“The BBC claims here that the President, Prime Minister and people of the Czech Republic are all against the pact.
“The country’s influential – and Eurosceptic – president, Vaclav Klaus, has already told Mr Necas he will not sign Czech accession to the fiscal compact. So even if the Czech prime minister wanted to join it (he doesn’t), the president would not let him.” “even if the Czech people were in favour of more budgetary oversight from Brussels (they are not), simply organising a referendum could take months, possibly years.”
But then the BBC attributes the rejection to Mr Necas’s Civic Democrats..
“…who are, like Britain’s Conservatives, deeply divided over Europe. Like the Tories, the Civic Democrats are plagued by a right-wing, viscerally Eurosceptic fringe.”
I don’t know if what they say about Czech politics is accurate or not, but I do know that opinion polls show a clear and consistent majority of Britons opposed to the EU. To the BBC however MPs who represent the majority constitute a plague and visceral fringe. The BBC’s choice of phrasing tells you everything you need to know about where they are coming from on the EU issue. They don’t seem to be at all aware that their blind obedience to the Brussels agenda shows that it is they who form the visceral fringe of opinion.”
They voteed the ‘wrong way’ according to the BBc so this must analysed, the narrative formed, the story twisted to fit the agenda.
Like the Tories, the Civic Democrats are plagued by a right-wing, viscerally Eurosceptic fringe
Even for the BBC that’s a disgusting turn of phrase. Someone from the “Eurosceptic” (or Eurodemocratic) fringe ought to hold them to task for that perjorative statement. A BBC head should roll for that.
It’s amazing that they can’t call people who murder women and children indiscriminately “terrorists” but they happily accuse people who care for freedom, democracy and honesty of “plaguing” something!
Considering Cameron had to apologise for insulting people with Tourettes, then they need to apologise to all the Black Death victims. After all, if Blair can apologise for slavery, then history need not stop a fulsome grovel.
Somebody may have complained, Demon. They’ve changed it now to say,
“Mr Necas’s Civic Democrats are, like Britain’s Conservatives, deeply divided over Europe.
Like the Tories, the Civic Democrats have a right-wing, viscerally eurosceptic fringe.”
The time-stamp says “31 January 2012 Last updated at 14:31”, so I presume this is a classic BBC stealth edit.
I hope someone took a screen shot of the original wording.
Ah, trusty old Newsniffer has caught the moment. The stealth edit (purely to get rid of “plagued”) was made at midday today.
Now if only they would just stop hiring people who felt it was okay to use that kind of language in the first place.
“Like the Tories, the Civic Democrats have a right-wing, viscerally eurosceptic fringe.”
It’s still utter shit, though.
Lazy, lazy language – ‘viscerally eurosceptic’ implies their opposition is irrational and emotional rather than intellectual. Maybe that is the case but one suspects the writer is making assumptions.
Quite right, Jeremy.
Adv. Viscerally in an unreasoning visceral manner
(Free Dictionary)
Adj. Visceral characterized by or proceeding from instinct rather than intellect
(Dictionary.reference.com)
Adj. Visceral not intellectual; dealing with crude or elemental emotions
(Merriam-Webster.com)
Exactly. That’s what I was going to say. How would they know whether it is visceral or not? I would assume it is a reasoned position, based on things such as economic, social, democratic considerations and the facts, evidence and long experience of the workings of the EC, EEC and now EU. When are the Beeboids going to stick to reporting facts?
I await the removal of the loaded and unsubstantiated word viscerally from that sentence.
PS: also loaded word fringe. Who is to say that it isn’t a core, rather than a fringe? Maybe it is the core. How did the Beeboids determine that it’s a fringe?
Also, the ‘the’ in “[l]ike the Tories” is extremely loaded. Disgraceful.
Okay, so maybe not… 🙂
On a more serious note, ‘eurosceptics’ are treated in much the same way as AGW ‘sceptics’ and ‘deniers’: they are nationalistic, ‘right-wing’, xenophobic bordering on racist, petty-minded, fanatical and reactionary. One seldom hears such shortcomings ascribed to fervent EU integrationalists and warmists, natch.
I know people of all political hues who are ‘eurosceptic’ and/or ‘climate-change sceptics’ but it is far easier to stereotype, isn’t it? I am sure not every BBC employee is a Guardian-reading, self-hating, lefty enviro-nutter who hates Thatcher, worships George Monbiot and has sexual fantasies about Obama, but it’s all-too-easy to make such an accusation, isn’t it?
“Also, the ‘the’ in “[l]ike the Tories” is extremely loaded. Disgraceful.
Okay, so maybe not…”
Well you do have a point: “Tories” is used intentionally. They use it knowing that there are ‘nasty’ undertones and it was originally an insult. They don’t have another ‘official’ name for the Lib Dem or Labour so you can’t blame them especially as the Conservative Party themselves use the term Tory, I think they shouldn’t especially when wet lily livered lefty twats say it with spittle and venom.
‘Somebody may have complained, Demon. They’ve changed it now ..’
No. Someone with half a brain within the BBC realised that if that one stayed up a moment longer there was going to be ‘an issue’.
Luckily, it is now a bigger one.
“Like the Tories, the Civic Democrats have a right-wing, viscerally eurosceptic fringe.”
The story has not, as they so often try and dismiss with stealth edits, ‘evolved’. It was blatant tribally partisan ediotorial, in print, for all to see.
And they got nailed.
And now, have been again in cover up.
Bliss.
This is very revealing of the BBC’s hiring standards and training practices.
It’s the inevitable result of a very restricted gene pool: LSE+Oxford PPE+ BBC Coll. of Journalism = Rampant Inbreeding, & the irreparable brain deformities that ensure the utter obedience of the Beeboid Youth Movement. Heil Harrabin!
BBC news writers don’t know the meaning of the word visceral.
That’s probably why they never apply it to pro-EU people, even though it would be much more appropriate to do so.
Pro-EU types often seem to have a gut feeling that the EU is wonderful but are completely unable to explain why, and end up blustering about ‘feeling European’ and making up ludicrous apocalyptic predictions about what’d happen if we left.
Like the Tories, the Civic Democrats are plagued by a right-wing, viscerally Eurosceptic fringe.”
Very loaded language.
Take a similarly-worded statement such as this:
“The Guardian is plagued by a left-wing, viscerally anti-Israel fringe.”
I would expect someone like Melanie Phillips to come out with a statement like this. Now, you may agree with this statement but it is hardly a neutral assertion of the facts, is it?
“The Guardian is plagued by a left-wing, viscerally anti-Israel fringe.”
“I would expect someone like Melanie Phillips to come out with a statement like this. Now, you may agree with this statement but it is hardly a neutral assertion of the facts, is it?”
Hmm. Odd analogy. It certainly isn’t neutral, but it has a definite basis in fact. *DONT_KNOW* Perhaps you could argue that the word “plagued” is inherently agenda-driven rather than ‘neutral’, (given that the neutrality in question was a total indifference to antisemitism.) Oh, and for accuracy I’d swap the word “fringe” for “core.”
Take a look at CiFWatch if you don’t know what I mean………..
Best definition of the Guardian I`ve seen.
Might use “infested” for plagued…and that will do for the BBC!
Oxford OED perhaps Sue?…it`s that good!
Just for the record – and so we can keep an eye on him in the future! – the guilty BBC reporter is Rob Cameron.
One of his colleagues liked the use of “plagued” enough to tweet about it:
Patrick Jackson@patrickgjackson view full profile →
London BBC journalist writing for Europe Online, speak Russian & French. All views here my own.
“Like the Tories, the [#Czech] Civic Democrats are plagued by a… viscerally Eurosceptic fringe” – BBC’s Rob Cameron http://bbc.in/zj2rWb 22 hours ago
Will he now have to re-tweet it without the world “plagued?
Just for the record – and so we can keep an eye on him in the future! – the guilty BBC reporter is Rob Cameron.
”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
Hey, Rob. mate I been away (on another planet in a far off galaxy) – how is the great European project going?
How, for example, is the Euro doing and the uneuroscepticlunatcifringeviscerallyopposed countries that adopted. it?
Interestingly, my ongoing exchange with a senior Newsnight Producer is around Paul Mason’s ‘views’ on this very topic, and it appears we have hit a point where we ‘agree to disagree’. Well, I might need a bit more than that, especially as, in addition to calling into question teh PM’s country-approved actions, he also decided to slag off another country (Hungary) on ‘ist/wing/zi’ bases that were, at best personal.
Now I know what BBC editors come out with in print and on air does not mean what the BBc thinks it does, but really this is all getting a bit… silly.
Especially with the British national broadcaster handing the mic/keyboard over to its tribal engineers to drop loose descriptions on other countries in our name.
All views here my own.
Not a BBC journalist writing for Europe Online, speak(ing) Russian & French & writing English top style, isn’t it?
Intersting to see if something does happen to that tweet – or maybe the beeb have found a way to have their cake and eat it too.
Er . . . isn’t the SWP “viscerally” eurosceptic? It certainly doesn’t like the EU as presently constituted. In which case the identification (and, per the BBC’s worldview and insult of choice) of euroscepticism and being “right wing” is crap anyway.
Ha ha. OT, but this got my day off to a bright start and does involve the BBC, mate.
I was still lying in bed at 8.20 this morning deciding whether to become fully conscious, or not, with ‘Breakfast’ wafting through my lugholes.
They were wittering on about ‘Only Fools And Horses’ being remade for US television and asking some rather hyped-up Yank comedian if he thought the London patois would translate to an American setting.
Full marks to the geezer; quick as a flash he managed to blurt out something to effect of, ‘language has different connotations on each side of The Pond. Take “WANKER”, for example…..’
Er, that woke me up with a start and I rolled over to focus fully on the impending car crash, son.
Interestingly, Sian went into full-on matron-mode, simultaneously apologising to her charges whilst repelling this American anti-christ with an imaginary cross. Bill looked as though he wanted to dive behind the sofa and stay there.
Anyway, the “The BBC cannot be held responsible for words that come out of other people’s mouths” atmosphere continued until Sian admitted that having comedians on live at that time of the morning was bound to be challenging.
Too right, darling. They both looked like they were in the closing stages of an all-night bender, son. Great telly, though.
It’s probably on YouTube by now. Check it out.
Must dash etc.
I know a plague from the fringe of our society that I hate viscerally.
Auntie
Can we go all snitchy on Sian Williams, Bill Turnbull and Mitch Benn re the charge of “joint enterprise” in connection with causing distress and hurt to me and my canary?
The revenge of Carole Thatcher!
The word “fringe” is interesting. The unsaid adjective that goes along with it is “lunatic”.
Boy! That one sentence is a Masters course in latent meanings. I guess we’ll never find out (the journalist) who actually wroite it.
Rob Cameron apparently. dodgy clan that one.
CHECK THIS OUT. FOR SOME REASON I THINK JULIAN JOYCE MUST BE A CONSERVATIVE MOLE AS HE ACTUALLY SETS OUT THE WEEKLY EXPENDITURE
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16812185
BRILLIANT!
Well, from the effect it has had, you have to wonder if he is not a ‘money reassignment from worker to parasite’ empathiser, at least.
Notice it has ‘closed for comments’ within a day.
Evidently the BBc felt there was quite enough discussion at near 1300… out of 25M licence fee payers.
They even commited to ‘Editors’ Picks’.
By contrast… closed at… ‘6’.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-16798394
If the BBC was full of pro-EU Tories, it would be. “Like 7 percent of New Labour, the Civic Democrats are plagued by a right-wing, viscerally Eurosceptic fringe”.
The BBC are always waxing lyrically on any pro-democratic movements be it in Burma or Yeman so what is pro-democracy?
“…denoting or relating to political activism directed towards the establishment of democratic government in a country”
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/pro-democracy
Yet
“..72% of the cost of regulation in the UK is EU-derived”
http://openeuropeblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/how-many-of-our-laws-are-made-in.html
And
“Some 70% of voters want a vote on Britain’s EU membership, and by a substantial nine-point margin respondents say they would vote for UK withdrawal.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/24/eu-referendum-poll-uk-withdrawal
If people are saying that they want Britain to run its own affairs that is pro-democracy and “Euroscepticism” can ony mean a pro-democratic movement. Is this pro-democracy movement made up of a “right wing fringe”? No
http://www.peoplespledge.org/about_us/who_supports_us
The BBC have proved once again that they are staffed with propagandists and not journalists. A journalist would know the above, or if not he would research a story before he published. But this is not any old hack but a suposedly unbiased BBC reporter. These people make me tired. Its not “lazy journalism” its pure propaganda. And the idiot who put it out should be sacked.