Posted on 01/13/2005 1:36:08 AM PST by naturalman1975
LAST week we were subjected to one of the most extraordinary examples of one-sided news management of modern times, as most of Britain's media, led by the BBC, studiously ignored what was by far the most effective and dramatic response to Asia's tsunami disaster. A mighty task force of more than 20 US Navy ships, led by a vast nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the Abraham Lincoln, and equipped with nearly 90 helicopters, landing craft and hovercraft, was carrying out a round-the-clock relief operation, providing food, water and medical supplies to hundreds of thousands of survivors.
The BBC went out of its way not to report this. Only when one BBC reporter hitched a lift from one of the Abraham Lincoln's Sea Hawk helicopters to report from the Sumatran coast was there the faintest hint of the part that the Americans, aided by the Australian navy, were playing.
Instead the BBC's coverage was dominated by the self-important vapourings of a stream of politicians, led by the UN's Kofi Annan; the EU's "three-minute silence"; the public's amazing response to fund-raising appeals; and a UNICEF-inspired scare story about orphaned children being targeted by sex traffickers. The overall effect was to turn the wholedrama into a heart-tugging soap opera.
The real story of the week should thus have been the startling contrast between the impotence of the international organisations, the UN and the EU, and the remarkable efficiency of the US and Australian military on the ground ... But when even Communist China's news agency tells us more about what is really going on than the BBC, we see just how strange the world has become. One real lesson of this disaster is that all the international aid in the world is worthless unless one has the hardware and organisational know-how to deliver it. That is what the US and Australia have been showing, as the UN and the EU are powerless to do. But because, to the BBC, it is a case of "UN and EU good, US and military bad", the story is suppressed. The BBC's performance has become a national scandal.
thanks for posting
Other way around, or at least they wish it to be.
Thanks for posting. I like the fact that the Australians are starting to speak up about their important role in that part of the world.
I agree. Thank God for the Aussies.
Your page of search results for ""abraham lincoln" tsunami"
UK victims of Asian tsunami
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4145219.stm
The identities of many Britons killed by the Indian Ocean tsunami emerge as the death toll rises. » 85% relevance | 12/01/2005 |
similar stories
Tsunami summit under press scrutiny
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4141199.stm
Indonesian press applauds the international response to the Asian tsunami disaster, as donors meet in Jakarta to co-ordinate the relief efforts. » 85% relevance | 06/01/2005 | similar stories
UK victims of Asian tsunami
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4141199.stm
The identities of many Britons killed by the Indian Ocean tsunami emerge as the death toll rises. » 86% relevance | 02/01/2005 | similar stories
British victims of Asia quake
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4132403.stm
The identities of many Britons killed by the Indian Ocean tsunami begin to emerge as the death toll rises. » 85% relevance | 02/01/2005 | similar stories
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4145219.stm
Tsunami aid effort gathers pace
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4139137.stm
International aid starts to penetrate Asian areas worst hit by huge waves after an earthquake a week ago. » 82% relevance | 01/01/2005 | similar stories
US pledges $350m in tsunami aid
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4138763.stm
The US announces a big boost to international efforts to aid survivors of tsunamis that killed more than 124,000. » 84% relevance | 01/01/2005 | similar stories
That may be, but at least it isn't an embarrassment. Liberals are incapable of being embarrassed.
This was predictable, of course, since not long ago, the BBC was taken to the woodshed for 'manipulating the news', etc.. You'd think they'd smarten up. But no, we're talking Leftist Big Thinkers here.
The Bali bombing got the Aussies attention..HARD...Most killed were Australian, and viewed as a % of population, Australia suffered a bigger loss than we did on 9/11..
A big Aussie BROVO!
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