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Open thread – for comments of general Biased BBC interest:
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i’ll dig up the wiki page on the arms shipments bryan. hold on a sec.
found it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arms_sales_to_Iraq_1973-1990
i also note on tonights QT that Dimbledore immediately starts questioning Bolton’s statements , but Benn gets a free ride with no contradictions.
pathetic.
archduke: oh – and john bolton is on QT as well. but in classic BBC mode, is on a tv screen – on the outside, looking in.
one audience English moonbat has just sad that life under the taliban was better in Afghanistan. Bolton replies – “this is hopeless” and just shakes his head in disbelief.
archduke | 23.03.07 – 12:04 am | #
archduke its not worth watching anymore – its like a gramaphone whose needle has stuck. Rational debate has long since died on the BBC.
The reaction to the kidnap of Alan Johnstone on this site is predictibly revolting.
In terms of him being ‘a friend of the Palestinians’: His father and colleagues are addressing his kidnappers, they are trying to secure his release. Any appeals would be carefully worded to achieve his release. Think about that and think about why they might refer to him as a friend of the Palestinians.
I also imagine that Palestinians think of any reporter or camera crew as ‘friends’ given that they are giving coverage to the conditions they are living in to the outside world. That doesnt mean he or his reports are biased.
It may be worth seeking a second opinion from a reasonable person before making such accusations. Perhaps consult a doctor?
Pete – actually your contribution is revolting. Try reading the arguments made on this thread before making baseless accusations. The BBCs stance has overwhelmingly contributed to the climate of terror in Gaza – thru its perpetual apologetics (which Johnston himself continually deployed), through refusing to call terror by its true name and through signing up to the ideology of “justified resistance to occupation”. Now one of your own is at the receiving end you want to cry ‘tactics’ and get some tea and sympathy. The BBC shows absolutely no compassion when it comes to Israeli victims and now they are reaping the consequences of pandaring to a terror regime. To coin a phrase – first they came for the Zionists, but I wasn’t a Zionist ….
The Green Jacket ‘accidents’ you mention, were they part of the Sukarno incursions in the early/mid 60s?
TPO | 22.03.07 – 8:37 pm
I believe so, he was serving more around that time than late ’60s. From what he said they realy were accidents. None were lost in action but one of his mates fell down drunk in a ditch and was found the morning after sucked dry by leeches. Another was a victim of lacing his boots the wrong way – he was trying to sneak back into camp after a night out, the Gurkha on guard duty quietly felt his boots from behind and decided he was foe. A ‘friendly fire’ incident I suppose, involving a kukri.
Bio “more like as Leonard Cohen says”
Was he supposed to be singing at the time?
will | 22.03.07 – 9:08 pm
At least he doesn’t even try, unlike Bob Dylan 😆
Pete
I also imagine that Palestinians think of any reporter or camera crew as ‘friends’ given that they are giving coverage to the conditions they are living in to the outside world. That doesnt mean he or his reports are biased.
Just who are you kidding? I’m sure it has crossed many people’s minds that the BBCs Alan Johnston might actually be doing a Patty Hearst down in Gaza.
Just look at how many of the BBC are flocking towards Al Jazeera thesedays. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit to hear shortly that he has left the BBC and that we see footage of his release( and the trashing of Bush & Blair) shown exclusively to an Al Jazeera team via Pallywood. Such is the incredulity of BBC reporting and journalism in the ME that all of this right now is best taken with a large pinch of salt until we have some more facts. Some of these staged appeals by the top BBC brass remind one of those emotional pleas you see broadcast from those very close and intimate members of a family emotionally appealing for any information and those who know anything to come forward. As we have learned from bitter experience so many of them are themselves the actual killers, are liars and duplicitous- that we have learnt to be very cynical. The more so when it is BBC personnel on parade. So it is with the plea that this BBC journalist was a “true friend of the Palestinian people”.
Pete | 23.03.07 – 12:53 am
Have you actually read many of the comments here about Alan Johnston?
Apart from myself just about everybody else has expressed their wish that he be released soon and safely.
I’ll refrain from commenting about Johnston’s father, who like any father in a similar situation would do and say just about anything to get his son released.
However, I do not accept that his coleagues and the BBC are only now claiming he is pro-Palestinian in order to impress his captors – his past reports and bias speaks volumes. Don’t try to make excuses now!
I also imagine that Palestinians think of any reporter or camera crew as ‘friends’ given that they are giving coverage to the conditions they are living in to the outside world. That doesnt mean he or his reports are biased.
His reports are biased because he has consistently neglected to report on anything positive involving Israel, such as the 20,000 jobs created recently in Gaza with the help of the IDF, and anything negative concerning the “Palestinians”, his own boss stated that his job was to report on the ‘predicament’ of the “Palestinians”. That pretty much rules out any fair and balanced reporting.
Well whaddya know – BBC spending hundreds of thousands of licence-payers money to cover up report into possible anti-Israel bias?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=444074&in_page_id=1770
What Pete and his ilk don’t understand is that the BBC is the life’s blood of the terrorist. Without constant media focus they would not last long. Terrorist organisations know that they will get a sympathetic voice from the BBC. We see it every day.
In my gullible younger days I was often surprised why the IRA would admit to bombing something. The reason is simple the publicity spreads the terror quicker than they could do themselves. Cut out the publicity and media attention and you lessen the impact. It is that simple.
Alan Johnston, Jeremy Bowen et. al. are the people who spread this propaganda daily. I am one who hopes Johnston is relised unharmed.
But until the BBC get a grip on reality they are not just putting their reporters at risk – but thousands of innocent people and that is what really sticks in my craw.
“The reaction to the kidnap of Alan Johnstone on this site is predictibly revolting. ”
and the bbc excuses for the murder of Israeli Jews is therefore not revolting?
sorry mate, i’m on the side of Western civilisatiom. if you want to side with the Islmofascists, as most of the BBC want to do, then be my guest.
the likes of Alan Johnston are nothing more than a modern Lord Haw Haw, i really could not give a damn about his fate.
News the BBC will not be reporting from Gaza #64928763
Two-yr.-old killed in Fatah-Hamas clashes
One of these children perhaps?
http://news.yahoo.com/photo/070322/481/jrl12203221421
I see the Beeb is hoping to hear from those who live in or near the location of the recent terror arrests, and anyone who has been ‘affected’ by the arrests.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6481495.stm
I told them how I was affected. Somehow, I don’t think it will be published.
‘Yes I have been affected by these arrests. Of course, in Britain we are proud that our criminal justice system assumes the accused is innocent until proven guilty. I do, however, trust our legal system to be one of the fairest in the world, and I firmly believe that there must be some pretty compelling evidence for these young men to be arrested. I am affected every time such men are arrested in connection with terrorism. In fact I imagine most decent, hardworking British people are. It shows that we live in a dangerous new era in which our ‘fellow countrymen’ are prepared to kill us and our children to fulfill their chilling agenda and dreams of paradise. I’m sure the BBC want me to be a local ‘community representative’ who is eager to say how I feel ‘threatened’ and ‘shocked’ by the police actions, and how the accused ‘loved fish and chips and cricket’ and ‘abhorred terrorism in all its forms.’ The real victims, however, are not the murderers, plotters and ‘preachers of hate’ that the BBC is so desperate to defend and promote – it is the ordinary people of Britain whose ancestors fought to make this a free and fair country. Our freedoms and lives are at stake, but I’m sure the BBC will continue to promote it’s own cynical agenda.’
Excellent comment , Montag ! But I’m afraid you’re right – the spineless parasites at Al-BBBC won’t publish your letter. The truth frightens them.
It appears that the BBC hate and despise the american administration far more than they hate the terrorists who seek to bring death and mayhem to britain.
And that is indeed what it has come down to and is a very sad state of affairs. Melanie lauches a strong attack on the BBC’s ME reporting
‘More generally, its venomous hostility and the extreme prejudice and distortion of its coverage in which America and Israel are turned into the well-springs of aggression and evil in the world while American and Israeli victimisation are airbrushed out of the script, are have turned the BBC into the principal propaganda weapon of the global jihad.’
http://www.melaniephillips.com/diary/
“BBC faces Campbell Cash Row”
http://www.express.co.uk
“Former Downing Street spin doctor
Alistair Campbell is to use the BBC to sell his memoirs”…
Don’t miss:
“BBC pays £200,000 to ‘cover up report on anti-Israel bias'”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk
archduke | 23.03.07 – 12:37 am
I got a very different picture by Googling Germany arms Iraq after 1990 – though I probably could have used more effective key words.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Germany+arms+Iraq+after+1990&btnG=Google+Search
Seems Germany was a major player – poison gas plants and similar charming activities.
But your link is interesting in terms of the huge supply of arms to Iraq by the USSR and the tiny fraction supplied by the US.
“What really upsets him [Prof. Stewart] is that the BBC does not overtly push an American or British government line. He seems to find it hard to understand that an institution can be committed to impartiality and mean it.”
Oscar | 23.03.07 – 12:35 am
Yes, I found the smug self-righteousness of that deluded statement quite breathtaking.
Stephen Pollard on good form in today’s Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml;jsessionid=FR0EXFWIGF30DQFIQMFCFFWAVCBQYIV0?xml=/opinion/2007/03/23/do2302.xml
No sign of Pete this morning? Not so much a hit and run as a miss and run poster …
Before you all have a love in with the BBC sports journalists I’m afraid to say I totally disagree with you.
I may have been a lone voice crying in the desert as sport is rarely a major topic on this blog but I have to point out that I have highlighted several times the unacceptable bias of BBC sports coverage.
The fact that the sports reporter concerned did not have the Al Beebzera agenda on Israel does not interfere with their agenda on sport.
Perhaps we would see better reporting if all of the BBC departments played musical chairs in order to dump their agendas.
Interviewed by Ed Stourton on “Today” this morning Lee Jasperberg (member of the National Jewish Alliance, National Jewish Caucus, Operation Jewish Vote and adviser to the Mayor of London on Jewish Equality issues) demanded an apology to the Jews of the world for the Massacre of York in 1190, for centuries of European anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. Mr Jasperberg said the apology must come from the Queen, the Prime Minister, Parliament, the High Court, the Corporation of London, all local councils and a Mrs Evadne Whittaker of Hull whose remote ancestor was possibly a bystander at the massacre (and did nothing to prevent it).
Mr Jasperberg stated that “the fact that Golders Green and Stamford Hill in North London and Didsbury in Manchester are rife with knife and gun-carrying Jewish gangs, that a grossly disproportionate number of Jews are in prison, that large numbers of the Jewish community comprise single parent families relying on handouts from the state and that Jewish boys are grossly underrepresented in the professions and at the top of the business world are caused purely by Britain’s institutional Holocaust denial and lack of human rights”. After an incisive 10 seconds of questioning Ed agreed with every point made by Mr Jasperberg and cut the phone line to Max Hastings in mid-sentence when Max declined to agree to the statement that “Britain is the worst race and climate criminal ever ever in the history of the universe”.
Nonsense? Of course it’s nonsense but not, apparently when “Black” is substitued for “Jew”.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=444058&in_page_id=1811
Cant seem to find this being covered on the Al Beebzera site, hands up anyone who is surprised. Cue the tumbleweed and crickets…
Sadly still a few days stuck in snowy Salzburg working until I get back to Crete – which seems the ideal moment to say tally ho and farewell chaps.
Martin Belam | Homepage | 22.03.07 – 10:26 pm |
Off to top up the tan? Have a pleasant stay and look forward to seeing you back here. And if by the remotest chance we can get out to Agios Nikolaos again before we go to Canada, if its OK, I wouldn’t mind looking you up for a drink.
Have fun with the Greek telecoms. Which leads me on to another BBC guy I used to know. He was something called a VT editor (I think) and totally stuck in a time warp. Couldn’t understand why BT had to be privatised. Had to explain to him, very slowly and in short syllables how, if it was still state owned and run purely for the benefit of the employees, then the only option available would be the old ‘sit up and beg’ telephones (in black of course). Much like the BBC really (talking mindset here). He just couldn’t see it.
I met him through one of the wife’s friends who he was shacked up with. Proceeded to tell me how he knew all about the police (more than I did, and I’d been in for 10 years at the time). Transpired his daughter, who he hadn’t seen in a long while, was a probationer WPC in Reading with 6 months service. Said it all really.
I didn’t realise you had your own blog, I’ll make a point of visiting when time allows.
http://www.currybet.net/
Take care and thanks for the birthday felicitations.
Umbongo – That’s the best laugh of my morning. Thanks.
Baggie Jonathan – I don’t think anyone is arguing that all BBC sports coverage is unbiased – just that this particular report on Israel did not carry the usual baggage. Sad really that, speaking for myself, I can get so pleased with such a small offering.
Since early this morning BBC radio news has been reporting British Army claims of Iranian involvement in Basra bombings. It’s now 11.40am (or 12.40pm by the HaloScan clock) and there’s still no article on the BBC news website. Why so tardy? Is the Beeb waiting to see if Hugh Sykes can pin it on the Americans?
I know this is hardly a top concern for BBC Bias (and is a bit out of date now), but it does reveal the beebistan mindset. In their item on Israel’s “controversial” entry to the Eurovision Song contest
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6405457.stm
the reporter suggests that an Israeli singing about “crazy rulers” expressing the wish “And I don’t wanna die, I wanna see the flowers bloom” is tasteless.
“However, many viewers of the contest, to be held in Finland in May, may not find the eventual Israeli pick to be any less tasteless. Not only does Oz sing about “demonic” and “crazy rulers” and the threat of being “blown to kingdom come”, but he continues with the lyrics: “And I don’t wanna die, I wanna see the flowers bloom, don’t wanna go kaput-kaboom.”
How tasteless can you get? Seems like the bbc likes anti war songs so long as they don’t suggest the victims might be Israeli, in which case they’re in bad taste. Or perhaps it’s tasteless to mention such things in a contest famed for nice, sensistive acts like Lordi? Or what?
Even after extracting £3bn pa from our pockets, the BBC are doing their best to prevent the taxpayer get the benefit of Gordon’s selling of the family silver.
The BBC is at loggerheads with Ofcom over the regulator’s plans to flog off the surplus analogue television spectrum to the highest bidder. The Corporation worries that without more spectrum being set aside for cash-strapped broadcasters, like itself, there will be no Freeview high definition services, handing a big advantage to pay operators. That could cost £5.4 billion to £15.6 billion in lost social value, according to consultants Indepen. That may sound flaky, but never underestimate the BBC’s lobbying operation.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article1555652.ece
Iranians are orchestrating most of the attacks in Basra. 15 British sailors have been snatched by Iran. But remember – it’s not the purpose of the BBC “to identify one group of people as an enemy and another group of people as those to be supported” (World Affairs editor John Simpson). God forbid that British troops could count on the BRITISH Broadcasting Corporation to support them rather than the Iranians.
I understand this might little petty, but viewed in the light of a corporation which likes to mock George Bush for his verbal accidents, you’d expect the BBC to be a bit more polished.
Take, for example, Bridget Kendall, who joined the ranks of the undead this lunchtime when she said “nucular” on R4’s World At One, whilst discussing Iran.
Nucular… Hmm… Presumably we’ll be hearing some adolescent on The Now Show sending her up, as a consequence?
Anonanon writes:
“But remember – it’s not the purpose of the BBC “to identify one group of people as an enemy and another group of people as those to be supported” (World Affairs editor John Simpson). God forbid that British troops could count on the BRITISH Broadcasting Corporation to support them rather than the Iranians.”
Not for the first time, one wonders what the arrogant fool would have done had he been reporting on WWII?
I don’t suppose any B-BBC reader has a Tardis they could lend us.. ?
Why isn’t Al Beeb reporting on its site about its latest massive own scandal, involving exactly what BBBC has beed critical of for a long time, and in some detail: the bias on reporting Israel? But on top of this there is the Al Beeb COVER-UP.
“BBC pays £2000,000 to ‘cover up report on anti-Israel bias'” (23 Mar.)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk
On the secondary point of who pays for all Al Beeb’s top barristers in this to prevent freedom to information (possible bill, £300,000 so far)?: the politically misled, and lied to, BBC licence payers? No. BBC ‘news’ chiefs should pay for this. This is a sacking offence.
Just some of the recent BBC scandals:
Anti Israel Cover Up
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=444074&in_page_id=1770
Cash For Reporting
http://libertyandlawjournal.blogspot.com/2007_03_01_archive.html#1549519323856625431
Phone In Theft From Children
http://live.marketclusters.com/cl2/view/2007/03/19/bbc_investigated_in_phone-in_scandal/
Eurovision Fake
http://music.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2038357,00.html
The Abu Bowen E-Mail
http://www.honestreporting.co.uk/articles/critiques/Bowens_World.asp
…and that was just some of them and only recent ones.
Its too many to be just coincidence isn’t it – the BBC love to push for public inquiries, how about one into them.
“Iranians seize 15 UK marines in Gulf”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk
We can expect another Al Beeb story about peaceloving Iran, and questioning whether UK marines were in correct territorial waters.
Surely this should be “Iranians capture 15 UK marines in Gulf”
It seems that plumbers are retraining as taxi drivers.
Taxi driver quizzed over 7 July
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6484129.stm
Come on, Al Beeb. Get in touch with your buddies in Tehran and get the fifteen marines released. You know you can do it if you want to.
Yet again biased BBC sports reporting.
The most recent example but it happens all the time.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/6484977.stm
In bold in the very first sentance Appleton is described as former Manchester United footballer.
In reality he was a trainee at Old Trafford but made NO appearances and moved to Preston North End in 1997 and from there to West Bromwich Albion in 2001.
It would be natural to refer to him as a former player of his most recent team or the one he played for the most would it not rather than a team he never played for.
Compare to a normal article
http://www.sportinglife.com/football/cc_championship/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/07/03/23/SOCCER_West_Brom.html&TEAMHD=nationwide1
In football BBC always prefers Manchester United, London teams and Liverpool and it treats non premiership (to which it has no broadcasting rights) as if they don’t exist.
But its not just football either.
BBC sport outrageously bias?
Greatly and frequently, you had better believe it.
BaggieJonathan: You’re not a West Brom supporter by any chance? 😉
GCooper:
The inherent contradictions in the causes the Left chooses to espouse and those it ignores never fail to amaze me.
It’s based on grouping people into labelled groups and siding with or against those groups according to what’s expedient now. Leftist dogma is consistent only in its hatred for the west and capitalism; everything else is wholly unstable.
Thus the left gets very exercised about white male sexism towards women, but is quite happy to break bread with Islamic clerics who think it’s OK to assault your wife, because Islamic clerics hate Britain and the west. The left was out on the streets demonstrating against white South African oppression of blacks; it is silent on black Zimbabwean oppression of blacks, because Mugabe hates Britain and it agrees. The left demonstrated against NATO nuclear missiles, but not Soviet ones, because the USSR hated the west; today, it is anti-Trident but not anti-Iranian WMD, because Iran hates the west.
One could go on. There is little rational thought behind the left’s attitudes; you have to look to its hatreds and prejudices instead, and if you do, it enables you to predict the leftist view on pretty much everything.
PA police may have helped snatch BBC reporter
So depressingly unrigerous, like my spelling:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/misc/scripts/humphrysramadan.html
Total lack of any Magners League rugby on BBC Scotland but live games and highlights every week on BBC Wales.
Sports Personality of the Year where personality is irrelevant!
Attrocious coverage of womens sport apart from Wimbledon
http://www.wsf.org.uk/docs/bbc_sport_online_analysis.doc
Only showing heats in athletics when a Briton is running and showing recordings or interviews whilst live action is taking place (compare to Eurosport coverage occuring at the same time).
Between almost every point showing us in the crowd the pretty girlfriend of one of the male players during Wimbledon games.
Arsenal banning England flags when the problem was with Northern Cyprus flags disingenuously reported by the BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/6187983.stm
Match of the Day – its usually quite late and the big 4 teams are always shown in extended highlights and usually towards the beginning, other teams take their chances and could be a few seconds tagged on near the end.
Lots more but I think you get the idea.
Disillusioned German are you an ex BBC sports reporter?
BJ: No, I’m not. I happen to know who the Baggies are though. I don’t think Al Beeb are biased towards Moan. Utd. though. Their dislike of Americans has shone through since the Glazer take-over. I do believe they’re biased against my club West Ham and very much pro Chel$ea.
This from the Al-BBC England nEws today…
“Robbers attack pensioner for 10p
A 67-year-old man was attacked in his Bedford home by a gang of robbers who escaped with just 10p.
The man was punched in the face after he answered the door of his home in Cardington Road, on Wednesday night.
One of the attackers struggled with him, while another entered the house and stole a wallet containing 10p.
The victim was treated for facial injuries by the ambulance service. The attackers were all black and aged in their early 20s.
They all wore scarves around their faces.
Bedfordshire Police appealed for anyone with information about the incident to contact officers. ”
Surely the police know that according to Al-Beeb , these robbers couldn’t help their actions – they were , after all, suffering from the legacy of slavery.
BioD
Possible PA police involvement in Johnston’s kidnap? This must be what they mean by “unity government”.
BTW Did anyone else see the piece on Ms.Dynamite and the “legacy of slavery” on Al-BBC Online yesterday. I saw it last night but today it seems to have vanished.
Anyway , that famous historian , Ms.Dynamite , was flown to Jamaica at licence payers expense to make a programme that tells us , amongst other things, that “every building in London was built on black slavery”. Quite how the Tower Of London (built 400 years before Britain got involved in the Arab led slave trade) was constructed by black slavery wasn’t explained.
The whole piece was yet another Al-BBC effort to make the white community feel guilty and the black community to feel like eternal victims.
“The inherent contradictions in the causes the Left chooses to espouse and those it ignores never fail to amaze me.”
On that subject take a look at the Harry’s Place thread on escalation of conflict with Iran with the capture of the British sailors and the left’s twisted knickers over that.
Oscar | 23.03.07 – 5:30 pm
Alan Johnston himself said this:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/6459521.stm
They (The Keystone Kidnappers) want proper jobs in this poverty-stricken place, and usually they want to be allowed to join the security services. It is ironic really. Gaza is the only place in the world where your kidnapper’s one demand is that he should be allowed to become a policeman.
So, if the kidnappers are already policemen what do they want? Perhaps more jobs for the rest of the family?
The longer this goes on, and the less we hear about it, the stranger it becomes.
“The inherent contradictions in the causes the Left chooses to espouse and those it ignores never fail to amaze me.”
Scott Burgess deals with that today too.
The Selfish Teenagers of the Left