Guardian and BBC try to smear Boris

Transparent attempt to smear Boris and whip up a non existing international incident over his quoting a couple of very wonderful lines of poetry, in a Myanmar Temple.

Full credit to him for remembering them. I'll bet no-one on here knows the poem.

Here is Charles Dance reciting it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mRt50wyaLg

Reply 1

username402722

19

Boris has form such as his poem about the Turkish President.

"BBC" "smear"

Original post by Mathemagicien

Reciting old colonial poems in front of the people you colonised. Not a good move.

You do know that the poem in question is a eulogy to Asia in general, and Burma and its people in particular?

Reply 4

Acend1992

11

We should be proud of our history.

The BBC and the Guardian despise Britain.

Reply 5

Good bloke

19

Original post by Mathemagicien

Yes. So what? Would a Nazi melody about a soldier reminiscing about the beautiful Russian winter be a good song for a German ambassador to sing in Russia?

Did the ambassador join in? Not that that is relevant.

This isn't a poem about a British soldier; it is a poem from the point of view of a British soldier, who loved Burma, praising it.

I rather think any thinking Burmese would be likely to see why Boris recited it and to appreciate the sentiment.

Reply 6

Chief Wiggum

20

lol The Guardian loves trying to create drama over nothing. Has terrible readership figures, and is losing loads of money every year. Completely unrepresentative of the general public's views.

Reply 7

username1221160

19

It's amusing that the ambassador had to tell Johnson to shut it.

Although I don't understand the whole Guardian/BBC smear angle, it's just those on the right playing the victim card again.

Reply 8

MrSuavetopia

19

And? Papers that lean right have been smearing Labour/Corbyn ever since he became leader. It works both ways, that's just what they do.

BBC I'm unsure about however.

Reply 9

Iridocyclitis

10

Another day, another person offended.

Reply 10

nulli tertius

21

Original post by Good bloke

Did the ambassador join in? Not that that is relevant.

This isn't a poem about a British soldier; it is a poem from the point of view of a British soldier, who loved Burma, praising it.

I rather think any thinking Burmese would be likely to see why Boris recited it and to appreciate the sentiment.

Come off it:

"Come you back to Mandalay,
Where the old Flotilla [the British invasion force] lay"

"An' a-wastin' Christian kisses on an 'eathen idol's [the founder of the religion whose temple he was visiting] foot:
Bloomin' idol made o' mud
Wot they called the Great Gawd Budd [ditto]"

Do you think he might next try reciting Ulster 1912 at Croke Park?

"Now England’s shot and steel
Beneath that flag must show
How loyal hearts should kneel
To England’s oldest foe."

There is a time and a place and our chief diplomat should have realised that wasn't it.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 11

Doones

21

Original post by generallee

Transparent attempt to smear Boris and whip up a non existing international incident over his quoting a couple of very wonderful lines of poetry, in a Myanmar Temple.

Full credit to him for remembering them. I'll bet no-one on here knows the poem.

Here is Charles Dance reciting it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mRt50wyaLg

Channel 4 trailer, provided to all media. If anyone is trying to whip anything up it's C4.

Reply 12

generallee

OP

16

Original post by nulli tertius

Come off it:

"Come you back to Mandalay,
Where the old Flotilla [the British invasion force] lay"

"An' a-wastin' Christian kisses on an 'eathen idol's [the founder of the religion whose temple he was visiting] foot:
Bloomin' idol made o' mud
Wot they called the Great Gawd Budd [ditto]"

Do you think he might next try reciting Ulster 1912 at Croke Park?

"Now England’s shot and steel
Beneath that flag must show
How loyal hearts should kneel
To England’s oldest foe."

There is a time and a place and our chief diplomat should have realised that wasn't it.

The poem is a lot less offensive than many national anthems (including our own!). Or de facto ones, Flower of Scotland for example.

Now I agree that it was the job of the Ambassador to not allow Boris to offend his hosts, but Diplomats have to have a sense of proportion, also. The fact that Myanmar is conducting an ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands of its own citizens is offensive to us.

Frankly an (admittedly evocative and powerful) poem celebrating a soldier's love for Burma and its women, and dislike of some Buddhist practice is of no great matter.

Even if anyone had heard and then recognised the couple of lines quoted which it is unlikely anyone did.

In fact if the poem is really THAT offensive, the BBC in flagging up the story in its campaign against Boris will have created an offence that hadn't yet been taken.

The BBC is consumed by the elite in Myanmar and now they will be fuming at the outrage of Boris quoting a couple of lines remembered from Eton.

So by its own terms (arguing the poem is an outrage if quoted by the Foreign Secretary) the BBC is damaging British interests.

Simply because it opposes Boris and a clean Brexit.

#BBCbias. :rolleyes:

#Ridiculousnonstory :rolleyes:

#CampaignagainstcleanBrexit :rolleyes:

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 13

Good bloke

19

Original post by nulli tertius

Do you think he might next try reciting Ulster 1912 at Croke Park?

I think the meaning and sentiment can be divined quite clearly from:

An' I'm learnin' 'ere in London what the ten-year soldier tells:
"If you've 'eard the East a-callin', you won't never 'eed naught else."
No! you won't 'eed nothin' else
But them spicy garlic smells,
An' the sunshine an' the palm-trees an' the tinkly temple-bells;
On the road to Mandalay...

I am sick o' wastin' leather on these gritty pavin'-stones,
An' the blasted English drizzle wakes the fever in my bones;
Tho' I walks with fifty 'ousemaids outer Chelsea to the Strand,
An' they talks a lot o' lovin', but wot do they understand?
Beefy face an' grubby 'and -
Law! wot do they understand?
I've a neater, sweeter maiden in a cleaner, greener land!
On the road to Mandalay..

Ship me somewheres east of Suez, where the best is like the worst,
Where there aren't no Ten Commandments an' a man can raise a thirst;
For the temple-bells are callin', an' it's there that I would be
By the old Moulmein Pagoda, looking lazy at the sea;
On the road to Mandalay,
Where the old Flotilla lay,
With our sick beneath the awnings when we went to Mandalay!

There is no doubt where that old soldier would rather be, and he even knocks Christianity to boot.

You seem to be saying 'Don't mention the war' which is well-known to be a risible idea.

Perhaps you are unaware of the words of the Irish national anthem, aimed squarely against the British. Do they worry about giving offence when that is sung? Or the Scottish rugby anthem?

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 14

generallee

OP

16

Original post by Doonesbury

Channel 4 trailer, provided to all media. If anyone is trying to whip anything up it's C4.

False dichotomy. C4 (or C4 news anyway) is arguably even further to the soft left than the Guardian and BBC.

The BBC were very much whipping up this non story. I heard a news broadcast in which the lines on idol worship were hinted at as being grossly offensive. So much so that it couldn't even be quoted on the air, like the n word. It wouldn't be polite to say them or something. Good grief.

He didn't quote those lines! He may not have even remembered them, they were way down in the poem.

But even if he was aware of them so what? Are we not going to sing the national anthem now because the second verse is offensive???

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 15

AmeliaLost

20

This doesn't seem to be reported on the BBC website. Can you provide sources please.

Quote from director of the Burma Campaign sums it up pretty well. Remember that he's meant to be our Foreign Secretary, not just some bozo.

Spoiler

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 16

Maker

20

Original post by Chief Wiggum

lol The Guardian loves trying to create drama over nothing. Has terrible readership figures, and is losing loads of money every year. Completely unrepresentative of the general public's views.