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CLLR MHB BLOG

Blog 30 – Gaza – Palestine Action – Poison – Poetry in the Park – Treasures – AI

Jul 20, 2025

Photo of Vigil 88 in Barnstaple by Brian Garman

At our Vigil on Wednesday John Wade of Palestine Solidarity Campaign North Devon displayed this drawing to show how Gaza maps onto a narrow strip at the top of our area. And yet North Devon’s population is around 100,000 compared to Gaza’s two million – and Israel’s bombing of Gaza is the equivalent of six Hiroshimas. The BBC’s World at One last Tuesday discussed an internal report on the airing of the documentary How to survive a war zone. The report decided that although the content of the programme was unbiased it had been a serious error not to point out that the father of the child narrator is a deputy minister of agriculture in the Hamas-run administration – and this fact might be construed as compromising. I emailed the programme: Your coverage of the internal report into bias in the documentary How to survive a war zone was completely beside the point: you have never, so far as I’m aware, acknowledged the far more serious charges made in this report: https://cfmm.org.uk/bbc-on-gaza-israel-one-story-double-standards/

The report in question is by the Centre for Media Monitoring and demonstrates systemic BBC bias in favour of Israel. Their study was mentioned – but only briefly – in the Guardian’s inadequate podcast How the BBC got into a mess over Gaza, which also failed to fully address the presence of Sir Robbie Gibb, one time owner of the Jewish Chronicle (in which he put forward strongly Zionist views), on the BBC’s governing body and chair of important committees. How can that be acceptable? No place on the BBC either, of course, for this Guardian story: More than 400 media figures urge BBC board to remove Robbie Gibb over Gaza:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/jul/02/more-than-400-media-figures-urge-bbc-board-to-remove-robbie-gibb-over-gaza?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

BBCTV did at least cover (above) the shocking story of elderly protesters being arrested for supporting Palestine Action outside Parliament yesterday. Did the Labour government legislate to categorise Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation to distract us from the huge embarrassment of two people entering Brize Norton airbase on electric scooters, spraying planes with red paint, and leaving without being detected? The government’s over-reaction is alarming as it creates a very dangerous precedent for what Reform might do if it takes power at the next election.

Rosie and I have been out canvassing this week in Barnstaple’s Westacott ward on behalf of the Green candidate Dave Smale. It is amusing seeing what people do with their cars, gardens, etc., and intriguing when people are willing to chat on the doorstep. One memorable conversation began with ‘You want immigration’. I said, ‘Well, controlled immigration’. The reply: ‘We’re only voting for people who will stop all immigration’. Unfortunately, that was the last word so I could not ask if Mrs Farage would have to be sent back to Germany and if we accept no immigrants that would mean no Britons could emigrate. I thought back to an interview I heard on Today on the 100th birthday last week of Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, Auschwitz survivor and celebrated cellist: ‘hatred is poison – people poison themselves’. Ironic that Reform have decided that climate change should not be addressed (thus bringing £2.3m their way from fossil fuel companies etc since 2019) when climate change – especially drought – is the biggest cause of migration.

Photo above copyright Swimbridge Primary School

I am helping with ‘Poetry in the Park’ which involves celebrating wildlife in our park in Swimbridge. A teacher and I recently took a group of about ten pupils down to the park, to look at the wildflower meadow and sit quietly on benches beside the River Venn, a tributary of the Taw. Poems by the children will accompany images by the local artist Vicki Owen and poems – on the Celandine, the Red Admiral, the Snail and the Wren – kindly sent to me by members of the North Devon Poetry Stanza. I’m greatly looking forward to reading the children’s poems.

Funnily enough Snails – and an Elephant – feature on a marvellous silver chalice (made in Barnstaple in the late 16th c) lent by the V&A to the fabulous new Treasures exhibition at the Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon. A must-see.

AI and Royal Mail: I received an automated notification that a parcel would be delivered on Saturday. And then this one later in the day: Your parcel has reached your local delivery office. We’ve received a request not to deliver mail to the property your item is addressed to today. Request? Who from? Why? AI seems to increase corporate opaqueness and stupidity but perhaps it saves money. A couple of links to finish with. A consultation about impending Local Government Organisation is here: Let’s Talk, NDC re LGR – https://letstalk.northdevon.gov.uk/local-government-reorganisation-and-devolution A Jewish friend with whom I’ve marched on many occasions sent me this heartening link: https://www.palestinemuseum.us/

Thank you for reading.

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