I thought I’d create a special post to recognise something from the BBC website which is very interesting. Paul Reynolds has taken, in his opinion articles, to updating by means of clearly bracketed insertions into the main text. Further from stealth editing it would not be possible to get. This latest piece is currently featuring alongside the BBC’s top story, the cartoon controversy. I’m interested to know what people think of this, and no doubt Paul would be too. In principle I think it would be a massive step forward for BBConline if it became the norm and not the exception. The current article includes among its updates some of the things the internet has uncovered about the Danish Imams delegation, including the origin of the ‘Muhammed with a pig’s face’ cartoon- sourced back to one of France’s quainter traditions: the pig squealing competition.
Regarding the Reynolds analysis, I think that the BBC are still underplaying the role of the Danish Imams in conjunction with the diplomats of various Middle Eastern countries. It is, for Reynolds, only ‘one aspect’, and very much the fag end of his analysis. I was interested in this Winds of Change analysis, which went further even than I have in alleging conspiracy. One other thought: Reynolds says, regarding the fake cartoons, that ‘Western diplomats appear to have missed this entirely’. It is hard to apportion blame, but somewhere along the line governments depend on the media to pick up news and publicise it. The BBC should have been questioning their sources for a story that they’ve been covering on and off for five months. The BBC should have been looking in detail at the Danish cartoons: this was not a matter for intelligence, but media diligence and scepticism.
“That’s why history is no longer a meaningful subject in schools. That’s why British/English nationalism has been so demonised that’s it’s now verboten in the eyes of many.”
as an irish person, i find the lack general lack of self-identity and the woeful standard of historical education to be remarkable. Any Irish person you speak to has a strong sense of history. history makes you who you “are”.
i’m still waiting for somebody to sort out St. Georges day – damn good excuse to pig out on English ale.
Radio 4s PM is sounding like a proud peacock right now asking questions about Hamza’s arrest, why not earlier? Was Rod Liddle still working for the bbc when he wrote this?
Hamza’s horrid – but we must tolerate him
(Wednesday August 28, 2002)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/ukreponse/comment/story/0,11443,781604,00.html
hamza is the least of our worries.
its the takfiris that we should be worried about.
seems like the British establishment have learned absolutely nothing from the Madrid bombings.
just got some news – the “charlie hedbo” magazine is going to republish todays issue again tommorow. today’s run completely sold out.
Hello Private Eye? hello? bueller? bueller?
sorry – i didnt say that the “charlie hedbo” mag is a French satirical magazine, in case you havent been following todays news.
COULD the Home Secretary explain to me how biometric checks on iris patterns and fingerprints are going to help keep tabs on extremist Muslim cleric Abu Hamsa?
Hat tip: Expat Yank
Yet over in the UK we have stuff like the St. George cross not being flown over a prison lest it “offend” Muslims.
Yet in Bradford during Euro 200 taxi drivers, predominantly Muslim, wanted to fly England flags from their cars but were told that no flags were allowed to be flown from taxis.
I think there is a willingness suppressed by the Establishment which works to the detriment of all.
yeah – i remember reading about that taxi driver thing. mind boggling.
yet another march planned – hyde park, feb 18th, this time by another group called the “Muslim Action Committee”
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=201532006
Anonymous – good idea not to use your name when you write such stuff – but Denmark did provide an SS-unit as did Alsace, Albania, Bosnia, Finland, Netherlands, Latvia, Croatia, Ukraine, Italy, Hungary, Austria, and of course Germany.
Now why should I question Germany’s credentials today because once it had a political party called the NSDAP with an armed wing the Waffen-SS ?
After all the Waffen-SS was not part of the Germany Army at all but a Party organisation.
http://www.srpska-mreza.com/library/facts/muf-han.html
Nice picture of Yasser Arafat’s uncle here……
Archduke:
That’s because the Americans adopted the ‘melting pot’ approach to integration. Whereas, Britain adopted ‘multiculturalism’.
I think you are running ahead with your definition of Britain’s multiculturalism, the fact that ‘Britain “is” is a multicultural achievement- in some respects it was there before America declared independence. We have had more wars with Scotland than any other nation; we don’t need Hadrian’s Wall anymore, and don’t need to invite the German’s over to protect us from them. I remember a lecture of John Searle’s, the American philosopher, when he remarked that America was the first nation to attempt the experiment of fully integrating with its former slave population. Who is brave enough to say it’s been successful, especially after Katrina? The Romans never did this to us. Many bbc journalists look at America and think we should simply copy the experiment, but we never had indigenous slaves. The concept of ‘multiculturalism’ as it’s banded around in the bbc is really a euphemism, or better, belief, in the moral efficacy of post-second world war immigration policies. Greg Dyke was like a Ron Hubbard figure to the bbc cult, they scientifically measure these things. And it is this ‘belief’ in multiculturalism that prevents the bbc from reporting the truth about this clash of civilizations.
A “party organization”? You make them sound like conference hall maonitors.
The Waffen-SS at its height comprised four full mechanized and heavy armoured divisions, and saw bloody service on both fronts.
The Nord division, recruited latest and last, contained more Norwegians, whom you don’t mention, than it did Danes.
[BNP press release masquerading as a comment deleted.]
Back to topic
I heard a trailer just now on Radio 4 for a programme on the involvement of Danish imams in peddling the pig-squealing pictures of Mohammed. It’s to be aired tomorrow (Thursday) at 1.30pm.
Will the implications of this be thoroughly explored? We shall see. But at least they’ve picked up on it. I for one tried yesterday to ring the Beeb and ask why they hadn’t picked up on it. Couldn’t get through. I hope that was because so many other BBBC people were on the phone. Got through this morning, however!
Interesting slip-up on The World at One today.
I remember that the beeb steadfastly refused to use the M word when describing the participants in the recent Paris riots.
Today Sean Ley asked a French Muslim if Muslim reaction in France to the cartoons affair was subdued because they didn’t want to be seen to be rioting again so soon (I paraphrase).
Gotcha!
because they didn’t want to be seen to be rioting again so soon
always best to have a good rest before going back to work…….as they say
werter5075
This has already been noted here, in earlier posts. More current would be how Griffin and Abu Hamza are being coupled together today by Philip Johnston (Telegraph), or, “peas in the same pod” as we heard d’Ancona’s heroine, Sayeeda Warsi, on BBC 2s Newsnight recently. The editorial in today’s Telegraph posits a subtle difference but only in the context of speed of prosecution by the CPS:
“It is especially necessary after the acquittal last week of the BNP leader Nick Griffin, who was prosecuted far more rapidly for uttering statements which, however vile, fell far short of the incitement to kill practised by Abu Hamza”
This distinction is unfortunately lost on many BBC journalists, who are seeking simple conversational points with their guests. The Daily Mail editorial today repeats this comparison too. I think its mental laziness rather than deliberate conceptual coupling. I have said elsewhere here that it is like comparing “a molehill of hate with a mountain of hate”. After the revelations today, that mountain looks like K2
6 o’clock news had a segment from Denmark, and an interview with the Danish PM. and yet – no mention whatsoever of the fake cartoons or the Danish Imam tour.
and yes – you guessed it – the conclusion was that it was all the Danes fault because of their “anti-immigration” policies.
Weter 5075’s comment was actually a BNP press release with the BNP details omitted at the end. Such spam is not welcome.
Off topic. Here is a quote from Winston Churchill which I think says it all. If everyone on this site emailed this quote to as many people they know, would it make a difference ? Who knows ? But I think its important for the whole world to hear his wisdom.
“How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries!
Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia
in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many
countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods
of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet
rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the
next of its dignity and sanctity.
The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as
his absolute property, either as a child, a wife, or a concubine, must
delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased
to be a great power among men. Individual Moslems may show splendid
qualities – but the influence of the religion paralyses the social
development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists
in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and
proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa,
raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity
is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it
had vainly struggled, the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell
the civilization of ancient Rome.”
-Sir Winston Churchill (The River War, first edition, Vol. II, pages
248-50 (London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1899).
susan wrote – Another factoid about the Muslim population in Denmark: despite making up less than 5 percent of the population, they suck a whopping 40 percent of the country’s welfare benefits!
susan – do you have a source for this quote?
nothing to do with bbc. but it is the implications , if the school loses the case, are frightening:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/02/08/njilbab08.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/02/08/ixhome.html
guess who “cherie booth qc” is.
Geof – i think Natalie Solent commented in another thread that this isnt an islam-bashing forum. so fairs fair.
oops. i did it myself above with the telegraph link. oh dear. sorry about that.
Thanks Archduke. Actually I wasn’t bashing islam, I was quoting the greatest leader of the 20th century, who can teach the leaders of today a much needed lesson, particularly neville straw.
I actually know many many muslims, and i have worked extensively in the middle east on and off for 15 years. and i think Churchill hit the nail on the head with this one.
ah ok. great quote though. i’ve grabbed part of it and stuck in on the header of my blog.
mind boggling that it was written in 1899!
Sir Winston would probably be in jail these days… I’m pretty sure the great man is wildly spinning around in his grave.
BBC demand apology from Danish Prime Minister for the Viking Invasions.
In the spirit of co-operation, conciliation and world peace we expect an apology from Denmark for the heinous crimes commited against the people of Britain in the years around 865 when ‘The Danelaw’ was created.
We will also demand an apology from the Swedes and the Norweigans if they upset us.
Link to follow, when they write the piece.
——————–
It’s been a couple of days now, so “why, oh why” can’t the Beeb get back to reporting proper news about Preston and Chantelle?
HYS : Should Hamza have been arrested sooner?
From the tone of the most recommended posts so far, I can see technical gremlins raising their ugly heads again.
Rick,
My point exactly. What was done or not done by individuals who are either dead or soon will be has little relevence to their grandchildren who are facing today’s problems.
I’m as about as much in favour of inherited guilt as I’m in favour of inherited sainthood.
Oh and by the way you left out Norway & Holland.
Archduke, is jihadwatch your blog ? as that is the link you had in your message
Geof – no its not. i darent publish it on this site, as it might offend Natalie.
on the fake cartoon issue , this one has just exploded in Denmark. more and more details about what the Danish imams were saying in the Middle East has come to light – and its seriously ugly.
read it all here
apparently all hell is breaking out in Denmark, with the Danish press squeezing the Imams
http://www.neandernews.com/?p=60
The truth will out. This is exactly why we need freedom of the press.
So archduke, how do we find your blog, can you give me a keyword i can google.
“A people with no cultural memory are far easier to manipulate and coerce than otherwise.”
I suppose the government’s idea is that it can break down existing culture and rebuild the population with a new, government-approved culture. The government would prefer it that people did not take their instructions from Mecca, Rome or Jerusalem. And I’m sure the various different churches would prefer if that the population worshipped their God rather than the State.
I wonder if the present situation in the UK can be compared with that in Northern Ireland. As far as the government is concerned there is no difference between Catholics and Protestants and the CoE and Islam, and Abu Hamza and Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams etc. They are all sects to be managed and dominated and played with and humored.
I am puzzled as to the government’s ultimate goal. Does the government believe that it can control the population more effectively if the population is highly religious? The Soviet Union couldn’t control Afghanistan and the Soviet Union had lots of practice controlling populations. Is the government simply a bunch of incompetent people presiding over a train wreck? Or is the perceived threat from Islam no more substantial than the various Catholic that were alleged during the last period of religious strife in Britain? Granted, suicide attacks and riots have killed quite a lot of people recently, but then again there are more people in Britain nowdays and thus individual people are worth slightly fewer points.
Or has the government devolved into a group of individuals who are united in a desire to use British politics as a stepping-stone to European and Global politics, and thus career advancement? It makes a lot more sense if you imagine the government as a loose-knit group of people who are in it for personal advancement. People like Neil Kinnock, who was voted down twice by the British electorate but who now has a cushy job. Ultimately, no matter what you achieve in life, you die and you die alone with your thoughts; why waste energy working for the common good when we die alone? Perhaps that is the thesis.
geof: try the name of “fastest growing religion” and put it together with a word that rhymes with Lembit’s (he of the Lib-Dems) second name
then search on google blog search
http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch
Ashley – > considering that none of the government has ever run a business, and the vast majority has never worked in the private sector
i would therefore concur with
“a bunch of incompetent people presiding over a train wreck”
thesis.
“loose-knit group of people who are in it for personal advancement”
well, since they arent nationalist, you could well be correct.
at least if a Tory is in it for personal career advancement, you can be damn sure that at least he’s got a sense of British nationalism and a understanding of what “the defence of the realm” really means.
Geof & Archduke – wear white roses and meet at Lyons Corner House.
ah, that was me. Couldn’t resist it.
ooops – the gestapo has appeared.
we’re rumbled!!!
😉
good suggestion about the white rose though. there’s a certain resonance with that. thanks for the mind-shot.
much better than the poncy and frankly embarassing “blue scarf” thing thats started up in France.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4690924.stm
Huh? Is this newsworthy?
Good interview on CNN with the Danish PM – he was rather good. Very balanced but firmly clear.
I see Iran is now attacking Frau Merkel as being like Hitler – but who is it that is excusing The Holocaust ?
This will be a powerful boost to her in Germany where she only enjoys 80% poll ratings. Just as Leonid Brezhnev (RIP) thought he was insulting Margaret Thatcher by calling her “the Iron Lady” which must be an insult in Russian, he made her look much stronger than she was at the time.
“… the General’s unjust interference, so far from being really injurious to their felicity, was perhaps rather conducive to it, by improving their knowledge of each other and adding strength to their attachment…”
taol -> no.
and whats that stuck in gordon browns ear?
“I see Iran is now attacking Frau Merkel as being like Hitler ”
that in retaliation for Merkel comparing them to the Nazis.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2025730,00.html
she doesnt mince her words. definitely shades of Thatcher.
i quite liked the way she turned up in Israel when the Iran nuke crisis started to get very serious, to show her solidarity with the Israeli position, regarding Hamas and the Iranians:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1137605941851&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
i’ve yet to see Mr Blair or “man of straw” go meet Mr Olmert and give the Israelis a bit of moral support in the face of Holocaust Mark 2 being threatened on them.
quite frankly, this abandonment of the Israelis by the British political elite in their time of need is utterly repulsive and shameful.
Thanks for reassuring me, archduke. I could have sworn I saw that BBC news story on the BBC news pages. I must have been dreaming. 🙂
indeed taol.
and i could have sworn that corruption in kenya was a lead item on newsnight. but i must have dreamt that as well.
VERY important that we find out that there’s , errr, corruption in , err, Kenya, or all places…
quite frankly, this abandonment of the Israelis by the British political elite in their time of need is utterly repulsive and shameful. and given all that they have done for us and democracy in general (rather more than the Palestinians ever have), somewhat par for the course with the Arab Foreign Office run by Jacko (I need Muslim votes in Blackburn) Straw….
PS Can we deduct the cost of several jet airliners plus interest since the mid 70s out of the money we send to the thieving hounds in Gaza?
dave t – sickens me. can you imagine thatcher standing back and not popping over to tel aviv? fat chance – she’d be over in a shot, roaring to the rafters in her shrill voice about free speech.
and we’ve (as in the New Labour elite) has given bugger all support to the danes in their hour of need either. thats sad too. a little country of 5 million who have never invaded anyone since the vikings 1000 years ago, and yet we let them hang out to dry, whilst the BBC gives us reports on how copenhagen is “white” and how its all due to their “immigration policies” , whilst believing that the fake cartoons were the work of Danish cartoonists.
sickening. I would bet that the Danish have a very dim view of the British government right now.
Muslims can apply their social norms in countries where they form the majority. When they are in a minority, as is the case in Denmark for example, they have to abide by what the majority considers acceptable. If they don’t like it • tough shit! Nobody forces them to live in the west. If they are so offended that they can’t take it any more, they always have a choice. By the way, we now see that the cartoons from Jyllands-Posten were published in the Egyptian Newspaper Al Fagr last October! Let’s see them burn Egyptian flags, stop eating falafel etc!!! I don’t think so. Moreover, guess which small Scandinavian country is due to take over the presidency of the UN security council in June? I don’t suppose the timing of all this could have something to do other matters of the nuclear variety.
heres the link for folks who havent bother following the threads on here:
the egyptian october 2005 publication.