WHEN MUGABE BECOMES ACCEPTABLE.

Entertaining to read the BBC’s coverage of Zimbabwean tyrant Robert Mugabe’s visit to Rome to attend – irony of ironies – a Food Summit! Criticism of Mugabe’s presence on European soil has to be muted by the BBC because he is in Rome care of that vast corrupt organised hypocrisy – the United Nations. Since the BBC likes to portray the UN as the world’s highest moral authority, it has to be careful not to say too much about the fact that this august body invites a man who starves his own people to a summit on Food. I also enjoyed the line the BBC spun that because the UN had invited Mugabe, the EU was therefore unable to prevent him attending this conference. Of course the EU could have insisted that Mugabe be kept out, but just like the UN it too lacks any sense of even vestigial decency.

FROM GALWAY TO GAZA

. Delighted to read that Egypt is not prepared to take any nonsense from an Irishwoman who was found sneaking into Hamas controlled Gaza. Treasa Ni Cheannabhain, her daughter and an Egyptian niece were allowed back into Egypt on Thursday but she was immediately taken in for questioning. On Saturday, she said she was given a choice by the Egyptian authorities – to come before a military court, or to return to Gaza indefinitely. She has chosen to face the court (!) rather than spend more time with her dear Hamas buddies. She crossed over into Gaza illegally from Egypt last Saturday after being refused legal entry by Egyptian authorities. On Sunday, Egyptian forces resealed the Gaza border, nearly two weeks after its Israeli-built barriers had been blown apart by (sic) militants. Egyptian border officials refused them re-entry, even though Ms Ni Cheannabhain is married to an Egyptian citizen. They had been distributing money to Palestinians collected by the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

Just a few questions. For starters, this story is posted by the BBC in their Northern Ireland news section. Last time I checked MY Atlas, Galway is in the Republic of Ireland. Isn’t this one more instance of the BBC doing its level best to imply that Northern Ireland is somehow not part of the United Kingdom – which would mean it holds the same view as Irish republicans? Next, Hamas openly seek the destruction of Israel and engage in continual acts of terror. Yet the BBC avoids all mention of this merely indicating that Ms Cheannabhain wanted to dispense “charity aid” amongst the terror supporting population of Gaza. I also note that the BBC refers to Hamas “fighters” – cat got their tongue when it comes to saying the T-word?