Posted 2:08 AM by Paul
Labour Calls for Help from the Scooby Gang

I watched about three minutes of the Labour Party political broadcast last night. Truly wierd. It opened with Blair in shirt sleeves talking to camera waving his arms around imploring voters to back RADICAL REFORM and CHANGE. It was presented in such a way as though they were self evidently "a good thing". I mean, who could rationally be against changing everything around every couple of years or so and then bringing in a fresh team of management consultants to change it all back?

It was all very energetic and reminded me a little of that bit of the late 90s which was errily like the 80s. Down to the slightly boufant hair and fake tan, for all the world Blair looked like an American motivational speaker / lifestyle guru who was beggining to lose his touch. For a time I feared he was going to try selling voters loans at punishingly high interst rates secured against their homes. But maybe he has done that already.

For a man who has just won a war and two landslide elections he looked insecure and a little desperate. He seems very needy. Maybe he just wants to loved. If that's the case, I would advise him to stay at home playing video games with the kids.

I think that the UK electorate are ready for a more paternal figure who could calm everything down and play the "Father of the Nation" role. But short of the Scooby Gang flying to Scotland with Willow and Buffy and a box of magic spells to ressurect the late John Smith, I cannot see where Labour will get their next leader from. Maybe Mandela would fill the post on a part time basis. He could do the hard stuff Monday to Wednesday while Clinton handled the socialising side of the job from Thursday to Saturday. Sunday we could all just have a rest and be leaderless. That would be a relief. Or perhaps they should bring Kinnock back from Europe to have another stab at it. That might be fun.

Putin livened things up for us all this moring by openly making fun of Blair at a press conference claiming that perhaps Saddam was hiding in a bunker with all his Weapons of Mass Destruction ready to blow us all up. And they say Russians don't have a sense of humour. Better still he should have met Blair esconced in a swivel chair whilst stroking a fluffy white cat.

" Now now No.2 you have let us all down. You vurr meant to keel the Cowboy not get into bed with him."

At that point the hapless Blair would drop through the secret trap door into a tank of carniverous fish and would be replaced by a robot programmed with vaguely left wing instincts.

We can but dream.

Posted 9:46 AM by Paul
Back in the UK

Sitges was great fun. Apparently it was one of the first package destinations from Britain in the the early 60s, but wisely the locals thought better of it and decided on no further high rise development and cheap flights from Manchester. So, the town - maybe it's a small city - thrives on tourism from families like us travelling independently, clubbers, surfers and older homosexuals. The gay crowd look a little bit long in the tooth and a bit more sedate. Having said that, a few buffed specimens were braving the brisk Easter winds in posing thongs on the promenade. I am not anti-McDonalds (see earlier blog) but it was good that the Golden Arches had not arrived or maybe had been barred from town by the great and good of Sitges.

The Spanish (I think they are a Barcelona outfit) have launched their own take on fast food in the shape of Pans y Company, an outlet specialising in fresh crusty baguettes filled with succulent fillings. Well recommedned if you are looking for someting fresh and quick. Our other fast food outlet of choice was La Oca on the Carrer Parellades - the main drag in the old town where the locals take a constitutional around 6 p.m. The street is jammed with baby buggies. La Oca served up a rotisserie chicken and salad to take away in just enough time for me to down a swift glass of beer at the counter. All at around £6 ( $9). How do they do it? I don't know. Spain is certainly not cheap to rent property, local taxes are often high and their minimum wage is only slightly lower than Britain's. Maybe it is turnopver. Every restaurant in town was packed for most of the week with a mixture of local families and tourists. The bar of the week was L'Estrella an old but spacious place with a tapas list as long as your arm on the Carrer Major in the old town as you walk up to the town hall and the main church high on the city walls overlooking the Playa San Sebastian. The place across the street the Cafe Roy which cleary had a bohemian tradition going back some years was holding a talk on St.George in the work of Cervantes to mark St.Georges Day. Sant Jordi as they call him is the patron saint of Catalonia as well as England.

On Easter Monday we went to Barcelona with the kids. It's about 40 minutes on a delightful train journey that gives you superb views of the Meditteranean. I could handle that as a commute into work. Heather mapped out a day of activities which did not include Las Ramblas but did include a walk through the beautiful Ciutatela Park which houses amongst other institutions the National History Museum. We hired a rowing boat on the lake and Heather took the oars whilst I relaxed in the bows - Heather used to row on the Thames for her school - I am useless. Disaster nearly struck early on when I noticed water flooding in through a crack in the plastic hull. A heated conversation ensued with the guys hiring out the boat as we were about to cast off.

"Oi! Water is coming in the bottom of the boat!"

" Don't worry senor! It's just that you have a lot of weight in the boat!"

What did he expect? Heather to shed a few kilos through the exertion of rowing round the island and the boat to rise? I insisted we get out and change boats despite the exasperated tuts of the boatmen who were - judging by their short stature dark skins and accents - either South American or Andalucian. A lot of the menial jobs in the Barcelona are still done by immigrants from the South of Spain who maintain their own tightly knit community. When I worked a lot in Barcelona in the late 80s it even had its own flamenco radio station and returned an MP from the Andalucian Regioanalist Party to the parliament in Madrid. A bit like Birmingham having a Scots nationalist MP or Edinburgh returning a Cornish nationalist.

We finished the day at the zoo which was a delight and - Spain being Spain they let you get dangerously close to the animals. God bless them. We made for the train back to Sitges and stopped off at at McDonalds which pleased the kids enormously. I think they find the crusty Spanish bread a bit of a challenge. I had a coffee. But this particualrly bit of multi-nationalism did bring peace and harmony at the end of a long and tiring day.

Posted 10:58 AM by Paul
Off to Sitges tomorrow - Anger Still Burns

Beautiful weather in London and we are now packed and ready to go to Catalonia for the week. The joys have having a full bank account and regular work. It wasn't always like this for me and Heather. My mate Chris e-mailed me saying how angry he was about the shcoking mess that we had managed to create in Iraq. And he is one of the least anti-war of my friends. In truth Chris has always been a man of "small c" conservative instincts. Basically he has never trusted Blair and thinks he is a fraud. He loves the States but finds Rumsfelt a bit scary. Apparently Kissinger called him "the most ruthless man I have ever met". He made a nice comment that as things go the USA would be happy to find an Iraqi athlete who trested positive for EPO such is the lack of any smoking gun evidecne. So I e-mailed him back my resume so far. Stealing the words of an Arizona congressman I will say that I will keep my words sweet becuase I may have to eat them later.

War Resume

Untidiness ( pace Rumsfelt) post war - They don't give a toss. They assumed this would be glossed over because they had won this moumental struggle for freedom. Eeeerrrr about as one sided as a match between Brian Sewell [ American Translation: very high camp art critic in his 60s ]and Mike Tyson in his prime. We were not impressed although the Britsh Army did a fine job. But people are starting to ask questions and they just cannot spin it. It is a shocking mess and handing out a few ready meals and calling it humanitarian aid is fooling no-one.

Decor - Wierd how we were meant to think it had all been worthwhile because Saddam had lots of awful palaces whilst his people starved. That applies to scores of dictatorships. Our royal family lives in a semi in Chingford of course

Post War Regime - Guy that Pentagon hawks favour last lived in Iraq in the 60s (pre Sadders) and is under suspicion of an international banking fraud. Here we go again.

Blair - Bring back Thatcher. Stalin. Anyone but Blair. I most hate him when he does the exasperated look favoured by bad headmasters "Now look 4C you are not really getting this are you? Iraq has been liberated and you are meant to be cheering" Tony. message from Paul Bower. I left school 30 years ago...P*** off. But the rest of the people in the cabinet are worse, weaklings. Just a shower. The best people are on the back benchers in all major parties. Also Blair has been broadcasting a message on TV Free Iraq assuring them this is not an occupation and they would be free to choose thier own government. Deluded or what? If I were an Iraqi doctor or lecturer watching this tosh I would be thinking "You arrogant xxxx. Who are you anyway? Bush's oily rag. And as it your opinion counts anyway."

Bush - I think he is a bit mad. They are keeping him away from the cameras. I am not sure he knows what is going on. Latest gaffe was saying that it will "take time for chaos and order to be restored...I mean" He also said that the civil unrest was the prodcut of a people who are free at last. Jeeeez the Revolutionary Communist Party should have had him as a spokesman during the Brixton riots. What a load of bollocks. I also reckon the polls are not as good as he had hoped they would be. Massive job losses in the Mid West and the spectre of going the same way as his dad. His dad was much better.

Weapons - Lets be frank. If they had any they neither had the will not the delivery mechanisms to use them them. It was a scam. Saddam was an Idi not an Adolph. Real Madrid's Ultra Sur firm are a bigger threat to the peace in London.

Continual War - We just all need to re-read 1984. We have always been at War with Eurasia / Syria / Russia. War is Peace. Ignorance is Strength.

Resume - An evil dictator has been deposed. Around 4,000 people are dead. Kids are bleeding to death in Basra hospitals for lack of drugs and dying from infections. Some of the worlds greatest treasures have been destroyed or stolen. A country is broken as armed gangs roam the streets and the occupying forces deny any responsibility or duty of care. Wasn't there a better way of doing this? No...because none of the other options would have helped George win the next election.

Posted 2:58 PM by Paul
Balloo Tops Another Stop the War Demo

I was going to go to the 3rd Stop the War demo even though the war is effectively over. I just felt pissed off that we had been all taken for a ride over the supposed "real and present danger" of an Iraq "ready to use Weapons of Mass Destruction". As it turned out the war was like a contest between on on form Mike Tyson and Pee Wee Herman which has strangely made even some of the pro-war lobby a little queasy. But I had to get my priorities right. Disney had a new film out in the cinemas and the kids were keen to see "Jungle Book 2" as soon as it hit the screens. I chose Balloo and the gang over making another gesture of defiance to Blair and his gang of souless automata. Inevitably the organisers claimed that there were 200,000 people there and the police said that there were 411. Looking at the pictures of the rally I would guess at no less than 60- 70,000. A good turn out but I am glad I didn't let the kids down.

Devotees of war on six figure salaries in favour of sending other people to die for poverty wages whilst they bark at us from TV screens and newspaper columns obviously felt that all us "peaceniks" [patronising dimwits) should feel chastened by the crowds of cheering Iraqis and victorious marines. I have to admit that I did feel a bit dizzy. Maybe they had been right all along. I had thought that this might be a very bloody mess and at first it looked like it was really just going to be a bloody mess. It is hard not to feel empathy with the Kurds who brought the Edware Road to a standstill with music and laughter chanting "Thank you Tony Blair, thak you Gerorge Bush". "Good luck to them, " I thought. "Maybe Blair knew something us mere mortals did not. But a few days it it looks like they had no plan beyond the destruction of a hated regime but a regime which provided some basic level of personal security, health and education.

In fact no one knew what was going to happen. One thing that all this Iraq thing proves is that we are all guessing, All making it up as we go along. Blair is an expert at this and claiming that it was all part of some plan. Everyone now has as much idea of what is going on as do the BBC pundits. My favourite was a Soviet expert (University of Essex admitted later that he did not speak fluent Russian) who was always pulled by the BBC to predict the Fall of Gorbachev. He did it once a month for two years until he was eventually proved right. Eventually Iraq will have peace and democracy some time betwenn 2004 and 2367

As for 24 hours news. Most of it is not news but when it is good it does give you another perspective. I doubt if I would have been so anti-Blair if I had not been reminded of the human consequences - children Alice's age blown to bits or crippled. Fathers weeping tears of bitter rage over shallow graves. Now we hear reports of children dieing from basic wounds because there is no water or electricty. They will never live to see even the limited freedom that their friends might enjoy post Saddam. What have we done?

The "sadly there are always regretable casualties in war" exscuse is startlingly similar to the logic used by apologists of the IRA and Sept 11th. The dynamic now is purely political and media led. Bush and Blair cannot take the political flak of big casualties of people whose grieving families have votes, so they spray the battlefield with smart and dumb bombs because they won't send the troops in hard without a fusilade of missiles fired from pefect safety 1,000 miles way. Then the other side staged a suicide attack conveniently next to where the journos stay in Baghdad. It is all for the cameras.

The attack on the greasy spoon cafe in Baghdad where Saddam was thought to be hanging out was spookily similar to the attack by the IRA on a fish shop by the IRA where they tried to wipe out the UDA leadership (the boneheads of the UDA had just left the room upstairs when the bomber struck) and succeeeded in killing 14 people (inclduing himself) queuing up for Saturday lunch. Gerry Adams expressed his regret. But war is war blah blah blah.

As for Rumsfeld if you had just got back from 4 years on a desert island and turned on the TV and you would he was the President. Maybe he is.

Last thought. Now that Iraq is in the throws of Brixton Riots x 10,000 how long before Iraqis call for a ruthless military leader who can control the criminal elements and bring a sense of self respect back to the nation. I would give it a month.

May the Peace of Allah be upon you all.

Posted 4:13 PM by Paul
Emily Speaks Spanish and Baghdad Falls

Emily surpised me today by reciting a whole slew of Spainsh before she slipped off to sleep. Her accent is almost perfect. Sweet and melodic. She could be from Salamanca. Maybe all that garlic, red wine and cod stew that I have consumed over the years changed my genetic make up and some kind of Hispanic essence has transferred itself to my youngest daughter. She really is a beauty.

Agua, Helado, Madera, Buenas Noches, Pan, Cama and her favourtite breakfast Huevo Frito (fried egg) are all on the list. It's a strange thing but she is taking more interest in learning Spanish vocabulary that English. I might start her on the days of the week tomorrow.

Oh, yes and Baghad fell, or should I say most of it fell to the Amercians yesterday which should be celebrated in so much as we have managed to get rid of a dictator we put in power and then failed to depose after the Gulf War because we were worried about what might fill the vacuum. Now there seems to be nothing much at all to fill it except looting. Nobody left to sign a surrender document. The shame of it all is that we still see all of this as an extension of Western politics. People on the left like me warn "This illegal war will all end in tears and it will be revealed that it is all a neo-colonialist conspiracy" . People on the right stick two fingers up and say " Told you so, you cheese eating surrender monkey ...USA...USA". We use Iraq as a symbol for power struggles played out in drawing rooms, lecture theatres and wine bars from Washington to London. Sometimes I don't ven think this whole thing is actually about Iraq.

Somewhere someone should just try to look at how this feels as an Iraqi. Have a bit of bloody empathy. Was it worth it? All those grieving parents, all those dead kids blwon apart by missiles. The fall of a dictator is a fine thing but if it is superceded by mob anarchy then it is no solution. I can imagine that if I were an Iraqi I would have the kids downstairs in the basement and I would be carrying a loaded pistol just in case someone arrived at the door to settle old scores. A quote from Walpole used tonight on the BBC said "First the ringing of bells and then after the ringing of hands". Lets hope not, but the suicide bombing this evening does not bode well. It reminded me of the old Spanish saying after the English invaded during the Peninsula War to boot out Napoleon

" We will hang the French on the guts of the English"

It could all make Northern Ireland look like a tea party.

I witnessed a major break down in law and order during the Brixton riots in the 80s. I was staying with a friend about a mile away. Some people on the Left romantically and very foolishly saw this as an uprising against the Police and Capitalism. What I saw was gangs of black and white youths pouring out of Oval tube and making their way down the Brixton Road smashing the windows of Asian restaurants and shops. The other businesses were untouched.

It is stange for us to consider, but dicators who impose a brutal set of rules are often preferred to anarchy. That was Stalin's appeal. He may have sent 10-15 million off to the Gulag to die, but he put bread on the table and cleared the murderous gangs off the streets of Moscow. Personally, I would prefer a left leaning liberal democracy which provided the populace with good schools, a reliable public transport system, a free health service, nice ready meals in the shops, decent wine at under £5 per bottle and fresh ciabatta at breakfast. Am I asking for too much?

So, the e-mails have started ot fly about the War after a long gap. I thing lots of American friends on both sides of the argument were seeing how things would pan out. Sensibly, not jumping to conclusions in the way we all did after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the awful events of September 11th. So, ever willing to offer myself as a hostage to fortune I put down a few comments. Feel free to send them back to me in 2004 when they are all proved wrong and I will eat them with a rocket side salad, parmesan shavings and balsamic vinegar.

War Thoghts 10th April

Saddam's fall should be welcomed even by moaning Eurocentric left wing chesese eating surrender monkeys like me. He was an evil bastard and right up there Idi Amin and Diego Marradona. People who know about these things claim he was about to lose the Iran-Iraq war in 82 until we helpfully stepped in with aid and arms. Ho hum. The factory that made the gas that killed the Kurds was paid for by UK taxpayers. The UK contractors who built it were covered by an export guarantee scheme. Surprise surprise Saddam never paid up. So it goes.

Saddam's threat to the region was obviously a bit of a myth as he seemed to have slightly less firepower than a medium sized Christian cult in Montana. More of a Boukassa than a Hitler

The absence of any obvious WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION will cause problems for the sanctimonious Blair (BBC really playing this for all it is worth) but it won't even register Stateside. Say what you like about President Cheney and his PR guy and mascot G.W Bush but they are masters of realpolitik. They won. Period.

Get out of stocks and shares in duct tape manufacturers NOW. Buy airlines.

I think the Middle East Roadmap to Peace will get lost somwehere down the back of the carseat.

Blair stated categorically in an discussion with UK voters that "the oil will be held in a trust fund for the Iraqi people". Not "should be" but "will be". Again this will cause him a few problems when it doesn't happen. The reverse is true for Bush. If he went back on the bottle and decided in a moment of madness to let the UN administer the black stuff his ratings would plummet. So tonight's starter for ten is "Who will win out on this one?" Clue: He went to Yale

The Shia, who naturally welcomed US marines were also shouting "Allahu Akbar" which means God is the Greatest. Students of the Late 70s will remember this as a big hit amongst the Iranian Students who took the US embassy hostages. Like the Macarena it has an accompanying dance which involves beating your chest and flagelating yourself.

The Kurds have just taken Kirkuk. I think that may be the start of the end of a beautiful Turkish - US friendship. But good luck to them the Kurds are dancing in the streets of London.

Ankara will start talking to Berlin and Paris as they have the casting vote on whether they get to join the EU.

The guy who is going to be the McArthur of the new Iraq Jay Gardner has been heavily critical of the US Government. He thinks they are too hard on Sharon. Now it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

The guy that the Pentagon has lined up as new interim Iraqi leader who has not been there since the early 60s. Before Saddam was in power. Why did he leave? Will he get lost all the time and have to ask teenages the way " Oh my oh my so many new buldings and street signs!. That wasn't here when I was a boy. It was all horse and carts and there was not of them viedo games you know. We had to make our own entertainment reading the Koran"

N. Korea issued a statement a few days ago saying that "Iraq's hopeless situation is a result of it's foolish decision to allow in UN Weapons inspectors" I think we can rule out any peaceful disamarment for a while. Moral: Don't move to Seoul, Tokyo or at a pinch Anchorage.

I would desperately like to believe that the White House is sincere in bringing democracy to Iraq. But the omens are not good. In 1991 they promised to make Kuwait brrng in this novel form of Government but the joint is still run by the Al Sabah family and women don't have any rights. Bit like Florida if you substitute "women" for "black guys with a traffic violation" In Chile in 73 Nixon and Kissinger brought in a new system called the Single Transferable Coup. We'll see.

I hope they prove me wrong wrong wrong.

Posted 12:44 PM by Paul
War & Peace

War getting surreal. The Americans seem to be wondering around Baghdad like a marauding band of football supporters taking pot shots at whatever takes their fancy, particulary Arab journalists. Not so good at winning hearts and minds. It all looks a bit aimless.
,which is useful for the White House as they can blame any mistakes on the individual field commanders.

A photo appeared in the Guardian showing some US Marines wearing war paint. Obviously part of an esprit de corps thing like the US Marines at Arnhem in 1944 who all had Mohican haircuts. The 2003 men looked a bit like Death Metal fans or perhaps members of a Kiss tribute band. BBC TV showed shots of an A10 tank buster lazily swooping through the skies bombing one of Saddam's ministry's. No anti-aircraft flak at all. Far from having WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION, so far at least, it looks like the Iraqi army has less firepower than a medium sized Christian cult in the Montana hills.

Yesterday my friend Ian rang me to ask if I wanted to go to a fringe (American Translation: Off off Broadway) play written and directed by a friend from his old drama school. Ian went to RADA and has been on stage and TV since the late 70s. The play was called War Crime. Now normally I would avoid this type of worthy sounding agit-prop like the plague, bit I decided to go anyway. I had not spent time with Ian for a while and I thought that it was an opportunity to excercise my brain which has been in neutral gear for the last few weeks.

The play was fantastic. Well written, well acted and totally devoid of cheap moralising and obvious heroes and villains. Even the US airman who dropped the cluster bomb on the Serbian waitress as she lay in her bed thinking about buying some new trainers had a sympathetic side. She is being tried from the other side of the grave for being complict in Serbain war crimes but then the whole thing is turned on its head. I won't spoil the punch line. So there it is - War Crine by David William's. Go see it if it is in your town. If you are a producer who wants to stage it go to www.warcrime.org.uk and get in touch with these people. They should be encouraged.

Posted 10:52 AM by Paul
Punk Lives

Between 1977 and 1979 I was the editor of a punk rock fanzine and also guitarist and singer in a punk / new wave band called 2.3, named after the average number of children in a British family. We did OK to start with supporting major acts like Generation X, The Stranglers and Siouxsie and the Banshees. We developed a small following for our brand of guitar based new wave which could be best described as a mixture of the Talking Heads, the Clash and the Jam. We even had a single out called "Where to Now" on the legendary Fast Product label which also released the first Human League tracks. In fact I introduced Fast to the Human League as they were mates, I was a big fan and we shared a rehearsal room. However, at the back end of 1979 we called it a day. I went to university a year later to study Spanish and eventually sold my Gibson ES330. Great times and happy memories. Having our fans boo Generation X off stage by chanting our name and nearly being blinded by a glass thrown at me by a Neo-Nazi whilst I sang "F**ck the National Front" [ it just missed me and the Neo Nazi was given close attention by a black bouncer ] stick in the mind. I still occasionally meet up with Haydn the drummer with the band who is now something big in finance and studying for a law degree in the evenings. I run a positive image and recrutiment campaign for the construction industry. Very punk.

A couple of years ago a young Dutch woman called Eve tracked me down for an interview for her documentary film Made in Sheffield. To be frank, I was amazed anyone remembered us, never mind were interested in what we did. Apparently a lot of new punks see 1977/1978 as some kind of golden era of real bands with intergity, which is not exactly how I remember it. Having said that we used to lay back and dream about how cool it would have been to be hanging out with Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassidy in NYC in the 50s. It fact it would probably have been a dreary alcoholic improverisehd hell made even worse by bad acid. Such is the power of dreams.

So, last night Eve gets in touch with me by e-mail saying that an LA based label Grand Theft Audio (great name) is trying to track us and other Sheffield bands down with a view to releasing our material. I reply to the guy who owns the label and say feel free to get in tocuh. It was about 11.30 p.m. Seconds later the phone goes and Brian from Grand Theft is on the phone from LA for an hour discussing the nuances of 70s bands I had never heard of and asking us to try and track down any other material we recorded. Nice bloke. A real fan. Apparently some of these bands are now slightly large in Japan.

So if we can find all those tapes 2.3 might even get their debut album out 24 years late. Now that would be funny. We'll see.

Posted 11:04 AM by Paul
The Paralel Universe of Spin

Who on Earth thought the Shia would support the US and UK? These are the same guys who took the American hotages in Tehran. Asking them to endorse a US Civilian Governor would be like asking the population of Rome to welcome a Mullah in the Vatican.

Any road up I fired off an e-mail to the Labour Party HQ or as I now call it The Death Star and a couple of days later I received a reply from their head aparatchik. It just reminded me that they simply do not inhabit the same time space continuum as us ordinary mortals. It is not a Europe / US thing it isnot a Left / Right thing. It is a real world versus the poltical entrepeneurs My comments are in brackets. Read on for a master class in sophistry from a Mullah of Bullshit.


Thank you for your recent email

The Labour Party has held its discussions on Iraq without rancour and with respect for each others' views. There are deeply held views and that is natural, for there are few more serious choices a country can face than whether or not to take part in military action. [ Actually an invasion and the first time we have done this since the Boer War without first being attacked or having one of our allies attacked. This is a new departure]

The Government has taken the decision to use military action to ensure the disarmament of Iraq, not because we have any quarrel with the people of Iraq - in fact they have suffered more than anyone under the tyrannical Iraqi regime. We have done so to enforce the many UN resolutions [ So would you have gone alone without the US?] on Iraq and its weapons of mass destruction which have been passed over the years. [So you are asking us to believe that Kofi Annan has got it wrong when he called the invasion illegitimate..Again it's down to Trust Tony]

For many years the Labour Party has firmly supported attempts to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, but I can assure you that there was no inevitability [You cannot find a cab driver who believes this tosh. Straight after Sept 11th everyone was talking about how Iraq was now on the list. UK also brought forward deployment of cruise missiles] about military action in Iraq. Saddam Hussein could have chosen to comply with the UN and disarm peacefully. Instead, for twelve years he defied its decisions, [Just like Israel, China and India..so when are we going in to Tibet? } misled its inspectors [not exactly the way Hans Blix sees it] and used every means possible to hold on to and develop his chemical and biological weapons. [So where are they?]

In addition his brutal dictatorship has engaged in a sustained campaign of repression against his own people. [ He is an evil SOB we know. Tony Newton MP who was then a UK minister visited him for a jolly 3 months after he gassed the Kurds] The death and torture camps, barbaric prisons for political opponents and routine beatings for anyone suspected of disloyalty are well documented. If Saddam Hussein's regime continues in this way, many more Iraqi people will be killed and tortured in the future. [ True. But would I prefer my daughter to grow up in a dicatatorship or be blown to bits by a UK cluster bomb?]

All the while he has hoped that division between countries and uncertain
public opinion in the democracies would weaken our resolve and allow him to carry on in power unchecked.

What he has failed to understand is that democracy and open debate are
strengths not weaknesses. In all matters, however, there comes a point when a judgement has to be made. Having taken our decision, this country will now pursue our aims with firm resolve and with determination. [Maybe, but it may come down to tax. We may win the right to police the largest low impact urban war of the last 100 years. It will break the bank.]

Yet if we only disarm Saddam, we will not have completed our task.
[ Aaaah so it is not about the UN resolution after all but about regime change! Why didn't you mention this last year?] It is also vital that the world engages in a sustained humanitarian effort to help the people of Iraq after their years of living under such a repressive regime. [Lets hope so but Kofi has reminded the invaders that under the UN Charter the UK and US has to make good the damage as the war is not sanctioned by the Security Council]

Sixty per cent of the Iraqi population is today dependent on food aid, despite the fact that the Oil for Food Programme allows Saddam to sell as much oil as he wants in order to provide food for his people.

That situation cannot continue. As the Prime Minister said in the debate in the House of Commons last week, the United Nations should be authorised to meet the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people. Iraq's territorial integrity should be protected and Iraq's oil revenues, which some people falsely claim are a reason for military action
[ Would we have invaded if there were no oil? Rupert Murdoch recently proposed in a Fortune Magazine interview that the war "could be good for the Western economies as oil could come down to $20 per barrel"], should be put in a trust fund for the Iraqi people administered through the UN. [ Oh come on now. Are we seriously meant to believe that after spending $85 billion dollars at the start of a recession 18 months from an election Bush and co. will hand over the oil to a trust run by an organisation they despise?. It's a done deal. The oil will be adminstered by the US Civil Governor and part of the proceeds will go to repairing the damage done by the UK and USAirforce.]

We know that many in the Labour Party and the country care deeply about the plight of people whose lives are being devastated by lack of progress in the Middle East peace process.

That's why the recent announcement by President Bush agreeing to publish
the Middle East Roadmap [vacuous jargon]is such a significant step. [When did the Labour Party agree to do the international communications and marketing work for the Republcian Party?] It provides the route to a permanent, two state solution [already opposed by Sharon so forget it] with clear phases and target dates aimed at progress through steps by both sides in all the relevant areas. And the destination is a final and comprehensive settlement of the Israel -Palestinian conflict by 2005. [Yes but where is this plan? We were promised it but it has yet to materialise. It's a scam] The Prime Minister is determined that we should use all our influence [Grow up. We don't have any. This is a myth. We are the sidekick to the USA. They didn't even ask us when they decided to bring forward the start date by 72 hours] to secure the implementation of this vision for the future of the Middle East.

Our vision for the future of Iraq is of a country free of repression able to live peacefully alongside its neighbours and develop in a way its own people choose. It is a progressive vision. [ Spare us the 1990s MTI Change Management rhetoric]

We may face difficult times ahead [ Less self pity please. We are having it easy Iraqi fathers burying their wives and kids are having it tough not Tony Blair] but the decision we have taken is right.

It is important now that our party and our country come together and
support our armed forces in the task they face. [ Party anthem is now Land of Hope and Glory. Clause 4 to be replaced again. This time by Kipling's If]

Yours sincerely,


David Triesman
General Secretary

Posted 7:30 AM by Paul
News Led Sleep Deprivation

I was just about to go to bed at 12.15 a.m. when I heard on the news that there was going to be a special news conference from Quatar. That would have been around 3.00 a.m. local time. Expecting someting important like the death of Saddam, a paratroop drop on Baghdad or the use of chemcial weapons stayed awake for another hour and a half.

Instead I eventually saw half of a 90 second announcement that a 19 year old woman US soldier had been rescued from a hospital by Special Forces. Talk about PR led warware! Just in time for the main news bulletins on the East Coast. Which led me to think.

- Was she being treated in the hospital? If so the Iraqis are confounding us all by being nice to POWs
- Did the Americans shoot any Iraqis in the hospital in order to get her out?
- Was the profligcy of the operation (huge resources for one life) meant to impress the Iraqis? Or just cheer up the US TV audience who are showeing signs of getting bored with the war as it has gone on longer than the Superbowl.

It is a strange world.

Posted 3:04 PM by Paul
Spain Beckons

Spent a good deal of today at work ( one presentation, one meeting, some typing) with a streaming cold thinking about Spain. We will be there in two weeks. We have rented an apartment in Sitges just down the coast from Barcelona. I am looking forward to chilled shrry and strange seafood. The kids call it "Daddy's scary food". The sea should be just perfect at this time of year. If I ever lived in Spain again I think it would have to be Catalonia rather than Pamplona and Sevilla where I spent some time in the 80s. However, deep down I think that my love of Spain is closer to an affair than a marriage. Living there day in day out would probably take the shine off the magic.