Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site bonnie.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!jmm From: jmm@bonnie.UUCP (Joe Mcghee) Newsgroups: net.flame,net.politics,net.tv,net.nlang.celts Subject: Propaganda/Disinformation Story to be Aired by NBC-TV Message-ID: <307@bonnie.UUCP> Date: Mon, 3-Dec-84 13:18:16 EST Article-I.D.: bonnie.307 Posted: Mon Dec 3 13:18:16 1984 Date-Received: Tue, 4-Dec-84 08:35:11 EST Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Whippany NJ Lines: 75 Xref: watmath net.flame:7069 net.politics:6004 net.tv:2194 net.nlang.celts:158 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! On December 3, 1984 at 9:00 pm (EDST) NBC-TV will broadcast a fictional drama about Northern Ireland called "Children in the Crossfire". But already a storm of controversy has arisen concerning the factual misrepresentation and outright deceptions perpetrated in this story. Stories concerning the furor over this program have already appeared in the New York Times and the producer of the program, Frank Prendergast, has asked that a disclaimer be inserted stating that this fictional draama is not a true story. However, this request for a disclaimer by the producer has been declared inadequate and insufficient by those protesting the program, because such disclaimers usually have little impact on the viewing public and fictional stories are often taken for fact by a large segment of the viewing public, especially when the fictional story is based upon current events. Remember the radio broadcast of "War of the Worlds"? For instance, the story starts off with a group of Nationalist youths playing football while being watched over by a British soldier. When the ball rolls off the field, a British soldier runs out to retrieve it for the boys and is shot in the back by the IRA. In actual fact, no such incident has ever taken place in Northern Ireland, nor is it likely to ever happen given the the current attitude of the British Army which sees itself as having the god-given mission of harassing the Nationalist youth of Northern Ireland at every available opportunity. On the other hand, an actual incident which will probably never be reported by NBC-TV or any other major network is the following: a group of Nationalist youths were playing football while a British soldier was watching them. As they were kicking the ball around the field, the soldier shot the football with his rifle. In the British Army, this probably passes for a joke, especially when Nationalists are on the receiving end of the joke. However, if Nationalists were to play the same type of "joke" on the British Army, it would be regarded as an act of life-threatening terrorism, which is exactly how this incident was interpreted by the Nationalist community of Northern Ireland. Another event which you will probably never see portrayed by network television was the killing of Stephen Geddis, age 10, by the British Army shortly after returning from a trip to the U.S. to heal the scars of war on a small boy. Nor will you see the stories of any of the other children killed by the British Army portrayed on network television. Another story you will never see portrayed on network television is the story of David Seaman, a British soldier, who called a press conference in Dublin on October 23, 1971. He was a member of a British Army bomb squad whose job it was to plant bombs randomly and explode them in order to blame these bombings on the IRA and thus discredit them. He confessed that the Special Air Services (SAS) had exploded random bombs in Northern Ireland for which the IRA was subsequently blamed. David Seaman left the news conference with the announcement that he was returning to Northern Ireland to gather further evidence. He was later found dead in a ditch in Northern Ireland. David Blundy, a reporter for the London Sunday Times gave a general summary of "dirty tricks" operations carried out by British personnel in an article published on March 13, 1977: setting off "IRA" bombs, planting ammunition on suspects, using non-standard weaponry (like that used by the IRA) to shoot at civilians, carrying out "sectarian assassinations" and discrediting politicians deemed hostile to government policy. The SAS is a secret military organization. The British Army does not publish the identity of soldiers in the SAS. All military awards, medals and decorations for this unit are given out in private restricted ceremonies and those who are killed in the SAS are buried in a restricted graveyard on an army base in Wales. The motto of the SAS is "Who dares, wins". From the notebook of: Winston Smith Ministry of Truth Airstrip One (in real life J. M. McGhee clyde!bonnie!jmm) "In time of war Truth is so precious that it should always be surrounded by a bodyguard of lies." - Winston Churchill from a wartime lecture to Josef Stalin on the need for secrecy.