David Hicks, the soon-to-be-British Taleban, looks kind of sweet and gullible in the BBC photo, doesn’t he?
This page has the usual archive picture we see in Australia (scroll down) (and The Age is a Fairfax paper – Fairfax is the Australian equivalent of an infernal hybrid of The Guardian, The Independent and the NYT, so it would hardly be worried about being too soft on the terrorist).
OT, but I notice the BBC has reported the President of Iran’s latest statements regarding Israel (he wants it to be put somewhere else) and the holocaust. The news report says that his statement “echoes comments he made last week”, which the BBC did not deem particularly important.
I assume the BBC’s argument will be that this sort of statement is not exceptional for a middle eastern head of state, and that Iran and other middle eastern countries are so full of anti-Israel sentiment that it is hardly worth reporting. “Of course”, they will say, “of course the President of Iran does not like Israel. Everybody knows that. We don’t need to add fuel to the fire.”
I wonder how the BBC will sell this. They will run stories about Britain’s involvement in the middle east, and the fudging that went on after WW2. They will suggest that Israel was a mistake, a fudge. They will probably not run stories about Otto Skorzeny or the other Nazis who sought and found refuge in the middle east. There will be online user polls, which will not directly ask the BBC’s readership if they believe that Israel should be moved from the middle east to southern Europe; they will be more subtle than that. “Do you think that Europe should take more responsibility for the holocaust?” or “Is it reasonable for Germany to encourage Jewish immigration?”, perhaps with a link to those stories about Jewish people fleeing France in the wake of anti-semitic violence.
Ashley, don’t give them ideas!
David Hicks my a**e
Abu Daoud Hizbollah, more like.
When will we learn about the dangers caused by Western converts to the Religion of Peace ?
Indeed, Mark. We should let these guys get away with calling Abu Daoud Hizbollah by his Infidel name just as soon as they start referring to that well-known boxing legend Cassius Clay.
Why doesn’t the BBC come out with the truth. The Iranian President appears to be anti-semitic, this indeed is no surprise. Much of this twaddle was heard before from the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem,see
http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft0508/opinion/dalin.html
who in a radio broadcast from Berlin in 1944 urged his Arab listeners to,
“Kill the Jews wherever you find them. This pleases God, history, and religion.”
Taken in this context, the Iranian suggestion of moving Israel to Europe appears ‘conservative’ ‘restrained’ even ‘reasonable’ but is so ‘laughable’ that even the BBC does not re-broadcast it.
If Israel did move to Europe what then? Would Arab States exact revenge on all those Arabs who collaborated with Israel? and having successfully moved Israel why not start a campaign to have all Jews worldwide to live in this new State. It could be given a new name “Ghetto” and Policed by a multi national force including representatives of Arab States. This same body could run the administration of the Ghetto…….wait a munite……….have we been here before?
Also, special Police Squads would be needed to track down and identify all those Jews who had not left the former Israel when given warning. Those who disobeyed would merit punishment.
OT but still with an Aussie theme: hours after everyone else carried the huge Qantas order for Boeing planes (as opposed to Airbus) there’s still no sign of the news on the BBC website.
whoops: Just appeared…
OOT, but as far as I know Holocaust denial is illegal under German and Austrian law. Is it also forbidden under EU law? I assume that David Irving and so forth argue that it is possible to deny the Holocaust without being anti-semitic, although in the case of the President of Iran he is clearly arguing that Jewish people are deliberate and malicious liars, rather than being misguided or mistaken.
I wonder if the same kind of lawyers who were so eager to extradite and prosecute George W. Bush for war crimes will keep quiet and ignore this issue. They’ll say that it’s not their field, and that what the President of Iran says is none of their business; he’s entitled to his opinion. And they will say that you have to put it in context, and that what the President of Iran says today is small beans compared to FIFTY YEARS of Zionist GENOCIDE against the POOR PALESTINIAN abetted and encouraged by BUSHITLER and his CRONIES in BIG OIL etc.
O/T but remember the big “How do you plan to celebrate Ramadan” thread that ran for days and days on (D)HYS a couple of months ago? I’ve been wondering when they were going to do a similar thing for Christianity’s holiest season.
Well, they have finally run a Christmas thread — inviting people to bitch and moan about how much they hate Christmas!
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?sortBy=2&threadID=601&edition=2&ttl=20051214154021&#paginator
Is the IBC for real? Do they think that people don’t notice the contrast between their insane hatred for Christians and Christianity and their love-fest for Islam?
susan,
in response to your heads-up, i just posted at (D)HYS….
hello moderator..
my whine relates to the fact that bbc online runs a “How do you plan to celebrate Ramadan?” thread during ramadan, but a “Do you have a Christmas whine?” during the xmas season.
Are you planning to run a “Ramadan whinge” thread next time around? …. or are you scared of something begining with “M”??
OT – Best UK Blog 2005
BiasedBBC Currently in 4th place in ‘Best UK Blog 2005’ Surely the Beeb will have to report on at least the Top 3?
Last day to vote tomorrow, vote now & vote tomorrow!!!
http://weblogawards.org/2005/12/best_uk_blog.php
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4528888.stm
OT Child heroism awards
One might think this article might be graced with a happy smiley picture – not at the beeb.
Oh so Iran does teach that the Second World War took place then ! That must be how they explain the Russians trying to take over Persia……………
I think the President of Iran is living proof of Kipling’s adage about The White Man’s Burden.
O/T
I’m quite looking forward to seeing the beeb tie itself up in knots trying to put a negative spin on the looming Iraqi elections. It will be something worth watching – and fisking!
I think the President of Iran is living proof of Kipling’s adage about The White Man’s Burden.
Uh, the Iranians are white. The original Aryans.
Nearly a million on your site meter!
Can the millionth visitor post a screeny?
mrdgriff wrote:
“Why doesn’t the BBC come out with the truth. The Iranian President appears to be anti-semitic, this indeed is no surprise. Much of this twaddle was heard before from the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem,see….”
Well actually they did! link is:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4527142.stm
I think the President of Iran is living proof of Kipling’s adage about The White Man’s Burden.
Uh, the Iranians are white. The original Aryans.
Susan | 14.12.05 – 8:29 pm | #
Oh Susan you should read the poem rather than get hung up on colour schemes…….try and be more insightful….read just these two verses
Take up the White Man’s burden–
And reap his old reward:
The blame of those ye better,
The hate of those ye guard–
The cry of hosts ye humour
(Ah, slowly!) toward the light:–
“Why brought he us from bondage,
Our loved Egyptian night?”
Take up the White Man’s burden–
Ye dare not stoop to less–
Nor call too loud on Freedom
To cloke your weariness;
By all ye cry or whisper,
By all ye leave or do,
The silent, sullen peoples
Shall weigh your gods and you.
You must start to think of the context of Kipling’s 1899 Poem rather than jump immediately into “white man” as some kind of sociological totem
BTW what I like about David Hicks is that The High Court can decide to give a non-resident Australian British Citizenship on the fly just so he can be sprung from fdetention and return to Oz on his Australian Passport.
If this is not a case of The High court turning Citizenship into a mariage de convenance, what is ?