Two untypical BBC items to report.
The Culture Show BBC2 featured the Jewish Museum, soon to reopen after a £10 m refurbishment. Sharfraz Mazoor chatted to some well-known Jewish TV faces, and took us through various bits of British Jewish history. Which was nice.
Item two, Radicalization in Prison
BBC News 24 has been featuring Daniel Sandford’s report about this topic as ‘news.’ It even appeared slightly critical, and perhaps a tiny bit judgmental.
Which is – not nice, but comparatively frank for the Beeb.
Of course it’s not new, surely it’s been common knowledge for ages; and it goes without saying that they’re referring to ‘a distorted version of Islam,’ not the real version, which is peaceful.
There’s an upcoming documentary on R5 Sunday by Donal MacIntyre.
Back to abnormal with something more typical.
Melanie Phillips reveals how the PA, led by so-called moderate Mahmoud Abbas, really feels about ‘the liberation of their own land.’ They still regard a mass murdering suicide bomber as a heroine. This might be hard to reconcile with their so-called desire for peace. But not to worry. Jeremy Bowen had this sorted in 2003:
“these people are seen by Palestinians as heroes of their would-be independence movement, and it’s important for them to be mentioned [by Yasser Arafat] and it fulfils their ritualistic sloganising function”. [bless]
“Let’s not forget that before Israeli independence Messrs Shamir and Begin were regarded by the British as terrorists. They went on – in the case of Begin – to win the Nobel Prize for Peace.”
The BBC is currently much more interested in the untimely granting of planning permission for a few houses for Jews. Joe Biden’s visit was just in time for that, but, dammit, just too late for the ceremonial dedication of a public square to Dalal Mughrabi. Which was a shame.
It seems that many posters and bloggers assume that it goes without saying that the BBC is terminally biased against Israel and in favour of Muslims. So much so that many of them do literally allow it to go without saying, unless something exceptional comes up and prompts them to mention it in passing. If people are so resigned to the BBC’s bias that they just sigh and roll their eyes at it, it makes B-BBC, including myself, look a bit futile and old hat. Which is annoying.
I don’t quite believe what I have seen… the Friday BBC 10 o’clock news film two would-be terrorists in England who are self proclaimed Al Quida sympathiers watched Al Quida (read:terrorist) training videos.
If the BBC worked in the national interest they would be straight on to MI5 not cultivated exposure for these “people” and their propaganda.
They need to be under survillance or in jail not advertised on television!
‘It seems that many posters and bloggers assume that it goes without saying that the BBC is terminally biased against Israel and in favour of Muslims’
but worryingly the average man in the street has NO idea or conception of this. Which is worrying.
Ryan, might be an idea to contact the appropriate authorities so that they can question the BBC as to who these apprentice terrorists are and where they live.
Hi Too True.
But they were only sympathisers! They promised, cross their heart and hope to die, they weren’t violent themselves.
So that’s okay.
Hi Sue,
Yeah, I suppose I can live with that – Huh?
The BBC has a (new “improved”) HYS on the Biden vist and the settlement building. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a HYS this rabidly anti-Israel and anti-Semitic. Many comments like the following have been posted b the “moderators:”
368. At 6:53pm on 10 Mar 2010, joe kahn wrote:
To Samyak Gowda No.186:It’s people like you who are against the peace process.What’s done is done as far as history is concerned why make matters worse as civilised humans.Israel can look at history and be more compassionate because of the alleged holocaust,if the holocaust did really occur than Israelis should be more empathetic with the Palestinians and not commit the similar crimes as the Nazis committed.What Israel is doing today is worse than the Germans in today’s world.Deliberately choking,diminishing and wiping the Palestinian history is abhorrent and reprehensible,it’s crime against humanity,how do you sleep at night knowing women and children are systematically being driven out of their homes and demolishing their livelyhood?.I have one question,ws Hitler right?..
Forgot the link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/haveyoursay/2010/03/can_the_us_vicepresident_broke.html?page=1#comments
Funnily enough, the comment at no. 186, that “Joe Kahn” refers to, was removed by the moderators.
Hi TT – good to see you there fighting the good fight. You’ll notice I’m there too, but for how long I don’t know, a couple of my comments have already been deleted and “referred to the moderators”.
BTW have you noticed that the archives are now working here complete with all our old comments? 🙂
What do you make of this BBC story over the legal tussle for Kafka’s manuscripts?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8545157.stm
The BBC does not explain why Germany would be a better choice than Israel and seems to give far too much credence to the crackpot views of Max Brod’s secretary’s daughter who claims that Israel is too busy fighting terror to safeguard precious manuscripts. Dead Sea scrolls, anyone?
As with the pro-Islam BBC, so with the pro-Islam Labour government:
“Outcry over Home Office ‘pandering’ to Muslim Police”
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/162835/Outcry-over-Home-Office-pandering-to-Muslim-police
“If people are so resigned to the BBC’s bias that they just sigh and roll their eyes at it, it makes B-BBC, including myself, look a bit futile and old hat. Which is annoying.”
Is this a ‘pre-resignation’ speech? Combatting BBC bias is a grind and an uphill struggle whose only reward will almost certainly only ever be good conscience.
Too True.
Khans obscene little posting is off now. Hopefully several more will be off by tonight.
Or rather “Kahn”. I feel I was right first time however. Its the syntax that gives them away.
For BBC: its daily verbal assaults on ISRAEL (via BBC’s Mr. J, BOWEN -who seems to have a personal grudge) are as unremitting as the BBC’s support for Islamic jihad HAMAS.
Currently, on the BBC’s web ‘Middle East ‘ page, there are about half a dozen negative, anti-Israel stories.
In contrast, the BBC’s coverage of e.g. EGYPT, is appallingly weak. The BBC, despite its claims, is not really interested in exposing gross injustices in the Islamic world. The BBC ignores
Islamic jihad violence by Muslims in Egypt against Christians which goes on all the time, like today:
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/03/egypt-crowd-of-3000-muslims-attacks-coptic-christian-community.html
If a tree falls in the forest and no one sees it fall has it really fallen?
The BBC’s Middle East/North Africa coverage is very weak. According to Wikipedia the Middle East correspondents are:
Middle East
Jeremy Bowen – Middle East EditorPaul Wood – JerusalemTim Franks – JerusalemKatya Adler – JerusalemChristian Fraser – CairoJim Muir – BaghdadHugh Sykes – BaghdadAleem Maqbool – GazaNatalia Antelava – Beirut
Note: No one stationed in in Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Libya, Sudan, Morocco, Tunisia etc.
Bowen has a personal and public grudge against Israel which he blames for killing his Hizbullah fixer/driver.
It’s not simply that the BBC largely ignores the persecution of Christians in Egypt. It ignores it, and that of other non Arab/ non Muslim minorities , throughout the Middle East.
BBC: trimming its report of Islamic jihad on barbers of Gaza –
“Gaza’s male hairdressers: Time to cut and run?”
-and BBC’s Arab Gaza supporters (like JB): Time to cut and run?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8564929.stm
A reminder for BBC and its pro-Hamas, anti-Israel reports, – a video from ex-Hamas, Mosab Yousef –
http://www.jihadwatch.org/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/br0nc0s/managed-mt/mt-search.cgi?search=mosab+yousef&IncludeBlogs=1&limit=20
As BBC knows,(being part of it), but doesn’t report:
“Leftist/Jihadist Alliance illustrated”
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/03/leftistjihadist-alliance-illustrated.html
Will BBC notice, and mention, Microsoft’s pro-Islamic, anti-Jewish, anti-Christian filtering?
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/03/microsofts-bing-search-engine-filtering-negative-searches-about-muslims.html
“Are Israeli leaders funding terrorism against America, as the Saudi King, before whom Obama bowed, does?”
-A question for BBC.
That’s an excellent article.
The Israeli Ambassador to the US is saying that US-Israel relations are at the lowest level for 35 years, a real crisis point – all caused by the false umbrage taken by Biden, Obama and Clinton.
Is the BBC reporting this crisis – and that at the same time the “mild” end of the Palestinians are honouring a mass murderer ?
Double standards indeed.
Just speculating.
Most middle-class, Christian (bandwidth may vary) English and Americans have been conditioned to accept that anger and violence are abnormal. Violence is a last resort after irresistible pressure. It follows that if someone has a ‘Day of Rage’ and throws stones and petrol bombs at police they must be under such pressure that the only solution is to relieve that pressure.
It never occurs that the purpose of the Day of Rage is precisely to encourage such feelings among well-meaning outsiders.