This bug was reported to the Debian BTS.
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=414909

"If i have a block of text in a plain text file like this:

****** ******** kjdksfjklsdjfkldsj
111111111 2222222222 3333333333
########## aaaa aaa  aa
kjdksfjklsdjfkldsj * ******** ****** **

I can't use ctrl+left-arrow to jump from the 'k' in the first line to the
beginning of the line.
Similarly from the first 'a' in line 3 to the start of that line.
Yet I can do this when the text consists of regular alphanumeric
characters such as the 1's in line 2.

I would want to do this kind of of operation when using
ctrl+shift+left-arrow to highlight text for copying.

If I were at the first 'a' in line 3 and used ctrl+left-arrow it would put
the cursor at the first '3' in line 2, rather than at the first '#' in
line 3; which is what it would do were I to do this at the first '2' in
line 2.
Perhaps this relates to why I am seeing the latter bug.

ctrl+left-arrow from the end of line 4 would take me to the beginning of
line 4 rather than to the next space amongst the '*'."