Bare Bones

Today the
BBC heralds on its front (web) page “Putin & Berlusconi in Crimea Wine
Row”. Just for the fun of it – perhaps it is not ALL roses between them
two – and wondering how Crimean wines could actually ‘compete’ with Italian
ones, I decide to read the story out of a light-hearted curiosity.

Lo and behold! Putin and the Italian schmoozer don’t have a problem – not at
all! They celebrated their friendship by opening a 240 year old (and famous!?)
Massandra wine. Nasdarovje, cin cin, salute!

News? It wouldn’t be were it not, in the eyes of BBC, for a prosecutor in
Ukraine who accuses the winery’s director of embezzlement, i.e. stealing from
the Ukrainian state. By the way, the director was already on the hook in
Ukraine for “high treason” because she had …. voted for annexation
of the Crimea by Russia in 2014.

Ukraine is today a shattered state, largely as a result of top-down and utterly
pervasive corruption. Yet a prosecutor finds the time and the energy to sue and
mediatize such silly stuff? Give me a break.

Worse, the much-storied BBC believes that such nitty-gritty is worth a place on
their first pages (outside of the comics section)! A journalist (presumably)
is allowed to spend time on researching and writing such nonsense? No wonder
there are many Britons that believe that the BBC has gotten way too fat…!

Grimburger, September 19, 2015

Today
the BBC (proudly) posts in its headlines that Sir Elton John is in Ukraine, meeting
with top politicians and the president, to talk about the rights of gay people.
In an interview on the website, he also announces that he would like to meet
President Putin over the same matter.

First off, when you are President of Ukraine you must have more pressing priorities
than to sit down with an old artist talking about gay rights, mustn’t you?

Second, on what grounds does Elton, meanwhile looking just like a fat skeleton,
think that President Putin should sit down with an old icon of musical artistry
and exuberant decadence? Delusions of self-aggrandizement?

And lastly, but most mesmerizing, why does the BBC consider this run-of-the-mill
interview with a politically irrelevant individual front page news? Hidden agendas?

Grimburger,
September 13, 2015