Well then, today Israel goes to the polsl and the BBC nightmare of a Likud win draws closer by the hour. If you want a laugh, read their live coverage of events here. We have charmers such as Lyse Douchet and Wyre Davies expressing surprise that instead of a lacklustre turnout, we could see a record turn-out. Who would have imagined that then? I see several BBC pundits trying to spin things for a surprise Kadima win – we’ll see. One thing is for certain, if Netanyahu does manage to win – he will become the new international hate figure now that Bush is gone and you can be sure the BBC will try to undermine him from the start. Given BBC visceral hatred towards Israel, manifest in Abu Bowen’s latest propaganda last night on BBC1 as blogged by Sue, there really is a case for banning the BBC from Israel since it actively seeks to undermine this beacon of democracy in the sea of surrounding Arab darkness.
THAT ISRAELI ELECTION.
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i think the bbc wants to be banned from Israel. then they can stand on the border of syria and look mournfully across the desert and say “now that the bbc is banned who knows what horrors are being imposed on the poor muslim people” you can see it allready.
David,
Just catching up with B-BBC after a few days and haven’t had time to check the excellent Sue’s post.
But, you are so right about BiBi, the BBC will have a field day with him.
It is still a mystery to me why the Israeli govt. allow the BBC into Israel.
I guess, better to have them inside the tent, rather than outside !
ngg/Grant,
Yes, you’re both right but the way I see it the BBC are such a malevolent force that it would be better keeping them out whilst allowing others like Sky in.
Imagine the propoganda milage Al Beeb would get out of being banned from Israel…it would be far worse than anything ever thrown at Mugatu in Zimbabwe!
Mailman
mailman,
Maybe a compromise would be that they would be allowed in but embed them with the IDF on defensive missions against those peace-loving Hamas sophisticates. Even thenm they’d probably try tip em off!!!
David,
I like the thought of the intrepid BBC investigative reporters going into military action with the IDF !
Thanks for this post, David Vance. I went off to vote a few hours ago. Before I left I was listening to the news and the right-wing Lieberman was mentioned. Just at that moment, I got a call from Tsipi Livni. Well, not really. It was a short recording of her urging people to vote Kadima. A day or two earlier I’d received a couple of calls from Likud and I was still undecided at the last minute.
The polling station was evidently in an area that could not be described as right wing. There were a number of posters up outside the centre of Livni’s Kadima and Ehud Barack’s party and the religious Shas but none of Netanyahu’s Likud or Lieberman. Dunno if they had been taken down or nobody had bothered to put any up. It disturbed me a bit because of the possibility that it was a deliberate attempt to influence voters.
I was given an envelope and directed to a booth. Inside the booth there was a tray with a box for each party containing a stack of papers with the party name and chief candidate. Out of all the many parties, the Likud box was the only one that was stacked up high, while only a trickle of people were then entering the polling station (I was able to vote almost immediately.) Were only a few people voting Likud, or was it another subtle attempt to swing the vote away from Likud?
Anyway, I made my choice, stuck it in the envelope and put the envelope into the box in front of the officials.
So who did I vote for? Hell, don’t you guys know this is a secret ballot?!
Bryan,
Thanks for that. I am hoping for a Bibi win on the basis it will drive the BBC MAD!
John Simpson spouting utter utter bollocks on News 24 right now.
This is NOT Saudi Arabia spouts Simpson (see links below where I beg to differ)
http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2007/8/irankurdistan278a.jpg
http://www.handsoffcain.info/immagini/2005/09/7111682_sub1.jpg
Again not a single mention of homosexuality in Iran. Why not?
Oh hang on….
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hATGOzv6YSmgeMY1zdYbdpyrG2cw
The BBC up the backside of a Muslim as usual.
Sorry, a bit off topic – but WTF is happening in this country!
http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/3793
Will Geert Wilders Be Arrested at Heathrow?
From the desk of Thomas Landen on Tue, 2009-02-10 17:57
This morning Lord Malcolm Pearson, a member of the British House of Lords, announced that he has invited Geert Wilders, a member of the Dutch Parliament, to show the movie Fitna (see it here) in a committee room of the House of Lords next Thursday (12 February). Mr. Wilders has been asked to address a private meeting with members of the British Parliament, explaining to the Peers and MPs why he made Fitna and to engage in an open and frank discussion with them.
This afternoon Mr. Wilders received a letter from the British ambassador to the Netherlands saying that he is a “persona non grata” in the United Kingdom. The ambassador told Mr. Wilders that he is a threat to public security and public harmony because of the controversy created by Fitna. Mr. Wilders intends to go to London anyway. “Let them arrest me in Heathrow,” he says.
If Mr. Wilders is denied entry to the United Kingdom, it will be the first time that Britain refuses entry to an elected politician from another member state of the European Union. The Dutch government has protested to the British government over the unprecedented barring of an EU parliamentarian by another EU country.
The meeting of Mr. Wilders and members of the British Parliament had originally been planned for 29 January, but was postponed. Lord Nazir Ahmed, a Muslim member of the House of Lords (Labour), had threatened to mobilize 10,000 Muslims to prevent Mr. Wilders from entering the British Parliament. Lord Ahmed boasted in the Pakistani press that the cancellation of Mr. Wilders’ visit was “a victory for the Muslim community.”
Lord Pearson could not bear the thought that the “mother of all parliaments” might be perceived as giving in to threats. Hence he decided to reinvite Mr. Wilders. Black Rod, the head of security at the House of Lords, has ordered extra security for the event.
The House of Lords event is hosted by Lord Malcolm Pearson of Rannoch, a UKIP Peer with a special interest in the European Union, Islamism and education. It will be chaired by Baroness Caroline Cox of Queensbury, a crossbench Peer and a human rights campaigner with a strong commitment to humanitarian aid and education; she is the founder of The International Islamic Christian Organisation for Reconcilia
David 5:19
Bibi ticks all the boxes :-
1. Jewish.
2. Jewish Israeli.
3. Right-wing.
4. Former military man.
5. Pro- US Republican.
How I look forward to the mewling, whining, spluttering indignation from the Beeboids if he gets elected !
British government to Air TV Ads Begging Pakistanis Not to Attack.
See comments at the bottom of page
“So we know the Brits have the same mentality as the Spaniards and the Dutch and the French, and really, all of Western Europe. Apologize, captulate, beg. Winston Chruchill is rolling over in his grave. And how about you, Indians. Where is your spine? It´s alright though – when Islam overtakes Europe the native Euros are welcome in the US, Canada, and Australia; countries that DO have a spine”.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Dont-attack-us-please-UK-ads-to-say-on-Pak-TV/421654/
The BBC must not be banned from Israel. That would be a grave error. Do you think the Beeboids will start wringing their hands about how were they going to reach the Chinese audience like they did when China blocked them for a couple of days? Remember, the BBC position was more along the lines of worrying about reaching out to the potential Chinese audience than informing the poor license fee payers back home about what was really going on in China. It will be even worse with Israel, because there’s far more of an emotional investment in the Palestinians than there is in the Tibetans and their feudal lord.
When they were briefly blocked recently from going through the Israeli border into Gaza, we got a glimpse of what they’d do if they were banned from Israel entirely.
Don’t even think about it. It’s very obvious GroupThink at the BBC that Israel is even more disgusting than South Africa before the end of Apartheid, and borderline guilty of genocide. Banning them will only make even more Beeboids incite violence against Jews in the UK.
Instead, Israel ought to do a bit of libel tourism and sue the BBC. That would be way much more fun.
then they can stand on the border of syria and look mournfully acrross the desert
ngg | 10.02.09 – 2:15 pm
At the risk of being pedantic.
Syria does not allow journalists from Western countries to be stationed there. The BBC might move to Jordan, Lebanon or Egypt. All are much less comfortable than Israel.
The border with Syria is a mountain (Har Dov) and farmland not a desert.
Israel is not going to expel the BBC precisely because Israel is not Zimbawe.
The truth is that the Likud, Kadima and Labor parties ran weak campaigns around personalities not policy, ideology or issues.
Livni was reduced to saying you would vote for me if I wasn’t a woman {I wouldn’t 😉 } and you have to vote for me to defeat Netanyahu. In the process she inadvertently confirmed that the job was too much for her.
Netanyahu was so concerned at not repeating his previous electoral mistakes he took no risks like debating Livni, making definite policy statements or criticising the performance of Kadima in the Knesset so as not to bring up his own weaknesses. Consequently he allowed Lieberman to undercut him.
Barak ran a campaign trying to make his inability to work with a team and tendency to make rash decisions a sign of leadership. No one bought it. When it became clear that Labor was likely to become the 4th largest party he was reduced to campaigning to be the next Defence Minister.
Most Israelis would say the worst three prime ministers in 60 yrs have been Barak, Netanyahu and Olmert. Two of them and the deputy of the 3rd are running this time.
Fortunately Israel is stronger than its leaders.
Dunno how long this photo will be up on the Jerusalem Post homepage, but it’s the funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time:
http://www.jpost.com/
Secret ballot?
Thanks Anton. My Labour MP denies knowledge of the Lord Ahmed incident, the squirmy little coward that he is.
Another funny thing from the JPost:
As of 8:00 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, some 59.7 percent of the 5.2 million people eligible to vote had cast their ballots at the 9,263 polling stations available nationwide, the Central Elections Committee (CEC) said.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1233304735433&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Fervent praying by Al-Bowen et.al. that the exit polls are wrong and that Bibi will indeed win. The whole ‘Israel is like Nazi Germany’ strategy depends on Bibi winning.
I have News 24 on. Kate Adelye is reporting from Israel ???
All she keeps repeating is;
Israeli dirty politics.
Israeli dirty politics.
Israeli dirty politics.
I wonder what Abu Bowen’s subliminal message is here.
Why the Israelis haven’t banned the BBC is a mystery to me. Hopefully if Likud win they’ll be kicked out of Israel.
The election is over and the results are in: The BBC still views Israel as the obstacle to peace.
Two parties claim Israel victory
Never mind the slightly misleading headline. The reality is that Netanyahu might get a chance to form the government and be PM, not that Likud claimed victory. On to the bias inherent in the system.
Correspondents say that a right-wing coalition would complicate things for US President Barack Obama, who is promising a strong push for peace in the Middle East.
Which correspondents would those be, BBC?
And now, ladies and gentlemen, I give you the BBC Narrative for the election result.
Although the Palestinian Authority has not expressed preference for any candidate, its senior negotiator, Saeb Erakat, expressed dismay that right-wing parties had performed so well.
“It is obvious the Israelis have voted to paralyse the peace process,” he said.
PS: It looks like they had to go to the AFP to get that photo of the reaction from the BBC offices in Jerusalem.
“Why the Israelis haven’t banned the BBC is a mystery to me. Hopefully if Likud win they’ll be kicked out of Israel.
Anonymous | 10.02.09 – 11:43 pm | # “
Israelis believe in freedom of speech and diversity of opinion, unlike the totalitarian scum who run the Beeb.
Is this a new low from Jeremy Bowen?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7878046.stm
Israelis define their politics according to their views on the conflict with the Palestinians. They have traditionally believed that the Arabs are not to be trusted, and that occupied land captured in the 1967 war is Israel’s by right.
In other words, they’re against a sovereign Palestinian state alongside Israel – which is the so-called two state solution.
All that generalising about “Israelis”, then he contradicts himself:
Kadima’s Tzipi Livni supports the two state solution, and says she’s the one to deliver it.
So what is it Mr Bowen, are “The Israelis” for or against the “so-called two state solution”?
It’s hard being balanced when your bias seeps out of every pore, isn’t it?
Here’s a complaint I sent in to the Complaints Department that will likely be ignored. Did anyone notice this in Jeremy Bowen’s “election diary” by the way?
“The following paragraph from Jeremy Bowen’s “election diary” is an outrageously offensive example of bias: ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7878046.stm )
He writes: ” Israelis define their politics according to their views on the conflict with the Palestinians. They have traditionally believed that the Arabs are not to be trusted, and that occupied land captured in the 1967 war is Israel’s by right.
In other words, they’re against a sovereign Palestinian state alongside Israel – which is the so-called two state solution.”
Bowen somehow, astonishingly, and against all evidence to the contrary, generalizes that all Israelis are opposed to the “two-state” solution, a patent lie, when poll after poll has shown conclusively that a majority of Israelis support such a solution.
This is not simply bias. It is libel, against an entire people. Bowen is presenting something as fact that is a demonstrable untruth. This must be rectified by the BBC. Here is a poll from 2002 that shows clear majority support among Israelis for a two-state solution: http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/international_security_bt/137.php?nid=&id=&pnt=137
Here is another poll, from 2007, conducted by teh International Middle East Media Center, which shows 70% backing by Israeli Jews for a two-state solution.
” http://www.imemc.org/article/49290 ”
Jeremy Bowen has promulgated an outright falsehood. He ought to be censured, and the BBC ought to provide a public apology. “
It’s not over until it’s over.
No one seems to note that the Likud under Netanyahu doubled the number of seats it won in the last Knesset – an exceptional achievement whether he becomes PM or not.
No one seems to note that the Arab parties slightly improved their position (I count Hadash as an Arab party) despite calls for a boycott.
No one seems to note that ultra orthodox Jewish parties essentially maintained their position but lost relative influence.
The last paragraph in Bryans link is interesting, no exit polls to be published until the last polling stations had closed at 10pm.
What an amazingly common sense thing to do.
Imagine something as common sense as that ever happening in this country! 🙂
Mailman
BTW, who do we want to win again?
Mailman
When I have to visit Israel to see family members I like to go in the dark, that way I only see road signs that remind me of the biblical times, in the cold light of day, what do I see? gun totting youngsters with no manners push and shove an older person out of the way when getting on public transport.
The majority of people are so right wing, wow, when I visit other family in Bavaria I have such a relaxing time. Perhaps the Israelies should take a leaf out of the book of them on how to live side by side in HARMONY. I am not antisemitic but really one could easily become anti seeing all the hate that they spout forth.