You pay suspects' bill (UK Plane Bomb terror plot suspects' families put up in pricey hotels)

The Sun (U.K.) ^ | August 15, 2006 | TOM WELLS

[AdAstraPerArdua]

Forgive my cynicism and general distrust of The Sun, but if they are so sure this is going on, why are they asking for people to ring in and tell them where they are staying? They know how much they've spent on room service, but don't know which hotel it is? Hmmmmm. . . . .

[Stoat]

Forgive my cynicism and general distrust of The Sun, but if they are so sure this is going on, why are they asking for people to ring in and tell them where they are staying? They know how much they've spent on room service, but don't know which hotel it is? Hmmmmm. . . .

Please read the article again.  The situation in which they had knowledge of the room charges was a different one than the jet bomb plot matter..

"News of the hotel stays comes just two days after The Sun told how brothers Abdul Kahar, 23, and Abul Koyair, 21, landed taxpayers with a £50,000 bill following the police raid on their home in Forest Gate, East London, in June.".

I know that The Sun spends a lot of time with idiotic and irrelevant celebrity gossip, but they do also provide an occasional worthwhile story.  They have been solidly supporting the troops since the onset of the war and I haven't encountered a situation where they have made up a story.  Yes, they use dramatic and flowery language on occasion, but I have yet to learn of a case in which they have completely made something up.

[sheik yerbouty]

Maybe they are rooming with a whole flock!

[Canard]

"I haven't encountered a situation where they have made up a story. Yes, they use dramatic and flowery language on occasion, but I have yet to learn of a case in which they have completely made something up."

For the last three elections they said that voting Labour was the best idea, I'm pretty sure that's been proven untrue!

You could also try asking Liverpudlians about their views. There's many in the city who still boycott the newspaper after the coverage of the Hillsbrough disaster in 1989.

[Stoat]

For the last three elections they said that voting Labour was the best idea, I'm pretty sure that's been proven untrue!

Well, if that's the case then they are right in league with about 95% of the major press organs  :-)

I don't necessarily look to the Sun for the most definitive answer on every event of the day, but for a proud Yank like me they do provide a bit of an interesting and entertaining change from the humdrum everyday newspapers....and I've learned quite a bit from the Sun.  I was never really exposed to Cockney Rhyming Slang before, and they use it frequently at the Sun.  For example, I now know that 'syrup' means 'hair', as evidenced by

Balding star's wiggo Jacko (Experts claim Jacko wears a wig - One of the worst I've ever seen )

and to be 'rumbled' means that your nefarious plan has been found out or discovered, as evidenced by

Boy, 5, in cake run

I'm a lover of words and etymology, and learning about British Slang and it's variants, colloquial and otherwise, falls neatly into my preexisting interest areas.

Also, they will frequently report on items that get little or no play elsewhere, and usually give a view that's quite flattering to America when applicable (and is therefore quite refreshing), as evidenced by this item:

Brown hails Bush's war (Great Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer delivers glowing endorsement)

And they have always treated the soldiers splendidly

Iraq is just another job (Inspirational, complimentary article on the legendary Black Watch troops)

Matt Drudge frequently links to the Sun because they are oftentimes first in with major breaking news.....and from what I've seen, I would rate their accuracy above that of the New York Times (although that isn't saying much)

So, we shall see how this business of the terrorists' families being put up in posh accommodations plays out, but it certainly seems that they were correct about the previous, similar story that happened in June....and I don't recall seeing anyone else covering that story, at least not in a major and hard-hitting way......and if they are proven wrong, please feel free to post the information right here in this thread....providing I don't beat you to it  :-)

After all, I'm interested in the truth, regardless of the source, and I'm not so stuck on myself that I can't admit when I'm wrong.