Says the link to this BBC story. It’s currently the main story on their ‘In Depth’ page.
Mental image of another poor chap in a wheelchair, or hobbling along with the aid of a stick.
The story ? “A young Palestinian man with learning disabilities has been shot dead by Israeli troops near the West Bank town of Jenin, Palestinian officials said. Local residents said Mujahid al-Simadi had gone up to the troops with a toy gun and shouted that they should leave the village. He was among a number of children who had surrounded a house occupied by Israeli soldiers and began to throw stones, Palestinian security sources said. The soldiers opened fire from the house and Mujahid al-Simadi hit in the chest and died immediately, they said.”
Two things here. Firstly the characteristation of someone with ‘learning difficulties’ as ‘disabled’, no matter what disability benefits such a person may be entitled to in the UK, is essentially dishonest. To the vast majority of BBC news viewers, ‘disabled’ implies a physical disability. The prisons of the UK are full of people with learning difficulties, but the BBC have not yet taken to describing them as ‘disabled prisoners’. Secondly, the source of the information on his disabled status is apparently ‘Palestinian officials said’. Where are the quotes that traditionally go round such an assertion ?
Strange. I heard what seemed like an important (and depressing) story on the news yesterday, but I can’t find this story on the BBC website yet. “BAGHDAD — The U.S. military has stumbled across the first evidence of a death squad within Iraq’s Interior Ministry after the detention last month of 22 men wearing police commando uniforms who were about to shoot a Sunni man, according to the American general overseeing the training of Iraqi police. The men turned out not to be police commandos but were employed by the Ministry of Interior as highway patrolmen, according to Maj. Gen. Joseph Peterson, who commands the civilian police training teams in Iraq. “We have found one of the death squads,” he said. “They are a part of the police force of Iraq.”
The current Middle East page features … guess what ?. If anyone finds the police story on the BBC, could they let us know via the comments ?
UPDATE – the police story has arrived – just before midday. Thanks to commenter Archduke for the spot. They’ve given it third spot on the Middle East page, relegating the disabled Jenin man to the top of the ‘More from Middle East’ section. Of course, Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo are still numbers one and two. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
A Lurker
Why do you make the assumption that if you were getting your leg over with a girl that that means you are a man. I dont.
“this government has handled things much better”
Not really, they have hidden things well. Gordo is more of an Enron than Iron chancellor.
Things are coming unstuck very very quickly. four words: debt deflation, credit crunch.
I hope all of you have some savings hidden.
There are already 3 million unemployed.
Look at the rise in “invalidity benefit” it’s another Enron.
Floating voters like to see leadership.
the Conservative party have offered them over-promotedmiddle managers, that ius why they lost.
Rob Read
I agree with everthing you say. How do you think people like L Lurker can be helped out of their BBC think. Why do they still not understand how propergander works. He says he is a socialist, but has no idear what one is. You are guilty yourself sometimes of describing him as liberal left. You should know no such thing by definition can exsist.
The BBCs inability to just tell the truth is now biting the pourest people in this country, take my word for it. They have no voice.
The Labour Party only ever attempts to represent them when in opposition. All the people that work at the BBC have never even met one. Trade unions are only good at representing themselves. All protest marches are historicaly organised by Labour party affiliated bodies.
So how does anyone know what the ordinary people think? The answer is no one, and they dont even have to care.
I appeal to all people who discribe themselves on this site as a socilist or a conservative to understand first what one is. Or at least, what one is supposed to be. It would help stop this constant confution of what is Left and Right.
Extream right means extream or classic Libertairism. Middle of the road is a more practical Libertairism and extream Left is not Libertarian at all.
I will stand by this definition whatever the BBC says, because it is the TRUTH.
It took Margaret Thatcher to bring this country and the Conservative party back to the middle of the road from being far to left wing, since World War 2.
The BBC is a throwback from those times. When we had a War to win. Time has moved on but the BBC still thinks it IS the nation. In order to perpetuate this delution of grander, it neads Big goverment, which of cause is very left wing.
I would be very interested if after you have thought about it,anyone would disagree with my definition of left and right. Because it really really is THE modern definition.
A lurker
It is not liberal in any way at all to tell people what to think or say. Do you think that you get rid of racism by making it ilegal? Which is what your “so called” liberal left thinking dictates. The fact that unbrain washed people with any real experience of life in a free country know, that this has not and will not get rid of any racism, but increase it.
Look around and smell the real roses. Compare this country with 30 years ago and you will see that it is more racist than it has ever been. Its just that the racism is comming from a different place or simply changed its language.
A lurker
In fact as you shurly must see racism has become a national obsestion. The BBC spends half the news talking about it. We are spending hundreds of millions every year more trying to stop something that you think has got much better. I have bombs going off on the buses, exploded by ENGLISH people. Educated in your “less-racist” socialist Britain.
Rob Read
Your reference to 3 million unemployed is a gross understatement. I saw the other day that there are well over 9 million “economically inactive” ie not in the workforce among the UK working-age population. The highest proportion ever. Looks like 20% or thereabouts NOT WORKING. Don’t tell me they are all mothers of very young kids/severely disabled/so rich they don’t need to work.
Of that 9 million – how many are being supported by the State ? Because every week when I visit the East End there seem to be an awful lot of working-age people wandering around doing nothing.
Time has moved on but the BBC still thinks it IS the nation. In order to perpetuate this delution of grander, it neads Big goverment, which of cause is very left wing.
True. If you look at the BBC pitch to justify Charter and Licence Fee it is selling itself as the Unifying Force in society defining “British Values”.
The Church of England was restored to bind the country together in 1660 – but now it is merely a clique of 1960s types………………the BBC thinks it is “The State Church” issuing sermons to the populace
Dumbcisco
Yes.Add to that figure the people employed by the state, collecting money,distributing it,and talking about it ie The BBC We get a very different idear of what is going on . Different that is to anything that is on the so called mainstream news. When all the media perpetulate the same lies as politicians so that they become “common knowledge” (please note A lurker) propergander has finaly does its job.
Gorbels most enduring legacy.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/thefuture/related.shtml
Public broadcasting in the UK is compared to other public services. The chapter outlines how the BBC creates similar “public value” which benefits everyone, individually and collectively in 5 key areas:
1. Democratic value: supporting informed citizenship with trusted and impartial news and information
2. Cultural and creative value: enriching and celebrating the UK’s cultural life
3. Educational value: offering learning opportunities to all
4. Social and community value: building greater understanding, tolerance and social cohesion
5. Global value: communicating UK values and culture worldwide
To give a personal example
My company since 1995 has grown from employing 12 young people, and training them to employing no one but my wife and myself. I still make as much now as I did then. In fact more. I do not wonder what these type of young people are going to do now for a future as I know they dont have any.
Items 1-5 are “New Labour” nostrums
Rick
Tottaly agree but it would not be so dangerous, but still very dangerous indeed, if they did represent British values. But the BBC represents the compleat opposite of them. The way it is financed alone means that it is against British values, never mind the divisive rubbish eninating from it.
A luker
You say that their is a disagrement about whether the BNP is the true Conservative party. Not really Supporters of the BNP say that they are nothing like the Conservative party. Supporters of the Conservative party say that they are nothing like the BNP. It would be quite scary if there was not some degree of crossing over in opinions of any magor party that neads to get at least 43% of the popular vote. In 18 years of a Tory goverment, the only racial problems,were organised by you lott. Do you think black people are really happy prosperous and contented now? Or do you think the left just stopped organising protests/looting? I know the truth, and so now does a magority of the public. Part of their big chess game, some people got killed in those protests/riots. Are you proud of yourself. You have read yourself the anger with this goverment, on this site. How many protests have Tories organised in the last 8 years? Never mind ones where people were killed.
Gary,
I have read elsewhere on this site that you are a member of the Conservative Party. Would you be good enough to state how I am to distinguish the Conservative Party of John Bercow, Francis Maude and David Cameron from NuLab or the LibDhims?
Allan@Aberdeen
Good Question; One of the reasons I again only recently joined and attended branch meetings and political debates, was to find out for myself. I was quite shocked how much real debate SEEMS to take place. Which is not a lot. Believe me I shook the place up a bitt. So this has improved. The truth is that no-one knows, most people just came to the same conclusion,that we just have to wait and see,and hope he turns out to be a lier like Tony Blair.
However politics does not and should not end just because there has been an election. If DC starts messing up all conservatives must now realise he must be told and told fast.
Allan@Aberdeen
Sorry I could not give you a better answer than that, but it is the truth.
Quite all right, Gary. The question is of greatest importance at this moment. My observation is that anyone with whom I discuss any matter related to politics is utterly dismayed with the Tories and people who I thought were lefties are saying that they agree with the BNP.
“who I thought were lefties are saying that they agree with the BNP”
there are even muslims who agree with the BNP
“Go and live in Saudi Arabia, mad mullahs” –
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-2046828,00.html
“I can say these things because of who I am,” she says. “Coming from me it can’t be seen as racist.”
which begs the question – why is it classified as “racist” in the first place when you speak out against radical Islam , in favour of secular democracy?
Why is anyone complaining about a religion called racist?
Theist perhaps, but racist, no.
why is it classified as “racist” in the first place when you speak out against radical Islam , in favour of secular democracy?
My understanding is that UK law currently specifies that advocating racism is a hate crime punishable by a prison term, whereas despising a religion is not an actual crime. The antique blasphemy laws are not currently enforced.
The Muhammedans and their stooges insist that opposition to Islam equals racism for this practical reason. They want their foes to be jailed for hate crime.
Would you be good enough to state how I am to distinguish the Conservative Party of John Bercow, Francis Maude and David Cameron from NuLab or the LibDhims?
That’s easy. The Conservatives are positioned 1/32 of an inch — or should I use metric units — to the right of the other two Establishment parties on the big issues.
Alan@Aberdeen
Becoming a Conservative is a bit like getting older.
Its better than the alternative.
However there was a big clue there as to what the membership think, at least. Wish I really knew what DC really has in mind. I have no reason to beleive it has anything to do with what comes out of his mouth or not. I have been advising them to get “good” policies but dont tell ANYONE about them, for a while. So I should not complane. But I still will.
“I have been advising them to get good policies but dont tell ANYONE about them”
indeed. it is unfortunate, but they might have to keep their traps shut on radical tax reform, such is the current idiotic media climate (i.e. the fallacy that lower taxes = poorer public services)
Wish I really knew what DC really has in mind
PR is all about mood-music not lyrics
Could someone please explain the ground rules for getting oneself ‘banned’ from here?
Several comments from around lunchtime today, one in particular from dumbcisco, to which I responded, seem to have vanished and yet I’m sure there was nothing particularly outrageous in either of them. They were even on topic!
Now I seem to be getting a ‘banned’ message. What on earth is going on?
GCooper,
I dunno. I also noticed that comments have disappeared.
Maybe it’s Irving hacking away furiously from his prison cell.
I wonder, will they give him a computer?
i too have been irked by anti-islam comments being labelled as racism.
it’s so ridiculous, such thinking would imply that atheists are racists par excellence.
has anyone ever heard the bbc, that force for good and educator of the masses, try to set any of its guest commenters straight on that point?
and just for fun, i’d like someone to tell me which “race” is being maligned by comments unfavourable to islam. i have my own suspicions as to who is supposed to enjoy victim status on this one, but if my understanding is correct, that group is not even the largest muslim group, ethnically speaking…
By the same token, which race is being maligned by criticisms of Israeli policy ?
You are all quick to jump on this as a sign of anti-semitism.
Shoot.
Nice one Zorro; they seem to be speechless.
By the same token, which race is being maligned by criticisms of Israeli policy ?
You are all quick to jump on this as a sign of anti-semitism.
Shoot.
zorro | 22.02.06 – 10:17 pm |
well, for what it’s worth, the bbc at least have been quoted as referring to Israel as a “jewish state”…
Nice one Zorro; they seem to be speechless.
paul | 23.02.06 – 7:26 pm | #
i don’t know who “they” are but – oh?