Friday, July 09, 2004


Several annoyances.

It wasn't the damnation of the CIA that annoyed me today, it was the way the BBC gave centre stage to the International Court's verdict on the barrier. [Update: actually the treatment the BBC gave of the report on the CIA did annoy me, after I'd watched a combination of the 10pm News and NewsNight- quite appalling wall-to-wall carpeted I-told-you-so triumphalism, without the tiniest bit of qualification, except to express obvious regret that the Bush administration hadn't been accused of lying- yet.] I couldn't tell from the BBC report whether the I.C. were ruling it illegal in principle, or just clumsily routed, as Israel's own courts ruled. If the former then I think they're doing their best to undermine their own foundation in the 'development of methods for the pacific settlement of international disputes' (I.C. history) by undermining the only 'regional arrangement' that has a proven record of stopping suicidal maniacs.

Anyway, I prefer LGF's take on this. It sums up my view of what the BBC calls the Palestinians' 'moral victory'. I truly hope they carry on building the barrier until anyone can demonstrate (and the proof better be good) that there's a better way to stop suicide bombers that doesn't imperil Israel's existence.

If anything, the Sudanese (supported by 'guess who?') had me even more annoyed; more or less saying keep your nose out of our genocide thank you very much. Again the Beeb obliged by leading with the spiel that 'Sudan has warned the United States against creating another Iraq-style situation by getting too involved in the Darfur conflict.' The implication entertained by the Beeb is that there is something leprous-like about Iraq which should be warning the US against further 'adventures' (as Jon Snow would put it).

Finally, this is no surprise: and a success for the impartial BBC who have managed to manage the news sufficiently to allow Al-Qaradawi to rally the Jihadis and go whistling on his way.

 
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