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We hear incessantly from the BBC (and from their chum, Ms. S. Chakrabarti at National Lottery funded ‘Liberty’) and their ‘multiculturalist’ predilection to support the rights of suspected terrorists and to criticise the national security interests of the people of the UK and the USA: but say nothing on supporting the rights of MARK STEYN, who was brought up in Britain, and whose rights are now under threat in Canada:-
The BBC, Pizza workers and half the story.
Man jailed in kebab skewer attack
“A pizza shop worker has been jailed for life for stabbing his flatmate to death with a kebab skewer and a knife. Barat Ramazani attacked Seyad Kabir Ateg Gan, 22, at the pair’s flat in Park Road, Hartlepool, last August. Ramazani, 22, carried out the attack because he was convinced his flatmate had sexually assaulted him in his sleep, Teesside Crown Court heard. He admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility after a psychiatrist assessed him as a risk to the public. Ramazani was told he must serve at least six years before he will be eligible for parole.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tees/7243044.stm
and what the BBC doesn’t tell you;
“AN asylum-seeker will be sentenced tomorrow for killing a fellow Afghan immigrant in a flat above a pizza shop.Barat Ramazani today pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Seyed Kabir Ategh Gan on August 15 last year.The 23-year-old illegal immigrant was initially charged with murder following the death in Hartlepool.”
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/display.var.2039016.0.man_to_be_sentenced_for_flat_killing.php
funny that I don’t remember Ms Chakrabarti sticking up for the white male bankers that we exttradited ot the USA a couple of years ago?
Or are “uman rites” only applicable to terrorists and Moozlums?
pounce | 13.02.08 – 3:54 pm |
Great spot. I wonder why our friends neglected to mention his asylum status?
Contrast this with the glowing praise for these lucky fellows:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7242724.stm
what is your explanation for the shabby treatment of Andrew Neil and his programmes?
Oscar | 12.02.08 – 10:17 pm | #
Any beeboid out there going to answer my question? By righs you should be salivating with pleasure that I have actually PRAISED some BBC programmes. What IS the explanation for the strange neglect of award winning This Week? JR – Sarah-Jane wakey wakey. Or do you want to stick to making snidey comments instead of dealing with real issues?
Oscar | 13.02.08 – 4:12 pm |
Unfortunately you will notice that they tend to cherrypick topics that are more to their liking.
Actually I wonder where they all are today. Probably getting their chips recharged or whatever.
This piece isn’t as bad as usual:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7242258.stm
As others have pointed out, there is the usual craven BBC correspondent’s remarks that the plot has “stunned” the Danes, and also the “Behead those who insult Islam” protests a little closer to home (er, London actually) are airbrushed from the ‘worldwide protests’ mention. That’s all par for the BBC agenda, but at any rate, you have to admire the Danes!
Oscar – yes they are very good aren’t they, from my own pov a few more like that would go down well.
In answer to your question, I have no idea, but if the Editor (Jamie Donald)wanted it thus, I would like to see who would dare to cross him…
Whatever the answer is, I promise it will not be as sinister as you expect.
(I was taking a break for a bit, I am now tata)
Yes, the Danes have balls, unlike our scummy lot at Westminster.
It sounds like BBC 2 ‘Newsnight’ is planning a classic ‘multiculturalist, item for tonight’s ‘Newsnight’. It promises to do as much for Islam, as Williams’ benign approach to Sharia law did.
It plans to discuss the IPPR commission’s think tank’s views on national security.
Note that the IPPR is trying to shift policy priorities and attention away from the threat from Islamic jihad towards ‘climate change’ and ‘poverty’:
“‘Shift focus’ of security battle”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7242198.stm
This is how the ‘Newsnight’ site, showing its true colours, introduces this item: ” is the terror threat in danger of concealing more fundamental and pressing issues?”
These ‘Neswnight’ words have already adopted Labour government Orwellian language, by avoiding the accurate phrase, ‘Islamic jihad’ and using the imprecise ‘terrorism’ instead.
And, in referring to the ‘think-tank’, the Institute for Public Policy Reseach (IPPR), ‘Newsnight’ does not indicate that it is a LIBERAL/LEFT ‘think-tank’ headed by Paddy Ashdown, whose other ‘national security’ plans include the transfer of UK national sovereignty to the European Union, and getting more Muslim countries into the European Union, and more Muslim immigrants consequently into the UK.
One of the IPPR Commissioners is the BBC’s chum, Ms. Shami Chakrabarti, of the National Lottery funded ‘Liberty’ outfit.
‘Climate change’ and ‘poverty’ show the ‘multiculturalists’, are, despite all the evidence, still at September 10. The following is the sort of starting point for a real discussion on what should be done about ISLAMIC JIHAD:
“Will the real Islam please stand up”
(Hugh Fitzgerald).
http://www.newenglishreview.org/blog_direct_link.cfm/blog_id/12633
Censorship at the PM blog seems to have led to a listener’s revolt.
Adverse comments on the Arcbishop controversy swiftly disappeared from the PM blog over the last few days.
Now, It seems, there have been so many complaints about this that one of the beeboids has been dispatched to do some explaining.
As a sign of how seriously they take their viewers concerns, the job seems to have been handed to the most junior person available. Her name is Jennifer.
She says: “Hi, I work on the iPM programme and blog and am a new(ish) member of the PM team. I’ve noticed that people are getting frustrated about why some of their comments ‘suddenly disappear’ and as I’ve been talking to the mods about using this comments system on the iPM blog, I thought it might be helpful to explain how it works.
A group in the BBC called The Central Communities Team moderate all the BBC blogs and messageboards including the PM blog. They moderate new people that sign up, check the comments when someone complains and answer our, the PM editorial team’s, blog-queries
So who are this mysterious Orwellian sounding Central Communities Team? Jennifer is a little hazy. “They’re not a part of the PM programme team which is good because it often means fresh-eyes and no pre-conceived ideas on the content of comments or their author, and not so good as they’re not necessarily across what we’re doing on the programme and so can be moderating comments outwith any context.”
How do they work? Again Jennifer seems to be pretty much in the dark
“As I understand it, as soon as someone makes a complaint the post is automatically removed – the moderators look it over and see if the complaint should be upheld – if there are no grounds, they re-instate the post.
“If it’s upheld, you’ll get a standard email explaining that it’s been removed and a general idea of why (general because I think they chose from the list of house rules which one it has broken) the official stuff on complaints.”
A list of house rules is included, all suitably opaque.
All this, by the way is at http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/pm/
“funny that I don’t remember Ms Chakrabarti sticking up for the white male bankers that we exttradited ot the USA a couple of years ago?”
Which is odd, because Liberty – and Chakrabati especially – were quite involved in lobbying against the extradition.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2006/jun/28/corporatefraud.enron
Liberty director Shami Chakrabarti said: “I cannot think of a better case of ‘first they came for the white collar worker, then they came for me’.”
http://wirednewyork.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-12241.html
Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said the decision was “nothing short of a disgrace” and the trio were being traded like “sacks of parrots”.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6079696.stm
Ms Chakrabati said: “The vote is disappointing but this campaign is just beginning. Baggage can be bundled off around the globe but people should have a little fairness first”.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?view=BLOGDETAIL&grid=P30&blog=yourview&xml=/news/2006/07/05/ubizview05.xml
http://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/news-and-events/1-press-releases/2006/try-british-suspects-at-home.shtml
At the time of the original world-wide, Islamic-fanatics intimidation against the publication of the Muhammad cartoons, the BBC, like other section of the British media, behaved somewhat dhimmi-like; but since then, it has been much more worthy on the issue, with ‘Newsnight’s good piece (filed under ‘Democracy’ at their site), and providing this report today:
“Danish Muhammad cartoons reprinted”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/default.stm
What the BBC (and all of us) can learn from the on-going Danish cartoons’ experience, is:
“Stand up for Free Speech”
(Hugh Fitzgerald)
http://www.newenglishreview.org/blog_direct_link.cfm/blog_id/12953
p and a tale of one chip: Funny but the links you highlight don’t give me the impression that Ms Chakrabarti actually gave atoss about those three men. She appears to have written a letter saying that there should be a little “fairness” in this. WOW, a little fairness.
I think you will find that she actually thought it was amusing that “posh” white bankers were carted off to the USA when normally it’s “Moozlums” for terrorism, hence her not so funny quote about “..finally coming for me…”
Nice of you to waste so much of your time though. Nice try. Don’t you have a proper job to do at the BBC?
Interesting interview on C4 News. One of the bearded morons released today was asked if he was a jihadi. He refused to say yes or no. Says it all to me.
Barry Wood: So presumably you could complain about every post and the whole lot would have to be taken down?
What if several people do that one after the other?
Oh this is just brilliant!
“Our writers, sub-editors and editors are required to write headlines that are between 31 and 33 characters long, including spaces, to fit in a Ceefax (teletext) template. It means that some long words, such as Palestinian, are often avoided to get more germane information into a headline. Neither of the suggestions you make (25 and 51 characters respectively) would fit the template.”
So there you have it. The reason the BBC ‘appears’ to be pro Palestine is because their country has too many letters in it so they can’t fit it all in.
Can I suggest Israel annex with a part of Wales and change their name to: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwyll-llantysiliogogogoch.
That should even the headline score up right away.
Am I the only person who is sick to bloody death of hearing what Ms. Shami Chakrabarti has to say? Daily, hourly, I am forced to listen to the bloody useless leftybigot human wrongs bloody woman
Aren’t there fifty million other people in England that might like to get a word in?
More evidence that the people who make BBC news reports are biased and ignorant when it comes to history, and just make stuff up to fit their worldview:
http://www.samizdata.net/blog/archives/2008/02/bbc_history.html
Am I the only person who is sick to bloody death of hearing what Ms. Shami Chakrabarti has to say?
AndrewSouthLondon | 13.02.08 – 8:41 pm |
no your not,i cant stand the whinging cow either,everytime she talks i feel
the urge to vomit.
“Our writers, sub-editors and editors are required to write headlines that are between 31 and 33 characters long, including spaces, to fit in a Ceefax (teletext) template. It means that some long words, such as Palestinian, are often avoided to get more germane information into a headline. Neither of the suggestions you make (25 and 51 characters respectively) would fit the template.”
I’m sure they’ll be just as creative when it comes to explaining away Hamas (5 characters).
“Central Communities Team? ” The Red Army had similar,political Commissars.
Martin. You might not remember, but Liberty did indeed protest against the extradition of the British Enron/ bankers
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/public_law/article704591.ece
The treaty, made law in the 2003 Extradition Act, exempts the US from producing prima facie evidence of the crime. It has been attacked by business and human rights groups, including Liberty, which claim that the act has been used by the US against businessmen, despite assertions by the Government that it signed the act to help to combat terrorism.
and
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2006/feb/22/enron.money
Liberty director Shami Chakrabarti added: “This is yet another supine step in the so-called special relationship. The Extradition Act 2003 seems to allow people to be sent like sacks of carrots from where they live, where they have their support, their family, to the other side of the world without even the need for the barest minimum of a case to be shown here in the UK … This is all about politics, not about justice.”
Martin. P and one chip (?) got there before me. Did you read the links?
Liberty used words like ‘supine’, ‘disgrace’, etc. And yet you think she was secretly in favour. Jesus…
? Why was that post censored? What rule did I break?
Oh. there it is.
Barry Wood | 13.02.08 – 6:06 pm,
I had some experience tying to communicate with the Central Communities Team as part of a wild goose chase when I tried to make a complaint about Have Your Say. I posted the results of the futile exercise in two parts on the following thread:
http://www.haloscan.com/comments/patrickcrozier/270427710631158310/#376701
http://www.haloscan.com/comments/patrickcrozier/270427710631158310/#376701
Er, second link should be:
http://www.haloscan.com/comments/patrickcrozier/270427710631158310/#376702
Steve Jones: What I said was from the quotes given in the post above mine, she didn’t seem that bothered about the men so much as the legislation.
Perhaps she was, but I followed this case and I don’t remember these men getting much sympathy generally.
What is does show is actually what little influence her organisation actually has on politicians compared to the amount of airtime she gets on the BBC.
Martin
Well, I didn’t care much about the men either, and no, I don’t think they got sympathy overall – but I certainly didn’t want them tried in another country without due process.
If you followed the case, do you not remember Liberty making a song and dance about it? I did.
Whether Liberty has influence on the politicians is nothing to do with airtime on the BBC – I often disagree with Liberty but respect their tenacity. Don’t you?
Against ID cards, for free speech (in favour of cartoonists right to draw, for example), in favour of defending the right to ‘offend’ by poking fun at religion – isn’t this right up your street?
Liberty?
Lefty twats creaming it off charity, that’s all they are
Trust the middle classes to make a huge living off a charity. That’s why we have so many of the bloody things in the UK. To give the middle classes something to do with their otherwise worthless self-obsessed work-shy sponging pontificating fat arses.
I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t resist getting another dig in at the middle classes. Without them, we’d never have had lefties in the first place.
Kill the lot of them I say!
As Jeff Randall observes on BBC Bias’s side panel, it’s visceral – and they don’t have the faintest idea when they are being biased.
This morning’s neat little example was casually slipped into a Today programme item about US spending on scientific research.
The intro contrasted the high levels invested in the US to the measly cutbacks recently introduced by McStalin Brown in the UK. So far, so good. But then came bias: This, said the newsreader, was despite the Bush administration’s stance on ‘issues such as climate change’.
Astounding! Did it occur to them that what had been grasped by Americans as a result the US’s high spending on scientific research might be exactly the reason that they are not wasting billions of dollars on climate change measures as we are here in the UK?
And why was it referred to as specifically the Bush administration’s stance? (especially as his Democratic predecessor was also opposed to the Kyoto protocol). Why bring politics it into at all?
Of course, I forgot, it’s because the BBC is scrupulously balanced in everything it does.
The BBC: full of journalists who wouldn’t recognise bias even if it punched them on the jaw.
Steve Jones: I don’t really respect Liberty at all.
In our democracy it’s very easy to protest at the Government or at what people might see as anti freedom moves.
The biggest anti freedom move in my view has been over a decade of Socialsim applied by a bunch of former Communists and CND supporters called McLabour.
As for Shami, I’d have more respect if she stood up for the freedoms of those that really need it, such as homosexuals and women in all Islamic Countries.
Oh and where was Shami during Teddygate?
I’ve never met a brave Socialist, I don’t think one exists. Lord Benn always goes on about how he fought Hitler as a bomber pilot. Yet I don’t think lying on a beach in South Africa really contributed that much to fighting Hitler.
Flying a Lancaster over Germany at nigh time getting shot at for 8 hours is what I call fighting Hitler.
Men like Bomber Harris, Guy Gibson & Leonard Cheshire are war heroes, not Socialist arseholes like Lord Benn.
As for Shami, when she stands in front of a tank in China, I’ll respect her.
It’s the 200th anniversary of the outbreak of the Peninsular War this year, which is commonly dated from 1808 to 1814.
Here’s how the BBC describes it:-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/7241540.stm
“This six-year struggle saw Spain, supported by Britain and other European nations, overthrow a regime installed by Napoleonic France.”
Er, well, not quite. What actually happened was that Portugal refused to join the Continental System, Napoleon’s antecedent to the EU, which tried to close Europe to British goods. So France then invaded Portugal via Spain, deposed the Spanish king and replaced him with one of his brothers.
This regime was kept in place by French, German, Italian and Polish allies – the rest of the EU, basically – and was removed by Britain and not “other European nations” but in fact by one other – Portugal.
It’s a classic example of BBC bias because, while not strictly factually wrong, it’s highly misleading. It makes out that “Napoleonic France” was the sole villain in 1808, whereas in fact Spain was initially a French ally (a la Molotov-Ribbentrop) and so was the rest of Europe.
The objective was to impose a Europe-wide single regime under direct rule from Paris, ostensibly in the name of the people and liberty but actually on the basis of a corrupt, venal, kleptocratic, and (of course!) unaccountable nepotism / cronyism. This occurred with the active military support of the rest of the continent, which of course doesn’t get a mention.
Failure to assimilate resulted in actual or threatened violence, up to and including the destruction of the fact and apparatus of the state. Such states were usually dismantled into more compliant little fiefs to be run profitably by unelected loyal servants of Napoleon.
Put like that, it starts to sounds awfully familiar, doesn’t it? – which I guess explains the blandness of the account given here. The Peninsular War was one of the more impressive episodes in the British Army’s history, but then and now the Left would rather it had been a British defeat.
Here’s a story which ticks all the BBC boxes – climate change and the wonderful EU
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7241617.stm
Not one opposing viewpoint in the story.
Oh, except for this man – obviously a lone idiot (and very rude)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7245183.stm
And therefore we must have an opposing view in the story
The BBC, property prices in Armenia and its hatred of jews
A slice of home for Armenian exiles
Voters in the small republic of Armenia are soon to go to the polls to elect a new president. But away from politics many have other things on their minds – particularly those in the capital. Armine grabs my arm. “Look, why don’t you invest here? Buy a flat and in one year your money will double.. As Jewish families might buy a second home in Israel,so the Armenian diaspora – present in virtually every major city in the world and many of them extremely wealthy – are buying houses and apartments in Yerevan and the prices keep rising.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/7244447.stm
So who does the BBC use as an analogy in which to explain the rise of house prices in Armenia. Brits who have bought seconds homes in France? Pakistanis who have bought in Pakistan, Nigerians in Nigeria, Albanians in Kosovo, Turks in Turkey or even Iraqis in Iraq. No the BBC goes for the smallest group of all the Jew. Won’t be long before the BBC finds another angle in which to expose the jew as the root of all evil.
The BBC, property prices in Armenia and its hatred of jews
Shouldn’t that be “so-called” war on Climate Change as in “so-called” war on terror? Or is this a case of double standards? I guess “so-called” only applies if the BBC disgrees with you?
Double standards again I’m afraid beeboids.
pounce | 14.02.08 – 5:47 pm
Well spotted!
All the bases covered there; buy cheap and drive prices up just like those cunning Joooos do, along with furthering the narrative that Israel is created by rich Jews in America and Europe buying up Arab land and driving the “natives” out.
The BBC, just when you think they can’t sink any lower…
BBC Have Your Say
Does Europe risk becoming a fortress?
A predictably leading question. Debate closed after 3 hours when the Beeb gets answers it doesn’t approve of.
This Have Your Say is
CLOSED
DEBATE STATUS
Total comments:
682
Published comments:
371
Rejected comments:
21
Whatever the answer is, I promise it will not be as sinister as you expect.
Classic response from Sarah-Jane in full pangloss smiley face mode (which she hopes will cover up her passive aggression). Andrew Neil himself is less amused. He made some very pointed remarks about the late scheduling of This Week when Greg Dyke was on – saying how much higher the ratings would be if it was on earlier. And is the editor of the show really responsible for the schedule? I don’t think so.
Here is a story the BBC are not reporting:
U.S. military: Al Qaeda in Iraq seeks female patients as bombers
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Al Qaeda in Iraq is recruiting female patients at Baghdad’s two psychiatric hospitals for suicide missions — with the help of hospital staff — according to the U.S. military.
The U.S. military believes al Qaeda in Iraq has operatives within the hospitals’ staffs who are passing on patients’ files and contact information to the militant group, a senior U.S. military official said, requesting anonymity.
The apparent recruiting effort came to light this month when Iraqi officials said that two female bombers in deadly pet market attacks in Baghdad that left nearly 100 dead were mentally challenged.
One of the female bombers had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and depression at Baghdad’s Ibn Rushd psychiatric hospital, where she received electric shock treatments, the hospital’s director said in an exclusive interview.
As part of the investigation into the February 1 attack, U.S. and Iraqi forces detained the acting director of Baghdad’s main psychiatric facility, Rashad Hospital, on Sunday. Watch how using women may represent a new tactic »
He faces questions about whether he provided patient files and contact information to al Qaeda in Iraq, a U.S. military spokesman, Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, said Wednesday.
The U.S. military is looking into whether there is a direct link between the two hospitals, which are treating an overabundance of Iraqis suffering from psychiatric disorders brought on by the war.
A U.S. military official said information from a source led them to Rashad Hospital’s acting director. The U.S. military also said it believes that al Qaeda in Iraq is trying to use other women released from Rashad Hospital to carry out future suicide bombings.
The detained hospital chief took over the position after Rashad’s director was fatally gunned down in December reportedly for refusing to cooperate with al Qaeda in Iraq.
Iraqi and U.S. military officials said they believe the two women were unaware they were being used for the February 1 attacks. Iraqi officials said the explosives strapped to their bodies were detonated by remote control, but U.S. officials said the women detonated the explosives themselves.
One of the women was treated at the Ibn Rushd psychiatric hospital. Hospital director Dr. Shaalan Joda asked that the woman’s name not be reported out of respect for doctor-patient confidentiality. The U.S. military verified this patient’s name.
The woman, who was 35 and married, was diagnosed with schizophrenia and depression, according to her file.
The patient, who was first treated in December, complained of voices in her head, Joda said.
“They say, ‘Go commit suicide,’ ” Joda said, reading from the woman’s file. ” ‘Go kill yourself. … Why do you live?’ ”
The woman stayed at the hospital from January 3 until January 7 before being discharged into the care of her family, according to her file.
She returned twice afterward as an outpatient, receiving a series of electric shock treatments, the last on January 28 — four days before her death.
The Iraqi government said both women were mentally challenged and had Down syndrome.
Joda said that the 35-year-old patient had the facial characteristics of Down syndrome but that she had not been diagnosed with the chromosomal disorder.
Whether she was a willing participant in the suicide plot, or did so against her will is unclear, Joda said.
But the U.S. military said the women were likely used because they didn’t understand the implications of what was happening and they were less likely to be searched.
“From what I see it appears that the suicide bombers were not willing martyrs,” Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond, commander of Multi-National Division-Baghdad, said the day after the February 1 bombings. “They were used by al Qaeda for these horrific attacks.”
Other developments
• At least five civilians were killed and 30 wounded Thursday when a bomb in a parked car detonated at a marketplace in Baghdad’s Sadr City, an Iraqi Interior Ministry official said. Sadr City is a teeming and largely Shiite slum in the capital.
• In the hometown of Saddam Hussein, nine members of a family were shot and killed overnight, police in Tikrit said Thursday. Police found the bullet-riddled bodies of a father, mother and their seven children in a house in Awja, just east of Tikrit — a city in Salaheddin province north of Baghdad. Hussein was buried in Awja after his 20006 execution.
• The U.S. military said American-led coalition troops “killed seven terrorists and detained 16 suspects” on Wednesday and Thursday in raids targeting al Qaeda in Iraq in the central and northern parts of the country. The operations were in Mosul, south of Sharqat, and in Baghdad.
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/02/14/iraq.main/index.html
I see we are on another campaign to save an innocent woman from that great religion of peace, you know the one that tit at Canterbury wants us to adopt the laws of.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=514433&in_page_id=1811
However, the BBC take on it is rather different
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7244579.stm
Here’s the difference
“…Fawza Falih turned two men impotent, a court heard in the ultra-religious state where “performing supernatural occurrences” is considered an offence against Islam…”
Note the BBC report does not mention that Witchcraft is against Islam. Why not? Is that not relevant to the story?
Or would that be uncomfortable for the BBC to admit.
Martin | 14.02.08 – 9:25 pm |
Well, technically they allude to it when they say the woman was arrested by the “religious police”. But if they can say that, why not mention the religion they’re policing? The BBC certainly has no problem outlining their interpretation of Islamic law in other circumstances. No, it looks like the BBC is playing the same game as Human Rights Watch. “Saudia Arabia does not have a written penal code, and ‘witchcraft’ is not a defined crime.” Typically, they also bow to Islam on this one. Saudia Arabia does have a penal code, and we all know what it’s called.
The BBC is basically regurgitating the HRW letter anyway, so maybe it’s just laziness that stopped them from reporting exactly which legal system has convicted this woman.
Ashes to Ashes.
BBC One.
Thu 21 Feb, 21:00 – 22:00 60 mins.
3/8. Satirical comedy-drama. It’s 1981 and Ronald Reagan has taken Britain to the brink of nuclear war. In London, hospitals are threatened with closure and interest rates climb to 60 per cent, causing millions to starve to death in the streets. Youths clash with police in the streets, and Chilean dictator Augustine Pinochet meets Tory prime minister Margaret Thatcher amid scenes of police gassing babies in Trafalgar Square. Jerome, a young gay West Indian anti-fascist activist is killed by a BNP gang in a police cell and Alex and the CID are called in to investigate. But heartless and greedy yuppie Thatcherite developers, a murderous Ulster Unionist councillor, a group of Old Etonian paedophiles, the SAS, the Freemasons, the [fill in 80s strawman here] are all involved in a conspiracy to sell off council homes, gas the miners, privatise the NHS, and blame it on CND. Alex briefly returns to 2007, where she meets a BBC producer suffering from Thatcher Derangement Syndrome. Language may offend. Subtitles. Lots of rehashed Thatcher jokes.
David: Yes the BBC are quick to big up what THEY perceive as “good aspects” of Islam (we know that in the real world there are none)but when it is something fundamental to a negative story, the BBC simply ignore it.
How anyone at the BBC can defend this is beyond me.
As you rightly point out Saudi Arabia is a Muslim Country and their penal code is the Sharia.
Martin | 14.02.08 – 10:34 pm |
Yes the BBC are quick to big up what THEY perceive as “good aspects” of Islam (we know that in the real world there are none) but when it is something fundamental to a negative story, the BBC simply ignore it.
Just the other day I commented on the BBC’s incorrect “interpretation” of Islamic prohibition of images of Muhammed. It was a pretty neutral facet of Islamic law (it’s not a positive thing like charity or whatever, or a negative thing like oppressing women), but they had no problem discussing what Islam forbids or doesn’t forbid, as they have done in many other instances.
How anyone at the BBC can defend this is beyond me.
Their only defense might be laziness, but that’s a stretch.
DARFUR: the BBC, and the BBC Arabic TV service, need to speak up on the human rights issues in Darfur, and incidentally to separate themselves from the untruths and anti-Western propaganda being put out by Al-Jazeera TV, and the Arab-government controlled media of the Middle East:-
” Darfur and the Middle East Media: The Anatomy of Another Conspiracy”
(by Steven Stalinsky)
http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=IA42208
I have to say that this place is so much cosier since John Reith pissed off with his tail between his legs, hopefully never to return.
But then again, I guess it was just a bit of in-house BBC shuffling that they take him off the full time job of posting here and pass it onto the trainee Beeboids we now have pestering this site daily.
The People’s Front of Judea | 15.02.08 – 1:55 am |
I actually don’t agree with you, PFJ. At least JR bothers to do his homework, didn’t come here just to insult David Vance, and doesn’t have the prejudice that non-Leftoids are all racist fascists who want the BBC to call for the extermination of all Moozlims or whatever. Can’t say the same for some of what Sarah-Jane rightly calls “lefty wind-up artists”.
He’ll be back when it suits him.