The BBC led their 10 O’clock News today with a five minute piece on the delay to the Chilcot report. It gave a retrospective on the Iraq War that did not mention, once, Weapons of Mass Destruction as the raison d’etre but told us the war “removed a brutal dictator”. They said the dead of the war were in thousands – not hundreds of thousands, not even tens of thousands. “Thousands died”, they said. Literally true, but diminishing the scale. They could equally have said dozens died, also literally true – just an awful lot of dozens.
Then they allowed Blair unanswered and unquestioned to speak sincerely to camera about how much he wanted the report published, and the reporter stated without challenge that Blair had not delayed publication and had not objected to the publication of his correspondence with President Bush – both statements which are a very long way from the whole truth.
Even by recent BBC standards, it was the most vomit inducing production. They compounded it by finishing with Ed Miliband in parliament demanding publication, when he has a shadow cabinet packed with the very criminals who launched the illegal war – a fact they did not note. Anti-war opinion was briefly represented by – Nick Clegg!!!
I do not recognise what the British state has become. Or rather I do recognise precisely what kind of state it has become, and it bears no relation to the democracy it claims to be.
600,000 and 150,000 is still a lot more than “1000’s” isn’t it? At last someone is talking about the numbers of Iraqi’s killed!
Andrew Bridgen’s Commons motion:
That this House notes that the former Prime Minister Tony Blair remains, in part, a public servant, but considers that his conduct since leaving Downing Street is in breach of the code of ethics established in 1994 to regulate public life which he himself, whilst in Parliament, enforced so vigorously against others; calls for an urgent debate into the former Prime Minister’s commercial and business activities, leading to legislation that mirrors controls over the executive that exists in countries such as the US; further notes that such legislation would control, restrict and regulate a former incumbent of No.10 Downing Street in the interest of national security and protecting the reputation of the UK among the UK’s friends and allies, by limiting his or her ability to work for foreign nations once out of office; and finally believes that it is an essential function of Parliament to do its utmost to safeguard and protect the integrity and reputation of the UK, including the conduct of the holder of the highest executive office in the land.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/01/22/tony-blair-reputation-of-united-kingdom_n_6522810.html
Two related stories from the Mail, 2010 and today:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1284132/Tony-Blair-special-adviser-dictator-Gaddafis-son.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2922053/Shameful-evidence-Blair-s-secret-services-took-torture-proxy-Colonel-Gaddafi-s-enemies-notorious-Libyan-jails.html
(baseball-) batting for Britain, indeed.
I’ve never got over some wide-eyed BBC correspondette confiding to us slack-jawed True Believers watching BBC news, back in 2003, how Bush n’ Blair were “Passionate believers in Freedom & Democracy(©)”, thus explaining away the on-going carnage in Iraq. Delivered in the most sincere tones, head nodding for emphasis every word or so.
Not a hint that this was merely their stated belief, nor even that this was just the correspondette’s opinion. No contrast with the entire lack of Freedom & Democracy (©) that was actually taking place. No, the entire adventure was driven solely by such nobel aims, not as a stated goal or value judgement, but as received wisdom.
Time and time again the Kiev Nazis have broken the cease-fire in the east, mainly through the indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas (two buses and counting) and the infiltration of their death-squads. Now that they are sufficiently organised and armed, the NAF have said no more games, no more pretend ceasefires, and they are taking the fight to the enemy.
The Beeb ignore all this and blame the NAF for not negotiating. Yesterday, the Beeb did mention the murder of 13 civilians on a bus, but only in passing. They died in the “rebel-held city”. Err, you mean where these people and their forebears have lived for centuries?? Their home??
Shameful reporting.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30949527
…Passionate believers in…
Fire up the bullshit detector whenever you hear a politician saying “I believe”. The hackette wasn’t so far wrong. Blair’s sole defence for Iraq has always been “I believe”, which is intended to trump any inconvenient facts presented.
Political ‘believer’ = criminal, gullible or self-deluding. Check ’em out.
I believe we’ve sadly entered the post-democratic era virtually across the western world. Old-fashioned bourgeois democracy had its faults of couse, but compared to what we’ve got now and where we’re heading it seems like a golden age, an all to brief period coupled with the great post war economic boom. Harold Wilson almost seems like a radical leftist compared to the current lot in charge of Labour, and he skilfully kept the UK out of the Vietnam War despite pressure from the Americans. Come back Harold, all is forgiven!
We almost seem to be living in a one-party state where the real differences between the leading bourgeois parties in Westminster are difficult to find, and this is mirrored across Europe. It’s extraordinary how closely Europe’s come to resemble the Soviet Union before the collapse. Politicians speak in a low code that’s incomprehensible for most people and mired in dull dogma and incredibly detached from the real world.
More vomit inducing conduct from the Beeb today, with Frank Gardner on the 6 o’Clock adopting a grave voice as the House of Said buries Abdullah, and Salman takes the reins as head of the ‘Saudi government’. Iran and Syria however are always referred to as ‘regimes’.
OldMark
“More vomit inducing conduct from the Beeb today, with Frank Gardner on the 6 o’Clock adopting a grave voice as the House of Said buries Abdullah, and Salman takes the reins as head of the ‘Saudi government’.”
_________________
My goodness, OldMark, your vomit-resistance level is pretty low, isn’t it.
I trust you use the Channel Tunnel and not the ferries and avoid rowing boats?
Louise Mensch raises a laugh today.
Louise Mensch Just Told David Cameron And The Queen To ‘F**k Off’ Over Saudi King Abdullah: 23/01/2015
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/01/23/louise-mensch-just-told-david-cameron-queen-fk-off-saudi-king-abdullah_n_6533060.html
Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Tories, agrees.
Anger Over ‘Stupid’ Flag Tribute To Saudi King
The leader of Scotland’s Tories is among the critics, calling the mark of respect “a steaming pile of nonsense”.
http://news.sky.com/story/1413752/anger-over-stupid-flag-tribute-to-saudi-king
Probably the first and last time I’ll ever cheer anything said by Ruth Davidson.
If anyone wants to feel like vomiting… then the latest Independent article wants us to feel sympathy for Mr Blair. The poor man…
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/iraq-invasion-2003-the-bloody-warnings-six-wise-men-gave-to-tony-blair-as-he-prepared-to-launch-poorly-planned-campaign-10000839.html
This is the author of that piece Je. He writes for the Telegraph and Guardian too.
‘Storyteller’ and ‘for hire’ are the operative words.
‘@ColeMoreton
Interviewer, feature writer, author, multi-media storyteller available for hire. Exploring who we are and what we really believe in.’
I thought the author was going to be Blair’s devoted promoter, John Rentoul, who also appears in the Independent.
“I do not recognise what the British state has become.”
It sounds like the United States. It is weird how Britain, the U.S., France, and Canada are all morphing into the same propagandized, corporatized states.
I wonder when we’ll get the Enquiry into Afghanistan and then today’s airstrikes on Iraq and now Syria(who we’re not supposed to be bombing! unless I missed something?)
Edward it’s known as The Henry Jackson Foundation Initiative.
Medialens Message Board
BBC coverage of the Greek elections….as you would expect….
Posted by Ed on January 25, 2015, 6:23 pm
Just watched the awful BBC 6 O’clock News report on the Greek election.
Syriza “the far left party….the radical left party…can they make good on their promises….their protests against “so called Austerity”….”
The highlight though, was the BBC’s Clive Myrie, having the last words in the report…I had to laugh as he stood there looking like the Grim Reaper, visibly concerned about what he was witnessing and sighing as he said if the predictions are correct “then a far left party will be governing this country”.
In a few weeks time we might be getting Hamas like reports….”Syriza, who seized power in Greece in January 2015…Syriza, who took control of Greece in January 2015…”
The BBC hate a bit of real democracy!
Posted by Kenneth on January 25, 2015, 6:44 pm, in reply to “BBC coverage of the Greek elections….as you would expect….”
The Guardian has already commented that Syriza can now seize power or words to that effect.
A huge relief finding a soul who strengh to expose liars in public office. Always bbc licence payers kept in there darkness with untold truths if only BBC come clean would end a criminal goverment once and for all including there wars of mass deception.
I got rid of my TV over 5 years ago due to the lies and cover-ups of mainstream media. The British Bullshit Corporation are I find the most disgusting. They have a helluva lot to answer for. They have told numerous lies and covered-up many, many issues. They are nothing but a Propaganda machine for the elitist/gov.I sincerely hope that one day they are brought to account, along with Blair and the Cabinet ministers who were involved in this genocide.
First time I have came across Craig Murray but now not the last. I thank him sincerely.