CiF: Never Knowingly Balanced

This is a guest post by Geary
Ever wondered why CiF chose to have those particular categories for what they so endearingly term ‘Comment’?
Namely: CiFAmerica, CiFbelief, Liberty central, CiFMiddleEast, CiFGreen.
Let’s take the geographical classifications.
Why no CiFEurope, or CiFAfrica, or CiFFar East? The last one all the more surprising, given the very large numbers of British readers whose family histories originate in China or the Indian subcontinent.
If we take topic categories, why not CiFScience? CiFWarandPeace? CiFClassRace&Gender? (isn’t that what any self-respecting leftist rag should be discussing?)
Could it just be that those five above are the categories for which the CiF editors – or the readership they presume – find it easiest to decide their bias? To decide who or what to love and hate? Because, perhaps, said editors find nuance tedious. They find balance uninspiring. Or perhaps, more simply, they can’t keep more than a monothought in their heads at any one time.
CiFAmerica. That’s an easy one, anti-Americanism being the hardiest of leftist perennials. Of course it mutates as regularly as HiV. Today we love Obama and hate any American who gets in his way (white racists to a man). Yesterday we hated Bush and the neocons and loved anyone who was against them. Yes anyone. From the obnoxious Michael Moore, through the obsequious George Galloway, to throat-slitting, streetmarket-massacring ‘insurgents’.
CiFbelief. Islam and Muslims: good. Presumably because – in GuardianWorld – Muslims are Downtrodden. Quite who is Downtreading them all – apart from Islam itself – is not so clear. Probably America (it usually is).
Atheists generally good, except when we want to tease our audience a tad.
Christians and Christianity? Oh, now here’s some balance. They alternate between retarded and risible.
Jews come in two makes: shining white and pitch black. There’s a new Guardian shibboleth. Prepared to denigrate Israel? There’s always a welcome at CiF. But show any affection for the place and you’re beneath contempt.
CiFMiddleEast. Where to begin? Pretty easy: Israel, bad, worse, worst. Relentlessly, remorselessly. Who else is there? Iran? Despite its world records in anti-liberalism (take, say, capital punishment and gay persecution) the Iranian regime used to be Plucky Hard-done-by (by Big and Little Satan). But with the internal revolt, that line is a bit harder to push.
Iran supplying arms to terrorists? Syrian torture prisons? Lebanese prison camps for Palestinians?
Guardian Monkey see no evil.
Hamas and Hezbollah? Not terrorists, not Islamist supremacist butchers, not at all. Nelson Mandelas to a man.
CiFGreen is just as Manichaean: ….. Peasant farming and sustainable poverty are magnificent. Bad are: meat, motors, modernity, mankind. Nuclear will destroy the world, biofuels will save it. Or is that the other way round now?
CiFLiberty: Such irony or post-irony, irony deceased. Has any other source done so must to traduce the great liberal agenda, based on freedom of speech, in favour of narrow-minded witch-hunting political correctness? When Scott wrote ‘comment is free, facts are sacred’ he meant that, whilst facts are precious, comment is free, easy, cheap.
Of the three, CiF has chosen to go for cheap. Cheap and often nasty.