BBC Views Online often seems to report unexplained phenomena – for instance, from the last few days, off the top of my head, we have:
- Inquiry as stolen car kills woman – I presume the car stole itself and ran the woman over, rather than a car thief (or suspected car thief even) being responsible;
- A 15-year-old boy is being prosecuted in connection with the case of a girl who fell pregnant at the age of 11 – did he trip her up then? Girls obviously need to be careful in case they fall over and get up pregnant;
- A woman was killed and several people were injured when a stolen bus went on a five-mile rampage through Dublin – naughty, naughty bus – don’t do that again.
I’m sure readers of Biased BBC can spot many more unexplained phenomena reported by the BBC. Let us know in the comments – and mind how you go – it’s a strange world out there!
Here is the headline for the same story. One was from Sky News the other from the BBC. Guess which is which?
“Blair Backs Animal Tests”
“PM criticised over animal testing”
The Beeb reports that adherents of the RoP face bleak employment prospects and endure poor standards of housing:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4771233.stm
The role played by the RoP itself to this deprivation is, as you’d expect, not considered or reported on by the Beeb.
“The whole thing is weird – I bet MI5 has no presence in Leeds, Bradford, Bury, Oldham or any other areas where Urdu, Gujerati, are spoken and Arabic taught. It was probably a London-based job with trips to Belfast.”
its come out now that one of the July 7th bombers was tapped by MI5 – David Davis mentioned it this morning on Marr’s program.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4771233.stm
so the Muslims are now a race?
Anonymous reports: “The Beeb reports that adherents of the RoP face bleak employment prospects and endure poor standards of housing:”
A simple question: why?
For example, as in, they can’t fit in because they have been encouraged in the Mickey Mouse belief they are the conquering invaders? Because their barbaric culture is superior to ancient laws of civil rights and English Common Law? Therefore they don’t have to learn the skills acquired over the past 1400 years and they didn’t?
I don’t care what the Islamics, within their own circle, believe, but propagandising those beliefs via a license-payer funded organisation in Britain is probably illegal under the remit.
archduke writes:
“quite shocking really , considering how panorama had gone down the tubes recently. this was real investigativve journalism.”
Well, it was an improvement, that’s for sure. But the sting in the tail was risibly predictable: some Chilean Leftie’s family wailing about the probablity of him being deported because he had been convicted of wounding someone in a pub fight.
But, oh no, he ‘shouldn’t be deported’ because he was involved in ‘the arts’ and had fled Chile because of Pinochet.
On the the hand: 1/ Pinochet is no longer in power 2/ He is a convicted criminal 3/ Do we really need any more Chilean Marxists in this country?
And that’s really the problem, isn’t it? The BBC can’t even do a decent piece of reporting (and, for the most part, this was) without some editorial clown attempting to ameliorate the story with a PC afterthought.
A glimmer of hope?
Tory attack on BBC media domination
not really, the Tories still haven’t spotted that the BBC hates them
Mr Osborne will praise the quality of the BBC’s news coverage
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,17129-2180953,00.html
Verity writes:
“I don’t care what the Islamics, within their own circle, believe, but propagandising those beliefs via a license-payer funded organisation in Britain is probably illegal under the remit.”
What an interesting comment. I wonder how somoene might go about trying to pursue that?
If politicians are too scared to attack the BBC (and, given the Corporation’s brodacasting hegemony, they are) perhaps this is the way to tackle the problem – a resort to law!
All we need now is a tame millionaire.
“The Beeb reports that adherents of the RoP face bleak employment prospects and endure poor standards of housing:”
A simple question: why?
Largely becuase of the family duty of arranged marriages to peasant cousins from the old country, thus ensuring that at most one of the marriage partners will be capable of earning a wage & that the UK born offspring have English as a second language.
Anonymous writes:
” The Beeb reports that adherents of the RoP face bleak employment prospects and endure poor standards of housing:”
And how does BBC ‘News’ Online headline this piece of nonsense?
“Muslim hardship under spotlight”.
So…. no possible bias or partiality there! Not even the glimmer of a hint of a scintilla of a possibility that the BBC goon who wrote that headline might be trying to inculcate a feeling of sympathy.
Oh, no. Not at all.
It is hardly surprising that George Osbourne has praised the BBC’s news coverage is it? After all, David ‘bluey-greenness Daz’ Cameron’s ‘New Conservatism’ has been cobbled together for the left liberal wankers at Broadcasting House to resell to the great unwashed.
Nonetheless, this announcement is extremely depressing news for the vast majority of posters on here just praying for the day when the BBC gets a damn good kicking AND IS FORCED TO REPORT ON IT.
Yet more news stories from the Mid-East that the BBBC doesn’t see fit to cover. Plenty of news about Israel doing bad things this weekend but no mention of these:
Palestinian bodyguard shot in new Gaza violence
U.S. Teen Dies Following Tel Aviv Bombing
Instead at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/default.stm we have:
Iranian ‘bandits’ kill 12 people
‘Six dead’ in West Bank clashes
Iran to spurn nuclear offer
Palestinian PM makes plea for aid
Egypt bomb suspects ‘surrender’
Party abandons Iraq talks
Charges over Israel assassination
US lambasted on secret detainees
Court upholds Israeli spouse ban
Palestinians wary of Olmert plan
Postcards from Iran: Hamid-Reza
Linking Tehran and Tel Aviv
Iran: Life in the diaspora
Militant killed in Israeli raid
Hamas denies Jordan attacks plot
Palestinian prisoners urge unity
Working for nothing: Palestinian teachers going without pay
Holiday hotspots
Little-known Syrian seaside resort awaits a tourist boom
Welcome to Oman
How the Sultan plans to attract visitors to the oldest Arab state
GCooper: I just read that piece. What they forgot to explain is why are the other faith groups that were studied not in a similar position? Could it be because Muslims simply don’t want to integrate and therefore lack opportunities (unless they want to become plumbers)?
Re: Anonymous | 15.05.06 – 12:31 am
Strange how the BBC Online story doesn’t link to Professor Paul Weller’s report – perhaps it has background info or draws conclusions unpalatable to the Beeboids?
If it’s not available online, how come the Beeb got this story ahead of everyone else? Tip-off?
Hey, that Chavez is a regular charmer, according to the Today programme. A predictable puff-piece duly delivered on the programme this morning. Can the BBC’s genereous attitude to Chavez have anything to do with the hatred that this “left wing leader” has for Bush and Blair? Methinks yes. Pity the BBC couldn’t bring themselves to mention Chavez’s less than charming attitude to democracy in his country. But in Beeboid land, Bush and Blair hatred trump tyranny every time. Typical of the BBC’s “sophisticated” attitude to world affairs.
Tony Blair rightly comes out in support of the use of animals in medical research, and in response the BBC fall over themselves to provide the opposite view. Take this morning’s Today, where Jim Naughtie allows the mother of a jailed animal rights terrorist to peddle her wares. Of course we want freedom of speech, but what public good does it do to allow the families of such sickies onto the radio to 1. whine about their “victim” status and 2. promulgate their lies about the use of animals in medical research?
Rageh Omaar
He was the main voice of the BBC before and during the invasion by coalition troops.
He now works for Al Jazeera, and has written an article in the Independent.
http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article484048.ece
Reading it, it just shows the background and mindset of the typical BBC reporter. Oh, and of course he started as a journalist on “The Voice”. It’s just so predictable isn’t it?
” The Beeb reports that adherents of the RoP face bleak employment prospects and endure poor standards of housing:”
Fair comment and undoubtably true.
But the same could be said of ‘heavy metal’ fans.
JBH (and apologies to everyone else for returning to this),
Is it not the case that Tim Smith accepted receiving cash for questions from Al Fayed? How was Hamilton’s innocence or otherwise therefore the monumental issue you claim? If the affair affected the election result at all (which I doubt) surely the damage would already have been done.
This being the case why does it deserve the immense media scrutiny which you seem to expect? Sure I’d expect the BBC to cover it in some corner of its bloated website (perhaps in connection with the rape case farce) but why the expectation of some sort of vast prominence? All we have at the mo is a slightly obsessional investigation by a journalist which contradicts various court judgements. I note that you’ve had little success pursuing various aspects of this through the courts and PCC yourself?
If you had the Beeb painted into a corner as you allege then why does nobody else seem to care – I’d have expected the Telegraph, Mail etcetc to be all over this like a rash if it was the scandal you believe it to be?
On a lighter note, anyone who has read Chris Eubank’s autobiography will recognise alarming similarities in your respective styles of prose. JBH isn’t a pseudonym is it?
Frank Gardener and Andrew Marr on Start the Week on Radio 4 managing to talk about “Blood and Sand” (Franks new book) without talking about Islam, whilst at the same time explaining that he met so many nice people, although perhaps not the people who filled him full of lead.
Oh, and Iraq is the reason for all muslim radicalism. Now Palestine/Israel is being pushed as the reason, and don’t forget “our” support for corrupt and despotic regiemes.
I ‘ve become convinced that the BBC uses the Guardian (with whom it places over 80% of its job advertising) as an outlet for extreme views it cannot express in its role as a public broadcaster.
“Muslim hardship under spotlight”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4771233.stm
“It said half of Muslims aged over 25 are unemployed”
Thinking about Jihad all the time doesnt exactly endere you to potential employers.
re “muslim hardship” story
here’s the government link, which the BBC doesnt provide:
http://www.odpm.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1165319
the PDF of the report is on there , which you can download.
Dumbcisco writes:
‘ I haven’t noticed Frank Gardner rushing to warn us of the greatly increasing Islamic security risks in our midst. His reports are generally anodyne, numbing and complacent. Playing down the threat….’
A contrasting view is expressed by Vice Admiral Sir Louis Le Bailly (a nautical cousin of the Chevalier de St George, one imagines) in today’s Daily Telegraph:
‘Frank Gardner, the able BBC security correspondent, has estimated that there are at least 1,000 terrorists within our shores.’
Who is right? My money’s on the Old Sea Dog.
Archduke,
They push this particular piece of PC nonsense every few months. They never actually tell us:
1) Out of this 50% of Muslim unemployed, what proportion are female.
2) What proportion of these women are housewives.
3) What proportion of unemployed Muslim women were removed from education at puberty.
4) How many of these unemployed muslims are actually Asylum Seekers (and therefore barred from working).
Instead, Al-Beeb simply gives a headline figure and tries to pretend that it is discrimination on the part of the UK population, that is causing low unemployment for Muslims.
Why are the Chinese community doing so well? What about the Sikh’s, Jews, Malaysians, Vietnamese, etc, etc, etc.
I’ve watched enough BBC output to know that it must be all my fault as a ‘single white male’. However, I’m struggling to see how they plann to ‘pin it on me’.
Archduke,
From page 11 of the government report:
In aggregate, Muslims are more likely than Sikhs and Hindus to be disadvantaged. They display low rates of labour market participation, the highest male unemployment rate, larger families, a higher percentage in social housing, the highest incidence of over-crowding and are most likely to live in deprived localities. The percentage with higher educational qualifications is low and the percentage working in blue-collar occupations is high.
Sikh people also tend to have poor educational qualifications and a blue-collar occupational bias, but, male unemployment levels are lower and female engagement in the formal labour market is significantly higher than for Muslims.
The percentage of households owning their dwelling is highest for Sikh people.
It would appear that the BBC either haven’t bothered to read the report or don’t like the actual findings.
I’ll give it a proper read in my lunch hour and maybe give the BBC’s ‘synopsis’ a fisking.
“It would appear that the BBC either haven’t bothered to read the report or don’t like the actual findings.”
indeed it would appear so!
that BBC article is well worthy of a thorough fisking.
Grimer
“Al- Beeb….tries to pretend that it is discrimination on the part of the UK population, that is causing low unemployment for Muslims.”
No-where in the BBC report is this either said or suggested.
Relax Grimer, no-one is trying to pin this on you.
“The percentage with higher educational qualifications is low and the percentage working in blue-collar occupations is high.”
and of course thats got nothing to do with believing that everything you’ll ever need to know is contained within the Koran. and of course its got nothing to do with the anti-science attitude of the Islamic fundies, such as the Saudis , who ban the teaching of stuff like evolution, and classical music and every other philosophy besides Mohammeds.
oh no -its got nothing to do with any of that. it’s all Grimer’s fault , cos he’s white.
Frank Gardner is adamant about not forgiving his attackers. This is what he said on Politics UK about a month ago:
The people who attacked us, neither they nor their relatives, friends, nobody has ever asked for forgiveness. I see absolutely no reason to forgive them. I asked for mercy, they showed none, I would never forgive them.
But he is equally adamant about the superior qualities of other Muslims:
But I would differentiate that from forgiving the Saudi people and the country – not that I feel they are to blame though many of them do somehow…. I’ve had so many letters saying we feel so awful about it. I’ve even had letters from British muslims in Luton and Bradford saying on behalf of my co-religionists please accept my apology. I totally forgive them although forgiveness is perhaps the wrong word because I never felt that they were guilty…
…my personal one-on-one encounters with Muslims have up until 2004 been entirely positive or nearly because they are in my experience people of enormous generosity, far more generous than we are in the West, far more charitable, far more respectful of elders and old people, with bigger hearts, actually.
Bigger hearts?? I wonder if that includes Saudi Muslims, who don’t allow Jews to enter their backward little country and, far more seriously, reward the families of Palestinian suicide bombers with generous amounts of cash. Yeah, I guess their hearts would have to be bigger to harbour that much hatred.
“No-where in the BBC report is this either said or suggested.
Relax Grimer, no-one is trying to pin this on you.”
“one in three lived in the most deprived areas of England.”
‘deprived’ insinuates that non-muslims are preventing them from attaining a higher living standard.
“Muslims were more vulnerable to long-term illness.”
Which infers that being a Muslim in a non-muslim country will make you ill.
“As well as highlighting the disadvantages suffered”
which infers that non-muslims have an advantage, thereby making them “suffer”.
Take the Frank Gardner para:
“..my personal one-on-one encounters with Muslims have up until 2004 been entirely positive or nearly because they are in my experience people of enormous generosity, far more generous than we are in the West, far more charitable, far more respectful of elders and old people, with bigger hearts, actually.”
Reverse the polarity thus:
..my personal one-on-one encounters with Muslims have up until 2004 been entirely negative or nearly (so) because they are in my experience people of little generosity, far less generous than we are in the West, far less charitable, far less respectful of women and others, with less compassion, actually.
And wait for the heavy tread of the constabulary bearing accusations of racism.
Archduke
Blimey there is so much paranoia about. The BBC uses the words ‘deprived’ and ‘disadvantaged’ because they are terms used by the government (and by academia and ACORN) as categories. They have been used by both Tory and Labour governments. Sometimes the definitions change… or are inconsistent. e.g. ACORN estimates that 13% live in deprived wards, the SEU defintion is about 20%.
The terms relate to relative disadvantage and deprivation. They are descriptive terms, not moral judgments. Poverty isn’t a zero sum game. No-one and no group is being blamed.
Indeed, very often areas are deprived because the people living in them make them so….. peeing in the lifts, mugging neighbours, burning down the youth club, stealing cars etc. Cultural factors (like disapproving of women working) may also contribute
Poor health is a pretty reliable indicator of poor nutrition and low income. Being a Muslim doesn’t make you ill. Being poor often does.
There is no ‘side’ to the BBC’s reporting here, it’s dead straight.
And wait for the heavy tread of the constabulary bearing accusations of racism.
Quite so. Even though Muslims are not a race.
Anonymous | 15.05.06 – 10:58 am
Er…that was me.
John Reith,
The BBC constantly bleats on about this issue. It is at least the 3rd time I’ve heard it mentioned on the Today Programme.
No context it ever given and the ‘news’ is always reported as a ‘problem for society’ (i.e. one caused by the rest of society, with innocent Muslims as the victims).
There are supposedly 3 million Muslims in the UK. It a large proportion of them are living in poverty, then something is going wrong. However, rather than trying to get to the router of the problem, the BBC tries to make it into a ‘huggy feely’ PC issue.
Do you ever think the BBC would dare to critisise Islamic beliefs and dogma, for keeping people in poverty? Don’t hold your breath…
(oops, sorry for the typos)
There is no ‘side’ to the BBC’s reporting here, it’s dead straight.
You state that the BBC use the terminology of one side of the debate that of government/academia and say they don’t take sides? Odd.
Frank Gardner was absolutely effusive about Islam on Marr’s Start the Week this morning. He is a self-confessed Thessiger nut, and regards most of the problems of the Middle East as OUR FAULT – from Balfour to Blair. He not only reports the victim attitude of the Arabs – he endorses it. He regards the fact that the Palestinians still do not have a homeland as the fault of the West. No hint of blame on the Palestinians themselves, or the Arab League nations and their hatred of Israel.
His throwaway line about how the Coptic Christians generally live happily in Egypt was breathtaking.
What a smooth-talking liar.
reith pops up again, I see. He fails to respond to any of the many challenges posed to him here about BBC bias. But makes an indirect claim that Gardner has stated that there are 1000 likely terrorists in Britain. If he has, I haven’t heard it or seen it. And as the security correspondent for the BBC, supposedly keeping us informed about the threats we face, why is that ? Why isn’t the scale of this threat up front and central in all his reporting?
And why isn’t he reporting on the real flaws in last week’s report on MI5’s performance ? If the Shadow Home Secretary is homing in on what appears to be a cover-up, silence on this issue is surely covering-up the cover-up ?
John Reith,
Just because I’m paranoid, doesn’t mean they’re not out to get me.
The point is that the BBC buys into, and helps perpetuate, the attitudes that lie behind awful, politically correct mouthfuls like ‘disadvantaged’.
That particular word, perhaps more than any other, has done untold damage because it allows those under its umbrella description to point fingers at anyone but at themselves for their predicament.
Indeed, very often areas are deprived because the people living in them make them so….. peeing in the lifts, mugging neighbours, burning down the youth club, stealing cars etc. Cultural factors (like disapproving of women working) may also contribute
Quite so. But will you ever see the BBC dwelling on this aspect of self-deprivation on the part of the ‘deprived’ by suggesting that they try doing something about it themselves?
The answer to that is a very definite ‘no’.
You need to dig a little deeper to uncover the truth about the BBC. But perhaps you don’t want to.
Dumbcisco
‘…if he has I haven’t heard or seen it.’
Quite.
You (collectively) are always complaining that the BBC is ‘failing to report’ this or that when you have no idea whether this is true or not. More often than not it turns out that the BBC have reported it.
The other day someone posted here that the BBC wasn’t reporting who Kadima’s coalition partners were. News 24 had long reports on just that throughout the morning.
hys on “What are the ‘core British values”
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?sortBy=2&threadID=1746&edition=1&ttl=20060515113009&#paginator
highest recommended:
As I watched BBC breakfast this morning, guess who was first to be asked about their reaction to these proposals…parents? teachers? schoolchildren? relatives of those killed on 7th July?
Actually none of the above, the BBC saw fit to talk to the Muslim Council of Britain first. I doubt anyone here is surprised though.
[Bostin5], Wakefield, United Kingdom
Recommended by 98 people
reith
If you do a search on the BBC website for “Frank Gardner 1000 terrorist suspects in Britain” or any similar combination there is no return.
Gardner does NOT consistently tell us how large the potential threat is.
You have not pointed to a single specific instance of him mentioning the 1000 figure. You are relying on something someone else heard. When did you hear or see Gardner tell us that the numkbers are so large, way beyond the capability of MI5 to keep proper track ?
Gardner is supposed to be security correspondent. He fails to keep us properly informed of the threats within our midst. He has a rose-tinted-spectacles view of Islam. He obdurately refuses to use the T word in relation to the Middle East or even his own attackers. And he implies that everything is our fault. Period.
the anonymous post about the bias and gaps in Frank Gardner’s reporting was by me.
“Muslims were more vulnerable to long-term illness.”
Yes, there’s something (obviously) not right here.
The National Statistics Office picked this up in 2001 with their self-perception questionnaire:
Health & Disability
Muslims report worst health
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=959%20
“The general health question in the 2001 Census was ‘Over the last twelve months would you say your health has on the whole been Good, Fairly Good, Not Good'”.
Muslim women were the biggest group to say their health was “Not Good” in the last 12 months.
Is there some explanation here like Islam forbids muslim women from being examined by a kafir (non-muslim) doctor?
Shame the follow up question was not “If you answered “Not Good”, have you visited your local GP for advice?”
As a fellow poster mentioned above, there are lots of unanswered questions here – like ‘Why?’.
Because there cannot be a physiological link between a belief system ie thought process in your head, and your body’s ability to fight illness – or is someone stating that there is? That’s just nuts!
John Reith,
Do you have a link to that information on the BBC website? Obviously, some of us have to ‘work’ and News 24 isn’t available.
“or is someone stating that there is?”
oh yes they are. and that is the aim of the MAB and MCB – to get the laws changed so that Muslims are treated as a race. their “ummah” will then be protected.
of course , the p.c. brigade will go along with this, because of their latest victimhood fad.
John Reith
You are right to note the increase in paranoia within British people. It is a natural consequence of the public losing its confidence in its state controlled media. How can we not feel paranoid when we know by your own admission that the BBC censors the news and its presentation, on a word by word basis. This fact and that it is clear the people at the BBC hold very strong Leftist political believes, would make any sensible person not trust a word that is being propergandised at them.
The BBC is only trusted with the sports results, by anyone other than socialists. You are lucky the British public in general still trust that.
Modern westernised socialism is a new form of religion for the Middle classes.
“How do we reconcile our own inate superiority, with others equily obvious inferiority.”
You John Reith are a classic example of this class ridden self hatred, which should have stayed in the 19th centuary, where it came.
I do not see myself as superior to any one. I judge that I only have what I have by my own hard work and effort. Which I do, like every other human being in the world, for my own personal motivations.
SOCIALISM = POVERTY
SOCIALISM AND POVERTY = DICTATORSHIP