GALLIC THIEVERY

GALLIC THIEVERY

The crooks at EDF - their Gallic gullets already bloated by massive government renewable energy subsidies - are putting up electricity prices in the UK by an eye-watering 8.9%, forcing tens of thousands more Britonsinto fuel poverty. Their website is crammed full of eco-nonsense likethis...they are saving the world dontya know, so who gives a stuff about pensioners and low income families? And meanwhile, the BBC brings us the pathetic squeaks of protest of climate change minister Chris Huhne, who, they faithfully report like lapdogs, is going to fight the increases. If they were doing their job properly they would be telling us instead just how much his rabid climate policies have caused the hike. But fat chance. The reality is that the BBC is also part of the scam. EU pensioner and apparatchik Lord Patten, chairman of the BBC so-called trustees, tops up his fat earnings by a number of directorships, including asa member of the "stakeholder advisory panel" of a company called...EDF. His companion in the three-monthly pow-wows to tell the Frenchies how to extract more of our cash is - er, another BBC trustee, Diana Coyle, his deputy chairman. Chances of the ranks of BBC eco-warriors - alreadydragooned by the trustees into suppressing the views of those who disagree with climate change lies - reporting the truth about this gang of Gallic thieves? Zero.

A Beeboid Wakes Up In Egypt

I lost count of how many times during the Egyptian revolution against the Mubarak regime people here pointed out how anti-Israel sentiment was a key issue in the country, and how this was constantly played down by the BBC. I'm sure any worrying here was summarily dismissed by defenders of the indefensible as being typical nonsense from "Israel Firsters" or the inane mewlings of people who see anti-Semitism everywhere à la Jerry Seinfeld's Uncle Leo. I've also lost count of how many times the BBC has tolerated the notion that Jews anywhere in the world must suffer for their support - or even assumed association - with Israel. We often try to point out the difference between criticism of Israel and demonizing it, and the latter is a problem with BBC reporting. The BBC even censored news of what's happened to the Jews in Malmö, Sweden, where even the mayor says that whatever happens to them is deserved if they support Israel. The BBC has still never reported any of that. They've censored lots of news of violence against Jews in Europe, another example being the story of how the Dutch police had to start a sting operation where cops posed undercover as orthodox Jews as a way to catch the increasing number of people attacking them. So imagine my surprise when I saw this "From Our Own Correspondent" piece about anti-Jewish sentiment in Egypt. In fact, I was almost as surprised as the BBC's Thomas Dinham was to see evidence of the rampant anti-Semitism there. How I was the subject of anti-Semitic abuse in Cairo

Relations between Israel and Egypt have become increasingly strained in recent weeks, and in the Egyptian capital there is a mounting sense of tension, including incidents of anti-Semitism.

Okay, let's ignore the nonsense about how it's only a recent thing. Give the poor Beeboid a chance.

Suspicion is a feature of everyday life in Egypt, and a fondness for conspiracy theories is as much a part of the landscape here as the constant traffic jams and their accompanying symphony of blaring car horns. With the democratic certainties that greeted the immediate aftermath of January's revolution having faded, however, the climate of mistrust and unease about the hard-won gains of the revolution is becoming increasingly palpable. As disquiet sets in, so does the fear of foul play, backroom deals and, increasingly, malign foreign influences.

Back on solid ground here. This is the normal way of things in any Arab/Muslim country, as anyone who has spent more than five minutes anywhere in the region would know. To be fair, this kind of magical thinking - believing the most outrageous, quasi-supernatural causes for anything and everything - exists in many parts of the less developed world, from Africa to Asia. So good for Dinham for using those keen journalistic instincts to notice. Dinham begins to relate his experience of sitting at a restaurant in Cairo, and beginning to notice the suspicious stares of the Egyptian men around him. A conversation soon starts, and he discovers they think he's an Israeli. He doesn't take it very well.

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