Well, it’s all kicking off, and the current world situation has been described as ‘one of the most dangerous periods in world history’.

News outlets speak of Israeli ‘retaliation’, but is that true?

A wider perspective might flip that.

The incursion into Southern Israel could well be seen by others as the retaliation for years of brutal oppression.

I don’t have a view either way, but the power of the media will determine what ‘truth’ you hear.

It’s not just the media, but also the law, and we’ve all got to tread carefully here.

Why? The Terrorism Act (2000).

That’s one chilling piece of legislation, old boy.

As Hamas has been decreed a terrorist organisation, the Act makes it a criminal offence to ‘express an opinion or belief that is supportive of [it] if there is a possibility that what you say might encourage someone else to agree.

Membership of such groups is also prohibited, but so is displaying a flag and logo that suggests you might be a member.

Holy schmoke.

Imagine if everybody who looked guilty started getting whisked off to the slammer?

Oh, wait a minute – that is after all how magistrates courts work.

*Guffaw*

In practice, it all rolls up into this: Hamas could start handing out daisy chains, while Israel napalmed babies. By law, praising flower power could get you 14 years in the clink, whereas you would trouser a free pass to wax lyrical on the saturation of infants with liquid fire.

Neither of the above has yet happened, but I’m sure you catch my drift.

This bonkers law not about outlawing support for what is wrong, but outlawing support for groups that those in power say are wrong.

How they determine that might be based on information you’ll never see. What is more, the accuracy of this is something you’ll never get to test.

Let’s just hark back to that initial comment about the most dangerous period in world history. For many, that involved the rise of Nazism and all that thought-policing, which culminated in world war.

Would somebody please slap the current commentariat cronies with the wet fish of irony?

This weekend, the Met Police have been nicking people for waving flags, wearing face coverings, and shouting slogans. They’ll all get criminal records for wearing clothes and saying stuff.

Elsewhere in the world, real extremists are butchering civilians, and others are carpet-bombing residential areas.

Perhaps somebody should be breaking out some international arrest warrants and heading for the Middle East?

Makes you proud to be British.