Please use this thread for off-topic, but preferably BBC related, comments. Please keep comments on other threads to the topic at hand. N.B. this is not an invitation for general off-topic comments – our aim is to maintain order and clarity on the topic-specific threads. This post will remain at or near the top of the blog. Please scroll down to find new topic-specific posts.
Open thread – for comments of general Biased BBC interest:
Bookmark the permalink.
Re: Heron | 20.12.06 – 5:06 pm
Oslo Rapes — don’t think you mentioned that perfesser Unni Wikan is female; which I guess makes it all hunky-dorey then.
The BBC and the sound of silence;
Holocaust denier to be released
An Austrian appeals court has ruled that UK historian David irving – jailed for denying the Holocaust – should be released on probation. Irving was convicted in February in a case that sparked international debate about the limits of freedom of speech.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6196073.stm
Oh what an article from the BBC which makes out that irving is some sort of Martyr for the cause. Err BBC he isn’t worthy of being classed as a Historian why?
This is why;
Historian David irving has lost his long-running libel battle over a book which described him as a “Holocaust denier”. The judge found that Mr irving was “an active Holocaust denier; that he is anti-Semitic and racist and that he associates with right wing extremists who promote neo-Nazism”.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/709128.stm
He was discredited and found out for telling porkies. That doesn’t make him a Historian it makes him a liar. So why didn’t the BBc mention that in its little tribute to this vile and odious thing. Could it be that the BBCs ideological masters thinks the Sun shines out of the rear of irving and that the best way in which to rehabilitate him is to portray him as a victim.
Err BBC Richard Edward had an arrest warrant waiting for him in Austria. Just because he got knicked on the autobahn doesn’t make him innocent it just makes him stupid as well as a liar. I bet his husband inside sure is going to miss him.
The BBC and the sound of silence.
newsnight finished with the cheeky girls on top of the pops…
class!!!
mad me laugh.
oh dear – jihad has spread to ireland of all places…
http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/1218/primetime.html
makes sense i suppose – less MI5/MI6 snooping around over there. and the Irish dont really have experience of Jihad ghettoes – yet…
“as she could become a prisoner in her own home or he could find the keys and lock her in the room”
indeed.
or disgruntled chav husband knows where she is – locked in room. pours petrol outside. lights match.
what was it that Reagan said again? about government being the problem not the solution?
heres an idea – why not bung that 74 million to the charities and churches that actually deal with domestic abuse on a day to day basis? but no – thats obviously not on the radar of the New Labour Year Zero project…
“This seems to be one of several major flaws with the whole scheme. The merits of otherwise of the scheme do not bother me as much as the process of integrating news and features in order to sell government social policy.
Ashley Pomeroy | Homepage | 19.12.06 – 10:48 pm |”
i agree. the “74 million” seems to have been plucked out of thin air – its yet another example of government by “eye catching initiative”.
i would bet my grandmother that in a years time, a grand total of about, oooh… 500 quid.. would have been spent. of course none of the MSM , including the BBC, will ever follow this up.
Archduke
Ronnie Reagan said something on the lines of
‘the worst words you want to hear are: ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help’…..
How very true!
PS Cheeky Girls are bankrupt and facing deportation and need publicity and money…anyone offering odds on Miss Cheeky becoming Mrs Lemur Optical by end of next year? There is this image flashing acorss my mind of Miss Cheeky and Lemon Orcaphile making a baby which is strangely disturbing….. eeeiw!
In the letters page to the Sunday Times’ “In Gear” section is the following…
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,2779-2506080,00.html
BIG BROTHER The BBC TV Licensing spokesman’s soothing comments on terms and conditions are not credible (Letters, last week) because the fee is nothing more than a government levy on the installation of receiving equipment.
The BBC is not mentioned anywhere in the licence; one’s identity is secretly reported to an anonymous government department each time TV-related equipment is bought from a shop; under threat of arrest, agents demand access to empty houses to check for illicit TV installations.
One wonders why the normally vociferous civil liberties activists are as silent as the grave on such matters.
John G Storry
Wyberton Fen,
Boston
pounce:
The BBC and the sound of silence;
Holocaust denier to be released
The BBC and half the story:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1164881936050&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
The Austrian judge who ruled in favor of the early release of British Holocaust denier David Irving from jail Wednesday is a supporter of Jorg Haider’s rightist Austrian Freedom Party, the Austrian news agency APA reported.
Reith
Still waiting…
Why so coy?
A question: Just how many people comprise or contribute to the recent ‘Reith’ — over, say, the last three months. Will one of you tell us?
Fox News suck down some Yusef Islam
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,237698,00.html
….”I met a Herefordshire Farmer out clubbing last week he was having a sex change. He drives a tractor, dressed as a woman, which taking hormones”…..
How do you get a tractor to take hormones and dress as a woman?
given the size of some of the women i saw last time i was in the West Country you’d have no trouble finding a tractor size outfit.
“Somalia: BBC`s ugly pro-Islamist bias showing”
http://www.judeoscope.ca:80/breve.php3?id_breve=2940
fun and games in bangladesh
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6198995.stm
no wonder the indians built a 2,500 mile fence around it.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-1869575,00.html
knacker | 21.12.06 – 2:24 am
I have answered this at least half a dozen times. 1.
The most important story today (IMHO!) and no coverage yet by the BBC?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/12/21/nspying21.xml
A military aide to the commander of British forces in Afghanistan appeared in court yesterday accused of spying.
Cpl Daniel James, 44, is charged under the 1911 Official Secrets Act with “prejudicing the safety of the state” by passing information “calculated to be directly or indirectly useful to the enemy”.
James is of Iranian descent and speaks fluent Pashtun, the main language in Afghanistan, making him invaluable to the Army which is very short of translators.
Neighbours at his £800,000 house in Brighton, said his mother speaks only Farsi, the main language of Iran.
thats a big story alright AntiCitzenOne…
doesnt outright treason like that still carry the death sentence?
iraqi soldiers bite the heads of.. err. frogs.. and eat a rabbits heart.
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyid=2006-12-20T200504Z_01_L20475888_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ-NAJAF-HANDOVER.xml&src=rss&rpc=22
Reith
John Reith | 21.12.06 – 10:46 am |
I have answered this at least half a dozen times. 1.
So give us a link; one will do. Or answer again.
Something tells me your reply will be less than complete. Odd how that happens.
What are you afraid of?
Update from your non-biased reporter in Baghdad:
Baghdad airport remains very busy, with both Haj pilgrims heading to Mecca and Expat contractors getting home for Christmas. Otherwise the streets seem calm and routine.
Baghdad airport is a bizarre place, landing planes spiral down several times over it’s safe airspace, in order to stay out of range of ground to air missiles. Departing planes similarly perform extremely steep climbs, never seen at normal commercial airports worldwide.
Iraqi airways (Who I flew with earlier this year, are expanding) You actually get a better meal on them than Royal Jordanian. Although their air hostesses are right out of the 1940’s, especially when it comes to dress, hair, make up and alike.
A lot of flying within the country is done by Russian aircrews in Antonov’s and yes there is a bottle of vodka or 2 in the cockpit.
OK enough for today from Baggers, hopefully get a post off daily, so you can all hear what it’s really like here.
Rather than the Beebs line of US bad, UK bad, blah blah we’ve got an axe to grind….
You know what I mean.
Very interesting Tim – thank you for sharing your impressions with us.
knacker | 21.12.06 – 11:41 am
I did answer ….yet again….in my last post.
What don’t you understand about ‘1.’?
Would ‘one’ be clearer? Myself alone? Solo?
Tim,
Thanks, Your work is appreciated.
Reithy:
“Myself alone? Solo?”
Ah but WHICH Solo? Han or Napolean?
Condolences to family and friends of MIKE DICKIN, the independent-minded broadcaster of
Talksport radio, and ex-BBC, who died yesterday.
Tune into James Whale’s tribute
programme tonight on Talksport(10 pm)http://www2.talksport.net/index.asp
The BBC and Not the Nine O/Clock news;
3 Palestinians injured by straying Qassam rocket
Three Palestinians were injured by a Qassam rocket that fell short of its target and landed on a house in the northern Gaza Strip, Palestinian officials say. A pregnant woman was lightly injured and had a miscarriage. Her two children were also lightly injured in the attack. (Roee Nahmias)
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3342900,00.html
Fire-fight breaks fragile Gaza truce
An uneasy truce between Hamas and Fatah appeared to be mainly holding in Gaza last night despite being breached by a fire-fight which killed two men in the early hours of yesterday.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/article2092340.ece
British rabbi besieged by protests after returning from Tehran Holocaust conference
MANCHESTER, England: An Orthodox Jewish rabbi who participated in a conference in Iran that cast doubt on the Holocaust was under police protection at home Wednesday. Since returning from Tehran on Sunday, Rabbi Ahron Cohen — who opposes Israel’s right to exist — has been denounced as a traitor in daily demonstrations outside his home in Salford, a predominantly Jewish district close to Manchester’s city centre.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/20/europe/EU_GEN_Britain_Rabbi_Protests.php
Many Asians ‘fear English will help women become independent’
Many young Asian women are being discouraged from learning English because once they can speak it they know their “rights”, the Commons was told.
Keighley Labour MP Ann Cryer said many in-laws in the town did not want women from countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh who had married local men to learn the language.
She claimed some Muslim toddlers could not speak English when they started school and many had “never heard it”.
http://www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=55&ArticleID=1937612
MP welcomes Christmas greetings from Yorkshire Muslim
A Muslim MP was congratulated in the Commons yesterday for sending a card marked “Merry Christmas”.
Tory Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) criticised MPs who sent cards marked “Season’s Greetings” but said he was impressed by the Christmas card from Dewsbury Labour MP Shahid Malik.
http://www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=55&ArticleID=1937611
and with reference to that last story.
May I wish everybody here, A Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
The BBC and Not the Nine O/Clock news.
The news according to Tim:
the streets seem calm and routine.
I guess it depends on what you mean by routine.
At 7 a.m., a c
ar bomb exploded near Baghdad University in the Jadriya district. 11 people were killed and 17 wounded according to the Iraq interior ministry.
The blast caught a bus on its way to Baghdad International Airport.
A suicide bomber wearing an explosives-laden belt blew himself up outside the Baghdad police academy killing at least 10 Iraqi civilians and wounding 15 more. The bomber targeted a group of men gathered to enlist in the national police force.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military issued details of 2 bombs yesterday: a roadside bomb killed one soldier and wounded four Wednesday southwest of Baghdad. In a southern neighborhood of Baghdad, a roadside bomb killed one soldier and wounded two.
The Green Zone has been busier than usual. Defence Secretary Gates plus a high-level team including the Chief of the Joint Chiefs has been visiting Baghdad to discuss a possible surge in troop numbers • among other things.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/21/iraq.main/
http://news.google.co.uk/nwshp?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&tab=wn&q=baghdad
Reithy I’ve been up the airport road twice today – I live in the Red zone – Sure I hear explosions daily.
And I have all the latest intelligence reports at my fingertips, but I cannot and will not divolge the info.
I am not trying to paint a rosy picture from here, just one not seen thru the BBC’s left wing prism.
By the way,
Yes it has warmed up a bit this arvo, as mortars have just hit the Green Zone (again)
News24: “Look, here are the latest pictures of fog..” for hour after hour.
Top telly.
I suspect “John Reith” doesn’t understand that he has just given Tim a gift.
And at Christmas, too. How touching.
Why is Jesus Christ like a Komodo dragon?
Cos they both had a virgin birth.
BBC1 News drools at how apt it would be if eggs of a virgin Komodo dragon at Chester Zoo could hatch on Christmas Day.
Jesus – Dragon: same – same!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6196225.stm
The BBC and the reinvention of a Nazi as some sort of Martyr.
Holocaust denier returning to UK
British historian David irving is being expelled from Austria and returning to the UK after his early release from prison for denying the Holocaust. He has been banned from returning to Austria and will be escorted to Vienna’s airport by police.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6200331.stm
“I was put in prison for three years for expressing an opinion 17 years ago,” he said.
I see irving has no problem telling porkies and the BBC helps him say that.
He did less than one year in prison. Revising that time to 3 years just shows that the BBC is more than happy to push the view that Richard Edward is a victim.
Oh yes BBC ref this bit;
“Irving was arrested in November last year on a motorway in southern Austria. He was visiting to give a lecture to a far-right student fraternity. The conviction had sparked intense debate, with supporters saying it was fully justified but opponents arguing it undermined the right of freedom of speech.”
Strange how you left out of the story that irving was actually banned from visiting the country in the first place. I mean you have no problem posting that about his current situation but not about why he got picked up on the autobahn.
Lastly why do you keep on referring to this liar as a historian?
Here is what the BBC wrote about him in 2005;
David Irving’s reputation as a historian was shredded at the High Court in April 2000 in a devastating judgement. At the conclusion of a libel action brought by Mr Irving against American academic Deborah Lipstadt and Penguin Books, Mr Justice Charles Grey described Mr Irving as a “falsifier of history” an “associate of right-wing extremists” and “an active Holocaust denier”.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4449212.stm
At least he will never be constipated ever again. Oh for the love of a good man in prison…
will,
That’s just a tad paranoid.
Biodegradable quoted the Jerusalem Post:
The Austrian judge who ruled in favor of the early release of British Holocaust denier David Irving from jail Wednesday is a supporter of Jorg Haider’s rightist Austrian Freedom Party, the Austrian news agency APA reported.
Except that Haider broke with the Freedom Party (FPÖ) a year or so ago, and fought the last election as the head of the “Alliance for Austria’s Future” (BZÖ).
Frankly, I’m surprised that the BBC wouldn’t report such a smear — it would fit right in with their use of “right-wing” to describe certain campaign groups, and not using “left-wing” to describe groups holding the opposite opinions.
(And the question of how far to the right of the political spectrum the FPÖ and BZÖ are is debatable — I don’t get the impression they’re further from the center than any of Europe’s Green Parties.)
GCooper,
Absolutely!
Doesn’t JR just typify the Beeb line.
It’s like they just want only bad news to come out of here!
UnbF***ingleavable
Another BBC thread that is about to encounter technical difficulties…
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?sortBy=2&threadID=5074&edition=1&ttl=20061221144930&#paginator
I’d like to get in touch Jonathan Boyd Hunt.I don’t know if Natalie Solent passed along my last message but I’ve got an idea for raising your profile.
Tim •
I am not trying to paint a rosy picture from here
Oh no?
Your morning news round-up featured Happy Hajis on their way to Mecca; over to Nigella for news that the grub on Iraqi Airways is tastier than that on Royal Jordanian and concluded that otherwise all was ‘calm and routine’. Signing off you promised to post daily so ‘you can all hear what it’s really like here.’
You missed out: a busload of said Happy Hajis being blown to smithereens. A suicide bomb attack on Police HQ. And the visit of the US Defence Secretary. Not to mention Coalition casualty report from yesterday. Maybe not quite such a slow news day as you make out?
I have all the latest intelligence reports at my fingertips, but I cannot and will not divulge the info
Good for you. Careless talk costs lives. But …..er…..none of the ‘missing’ stories are exactly classified……so try not to keep unnecessary secrets..
Strange how there is not even a whisper of a hint of a rumour of the death of Mike Dicken to be found on the rather expensive website to which we are all contributing so generously.
What could be the problem? Surely not the late Mr Dicken’s political views? Or the fact that he worked for Radio Bloke?
Another Sympathy for Terrorists puff piece by Martin Patience.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6199529.stm
This is what they do.
The poor optimistic unemployed canary-loving freedom-fighting genocidal maniac reflects on the passing year. In the headline he’s merely a “Gaza resident”. All the non-terrorist Palestinians were’nt available for comment, I guess.
John Reith, you make your points very well. We all want the full picture painted for us by the BBC.
In which case, how can you explain the lack of this
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061220/ts_nm/iraq_qaeda_dc
on the BBC. It couldn’t be because it is good news, could it?
It couldn’t be because the BBC institutionally wants the British and the U.S. to “lose” the war, could it?
It couldn’t be because the BBC is biased, could it?
Because seeing as it was reported by Reuters, I’m pretty sure it couldn’t just be an oversight. Could it?
Slightly off topic, but who’d have thunk it?
http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,1972380,00.html
Tim Blair exposes the BBC’s “independent” climate change expert, George Monbiot:
“George Monbiot calls for violent reprisals:
Every time someone dies as a result of floods in Bangladesh, an airline executive should be dragged out of his office and drowned.
Drown too many airline execs and George might find it difficult to visit Canada on his next book tour. Via Patrick J. Michaels, who has further views on green religiousity. By the way, British Airways chairman Martin Broughton points out that aviation ain’t so evil:
According to the recent Stern report, worldwide aviation produces 1.6 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions … If we look at UK aviation’s share of global carbon emissions, it is barely 0.1 per cent. So anyone who thinks that strangling UK aviation will solve global warming is sadly deluded.
As it happens, Monbiot is happily deluded. Fly on, skybat!”
http://timblair.net/ee/index.php/P15/
John Reith, Sir
I’m not going to get into a slanging match with you, you are beyond reason.
I’m in Baghdad and your not and amazingly daily life goes on despite the terrorism.
I’m not going down to your level to explain my every sentence and what I’ve written, or missed.
Like I said before, just trying to give a view of someone who drives around Baghdad on a daily basis.
Tim
Well said. As pounce and others will agree even at the height of The Troubles we used to tootle around Belfast or Crossmaglen and for 99% of the time nothing happened. Even on days when there were half a dozen robberies, shootings in the back (from brave terrorists as lauded by Ken Livingston et al…) and various bombs, LIFE WENT ON and people tried to get on with it.
As we have said time and time on here the BBC and most mass media is failing by either omitting the real news or adding their own slant and opinions to the news to ensure that their worldview only is permitted to be broadcast.
Would young Mr Reith et al like to comment on the ongoing (yet again) saga of alleged sources quoted by AP etc (Capt Jamail Hussein etc) who may in fact turn out to be wrong or (gasp) faked! I mean this guy gets to 40 different incidents in a day yet allegedly works in a North Baghdad copshop. Funny how no-one knows him there….is this yet another example of the ‘fake but accurate’ meme that some media organisations are pushing?
Keep yer heid doon Tim! Say “Cabarfeidh” to General Graeme L if you bump into him out there!
The BBC and the silence of the dimhi.
The BBC has no problem explaining why things happen;
Gang land murders in London.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6144446.stm
The problems in trying to deport a murderous asylum seeker
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6200557.stm
Why they will even explain what multiculturalism mean?
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6183873.stm
But the one subject they would touch is how Muslims (And I mean Muslim men here) have a love of abusing women and then refer to it as a religious thing.
Here’s a story the BBC hasn’t bothered its arse in reporting today;
An asylum seeker has been found guilty of assaulting a woman student in Swansea.Mohammed Hamadamin attacked Alice Underhill in Nicholl Street in Swansea’s city centre on September 16.He had pleaded not guilty. The 21-year-old Iraqi Kurd, who lives in Nicholl Street, assaulted Miss Underhill as she walked home from a city centre nightclub at around 3.45am.Miss Underhill told the court she was approached by a man from behind as she walked up the road and asked if she wanted a lift home.She refused the offer and Hamadamin seemed to accept that and got into a silver Astra.He pulled alongside her, again offering a lift and became “more persistent”.Hamadamin said to Miss Underhill: “I will take you home, get in the car.”
He then pulled up ahead and stood in front of her.”I couldn’t get past. He asked me again to get in the car, and was a lot more aggressive this time.”The more I said no, he wouldn’t leave me past, so I came into contact with him and pushed him away.”He gripped my arm. I managed to get loose and tried to get away.”She said he shouted obscenities at her.”Someone shouting that at you is quite scary. It was quite aggressive.”Miss Underhill said: “I felt quite violated, quite shaken up. It certainly made me think twice about walking the street on my own, whether it’s day or night.”Hamadamin was spotted by witness Gineen Hayward who said she saw him push Miss Underhill after blocking her path.
http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=161818&command=displayContent&sourceNode=161644&contentPK=16233630&folderPk=88499&pNodeId=161375
I wonder if the BBC would like to look at the above story under a microscope. How a stranger at 3am in the morning got upset at how a young woman had refused his offer of a lift home. So upset that he became incandescent with rage. Now if this was a one off I’ll shut my trap and put the kettle on. But hang on here’s another incident involving a Muslim man and violence towards woman.
Student jailed for West End rapes
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6199335.stm
Lets not forget the cross-dressing murderous thug who shot a brave policewoman the otherday.
Islam has a problem with women. The Hijab (which the BBC defends as a religious right) is just another form of oppression which the ladies of the 1920s jumped under race-horses in which to get them removed. Yet in the name of multiculturalism the BBC not only remains silent but actually defends the barbaric behaviour of violence towards the fairer sex and deems it a religious right. Now if the jews were going round oppressing women then the BBC would have no problem bitching about barbaric behaviour.
The BBC and the silence of the dimhi.
Dave T wrote;
“As pounce and others will agree even at the height of The Troubles we used to tootle around Belfast ”
Oh yes. I arrived in the province a few weeks before those 2 scalybacks got murdered. But that didn’t stop me going shopping in Belfast (Used to catch the train there and the bus back) Most Saturday mornings found me down town stuffing my face with an Ulster fry and you know what. The people of NI are 50 times more hospitable than the people on the mainland. (No doubt that will put a few BBC noses out of joint what with there all paddies are racist bit)
Dave T wrote;
“As pounce and others will agree even at the height of The Troubles we used to tootle around Belfast ”
Oh yes. I arrived in the province a few weeks before those 2 scalybacks got murdered. But that didn’t stop me going shopping in Belfast (Used to catch the train there and the bus back) Most Saturday mornings found me down town stuffing my face with an Ulster fry and you know what. The people of NI are 50 times more hospitable than the people on the mainland. (No doubt that will put a few BBC noses out of joint what with their all paddies are racist bit)