Boris apologises

Boris Johnson, Tory MP for Henley, and editor of the Spectator magazine travelled to Liverpool today to apologise publicly for the hurt he caused to the city by criticising the over-sentimentality of the populace for the Kenneth Bigley murder in Iraq.

These events sadly demonstrate the manipulative nature of the media in the extreme.

In the first instance, whilst not belittling the effects Bigley's death had upon his famility, quite frankly, it is little to do with Liverpool at large, and little of their business to react in anger at Johnsons' comments upon this issue in particular. Bigley's loss is not their loss.

The Bigley event was cynically whipped up by the media, many 1000's of Iraqi's have been killed in the war. Innocent Palestinans and Israelis, amongst innumerable other conflicts and events, and its painful for anyone else's death to be so belittled whilst over emphasizing anothers, for purely national, political and media effect.

Indeed, such public emotion may well be attributed to the English psyche feeling guilty for the renowned 'stiff upper lip', or the dissolution of the family unit and community spirit which is virtually all but gone.

Johnson in his leader was spot on in this issue, and its sad the media have sought to crucify him, events would be far different if Bigley's death was a mere one line in the national press.

The country has indeed become over sentimental in outpouring of public mourning, as is exemplified in the show over Diana, and the hero worship lavished upon the athletes and rugby players.

A few carefully chosen words by our impartal broadcasters, and 1000s of people, eager to be likened to the public emotion shown in foreign countries, flock to try to get their animated faces on the television screen.

How easily the media manufactures our emotions and responses to such events, and how easily we allow them to.

 

Lt Cdr Data, must say I agree 100% with all that you have said.

 

Me to, especially the Diana fiasco, she was afterall behaving like a Hooray Henrieta.

I wouldn't, however wish to be in Mr Qugley's family situation at the moment, they need some peace, to be allowed to greive, all this nonsense only serves to prolong their healing.

I stopped reading newspapers a long time ago, as I only see them as being a mouthpiece for some journalists own agenda.

 

Spot on Data, spot on.

 

i think ever since the saccharine wallowing the nation at large indulged in at the death of that media whore diana it has been 'the done thing' to over indulge in grief.
kb's death was a tragic thing but it was his decision to be in a war zone and he wasn;t the first (or last) person to be kidnapped and killed in iraq - he was in the situation with his eyes open.
it's funny that this particular atrocity was focussed on and not perhaps the more distressing one of the young girl shot and killed in a drive by shooting during the same time. if i were a cynic (and i am) i'd say that kb's death is being used to engender a deeper state of fear in the uk population whereas the girls death wouldn;t have served that purpose and is therefore left on the sidelines. unfortunately even though i try to avoid the news as much as possible as it's always depressing crap this stuff still seems to slip through. must try harder.
cheers


julian

 

I think it was right he apologised for the factual inaccuracies in the report i.e. the Hillsborough bits but the rest was spot on.

Also, perhaps it's just me, but doesn't the Liverpudlian overreaction to his magazine's article only prove just how correct the article was?

Matt.

 

If every journalist apologised for every factual inaccuracy, there would be nothing in print but an unending stream of apologies...

 

the people of liverpool boycott The Spectator.....perhaps they can start reading the sun again.


i was very moved by the KB story.

 

data wrote


Boris Johnson, Tory MP for Henley, and editor of the Spectator magazine travelled to Liverpool today to apologise publicly for the hurt he caused to the city by criticising the over-sentimentality of the populace for the Kenneth Bigley murder in Iraq.

These events sadly demonstrate the manipulative nature of the media in the extreme.


how do you work this out.? do you think the media were wrong to focus on the poor guys plight. how were they trying to manipulate us. did you feel manipulated? Is the media pro or anti war - do tell

]In the first instance, whilst not belittling the effects Bigley's death had upon his famility, quite frankly, it is little to do with Liverpool at large, and little of their business to react in anger at Johnsons' comments upon this issue in particular. Bigley's loss is not their loss.

he came from there, his family lives there. are you stupid?





The Bigley event was cynically whipped up by the media, many 1000's of Iraqi's have been killed in the war. Innocent Palestinans and Israelis, amongst innumerable other conflicts and events, and its painful for anyone else's death to be so belittled whilst over emphasizing anothers, for purely national, political and media effect.

life's like that





Indeed, such public emotion may well be attributed to the English psyche feeling guilty for the renowned 'stiff upper lip', or the dissolution of the family unit and community spirit which is virtually all but gone.



the stiff upper lip,feeling guilty,dissolution of the family unit and commuinity spirit,vitually all gone. do you read the daily mail by any chance?



Johnson in his leader was spot on in this issue, and its sad the media have sought to crucify him, events would be far different if Bigley's death was a mere one line in the national press.


i didn't read the piece but i suspect that the media didn't seek to crucify him , i think it was his kidnappers that did that.


The country has indeed become over sentimental in outpouring of public mourning, as is exemplified in the show over Diana, and the hero worship lavished upon the athletes and rugby players.

you're right about rugby players.



A few carefully chosen words by our impartal broadcasters, and 1000s of people, eager to be likened to the public emotion shown in foreign countries, flock to try to get their animated faces on the television screen.

I think you should give 'people' a little more credit than you do.



How easily the media manufactures our emotions and responses to such events, and how easily we allow them to.


you hum it i'll sing it
__________________
Wherever you go, there you are...

 

john,
you're reaction to data's post is proof he's correct in most of what he says. from what i heard on radio 2 this morning there were pundits leaping out of the woodwork to condemn johnson for slighting the people of liverpool. then they were using this poor mans decapitation as a soap box for their own agendas fcuking disgusting if you ask me.
also having watched bbc2's documentary 'the power of nighmares' where the satanification of russia in the cold war era is frighteningly similar to what is happening with islam and iraq today. if you are content to be lead by the nose by rupert murdoch and his ilk then fine - not me though.
cheers


julian

 

julian

well i think boris should not have said what he said about lpool even if he was tryiing to make a wider point.

you make a point about the alienation of islam or iraq as a way for the establishment to get the wider population to take their eye of the ball and miss some greater truth.you'll be telling me you've been abducted by aliens next.


btw i tend not to read the murdoch press - i like hifi plus best

 

I half agree with both John and data,BJ had a point,but presented it poorly.63 British soldiers have died in Iraq,have any cities mourned for any of them? Have any football matches had 2 minute silences like they did when Bigley died? He lived in Thailand,and chose to go,the arm forces get oredered to their death.However,maybe Bigley was the straw that broke the camels back in Liverpool,in terms of their collective grief against the death they see on the TV.
He also made a mistake of mentioning Hillsborough.
But then again he has a job to sell a paper,which he did,but he is still a buffoon

 

john,
just because i'm paranoid doesn';t mean they aren't out to get me.

so you're saying that the billions spent on 'liberating' iraq and fighting some afghani freedom fighters whom the west funded in the 80's is for humanitarian reasons and a search for weapons of mass destruction and not all about oil and keeping a few rich old men in the style to which they've become accustomed to?

right i'm off to go and watch 'they live' again.
cheers


julian

 

On a related issue.

Something that people need to keep in mind about the contractors that have gone to work in Iraq is the substantial amounts of money being offered to work there.


I personally, was told of a Telco contract job out there which was paying £200,000 for a one year contract, and that was several months before the first kidnappings took place. I'm willing to bet that that figure has probably nearly doubled now.

So, next time you hear the government talk about how these people are altruistic heros only wanting to help the Iraqi people, think about that fact and compare it with the likely wages of those people working/volunteering for the aid agencies in the country.

Of course that doesn't mean that any of them deserve to be murdered.

GTM

 

It is amusing and at the same time alarming how fear, biased and exagerated reporting are used by the media and government to manipulate minds of people. In the US, they have turned this into an art from.

Yes, we live in a 'free world' and we enjoy 'freedom of thought' and 'freedom of speech'. But there are clever people who are experts at controlling how we think and speak in the first place.

 

on the bbc2 programme they had a soldier in iraq asking why he was only paid 3000 dollars per month to be there whilst a bus driver (iirc) was paid 8,000 to 10,000 a month to do a similar job driving up and down the same bit of road. personally neither amount would tempt me into going to iraq at the moment.
this is one fcuked up world we live in.
cheers


julian

 

heard that boris went up to liverpool yesterday and apologised for part of what he said - aparently he was met by that well know liverpudlian largesse and totally roasted on radio mersey. guess he was right in the first place then. liverpool - breeding ground for over sentimental tossers.
cheers


julian

 

wastn#t that nightmare prog. fascinating? it shows little has really changed, and gives a real background for what is happening atm....and Rumsfeld was and is now at the heart of it!! sayeed kotb was dead right!!