On Today’s BBC One O’Clock News bulletin Anna Ford reported the following: “The three Italian hostages kidnapped in Iraq have returned home to a hero’s welcome. They were met by their families and friends at Rome Airport and will now be questioned by government and military officials about their two month ordeal”.
And that was it – cue jaw dropping in our household. What about the fourth hostage who was cruelly murdered? Isn’t he worth a mention? What about the fact that the hostages were rescued by a special forces operation, rather than by, say, the benevolence of their captors?
A similar item running on Sky News just now mentions all of this – yet the BBC One O’Clock news didn’t. It’s also covered properly on BBC News Online. This was amongst the usual One O’Clock news mush – some real news, some filler (e.g. ‘Titanic treasures under hammer’), so it’s not as if time or space was the reason for missing out these facts.
Again we must ask, especially since the BBC is paid for by the compulsory BBC Tax, is their penchant for this sort of editorial omission conspiracy, cock-up or just lazy incompetence?
BTW John – the technology has got nothing to do with going digital.
If “the powers that be” wanted to go to subs under an analogue system, it could have been done by the end of the 1960s.
So the question is still begged – why are they waiting?
As I said – maybe it’s because it’s nothing to do with the technology.
Reith sputtered:
“I shall bear that in mind the next time you claim a “majority” of people want the licence fee scrapping.”
Reith, try looking with your eyes instead of your mouth (or whichever orifice it is that you talk through).
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3537567.stm
It’s quite simple, even for you.
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Reith,
Allright, I’ll do it for you.
AP article:
“…The door was then blown in, kicking up a dust cloud and knocking the hostages to the ground.
“When I opened my eyes, I saw American soldiers,” he said. “They said, ‘Don’t worry, we are Americans.’ They held our hands and we ran to the helicopter — I will remember that for the rest of my life.”
“It was fast and unexpected. They did it perfectly,” Kos said. ”
BBC article referred to by link:
“Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said the hostages were released in a joint operation in southern Baghdad by Italian and other forces using “detailed intelligence”. ”
I invited you to compare the two different treatments of this action but you, instead, gave me another link to a similar BBC article. It is apparent that either the beeb didn’t do any investigation or are incapable of giving credit to the U.S. for anything done right. Or both.
Continue in your obdurateness, Reith, it’s entertaining to a
Cont’d
Continue in your obdurateness, Reith, it’s entertaining to a small degree.
PJF – Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. How ironic. You claim the BBC is biased and a bunch of liars, yet you quote them to back up your argument.
Words fail me – Hyprocracy is an understatement.
StinKerr – Yes, seen it, read it, found on the BBC, Sky, Cnn etc etc etc. Booooooooooooooooooooooooring
On the subject of use of inverted commas…
Why in the potted hisory of Al Queda on the BBC website does the word jihad not appear in inverted commas but the phrase “war on terror”.
The implication for any Muslim reading the history is that Al Queda have declared a legitimate jihad whereas the “war on terror” is questionable. Depending on what sort of Muslim you are, you will either be gratified or horrified by this.
The BBC is about as balanced as a see-saw in a children’s playground.
David Field
Reith
The Government requires the VAST majority of users to be on digital before analogue switchoff, and that is the effective timeline for introduction of subscription instead of the licence fee. You know that damn well.
You ask about costs. The cost that really matters to most of us is the social cost of dragging thousands of people through the courts for non-payment of the licence fee, and the costs of imprisoning many many poor people. You are smug about that. Most of us feel it is a blot on British society, the most regressive tax in Britain. There is already a strong groundswell against this form of tax – when people realise there is a reasonable alternative they will insist the licence fee is swept away. And even the BBC recognises that people regard the fee as excessive for what they get – to judge by the remarks of Gavyn Davies this week.
Reith, I didn’t quote the BBC – I linked to one of its web pages. I did this for your benefit, as you are clearly more likely to believe polls carried out for, and published by, the BBC than you are statements made here.
Your response was amusingly adolescent in nature, bordering on the pre-pubescent even. However, your display cannot hide the fact that you now know with reasonable certainty that a large majority want the licence fee replaced. Perhaps you’d better change the subject.
“Words fail me – Hyprocracy…”
What a delightful self-parody you are, Reith.
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John – I did know that, so your point is..? As for the cost of court cases, well I’m sorry, the law is the law. You should aim your ire at the criminals. The cost of justice is nothing if it protects freedom and democracy.
As for the “groundswell”, well, the Poll Tax protests were a “groundswell”, the Fuel Protests were a “groundswell”. The licence fee seems to just generate a small amount of pathetic bleating. Most of it here being passed off for serious debate, sadly.
PJF: I’m delighted you are delighted, and for your information, all opinion polls are not worth the paper they are printed on. I never believe them, and you should do the same.
Also, how do you know so certainly that I don’t want the licence fee scrapped as well?
Someone else here called me “childish”, you say I’m “adolescent”, bordering on “pre-pubsecent”. What is this obsession with children?
BTW You’re all wrong, which merely makes your comments a waste of bandwidth.
Reith
If you can’t see the merits of having a voluntary subscription system allowing tiers of service, rather than a highly-regressive and draconian tax that ties up lots of court and prison time, you are being deliberately obtuse.
If you want the licence fee scrapped – why not just say so.
On the Poll Tax, Thatcher was dug in. On the licence fee, Ministers will not dig themselves in. And lots of the media plus Ofcom etc will force the issue at the next Charter review, and probably look for the BBC’s wings to be clipped this time round. The Corporation is now seen to be vulnerable.
Reith:
“all opinion polls are not worth the paper they are printed on.”
With that view, it must be difficult to sustain a coherent argument that the BBC is a quality broadcast outlet worthy of continuance – seeing as the corporation makes such great use of opinion polls.
“Also, how do you know so certainly that I don’t want the licence fee scrapped as well?”
I haven’t expressed any quantity or quality of knowledge of your view of the licence fee. Are you clutching at a straw man argument?
“What is this obsession with children?”
That certainly is an impressive change of subject.
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Thank you PJF – I am impressive, and I aim to please. Have a straw man, but don’t smoke it all at once.
Again you have proved a master of making a mountain out of a molehill, and calling it biased. I marvel at such a comprehensive grasp of the irrelevant.
John – We already have plenty of tiers of service, of which the licence fee is one. Just because I accept the current law doesn’t make me obtuse. It makes me a free citizen in a democratic society. What’s obtuse about that?
David Field – If a children’s see-saw wasn’t balanced, the playground would be closed on health and safety grounds. Careful what you say – there are some lexicographically rotational folk around here.
If you are impressive, Reith, it is only in a manner analogous to a spectacular car crash, complete with slow motion replays from different angles. Today’s view of your bizarre self-destruction is you accusing me of calling a cliché biased.
Most accidents are caused by inattention, and you appear to have suffered a complete loss. I haven’t pointed to any bias, large or small, in this thread – I have merely pointed out that the BBC itself demonstrates that a majority want the licence fee removed (and that the BBC makes great use of opinion polls). If you see that as me making a mountain out of a molehill – I’ll see that as you reluctantly conceding the point about the majority wanting the licence removed.
Run VT…
Some posts have been deleted from this thread.
You are right ofcourse… But… http://www.phind.net/finance/bankruptcy-law.html