Monday, July 07, 2003

BBC, left out in the cold

The BBC is coming under increasing fire from the blogosphere, the press (and here), and government over their biased views, so I thought I'd enter the fray by sharing this tidbit. First, via Instapundit, Bush receives praise from all sides for the attention he gives Africa.

Even liberals have credited Mr. Bush with doing more than his predecessor to help Africa. In May, Live Aid founder Bob Geldof said Mr. Bush is far more committed than Mr. Clinton to fighting AIDS and famine on the continent.

"Clinton talked the talk and did diddly squat, whereas Bush doesn't talk but does deliver," said Mr. Geldof, an Irish musician and activist who in 1985 staged the world's largest rock concert to combat starvation in Africa.
...
"Senator Clinton, I'm sorry, your husband did nothing for AIDS for eight years," Mr. [Richard] Gere said from the podium, although Mrs. Clinton had left the room. Mr. Clinton later belittled Mr. Gere for the remark.
...
"The Bush team looked at the continent, understood what they needed to do and did it," he said. "I mean, that's Bush's hallmark; he sizes the situation up and then he's ready to move.

"He's handled it a lot more substantively," Mr. Foote said. "Clinton gave us a bone, and Bush put some meat on the bone."

But when the BBC gets to the story all they report is the negative.

A series of spectacular discoveries off the coasts of Angola, Sao Tome, Gabon and Nigeria have confirmed the Gulf of Guinea as one of the most strategic regions in the world.
...
But the Americans have also learnt that weak governments and civil conflict create the circumstances under which terrorist groups can organise and flourish.
...
Mr Bush will never be loved on this continent the way his predecessor was.

When Bill Clinton met the crowds in Ghana, South Africa and Nigeria, the mutual affection was tangible.

His easy, warm style charmed Africans. Even his sexual foibles won him respect.

Note the condescending second BBC passage. Hmpf. Typical of us ignorant colonials to take so long to figure something out so breathtakingly obvious to the oh-so-enlightened BBC. I think the rest speaks for itself.

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