– while we’re ‘managing’ disastrous news, don’t ignore Galloway! According to a widely cirulating report from Le Monde, which has found echoes in such luminaries as The Washington Times, and ABC in America, a number of French public figures have been named by ‘independent newspaper Al-Mada’ in Iraq, quoting IGC sources and Hussein regime documentation, among a long list of people who received the proceeds of barrels of oil from Saddam. The BBC a few days ago reported this scandal via the protestation of innocence of one former French Minister- Charles Pasqua- while the other names on the list are referred to as ‘foreigners’ (presumably ‘foreigners to Iraq’). But wait, not so fast- not only are there hundreds of important names to investigate, as I read the Le Monde article I come across this very newsworthy passage, semi-translated by Google:
‘George Gallaway, former Labour deputy with the Communes, appears in good place in the list. Its name is mentioned in six contracts and the newspaper publishes a letter of the SOMO on December 31, 1999, signed by Saddam Zbin, cousin of Saddam Hussein which managed this company and in which it asks for the ministry for oil of grant contracts to him. Apparently, this British member of Parliament was particularly well treated.’
Now, Pasqua’s name might be newsworthy- in France (though not as newsworthy as Chirac, see Washington Times)- but Galloway is trying to launch his own ‘electoral coalition’ in the UK. He’s also still an MP. His new party is called R.E.S.P.E.C.T., and don’t you think the BBC should allow us a peek at these allegations to see if he deserves any? Maybe they’re frightened of adding to the laughter in court ….“I have never seen a barrel of oil, owned a barrel of oil, bought or sold a barrel of oil… “.
I mean, I could understand some squeamishness in the Telegraph (in the midst of a libel saga, after making similar allegations), but where’s the BBC when you need them? Oh, I forget, in a heap on the floor, exhausted from journalistic ‘crusading’. (Thanks to Glenn Reynolds for the initial links. Oh, and before I go, a mention for Harry’s Place , who noticed this too. Meanwhile, since I made notes of this, Scott Burgess has been on the case, and former French Prime Minister Alan Juppe has created a different kind of stir. It’s all go in the world of corruption!). Update: Stephen Hayes thinks the Telegraph might have been onto something.
Update2: How about rounding off with an Iraqi POV via Healing Iraq?
Blog-Irish did a bit of checking on the “Irish” names on the
Al-Mada list:
http://www.blog-irish.com/daoil.htm
(Jan 29, 2004) “Did Irish Oil Concerns and Peace Campaigners Receive Saddam’s Bribes?”)
The first, Mr Mr Riad El-Taher (11 million barrels) is a British subject who worked with former Irish PM Albert Reynolds’ Oil co. and campaigned for removal of UN sanctions and denial of use of Shannon airport to the Coalition.
Is the Beeb interested?
Maybe the BBC was on the payrole too.
Py the BBC ? Why pay journalists to do what they do for free anyway
You might find this link of interst.
http://www.theweeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/002/605fgcob.asp
I’ve had enough of Hutton, let’s change the subject :
Here’s the BBC’s attempt at balance • the Security Fence as seen from both sides.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3431161.stm
Putting the view from the Israeli side we get the lamentable Orla Guerin, constitutionally incapable of presenting the Israeli view simpliciter, rather than the Palestinian view of the Israeli view :
Behind the barrier, Palestinian towns, cities and villages appear locked up like prisons… But Palestinians say they are walled off not just from Israel but from jobs, schools and hospitals which lie on the other side. They worry that the barrier is here to stay and could become the permanent border between the two sides, robbing them of territory and denying them space for a future Palestinian state.
From the Palestinian side, James Reynolds suffers from no such temptation to give the Israeli view of the Palestinian view.
Continuing off topic :
On the other hand, I was astonished to discover this story on the BBC :
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3430077.stm
Presumably this Palestinian penitent’s view that anti-Jewish racist indoctrination in the Palestinian culture and school system is at the heart of the trouble will now be informing future BBC reports. It would certainly be quite fun to see how Orla would write up an interview with him.
Greg Dyke says the BBC was being bombarded with complaints from Downing Street about coverage of the Iraq conflict.
Now the Acting Director-General is conducting a full review of what went wrong, I hope he looks back at those complaints and checks them out. Then he may see that many of them were valid. Constant bias in BBC results in constant complaints. What is wrong with that ?
Again – he also ought to check out with the crew of HMS Ark Royal whether there might be any cvalid complaints about BBC news reporting.
This reminds me of a bunch of children gleefully rubbing their hands watching someone get into trouble from the teacher. You could pick apart any news providers reports in this way and prove left or right wing bias. You know, many people that the BBC is right wing too.
The writing on this site is verging on paranoid.
“You know, many people [think] that the BBC is right wing too.”
Yes, John Pilger for example!
Only loonies think that the BBC shows right of centre bias. For the most part, it’s critics come from the right, and it’s supporters the left.