A comment on "Shilling For Auntie"

E. Buki of Pamphlet Primer and Bleuet left a most interesting comment to yesterday's post, Shilling for Auntie:

I have to thank the British taxpayers as my son was born on their bill. My wife is a British citizen and has her rights to the National Health Service. Never mind the incompetence that the midwives in the NHS hospital displayed in not helping open the passages my son passed through and which nearly suffocated him before his first breathe. The point is that while my wife and I waited for her cervix to open to the optimal metric width I watched a talk TV program on the BBC. The usual complaints about US military power in Iraq was discussed and when a retired member of the British Armed Forces called in to provide his opinion something approximating this exchange occurred.

Host: So what you are saying is the US did not go into Iraq simply because of WMD but because of sanctions against Iraq that were not being upheld by the UN?

Caller: That is correct.

Host: Well then why hasn't the US gone in to enforce the sanctions against Israel?

Caller: Oh G-d, well Israel's Army isn't like Iraq's Army was.

Host: So, what you are saying is that since the Israeli Army could protect itself against the Americans that is why the US is leaving them alone and even supporting them.

Caller: Uh yeah, I think that makes sense.

It’s this sort of misinformation that British Television should now be made famous for. I would have liked the host of this program to be reminded that there are no UN sanctions against Israel.

I am sorry I can't remember the program's name but it ran on February 16th 2006. I don't recall which BBC channel either. I was focused on more meaningful issues in my family life.

Another interesting method used to install political agendas is typified by the following. I sat amazed as a documentary shown with footage taken from news, private cameras and security cameras told the story of Britain's single largest traffic mishap. Traffic became backed up on the M-1 and M-5 and G-d knows how many other major expressways. An accident had caused the mother of all pileups and back-ups on these major arteries as well as the side roads leading to them. Due to the backup of traffic and lack of routes off the highway those scheduled to take over in the towers of one of London's airports could not make it to work. Those who had been working the tower all night were forced to remain although exhausted. Passenger planes collided due to this, which further aggravated the state of transportation in the nation. People were stranded overnight on these transportation venues. I think they called this documentary "The Day Britain Stood Still". It was something of the sort. Lawsuits and sackings ensued from this mess and even years later all involved were traumatized by the deaths in the air, the deaths on the road and the deaths of those who had been stuck over night on the highways in freezing weather. It wasn't until the story went black that one was informed they had watched a mockumentary designed to teach the people of Britain what could happen if one or the other political party had its way in deciding how much money went to the Ministry of Transportation. It’s not the same as distorting the news or excluding relevant information but it is similar in its intent to express a bias as truth.

Thank you, E. B.