Are these people (the BBC management) serious? Melanie Philips asks...

Nice little (and very appropriate) stab at the BBC from Melanie on her blog.

The BBC is apparently in crisis. We are told that its top brass take very, very seriously the blow to its integrity delivered by the recent series of scandals involving the reversed footage of the Queen and the phone-in scams. Yet the Chairman of the BBC Trust, Sir Michael Lyons, whose whereabouts when the furore exploded on July 19 in New Zealand were revealed when his phone-line went down in the middle of his interview on the BBC Radio Four Today Programme, appears therefore to have conducted his stern encounter the previous day with the Director-General, Mark Thompson — in which we were told Thompson was summoned to explain the BBC’s behaviour — in a long-distance telephone call. Some stern summons. Now we read today that the Commons Culture Select Committee, which was due to grill Mr Thompson yesterday, had to make do instead with his deputy, Mark Byford, since Mr Thompson had gone off on a family holiday - forcing the committee to listen incredulously as Byford declared that every BBC employee would be sent on courses teaching them about the importance of not lying to the public. Thus the BBC’s response.

Like Macavity, it seems, Mr Thompson is never there to face the music in person. What does this tell us about the seriousness with which the BBC takes this fundamental blow to its integrity?

Report on why the BBC is the laughing stock of the nation

From USS Neverdock:

Ann Treneman writing in the Times takes the piss out of the BBC. Deservedly so. It would all be funny if the BBC's lies and fabrications weren't so serious.

So, how serious does the BBC take the current crisis and how do they respond to Parliament's request for answers? "Mark Thompson, the DG, was on a 'family holiday'..."

Bush and Brown to chat about Iran crisis

That's the difference with the UK. Their puppets change, but their foreign policy remains the same. Let me guess. Brown will say, you know George, you can't go doing so silly and premature as attacking Iran. And Bush will say...well, we never know what they say behind closed doors. We just hear the public version. I just hope Bush is listening to Bolton (see end of quote below).

UPDATE: maybe I spoke too soon? "UK's Brown Won't Rule Out Military Action in Iran"

...At the summit, Brown intends to reassure Bush in person that Britain remains a staunch ally of America. Senior American officials expressed concern about the appointment of Lord Malloch-Brown, the former UN deputy secretary-general, as a foreign office minister, and a speech in Washington by Douglas Alexander, the international development secretary, which was widely interpreted as being antiAmerican.

Brown and Bush are likely to focus on joint efforts to combat terrorism, fears about the resurgence of Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Iran’s destabilising regional influence. Climate change, trade and economic issues will also be discussed.

John Bolton, the former US ambassador to the UN, said he hoped America would take military action against Iran. “Clearly the diplomatic and sanctions route has failed,” he said. “Iran has not been deterred from seeking nuclear weapons.”

London is more Islamist than Egypt?

Very interesting video post from the brilliant resource of MEMRI. A London Islamist vs. a liberal in Egypt. Worth a watch.

The man from Egypt has some great points. I found it particularly interesting to hear his comments at about 5:05 (minutes:seconds) through the program, when he says that people in the Middle East are the prey of two groups - ruling families and Islamist dictators.

Also makes you wonder how many more extremists like this a-hole there are based in the UK...

Galloway booted out

Thank goodness for that. And, in the words of Ali G, 'Respect...'

The 'beloved' Guardian has the news. Some earlier video footage can be found here.

George Galloway was ejected from the Commons chamber on top of his suspension from parliament last night.

The Respect MP had expected the 18-day expulsion after the standards and privileges committee last week criticised him over the transparency of his charity, the Mariam Appeal.

But, while defending himself in the chamber last night, Mr Galloway was ejected by the Speaker, Michael Martin, after repeatedly criticising the committee and its members.

The outspoken anti-war MP had been talking for more than an hour as he sought to defend himself against a motion to suspend him.

British banks fight US over Iran embargo

They want to do business with the mullahs, just like they always have...and the City of London views the US approach as a great bit of annoyance. They don't care where there money comes from, or how many innocent people die because of it at the end of the day. They're banks - their job is to make profits. I have a feeling the US will have more success with HSBC because it has significant US-based operations which the US can leverage against it if things get dirty...

The Guardian has the story...

A mounting US crackdown on foreign companies and banks doing business with Iran is provoking serious opposition in the UK and Europe, where diplomats are warning that the action could lead to a new trade war.

Congress wants all international companies to end their investment in Iran now and is pushing through a bill that would penalise companies that fail to do so. The British government, along with other European governments, views the US approach as draconian and are lobbying hard against it.

The US move reflects frustration at the failure so far of western diplomacy to persuade Iran to stop its uranium enrichment programme, which the US, Britain and others suspect is a step towards achieving a nuclear weapons capability. Iran denies it has ambitions to build a nuclear weapon.

A senior British banking source said today there was a great deal of annoyance in the City with the US approach. The two British banks most frequently mentioned in Washington in relation to Iran are HSBC and Standard Chartered.

I posted this comment on a BBC blog, but I doubt they'll publish it

This was the blog post from the Beeb:

What shall we make up tonight?
Here at the BBC, we are masters at distortion and lies. If there's something you'd like us to embelish, or just make up from scratch - add it here, and we'll pop it on the air.

And this was my comment...

Well, at last, finally someone has it right! I never thought the BBC would admit it, though.

Why don't you talk about the human rights abuses of the current Iranian regime against its own citizens over the last 27+ years and the hundreds of thousands of people that have been unfairly executed & tortured in ways unspeakable?

You could at least do that once to balance the many times John Simpson has strolled around Tehran and said that everything is great and the people are happy - when the reality could be nothing further from the truth.

You can start by reviewing the actions of the so-called moderate President Khatami here.

Or some of Ahamadin-jihad's (and his pals') exploits can be found here.

I look forward to seeing the program on BBC prime time television.

Well, one can always dream, right?

All the best,

NtB

Interesting omission from AFP - is there only one 'real' government?

LGF noticed a very interesting slip-up from Agence France Presse (AFP) newswire. Whether intentional or not, it reveals the true nature of today's so-called world politics: there is only one 'real' government. And a large part of the decision-making input into that organizing body comes from 'the' government from whose country the AFP story originated.

Government welcomes new Bush peace proposal for Middle East

LONDON (AFP) - The government on Monday welcomed a new proposal by US President George W. Bush aimed at reopening long dormant Middle East peace talks with a conference later this year.

“I welcome the important comments and commitments made by President Bush this afternoon,” Foreign Secretary David Miliband said in a statement released by the Foreign Office.

Update: Galloway and the Select Committee on Standards and Privileges

Here's an update from Harry's Place. Some of the post is copied below fyi.

Todays report of the Standards and Privileges Committee into George Galloway is being spun in various different ways by the MP and his Press Spokesman Ron McKay.

As ever when George talks about cash, examine what he says closely.When read fully, the Report constitutes a damning indictment of the behaviour of an MP whose default position on cash related matters has been to dissemble. No surprise to those who have followed his behaviour over the decades.

In essence, what the Report concludes is that Galloway connived to conceal that his appeal was funded with Oil for Food money, that the documents linking him, his wife and his press spokesman to the OFF programme are genuine.

Galloway claims he did not benefit personally, which is not really the point.
However, the Commissioner had no access to Galloway's bank accounts, or those controlled by his wife and so cannot trace where the $270,000 paid into them ended up.

You can wear a burka to school in the UK, but not a ring

What a joke. I'm sure al-BBC, Europe's leading sponsor of Islam (with possibly the exception of Al Jazeera), wasn't to upset to publish the news. It is indeed a mad world.

A 16-year-old girl was not discriminated against when she was banned from wearing a "purity ring" in school, the High Court has ruled.

Lydia Playfoot was told by Millais School in Horsham, West Sussex, to remove her ring - which symbolises chastity - or face expulsion.

The school had denied breaching her human rights and said it was "delighted" with the outcome....Miss Playfoot said she should be allowed to wear the ring because Sikh and Muslim pupils could wear bangles and headscarves in class....

..."Over two years ago, I was concerned at the number of teenagers who were catching sexually transmitted diseases, getting pregnant and/or having abortions," she said.

"The government's sex education programme is not working and the pressure on young people to 'give in' to sex continues to increase.

"This is often because of the media's focus on sex and the expectations of others."

Where is Fouladvand? And why is no one reporting his absence?

Dr. Froud Fouladvand is missing, and has been for a long time now. His own TV station has now admitted that they do not where he is or what has happened to him. There are many rumors circulating, but nobody knows for sure.

Whatever one think about his tactics and strategy, he was one of the few people on TV trying to make a real difference through his programs - illuminating many of the realities behind Islam and trying (in his own way) to fight against the mullahs.

The amazing thing is that not one of the other Iranian satellite TV stations has mentioned it. Could it be that they are too jealous of him, because he was/is 'real', and they just want to take his audience share now? Are they really that callous and corrupt?

Many readers will recall that he was arrested at his home in North London in June 2005 under the guise of being a 'terrorist' and his house was trashed. Obviously MI5 wanted to seriously warn him to tone down his activities, or something along those lines.

So what has happened to him now? Have they silenced him for good?

Some rumors say that he may have been caught in fire while en route from Turkey to Iran, or that he may have been caught by the mullahs as he was trying to gain entrance to Iran. God only knows what they would do to them if they got their hands on him. Let's hope the worst is not true, and that he returns home safely, and soon.

If you have any information about his whereabouts, please let me know.

Thanks,

NtB

Good news: Brits give laptop to imprisoned cyberjihadi

Pretty hard to believe...if it didn't happen in England, that is. Hot Air reports:

He and his two cybercronies pleaded guilty last week to inciting murder over the Internet. They found 37,000 stolen credit card numbers in his apartment harvested from viruses and phish e-mails and estimate that he and his pals racked up $3.5 million in fraudulent charges used to buy supplies for the jihad. Money was laundered through online gambling sites. They also were known to hack into sites and use their bandwidth to host jihadi videos, and on one of their computers the cops found “short video clips of the U.S. Capitol grounds, the World Bank building, a hazardous chemical response vehicle and local fuel storage facilities. Also on the laptop were instant message chat logs and a PowerPoint presentation detailing how to build a car bomb.” It was a sophisticated, potentially lethal operation.

So naturally the cops gave one of them a laptop while they were awaiting trial. What could go wrong?

Galloway and his oil money

Good news - he may be suspended as an MP for 1 month. The b*stard should have much more of a punishment than that. Harry's Place reports:

According to an article in the Sunday Times the Parliamentary Standards Committee is to rule later this week that George Galloway should be suspended from parliament for a month.

The MP for Bethnal Green and Bow:

...failed properly to declare his links to a charitable appeal partially funded from money made by selling Iraqi oil under Saddam Hussein according to a source close to the inquiry. The one-month suspension for Galloway, often referred to as “Gorgeous George”, is one of the most severe given to an MP.

However, the MP strenuously denies that he was complicit in any such arrangement and claims he is the victim of a smear campaign. He says he had no idea that the money donated had come from Iraqi oil sales.

Readers can make up their own minds whether the fact that the Galloway-linked charity - the Mariam Appeal - failed ever to file accounts was a convenient smokescreen for covering up the Galloway-Saddam link or a simple and wholly innocent oversight.

Iran's destabilization of Iraq

More evidence pours in...I spoke to a soldier who was based on and off in Iraq for 3 years, and he said that while there are lots of little factions fighting for control over different regions of Iraq, the only groups that are properly organized and effective on a national level and in Baghdad are the ones known to be sponsored by the Islamic Republic. Stories like this just add weight to observations like his.

• US finds Iran rockets aimed at Iraq base
• In a remote Iraqi village a world ends, and the war begins
• US raid on Iranian-linked militiamen leaves 19 dead in Iraq

The Islamic Republic arrests squirrels for fear that they were 'spying'

This was just too funny - had to post it!

Brown vs. Blair

Abu Hamza complains of human rights abuse because of gay prison caretaker

Now that's rich.

What a hypocrite.

Hope he rots in there...with his hook up his ar*e. Allahpundit is there again.

The cleric is claiming it is against his religion and human rights to be treated by a homosexual. The source said Hamza’s solicitor wrote to the governor demanding his client is given a new regular nurse.

The prison service refused saying it does not discriminate on grounds of sexuality.
The source said: “The nurse is upset about it. He has spent the last couple of years doing everything for Hamza, even wiping his bottom.

“It shows how little respect Hamza has for others. The nurse dresses him, washes him, cleans his teeth, cuts his toenails, trims his beard and applies ointment for his skin disorder.”

The BBC's Hamas Spy

Hamas, BBC - one in the same? Allahpundit is on the case. Well, their aims are pretty much the same, it would seem.

Despite Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) opposition and per the request of the BBC, the coordinator of government activities allowed a Hamas member who works for the BBC to enter the Gaza Strip last week to assist in efforts to release kidnapped journalist Alan Johnston.

Defense officials told The Jerusalem Post that a week ago, a request came from the BBC asking that a Palestinian employee of the news company who is believed to be a close associate of senior Hamas officials be allowed to enter Gaza.

Iranian troops cross into southern Iraq; attack British troops

Latest act of war from Iran. Latest response from the UK: nothing.

IRANIAN forces are being choppered over the Iraqi border to bomb Our Boys, intelligence chiefs say.

Military experts claim this worrying move means we are at WAR with Iran in all but name…

Our Boys picked up the Iranian helicopters on radar crossing into empty desert.
The sightings have been confirmed to The Sun by very senior military sources.

At least two Brit squaddies are thought to have been killed by bombs planted during these incursions into Maysan province — Corporal Ben Leaning, 24, and Trooper Kristen Turton, 27…

Until now, secret units from Iran’s fanatical RGC have restricted themselves to just training and arming Shia rebels in Iraq.

U.S., Britain drafting stricter Iran sanctions

Like what?

"Iran, if you do something naughty again, we will write an ultimatum which says that if you do something naughty in the future we will issue an even more heated statement." ?

Well, apparently this will (finally) be more serious. Proposed measures include: travel bans on top military & security officials, cargo inspections of flights and ships, ban on the importing & exporting of arms, freeze certain assets, etc. Sounds promising, but we'll have to wait and see I guess.

The story can be found here.

The United States and Britain are preparing drafts for a punishing new U.N. resolution against Iran that could impose sweeping travel bans on the country's top military and security officials, require inspections on its cargo flights and ships, forbid all import and export of arms shipments, and freeze the assets of major Iranian banks, according to U.S. and European officials.

The new Security Council resolution would be the third against Iran for failing to comply with a U.N. resolution demanding a freeze of Tehran's uranium enrichment program. That program produces peaceful nuclear energy but could also be subverted to develop the world's deadliest weapon.

The U.S. and British drafts, which overlap in many places, are designed to greatly ratchet up the pressure on Tehran. The two previous resolutions, in December and March, imposed limited sanctions that have had marginal impact.

"This one can't just be another piece of paper. It has to have some bite to it," said a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because discussions are ongoing. "The notion that it is serious communicates something important."