First you need to understand the concept of the nation of Turkey getting royally and very understandably pissed off about the killing of a journalist in their fine land. Ok, anyone gets pissed off about any foreign nation coming into their home to commit state-sanctioned murder. But Erdogan stressing that Khashoggi was a representative of the free press, using freedom of speech to criticise his homeland, and that in doing so was merely exercising his right to free speech is just a tad rich.

Its like Jeremy Corbyn demanding that the government are taxing the rich too much. Its like Chelsea fans trying to ban anti-racist songs. Its like IS fighters singing ‘give peace a chance’.

Because Turkey doesn’t have a very good record (and ‘give peace a chance’ was a really good record) with journalists. It has, and is now, been responsible for locking up more journalists than any other nation. When the coup against Erdogan failed, the first thing he did was to lock up all the journalists. And most of the country’s academics too, for some reason. Anyone with a good brain represents a danger to him. What does that say about Erdogan’s rule? What? 3 years down the line? Most are still incarcerated. Trials? What are they??

Whereas Trump has a different take on things. Always. He is more concerned that the ‘cover-up’ was the worst in the history of ‘cover-ups’, that it was laughable, ridiculous, how can any decent nation operate a cover-up so poor, pathetic and facile and still wear a headdress with any pride? All of which is true. But it may be worth pointing out, during his flurry of disappointment and disapproval, what exactly was being covered up. And why the need to cover anything up in the first place. We’re talking about a sovereign state organising a murder in someone else’s country, including a 15-man hit squad, torture, death (obvs; murder, innit?) and dismembering the body before disposal to location(s) unknown. But that cover-up, sheesh! A joke!

Happy Wednesday

A xxxx