on active service in Afghanistan, the fourth and fifth such deaths in the course of a week. Their deaths were reported as the second item on this evening’s BBC Ten O’Clock News bulletin. What story was judged by the BBC as being more important than the sacrifice of two British soldiers?
Yes, you’ve guessed it – the BBC’s fifteen minute long Ten O’Clock News programme was led by a full five minutes on the resignation of David Beckham as Captain of the England football team, with filmed pieces about the return of the squad (oh look, an aeroplane landing), the disappointment of Sven Goran Eriksson and an obituary style review of David Beckham’s time as captain, “those legendary free kicks”, and so on, even though Beckham has made it clear that he’s staying on as an England player.
The Beckham story is a big story – a big sports story – but it shouldn’t have led the Ten O’Clock News on any but the slowest of news days, and certainly not on a day with sad news like today. It’s not as if England’s football disappointment wasn’t fully covered yesterday, over and above the deaths of sixty people in a Baghdad bombing.
The producers of the Ten O’Clock News should be ashamed of their choice this evening – the British Broadcasting Corporation should know better.
If blogs are now starting to push the media’s direction, will somebody from the MSM, please start an anti-BBC Tax campaign?
It is the second most unpopular tax in the country. Let’s get the ball rolling. This time next year, we could all be millionaires (or at least £120+ a year better off)
Archduke, like I say. They ARE crude. At least according to Wikipedia. As for home-made. Well I doubt there are many large factories or even metal shops left in Palestine. I don’t know this, but I presume the Israeli Military have already targetted them. It’s what I’d do. So is it so unlikely they are being made on a small scale in garages and homes?
Totally OT (even for an OT thread), but what happened to bird flu?
Some info from the latest atrocity apology video that the Beeb have yet to release…
“CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen said the latest video is more evidence that “the London attacks were a classic al Qaeda operation and not the work of self-starting terrorists as has been repeatedly suggested in the media.”
The message bears an animated graphic of As Sahab, the al Qaeda video production arm. The tape was announced Wednesday night and aired Thursday on the Arabic-language channel.
Police in London said it is looking at the message as part of its wide-ranging investigation into terrorism.
The video shows how the al Qaeda groups claim they planned for the attacks, including some chemical tests and field training.
The video also shows a remote part of the world that looks like a tribal area of Afghanistan where people are listening to the news of the bombing and cheering.
There is a statement on the video from al Qaeda No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri praising Tanweer by name and describing how he was “physically fit” to carry out such an attack.
“He studied physical education at university, he had a passion for boxing and although he was from a well-off family, his clothes and physical appearances didn’t reflect that.”
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/07/06/london.bombings.newvideo/index.html
Mister minit:
The same as happened to ‘Acid Rain’.
“Totally OT (even for an OT thread), but what happened to bird flu?”
“The same as happened to ‘Acid Rain’.”
Waiting for global warming to go the same way. Reckon it’ll take 20-odd years though.
http://www.numberwatch.co.uk/global%20cooling.htm
Yep, Qassams are crude. They are crap.
Israel could obliterate the entire PA infrastructure (and most of Egypt, Syria, Lebanon) in minutes. It is a stupidly unequal battle.
But Israel’s current activities in Gaza amount to sabre-rattling and a little bit of eye-for-eye retaliation (e.g. taking Hamas officials ‘hostage’). Its response has been somewhat restrained when one considers what it is capable of doing. Consequently, Hamas officials have scattered to the hills (the ones who are not currently in Israeli detention, that is).
But – back on-topic – let us not fall for the now-classic James Reynolds line that the intention of these rocket attacks is to “injure”[1]. The intention, naturally, is to kill.
If Hamas had state-of-the-art weaponry at its disposal, would it use it sparingly, reluctantly, as a last resort? Would it fu..
[1] Tips hat to DfH: http://drinkingfromhome.blogspot.com/2006/05/bbc-gaza-day.html
i turned off the 6’o clock news in digust.
all i saw was muslim apologist after apologist after apologist after apologist after apologist.
errrgh.
Next on the disapeering list after Bird Flu will be “global Warmin'”
OT: “ask the imam”
lots of interesting questions here
http://www.islam.tc/cgi-bin/askimam/cat.pl?c=Islamic%20Politics
lots of stuff on there that you will never see or hear about on the BBC.
Dear BBBC administrator (pbuy).
I would like to put in a standing order for a new Open Thread each time the comments reach 100 or so.
many thanks. I know I`m not worthy.
[Don’t know about every 100 – but there is one now.]
Edited By Siteowner
archduke:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5153036.stm
“Hamas’s military wing has fired two Qassam rockets at Ashkelon in the last 48 hours, the first time Palestinian militants have hit a major Israeli city with their crudely made rockets.
That is an absolute and bare-faced lie!
See my earlier post about the report on Qassams one year ago from the notoriously pro-Palestinian Human Rights Watch:
http://www.haloscan.com/comments/patrickcrozier/115188220951118685/#292595
The longest shot to date was an 8-kilometer attack on Ashkelon, an Israeli town 8 kilometers north of the Gaza Strip. Because Qassams are not capable of accurate targeting, it is unlawful to use them in or near areas populated with civilians.
The BBC claims to give both sides of the story but it patently does not. It was happy enough to quote HRW “experts” on the Gaza beach incident, it should be giving HRW’s opnion on Qassams too – again from their report:
Any party to any armed conflict is obligated to abide by international humanitarian law (the laws of war). International humanitarian law prohibits direct attacks against civilians and civilian objects as well as indiscriminate attacks and attacks that cause disproportionate damage to civilians. A prohibited indiscriminate attack includes using weapons that are incapable of discriminating between civilians and combatants or between civilian and military objects.
Not “crudely made rockets”. Prohibited indiscriminate attacks.
What is the percentage ethnic makeup of the BBC, I’m curious? As tax payers shouldn’t we be privvy to such important information?
Caped Crusader:
I’d hazard a guess that at least 80% of them are there as a result of “positive discrimination”.
pounce – regarding the IDF’s “deep thrust”, its all BBC propaganda:
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=2812
July 6, 2006, 8:13 PM (GMT+02:00)
Early Thursday, July 6, Israeli tank and armored forces occupied two small pockets on the Gaza Strip‘s northern periphery • one near the Erez Crossing and the second, the ruins of Elei Sinai and Dugit.
DEBKAfile reports: The first pocket, called Officers Compound, abuts the northwest Atatrah suburb of Beit Lahiya, location of many Qassam missile launches against Israeli towns and villages. Palestinian National Security forces were given advance warning to pull out. Four Palestinian anti-tank missiles were aimed at the first Israeli force, none of which entered the town or any other Palestinian urban area. The second encountered no resistance. Neither of these forces has penetrated farther than several hundred meters inside Palestinian territory • certainly not 6km as has been reported. The operation is officially termed one of a series of in-and-out forays rather than an incursion.
You`re all wrong. Marx is the white Bwana, as is Paxman, Essler, Naughtie, Montague, Stourton,Humphries, Mair, Bolderson, Wark(Vile, vile, vile), The Broadcasting house guys are white, The BBC Four guys are white. PM is white as is TWAO, Start the week is white.
I think Radio 4 has an announcer from the West Indies. Oh, and theres Moira Stuart, who might be white.
Ethnic Minorities? Not in our back yard!
archduke i turned off the 6’o clock news in digust.
all i saw was muslim apologist after apologist after apologist after apologist after apologist.
Not only apologists but also Muslims claiming victim status – as much victim as the relatives of those murdered by the bombers.
So many people see through this whining attitude but the BBC do not relent in pushing those opinions.
Does the BBC still consider this to be effective propaganda for the Muslim majority position? I can’t help but think it counter-productive.
The BBC and very shoddy reporting;
India agrees Russia warship order
India has agreed to buy three more stealth warships and 28 cruise missiles from Russia for more than $1bn.
Delhi purchased three similar frigates from Russia in the 1990s.
India remains one of the world’s biggest arms importers and has one of the largest navies, with at least 25 warships and 16 submarines.
Earlier deal
The warships on order weigh 4,000 tonnes each and cannot be tracked by radar.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/5155292.stm
Cannot be tracked by Radar BBC? What a crock have a look at the picture of said craft and tell me is it really Radar invisible by looks alone?
http://indiannavy.nic.in/images/Talwar2.jpg
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/Images/Talwar19.jpg
There is an exposed superstructure which will reflect radio waves (Radar signals)
The weapon systems are exposed and will reflect radar waves.
The rear helo deck is exposed and surrounded by metal posts which while looking pretty would stand out more prominently than GWB eating a ham sarnie in the middle of Mecca on a Friday afternoon.
Now compare it with the American attempt in which to make a radar invisible ship.
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/sea-shadow-140417.jpg
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/images/SeaShadow-DNST9402101.JPG
The Swedish attempt;
http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/visby/images/Visby_2.jpg
http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/visby/images/Visby_9.jpg
The American Littoral Combat Ship program
http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/littoral/images/LCS_1.jpg
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/images/lcs-gdfinalconcepthr2.jpg
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/images/lcs_lm_seaframe_msncap_05.jpg
The French
http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/lafayette/images/lafayette10.jpg
and the ship which has the lowest radar signature in the world at the moment;
http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/saar5/images/saar1.jpg
The Sa’ar 5 Class Multi-Mission Corvettes, from Israel
So BBC when you pay a reporter to write a story on Military matters it kind of helps if he actually knows what he is on about. Instead of inventing tosh in which to fill the paper.
And I pay you for this garbage?
Socialism Is Necrotizing – I agree that most of the “talking heads”, the public face of the BBC, is white, but I still believe there’s a high percentage of ethnic minorities among the many thousands of back-room people employed there.
@ Alan (the other one)
I agree with the assesment that the rockets are crude – as you say, they have no onboard guidance system, for instance. So I don’t disagree with teh description, per se.
But I do object to the constant re-iteration of the ‘crude’ moniker. It gets a bit much after a while.
Plus, how often are we reminded of the level of sophisication of any other weapon on the battlefield ?
New open thread up.
Yes, a few comments on this thread will be deleted. Better safe than sorry when it comes to the law.
If you must gossip, please do so on your own blogs.
Keep up the good work, I read this everyday and am not a traditional Tory bloke, just a bloke who feels intoxicated by the BBC
In the interests of diversity, could Alton Towers not be persuaded to combine their Muslim and Gay/Lesbian Days?