Letter of the Day | Content generation, misinformation and ballistic podiatry

THE EDITOR, Madam:

On the same day that the International Court of Justice met at the Peace Palace in Holland, to hear lawyers representing South Africa bring a compelling case citing Palestinian genocide by Israel’s military actions in Gaza, there were cabinet meetings at The White House in Washington and at 10, Downing Street in London. Those meetings were to discuss proposed actions against Yemen’s Houthi terrorists, who have been attacking commercial shipping traversing the Red Sea en route to and from the Suez Canal.

For a few weeks, naval vessels from the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK) and other European countries have been stationed in the Red Sea to repel drones carrying missiles from Yemen aimed at merchant vessels, while most of the container ships carrying goods from the Far East to Europe and tankers with oil from the Persian Gulf have diverted away from the Suez to sail around South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. The 3,500 mile diversion adds about 10 more days at sea for each vessel, with extra fuel costs, along with delayed delivery in the supply chain. The missiles and drones used by the terrorists are built by Iran for a few thousand dollars each but, to shoot them down, the mighty naval forces of the US and the UK deploy missile interceptors that cost up to $2 million each.

Such is the craziness of the world these days. The aforementioned meeting at the Peace Palace may not get a verdict for a few years, but an interim measure to halt the bombardment in Gaza could be delivered within a few weeks. While military actions against terrorists in Yemen could very well be a stepping stone to a much larger conflict throughout the volatile Middle East in a very short time.

With both the US and the UK holding elections later this year, there is certain to be distinctly dubious disinformation disseminated by determined citizen journalists holding diplomas from TikTok and Facebook. Those folks never shy away from shooting themselves in the foot, and are closely allied with those who had never taken a rudimentary first aid course to learn how to apply a Band-Aid, yet tried to convince anyone willing to listen that they had more knowledge about pandemics than immunologists who had studied for years. With so much fake news floating around, and with electioneering reaching a peak, we should take extra care to check the source of all our information and news. It may take a little more due diligence, but it will be worth it to steer clear of those who always end up shooting themselves in the foot, recently referred to in a political candidates debate as ‘ballistic podiatry’.

BERNIE SMITH

Parksville, BC

Canada