Saturday 21 February 2009

The ABC does believe it's ok to bomb civilians

Today was the first time this year that I have listened to JJJ - I found myself out of podcasts for once, and was forced to resort to the radio. Not long after I switched over, on came the news.

The newsreader rather breathlessly reported that the Tamil Tigers had carried out a "daring air raid" on Colombo using light air craft to bomb the capital. The ABC also reported that 2 people on the ground were killed, but did not elaborate.

The "daring" part is still up on the ABC website:

Two light planes flown by Tamil Tiger rebels have made a daring bombing raid on Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo, killing two people and wounding at least 40.

Note the language. Let me parse this article for you.

Note that the bombing rade is "daring" and the aircraft are "light planes". If you type the words "gaza and warplanes" into the ABC site search engine, you get 17 matches and 231 partial matches - if the Juice are dropping bombs, they are using "warplanes". If the Tamils are dropping bombs, they are using "light planes".

Why not call them "warplanes", since they are indeed planes that are used to make war? Warplanes sound quite martial, whilst light planes sounds more like Jetstar, or the Flying Doctor - happy, peaceful, innocent people who just happen to be kamikaze pilots on a one way mission with high explosives.

Similarly, the Juice do not make "daring raids". They make "attacks" and they "bomb" and they "pound" and they make "deadly air strikes". A search of the ABC using the words "gaza and daring returns 0 documents. Zero. Clearly, the Juice are not "daring".

To me, "daring raids" sounds quite supportive, and it's certainly softer language than the usual "killing and smiting" that we get when the Juice lift off.

The Tigers also killed two people on the ground, but the ABC hasn't bothered to find out if they are civilians, or children clutching teddy bears. If they are Sri Lankan citizens, they just don't seem to care. There is no outrage from the ABC that the Tigers have bombed and killed civlians, and that they have attacked civilian areas (apparently the tax office is on fire - hardly a high profile military target).

Again, a quick search of the ABC using the words "gaza and civilians" returns 86 hits - and that is from a "war" that lasted only a week.

I almost drove off the road when I listened to this story, because the announcer was almost gloating.

I don't get what is going on in the heads of some ABC staffers. When the enemies of freedom and common descency attack and kill people, it's great. When the defenders of western civilisation lift a finger, it's the end of the world.

When did self-loathing become the ABC mission statement?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I heard that the UN wants a cease-fire! The Tamils have been Troublesome Tigers for far too long, and if they are not dealt with comprehensively there will simply be more trouble over time. They are not noble, and SriLanka does not owe them a separate state. They need to settle down and stop it.
The BBC and their mini-me ABC tryhards need a wake-up call.

Anonymous said...

Best you stay away from the radio. 99% of ABC stations sway the same way and if you feel compelled to go to commercial you get to hear idiots so dumb it's confronting.

What you described so well is just grist for the mill at our national communicator. Mehaul.

Anonymous said...

The ABC are far from objective - they have been so captivated by the "left" that they seem to believe anything they say is representative of the Australian people.

Anyone seen as conservative (Including Israel) is seen to be an enemy. There appears no room for a conservative to be correct, it immediately brings out an adversarial response.

I do agree very much with your comment on the "gloating" tone of the announcers, I hear this on ABC a lot - I also have had to stop listening.

Anonymous said...

I have been writing the ABC everyday for a month and they are just hopeless, they just don't want to hear that they manufacturer fiction when reporting news!

And they tell me they don't have a bias for the Left! I think all public funding should be cut from the ABC and see how long they last insulting the viewers intelligence. One Day!

Next I want to hear from all the morons that support this hopeless mess called the ABC!

Anonymous said...

Hey Lance, why don't you post some of their replies. That usually embarrasses them and makes your point more emphatic to those of us who already hate the lying bastards. Mehaul.