On the BBC's Thought for the Day, the egregious John Bell joined the propaganda jihad and repeated tendentious and unsupportable charges froma dubious source. Note also that Bell doesn't apologize for the key point -- alleging that Israel jails soldiers for refusing to shoot children -- but for minor details of his farrago. The BBC seems to pick up the slack, but is itself vague. From the BBC:
In the programme, on 10 February, the Reverend John Bell of the Iona Community spoke of meeting an Arab man conscripted into the Israeli Army.Dr Bell told listeners the 19-year-old corporal had been jailed for refusing to shoot Palestinian schoolchildren.
However, the remarks angered many members of Britain's Jewish community, who said the account could not be true.
'Factual errors'
Several people told the BBC that Israeli Arabs are exempt from conscription into the army. Moreover, it would be impossible for a 19-year-old to rise to the rank of corporal.
Dr Bell has since admitted, in a letter to the BBC, that his account contained "two factual errors".
"One was that the soldier was 21 and not 19, thus he would have been of the age to be a corporal.
"The second is that he did not say he was conscripted. My presumption regarding conscription is wrong as regards Arab Israelis....
The BBC added their own apology, on the Thought For The Day website, acknowledging that the facts should have been checked prior to broadcast.
"We have talked to the Israeli authorities and we are unable to find any evidence to support the story told to Dr Bell and recounted by him on Thought for the Day.
God, how I hate these pretend Christians who worm their way into the Churches and use their cloth to promote their hatred of the societies they come from! This sort of thing actually makes you understand why heretics were sentenced to be burned, because they could destroy, not only minds, but souls, and not only souls, but the binding tissue of society. This odious, pseudo-pious freak - unfortunately not so much a freak that his kind should not be found all over the Christian world - has so little of Christianity in him that he actually offends against the truth, telling lies for party political purposes - and those purposes the vilest possible. These are the weeds of the parable, whom the Enemy sowed in the night in God's field; and if you are a Christian, read the parable and find out how it is going to end for them.
Problem is the UK and EUrope are full of Dr. Bells for whom truth is an irrelevant category. Their overiding concern is for 3rd worlders and Muslims no matter how murderously they behave. Their default is to hate the comfortable West they were reared in.
They are neo Marxists who have the 3rd world (and Muslims) playing the role of Marx's proletariat to overthrow capitalism
Dr. Bell merely emulates his Muslim heroes and they merely emulate Muhammad and the Koran commands-->>>
PMWATCH -- June 3, 2002 -- In the June 13 issue of the New York Review of Books, former Prime Minister Ehud Barak stated in an interview with Israeli historian Benny Morris that the Palestinians are the product of a culture "in which to tell a lie ... creates no dissonance. They don't suffer from the problem of telling lies that exists in Judaeo-Christian culture. Truth is seen as an irrelevant category. There is only that which serves your purpose and that which doesn't."
Whatever. He is scum. I have met his likes before, and I know them not only for liars but for backstabbers, intrigues, climbers, and vipers. They ought to have their dog-collars ripped off their necks in public.
Today’s OT news and commentary, Always Jihad Related, Truth never to be silenced.
Frustrations of an Infidel:
http://www.canadafreepress.com/2005/cover021905.htm
Euro-Arab Axis:
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/dianawest/dw20050221.shtml
The BBC would like to "apologize" for spreading this modern incarnation of the Blood Libel. The BBC is, however, proud of it's continuing support of antisemitism, Jihad, and anti-Americanism.
For more on the British Medias role in promoting the spread of antisemitsm in England, see Jonathan Rosenblum's column in today's Jewish World Review:
"Can the surge in British Jew hatred be linked directly to its media?"
http://cweb.jewishworldreview.com/jonathan/rosenblum_2005_02_18.php3
Yeah sure, I would believe this guy. He changes the facts to fit his version of the truth. 19 years old and a corporal? No, I meant 21. He was forced into service? No, I meant he joined by choice. He is a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Actually, this is more like it:
http://www.idfisrael.com/
Or scroll to the bottom here:
http://www.anti-cair-net.org/
OT:
"500 terrorists released from Israeli jails - 240 will resume terrorist activity"
http://www.internet-haganah.co.il/harchives/003693.html
Thanks for the link MJ, havent read it all, it its rather lengthy.
.. Hmm shocking points made about anti-americanism and anti-semitism in UK (which on the other hand is minuscule compared to France, may I add!)
Sorry but I cant help but blame those on the left. Sorry guys but I believe it to be true. And the problem is the lefty media elite types who run the media in London.
Bring the British Blogosphere - the real people of Britain can get real news and make their own minds up. For a change.
"You can't brainwash people for four years that Israel is an illegitimate country and that Israelis are like Nazis . . . and expect that nothing will happen to Jews"
Exactly. Bloody BBC, The Guardian, The Independant, The Mirror you are all guilty. As charged.
What evidence did Rev. Bell have of this person's identity or even his religion in the first place. He meets this guy somewhere on his travels and assumes he's a Muslim from Israel who did military service in the IDF. Did he ask to see any proof of citizenship or military service or just assume he was getting the truth from a complete stranger?
I don't know who looks worse here. The BBC or the Rev. Bell and whatever congregation he leads.
Many 'heretics' were right. This religious leader you justifiably dislike is in a position of authority and speaks with the backing of his church. Direct your anger to the appropriate authorities, not those poor souls who died for suggesting Earth is not at the center of the universe, is round, or that people should have freedom of conscience.
Many of the great thinkers of the last two thousand years were, or flirted with, heresy charges.
Maybe he is linked to the Presbytyrians who think Israel is evil, maybe they have a conspiracy link.
http://www.boycottwatch.org/abi/divest002.htm
And what were they thinking?
BBC anti-semitism is entrenched and vicious. Examples can be plucked anytime. How about today?
From today's news on the FRONT PAGE of WORLD ONLINE with a picture, that's gives this story top online billing.
Headlines: "Cautious joy Jubilation and suspicion over freed Palestinian prisoners"
One would expect the joy of Palestinians and the suspicion of Israelis. Nope. The story describes Palestinian jubilation and disappointment that more prisoners were not released, including those convicted of killing Israelis. So, the Palestinians are the 'suspicious ones'. Suspicious about what? The story implies that the release of prisoners is not sincere but some kind of ploy to placate the PA as Israel prepares for 'more aggression'. And the way to solve the problem (implied): release everybody, because nobody deserves to be in jail.
Read this despicable and biased presentation of this prisoner release. Pure anti-Israel propaganda.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4285143.stm
And, the pro-Islam propaganda continues. This story, which I posted here several days ago, on Iran's propaganda artists, is STILL on BBC online with a revised title:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4254203.stm
"Reviving Iran's revolutionaries"
The story (pro-Iran-theocracy-Islam propaganda) has aired now for over one week.
And how many positive stories has the BBC written about Israel? I don't see many. And, if one is written (and one should read carefully 'between the lines' for digs), how long would it stay on? A day, two?
On the BBC Bat Ye'or's thesis rings true day after day: Tear down the dangerous US and its puppet Israel. Build up Euro-Arab-Islamic resistance to US imperialism. The threat to Europe is America. The salvation is Euro-Islamic integration. And, of course, that means, Israel, that 'shitty little country' must go.
Vladimir Bukovsky, who was an important figure in dissecting Soviet totalitarianism, now lives in England. He has been horrified by the BBC, and not least by those three features that most distinguish it: anti-Israel coverage so extreme as to be properly labelled antisemitic; anti-Americanism so extreme as to properly be labelled fanatical; anti-Western and pro-Muslim propaganda so extreme as to be labelled traitorous. Bukovsky has been attempting to educate others, and to start a movement of financial disobedience: no more payments of the BBC License Fee.
Of Englishmen's first successful disobedience of the highandmighty (hoogende moogende) BBC, the fruit would be freedom from cant that does more than systematically disinform, by keeping listeners confused, in a great cloud of unknowing, unable to see what is right and just and what is wrong and dangerous. A war that is not perceived as a war, a ruthless and cunning enemy that is seen, too often, as an innocent victim -- this is what the BBC has done. It has not done so by accident.
Again, for the dozenth time, I ask that John Simpson, #3 at the BBC, and head of its World Service, be investigated. You can start by googling his name and "Posted by Hugh" and "jihadwatch," and then you will read, repeatedly, of his long-standing anti-Israel bias, so extreme as to coincide with the conspiracy theories of the worst antisemites.As for Simpson's dislike of the United States, and failure to see anything good in it, simply read his book on Iraq, and see how many times, as you read it, you feel compelled to fling the book across the room.
Judy Swallow, with her shrill downmarket nastinees? Robin Lustig? Lyse Doucet, a similiarly chilly voice, this one possibly Canadian (just as Judy Swallow has a hint of the American straining to be British in hers), another someone who has no business -- if for no other reason than the extraordinary unpleasantness of her speech. Who writes the copy: Who frames the words, such as "occupied" this or that? Who chooses whom to interview, and for how long, and with what tone in the voice, of reverence or of hostlility?
How long will it take for the British government to both recognize the problem -- and to understand just how bad the BBC World Service has become, they may have to listen from abroad to experience the full horror of it, and to stop permitting their homegrown Lord Haw-Haws and Thames-side Tokyo Roses to spread their venom through the ether so conveniently, from Bush House itself?
Imagine how infuriating it must be to live in England, to listen to that goddam station, and to feel keenly that you are helpless to change things, that your "democratic" rulers will do nothing, and that you must, furthermore, pay large sums to support an organziation that is now, in its propaganda on behalf of Islam and against its perceived enemies or obstacles to final victory over dar al-harb (in the first place America and Israel, but in the end the entire Infidel world)helping to make your own life, and that of your children, more unpleasant, expensive, and insecure.
Dennis Potter once addressed a crowd of television people on the theme of "Occupying Powers." Potter was talking about those who had taken over England without firing a shot; the crude and the crass of the popularizing market were his target at the time. But now (as one remembers the opening scene, with the thin-skinned Arab braying to the pretty English girl in the hospital that he was staying at "Cla-ri-dg-es" in "Karaoke"; then there was the "dance of the camels" in "Lipstick on Your Collar" one suspects that Potter, had he lived, would have been on the right side) another kind of Occupying Powers have taken over in much of Europe. They have seized many departments of Middle Eastern Studies, and many editorial and newsrooms. And they have certainly infiltrated, and not only through their "Arab Service," throughout the BBC. The Germans in the 1930s tried and tried -- see Curt Riess's 1941 book, "Total Espionage" -- but they were nothing compared to the Islamintern International.
Dan Rather at CBS,Eason Jordan at CNN,now Bell at BBC.....others will follow.
The main stream media is suffocating in its own lies and left wing propaganda and it stands on a the brink of the abyss......
Islam will soon be exposed for what it is.
The Bleedin' Biased Corporation were never good at listening to viewer/listener complaints at the best of times. Even something as politically and morally uncontroversial as a complaint about unscheduled sport taking precedence over a much anticipated scheduled programme would meet with undisguised contempt from the "duty officer". Trying to find the right office to direct a complaint is deliberately made difficult in a manner that would delight Machiavelli. Except that I doubt if they have ever studied his work. European history? No Thanks!
So every challenge I have made recently to their pro Moslem bias has been ignored, even when I posed a direct question about funding, which demanded an answer. The Radio Times is just as bad.
http://www.bbcwatch.com is interesting, although restricted.
JTF the BBC article you link to is a really odious piece of propaganda and i soon as i began reading it i recognised the Poisonous pen of Barabara Plett, a vitriolic Irish/Palestinian reporter who no longer hides her hatred of Israel.
Even after seeing hundreds of such biased articles on the BBc website, i must say that i still puke when i read Baraba Plett and her ilk.
Do you remember how she spun the story of the young palestinian boy, who was forced to wear a suicide bomb belt by the Al aqsa mob. Whne the Israelis rescued the child and defused the bomb, she hinted that this was an act that would bring little sympathy as it might have been a setup.
The sad truth is that when you lie down with dogs, you end up becoming one yourself. We've seen what has happened to the UN after its love affair with dictatorships, totalitarian and corrupt regimes.
Now we see the BBC having embraced hesbollah, al jazeera,hamas and Islamic extremism, to further its lucrative markets in the arab world sink to the same depths of amorality.
It is clear that any journalist having an unbiased view of ME affairs would never stand a chance in hell of a job with the BBC. The bias is self sustaining.
Of course as a famous American onc said, "you can fool some of the people some of the time but not all of the people all of the time."
And the figures show that the BBC have lost a huge amount of credibility and thousands are questioning the legality of the medieval compulsoary tax that all British telivision watchers have to pay under threat of JAIL.
JTF
I had forgoteen to add the Irish Orla Guerin to Barbara Plett, whom i believe, broke into floods of tears at the news of Arafat's demise.
Hugh
I just read your excellent post.
Indeed the frustration of viewing those BBC ME/currnt affairs programs ad infitum must be unvearable for those who have not yet been lobotomised by the BBC. Thank G-d i moved to Australia!
And yet, in so many other fields, the BBC excels and certainly outperforms its competitors.
such fields are for example, witty comedy,television plays, nature documentaries, history programs.
So we must conclude that only the political side of the BBC has been mortally wounded by infiltration .
an excellent site for the monitoring of BBC Bias is
http://biased-bbc.blogspot.com/
George
Unfortunately, not quite the case any more.
The last three things I have complained about are:-
Islam Week at CBBC via the children’s web page (a site I expected to be able to allow my daughter to surf in safety!)
Islamic bias during the history programme What the Ancients did for Us. Lots of drivel about the glorious scientific achievements of this "powerhouse of learning".
Michael Woods in search of the Queen of Sheba, talking of the “Holy” Koran and using the peace be upon him phrase when talking of Mohamed. He probably did have to grovel a bit to get access to the research resources he needed in Arabia but it left a nasty taste. By contrast the Ethiopians seemed very open and proud to share some of their history and culture with the viewer.
I am not the only person to so complain. They have never replied to my questions about sponsorship by islamic organisations and my reminder that I pay the licence fee.
I'll check the blog link later, thanks for the tip.
DennisW,
Rest assured the feeling towards muslims and the war on terror has drastically changed in the past 12 months.... there are the usual war critics, and islam apologists, but their number seems to decrease on a daily basis.
My thought is that the BBC was one of the reasons for the epidemic of ignorance that sempt to flood the UK after the invasion of Iraq .... coming from the left-wing departments of Galloways "Respect", the BBC, the Gaurdian, the Mirror, the Independant....etc.... all of these most well known anti-war/pro-islam sections of society now looking rather like a pessimistic crowd of cowards, arse-lickers, and agenda-driven champagne socialists, after the positive display at the Iraqi elections (forcing many to eat their words, while of course others merely refused to believe the news reports of "invaders", despite those news reports coming from the quite solidly anti-war BBC).
The BBC you'd think would have "switched sides" (so to speak) but no, with dirty saudi oil money powering their engines they are now looking elsewhere to bury anything that portrays the US or British right-wing in a positive light, while making damn sure their foes take another nose-dive in popularity (see the news report about the British soldier, who was killed in Iraq about a month ago, being blame dby the BBC for the deaths of his comrades, rather than the insurgent scum-bags who fired upon them).
The BBC is dirty, John Simpson is a treacherous swine, and most of the reporters are keen deceivers, the people of the UK know this, and it now has less credibility than it ever has (which was never really much), just like all the other left-wing critics on their high horses all through the Iraq War, who're now in the shadows.
GRANNY- does this answer your question as to why your complaints are never answered ?
From the BBCBIAS site:
HAZEL STEIN WROTE
In that statement, I found a remarkable sentence. He states:
"Of course there will always be cases where people are dissatisfied with the BBC's initial response, and the aim then is to give them the opportunity of independent investigation by the Editorial Complaints Unit – and it will be genuinely independent, because we have removed the requirement for the Unit to SEEK AGREEMENT from the management of the programme division before finalising a decision to uphold a complaint."
PS thanks for the info on the indoctrination of children on Children's programs.
Did not Sheba predate Islam by many centuries?
George
I saw that statement earlier when I looked up your link. I feel some relief to know that I am not alone in being dissatisfied with their lack of courtesy in dealing with complaints, on any subject, even as I said completely non-controversial ones.
Sheba predates Islam by a good 1000 years but there are some stories about her in the Koran. When Solomon told her about God her cloven hoofs were miraculously cured, don’t you know! Wood was in Arabia tracing remains of the Sabbean Empire which ruled across what is modern day Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Ethiopia. Because today they are defined as being on separate continents, with completely difference cultures it is easy to forget (well easy for me anyway) that the two lands are only separated by 10 miles of water and an easy ferry ride.
However I have just spotted an apology in the Radio Times about What the Ancients did for Us. They admit they were mistaken in the preview to say that the Islamic world invented agriculture, the plough, writing, and cuniform script. They accept that these were invented by a succession of peoples like the Sumerians and the Babylonians. Who writes this stuff?
Granny
Thank you for the interesting Sheba info.
Of course we know that most of the achievements of Islam were appropriated from the civilisations they conquered and replaced.
I for one cannot wait for the likes of Melanie Philip to write on the subject of historical revisionism in the Arab world.
we had a long spate of "checkbook" holocaust revisionists who spread the filth under the guise of "academic research" , many emanating form the notorious Lyon 3 university in france.
I have always suspected that they were well oiled with Arab money and surprise, Tariq ramadan chose lyon as his base in france, where there are some notorious Islamic bookshops.
When Primo Levi commited suicide , he was known to have recently received letters from Faurisson, which must have sent him into severe depression.
Faurisson's book was of course the one for whom Chomsky wrote a preface!
But of course holocaust revisionism is one thing and the rewriting of Islamic history a natural successor to this highly discredited scandalous literature.
What is needed is in fact a scholarly expose of the distortion and lies of the output of Arab backed propagandists SPECIALLY in the subject of the History of Israel which has been totally rewritten and is fed to British public on an almost daily basis by much of the MSM.