Me and the 'biased against Israel 'BBC

Here's my first email to the BBC:

Here we go again.
Your bias is showing and no words you can spout can deny that
you are so anti-Israel.
For weeks missles have been fired into Israel and this past week people have been injured.
Does the BBC report on these missles coming from Gaza?
No.
However, when Israel fights back, then the BBC reports on it's
activities to protect themselves.
Hamas has been the instigators but nothing about them has been
reported by the BBC.
It is a disgrace that you get away with this prejudice.
You should be ashamed of yourselves, but you won't be, you
terrorist lovers.I do want an answer but none of your 'We do report the news fairly'.
Well, you don't. You are just like Blair's government, you see
and do what you want and never mind what the people who pay your
salaries think.
The BBC is disgusting.


Their reply


Thank you for your e-mail.

I fully appreciate your concerns about the reporting of recent
attacks on Israeli citizens.

In our interviews and reports on the conflict we have tried to
explain how the current situation started and has since
developed and given air-time to representatives from across the
political spectrum. The BBC does not seek to denigrate any view,
nor to promote any view. It seeks rather to identify all
significant views, and to test them rigorously and fairly on
behalf of the audience.

Equal representation is not always possible or practical within
individual programmes and account also needs to be taken of the
way a subject is covered over a period of time. Individual
reports may give more time to one particular incident, but we
regularly report the suffering felt by both sides. Not every
television, radio or web report can include all aspects of the
conflict, but this does not constitute bias. Perfect balance is
difficult to achieve on every single occasion but overall it is
a more achievable goal.

Nevertheless, I do realise that you hold a different view on
this matter, Therefore, please be assured that your comments
have been fully registered and added to our daily audience log.
This is an internal document that is made available to all BBC
staff, including the BBC News production team and senior BBC
management.

Thank you again for contacting the BBC.

Regards

Erika Graham
BBC Information


My reply

Dear Ms Graham,

I fear you missed one of the most important points of my email.

You had neglected reporting any missiles strikes in Israel. You
only started reporting missiles when it was the Israelis
striking back against Hamas.

Fair? Unbiased?

Did you fully report why the Israelis fired back? No, of course
not. Did you mention the injuries caused by the Hamas missiles?
Of course not. But yet you report the injuries and deaths caused
by the Israelis.

Give me one good reason why I should continue to pay my license fee when you
are not a news program/station which is not giving equal time to both sides.

For once why can't you show actually what Hamas is still doing
and will continue to do because it has the backing of
people/organisations such as you.

In disgust.



And their cop out reply

Thank you for your further e-mail regarding the BBC's coverage
of the Middle East.

While I appreciate that you continue to have concerns on this
matter, in order for us to issue a comprehensive reply, could I
ask that you provide some specific details of the reports you
are referring to; for example, transmission dates and times.

You should submit any further information via the BBC Complaints
website:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/

In the meantime, rest assured that your further comments have
been fully registered on our daily audience log. This internal
document will be made available to BBC News teams and Senior BBC
Management.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact the BBC.

Regards

Paul Wheeler
BBC Information



Umm, transmission times and dates?

Would I be petty by complaining that today one of their newsreaders kept misprouncing the Prime Minister's first name? Or misprouncing Sderot, the town that is being attacked almost every day and in fact had one man killed there today?

I think no matter what I complain about or how often, they will just brush it aside in mock concern with a gleeful smirk inside.

Rain, rain, and rain

Well, tomorrow is a Bank Holiday so there must be rain.

I've ordered 3 more blueberry bushes and now await their arrival next month. I've set out the pots to collect rain water because tap water can't be used to water them. I now have a squirrel coming into the backyard stealing the seeds that I have put down for the pideons and whatever other birds who want to eat on the ground. I bought some nuts for him and found that the birds were eating them too.





With his glowing eyes I call him Maury, the Squirrel of the Damned

Knitting surgery evening

The library for Adult Learning Week decided to put on a 'Knitting Surgery Evening'. This is where people could get together and discuss patterns, what they were doing and if anyone needed help.

Boy, did I need help.

My grandmother was a knitter and crocheter. She knitted clothes for all 9 grandchildren and when I got married she presented me with an afghan that she crocheted. The marriage is long gone but I still have the afghan.

I can crochet a scarf but really wanted to learn how to knit especially how to cast on.

Two years ago I when I went to the states a certain craft store was having a sale on wool so I bought some and a beginners kit to learn how to knit. I bought extra needles, I was gung ho. Could I cast on? Could I heck.

I bought the book, 'Stitch 'n bitch' by Debbie Stoller. I tried following the instuctions but still couldn't do it. I watched videos on the 'net, still couldn't do it. So when this knitting evening came around I thought 'go for it'.

So I got 2 tickets and then called my best friend Kathy and told her that we were going. lol

We arrived early and there was food to nibble on, lots of library books to look through and best of all we all got a free skein of wool to play with. There were also containers holding knitting needles.

There we were and I tried. It wasn't until Kathy realised what I was doing that the lightbulb came on. I was trying to cast on as a leftie! All the instructions I had been reading were for a right-handed person.

After awhile I got the hang of it and I was knitting!!!

Some of the women there had brought their knitting and we watched them. One of the most interesting women was German. She showed us how she knitted in the German style which is different than the English way.

All in all it was a very good night.

Kathy found a teddy bear pattern that she liked so we photocopied it and she's going to make it for her new granbaby.

Here's me the fat blueberry listening to a very patient Kathy.

Damn the BBC

What is wrong with the BBC?

They are so biased against Israel it is unbelievable, or is it?

The other day they showed a clip after Israel sent some missiles into Gaza after Hamas,who for days sent missiles into western Israel.

In Israel, two students were lightly injured and others traumatized Thursday morning when a Kassam rocket slammed into an unfortified second-story classroom in a high school in Sha'ar HaNegev. Graduating students were studying for their final exams on the floor below at the time. One classroom sustained heavy damage.

By midday, 13 rockets had exploded in the area, including one that hit a building, traumatizing a woman and her 9-year-old daughter. Another rocket slammed into a yard next to a house.

At least 30 rockets were fired at Sderot on Wednesday, although an IDF spokesman claimed that only 15 actually made it out of Gaza. Nonetheless, those that reached Israel were effective; three people were wounded in direct hits on houses. One of the victims was a 70-year-old woman, who suffered serious injuries. Another rocket ignited a fire in the city’s industrial zone.

Where was the BBC coverage of these events? There wasn't any. Why not?

On March 27th The BBC went to the High Court in an attempt to overturn a ruling that a member of the public has the right under freedom of information laws to see an internal report on its Middle East coverage.

Critics of the BBC want to know if the Balen Report, believed to run to 20,000 words, includes evidence of bias against Israel in news programming.

The BBC won that court case.

If BBC were not guilty of bias, they would have no problem if the report is known. The fact that BBC tried by all means to block the release of that report shows the network does know the report has a point.

Why do I have to pay a tv license for the anti-Israel BBC to spew their bias around the world?

So far I have written to them 3 times complaining and 2 of their replies is just a pat on a head with their denial of bias. Do they think I am stupid?

Now I wait for the 3rd reply. In my email I told them that I didn't want their usual lies and denials. I wonder if I wil get an automated reply of thank you and no we aren't or a real liar will answer me?

Blueberries

The other day I received in the post my packet of rocket seeds. Now I just wait for my 2 blueberry shrubs.
The thing is...in 'The Times' on Saturday they had an offer of 5 free herb plants for only the P&P which is £2.99. You can then take up an offer of 3 blueberry shrubs for £14.99 which is cheaper that the 2 I already bought. So tomorrow I'm going to order the herbal plants and the 3 shrubs.
Hopefully this week I'll be able to get to a garden center and buy the pots and compost needed for the shrubs. I'm not sure when they will arrived.

The sun came out today so I enjoyed reading the Sunday papers outside.

I also completed my quest in finding pink wellies. I know I know..pink but they are cute and I need them due to the brambles in the garden which has to be cut back. Now I have no excuse in not having a tidy garden.

Who's been doing a rain dance?

Rain
Rain
Go away
Come again another day.

I feel like I should be building an ark. I have to giggle a bit because I remember the Bill Cosby routine of G-d and Noah with Noah asking what a cubit was.

I have been taking the irbesartan (hypertension med) at tea-time and feeling so much better than before. I did ask the Tesco pharmacist if that is okay and she said yes as long as I keep taking it at the same time so my body can get used to the time change.

Apparently Mar is going to start using rennet from dead animals now in some of their chocolates. So there goes my Snickers and Malteasers. Mars can't seem to give a reasonable reason why they are switching.

Hatfield House and almost passing out

Well yesterday I and 2 friends went to the annual Hatfield House Living Craft Fair, which is really good.
Sadly, after going in and out of several tents for about an hour, I felt faint, things were going black but objects had like a white shadow behind them. We stopped for a drink and snack but I felt worse. We ended up going home. What a disappointment. This is something that I look forward to all year and I missed 80% of it.

We agreed that it sounded like low blood pressure. I do take irbesartan for high blood pressure and am thinking now that it might be too strong for me.
I haven't taken it this morning, went shopping and feel fine. I'll take it at tea-time when I take my other meds.

I only managed to take 1 photo at the Craft fair, but it's not that great.

I did buy another picture of a cat that is glued to slate. It's cute and it goes with the other 2 I have.

Next year I think I'll buy a patchwork handbag. I saw one I fancied but was too ill to go back.

Went to Lloyd's Pharmacy and bought a bloodpressure machine for £9.99, which is a great price. So for the first test you have to test on both arms and the only test on the arm that has the highest systolic reading, this means it's my left.

My left was 157/88
My right was 151/72

Higher than I wanted but I had just gotten back from shopping and I had a snack. Should have waited an hour but at least I know what arm to test on.

My links

I thought I would explain my links.

There is a link to David Mendosa's site. David, a diabetic, has produced and maintains one of the best sites for information on diabetes and the Glycemic Index. When you read it you will see that you can also sign up for a free monthly newsletter, I would recommend you to do so. David highly recommends channa dal to eat for diabetics. It is low in carbs and perfect for us. I'll include a little more information on the dal and recipes in a bit.

The next one is the ibs group. I've had ibs since 1968 and was on my own with my problems for decades. I found this group and they have really helped me with advice and support.

'SparkPeople' was a pleasant surprise. It is like FitDay, another site I would recommend, but SP has groups so there is much more support.

'butyoudontlooksick' has let me realising that I am not alone with my silent chronic illnesses. If you have any chronic disease that is not noticeable or even if it is, please go and check out the site and the message board. Learn about the 'Spoon Theory' and then you will say to yourself why hadn't I thought of this to explain why I can't do things.

Prevention. I have been a member of their boards since April 28, 2003 and have learned much and have developed friendships that will last forever. It is a health site where you can find just about anything you want to know on how to stay healthy, find a diet that suits you, and how to exercise the right way. I post mainly on the South Beach Diet forums. The South Beach Diet is one of the best ways to eat for the rest of your life for diabetics and if you want to maintain low cholesterol numbers. It is a 'good' carb way of eating.

Stevenage

An English mailbox with my shopping trolley to the left of it
St Nicholas Pub, my local
Path that goes by the front of my house

Stevenage

My bus stop
Town Library
Clocktower in town center

Campbell and me

Gardening

Thanks to a national newspaper I got the gardening bug. I bought some bulbs and planted them. I do market research on-line and one of the rewards was tokens from my local garden center so I bought compost and pots.

I got slightly carried away. lol

I've been to the states, February and March and will be posting photos.