Winners Are Grinners

‘TONY BLAIR is beginning to fade. Soon all that will be left of him will be that grin.

He’s “ON HIS WAY OUT”, says the Express on its front page. “It’s the “BEGINNING OF THE END?” asks the Mail hopefully. “TRAITORS,” screams the Sun.

Hold on a moment, that’s a bit strong. Can you really call the MPs who voted against the Government’s new laws to combat terror, and the plan to hold terror suspects for 90 days without charge, enemies of the state?

“Congratulations to the rebel MPs,” says the Sun sarcastically. “Their act of treachery is a betrayal of the war on terrorism.”

Is it? Tony Blair and his Government were defeated, as up to 47 Labour MPs joined the Opposition in voting against the Terror Bill. And, in turn, the Sun failed in its efforts to get the law passed.

But surely not giving too much power to the State is a sign of strength not weakness – it’s likely the current 14-days limit on holding a terror suspect without charge will be raised to 28 days.

What happened to “We are not afraid” and all that post July 7 desire to carry on unchanged? Does giving the State more and more power help us? Or is it the behaviour of a country gripped by paranoia and fear?

The Sun then does something pretty appalling. Under “LOSERS” it mentions six victims of that heinous attack on London who the paper says have lost again with Tony’s defeat.

We say appalling because only one of the six, who are all pictured, actually expresses an opinion on the matter. June Taylor, who lost her 24-year-old daughter in the outrage, calls for terror suspects to be held for 900 days if necessary.

But Garri Holness, who lost part of his leg at King’s Cross, only says: “I will not let the bombers beat me.” Davinia Turrell, the so-called “girl in the mask” says nothing. Martine Wright who lost both her legs on July 7, says nothing. Philip Russell was killed. And Janet Foulkes, who lost her son David, says: “Grief is a horrendous thing.”

So much for the “LOSERS”, who are now deemed incapable of speaking for themselves. What of the “WINNERS”. There they are, all six of them: Osama bin Laden, Al-Zarqawi, Rev Ian Paisley, Clare Short, David Cameron and David Davis.

And, why, if it isn’t our old mucker, barking Omar Bakri. The Sun’s favourite mad mullah, the Tottenham Taliban, is a winner, and he’s back to gloat.

Jeering from his “bolthole” in Lebanon, Bakri rants: “I’m going to organise my bags and book my ticket so I can come back home… Tony Blair has been given a bloody nose. This is a sign that he should wake up and stop dreaming or he will see an uprising like that in France.”

Nice one, Bakri. The Sun can cool its disappointment at losing its 90-day campaign by knowing that one of its favourite newsmakers wants to return.

And it sure is good to see that Bakri’s still dribbling out his usual mixture of idle threats and complete nonsense. How the pigeons in the park must have missed Bakri’s daily address.

Even if we can still hear his voice long after his body has faded away…’

Posted: 10th, November 2005 | In: Tabloids Comment | TrackBack | Permalink