They have been since around the end of the Boer War ( before that they were called 'letters' or 'dispatches').
WorldWeb Dictionary's definition of news story is...surprise, surprise.....
an article reporting news
http://www.wordwebonline.com/en/...om/en/
NEWSSTORY
Not just a beeb thang
Bryan:
it'd be a bit difficult to boycott the P.A. when their only export is the Kassam rocket and the suicide bomber.
Yeah, I know. I meant boycott reporting on the PA.
Anonymous:
Boycott Now!
By VIRGINIA TILLEY
Johannesburg, South Africa.
It is finally time. After years of internal arguments, confusion, and dithering, the time has come for a full-fledged international boycott of Israel. Good cause for a boycott has, of course, been in place for decades, as a raft of initiatives already attests. But Israel's war crimes are now so shocking, its extremism so clear, the suffering so great, the UN so helpless, and the international community's need to contain Israel's behavior so urgent and compelling, that the time for global action has matured. A coordinated movement of divestment, sanctions, and boycotts against Israel must convene to contain not only Israel's aggressive acts and crimes against humanitarian law but also, as in South Africa, its founding racist logics that inspired and still drive the entire Palestinian problem.
That second goal of the boycott campaign is indeed the primary one. Calls for a boycott have long cited specific crimes: Israel's continual attacks on Palestinian civilians; its casual disdain for the Palestinian civilian lives "accidentally" destroyed in its assassinations and bombings; its deliberate ruin of the Palestinians' economic and social conditions; its continuing annexation and dismemberment of Palestinian land; its torture of prisoners; its contempt for UN resolutions and international law; and especially, its refusal to allow Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland. But the boycott cannot target these practices alone. It must target their ideological source.
The true offence to the international community is the racist motivation for these practices, which violates fundamental values and norms of the post-World War II order. That racial ideology isn't subtle or obscure. Mr. Olmert himself has repeatedly thumped the public podium about the "demographic threat" facing Israel: the "threat" that too many non-Jews will - the horror - someday become citizens of Israel. It is the "demographic threat" that, in Israeli doctrine, justifies sealing off the West Bank and Gaza Strip as open-air prisons for millions of people whose only real crime is that they are not Jewish. It is the "demographic threat," not security (Mr. Olmert has clarified), that requires the dreadful Wall to separate Arab and Jewish communities, now juxtaposed in a fragmented landscape, who might otherwise mingle.
"Demographic threat" is the most disgustingly racist phrase still openly deployed in international parlance. It has been mysteriously tolerated by a perplexed international community. But it can be tolerated no longer.
archduke:
"Yeah, I know. I meant boycott reporting on the PA.
Bryan | 15.04.07 - 11:21 am"
theres an idea. imagine an entire year with no depressing seething IslamoNazi "stories" from Gaza.... that'd be very nice.
meanwhile, slugger o'toole has a Star Trek clip that has never been shown in the uk or ireland, because the android Data argues thats sometimes terrorism is justified...
http://sluggerotoole.com/index.p...fiction-surely/
whats interesting is that the clip was edited out way back in 1990 and has never been shown on terrestrial tv or Sky.
archduke:
"Anonymous | 15.04.07 - 11:21 am "
the simple answer to that is that most Jewish Israelis do not want the Muslims taking over their country. there are numerous references from Jihadist Imams who mention the demographic aspect to global Jihad, in their aim to establish an Islamic Caliphate.
when you have a genocidal Jew-hating ideology like Islamofascism, then its only natural that Israel would do anything to protect themselves from that.
what israeli products can one buy, if we want to organise a counter-boycott?
i suppose i'll be stocking up on Jaffa oranges. anything else?
pounce:
How the BBC uses Shoddy reporting in which to push the Anti-war message in the UK;
Check out the latest on this screen grab and the top story;
http://img248.imageshack.us/img2...2051/
bbcli4.jpg
Now see how the BBC re-write that story in which to push the anti-war message for the UK elections next month if you click on the US story;
http://img138.imageshack.us/img1...830/
bbc2zs7.jpg
Of course it could all be a mistake. But one from the ever so so PC BBC?
pounce:
Ref my last my direction with that post is how the BBC states it won't report bad news until it gains all the facts. Yet for some strange reason while it will delay the publication of bad news about Muslim terrorists (Usually not at all) it has no problem reporting ever cut finger,bad boots or payment for story told about the British Military.
P.S
On another note any news about that BBC reporter. I do hope to see him on the TV soon to the sounds of Allah Ackba.
pounce:
Archduke wrote;
What israeli products can one buy, if we want to organise a counter-boycott? i suppose i'll be stocking up on Jaffa oranges. anything else?
Matzo crackers (Tescos in central finchley sell them)
http://www.rakusens.co.uk/Matzo%...%
20Crackers.htm
Also Marks and Sparks
Anonymous:
avocado pears
GCooper:
David Gregory writes:
"I had no idea this vote was taking place, and will raise the matter at our next Chapel Meeting."
I imagine the usual union process took place, whereby the only people involved were the foaming radicals. If past precedent is anything to go by, the rest were almost certainly too busy doing thir jobs.
The Fat Contractor:
archduke | 15.04.07 - 11:31 am |
... whats interesting is that the clip was edited out way back in 1990 and has never been shown on terrestrial tv or Sky.
As a Star Trek fan (I know a shocking admission) I'd say this statement is incorrect. As I do not own any DVDs of any series (I'm not that sad) I have seen this clip on Sky at least. Can't vouch for the BBC but it would suprise me if it had excised it. The BBC is after all pretty much on the side of the 'Unificationists'.
In fact the Irish seem to get a strange treatment on Star Trek. In the 'Voyager' series' there is even a holodeck programme that features in many episodes that 'replicates' an Irish village. The whole thing is very much an idealised version of Ireland, the sort of thing that contributors to Noraid must have loved. The whole millieu is rather patronising but at least it is positive ...
bob:
Shock horror! BBC give a mildly positive spin to a pro-secularist demo in Turkey:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ope/
6554851.stm
Have their on-message 'correspondents' in Gaza, Iraq and Iran been informed of this radical departure from the al-Beeb line? Read it now before the White City mullahs realise there's a fifth columnist at work...
will:
This will be a hoot!
ONE of Britain’s best known authors has been shortlisted for a national writing prize for a story that takes a blackly comic approach to the execution of hostages in Iraq.
The BBC is due to broadcast the story this week on Radio 4.
But wait a mo. We don't want to go giving those Palis ideas whilst they've got one of our boys.
But Alex Linklater, associate editor of Prospect magazine, founder of the prize, said the BBC may alter this plan, particularly while the whereabouts of Alan Johnston, its abducted Gaza correspondent, are still unknown.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol...uk/tol/news/uk/
pounce:
The BBC, the baker, the terrorist maker.
My Iraq: Baghdad baker
Abdul Hussain Shakarchi, 62, started learning the bakery trade from his uncle when he was seven. Nowadays, he supervises the making of baklava, Turkish delight, halva and other traditional sweets at his factory in Baghdad. We have more customers than we did four years ago. We used to sell between 20-25 trays of baklava a day - now it's more than 50 a day.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talki...int/
6471221.stm
The BBC reports on a human interest story from downtown Baghdad. From somebody who sees business booming. (No pun intended) However the BBC can’t let any story from the region go by without the customary anti western angle;
“The presence of coalition troops is not in our interest. They attack many people. Once they hit my car, but I didn't say anything to them. And they speak rudely - Iraqis don't approve of that. I would rather they speak softly to people. It's true they helped rid us of the old regime and of that criminal Saddam. But now they've made things worse.”
The BBC, the baker, the terrorist maker.
will:
From the always good value Rod Liddle
Mark Thompson was returning from Israel having tried to find out more about the abduction from the Gaza Strip of the BBC journalist Alan Johnston. He’d had no luck.
Palestinian media are reporting that Johnston abducted himself in order to claim the insurance, or something. If we were being charitable we might blame the Israeli occupation for the fact that Palestinians seem the most creative liars on earth when it comes to exculpating fellow Arabs from wrongdoing — Jews blew up the World Trade Center; Johnston abducted himself. Every day or so, during the Hamas “ceasefire”, rockets are launched at Israeli villages. Who is firing them? I daresay Palestinians will have an original answer — Jews.
You just pray Johnston has safe passage home
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol...uk/tol/comment/
archduke:
"The Fat Contractor | 15.04.07 - 12:59 pm"
ah ok. i was only reporting what slugger o'toole mentioned. if it was indeed on Sky, then i stand corrected.
archduke:
who says the Dutch police dont have a sense of humour?
http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/2050
"Muslim arrestees held in a windowless cell in The Hague have been praying West instead of East, facing Washington DC instead of Mecca. The Dutch press agency ANP revealed today that the compass which the Dutch police painted on the ceiling of the cells in the Segbroek police station to enable Muslim criminals to pray towards Mecca pointed in the wrong, opposite, direction. A police spokesman said a mistake had been made. The mistake has meanwhile been rectified."
Biodegradable:
I've just submitted an official complaint about this report:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middl...ast/
6557041.stm
Your report states:
"They were set to discuss security and humanitarian matters, and the fate of an Israeli soldier captured in Gaza."
The soldier was NOT captured in Gaza. He was captured on Israeli soil by terrorists who tunneled under the border.
Your continuing use of such misleading statements only serve to cast Israel in the role of agressor and the "Palestinians" as passive victims.
Please make the necessary correction.
pounce:
The BBC a African racist story and no historical perspective.
Eyewitness: Uganda attacks on Asians
Kampala resident Salim Matovu was at Thursday's protest against the allocation of a forest reserve to a sugar company, which turned violent leading to the death of at least three people. The sugar company is owned by Ugandan Asians and some protesters started to attack members of the country's small but economically powerful Asian community.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ica/
6551303.stm
So the BBC airs a story about how Black Africans object to Asians (people usually of Indian stock) owning and running business’s in Uganda. But what is strange in the above story is how the BBC (Which has no problem airing historical evidence against the US, Uk and white people in general) omits from a racist story. (Silly me Blacks can’t be racist according to the BBC mantra) how the bread basket of Africa in the 50s and 60s was ruined and consigned to the Stone age by a megalomaniacal Black African Muslim who decided to kick out all the Asians of Uganda in 1972. The same megalomaniac who had strong ties with the terrorist organisation PLO who not only offered the Israeli embassy in Kampala as their headquarters, but allowed that terrorist organisation to seek sanctuary for 4 idiots and the plane they had just hijacked at Entebbe.
Strange how a news organisation which prides itself on the calibre of its service has left out how kicking out Ugandan born Asians in 1972 helped ruin what was until then a very prosperous and affluent country. I wonder which other country in the region fits that bracket? A country which the BBC instead of blaming the political policies of its leader for life always inserts the following at the end of its articles on that country;
“Blames his problems on a Western plot to remove him from power.”
It appears the BBC is unable to produce factual and unbiased news reports when the guilty party are Black, Muslims or simply misguided criminals.
Biodegradable:
More news from Gaza that Al Johnston wouldn't cover, even if he could. It doesn't come under what the BBC sees as the 'Gaza story':
Gaza: Explosions rock bookstore, cafes
Three explosions rocked Gaza City early Sunday, damaging two Internet cafes and a Christian bookstore.
...
In recent months, about three dozen Internet cafes and shops selling pop music have been attacked in the Gaza Strip, with assailants detonating small bombs outside businesses at night, causing damage but no injuries. Palestinian security officials have said they suspect a secret "vice squad" of Muslim militants.
will:
A cautionary tale from Irwin Stelzer on the hypocrisy & misguided actions of the BBC supported luvvies (Live Earth etc) & green politicians.
the reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions claimed by those intent on being green without changing their lifestyles are often bogus — they would have happened without the purchase of offsets.
That is the least of the problems created by the new environmental panic. The rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia are being destroyed to clear acreage for the production of palm oil, used as a biofuel. And in many countries poor farmers are having their land confiscated so that rich consumers can plant trees to lighten their carbon footprints.
Rich American agribusinesses are also cashing in on the huge subsidies made available by the government’s decision to subsidise ethanol and biodiesel production from corn, sugar and other crops. Ethanol from corn is a particular favourite of all the presidential candidates vying for votes in corn-growing Iowa, with the honourable exception of John McCain, who knows a boondoggle when he sees one. Crop prices are up, and so are land values.
The result is a problem for central banks. In the past, spikes in food prices have been seen as temporary, usually weather-related, and requiring no reaction from the inflation-controllers. But this rise might be a plateau rather than a spike: chickens and cattle are more expensive to feed, so farmers are keeping fewer of them, driving up the price of eggs, beef and dairy products. This food inflation is felt most keenly in poorer countries, where food accounts for a larger part of the average budget than in the developed world. But even in the richest countries, central bankers are wondering whether to raise interest rates to cool growth sufficiently to offset the effects of rising food prices.
http://
business.timesonline.co.u...icle1654238.ece
pounce:
The BBC and Not The Nine O/Clock News
Norwegian-Somalian Kadra, who became famous in Norway for exposing imam support of female circumcision, was beaten unconscious on Thursday.
Norwegian-Somalian Kadra has taken risks to front her views.
Kadra was attacked and beaten senseless by seven or eight persons of Somali origin, newspaper VG reports."I was terrified. While I lay on the pavement they kicked me and screamed that I had trampled on the Koran. Several shouted Allah-o-akbar (God is great) and also recited from the Koran," Kadra told VG.
Kadra linked the attack to recent remarks in VG where she said that the Koran's views on women needed to be reinterpreted.Kadra said that the gang of Somali men attacked her around 3 a.m. in downtown Oslo on Thursday. A medical examination found that she had several broken ribs, NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting) reports. Kadra filed charges and was due to speak with police on Friday.
http://www.aftenposten.no/
englis...icle1734869.ece
Funny how a story which happened on Thursday in Europe hasn't been aired on the Pro-Islamic BBC. yet in its haste to report a crash between two RAF Pumas in Iraq the BBC wrote they were US choppers.
pounce:
The BBC and how it promotes its love of Muslims.
(And it isn’t April the 1st)
UK Muslims 'more loyal than most'
Muslims in the UK are more likely to identify strongly with Britain and have confidence in its institutions than the population as a whole, a poll suggests.
The survey says they are also more likely to take a positive view of living side-by-side with people of different races and religions.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/65.../uk/
6557003.stm
And a screen shot
http://img291.imageshack.us/img2...290/
bbc1iv8.jpg
And to the Merchant Banker at the BBC who wrote the headline for the above, please explain the loyalty of the following;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/42.../uk/
4206708.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/47.../uk/
4732361.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/37.../uk/
3752517.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...cas/
2712445.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/44.../uk/
4467825.stm
and many more
For the BBC to try and tell me that British Muslims are more loyal to the UK when all they do moan and bitch about how they live in a Nazis society , blow up people on the London transport network, try to blow up planes, cut the throats of their females for dating outside the faith, preach that all non Muslims are evil, defend the actions of Islamic genocide in Sudan, bitch about a few cartoons tells me the BBC has lost the f-ing plot.
Alan Man:
"Funny how a story which happened on Thursday in Europe hasn't been aired on the Pro-Islamic BBC. yet in its haste to report a crash between two RAF Pumas in Iraq the BBC wrote they were US choppers."
This is also a story that never happened:
http://www.thelocal.se/7002/20070415/
Youths are causing trouble in several European cities. It's surprising that normally so calm Swedish youths are at it this time.
Biodegradable:
The entire BBC report of the NUJ meeting was devoted to Al Johnston - not a murmour about the boycott of Israel or the motion supporting the Venezualan dictator Chavez.
According to the Jerusalem Post (bottom line), "Johnston's kidnapping was not on the NUJ's agenda."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Sat...icle%
2FShowFull
Biased reporting? Of course not!
Jon:
pounce:
Not mentioned by the BBC
"Gallup interviewed 500 Muslims in London between November and January, and 1,200 members of the British public between December and January."
http://www.24dash.com/communitie...ities/
19332.htm
Geographical Bias?
cassis:
Rumours that Johnston has been executed
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/
2007...eastgazabritain
Oh dear.
Biodegradable:
'We killed BBC reporter', Palestinian group says
Biodegradable:
If it is true it'll be blamed on the Jooos:
BBC reporter Alan Johnston has been killed by an al-Qaeda affilated Palestinian organization, according to an internet statement obtained by Ynetnews.
The statement was signed by the Palestinian Jihad and Tawheed Brigades, an organization named after an Iraqi al-Qaeda group.
Responding to the statement, the BBC said it is "aware of these reports -- but we have no independent verification of them. We are deeply concerned about what we are hearing -- but we stress, at this stage, it is rumour with no independent verification."
In the message, the group said the British and Palestinian governments were responsible for Johnston's killing, and vowed to release a video of the execution.
"The whole world knows of our just cause in demanding the release of our prisoners, who are waiting under the fire of the occupation," the statement began. "Our demand was that all of those who are responsible for the journalist... release our prisoners who are being held in the prisons of the occupation," it continued.
"The whole world made so much noise about this foreign journalist, while it took no action over our thousands of prisoners," the declaration said.
Biodegradable:
The BBC studiously ignored Holocaust Memorial Day in the UK this year, so I don't suppose they'll bother reporting Israel's Holocaust Day commemoration.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Sat...icle%
2FShowFull
archduke:
"Biodegradable | 15.04.07 - 5:47 pm"
Al Q in Gaza??? i know its been hinted at before, but afaik this is the first solid confirmation of this.
lets be honest here - the Hamas/Hez/Fatah lot arent into the head chopping business, and usually release their prisoners after a deal is made.
this certainly takes the situation in Gaza to an entirely new level - and its right on Israels doorstep.
Biodegradable:
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/
...=20070415180954
Added: Friday, 13 April, 2007, 20:55 GMT 21:55 UK
Alan Johnston´s disappearance is a deadly blow to the poor Palistinians, his fairness in telling the entire world about the suffering of the Palistinian people MUST be respected by the kidnappers, I´m pleading to the kidnappers to respect Alan and set him FREE now! Alan have Palistine in his HEART, his job in Palistine is also a JIHAD for the sake of TRUTH. Why Alan?
Amin Abdul Muthalib Ali, Helsinki Finland
Recommended by 4 people
Added: Friday, 13 April, 2007, 20:52 GMT 21:52 UK
Alan Johnston has been a compassionate and honest supporter of the Palestinian people, reporting fairly and objectively, bringing their plight to the attention of the world. He has been a supporter of peace in the Middle East. His continued captivity does not serve any purpose, and further isolates good Muslim people from the rest of the world. Please, let him return to his loved ones. And give him the opportunity to continue to serve the Palestinian people. Justice demands this.
Lydia Selwood, Broadway, VA
Recommended by 2 people
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/...0954&
#paginator
Added: Monday, 26 March, 2007, 22:25 GMT 23:25 UK
I may not agree with some of his reports, but considering that Alan Johnston is reported as a friend of the Palestinians and that his reports often favour the Palestinian side of the story, it's quite appalling that it is Palestinian militants who have kidnapped him. He himself has done absolutely nothing wrong and I can only hope that he is returned unharmed.
[Martin1983], London, United Kingdom
Recommended by 99 people
Added: Friday, 30 March, 2007, 01:19 GMT 02:19 UK
Alan I hope you come home quickly and safely. And when you do I hope you make it clear that all journalists in the Palestinian Territories are under an implicit threat from terrorists. The reporting there is by necessity anti-Israel and untrustworthy.
Adam, Toronto
Recommended by 92 people
Added: Thursday, 29 March, 2007, 24:04 GMT 01:04 UK
Alan, my Mum & Dad were kidnapped by 45 PLO militiamen in 1974 & interrogated for 18 hours non-stop. Mum knows how you must feel. They accused them of being Israeli spies after mistaking her shopping list, written in Pitman Shorthand, as Hebrew code. The geniuses holding you have illustrated exactly why both Hamas & the PLO can’t be trusted. You can’t legislate for stupid people who can’t comprehend just how dumb they are. The ONLY winning strategy for the Palestinian’s is to let you go ASAP.
Richy Dee, London, United Kingdom
Recommended by 87 people
archduke:
37 per cent of Israel's youth feel that another Holocaust is possible...
http://www.ynetnews.com/
articles...3387930,00.html
Biodegradable:
Al Q in Gaza??? i know its been hinted at before, but afaik this is the first solid confirmation of this.
archduke | 15.04.07 - 6:17 pm
Israeli intelligence has been warning for a long time that AQ was present in Gaza.
If it is true that Johnston is dead I predict another victory for the forces of evil because the BBC and the politically correct left will blame Israel - the terrorists have already written the script for them:
"The whole world knows of our just cause in demanding the release of our prisoners, who are waiting under the fire of the occupation," the statement began. "Our demand was that all of those who are responsible for the journalist... release our prisoners who are being held in the prisons of the occupation," it continued.
"The whole world made so much noise about this foreign journalist, while it took no action over our thousands of prisoners," the declaration said.
The BBC is already doing its work promulgating the meme:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middl...ast/
6557779.stm
In a statement faxed to news agencies, the group contrasts the attention given to Alan Johnston's captivity with that given to Palestinians held in prison.
The Times has hinted at something like this happening, and with the connection to Al Qaeda:
Johnston kidnappers demand release of bomber
Biodegradable:
Search google for "Qaeda, Gaza"
Here's just three results:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/
new...RTICLE_ID=55108
http://blogs.abcnews.com/
theblot...eda_comes_.html
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Arti...le.asp?
ID=20683
Note the date on that last one.
archduke:
interesting links there biod. thanks.
debka are saying that , if confirmed, this would be the first killing of a hostage by Al Q in Gaza.
http://www.debka.com/headline.ph...ne.php?
hid=4067
archduke:
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/
...porter#comments
"Prediction: if Johnston was indeed murdered by his kidnappers, rather than reconsider their support for a murderous death cult society, British journalists will find a way to blame it on Israel."
pounce:
The BBC and half a story.
Planning for a new nuclear age
India's nuclear journey
Driving up along the coast from India's financial mega-city, Mumbai, we started by edging through jammed rush-hour traffic and emerged onto a half-built motorway, flanked by high-rise suburban apartments and shopping malls, all massive developments demanding more and more electricity. Then turning off the main road we were in rural India, on a narrow, pot-holed road with bullock carts and bicycles, and finally we reached the Tarapur Nuclear Complex. At the gate was a sun-bleached plaque heralding the friendship between India and the United States and stamped with the logo of General Electric. Back in the sixties, GE built two reactors here, both still working, the control room lovingly preserved with dials flickering like the dashboard of a vintage car. We drove a short way to two brand new reactors that are built, designed and fuelled entirely by India.But shortly after Tarapur opened in 1969, things went wrong. It was the height of the Cold War and America thought India was too close to the Soviet Union, so it sent warships to the Bay of Bengal to warn it off.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/progr...ent/
6550029.stm
So from reading the above did the US send in the USS Enterprise and her task force in which to attack India for developing nuclear power or was it something else?
Here is something from the very BBC from 4 years ago;
Bangladesh war secrets revealed
Secret British official papers from 30 years ago shed new light on the bloody confrontation between India and Pakistan in 1971.
The papers show that the US administration believed that India was about to dismember Pakistan. The papers include secret transcripts of a summit meeting between the US and British leaders in December that year. US President Richard Nixon and UK Prime Minister Edward Heath met in Bermuda as India and Pakistan fought their third war since gaining independence. The papers relating to that war which resulted in the creation of Bangladesh, were released on Wednesday at the Public Record Office in London.
…………………………………..
Threatening posture
Nixon told the British that Mrs Gandhi was being steered by the Soviets, in response to the building of ties between Pakistan and China. And Mr Kissinger said Nixon had secretly contacted the Soviet leadership to seek an assurance it would restrain India from breaking up West Pakistan. But it was only after the American Seventh Fleet took up a threatening posture offshore that the promise was forthcoming.
The outcome, as the world knows, was the creation of Bangladesh, ruled by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and the temporary eclipse of military government in West Pakistan.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...sia/
2619317.stm
So the reason why the 7th fleet went in was not an example of how America will not allow anybody else to develop nuclear power (A not so subliminal attempt at a correlation with Iran by the BBC) But rather after the swift disintegration of the Pakistani army at the hands of the Indian army in 1971 in what used to be called East Pakistan. The yanks were concerned India (buoyed by such success) would remove West Pakistan as well.
The BBC and half a story.
Biodegradable:
"Prediction: if Johnston was indeed murdered by his kidnappers, rather than reconsider their support for a murderous death cult society, British journalists will find a way to blame it on Israel."
archduke | 15.04.07 - 6:48 pm
What I said and http://www.haloscan.com/
comments...76677034#337605
Biodegradable:
Beheadings turned into black comedy
ONE of Britain’s best known authors has been shortlisted for a national writing prize for a story that takes a blackly comic approach to the execution of hostages in Iraq.
Weddings and Beheadings by Hanif Kureishi — writer of My Beautiful Laundrette and The Buddha of Suburbia — tells the story of a jobbing cameraman in Baghdad who films executions to earn a living and jokes about it as a way to cope.
The author had the idea for the work, shortlisted for the National Short Story Prize, after seeing grainy video footage on the television news of the scenes leading up to beheadings. This led to him imagining the life of the man behind the camera.
“The idea started with a joke,” said Kureishi, 52. “I thought, what if you were a cameraman, having to do these kind of jobs and you had a business card that said ‘Weddings and Beheadings’? I thought it was hilarious and told my children about it, but they just stared at me blankly.”
Sounds ike his kids have more sense than him.
The BBC is due to broadcast the story this week on Radio 4.
But Alex Linklater, associate editor of Prospect magazine, founder of the prize, said the BBC may alter this plan, particularly while the whereabouts of Alan Johnston, its abducted Gaza correspondent, are still unknown.
Art imitating life, as long as it's somebody else's life...
Anonymous:
Palestinians Murder BBC Reporter?
"The enemy understands that the more it abuses a coward, the more the coward will give them--financially, diplomatically, even militarily. So they do not ever reward appeasement but keep demanding more in tribute, including blood.
When will the remnants of Europe understand that you can never satisfy the blood lust of barbarians--even with sacrificial lambs. You only increase their appetite.
Our generation is now learning the spirit of the phrase--it is better to die free than live in slavery".
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/
...porter#comments
Fred:
.
The Beeb’s cultural cringe
"It is shocking to hear BBC reporters, who have a duty of impartiality, using religious phrases as their own from faiths they do not in fact share. Is it to become the fashion for non-Muslim reporters (many of whom may be atheists), to say ‘The Prophet, Peace be upon him’? The BBC should be clear to its listeners about this. If there is to be a mouthing of religious phrases in an effort at cultural ingratiation this should be a declared policy, and you should inform your listeners about it.
http://www.melaniephillips.com/d...m/diary/?
p=1490
tw111:
I hope Johnston's not dead, but if he is, the Beeb will steadfastly insist on it being Israel's fault.
After all, they just issued their unqualified support for the Palestinians and their methods.
Anonymous:
You can just imagine what is being said in moonbatland tonight - Foxnews guys get out but the BBC guy gets murdered.
pounce:
The BBC and Not The Nine O/Clock News;
Mass rally against Pakistan mosque
Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Karachi to show their opposition to a radical mosque which has begun an anti-vice campaign in the capital, Islamabad.
The mass protest in Karachi was organised by the Mutahida Qami Movement, a political party based in the city that strongly supports Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's president.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/
...5B25000F1BF.htm
Strange how hot on the heels of the hundreds of thousands of protesters in Iraq aqainst the US, the BBC isn't reporting how tens of thousands of people are protesting against radical Islam. Even stranger is how an Islamic news site. Al Jazeera reports with less of a bias than the BBC.
archduke:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ast/
6557679.stm
"Iran's Supreme Court has acquitted a group of men charged over a series of gruesome killings in 2002, according to lawyers for the victims' families.
The vigilantes were not guilty because their victims were involved in un-Islamic activities, the court found."
Jon:
Why do the BBC say that Al Tawhid Al Jihad is a little known group. Hardly "little known".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ast/
6557779.stm
"The Tawhid and Jihad group has claimed responsibility for numerous suicide bomb attacks in Iraq since Saddam Hussein's regime was toppled.
It has also been behind the kidnapping and beheading of foreign civilians linked to the US, including Briton Kenneth Bigley."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ast/
3677658.stm
Biodegradable:
Jon:
Why do the BBC say that Al Tawhid Al Jihad is a little known group. Hardly "little known".
Because they don't want to admit that "Palestinian" terrorism is the same as Iraqi terrorism, is the same as the terrorism that killed nearly 200 people in Madrid, is the same that brought down the twin towers of the WTC, is the same sickness that blew up a bus and tube trains in London. Because they don't want us to realise what they don't don't want to accept, which is that we are at war with an enemy that wants us dead, and no amount of appeasement will change that.
That's why.
Biodegradable:
The BBC:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...ast/
3677658.stm
Tawhid and Jihad justify the beheading of foreign hostages with the Koranic verses that are hotly contested by many Muslim scholars.
Apologists for The Religion of Peace™ at any cost!
Bryan:
Biodegradable,
So the BBC can't search its own website to find that Tawhid and Jihad is not "little known" but actually notoriously well known to the BBC itself and others?
What really makes my stomach turn is the prospect of the BBC continuing to spin the line that Tawid and Jihad are somehow not linked to Palestinian terror - even in the event that Johnston has indeed been murdered by the group.
Though there were reports a while back of an unwillingness by Hamas to cooperate with al Qaeda, to which Tawid and Jihad are linked, it's interesting to note that Tawid and Jihad and Hamas are both Sunni.
Is the BBC playing this one down because it doesn't want to antagonise the terror group in the hope that Johnston is alive? Or will it still continue to do so if the terrorists have indeed murdered him - just as it remained an apologist for Islamic terror even after Frank Gardner was shot?
If it takes the latter course, then there really is no hope for the BBC.
Dr. Irene Lancaster FRSA:
This is what award-winning defector from the NUJ, Times journalist, Ruth Gledhill, has to say about the NUJ vote:
http://irenelancaster.typepad.co...d.com/
my_weblog
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