“OF course, Israel would say…”
Five words that will go down in history as the defining feature of the BBC’s Gaza coverage.
The scene is a familiar one, even if the unceasing Israeli slaughter during the sham ceasefire is less likely to appear on the lunchtime, teatime or evening news. A guest utters the most milquetoast criticism of the Tel Aviv regime and before they’ve finished speaking the presenter is in like Flynn.
“Of course, Israel would say that the rotting babies’ corpses in incubators were AI dolls put there by the West Midlands police.”
“Of course, Israel would say that dropping a ton of explosives on a tented refugee village is the only way to get to Hamas fighters hiding behind reinforced canvas.”
“Of course, Israel would say that the charity Please Stop Killing Innocent Families is a Qatari-funded front for Hezbollah.”
“Of course, Israel would say that their blocking of food aid to Gaza had nothing to do with Gazans going hungry.”
Squinter has no doubt that Robbie Gibb, BBC board member and de facto head of news according to Beeb sources in the know, would say that presenters speaking by proxy for the Tel Aviv regime is the professional thing to do in the absence of members of a government whose head is a fugitive from the International Court of Justice putting their case. And of course Squinter acknowledges that Mr Gibb’s position as head of a consortium which acquired the raucously Zionist and serially wrong Jewish Chronicle has no bearing on the BBC’s unprecedented fastidiousness in presenting the Israel case.
But while Squinter fully accepts the Gibbean contention that a lust for balance lies behind the BBC’s “Israel would say” mantra, he does kind of wonder why the same facility wasn’t extended to the Tehran regime during the recent outbreak of street protests across Iran.
The BBC schedules were crammed with anti-Ali Khameini Iranian voices speaking authoritatively on why Israel and the United States were absolutely right to bomb their country and asking them to please do it again. Palestinians could only dream of a fraction of the air-time devoted to Shah-nostalgic exiles and experts.
But if a BBC presenter even once in the wake of scathing criticism uttered the words “Of course, Iran would say…” then Squinter must have missed it.
Are we to understand, therefore, that BBC talent is not required by BBC overseers to provide balance when it comes to matters Iranian? Can it possibly be that balance is an on-demand BBC service provided by Auntie only to a very select few?
Of course, the BBC, and Robbie, would say not...
Tough-talking Rutte suddenly goes limp on Trump
FORMER NETHERLANDS Prime Minister and the current NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is known in the corridors of power in Europe as Billy Grote Ballen. That’s Billy Big Balls in Dutch, and it’s a reputation that’s fully deserved, as per the following warning he issued to the people of Europe in a speech in Germany the week before Christmas.
“Russia is already escalating its covert campaign against our societies,” he said, his lips a thin line of determination, his eyes shining with the light of righteousness. “We must be prepared for the scale of war our grandparents or great-grandparents endured.”
Jesus.
This is a guy that doesn’t mess about. This is the kind of guy that Europe needed in the 1930s when the little Austrian water-colourist needed put firmly in his place.
And as Donald Trump takes turns humiliating his supposed NATO partners, Mijnheer Rutte is exactly the kind of guy Europe needs to put the 30-stone Wotsit back in his share-bag.
HARD AS NAILS: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (centre) with Troels Lund Poulsen, Minister of Defence of Denmark, and Vivian Motzfeldt, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Research of Greenland (Pic courtesy of NATO)
And sure enough, a leaked text written by Rutte to Trump ahead of this week’s World Economic Forum in Davos confirms that Europe can rest safe while Rutte patrols the ramparts.
“Mr President,” opened the NATO boss, before deciding a harsher tone was called for. “Dear Donald…”
He then went on to tell Trump in no uncertain terms what’s what.
“What you accomplished in Syria today is incredible. I will use my media engagements in Davos to highlight your work there, in Gaza, and in Ukraine.”
We may be about to die in our millions in another European meat-grinder in order to stand up to Russia, according to Mark, but that shouldn’t stop NATO from going along with the idea as Trump throws Ukraine under a bus.
And in order to leave no doubt as to his determination to stand up for Denmark though the heavens fall, he finished: “I am committed to finding a a way forward on Greenland. Can’t wait to see you. Yours, Mark.”
That’ll larn ’im, as the saying goes.
Is it possible to die of cringe?
