A "great spy"

 

RowZ was most definitely kidding us not on the open thread the other day when he pointed out that on Boxing Day on the BBC News Channel Ben Brown ended an obituary with the words "That great spy, George Blake":

Thank you so much for talking to us about that great spy, George Blake. And an extraordinary life. 

Hmm, I'd have said "infamous traitor" rather than "great spy". 

Checking TV Eyes, I see that the BBC News Channel throughout that day had been using the word-for-word formulation, "Russia gave him medals and much praise but, to Britain, he is the Cold War traitor who escaped justice." Very even-handed!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Oryx Handbook of Iranian Drones

Image
The goal of this list is to comprehensively catalogue Iran's past and current inventory of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and their armament. In an effort to streamline the list and avoid unnecessary confusion, this list only includes military drones associated with Iran's defence industry or military-grade UAVs with at least some chance of entering service. Notes:  - If several configurations of a drone with one designation are known, they are added as such.  - The part within the apostrophes refers to other designations or an unofficial designation. -  UAVs that did not enter service or have yet to enter service have been placed in the prototype category. - When a type is dual-capable, it is added in both respective categories. - Dubious claims are referred to as ''claimed to be capable''. - Although several types of Iranian UAVs have been sighted in Syria and Iraq, the foreign service section of this handbook only includes those confirmed to be in s
Read more

1762. 🇲🇺 Mauritius Commemorates Historic Post Office Building.

Image
 🇲🇺 Mauritius Post will issue a single stamp on 28 October 2020 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Central post office in Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius. An interesting stamp. Rating:- ***. 🇵🇰 Pakistan Post issued a single stamp on 24 October 2020 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations Organisation. The stamp was designed by Murghiz Khan and lithographed by National Security Printing Company Karachi and is perforated 13. Rating:- **. 🇲🇿 Correios de Moçambique   has issued a single stamp on an as yet unknown date to commemorate International Day of Family Remittances which occurred on 16 June 2020 (which of course may have been the day of issue). Thanks to super for drawing my attention to the issue in a comment left at the end of Blog 1762 which referenced an item on the excellent Joint Stamps site which in turn had received news of the issue from Nejmeddine Boudaren of Aurescollections . The stamp ap
Read more

Christie[s Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sale May 13

Image
LOT 610 PAUL SIGNAC (1863-1935) Port-en-Bessin, L'avant-port EstimateUSD 700,000 - 1,000,000 FOLLOW LOT 617 PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR (1841-1919) Jeune femme à la rose EstimateUSD 500,000 - 700,000 FOLLOW LOT 625 PIERRE BONNARD (1867-1947) Femme à l'aigrette EstimateUSD 400,000 - 600,000 FOLLOW LOT 634 EDGAR DEGAS (1834-1917) Rue de village EstimateUSD 400,000 - 600,000 FOLLOW LOT 641 PIERRE BONNARD (1867-1947) Au casino EstimateUSD 600,000 - 800,000 FOLLOW LOT 643 PABLO PICASSO (1881-1973) Le peintre et son mod è le EstimateUSD 2,500,000 - 3,500,000 FOLLOW LOT 664 FERNAND LÉGER (1881-1955) La fleur noire EstimateUSD 500,000 - 700,000 FOLLOW LOT 671 BARBARA HEPWORTH (1903-1975) Two Small Forms EstimateUSD 500,000 - 800,000 FOLLOW LOT 675 MARC CHAGALL (1887-1985) Autour du coq rouge EstimateUSD 1,500,000 - 2,000,000 FOLLOW LOT 679 FERNAND LÉGER (1881-1955) Une figure dans un paysage EstimateUSD 400,000 - 600,000 FOLLOW LO
Read more