I was reviewing the BBC’s coverage of Richard Falk, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on human rights in “the Palestinian territories”. Now I guess Richard is the kinda guy that the BBC just loves. He has already proven his credentials by comparing Israel to Nazi Germany and thus seems uniquely qualified to occupy this key role as UN human rights rapporteur. No hint of bias there at all, right? The thing is that Richard has also stated that he would like to investigate whether “some sort of controlled explosion from within” destroyed the Twin Towers on 9/11. Now I know he said this on Fox News in the States but I would have thought that the very fact that such a senior UN figure was a 9/11 Truther might have warranted some coverage by the BBC – but apparently not. The State Broadcaster remains mute on the bizarre ramblings of scum like Falk because he is an advocate of pro-Palestinian anti-Americanism – two sacred cows for the BBC.
SACRED COWS.
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scum is too generous a description.
They show bias by not reporting and staying mute?
They show bias by reporting?
Fox news has no bias?
Thank god for balanced sites like slugger o’toole, who now have new contributors to cover the left right and centre of politics.
http://sluggerotoole.com/index.php/weblog/comments/a-new-long-war/
Where as other sites are struggling to get a comment –
http://atangledweb.squarespace.com/httpatangledwebsquarespace/
David Vance – this is your weakest post yet.
Ray Barone: Another Beeboid idiot. Fox News does not exist because it enforces a tax that if you refuse to pay can send you to jail. Why can’t you thick Beeboids ever understand thats WHY we get so pissed off with the BBC?
If the beeb were self financing and I didn’t like the crap it put out, I wouldn’t pay for it. But I have no choice. So I complain at every piece of bias from the BBC.
I don’t think everyone loves poor old Ray and so he posts drivel here. Stop trolling Raymond – time to go back to Debra 😉
Martin:
Fox News does not exist because it enforces a tax that if you refuse to pay can send you to jail. Why can’t you thick Beeboids ever understand thats WHY we get so pissed off with the BBC?
And there was I, thinking that this was Biased BBC, rather than Annoyingly-Funded BBC. When did the name switch?
One other thing. Had it been the BBC, rather than the neocons’ favourite channel, which carried Falk’s story, just how piercing would the scream of fury been from these columns?
Concorde level? Or just burglar alarm?
Still no mention of the UN truther on Al Beeb….
And there was I, thinking that this was Biased BBC, rather than Annoyingly-Funded BBC. When did the name switch?
The Grauniad is biased. Do we witter on about it here, or is there a Biased-Grauniad blog? No, because we can leave it sitting on the news stand and refuse to buy it.
Al-Beeb IS biased AND we’re compelled to fund it. So, perfectly legitimate to mention it here Hillcnut.
Ray Barone.| 22.06.08 – 4:53 pm |
They show bias by not reporting and staying mute?
If the BBC portrays Falk as respectable and perfectly qualified to be the UN advocate for the Palestinians, then they are either not doing their homework (a possibility, I admit) or baised. If they portray him as a qualified authority figure when he has in fact compared Israel to Nazi Germany and is a truther, then that is bias, full stop.
Or are you saying that Falk’s illogical and grossly unfair comparison of Israel to the Nazi regime, and that his opinions on 9/11 do not detract from his qualifications for the position? Do you mean to say that these parts of his character are unimportant, or possibly that they actually enhance Falk’s qualifications? You seem to be of the opinion that these matters are not important enough to report, and that there is no reason to inform the public. Which is it?
Fox news has no bias?
Who gives a damn about Fox News? Fox News is not the official state broadcaster of any country. The flag may take up more space on the screen than the talking heads, but it is not affiliated with the government in any way, nor does it have any obligation to be fair or faithful to anything or anyone except itself.
The BBC, on the other hand, is the official national broadcaster of the United Kingdom and Her Majesty’s Government. There is a responsibility in this arrangement which Fox News doesn’t have, nor the Telegraph, nor the Mail, nor the Times (London or New York). The BBC has a Charter and Agreement which is the only reason the Corporation was allowed to form, and the reason the license fee was allowed to support it. That’s also why the Foreign Office keeps pouring money into it to extend Auntie’s reach. The BBC has a special responsibility to keep the public informed, as well as to provide educational and arts programming.
In this case, it seems that the BBC has not only failed to inform the public about Falk, but has actually misrepresented him. So, the question must be asked: is this a failure of the BBC to do it’s job of informing the public, and if so, why? If not, why not? Or is it evidence of an anti-Israel (and anti-US) bias?
If not, then I can only assume that you think Falk’s comparison of Israel to the Nazis and his truther ideas don’t disqualify him from being a respected voice on the Palestinian issue, one whom the British public ought to heed, and that there is no reason for the public to care.
Ray Barone. | Homepage | 22.06.08 – 4:53 pm
Ray Barone,
You don’t have to go to Fox news to see Richard Falk is a “troofer”.
Just read his forward to 9-11 conspiracy theorist David Ray Griffin’s book, here:
http://www.transnational.org/SAJT/forum/meet/2004/Falk_GriffinForeword.html
The Nazis loved the Arabs. They even had a Muslim SS Division. So Sturmbannfuehrer Falkenstein is in fitting company.
Falk is a left wing anti-semite. That’s why the BBC has time for him. It is demanded that we fund this state propaganda machine called the BBC. I like Fox news. I’m entitled to like it. I should be entitled not to pay for a product I don’t want, the BBC.