In March 2019, we did a little search of the media archives. Jeremy Corbyn first became an MP in 1983. He stood for the Labour leadership 32 years later, in May 2015. We searched the ProQuest database for UK newspaper articles containing: ‘Jeremy Corbyn’ and ‘anti-semitism’ before 1 May 2015 = 18 hits None of the 18 hits accused Corbyn of anti-semitism. For his first 32 years as an MP, it just wasn’t a theme associated with him. Then things changed: ‘Jeremy Corbyn’ and ‘anti-semitism’ after 1 May 2015 = 11,251 hits We don't need to do a media search to know that, one year ago, the idea that the Green Party UK had 'an antisemitism problem' would have been deemed completely nonsensical. So, what changed? Zack Polanski started criticising Israel and winning huge support threatening to disrupt the status quo. It's a propaganda backlash, nothing more. @ZackPolanski

In the very same BBC programme when Laura Kuenssberg asked propagandistic, emotion-laden questions of the Iranian ambassador she had nothing to say about the Gaza genocide when interviewing Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog. She did not say to him: ‘Since we last spoke, your government has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians in what human rights organisation and genocide scholars have said is a genocide. How on earth do you justify that, Mr President?’ What does it say about the state of politics and news that the president of a genocidal and apartheid state was given carte blanche to proclaim that in attacking Iran and Lebanon, ‘we are doing this for the entire free world’? Empathy by a prominent BBC journalist for one set of victims – Iranian – is permitted, even required. Permitted, that is, when the finger of blame points the right way. But as the Minab school bombing shows, not when it points the other way; in this case, conclusively towards the US. medialens.substack.com/p/how…

How could the US possibly install Iranian democracy when Iranians might very sensibly vote to benefit maximally from their own oil? Iraq is the perfect example for anyone in doubt. Last week, Jason Ditz reported: ‘Once and possibly future Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s candidacy is increasingly in doubt this weekend, with reports that President Trump’s demand he not be allowed to return to office increasing the possibility that the Coordination Framework bloc may withdraw him as their choice for premier…‘Late last month, Trump demanded that Maliki step down from the nomination, but he refused at the time, saying that the US should stay out of Iraq’s internal affairs. Maliki was already Iraq’s PM from 2006 through 2014.’ Ditz explains how the US controls Iraq’s ‘democracy’: ‘Underpinning this whole thing is that after the 2003 US invasion and occupation of Iraq, the country was restructured such that all of Iraq’s oil revenue was paid in US dollars through the New York Federal Reserve Bank. Since that revenue is almost the entirety of Iraq’s government budget, that means the US can virtually seize Iraq’s treasury at any time and bankrupt the country on a moment’s notice.’ This is the kind of ‘freedom’ that awaits Iranians in the event of US-Israel ‘regime change’, which would actually mean conquest and colonisation. medialens.substack.com/p/ope…

The BBC gives a leading headline to nine people killed in Israel, while the 148 children killed in Iran remain what they were yesterday, a second-order story lower down the page.

Heartbreaking. We’ve lost our greatest friend and supporter. He wasn’t just the finest political journalist of our time; he had an astonishing ability to combine rational analysis with love, compassion, outrage, courage and sardonic humour - full human dissent. Onwards, John!

The 'antisemitic' octopus farce: BBC: 'The episode was filmed in March'. The 🐙mascot was 'one of many chosen by the team' and 'is one of their favourite animals'. The jacket 'was navy blue, orange, pink and green, bought from a High Street retailer.' express.co.uk/news/uk/183728…