. In what looks like a hopeful development, the BBC reports that Kano State is now going to vaccinate, but using Asian-made vaccines – the idea being that Asian vaccines are safe from CIA and Mossad contaminants. This sounds like a face-saver to me, but sheesh, whatever works. Since it is now the case as the story says that “half of the world’s new polio cases originate in northern Nigeria” anything that puts the lid on the epidemic is good.
I’m still deeply disappointed by the fact that the BBC still has up the conspiracy-mongering story I posted about here. I found out something new about that story today, hence this post. When I did a search for “polio” I got this page. At the moment the relevant story is second entry down. Look at the describer line below the heading. It says: Kano state governor gains fame among Muslims for his firm stand against the polio vaccine.
That makes the governor’s policy against vaccination sound brave and admirable, particularly to a Muslim audience. Even the word “stand” subtly points the reader into seeing the issue as one where Muslim pride is at stake.
The BBC’s audience in Africa is large. There is no doubt that Africans do, just as the BBC claims they do, turn to the BBC for an impartial voice. And this is what they got. It can be fairly certain that the fact that the BBC gave some credence to the vaccine conspiracy theory has, in giving the supporters of Governor Shekarau the opportunity to say, “look, even the BBC thinks there might be something in it”, prolonged the vaccine boycott and crippled and killed some Nigerian children.
I remember when I was with Special Forces. Seems a thousand centuries ago. We went into a camp to inoculate the children. We left the camp after we had inoculated the children for polio, and this old man came running after us and he was crying. He couldn’t see. We went back there and they had come and hacked off every inoculated arm. There they were in a pile. A pile of little arms.
I liked your forum. It has many interesting points. I am forwarding your site to my friends. Thanks.
John,
Words fail me.
I hope the BBC are not trying to downplay the relatively optimistic results of their Iraqi opinion poll.
On the 6pm BBC1 News our Sophie introduces the item by stating that 2500 Iraqis were polled.
Since when has sample size taken pride of place when reporting opinion polls?
Could it lead viewers unfamiliar with sample sizes to deduce that the poll is unrepresentative of the whole population?
When real crimes against humanity occur the bbc has no problem sitting on the fence and show ‘objectivity’.
It was shown in a tv news item on sudanese refugees (in which the reporter described the horrors of the actuality, but never even once tried to indicate the possible cause – fantical muslim regime responsible for 100000’s deaths. not even a hint)
In the first article the subheadline reads: ‘Polio radiates’, polio has this way of spreading, nothing to do with muslim fanatics, how could it? They go on: “Kano suspended immunisations following reports by Muslim clerics..”, get it? reports, not claims, not allegations, no sneer quotes..let’s make it look scientific. Remember the science team from the previous one?..so polio radiates to six neigbouring countries, 60 million children are in danger but it’s a force of nature, an act of god.
YOY, I’m sorry if I misled you. That’s a line from Kurtz in the film “Apocalypse Now”
D’oh