Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

User:Malakker

2008-11-27T16:05:11Z

Malakker: Ed Poor -you win,I give up

I'm very new to this Wiki stuff so please bear with me.
==Interests==
Enjoying retirement, diving and bits of light reading.
==Background stuff==
Born and bred in the UK, I'm getting more and more disenchanted with the great lurch to the left taken since the Tories so disgustingly sacked Mrs Thatcher and have taken to visiting this site in an attempt to get away from the frightening mediocrity and liberal bias so blatently occupying the scolastic and educational establishments in England, Wales and Scotland. Still finding my way round here and totally amazed at the reaction this site generates amongst liberals. Can't guarantee to be able to add too much to the "Project", there appears to be little scope for the wanderings of an ex Human Resources Manager (who spent a lot of time fighting against socialist/communists in trade unions), but I'll try when and where I can.

==Goodbye==

I've just given up on this project. It's clear that certain people (Ed Poor in particular) believe that they are the font of all knowledge and if their idea of "facts" conflicts with those of someone who does know what they are talking about, they just revert and delete. Well done Mr Poor, you've just driven away someone who was prepared to try and broaden the knowledge base of this encyclopedia. My first attempt at an article gets trashed by you, Mr Poor, and replaced by a load of absolute nonsense which hasn't been given any academic creedence by anybody in their right mind since the 1950's and appears to be the results of your "research" on the first web site you came across. If that's the way you treat people here I despair. I'm not going to waste my time with people who are happy to reject knowlege in favour of promoting ignorance.

[[User:Malakker|Malakker]] 11:05, 27 November 2008 (EST)

Mummers of the British Isles

2008-11-26T18:11:57Z

Malakker: tidy

'''Mummers: groups of men who perform ritual plays in England and Ireland.'''

Mentioned in the works of Shakespeare, the plays are usually performed at around the time of significant dates e.g Spring Equinox and Winter Solstice, and always involve the death and magical resurrection of one or more of the characters. The symbolism of the dates and the magical resurrection point to the plays being the remnants of pre Christian religious practices and in spite of them often being performed on St Stephens day there are many Christians who view them with alarm.

A typical Mummers Play will have characters such as:

Betsy Bub – a male/female character who introduces the play and claims to be the mother of the protagonists.

St George – the hero.

The Turkish Knight – the villain.

The Doctor – his magic revives the dead character.

Big Head and Little Wits – a fool.

Betsy Bub (Beelzebub) introduces the characters as her sons and calls St George into the room. He enters and boasts of his prowess. He is followed on by the Turkish Knight who threatens him and typically calls him a ‘Christian Dog.’. They fight and then one of them is slain, much to the distress of Betsy Bub. She calls for a Doctor who, after more boasting of how he can cure the sick and raise the dead to life again, proceeds to give the ‘dead’ man some medicine. This brings him back to life; they sing a song and the Fool passes a hat around begging money for strong drink.

The blasphemous nature of the plays, the suggestion that a Doctor can raise the dead and the practice of the Mummers having their faces hidden from the audience by ribbons or rags and the begging that is associated with the plays has resulted in the past in the practice being illegal.

English Mumming plays have nothing to do with Mumming Parades in The United States of America.

Mummers of the British Isles

2008-11-26T18:07:42Z

Malakker: a start

'''Mummers: groups of men who perform ritual plays in England and Ireland.'''
Mentioned in the works of Shakespeare, the plays are usually performed at around the time of significant dates e.g Spring Equinox and Winter Solstice, and always involve the death and magical resurrection of one or more of the characters. The symbolism of the dates and the magical resurrection point to the plays being the remnants of pre Christian religious practices and in spite of them often being performed on St Stephens day there are many Christians who view them with alarm.

A typical Mummers Play will have characters such as:

Betsy Bub – a male/female character who introduces the play and claims to be the mother of the protagonists.
St George – the hero.
The Turkish Knight – the villain
The Doctor – his magic revives the dead character.
Big Head and Little Wits – a fool.

Betsy Bub (Beelzebub) introduces the characters as her sons and calls St George into the room. He enters and boasts of his prowess. He is followed on by the Turkish Knight who threatens him and typically calls him a ‘Christian Dog.’. They fight and then one of them is slain, much to the distress of Betsy Bub. She calls for a Doctor who, after more boasting of how he can cure the sick and raise the dead to life again, proceeds to give the ‘dead’ man some medicine. This brings him back to life; they sing a song and the Fool passes a hat around begging money for strong drink.

The blasphemous nature of the plays, the suggestion that a Doctor can raise the dead and the practice of the Mummers having their faces hidden from the audience by ribbons or rags and the begging that is associated with the plays has resulted in the past in the practice being illegal.

English Mumming plays have nothing to do with Mumming Parades in The United States of America.

Talk:Bridge to Terabithia

2008-11-14T17:33:23Z

Malakker: more info needed?

Can you give us a clue as to who wrote it, when they wrote it, by whom it is published and what sort of age range it's aimed at...that would be a nice start.

At the moment it reads as if it's an entry for the "least informative book review of the year" prize. (If it is such an entry, where can I submit this one?: "Moby Dick: a story of several men in a boat chasing a whale.") [[User:Malakker|Malakker]] 12:33, 14 November 2008 (EST)

Falkland Islands

2008-10-31T14:33:50Z

Malakker: typo

{{Country
|name=Falkland Islands
|map=Falkland Islands map.gif
|flag=Flag of the Falkland Islands svg.png
|arms=Coa Falkland svg.png
|capital=Stanley
|government=British overseas territory
|language=English
|area=4700 sq mi
|pop=3060
|pop-basis=July 2005 estimate
|gdp=$75 million
|gdp-year=2005
|gdp-pc=$25000
|currency=Falkland pound
|idd=+500
|tld=.fk}}
The '''Falkland Islands''', correctly known as the Malvinas, are a small group of islands situated in the South Atlantic Ocean, 300 miles from the coast of [[Argentina]]. The two major islands, West and East Falkland, are separated by Falkland Sound. There are numerous smaller islands. The [[capital]] is Stanley, on East Falkland.

==Sovereignty==

The Islands have been a territory of the [[United Kingdom]] for 170 years, but the British claim to sovereignty is disputed by Argentina. A war was fought over the issue when Argentina seized the islands on April 2nd, 1982 without warning. Argentina was run by a military junta at that time and was experiencing a time of economic difficulties and social unrest at home. The new government in Argentina saw a recapturing of the peaceful Falklands as a perfect solution to the social problems that were happening at the time.

The British, under [[Margaret Thatcher]], put together a naval expedition to travel half way around the world and retake the islands. Strenuous diplomatic efforts were made to resolve the issue, and the Argentines were given a great deal of time to solve the conflict peacefully as the British slowly came closer, but their refusal to recognise the Islands' right of self-determination forced the British to use military force to expel the invaders. British long-range air attacks (against the Islands' airport, then being used by the Argentinian air force) did not begin until 1st May, a month after the initial Argentinian invasion, with the naval battle beginning the following day.

By the time the British naval fleet had arrived at the Falklands, there were several positions on the map where Argentinean soldiers had been positioned, most notably at the capital where there were 10,000 Argentinean soldiers fortified. 4,000 British Army soldiers and Royal Marines disembarked from Royal Navy vessels on 21st May and progressed on foot across East Falkland, fighting several battles on the way before capturing Stanley. On June 15th, the Falkland Islanders were liberated and the islands were returned to British control.

255 British servicemen and three islanders lost their lives in the war, with many of the British casualties being suffered in air attacks on British ships (five British ships were sunk and others damaged by bombs and French-built [[Exocet]] missiles). The Argentinian government officially states that 655 of its servicemen lost their lives (half of those in the sinking of the cruiser General Belgrano), although this figure has been questioned.

The embarrassing defeat for Argentina helped to hasten the downfall of the military government while in Britain Thatcher's party surged to victory in the general election the following year.

Argentina maintains its claim to the islands, although it has not tried to take them by force again. Since the war, Britain has declined Argentinian requests for sovereignty talks. Prior to the war, the British Government had considered handing the territory over to the Argentines, but didn't want to go against the will of the people who lived there, who wanted the Falkland Islands to remain British. France and Spain have previously laid claim to the islands.

==Economy==
The Falklands economy is based largely on fishing, although recently evidence of oil deposits around the islands has suggested the possibility of an economic revolution.

==Government==
The elected legislative and executive councils are chaired by the [[Governor]], who is appointed by the UK government. Military and Foreign affairs are the direct responsibility of the [[United Kingdom|UK]] government.
[[Image:Boot Hill South Atlantic.jpg|left|thumb|250px|"Boot Hill": When an islander leaves the Falklands, it is tradition to leave an item of footwear behind.]]

==Links==
*[http://www.falklandnews.com/ Falkland Islands News Network]
[[category:South America]]
[[Category:Archipelagos]]

British Army

2008-10-31T14:32:22Z

Malakker:

{{British Army Navbox}}
The '''British Army''' is the land branch of the [[British Armed Forces]], and has been a standing army since 1660, made up of [[cavalry]] and [[infantry]] regiments and corps of specialized troops such as artillery, engineers and medical personnel. It consists of the '''Regular Army''' (full time serving personnel) and the '''Territorial Army''' (reservists). Members of the British Army were involved in "Shoot to Kill" operations in Ulster, disposing of known terrorists.

{| border="1" style="text-align:left"
|+ '''Deployment of The Regular Army (April 1 2006)'''<ref>The British Army [http://www.armedforces.co.uk/army/listings/l0086.html Armed Forces] Accessed July 13 2007</ref>
! Land Command!! Officers !! Soldiers
|-
! Field Army
| 4,400|| 44,900
|-
! Joint [[helicopter|Helicopter]] Command
|1,400
|10,800
|-
!Commander Regional Forces
|1,400
|11,100
|-
!Land Support
|300
|100
|-
!Totals
|7,500
|66,900
|}

== See also ==

*[[Bell Aircraft]]

==References==
<references/>
[[Category:Military]]
[[Category:United Kingdom]]

New Model Army

2008-10-31T14:30:05Z

Malakker: Info on nickname

The '''New Model Army''' was formed by the English Parliament during the [[English Civil War]] to provide Parliament with an effective, disciplined and reliable military force in place of the ad hoc collection of county militias, trained bands, and regiments raised and armed by individuals. The order for its establishment, in January 1645, was prompted by the financial collapse of the Eastern Association, a group of counties in eastern England who had provided around half of Parliament's military manpower. Sir [[Thomas Fairfax]] was made Captain-General (commander) of the New Model Army, and [[Oliver Cromwell]] later in 1645 became Lieutenant-General of Horse. The Army was victorious at the [[Battle of Naseby]] on 14 June 1645, effectively ending any Royalist hopes of a military victory in the war. It was known by its detractors as "The New Muddle Army."

[[Category:English Civil War]]

Royal Air Force

2008-10-31T14:26:26Z

Malakker: Added details of pre formation services

[[Image:GASJV.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A restored RAF Supermarine Spitfire. This type of aircraft played a major role in World War II (photo copyright Ian Older -- Used with permission)]]
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the flying branch of the British military. The RAF is most notably known for defending the [[British Isles]] against the German [[Luftwaffe]] during the early stages of [[World War II]] and, in conjuction with the USAAF, the saturation bombing of German cities later in the war. Of their role in the [[Battle of Britain]], [[Winston Churchill|Churchill]] said:
:Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few.

The RAF was founded on April 1st, 1918, by a merger of the RAC and the RNAS, the aviation elements of the British Army and Royal Navy, and is still in existence today, with just shy of 1000 aircraft in April of 2006.

[[Category:Military]]

Talk:Royal Air Force

2008-10-31T14:24:28Z

Malakker: New page: The thin RED streak refers to the 93rd Foot at Balaklava, the RAF was NOT spread thinly around the coast of Britian, and the Churcghill quote was wrong. ~~~~

The thin RED streak refers to the 93rd Foot at Balaklava, the RAF was NOT spread thinly around the coast of Britian, and the Churcghill quote was wrong. [[User:Malakker|Malakker]] 10:24, 31 October 2008 (EDT)

Royal Air Force

2008-10-31T14:22:34Z

Malakker: fixed tpyo

[[Image:GASJV.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A restored RAF Supermarine Spitfire. This type of aircraft played a major role in World War II (photo copyright Ian Older -- Used with permission)]]
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the flying branch of the British military. The RAF is most notably known for defending the [[British Isles]] against the German [[Luftwaffe]] during the early stages of [[World War II]] and, in conjuction with the USAAF, the saturation bombing of German cities later in the war. Of their role in the [[Battle of Britain]], [[Winston Churchill|Churchill]] said:
:Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few.

The RAF was founded on April 1st, 1918, and is still in existence today, with just shy of 1000 aircraft in April of 2006.

[[Category:Military]]

Royal Air Force

2008-10-31T13:42:16Z

Malakker: corrected Churchill quote, deleted inaccurate statement about "thin blue streak"

[[Image:GASJV.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A restored RAF Supermarine Spitfire. This type of aircraft played a major role in World War II (photo copyright Ian Older -- Used with permission)]]
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the flying branch of the British military. The RAF is most notably known for defending the [[British Isles]] against the German [[Luftwaffe]] during the early stages of [[World War II]]and, in conjuction with the USAAF, the saturation bombing of German cities later in the war. Of their role in the [[Battle of Britain]], [[Winston Churchill|Churchill]] said:
:Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few.

The RAF was founded on April 1st, 1918, and is still in existence today, with just shy of 1000 aircraft in April of 2006.

[[Category:Military]]

Talk:Battle of Britain

2008-10-04T21:28:56Z

Malakker: correcting inaccuracy

This needs rewriting. The Battle of Britain took place between 10th July and 31 October 1940. (Official RAF website www.raf.mod.uk/bob1940/bobhome.html)
Overlapping it was the bombing campaign against London and other cities that started during September and lasted until May 1941. This was referred to by journalists at the time as "The Blitz" and this is how it is now referred to in all British accounts of the War.

(The article in "The Seventy great Battles of All Time", says: "Date: July-September 1940" and says that by "mid-September...the battle was effectively over.") [[User:AlanE|AlanE]] 23:22, 6 August 2008 (EDT)

=="Firestorm"?==

Coventry was not nearly destroyed by a "firestorm". It was subject to very heavy bombing with much destruction and loss of life but there was no "firstorm." [[User:Malakker|Malakker]] 17:28, 4 October 2008 (EDT)

Soccer

2008-09-21T21:17:30Z

Malakker: minor update

[[Image:800px-Soccer goalkeeper.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Goalkeeper leaping to make a save]]
'''Soccer''' is a sport played with a round ball propelled by a player's foot, head and any bit of their body but their hand (uless they are the goal keeper within his or her box) It is more commonly known as "'''football'''" outside the [[United States]], or more universally as " 22 idiots kicking a ball of wind around a field." In soccer, players are not allowed to intentionally touch the ball with their hands or arms while it is in play, with the exception of goalkeepers in a restricted area, their "Box".

The game is played between two teams of 11 players (10 out-field players and one goalkeeper each). In official play, there are two 45 [[minute]] halves separated by a 15 minute break known as half-time. Unlike most sports, the clock does not always stop when the ball is not in play. When the ball is knocked out of bounds or a penalty is committed, the clock runs continuously. The referee makes up the lost time by added minutes onto the end of the half known as stoppage or injury time. If both scores are even at the end of regulation time, the game is usually declared a draw. However, in [[knockout cup]] games, there is often an additional period of play consisting of two 15-minute halves. If the scores are still level, the result is decided with a penalty shootout. The set of rules used in soccer are called the [[Laws of the Game]].

The game is played on a grass (or artificial grass) pitch with dimensions 90-120 m (100-130 yards) in length and 45-90 m (50-100 yards) in width.
<ref>[http://www.fifa.com/documents/fifa/laws/LOTG2006_e.pdf FIFA Laws of the Game 2006] ''Official FIFA website''</ref>
A goal is scored when the ([[sphere|spherical]]) ball is propelled into the opposition net. Each goal is worth one point.

[[Image:Soccer pitch.gif|thumb|300px|Dimensions of a soccer pitch]]The word ''soccer'' derived in England as slang for "Association Football", <ref>[http://london.usembassy.gov/rss/transcripts/worldcup2006a.html] ''US Embassy, London'' </ref>, much like "rugger" is slang for [[rugby|rugby]].

It is the most popular [[team sport]] in the world, described by the legendary Brazilian player, [[Pele]], as "The Beautiful Game". Its governing body is [[FIFA]] (Fédération Internationale de Football Association).

==Note==
<references/>

[[Category:Sports]]
[[Category:Football soccer]]
[[Category:Soccer]]

User talk:Malakker

2008-09-18T12:48:05Z

Malakker: /* Malak */ Oops! tpyo!

{{welcome|sig=[[User:Joaquín Martínez]], [[User talk:Joaquín Martínez|talk]] 12:40, 16 September 2008 (EDT)}}

''Enjoying retirement'' and ''born and bred in the UK'': shouldn't you consider a move to a less socialist country, the US for example? --[[User:EPauper|EPauper]] 10:43, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
:If only I could afford to! But the taxation level here is so high and that socialist Brown has made such a mess of the economy that I can't afford to sell my house. Anyway, my wife wouldn't let me!

== Malak ==

Do you know that in arab Malak means KING? --[[User:Joaquín Martínez]], [[User talk:Joaquín Martínez|talk]] 12:41, 16 September 2008 (EDT)

::I've been called many things in my time but never before a King! Thanks for that...I think! (I'm a lifelong Republican and have no time for monarchy!) [[User:Malakker|Malakker]] 08:47, 18 September 2008 (EDT)

User talk:Malakker

2008-09-18T12:47:08Z

Malakker: /* Malak */ reply

{{welcome|sig=[[User:Joaquín Martínez]], [[User talk:Joaquín Martínez|talk]] 12:40, 16 September 2008 (EDT)}}

''Enjoying retirement'' and ''born and bred in the UK'': shouldn't you consider a move to a less socialist country, the US for example? --[[User:EPauper|EPauper]] 10:43, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
:If only I could afford to! But the taxation level here is so high and that socialist Brown has made such a mess of the economy that I can't afford to sell my house. Anyway, my wife wouldn't let me!

== Malak ==

Do you know that in arab Malak means KING? --[[User:Joaquín Martínez]], [[User talk:Joaquín Martínez|talk]] 12:41, 16 September 2008 (EDT)

::I've been called many things in my time but never before a king1 Thanks for that...I think! (I'm a lifelong Republican and have no time for monarchy!) [[User:Malakker|Malakker]] 08:47, 18 September 2008 (EDT)

Talk:Tactic

2008-09-18T12:42:14Z

Malakker: Parody?

What?????This explains nothing and just leaves one totally confused. Is this a parody?[[User:Malakker|Malakker]] 08:42, 18 September 2008 (EDT)

Greece

2008-09-18T07:39:00Z

Malakker:

{{Country
|name =''Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Ellīnikī́ Dīmokratía''
|map =Greece rel96.jpg
|flag =Flag of Greece.png
|arms =Arms of Greece.png
|capital =Athens
|capital-raw =
|government =Parliamentary Rebublic
|government-raw =
|language =Greek
|king =
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =Karolos Papoulias
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =Kostas Karamanlis
|pm-raw =
|area =50,944 sq mi
|pop =11,170,957 (2007)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =
|gdp-year =$305.595 billion(2007)
|gdp-pc =$27,360 (2007)
|currency =euro
|idd =
|tld =
}}
'''Greece''' is a country located in the Southeastern part of [[Europe]]. It is also used as a
collective term for the [[civilization|civilizations]] of that geographic
area. It is now a [[Greece (Country)|developed country]]
<ref>http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1127.html</ref>,
member of the [[EU]] and of [[NATO]].

==Government and Political Conditions==
Greece is a parliamentary republic whose constitution was last amended in April 2001. There are three branches of government. The executive includes the president, who is head of state, and the prime minister, who is head of government. There is a 300-seat unicameral "Vouli" (legislature). The judicial branch includes a Supreme Court. Administrative subdivisions include 13 peripheries (regional districts) and 51 nomi (prefectures). Suffrage is universal at 18.

===Principal Government Officials===
*President--Karolos Papoulias
*Prime Minister--Konstantinos Karamanlis
*Foreign Minister--Dora Bakoyannis
*Ambassador to the United States--Alexandros Mallias
*Ambassador to the United Nations--Yiannis Mourikis

==Foreign Relations==
Greece's foreign policy is aligned with that of its EU partners. Greece gives particular emphasis to its close relations with Cyprus but also has growing political and economic ties with the Balkan countries and the Middle East.

Greece maintains full diplomatic, political, and economic relations with its Southeast European neighbors and regards itself as a leader of the region's Euro-Atlantic integration process. It provides peacekeeping contingents for Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan. Greece has good relations with Russia and has embassies in a number of the central Asian republics, which it sees as potentially important trading partners.

Prominent issues in Greek foreign policy include Greek-Turkish differences in the Aegean, the name dispute with Macedonia and the reunification of Cyprus.

===Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)===
The Greek dispute with its northern neighbor over its constitutional name, Republic of Macedonia, has been an important issue in Greek politics since 1992 and has inhibited the development of the bilateral relations to their fullest. Greece is weary of irredentist claims to the Greek province of Macedonia by certain FYROM circles. It is adamantly opposed to the use by FYROM of ethnic symbols that have historically been associated with Greek history in the geographic area of Macedonia and, in particular to the use of "Macedonia" by the government in Skopje. <ref> Greece: A Modern Sequel by John S. Koliopoulos and Thanos M. Veremis (2002)
</ref> Mediation efforts by the UN and the United States brokered an interim agreement whereby Greece recognized the country as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) in September 1995. Since then, relations between the country developed rapidly, especially, in the economic sector where Greek entrepreneurs and direct aid have been crucial to FYROM's transition from a communist to a capitalist economy. Talks on the only outstanding issue remaining, that of the name, continue under UN auspices.

===Albania===
Greece restored diplomatic relations with Albania in 1971, but the Greek Government did not formally lift the state of war, declared during World War II, until 1987. After the fall of the Albanian communist regime in 1991, relations between Athens and Tirana became increasingly strained because of allegations of mistreatment of the Greek ethnic minority by Albanian authorities in southern Albania. A wave of Albanian illegal economic migrants to Greece exacerbated tensions. In the past several years, however, cooperation between Greece and Albania has improved, with efforts focused on regional issues, such as narcotics trafficking and illegal immigration. Greece remains host to 600,000-800,000 Albanian immigrants, many of them illegal. Crime in Greece involving Albanians often attracts headlines.

===Greece-Turkey-Cyprus Relations===
Greece and Turkey have unresolved issues regarding the Aegean maritime boundary, the treatment of the Orthodox Church and Greek minority in Istanbul, and the Muslim minority in western Thrace. The largest source of tension in their relationship since 1974 has been the Cyprus conflict. Various UN-led efforts over the years to resolve the issue on a bizonal, bicommunal basis have failed: the latest attempt, the Annan Plan, was overwhelmingly rejected by Greek Cypriots in March 2004. Turkish Cypriots voted in favor of the plan and both Greece and Turkey expressed their approval. The Republic of Cyprus entered the EU on May 1, 2004 as a divided island. The UN is currently assessing whether the political will exists among the interested parties to restart negotiations.

At times over the past three decades, tensions between Greece and Turkey have almost reached the point of armed conflict. In 1996, President Clinton intervened to help avert a possible armed exchange after Greek and Turkish journalists generated a dispute over ownership of a tiny, uninhabited but strategically located islet called Imia (Kardak in Turkish). A significant breakthrough in relations took place when major earthquakes hit Turkey and Greece in 1999. Both countries and peoples responded generously to the other's need, helping turn around official perceptions that rapprochement was too risky politically. Since that time, Greek and Turkish Foreign Ministers have increased the quantity and quality of bilateral exchanges, both official and unofficial. However, the seriousness of the tensions is manifested by the fact that Turkey still maintains a list of issues that constitute casus belli in its relations with Greece.

Greece has endorsed and supported Turkey's bid for candidacy to the European Union since the Helsinki EU Summit in 1999. Despite continuing disagreements with Ankara over Cyprus and the Aegean, Greek opinion leaders across the political spectrum are convinced that Greece's long-term interests are best served by Turkey's successfully fulfilling the requirements for membership and joining the European Union. The EU opened accession talks with Turkey on October 3, 2005. <ref>A Concise History of Greece (Cambridge Concise Histories) by Richard Clogg (2002)</ref>

===The Middle East===
Greece claims a special interest in the Middle East because of its geographic position and its economic and historic ties to the area. Greece cooperated with allied forces during the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War. Since 1994, Greece has signed defense cooperation agreements with Israel and Egypt. In recent years, Greek leaders have hosted several meetings of Israeli and Palestinian politicians to contribute to the peace process. Greece has been traditionally sympathetic to Palestinian problems. However, beginning in the late 1990s, efforts to strike a more balanced relationship with Israel received a boost. Greek-Israeli relations have in the past been complicated by Israel's strategic cooperation with Turkey. Israeli President Moshe Katsav visited Greece in 2006, the first-ever official visit by an Israeli head of state.

==Economy==
Greece adopted the euro as its new common currency in January 2002. The adoption of the euro provided Greece (formerly a high [[inflation]] risk country under the drachma) with access to competitive loan rates and also to low rates of the Eurobond market. This led to a dramatic increase in consumer spending which gave a significant boost to economic growth. This credit also led to a more relaxed fiscal policy starting in 2002, which, combined with expenditures associated with the preparation of the Athens 2004 Olympics, resulted in higher than intended deficits and debt in 2003 and 2004. The government deficit in 2004 is now estimated by the Greek government to have reached 6.6% of GDP. As a result of lower post-Olympic spending, the government deficit in 2005 is estimated to have been lowered to 4.3% of GDP, with a debt to GDP ratio of 107.9%. The administration pledged to reduce the government debt to 2.6% of GDP in 2006 and to tighten fiscal finances, under an EC excessive deficit surveillance program.

The Greek economy is estimated to have grown by 3.6% in 2005 and similar growth rates are projected through 2007. These growth rates resulted in a drop in unemployment (to 7.3% in the second quarter of 2007 from 10.4% in the same period in 2004). Foreign direct investment inflow has also dropped, and efforts to revive it have been only partially successful. At the same time, Greek investment in Southeast Europe has increased, leading to a net FDI outflow in some years.

Services make up the largest and fastest-growing sector of the Greek economy. About 14 million tourists were estimated to have visited Greece in 2005, with net revenues of about 10 billion euros. Remittances from transport (mainly shipping) are growing, and actually exceeded tourism receipts in 2004 and 2005. Receipts from tourism and transport have covered a significant portion of Greece's large trade deficit. Industrial activity has shown a mixed performance, with certain sectors such as the food industry and high-tech/telecommunications showing healthy increases, while textiles have declined. Agriculture employs about 12% of the work force and is still characterized by small farms and low capital investment, despite significant support from the EU in structural funds and subsidies. Traditionally a seafaring nation, the Greek-owned merchant fleet totaled 3,338 ships in March 2005, 8.7% of the world merchant fleet and 16.5% of world tonnage.

===European Union (EU) Membership===
Greece has realigned its economy as part of its transition to full EU membership that began in 1981. Greece last held the rotating EU presidency in the first half of 2003. Greek businesses continue to adjust to competition from EU firms, and the government has liberalized its economic and commercial regulations and practices.

Greece has been a major net beneficiary of the EU budget; in 2004, EU transfers accounted for 3.6% of GDP and are estimated to have been approximately 3.2% of GDP in 2005. From 1994-99, about $20 billion in EU structural funds and Greek national financing were spent on projects to modernize Greece's transportation network in time for the Olympics in 2004. The centerpiece was the construction of the new international airport near Athens, which opened in March 2001 soon after the launch of the new Athens subway system.

EU transfers to Greece continued with approximately $24 billion in structural funds for the period 2000-2006. Bureaucratic obstacles have led to significant delays in Greece's absorbing these funds which means that Greece may forfeit a portion of that. The same level of EU funding, $24 billion, has been allocated for Greece for 2007-2013. EU funds will continue to finance major public works and economic development projects, upgrade competitiveness and human resources, improve living conditions, and address disparities between poorer and more developed regions of the country.

==People==
[[Image:Greek national costume.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Greek national costume.]]
Greece was inhabited as early as the Paleolithic period and by 3000 B.C. had become home, in the Cycladic Islands, to a culture whose art remains among the most evocative in world history. In the second millennium B.C, the island of [[Crete]] nurtured the maritime empire of the [[Minoan]]s, whose trade reached from [[Egypt]] to [[Sicily]]. The Minoans were supplanted by the [[Mycenaean]]s of the Greek mainland, who spoke a dialect of ancient Greek. The roots of Greek language and culture date back at least 3,500 years and its history is conventionally split into 3 major periods: Classical (1,500 BC - 4th century AD), Byzantine (4th century AD - 15th century) and Modern (15th century through today).
<ref> Greek: A History of the Language and Its Speakers
by Geoffrey C. Horrocks </ref>

[[Eastern Orthodox]] [[Christianity]] is the dominant religion in Greece and receives state support. During the centuries of [[Ottoman]] domination, the [[Greek Orthodox Church]] helped preserve the Greek language and cultural identity and was an important rallying point in the struggle for independence. There is a centuries-old [[Muslim]] religious minority concentrated in [[Thrace]] and an estimated 300,000 Muslim immigrants living elsewhere in the country. Smaller religious communities in Greece include Old Calendar Orthodox, [[Catholic]]s, [[Protestant]]s, [[Jew]]s, [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], [[Mormon]]s etc. <ref>
Minorities in Greece by Richard Clogg (2002)
</ref>

Greek education is free and compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 15. Overall responsibility for education rests with the Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs. Private colleges and universities (mostly foreign) do have campuses in Greece despite the fact that their degrees are not recognized by the Greek state. Entrance to public universities is determined by state-administered exams.

==History==
===Ancient History===
[[Image:Greece Delphi Temple Apollo.jpg|thumb|Delphi, Temple of Apollo.]]
Ancient Greece had a lot of influence on many of today's cultural achievements, like democracy and the art of debating. The ancient Greeks were pagans, believing in their own pantheon of numerous gods.

Greece was instrumental in the spread and subsequent growth of [[Christianity]]. The first town of (today's) [[Europe]] Paul set foot in was [[Philipi]] in Northern Greece and the [[Athens]] hill on which he preached is one of the most important
landmarks of the town. It is generally accepted that the Greek-speaking part of the [[Roman Empire]] was the first one to abandon paganism <ref>Renaissance and Reformation: The Intellectual Genesis, by A. Levi Yale University Press (2004) </ref> and certainly, [[Constantine|Constantine the Great]], the first Christian Roman Emperor, moved his capital to [[Constantinople]] in the Greek East. Most of the great Church Fathers were either Greek or primarily active in the Greek-speaking areas of the Empire <ref>The Teachings of the Church Fathers, by John Randolph Willis, Ignatius Press (2002)</ref>

The [[Byzantine Empire]], as it was late called, was a continuation of the (Eastern) Roman Empire, but it was gradually identified with the Greek national conscience and the [[Greek-Orthodox]] Church. <ref>History of the Byzantine State, by G. Ostrogorski, Rutgers University Press (1986)</ref> The Byzantine State was dissolved after the conquest of [[Constantinople]] by the [[Ottoman Turks]] in 1453. The Greeks, along with the other Orthodox subjects of the Ottoman Empire, were represented by the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate]] of [[Constantinople]] and the Greek-Orthodox Patriarch was responsible for the obedience of the Orthodox subjects to the Sultan.

===Modern History===
The Greek War of Independence began in 1821 and concluded in 1830 when England, France, and Russia forced the Ottoman Empire to grant Greece its independence under a European monarch, Prince Otto of Bavaria.

At independence, Greece had an area of 47,515 square kilometers (18,346 square mi.), and its northern boundary extended from the Gulf of Volos to the Gulf of Arta. Under the influence of the "Megali Idea," the expansion of the Greek state to include all areas of Greek population, Greece acquired the Ionian islands in 1864; Thessaly and part of Epirus in 1881; Macedonia, Crete, Epirus, and the Aegean islands in 1913; Western Thrace in 1918; and the Dodecanese islands in 1947.

Greece entered World War I in 1917 on the side of the Allies. After the war, Greece took part in the Allied occupation of Turkey, where many Greeks still lived. In 1921, the Greek army marched toward Ankara, but was defeated by Turkish forces led by Ataturk and forced to withdraw. In a forced exchange of populations, more than 1.3 million refugees from Turkey poured into Greece, creating enormous challenges for the Greek economy and society. <ref> The unification of Greece, 1770-1923, by Douglas Dakin.</ref>

Greek politics, particularly between the two world wars, involved a struggle for power between monarchists and republicans. Greece was proclaimed a republic in 1924, but George II returned to the throne in 1935 and shortly afterwwards cooperated with General Metaxas in a coup which overthrew the democratically elected government and introduced a right wing dictatorship. A plebiscite in 1946 upheld the monarchy, which was finally abolished by referendum on December 8, 1974.

Greece's entry into World War II was precipitated by the Italian invasion on October 28, 1940. Despite Italian superiority in numbers and equipment, determined Greek defenders drove the invaders back into Albania. Hitler was forced to divert German troops to protect his southern flank and overran Greece in 1941. Following a brutal German occupation in which many Greeks died (including about 80% of Greece's Jewish community) German forces withdrew in October 1944, and the government-in-exile returned to Athens.

After the German withdrawal, the principal Greek resistance movement, which was controlled by the communists, the royalist resistance movement having cooperated with the Germans in many cases rather than allow the communist and leftist resistance to gain effective power, refused to disarm. A banned demonstration by resistance forces in Athens in December 1944 ended in battles with Greek Government and British forces. Continuing tensions led to the outbreak of full-fledged civil war in 1946. First the United Kingdom and later the U.S. gave extensive military and economic aid to the Greek government including suppling them with the first napalm to be used in Europe. In 1947, Secretary of State George C. Marshall implemented the Marshall Plan under President Truman, which focused on the economic recovery and the rebuilding of Europe. The U.S. contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuilding Greece in terms of buildings, agriculture, and industry.

In August 1949, the Greek national army forced the remaining insurgents to surrender or flee to Greece's communist neighbors. The insurgency resulted in 100,000 killed, 700,000 displaced persons inside the country, and catastrophic economic disruption. This civil war left Greek society deeply divided between leftists and rightists.

Greece became a member of NATO in 1952. From 1952 to late 1963, Greece was governed by conservative parties--the Greek Rally of Marshal Alexandros Papagos and its successor, the National Radical Union (ERE) of the late Constantine Karamanlis. In 1963, the Center Union Party of George Papandreou was elected and governed until July 1965. It was followed by a succession of unstable coalition governments.<ref>Short History of Modern Greece, 1821-1956 by Edward Seymour Forster and Douglas Dakin (1977) </ref>

On April 21, 1967, just before scheduled elections, a group of colonels led by Col. George Papadopoulos seized power in a coup d'etat. The junta, supported initially by the Greek monarch and by America, suppressed civil liberties, established special military courts, and dissolved political parties. Several thousand political opponents were imprisoned or exiled to remote Greek islands. In November 1973, following an uprising of students at the Athens Polytechnic University, Gen. Dimitrios Ioannides replaced Papadopoulos and tried to continue the dictatorship.

Gen. Ioannides' attempt in July 1974 to overthrow Archbishop Makarios, the President of Cyprus, brought Greece to the brink of war with Turkey, which invaded Cyprus and occupied part of the island. Senior Greek military officers then withdrew their support from the junta, which toppled. Leading citizens persuaded Karamanlis to return from exile in France to establish a government of national unity until elections could be held. Karamanlis' newly organized party, New Democracy (ND), won elections held in November 1974, and he became Prime Minister.

Following the 1974 referendum, the Parliament approved a new constitution and elected Constantine Tsatsos as president of the republic. In the parliamentary elections of 1977, New Democracy again won a majority of seats. In May 1980, the late Prime Minister Karamanlis was elected to succeed Tsatsos as president. George Rallis was then chosen party leader and succeeded Karamanlis as Prime Minister.

On January 1, 1981, Greece became the 10th member of the European Community (now the European Union). In parliamentary elections held on October 18, 1981, Greece elected its first socialist government, the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), led by Andreas Papandreou. In 1985, Supreme Court Justice Christos Sartzetakis was elected president by the Greek parliament. PASOK under Papandreou was re-elected in 1985.

Greece had two rounds of parliamentary elections in 1989; both produced weak coalition governments with limited mandates. In the April 1990 election, ND won 150 seats and subsequently gained 2 others. After Prime Minister Mitsotakis fired Foreign Minister Andonis Samaras in 1992, the rift led to the collapse of the ND government and a victory in the September 1993 elections for Andreas Papandreou's PASOK.

On January 17, 1996, following a protracted illness, Prime Minister Papandreou resigned and was replaced by former Minister of Industry [[Constantine Simitis]]. In elections held in September 1996, Constantine Simitis was elected prime minister. In April 2000, Simitis and PASOK won again, gaining 158 seats to ND's 125. Most recently, parliamentary elections were held March 8, 2004 and ND won 165 seats to PASOK's 117; [[Konstantinos Karamanlis]], ND leader and the nephew of the former prime minister, became prime minister. [[Karolos Papoulias]] was elected President by Parliament in February 2005.

Greece's exemplary success in hosting a safe and secure [[2004 Summer Olympics]] in Athens has enhanced its international prestige. The 2004 Olympics and Paralympics left an impressive and expensive legacy of new roads, spectacular stadiums, and modern public transportation systems, which the PASOK government began in 1997 and the New Democracy government of Karamanlis completed in 2004.

==See Also==

*[[Greco-Persian Wars]]
*[[Greek Philosophy]]
*[[Greek influence on Western Culture]]

== References ==
<references/>

{{Template:Copyright Details (US Government)|source=[http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm]}}

[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO members]]
[[Category:EU Members]]
[[Category:Greece]]
[[Category:Christian-Majority Countries]]

Dark Ages

2008-09-17T17:13:21Z

Malakker: typo

The "'''Dark Ages'''" is a term used for the time period lasting roughly from AD 450 to 1000. They were the early part of the [[Europe]]an [[Middle Ages]]. ‎In ''False conflict: [[Christianity]] is not only compatible with [[Science]]--it created it'' [[Rodney Stark]] writes:
{{cquote|Recent historical research has debunked the idea of a "Dark Ages" after the "fall" of [[Roman Empire|Rome]]. In fact, this was an era of profound and rapid technological progress, by the end of which Europe had surpassed the rest of the world. Moreover, the so-called "Scientific Revolution" of the sixteenth century was a result of developments begun by religious scholars starting in the eleventh century.<ref name="RS">Stark, Rodney, [http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-3274629/False-conflict-Christianity-is-not.html False conflict: Christianity is not only compatible with Science--it created it.]</ref>}}

Few written documents and buildings of this time remain. From this it has been concluded that little was accomplished culturally or academically. However, how much was actually achieved, but was destroyed during the migration of nations and was not readily rediscovered.

The "Dark Ages" has also been explained as a period of spiritual darkness when the light of true Christianity was nearly snuffed out by the persecution and killing of millions of Christians and withholding of the Bible truths by organized "religion" which had more of a base in paganism than in Bible teachings.<ref name="RS" />

However, this is a false perception of the period. The so-called 'Dark Ages' was also the period when Christianity spread through much of Europe, bringing enlightenment, knowledge and science. New monasteries were established which were the universities of their day, centres of science, learning, medicine and law, able to communicate with each other by well-developed networks, and capable of diffusing knowledhge with remarkable efficiency. The life of the polymath scholar monk St. [[Bede]] is just one example of the intellectual revolution wrought by the spread of Christianity. Bede lived at [[Jarrow]] in [[Northumbria]] (modern-day north-east [[England]]); he was a theologian, historian and scientist, writing and researching prolifically and communicating with scholars across Europe. In later life he gained fame fopr organising what became known as the Jarrow March, a celebration of Cristianity in which local believers marched behind ceremonial banners.

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

[[category:history]]

Dark Ages

2008-09-17T17:12:50Z

Malakker: update

The "'''Dark Ages'''" is a term used for the time period lasting roughly from AD 450 to 1000. They were the early part of the [[Europe]]an [[Middle Ages]]. ‎In ''False conflict: [[Christianity]] is not only compatible with [[Science]]--it created it'' [[Rodney Stark]] writes:
{{cquote|Recent historical research has debunked the idea of a "Dark Ages" after the "fall" of [[Roman Empire|Rome]]. In fact, this was an era of profound and rapid technological progress, by the end of which Europe had surpassed the rest of the world. Moreover, the so-called "Scientific Revolution" of the sixteenth century was a result of developments begun by religious scholars starting in the eleventh century.<ref name="RS">Stark, Rodney, [http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-3274629/False-conflict-Christianity-is-not.html False conflict: Christianity is not only compatible with Science--it created it.]</ref>}}

Few written documents and buildings of this time remain. From this it has been concluded that little was accomplished culturally or academically. However, how much was actually achieved, but was destroyed during the migration of nations and was not readily rediscovered.

The "Dark Ages" has also been explained as a period of spiritual darkness when the light of true Christianity was nearly snuffed out by the persecution and killing of millions of Christians and withholding of the Bible truths by organized "religion" which had more of a base in paganism than in Bible teachings.<ref name="RS" />

However, this is a false perception of the period. The so-called 'Dark Ages' was also the period when Christianity spread through much of Europe, bringing enlightenment, knowledge and science. New monasteries were established which were the universities of their day, centres of science, learning, medicine and law, able to communicate with each other by well-developed networks, and capable of diffusing knowledhge with remarkable efficiency. The life of the polymath scholar monk St. [[Bede]] is just one example of the intellectual revolution wrought by the spread of Christianity. Bede lived at [[Jarrow]] in [[Northumbria]] (modern-day north-east [[England]]); he was a theologian, historian and scientist, writing and researching prolifically and communicating with scholars across Europe. In later life he gained fame fopr organising what became known as the Jarrow March, a celebration of christianity in which local believers marched behind ceremonial banners.

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

[[category:history]]

Talk:Napoleon Bonaparte

2008-09-16T13:46:00Z

Malakker:

That's interresting I thought a Napoleon complex refered to small people who try to overcompensate by invading huge, frozen, paranoid places.

==Thin red line==
Who wrote this tosh. The Thin Red Line refers to the Crimean war not the Battle of Waterloo. I'll rewrite when I get the chance.[[User:Ian St John|Ian St John]] 19:16, 9 May 2007 (EDT)

It was the Crimean....at Balaclava [[User:AlanE|AlanE]] 20:46, 14 September 2008 (EDT)

And it was the "Thin Red '''Streak''' tipped with steel...." but surely you don't expect historical accuracy here? Seen the American History jokes? [[User:Malakker|Malakker]] 09:46, 16 September 2008 (EDT)

==New material==
I wrote a lot of new material, with cites; I previously posted it to Citizendium. [[User:RJJensen|RJJensen]] 08:04, 16 September 2008 (EDT)

* It needs a good cleaning... I will try to help.

Great effort, congratulations! --[[User:Joaquín Martínez]], [[User talk:Joaquín Martínez|talk]] 09:35, 16 September 2008 (EDT)

Talk:American History Lecture Eleven

2008-09-14T15:00:04Z

Malakker: correction

It is not true to say that national parks are uniquely American, incidentally. Many, many other countries have national parks. Perhaps not many of them are as beautiful or dramatic as America's, but that's neither here nor there. Just an FYI. [[User:EngelUmpocker|EngelUmpocker]] 22:03, 2 August 2008 (EDT)

: I think the massive American national parks were first. Do have an examples that precede the American parks?--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 23:20, 2 August 2008 (EDT)

:: No, you're right on that - the US was the first to dedicate National Parks. Can you update the article to reflect that, it's just a little more accurate? [[User:EngelUmpocker|EngelUmpocker]] 23:26, 2 August 2008 (EDT)

American children will no doubt be glad to the told the truth that Italy was on the side of Germany at the start of World War One; most of the known world was under the misaprehension that they were on the side of the Allies and fighting against Austro Hungary right from the start of that conflict. [[User:Malakker|Malakker]] 11:00, 14 September 2008 (EDT)

Byzantine Empire

2008-09-11T13:49:17Z

Malakker: added info re Persians

The '''Byzantine Empire''' is the name given to the eastern part of the [[Roman Empire]], which survived until well into the [[Middle Ages]]. First split into an Eastern and Western divisions by [[Diocletian]] in 293, the Eastern Empire went on to outlive its Western half, which fell in 476 AD, by 1000 years. Founded by the Emperor [[Constantine]] in 330 in the city of Constantinople, the empire was multi-ethnic and predominantly Greek-speaking. The empire's heritage consisted of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], [[Greek]] philosophy,[[Greek]] language, Byzantine Art and Architecture and Roman law. While western Europe struggled through the dark ages, the Byzantine Empire kept up an aura of refinement and defensive strength that sheltered Europe from the attacks of [[Islam]].

Constantine legalized Christianity and put an end to 300 years of Christian persecution in the Empire and his son [[Constantius]] (337-361) continued to follow in his father's footsteps. But [[Julian]], Constantius' scholarly cousin who Constantius helped to rise to prominence, usurped the Emperorship; Constantius died on the way to meet Julian in battle and Julian became sole ruler. Immediately he renounced Christianity and embraced paganism. He became known to the Christian Church and history as "Julian the Apostate" (361 - 363). He went so far as to outlaw Christianity but upon his death, it was reintroduced by his sucessor, the Emperor [[Jovial]].

Christianity didn't have an easy ride at first and took some time to settle down and be accepted by the bulk of the population as the predominant and official religion of the Empire. For example, a few hundred years after the founding of the church and the 20 or so years after Constantine's declaration making Christianity the formal religion of the Roman Empire, Christian church fathers began to turn their attention away from such trivialities as "surviving persecution" and toward the greater mysteries of the multitude of Gospels and letters that comprised Christian scripture. One such problem was the nature of Christ. One prominent church leader, named Arius, delved deep into the major gospels and letters and found that there was a problem with the idea of Christ having been "elevated", as Paul states, from humanity to deity at the resurrection. Essentially, this would mean a second God had been created - and Christianity was supposed to be monotheistic. The notion of "creating" a God was also extremely troublesome, but Arius held that this is precisely what scripture would imply. Another prominent leader, Athanasius, came up with a resolution to this problem by declaring that Jesus had always been God, and had become human through birth... etc. etc. And because 2 was not a divine number, but 3 was, Athanasius threw in the OT concept of the "Holy Spirit" to create an eternal trinity. There, no problem - Jesus was just another part of God, but had always been God and... you get the idea.

Arius angirly denounced this theology, showing repeatedly in debates that this position was not supported at all by scripture. Arius and Athanasius had numerous followers and this debate threatened a rupture in the church. So, the Roman Emperor basically told them they needed to resolve their differences, and there was a huge meeting held to resolve things. But it didn't resolve things, it made things worse. So the Constantine the Great, the Emperor, decided things, and he based his decision on the fact that Athanasius had the bigger group of supporters - thus, by political decree, the Trinity came to be.

Christianity also had difficulties with the "Iconoclast" controversy - a dispute lasting nealy 100 years and centering around arguements over whether or not to allow "holow images" or icons to be displayed in the churches.

The Empire was often at war with at least one foreign power and as a result, its borders fluctuated greatly over time. However, other than the period 1204 to 1261, the Empire was always centred in [[Constantinople]].

While taking on offensive position to "reunite" with the west under Justinian in the 500's, for the most part the position of the Empire was defensive in nature, having little desire, or for the most part, ability, to increase its borders. For years the cultured Byzantine Empire was the protector of Dark Age Europe, repelling first the fire worshiping Persians then Islamic armies that sought to stretch to control lands from Morocco to India via Hungary. This didn't stop the Western forces of the Fourth Crusade sacking Constantinople in 1204 and setting up their own "Latin" Empire, so called because of their attempts to make Latin the official language of the Empire rather than Greek, which lasted until the Byzantine reinstatement in 1261.On their arrival in Canstantinople, the Latins, mostly Franks and Ventians, were astonished at the power and positions held by "Eurochs" - men who, as children, had been castigated so that they would have no children and hence be no threat to the ruling Imperial dynasty.

On May 29 1453, after the refusal of the Christians in the West to come to their aid, Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, fell to the [[Ottoman Turks]] after a long cannon bombardament - though by this time, following the fall of the city to the Latins in 1204, the Empire had been reduced to a mere shell of its former self. It is believed by some that the last indirect descendant of Constantine Palealogous XXI, the last Emperor of Byzantium, was Lady Joanna Constantine, who died in Northampton, England, in October 1859.

In time, the Ottoman conquerors, whose original capital had been located in Sofa, now in [[Bulgaria]], renamed the city [[Istanbul]].

[[Category:European History]][[Category:Roman Empire]]

Defection

2008-09-11T13:35:13Z

Malakker:

'''Defection''' is a term that means to change sides. This is usually used in the context of the change of [[allegiance]], [[duty]] or [[loyalty]] particularly in a [[politics|political]] context. In a religious context defection is known as [[apostasy]].

Defection can also means failure, lack, or loss: e.g. He was overcome by a sudden defection of [[humor]].

The word is often associated with the [[Cold War]] when sensible and honorable individuals would ''defect'' from say [[Soviet Union|Russia]] or [[DDR|East Germany]] to the West, although some traitors, mostly homosexuals, also moved the opposite way from the [[United States]] or [[United Kingdom]]. Defectors coming to the Free World often supplied valuable [[intelligence]] and intelligence agencies often tried to delay their defection for as long as possible. As a reward they would often be given a [[house]] and [[job]] in their adopted [[country]] but ultimately those traitors who went over to the godless communists often ended up sad and lonely in their new [[home]].

==Some notable defectors==

*[[Kim Philby]] (Britain to USSR)
*[[Guy Burgess]] (Britain to USSR)
*[[Donald MacClean]] (Britain to USSR)
*[[Oleg Gordievsky]] (USSR to Britain)
*[[Mikhail Baryshnikov]] (USSR to Canada)
*[[Rudolf Nureyev]] (USSR to France)
*[[James Joseph Dresnok]] (USA to North Korea)
*[[Jerry Wayne Parrish]] (USA to North Korea)
*[[Bernon F. Mitchell]] (USA to USSR)
*[[William H. Martin]] (USA to USSR)

[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Language]]

Talk:Defection

2008-09-08T18:42:54Z

Malakker: New page: Wouldn't it be better if you can make it clearer that if they ''came'' to the West from the USSR or behind the Iron Curtain that they were defectors, sensible and honourable people, but if...

Wouldn't it be better if you can make it clearer that if they ''came'' to the West from the USSR or behind the Iron Curtain that they were defectors, sensible and honourable people, but if they ''went'' from the West to the USSR or behind the Iron Curtain they were traitors, fools and betrayers? [[User:Malakker|Malakker]] 14:42, 8 September 2008 (EDT)

Runcorn

2008-09-04T18:16:20Z

Malakker: added mp

'''Runcorn''' is a town in [[Cheshire]], [[England]] on the south side of the [[River Mersey]]. It is a port on the [[Manchester Ship Canal]].

Ineos manufacture chemicals in the town. The sites were previously owned by ICI (Imperial Chemical Industries).

Halton Castle (ruined) is the town’s most significant landmark.

The parliamentary constituancy is Halton and is currently occupied by the socialist MP Derek Twigg.

The Runcorn-Widnes bridge (A533) is the lowest road bridge crossing on the River Mersey and is free to cross. The Mersey Road tunnels (further down river) are toll crossings.

Runcorn railway station is on a spur of the West Coast Main Line from [[Liverpool]] to [[London]]. Runcorn East railway station is on the line from [[Chester]] to [[Manchester]].

Runcorn Linnets Football Club ([[soccer]]) play in a semi-professional regional league.

Its population is 61,000 (2001).

[[Category:United Kingdom Cities and Towns]]

Talk:Gun

2008-09-03T17:38:19Z

Malakker: definiton of a gun

Most of the first section seemed rather patronizing

The first two sentances are VERY patronizing.

'Some guns fire small bullets. Some guns fire big bullets. Some guns fire very big bullets'

Is this aimed at 5 year olds?! This could be a very good article with a little work. [[User:Jennisuk|Jennisuk]] 22:08, 28 March 2007 (EDT)

:Cut from first section:

::... are tools generally designed for firing bullets in a controlled manner. They have traditionally been used for two purposes: firing bullets at people, and threatening to fire bullets at people. Thus, a gun is considered a [[weapon]], though technically, the bullet is the weapon, unless the gun itself is used as a club, or as a spear if it has a [[bayonet]] attached.

:Most of this is relevant to the [[gun control]] / [[gun ownership]] debate. I do hope we will present the conservative side of this and not only the liberal side. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 08:27, 29 March 2007 (EDT)

machineguns and 20mm+ heavy MGs are indirect fire weapons?! '''ROFLMAO''' i bet you don't even know what is indirect fire!{{unsigned| User:Schwarze}}

Jesus Christ is LORD!

:That's wonderful, thank you for testifying. But what does that have to do with the article? Puzzled... [[User:Human|Human]] 22:42, 23 April 2007 (EDT)

In the article it says MGs and 20MMs use indirect fire, read the article

==Gun control, freedom, etc.==
2/3 of this article is about freedom and gun control and blah blah political stuff. Is there another article where this can go, so this can focus on the basic encyclopedia stuff of what a gun is, how it works, how it was invented, etc.? [[User:AManInBlack|AManInBlack]] 23:24, 6 July 2007 (EDT)

== Retitle suggestion ==
Maybe this should be retitled to "firearms" or "projectile weapons" given the first line: "A gun is a weapon which fires a bullet, dart or other projectile." I didn't know bows and trebuchets were guns! [[User:Barikada|Barikada]] 22:07, 15 January 2008 (EST)

==Offensive or defensive==

:a mostly defensive weapon

I don't think we can characterize the weapon itself. Being a material thing, it is neutral.

It has both offensive and defensive uses. Murdering someone for revenge or robbery ... showing it to an assailant to '''stop''' him from murdering or robbing you. It all depends on how you choose to use it. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 07:54, 22 April 2008 (EDT)

Need ref: when do police go unarmed? When on traffic duty? When arresting men who are "armed and dangerous"? --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 12:43, 22 April 2008 (EDT)

:I've provided cites and the conditions under which the various forces go unarmed - generally, all uniformed Police on regular patrol duty are unarmed, but there are obviously special armed squads in each country. [[User:NormanTebbitt|NormanTebbitt]] 13:29, 22 April 2008 (EDT)

== Unarmed Police ==

Generally police are unarmed because there is simply no need for armed police. Armed criminals are not present generally in the UK or Ireland and thus police do not normally need a gun to carry out their duties, which would make arming a ferocious waste of money. [[User:GabharGneasach|GabharGneasach]] 13:50, 25 April 2008 (EDT)

There's a bunch of stuff here about the police that I can't help but think is misplaced. I suggest deletion of most of the text on armed police or shifting it to another page, such as a page about police, crime, or actual gun control. Any thoughts? [[User:Rick99|Rick99]] 02:29, 8 May 2008 (EDT)

== Suggestions wanted for specific makes of guns for articles ==

I noticed that there are only a handful of articles on specific makes of guns and thought I might be able to contribute. However, I don't have infinite time so I'd appreciate any suggestions as to WHICH specific guns about which it might be useful to create articles. I'm thinking of the following (which don't currently exist in Conservapedia):

* Colt Peacemaker (a classic)
* Gatling Gun
* Railgun
* Luger P08 (the cool sidearm the Germans used in the TV show ''Combat'')
* Walther PPK (Bond, James Bond)
* .357 Magnum
* Barrett .50 M107 (World's most powerful sniper rifle)

Any other guns worth writing about? At the same time, some of the existing articles (e.g., [[G3]]) are just pathetic and make me embarrassed to be a Conservapedian. Anyway, other suggestions? -- [[User:AdmiralNelson|AdmiralNelson]] 16:30, 2 July 2008 (EDT)

==Definition of "gun"==

Would it be worth commencing the article with some sort of definition of a gun along the lines of: "A mechanicaly operated device that uses the power of expanding gas to eject a projectile at high velocity through a tube." Something like this will stop the liberals making petty comments about bows and arrows.[[User:Malakker|Malakker]] 13:38, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

Talk:Emotional gambling

2008-09-03T17:06:20Z

Malakker: /* "meaningless" */

== Riots ==

I don't know the original poster's intentions, but I tend to agree with him. Supporters of sports teams often cause riots or vandalize cities. This is particularly true when the emotional stakes are very high. "Losing the gamble", that is, the supported team losing an important game, often leads to frustration, desperation, need for revenge by the supporters, and often wrong actions like rioting. If this is not the result of ''emotional gambling'', what is? --[[User:EPauper|EPauper]] 11:04, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

: Good point in that context. Perhaps you could explain it that way on the content page? I wouldn't include riots that result from a genuine sense of injustice, however, such race riots after the verdict in the beating of Rodney King.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 11:08, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

:: I do distinctly remember reading about a riot that occured in New York City after the Yankees lost to the Red Sox, should I go find it and add a link? [[User:JohnI|JohnI]] 11:12, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

:::Riots, or at least vandalism, are actually common for ''winning'' teams fans as they go on celebratory sprees. [[User:MichaelR|MichaelR]] 11:25, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

::::That is too related to ''emotional gambling''. "Winning the gamble" leads to an unjustified and dangerous euphory, that often leads to those over-the-top celebrations. Unfortunately, outside of the U.S. it is often frustration for a lost game that leads to acts of violence or hooliganism, both in Eastern or Southern Europe and South America. --[[User:EPauper|EPauper]] 11:38, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

:::::: I think the sports analogy is superb, as the outcome is meaningless, thereby highlighting the role played by the [[emotional gambling]]. I'm less keen about the political example, because there the outcome is meaningful and some of the concern or reactions may have nothing to do with "gambling".--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 12:08, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

==liberal vs conservative==
I don't want to edit war on this but I'm not buying this statement:
:While conservatives tend to only become emotionally invested in their causes and candidates, liberals tend to emotionally gamble. For instance, liberals emotionally gamble on the success or failure of Barack Obama.

:Evidence of this emotional gambling is seen in the "win at all costs" attitude of the RNC protesters who attacked, among others, a bus full of cub scouts.

First of all, since the definition of Emotional gambling according to this article is investing one's emotions in an uncertain outcome, by stating that conservatives are emotionally invested in McCain and his causes, they are by definition emotionally gambling, the same way as liberals are. They're doing exactly the same thing. I guess the reference to the protesters is supposed to show that liberals are ''more'' emotionally invested, but that doesn't seem too convincing either. If you're arguing that liberals are more emotionally invested, you're only arguing the matter of degree, not that one side gambles and the other doesn't. Next, the "win at all costs" is hardly an accurate description, as even if they do support Obama (which is arguable, if they are ''true'' anarchists they support no candidate, if they the lunatic fringe of the left, they'll likely support a fringe candidate) their actions are clearly doing nothing to help him win. Finally, a few dozen radicals cannot be said to represent the millions of Obama supporters in the country. If they are, what about the guys who allegedly planned to kill Obama in Denver? ''That'' is certainly "win at all costs". Oh, also, was the cub scout story ever confirmed? All I saw was the report of one person on a blog. I'm certainly not saying it didn't happen, but has anyone else conformed it? There should have been hundred of witnesses. People can and do make things up at times, as we've all seen. [[User:MichaelR|MichaelR]] 12:14, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

== "meaningless" ==

I think the real point should be that the level of gambling corresponds to the level of meaninglessness. The outcome does not have to be completely meaningless for there to be [[emotional gambling]]. Rather, the [[emotional gambling]] exaggerates the amount of meaning in the outcome, which may be zero (a sporting event) or not enough to justify the emotion (some political outcomes).

How to express that in a definition is a challenge!--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 12:30, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

:That seems to make sense, and I agree it is not simple to express. In any case a Presidential election, which can change the course of history, seems far to consequential to be an example of emotional gambling by that definition. Should that be removed from the article? [[User:MichaelR|MichaelR]] 12:37, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

:: I think people could still engage in [[emotional gambling]] with respect to a presidential election by exaggerating the significance of the outcome. But I agree with you that our entry needs to express the real point better, and not rely so much on political examples.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 12:55, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

:::With respect sir, the outcome of the US Presidential election is certainly not without its significance in the UK and many of us have great emotional currency invested in it! Should your Republicans win again it will certainly improve matters here in the UK and, hopefully, hasten the end of the socialists we currently have in office! The "gamble" here will be whether or not the so called 'conservative' party can, or will, stop its swing to the political left and revitalise the country, puttinhg it back on it's Christian path.[[User:Malakker|Malakker]] 13:06, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

Talk:Emotional gambling

2008-09-03T17:05:48Z

Malakker: significance?

Talk:Gordon Brown

2008-09-03T16:18:31Z

Malakker:

I would suggest that the prepending of descriptive terms such as "socialistic" as per [http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Gordon_Brown&diff=510055&oldid=504074 this] edit is a mistake. While it is clearly intended as either descriptive or pejorative, it's unencyclopediac, and if this is allowed, what's to stop people adding "capitalistic" or other such pointless descriptors to other entries? In principle, encyclopedias should have an absolute minimum of adjectives in their articles. [[User:BenHur|BenHur]] 12:13, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
: Sorry if I've offended you but living in the UK I am well aware that it is socialistic - it was based on the communist models in operation in the USSR - and to call it anything else would be to mislead those American youths likely to make use of this encyclopedia.[[User:Malakker|Malakker]] 12:18, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

Gordon Brown

2008-09-03T16:02:54Z

Malakker:

{{Prime Minister
|image=Gordon Brown.jpg
|seq=74
|term_start=June 27 2007
|term_end=present
|previous=Tony Blair
|party=Labour Party
|birth_date=February 20 1951
|birth_place=Glasgow
|spouse=Sarah Brown
|religion=[[Church of Scotland]]
}}
'''Dr. James Gordon Brown''', generally known as '''Gordon Brown''', is the current [[Prime Minister]] of the [[United Kingdom]] and leader of the British [[Labour Party]]. He succeeded [[Tony Blair]] in these positions in June 2007.

A Scottish [[Labour Party|Labour]] politician, Brown served as Britain's [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] for ten years. His mutual enmity with former Prime Minister Blair was a consistent feature of British political life for a number of years.

In Britain, Brown is seen as being a more sombre, sober and serious figure in contrast to Tony Blair, who is regarded as charismatic and has at times been perceived as lightweight and as an overly "slick" media performer (not unlike [[Bill Clinton]]). This resonates with a stereotype that many English people have of Scottish people being humorless and dour. Brown's father was a Minister in the [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]] [[Church of Scotland]], and it is thought that Brown's religious beliefs have influenced his serious, sober style. On the negative side, some believe that he is insufficiently likeable and sunny to appeal to voters. He has also been criticized for secretiveness, control-freakery and an awkward personal style.

Brown was one of the longest serving Chancellors in history, and has taken credit for the consistently healthy state of the British economy during his tenure. He is a passionate advocate of reducing poverty in the [[Third World]]. He has made speeches in which he has praised the concept of "Britishness" and suggested that the British should display the British flag outside their houses, as many Americans do with the US flag. However, his patriotic convictions are expected to have consequences in foreign policy which are arguably negative: it is widely believed that he will be zealous in defending British interests (narrowly defined), but that he will neglect broader elements of Tony Blair's foreign policy such as support for the United States and the [[War on Terror]].

During Brown's tenure as Chancellor, the UK enjoyed sustained economic growth and generally positive reports from the [[International Monetary Fund]], although there were concerns at extreme inflationary pressures in the housing market. At the same time, he has followed a generally redistributionary policy, increasing spending in the socialistic [[National Health Service]] and [[education]], whilst giving tax breaks to poorer families. His most significant achievement in the early days of the Labour Government was to grant fiscal independence to the Bank of England.

Just two days after the Brown ministry began, Islamic terrorists initiated several [[June 2007 UK terror attacks|attempted attacks]] against the UK, consisting of two car bombs in [[London]] on June 29 and a suicide-bomb attack at Glasgow International Airport on June 30.

==See also==

* [[British politics]]
* [[Labour Party]]

==References==

http://www.imf.org/external/country/GBR/index.htm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Gordon}}

[[Category:United Kingdom Prime Ministers|Brown, Gordon]]
[[category:Scottish People|Brown, Gordon]]

User talk:Malakker

2008-09-03T15:59:43Z

Malakker:

''Enjoying retirement'' and ''born and bred in the UK'': shouldn't you consider a move to a less socialist country, the US for example? --[[User:EPauper|EPauper]] 10:43, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
:If only I could afford to! But the taxation level here is so high and that socialist Brown has made such a mess of the economy that I can't afford to sell my house. Anyway, my wife wouldn't let me!

User:Malakker

2008-09-03T14:39:11Z

Malakker: Not thinking straight this afternoon!

User:Malakker

2008-09-03T14:37:19Z

Malakker: New page: I'm very new to this Wiki stuff so please bear with me. ==Interests== Enjoying retirement, diving and bits of light reading. ==Background stuff== Born and bred in the UK, I'm getting more...

Talk:Multiplication

2008-09-03T14:08:53Z

Malakker: /* Symbol */

==Removing Bible material whose relevance to multiplication is slim==
:Multiplication is mentioned in the [[Bible]] when God tells [[Noah]] to go forth and [[multiplication|multiply]]. (Joke! Really that is a different kind of multiplication.) However, Noah did have to use multiplication when he made the [[ark]], because [[Genesis]] 6:15 says:
::And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.
:So Noah knew the [[ark]] had to be a volume of 300 times 50 times 30 is 450000 cubics3, to fit two of all the animals in the world in it.

Since the first sentence is acknowledged to be a joke and not to refer to the arithmetic operation, it shouldn't be there.

The Ark example isn't very good, for two reasons. First, in the Bible, the product of the three numbers is not mentioned, so this is not an example of a use of multiplication in the Bible. (It would be very relevant in an article about the three dimensions of ordinary space).

Second, the computation as presented is almost certainly wrong, since the Ark was surely shaped shaped like a boat, not like a rectangular box, and therefore its volume would '''not''' have been 450,000 cubits3 but some subtantially smaller number, which cannot be calculated exactly from the given data. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 20:02, 22 March 2007 (EDT)

== Multiplication table ==

This article should have the multiplication table ("times table"). I suppose that the generic child using Conservapedia already knows it, but having it for review purposes can't harm. In addition (pun not intended!), the table makes it easier to understand the whole concept of multiplication. Unfortunately, I'm completely wiki-ignorant, and don't know how to insert tables in articles. [[User:SilvioB|SilvioB]] 20:47, 30 August 2008 (EDT)
:I think that's a very good idea... maybe I'll try to put something together. [[User:Human|Human]] 17:28, 31 August 2008 (EDT)

== Retreading previous material? ==

Didn't this article used to be longer? I was just putting in some stuff about the symbols used, and it seemed a bit ''deja vu''. Was there a reason for deleting some of this article, and did I miss it? Didn't mean to re-add that which was decided was inappropriate... [[User:Human|Human]] 18:15, 31 August 2008 (EDT)

==Illustrations and examples==

How about a diagram? I've taught multiplication to several children of one-digit age by showing them rows of objects. Like, 2 rows of 6 eggs is 12 (a dozen eggs) or three groups of two coins make 6 coins. Counting by twos is a cheap way to get started on multiplying (and by the way learning your two times table); see [[times table]].

Don't be in a hurry to get all formal and grad schoolish. We need to give our readers practical knowledge. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 21:36, 1 September 2008 (EDT)

==Symbol==
Several conventions are used to indicate multiplication.
*For simple numbers, the symbol (<big><math>\times</math></big>) used looks much like the letter "X", as in the examples above.
*Since the "X" looks like a letter, and letters are commonly used in algebra to indicate [[unknown]]s, or [[variable]]s, the "dot" is frequently used: A B = B A.
*Alternatively a period may be used to denote multiplication
*Also, in [[algebra]]ic use, quantities are simply juxtaposed to indicate that they are to be multiplied:
: Y = 3aX + 4bZ
::Is this a suggestion for inclusion in the article or why is this in Talk page? --[[User:Belgian|Belgian]] 08:14, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

Please rewrite the above content, which I just now removed from the article. (Do you know how to use article history? --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 08:16, 3 September 2008 (EDT))
:How do you want me to rewrite it? And yes I know how to use article history, but this is a talk page. Let me give you a suggestion. Next time write HERE that you want it rewritten, not in an ''edit summary'' that no one reads. That's bad WIKI practice. --[[User:Belgian|Belgian]] 08:19, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

::If you know how to read article history, then you '''did''' see my suggestion to rewrite it. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 08:23, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
Could you explain what is wrong with that above? More simple than that! {{unsigned|EPauper}}
::: I don't really see anything wrong with that content. What is confusing about it? [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 10:04, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
::::In the UK when I was at school, a long time ago before the liberals ruined education with "modern math", it used to be the convention that X was the symbol for multiplication and x was the symbol for an unknown quantity.[[User:Malakker|Malakker]] 10:08, 3 September 2008 (EDT) (sorry, hit the wrong button first time.)[[User:Malakker|Malakker]] 10:08, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

Talk:Multiplication

2008-09-03T14:07:57Z

Malakker: /* Symbol */

British Broadcasting Corporation

2008-09-02T17:19:06Z

Malakker: Added more examples of bias

[[Image:BBC Logo 1997-Present.png|right|thumb]]
The '''British Broadcasting Corporation''' (BBC) is the major national public service broadcaster of the [[United Kingdom]]. It is the leading broadcaster in the UK and is the largest broadcaster in the world by audience figures.

It was founded in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company. In 1927 it was reconstituted under its current name as a public corporation. Its headquarters are in [[London]].

The BBC is often criticized for political bias, particularly [[liberal]], and for being overly [[politically correct]].

== Broadcasting ==
The BBC operates eight national television channels[http://www.bbc.co.uk/tv/] in the UK and ten national radio stations[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/]. Alongside these are its regional television services, which are variations of the national services, and separate regional radio stations.

The BBC produces many well-known television programmes, including ''The Ten O'Clock News'', ''Newsnight'', ''Questiontime'', ''Eastenders'', ''Planet Earth'', ''Holby City'', ''Casualty'', ''Top Gear'', ''Match of the Day'', ''Have I Got News For You'' and ''Doctor Who''.

Its best known TV channels in the UK are BBC 1 and BBC 2. The other channels are broadcast as digital-only services and are available to owners of terrestrial digital receiving equipment. BBC 1 typically shows more mainstream programmes while BBC 2 has a reputation for more diversity and special interest content.

Outside the UK the best known service is the BBC World Service radio network which transmits in 33 languages to an estimated 163 million listeners a week[http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/05_may/21/global.shtml]. The BBC operates a number of commercially-funded international television channels including BBC World, the international news channel.

== Funding ==
The BBC is a Crown corporation supported by a licensing fee applied to television owners<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/licencefee/</ref> of £135.50 (US$270 approx) per year. All owners of TV receiving equipment are obliged to pay the fee whether they watch BBC content or not. As such it is often criticised as being a tax.

In theory, funding by the licence fee means that BBC programmes are free of advertising. However, it has some obligations to transmit statements by political parties and it advertises its own programmes, but BBC channels transmitted in the UK are nevertheless free of commercial advertising - with the exception of sporting events, in which it is still permitted to display commercial advertising. Cricket matches were a previous source of contention as adverts projected onto the field of play are only visible to television viewers. This results in much greater non-advertising broadcasting time and uninterrupted broadcast of feature films. However, since the funding is determined by the government, the BBC can be slow to criticise those in power. This arrangement means the government has to do very little to apply pressure on the BBC and often the BBC will self regulate in favour of the government without any formal instruction being given.<ref>http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200506/ldselect/ldbbc/50/5006.htm</ref> This in turn leads to the government and the BBC being able to declare independence and neutrality officially, while in reality this is far from the case.

While there is a vocal campaign to have the BBC changed into a commercial company, this appears highly unlikely to happen.

== Ownership ==
The BBC is an independent body which is held in trust for the British people.

The BBC has a ten-year royal charter that defines its purposes and allows it to act somewhat autonomously, free from commercial and government influence. The BBC is ultimately responsible to its readers and listeners as well as to the [[BBC Trust]].

==BBC News==
BBC News and Current Affairs is the largest news organisation in the world. It has at least 2,000 journalists and 44 news-gathering bureaus, three in the UK and 41 overseas. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/newswatch/] It produces some 120 hours of news broadcasts daily.

News programmes are produced for both TV and radio stations. Much of the TV news programming is delivered in a few major news bulletins throughout the day, the most recognised of which is the flagship Ten O'Clock News in the evening on BBC1. On BBC radio, news is delivered in mostly smaller segments on the hour or half hour. However, the Today programme on Radio 4 is broadcast from 7am to 9am and is often considered the most influential news broadcast in the UK.

News produced by the BBC is made available and archived on the BBC news website.

==Internet==
The BBC has a news and archive website, one of the top twenty most popular English language websites. Like its TV and radio broadcasting it is not allowed to show advertising if the site is viewed from within the UK. This has prompted some criticism from within the BBC as it means funds from the licensing fee used for the website are not available for TV and radio programming. However, some costs of the site are now, since late 2007, offset by advertising to non-UK based visitors to the site.

Competitors have also criticised the BBC website due to it's ability to fund itself non-commercially without advertising to the detriment of its commercial competitors such as on-line versions of national newspapers and other news broadcasters such as Sky and ITN.

==Cultural Impact==
As the only TV broadcaster until the mid 1950s and only radio broadcaster until the mid 1970s, the BBC had a monopoly in the UK of broadcasting in those media. As such its content was highly influential. Since then the BBC, while exposed to high volumes and variable quality of competition, has remained popular with the British public and its cultural influence is still a major force. The BBC is considered the default choice by many when viewing major events such as breaking news or state occasions, even though competitors may be broadcasting the same content.

The BBC has had enormous influence over British attitudes to not just politics but also comedy, [[multiculturalism]], travel, natural history, international culture, popular trends, fashion and even the way the British speak. Through its foreign broadcasts on the BBC World Service, it has also had significant cultural influence outside the UK.

==Accusations of Bias==

The BBC has a long history of being criticised for bias. As well as persistent criticisms of [[liberal bias]], it also receives accusations of cultural [[bias]], regional bias, [[political correctness]], bias towards multiculturalism and minority interests, as well as both pro- and anti-government bias.

The BBC is often accused of right-wing bias by those on the left and of left-wing bias by those on the right. This is sometimes attributed to UK governments of either persuasion simply objecting to negative reporting of its policies. However, it is also common for opposition to the government to be critical of the BBC. In some cases, the BBC can be subject to criticism from both sides citing bias in favour of their opposition, as in its reporting of the war in Iraq.

===Bias against the US and Israel===
Although its charter requires it to be impartial, critics often accuse it of bias against [[United States]] and [[Israel]],<ref>http://www.bbcwatch.co.uk/index.html</ref> and because of these complaints of bias, an internal investigation was conducted on the BBC's coverage of the [[Arab-Israeli conflict]]. However, after the investigation was completed, BBC officials decided to withhold the 20,000-word report of the investigation, compiled in 2004 by senior editorial adviser Malcolm Balen. Steven Sugar, a Jewish critic of the BBC, attempted to get access to the report under the 2000 Freedom of Information Act, but was denied by the [[United Kingdom]]'s High Court. The information commissioner, Richard Thomas, backed the BBC's decision to block access to the report, but the information tribunal ruled on appeal in August, 2006, in favour of Steven Sugar. Still, the BBC argued at the High Court in London that the tribunal did not have jurisdiction over the case, and the High Court ruled in favour of the BBC on April 28, 2007. The BBC maintains that the internal investigation found no deliberate or systematic bias. Conservative MP David Davies commented: "An organisation which is funded partly to scrutinize governments and other institutions in Britain appears to be using tax-payers' money to prevent its customers from finding out how it is operating. That is absolutely indefensible" and called the BBC's actions a "shameful hypocrisy". It has been estimated that the BBC has spent around £200,000 - £300,000 on the case so far.<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,2044130,00.html</ref>
<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,2067542,00.html</ref>

In 2003, Media Tenor, an independent, Bonn-based research group, conducted a study and found that the BBC’s Middle East coverage was 85 percent negative, 15 percent neutral, and 0 percent positive toward Israel.<ref>“Beeb Outdoes Itself”, Tzvi Fleischer, The Review, September 2003, p. 8.</ref>

During a 2006 internal "impartiality summit", BBC executives said they would happily broadcast an image of a [[Bible]] being thrown away, but would not do the same with a [[Koran]]. At the summit, the BBC's Washington correspondent Justin Webb also accused the executives of being anti-American, saying they treated the nation with scorn and derision and no moral weight.

On June 15, 2007, BBC drew criticism due to their apology over calling Jerusalem the capital of Israel.<ref>http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1181813036973&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull</ref> The incident is one of many examples of repeated and systematic anti-Israeli bias from the BBC over a number of years.

===Liberal bias===
Details of the BBC's alleged bias were further tabled in an official report<ref>'''Revoir, Paul''', ''BBC comes under fire for institutional Left-wing bias'' [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=462679&in_page_id=1770&ct=5 Daily Mail] June 18, 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/06/17/nbbc217.xml BBC report finds bias within corporation], Gary Cleland,''Telegraph'', June 18, 2007.</ref><ref>[http://newsbusters.org/node/13530 BBC Report: Network’s Bias Due to 'The Inherent Liberal Culture of its Staff’], Noel Sheppard, [[NewsBusters]], June 17, 2007</ref> - in preparation since 2005 - which found that the BBC:
*has an "institutional Left-wing bias" (its 'Play for Today' series in the 1960s/70s was known as the '[[Trotskyist|Trot]] Slot')
*has "a tendency to 'group think' with too many staff inhabiting a shared space and comfort zone."
*promotes anti-Christian sentiment
*promotes anti-American sentiment
*allows schedules to be "hijacked by special interest groups promoting trendy issues"
*over-represents homosexuals
*over-represents ethnic minorities
*fails to reflect the views of the [[British]] public on issues such as [[capital punishment]]
*fails to reflect the broader views of British people
*fails to reflect concerns about pornography and family-unfriendly broadcasting (1960s Director General Hugh Carleton-Greene notoriously refused ever to meet broadcasting standards campigner [[Mary Whitehouse]] and would commonly refer to her in opprobrious terms)
*allows itself to be used by "sinister" campaign groups
*finds it difficult to understand there may be alternative views of the world

==Anti Christian and anti family bias==

Starting in May 1950 as a soap opera particularly aimed at giving agricultural advice, the Archers, the longest running BBC radio programme, is renowned for its anti capitalist, anti Christian and anti family bias. Through the actions and words of its characters in a mythical English village, the programme constantly promotes the idea that large and economically efficient farms are bad, sex before marriage is the norm, homosexuality is an acceptable lifestyle and that all religions are essentially the same. Recent story lines have included adultery, sex before marriage, rape, incest, drug abuse, gay marriage and the marriage of a practicing [[hindu]] to an [[Anglican]] priest The BBC go to great lengths to promote this programme, broadcasting it twice daily at peak listening hours and once more in an “omnibus” edition at the week end.

[[Antony Jay]], a former producer on Tonight, a nightly BBC current affairs television programme, said the BBC News and Current Affairs are part of the "liberal media consensus". Jay also said his ex-colleagues "were anti-industry, anti-capitalism, anti-advertising, anti-selling, anti-profit, anti-patriotism, anti-monarchy, anti-Empire, anti-police, anti-armed forces, anti-bomb, anti-authority. Almost anything that made the world a freer, safer and more prosperous place, you name it, we were anti it." <ref>[http://newsbusters.org/node/14114 Former BBC Producer Explains Why Media Are Liberally Biased], Noel Sheppard, [[NewsBusters]], July 15, 2007</ref> <ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/07/14/nbeeb314.xml&page=1 Here is the news (as we want to report it)], [[Telegraph]], July 15, 2007</ref>Paul Dacre, the editor of the British newspaper, the [[Daily Mail]], in his January 2007 Hugh Cudlipp Memorial Lecture, said that "the BBC is, in every corpuscle of its corporate body, against the values of conservatism, with a small 'c', which just happen to be the values held by millions of Britons." He also accused the BBC of being hostile to the "traditional Right, Britain's past and British values, America, Ulster Unionism, Euro-scepticism, capitalism and big business, the countryside, Christianity and family values."

A survey of BBC employees with profiles on the [[Facebook]] site showed that 11 times more of them class themselves as "[[liberal]]" than "[[conservative]]". <ref>[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matthew-sheffield/2007/10/27/facebook-provides-fascinating-glimpse-society-media-demographics Facebook Provides Fascinating Glimpse Into Society, Media Demographics], Matthew Sheffield, [[NewsBusters]], October 27, 2007</ref> <ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=490047&in_page_id=1770&ito=1490 Facebook reveals the BBC as a liberal hotbed], Jane Merrick and Kirsty Walker, [[Daily Mail]], October 27, 2007</ref>

===Regional bias===
The BBC is based in [[London]], in the South East of England. It often faces accusations of being London-centric, with events in the North of England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland having a reduced profile. A percieved disproptionately private school education is often claimed to be illustrated in the output, with a dispropotionate emphasis on private school events and sports.

It is also argued that the BBC also systematically discriminates against [[Scots]] speakers. Although over 1.5 million<ref>[http://www1.ku-eichstaett.de/SLF/EngluVglSW/schule25.pdf Language Policy in Scotland and Northern Ireland]</ref> people speak it there is no service in the language of those licence fee payers<ref>[http://www.scotslanguage.com/article/Trust_the_BBC%3F.html/translate/english Trust the BBC?]</ref><ref>[http://www.artscouncil-ni.org/departs/all/report/research/art_of_ulster_scots.rtf BBC NI less than generous]</ref>. Supporters of the BBC and some linguists argue that the large number of regional dialects of Scots makes it no more viable to programme for the language than it would be with English<ref>[http://www.eng.umu.se/city/Fredrik/city/scottish.htm Scottish Dialects and Accents]</ref>.

===Other===
BBC employees have changed [[Wikipedia]] entries, including a derogatory word in the entry for [[George W. Bush]] and changing the word “[[Terrorism|terrorists]]” to "[[freedom fighter]]s". <ref>[http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=26669&only&rss Wikipedia EditGate: BBC Edits], [[LittleGreenFootballs]], August 15, 2007</ref>

The BBC canceled the commission for a 90-minute drama about Britain's youngest surviving Victoria Cross hero because it feared it would alienate members of the audience opposed to the war in Iraq.
<ref>[http://newsbusters.org/node/11982 BBC Cancels TV Movie On Iraq War Hero As 'Too Positive,' Would 'Alienate' War Opponents], Lynn Davidson, [[NewsBusters]], April 11, 2007</ref> <ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/08/wiraq308.xml Hero's tale is 'too positive' for the BBC], Chris Hastings, [[Telegraph]], July 4, 2007</ref>

The BBC funded a [[Paintball|paintballing]] trip for men later accused of [[Islamic terrorism]] and didn't pass on information about the 21/7 [[Terrorism|bombers]] to [[police]]. <ref>[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matthew-sheffield/2007/12/06/paintball-terrorists-bbc-paid-islamic-radical Paintball for Terrorists? BBC Paid for Islamic Radicals' Amusement], Matthew Sheffield, [[NewsBusters]], December 6, 2007</ref> <ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=499795&in_page_id=1770 BBC 'funded paintballing trip for Islamic terrorists and didn't pass on information about 21/7 bombers'], Daniel Bates, [[Daily Mail]], December 5, 2007</ref>

[[Pauline Neville Jones]], who is a member of [[United Kingdom|Britain's]] [[British_politics#Conservatives|Conservative party]], a former [[Espionage|spy]] chief and former BBC governor, accused the BBC of "parroting" [[Al Qaeda]] [[propaganda]] to [[children]]. <ref>[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matthew-sheffield/2007/09/29/bbc-still-blaming-u-s-9-11 BBC Still Blaming U.S. for 9/11], Matthew Sheffield, [[NewsBusters]], September 29, 2007</ref> <ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=484577&in_page_id=1770 BBC's Newsround fed youngsters Al Qaeda propaganda, claims ex-spy chief], James Chapman , [[Daily Mail]], September 29, 2007</ref>

In 2002 the BBC co-operated with the British Meteorological office to rename one of the shipping areas used in the broadcast marine weather forecasts from Finisterre to FitzRoy in honour of Robert FitzRoy, Captain of HMS Beagle; the man who paid for [[Charles Darwin]] to be his “companion” in the Beagle’s voyage to the Galapagos. On their return from the long sea voyage, his relationship with [[Darwin]] broke down and FitzRoy later committed suicide. In spite of this self murder and his possible role in fostering the notion of evolution, the BBC still perpetuate his name.

==External Links==
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/ BBC official site]
*[http://www.tvlicensing.biz/ BBCresistance - Campaigns against the television licence]
*[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/leading_article/article1942930.ece Bias at the Beeb - official], June 17, 2007, ''UK Times Online''.
*[http://biased-bbc.blogspot.com/ Biased BBC]
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/archers/timeline/timeline_50s.shtml]
==References==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Broadcasters]][[Category:Television]][[Category:Radio]]

British Broadcasting Corporation

2008-09-02T17:07:22Z

Malakker: Further example of anti Christian/ant family bias

[[Image:BBC Logo 1997-Present.png|right|thumb]]
The '''British Broadcasting Corporation''' (BBC) is the major national public service broadcaster of the [[United Kingdom]]. It is the leading broadcaster in the UK and is the largest broadcaster in the world by audience figures.

It was founded in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company. In 1927 it was reconstituted under its current name as a public corporation. Its headquarters are in [[London]].

The BBC is often criticized for political bias, particularly [[liberal]], and for being overly [[politically correct]].

== Broadcasting ==
The BBC operates eight national television channels[http://www.bbc.co.uk/tv/] in the UK and ten national radio stations[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/]. Alongside these are its regional television services, which are variations of the national services, and separate regional radio stations.

The BBC produces many well-known television programmes, including ''The Ten O'Clock News'', ''Newsnight'', ''Questiontime'', ''Eastenders'', ''Planet Earth'', ''Holby City'', ''Casualty'', ''Top Gear'', ''Match of the Day'', ''Have I Got News For You'' and ''Doctor Who''.

Its best known TV channels in the UK are BBC 1 and BBC 2. The other channels are broadcast as digital-only services and are available to owners of terrestrial digital receiving equipment. BBC 1 typically shows more mainstream programmes while BBC 2 has a reputation for more diversity and special interest content.

Outside the UK the best known service is the BBC World Service radio network which transmits in 33 languages to an estimated 163 million listeners a week[http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/05_may/21/global.shtml]. The BBC operates a number of commercially-funded international television channels including BBC World, the international news channel.

== Funding ==
The BBC is a Crown corporation supported by a licensing fee applied to television owners<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/licencefee/</ref> of £135.50 (US$270 approx) per year. All owners of TV receiving equipment are obliged to pay the fee whether they watch BBC content or not. As such it is often criticised as being a tax.

In theory, funding by the licence fee means that BBC programmes are free of advertising. However, it has some obligations to transmit statements by political parties and it advertises its own programmes, but BBC channels transmitted in the UK are nevertheless free of commercial advertising - with the exception of sporting events, in which it is still permitted to display commercial advertising. Cricket matches were a previous source of contention as adverts projected onto the field of play are only visible to television viewers. This results in much greater non-advertising broadcasting time and uninterrupted broadcast of feature films. However, since the funding is determined by the government, the BBC can be slow to criticise those in power. This arrangement means the government has to do very little to apply pressure on the BBC and often the BBC will self regulate in favour of the government without any formal instruction being given.<ref>http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200506/ldselect/ldbbc/50/5006.htm</ref> This in turn leads to the government and the BBC being able to declare independence and neutrality officially, while in reality this is far from the case.

While there is a vocal campaign to have the BBC changed into a commercial company, this appears highly unlikely to happen.

== Ownership ==
The BBC is an independent body which is held in trust for the British people.

The BBC has a ten-year royal charter that defines its purposes and allows it to act somewhat autonomously, free from commercial and government influence. The BBC is ultimately responsible to its readers and listeners as well as to the [[BBC Trust]].

==BBC News==
BBC News and Current Affairs is the largest news organisation in the world. It has at least 2,000 journalists and 44 news-gathering bureaus, three in the UK and 41 overseas. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/newswatch/] It produces some 120 hours of news broadcasts daily.

News programmes are produced for both TV and radio stations. Much of the TV news programming is delivered in a few major news bulletins throughout the day, the most recognised of which is the flagship Ten O'Clock News in the evening on BBC1. On BBC radio, news is delivered in mostly smaller segments on the hour or half hour. However, the Today programme on Radio 4 is broadcast from 7am to 9am and is often considered the most influential news broadcast in the UK.

News produced by the BBC is made available and archived on the BBC news website.

==Internet==
The BBC has a news and archive website, one of the top twenty most popular English language websites. Like its TV and radio broadcasting it is not allowed to show advertising if the site is viewed from within the UK. This has prompted some criticism from within the BBC as it means funds from the licensing fee used for the website are not available for TV and radio programming. However, some costs of the site are now, since late 2007, offset by advertising to non-UK based visitors to the site.

Competitors have also criticised the BBC website due to it's ability to fund itself non-commercially without advertising to the detriment of its commercial competitors such as on-line versions of national newspapers and other news broadcasters such as Sky and ITN.

==Cultural Impact==
As the only TV broadcaster until the mid 1950s and only radio broadcaster until the mid 1970s, the BBC had a monopoly in the UK of broadcasting in those media. As such its content was highly influential. Since then the BBC, while exposed to high volumes and variable quality of competition, has remained popular with the British public and its cultural influence is still a major force. The BBC is considered the default choice by many when viewing major events such as breaking news or state occasions, even though competitors may be broadcasting the same content.

The BBC has had enormous influence over British attitudes to not just politics but also comedy, [[multiculturalism]], travel, natural history, international culture, popular trends, fashion and even the way the British speak. Through its foreign broadcasts on the BBC World Service, it has also had significant cultural influence outside the UK.

==Accusations of Bias==

The BBC has a long history of being criticised for bias. As well as persistent criticisms of [[liberal bias]], it also receives accusations of cultural [[bias]], regional bias, [[political correctness]], bias towards multiculturalism and minority interests, as well as both pro- and anti-government bias.

The BBC is often accused of right-wing bias by those on the left and of left-wing bias by those on the right. This is sometimes attributed to UK governments of either persuasion simply objecting to negative reporting of its policies. However, it is also common for opposition to the government to be critical of the BBC. In some cases, the BBC can be subject to criticism from both sides citing bias in favour of their opposition, as in its reporting of the war in Iraq.

===Bias against the US and Israel===
Although its charter requires it to be impartial, critics often accuse it of bias against [[United States]] and [[Israel]],<ref>http://www.bbcwatch.co.uk/index.html</ref> and because of these complaints of bias, an internal investigation was conducted on the BBC's coverage of the [[Arab-Israeli conflict]]. However, after the investigation was completed, BBC officials decided to withhold the 20,000-word report of the investigation, compiled in 2004 by senior editorial adviser Malcolm Balen. Steven Sugar, a Jewish critic of the BBC, attempted to get access to the report under the 2000 Freedom of Information Act, but was denied by the [[United Kingdom]]'s High Court. The information commissioner, Richard Thomas, backed the BBC's decision to block access to the report, but the information tribunal ruled on appeal in August, 2006, in favour of Steven Sugar. Still, the BBC argued at the High Court in London that the tribunal did not have jurisdiction over the case, and the High Court ruled in favour of the BBC on April 28, 2007. The BBC maintains that the internal investigation found no deliberate or systematic bias. Conservative MP David Davies commented: "An organisation which is funded partly to scrutinize governments and other institutions in Britain appears to be using tax-payers' money to prevent its customers from finding out how it is operating. That is absolutely indefensible" and called the BBC's actions a "shameful hypocrisy". It has been estimated that the BBC has spent around £200,000 - £300,000 on the case so far.<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,2044130,00.html</ref>
<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,2067542,00.html</ref>

In 2003, Media Tenor, an independent, Bonn-based research group, conducted a study and found that the BBC’s Middle East coverage was 85 percent negative, 15 percent neutral, and 0 percent positive toward Israel.<ref>“Beeb Outdoes Itself”, Tzvi Fleischer, The Review, September 2003, p. 8.</ref>

During a 2006 internal "impartiality summit", BBC executives said they would happily broadcast an image of a [[Bible]] being thrown away, but would not do the same with a [[Koran]]. At the summit, the BBC's Washington correspondent Justin Webb also accused the executives of being anti-American, saying they treated the nation with scorn and derision and no moral weight.

On June 15, 2007, BBC drew criticism due to their apology over calling Jerusalem the capital of Israel.<ref>http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1181813036973&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull</ref> The incident is one of many examples of repeated and systematic anti-Israeli bias from the BBC over a number of years.

===Liberal bias===
Details of the BBC's alleged bias were further tabled in an official report<ref>'''Revoir, Paul''', ''BBC comes under fire for institutional Left-wing bias'' [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=462679&in_page_id=1770&ct=5 Daily Mail] June 18, 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/06/17/nbbc217.xml BBC report finds bias within corporation], Gary Cleland,''Telegraph'', June 18, 2007.</ref><ref>[http://newsbusters.org/node/13530 BBC Report: Network’s Bias Due to 'The Inherent Liberal Culture of its Staff’], Noel Sheppard, [[NewsBusters]], June 17, 2007</ref> - in preparation since 2005 - which found that the BBC:
*has an "institutional Left-wing bias" (its 'Play for Today' series in the 1960s/70s was known as the '[[Trotskyist|Trot]] Slot')
*has "a tendency to 'group think' with too many staff inhabiting a shared space and comfort zone."
*promotes anti-Christian sentiment
*promotes anti-American sentiment
*allows schedules to be "hijacked by special interest groups promoting trendy issues"
*over-represents homosexuals
*over-represents ethnic minorities
*fails to reflect the views of the [[British]] public on issues such as [[capital punishment]]
*fails to reflect the broader views of British people
*fails to reflect concerns about pornography and family-unfriendly broadcasting (1960s Director General Hugh Carleton-Greene notoriously refused ever to meet broadcasting standards campigner [[Mary Whitehouse]] and would commonly refer to her in opprobrious terms)
*allows itself to be used by "sinister" campaign groups
*finds it difficult to understand there may be alternative views of the world

==Anti Christian and anti family bias==

Starting in May 1950 as a soap opera particularly aimed at giving agricultural advice, the Archers, the longest running BBC radio programme, is renowned for its anti capitalist, anti Christian and anti family bias. Through the actions and words of its characters in a mythical English village, the programme constantly promotes the idea that large and economically efficient farms are bad, sex before marriage is the norm, homosexuality is an acceptable lifestyle and that all religions are essentially the same. Recent story lines have included adultery, sex before marriage, rape, incest, drug abuse, gay marriage and the marriage of a practicing [[hindu]] to an [[Anglican]] priest The BBC go to great lengths to promote this programme, broadcasting it twice daily at peak listening hours and once more in an “omnibus” edition at the week end.

[[Antony Jay]], a former producer on Tonight, a nightly BBC current affairs television programme, said the BBC News and Current Affairs are part of the "liberal media consensus". Jay also said his ex-colleagues "were anti-industry, anti-capitalism, anti-advertising, anti-selling, anti-profit, anti-patriotism, anti-monarchy, anti-Empire, anti-police, anti-armed forces, anti-bomb, anti-authority. Almost anything that made the world a freer, safer and more prosperous place, you name it, we were anti it." <ref>[http://newsbusters.org/node/14114 Former BBC Producer Explains Why Media Are Liberally Biased], Noel Sheppard, [[NewsBusters]], July 15, 2007</ref> <ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/07/14/nbeeb314.xml&page=1 Here is the news (as we want to report it)], [[Telegraph]], July 15, 2007</ref>Paul Dacre, the editor of the British newspaper, the [[Daily Mail]], in his January 2007 Hugh Cudlipp Memorial Lecture, said that "the BBC is, in every corpuscle of its corporate body, against the values of conservatism, with a small 'c', which just happen to be the values held by millions of Britons." He also accused the BBC of being hostile to the "traditional Right, Britain's past and British values, America, Ulster Unionism, Euro-scepticism, capitalism and big business, the countryside, Christianity and family values."

A survey of BBC employees with profiles on the [[Facebook]] site showed that 11 times more of them class themselves as "[[liberal]]" than "[[conservative]]". <ref>[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matthew-sheffield/2007/10/27/facebook-provides-fascinating-glimpse-society-media-demographics Facebook Provides Fascinating Glimpse Into Society, Media Demographics], Matthew Sheffield, [[NewsBusters]], October 27, 2007</ref> <ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=490047&in_page_id=1770&ito=1490 Facebook reveals the BBC as a liberal hotbed], Jane Merrick and Kirsty Walker, [[Daily Mail]], October 27, 2007</ref>

===Regional bias===
The BBC is based in [[London]], in the South East of England. It often faces accusations of being London-centric, with events in the North of England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland having a reduced profile. A percieved disproptionately private school education is often claimed to be illustrated in the output, with a dispropotionate emphasis on private school events and sports.

It is also argued that the BBC also systematically discriminates against [[Scots]] speakers. Although over 1.5 million<ref>[http://www1.ku-eichstaett.de/SLF/EngluVglSW/schule25.pdf Language Policy in Scotland and Northern Ireland]</ref> people speak it there is no service in the language of those licence fee payers<ref>[http://www.scotslanguage.com/article/Trust_the_BBC%3F.html/translate/english Trust the BBC?]</ref><ref>[http://www.artscouncil-ni.org/departs/all/report/research/art_of_ulster_scots.rtf BBC NI less than generous]</ref>. Supporters of the BBC and some linguists argue that the large number of regional dialects of Scots makes it no more viable to programme for the language than it would be with English<ref>[http://www.eng.umu.se/city/Fredrik/city/scottish.htm Scottish Dialects and Accents]</ref>.

===Other===
BBC employees have changed [[Wikipedia]] entries, including a derogatory word in the entry for [[George W. Bush]] and changing the word “[[Terrorism|terrorists]]” to "[[freedom fighter]]s". <ref>[http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=26669&only&rss Wikipedia EditGate: BBC Edits], [[LittleGreenFootballs]], August 15, 2007</ref>

The BBC canceled the commission for a 90-minute drama about Britain's youngest surviving Victoria Cross hero because it feared it would alienate members of the audience opposed to the war in Iraq.
<ref>[http://newsbusters.org/node/11982 BBC Cancels TV Movie On Iraq War Hero As 'Too Positive,' Would 'Alienate' War Opponents], Lynn Davidson, [[NewsBusters]], April 11, 2007</ref> <ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/08/wiraq308.xml Hero's tale is 'too positive' for the BBC], Chris Hastings, [[Telegraph]], July 4, 2007</ref>

The BBC funded a [[Paintball|paintballing]] trip for men later accused of [[Islamic terrorism]] and didn't pass on information about the 21/7 [[Terrorism|bombers]] to [[police]]. <ref>[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matthew-sheffield/2007/12/06/paintball-terrorists-bbc-paid-islamic-radical Paintball for Terrorists? BBC Paid for Islamic Radicals' Amusement], Matthew Sheffield, [[NewsBusters]], December 6, 2007</ref> <ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=499795&in_page_id=1770 BBC 'funded paintballing trip for Islamic terrorists and didn't pass on information about 21/7 bombers'], Daniel Bates, [[Daily Mail]], December 5, 2007</ref>

[[Pauline Neville Jones]], who is a member of [[United Kingdom|Britain's]] [[British_politics#Conservatives|Conservative party]], a former [[Espionage|spy]] chief and former BBC governor, accused the BBC of "parroting" [[Al Qaeda]] [[propaganda]] to [[children]]. <ref>[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matthew-sheffield/2007/09/29/bbc-still-blaming-u-s-9-11 BBC Still Blaming U.S. for 9/11], Matthew Sheffield, [[NewsBusters]], September 29, 2007</ref> <ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=484577&in_page_id=1770 BBC's Newsround fed youngsters Al Qaeda propaganda, claims ex-spy chief], James Chapman , [[Daily Mail]], September 29, 2007</ref>

==External Links==
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/ BBC official site]
*[http://www.tvlicensing.biz/ BBCresistance - Campaigns against the television licence]
*[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/leading_article/article1942930.ece Bias at the Beeb - official], June 17, 2007, ''UK Times Online''.
*[http://biased-bbc.blogspot.com/ Biased BBC]
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/archers/timeline/timeline_50s.shtml]
==References==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Broadcasters]][[Category:Television]][[Category:Radio]]

E. H. Carr

2008-09-01T11:50:30Z

Malakker:

'''E. H. Carr''' was a [[Britain|British]] historian and expert on the [[USSR]]and not by any stretch of imagination an [[athiestic]] [[communist]] or [[Marxist]].
[[Category:United Kingdom]]