The treacherous MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, George Galloway has been away from his constituency lately. He’s been sparking off riots in Egypt. His recent publicity-seeking escapade, getting a convoy of aid to the Palestinians who are currently perceived to be imprisoned in Gaza and starving, has even antagonised the Egyptians.
“ The Egyptian foreign ministry launched a scathing attack on convoy leader British Respect MP George Galloway, claiming that his comments regarding the hold up of the convoy defied “honesty and facts.”
“Being aware that Mr. Galloway loves media exposure, for various reasons, the ministry refrains from engaging in media arguments with someone who deliberately changes facts for personal objectives and masters the promotion of false championships that are based on wrong impressions leading to wrong conclusions,” it said.”
The convoy, organized by Viva Palestina, was unable to get to Gaza in time for the celebrations.
The BBC doesn’t tell us this because they’re more concerned with interviewing the poor activists who have been beaten up. They’re also keen to tell us part of what Gorgeous George said.
“It is completely unconscionable that 25% of our convoy should go to Israel and never arrive in Gaza.”
They didn’t bother to report the end of that statement, which was blatantly slanderous and far-fetched: “because nothing that goes to Israel ever arrives in Gaza.”
His recent publicity-seeking escapade, getting a convoy of aid to the Palestinians who are currently perceived to be imprisoned in Gaza and starving, has even antagonised the Egyptians.
The dirty big secret is, of course, how much those inhabiting the Palestinian entity are loathed by fellow arabs.
They are loathed almost as much as the Jews.
Of course, the Jews are loathed because they are so successful, the Palestinian entians are loathed because they are so degenerately useless.
Best summed up by Richard Littlejohn who called them the Pikeys of the middle east. Classic.
Sticking his Gorgeous nose in once again.
It has emerged that the disgusting Galloway also joined Queen of Stockholm Yvonne Ridley to speak at a week-long hate fest organised by Christmas Day bollock-bomber Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab, when he was chairman of UCL’s Islamic Soc.
He’s never met a terrorist he didn’t like.
I didn’t mention the Guardian report, but Melanie did. She has much more to say about this subject, with her usual eloquence and thoroughness.
Which political party does Galloway stand for: ‘Islam4UK’?
Isn’t there some law against a sitting MP going to another country and attempting to publicly break the law there? I guess since it’s all for one of the BBC’s most beloved causes, that trumps any mundane legal issues.
Still, it’s nice that the BBC no longer tries to hide the fact that Egypt has and controls a border with Gaza. A year ago, reality forced them to admit it, and over the course of the year they have gradually altered their editorial policy to admit this fact. Credit where due.
Of course, not too much credit, because they forgot to include this statement from the Egyptian government:
Egypt says it is no longer affected by Hamas attempts to rally international opinion over the blockade since the border is a matter of national security and sovereignty.
“This used to matter before, and we were sensitive to criticism. Now, this is the way it will be,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said about the protests by activists.
Funny, the BBC did find space for Israel’s statement of their intent to weaken Hamas.
And the BBC tries to demonize Israel even more. When discussing the possibility that some goods wouldn’t be allowed through by the nasty Israelis, one Alice Howard says that:
she understood the reason was because of the nature of some of the goods.
Items other than basic foodstuffs and medicines, such as medical machinery, are subject to a stringent approvals procedure, usually negotiated by established international aid organisations with the Israeli authorities
How awful! Those Israelis will block vital humanitarian medical machinery! Or is there any medical machinery in the convoy? Is Galloway bringing respirators? CT scanners? Centrifuges? All I can find mention of anywhere is that there are medicine and other “humanitarian supplies”, as well as vehicles, which are presumably not meant for Hamas leadership and military. Sure. But if there is no medical machinery in this convoy, then the BBC is deliberately misleading the public, with explicit intent to demonize Israel.
One of the Viva Plasticine blogs claims two electron microscopes are in the cargo. Allah knows why. Surely the last thing on Gazan minds is researching a cure for cancer.?
The electron microscopes might be for the Gazi Uni. Old ones are cheap but a swine to keep up and running so I doubt they will be much use over there. Last year I came across a little table set up in the city centre where somebody from a Palestine charity (it might be this lot) asked me if I could donate any old science books for the Gaza Uni. I offered some of my spare Dawkin’s books but the joke was lost on the “right on” but dim as horse s**t person manning the the stall.
An electron microscope hardly qualifies as “medical equipment” in the lip-quavering humanitarian sense the BBC meant it. I still call BS.
Killestinians need to find a cure for their own stupidity first.
As they love “procreating” with their own kin, I have a good idea of where they can start.
Viva Palestina was always ‘Carry On Convoy’ with mismanagement and waste all the way. If the object was deliver aid to Gaza (whether needed is another matter) it would have been far more efficient to give it to the dozen British charities collecting for that purpose.
I’ve following it for days since the convoy was stuck in Aqaba and the whole enterprise began to collapse. That was the first time the BBC paid any notice, a month after they left Blighty. By and large the rest of the MSM ignored it as well.
Giving the BBC tendency to shill for Hamas I still haven’t found a good reason why this should be so.
Just a little something the bBC isn’t mentioning, the convoy folks offended by how 59 trucks of the convoy would have to enter via Israel decided to break down the dock gate, imprison 4 Egyptian policemen and then march on the rest.`
But others are right this is nothing but a publicity stunt as witnessed by this thursday morning report in the Tehran times by a certainYvonne Ridley
Finding errors of truth in an Yvonne Ridley story is rather like shooting fish in a barrel (and off-topic for a BBC blog) but seeing as Pounce brought it up and so much of what she writes is on-narrative for the BBC it deserves comment.
The woman was clearly a precocious child. The story of coming late for class and the later story of her mother summoned to meet the headmaster after school was told as the memory of a four-year old – in her own words, a very tender age!
When I was four my mother or grandmother would take me to pre-school kindergarten and bring me into the room, making sure that the teacher or assistant had noted my presence. Not owning a watch was no disadvantage as I wasn’t expected to be able to tell the time. When ‘class’ was due to begin the ‘teacher’ would come and collect us from the sandpit or whatever. A little later, in real school the teacher would come into the playground at the correct time and ring a bell to shepherd us inside.
Perhaps Ridley had a much harsher childhood than mine but at age four had I come up with such an elaborate and imaginative story I expect my mother would have been complimented, or actually my grandmother. My mother was at work at that hour so it was her mother who picked me up. Fantasy is after all age appropriate.
This analogy leads to a criticism of Egyptian journalists who opt for something worse than telling the truth — silence. She goes on, But what I would say to them is that if they are too afraid to tell the truth, or even cover the most basic stories in an open way, then they are in the wrong profession and doing a great disservice to journalism.
For a moment we forget that Ridley is writing in the Teheran Times. I wait, breathelessly, for her to write the truth about demonstrating in Iran. =-X
Oh the irony. A morality tale about honesty from a complete fantasist.
What exactly is your beef here Sue? Is it that the BBC interviewed people involved, that it was sympathetic to people who’d been unjustly beaten up, or that it didn’t print something that you found offensive?
The beef here is that the BBC never looked at the claims of Viva Plasticine at all closely but accepted the Gazans are starving story (they are not) and the tunnels are for necessities not weapons (Hamas would be idiots if they were not also for weapons) without even a glimmer of scepticism. As Pounce would say, “the BBC and half a story”.
The article doesn’t mention tunnels. Or starvation.
Can anyone actually read on this blog, or did you lot only ever learn to write?
Hello Alex. I’m surprised at you. Unless you are a different Alex from the one we used to know and love, you should know better. It’s almost as if you hadn’t been reading this blog for years.
What impression do you think a reader would get from the BBC’s approach here? Does the prominence given to quotes from the activists, the picture of the bandaged keffieh wearing casualty, and the helpful word for word account of worthy sounding items they say they’re carrying, not give you a little hint as to where the BBC’s sympathies lie?
If you happen to believe, as you no doubt do, that Galloway and co are nobly rescuing needy victims of Israel’s cruel oppression, then you might think the BBC is balanced and unbiased.
If, on the other hand, you have enough interest in the subject to look beyond the BBC for information about it, you’d be familiar with Galloway’s infatuation with antisemitic Islamist Hamas, or Viva Palestina’s history of disingenuous publicity stunts, of the gross exaggeration of food shortages in Gaza, or of peace activists’ hypocritical and unrequited respect for followers of an organisation that wouldn’t hesitate to have them hung drawn and quartered the moment their activism efforts were superfluous to requirements.
I don’t want the BBC to be unquestioningly in favour of my view. I just ask for objectivity, not bias, whether subliminal, subtle, or open and blatant.
Does chronic malnutrition count as “starving”? Please give a more sophisticated answer than pictures of food.
“What impression do you think a reader would get from the BBC’s approach here? Does the prominence given to quotes from the activists, the picture of the bandaged keffieh wearing casualty, and the helpful word for word account of worthy sounding items they say they’re carrying, not give you a little hint as to where the BBC’s sympathies lie?
Let me get this straight: a convoy of goes to deliver food to poor people, they get beaten up and you’re upset that they look like the victims?
“you’d be familiar with Galloway’s infatuation with antisemitic Islamist Hamas, or Viva Palestina’s history of disingenuous publicity stunts, of the gross exaggeration of food shortages in Gaza, or of peace activists’ hypocritical and unrequited respect for followers of an organisation that wouldn’t hesitate to have them hung drawn and quartered the moment their activism efforts were superfluous to requirements.”
We’ve all heard of George Galloway Sue, and I’ll put the hung, drawn and quartered comment down to Melanie Phillips-style rhetorical hysteria. But for the “disingenuous publicity stunts” and “respect for Hamas”, you’ll have to provide some evidence, especially for the second, which is borderline slanderous.
Speaking of borderline slanderous, that last article you linked to doesn’t actually contain the quote you’ve used to link to it.
But for the “disingenuous publicity stunts” and “respect for Hamas”, you’ll have to provide some evidence, especially for the second, which is borderline slanderous.
Well thanks for proving that your not borderline thick. You are well over that thick line.
Canada Bars Galloway For Supporting Hamas
11:00am UK, Saturday March 21, 2009
Respect MP George Galloway has been blocked from visiting Canada because of his support for Hamas, the country’s immigration office has said.
The British MP also donated thousands of dollars and dozens of vehicles to the Hamas-run government in the Gaza Strip.
PICTURE CAPTION
George Galloway (L) hugs Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/George-Galloway-Hamas-Support-Sees-Him-Blocked-From-Entering-Canada-For-Being-A-Threat-To-Security/Article/200903315246210?f=rss
Dear Alex,
Your first point, a link to the Indie, is not proof that malnutrition in Gaza, if any, stems from the blockade. The Indie and the Red Cross are notoriously unreliable and anti-Israel, so you’d need to give a more sophisticated answer than a link to the Guardian, the Indie, the BBC or Amnesty International, the Red Cross, Oxfam etc.
I would have thought the numerous images of abundance in Gaza were quite sophisticated as far as evidence goes.
Your second point about the convoy, beaten up, and victims. I don’t see it like that.
Your third point about providing evidence for Islamist methods of dealing with the infidel, surely you can find that yourself.
Finally the last article I linked to. The quote is in the vid.
Then tell me:
1) Which sources do you trust, if not the Red Cross? Does the list have any entries other than “the Jerusalem Post” and “Sue”?
2) Is it possible to get beaten by the police during a sit-down protest without coming across as the victim just a little bit? If so, who were the victims then? Was it Israel? Was Israel the real victim of police brutality here?
3) So, what you’re telling me is, I should get off my arse and do your own research?
Alex,
There’s a rather good exploration of the subject at Harry’s Place. The poster represents your position, the below the line comments broadly represent mine.
There’s a lot of disparate views there, so I’ll ask you a few questions to clarify.
> Are VP right to be delivering aid to Gaza?
> Who should this aid be distributed by?
> Is Egypt right to block the convoy?
> Are you seriously concerned that Hamas will benefit from this. In what way?
> Do you believe this aid convoy makes implications about Israel? What? Should this affect VP’s decision to deliver aid?
Answer in blue or black ink only. Do not attempt to write on both sides of the paper at once.
Alex, Doesn’t this bring back memories of the endless debates from way back when?
Is this the sort of thing you have been reading?
“Israel’s strict blockade of Gaza, which has been in place for more than two years, prevents all exports and limits imports to a few humanitarian items.”
That’s simply a lie – no other word for it. In December alone:
Six more water desalination systems were transferred to the Gaza Strip;
15 truckloads of cellular communications equipment were delivered to the Palestinian mobile phone carrier, Jawal;
Strawberries and flowers were exported;
Glass was brought in for home repairs and renovations in preparation for the winter;
750 tons of aggregate were transferred for maintenance of the North Gaza Wastewater Treatment plant.
2179 truckloads (48,237 tons) of humanitarian aid entered via the Kerem Shalom cargo terminal and the Karni conveyor belt.
7,173,468 liters of heavy-duty diesel for the Gaza power station and 2276 tons of cooking gas were delivered via the Kerem Shalom crossing and the Nahal Oz fuel depot.
At least you recognise you’ve set me an exam, but I ask for your cooperation in the hope that reading things like the article I’ve linked to will excuse me from answering the individual questions therein.
For what it’s worth, I don’t think VP should be delivering aid, I don’t think Galloway should be supportig Hamas, I don’t think he should be a British MP at all if he does so, I do think Hamas has benefited politically and materially, and I think the whole thing is a publicity stunt and a massive exploitation of some of the more sincere and naive ‘useful idiots’
“For what it’s worth, I don’t think VP should be delivering aid“
Why not? And do you mean that VP itself should not be delivering the aid, or that it should not be delivered full stop?
“I don’t think Galloway should be supportig Hamas, I don’t think he should be a British MP at all if he does so“
Is George Galloway supporting Hamas? Please explain.
“I do think Hamas has benefited politically and materially“
In what way, on both counts?
“and I think the whole thing is a publicity stunt and a massive exploitation of some of the more sincere and naive ‘useful idiots’”
Definitely it’s also about publicity, but in what way is it exploitative?
Couple of exam tips:
1) Try and expand your points as fully as you can.
2) Make sure every point answers the question you have been set.
Alex, the examiner should have a basic knowledge of the subject before he sets the questions.
Touché. Shall I bump you up to a C-?
The beef we here at B-BBC have, Alex, is that, despite the taxpayers’ billions showered on the BBC, it is incapable or unwilling to get to the unvarnished truth of anything. In this case, it is that Egypt has controlled the movement of goods into Gaza, yet Israel – as usual – gets the blame.
Melanie Phillips has exposed this systemic partiality in her blog, which Sue has cited.
Are we reading the same article? You know, the one where the first word of the headline, the second word of the subtitle and the first word of the main body is ‘Egyptian’. And when you say Israel gets the blame, is it where it says “Egypt and Israel maintain a strict blockade”?
Are we? Where do I say Israel gets the blame?
Before we get into a prolonged slanging match, where do you stand on the Viva Palestina issue? I have a hunch you and I ( and Scott) don’t see eye to eye on it.
John W says something along the lines of “ Israel – as usual – gets the blame.”. I was replying to him. Yours is back on page one at time of going to press.
I’m not entirely sure what stance there is you can have:
Aid trucks to poverty-stricken region – good.
Blocking aid trucks – bad.
Peaceful sit in broken up with truncheons – bad.
George Galloway – self-important gobshite who I think I agreed with on something once but I forget precisely what.
Are there seriously any other stances you can take?
BBC and Islamic Egypt: inadequate, biased reporting by BBC, shielding Islamic jihad against Christian Copts:
“Egypt Copts killed in Christmas church attack”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8444851.stm
‘Jihadwatch’:
“It’s all religious now: this is a religious war about how they can finish off the Christians in Egypt”
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/01/it-is-all-religious-now-this-is-a-religious-war-about-how-they-can-finish-off-the-christians-in-egyp.html
Historical background, which BBC avoids:
“Egypt -Persecution: Disappearing Christians of the Middle East”
http://www.meforum.org/23/egypt-persecution
Relegate the Islamic jihad, eh, BBC, and stick to your daily invective against Israel, which is in the frontline against the jihad?
I also commented about this in the Open Thread http://biasedbbc.tv/2010/01/open-thread_04.html from a different perspective.
Watching the news early this morning and some BBC ‘reporter’ lady in Lebanon, I think, whisked to a secret pow-wow with a bloke to offer the latest ‘we’re proud of our boy’ ra-ra video, with unquestioning opportunity to mouth off a bunch of ‘justifications’.
Tricky balance between legitimate news from all sides, and facilitating propaganda, but the guys who send others off to explode do seem to have Aunty on speed-dial… and she does come running, with mics seemingly only on record for the interviewee and the slot mainly ‘broadcast only’, with narrative enhanced when it is safe.
Nice that they do offer the ladies equal opps, mind
This clip sums up everything you need to know about Galloway. Look at the way he smarms up to psychotic thugs like Udai Saddam Hussein:
Andy 11:04
Thanks for that link, wonderful !
I love it when Galloway calls Uday ” your excellency”. Uday generally looks a bit non-plussed as if wondering “who the hell is this nutter and why is he crawling to me”.
Unfortunately, Galloway’s statement that “we are with you to the end ” did not come true.