The Weekly Standard (quoting the Jerusalem Post, but that link is not working for me) reports that:
In an uncommon act of journalistic contrition, the BBC has apologized for equating former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri and Hizbullah terror chief Imad Mughniyeh as “great national leaders.”
The BBC took the unusual step after Don Mell, the Associated Press’s former photographer in Beirut, lambasted the parallel, drawn by BBC correspondent Humphrey Hawkesley in a BBC World report last Thursday, as “an outrage” and “beyond belief.”
American journalist Mell was held up at gunpoint by Mughniyeh’s men as his colleague Terry Anderson, AP’s chief Middle East correspondent, was kidnapped in Beirut in March 1985.
The BBC issued a statement Friday acknowledging that “the scripting of this phrase was imprecise.”
Hat tip: Instapundit.
Just a reminder that the scripting of this phrase imprecisely equated a terrorist hosted by the Syrians with a democratic leader murdered by the Syrians.
*nudge nudge* why not vote for Riga,Latvia or Paris,France?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7250326.stm
An update for BBC, and associated BBC Arabic TV service in Broadcasting House (East, Mecca-facing, Wing):
“Fatah’s military wing launches Cells of the Martyr Maghniyeh”
http://www.jihadwatch.org/
(18 Feb.).
Muslims Against Sharia congratulate the organization responsible for elimination of terrorist Imad Mugniyeh on a job well done!
http://muslimsagainstsharia.blogspot.com/2008/02/targeted-killing-of-imad-mugniyeh.html
The BBC, its antisemitic stance and its daily anti-Israel post
Police feared ‘airport stand-off’
An Israeli general wanted for alleged war crimes escaped arrest in the UK because British police feared an armed confrontation at Heathrow airport. Documents seen by BBC News reveal that Major General Doron Almog was flown back to Israel after officers refused to board his plane in September 2005. He stayed on board for two hours after a tip-off that he was facing detention. Police were concerned about a potential clash with air marshals or possible armed personal security on the plane.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7251954.stm
The daily BBC diatribe against Israel continues with yet another nasty Jew accused of war-crimes. (Has the BBC ever accused any terrorist of war crimes?) Correct me if I am wrong. But isn’t any passenger airliner flying the national flag classed as sovereign territory and thus the police cannot board without the pilots permission. But even if the police could board and arrest him, why is the BBC bringing up a story which was debated in 2005 other than to tarnish Israel as an evil country.
BBC
Israel general ‘avoids UK arrest’
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4237620.stm
The guardian
Israeli evades arrest at Heathrow over army war crime allegations
The Guardian understands police would have arrested him if he had set foot on British soil.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/sep/12/israelandthepalestinians.warcrimes
The lawyers
Anyone Responsible for Perverting the Court of Justice Must also Face Prosecution
On 11th September, according to reports in Israel and the UK, Doron Almog evaded arrest at Heathrow airport by staying on the airplane that landed there that afternoon and returning to Israel on the same aircraft.PCHR and Hickman & Rose have reason to believe that a number of leaks occurred which allowed Doron Almog to evade arrest and return to Israel hours after he had landed in the UK.
http://www.hickmanandrose.co.uk/news06.html
So if this story was all the rage in 2005 why is the BBC rehashing it for public consumption. Unless of course the BBC has news that Hezbollah are going to launch an attack on Israel and require their media arm (The BBC) to denigrate the Jews as much as possible in which to galvanise the British populace that everybody really should be Hezbollah now.
The BBC, its antisemitic stance and its daily anti-Israel post
*nudge nudge* why not vote for Riga,Latvia or Paris,France?
glj | 18.02.08 – 11:40 pm
Why not vote for Mecca, Saudi Arabia?
If an infidel landed there he would have to go straight to gaol and not pass Go ~ EVER 😉
http://img2.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/a2a2a4ea12.jpg
Really Tim Franks’ Jerusalem Diary is determines to out ‘Jeremy Bowen’ Jeremy Bowen.
The BBC, its antisemitic stance and its daily anti-Israel post
pounce | 19.02.08 – 6:17 am
I’m not sure of the facts here but I believe Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that it was illegal to demolish Palestinian homes as reprisals for Palestinian terror. Senior terrorists have had homes and offices demolished recently but I haven’t heard for quite some time of family homes of suicide bombers being wrecked.
Now since the BBC has regurgitated this old story, surely it should update it by pointing out the current state of play concerning the “war crimes” the general was accused of?
Or would that make the BBC appear too friendly to Israel?
Regarding equating Hariri with Mughniyeh I suppose that BBC hack, Hawkesley, saw two massive demonstrations mourning two leaders and decided that must mean the two were equally honourable figures. Since the BBC has successfully excised the word “terrorist” from its reporting, Hawkeskey doesn’t know that there is such a thing, if he ever did.
Alternatively, Hawkesley knows very well what Mughniyeh was but was trying the old BBC moral equivalence propaganda trick of minimising awareness of the atrocities committed by the BBC’s terrorist friends and in his enthusiasm overplayed his hand.
Or maybe it’s a mix of both.
Regarding the BBC’s pathetic excuse for Hawkesley report, the word “imprecise” is a new low. We have seen the BBC excuse and cover up its pro-terror stance (on the rare occasions that it feels it has to defend it) with phrases like “a mistake” and “bad phrase”:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2007/06/bad_phrase.html
But “imprecise” in this context has to be the worst of mealy-mouthed weasel words.
It was imprecise – I think the BBC meant to describe only the Hizbollah terrorist as a “great national leader”, and not the democratically elected one murdered by their friends. Sloppy, BBC, sloppy.
You hit the nail on the head there, Rob.
Talking about “imprecise”:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7250894.stm
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards leader has predicted the imminent destruction of Israel by fighters from the Lebanese movement Hezbollah.
“We will soon witness the destruction of the cancerous scum of Israel at the strong, capable hands of Hezbollah,” Maj-Gen Mohammad Jafari wrote.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1203283465824&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
In a letter of condolence following last week’s assassination of Hizbullah terror chief Imad Mughniyeh, Jafari said: “I am convinced that with every passing day Hizbullah’s might is increasing and in the near future, we will witness the disappearance of this cancerous growth Israel by means of the Hizbullah fighters’ radiation [therapy].”
One man’s radiation [therapy] is another man’s “strong, capable hands”.
”The last of the great Cold War leaders,”
Yes they’re talking about Castro
Only on the BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7252485.stm
yoy | 19.02.08 – 5:24 pm |
Yes they’re talking about Castro
Only on the BBC
The editor who produced this should be fired. Not only does he or she call Castro “great”, but there is this as well:
“His foes call him a dictator who drove Cuba to the brink of economic ruin and who imprisoned dissidents and opposition leaders in this one-party state.”
Only his foes? As if this wasn’t a rational assessment of the man’s legacy?
By presenting this bit of “criticism” as a balancing negative viewpoint, the BBC is in this case clearly stating that their positive description of him as a “great” leader, etc., is, in fact, the correct viewpoint being presented in the article.
Come on, BBC employees, how do you defend this one?
any chance of opening up a new General BBC-related comment thread.
Hello
Any chance of opening up a new General BBC-related comment thread
Biodegradable’s Ghost | 19.02.08 – 1:39 pm
One man’s radiation [therapy] is another man’s “strong, capable hands”.
This has nothing to do with BBC ‘bias’. Check out Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs website. They have it as:
we will see the destruction of cancerous tumor Israel by the powerful and competent hands of Hezbollah fighters..
… which is much closer to the BBC version.
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/About+the+Ministry/MFA+Spokesman/2008/Israel+to+submit+letter+of+protest+against+Iran+to+UN+Security+Council+18-Feb-2008.htm
Memo for BBC:
UPDATE ON JIHAD IN GAZA
http://blog.americancongressfortruth.com/2008/02/21/ymca-library-building-in-gaza-city-blown-up-another-incident-in-a-series-of-attacks-on-western-and-christian-targets-in-the-gaza-strip-by-groups-associated-with-the-global-jihad-and-radical-islam/