Open thread – for comments of general Biased BBC interest:


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324 Responses to Open thread – for comments of general Biased BBC interest:

  1. Oscar says:

    AS – that pic sums up rather neatly what I think of Naughtie (pbuh) and his mates!

    There was actually a good interview (before the 7am watershed) with the Chair of the Muslim Educational Centre Oxford (Meco) stating categorically there is nothing in the koran about women wearing the veil. They hustled him off the airwaves pretty sharply.

    From today’s Telegraph:
    “Taj Hargey, Meco’s chairman, said he was also willing to organise a campaign among Muslims nationally to resist “this largely Saudi-driven campaign to make the niqab a compulsory requirement for Muslim women”.
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/05/nveil05.xml

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  2. Alan says:

    ” London Warning: a New Step in Terror” (by Dr. Whalid Phares):

    “Last week’s arrests, conducted in Birmingham, would be a crossing of a new benchmark in the Jihadi war against Britain”…

    There follows a detailed analysis of 4 points.
    http://www.frontpagemag.com/ (Scroll down right-hand side.)

    Al Beeb doesn’t take all this even as seriously and urgently as it does climate change, and bird flu.

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  3. BaggieJonathan says:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6333707.stm

    It was admitted to be non binding so in what sense was it a serious effort to confront the white house over the war in Iraq?

    If the republicans blocked the Iraq war debate how come the vote was 47 (out of 100) against?
    It was called a bipartisan resolution – that means republican AND democrat, obviously not the case.
    It was proposed by a republican.
    Several repbulicans supported the motion.
    Do the maths the republicans are in a minority so if there were 47 votes against and several republicans voted for there must have been several deomacrats voting against.

    So much confusion its hard to see what they are really trying to say.

    Presumably al Beeb were so shocked that their glorious victorious democrat allies (pbut) in Washington failed to get their way they are non plussed how to respond.
    If they had done a minimum of research into the American political system they would know that this was always going to have been the result.

    Shambolic!

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  4. archduke says:

    friendly fire video – full version
    http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=e06da463d7

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  5. archduke says:

    “So now it’s just “the holy city of Mecca” – reminiscent of their “Prophet Muhammed” tag on the religious site.
    Oscar | 06.02.07 – 11:22 am |”

    I heard that too. in what regards is it “holy” because it certainly isnt to 98 per cent of the population, or have the entire “Today” crew mass converted to Islam?

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  6. Jack Hughes says:

    This is how the BBC mindset works: “Muslims cause all kinds of trouble. Therefore we have to be extra nice to them. Or they will cause even more trouble.

    Islamophobia is even worse than racism. So we (the BBC) have an extra duty to educate the great unwashed about islam. Its got to be in your face – every day – several times a day. If we cross the line into promoting islam, then its just one of those things.”

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  7. Anonymous says:

    .
    The BBC are really milking the “friendly fire” in Afghanistan.

    Did you know that British troops are still using canvass top Land Rovers in Afghanistan. Watched a program on British troops in Afghanistan the other night, shocked at the lack of basic modern equipment at their disposal and the lack of backup fire power when confronting the enemy.

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  8. GCooper says:

    Jack Hughes writes:

    “This is how the BBC mindset works: “Muslims cause all kinds of trouble. Therefore we have to be extra nice to them. Or they will cause even more trouble.”

    I think it’s more like: “Moslems are causing all sorts of trouble. It must be our fault. What can we do to appease them?”

    The knee-jerk reflex of the Left is to assume Western society is in the wrong at all times and in all ways.

    Leftism an auto-immune disese – one in which the patient is actually destroying himself. It’s a suicidal pathology of self-loathing.

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  9. Anonymous says:

    .
    The Left’s Tragic Flaw
    By Dennis Prager
    Why leftists never ask, “What comes next”
    http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=26797

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  10. Alan says:

    It’s not Davos, but will Al Beeb cover this?

    Or isn’t it ‘newsworthy’ enough?

    “Leading Dissidents to launch movement for Reason, Pluralism and Freedom of Conscience” (to be held in Florida, 4-5 March).

    http://www.islam-watch.org (6 Feb).

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  11. Steve E. says:

    Coming to the Beeb soon…

    9/11 • The Conspiracy Files

    “Despite two official inquiries and the publication of numerous technical reports by the authorities, many people now believe the American government allowed, or was actively responsible for, the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

    Conspiracy theories of alleged government complicity are intensifying. With the help of the internet, especially, and other media, these ideas have gained currency and distribution on an unprecedented scale.

    The programme travels across the United States, speaking to eyewitnesses and attempting to separate fact from fiction.

    Dylan Avery is the 23-year-old film-maker behind the internet film phenomenon Loose Change, which has been viewed tens of millions of times. He says: “Our government will willingly kill its own citizens for whatever gain it seems necessary and then lie as much as they need to cover it up.”

    Other people also question the official version of events. Jim Fetzer, former US Marine and retired university professor, helped found a coalition of academics called “Scholars For 9/11 Truth”. Alex Jones, a Texan radio talk show host whose popular show is syndicated across the United States, tells the programme: “9/11 is an inside job … a false-flag terror operation.”

    These self-styled “9/11 Truthers” insist there are still unanswered questions about the attacks.

    Why was the hole in the Pentagon wall so small and why was there so little damage to the outer wall? Why does it appear that there is no plane at the crash site in Pennsylvania where flight United 93 came down? Why did World Trade Center Building 7 collapse, even though it was never hit by an aircraft? And why was America so unprepared when terror attack warnings had been received?

    The “Truthers” say they have evidence that three World Trade Center buildings were demolished by explosives and that a cruise missile or a drone hit the Pentagon, not a hijacked commercial airliner.”

    See also

    A 9/11 conspiracy virus is sweeping the world, but it has no basis in fact
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2006831,00.html

    Loose Change is a sharp, slick film with an authoritative voiceover, but it drowns the truth in an ocean of nonsense

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  12. Allan@Aberdeen says:

    The BBC’s reporting of Congress: is this tacit admission that Washington is more relevant to the UK than Parliamnet given that sovereign power has been transferred to Brussels?

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  13. GCooper says:

    Steve E. writes:

    “Loose Change is a sharp, slick film with an authoritative voiceover, but it drowns the truth in an ocean of nonsense”

    They took lessons from Al Gore, then?

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  14. Alan says:

    Another good news, anti-veil story for Al Beeb and Jack Straw to take up:

    “Full veil should not be worn in court, say senior judges” (Legal section, ‘The Times’), 6 Feb., also:
    http://www.newenglishreview.org/blog.cfm?frm+1952

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  15. archduke says:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/6058212.stm

    have a read through the regions – maybe the Daily Mail isnt too far off the mark.

    one of the many comments refers to things going downhill after New Liebore “social housing” was built.

    yeah – i can vouch for that. similar thing has happened where i live. previously very middle class. now – lots of asbo youths hanging around…

    probably all a New Liebore plan to break up the Tory middle class areas.
    (and push them all into Cornwall probably…)

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  16. deegee says:

    “So now it’s just “the holy city of Mecca” – reminiscent of their “Prophet Muhammed” tag on the religious site.
    Oscar | 06.02.07 – 11:22 am |”

    Be thankful the talks were in Mecca. By staging the talks in Mecca and not in Riyadh, Taif, Jeddah or any one of a dozen suitable cities we were spared a team of fifty BBC hacks all saying, “We don’t actually know anything but we are here. As soon as the Saudis, or Hamas or Fatah say anything we will repeat their spin as fact, as if acquired by genuine journalism”.
    “At no point will we admit that we haven’t a clue, nor could we have because non Muslims are not allowed here on penalty of imprisonment or worse. Non Muslims can’t even be part of the Fatah delegation but that’s OK we support Hamas”.

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  17. Jon says:

    “Full veil should not be worn in court, say senior judges”

    How many Muslim women are there in this country – why do they get so much airtime and newsprint?

    There seems to be three themes these days

    Nasty George Bush Climate Change and Muslims.What about us? Don’t we bloody count.

    Also regarding this friendly fire incident – how come the BBC is now interested in British Troops? Could it be that this is a great chance to tell us all how nasty the Americans are again.

    I feel extremely sorry for the widow of the soldier who got killed accidentally, but I also feel sorry for the US Air crew who, it seems, where devastated when they discovered that the had fired against the wrong side.

    The BBC are also linking this storey with the accidental death of Terry Lloyd, and on Radio5 live today they seemed more cut up about him then the British Soldier – even Terry Lloyds lawyer was there for an interview to slag off the US. Yes I agree that the US should have realised this video earlier to the coroner – but it should not be in the public domain for the BBC to have a field day.

    Every day this government get away with turning our country into a laughing stock of the civilised world and the BBC don’t even bother to report things. What would happen if the US left the Middle east entirely and stayed at home and every Muslim in this country was proud the be British. The BBC would have nothing to report.

    Talking about apologies shouldn’t the Celts apologize to the Beaker Folk who they made extinct because of their colonisation of Europe.

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  18. archduke says:

    yeah jon. and we irish should apologise to you Brits for our slave trade.

    remember st patrick? brought to ireland by irish slave traders, from britain. lots of raiding parties on the shores of wales and western britain back then you see.

    funny how that bit of history is kind of airbrushed out of the beeboid universe.

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  19. Alan says:

    Hugh Fitzgerald, on the need for all of us (including Al Beeb) to educate ourselves about the real Islam:

    “The only thing the Infidels can do to change the nature of Islam is to stop helping, stop trying to help Muslims in every way.”

    http://www.newenglishreview.org/blog_direct_link.cfm?blog_id=5366

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  20. archduke says:

    jack hughes: 08:34
    linked to this:
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6325535.stm

    like jack, i honestly havent a clue what that article is on about?

    for example:
    “Qualities such as social and cultural flexibility, self reliance, a strong positive sense of self and an ability to tolerate difference, the capacity to cope with change, a feeling for justice and fairness are all put forward as essential for young adults of the future.”

    yeah, but whats any of that got to do with education? like maths, science, engineering, biology, languages?

    if thats the political elites answer to today’s sorry state of an edukashun system, then Britain is well and truely f***ked.

    and to think that Britain gave the world Isambard Kingdom Brunel , to name but one.

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  21. Anonymous says:

    Any historian who can airbrush Isambard Kingdom Brunels cigar from the history books – does not have any idea of what History is. What it is not is judging the past by today’s standards.

    There seems to be a thing these days for apologizing for things that were out of our control – there is not a person alive today that had anything to do with Britain’s slave trade, and the majority of the British people had nothing to do with it when it was at its height – we have nothing to feel ashamed of.

    Maybe they should teach what benefits the British Empire brought to the world.

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  22. Jon says:

    Sorry last was me.

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  23. Jon says:

    Iraq inquest coroner loses job

    Shameful misleading piece by the BBC.

    “A coroner who demanded the release of a cockpit video showing a US plane attacking a British convoy in Iraq will not have his contract renewed.

    Andrew Walker criticised the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for failing to clear the video to be shown at an inquest.

    Mr Walker made the comments at a hearing into the death of Lance Corporal of Horse Matty Hull 25, from Berks, who died in the 2003 incident.

    The Oxford assistant deputy coroner is one of three who are losing their jobs.
    The BBC giving the impression that the coroner who is “losing his job” is connected with the “friendly fire” case

    But further down the reason is explained.
    “It is understood Mr Walker’s contract will end in June of this year, following the expected completion of hearings in to a backlog of military inquests in Oxford.”

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/oxfordshire/6335701.stm

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  24. Jon says:

    New on (D)HYS

    “Will you go to Kylie exhibition?
    Do the costumes, stage designs, and marketing of Kylie Minogue over the past 20 years merit a V&A show?”

    Look at the most recommended.

    ” Added: Tuesday, 6 February, 2007, 11:02 GMT 11:02 UK

    Does this really deserve a HYS???

    L Pasquale, London, United Kingdom

    Recommended by 66 people “

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  25. archduke says:

    breaking on c4 news: a vet involved in the flu outbreak has been taken to hospital.

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  26. Jon says:

    “Mauritania food aid for migrants”

    “A boat has delivered food and water to a ship carrying migrants, anchored off the coast of Mauritania, officials say.”

    But read on:

    “Mauritania is still refusing to let the ship dock, after it broke down in international waters and was towed close to shore by a Spanish boat.”
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6334633.stm
    Do you think this would be the headline if this boat was off the coast of Britain?

    Maybe it would be something like

    “Britain refuse to help stricken immigrants”

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  27. Anonanon says:

    Jon. Good stuff.

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  28. Fabio P.Barbieri says:

    I have been in high school classes in this country a few times, and I got a very strong impression. The impression is this: that in every class I have seen, there are anything from three to six students on whom the teachers have simply given up, and whom they allow to do whatever they want, merely in order to be allowed to teach the rest. This is not to blame the teachers, most of whom are fine people with a scattering of heroes among them; it is that the system simply does not allow them to have authority or impose order.

    What is the consequence? Think about it. The average class has maybe 24 students. Of these, maybe five – about one-fifth of the total – do nothing, learn nothing, and spend their time pushing each other around and being effectively socialized into thuggery. Any educational plans worked out by teachers, headmasters, authorities, government, simply goes over their heads. They leave school having learned, if they are lucky, to read and write, and having absorbed nothing except the peer pressure of equally undisciplined peers.

    Because these people are wholly uneducated, they lack a common language with the rest of the nation. They do not communicate with them, are not known to them, and only leave their mark in the inexorably rising jail occupancy statistics. The only common bond they have with the rest of us is the lower end of the media, TV in particular, which they consume greedily.

    It is therefore no great surprise that it has been through trash TV, Big Brother and the deplorable antics of Jade Goody and friends – whether we call her a racist or not – that they have first become visible to the rest of the nation; to those of us who worked in school, learned more than a first-grade education, got permanent jobs, read the newspapers, learn to debate and take an interest in public matters. Until Jade Goody made herself known to the world, many of us had no idea of what kind of person was accumulating at the bottom of the social scale.

    Any educational reform that does not tackle this disaster is simply whistling in the dark, or rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic. Anything that does not work to recover this underclass is not only a total waste of time, but genuine escapism, a refusal to see the basic problem – and a refusal financed by taxpayers’ money and forced on the backs of working teachers. That is why, every time I hear of a new government education initiative, I groan. They keep busy in order not to do anything.

    At the end of the day, do you think that these people even enjoy the condition they have been allowed to fall into? The moral of this story was given by Jade herself, when she was placed in front of the pictures the world had seen of her. She was horrified, broke down, and apparently had to be put on suicide watch for a while. She did not love herself, that is for sure; and quite right too. That is what our education based on supporting the child’s self-respect ends up doing to the adult’s self-respect.

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  29. Jon says:

    “…there are anything from three to six students on whom the teachers have simply given up,…”

    I don’t think this is new Fabio, but in the past they would have been canned – whether this made any difference or not is a matter of debate – but these same people were given jobs in industries, such as mining, shipbuilding, steel industry etc. , they had to work to earn money to live. The education they received in these industries helped a lot of them become good citizens. Today is different – these under-performers do not have to work, they have been given no responsibilities and the lefties happily give them our money. Then as you say a lot of unintelligent people who were probably the under achievers at school are given “star status” not for what they can do but for what they are. They then become the role models of the “chavs”, and the vicious circle begins. The media has a lot to answer for in breaking down society to the lowest common denominator.

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  30. archduke says:

    apologies , but completely OT , but Devil Kitchen (of swearblogger fame) has set up a UKIP site

    http://www.independencehome.org

    and nicely designed it is to. have a wander over if you are of a libertarian persuasion. its early days as he’s only just set it up.

    his blog is
    http://devilskitchen.blogspot.com

    if you want to get in contact, lend a hand , whatever…

    (and god knows – with all the major parties rushing towards this mythical “centre ground” beloved of the BBC , we really do need a libertarian voice out there…)

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  31. archduke says:

    ” Fabio P.Barbieri | Homepage | 06.02.07 – 8:54 pm |”

    fabio, i can only speak of the Irish system, but such publics are not tolerated , and would be quickly expelled – as the schools over there are run mostly by the Catholic Church.

    they end up in government run sink schools, where all the other expelled pupils from other schools end up.

    therefore , its an easy way to create social shame – “oh where does your little Johnny go to school?”
    – and thus that shame creates a positive feedback loop. a lot of the kids that end up in those sink schools go on to do better and improve themselves , because society really has said to them – “you have reached rock bottom, and we dont tolerate that.. get yer arse in gear…”

    mightnt work for England, but seems to have worked for Ireland. education levels over there are sky high compared to England. And its not all down to us – we kept the best bits of the old English education system, and they still work to this day. Same goes for India and other former Empire territories.

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  32. archduke says:

    typo – “but such PUPILS are not tolerated”

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  33. archduke says:

    jon’s point is spot on. lets face it – working in a call centre or working in macdonalds isnt exactly comparable to working in the steelworks, mines or shipbuilding.

    yes , i know – the global economy has moved on. but the point is – our economy has not moved with it.

    just look at Finland. at the rate they are going , Finland will eventually end up being a nation of scientists.

    seriously.

    google around for it… its incredible how they’ve really faced up to facts and just run with it.

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  34. Anonanon says:

    Last night’s Newsnight – Melanie Phillips wipes the floor with David Goldberg from the new useful idiots’ group Independent Jewish Voices.

    Goldberg was out of his league – was he the best IJV could do? Where was Stephen Fry? Where was Pinter? Happy to sign up for the cause at some luvvies’ dinner party, not so keen to argue their case on the telly.

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  35. Abandon Ship! says:

    Anyone hear the dreadful piece on PM about the Welsh Trot who hero worships Hugo Chavez? Take your sick bag if you do listen to it (at about 5.35).

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/news/pm/

    There was much mirth with the presenters when said Welsh Trot recounted how old Hugo C got one over on ChimpyMcBushitlerton at their accidental meeting. Strange there was no mention of other meetings where Chavez warmly hugged a brutal tyrant from a former British colony, nor his warm words upon meeting the announcer of the second holocaust. Strange that really.

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  36. archduke says:

    anonanon -> much as i applauded Melanie making her case, the thought occured to me during it – she was directing it at another Jew, and we were then faced with a JEW squirming under pressure.

    jew v jew.

    i’m sure the Ahmed Choudary’s of this world would have loved it. get my drift? it just felt… for want of a better word – uncomfortable. i’m sure Goldberg is a decent man and wishes nobody any harm. he is not our collective enemy. far from it.

    case in point – when was the last time you saw Melanie squared up against an Islamoloon like Choudary?

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  37. archduke says:

    from the link that abandon ship points to:

    “When did you last meet a Marxist? The far left in Britain has enjoyed better days, but in South America – notably in Venezuela – the opposite is true. The Latin American left is resurgent, to the delight of some socialists here. And one in particular finds himself in the middle of things. He’s a Marxist from Swansea who rubs shoulders with Hugo Chavez, the President of Venezuela. For PM, Chris Ledgard reports.”

    thats the supposedly “impartial” BBC.
    i’m literally rubbing my eyes in disbelief.
    honestly, swap a few words around and you’ll get it.. well, maybe i can do it for you. here’s my rewritten version that will NEVER appear:

    “When did you last meet an Islamofascist? The Islamists in Britain has enjoyed better days, but in the Middle East – notably in Saudi Arabia – the opposite is true. The Saudi Islamists are resurgent, to the delight of some Muslims here. And one in particular finds himself in the middle of things. He’s an Islamist from Swansea who rubs shoulders with Osama Bin Laden, the head of Al Qaeda. For PM, Chris Ledgard reports.”

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  38. Oscar says:

    Abandon Ship

    Yes I heard the ‘reach for your sickbag’ item on PM on the luv in between Hugo Chavez and the Welsh marxist. How come that piece of nonsense got aired, when covering Daniel Pipes trouncing Ken Livingstone was apparently “too boring” to schedule (where is John Reith by the way?).

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  39. archduke says:

    oh and for the record, the last time i met a Marxist was about 4 weeks ago, over Christmas.

    it was my dad.

    its not as rare as PM makes it out to be – to trivialise it in such as way misses the point. Marxists are deadly serious about their viewpoint – and are utterly non-P.C. to boot. The BBC , to my dad, is just a branch of “British cultural imperialism that sucks up to the monarchy… no thanks”… to paraphrase.

    he’s an irish marxist – thinks the BBCs sudden “P.C.” stuff is utter crap and a sellout to the “English working class”. (and no folks – i’ve tried my best over the years to wisen him up to the global economy.. but the old guy just wont give up on the dream.. ah well.. he’s in his old age so i’ve no chance ..)

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  40. archduke says:

    oscar -> damn good point.

    and may i add to that – “Undercover Mosque”… no comment whatsoever, and its what, three weeks now?

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  41. archduke says:

    “and a sellout to the English working class”

    i just like to clarify that – he sees the working class in England as beyond all hope, for in his words, to paraphrase – “when we irish were down on our luck, the famine, and all that, we didnt turn on ourselves – we emigrated and got jobs…”

    cant fault that argument. and it something that Britain really has to face up to. why rot in Rochdale, when you can get a cheap flight and just work for living abroad?

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  42. archduke says:

    stop press – newsnight are covering a kind of “undercover mosque” thing.

    King Fahd Academy, London. private school.

    Textbooks from Saudi Arabia used at the school – “Give examples of useless religions – such as Judaism, Christianity and other non Islamic religions”

    “jews/apes/pigs” was also taught at the school. its a lotta hatred being taught, right here in London.

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  43. Anonanon says:

    archduke: “i’m sure the Ahmed Choudary’s of this world would have loved it.”

    Exactly – that’s the whole point of a useful idiot.

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  44. archduke says:

    then again, newsnight are missing the target. its a PRIVATE school only open to rich Saudi students.

    its not a certain big mosque in Birmingham.

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  45. archduke says:

    watching newsnight now – i really dont get it. if Saudi nationals , living in the UK, want to go to Saudi private schools, and just get the same education as they get back in Saudi – and its NOT taxpayer funded. then – so the f**k what? we’re talking about a tiny amount of very rich Saudi kids. no big deal.

    i have a bigger issue with certain big mosques that get rather big subsidies from the government – and even bigger subsidies from Saudi Arabia.

    wrong target newsnight. please do look up “Undercover Mosque”.

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  46. Anonanon says:

    “How would YOU translate ‘pigs and apes?'”

    Go on Jeremy!

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  47. archduke says:

    paxman is going at the saudi rep about the books teaching that anyone who doesnt believe in Islam will end up in “hellfire”…

    hang on a minute. thats catholic teaching. if you arent a catholic, you’ll end up in hell. simple as that.

    oh dear. wrong target. misjudged and doesnt really add to anything.

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  48. archduke says:

    i dunno anon – newsnight didnt get the “kill all kuffars” evidence. we’re just getting a theological debate – and heck, thats freedom.

    people should be free to think that other religions are crap – as long as they dont back that up with violence.

    i have no problem with that – which is why i have no problems with the Mormons in Utah or the Amish in Penn. doing their own thing. thats freedom. where it crosses the line is what “Undercover Mosque” uncovered – into pure incitement to violence…

    that newsnight expose was a damb squib in comparision.

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  49. Anonanon says:

    Paxman refused to accept the Islamist platitudes and demanded an unequivocal rejection of the hateful Wahhibist literature.

    That’s progress.

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  50. Anonanon says:

    wahhAbist

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