The BBC accepts the words of a pressure group and its local Palestinian friends concerning a vague report of Israelis using ‘human shields’ against terrorists (who obviously would be mightily put off by such tactics). The pressure group has the declared aim of changing Israeli policy towards the Palestinians. Meanwhile the BBC lavishes no articles and wastes no keyboard work over the fundamental importance of human shields to Hezbullah and other terror groups.
That’s disproportionality.
jeremy bowen – condensed
http://drinkingfromhome.blogspot.com/2006/07/jeremy-bowen-condensed.html
Radio 5 Live 12.08pm
A spokesperson for Chatham House, introduced as an “expert” on the Lebanese situation:
“The problem now is the admission of defeat by the Israelis”
Thankyou and goodnight.
Ho ho, I just have to say that my decision some years ago to not pay the Telly Tax has given me more and more satisfaction. At times like this, Katrina, the tsunami, Iraq etc that feeling just grows and grows. Give it a go, you know you want to.
Mark wrote;
“Actually it started quite promisingly. On the anniversary of Suez”
The strange thing about the whole BBC reports on Suez is that it isn’t the anniversary.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/1956_Suez_war_-_conquest_of_Sinai.jpg
Still a good few months away.
“Still a good few months away”
yeah , but if they start now , that’ll give them a good few months of America-bashing, along with Israel-bashing.
tossers.
The BBC are keen to report the massive exposions in South Beirut caused by Israeli bombing. Nasty Israelis – how can these massive explosions not kill civilians?
Well the BBC won’t tell you, that’s for sure. Here is short piece from DEBKA:
“DEBKAfile’s military sources: The series of huge explosions that struck South Beirut Tuesday evening were caused by 20 Israeli airborne missiles dropped on large, newly-discovered subterranean arms caches.
The power of the secondary blasts which blew up their contents attested to the accuracy of the Israeli intelligence pinpoint of Hizballah weapons bunkers in S. Beirut.
The BBC, all the news they think you need to know.
Pete_London,
That piece on the zoo is unbelievable.
Rather than the trite ‘won’t somebody please think of the children’
We get ‘please, think of the animals’
According to the old journalism motto of:
100,000 Bangaldeshi flood victims = 1,000 Peruvian war casualties = 100 German train crash victims = Scottish family killed in house fire = 1 cat stuck up a tree in Hyde Park.
How many Jews = 1 dead parrot?
Anybody notice on this day.
In the Middle East section we have the suez crisis
In the European section we have an earthquake in Yugoslavia
In the American section we have the death of Eva Peron.
On the world section we have the Suez crisis
Just wondering why nobody at Al Beeb posted this ‘On this day’ snippet in the Uk section;
1994: Israel’s London embassy bombed
A car bomb has exploded outside the Israeli embassy in London injuring 14 people.
The blast, at 1210 BST, caused widespread damage and could be heard over a mile away.
The Israeli Ambassador and British intelligence experts are blaming pro-Iranian extremists, probably linked to the Lebanon-based Hezbollah group.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/26/newsid_2499000/2499619.stm
“How many Jews = 1 dead parrot?”
It’s not dead it’s asleep
The bbc (Beirut Broadcasting Corp) and their morally deficient bias can’t really hurt us, at least not physically, like our very own British Department of Trade can. These cretins have allowed a shipment of radioactive stuff to leave Kent for, that’s right, Iran. The lorry was intercepted by guards along the Bulgarian-Romanian border. But does the British public know about it? Too bad al-beeb’s vitriolic transmissions from Beirut can’t be stopped in a similar way.
“There is not the slightest doubt in my mind that the cumulative effect of the BBC’s poisonous distortions is to incite hatred of Israel in anyone who knows little about the region”
http://www.melaniephillips.com/diary/?p=1292
The BBC has become part of the problem.
sorry for the double post, i missed this bit
“The BBC has now become one of the most potent weapons of the enemies of civilisation. It is the most prominent cultural symbol of a society that has turned upon itself and is hell-bent on committing collective suicide.”
sweet Jesus – powerful stuff from Mel.
the quote above deserves a place on the B-BBC sidebar.
bbc have caught up with the UN bombing incident
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5217176.stm
of course it was targetted – Hezbollah were using it as cover.
Mel Phillips could spot anti-semitism in the West Upper at White Hart Lane. Quoting her is not particularly persuasive.
Eamonn –
“DEBKAfile’s military sources: The series of huge explosions that struck South Beirut Tuesday evening were caused by 20 Israeli airborne missiles dropped on large, newly-discovered subterranean arms caches.
I’m no expert on ordnance but I saw that footage and immediately knew that it wasn’t a baby milk factory that was hit (as an aside, aren’t we overdue an attack on a wedding party?) Anyway, the initial explosion was followed by a series of further explosions which went on and on. The footage was begging for some analysis, yet all we had was an explanation that Israel had bombed south Beirut again.
RB –
Yeah, I read that from certain types on a regular basis, but I haven’t ever seen her proven to be wrong or a liar.
Ref my post about this young lady and Al Beeb.
Ghada Mitri
I just wish to thank the BBC for now linking in that past article so people can now read her story.
What a Joke Al beeb.
RB
Kick the ball, not the woman.
Update from Sky News: 119 katyushas have landed in Israel so far today.
pounce –
This is interesting. This woman’s story is to be found on the first page of a google search and the BBC even interviewed her. So you have to ask: just how bad do you have to be to get it wrong?
Choice bits of Mel.
A hysteria towards Israel is rising within the media.
The ‘media’ being what exactly? The Guardian and (arguably reading between the lines) the BBC have been critical but if Mel can identify any ‘hysteria’ I’d be interested. The biggest selling print media are The Sun, The Mail and The Telegraph in each market. Have they been critical of Israel? How do you justify extrapolating a couple of sources to ‘The Media’??
What is essentially a war of defence and of survival.
Defence sure. Survival? Hezbollah’s great victory was to kidnap 2 soldiers and kill 8. This is a country of millions. The ‘survival’ of Israel is at zero risk in this war. This is a deliberate attempt to whip up pro Isreali ‘hysteria’.
‘It is an accessory to genocidal terror.’
Genocidal terror? See above. In intent maybe but in reality? Genocide is what happened in Rwanda. There is no genocide here on either side.
‘The BBC in particular has turned into the Beirut Broadcasting Corporation…All this with scarcely a nod at the scores of Israeli dead and hundreds of casualties, or the thousands of Israeli refugees being taken in by families in the south of the country.’
Scarcely a nod? There are scores of stories on Israeli casualties, fears etc. There are numerically more on the Lebanese but the Lebanese on a purely quantitative basis have suffered far more than the Israelis.
‘But now in Britain voices are being heard — in articles, and in the letters pages of the newspapers — actually agreeing that Israel’s creation in 1948 was a terrible mistake.’
Er, where? And in any case is a view that the creation of the State of Israel was a mistake unseparable with some type of Nazi belief that holders of the Jewish faith should be wholly exterminated.
‘In Britain, such malice towards Israel is in part a cultural legacy of Britain’s shameful history as the mandatory power in pre-war Palestine, when it betrayed its solemn undertaking to the Jews to create a national home’
Bullshit. Britain also had a solemn undertaking towards indigenous Arab populations to consider their interests. It was fairly heroically attempting to balance the two when driven out by shameful terrorism and aggression between the two sides.
‘The ceasefire being demanded by moral cretins in Britain and Europe is the starting gun for the second Jewish Holocaust.’
Given that the destruction of the whole of Hezbollah is impossible some sort of ceasefire is the inevitable end to this conflict. I sincerely doubt a second Jewish holocaust will result but will return to this point in a month or so when we can either marvel at Mel’s foresight or all denounce her hysteria.
nb Jews outside Israel -in the States, in Britain, in Western Europe – aren’t under any sort of general attack despite what Mel would tell you, in fact most of my Jewish mates are extremely peturbed by the increasing amount of hysterical articles along these lines.
‘On the one hand, hatred of Israel — particularly among the educated classes —has reached an unprecedented pitch of hysterical distortion’
‘But on the other hand, a heartening number of citizens who are neither Jews nor evangelical Christians — until now, the only constituencies which have defended Israel against the collective libels and scapegoating— are now saying that they support Israel in this great battle’
I think Mel is confusing the general population of the UK with newspaper letters and opinion pages contributors. The overriding majority of the British population would rather people didn’t kill each other but otherwise are far too busy with the weather and transfer speculation to overly care. Her rabid anti-semites or wholehearted supporters of the Israeli crusaders may be out there, but I’ve never met any of them.
‘It is about whether Iran will control the Middle East and thus hold the rest of the world as a nuclear hostage while it exterminates Israel and moves on to clean up the rest of the planet.’
Here’s a wild punt in the dark – it’ll fire off some bullshit rhetoric, win some mild economic concessions, crawl back under its rock for a while then maybe come out again. The chances of myself or Isreal being ‘cleaned up’ in my lifetime are zero.
‘Further evidence that Britain just doesn’t get it was shown by the silence which has greeted this story in last weekend’s Mail on Sunday:
The lorry set off from Kent on its way to Tehran but was stopped by officials at a checkpoint on Bulgaria’s northern border with Romania after a scanner indicated radiation levels 200 times above normal.’
Background radiation is commonly 2.5mSv but in some parts of the world as high as 700-800mSv. 700mSv was regarded as a safe working environment in the UK pre war. So a level 200 times above zero is not particularly dangerous, there’s no reason why the DTI should give a toss and to make a big hullaballoo about it might be considered a mite ‘hysterical’……
RB
Trying to figure out what are your words and what are quotes of Melanie Phillips is just too much bother. Sort it out. But from what I can gather everything’s cool with, baby. There’s no anti-Israel bias in any media. If every Jew laid down their weapons then the muzzies will be cool too, baby. No-one is genocidal, certainly not those Hezbollah types, yes? All that genocidal talk can be put down to a few exciteable types, I take it. Talking of exciting types, we can file Ahedinajad of Iran under that heading, yes? Sure, he prfedicts the end of the Jews and that they’ll soon be consumed with flames but hey, why worry about the Iranians wanting the Big Bomb?! It’s all just ‘bullshit rhetoric’. Ahhh sod it RB, all’s just fine and dandy then. Let’s all pack up and go home.
Just before we do, can you bring us a few actual examples of where she is wrong and lying? Ta.
Any of our Canadian friends heard about this note which was being pushed by Mel Phillips in the same post mentioned elsewhere? No confirmation but would be interested to know if this was true because it does confirm major parts of one side’s position on this story.
“Retired Canadian General Lew MacKenzie — who is speaking in Toronto tonight at a Stand with Israel rally — was interviewed on CBC Toronto radio this a.m. He told the show’s anchor that he had received an e-mail only days before from the dead Canadian observor who was a member of his former battalion. MacKenzie says that the message indicated in effect that the UN position was being used as cover by Hezbollah, who, MacKenzie explained, can do so quite freely as they are not members of the UN and not subject, therefore, to official condemnation. MacKenzie further took issue with the misleading reportage (citing CNN in particular) that suggests that Beirut is being bombarded by the IDF and that the city is in ruins. He said that the bombing is no where near the saturation levels that constitute a bombardment and the IAF have specifically targetted a twelve-block area that is, more-or-less, Hezbollah City, and only after dropping leaflets warning civilians to vacate well in advance of the planned airstrikes.”
Anyone got confirmation of this please?
That was quick!
“Regarding the UN observers killed yesterday • below is a link to an interview this morning on CBC radio in Toronto with retired Maj. Gen. Lewis MacKenzie. MacKenzie states he knew the Canadian member who was killed and had been in recent e-mail communication with him. The observer had stated that Hizballah had been using the UN observers as human shields hoping to draw Israeli fire.
It’s the first interview of today (July 26).
http://www.cbc.ca/metromorning/
And another comment I spotted on SDA by the way:
“What do Syria* Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan have in common with Israel?
Prior to gaining independence from French and British mandate rule in the 1930s and 1940s, none of these countries existed.
However, you’ll note that no one ever seems to question THEIR right to exist.”
* Indeed, Syria is the only one to share something in common with Israel: it has the same name as an ancient kingdom or empire in the region.
“Ho ho, I just have to say that my decision some years ago to not pay the Telly Tax has given me more and more satisfaction. At times like this, Katrina, the tsunami, Iraq etc that feeling just grows and grows. Give it a go, you know you want to.” : Pete_London
Pete I think it was you that inspired me. Not paying the BBC truly does give one a good feeling.
Hey Pete, in order of Mel’s quotes per my original post they are:
Wrong.
Wrong.
Wrong.
Wrong.
I’d like some evidence, plus I strongly disagree with the insinuation.
Wrong and pretty slanderous.
TBC – will come back to post ceasefire.
Subjective I suppose.
TBC – will come back to on day of judgement I guess unless annhilated in meantime.
Ludicrous exaggeration.
nb I have no doubts of her sincerity therefore to the extent that lying infers deliberate misleading I couldn’t accuse her of it.
Cheers.
according to bbc weather, israel doesnt exist
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/middle_east/
“according to bbc weather, israel doesnt exist”
???
dave t –
Since Mohammed Dura, Jenin and a Gaza beach, the enemies of Israel, including the UN and news organisations, don’t have the right to be believed at first glance. I’d still like that General to keep at it though, because the line that Israel deliberately attacked a UN post for no reason is rapidly gaining ground today.
AntiCitizenOne –
Glad to be of service!
RB –
I’ll think we’ll leave it there then. Maybe if we go through this exercise again we can explore the concept of ‘proof’.
“???
MisterMinit”
look at the graphic.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/middle_east/
“BBC News 24 – no exaggeration- “absolute devastation” “enormous explosions”
Disgruntled Right Winger | 26.07.06 – 5:25 pm |”
IAF hitting a Hez arms dump located right in the middle of a civilian area?
I did.
I guess that you are reffering to Jerusalem not being marked on the map.
misterminit -> yup. or Tel Aviv.
re, the “massive” destruction in beirut, have a look at this:
http://vitalperspective.typepad.com/vital_perspective_clarity/2006/07/reports_destruc.html
All this utter devastation and flattening of Beirut – how the feck do any of these prissy correspondents know? They’re never there. All they give you is “Yet another scene of utter devastation as the Israeli Air Force yet again utterly devastates Beirut …..” accompanied by a shot across a perfectly intact townscape with a plume of smoke 10 miles away.
We know that south Beirut is where the Hezbollahristas are. So I suspect that puts the correspondents in the north of Beirut, next to the seafront. “Mmmmmm cappucino please, love.” They’re technically in Beirut, but as far away from south Beirut as you can be without leaving town.
C’mon, let’s be honest. If you’re a macho war correspondent you’ll be chowing down in south Beirut, keffiyah’d up and with a camera to the sky. I’m smelling something here, and it smells like a bunch of hacks sitting in Baghdad’s Green Zone, without a clue what’s going on outside the wall but telling us of the disaster outside.
“The overriding majority of the British population would rather people didn’t kill each other”
This quote encapsulates the most charitable view of the current conflict as seen by the BBC.
In other words it is just like a bar room brawl where two people have just got into a fight and need to be separated by men of goodwill,put to bed and will have forgotten all about it in the morning.
I say the “most charitable view” because at least a significant minority in the BBC are simply shilling for Hizbollah.
As far as I can seen the BBC declines to analyse the conflict in geopolitical terms and in particular as to whether the longterm aim of Hizbollah is the destruction of Israel.
It would, in my view be wrong to assign this lacuna to malice on the part of the BBC, the most likely explanation is a total incapacity to rise to the necessary intellectual challenge.
Sorry, that is too obtuse an argument; I really mean that as media graduates they are just too thick!
Gordon
You are kinder than me. I put their absence of any geopolitical analysis in favour of emotion down to the fact that they would have to make definite statements. Those statements would have to favour Israel where they would have to favour Israel, or if not, the BBC would be lying. Emotion allows them to kop out of criticism of the muzzies.
In other news, 125 katyushas have been lobbed into Israel so far today, according to Sky News. That’s alot of labour. They may be the world’s biggest arseholes but they certainly get stuck in when they find a job they like.
So I have an idea: let’s pretend to Hezbollah that if they nip over to give those Aussies a hand in rebuilding Wembly, we’ll help them wipe out Israel. If they put as much effort into that as they do into lugging, loading and launching those missiles the place’ll be ready in a week.
dave t
Here we go!
HOW UN LEBANON POST WAS BOMBED
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5216230.stm
Wednesday, 26 July 2006, 17:40 GMT 18:40 UK
Details of the circumstances in which the Israeli air force bombed a United Nations observation post in south Lebanon, killing four UN peacekeepers have begun to emerge.
Erm … hang on … nope, no mention of Canadian Generals anywhere. We do have speculation based on an initial UN report and an Irish officer who is part of UNIFIL. And the BBC quotes Reuters.
But no mention of Canadian generals.
Pete_London
Yes but I live in France; I regard most of their politicians with contempt but I can find on main stream radio far more sophisticated analyses of the current unpleasantness in the Middle East than I can hear on the BBC in a month of Sundays. Why?
On most of the news reports I’ve seen the Beirut skyline looks remarkably intact. Which, to me, proves the lie that the city is being flattened.
Talk about shooting oneself in the foot.
We did not win the Second World War by sobbing over the deaths of enemy civilians. We won by raining down death and destruction upon them until they had lost both the will and capacity to resist.
“Why?
Gordon | 26.07.06 – 6:59 pm | # ”
because the french arent thick.
argumentative, contrary, and have a tendency to suck up to unsavoury dictatorships – but they arent thick.
Dave t’s link to the interview with General Lweis MacKenzie retd. of the (former?)Canadian Army provides a line by line rebuttal of everything broadcast by the BBC in relation to the Lebanon skirmish. The BBC have gone too far with their pro-Hezbollah propagandising.
“C’mon, let’s be honest. If you’re a macho war correspondent you’ll be chowing down in south Beirut,”
A few years back I was sent out to Croatia as part of the Rapid reaction force.
We were billeted in the dockyard of Ploce and as such were well away from the fighting in Bosia. During a camp O group we heard a commotion outside the tent. Outside was a moaning female BBC anchor bitching about how some troops had abused her. Asking around later it transpired that those troops had witnessed her team drive into the camp. Put on her body armour’ and was in the process of smearing dirt on herself when the troops decided to help her and lobbed a few half Charlies in her direction with the comforting words of “F.O yer lying bitch”. The BBC anchor famous for braving bullets and bombs sent packing by a couple of squaddies who said it as it is and not how AL Beeb wishes it was.
“misterminit -> yup. or Tel Aviv.”
Don’t you think that you’re going a bit far there (I’m assuming that you are listing this as evidence that the BBC is biased against Israel).
If you look at the map of Europe:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/north_europe/
You will see that Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Romania and many other countries “don’t exist”. On the ME map, many countries’ cities aren’t listed, for example Beruit.
Would you take this as proof that the BBC is biased against those particular countires? I’m guessing that the aswer is no as this doesn’t fit in with your preconceived opinions of the BBC.