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And today’s top story on the website is :
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6540083.stm
Iran nuclear ‘landmark’ angers US
By a curious chance, it seems that the BBC headline writer has chosen to highlight the US’s “anger” • something that the US spokesman didn’t mention. The effect is that the US is characterised as a choleric bull charging about the diplomatic china shop. Meanwhile the BBC headline writer has chosen to single out the US’s criticism, not mentioning similar criticism of Iran from the EU, the UN and the UK.
It would be easy to come up with a straight headline. eg :
US, UN, EU, UK condemn Iran
or
Iran nuclear landmark draws fire
not bbc bias..
i didn’t know weather to laugh or cry
when i saw this on eu ref…
http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2007/04/exposed-and-vulnerable.html
Arthur said: “I missed Topsy [Leading Seaman Faye Turney] most of all. I really love her, as a mum and a big sister. Not seeing her and not knowing if she was safe was one of the hardest parts of the whole thing. Then on the sixth day, when I was just about giving up hope, I was pulled from my bed in the early hours of the morning. They led me down a corridor and into a room, where I saw Topsy in a corner. I can’t describe how that felt… just every emotion rolled into one. I ran up to her, threw my arms round her and cried like a baby. When I’d calmed down, she asked, ‘Do you need another hug, a mother hug?’ and I said, ‘damn right’.
justme | 10.04.07 – 9:45 am,
If the racial roles of this murder were reversed, the BBC would have been all over the story like bees on honey.
From todays Telegraph:
They’ll read your letter, but don’t expect action, says Gillian Reynolds
When the radio says something that you know is misleading or wrong, what do you do?
In theory, you could do what they tell you to do and email or text. From the number of times the invitation is made and the frequency with which the response is mentioned, this seems to be the mode of audience response broadcasters now prefer. It assumes, however, that you have a computer or a mobile phone handy.
If you have neither, or your competence with them is limited, you’re back to old-fashioned pen. And what, you ask, are the chances of a letter written by anyone to a network controller, or a producer, or Radio 4’s Feedback, or a presenter being read?
High to middling, I’d say, because broadcasters are required to take note of complaints and corrections. The chance of getting a response with an adequate answer is very much lower. What may, after time, arrive is a form letter explaining general policy and a reassurance that your view has been noted. The mistake stays out there on the ether, uncorrected.
So now we know.
“Lee Moore | 10.04.07 – 10:12 am”
typical IBC approach to headline writing – diplomatic criticism from the US is “anger”.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6540083.stm
now a threat to bomb Iran within 24 hours – well, THATS what i would call “anger”.
UN, EU and UK criticism is also left out of the headline – thereby focusing everything on those nasty Yankee imperialists.
the bbc might as well sell up and move to Tehran at this rate.
archduke | 10.04.07 – 11:06 am |
UN, EU and UK criticism is also left out of the headline –
Could you suggest a headline that incorporates these?
The only constraint is that headlines have to be 31-33 characters (including spaces).
“bonkers | 10.04.07 – 10:20 am”
sometimes i think that its all a ruse , designed to make us *look* weak to the Iranians, thereby encouraging them to give us a pretext to bomb the crap out of their nuke facilities.
then again, i’m probably entirely wrong, and American astonishment at our limp-wristedness is well placed.
“Could you suggest a headline that incorporates these?
The only constraint is that headlines have to be 31-33 characters (including spaces).
Anonymous | 10.04.07 – 11:12 am | ”
how about
“Entire World Condemns Iran”???
“Western allies criticise Iran”
“US, EU, UN criticise Iran”
“Iran faces Western ire”
“US and allies ‘condemn’ Iran”
“Europe, US show Iran anger”
“EU, UN call for Iran ‘showdown'”
“Allies condemn…”
Well you get the picture.
…not exactly hard is it….
Maybe the people at the BBC are just dumb…….
They can’t think unless they are attacking the USA, and kissing the arse of Islam…..
Good Morning!
Just back from a very nice break in the wonderful countryside of Andalucia.It was a little chilly but the welcome was as always was warm.:)
I see that Al Beeb hasn’t stopped producing garbage.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6538921.stm
I don’t give too hoots about if they have a story to tell because stories of ‘bravery’ go back to the dawn of man, but how much spin and gossip makes up BBC output is beyond a joke!
With some foresight George Orwell’s observations of the left wing media agenda in the UK during the Spanish Civil War holds currency even today:
“Here are the very people who for twenty years had hooted and jeered that the ‘glory’ of war, atrocity stories, at patriotism, even physical courage, coming out with stuff that with alteration of a few names would have fitted in the Daily Mail in 1918.”
http://www.george-orwell.org/Homage_to_Catalonia/index.html
But in the cynical ‘intellectual-stripping’ neo-left BBC continues to plough two fields-the one of money making spin of ‘bravery’ while further kicking in the gut any image that the UK has any ‘political backbone’ while the horrors of ‘PC-TV ‘ are finally catching up with us.
The total ideological slavishness of the ‘anti-war pop culture’ world view that has been a staple diet of ‘popular history’ in the last 10 years of IngSoc(which has never been and continues to be a hypocritical lie regarding war in reality) has sadly contributed to a gradual decline in the quality of out armed services today. While I firmly believe that the ‘cutting edge’ remain a dangerous blade and still live up to the fine traditions of the British Army, it now appears that the ‘best fighting force in the world’ has succumb to the PC double think of Airstrip One. Rather than focusing on the currently failing task in Southern Iraq or our holding efforts in Afghanistan it seems some section’s of Armed Forces have become musing journalists and rock stars in the close orbit of STWC .I feel sorry for Reg Keys because he is no more than a well meaning ‘talking dummy’ for SWP, but the amount of punditry from former and current members of HM Armed Services is seriously damaged the public’s understanding of modern conflict and is dangerously impairing the UK ability to act to aggression.
If we are meant to be the ‘cornerstone’ of NATO and UN operations, why does it appear we have an armed force more akin to a third rate European Country a la Finland, Belgium or the Slovak Republic? Friends and allies across the world have always felt reassured that when conflict did happen that the UK response would be robust.
http://www.fas.org/main/content.jsp?formAction=297&contentId=162
My guess is that years of under investing, under recruiting and bad PR a la Greencut has now left the United Kingdom with no choice but appeasement while we struggle to cope. The question is where does the UK go from here? The Trident debate COULD of been a good time for the public to review the state of our armed forces and ask the fundamental questions of what is it we want but instead we get the tittle tattle from inside ‘King Brown’s Kingdom of Westminster!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/uk/2005/deepcut_inquiry/default.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6459061.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6452315.stm
Is it me but have now gone back to 1938?
I should add, all of the above put a subtly different spin on the story. Different characters become the antagonist depending on how you phrase the headline.
archonix
I had to sit through the humour of “Borat” last night…..
It wasn’t very funny needless to say
“It wasn’t very funny needless to say
IiD | 10.04.07 – 11:47 am |”
i thought this bit was hilarious…
Archduke:
My wife all went “are your far too serious” mode last night on me ,but I thought it was no different to Bernard Manning with a ‘pink’ twist.
I’m no prude when it comes to humour being a big Peter Cook and Python man myself, but this was nothing more than puerile juvenile shite IMHO.
yeah , i agree iid – juvenile, and not on par with the greatness of python. still, there were some good bits in it, but not enough to justify an entire movie.
meanwhile, back in Pallywood, looks like a Hamas terror attack was prevented by Shin Bet:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1176152758321&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
more here:
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=4047
too much islam = not good for your cricket playing…
http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/pakistan/content/current/story/289265.html
.
Britain Was Once Great Britain
But a word of caution: If Great Britain can cease to be great in so short a time span, any country can. All you need is an elite that no longer believes in their country, that manipulates history texts to make students feel good about themselves, that prefers multiculturalism to its own culture, and that has abandoned its religious underpinnings. Sound familiar, America?
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=27783
“Back in February, after being buoyed by the success of his documentary An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore announced the Live Earth concerts – a series of concerts around the world that would try and, uh, guilt, um, the sun, into, er, not melting the polar ice caps as fast as it has been. Or something.”
http://www.hecklerspray.com/madonna-to-pointlessly-headline-live-earth-at-wembley/20067814.php
“Dr Fox said the crew’s return had been “handled appallingly” and that public sympathy for them had been lost.
“Serving members of armed forces have, in effect, been put up for auction in the most horribly undignified fashion, something that has not gone unnoticed overseas,” he said”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6540137.stm
At least there is someone with the finger on the pulse (no pun intended)
“Bolton: Iran Won”
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=25079_Bolton-_Iran_Won&only
quote:
“Iran, sensing weakness, has every incentive to ratchet up its nuclear weapons programme, increase its support to Hamas, Hezbollah and others and perpetrate even more serious terrorism in Iraq.
IiD | 10.04.07 – 11:44 am |
Perhaps it’s all part of ‘Europisation’ – how else is poor lil’ Britain to defend itself without being part of a European Army?
Usual Blair/BBC tactic, denegrate and destroy something until people screem for a replacement they would never have tolerated before all the propaganda.
A Levels will be next -> International Baccalaureat (sp?) anyone?
“She also said that there were times during her two-week ordeal when she cried herself to sleep.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6540137.stm
If these comments don’t put other service personnel in danger – I don’t know what will – She has now given a grean light for all the terrorists and rouge states in the world to “kidnap” British sailors. A very sorry state indeed.
interesting Europe-wide poll reported in Jpost – majority in favour of pre-emptive military strikes on Iran
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1173879271095&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&67
whats more interesting is this paragraph:
Questioned as to the threat their countries faced from “Islamic fundamentalism”, European opinion was more diverse. While 58 percent over all agreed militant Islam was a serious threat, the national responses ranged from 71 percent in Britain, 66 percent in Germany, 64 percent in France, to 24 percent in Latvia.
note that Britain comes out on top – and this in spite of the BBCs 24×7 pandering to Islam. the average Brit is quite obviously not buying the crap coming out of Al-BBC…
archduke writes:
“note that Britain comes out on top – and this in spite of the BBCs 24×7 pandering to Islam. the average Brit is quite obviously not buying the crap coming out of Al-BBC…”
I would like to think that it is because of all the “crap coming out of Al-Beeb..” Maybe there are more people who distrust the BBCs propaganda then we think.
I took a look at the comments on the HYS forum regarding whether the freed sailors should be able to sell their stories. I personally have no problem with them making money from their ordeal. However, I noticed how few comments in favour of them selling their stories have appeared and I have posted 2 already which predictably haven’t appeared. Whether you agree or not there should be representation of all angles. I also find it strange that the selling of their stories is regarded by many as a propoganda coup to the Iranians. Seeing as most of the stories are of the brutality and ill treatment by the Iranians, how is this a propaganda coup?
Jon
Dr Fox IMVHO is one of the few in the Westminster Bubble that has got a grip on the situation:
Funny Al Beeb also down “dumbs down” ISAF role in Afghanistan;
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6540897.stm
“Jon | 10.04.07 – 1:38 pm | ”
“Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance.”
“I make the enemy see my strengths as weaknesses and my weaknesses as strengths”
Sun Tzu, Art of War
however, the Iranians are probably reading the same book:
“Do not allow your enemies to get together. … Look into the matters of their alliances and cause them to be severed and dissolved.”
Marshall – “Seeing as most of the stories are of the brutality and ill treatment by the Iranians, how is this a propaganda coup?”
This may be so but you underestimate the power of propaganda. The Iranians have released video of the sailors laughing and joking, with no sign of duress.
Then read statements like:
“She also said that there were times during her two-week ordeal when she cried herself to sleep.”
and
“Arthur said: “I missed Topsy [Leading Seaman Faye Turney] most of all. I really love her, as a mum and a big sister. Not seeing her and not knowing if she was safe was one of the hardest parts of the whole thing. Then on the sixth day, when I was just about giving up hope, I was pulled from my bed in the early hours of the morning. They led me down a corridor and into a room, where I saw Topsy in a corner. I can’t describe how that felt… just every emotion rolled into one. I ran up to her, threw my arms round her and cried like a baby. When I’d calmed down, she asked, ‘Do you need another hug, a mother hug?’ and I said, ‘damn right’.”
From these you will see that “selling” their stories to the media will wipe out the Royal Navys standing in the world with a stroke of the pen.
“how is this a propaganda coup?
marshall | 10.04.07 – 1:45 pm |”
selling your MOD approved “story” for the 13 shekels of silver allows the Iranians to point the finger at the “corrupt” western “imperialists” who have no dignity and will do anything for money.
thats why its a propaganda coup.
“…and will do anything for money.”
archduke but thats not all – the stories I have seen so far – seem to be written by frightened little children when someone has taken their favourite toy away. Its the language of the nursery – not a fighting force.
Marshall
OK there will be the “stories” about “stiff upper lipped British sailors” BUT because it has been ‘framed’ from a slanted point of view.Note the emphasis on the “money grabbing issue” from the resident ‘pacifists’ from ‘cry me a river’ IBC……
“When I’d calmed down, she asked, ‘Do you need another hug, a mother hug?’ and I said, ‘damn right’.”
What a bunch of Pansies the UK military seem to be……
SO I geuss we won’t be hearing too much bleating in the media about UK troops being the “Best in the world”……
I mean flipping heck..Britainia used to rule the waves…now, she can’t even keep a rubber dingy out of Iranian hands…..
lol
“how is this a propaganda coup?
marshall | 10.04.07 – 1:45 pm |”
you also forget the rabid anti-semitism of the Iranian regime – the “Zionist imperialist money grabbing bankers who control the world” meme.
and here we play into their hands by the MOD telling servicemen to sell their stories in a money grabbing way that fits into the anti-semetic idea of money-grabbing “Jooooos” who are in league with the “western imperialists”
the Iranians have won this propaganda battle on so many fronts that its astonishing that nobody has be sacked or court-martialled yet.
” Jon | 10.04.07 – 1:56 pm |”
i agree. the stories are pathetically childish.
hezbollah and the Tehran mullahs must be laughing their heads off.
i’m hoping desparately that this is just a Sun Tzu style move on our part….
but the Blairisation of the military means that i have doubts on that count, and we really do have children running around with guns.
I think Jon, Anon and Archduke are on the money.
For 10 odd years the ‘our’ armed forces have been softened by the fruits of New Labour.
I might be worth pounce and dave t commenting more but the real damage has been done over a number of years.
Think about the implications of the Deepcut Enquiry (as spun by IBC),HSE legislation and the Human Rights Act?
As seen in Northern Ireland (and this is a far more dangerous situation) the people who write up the ‘rules of engagement’ now so much in the thrall of the ‘image makers’ policy of ‘hearts and minds’ that they have seemed to have forgotten that there are no ‘rules’ in war and that all stands on victory or defeat.
They seem to think Iran is the X-factor.
Of course the Europhile viewpoint is that in future disputes will be settled by lawyers-clearly ignoring Thomas Hobbs advice:
“And Covenants, without the Sword, are but Words, and of no strength to secure a man at all.”
Sorry archduke the ‘British public’ also think that:
“Only 37 percent of British voters and 23 percent of all EU voters agreed with the statement that, “Our country should spend more on defense and less on other things.”
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1173879271095&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&67
So the great unwashed DO thiink that a little bit of harsh language is only needed?
I disagree. For me, I see the selling of their stories sort of as an insurance policy since we know how little help is given to former soldiers who suffered illness after the first Gulf War and how the government doesn’t give two figs about servicemen/women who are just cannon fodder. Why shouldn’t these navy personnel get some money out of their situation, they’ve been through a lot and I doubt the government would help them in any way (look how much the government has helped victims of 7/7 and their families – zero, whilst wasting £200,000 of taxpayers money for Islamic preachers to appeal against deportation). Besides, I doubt that it would have made any difference if they sold their stories or not since their silence would be read by the left-wing as implying guilt. As for the selling of their stories being seen as corrupt and doing anything for money. Isn’t that exactly what the Iranians have just done – kidnap British sailors from Iraqi waters so that their oil revenues will increase whilst the standoff continues. Besides, anyone with any sense can see the irony in a country which hangs gays and teenage girls viewing the west as ‘immoral’.
Marshal writes: “For me, I see the selling of their stories sort of as an insurance policy”
I think you are confusing two issues here – I quite agree that the army etc. need more support after they leave the services but this is quite different to “selling” their stories.
“marshall | 10.04.07 – 2:31 pm”
yeah i know all that. i was merely pointing out how this looks in the Arab/Islamic world and how we’ve played into the Tehran stereotypes of the West.
Coinciding with Easter and the story of Judas and his shekels of silver wouldnt have been lost on an Islamic audience either.
you also have to factor in the envitable comparision with the Islamic terrorist who’s willing to blow himself up for his cause – versus our wimp out without firing a shot.
honour, dignity, and “saving face” are enormous cultural mores in the Arabic world, and i dont think we’ve done any of that. its not that selling stories is tacky in itself – its how it looks to people in the Middle East in our propaganda war with an assertive Iran.
The dhimmification of the BBC continues apace.
Does Pakistan fatwa promote intolerance?
Should the government do more to tackle hardliners in Pakistan?
Pakistan’s tourism minister has rejected a fatwa against her by hardline clerics who want her sacked after she was photographed hugging a man.
Nilofer Bakhtiar says the fatwa has no legal value and denies she did anything wrong. She says a small minority in Pakistan feel threatened by women being empowered.
Is she right, or do you agree with the clerics that she acted inappropriately? Should Pakistan’s government do more to stop the hardliners taking the law into their own hands? Send us your views.
“Is she right, or do you agree with the clerics that she acted inappropriately?”
WTF?!
criticise the Goracle, and the Nazis come out of the woodwork..
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZDY3N2IwMDBjZDM4Nzc3NzdhMjg1YWRhOTVjYzQxZjc=
“Biodegradable | 10.04.07 – 2:54 pm |”
White Dutch rioting for 3 days in Utrecht – not a whisper from Al Beeb..
but a fatwa on a Pakistani minister – oh yes, we’ll go the full HYS on that one.
can somebody remind the BBC that Pakistan isnt actually part of Britain, and that quite frankly, i couldnt give a damn about what Islamonutters are doing there – Musharraf will have them all shot sooner or later. so what?
archduke | 10.04.07 – 3:03 pm
The point is the BBC is inviting us to discuss something which one would hope is a given. The question they ask is like asking us to give an opinion on whether ladies should be allowed to wear skirts that show their ankles.
Should women be allowed to drive?
Should unmarried women be allowed out of the house un-accompanied?
Should women be allowed to speak to men to whom they are not related?
“… or do you agree with the clerics…?”
This is the British Broadcasting Corporation FFS, and the year is 2007!
“One of the hostages, Dean Harris, 30, an acting sergeant in the Royal Marines, told a Sunday Times reporter yesterday: “I want £70,000. That is based on what the others have told me they have been offered. I know Faye has been offered a heck more than that. I am worth it because I was one of only two who didn’t crack.”
John Tindell, the father of Joe Tindell, another of the hostages, said his son had turned down an offer of £10,000. “The MoD said if you want to earn money you are free to go out and do it. I was a bit surprised. The MoD said to the marines, ‘Go out there, tell the truth and make the money’.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1626726.ece
What can you say!!!!!!!!!
Somalia Crumbles, Again
The United States and its allies may have missed an opportunity to rescue a failed state.
Somalia, a failed state in the Horn of Africa that has become a haven for members of al-Qaeda and for other Islamic extremists.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/09/AR2007040901103.html
Jon-
Didn’t we have D lists to prevent this kind of clap trap?
Its a shame this bloke didn’t win the Conservative Leadership –
“Liam Fox, the Shadow Defence Secretary, raised doubts about the threat of climate change, saying: “I think there’s evidence on both sides. I think you have to look at the evidence as a whole.” But he said that he still supported policies to cut the use of fossil fuels to improve national security. “The fact that we are addicted to fossil fuels means that we’re pumping money into the economies of countries such as Iran, trying to build up nuclear weapons, and Russia, building up its military programme.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article1499950.ece
britain on its knees
http://www.melaniephillips.com/diary/?p=1486
and straight from the diary of Winston Smith, we find this:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=445979&in_page_id=1770&in_page_id=1770&expand=true#StartComments
“Schools are dropping the Holocaust from history lessons to avoid offending Muslim pupils”
and on top of that, we (as in you and I – the taxpayer) are funding Pakistani madrassas:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/11/20/nterr20.xml
“Mr Blair, on a visit to Pakistan yesterday to discuss anti-terror policy with President Pervez Musharraf, more than doubled assistance to the country from £236 million over the next three years to £480 million.
The extra money will go mainly towards encouraging moderate Muslim education in the network of Madrassa religious schools, which are blamed for turning many young people to extremism.”
“Liam Fox, the Shadow Defence Secretary, raised doubts about the threat of climate change, saying: “I think there’s evidence on both sides. I think you have to look at the evidence as a whole.”
Video:The Great Global Warming Swindle
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4340135300469846467