BBC journalism hit a new low today. The BBC News channel devoted only a single sentence to Palestine’s diplomatic coup in gaining full membership of Unesco. It used that single sentence once at 18.23 and once during the following hour. And this is that single sentence:
“Israel says that Unesco’s decision to admit Palestine to full membership will damage the prospects for peace in the Middle East.”
No other view was given, We did not hear what Palestine says, or what Unesco says, or what any of the huge majority of 107 countries which voted for Palestine say. The only view we were given was the Israeli view, and there was no questioning or discussion of that view.
“Israel says” – what an astonishing opening two words to a report on a great day for Palestinian diplomacy. Everyone connected with BBC News should be utterly ashamed. Why don’t we just save the license fee and let Netanyahu’s office broadcast the news instead?
The vote incidentally was 107 to 14. It was a humiliating defeat for US diplomacy. Latvia, Tuvalu and Uzbekistan are among the states which did not follow the US lead against Palestine but which always have done in the past. The USA was also unable to coerce a single African state – I am proud of Africa, and Ghana in particluar.
Here is the list of the pathetic 14, the overwhelmingly defeated states which tried to block Palestine and which either have extreme neo-con governments or are completely susceptible to US aid blackmail – you can decide which are which:
Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Israel, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Palau, Panama, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sweden, United States of America, Vanuatu.
Bit surprised Blighty didn’t vote against it.
I would like to see the list of those who abstained too.
Yay, Unesco! Boo, BBC!
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What are the chances that this voting pattern could be reflected in the UN General Assembly? Of course the US would wield the veto, but confounding such a huge majority would ultimately diminish their diplomatic gravitas throughout the world. And not before time.
The US government has cut off tens of millions of dollars in annual funding to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) after it voted to admit Palestine as a full member.
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It has been made clear to us that ‘OCCUPYXXX’ is about finance and ethics – ne’er the twain shall meet.
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RIDE ON!
sos – link:
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http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/10/2011103172551498181.html
Nextus
You asked for abstentions:
Albania, Andorra, Bahamas, Barbados, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cook Islands, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Fiji, Georgia, Haiti, Hungary, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kiribati, Latvia, Liberia, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Switzerland, Thailand, Macedonia, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Zambia.
I expect the voting pattern at the UNGA would be similar, but of course it needs security council approval so the US will veto. Momentum is important and it is possible some abstainers will move to the yes camp.
Albania, abstained?! Bastardos!
So strange – I cannot find a headline at all in the ‘Telegraph On-line’ and the ‘Independent’ comment will NOT to load on my system:
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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/palestine-becomes-unesco-member-6255245.html
The BBC is hardly ‘pro-Israel’ … quite the CONTRARY. So … I don’t know where you’re coming from … Actually … normal people … read that to mean a ‘put down’ of Israel … a jab at Israel … because THAT’S BBC BS … don’t believe a word THEY say … make your own most informed opinions
Palestine’s admission is excellent news. I would also agree with describing neo-con governments who voted against as pathetic – but not the ones subject to US blackmail. At a minimum that would include Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu – but then the US is probably a big enough bully to blackmail all of them, frankly. It is saddening that smaller states give in to bullying, but the US could easily bankrupt them – what country would not wish to protect its citizens from that? I am not defending acquiescence, but I am not sure I’d label it harshly either – it is a choice between a rock and a hard place.
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Your post reminded me to look at how the US bullies small states into voting for “US interests” at the UN – simply do a web search for “That was the most expensive ‘no’ vote you ever cast” (the words of a US diplomat after a country failed to do US bidding at the UN). One such result article is here:
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http://www.newstatesman.com/pdf/johnpilger.htm
Disappointing that the Czechs voted against as they ought to know something about being occupied. However, I note their government ministers were at the Herzliya Conference in Israel with Fox and Werrity
This kind of thing always reminds me of the behaviour of the BBC, in relation to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal, during Israel’s attack on Gaza (operation ‘Cast Lead’).They, of course refused to transmit the appeal. Because the corporation had to remain ‘impartial’. Over 1000 people died in the offensive, but auntie beebs ‘impartiality’, of course, had to be protected.
http://www.coia.org.uk/Palestine_joins_UNESCO.png
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فى صحتك: *************** GOOD LUCK PALESTINE ***************
Bosnia abstained?! Bastardos!
Odd that Sweden voted against, no?
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On this subject (of MSM bias), read Greg Philo and David Miller’s excellent book, ‘Bad News from Israel’.
On the admittance of Palestine to the UN, if the UNESCO vote is a useful guide, the EU is thus likely to have a tripartite split, with Germany & the Netherlands in the ‘No’ camp, the UK, Italy & Poland abstaining, and France, Belgium Ireland & Spain supporting Palestinian recognition.
When the crunch comes, we can therefore expect Baroness Ashton to keep a low profile, as a more fitting illustration of the uselessness and redundancy of her role is unlikely to occur for some time.
Says it all, really…
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True OldMark – she is still Lord President of the Queen’s Privy Council.
The UK abstention was of course a compromise – unfortunately that word is almost a profanity in this context.
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The civilised world has (possibly uniquely in my experience) given both the USA and Israel the finger. It’s about time the UK had the bottle to do the same. The US has responded to UNESCO with threats and tantrums – as usual. We should respond by ditching the ‘special arrangement’ (aka the US shouts and we jump) which has already lasted far too long.
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We could always start small by junking their culture-fascism which subverts our own traditions and language and floods our TV screens. No reason why we can’t be friends with both countries – but friendship and abject subservience are not the same.
As for the BBC – I haven’t believed a word they say since the South Atlantic War. Just witness an interview this evening about the St Paul’s demo, where a sarcastic Tory MP was given a shockingly easy ride.
@Suhayl “Odd that Sweden voted against, no?”
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Sweden is as neocon zionist as it goes. Sweden no longer have any independent foreign policy, it’s all dictated by USrael. Sweden has e.g. completely disbanded its military force to the extent that it nowadays consists of a few platoons on soldiers, a few ships and planes, that are sent out to support the US terror-wars, all for propaganda purposes. Plus, of course, a HQ filled with well paid higher rank officers doing nothing except spending tax money on the administration of nothing.
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Sweden is also the high tech Mecca for citizen surveillance where every electronic communication is intercepted by the military intelligence, processed and then handed over to the zionists in US in exchange for thin air promises that the country will be “protected” in case of war.
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Of the very few swedish politicians that had the guts to stand up for Palestine the two most prominent were killed, the rest have sold their should to the devil. So, no it’s not odd, it’s expected.
Did “Libya” vote for Palestine? Barry must be scratching his head in the Oval Office.
It’s a very sorry thing to see the BBC behave the way it does. But that’s pretty much because it’s frightened, is leaned upon, and wants to uphold itself as an institution. It’s doing what it has always done, acting as an arm of the state.
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The last time we had genuine journalism at the BBC was when it dared to hint the truth, that the Iraq Dossier had been “sexed up” at the behest of the government via a thug called Cambell. That sort of behaviour just wouldn’t do, and the BBC was seriously put back in its place.
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Serious journalism, such as the World In Action documentaries which featured genuine reporting from the likes of Pilger, were put paid to back in the 80’s, under Thatcher. Rogue operators like that couldn’t be tolerated, ITN just had to be broken up, and for-profit operators who understood where their interests lay replacing them. The BBC knows the score, and that these ConDems would happily see the BBC broken up and handed off to Murdoch and Desmond if they could get away with it.
BBC Shame!
Why shame?
Lying for the state is what the BBC is for.
Its first Director General, Lord Reith, served at the beginning of WW2 as Minister of Information, i.e., disinformation.
Anyhow, what the hell else, other than telling lies, do you think the BBC is for?
By supposing that the current piece of pathetic piece of Zionist propaganda is somehow exceptional or exceptionally egregious you give the impression that the BBC is generally or could generally be a good thing.
Well bollocks to that.
But of course all the liberal bollocks spewed by the BBC you thoroughly applaud.
Is there a list of countries which voted FOR somewhere? It can’t be done by elimination because the numbers don’t add up – some countries must have gone for a fag break or something.
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I can’t find it on the UNESCO site.
While i am also skeptical of the BBC’s ‘neutrality’ and commitment to reporting inconvenient truth, especially since the David Kelly affair seemed to kill off any residual confidence to challenge government information, I have just been listening to Today on Radio 4 and there was an unequivocal denouncement of the situation in Uzbekistan where the absurdity and hypocrisy of the US position was clearly stated.
is it possible that the the blog is creating such a widespread awareness of the real position that the bigger news outlets have no choice but to follow, lest they expose themselves to ridicule.
DTP wrote “Bit surprised Blighty didn’t vote against it.”
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I wonder if the UK is trying to ditch the image of being puppet of the US due to the Fox/Werritty/Hague scandal so that when an investigation into Atlantic Bridge and Werritty’s nefarious business deals hits the fan they can at least point to one occasion when they did not fully kowtow (though an abstention far from indicates support for Palestine’s membership).
The BBC always drops down on the side of Israel. Their claims to impartiality are frankly a joke. Anybody needing evidence of that should have watched their coverage of the Gaza flotilla,it was like watching the IDF broadcasting the news. Anyway I only look at the BBC for the local news now.Good to see some real democracy in action at UNESCO. Keep up the good work Craig.
Here are the yes votes:
Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Chad, Chile, China, Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Honduras, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Russian Federation, Sant Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zimbabwe.
deepgreenpuddock what was the context of the uzbekistan reference today?
On uzbekistan if nothing else I think this blog gennuinely has shifted the entire perception and terms of debate of the mainstream media
ZBC pmitted any reference to the UK’s weaselly abstention. They did say that Israel and US voted against with an emphasis as if that was the right thing to do. Of course they did not say that Obomber will withdraw funding of $60 million to UNESCO.
They are REVOLTING.
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Here is a nice video of the proceedings when there is cheering at the result.
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Palestine granted full Unesco membership – video
The UN cultural and educational agency Unesco has granted Palestine full membership in a move that Israel and the United States say could harm Middle East peace efforts. Delegates approved the membership by 107 votes to 14. ‘Long live Palestine!’ shouted one delegate, in French, at the meeting of Unesco’s general conference
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2011/oct/31/palestine-unesco-membership-video?intcmp=239
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Is Tzatz above from Kensington Green or perhaps Portland Place?
I dont bother watching BBC/SKY or any other zionist news source, I watch PressTV soon to be shut down by offcom, offcom is staffed by people with conflicts of interest. I also use a rss reader to gather news from about 53 websites. Technology will make BBC lies obsolete.
BBC is a joke, BBC = establishment propaganda. UKIP did a study into BBC reporting of the European issue it found them to be biased.