- One blogger put it this way:
-
- "Let me get this straight. The US is broke, borrowing
money from China, and we will be funding the BBC to broadcast in China?"
-
- On March 20, the London Guardian's Ben Dowell broke the
news, headlining, "BBC World Service to sign funding deal with US
State Department," saying:
-
- Britain's government funded BBC will "receive a
'significant" sum of money from the US government to help (circumvent)
the blocking of TV and internet services in countries including Iran and
China," as well as develop early warning software to more easily detect
jamming.
-
- According to Jim Egan, BBC's controller of strategy and
business:
-
- Effective software will help "monitor dips in traffic
which act as an early warning of jamming, and can be more effective than
relying on people contacting us and telling us they cannot access the services."
-
- Proxy servers will also be used to misdirect web site
blockers to countries other than where broadcasts emanate.
-
- "China has become quite expert at blocking websites,"
said Egan, "and one could say it has become something of an export
industry for them - a lot of countries are keen to follow suit. We have
(also seen) evidence of Libya and Egypt blocking the internet and satellite
signals in recent weeks."
-
- Moreover, Egan said, anti-censorship software will likely
need regular updating to counter new technologies developed to subvert
it. Another BBC source called it "a bit of a game of cat and mouse,"
but didn't explain why foreign blocking occurs; namely, to prevent anti-government
propaganda from being aired, a reason any nation might act defensively.
-
- Funding also buys influence, assuring US propaganda an
influential global outlet, complementing its Voice of America (VOA), Radio
Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and Radio Marti (Radio y Television
Marti), as well as America's mainstream media and other Western conduits,
delivering managed, not real, news and information.
-
- According to Institute of Economic Affairs director Mark
Littlewood:
-
- "The minute you actually start taking the money,
there is bound to be a certain element of 'he who pays the piper calls
the tune.' It is a strange arrangement, and I would worry that the more
complicated we make (BBC), the less pure its message can be," already
tainted by British funding and control. More on that below.
-
- EU Parliamentary member Gerard Batten calls BBC "institutionally
politically biased, certainly in favour of things like the European Union,
mass immigration, and a whole other host of 'politically correct' ideas
that I think it peddles to the public."
-
- Accepting government funding from any source exposes
BBC hypocrisy. In fact, "(t)he EU bans sponsorship of any news and
current affairs TV programs across the EU," said Batten. "Now
it would appear then, that if the US State Department is going to fund
BBC that would appear to be in breach of the directive."
-
- For BBC, an expected low six-figure sum (a starter amount
perhaps to be generously increased with little fanfare), will be channelled
through the World Service Trust (its charitable arm) to help reach people
in targeted countries. The grant will help offset a 16% annual Foreign
Office cut over three years affecting 650 jobs and regional operations.
-
- On May 3, International Press Freedom Day, the formal
announcement is expected, following "an increase in incidents of interference
with World Service output across the globe," affecting BBC Persian
television and its Arabic TV.
-
- On March 22, Dowell headlined, "American anger at
BBC World Service Trust's bid for US funding," saying:
-
- Furious US responses followed the announcement. Even
Voice of America officials were "deeply angry" at a time "Congress
is embroiled in a delicate budgetary standoff with the Obama administration....One
Washington source said the Broadcasting Board of Governors, (BBG)"
in charge of distributing about $760 million annually to five US international
broadcasters, "should receive the funding and not the BBC World Service
Trust."
-
- Of course, bankrolling propaganda through any source
is reprehensible, especially when commercial outlets do it free, paid for
by sponsors.
-
- BBC's Long History as a Reliable Imperial Tool
-
- Since founded in 1922, BBC has been as corrupted as its
dominant counterparts. Moreover, it's been around longer than all of them,
and it now operates for profit besides with UK government funding under
its editorial control, firing anyone too critical of state policy.
-
- Today, nothing's fundamentally changed since founder
Lord Reith wrote the establishment saying, "They know they can trust
us not to be really impartial." Neither he or his successors disappointed
with rare exceptions, followed by staff changes to assure adherence to
state policies, operating as a propaganda system for elitist interests.
-
- Claiming "honesty (and) integrity (is) what the
BBC stands for....free from political and commercial pressure" is
untrue about an organization that from inception betrayed the public trust.
Reith, in fact, operated as a strikebreaker, secretly wrote anti-union
speeches for Torries, and refused air time to worker representatives.
-
- Throughout its history, job applicants have been vetted
to assure pro-government, pro-business credentials. No aberrant candidates
are wanted. Whether on war and peace, Israel - Palestine, international
intervention, targeted world leaders, or other domestic and foreign issues,
neutral, fair and balanced reporting isn't tolerated. For nearly nine decades,
serving wealth and power alone matters most, now with State Department
funds for America like Britain.
-
- Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at
lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com
and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the
Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays
at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs
are archived for easy listening.
-
- http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.
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