PORPHYROGENITUS HAS BEEN LISTENING TO THE BBC’S COVERAGE OF IRAN:

From the BBC report, one would have absolutely no understanding of the reasons behind the protests, except that they’re ungrateful that progress isn’t going faster than it is (but how things have improved! – great emphasis was placed on a split between the young people who just don’t get it and the older people who were around in the early days of the revolution and understand just how good things are in Iran now).

Completely unmentioned were the Mullahs (or Ayatollahs); on the BBC website’s Middle East page the only stories on Iran are ones pertaining to the “positive” talks between the IAEA and Iran on its nuclear program, mourning the death of the twins, and one on a movement leader who’s been released.

Absolutely nothing mentioning threatened massacre by the government that shut down protests planned for today.

And one wonders why Europeans might have a different viewpoint on the Middle East than we do. Well, opinions are shaped by the information one has – or doesn’t have.

I guess state broadcasting services would tend to have a natural affinity for tyranny, wouldn’t they?