The mike in the mouth disease and other blunders

People speak when their silence should talk for them. In the last few weeks we have heard remarks that ought never have been aired...

People speak when their silence should talk for them. In the last few weeks we have heard remarks that ought never have been aired 8211; at least, not on air. People ought to avoid the mike unless they are in command of their thoughts, control of their tongue 8211; and mind their language. Otherwise, it can lead to considerable trouble and not a little unkind mirth.

First, President George Bush was heard telling Tony Blair at the G-8 summit lunch, that Syria must get Hezbollah 8220;to stop this shit8221;. Must have displeased the very propah First Lady, Laura, the Syrians and Hezbollah. Mr Jaswant Singh released his memoirs and with it the word 8216;mole8217; into the public discourse on India8217;s nuclear policy. The media has been chasing this elusive creature ever since; each time Mr Singh was asked by the media about the identity of this secret operator, he said he didn8217;t know, he wasn8217;t sure, he never said such a species existed in Narasimha Rao8217;s government or inner circle. The mole, meanwhile, wormed its way into the nuclear deal with USA and caused the Manmohan Singh government acute heartburn in Parliament.

Next on was Natwar Singh. News channels, helpfully, restored our memory and perhaps jogged his with footage of his denials when he was the external affairs minister of any inappropriate behaviour in the oil-for-food scam as reported in the Volcker Report. And, certainly he never wrote any letters. Now, he says, all ministers write letters of recommendation what8217;s there?, the signature and letterhead on the letters are his but the contents and particularly the language are not and that the letters don8217;t ask the Iraqi government to give Andaleeb Sehgal anything more than a hearing.

Then, Mr Singh went on to make things even worse for himself by spewing venom at the Prime Minister on the night that he was issued a show cause notice by the Congress Party 8211; bringing the Guinness Book of Records to weigh in against Dr Singh. Two days later, he admitted that his language please note! was not appropriate. Mr Singh has gone on to make all manner of accusations about American involvement in his ouster from the government, the nuclear deal and other matters of grave importance to the nation on shows such as Walk The Talk NDTV 24215;7.

Foot in mouth and sound byte disease afflicts cricketers, too 8211; retired ones, in particular. First, Greg Chappell says Sachin Tendulkar is not entirely 8216;fit8217;, although he is fit enough to be playing in Sri Lanka this week. Chairman of the selection committee, Kiran More steps in and claims the Master Blaster is completely 8216;fit8217;. Just before he leaves for the emerald isle, Chappell suggests that it is to be seen whether or not Tendulkar is 8216;fit8217; enough to throw the ball in from the deep. Now, every single commentator will analyse The Shoulder, The Throw on air like they are orthopaedic specialists. Is it in the fitness of things?

Dean Jones wasn8217;t supposed to be on air when he made his infamous 8220;terrorist8221; remark about Muslim South African cricketer, Hashim Amla. That doesn8217;t excuse his inexcusable description were it even a joke. What it does is to make you wonder what commentators really think of players whom they praise on air, off it. Also, perhaps, former cricketers, many accustomed to expressing themselves in expletives on the field of play what else is sledging? are not always the most polite commentators?

To end at the beginning: George Bush, in his initial reaction to the London arrest of persons who reportedly planned to blow up American airplanes on transatlantic flights, blamed it on 8220;Islamic fascism8221;. If his choice of words were offensive, his contorted, mottled features made you want to look the other way.