Author Archives: Sue

You’ve Been Framed

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Aren’t videos brilliant!
They get all sorts of people into hot water, proving that they’ve told a porky pie.
There’s film of the BNP saying things they wish they hadn’t, and politicians too numerous to mention being incontinent with their agendas. Everyone in the public eye is continually being filmed or caught on camera.
There’ s a big downside too. Take Hezbollywood, or the Pallywood industry, fakers of atrocities by trade, whose purpose is to make Israel look even worse than they made it look previously.
But on the other hand, the videos that showed beatings being carried out with great gusto on the Mavi Marmara might turn out to be quite handy if they’re admissible as evidence.
Awkward too is the video that shows the Arab Israeli Knesset member Hanin Zuabi doing what she swore she didn’t, namely witnessing certain preparations she pretended she hadn’t, and almost willing another martyrdom; someone else’s, not her own.
But the BBC’s favourite spokesperson for righteousness, charitable good works, helping the Palestinians, and making Israel look even worse than he made it look previously has also been caught out being economical with the actuality.

Christopher Gunness always says UNWRA schools and childrens’ camps are non political. But he’s a liar. Hoist by his own self promotion.

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Amnesty With Attitude

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The powerful Jewish lobby hasn’t been controlling the media very well recently. A legal amnesty on criminal activities appears to have crept in, unnoticed by the MSM. Not all criminal activities qualify, before you go out a-lootin’ and a-pillagin’. Only ones that are for the noble cause of delegitimising Israel. Specially if his honour the judge happens to have strong feelings, as was the case with His Honour George Bathurst-Norman; and now another judge has jumped on the bandwagon and acquitted another bunch of rowdies. Their antics have been disrupting trade in Covent Garden’s Ahava store and surrounding shops because Ahava is Israeli owned, and some of its products are from the West Bank.

“The activists insisted that they were legally justified in their actions as they claim the shop’s activities are illegal because the products on sale in the shop originate from Mitzpe Shalem, an Israeli settlement on the West Bank and are deliberately mislabeled as “made in Israel”.

Wham Bam Acquitted!

The BBC doesn’t report this case, but as they reported the outcome of the Brighton factory trial without mentioning the judge’s emotional instructions to the jury, but showed instead a video of the vandals’ joy at their acquittal, it was clear that they didn’t think upholding the law was necessary. With the proviso that it’s all for a good cause, of course.

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Same Mistake

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Several websites, including B-BBC (open thread H/T Piggy Kosher) have mentioned the case of “The popular Tunisian singer Saleem Bakkoush” who has been forced to cancel what seems to have been a cherished long-awaited performance at a prestigious festival, all because his fellow Tunisians discovered he had once performed at a synagogue. Which is enough to render him persona non grata in Tunisia.
He’s not alone. Pity the poor Tunisian singer who chanted “Long Live Netanyahu!”

That would be because of the antisemitism by the way, in case you didn’t quite grasp that from the article by BBC World Service Middle East editor Magdi Abdelhadi.

This BBC person has previous. In response to a complaint in 2009 the BBC had to remind the middle east team of the need to explain this ‘situation’ clearly, should it arise again. Well, it has ariss.
This ‘situation’ as blogged by Notasheep, and here.
From a comment by ‘anonymous’ from the Point of No Return Blog:

“I emailed MAH last night to ask why his article was framed purely in terms of the anti-Israel, rather than also the anti-semitic, nature of the incident (..I also asked ) why he mentioned at the end that most Jews “left” the Arab world decades ago, since we both knew that most of them were forced out or fled for their lives.

Disappointingly, he responded to say that in the Arab world the two issues are conflated (which didn’t explain why he did the same); that you can’t talk in terms of European antisemitism in the Arab (…) and that while some Jews fled, others left and anyway, that wasn’t relevant to the article […]I found his response – particularly around the extent and nature of Arab antisemitism – deeply disappointing, given his role at the BBC and the previous censure from the BBC’s ECU following his report on the Refugee conference last year which ploughed basically the same furrow – life not so bad for Jews in the Arab world, no serious mention of antisemitism, all about Israel not Jews. “

“bataween” replies:

“It was indeed Magdi Abdelhadi who was censured by the BBC’s ECU for saying that Jews were ‘well integrated’ into Arab lands when historically they were constrained as dhimmis
Life Not Hunky Dory For Jews in Arab Countries It is clear as day that this instance of the singer being banned is driven by pure (Arab) antisemitism, as you rightly argue, Anon, but MAH continues to fudge and dodge the question.
Following the London Jewish Refugees conference in 2008, the BBC promised to do more on the subject, but we are still waiting. Meanwhile the articles on the Palestinian Nakba continue to pour forth from the BBC, without the slightest attempt at balance.”

An important article the BBC should read. The Nakba Obsession by Sol Stern

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Strength in Numbers

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It’s good to see a plug for this website elsewhere, so thanks to everyone who has mentioned B-BBC on JihadWatch, and Mel’s Blog, and anywhere else.
It struck me how easily things can take off or go viral if they catch the imagination. I was thinking of the video of the alarming security breach at Montreal Trudeau International Airport that was filmed by ‘Mickfly’ and posted here. (The affronted reaction to it was interesting too.)
The story has been picked up and blogged by Daniel Pipes, and the more mention it gets the more likely the powers that be will be moved to act.

Comments on the B-BBC open thread by George R & David P about the honeytrap style interview with a covert BBC reporter and Robert Spencer of Jihadwatch caught my eye. The BBC’s Kiera Feldman was trying to record something juicy she could use for propaganda purposes, using Pamela Geller’s name to entice him to blab. This devilish technique is widely used these days it seems. Someone with an agenda pretends to be on your side, you spill too many beans, and it’s taken down used against you as the joke goes.

I note that David P said “I think this is worthy of a main post.”
Can I just say: you know where I live. Mail me. Or David Vance. If you prepare a main post we would gladly guest-post it.

Another comment that caught my eye, which deserves to be discussed more fully, was Dazed-and-Confused’s spot about Hizb Ut-Tahrir’s repulsive article which managed to exploit the BBC’s disingenuous reporting of the girls that allegedly got chucked off a bus for wearing the burqa. The article was given prominence on the BBC’s website, but the explanation by the driver and London Transport, revealing a very different version, was buried deep in its bowels.

Before being sort of elected, David Cameron promised to ban Hizb Ut-Tahrir. I suppose the Lib Dems thought that would be too intolerant.

The websites I look at frequently mention the BBC in despair. But some commenters seem unaware of us. Feel free to spread the word. Every little ‘elps.

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To Fix Firmly

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..in a Surrounding Mass.*
George Alegiah almost beamed as he announced that Israel has agreed to co-operate with the UN in the flotilla inquiry.
People who defend Israel might heave a small sigh of relief at that news. There’s a saying I’ve just invented that goes: ‘sometimes Israel makes things more difficult for its defenders than is necessary.’

I often read Ray Cook’s interesting blog, and he’s glad they’ve decided to go along with it too. But as he points out, not everyone is delighted. Some people understandably feel that “President Obama has now blackmailed the government of Israel into submitting its defense forces to the toxic oversight of the United Nations.” and I have a sneaky feeling that being relieved is quite selfish, and very premature. So I’m curbing my initial reaction, and won’t be beaming till we hear that there’s a reasonable and just outcome.

I don’t imagine the BBC reads reports from people they dismiss as Israel Firsters. They must glean most of their information from Hamas and Hezbollah spokespersons, and various Arab and Islamist politicians, or regurgitate it straight from AP and Reuters. And they employ unhinged people with seriously worrying agendas. H/T Stanley Ukridge on the open thread.

In view of the Lebanese admission that it fired first, and the widely disseminated revelation that The Tree was in Israel after all, even the BBC has had to change course slightly. But will it learn anything from this embarrassing outing of its bias against Israel? No. As Elder points out, Robert Fisk carries on regardless, and no doubt so will the BBC.

It does make you wonder, with all those journalists and reporters on the books, why doesn’t the BBC bother to do some original reporting? They like embedding their reporters. I agree. I’m all for embedding* the lot of them.

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Storm in Teacup

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My post Self-Fulfilling Backlash suggested the press was trying to whip up an artificial storm over a comment by Shimon Peres, which was taken out of context and sensationalised by the Telegraph and Haartetz. Now it seems they have succeeded in doing so. A damp squib, anyway. Who’s surprised?
The Express and the Mail have jumped aboard, with the help of Andrew Rosindell who the Express quotes as saying:

“It is inappropriate for the president of Israel to make a comment like that. Maybe he should spend more time here, get to know the British people and realise we defeated the Nazis in the war. I and many other politicians are fighting groups like the BNP, whose views are not representative of the country as a whole.”

which is odd if there’s any truth in this article about Mr. Rosindell’s “form” in politics, which accuses him of “climbing into the gutter” with the BNP.

Robin Shepherd has written:

“What no reasonable person can deny is that there is a massive problem in Britain, that Israel is singled out like no other country in the world in the British press, that rising Muslim populations are bringing a new anti-Israeli dynamic into the equation, that the foreign office tends to support the Arabs against Israel — it imposes a Royal boycott on Israel, for example, while there have been several Royal visits to Arab countries — and that in some cases there is a problem with anti-Semitism.”

For a detailed examination of the long inglorious record of British anti Israel and anti Jewish behaviour read Daniel Greenfield, aka Sultan Knish.

Shimon Peres understands Britain’s historical relationship with Israel and the Arabs far better than David Cameron evidently understands what’s happening in Gaza. Yet Cameron’s ignorance has been given a free pass, while Peres is accused of “getting it wrong.”

For anyone who doubts that the foreign office is pro-Arab, look at who has been appointed big chief. Simon Fraser, formerly sacked (or not, depending on who you listen to) for cohabiting with the PLO official he is now married to.

Britain’s attitude to Israel today, and the press interest stirred up by David Cameron’s nonsense about prison camps is widely attributable to the BBC, which has reported, nurtured, created and re-reported matters concerning Israel in an ever increasing delegitimising exercise. Who knows who and what David Cameron is pandering to with his gaffe-ridden trip, but it certainly isn’t the all powerful media-controlling Jewish lobby.

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White and Hideously Liberal.

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There’s been a spate of critical analyses and lampoons of “white liberals” on some of the blogs I’ve been looking at.
The longest post I’ve ever seen by Edmund Standing on Harry’s Place has polarised the commentariat – they either love it or loathe it – then there’s this ballad from Mark Allinson in a comment on Melanie Phillips’ blog (August 2nd, 2010 12:22am) that starts:
“I envy the moral perfection,
Of the folks on the cultural left;” and this witty ditty by Roy Zimmerman.

Some of it encapsulates the self loathing, guilt ridden philosophy of the champagne socialist and white liberal lot that we fund to educate entertain and inform us.

The thing that stands out like a sore thumb if you’ll forgive the unintended sick pun, is that in their desperate struggle not to be racist they must embrace all cultural differences, and in so doing they necessarily overlook or downplay such things as female genital mutilation, which, allegedly, is actually being done here in multicultural Britain.
I’m not saying that they don’t know, or don’t care that this is happening, rather it’s their refusal to admit that this is just the sharp end of a very big wedge that is being driven into our country.

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Self-Fulfilling Backlash

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So Shimon Peres has noticed that the English are antisemitic and pander to Muslim votes. The Telegraph has chosen to whip up a controversy by heading an article:
“Fury as Israel president claims English are ‘anti-semitic’ “
So who’s furious?

“senior MPs and Jewish leaders who said the 87-year-old president had “got it wrong”

So far it appears that these furious MPs consist of:

“James Clappison, the Conservative MP for Hertsmere and vice-chairman of Conservative Friends of Israel”

Since Mr Peres’s comment was ‘buried in an interview with the historian Professor Benny Morris of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev published last week in Tablet, a Jewish news website, ‘ could someone be trying to make a mountain out of a molehill?

“The wide-ranging interview covered Mr Peres’ role as one of Israel’s longest-serving political leaders – an MP for 48 years, twice prime minister, and holder of other ministerial posts over the decades. He is firmly on the Israeli Left. “

He could have just been taking the opportunity to use the very dryly comical quote:
“There is in England a saying that an anti-Semite is someone who hates the Jews more than is necessary” a saying that contains a bigger grain of truth and considerably more wit than “Gaza is a prison camp.”

Haaretz has a slightly different way of making a mountain out of this.
“ Peres sparks U.K backlash after labeling England anti-Semitic” the headline screams out, continuing:

“President Shimon Peres provoked a media backlash in the United Kingdom on Sunday”

So far, the media backlash consists of an article in the Telegraph. The BBC hasn’t reported it yet, but I expect it will.

Antisemitism in England? Or do we mean AntiZionism?
Connection with the BBC? Tenuous, but not as tenuous as all that.

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