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Open thread – for comments of general Biased BBC interest:
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Oscar | 05.04.07 – 6:35 pm | #
Biodegradable | 05.04.07 – 7:49 pm | #
BioD -snap!
Apropos – the captive sailors and their worryingly enthusiastic participation in Mr DJ’s mini-series.
Michelle Malkin has posted the standard US military code of behaviour:-
http://michellemalkin.com/archives/007254.htm
Makes you nostalgic for all those old Colditz & Stalag Luft VI movies.
The yanks still seem to stick to the old rules but I fear our MOD may have lost the plot .
“Foxgoose | 05.04.07 – 9:20 pm”
i hate to say it but i just cant imagine the hardened grunts of the U.S. marine corps agreeing to be paraded around like our lot.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/04032007/postopinion/opedcolumnists/wheres_winston__opedcolumnists_ralph_peters.htm?page=0
You could put a U.S. Marine in a dungeon and knock out his teeth, but you wouldn’t knock out his pride in his country and the Corps. “Semper fi” means something.
And our Aussie allies would be just as tough.
What on earth happened to the Royal Marines? They’re members of what passes for an elite unit. Has the Labor government’s program to gut the U.K. military – grounding planes, taking ships out of service and deactivating army units – also ripped the courage from the breasts of those in uniform?
he does have a point, even if it does make for uncomfortable reading.
“semper fi”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semper_fi
“always faithful”. motto of the US marine corps.
It’s not like in the black and white films where the hero sticks out his chest and shouts NEVAR!
When they were made to read out that “confession”, complete with spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, they were helping send a clear message to home that they were okay. Anyone can tell the confession is bullshit, especially by the grammer mistakes. Meanwhile they get hot dinners and a rug to lie down on.
Besides, there was no way Iran was ever going to harm them. This whole propaganda victory is based on presenting Iran as ‘reasonable’ and so forth.
However they could have engaged in assymetrical warfare and knocked out their own teeth. Like on Fight Club.
“However, the appointment would raise allegations of cronyism because Sir Michael is said to be close to Chancellor Gordon Brown and is a former Labour councillor.”
http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/birminghampost/news/tm_headline=sir-michael-favourite-to-replace-grade&method=full&objectid=18847242&siteid=50002-name_page.html
“Sir Michael Lyons, Gordon Brown’s adviser on the future council tax, has emerged as the surprise frontrunner to become first chairman of the BBC Trust.
Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary, is understood to be close to making an announcement, which could see a former Labour councillor with almost no broadcast experience become the BBC’s regulator. ”
“Hugo Swire, the Shadow Culture spokesman, said: “It is imperative that any chairman of the BBC Trust is able to demon-state their political impartiality. It is a highly sensitive job, and it is inconceivable that a chairman should be closely identified with a political party.”
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article1593897.ece
This appointment only goes to show how shallow and corrupt this government is. But it could also be a godsend. There can now be no pretence of impartiallity. It will, I think be the downfall of the BBC (fingers crossed). But Lyons background has to be shouted from the rooftops – so that there can be no doubt in peoples minds.
Archduke
Ouch!
That NY Post piece hurt but it’s hard to argue with some of it.
Maybe this is what you end up with if you raise a generation of young people on a NULAB diet of multiculti, touchy-feely eurosludge.
“This appointment only goes to show how shallow and corrupt this government is. But it could also be a godsend. There can now be no pretence of impartiallity. It will, I think be the downfall of the BBC (fingers crossed). But Lyons background has to be shouted from the rooftops – so that there can be no doubt in peoples minds.
Jon | 05.04.07 – 10:05 pm | #
——————————————————————————–”
The problem is that the BBC demonstrates its ‘independence’ from government everyday.
The government (of whatever hue, and inadequacy) must act in what it believes is the best interests of the country.
To prove itself independent of government, the BBC does not.
“Maybe this is what you end up with if you raise a generation of young people on a NULAB diet of multiculti, touchy-feely eurosludge.”
You can say that again Foxduck.
I think the lefts hostility to Israel is based on displaced anger. After all the Israelis;
1. Still believe in God
2. Still believe in their country
3. Still believe in their people
4. Still believe in themselves as individuals
5. Still have martial pride
6. Still believe in themselvs as creators and achievers. In other words they don’t have a Robin Cook telling them that they owe everything unique about themselves to other people.
Everything they don’t have the spine to say yes to.
No wonder the left hates them. They much prefer a good victim.
UV
I don’t think they needed to knock their own teeth out.
I also think there’s nothing wrong with a strategic, dignified tongue-in -cheek confession to ensure good treatment. As you say – everyone could see it was bullshit.
It was the repeated enthusiastic apologies accompanied by all the big grins, silly waving and goody bags that seemed a bit off.
Maybe I am just an old black & white sort of bloke.
Government appoints New Labour Friendly BOSS for BBC…..
And the people at the BBC think there is no political interfearing?
Are they …er….retarded?….lol.
S’bleeding obvious that government is in control of the BBC…….and the BBC loves Gordon Brown….another nail in their coffin as everyone else in Britain hates the man….lol.
Bye BBC…
BTW..this thread is taking time to load with Broadband….I pity anyone on dial up…any chance of a new thread?
I had a closer listen to Ed Stourton’s programme on the Lebanon war.
Although he appears to follow the usual BBC line, he has a refreshing way of giving his interviewees free rein. His editing is far more relaxed than the usual tread-on-eggshells BBC editing with its careful PC engineering of the news.
There are some frank and fascinating exchanges between Stourton and John Bolton and other non-PC observations from others.
Biodegradable provided links to the programme here:
http://www.haloscan.com/comments/patrickcrozier/5304548027124912145/#336359
and here:
http://www.haloscan.com/comments/patrickcrozier/5304548027124912145/#336360
I was getting set to fisk it but I actually almost found as much to commend as to fisk.
The problem is that the BBC demonstrates its ‘independence’ from government everyday.
The government (of whatever hue, and inadequacy) must act in what it believes is the best interests of the country.
To prove itself independent of government, the BBC does not.
paulc | 05.04.07 – 10:19 pm | #
So you agree that the BBC is not impartial and does not have to stick to its impartiallity guidelines.
Imagine one of the BBC’s best paid journalists writing a eulogy for an unrepentant aged Nazi. Unlikely isn’t it? How about an article praising a life-long follower of another bunch of mass-murderers – the Communist party. Hero-worship from Jeremy Paxman in the Guardian:
In the event, although born three years before the Russian revolution, she has comfortably outlived the unhappy experience of the USSR. Yet, almost to the end, she stayed loyal to the Communist party. How could she have remained in the party after Moscow sent its tanks into Hungary in 1956?
At the time she was living in Canada, where the Communist party was illegal. The isolation of a life in which almost all friends were party members played a part, as, doubtless, did naivety. Those who left the party then, she felt, were indulging in egotism…
I am convinced that the constant activism, the passionate devotion to a cause, is one of the things that has kept her alert and active. How many of the rest of us can expect, at the age of 93, to be giving a talk to the United Nations Association, turning out to Cuba Solidarity Campaign meeting, supporting the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom or holding activist meetings in our front room?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/antiwar/story/0,,2050388,00.html
I doubt the journalists languishing in Cuban prisons are as supportive of her activities. Nice going Jeremy.
Does Paxman not come under this then?
“The Neil Report notes that the Governors had overseen changes in the BBC’s management structure, its processes and guidelines before Lord Hutton reported in
January this year. These included appointing a Deputy Director-General with responsibility for editorial compliance, undertaking a thorough review of the BBC’s complaints handling system and tighter rules on BBC journalists and presenters writing for newspapers and magazines.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/policies/text/neil_report.html
“The BBC is to use licence payers’ money to pay up to £2 million in compensation to some of its best known presenters when a ban on them writing for newspapers comes into effect next month.
Under new rules, which are being introduced by the BBC because of concerns raised during the Hutton Inquiry about its journalists’ activities, senior broadcasters including John Humphrys, the Today presenter, and Andrew Marr, the corporation’s political editor, will be prevented from writing columns, which can earn them as much as £100,000 a year.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/11/30/nbeeb30.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/11/30/ixnewstop.html
the bbc likes to tell us that there are muslims and they are in europe…
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/default.stm
I see it only applies to Kilroy Silk.
“BBC guidelines
BBC Breakfast will continue for an extra half hour, to 0930, while Kilroy is off air.
BBC media correspondent Torin Douglas said the issue was so serious the investigation was likely to be considered by the governors as well as senior managers and editorial policy.
“Many people would see it very hard for him to continue with a programme that deals with current affairs matters having made such comments,” he said.
Only last month the BBC tightened up guidelines regarding presenters writing for newspapers, particularly about current affairs or contentious issues. ”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3383589.stm
Jon writes:
“But Lyons background has to be shouted from the rooftops – so that there can be no doubt in peoples minds.”
That’s one of two really excellent comments this evening! The other was from Foxgoose about the way our servicemen (and woman) behaved being, in all likelihood, due to the UK’s lamentably touchy-feely society.
Nelson must be spinning.
It works to pressure the unfair BBC:
“The Beeb ‘review their decision ‘ to axe Moira”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk
(go to ‘TV and showbiz’).
The BBC and Not The Nine O’Clock News.
So has anybody heard any news from Afghanistan from the BBC lately?
Well the last story the BBC aired was the one about two kidnapped French air workers. Which promotes the viewpoint that the Taliban are winning .
“A spokesman for the Taleban told a BBC reporter in Afghanistan that they had kidnapped all five.” And “The Taleban confirmed it had all five but did not say what would happen to them. “They are in our custody now and our leadership will decide their fate,” the Taleban spokesman was quoted by news agency AFP.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6527699.stm
The BBC Afghanistan page was last updated on the 2nd of March. It’s lead story is about NATO troops in Afghanistan are somewhat disjointed in fighting the terrorists.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/south_asia/2004/afghanistan/default.stm
Which is somewhat strange as NATO has not only taken the fight to the Taliban but did so a month ago and is still doing so. Here is how the rest of the world are informed of what is currently transpiring in Afghanistan;
Gulf Times from Qatar;
Dozens of Taliban killed, captured Published: Thursday, 5 April, 2007
KABUL: Dozens of Taliban militants have been killed and captured in more than 200 engagements with Nato-led and Afghan security forces during a major operation launched a month ago, the alliance said yesterday.
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=141987&version=1&template_id=41&parent_id=23
Police detain 22 at ‘suicide school’ run by Taliban
HERAT: Police raided a religious school in remote western Afghanistan and arrested 22 people, an official said yesterday, alleging the madrassa was involved in organising Taliban suicide attacks.
Afghan police acting on a tip-off raided the school late yesterday in the western province of Farah – which last month saw several suicide blasts – provincial police chief Sayyed Agha Saqib said.
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=141806&version=1&template_id=41&parent_id=23
Canada;
Cdn troops move into Helmand province
MAYWAND, Afghanistan (CP) – Canadian troops rolled into Helmand province Thursday as part of NATO’s push to rout the Taliban in southern Afghanistan.
The Canadian force of Leopard tanks, LAV-3 light armoured vehicles and infantry had been patrolling the Maywand district in western Kandahar province for the past month. While Canadian troops have been to Helmand before, this is the first big push by the Gagetown, N.B.-based battle group since NATO launched Operation Achilles on March 6.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/War_Terror/2007/04/05/3925664-cp.html
Coalition forces kill Taliban fighters
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – Afghan and NATO forces killed at least 10 Taliban fighters Tuesday and captured two others in Helmund province.The deaths resulted from an operation meant to target a regional sub-commander with direct ties to Taliban military leader Mullah Dadullah Lang.
http://dose.canada.com/news/story.html?id=c8584290-e97a-417b-8dcc-3f9ac07289c7
America;
NATO on Offence in Afghanistan
In Afghanistan, U.S. General Dan McNeill, commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), has started a major military action, Pace said.
“I do not want to get into the specifics of the operation, but it will unfold very clearly here in the next couple of days,” Pace said. “If we disclose the size of the operation, it will tell our enemies what they might possibly avoid or not avoid.”Anti-government Taliban fighters traditionally spend the winter months in mountain hideouts, then launch attacks in the early spring. Gates said that when he took office in December 2006, he was concerned “that the level of violence in Afghanistan during the springtime had increased fairly steadily over the past two or three years.”He ordered a larger U.S. troop presence, and NATO commanders say they want to hold the initiative in 2007, with NATO making the spring offensive instead of waiting for enemy fighters to make the first move. NATO’s Operation Achilles formally launched March 6, and Pace said the latest military action is part of that ongoing operation.
http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2007&m=April&x=20070405165914MVyelwarC0.4863397
NATO Forces Launch Major Taliban Assault
CBS) The thunder of British guns late Wednesday night marked the star of an ambitious NATO operation to drive the Taliban out of the town of Sangin in southern Afghanistan, CBS News chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan reports exclusively. As they fired, U.S. forces from the 82nd Airborne were dropped into Helmand Sangin valley under cover of darkness.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/05/eveningnews/main2654320.shtml?source=RSSattr=CBSEveningNews_2654320
Kuwait;
NATO spring offensive against Taliban in Afghanistan under way – Pace
NATO spring offensive against Taliban in Afghanistan under way – Pace WASHINGTON, April 5 (KUNA) — A North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) spring offensive against the Taliban in Afghanistan has begun, U.S. General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Thursday.
http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1721976&Language=en
and from the BBC?
The Taliban are winning…
The BBC and Not The Nine O’Clock News.
Does anyone know what instructions are given to British forces in case of capture, if any?
Enter Sir Michael Lyons, the new BBC chairman. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6526001.stm)
He is reported as saying: “We must ensure that the decisions we take represent the interests of those who matter most. The public, the people who own the BBC. This will involve safeguarding the BBC’s independence and impartiality, as well as ensuring the licence fee is invested wisely and listening to concerns from the commercial sector.”
I love this stuff – I really do!
The translation of his statement is: “Ok, so you own the BBC but don’t worry, we’ll look after it for you. JUST LEAVE US ALONE!”
The statement (“I love BBC Radio 4, BBC TV, BBC music, BBC drama, BBC Catering, the colour of the BBC buildings” etc etc) is all things to all men/women and was probably written by our very own “John Reith” at Corporate Affairs in White City.
Ho hum – here we go again
GCooper says “..due to the UK’s lamentably touchy-feely society.”
I have said this before if the armed forces go the same way as the police we have had it. Since the EU made the UK scrap the minimum height for joining the “force” it has slowly become what it is today – “a service”. Add on top of that the push for “diversity” and you get what you have now a totally demoralised and disrepected failure.
If the same is applied to the armed forces you will end up with an “armed service” ie social workers with guns.
deegee:
Does anyone know what instructions are given to British forces in case of capture, if any?
deegee | 06.04.07 – 1:01 am | #
“The real priority is the safety of the prisoners themselves. Admiral Sir Alan West, former head of the Navy, said this week: ‘Our guidance to anyone in that position would be to say what they want you to say.
‘Don’t tell them secrets, clearly, but if they tell you “Say this”, well if that’s going to get you out, then do it. It means absolutely nothing, what they say, to be honest.’ In fact, Mrs Turney and the other sailors have had virtually no training in Conduct After Capture — probably only a lecture or video. The Marines will have had at least two days’ training including a mock interrogation..”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=445562&in_page_id=1770
It does make you think why they were not trained for this eventuality when they were patrolling hostile waters?
“Has climate change affected you? ”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/default.stm
This one keeps popping up all the time – the most recommended was posted on the 4 December 2006. Still maybe regardless of the comments that go against the BBC agenda – if you keep repeating the words “climate change” and the subliminal message that it is “affecting you” – then the propaganda may work.
Oh dear it looks as if the cats out of the bag about Sir Lyon of the BBC:
“Is Sir Michael Lyons right for top BBC job?”
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?sortBy=2&threadID=5970&edition=1&ttl=20070406025541&#paginator
Most recomended so far:
“Added: Thursday, 5 April, 2007, 11:10 GMT 12:10 UK
Any chance he could reign in BBC news and their rampant lefty twaddle that has poisoned the minds of many a British citizen and beyond?
Any chance he’ll allow the Balen report to be released? you know, the report written by the senior BBC editorial advisor and which points to anti-Israel bias.
The BBC has used £200,000 of OUR money to block the release of the report.
Just as the French admitted their anti-Israel bias in the media was fuelling anti-semitism, so too should the BBC.
The Elitist
Recommended by 250 people”
I am a soldier in the army of God.The Lord Jesus Christ is my Commanding Officer. The Holy Bible is my code of conduct. Faith, Prayer, and the Word are my weapons of Warfare. I have been taught by the Holy Spirit, trained by experience, tried by adversity, and tested by fire. I am a volunteer in this army, and I am enlisted for eternity. I will either retire in this Army or die in this Army; but, I will not get out, sell out, be talked out, or pushed out. I am faithful, reliable, capable, and dependable. If my God needs me, I am there.
I am a soldier. I am not a baby. I do not need to be pampered, petted, primed up,pumped up, picked up, or pepped up. I am a soldier. No one has to call me, remind me, write me, visit me, entice me, or lure me.
I am a soldier. I am not a wimp. I am in place, saluting my King, obeying His orders, praising His name, and building His kingdom! No one has to send me flowers, gifts, food, cards, candy, or give me handouts. I do not need to be cuddled, cradled, cared for, or catered to. I am committed. I cannot have my feelings hurt bad enough to turn me around.
I cannot be discouraged enough to turn me aside. I cannot lose enough to cause me to quit. When Jesus called me into this Army, I had nothing. If I end up with nothing, I will still come out even. I will win. My God will supply all my needs. I am more than a conqueror. I will always triumph. I can do all things through Christ. Devils cannot defeat me. People cannot disillusion me. Weather cannot weary me. Sickness cannot stop me. Battles cannot beat me. Money cannot buy me. Governments cannot silence me, and hell cannot harm me!
I am a soldier. Even death cannot destroy me. For when my Commander calls me from this battlefield, He will promote me to a captain. I am a soldier, in the Army, I’m marching, claiming victory. I will not give up. I will not turn around. I am a soldier, marching Heaven bound.
I am a soldier in the army of God.The Lord Jesus Christ is my Commanding Officer. The Holy Bible is my code of conduct. Faith, Prayer, and the Word are my weapons of Warfare. I have been taught by the Holy Spirit, trained by experience, tried by adversity, and tested by fire. I am a volunteer in this army, and I am enlisted for eternity. I will either retire in this Army or die in this Army; but, I will not get out, sell out, be talked out, or pushed out. I am faithful, reliable, capable, and dependable. If my God needs me, I am there.
I am a soldier. I am not a baby. I do not need to be pampered, petted, primed up,pumped up, picked up, or pepped up. I am a soldier. No one has to call me, remind me, write me, visit me, entice me, or lure me.
I am a soldier. I am not a wimp. I am in place, saluting my King, obeying His orders, praising His name, and building His kingdom! No one has to send me flowers, gifts, food, cards, candy, or give me handouts. I do not need to be cuddled, cradled, cared for, or catered to. I am committed. I cannot have my feelings hurt bad enough to turn me around.
I cannot be discouraged enough to turn me aside. I cannot lose enough to cause me to quit. When Jesus called me into this Army, I had nothing. If I end up with nothing, I will still come out even. I will win. My God will supply all my needs. I am more than a conqueror. I will always triumph. I can do all things through Christ. Devils cannot defeat me. People cannot disillusion me. Weather cannot weary me. Sickness cannot stop me. Battles cannot beat me. Money cannot buy me. Governments cannot silence me, and hell cannot harm me!
I am a soldier. Even death cannot destroy me. For when my Commander calls me from this battlefield, He will promote me to a captain. I am a soldier, in the Army, I’m marching, claiming victory. I will not give up. I will not turn around. I am a soldier, marching Heaven bound.
I am a soldier in the army of God.The Lord Jesus Christ is my Commanding Officer. The Holy Bible is my code of conduct. Faith, Prayer, and the Word are my weapons of Warfare. I have been taught by the Holy Spirit, trained by experience, tried by adversity, and tested by fire. I am a volunteer in this army, and I am enlisted for eternity. I will either retire in this Army or die in this Army; but, I will not get out, sell out, be talked out, or pushed out. I am faithful, reliable, capable, and dependable. If my God needs me, I am there.
I am a soldier. I am not a baby. I do not need to be pampered, petted, primed up,pumped up, picked up, or pepped up. I am a soldier. No one has to call me, remind me, write me, visit me, entice me, or lure me.
I am a soldier. I am not a wimp. I am in place, saluting my King, obeying His orders, praising His name, and building His kingdom! No one has to send me flowers, gifts, food, cards, candy, or give me handouts. I do not need to be cuddled, cradled, cared for, or catered to. I am committed. I cannot have my feelings hurt bad enough to turn me around.
I cannot be discouraged enough to turn me aside. I cannot lose enough to cause me to quit. When Jesus called me into this Army, I had nothing. If I end up with nothing, I will still come out even. I will win. My God will supply all my needs. I am more than a conqueror. I will always triumph. I can do all things through Christ. Devils cannot defeat me. People cannot disillusion me. Weather cannot weary me. Sickness cannot stop me. Battles cannot beat me. Money cannot buy me. Governments cannot silence me, and hell cannot harm me!
I am a soldier. Even death cannot destroy me. For when my Commander calls me from this battlefield, He will promote me to a captain. I am a soldier, in the Army, I’m marching, claiming victory. I will not give up. I will not turn around. I am a soldier, marching Heaven bound.
I am a soldier in the army of God.The Lord Jesus Christ is my Commanding Officer. The Holy Bible is my code of conduct. Faith, Prayer, and the Word are my weapons of Warfare. I have been taught by the Holy Spirit, trained by experience, tried by adversity, and tested by fire. I am a volunteer in this army, and I am enlisted for eternity. I will either retire in this Army or die in this Army; but, I will not get out, sell out, be talked out, or pushed out. I am faithful, reliable, capable, and dependable. If my God needs me, I am there.
I am a soldier. I am not a baby. I do not need to be pampered, petted, primed up,pumped up, picked up, or pepped up. I am a soldier. No one has to call me, remind me, write me, visit me, entice me, or lure me.
I am a soldier. I am not a wimp. I am in place, saluting my King, obeying His orders, praising His name, and building His kingdom! No one has to send me flowers, gifts, food, cards, candy, or give me handouts. I do not need to be cuddled, cradled, cared for, or catered to. I am committed. I cannot have my feelings hurt bad enough to turn me around.
I cannot be discouraged enough to turn me aside. I cannot lose enough to cause me to quit. When Jesus called me into this Army, I had nothing. If I end up with nothing, I will still come out even. I will win. My God will supply all my needs. I am more than a conqueror. I will always triumph. I can do all things through Christ. Devils cannot defeat me. People cannot disillusion me. Weather cannot weary me. Sickness cannot stop me. Battles cannot beat me. Money cannot buy me. Governments cannot silence me, and hell cannot harm me!
I am a soldier. Even death cannot destroy me. For when my Commander calls me from this battlefield, He will promote me to a captain. I am a soldier, in the Army, I’m marching, claiming victory. I will not give up. I will not turn around. I am a soldier, marching Heaven bound.
WOW. The Above must be the biggest example of copy `n pasting I`ve ever seen.
“So you agree that the BBC is not impartial and does not have to stick to its impartiallity guidelines.
Jon | 05.04.07 – 10:51 pm | #”
I have never, ever, said otherwise.
The list of the BBC’s failures as an organisation is legion.
The BBC is not impartial and the impartiality guidelines are a cloak for the numerous agendas that it follows.
My twin points were that:
1, to ‘prove’ his independence from govnt., all Lyons has to do is select a subject on which to ‘campaign’ against the government – ie follow the new orthodoxy – and let slip the ‘gentlemen of the media’.
and
2, the BBC, like Melita Norwood believes its values and judgement are superior to those of the electorate of this country. Also like Melita Norwood, the BBC has the means to act.
Watching the Demise of a Once Great Country:
British schools are jettisoning lessons to keep Muslims happy
“Holocaust Avoidance”
“Some British Muslims object to the Red Cross as a symbol, as well as the cross of St. Andrew in the Union Jack, since Crusaders wore the emblem. The Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding said it is time for England to produce a new flag and adopt a patron saint “not identified with our bloody past and one we can all identify with.”
Britain usually outpaces the U.S. in the politically correct sweepstakes. Out of deference to Muslim pupils, the “Three Little Pigs” children’s story has become the “Three Little Puppies.” In many English schools, “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep” is now “Baa, Baa, Rainbow Sheep,” which makes no sense, but supposedly spares the feelings of sensitive black pupils. In some of the same schools, Snow White and the seven dwarfs have morphed into Snow White and the seven gnomes. The advantage here: gnomes aren’t really known for shortness, and, as fictional creatures, they’re in a poor position to complain that the story exploits them.
The national curriculum calls for compulsory teaching about Christianity and Islam in state schools, with lesser emphasis on Judaism and Hinduism. As part of lessons on Islam, children must copy out the Shahadah, the statement of beliefs that signals conversion to Islam. Unsurprisingly, some parents object to having their children write out a declaration of Islamic faith. Many teachers are now very careful when speaking to their Muslim students. At one secondary school, a teacher lost his job after students reported that he had said most suicide bombers were Muslim. The teacher denied it, but the school let him go without a hearing because the pupils “were very upset,” a school official noted”.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=27722
“dressed to mock”
http://publiuspundit.com/2007/04/dressed_to_mock.php
no ties.
ties are banned in Iran as they are considered to be a sign of the cross i.e. a christian symbol.
“home is where the humiliation is”
http://www.julescrittenden.com/2007/04/05/home-is-where-the-humiliation-is/
roundup of lots of press/blog reactions….
“Anonymous | 06.04.07 – 9:55 am”
that frontpage article might be inaccurate, with regards to religious teaching in the UK
http://www.qca.org.uk/1592.html
“RE is not a national curriculum subject. For community-controlled and foundation schools without a religious character, the RE curriculum is established by their local education authority (LEA) through the local agreed syllabus for RE,”
and
“In practice, the RE curriculum in schools varies greatly, as few syllabuses are the same in structure, content or expectations, and the syllabuses offer schools much choice about what to cover. There are no national assessment requirements for RE.”
so , its pretty much down to the local authority and the make up of the pupils.
so, i dont expect the “hideously white” local school near me to be writing out the “Shahadah” anytime soon.
Biodegradable:
“The best answer to your question is this anonymous post from another blog which I copied some time ago:
You are fundamentally wrong about the mythical people you call Palestinians”
The decision to launch the Palestinian nation as opposed to the Arabs of Palestine as they were called before was taken after the 1967 War by Mikhail Suslov, one of the USSR leaders in charge of the communist ideological doctrine.
I wonder if the Beeb announced their new Brown Appointed Leader this week, in an effort to bury this obviously bad news….?
The BBC and a geography lesson.
Multi-ethnic Marseille demands jobs
Marseille is a raw, brash, working-class southern city with a tough reputation – the melting pot of France where, on a clear day, you can almost see the shores of North Africa.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6531223.stm
Almost see the shores of North Africa BBC? Seeing as its almost 500 miles away I wonder how that would transpire. But what is the BBC trying to promote by saying that Africa is just a stones throw away. Could it be that the reason Marseille is full of Muslims is because it is so close to Africa. (500 miles isn’t that far to a BBC reporter whose travel expenses are paid for by the British public)Maybe that would explain why Dover is full of Afghan asylum seekers because it is so close to Kabul.
Littlejohn says this; dhimmi Al Beeb won’t:-
“Littlejohn: Imagine leaving Stalag 13 with a lucky bag and thanking Mr. Hitler” (6 Apr.)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk
(go to ‘Columnists’).
The decision to launch the Palestinian nation as opposed to the Arabs of Palestine as they were called before was taken after the 1967 War by Mikhail Suslov, one of the USSR leaders in charge of the communist ideological doctrine.
DTH | 06.04.07 – 10:25 am
thanks for that very interesting information. You can see from his bio in Wiki (which doesn’t mention the Pals) how much he cared about minority, ethnic groups:
During World War II, he supervised the deportations of Chechens and other Muslim minorities from the Caucasus. In 1944-1946, he chaired the Central Committee Bureau for Lithuanian Affairs. Sent to reimpose Soviet rule on Lithuania after the war, he sent whole villages to prison camps in Siberia. A widely disseminated rumor has it that after the Fourth Plenum of the Communist Party of Lithuania Suslov told a select group of like-minded individuals: Lithuania will be without Lithuanians.
He’s buried next to Stalin.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Suslov
DTH | 06.04.07 – 10:25 am
Indeed, 1967 occurs several times on this page:
http://www.imninalu.net/myths-pals.htm
archduke,
“People should be educated about the realities of Jihad and sharia. Educating non-Muslims about Islam is probably more important than educating Muslims, but we should do both.
Authorities or groups of dedicated individuals should engage in efforts to explain the real nature of Islam, emphasizing the division that Islam teaches between Believer and Infidel, the permanent state of war between Dar al-Islam and Dar al-Harb and the uses of taqiyya and kitman as religious deception.
As Hugh Fitzgerald of Jihad Watch says, we should explain why Islam encourages despotism (because allegiance is owed the ruler as long as he is a Muslim), economic paralysis, intellectual failure (the cult of authority, the hostility to free and skeptical inquiry) in Islamic countries. Let Muslims themselves begin slowly to understand that all of their political, economic, social, intellectual, and moral failures are a result of Islamic teachings.
http://globalpolitician.com/articledes.asp?ID=2568&cid=3&sid=9
Re: DHYS Is Sir Michael Lyons right for top BBC job?
Once again the BBC selects an entirely unrepresentative comment to display on its UK news homepage:
“As long as the BBC stays impartial, I dont really care who is at the top”
Andie, Leeds
The thing that continues to amaze me is that someone, somewhere in the BBC thinks this self-deluding behaviour somehow portrays the BBC in a positive light. They really do think we’re that stupid.
Islam is very dangerous to Western civilization, and India, China, the Far East, and Japan. Western civilisation should wake up and see how so-called PC and multiculturalism is being used to take over their countries. There are several logical and supported reasons for this:
1. That Islam is fundamentally static and unresponsive to change is evident from the absence of an orthodox school of thought capable of reflecting critically upon jihad, Sharia, jizya, etc. and developing new Islamic interpretations that Western liberals (and notably the 9-11 Commission’s Final Report) keep hoping for. Attempts to reformulate the doctrine are not new, but they have failed because they opposed centuries of orthodoxy. As Clement Huart pointed out back in 1907, “Until the newer conceptions, as to what the Koran teaches as to the duty of the believer towards non-believers, have spread further and have more generally leavened the mass of Moslem belief and opinion, it is the older and orthodox standpoint on this question which must be regarded by non-Moslems as representing Mohammedan teaching and as guiding Mohammedan action.” Huart’s near-contemporary Sir William Muir, noted that “a reformed faith that should question the divine authority on which the institutions of Islam rest, or attempt by rationalistic selection or abatement to effect a change, would be Islam no longer”. A century later the diagnosis still stands: it is not the Iihadists who are “distorting” Islam; the would-be reformers are.
2. That Islam is separate from our (Western, Christian, European) culture and civilization, and other than our culture and civilization, is a fact that will never change even if the West (Christendom, Europe, PC and multiculturalism movements) eventually succumb to the ongoing Jihadist demographic onslaught on their populations. Islam is not a religion or movement of peace.
3. Whether Islam is “inferior to the West” is a matter of opinion. That it cannot create a prosperous, harmonious, stable, creative and attractive polity is not a matter of opinion, it is a case of historic fact. That it cannot create the historically based beauty of Western civilized culture and society • lasting literature, classical music that defies description in its supreme beauty, rich art that describes life as a human • is not a matter of opinion, it is a fact. A fact that you will see and hear again and again. Since when did you hear an Islamic “Symphony No. 9”? Whether Islam is “barbaric, irrational, primitive and sexist” is at least debatable; but that its fruits are such is beyond any reasonable doubt. Islam is inferior to the West is a historical and observable fact: when did an Islamic nation last spend huge amounts of money on scientific research to produce a moon rocket, or a cure for cancer? Any science happening now in Islamic countries is a copy of Western science and is only taking place because the religious clerics have given their sanctimonious permission for it to happen.
4. Islam is seen as “violent, aggressive, supportive of terrorism and engaged in a clash of civilizations” not because of an irrational “phobia” in the feverish mind of the beholder, but because of the clear mandate of its scripture, because of the record of almost 14 centuries of historical practice, and above all because of the timeless example of its founder.
5. “Islam is seen as a political ideology” because its defining characteristic is a highly developed program to improve man and create a new society; to impose complete control over that society; and to train cadres ready, even eager, to spill blood. The doctrine of Jihad makes Islam closer to Bolshevism or National Socialism than to any religion known to man. It breeds a gnostic paradigm within which the standard response to the challenge presented by non-Muslim cultural, scientific, technological and economic achievements is hostility and hatred. D’Souza’s alleged distinction between Islamic “extremists” and “moderates” is a Western liberal construct, of course. It doesn’t exist. The difference between them may concern the methods to be applied but not the final objective: to turn every last square mile of Dar al-Harb into Dar al-Islam • to turn every last Western nation in Europe and the Far East into an Islamic nation.
6. Criticisms made of the West by Islam should not be rejected out of hand, they should be understood, not for so-called political correctness and multiculturalism, but so that the West is aware of the critical danger it faces. Islam’s chief “criticism” of the West – and each and every other non-Islamic culture, civilization, or tradition – is that it is infidel, and therefore undeserving of existence • and these barbaric and quaint views reflect the unbending and primitive doctrine of a so-called prophet, Mohammed, who was himself a pedophile, after all did he not take a child wife and use her to satisfy his sexual urges?
7. A priori hostility towards Islam should not be “used to justify discriminatory practices towards Muslims.” Quite the contrary, a comprehensive education campaign about the teaching and practice of Islam should result in legislative action in every single Western civilised country that would exclude Islam permanently and irrevocably from the societies it is targeting, not because it is an offensive religion but because it is an inherently seditious totalitarian ideology incompatible with the fundamental values of the West – and all other civilized societies, India, China and Japan included. It is dangerous, because there is no room for political freedom or freedom of thought. Religion – i.e. Islam – controls the politicis, education, society, economics, and science of an Islamic country. This is very dangerous, and should be banned.
8. “Anti-Muslim hostility” is not “natural or normal.” The infidels’ determination to defend their lands, families, cultures, their primitive and barbaric and childish views on revenge and insult, and faith against Islamic aggression is both natural and normal, however, and must not be neutralized by the Eurocrats from the left of by D’Souza and his likes on the “right.” They will deny that Islam, in Muhammad’s revelations, traditions and their codification, threatens the rest of us – threatens the very existence of Western civilised thought and progress-, that it is the cult of war and intolerance, but the real truth will out. Until the petrodollars support a comprehensive and explicit Kuranic revisionism capable of growing popular roots, we should seek ways to defend ourselves by disengaging from the world of Islam, physically and figuratively, by learning to keep our distance from the affairs of the Muslim world and by keeping the Muslim world away from “the world of war” that it seeks to conquer or destroy.
Is the BBC, in its public support of Islam and the veil, now a political tool of a very dangerous people and faith? It seems so.
Martin Bright, political editor of the ‘New Statesman’ and ex- Al Beeb, ex-‘Guardian’, ex-‘Observer’, thinks the Uk government is beginning to see the light about the threat of Islam.
I am not at all persuaded by Mr. Bright, whose magazine thinks that the correct line to pursue on Islam is that of its infamous correspondent, Rageh Omaar, the Muslim from Somalia, now with the Muslim Brothderhood supporting, Al Jazeera. As long as the ‘New Statesman’ gives prominent space to Mr. Omaar, and at the same time scorns Nick Cohen for lamblasting the ‘left-Islamist’ alliance, it indicates the ignorance of the ‘New Statesman’ on Islam.
Where are the articles by people like Robert Spencer of ‘Jihadwatch’ in the ‘New Statesman’? Where’s the review of books like:
Andrew Bostom (ed.) ‘The Legacy of Jihad’?
No, I think neither the Labour government, Al Beeb nor the ‘New Statesman’ has a truly independent critical understanding of the nature of Islam.
For the record, see Martin Bright’s article:
“Radical Islam: ministers get the message” (9 Apr.)
http://www.newstatesman.com
Mr. Bright, et al, need to improve their education about the urgent nature of the Islamic threat by studying the material at:
http://jihadwatch.org
alan
‘As long as the ‘New Statesman’ ….scorns Nick Cohen’
It doesn’t. Nick Cohen is a regular writer for the new statesman. He’s also Martin Bright’s best friend.
More news from Gaza that Alan Johnston wouldn’t have covered:
PA fears UN may order all aid workers out of lawless Gaza
…
“We’re moving very quickly toward such a scenario,” said Yasser Abed Rabbo, member of the PLO executive committee and a close aide to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. “The Gaza Strip is full of thugs and gangsters who are responsible for the ongoing anarchy. Soon the Gaza Strip may be declared a dangerous zone, which means that all international organizations would have to leave.”
The UN has yet to issue any formal statement to such effect.
Chief PA negotiator Saeb Erekat warned that a “dangerous zone” declaration would increase the suffering of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and called on the PA security forces to start working to end the state of lawlessness and anarchy.
“The Gaza Strip has become worse than Somalia,” a prominent human rights activist in Gaza City told the Post. “Thousands of gunmen continue to roam the streets and the new government hasn’t done anything to restore law and order. Every day you hear horror stories about people who are killed and wounded. The situation is really intolerable.”
Muhammad Dahlan, who was recently appointed PA National Security Adviser, said it was time to admit that a “curse has hit” the Gaza Strip. “Anyone who does not admit that there’s a curse in the Gaza Strip does not know what he’s talking about,” he said.
And talking about Alan Johnston:
Hassan Khraisheh, deputy speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, said that the commanders of the PA security forces knew where Johnston was being held, but were doing nothing to release him. “What’s the point in having 85,000 security officers if they can’t free a foreign journalist who has been held in the Gaza Strip for three weeks?” he asked.
Two militants, boy wounded in factional clashes in Gaza Strip
Hamas and Fatah militants clashed in the Gaza Strip on Friday and at least two militants and a young boy were injured, Palestinian security sources and local residents said…
According to EU Referendum:
http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/#3179513889967126399
Cdre Nick Lambert has ‘relinquished his command’ and command of Task Force 158 has moved from Cornwall (stood down) to another unit in the fleet.
The fallout is just starting.
Jon | 06.04.07 – 3:07 am,
Re your comment on the Lyons HYS,
they have a fascinating first page of recommended comments.
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?sortBy=2&edition=2&ttl=20070406144653&messageID=2610968�
Along with the comment you posted by The Elitist, this is great:
Added: Thursday, 5 April, 2007, 10:42 GMT 11:42 UK
I take it the interview went like..
What do you think is the most important task of the BBC?
“Well..I think it should continue to be responsible for the orderly management of public opinion and should continue to ignore, deride, lie by omission and fact, and neutralise any widespread views that do not coincide with the those of an overeducated metropolitan elite”
Youre in.
Lord Wreath, Walthamstow, United Kingdom
Recommended by 250 people
And this one is really funny:
Added: Thursday, 5 April, 2007, 11:51 GMT 12:51 UK
Normally i’d agree with people who says who cares about internal BBC appointments. Until i remembered Mr Lyons was the head of a LABOUR Birmingham council (and an unbelievably badly run, unaccountable, PC-riddled council at that). Not to mention just a month or two ago wrote a report telling his employer Mr Brown Council Tax is not only fair, but could even do with going up somw more. Now he gets control of the BBC. If i wasn’t in bed ill i’d be hiding under the stairs.
anthony lester, birmingham
Recommended by 217 people
This forum is one of the extremely rare “Reactively Moderated” ones – which perhaps explains why this comment by The Elitist made it past the censors:
Added: Thursday, 5 April, 2007, 16:05 GMT 17:05 UK
The Elitist: Seems to me that you ought to behave. The virulent pro-Israeli nonsense that you “contribute” to every debate is laughable.
Dave Wakeling
It’s a legacy of the virulent anti-Israel axis of the BBC & Guardian, that turnips like you consider ‘pro-Israel’ as something bordering on criminal.
Let me tell you something Mr ‘free palestine’ badge pinned to your proud little chest. I’m neither Jewish nor Israeli, but I’ll stand by that country against their savage neighbours till I die.
The Elitist
Recommended by 57 people
Half listening to “Desi DNA” (BBC2 programme for (Asian) Young Adults). A BBC presenter, Bobby Friction, was considering the calls to ban “jihadi rap” (my description).
I’m not sure if he was refering to work by Sheikh Terra (of ‘Dirty Kuffar’ fame), but the rapper was not a young man.
The argument being made was that there was a history of political music. Fair enough.
But when I think back to my young & daft youth, the “protest” songs were being made by people who were similarly young & daft, & they were singing about peace’n’love not rapping the ingredients for a bomb.
But the BBC wouldn’t like to see the calls to violence curbed.
Anonymous 1:47 pm.
Re- my critical fairly detailed comment on ‘New Statesman’and its lack of independent, critical undertstanding of Islam, you mention a single point about the personal relationship between Martin Bright, the political editor, and Nick Cohen.
I refer to Nick Cohen’s own comment on his website about a review of his book, ‘What’s Left’ by the editor of ‘New Statesman’:
“There’s a stinker from my editor at the ‘New Statesman’ here which says I am so nasty about the Left because I come from the far Left…As is becoming a tradition with ‘New Statesman’ editors, he doesn’t take on my arguments.” (And the same seems to be true of the pro- ‘New Statesman’ Anonymous here.)
Oh dear, the BBC put in quite a spot by the revelations of the returned seamen. The BBC must have attended the press conference expecting a continuation of praise for that benevolent President Ahmadinejad (always given his title not like bush’n’blair). The naval broadside is something they cannot easily gloss over.
But Bowen will have to have his thinking cap on to try & spin Iran out of the sh*t.
The thing that continues to amaze me is that someone, somewhere in the BBC thinks this self-deluding behaviour somehow portrays the BBC in a positive light. They really do think we’re that stupid.
dmatr | 06.04.07 – 12:30 pm
The overpaid and underworked BBC “editors” have nothing better to do than sit and polish up the website through stealth editing and general falsification so that it makes a comfy read for the blinkered left. Have Your Say, which consistently goes against the BBC line in topics across the board, must be a source of great frustration for the PC polishers. But they would evidently far rather live with the dishonesty of the contradiction between what appears on the main page and what the popular viewpoint indicates on the HYS forum than just accept that viewpoint.
In this respect they are a lot like used car salesmen assuring us that the Ford over there is in prime condition. But in fact the odometer has been turned back 100 000 km and after you’ve paid for the car and driven it away it starts falling apart.