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Open thread – for comments of general Biased BBC interest:
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Arch-
I’m not sure but I’m certain both Mossad and Shin Beth target the recruitment of “Arab Isrealis”……
It would sure explain why Fatah and Hamas’s C3 facilities are being targetted with reletive ease and why the so many of the PA “leadership” have ended up on the mortuary slab.
It will also explain why Al Beeb feels the need to “balance” the struggle by providing free propaganda as well.
Why-I suspect,like the IRA, both Hamas and Fatah are crawling with informers.
baggie -> i’m probably a good , objective, guinea pig for what you have pointed out.
i’m irish, but i’ve lived in the south of england for well over a decade now.. no connections with the north at all. and to me, the north of england is indeed some sort of alien, faraway land of which i hear very little about.
is that because of the BBCs London centricity? i would say , most definitely.
“Why-I suspect,like the IRA, both Hamas and Fatah are crawling with informers.
Ingsoc is Doublethink | 28.02.07 – 11:10 am”
there’s a running in-joke from Ireland about Sinn Fein meetings. Half the audience is MI5, and the other half is the (Irish garda) Special Branch, while the chairman of the meeting is CIA.
not being all conspiracy theory, but your central thesis is correct , in that Hamas/Hez are probably crawling with informers – but on the other hand, thats why suicide bombing has been so effective – small cells involved. and rare/discrete contact with the higher-ups with Iranian connections. the IRA knew this as well in the 1970s/80s, when they moved to that small cell/need to know model, which was very very hard to crack.
deegee, I tend to agree with your post. We’ll give the Beduin the benefit of the doubt here.
>> A cursory glance at the BBC website, TV, or radio gives the game away.
Not just for news, but culture, sport and just about anything even weather.
I have a funny story about the weather on the BBC’s site. At one point I had a system set up so that the default weather on the bbc.co.uk homepage would rotate around cities throughout the UK, and not always be Central London. It was introduced on the weekend of the Glastonbury festival in 2005, with Glastonbury as the first new non-London default. Moving the default from London generated around 600 complaints in the space of a couple of hours, which was serveral times the size of the daily email bag the homepage generated otherwise, so it got switched back to Central London…. 🙁
Sorry but the daily mail eastern europeans all on the dole line is entirely bogus.
Of course some are temporarily signing especially in the winter for all those that are working outdoors. You get a proportion of all populations on the dole just because they are in the act of changing jobs. Thats why unemployment can never be zero.
It is not one Ive heard from Al Beeb so hear I would have to give them some credit.
There are many many hundreds of thousands of East Europeans here in the UK. I have found them all to be hard working and want to get jobs. They are not coming here to scrounge of the dole that is way off the mark. Many of them are bringing skills we need and they are prepared to do jobs that we dont seem to be able to fill.
Also they are keen to speak and learn English and benefit from British culture. They are not keeping themselves to themselves and suicide bombing us.
This smacks of racism rather than genuine concern.
whats to point of central London weather? london has its own climate for gods sake.
>> there’s a running in-joke from Ireland about Sinn Fein meetings. Half the audience is MI5, and the other half is the (Irish garda) Special Branch, while the chairman of the meeting is CIA.
archduke, I think the modern version of this joke is the one about any 14 year old girl you meet on MySpace, or in an internet chatroom, is actually a 40-something bloke working for a law enforcement agency 🙂
baggie -> i’ve had Poles in my house redoing my bathroom. job done in 2 days. top quality as well.
no complaints – hard working and extremely polite as well.
i’m uneasy about this eastern european immigrant coverage as well – we condemned them to 60 years of communism after they saved our asses in the battle of britain (all those polish pilots…)
its no wonder they want to come over here and have a taste of the West.
i’ll probably end up retiring somewhere in southern Poland .
Great points archduke.
I can recommend the Tatras…
I take your points about the share price issue potentially being more important than where some kids in Brighton end up going to school – but I didn’t get what you were on about for a bit as I have the international edition here, where the shares are very much the top story.
I did notice thought that on the UK BBC News site they have added a market Data module in the right-hand navigation, about 8:30am UK time, which isn’t always there
http://www.whitelabel.org/~matthew/bbcnews/2007/02/28/08.30.html
” Martin Belam | Homepage | 28.02.07 – 11:22 am |”
theres a video on the internet about that very topic – chatroom in reality. cant remember what the link is though.
sorry martin – i was referring to the uk edition , which is the automatic default if you are located in the uk.
Arch-
Yes the ASU were a problem,another idea from those everlovable rogues:the PLO.
Just finished reading about the “inner struggles” within the Republican movement.
What is quite amazing is the amount of time and effort that the IRA spent of finding out “grasses,touts and scabs”,especially when somebody in IRA GHQ (Northern Command) was giving away all the “crown jewels” about the planned “Tet Offensive” and the “gifts” that were coming by boat from Tripoli in 1985.
Poor old Ivor Bell,never got over that did he?
Not to mention all the intel that MI5/Garda/RUC (SB) recieved from all those republicans that left when Sinn Fein dropped “Nua Eire” politics for Marxist dogma.
Still gunning down single mothers and burying by Carlingford Loch ALWAYS keeps the natives in line……
>> sorry martin – i was referring to the uk edition , which is the automatic default if you are located in the uk.
Yep, I know, I worked on the project to put that system in place – it is just that now I am so used to getting the international edition that I forget that often people on here are seeing and commenting on a different page to me.
Funnily enough though, when I access the site from the WAP on my mobile phone, I always get the UK version of the homepage – I don’t actually recall if that is also done geographically, but I am using a UK contract phone here anyway, so maybe that is why.
Oh, there were meant to be humourous mock-HTML “dull technical speculation” tags around that last paragraph, but they got swallowed up by the comments system here – do HTML entities work ><
I know it is fiction but tucked away on ITV3 is an excellent American series called Numb3rs which is based on the FBI and mathematics – strange but it works. This weeks story centred on the horrendous murder of an Iraqi woman about to testify against atrocities commited by Saddam Hussein’s son and the Republican Guard. Involved was a local Iman barely able to speak civily to the female FBI agent simply because she was a woman, his abject disdain and arrogance so overwhelming he was a totally unsympathetic character. Would the BBC ever make a programme where the bad guys were so clearly delineated? Doubt it. In their script the Iman would be a Mossad agent and the killers all CIA agents. Spooks?
Bio:A truly horrific piece about the rape.
I’m surprised “Wimmin’s Hour” isn’t jumping up and down.
Because if it was a Jew that had commited this,then it would be front page news.
Of course “the jews made me do it” will probably be the defence line (al la Cherrie “I would be a suicide bomber too” Blair)….
Ingsoc is Doublethink | 28.02.07 – 9:27 am
Then there’s this:
Gazans upset by three suspected ‘honor killings’
Three Palestinian women have been murdered in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, Palestinian Authority security officials and local residents said.
The bodies of the women were discovered early Tuesday in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. The motive for the killings remained unclear.
One of the victims, a 35-year-old mother of four, was found near the beach. She had been shot at least 13 times in different parts of her body, said a PA security official.
The other two women were killed separately and their bullet-riddled bodies were discovered late Monday.
The security official said he did not rule out the possibility that the three women were killed by male relatives in the context of what is known as “honor killings.” Such killings are not unusual among Palestinians and many Arab countries. At least 25 women are murdered every year in the West Bank and Gaza Strip for “bringing shame” on their male relatives.
Female activists in the Gaza Strip expressed deep concern over the latest spree of murders and urged the Hamas-led government to take measures against the perpetrators.
“We are living in a jungle,” said Siham Aladdin, who works for a local women’s organization. “The Palestinian police aren’t doing anything because they are afraid of the families and because they ‘understand’ the motives.”
In other scenes of lawlessness and anarchy in the Gaza Strip…
Read on, its all peace and light in Gaza under the control of the self-same “Palestinians”. What they really need is a state of their own. Yeah, right.
For an economist’s view of effects of Immigration into UK (linked to comments on today’s news stories on this), see Professor Bob Rowthorn’s
” The Economic Impact of Immigration”
Click to access Rowthorn_Immigration.pdf
worldwide financial markets in turmoil
http://finance.google.com/finance
and jeremy vine has hazel friggin blears on about some labour party leadership crap.
“This smacks of racism rather than genuine concern.”
BaggieJonathan, My concern is for the indigenous population of Britain
Also 70 million muslims from Turkey will soon have access to work and claim benefits in Britain. No country can accommodate so many so quickly. This country cannot service its existing population, look around you and you will see that Britain is starting to resemble a third world country, Filthy hospitals, potholed roads, clapped out transport system and illiterate school leavers.???
Where is this leading?
http://www.migrationwatchuk.org/outline_of_the_problem.asp
.
>> Also 70 million muslims from Turkey will soon have access to work and claim benefits in Britain.
My feeling is that the Cyprus issue alone will block Turkish entry into the EU.
I lived in Greece for about 6 months last year, and although their politicians in public support Turkish entry to the EU, in practice they will always side with the Cypriot government against the Turks.
And I think countries like Germany and Austria and Denmark and the UK will happily let the Cypriot issue de-rail the talks so they can say “thanks, but no thanks” to the 70 million Muslims, without appearing to lose face for having kick-started the admissions process in the first place.
Martin Belam,
Goodbye Europe
Europe’s botched civilization, perverted by socialism and lost faith, seems to have lost the will, the passion to sustain itself. If it continues to practice today’s multiculturalist leftism, Europe’s demographic doom will be sealed.
Some harbingers:
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=21820
Anon, some interesting points raised in that article – I note one thing was the suggestion of encouraging increased birth-rates with cash as has been done in the past – I see Cyprus is looking to do that in order to keep pace with the population growth in the occupied TRNC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6397135.stm
While dhimmi ‘liberal/left’, including ‘Newsnight’ is concerned for Abu Qatada (of bin Laden spectrum), what of his legal representative?
See: ” Dozy bint of the week ” (28 Feb.),by Mary Jackson
http://www.newenglishreview.org/blog.cfm?frm=1952
(scroll down)
Hey, hey, hey… look who’s back!
The Trap •
What Happened To Our Dream Of Freedom? Ep 1/3 (to be broadcast on BBC2, Sunday 11th March)
“Individual freedom is the dream of our age. It’s what our leaders promise to give us, it defines how we think of ourselves and, repeatedly, we have gone to war to impose freedom around the world. But if you step back and look at what freedom actually means for us today, it’s a strange and limited kind of freedom.
Politicians promised to liberate us from the old dead hand of bureaucracy, but they have created an evermore controlling system of social management, driven by targets and numbers. Governments committed to freedom of choice have presided over a rise in inequality and a dramatic collapse in social mobility. And abroad, in Iraq and Afghanistan, the attempt to enforce freedom has led to bloody mayhem and the rise of an authoritarian anti-democratic Islamism. This, in turn, has helped inspire terrorist attacks in Britain. In response, the Government has dismantled long-standing laws designed to protect our freedom.
The Trap is a series of three films by Bafta-winning producer Adam Curtis that explains the origins of our contemporary, narrow idea of freedom.
It shows how a simplistic model of human beings as self-seeking, almost robotic, creatures led to today’s idea of freedom. This model was derived from ideas and techniques developed by nuclear strategists during the Cold War to control the behaviour of the Soviet enemy.
Mathematicians such as John Nash developed paranoid game theories whose equations required people to be seen as selfish and isolated creatures, constantly monitoring each other suspiciously • always intent on their own advantage.
This model was then developed by genetic biologists, anthropologists, radical psychiatrists and free market economists, and has come to dominate both political thinking since the Seventies and the way people think about themselves as human beings.
However, within this simplistic idea lay the seeds of new forms of control. And what people have forgotten is that there are other ideas of freedom. We are, says Curtis, in a trap of our own making that controls us, deprives us of meaning and causes death and chaos abroad.”
And my pick of “news” of the day is this insightful journalism of what really was said at the Democratic convention known as the Oscars……
From Matt Frei.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6401865.stm
Such kiss and tell moments as:
“After his campaign realised that Al was displaying an emotion deficit they decided to correct the balance with an on-stage, on-camera, on-message French kiss that lingered so long you could practically hear Hollywood screaming “Cut, cut, cut!”
and
“Compare the glutinous Mr Gore of seven years ago to the slick Al who melted the hearts of Hollywood at Sunday’s Oscar ceremony”.
Indeed
“For those who missed it, the former vice-president mounted the stage with Leonardo DiCaprio to present an award”.
Such……stature to walk amoungst “great” men (yawn).
“At that precise point the Oscar anthem – whose volume is always yanked up when a winner has droned on for more than the allotted 30 seconds – drowned out Al Gore”.
“He obliged with a cheeky grin.”
My God…all the qualities I’d look for in a leader that might have to lead us into world war three/four/five?……
I can’t really go on reading you the rest of Matt Frei’s “critique” because I’ve now put on a track by Swans and started developing twitching….
archduke:
worldwide financial markets in turmoil
One of the drivers of the fall in markets was the rumour that South Africa is about to impose a windfall levy on mining companies.
A Times columnist makes an interesting point about socialist get rich quick schemes
But windfall levies that change the rules after the event almost always rebound, especially in a developing country that needs all the domestic and foreign investment it can get. The mere threat of such a tax triggered a 1.5 per cent fall in the rand. If that were sustained, it would cost South Africans far more than the one-off benefit of any levy.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/columnists/article1449791.ece
Perhaps the BBC could tell us of any affect in Chavez’s paradise where, in the unregulated market, the value of the Venezuelan currency has tumbled since the nationalisation of leading companies.
Steve E.
WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
And I make no aplogies for the cliche.
I’ll put my hands up and say “I’m not quite following…..?”
What has caused the drop? Economic figures from China? Airbus story?
An American conservative, Lawrence Auster, comments here on current British politicians’ blindspot on IMMIGRATION. (By the way, unlike several UK newspapers, Al Beeb does not have much new today on immigration.)
” When you gonna wake up? ”
http://www.amnation.com/vfr/archives/007372.html
ingsoc -> china. stock market dipped by 9 per cent there yesterday.
Well many have always said she was crazy. I always refused to believe it until now. Melanie Philips on the Dr Kelly affair –
Having first accepted that Dr Kelly had committed suicide, I came increasingly to believe that he had been killed.
http://www.melaniephillips.com/articles-new/?p=488
She relies on circumstances adequately explained by the BBC in the Conspiracies series & the fact that LibDim MP Norman Baker is not a crank.
ingsoc -> china. stock market dipped by 9 per cent there yesterday.
archduke
Plus the South African levy – creating a double whammy for the miners (Rio Tinto etc) – slowing Chinese demand, increased cost of production.
Plus former central bank guru/mystic Greenspan stating that he could not rule out the possibility of a recession in the US later this year.
>> I can’t really go on reading you the rest of Matt Frei’s “critique” because I’ve now put on a track by Swans and started developing twitching….
Do you mean M.Gira’s Swans? If so that’s got to be the most obscure pop-culture reference I’ve ever seen on B-BBC – brilliant
Martin:
The very one…..
And its taken from the Holy Money EP.
Hmmm….What are the CCCP saying seeing as they are running the Shanghi Index?
Will……isn’t what the SA Government now doing, excactly the same thing as Mubarge did in 1981/2 and dimond exports?
Will….
Re Mel Phillips.
I guess they need something after Diana?
“will | 28.02.07 – 3:59 pm”
just noticed on bloomberg that U.S. house prices are down 16%
The BBC and how it reports the attack on Iranian security forces by terrorists;
Gunmen attack police in east Iran
Gunmen in south-east Iran have killed two policemen and kidnapped four others, taking them to neighbouring Pakistan, Iranian officials say. The country’s national police chief, Gen Ahmadi Moghaddam, blamed “bandits” for the attack, which occurred in the province of Sistan-Baluchistan.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6404849.stm
and how the BBC reports an attack on Jewish security forces by terrorists;
Hezbollah capture marks new escalation
The Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah has capturedtwo Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid. The abduction marks a new escalation of the crisis which began two weeks ago when a young Israeli soldier was captured by Palestinian militants.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5172760.stm
So the BBC rule books which stipulates that security forces can only be kidnapped, I find it no surprise that when it comes to reporting from Iran the BBC is more than happy to change the rule book in which to shout out “ Kidnapped” I’m sure the BBC clones will be more than happy to point out just where I got it wrong.
The BBC and how it reports the attack on Iranian security forces by terrorists;
Gunmen attack police in east Iran
Gunmen in south-east Iran have killed two policemen and kidnapped four others, taking them to neighbouring Pakistan, Iranian officials say. The country’s national police chief, Gen Ahmadi Moghaddam, blamed “bandits” for the attack, which occurred in the province of Sistan-Baluchistan.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6404849.stm
and how the BBC reports an attack on Jewish security forces by terrorists;
Hezbollah capture marks new escalation
The Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah has capturedtwo Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid. The abduction marks a new escalation of the crisis which began two weeks ago when a young Israeli soldier was captured by Palestinian militants.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5172760.stm
So the BBC rule books which stipulates that security forces can only be Captured , I find it no surprise that when it comes to reporting from Iran the BBC is more than happy to change the rule book in which to shout out “ Kidnapped”
sorry ,my mistake. it was U.S. home sales that fell 16%
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=businessNews&storyid=2007-02-28T150248Z_01_N27422284_RTRUKOC_0_US-USA-ECONOMY-NEWHOMES.xml&src=rss&rpc=23
Pounce:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6404609.stm
“BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says the latest developments show, in a small way, that Ms Rice has trumped Vice-President Dick Cheney and that diplomacy is reasserting itself in Washington.”
Oh Johnathan….you got that from the horses mouth or do I detect a possible sence of wishful thinking?
No doubt the Beeboids were probably saying “shame they missed the barstard on the news of this:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6399527.stm
Re. Steve E. | 28.02.07 – 3:06 pm
From that press release:
“And abroad, in Iraq and Afghanistan, the attempt to enforce freedom has led to bloody mayhem and the rise of an authoritarian anti-democratic Islamism.”
In what parallel universe do Curtis and the tossers in the BBC press office live? Do they seriously believe this is the timeline of events? Sorry for the language, but what a bunch of stupid fucking cunts.
“what people have forgotten is that there are other ideas of freedom.”
Oh goody – relativism. The West-hating, terror-appeasing left’s favourite doctrine. I predict plenty of material for the Biased BBC blog in this new series.
(Link to the press release quoted by Steve E. –
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/proginfo/tv/wk11/unplaced.shtml#unplaced_trap)
Some good news for Infidels, via Al Beeb,
“Controversial Mosque Plan Refused”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/6403269.stm
Of course, Al Beeb leads this story with the inevitable Muslim opposition; it is only in the second paragraph that we learn of Dudley Council’s UNANIMOUS opposition to the Mosque plan.
Wishful thinking on my part. For a moment I thought it was going to be as advertised, ie: abolishing the BBC.
BBC ABOLITION SEASON
” Anonanon | 28.02.07 – 4:59 pm | ”
christ almighty – they really are a bunch of self serving idiotic c**ts.
“Individual freedom is the dream of our age”
utter balls.
” What Happened To Our Dream Of Freedom?”
it up sticks , packed its bags and went off to America and Australia…
“Biodegradable | 28.02.07 – 5:07 pm ”
darn. you got my hopes up there biod.
Immigration – Slightly Off-Topic :
The Poles work harder than the indigenous British it is true. Some of the left like to (politely) sneer and gloat about this without thinking why the Poles work harder. Basically, it’s a good time to be Polish. Think about it, all the trappings of consumerism and luxury and now within arms reach. For the Poles (is it off the mark to assume that Poland is really quite austere?) consumerism must still be exciting and novel – unlike the British youth who have had to much to young and resemble obese lounge lizards with swollen and sore genitalia.
Also, they’re still religious, Catholic churches are reputedly full – combined with a group camaraderie (have you seen them wandering around in big gangs?) they are practically inoculated against the existential angst and depression that plagues British youth.
Plus they have a good future to look forward to: they could decide to stay in Britain and make enough money to live in a big house (Thatchers vision and everything) or in 10 years time having learnt English they could return to Poland – with excellent job prospects and financial security I expect.
No wonder they work hard. Britain on the otherhand is psychically exhausted despite being tremendously wealthy. And it’s not something the state can cure by throwing money around. Just get 20 teenagers in a group and look at the cuts on their arms if you don’t believe me. Being young in Britain today might itself be diagnosed as an illness.
Even more Off-Topic : BaggieJonathon, did you by any chance attend a comprehensive school in Lincolnshire between the years 1996 to 2002? Your name reminds me of someone..
Apologies for the OT post but I was astounded at the inexcusable bigotry & prejudice expressed by Muslim taxidrivers in this story:
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/ …lerant#comments
Has the BBC covered this? Will they?