This morning’s Radio Four news headlines tell us that David Mills, husband of Labour Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, will learn soon whether he will face trial on corruption charges.
“Miss Jowell, who is separated from Mr Mills ….”
Well, yes. Since Saturday. Obviously no time for that little detail.
The Today programme page adequately describes the first item after the news at seven.
“Hear the latest news from Washington where the Bush administration has been embarrassed by the comments of its ambassador in Iraq.”
The story, an LA Times interview with the ambassador, is an assessment of the current situation in Iraq, and as such is an important story which the BBC are right to cover. But to the BBC its importance is entirely couched in terms of its potential to embarrass President Bush. I’m not at all sure this is responsible reporting – in fact it’s quite distasteful. Listening to the BBC, you get the impression that dead Iraqis only count when viewed in terms of their impact on Presidential poll ratings.
Breaking the listening habits of a lifetime, I ditched Today today, listening instead to a perfectly fine news round up on Radio 2. And I feel better for it. I recommend it to you: if enough people ignore the ego-centric agenda-pushers on Today, they’ll go away eventually.
Despite being a big girly liberal compared to most here, this story really, really irritated me.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4784768.stm
One would have thought that the key issue in dealing with nutcase ideologically driven terrorists would be to keep them apart so that they don’t concentrate their idiocy or spread it to others potentially being released back into society shortly.
If there’s an angle on this its that more prisons are required if the existing ones can’t deal with basic
separation requirements whilst retaining some semblence of civility.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4784768.stm
is the bbc view of Belmarsh for the real story try:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16643308&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=exclusive%E2%80%94the-jail-run-by-al-qaeda-name_page.html
“They force prisoners to accept the Muslim faith – those who refuse suffer assaults. They promise potential converts protection from other prisoners and staff who they challenge at every opportunity.”
A source said: “These people are terrifying. Extreme Muslims are pulling together and the jail has experienced a surge in violence, drugs and intimidation.”
user id and password for that latimes story (from bugmenot.com)
user: latimes@dodgeit.com
password : password
BAGHDAD ? The top U.S. envoy to Iraq said Monday that the 2003 toppling of Saddam Hussein’s regime had opened a “Pandora’s box” of volatile ethnic and sectarian tensions that could engulf the region in all-out war if America pulled out of the country too soon.
Abandoning Iraq in the way the U.S. disengaged from civil wars in Lebanon, Afghanistan and Somalia could have dramatic global repercussions, he said
“We have opened the Pandora’s box and the question is, what is the way forward?” Khalilzad said. “The way forward, in my view, is an effort to build bridges across [Iraq’s] communities.”
Khalilzad’s central message that the United States cannot immediately pull out of Iraq jibed with Bush administration policy. But he offered a far gloomier picture than assessments made in recent days by U.S. military spokesmen.
Cockney -> one wonders why we’re using a London jail in the first place. There is , after all, the Falkland Islands.
I read that report from which you, Henry, quote. It paints a slightly different picture to the one that Ms Owers presents to us.
Ah, yes:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16643308&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=exclusive%E2%80%94the-jail-run-by-al-qaeda-name_page.html
Compare and contrast.
(Sheesh…am I really using the Daily Mirror as a source?)
(Sorry, Henry. You have already pasted the link! I shall go back to bed.)
Archduke,
I wouldn’t wish them on the Falklanders. Maybe South Georgia would be a more suitable dumping ground for all our scum.
On the Belmarsh Muslims
Ms Owers added there was “insufficient staff understanding of (Muslims’) interactions and needs”.
What are they demanding stoning & beheading classes?
Grimer -> yes. south georgia. good spot. i was thinking of somewhere in the middle of nowhere like that – you wouldnt need highly complex security systems. it wouldnt cost that much. just a few tents and some guards. thats about it.
as an irish person, i find it remarkable, this kid gloves treatment of muslim radicals in comparison to what happened in England in the 1970s when the IRA bombs started to go off.
back then, literally, PC Plod snatch squads would swoop Irish areas in England, arresting anyone with an Irish accent. it was a ruthless strategy. well, it was a “war” in no uncertain terms.
of course, loads of people were entirely innocent, but it sure as hell prevented the IRA from operating freely. it didnt stop the bombs, but lead to a) more informers and b) less bombs
the lessons of history seem to be completely overlooked by the current crowd in power. hence the “brick wall” that PC Plod is now experiencing with regards to the 7/7 investigation.
back then, literally, PC Plod snatch squads would swoop Irish areas in England
The same happened in mining areas during the miner’s strike. Both my brother (working with the Parks dept & in possession of a pick up truck & spade) & my retired father in law (in possession of a Tesco bag) were roughed up by the police
as of 10:05am the lead stories on the uk edition of http://news.bbc.co.uk are
1. Stockwell shooting
(the police are crap – oh wait, no they really are…)
2. “Fears for Belmarsh Muslim inmates”
( ah diddums – the poor terrorists…)
3. Eighteen bodies found in Iraq bus
(iraq war is wrong wrong wrong)
4. Family on all fours
(ha ha – isnt science funny. ha ha )
5. Stockwell revisited
(ah diddums – the poor poor terrorists. if only we could understand them)
According to the Prison “Service”:
“Each prison has an anti-bullying strategy. Prison governors also ensure any sign of radicalisation is vigorously challenged.”
Perhaps it would be something like:
“I say, you chaps, I hear there’s been a bit of unpleasantness going on, it’s all over the papers.Can you give us some idea of who among the guards might have leaked it?”
“Breaking the listening habits of a lifetime, I ditched Today today, listening instead to a perfectly fine news round up on Radio 2. And I feel better for it. I recommend it to you”
Another convert.
Isn’t Wogan far more sane and sensible than Naughtie and Humphreys? Wogan even made a joke about Naughtie this morning. You see, we are not all racists, or hideously white, or spiralling out of control, or edging towards civil war, or being flagellated over an unfortunate Brazillian man, or being subjected to another conspiracy from Chimpy BusHitlerton, as Today would like us to think.
Wogan could even convince me that the licence fee is OK.
Wogan doesnt have the self-loathing problem.
maybe its because he’s Irish – an immigrant so to speak – and thus can see the brighter side of things in England?
OK, I’ve just checked out what I “missed” by giving Today the elbow. Hey, it’s just tragic I missed today’s prime-time running order:
0709 Hear the latest news from Washington where the Bush administration has been embarrassed by the comments of its ambassador in Iraq.
0712 The conditions in Belmarsh Maximum Security Prison have come under scrutiny by the Chief Inspector of Prisons, Ann Owers.
0720 The House of Lords is being asked to amend the Government’s Civil Aviation Bill to require foreign governments to give information about any planes landing in this country which are involved in “extraordinary rendition”.
0731 Hear the third in a series of reports from Burma. Mike Thomson reports from Cox Bazaar near the country’s border with Bangladesh.
0740 MPs are giving councils new powers to crack down on irresponsible walkers and limit the number of dogs they can exercise at one time.
0748 The tactic of “shooting to kill” suspected suicide bombers has been backed by the Association of Chief Police Officers.
No further comment needed.
just finished listening to an interview with a U.S. Marine, who has written a book about his time in Iraq, on Irish radio.
the contrast to Today could not be greater – no hysterics, interesting questions, measured, calm, just the facts.
michael taylor -> it goes on… and on. in brackets, the hidden message that today is sending to your sub-conscious.
0810 – financial problems with the NHS
(NHS – aaargh – more tax or else we’ll all die)
0820 – “Do we need more right wing plays?”
(and if the Tories get back in – no NHS – less tax – we’re going to die!!)
0830 “What is Brazil’s environmental record?”
(aaargh – we’re going to die in a vast global warming disaster!!!!)
0837 – Tessa Jowell. Tory MP interviewed
(Jowell really is a lovely nice nice person. Unlike you , you Tory scum)
0840 – House of Lords – Gypsy human rights
(but before you die, we’ll keep reminding you about what a shit place the UK is)
0852 – Methodist wants to erect a cross outside church
(reminding you again that the UK is a shit place to live in. why dont you fuck off to America?)
whew… i’m glad i missed that. havent listened to a bit of it yet. i dont think i’ll dare.
over on newswatch
http://news.bbc.co.uk/newswatch/ukfs/hi/newsid_4780000/newsid_4785700/4785746.stm
###########################
Around 4000 journalists will be asked to complete a new online course – “Israel and the Palestinians” – launched this week.
Alex Gerlis, head of training for the BBC College of Journalism, says the aim of the course is to help explain the sensitivities involved in reporting the subject.
“We try to get people to understand the complexity of the story and how different sides can look at a set of circumstances and come to a completely different point of view,” he says.
###########################
i wonder if Mr Gerlis will point the students of this course to Pallywood?
http://www.seconddraft.org/movies.php
it gets better.
from august last year:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/newswatch/ukfs/hi/newsid_4130000/newsid_4137700/4137784.stm
“A new Journalism College launched by the BBC this week will see the annual spend on journalism training double from £5m to £10m by 2008. ”
so , hang on. the BBC is having to train journalists ,already working for the BBC in ,errr… journalism, at a cost of £10 million of YOUR money.
which means those journalists they have already arent journalists?
Hang on a minute – if I apply for a job at say, Microsoft – in computer programming say – and it turned out that knew fuck all about programming – would you think that Microsoft would send me to a “training” course?
Fat chance – i’d be fired quicker than you can make a cup of tea.
archduke
0820 – “Do we need more right wing plays?”
Carumba, Today has Julain Fellowes on air bashing the left and sticking up for te right. Good fun it is too.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain/
Anybody know how long it is until the independent investigation into BBC balance (re: Israel/Palestinians) is published?
Cockney
“She said prison officers did not understand the social and religious behaviour of Muslim inmates.”
This is code for the Prison Governor not being able comply with Home Office softly softly policies. The Female Prison Inspector has noticed, as in all prisons, that graduate Prison Governors despite their supposed position of authority, do not run prisons. The Prison Officers do. It is the same in many large organisations, (police NHS railways)The Guvners huff and puff and the workers ignore them and carry out the job according to their own rules.
Treat this report with the cynicism it deserves. It’s really a pop at the guards, they’ll be calling them racist next and trying to make an example of somebody. It is also a coded signal to the Muslim Community that the Guvners are on their side.
Pete_London,
Did you ever watch Coupling? There was a very funny scene once where the ‘Tory Boy’ was getting haranged by a female leftie.
He turned the tables on her and pointed out that she was now the ‘establishment’ and he was the oppressed minority. She didn’t know what to say.
Jullian Fellowes persued the same tactic this morning. Nobody could really counter his argument.
“Anybody know how long it is until the independent investigation into BBC balance (re: Israel/Palestinians) is published?”
“The findings are due to be published this spring” according to Newswatch.
should make for interesting reading.
Archduke,
Ah Yes “Re-training” how Guvners like that phrase. You see that is what is required when the workers are not following the party line. Look out for some more jargon, I heard it on the radio this week. “Cascading” It all comes down from the top you see. If the journos are acting independently they will have to be brought into line. Unfortunately worker solidarity is broken by those brown noses and toadies who want promotion so one or two decide to follow the party line and they do get promoted and disseminate the same useless guff.
I use to look forward to “retraining” how we made those instructors squirm, they never changed us, just said we were a “class of individuals” A compliment indeed.
Cockney,
“Prisoners are able to pray during work and education as well.”
So what is the problem?, You don’t have to understand a religion to allow others of faith to practise it. Jewish prisoners are usually allowed a prayer mat, and Muslim Prisoners will know the direction of Mecca. This is also helpfully provided in many London Hotels, particularly those with high Arab occupancy. A discreet little green arrow is to be found in the top drawer of the bedside table.
As mentioned above, the story about Belmarsh prison.
I was struck by the headline. “Fears for Belmarsh Muslim inmates”. The report itself doesn’t mention fears – it says that the chief inspector of prisons has raised “concerns”.
“Fears” is the kind of word I would expect in the headline of a story about a baby trapped down a well, or people injured in a bomb explosion such as the one in India recently. It implies an editorial viewpoint that there is imminent lethal danger and great public concern.
From reading the story about Belmarsh I do not get the impression that the prisoners are in imminent danger of death and I doubt that there is great public concern about poor treatment of prisoners at Belmarsh.
In fact I imagine that many people in Britain would argue for harsher treatment of the prisoners than is presently the case (whatever the case may be).
Pete_London,
Did you ever watch Coupling? There was a very funny scene once where the ‘Tory Boy’ was getting haranged by a female leftie.
Grimer
Yes it was similar to that scene in this morning. The Toady interviewer was a little put out, but they way in which they “set up” the confrontation, a black dramaturge, shows the mettle of the editors doesn’t it; surprisingly he frequently agreed with his staged “opponent”. Others missed the fun & frolics too when the Gypsy representative replied to his interviewer and compared the labour gov. approach, “round them up into one place” to Hitler and the National Socialists. No doubt the irony of the Gypsy holocaust fell on deaf ears. John Prescott responsible for some final solution?
I know we have some theologians who post here. I’m having problems with this bbc report of a vicar who has resigned because she cannot forgive Khan the terrible and 7/7. Surely when acts of Evil are identified, the perpetrator/s ought not to be so easily pardoned, or, are prayers said automatically for their souls? Do Christians feel this necessity of forgiveness for historical characters such as Stalin, Hitler, Mengele? What is the point of hell, and eternal damnation- if nobody is sent there?
Confused
Ashley Pomeroy,
I wouldn’t be surprised if the real gripe is that Muslim prisoners are being told what to do by female prison officers.
Quite how they are going to square the circle when they find out the Prison Inspector sticking up for them is a female is anyones guess. Should we care?
It’s feelings again.
“Should we care?”
errr.. no. quite frankly.
“What is the point of hell, and eternal damnation- if nobody is sent there?”
that’s just Church of England crap – or rather, the C of E under the current roll-over-and-give-us-some-more-sharia crowd in charge.
i think you’ll find that the Roman Catholic church very much still believes in good and evil.
not to mention the evangelicals, presbetyrians, baptists etc etc.
Have Your Say:
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?sortBy=2&threadID=1156&edition=2&ttl=20060308132652&#paginator
“Are U.S. ports safe in foreign hands?”
the question is just downright wrong. whether they are “foreign” owned is NOT the concern. the problem the Yanks have is whether they are under MUSLIM control.
that IS the issue.
of course the BBC lies again, by omission.
(on this issue btw, i’m with the president – although i do recognise that politically, its a bit of minefield to say the least…)
nice going on last few posts archduke.
Dear Bloggers out there,
I am tired off this blog site.
WHy? you ask
because every time i write something one here it gets taken off.
now either the Government is behind this website or the BBC…
either way, you will not stop me from making my point.
YOUR Communist ways will be brought down. as i can tell you, you’re actions merely confirm my suspicions about who really runs this site…
time do some checking of my own,,
off topic
http://www.thebusinessonline.com/Stories.aspx?Drayson%20to%20divert%20%C2%A3250m%20from%20Lynx&StoryID=49493910-37CC-443A-9885-5203321F0F20&SectionID=F3B76EF0-7991-4389-B72E-D07EB5AA1CEE
The govt has to answer questions on this….more importantly its about time the BBC started asking questions
“because every time i write something one here it gets taken off.”
Ian -> you lost me there. what are you on about?
Re: BBC Journalism Training College.
Lest we forget, this boondoggle is being headed up by former Today editor Kevin Marsh. His last day on the job was distinguished by inviting al Sadr’s flak onto the show to tell the British public, unchallenged and unsupported, that it was the Americans who blew up their Golden Temple. So far as I can tell, there’s been no apology for this, and no public explanation for why he felt this was a good thing to do.
Maybe his students will get the benefit of the journalistic standards he demonstrated on this one.
aha. well spotted Michael.
i get the feeling that this “journalism college” is merely pre-empting any criticism from the forthcoming independent report.
as in – report says “X” , BBC says “no problems -we’re aiming to implement X in our journalism college”
so Al Beeb gets off the hook, and goes on as normal.
the “journalism college” is their get-out clause – they therefore dont need to have a radical shakeup, root and branch.
archduke,
Cockney -> one wonders why we’re using a London jail in the first place. There is , after all, the Falkland Islands.
Am I a lone rightie in feeling vaguely reassured by this story?
It is unstated government policy to send more of certain types of people to jail for who they are and what they believe, rather than for anything they have done. They have only just lost a vote that would have allowed them to jail you without charge for 6 months.
Already, being Muslim, objecting to islamofascist demonstrations, being pro-free speech at the Cenotaph, being a member of the BNP, being male and not a virgin and unable to prove your bird consented – these are all jailable offences these days.
Once we have ID cards, failure to produce these will also qualify you for instant jail.
Despite the constant lie that the innocent have nothing to fear – which the Guildford 4, the Birmingham 6, and many others would raise their eyebrows at – it is clear that a lot more people are going to jail indefinitely without having done anything wrong.
It is bad enough that you can now be shot out of hand for the offence of “Being A Bit Of A Darkie On A Tube Train”, a la Menezes. You can be shot not merely out of hand, but shot eleven times in the face at close range with explosive bullets, in fact, and as yet no comeback on the shooters except an inquiry that has so far taken 9 months to go nowhere.
There comes a point when it’s beyond debate that we’re living in a totalitarian state. We’re not quite there yet, but if we ever are, one way we’ll know is that we will be imprisoned for mentioning the fact. The laws to enable this already exist, and already do not apply to the nomenklatura, which is why Livingstone is not facing a criminal trial while Hamza and the BNP have both had to.
I for one would be very worried if these measures were to be accompanied by moves to make our prisons more Siberian.
If I’m going to jail thanks to Blair’s fascist regime, I’d at least like to feel I can blag a nicer time there by converting to Islam.
camp commandant : i agree. my solution is the U.S. constitution and the Bill of Rights – and a republic.
thats why you have Gitmo – and why normal Americans continue on with their free lives.
meanwhile , over here, we dont have Gitmo – instead we have the erosion of liberty.
you can already report to the Ministry of Truth for thoughtcrimes:
http://www.online.police.uk/english/description_hate_crime.asp
Following the Today segment this morning, we now have this, with comments!
Right wing playwrights ‘needed’
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4785118.stm
John Simpson’s latest plea for civil war in Iraq
The Washington Post reported that 1,300 bodies had been taken there since the upsurge in sectarian violence which followed the bombing of the Shia shrine at Samarra on 22 February.
A former UN official(no longer in Iraq) said that many of these bodies showed signs of torture and summary execution.
By contrast the US commander in Iraq, Gen George W Casey Jr, insisted that there had been no great increase in the amount of communal violence and that the number of deaths was probably around 350.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4778380.stm
So we know who to believe, don’t we?
But Simpson does not tell us that the WaPo is out of step with other Bush hating media
New York Times – 379 dead and 458 wounded.”
The Associated Press “The Post cited figures from the Baghdad central morgue, but an official there told The Associated Press that as of Sunday night they had received only 249 bodies tied to the violence.”
The Los Angeles Times – 519 Iraqis have died
A Knight Ridder – morgue officials said that the Post’s 1300 figure “was nowhere close to what they’d seen. Many others, including Shiite and Sunni politicians alike, said they hadn’t heard of anything approaching that number.”
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002075808
from will’s link above
“Do you agree with John Simpson’s views?”
i dont want John Simpson’s VIEWS – i want a friggin reporter – not somebody who spouts of his VIEWS on things. i can make up my own mind – but based on the FACTS.
if John Simpson wants to spout his VIEWS , he can blog about it on his own time, on his own website, and out of his own pocket.
he should not on a taxpayer funded, supposedly “impartial” news service.
no wonder they’ve had to open up a “journalism college” – because its quite obvious that they can even report objectively in the first friggin place.
Archduke
“my solution is the U.S. constitution and the Bill of Rights – and a republic.”
Please not a republic – if we’d had one since 1997 guess who’d have been first lady. Interesting though – could Madame President Blair (or Booth as she prefers the cheque made out to) still represent, say, a terrorist (sorry “militant”) against her own government?
Will
I made the same point in a comment on HYS yesterday afternoon. Guess what? The latest comment shown (which praises JS’s impartiality) is shown as lodged at 9:35 am yesterday. I wonder why.
umbongo -> indeed. it would be impossible – such is the nature of the separation of the executive from the judicary in the American system (and indeed, the same is true in the French Republic)
but then i’m in a tiny minority, as i do understand that the tradition of Britain is monarchist.
The logical place to keep these terrorists is in Sutherland in the middle of an Army firing range
OT – not BBC – but related.
remember when there was an impartial civil service?
well, this short blogpost says it all:
http://www.thebusinesseditors.com/the_business_editors/2006/03/obfuscation.html
archduke “no wonder they’ve had to open up a “journalism college”
To find employment for this chap?
The Arabic satellite TV channel al-Jazeera says its editor-in-chief has submitted his resignation.
According to an al-Jazeera spokesman, Ibrahim Helal said he had had “a tempting offer” from the BBC.
The charity BBC World Service Trust confirmed that Mr Helal was joining to work on a variety of media training projects over the next two years
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3403951.stm
via USS Neverdock