Monthly Archives: January 2009

SCIENCE AND ISLAM.

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Make sure that you tune in tomorrow night to BBC 4 where “in the first of a new series entitled “Science and Islam” physicist Jim Al-Khalili travels through Syria, Iran, Tunisia and Spain to tell the story of the great leap in scientific knowledge that took place in the Islamic world between the 8th and 14th centuries. Its legacy is tangible, with terms like algebra, algorithm and alkali all being Arabic in origin and at the very heart of modern science – there would be no modern mathematics or physics without algebra, no computers without algorithms and no chemistry without alkalis. For Baghdad-born Al-Khalili this is also a personal journey and on his travels he uncovers a diverse and outward-looking culture, fascinated by learning and obsessed with science“.

LOL – you couldn’t make it up. Outward-looking culture.

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FDR AND 100,000 new JOBS.

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Oh god, did anyone else see the BBC evening news presenting Prudence’s latest fantasy about creating 100,000 new jobs as the Rooseveltism “New Deal” for Britain? As we go into 2009, it looks like the BBC is absolutely determined to present Brown as the economic saviour of the UK even as he goes about the business of ruining it.

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HAMAS GOOD, HEZBOLLAH BETTER!

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I was reading Abu Bowen’s latest insight into the Gaza conflict and I was struck by his admiration for Hezbollah. I’ve added a few comments of my own into his commentary As he puts it “Hamas fighters, (Aka Islamic terrorists…DV) who know Gaza better than the Israeli troops, have a belief in resistance and martyrdom. (Terrorism and homocide bombing…DV) Their objective will be to give the Israeli army the same humiliation (Humiliation, mmm, interesting unbiased choice of word..DV) that Hezbollah inflicted during 2006. For all their bravado, (Hiding behind women’s skirts..DV) Hamas are unlikely to be as formidable as Hezbollah. (Less Iranian munitions..DV? The rocky, hilly terrain of south Lebanon was not good for Israel’s armour. Gaza, on the other hand, is flat and sandy.” Goodness, if it weren’t for the terrain….

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Lord Ha Ha

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First I want to pay tribute to the fantastic work David has been doing raising awareness of BBC anti-Israel bias. So important at the moment. Paul Reynolds responds here to allegations of anti-Israel bias, following an article in which he outlines as he sees them the main aims of the “Israeli propaganda effort”. It’s funny- I never actually seem to have noticed this Israeli propaganda. When I listen to an offical speaking, I evaluate him as I do any other politician :-). One of the aims according to Reynolds is to “justify the air attacks” in Gaza. Well, duh. He goes on to say that “The sight of Hamas rockets streaking into Israel has been helpful in this respect”. Well, you don’t say?

Comical Pauli seems to think that highlighting hostile actions to justify reprisals is propaganda. Ha ha.

As far as I am concerned, propaganda might be said to involve something like limiting to a trivial level the public’s awareness of missile attacks taking place in violation of treaty over months and years. Now who could be accused of that, I wonder?

To support my point, I recommend reading this Huffington Post post, which explicitly accuses the BBC as I outline above:


“the BBC are subtly indoctrinating the minds of its viewers through implicit suggestion that Israel is the aggressor, almost randomly targeting Gaza.”

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IN GO THE TROOPS.

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Great to see that Israel has defied even Annie Lennox and Bianca Jagger, and is now moving in to try and cleanse Gaza from Hamas terrorism. Did anyone catch Jeremy Al Bowen on the 10’Clock news instantly claiming that this military action was unlikely to work and soon Israelis would be asking was it worth it. Also, did you see Ken Livingstone and the London fedayeen getting lots of airtime as they wailed at the idea of Israel actually having the temerity to defend itself. Hamas must be eternally indebted to the rancid biased BBC – the shilling for Islamic savagery that passes for object reporting on the State broadcaster is truly shocking. My thoughts and prayers are with the brave men and women in the IDF who as I write this risk life and limb de-infesting the cess-pit of Gaza. God bless them.

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TASHAKUR

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HUGH!

The Kate Adie presented “From our own correspondent” is a treasure trove for mining BBC bias. I caught Hugh Sykes on this programme today giving us the usual “It’s a quagmire” narrative about Afghanistan. Hugh argued that after all these years and despite all the aid poured into Afghanistan, children are still begging in the streets. (Being the generous soul, he handed over thw equivalant of a US dollar to one such child). In essence the purpose of his report was to suggest that things are little better now with the Taliban gone. Hugh couldn’t find anyone who supported the government. This is the sort of undermining of any political progress associated with what the BBC calls the “so-called” war on terror is what the BBC seems to excel at.

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JUSTIN’S WISDOM

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Happened to catch B-BBC favourite Justin Webb being interviewed on the “Correspondents Look Ahead” programme on Radio 4 just after lunch-time today. I was intrigued to hear Justin point out that he reckoned the US has now gone through the worst of the financial recession and he believes things will look up later in 2009. When asked to pick his politician to look out for, he spoke admiringly of Tom Daschle. Remember him?

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ENOUGH WITH THE AID WORKER.

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Comments Off on ENOUGH WITH THE AID WORKER.

Ok, I’m fed up with the relentless Palestinian propaganda that the BBC is serving up on what it chooses to call the “Aid Worker Diary.” Can someone direct me to whom in the BBC I can take my compliant since this one-sided narrative has gone on long enough. If you can help me – I will keep you all briefed on the subsequent conversation. If we are going to have “Aid Worker Diary” from Gaza, then we need to have “Aid worker Diary Sderot”.

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General BBC-related comment thread!

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Please use this thread for comments about the BBC’s current programming and activities. This post will remain at or near the top of the blog – scroll down for new topic-specific posts. N.B. This is not an invitation for general off-topic comments, rants or chit-chat. Thoughtful comments are encouraged. Comments may also be moderated. Any suggestions for stories that you might like covered would be appreciated! It’s your space, use it wisely.

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ONLY FOUR DEAD.

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I just had the misfortune to listen to the BBC’S PM news programme whilst cleaning my car. What an absolute disgrace! Did anyone else hear it? Not sure where to start. We were treated to a BBC reporter stating that although Hamas rockets now looked like they could target many more parts of Israel than has previously been the case (Cue applause?) we had to remember that “only four” Israelis had died so far. Only four. Meanwhile, as he briskly moved on, HUNDREDS of Palestinians have been killed. Once again the preferred BBC tactic of lumping Hamas terrorists and any innocent by-standers in one easy media bite-sized number being used for maximum impact. Then, just in case your sympathies with the Jihadists in Gazan had not been fully engaged, cue Red Ken! Yes, Livingstone was wheeled on to demonstrate his unrelenting and stomach-churning hatred of Israel, mouthing every pro-Palestinian cliche you could imagine. At no point was any other point of view allowed. Why? Can’t PM find anyone who thinks Israel may have a case worth making? The BBC – giving you all the news Hamas want you to hear.

BTW, On a totally different theme, I also caught the ubiquitous Vince Cable being interviewed on the economy. His big plan for 2009 is to go after those in the financial institutions who “misled” ordinary people into making poor investment decisions. Nothing changes.

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