What Comes To Pass

Clutching at Straws.

What!? No more mass insurgent violence? Man, the BBC’s news team must be beside itself - time to run some more Abu Ghraib stuff!

Oh wait! Here’s some news! Speculation about a 1 day delay in proceedings leading to a massive rift between the Iraqi GC and the US.

Is that all you guys have got?

Pathetic.

Later

John

"I'm gonna buy you - a pizza!"

Quote from Strongbad there for this ingenious site.

It allows you to purchase a pizza for active Israeli soldiers. Perhaps they’d let me specify an arrangement of toppings so that it spelled out “More target practice” or something.

Now if only there was a similar service that allowed me to deliver high-grade explosives into the hands of terrorists. Oh that’s right - there is! It’s called a cruise missile!

Later

John

Of This Weekend, Post 1

Wow, an awful lot to write about, mostly because I haven’t really had the use of my computer for a few days. As a result I’ll post in 3 lots, in reverse order so it shows up on the blog correctly.

I was without my computer because it is familial custom that my room is the designated Guest Bedroom whenever anyone comes to stay. I like to call it ‘Hotel Gigio’ and marvel at the fact that throughout my childhood there were at least 8 occasions when my bedroom was tidy - even if I was not its inhabitant at the time.

The occupant on this occasion, was my Nonno. The word is Italian for grandfather and was adopted by my parents so that my sister and I could differentiate between our two sets of grandparents without resorting to that whole “Nanna Firstname” debacle. I’ve written of him before - he was a diplomat of considerable clout who held Italy and the US’s interests in Syria for some of the most pivotal moments of the Middle East’s modern history - he is now paid a pitiful state pension but remains as active politically as ever, even if it is only in his local seaside constituency.

He’s without doubt a firm “Clash of Civilizations” man and holds extremist Islam in great disdain, needless to say his introduction to the blogosphere was an eye-opener for him - particularly the Iraqi blogs such as Iraq the Model. If the man were capable of using a computer I have little doubt that he’d be writing a blog as we speak having given up his newspaper column some months ago.

I had questioned what his reception of the front porch would be like. A few weeks ago some Labour door-to-door vote canvassers knocked on my door and I explained that I was a labour party members. Last tuesday a support poster popped through the letterbox and I duly put it up in my bedroom window. On Friday, having seen the poster the Labour candidate, Andy Raisin came by to ask about putting up a post in our front garden, the kind hammered into for sale and sold properties by estate agents. I agreed and we now have a large sign facing the river - ideal placement for the upcoming regatta I gather.

The reason I was slightly apprehensive was because my Nonno is Forza Italia through and through. Now make no mistake - if I was in Italy I’d also vote Forza Italia, people in this country who bash Silvio Berlusconi and ask for his removal from power are evidently ignorant both of the necessity of his economic and labour law reforms and the inestimable ineptitude of the left-wing coalition that opposes him. I Democratici di Sinistra have a coalition with Greens and Communists, fronted up by Mr Romano “Violence doesn’t work against terrorists” Prodi who’s legendary incapability is easily referenced by Italy’s former economic performance. Having left of centre sympathies does not mean I am predisposed to voting for inept and inefficient government simply because the alternative is a right wing party.

Anyhow he welcomed the sign - apparently he’s not much of a Tory fan at the moment.

Of This Weekend, Post 2

Friday was also a big TV day. I rarely watch TV, save for the saturday morning ritual of a quite obscene wake-up (7:50am for Pete’s Sake!) in order to catch Transworld Sport, however this friday was particularly good.

It started with the last episode of Friends. I was happy and sad as most Friends-a-holics were, back in the day my sister and I were rabid fans. I was cheered up by the prospect of the next evening’s “Best 6 Friends Episodes Ever” marathon on Channel 4, although I was apprehensive - many people haven’t seen the complete catalogue of Friends episodes and so weren’t in the perfect position to judge. In addition 10 years is a long time and some older episodes would have slipped from the mind of the nation.

Thankfully the list was voted for online, as soon as I heard about that I realized that it had been chosen by total Friends FanBoys like myself and sure enough the lineup was almost perfect.

The one with the football won, and for good reason. The others were, The one with the rumor, The one with all the thanksgivings, The one with the embryos, The one where everybody finds out and The one with the prom video.

On the whole that’s a good list, although there were a number of changes I’d have made, first of all The one with the prom video isn’t that great in my opinion and The one with the rumor only gets chosen because it has Brad Pitt in it. I’d replace them with The one where nobody’s ready which is a firm favourite of many and of course The one with all the haste. If they’d have played The one with all the haste (where the girls get their apartment back) after The one with the embryos (where they lose it) they could have put that excellent plot-arch in a nutshell and included 2 of the best episodes ever. Then again I’d still probably find other episodes to shoe-horn in, the only certainty would be that The one with the football would indeed win as it is the best episode ever.

Friends was a great show and as I wrote in an older post:

The thing is that Friends was all about a bunch of 20 Something Year olds dealing with 20 Something Year old issues. It was pioneering in its reliance upon characters relating their experiences 2nd hand, telling them to the group instead of you the viewer always being privy to every waking moment of their lives. However it soon lost that aspect. All I can say is vintage Friends is superb. I used to watch endless episodes with my sister when it first came out that we’d videod. After that we watched even more episodes, on VHS and eventually when they were made available in HK on DVD. It seems kind of ironic that Friends is coming to an end just as I’m entering the period in my life which that group of 6 were dealing with. Makes me wonder how mine’s going to turn out.

My sister articulated exactly the same idea at the dinner table on sunday. All this does is steel my resolve re: buying every single TV program I ever loved on DVD when I’m making money.

Speaking of which, every Futurama Boxed set will soon be mine. Amazon.co.uk was selling them cheap (like £15 cheap) so I jumped in and bought series 2-4. I already have series 1 on DVD at the moment (borrowed from my Father last summer) and it would be greedy to just buy it for the sake of having the actual box.

Of This Weekend, Post 3

Following on from Friends on Friday night was the return of Big Brother on Channel 4. This year they have managed to assemble the most vacuous extroverted collection of inmates housemates imaginable.

There’s one in particular - Kitten who is actually quite spectacularly annoying.

She’s one of those radical-feminist anti-capitalist Socialist Worker’s Weekly-reading morons who establish fierce political ideas without even glancing at the facts. The sort that were previously thought to have died out with the 80’s. Within 2 days of entering the house the trotskyite was trying to establish a ‘revolution’ against Big Brother.

Ok. As if I don’t laugh at these people enough in Real Life, one of them has to sign up for a frikkin’ gameshow and try to rebel against it. Doing things like ripping microphones from the walls and failing to attend weekly tasks - that’s just ridiculously lame.

She was talking about how interesting the power dynamic was between the housemates and Big Brother. That just proves how inattentive she is.

The politics between BB and the contestants is in fact the most brilliant display of misdirection ever conceived. The actual political bout is between the housemates themselves - BB is merely the dancers who distract the audience from the elephant being led out of the studio. As long as the housemates have some ever-present and obvious overlord hanging over their heads they seem blind to the astonishing levels of conniving and spin that pervades throughout the 10 weeks amongst their own party.

What’s more, because Kitten was chosen in a nominations-style secret ballot task, she won’t be getting her suitcase for the entirety of her stay. When searching through the case, Davina McColl found a roll of tin-foil that Kitten was planning on using to cover the cameras. Perhaps it would be better used to fashion a hat for her.

Lat-Waittaminute..

I forgot to mention my little sister and brother’s first holy communion on sunday. It was lovely, pics are available in the snapshot archives.

Right, that’s out of the way.

Later

John

Much to post about.

I have a lot to write about but I’m about to go to my little brother and sister’s first Holy Communion. Today’s Snapshot is a photo of the two; Thomas and Francesca - and for the few relatives who read this blog I’m stacking 7 photos I’ve taken of them in their communion getup in the Snapshots archive. Zia Laura no longer has to wait for the return of my Nonno and his camera film - all hail the great camera phone/blog combo.

I’ll blog more sometime later on this evening after the service and dinner.

Later

John

All the news that ain't gonna print

The Iraqi Good News Roundup issue II.

Some interesting stuff going on. More importantly a lot of good stuff going on.

Shame that you have to use the internet to find out about any of it though.

Later

John

Kerry

Why my theoretical vote would actually be swinging towards Bush at this moment in time:

“I know that every American who watched the news last night or picked up the paper this morning was struck by the seriousness and the concern coming from this administration,” said Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kerry. He said the threat points up the Bush administration’s failure to make trains and chemical plants safer from attack and to inspect containers coming into the nation’s ports. The senator from Massachusetts added: “We deserve a president of the United States who doesn’t make homeland security a photo opportunity and the rhetoric of a campaign.”

What? Is he impervious to irony as well as common sense?

Later

John

Thanks Hemlock

The big kahuna of Hong Kong bloggers - Hemlock has been kind enough to add my blog to The World’s Most Authoritative Guide to Hong Kong Blogs under the ‘In absentia’ section.

What’s more, the description is a cracker:

“A student in London preparing to meet HK’s insatiable appetite for barristers called John Swaine.”

Unfortunately my Grandfather’s conversion to the status of a solicitor, pending the establishment of John Swaine and Co prohibits absolutely, the possibility of there being 3 John Swaines on the bar list at the same time. 3 generations practicing simultaneously is at the very least a pre-established record that we could have shared with some other family and there is certainly no doubt that having 3 barristers at the bar, from 3 generations of the same family all called John Swaine would constitute some kind of a record.

Nevertheless, I’ll settle for the opportunity to practice in the same chambers as my father - as he did with his. The end of my 2nd and penultimate year of LLB Law brings this dream closer to reality.

Later

John

Please, take 'em - they're all yours Mr Kerry

There’s an article in The Times today about two Tory MPs who are ready and willing to go and help out John Kerry’s campaign against George Bush in the upcoming US presidential elections.

From what I’ve read of Kerry’s own words he seems perhaps the most vacuous politician ever; calling for Iraq policy to be ‘internationalized’ without specifying anything to achieve that end or indeed commenting on the ongoing drive for international involvement and legitimization of the June 30th transfer of sovereignty. He seems completely unwilling to nail his colours to any mast and doesn’t seem to stand for anything yet - presumably waiting for a time when he can choose his policies to grab the most votes. Indeed Mr Kerry seems to be a real-life manifestation of the ‘phony Tony’ caricature of Tony Blair that is so favoured by many Tories, which is what makes this news so entertaining.

Finally I think something needs to be said about the Conservative Party’s less than stellar campaign efforts of recent years. The only Conservative campaign that people talk about today is the old 1997 one, featuring the ‘Evil Blair-eyes’ that failed to stop a Labour landslide victory.

Kerry has spent the past 4 months campaigning against a Bush Administration which has been almost silent on the PR front and has been the sole target of a media war greater in strength and malice than anything in living memory. If Kerry’s the hunter then his quarry has been tranquilized, had a massive bulls-eye painted on its hide and is being held down by 5 burly woodsmen. Yet the man who is the de facto Democrat candidate still can’t hit the mark. It certainly doesn’t inspire the greatest confidence in his campaigning skills, so the addition of a couple of members of a party who’s own parliamentary, european and district council campaigns practically embody the term ‘lacklustre’ wouldn’t seem prudent by any standards.

Later

John

Entertainment

This afternoon, having finished the rest of my Yes Minister DVD, I sent off my current trio of DVDS and selected 3 more for my continued delectation.

I have chosen a trinity of some of the greatest UK comedy available:

Jeeves and Wooster - Season 1 Disc 1

Yes Minister - Season 2 Disc 2

Father Ted - Season 2 Disc 1

I shall be a very happy - and well entertained camper for a good long time.

Later

John

It's Over!

Hurrah! Last Exam taken! Summer is here!

To celebrate I've just spent the past few hours watching 4 episodes of Yes Minister, Series 1. God bless ScreenSelect.co.uk, it still strikes me as quite remarkable that a program can be as utterly sublime as it was.

I'll be in a better position to write sometime tomorrow after I've gotten a truly monumental amount of sleep.

Later

John

One Down...

One more to go tomorrow. The EC Law exam today went rather well, although I have misplaced my EC Statute Book which hurt me in the first question. Thankfully the other two topics on which I answered questions, were sufficiently drilled into my head so I didn't need an extra reminder of article numbers.

I don't have a statute book for my exam tomorrow either (annoyingly) so I'll probably print out the relevant statutes tonight. I'm so far good to go on one topic and have an amber light on one other. The 3rd topic I'll be taking the question on I've yet to go over again (two immediately consecutive exams don't give you a lot of time to revise).

I am however happy to report that the exam tomorrow will be the last of this term, and that after I've completed it I shall be free of the burdens of academia until next October.

Interestingly, it transpired that Tunde, who I talk to often when I'm at university - is in fact a poet, of some considerable talent. He's won a great variety of competitions and his work is available for reading on poetry.com. His full name is Tunde Okewale and you can search for the poems he has published on the site - apparently a few made it into their anthologies.

I also managed to read some of my Aunt's poetry, which I remembered she had posted there. It seems a little weird to be reading her thoughts and feelings when it has so often been the reverse (she found this blog by mistake last year). I shan't link to them as they're probably quite private (as private as they can be when posted online) but its nice to read, if only to better understand her. Particularly since, when I was born she was younger than I am now. She's such a lovely person - although I have no doubt that she no longer reads this page, I speak little of myself these days amongst punditry and exams.

Right. Time for sleep, that I might wake up early and continue the revision for my last exam tomorrow (ambivalence!)

Later

John

Wow..

I had feared that The Times was wobbling violently from the past few issues, however the Sunday Edition has swept any fears of that away. An intelligent editorial and what was the biggest kick-up-the-arse opinion column in recent memory gave even Matthew Parris's Blair-stomping outing a belting.

In addition, in the letters to the editor section there was this absolute gem:

From Mr Michael Ross

Sir, Is Britain at war or is it not? It’s about time our Government decided one way or the other and acted accordingly.

If we are at war a coalition government should be formed, perceived enemies of the country should be at least kept under observation and the media should be allowed to report the war only under strict guidelines.

There is no such thing as a humane war. We cannot continue to ask our Forces to fight under this unrealistic perception. We in the West have to decide whether we want to sit back when aeroplanes are purposely flown into buildings, when bombs are exploded in restaurants, when trains and buses along with the occupants are blown to bits.

If we want to pretend all this has nothing to do with us then we must exit from the conflict in Iraq now, but if we believe there is some merit in fighting for a safer world for our children and grandchildren to live in, then we must do it with conviction. There are no half-measures.

Yours faithfully, MICHAEL ROSS,

The Stables,

Weeton Lane, Dunkeswick,

North Yorkshire LS17 9LP.

May 21.

Problem is of course that people don't want to believe there's a war and that goes for several pundits - Simon Jenkins for instance. It seems unprecedented for an alliance to have had war declared on it on many separate occasions; September 11th, the Madrid bombings etc and yet still for so many to not get the message. Times were that it only took one attack - Pearl Harbour, and its ilk,

Lord knows the Terrorism Act alone is enough to spark gasps from the intelligentsia at how far we've gone.

The only thing which will give the Blair government the sufficient political capital to wage war proper - which it should have had to spend from the start - is a Terrorist attack on London. God forbid that it should ever happen. Until then, enjoy 'War Lite' - all the uncertainty, half the security.

Later

John

More insane amounts of legal revision.

I have exams on Monday and Tuesday, thankfully they are my last ones (hurrah) so I'm on summer holiday after them.

However this does mean I'll be blogging sporadically until wednesday.

Hope you all enjoy your weekends.

Later

John

Stuff

A brilliant quote from Al Sistani, by far the most influential political figure in Iraq, particularly amongst Shiites:

"these gangsters and terrorists will have to kill 25 million Iraqis who are longing for freedom, democracy and prosperity."

A worthwhile note for anyone who is beginning to infer any kind of 'mass support' for the insurgents in Iraq. If the media screams it at you day and night you'd probably be excused for coming to that conclusion.

May I also direct you to an account from a US army soldier who was present when a coalition fuel convoy was struck courtesy of One Hand Clapping.

Amazing stuff. It also refers to two staples of the sadistic asshole guerilla army - Women and Children human shields and of course the Child Soldier. Michael Moore's men of the hour.

Finally the almighty dollar triumphs over the illegal arms trade as Iraqi civilians haul in a truly amazing cache of weapons from all over Baghdad to coalition troops buying them back for above black-market prices.

This week the Americans bought 3,200 Kalashnikov rifles, 530 rockets, 141 machineguns and 78 tank rounds.

Ka-Ching! Now that's using your smarts. Removing weapons from the streets of Iraq whilst simultaneously injecting thousands of dollars directly into the economy.

Later

John

Another letter to The Times

Dear Sir,

In his column "How Iraq could restore Blair's election prospects", Anatole Kaletsky asserts that the coalition has failed "to reconstruct the economy" in Iraq. Given that unemployment in the country has dropped from 70% to an estimated 30%, that doctors and many other professionals are receiving wages up to 20 times larger than their pre-war earnings and that the World Bank expects Iraq's GDP to rebound 33% this year after 2 years in decline, it makes one wonder exactly how the coalition has failed in this regard. To expect Iraq to leap back to the economic vigour of it's 1970's self after 30 years of brutality and unparalleled embezzlement in less than a year is absurd.

 Yours Faithfully

 John Swaine

7 Thanet Walk Rowhedge Colchester, Essex CO5 7EW

Wow.. A letter to the editor that isn't a flaming email. Not like me at all.

Later

John

Pasting...

The Parliamentary Football Club, fielding a team of 11MPs were given an 11-0 decking by the Iraqi football squad as they began the first legs of their friendly tour of Britain.

Among the crowd - made up mainly of press - was 37-year-old Mohammed Hamoud, an Iraqi who has lived in London since 1996.

A life-long supporter, he has not seen his national side play live since he left Iraq 11 years ago.

"I am so excited they are in London," said Mr Hamoud, a chauffeur. "We have been spending time with them at their hotel, talking to them and taking them sightseeing. Some are our neighbours, they come from the same town as our families.

"In terms of their ability to play, their skills have improved a lot over the last year."

Iraqi delegation member Muid Salih, a player himself in the 60s and 70s, says the team are now "mentally free" after years of reported tyranny under the son of Saddam Hussein, Uday.

Hayder Ubaid agrees the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime last year has benefited their football, but he is less sure what it means for their country.

"We have felt free, from the government and Uday, and it's been good for our football," he said.

"But if we are talking about the political situation now in Iraq, it is very difficult. Before, there was just one enemy and we knew who he was. Now, there are many."

Many enemies, though there may be, the Iraqi football team is playing football without fear of mincing or torture. The most they risk now is the shameful embarrassment that comes from being beaten by a Division 2 side in the UK.

I laugh heartily at something else the article brings to light: Iraq now have an international rating that's better than Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland!

Although in fairness. Palao probably has a better Fifa ranking than Northern Ireland hehe.

Later

John

"Anybody in the audience ever been hit by a car?"

The title is a quote from an old Eddie Murphy sketch. I chose it because it features a character who runs around screaming about the terrible accident that Eddie had just been in, despite never having been there to watch it. He isn't named in the sketch so for the purposes of this Sullivan-Esque award, I've decided upon a the name: "Walking down the street just minding my own business" Award - a phrase which the character repeats constantly during his manic re-telling of the accident he didn't witness.

This award is to be given to the most spurious illegitimate story given to News teams by 'eye witness' civilians.

If I'd created it earlier it would have gone to the man who claimed to have been beaten up and sodomized in Abu Ghraib but was later revealed to be wearing fake bandages over his perfectly healthy and unbruised/wounded left arm.

I present to you these excerpts from a BBC News article on the US strike on the syrian border:

"They fired more than 40 missiles. As soon as they started attacking, firing the first missile, I went away. I was running"

More than 40 missiles? What? Are we using pea shooters now? 40 missiles, hellfire, sidewinder, tomahawk cruise or otherwise would utterly devastate a massive area. Not a wedding party

Another man told Arab TV channel al-Arabiya: "The US planes dropped more than 100 bombs on us."

More than 100 bombs? Wow!

A B52 can only carry a payload of 55, 100 Pound bombs and even then it's logistically ludicrous to target them all at one area.

"They hit two homes where the wedding was being held and then they levelled the whole village."

What? Having completed their objectives the USAF just sadistically decided it was time to blow up everyone? Only insane conspiracy theorists and Socialist Worker's Weekly readers could believe that.

Look, these reports of coalition air-strikes hitting a wedding party by mistake may well be accurate, and I'm very much prepared to consider the possibility that the coalition made a mistake - although their findings suggest otherwise. However I don't care how distressed you are, dancing around like a loony and saying you just got hit with more than 2 B52s worth of payload and survived doesn't make you seem particularly trustworthy, which is the reason why these two guys receive the first Walking down the street minding my own business Award.

Later

John

Important.

The shell that was used as an IED in Iraq seems to be far more important than a lot of the media want to let on.

Blaster continues his onslaught. This man knows his stuff.

Smoking Gun? It's beginning to look more and more like it.

Later

John

The blogging-flood continues.

An interesting article by David Aaronovic, entitled "Why do they hate Blair so much?"

Good stuff, although probably mind-numbingly boring for anyone unfamiliar with British politics.

Later

John

Garry Kasparov weighs in

Arguably the greatest Chess Grandmaster in living memory weighs in on the war on terrorism as calculatedly and skillfully as he pursues checkmate against his fleshy or silicon opponents.

1. Liberal - Check
2. For the War - Check
3. Gets the big picture - Check

Kasparov is officially, a dude. He's also a staunch supporter of human rights without being one of those idiots who turns a blind eye to the middle east whilst pointing the finger of blame at the US.

Later

John

Is it just me?

or is someone here lying.

In the same article the alleged attack is carried out by 'helicopters' and then 'planes'. It changes depending on who is being interviewed.

It'd be nice to get to the bottom of this one.

Later

John

Now that's what I call 'Not Getting It'

Letter to the editor in The Times:

Reaction to terror From Mr John Campion

Sir, You report (May 15) on how London is to be evacuated in the event of a terror attack. Have we abandoned the idea that it is actually simpler, cheaper and better to avoid provoking others in the first place?

Perhaps the West needs to look again at the benefits of a kind of American-style isolationism, letting mutually assured destruction preserve our security as it did very effectively throughout the Cold War. Then our public places might stop looking like barricades and we could once again walk through Downing Street to St James’s Park.

Yours faithfully, JOHN CAMPION, 1 Broad Walk, N21 3DA. May 17.

My mouth just dropped open.

What part of this assured destruction is mutual? I don't see any country labeled 'Al Qaeda' anywhere and there is no 'Terrorist HQ State'. Did this guy sleep through September 11th!?

MAD only worked because we had thousands of ICBMs trained on Moscow and they had the same aimed at us. We can't target terrorists like that, nor do they very much care about the welfare of the people they're around. There is no mutuality involved, destruction would only be assured for us.

Later

John

Fisk-o-rama!

Just finished having my intelligence insulted by Simon Jenkins, again. So I'm going to fisk the segments of his latest article that I find most morally and intellectually bankrupt.

Total confusion now surrounds command and control of British troops in Iraq after “sovereignty transfer” in July. We hear that they will depart if asked to go by the new Iraqi authority, but that the Iraqi authority is being relied upon not to ask them to go. Therefore 3,000 extra troops are on their way, apparently to Najaf of all places, but they are no more than an expensive facelick from Mr Blair to Mr Bush. It is not expectation of success but fear of undignified retreat that keeps coalition troops in Iraq, nothing else.

Evidence?

The Anglo-American will to sustain surely this last great imperial adventure is waning. As in Fallujah and Kurdistan, so in the rest of Iraq the guns of militiamen and the cries of mullahs outrank Western fantasies about implanting liberal democracy on Muslim soil. Militant Islam has proved a sturdier foe than militant communism. Bin Laden will have more laughs before he is done. Only then might we be able to stop bombing Muslims and concentrate on bringing this man to some sort of justice.

Erm.. What the hell? Does Mr Jenkins have the slightest idea what's going on in Kurdistan? The media silence is particularly good evidence of what's going on: nothing bad. No armed uprisings, no demonstrations no angry Kurds running down coalition troops, just a lot of people rebuilding their country and getting on their way to a peaceful and democratic future. My friend Ranj, hasn't been seen in University for a while and I'm not surprised, he apparently had a great time in Iraq with his kurdish family - if I were in his position I'd probably not return to Uni myself.

What's more the handing over of Fallujah to a former army officer is not some buck passing exercise, nor is it indicative of a lack of interest but is instead shrewdness on a quite impressive scale, which is paying off royally.

What's with this belief that our leaders somehow feel their mission is doomed? Mr Jenkins would do well to note that not everyone is as ridiculously pessimistic as him and that he should not imply without evidence his absurdly bleak outlook onto every step taken by the coalition. He seems to have soured significantly since he belittled the terror threat to Europe a week before the Madrid Bombings.

All I seem to be getting from his writing is that everything that the prime minister and president Bush have been saying about their intention to stay the course in Iraq is a lie because Simon Jenkins says so.

For two years since 9/11, the ramifications of America’s response have been daily headline news. It is the longest-running story of my lifetime. Yet it is inconceivable that America and Europe will keep their armies on the land mass of Asia for ever, whatever excuse they may concoct. They cannot tax their citizens and pollute their civil liberties indefinitely. Western democracy is too shrill for that. One day it will bring the militarism and scare mongering to account.

How many times does Al Qaeda need to tell us that they want us all dead? I'm not even dealing with this bluntly: they want to kill all the Jews, homosexuals, Americans and infidels in general. They have reiterated their aims again and again and again. Scare mongering!? The media couldn't even bring itself to show Nick Berg having his head sawed off more than once on the cover of papers, and lord knows we haven't seen anything more than him being tied up on TV.

Mr Jenkins' cry of "We have nothing to fear except fear itself" was foolish when he issued it to anyone who remembered the terrorist attacks on September 11th, was ridiculed less than a week later when 190 spaniards were killed in a terrorist bombing in Madrid and now, when Al Qaeda has masterminded attacks on Iraqi, Turkish and Jordanian soil in the last 3 months and decapitated a civilian on film it is unimaginably idiotic.

The victors of the Cold War are enduring the most appalling hang-over. Having discovered the glory of military power, they are now discovering its limits. They can smash nations but not rebuild them. They are Terminators not construction workers. The actual rebuilders of the new Iraq are cooling their heels round the pool in Baghdad’s green zone, unable to work and desperate to go home. Hardly a cent of the billions allocated to “the new Iraq” is visible on the ground. It has been siphoned off into banks in New York and Amman. Little of it will ever see the light of day.

I direct your attention here, here and here. In addition I think it's laughable to assume that this money won't "see the light of day" because of some sort of incompetence on the part of the coalition when as much as $10 Billion was embezzled in the UN Oil-For-Food scam.

For pities sake Libby Purves, writing just a day or two before in the same paper devoted an entire column to the accomplishments made in setting up the new Iraqi Navy (Iraq hasn't had a navy since it was destroyed by Saddam's reckless wars).

If Mr Blair means a word of what he says about confronting global evil and rescuing victims of tyranny, what is he doing about Sudan? Its million refugees today are ten times more afflicted than were Iraq’s in 2003. Where are the Royal Marines in Sudan? Where are Jack Straw’s fine words in Sudan? Where is Mr Blair’s jetset diplomacy in Sudan?

The answer is nowhere. That is the trouble with neocon imperialism. It cannot walk and chew gum at the same time. Its morality seems partial and spasmodic. It is not empire-lite but empire-hypocritical. 

Good question Mr Jenkins. I'm wondering that too, oh wait, I thought we'd established beyond a doubt that 'unilateral intervention' without approval by the UN doesn't work, nor would it be accepted.

The truth is that the world is moving on the Sudan issue through the UN and all should well remember just exactly how fast the UN moves to combat the heinous crime of genocide - with the same lightning reflexes it demonstrated in Rowanda, Bosnia and Iraq.

Iraq has proven only one thing and that is that the west can never get away with what it has attempted here. Not because it is wrong, or unjust or impossible, as Jenkins would assert but because the political and media backlash is so intense that it would be political suicide to attempt such action, irrespective of how right it might be.

Neo-conservatism hasn't failed - a free and democratic Iraq will likely bare testament to that, however its enemies have proved far more potent than previously assumed. It was a one shot rifle and we've used up its only round.

I can say to the black Sudanese that there will be no international intervention. If there is any, it will come to late and be as half-assed as the UN's actions in Bosnia and Rowanda. As to whether that was Mr Blair's fault, I can reply with a resounding no. You cannot berate a man for jumping to deal with one pressing humanitarian, security issue, riddle him with political bullets for doing so in a manner you deemed unacceptable and then expect him to jump once more - he's playing it 'by the book', on this one and it will be the people of Sudan who will suffer.

Later

John

Mwahaha!

Someone from The Green Party came to knock on my door at 11 am today. I wasn't best pleased but I soon brightened up when I remembered that they are now 'the anti-war party of the left'. Easy pickings.

It seemed fortunate that I'd just read this fantastic collection of as much of the good news from Iraq as could be contained on one page.

Over the course of 10 minutes I blasted what few arguments she put forward for the campaign being unjust. Quoting Al-Qaeda's own words ('democracy in Iraq would be a disaster for our interests') and asking how exactly a free and democratic Iraq was a bad thing for the fight against Terrorism was a particular highlight.

Equally whilst she floundered after having exhausted her standard array of Prisoner Abuse/Arabs hate us arguments I began a 2 minute long flow of the good news from Iraq that I had remembered.

The incredible economic boost, the absurd increases in wages, the amazing new healthcare system - raised from nothing, the democracy which is beginning to take root in local councils and districts. All those and many many more.

Eventually she just muttered and turned away and I collapsed laughing. She'd obviously made up her mind years ago and her ignorance betrayed her as I picked apart her feeble leaflet in-front of her. 1 Year ago there was a justifiable opposition to the war, the evidence now in my mind has quashed that, and if someone who's supposed to be a party representative can't put up half an argument then I don't really know why I'm supposed to vote for them.

I almost hope some idiots vote Green this year on their Iraq agenda - it'll pull the votes away from the Lib Dems.

Later

John

Today

I had a property law exam today. Unfortunately it was scheduled for 9:30am, which although not a terribly hostile time in itself, takes on a horrific form when weighed against a massive commute to London.

The exam went well, apart from a toilet break which necessitated an examiner to escort me so as to ensure that I didn't cheat and sneak a furtive peek at some concealed notes. Regrettably the examiner who escorted me wasn't some jogging young lecturer who'd allow me to cover the 80 or so meters to the bathroom in a quick time, instead the on call examiner was Dr Michael Arnheim, a venerable academic who's constitutional law course I found very enjoyable during my first year.

However the 10 minutes or so I spent walking slowly so as not to outstrip him did result in him asking me to do some research for his next book, which is always good experience for a law student - so it was on the whole a good thing. Watching my 5 minute time surplus turn into a 10 minute deficit for the exam wasn't terribly enjoyable but you play the cards you're dealt.

The train ride back was empty, giving me room to stretch out my legs and read my copy of The Times, scolding myself for not having bought the broadsheet which I'd have been able to read freely. Indeed even finding a copy of the broadsheet Times is a feat in itself, however the sinful side of opening up a luxuriously decadent sheet of newsprint, capable of easily eclipsing the viewing of other passengers' own journals, does add a whole 'forbidden fruit' angle to the activity that makes it all the more alluring.

I finished the 'common-folk's' crossword when I got home. Perhaps one day I'll be able to look at the cryptic clues without going cross eyed.

Later

John

A Great Man.

I learned of the death of Sir John Peel whilst reading the Times on the train today and resolved to Blog about it. Thankfully The Times Online has posted the obituary.

This man was a marvelous colonial servant and an intelligent measured fellow. Truly exemplary of a wonderful generation of men who did their duty for the crown overseas.

May he rest in peace.

Later

John

Of Good Men and Mice

CNN gets credit, despite littering its article with assertions to the contrary, for standing up for America's normally proud human rights record even if it just involved letting the people in authority get a word in edgeways. The article ended with an interview with Lorne Craner, the US State Department's assistant secretary for democracy, human rights and labor.

Craner said while he was personally disgusted by what happened at Abu Ghraib, the fact the United States was dealing with the prison abuse was proof the country maintains credibility in promoting and defending human rights around the world.

"The point here is that we have institutions that hold people to account if they go wrong. And as I said before, other people don't have that," Craner said.

"You know, when there is a new Tashkent Times that can carry pictures of torture in Uzbekistan, or when the Sudanese parliament can call a defense minister and grill him for six hours, or when a Burmese president publicly condemns and holds people accountable for torture in Burma, then we're going to be getting somewhere."

Big thumbs up Mr Craner.

Oh. A very funny post over at moorewatch.com as the fallacious one awaits the much-false-hyped release of his latest film - Fahrenheit 911.

I bought Stupid White Men to read on the plane to Hong Kong ages ago. It was funny, except for the fact that he opened with a totally naive pile of steaming bullshit re: the constitution of the United Kingdom, after that I began to heap on the salt as I read.

I watched Bowling for Columbine, that wasn't bad apart from the part where he started linking NATO's intervention in Kosovo to the Columbine school killings.

He sealed his fate in my book by calling Tony Blair the Worst Briton, prompting me to write a letter to The Times with the expectation of it being rejected (such letters are written more for catharsis than anything else, as most will attest).

The problem was he struck out and I don't care how funny you are, if you print lies once I'm not going to read/watch anything else you do. The fact that I gave him the benefit of the doubt and watched his oscar-winning film only to have my faith abused again was just a kick in the teeth.

Sorry, you can't drag me to a movie theatre so I can pay to have his rich fat ass made even fatter. The centre left do ourselves no favour when we take his words as anything other than a crude, if inaccurate attempt at political satire. I don't care how much you hate Bush it's not worth being lied to again.

Later

John

Weapons? What weapons?

There's one, now to find the others.

The rationale for the War in Iraq had at its core the WMD argument, I'd stated since last February that the humanitarian needs of Iraq were more then sufficient to justify military intervention but seeing the WMD argument validated when so many people want to turn a blind eye to the mass graves would be a good thing.

You can bet Saddam's weapons report didn't include shells of this type and I sincerely doubt he only manufactured one, unless it was his intention to have it mounted on the wall with a plaque reading "Genocidal Chemical-Weapon Using Madman Of The Year, 1988".

Time to find the others. Oh and laugh pitifully at the imbeciles who will now try to formulate spurious conspiracy theories about the timing of this discovery.

Later

John

Sorry for the outtage

There was an intermittent loss of broadcasting a few minutes ago because I was updating MovableType 3.0. However all is right once more.

Later

John

Now That's What I Call 'Getting It'

Via Instapundit, perhaps the best speech on the nature of Islamic Fundamentalist Terror ever written.

By Prime Minister of Singapore, Goh Chock Tong

Long and comprehensive. Brilliantly constructed and accurately articulated. Read it all if you have the time.

Later

John

Compare and Contrast:

2 Headlines. 1 Story:

LA Times: US Battles Shiites in Iraq; 5 GIs Die

Atlanta Journal Constitution: US kills 18 in Iraqi 'uprising'

In one headline the Los Angeles Times has managed the following:

Firstly they have clearly establish that 5 US soldiers have died.

Secondly they have offered no measure as to the toll those soldiers took upon enemy forces.

Thirdly they have simply written 'Shiites' - patently ignoring the cold shoulder that the vast majority of Shiites and more importantly all of the important Shiite leaders such as Al-Sistani have given the insurgents.

Now that is a masterful use of words.

Later

John

Blair

There has been much talk in the press about the future of Prime Minister Tony Blair. Crucially I refer to John Prescott's interview in the Times on Saturday and Michael Portillo's comment in the Sunday edition.

Portillo is a conservative whom I have the greatest respect for, he is not only one of the few who 'gets it', but he also had a great deal of respect for Mr Blair, and for a few months honestly saw what I see in his premiership. However the prime minister's answers in PMQT have lead him away from his support, Portillo is insistent that Blair was dodging issues and that he appears too weak to countermanda Bush, in offering commentary on the Abu Ghraib abuse.

In particular, I take issue with the following section of his comment:

So there is not to be even a token whimper of protest against an administration whose machismo begat the atrocities of Abu Ghraib. Blair will be too polite to mention that our foreign policy objectives have probably been set back a generation and his monument in history vandalised.

What, pray Mr Portillo would this achieve? Putting the knife into the back of your wartime ally is hardly prudent, even if it does save your own skin. What's more, Blair's disgust for the actions was palpable and robust. "Appaling" "completely unacceptable" are two phrases which come to mind.

To go further, to criticize either the target du jour - Donald Rumsfeld or indeed the Bush Administration on such a vital issue, upon which so much is balanced would mean political suicide for the coalition, and is the sort of opportunistic folly which we have come to expect only from the most obtuse of liberal politicians.

Tony Blair has chosen not to take the easy road and forsake our allies but has instead stuck to his principles and refrained from scoring the political points which may help bolster his flagging domestic support. Had he come down like the proverbial ton of bricks I am in no doubt that his popularity levels would have increased, however such action would be grossly irresponsible and would likely destabilize US commitment to Iraq.

The integrity, which you find Tony Blair now lacking is evident in the very actions you lambast him for Mr Portillo. I am astonished that you have become so short sighted and pray that it is only momentary.

I have a new Labour membership card, it resides in my wallet with considerable pride, however my attachment to the Labour party is conditional entirely upon Mr Blair's leadership. Whilst the Independent trains its guns on the Prime Minister and suggests he is a liability to the future of the Labour Party, I am certain that he is Labour's key electoral asset.

Upon the transition of sovereignty in Iraq the Prime Minister will have the opportunity of tying the war up in a speech. The Prime Minister will likely invite the people of England to look at the transformation in Iraq. The functioning economy, powering out from its enfeebled start in the grips of a madman. The new schools, and Hospitals and functioning press. The elections that wait on the horizon.

It will be this speech that will either make or break Mr Blair's political career - if the rabid insurgents still roam the streets it will seem pale and ridiculous. However if indeed Iraq is where it could, should and most likely will be, then there will be a lot of head scratching in Westminster as to where this dead weight upon the Labour party had vanished to.

Until such time as the Prime Minister steps down from office, that card shall remain in my wallet, peering past the fee-hating plastic veneer of my National Union of Students card, and taking pride of place in its top sleeve. I still have faith in Tony Blair, and I pray that I shan't have to inform the Labour party of my departure for a long while yet.

Later

John

Tarantino Night.

Two matters to blog about tonight, both related to Mr. Quentin Tarantino.

Firstly, I watched Kill BIll Vol.2 this evening and thought it was masterful. A welcome return of Tarantino's citrus-sharp dialogue which seemed to be in shorter supply in volume 1. The cinematography however was just as wonderful as it was in volume 1. Particularly the entire cifu sequence, which from the very start was obviously going to be a complete homage to 70's-80's Kung Fu movies. The colours were perfectly matched to the film quality of the genre and the same amateurish pans and zooming cuts that were clumsy artifacts of most Kung Fu film's production were lovingly reproduced. Excellent film.

Secondly a new application has been released for OS X who's coming has been awaited by many with baited breath. It's a news aggregator with far more scope and power than any before it. Its name and hence its connection to Mr Tarantino, is 'PulpFiction', in recognition of both what it does and who it's made by (Freshly Squeezed Software). I tried it out and I loved it. Wonderful application and easily the best in its field, far surpassing NetNewsWire in my opinion. However I don't have much use for an aggregator - many of the Iraqi-run blogs I visit don't have RSS feeds set up, although new blogger apparently makes them very easy to configure.

Perhaps later on I might move to a more aggregator based web-experience, but for now I'll make do with Safari and the helpful 'Open All Tabs' button. The problem, which prompted me to download PulpFiction when it was released - my unhealthily large blog-habit - has been solved. I've put the blogs, which ballooned to saturate their amalgamated bookmarks folder, into 2 folders now: one for fun blogs and one for punditry and analysis. Much better and I now have load times which don't necessitate the making of a cup of tea to kill time.

(Edit: Aha! Thanks to Kevin I've discovered that all blogs run by blogger now have an XML feed from /atom.xml )

By the way a quick hello to anyone who's new to the site in light of my increased traffic. I hope you like it, stay a while - it's not like I'm going anywhere :)

Later

John

Chicken Soup for the Hawkish Soul

Mohammed has some tales he'd like to share from his visit to Samawa.

It's precisely what the anti-war crowd don't want to hear - for all their talk of wanting the best for the Iraqi people, genuine progress angers them and certainly doesn't warrant column inches.

Read it all, it's lengthy but wonderful.

Later

John

He's outta there!

Piers Morgan is gone. Sacked as editor of The Mirror.

If I read the mirror I'd probably care more about the impact of this decision but to be honest anyone who prints photographs which everyone in the photo analysis sector thought were fakes and then further insists that they are real doesn't deserve the position of editor.

Later

John

Breaking News!

I have unearthed some photographs of Iraqi detainees being abused by American troops that are of sufficient quality to warrant publication in The Mirror:

Wonder how much Piers Morgan will give me for these? No doubt he'd be willing to stand by them and stare down any no-good politician who might suggest they were anything less than the 'real deal'.

Later

John

I despair.

I tuned in the Moron Report (question time) and tuned off after about 5 minutes (it seems 5 minutes is currently my maximum threshold for BBC political broadcasting).

The matter which made me switch off in disgust this time was that someone poured scorn on George W Bush for addressing US troops and saying they'd been doing a fantastic job. There was a tidal wave of applause from the morons in the audience (ever watched question time? It's a total joke).

These people sicken me. That they are prepared to poo-poo the achievements of thousands of servicemen who have done a fantastic job in liberating Iraq, particularly in the delicate zones where al-Sadr's wilting militia have attempted insurgencies, because a dozen or so reprobates committed atrocities is only indicative of an internal bias against American troops.

I live in the UK, I know what people here think and the average joe on the street thinks that US forces are a bunch of ill-trained grunts. Abu Ghraib has given them pretense, however false it might be, to slander the entire of the US military in allowing them to unleash their own prejudices without fear of scrutiny and they have grasped it eagerly.

The Times letters to the editor on the subject are similarly grating:

We should stand with our ally, shoulder to shoulder, cowed in shame and despair. Freedom and democracy? What a lie.

The liberal forces in the United Kingdom have rallied round the Abu Ghraib abuse as a means to differentiate the UK from the US. There have been calls for Tony Blair to disassociate himself from US foreign policy in the Middle East. I take solace in the fact that the man is smart enough to recognize the entirety of what is at stake but it saddens me to see many other pundits in the press, fall by the wayside.

I read one such article a few days ago, when the Abu Ghraib abuses were first coming to light. A Times columnist withdrew her support because she felt that the entire war, although of noble nature had been mangled by US incompetence. Whilst that would be ample rationale for such a recision of support, it isn't supported by the evidence available.

I too had similar doubts until I read an email from the front.

The problem of such a withdrawal of support is that the variables upon which it is based are not existent, rather they are phantoms of a media which seeks to paint failure, discord and chaos. I cannot deny that the situation on the ground is grave, however it is being dealt with, and with remarkable successes to report (for instance the impending fall of the radical cleric al-Sadr).

However the new matter which claws at the conscience of supporters is that in the abuse scandal we have let slip the moral necessity for intervention. That in these isolated cases we have dropped the baton of decency and as a result have failed to bring about the change we sought to implement.

Although I will not deign to downplay the importance of the scandal, I will rail against the awesome idiocy that such an assertion requires. The actions of a few undisciplined troops do not evidence a concerted and systematic scheme to torture prisoners. The punishment and court marshaling of those troops is not indicative of some institutionalized brutality. So why then will some insist that we have failed?

The most profound impact of the abuse has been upon the arab nations of the middle east, not upon the Iraqis themselves. The people of Iraq haven't leapt to revolt, they haven't risen up in armed revolution - and lord knows there are plenty of people willing to supply the means and wherewithal to do so. As Omar and Ali noted, the reaction is scarcely that provoked by the killing of Hamas leaders. We haven't failed them. The US servicemen in Iraq haven't failed them. A dozen perverted idiots have and whilst we cannot disregard our culpability in allowing the abuses to go on, to suggest some epic misdeed is martyrdom and self-indulgence on the part of the liberal left from which I now feel estranged.

It will be rather comical when al-Sadr folds and the massive gains the marines are making in Fallujah become apparent. In both those instances the media have tied themselves in knots to portray coalition forces as stuck and hopeless. However regarding the abuse they haven't needed to do anything - it appears that a great many people are capable of synthesizing a massive spread of torture and abuse throughout the US army's ranks in Iraq using only their minds. The only people who can undo those knots are the people who tied them in the first place, it remains to be seen if any have the mental apparatus or the will to do so in this atmosphere of vietnam-esque defeatism.

Later

John

The images stay

Hurrah! Hemlock likes the campaign images.

As a result, I've just spent the past half an hour making up for my shortsighted CSS coding (I didn't have classes for those button links in the sidebar, instead they were actually part of the text link table bearing crude testament to my own lethargy) and I shoehorned in a nice link-button for Hemlock in place of the text one that originally took up space in the list.

In addition the full, extended "Hemlock for Big Lycee in 08" image is now at the bottom of the side-pane.

Feel free to use them on your own sites, with the one proviso that you host them yourselves.

Later

John

Googlewhack!

I got one, hurrah!

It can be found on top of the 'new' list.

It's Geomantic Trachea and it's mine.. All mine.

Later

John

Hemlock in 08!

Hong Kong blogger Hemlock made a passing reference to running for a seat on Legco in 2008 and Conrad at the Gweilo Diaries seconded it in jest.

I thought that since he'd undoubtedly get my vote, that I'd make these spiffy website buttons for him as a joke.

Hope he likes them.

Later

John

Ali's the Man

Ali from Iraq the Model just laid down another kickass blog post. Funny and extremely informative. Here's a rocking section:

My young cousin is a religious Sunni who goes to the mosque and listens to the cleric there every Friday and believes whatever he says, as he’s still young. My uncle always teased his son about this but never prohibited him from doing that. We were talking about different stuff; the kids’ needs, clerics, Americans and the increase in the average income of most Iraqis. My uncle had some unusual sense of humor that didn’t fit quite well in his somewhat religious family. He winked at me and turned to his son and asked him "What do you think of the Americans?" His son answered, "They are occupiers".

"So you think we should fight them?" his father asked. Ibrahim said

"No, but I don’t like them". My uncle said, pretending to change the subject "Do you like your new computer that no one shares with you?"

"Yes of course dad".

"Ok, are you satisfied with the satellite dish receiver we have or do you need a better one?"

"This one is fine but I heard there’s a better one that gets more channels"

"ok I’ll get you that next week". Then he said, "Is there anything else you’d like to have son?"

"No dad I have all that I need".

"Ok but how about a car?"

Ibrahim was astounded and said "Really? a..a CAR.. for me!?".

"Of course for you! I’m too old to drive now and my eyes are not that well and you are the older son. So whom else would it be for!?"

"Oh, dad that will be great! When will that happen?"

"Just finish you’re exams and you’ll have it".

"I will dad". "Are you happy now son?"

"Yes dad, sure I am!"

"Then why do you hate the Americans you son of a b***h!? I couldn’t get you a bicycle a year ago, I could hardly feed you and your brothers and sisters. You didn’t know what an apple or a banana tasted like, I couldn’t buy you a damned Pepsi bottle except in occasions, and now you can have all that you wish, and a car of your own! Who do you think made that possible!?"

My cousin’s face turned red and didn’t answer as we laughed and I said "What do you think Ibrahim?"

He said, "Well it’s true but it’s our money. They are not giving us a charity"

and I said "Of course it’s our money, so let’s forget the Billions of dollars they are giving to rebuild Iraq and the efforts they are doing to cut down our debts and lets talk about our money. Why didn’t your father, I, my brothers and all the Iraqis have anything worth mentioning before the Americans came?"

He said, "Because Saddam used it to buy weapons and build palaces".

"There you have it Ibrahim, but Americans are not touching our money. Can you tell me who’s better; the ‘occupiers’ who are helping us or the ‘patriot’ who did all that you know to us?"

He said in a faint voice "They are better than Saddam but still they are not Muslims".

"So do you want them to be Muslims?"

"I wish they were."

"Will you fight them to that?" he said,

"No, of course not. I don’t like fighting."

We didn’t want to pressure and embarrass him further and didn’t go further, as he’s still young but he’s smart and good-natured and will get it soon.

Sorry for the massive block without a paragraph but I presume that Ali had too much on his plate to put in line spacing. (EDIT: I went through it and added some temporary linespacing to make it read better.)

The article goes on to talk about the new Iraqi economy.

Read it, it's well worth the time.

Later

John

Smallest violin in the world

• and it's playing the saddest song just for al-Sadr.

His forces have been facing double-digit attrition, daily for the past week or so from marines who are playing their massive firepower and strategic advantages for all their worth. In addition they've been hounded and killed by vengeance-seeking vigilante lynch mobs.

Now a 1000 person protest march through the city by residents rather peeved at having been used as human shields.

So al-Sadr now wants to 'end the insurgency' if the coalition agree to negotiate with him, ie: let him off the hook.

Something tells me he won't get what he wants. The Times reporters quoted a militiaman in yesterday's paper, he said that he had all the time in the world and that they would simply run the coalition's ticking clock down.

He was wrong. With marine snipers picking off tens of militiamen every day it's the coalition who've been playing for time and they seem to have come up victors. They've managed to avoid escalating their assaults, in respect for the holy significance of many buildings and to avoid enraging the civilian population and have kept their retaliation at just the right level - killing off insurgents whilst allowing the civilians to protest and revolt.

The end is in sight for al-Sadr and he seems to know it.

Later

John

Yes!

My sister just found a new establishment open in Colchester. It sells food from Hong Kong... I... Have... Vitasoy...

YES!!!! WOOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!

It's like Hong Kong in a juicebox.

Vitasoy is described as a soya bean milk drink. I've never assumed it to be but apparently it's one of those foods people say is 'an acquired taste', which as we all know is a euphemism for a foodstuff most of the population consider utterly repulsive.

Time to savour its goodness. Mmmmmm.

Later

John

Doh!

At the moment I'm continuing my Conrad-esque period of non-stop legal study.

Day 2: Cups of Tea 24x10^43.

God Bless 3,500 word Coursework Pieces.

Later

John

Great, not again

Another immensely important story is ignored by the mainstream press. This one is capable of comprehensively justifying the reasoning behind intervention in Iraq.

Iraq, Al Queda, Weapons of Mass Destruction. It's all there

Read it. Spread it through the Blogosphere. It worked with UNSCAM it might work again.

What's up with me?

There haven't been many posts on me in the past few days/weeks/months, so I thought I'd let you all know.

For 12 months I suffered from depression, for a variety of reasons. I had a lot of anger and I ended up turning it in on myself. Thankfully I saw reason and enlisted myself in the counseling services provided by my university.

For 6 months the counseling provided an arena for my thoughts and feelings that I couldn't provide myself. The aggregate result became clear to me when I was walking through the Law Building at my university.

A lecturer with whom I get on very well, Edwin Shorts passed me in the lobby and asked how I was doing, without thinking I replied, "Better."

It was earnest and unrehearsed, completely antithetical to my standard replies of "Fine," or "Good, thanks." I spent the rest of the day with a large grin plastered across my face.

In short, the depression is gone. It took a long while and tore a large whole in my academic life which I'm still filling in. It ruined my hopes of a 1st Class degree but I have something which is far more valuable to me - my peace of mind.

It's taken 12 months to say this but I'm happy again. Happy with where I am in life, happy with my work and happy with my friends - especially the best friend I never realized I had until this summer. This year's summer break will be epic.

La Vita e Bella!

Later

John

Nice...

The EU commission president, Mr Romano 'fighting terrorists just provokes more terrorism' Prodi is now resorting to threatening Britain with serious political consequences if it votes 'no' to the new constitution.

At the moment I'm leaning towards 'yes' on the referendum vote, but this is just plain pathetic. How can a man with so little backbone when facing terrorism be so conniving as to effectively blackmail the British public into voting yes? This is going to do absolutely nothing to help the pro-european stance, in fact it will do the opposite. Do I want to further entrust my country's affairs to the likes of he? After all the community will have a variety of new symbolic positions, such as a foreign minister if the constitution is adopted.

To be honest, if I didn't know that Mr Prodi would soon be out of his job I'd be quite shaken in my resolve. In the words of a Times columnist Romano Prodi thoroughly deserves to slip into the obscurity of factional Italian politics.

Oh yeah thought I'd better..

Say something about the soldiers who abused Iraqi prisoners.

Fucktards. I hope you rot in jail.

You've almost single handedly destroyed the nobility of this mission in the eyes of the wavering middle-grounders. Hopefully you'll be sentenced and as it happens our governments are denouncing your actions, not that it matters because Al Jazeera isn't gonna broadcast the comments.

Admittedly the scale is nothing near comparable to Saddam's own actions but the coalition is not the Baath party. It doesn't make what they did any less disgusting.

Later

John

Huzzah!

Change of plan! leggiiiiiiiiit!

The above quote is instantly recognizable to anyone who's ever watched Red Dwarf although the news to which it relates is a far cry from the horrible danger which generally confronts the Dwarfers (in fairness that quote actually refers to GELF-lovin').

It seems that Thomas Hamill, the truck driver who's convoy was famously attacked by Iraqi insurgents and who was shown in a small toyota with some armed militants telling news teams who he was, has legged it and escaped. He is now back at coalition HQ and apparently rarin' to go out and haul more HGV ass for the good of the Iraqi people.

Rock on!

Later

John