You read this and it brings it home to you that the Iraqi people needed a regime change and doubts about the hows and whys and wherefores and motives just sink into the mud.

Next stop Zimbabwe?

But, of course, that won't happen. The plight of the people of Zimbabwe has no political mileage for Bush or his poodle. No economic interests intersect with their pain and death, although the moral argument is as strong, if not stronger, than that for Iraq.

The uncomfortable fact is that Saddam's vile sons would still be splitting people in two like a pieces of beef if we had not been dragged into war under the false pretences of WMDs ready to go off in 45 minutes, but the millions of people dying in Zimbabwe because of Mugabe's viciousness and incompetence will carry on dying because the politician's would never be able to persuade us to fight a just war.

It's interesting that both Bush and Blair are religious men. I wonder if they have pondered the irony of a situation that dictated that to do some good they had to lie and deceive to do it. Probably not. The greater good and all that. History will forgive us.

I don't think history will judge the aftermath as kindly, though. It is looking increasingly as if Blair and his Mr Hyde-Campbell let Dr Kelly out to dry. Funny how the BBC bashers and aliens from the planet Tory as losing interest in the story.

Ho yes kewl.

Just trying the Blog this thingie. Just see if it works.

Gun crime in the land of the free.

I'm confused, a not uncommon occurance in someone of vaguely autistic tendencies, I readily admit.

But take a look at this.

So, here we have the Guardian, upholders of honour and distributors of pious homilies on a daily basis, going like a rat up a drain for the source of the Gilligan story.

Why?

This is the paper that has given many a lecture on the sanctity of journalistic sources. Shurely shum mishtake?

Just occurred to me the latest events couldn't better illustrate the difference between what politician's say and what they do.

Well, you find things to agree with from the unlikeliest of people in the unlikeliest of places.

And then they go and kill some poor fucker, allegedly.

If anyone thinks this government with the divine Blair at it's head has a shred of decency about it, this must disabuse them of such a fanciful notion.

And if you think I exaggerate, consider the sequence of events:

• The BBC run a story critical of the government and the government don't like it.
  
• The government try to bully the BBC a la Tebbit to back down and go after the journalist who reported the story.
  
• The BBC put up a surprisingly - considering it is run by Blair's placemen - robust defence.
  
• The government, unable to convincingly get the better of the BBC, turn their attention to the source of the story. Geoff Hoon demands to know from the BBC if MOD official Kelly was the source, despite the convention - that ensures the press is free - that journalists do not reveal sources.
  
• Somehow Kelly's name becomes public.
  
• The government coerce Kelly into appearing before the Foreign Affairs select committee.
  
• Kelly, harrassed by the press, cross examined by a hostile committee, in danger of losing his job, tops himself.
  

Probably got some details wrong, but hey ho, I'm a blogger not a journo.

Anyway, the point is what started as a tactic by Blair and friends to take attention away from their problems with attitudes to the truth about why we went to war, spiralled out of control to such an extent that some poor fucker dies.

That's politics for you.

Just when an overdose of right wing bloggocks mongers makes me warm a little towards New Labour, the PM stiffens my resolve with another speech.

Now, the centralisation of power into his, or should I say, His, hands is nothing new, of course. But compulsory saving for second pensions? I think the man is losing the plot.

A couple of examples that may illuminate why most people are immune to politics:

• Question time - some Tory MP going on about the beeb, WMD, Blair etc says something along the lines of, "well, we know the Prime Minister lies, he does it all the time on the NHS, tax etc, but to lie about going to war is unforgiveable."
  
  Nobody picked him up on the assertion that Blair is a habitual liar.
  
  So, what does this say about politics in this country? It could say that politicians do lie all the time, they expect each other to lie and nobody in the political game bothers too much about it. Or it could mean that politicans make extravagent claims about their opponents that no one takes seriously at all. Either way, extreme posturing or lying toe raggery, it's all bollocks.
  
  
• Tony Blair on the radio. Interviewer - "With the jury still out on WMD..." PM , "If I may interrupt, as far as I'm concerned, the jury are not out on WMD..."
  
  In other words, fuck what you lot may think, I'm right, it's my ball and I'm going home and I don't care whether they ever find the evidence, it's what I think that matters.
  
  Priceless
  
  

Been talking to the aliens again, but the site is down so I'll have to rant here.

The kid Cutherbertson was mightily impressed by this, especially the bit where it says the increase in global temp is less than the year on year variation in North America. Well, yes, the 1 degree rise over a century is a climatic trend, made of of 100 year on year variations throughout the globe. And the trend is up, since the average increase over previous centuries is a quarter of a degree.

Now, the junk science vilified in the article has predicted over the last couple of decades that this could result in, among other things, an increase in the extremes of weather such as typhoons, droughts, floods etc. Which, funnily is what has just been reported.

I've not taken any notice of Italian politics for decades. Years ago they were chiefly remarkable for the speed with which they changed their goverments, now they will be remembered for this.

Well, anyone who can get away with calling a German a concentration camp guard can't be all bad, I suppose, but Mr Berlusconi is rum old cove and no mistake. And what the fuck were the Italian's doing electing him as their PM? Thank God Rupert Murdoch isn't a British citizen, he'll be getting ideas.

Had to get rid of the comment thingie 'cos it was slowing loading times to around eleventy twelve seconds. I'll look for another one soon. Meanwhile apologies to that guy from the Clash, or maybe Foreigner, for deleting his comment. Probably the only bloke to have read this shit apart from me.