Open thread – for comments of general Biased BBC interest:


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1,055 Responses to Open thread – for comments of general Biased BBC interest:

  1. TPO says:

    Biodegradable:
    More from the Arab who lives in “Guilford”.

    Bio – We have the University of Surrey here and some quite strange people attend it.
    Possibly comes from there.
    Will speak tomorrow on John Bolton’s appearance on Channel 4 tonight and of his total and utter contempt for Margaret Beckett and the Foreign Office.

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  2. TAM3 says:

    Reflections on “The Summer War in Lebanon”

    Should really have been called “This Summers’ War in Lebanon” it’s a regular enough occurence to be regarded as a seasonal event, perhaps both sides could have a joint religious festival based on this communal event of smashing each other brains in when the weather is clement.

    1958 U.S. invades Lebanon to light resistance, installs a puppet, leaves.
    1978 Israel launches devastating bombing attack on Lebanon, invades Lebanon.
    1981 Israel mounts heavy bombing raid on Lebanon and capital Beirut, bombs Iraq also.
    1982 New Lebanese president asassinated.
    1982 Israel attacks and invades Lebanon. Sabra and Shatila camp refugees massacred by Israel.
    1982 Israel subjects Lebanese capital, Beirut to prolonged attack and siege.
    1982 International outrage (finally) U.S. Marines relieve isolated groups with food and protection.
    1982 Israel attacks with tanks U.S. Marines carrying only sidearms at Beirut Airport.
    1982 U.S. and France launch air strikes against assorted parties, U.S. barracks bombed.
    1982 16 inch guns of U.S. Navy battleship New Jersey bombards Lebanon, as a deterrent.
    1982 Undeterred, the civil war turns against the U.S. forces making last stand at Beirut Airport.
    1982 U.S., Israel, Syria, Moscow pour weapons in, arm everyone, civil war results.
    1984 U.S. withdraws, Israel maintains operations in Southern Lebanon.
    1990 Israeli use of aircraft, armor, artillery, and other equipment for offensive actions in Lebanon.
    1993 Israeli use of aircraft, armor, artillery, and other equipment for offensive actions in Lebanon.
    1996 Israeli use of aircraft, armor, artillery, and other equipment for offensive actions in Lebanon.
    2000 Israel retreats under fire to Southern Lebanon.
    2006 Israel launches devastating attack on Lebanon, invades Lebanon. Mass civilian casualties.

    Control of the Litani River, that is invasion and appropriation from the indigenous people of the water resources itself, by diverting the river to supply Israel, and occupying the fertile valley that leads to the sea have long been documented as part of the Zionists ’cause’, back to the 19th Century, but that cause always was and still is based on exploitative empire building and racism.

    What was the name the Israelis gave the 1978 attack on Lebanon, oh yes, Operation Litani.

    Stourton began limited by the title ‘Summer War’ and from there was unwilling or unable to deliver any of the history of Israeli aggression. He began outright with the alleged kidnapping as if the whole thing just happened in a vacuum where the players were one day sat around replete in a middle eastern utopia when this thing happened out of the blue.

    The location of the kidnapping was then accepted by Stourton as Israel, despite the fact that everywhere else reports some doubts on this matter which has swung backwards and forwards across the hastily arranged UN blue line which does not follow any internationally recognised line as there was no Israel to demarcate the border with, the country south is Palestine. Earlier historical maps, based on French maps demarcating Syria, that Israel does not recognise put the border elsewhere. It is clear that Israel has never really recognised any border including the UN line and has operated continuously inside Lebanon, breaches a daily occurrence, now it has been revealed that the Lebanon based forces that took the Israeli prisoners of war done so using Israeli army vehicles and came from the North, i.e. Lebanon in Israeli army vehicles, now how did they come to have Israeli army vehicles if the Israeli forces were not operating inside Lebanon, did Hizbollah ‘invade’ Israel earlier and ask the Israeli army for the loan of some trucks, “we’ll bring them back once we finish the kidnah–choo”.

    The whole thing is fishy.

    The documentary created another false impression in that it switched from the continuous bombing and destruction by a modern airforce with the latest U.S. weapons of indeterminate destruction, destroying an entire nations infrastructure, still in the throes of rebuilding since the last time Israel done this, then rebombing the same rubbled apartments, to Hizbollah rockets landing on Israeli occupied areas, it did not point out that this rocket bombardment of Israeli areas did not start until Israel had already half-demolised Lebanon, killing hundreds of civilians, the earlier rocket attack was simply a feint attack and a diversionary tactic to facilitate the citizens arrest of the clearly offensive Israeli occupying forces.

    Clearly this was a disproportionate response but in the entirely opposite sense to that banded round by the media, after Israel has destroyed an entire country, Hizbollah fired some retaliatory rockets.

    The BBC really ought to get a grip, apart from giving airtime to extremists like John Bolton, which was an amusing comic diversion in an otherwise serious enough documentary, the rest was a pro-Israeli mish-mash which I expect all right thinking persons on this board will condemn.

    Israel wants to create cages and ghettos for Palestinians.

    Israel is instead building a cage for itself, is recreating the atmosphere of the concentration camp, their country is strong, their country is secure, they could have peace, relative peace only, for future generations but cannot grasp that the insecurities they perceive are not uniquely theirs, they are shared fears, common to all humanity.

    Presumably the whole of Part 2 will be devoted to cluster bombs, something has to be done to balance this contemptuous flannelling.

    Too late Lebanon, Israel decided long ago it would have your country, the sooner UN inspectors get into Israel and dismantle the Israeli nuclear, biological and chemical weapon stockpiles the better as far as I am concerned. Israel was the first to flaunt the authority of the newly formed UN, the UN will get round to you yet.

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  3. pounce says:

    To the troll.
    If you are going to lie for allah at least sign off with Allah ackba.

    Better still just start with;
    “They died in their thousands..”

    P.S
    Is that really a bus stop outside your house. Funny how the queues only start when you go to the mosque.

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  4. archduke says:

    serious question – why is Bolton popping up when he’s no longer UN ambassador?

    is Bush giving him the “nod” to kind of unofficially, at arms length, push the Bush administrations position?

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bolton

    from his wiki page:
    A Wall Street Journal op ed article by Claudia Rossett on Dec. 5, 2006, said in part, “Bolton has been valiant in his efforts to clean up UN corruption and malfeasance, and follow UN procedure in dealing with such threats as a nuclear North Korea, a Hezbollah bid to take over Lebanon, and the nuclearization of Hezbollah’s terror-masters in Iran. But it has been like watching one man trying to move a tsunami of mud.

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  5. archduke says:

    “TAM3 | 04.04.07 – 8:56 pm ”

    Does “Operation Truthful Promise” ring a bell?

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  6. Jon says:

    47 reccomendations is nothing when you think how may people can access the BBC site around the world. It is a mere drop in the ocean. After all there are a substantial amount of TAMs in Britain at present.

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  7. Jon says:

    The American Muslim (TAM)?

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  8. Jon says:

    Find some more of his rants here http://theamericanmuslim.org/ on second thoughts don’t bother.

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  9. archduke says:

    women’s rights in islam
    http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/womens_rights_and_role_in_islam/0013632

    next week, we’ll be discussing the rights of the private property owner under Communism.

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  10. archduke says:

    on seconds thoughts, jon’s right.

    i shouldnt bother.

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  11. archduke says:

    i’m looking forward to somebody from the MOD explaining why “name rank and serial number” seems to have gone out the window.

    but until we hear their side of the story, i’ll reserve judgement.

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  12. Anonymous says:

    TAM3: Reflections on such a peaceful religion

    Rome, 3 April (AKI) – Prosecutors in the northern Italian city of Turin were scheduled to start investigating on Tuesday footage of an imam at the local Cottolengo mosque, Mohammed Kohalia, calling on Muslims to hate Christians and Jews and praying for their death. “The Prophet has said that the extremists [Jews and Christians] will be destroyed,” the cleric is heard as saying in footage secretly filmed by a journalist. “Allah should kill the polytheists.” Kohalia has denied making those statements.
    http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Religion&loid=8.0.401306032&par=0

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  13. archduke says:

    mark urban makes a good point on newsnight – sending women soldiers into islamic countries is NOT a good idea.
    and to make it worse, she was a mother.

    i wouldnt be surprised if it turns out that THAT boarding party was picked out precisely because of the woman on board.

    instant propaganda value to the Iranians – “look at those imperialist savages! they even send mothers to war!”

    FUBAR is the term that comes to mind.

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  14. archduke says:

    urban also points the MESSAGE of the iranians today:

    gitmo – orange suits. cells. army rations.

    by contrast

    iran – nice sharp suits. nice food….

    something tells me that somebody in the MOD needs to reinforce “name rank and serial number” pronto…

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  15. archduke says:

    some tosser with the brains of a newt on newsnight is saying that its a “triumph for diplomacy”.

    errr. has he even noticed the oil price spike? nice little earner for the iranians. capture some Brits – fully expecting NO pain at all – oil price spike – earn millions for funding the re-arming of Hezbollah, in preparation for Hez-Israel war part 2. (due this summer according to Debka)

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  16. Anonymous says:

    .
    It is no accident that Teheran is doing everything possible to humiliate Britain.
    The two countries’ political cultures are not only out of sync, they are operating on different timelines altogether. Britain and the West may no longer believe in imperialism, but Iran – along with most Middle East regimes, opposition movements, and publics – does.

    The West is having trouble distinguishing between imperialism and self-defense, but this is not the first time that has happened, is it?

    Thompson wrote: “Rule, Britannia, rule the waves; Britons never will be slaves.”
    But will they be dhimmis?

    2 Pages
    “Once Britain ruled the waves. Now Iran does”
    http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1173879238497&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

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  17. archduke says:

    ” Anonymous | 04.04.07 – 10:59 pm ”

    if it wasnt for the limp wristed EU “partners” we wouldnt even be out there. we’d be home by now.

    Iraq and Iran have a long history related to British imperialism and empire. in my view, it would have been a far better idea to just have the Brits contribute to the Saddam toppling – and then hand over to somebody else. we should NOT be there as it stirs up old memories (not a good idea….)

    the forgotten anglo-iraq war of 1941 for example:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Iraqi_War

    its typical blair. he has no knowledge of history…but our EU “partners” havent helped either. Our boys should be home by now…

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  18. Umbongo says:

    Just a quote from a great Englishman and parliamentarian concerning a previous “diplomatic triumph”:

    “This is only the beginning of the reckoning. This is only the first sip, the first foretaste of a bitter cup which will be proffered to us year by year unless by a supreme recovery of moral health and martial vigour, we arise again and take our stand for freedom as in the olden time.”

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  19. archduke says:

    from anon’s link above: (that article is spot on by the way…)

    From the Iranian side, of course, humiliation of the West is precisely the goal. Iran is not, moreover, striving for equality, but superiority for its own side. It wants to show, as the revolution’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, once famously said, that the United States and the West in general “cannot do a damn thing.”

    t is the radical Islamists (and remaining radical Arab nationalists) who want to show that they are the ones with the “gunboats,” or rather hijacking airplanes, to keep up with current technology, who can make explosions in Western cities without fear of suffering meaningful retaliation.

    In contrast, the West seeks to prove that it is nice. It seeks to apologize, to make reparations, to act as the weaker party.

    But, you see, the West is running the equivalent of a school for Middle Eastern politicians, intellectuals and revolutionaries. And the lesson it is teaching them is: You are strong and we are weak; you have ideas to believe in, we merely seek maximum comfort and expediency; if you hit us we will yield or look the other way; we are ready to confess our wrongdoing, you only speak of your being absolutely in the right. Like good students, they follow what they are being taught.

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  20. will says:

    iran – nice sharp suits. nice food….

    Apart from Leading Seaman Faye Turney, who was dressed in a random charity shop collection. But she will get no sympathy from Ahmadinejad, being a deserter from her matrimonial duties, or from the UK public for being a …… smoker.

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  21. Biodegradable says:

    Will speak tomorrow on John Bolton’s appearance on Channel 4 tonight and of his total and utter contempt for Margaret Beckett and the Foreign Office.
    TPO | 04.04.07 – 8:36 pm

    I was watching live coverage streamed over this interwebnet thing from the BBC this afternoon, News 24 I imagine. They had Bolton on and I loved the way he simply laughed at some of the questions before replying to them.

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  22. archduke says:

    john snow’s “snowmail” this evening. the headline is nauseating.

    Iran’s gift to Britain
    ===========================

    Just a quick one as we dash about trying to get the Iranian story together.

    The fifteen will be home tomorrow by the look of it. There was no deal, it’s said. Certainly no trial. No prisoner swap. But who won? That’s the question we’ll get to after a good deal of amazing international theatre in Iran.

    The scenes are quite amazing – the flourish with which the Iranian President announced the release of the British team, the ‘meet the President’ ceremony in which the sailors graciously thanked Mr Ahmedinejad for his people’s kindness, and the big grin.

    And the Iranian president certainly milked his moment – he held up the key moment until after an hour or more of other business in his speech, recounting with great flourish the deeds of Iran’s brave forces, the trespass on Iranian waters, the awarding of medals and honours to the Iranians who’d made the capture at sea… and also a dig at the awfulness of Britain for sending a young mother to the Gulf ; ‘Why is there no respect for motherhood? Why does the west not value its women?’ he asked.

    Then as a ‘gift’ to Britain marking both the birth of the Prophet Mohammed and the approach of Easter and the ‘passing’ of Christ, the fifteen were ‘pardoned’ and set free.

    Tonight we report on how it happened in Iran – did the National Security chief Mr Larijani sort it all out with Downing Street? (Mr Larijani’s appearance in a live interview from Tehran on this very programme on Monday evening does seem to have been a key moment). Did the Iranians realised they were overplaying their hand?

    Did the foreign office in London lose control and get pushed out of the way by Tony Blair’s new top man Nigel Sheinwald? And where does it leave Iran’s relationship with the West?

    One school of thought thinks of this as a huge opportunity to see Iran reaching out for a new relationship. And even as i tap this out, i’m watching a most emollient statement from Tony Blair who’s just stepped out of Downing Street, saying this to the people of Iran, ‘we bear you no ill will’

    Others see it as a humiliation of Britain by Iran that leaves us looking weak and them grinning – with all the lessons of what might happen in a bigger confrontation over nuclear weapons. Anyway – we’ll be across all bases at seven.

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  23. archduke says:

    ” will | 04.04.07 – 11:44 pm |”

    indeed. they emphasised the smoking bit. they are masters at propaganda. i have to hand it to them – they check mated us totally.

    dont be surprised if you have a basra snatch squad now in place in the iranian consulate there. (yes. there really is one there… )

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  24. Biodegradable says:

    TAM (Totally Anal Moron) is becoming a real pain. As Bryan says, “so much to fisk, so little time”.

    Here’s just a few points:

    1982 New Lebanese president asassinated.

    By whom?

    Not the Jooos!

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bashir_Gemayel#Assassination
    Nine days before he was due to take office, Gemayel was assassinated along with 25 others in an explosion at the Kataeb headquarters in Achrafieh on September 14, 1982.

    Habib Tanious Shartouni, a member of the pro-Damascus Syrian Social Nationalist Party, confessed to the crime, was apprehended and handed over to Amine Gemayel. He escaped but was captured again a few hours later, and handed over to Lebanon’s justice system. He was imprisoned in the Roumieh prison. He was released from Roumieh in October 1990 by the Syrian army, in what many consider an illegal action.

    1982 Israel attacks and invades Lebanon. Sabra and Shatila camp refugees massacred by Israel.

    Not quite. From the same link as above:

    The Israeli army reoccupied West Beirut, Maronite militias then carried out the Sabra and Shatila massacres.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabra-Shatila_massacre
    The Sabra and Shatila massacre was carried out in September 1982 by a Lebanese Forces militia group against Palestinian refugee camps.

    Again, it wasn’t the Jooos!

    1982 U.S. and France launch air strikes against assorted parties, U.S. barracks bombed.

    It was actually 1983 that the US barracks were bombed. By whom we may ask?

    Why none other than your friends Hezballah – the Party Of Allah (Peanut Butter Up His)

    Not the Joos!

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Beirut_barracks_bombing

    That’s enough for now. You’ll get indigestion.

    Here’s one last link for you TAM:
    http://www.amishrakefight.org/gfy/

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  25. archduke says:

    DONT FEED THE TROLL..

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  26. Anonymous says:

    “something tells me that somebody in the MOD needs to reinforce “name rank and serial number” pronto…”

    No shit…….what a shower the Brit hostages were…playing RIGHT into the hands of their captors……
    Britain is now seen as weak……and it’s Military a sad joke.

    No wonder it clings to Unlce Sams cape……without America, Britain is a joke…just another member of that crazy hellhole….Europe….

    How did the Game go last night?…..I thought I saw some of those “Intellectual Europeans” beating each other with clubs at a football game….lol.

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  27. Biodegradable says:

    DONT FEED THE TROLL..
    archduke | 05.04.07 – 1:47 am

    OK, OK, please don’t shout at me archduke :o(

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  28. Biodegradable says:

    ROTFLMAO!

    TAM – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Tam Tam, a brand name for a variety of chametz crackers produced by the Manischewitz company. The name is probably derived from the Hebrew word ta’am which …
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TAM

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TAM#Various

    Tam is the Hebrew word for “simpleton”

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  29. dave t says:

    Name rank and number works when the other side also obey the Geneva Convention. Since Iran doesn’t it is difficult to say how the captured group should have reacted. If they’d stuck to name rank number then you can bet that Faye would have been taken elsewhere by the Iranians to encourage the lads to obey. Plus if I were under the impression (now proven) that my government and Foreign Secretary were a bunch of spineless twits, then would you be prepared to die for them?

    I’d be more worried about the fact that the Iranians now have 15 sets of British uniforms and weapons available for their sniper teams in Basra to use, again contrary to the Law of Armed Conflict. They still haven’t returned the boats and GPS stuff they stole in 2004!

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  30. Oscar says:

    From today’s Times – ‘BBC report was a set-up, Romania claims’

    http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article1615826.ece

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  31. Robbiekeane says:

    Hey anon,

    At least they managed not to shoot any of their own side, right? Home safely with (it would appear) no concessions granted, what a fiasco eh?

    The joke aspects of the UK are mainly due to its association with the inept current US administration, as opposed to being part of the great continent of Europe or our close ties with the great nation that is the USA.

    Learn some basic grammar then you’ll be able to write in proper sentences and paragraphs, it’s the Queen’s English don’t you know.

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  32. Anonymous says:

    archduke

    I’m not sure Tam is a troll in the usual sense.

    He is on topic in that he is accusing the BBC of bias towards Israel.

    He may be a bit long-winded – but he has an srgument on bias to put fwd even if others don’t agree with it. Just being wrong isn’t trolling.

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  33. archduke says:

    well spotted oscar.
    http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article1615826.ece

    if something as relatively non-controversial as Romanian immigrants can be staged, you have to wonder then about reports on highly controversial topics, like say…. Qana and Hezbollywood…

    http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2006/08/corruption-of-media.html

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  34. archduke says:

    “Anonymous | 05.04.07 – 9:24 am”

    ok fair point.

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  35. Ralph says:

    ‘I was watching live coverage streamed over this interwebnet thing from the BBC this afternoon, News 24 I imagine. They had Bolton on and I loved the way he simply laughed at some of the questions before replying to them.’

    Well the BBC could least have put a competent journalist up to ask him questions. You got the impression he was enjoying himself at her expense.

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  36. Oscar says:

    “More from the useful idiots. They throw doubt on anything the US or the UK say or do, but swallow whole the latest Iranian pantomime.”

    The Today prog outdid itself (if that’s possible) in their interview with Norman Lamont at 8.10. Lamont didn’t berate the government for weakness – but for having the temerity to go to the UN – which according to him held up diplomacy. The BBC liked this so much they used it as a soundbite in their 9am news bulletin. Why, I wonder, should a discredited ex Tory Chancellor be given such deference on Today? Read Hugh Fitzgerald for more on Lamont’s Arab business interests, and what might be motivating him. (scroll down to Hugh’s comment)
    http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/003753.php

    BTW – if TAM isn’t a troll – then he deserves to be fisked and discredited – he is spouting BS and needs to be exposed.

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  37. IiD says:

    Good Morning

    Firstly thank god they are coming back safe and well.

    But a triumph for diplomacy?

    From what I saw this was truly a Furhur moment par excellence from Mr Ahmadinejad.

    Yesterday the free world was defeated. To me the mullahs have acted like the German military in 1933.They stood back while this ill-educated reactionary “lectured” the world on the “West’s” behaviour just like Hitler ranted. Just like Hitler he decorates his toadies while humiliating the likes of Ali Larijani.His astute reading of the UK’s own domestic problems, along with feral intuition makes him a dangerous foe.

    All the “dull” rants are so crucial to understanding of who is in charge now. With a “click” of the finger HE had the power to release, HE and his clique can organize “crowds”, THEY control the security apperatus and the IRGC.

    Never has the “free world” looked so weak and meaningless-expect a full battery of “Manchurian Candidate” rantings. This is the final nail in the UK’s involvement in Sourthern Iraq.The “coalition of the willing” has never looked so weak until today.

    Blair-he looked like Chamberlin, wrong footed, out foxed and apparently out gunned. Problem is TB HAS gone (I think he looked as though he has had enough) and looking at the calibre of “leadership” in the UK, expect more “fun and games” from Iran in the future.

    Iran’s Blue Peter efforts have outflanked “Western” propaganda from the MSM time after time after time.

    And the “rock star” treatment from the likes of Harrison remind me of all those DM reporters in 1938-spellbound.

    The BBC’s Frances Harrison asked him what prompted his change of heart.

    “I didn’t change my decision suddenly. From the beginning, I didn’t want to have any confrontation. We wanted our rights and we really didn’t want to have any confrontation. The British government behaved badly and it took longer.

    The BBC’s Frances Harrison asked him what prompted his change of heart.
    “I didn’t change my decision suddenly. From the beginning, I didn’t want to have any confrontation. We wanted our rights and we really didn’t want to have any confrontation. The British government behaved badly and it took longer.

    Serious questions need to be asked regarding BBC “reporting” and manipulation from the IRGC/MOIS.

    And by the way you heard it here first:

    UK to meet Hamas PM over reporter

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6528875.stm

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  38. Rueful Red says:

    Now the hostages have been released, wouldn’t now be a good time to blow up Iran’s only oil refinery? Make them think twice about kidnapping next time?

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  39. IiD says:

    Archduke-How did your power lunch with our Iranan friends go?

    TAM2-I’m interested,why don’t you show any hyperlinks to back your version of history?

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  40. James says:

    From

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6526359.stm

    “President Ahmadinejad announced the release of the 15 British naval personnel like a card player flinging down his hand to scoop the pool.

    Iran had good cards and played them well.”

    If you think an act of war (seizing foreign soldiers in another country’s territory) can be compared to playing a game of poker, then you’re definitely working for the right media organisation.

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  41. TPO says:

    So far Bolton has collected the scalps of Jon Snow & Krishnan Guru-Murthy from Channel 4; Dimblebore and the preposterous Benn on QT.
    Who was the BBC News 24 bimbo?
    Last night on Channel 4, again without spelling it out, he left no one in any doubt where the fault for this latest debacle lies.
    Someone much further up this thread provided a very useful link to something concerning the regular incursions by Iranian vessels into Iraqi waters. (If anyone can point me in the right direction I’d be grateful as I can’t find the link).
    I’m only speculating here but I would suggest that the Iranians, having successfully probed into Iraqi waters on a number of occasions without any serious challenge, realised that they could pull off the latest stunt.
    Who was responsible for the softly softly approach to these incursions? I don’t think it was the US. If it was the UK then its a perfect example of ‘You reap what you appease’ and a possible explanation of US exasperation with the UK, articulated so well through John Bolton.

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  42. Bryan says:

    Within the first minute or two he says a soldier (Gilad Shalit) was captured in Gaza so that gives a good indication of what’s to follow.
    Biodegradable | 04.04.07 – 1:07 pm

    Yeah, but he also says that the Israeli soldiers were captured in a cross-border attack from Lebanon using missiles as diversionary tactics. Though he didn’t mention the soldiers who were killed during that attack and shortly afterwards when they tried to rescue their comrades, this almost seems to indicate that the BBC is inching, albeit reluctantly, towards an accurate representation of what happened that day so I’m keeping an open mind.

    I understand the need for brevity in documentaries and that the BBC can’t give all the facts about an incident in one breath, but when I think about it, I wonder what was stopping the BBC from linking the attack from Gaza with the raid from Lebanon by showing what they had in common – both cross-border raids and both resulting in Israeli soldiers being killed and kidnapped.

    They are repeating it on the World Service today at 13:00, so I’ll try to catch it then and do some Fisking.

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  43. IiD says:

    TPO:

    Do you think the UK is waving the white flag and getting out of S Iraq?

    It certainly would bring “closure” politically for Brown.

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  44. archduke says:

    “iid -> Archduke-How did your power lunch with our Iranan friends go?”

    you lost me. the london protest? i didnt go up there due to work. was due to go up on saturday.

    “James | 05.04.07 – 10:31 am ”
    looked to me as if it was a game of poker – or maybe a game of “chicken”. the west blinked first.

    i really have to hand it to the iranians – they played this one superbly, suceeding in making the UK pissed off with the EU and UN, while the US was forced to take a back seat and just look on. at the same time, the dhimmi BBC did their bidding on the propaganda front.

    and on TOP of all that , they made MILLIONS from the oil price spike. handy money for re-arming Hezbollah for the forthcoming part 2 of the israel-hez war.

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  45. IiD says:

    Sorry Archduke,I though you went up there yesterday.Doh!:)

    I have to say for short term relief we are going to get long term damage from this archduke…..

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  46. archduke says:

    http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/republicans-demand-investigation-of-u.n.-climate-change-agency-2007-04-04.html

    Nine House Republicans Wednesday called for a probe of a United Nations agency that monitors climate change, citing reports of mismanagement.

    Members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, led by the panel’s ranking Republican, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Fla.), asked the Governmental Accountability Office (GAO) to launch an inquiry into the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). An audit has shown that a WMO official misappropriated $3 million to finance a “money-for-votes scheme” before fleeing.

    http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=070404203258.5klhwqs4&show_article=1
    Climate change is happening on Mars too.

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  47. archduke says:

    “I have to say for short term relief we are going to get long term damage from this archduke…..
    IiD | 05.04.07 – 11:28 am ”

    i agree. The Iranians now call the shots – and they know it.

    4 soldiers killed in basra – roadside bomb , no doubt supplied by the iranians.

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6529081.stm

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  48. archduke says:

    lots of analysis and commentary on the hostage crisis on the eu ref blog:

    http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/

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