Monthly Archives: August 2009

OPEN THREAD

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This open thread is going so well I thought I’d raise it to the top here as we start the weekend. Comments on BBC bias as ever more than welcomed!

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NOT A PATCH….

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I have followed some of the coverage of the burial today of Britain’s last surviving World War I veteran Harry Patch who died aged 111. It took place at Wells Cathedral in Somerset. I know this is going to open me up to criticism BUT…. is it just me or did the BBC play up the fact that Mr Patch became quite a vocal pacifist in the latter part of his life? I pay tribute to Harry Patch and he enjoyed the liberty to argue against war because millions of other served their country too, fighting and winning for the freedoms we all have today. The fact that Mr Patch believed that conflicts could be settled through negotiation and compromise, rather than war, fits perfectly into the narrative.

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NOT ANOTHER WEDDING PARTY

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You could understand if marriage rates were to decline in Afghanistan given the attrition rate of those attending such ceremonies. Yes, yet ANOTHER “wedding party” has suffered grievously only this time it seems that Taliban “militants” were responsible rather than the Great Satan. The BBC correspondent coos “As foreign troops have become better at detecting IEDs, the militants have become more sophisticated in modifying their designs…” Yes, they might be dark age savages but hey, somehow they seem to have ever increased technological capability. I wonder could the BBC correspondent help us understand how this situation could come about?

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REJOICE – THE RECESSION IS OVER

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Been away all day but have had the misfortune to catch several BBC news stories. It struck me that green shoots of recovery are everywhere today if we listen to the State Broadcaster. The housing market is on the up, new car sales are on the rise and…unemployment is also rocketing up. Sorry, scrap that last one. Even better, the Bank of England pumps more cash into the economy because, erm, well, the recession is deeper than the experts reckoned! Labour has been able to grab onto these fantasy green shoots and claim that this is further proof that Alistair Darling’s predictions about modest growth by year end are correct. Why does the BBC promulgate these fantasy economics? Maybe they share Brown’s delusion that with recovery underway next Spring, there is still a small chance that – yes – another five glorious years is possible. Surely not?

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GOOD HOUSEKEEPING UPDATE

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I have just had a chance to have a read through the comments on the “Housekeeping” thread from the other day and wanted to try and explain the way things work around here from my perspective.

I am libertarian minded (on the topic of commenting here anyway!) and that’s why I simply requested you might all respect my wish to keep the language moderated on the site as it makes the many great points just as effectively. I see it being asked by some that I (and the other moderators) become more active in enforcing moderation. Here’s the deal; I don’t have the time. I came here to write and that is pretty much where all my interest lies. I am involved in three other blogs and I hope you all might understand I have to grab fleeting time.
I like the idea of freewheeling conversation and all I simply want is for civility from those who care about this site. 99% of the time all is well but sometimes it gets out of kilter. And I would be failing in my responsibility if I did not raise this.
Over on my primary blog, A Tangled Web, I was forced to moderate every comment and I don’t want that to happen here. It means that trolls (Hi Medicated, Red Avenger) can infest the site until they get bored and wither away but I am prepared to tolerate that just as I tolerate the richness of our language from time to time. But we do best when we speak with a civil tongue and that is what I seek from all who come here.

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My Sainted Auntie

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Worldwide opinion is so fond of condemning all Israel’s actions as ‘disproportionate’, you’d think at some point they’d realise that their favourite word far more accurately describes the outrage that follows almost every single thing Israel does, period.
Furthermore, anything offered in Israel’s defence is boomeranged back twisted and rebranded as synonymous with the ridiculous sentiment: ‘Israel can do no wrong.’
I have to say that I’m beginning to be overwhelmed by a feeling of hopelessness.

I only caught the end of (Hat Tip: Davka and Craig) Katya Adler’s slanted piece on last night’s “World Tonight’ – enough to notice that the IDF spokeswoman’s statements were trivialised by being sandwiched in between hostile narrative.

Craig explains “What the BBC neglects to tell its listeners is that Defence for Children International may not be a disinterested party. Its president is Rifat Odeh Kassis, a long-time Palestinian activist from the ‘occupied West Bank’ (as Katya persistently calls it), who has been arrested and imprisoned several times by Israel – a man with a mission and plenty of grudges. The organisation has its own devoted ‘Palestine Section’.”

Another example of a corrupt organisation masquerading as saintly and impartial is our friend UNRWA. From Robin Shepherd:

“Remember all those stories about the evil Israelis preventing medical supplies from reaching Gaza? Remember the BBC and all the other western outlets parading UN officials as objective observers of the conflict? Well, in a story that is not running on the BBC, it now appears that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza has covered up the theft of three of its ambulances by Hamas.”

The BBC is getting worse and worse.
Update.Craig has retracted his comment about Rifat Odeh Kassis on the basis that he got the info from Wiki. I used it mainly to segue Katya and Robin Shepherd, but I apologise for any unfair slur on Mr. Kassis. Tom and Craig politely resolved this like gents, good for them, and I must check sources every time.

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HOUSEKEEPING

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Just a quick word to remind all who like to comment here that this is not a “sweary” blog and there should be enough words in the English language to convey opinion without resulting to vulgarity! I don’t want to seem a prude and I do understand how passionate debate can become but I have noticed far too much crudity in recent times and I would appreciate your support in refraining from this. The site benefits from civil debate and if we lower our standards then we simply gift those who would try to demean the site. Thanks for your support.

MISSING BILL

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It was entirely predictable that the BBC would present Bill Clinton’s North Korean visit in glowing terms. Have a listen here to what is seven minutes of one sided opinion. The perfectly reasonable view that Clinton’s visit merely gives legitimacy to the tinpot tyrant Dear Leader is absent. I suppose since it was Clinton who when President facilitated the Dear Leader getting nukes in the first place it is appropriate that he return to the scene of the crime but it really is poor form that the BBC presents this entire issue in positive terms when in fact many people see this as rank amateur Obama diplomacy. But hey – the two American journalists have now been released so all is well and another example of how good Bill Clinton really is. Honest.

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BEHIND BARS

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Ann Owers, Chief Inspector of Prisons, is a BBC favourite. Her liberal values resonate with the State Broadcaster and she was on this morning criticising Cookham Wood Young Offenders institute. For good value, universal Francis Crooke from the Howard League for Penal Abolition was also given a scathing quote on the “brutality” of the prison regime. The BBC meme is always the same – if we must send young criminals to Prison then the objective should be education. The idea that thugs get punished is just simply unacceptable to the liberal elite and when it’s not the police that are being criticised, it is prison staff. The concept that young criminals are responsible for their own deprivation of liberty is just not on the radar. Maybe we should close on Prisons and turn them into early learning centres?

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Only On The BBC …

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There’s concern about the number of prisoners released early from prison on license who go on to kill or commit serious crime while still under ‘supervision’ :

Criminals on probation committed more than 1,000 serious crimes over the last two years, including nearly one murder a week in England and Wales.

The government figures give details of the 1,167 offences committed by people being supervised by probation officers.

The total included 94 murders, 105 rapes and 43 arson attacks.

Only a BBC producer could decide that the best person to interview on the topic is someone who believes the problem to be, not that criminals are being released early from prison, but that they were sent there in the first place.

As I’ve pointed out before, Frances Crook of the Howard League For The Abolition of Punishment must be able to find her way to the Today studios blindfold by now.

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