BBC Anti-American Bias in Finland School Shooting Report

[Cromlech]

They have to bash us to make themselves feel better. They are a silly little nation with very limited significance anymore.

Well aren't you a nice friendly Moderator?

The best thing they have going for themselves is TOP GEAR and Torchwood.

That much is true, at least for TV.

 

[hopkin]

And now that the law-abiding citizens of the UK have been disarmed

Minor point - we're not necessarily disarmed. Pump-action shotguns, .50bmg and leverguns/bolt-action aren't bad tools for defeating armed terrorist takeovers/zombie hoards.

 

[AndyC]

They have to bash us to make themselves feel better. They are a silly little nation with very limited significance anymore. The best thing they have going for themselves is TOP GEAR and Torchwood.

Cheers for that, George, you ass

 

[Cosmoline]

The BBC is fixated on firearms in general. Last night on World Service they did an "in depth" report on violence along the border with the Darfur region in Sudan. The reporter failed utterly to even TRY to explain why these different tribes were fighting, and instead asked a long series of questions about their AK-47's and how often the tribesmen carried them. The answer was of course all the time except for peace negotiations. They're FIGHTING each other. So why carrying arms should come as a surprise I don't know, but the BBC idiot couldn't get over the fact that they were openly carrying AK's. But at least they didn't blame "American gun culture."

The best thing they have going for themselves is TOP GEAR and Torchwood.

Oh for the days of "Upstairs, Downstairs" and the old Dr. Who! Top Gear is run by one of the biggest jerks I've ever seen--one who hates Americans with a deep passion BTW. Torchwood is a silly knockoff of a dozen other scifi shows fronted by an actor best known stateside for uttering "The Line" in the B-movie "Shark Attack 3"

I prefer the old Grenada Holmes, which frequently featured the detective advising Watson to bring his (totally unlicensed and concealed) revolver along.

 

[Cromlech]

"hates Americans with a deep passion" that's going a bit far. He does insult, and joke, but he hardly hates you lot.

 

[Oohrah]

Don't really care what their opinion is as their crime is out of
control. Seems a few years back knives were banned. If someone
defends themselves and the bad guy killed or injured, the defender
goes to jail. Go figure !!!

 

[Junkyard Dog]

smarmy? What does this term mean? Sorry had to ask.

 

[AndyC]

I imagine you lads might want to separate the British people from their media - just as here. How would you like it if all Americans were judged by whatever the US media publishes?

Tarring an entire country of folk with that brush is so Low Road, and I'm starting to get really annoyed that it's tolerated here - and apparently even encouraged by some of the moderators, not for the first time.

 

[Cosmoline]

"hates Americans with a deep passion" that's going a bit far. He does insult, and joke, but he hardly hates you lot.

I've never seen such a combination of coward and bully than Clarkson as he took his little trip across the states. He was alternately badmouthing everything about the country and running in terror from anyone who looked vaguely menacing.

 

[perpster]

Minor point - we're not necessarily disarmed. Pump-action shotguns, .50bmg and leverguns/bolt-action aren't bad tools for defeating armed terrorist takeovers/zombie hoards.

What exactly is allowed to be owned/used, and what are the restrictions? Wasn't a farmer sent to jail for using a shotgun on his own property against burglars?

 

[Tom Bri]

Every bad thing that happens in the US is broadcast worldwide. I saw it happen again and again when I lived overseas.

Those who pay close attention to the news can find many examples of school shootings and other heinous crimes, but if they happen in any country but the US they get little international play, you have to really be on the lookout.

Part of that is simple envy. So many people hate and envy the US, especially in the educated classes, that any anti-US news is welcome to them.

 

[ShunZu]

Lots of stuff about UK crime if you google it... but here's a piece of one I found particularly straightforward and direct. Entire article can be viewed by clicking the link I'll include @ the bottom.

In the first, a British paper reported authorities have seen a 35 percent increase in gun violence in 2002 – not so ironically, in the sixth year since Parliament passed a law banning personal ownership of most firearms.

So bad is the violence now that police say it has "spread like a cancer" across the whole of the country, the Observer reported. To put the level of violence in perspective, more British subjects are dying from gun violence now than before idiots in Parliament banned virtually all firearms.

"Handgun crime has soared past levels last seen before the Dunblane massacre of 1996 and the ban on ownership of handguns introduced the year after Thomas Hamilton, an amateur shooting enthusiast, shot dead 16 schoolchildren, their teacher and himself in the Perthshire town," the paper reported.

"It was hoped the measure would reduce the number of handguns available to criminals. Now handgun crime is at its highest since 1993," said the Observer. "New laws that make carrying a firearm an offence with a mandatory five-year sentence have won little favor with officers on the street. 'It changes nothing,' said one drug squad detective who asked to remain anonymous."

Meanwhile, here in the States, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study released last week found no conclusive evidence gun-control laws curb violent crime, suicides by firearms or firearms-related accidents.

The study found "inconclusive evidence" that gun-control laws, which include entire bans of certain classes of weapons, have any appreciable effect on gun-related violence.

Interestingly enough, where gun control is the staunchest – New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and other major urban centers – Britain-like handgun and rifle bans, some analyses contend, are doing little more than filling morgues with innocent, unprotected, law-abiding citizens.

"The sale of assault rifles has been outlawed. However, this has done little to reduce crime," says an analysis by National Issues, a non-partisan research site on the Internet.

More here: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=35019

 

[wideym]

Personaly I like watching the BBC. They will do a 3-5 minute story about Africa that doesn't include Opra Winfree. The nightly news on the big stations(ABC,NBC and CBS) only mention Africa, Asia(India), or the Baltic only when an American is involved. That said I have noticed the BBC reporters do tend to blame America for the worlds problems.

 

[Odd Job]

George Hill said:

They have to bash us to make themselves feel better. They are a silly little nation with very limited significance anymore.

That's very poor form for a moderator.

 

[macFarlaine]

Never mind George,after all said and done thank god we have freedom of speech.In future though please moderate on something you know about...not something you think you know about.

 

[JWarren]

George Hill said:

They have to bash us to make themselves feel better. They are a silly little nation with very limited significance anymore.

While I don't particularly condone the description of "silly little nation," I'm not going to let the crux of the above quote escape me.

Most nations have limited significance outside its own borders these days. This includes most European nations. This does not, however, include the USA. It is my belief that there is a certain amount of distain for that little reality-- especially in nations where once "the sun never set."

So why does that matter? Frankly, it doesn't.

But some hold onto past national pride and are disparaging towards us.

On the flip-side, some of us have quick rebuttals for this attitude. It is my belief that we are so quick to engage because we have an opinion that our efforts in the world are not appreciated.

It seems that everyone LOVES to criticize the US society, and everyone loves to criticize our activities in the international community and at the same time they come running to US the instant they are in a situation to where they need help.

I suspect that there is no nation that has shown more willingness to shed the blood of its sons and daughters for the benefit of others than the US has shown. American Blood has seeped into the ground of battlefields across the modern world.

Think about it. There's a reason I am seeing Television spots asking for intervention in Darfur whenever I turn on the TV. They are asking for a US-led action. If it were a UN-led one, there would be decades of censuring and resolutions. They KNOW that the best chance for actual "boots-on-the-ground" action is to appeal to the US.

...Because we always seem willing to bleed for others.


And of course, the motives are practically always twisted. After all, we are only in Iraq because they have oil. Sure. And there is SO much oil in Bosnia. And they are overflowing with it in Somolia.


I frankly wish we would leave more of the world to its own devices --not because I have a reluctance to shed more American blood-- but because I am more stingy with that American blood.



However... (and getting back to the point)


We have ZERO right to be offended for some twit at the BBC taking a stab at America with this piece when we take every opportunity to take our own stabs at the UK or Europe as a whole on our little forums.

We routinely point out the idiocy of UK gun laws, laws pertaining to Self-defense, etc., etc., etc.

Do I think those laws and attitudes are idiotic? You betcha. Do I believe it is important to take notice of what goes on in other countries as it pertains to gun rights and other "Bill of Rights" issues? Absolutely.

But that IS their country. It falls to them to take responsibility for allowing such idiocy to occur-- and it falls to them to work in correcting those missteps.

It falls to US to quickly meet any threats to OUR Bill of Rights in OUR country when they pop up. After all, there are a LOT in our country that would love to have a European-style society.

The only ways I feel comfortable criticizing the practices of other countries fall into the following categories:

1. A person of that country comes to a US-based board looking for an arguement in asserting their system as compared to ours.

2. A person of any country makes their arguments with another country's system as a central theme of their arguement.

3. Someone of another country just wants to take stabs at the US.


Beyond that, I really don't give a damn what others do in their country. Unless, of course, if we are asked to or have need to dismantle that country.

And if we are asked, I expect a certain manner of attitude consistent with our efforts. And If we have need, we better have a good, righteous, and defensible reason for such actions.



-- John

 

[Joe Demko]

School shootings ARE primarily a US phenomenon. That is a fact. As the world leader in school shootings, it is hardly surprising that the US would be referenced. Of course, it is your right to read as much hidden meaning into that reference as you want and to indulge in as much recreational outrage over it as you want.

Originally Posted by George Hill
They have to bash us to make themselves feel better. They are a silly little nation with very limited significance anymore. The best thing they have going for themselves is TOP GEAR and Torchwood.

Maybe you should use your secret moderator powers to make this comment disappear...after you apologize to our UK members.

 

[Calibre44]

Originally posted by Oleg Volk (Moderator)
Conduct becoming ladies and gentlemen is expected, without religious, national or other prejudices. That means no slurs on Californians, French, Muslims, cops, women or anyone else.

Originally Posted by George Hill
They have to bash us to make themselves feel better. They are a silly little nation with very limited significance anymore. The best thing they have going for themselves is TOP GEAR and Torchwood.

Well if a moderator can’t be bothered to follow the principles of THR … why should anyone else!? … shame really because the principles are worth following if only to dispel the many myths and inaccuracies between our two great countries.

 

[trueblue1776]

You guys are reading entirely too far into this. He's not JJ and he doesn't claim to ride a white horse.

 

[elrod]

Will someone please translate smarmy into a few small words that an ol' boy from Alabama can understand?

 

[Cromlech]

Smarmy = a smug, slimy git/bastard

You might have known a smarmy Lawyer/Yuppy in the past.

 

[perpster]

Smarmy: the stuff Brits and Aussies smear on toast

 

[macFarlaine]

Hey George,just a few things us Brits still lead the world in:
Still make the finest sporting shotguns.
Finest free health service,free to all.
Exported David Beckham and spouse to the USA.
Stick by our friends (including USA)in times of crisis.
Still play rugby which is the tougher version of your football (without the body armour).
I could go on for hours but I must do some work.Take care George,no hard feelings.

 

[jeepmor]

You girls need to kiss and make up.

Let's face it, governments all over the world are tragically corrupt. Ours, yours, and most of the others. Does this mean that it's entirely full of corrupt citizens, no, but they are in there. These corrupt people are in all walks of life.

The media outlets of the world tell you what they want you to hear, period. When was the last time you got a purely facts based report without some sort of bias in it?

We currently have a congress putting forth the process to impeach Cheney, do we hear about it on the news....NO.

Read my sig line and it'll let you know what I think of our government. Aesop knew what he was talking about long, long ago. It's no different today.

BTW - well stated Mr. Warren.

 

[macFarlaine]

Yes,good point.
I as an individual I do have a problem with BBC bias if that is what it was.The world has always known the BBC as an impartial news caster,probably that is why more people in the world probably tune in to there tv and radio broadcasts on a daily basis.Yes they do on occassion have a go at the US and it's crime rate, gun laws,but at present these issues are at the forefront of peoples thoughts and it makes compelling viewing,listening,albeit unjustified in some instances.
Please do not forget the British people hold the USA in very high esteem,we may not be the most emotional people in the world,but we do not forget a people who gave their lives and stand by us in times of crisis.
Re: George,there are no ill feelings there,but we British do not kiss men !!