Warmwell.com

Archive of "other news" from November 2002

Jan 31 ~ "The potential threat posed by Russia's weapons of mass destruction puts into context the threat posed by Iraq

especially given the lack of evidence - despite claims made by George Bush and Tony Blair - of links between the Baghdad regime and al-Qaida" Today's Guardian article "Open Arms" by their security affairs editor Richard Norton-Taylor points up even greater illogicality than that of the North Korea situation

Jan 31 ~ "Safety and Environmental risks"... this highly useful recurring phrase now used in connection with Iraq protest

(Financial Times today) "An anti-war rally should be allowed to gather in The Mall, central London, Tessa Jowell has signalled, paving the way for up to half a million people to protest about the prospect of war in Iraq.
The culture secretary's move came as the government increased its military build-up, announcing a further 4,500 reservists would be called up.
The call-up - tripling the number of reservists announced previously - reflects in part the considerable force Britain is preparing. More than 30,000 troops and other military personnel are being sent to the Gulf.....The accelerating preparations for war could swell the size of the rally planned for February 15. ...... George Galloway, the Labour MP who has persistently criticised the government over Iraq, had warned Ms Jowell she risked sparking a riot if she did not allow protesters to attend a meeting at the end of the march. An aide to the culture secretary said the demonstration, which organisers expect to be attended by up to half a million people, had been barred from Hyde Park because wet and muddy conditions posed safety and environmental risks....".

Jan 31 ~ ID card no one seems any the wiser, or clearer about the Government's intentions.

Stephen Robinson in today's Telegraph: "Today marks the end of the Government's "consultation period" on the merits of introducing a national ID card, yet no one seems any the wiser, or clearer about the Government's intentions. Officials had to deny that they were about to abandon the plan after Lord Falconer, Home Office minister, said last week: "We may not proceed with the scheme, and if we do it will take several years." Since then the signals have been contradictory.
The Government has tried to blunt opposition to the project by calling it an "entitlement card", suggesting it is rather like a bank card which, when put into a slot, will shower all sorts of benefits upon the user. It will do nothing of the sort, nor will it do anything much to assist law enforcement. The overwhelming bulk of benefit fraud is based on bogus claims rather than bogus identity; police say catching criminals is the problem, not identifying them. In political terms, the Home Office appears to have seized on the scheme as a figleaf to suggest it is doing something about the crisis in the asylum system."

Jan 31 ~ Blair's spokesman said France and Germany, critics of the U.S. position, were not invited to sign...

... European Union President Greece was also left out of the picture."
Reuters report on Tony Blair's drive to show broad European support for a U.S.-led war on Iraq. Extract: "With the Iraq issue entering its endgame, Blair is seeking to take on the same globe-trotting and coalition-building role he performed ahead of the 2001 attack on Afghanistan..... denied it was a rebuke to the continent's big powers, France and Germany. .....
France wants United Nations weapons inspectors in Iraq to be given more time while Germany is firmly against military action. Britain and France are veto-wielding members of the U.N. Security Council while Germany is a non-permanent member.
The letter caps a flurry of diplomatic activity by Blair ... Blair has also spoken in the past few days to the leaders of France, Canada, Australia, Turkey and Greece. But Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis, only learned of the letter from his Hungarian counterpart on Wednesday, despite having spoken with Blair earlier that day, a Greek foreign ministry spokesman said. Blair's trip to Washington came as his government called up more reservists to prepare for a possible war, taking the total number of reservists on duty to 6,000. Tens of thousands of British and U.S. troops are already headed to the Gulf........ Blair aligned his position more closely with Bush prior to his departure by explicitly linking Iraq with the militant al Qaeda network blamed for September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States."

Jan 31 ~ ''Mr. President, even taking you and what you say at face value, we do not need you to protect us from Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction, if they exist,''

Boston Globe (external link) "Shaw said. He then ticked off a list of concerns he said the assembly fears more than Hussein, including the damage wrought by AIDS in Africa, environmental destruction, a deteriorating economy, and ''how hated we are by so many of our brothers and sisters around the globe.'' The assembly was asked to pray, not only for peace and for wise leadership, but also ''for those in the military, of our country and Iraq, and those who fear for their safety.'' Shaw exhorted the assembly to go home and pray and also to call members of Congress and the president to press for peace. He said they should prepare to protest if war is declared. ..."

Jan 30 ~ "This war is not primarily about democracy or freedom, much as the Iraqi people deserve both.

And it will most certainly not deliver justice for all. It is, fundamentally, about the wilful exercise of unrestrained global power, unfazed by considerations of international law, the principles of collective UN security, and the consequences for everyman. Iraq will form an awesome precedent for what Gerhard Schrvder calls the "law of the jungle". Iraq is just the beginning.... " Read article in today's Guardian leader.

Jan 30 ~ "As the US administration accelerates its drive to war, its most faithful cheerleader is having to run ever faster to keep up.

Guardian (external link) Never mind that every single alleged chemical or biological weapons storage site mentioned in Blair's dossier last year has been inspected and found to have been clean; or that the weapons inspectors reported this week that Iraq had cooperated "rather well"; or that most UN member states regard Hans Blix's unanswered questions as a reason to keep inspecting, rather than launch an unprovoked attack. Jack Straw nevertheless rushed to declare Iraq in material breach of its UN obligations and fair game for the 82nd airborne.
Most people have by now grasped that regime change, rather than disarmament, is the real aim of this exercise and that whatever residual "weapons of mass destruction" Iraq retains are evidently not sufficient to deter an attack - as they appear to be in North Korea. ..."

Jan 30 ~ The state of the turf, ostensible reason for the ban, is surely less important than the state of the world.

Only a minister with no concern for this country's history would go along with the attempt to keep next month's anti-war rally out of Hyde Park. Yet this, incredibly, is what the culture secretary Tessa Jowell has done in backing the ban by the Royal Parks on the February 15 demonstration. See today's Guardian (external link)

Jan 30 ~ The Metropolitan police has "intelligence" that the anti-war demonstration set for February 15 will exceed the 400,000 Countryside marchers

Allow rally or face a riot, says MP Laura Peek in today's Times: "A leading anti-war protester has threatened riots if ministers do not allow a rally in London to go ahead. Tessa Jowell, the Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, has told the Stop the War Coalition that although protesters may march through the capital on February 15, they are banned from gathering in Hyde Park for a rally.
The coalition, which held a vigil in Bristol last night to oppose war in Iraq, believes that more than half a million people will join the march.
The Labour MP George Galloway, a vehement critic of war in Iraq, said: "This is an extraordinary turn of events. I would want to warn Mrs Jowell that she can either choose between half a million people at the rally or half a million people in a riot because that is what will surely happen if we tell them that, thanks to the British Government, they are not allowed to attend a meeting at the end of the march."
The Culture, Media and Sport Department said the coalition had been refused permission for a rally in Hyde Park for safety reasons. The risk of bad weather would jeopardise the condition of the park. But a spokesman for the Stop the War Coalition said: "There are numerous events in the park throughout the year."

Jan 30 ~ If Schwarzkopf is scared, Americans might want to think again

See yesterday's Boston Globe (external link) "...because of Rumsfeld, no one at the White House, not even Powell, is talking about a few more months. Rumsfeld has even taken to trashing France and Germany, which oppose military action, at least for now. Rumsfeld recently called them the ''old Europe.''
Rumsfeld's mouth has begun to push some surprising people over the edge. Norman Schwarzkopf, the commander of US forces in the 1991 Gulf War, told The Washington Post this week that he is ''somewhat nervous'' about Rumsfeld's pronouncements, since the Bush administration still does not have evidence of an imminent threat by Hussein. Schwarzkopf said the weapons inspectors need more time.
Schwarzkopf, speaking about Rumsfeld, said, ''When he makes his comments, it appears that he disregards the Army. He gives the perception when he's on TV that he is the guy driving the train and everybody else better fall in line behind him - or else.'' The general said he was concerned that Rumsfeld and other hawks who have never bloodied their hands in combat are dangerously glossing over the reality of prolonged, deadly involvement in Iraq. Saying that he is worried that the wisdom of career military planners at the Pentagon is being ''ignored,'' Schwarzkopf said, ''It's scary, OK?''
If Schwarzkopf is scared, Americans might want to think again ..."

Jan 29 ~ Surveillance of communications goes through the roof

Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:
"The official figures are a travesty. Figures are provided which show that surveillance warrants have doubled since Labour came to power in 1997 - they are now more than double the figures in the Second World War. But no figures are given on other major changes brought in under RIPA 2000 that would show the real extent of interception.
The new method of issuing warrants and changes to them is said to make life easier for officials but at the same time it hides from public view the true extent of surveillance.
The Interception Commissioner admits that the great majority of warrants are issued to combat crime so this enormous expansion cannot be explained away as combating terrorism (national security)."
Analysis
The annual report of the Interception of Communications Commissioner for 2001 was published in October 2002. The report, by the Rt Hon Sir Swinton Thomas, as usual shows that no complaint by a member of the public to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal has been upheld......" (more)

Jan 29 ~" Interception of telephone calls, email and post by police and the intelligence services has more than doubled since Labour came to power"

(Yes, we know) "and is higher than at any time since the start of the second world war, according to research to be published this week. The total number of communications surveillance warrants issued in England, Wales and Scotland has risen from 1,370 in 1996 to 3,427 in 2001, in stark contrast to official figures which claim that the number has fallen significantly in recent years. ..." See today's Guardian Police and MI5 tapping of phones and emails doubles under Labour by Stuart Millar and Richard Norton-Taylor
The "Communications Data: Report of an Inquiry by the All Party Internet Group January 2003" can be found at:-http://www.apig.org.uk/APIGreport.pdf

Jan 29 ~ The Ministry of Defence doesn't know how hundreds of phials of anthrax vaccine came to be washed up on the the Dorset coast last week

Warmwell reported on Jan 22 that boxes of the vaccine, washed up along a two-mile stretch of the Dorset coast last week, did belong to the MoD.
Defence chiefs had hoped that the batch number on the boxes would make it easy to trace where the vaccine had come from and how it had ended up in the sea. Last week, speculation centred on the possibility that the vaccine had somehow fallen off a Royal Navy ship taking troops to the Gulf.
But Dr Moonie said that doses from the vaccine batch had been issued to so many military units - in preparation for a possible war against Iraq - that it had "not yet been possible to identify how they came to be in the sea".
His comments were prompted by a series of Parliamentary Questions from Paul Tyler, the Lib-Dem MP for North Cornwall. Mr Tyler said it was "quite extraordinary" that record keeping at the MoD was so poor that it was proving impossible to trace the origin of material as sensitive as anthrax vaccine. See report in WMN (external link)

Jan 29 ~ Last night's BBC programme on "Dirty Meat"

Does anyone have any opinion about this? (we can't get BBC in SW France) One emailer writes,"I did try to watch this programme but found it to be typically Beeb - focusing on small farmers and illegal meat producers. OK so the meat producers they filmed were pretty ghastly but the programme seemed to be trying to tar all small farmers with the same brush."
Another: "I missed the first 10 minutes of the programme. What I did see was journalistically poor and smacked of a put-up job. There was no "real" evidence, if the farmers/butchers involved were doing what they were accused of they would have been prosecuted. There was no evidence and no prosecutions as far as I know. Just another manufactured scare story." Jan 29 ~"... very soon we are going to get the chance to ask the boss of the FSA why he ignores whistle-blowers dealing with BIG food safety scams" An email received about last night's BBC programme on Unfit meat contains the intriguing line above.

Jan 29 ~ "It's time the terminally stupid stopped eating food."

If all the cows really had no tags somebody had already lost money on them -I suppose they might have been over 30 months, but no one asked their age and even then they would be worth more in the cull scheme than the peanuts they were supposed to have paid for them. If meat from the above cows really did end up in Birningham Bull Ring as the farmer said (I'm sure that was Midland humour - as per my own father) how many folks did it poison? The reporter said that any meat without a vet stamp was "dangerous", not "possibly dangerous".... What a load of ****! Who brainwashes these idiots?..." read the rest of this refreshing email from Joyce R

Jan 29 ~ "The current American elite is the Third Reich of our times

although this distinction ought not to let us forget that they have merely accelerated more than half a century of unrelenting American state terrorism: from the atomic bombs dropped cynically on Japan as a signal of their new power to the dozens of countries invaded, directly or by proxy, to destroy democracy wherever it collided with American "interests", such as a voracious appetite for the world's resources, like oil.
When you next hear Blair or Straw or Bush talk about "bringing democracy to the people of Iraq", remember that it was the CIA that installed the Ba'ath Party in Baghdad from which emerged Saddam Hussein.
"That was my favourite coup," said the CIA man responsible. When you next hear Blair and Bush talking about a "smoking gun" in Iraq, ask why the US government last December confiscated the 12,000 pages of Iraq's weapons declaration, saying they contained "sensitive information" which needed "a little editing".
Sensitive indeed. The original Iraqi documents listed 150 American, British and other foreign companies that supplied Iraq with its nuclear, chemical and missile technology, many of them in illegal transactions. In 2000 Peter Hain, then a Foreign Office Minister, blocked a parliamentary request to publish the full list of lawbreaking British companies. He has never explained why....." Read John Pilger in the Mirror today

Jan 29 ~ 'Stormin' Norman,' Gen. Schwarzkopf Is Skeptical About U.S. Action in Iraq

The general who commanded U.S. forces in the 1991 Gulf War says he hasn't seen enough evidence to convince him that his old comrades Dick Cheney, Colin Powell and Paul Wolfowitz are correct in moving toward a new war now. He thinks U.N. inspections are still the proper course to follow. He's worried about the cockiness of the U.S. war plan, and even more by the potential human and financial costs of occupying Iraq.
And don't get him started on Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld....." See Washington Post (external link)

Jan 29 ~Bush talks of "just causes" and "sparing the innocent" in his war....

"If war is forced upon us, we will fight in a just cause and by just means, sparing, in every way we can, the innocent Bush told a national television audience from the chamber of the House of Representatives, which was brimming with lawmakers, Cabinet secretaries and other dignitaries.......Democrats have demanded that the White House bolster its case by releasing more evidence. U.N. arms inspectors have yet to find any major evidence of the weapons of mass destruction Iraq denies having or trying to obtain. ....Democrats were already criticising Bush before he delivered the speech. "The state of the union today is anxious," said Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota.
"People are very concerned about their pensions, they're concerned about their jobs, they're concerned about the economy, they're concerned about war in Iraq, they're concerned about the war against the terrorists, they're concerned about education," he said. ." See Reuters report today

Jan 28 ~" Most of the movement believes that the best means of regaining control over political life is through local community action.

A smaller faction (to which I belong) believes that this response is insufficient, and that we must seek to create democratically accountable global institutions. The debates have, so far, been muted. But when they emerge, they will be fierce.
For all that, I think most of us have noticed that something has changed, that we are beginning to move on from the playing of games and the staging of parties, that we are coming to develop a more mature analysis, a better grasp of tactics, an understanding of the need for policy. We are, in other words, beginning for the first time to look like a revolutionary movement. We are finding, too, among some of the indebted states of the poor world, a new preparedness to engage with us. In doing so, they speed our maturation: the more we are taken seriously, the more seriously we take ourselves.
Whether we are noticed or not is no longer relevant. We know that, with or without the media's help, we are a gathering force which might one day prove unstoppable. " George Monbiot in today's Guardian

Jan 28 ~ we are once again a country desperately in need of a clear, temperate voice at a time of unmistakable international crisis.

Article in today's Guardian (external link) by Martin Kettle ".... Rarely has it seemed more important in recent years for the national interest on the world stage to be properly articulated and clearly acted upon. And yet if Tony Blair no longer speaks for England - or, more properly, Britain - then who does?
Even now, it may seem unfair to write Blair so peremptorily out of the script. He still speaks for many more people - and in more subtle ways - than those who rush to label this as "the Bush-Blair war" ever acknowledge. He has, in his way, been pursuing a necessary, often lonely, frequently unrewarding and at times even heroic effort to prevent a dangerous American war against a dangerous Iraq. He is - or was - right to try to contain the administration that rules the US, just as he is also right to seek to contain the threat from Saddam Hussein.
Nor is Blair's frequently stated desire for Britain to have the best of both worlds - European influence and transatlantic influence - either unprincipled or tactically wrong. That policy made enormous sense before September 11, when Blair invoked it to try to head off the Bush administration's early signs of multilateral disengagement. But it has been tested to destruction since September 11. It can no longer bear the weight that the combination of the danger from terrorism and the momentum of the Bush administration's response now place on it. Bush has forced Blair to choose between Europe and the US, and Blair cannot avoid the tragic choice.
That is why this weekend's Blair visit to Bush at Camp David could be pivotal in our modern nationhood. Driven by a combination of anger, oil, domestic electoral calculation, and the awesome re-energisation of what Dwight Eisenhower called the military-industrial complex, the Americans have got themselves over-exposed on Iraq. By overcommitting militarily so hastily, Bush is now a step away from having to go to war largely to save his own face. War with Iraq is not even in Americams interests, never mind Britain's.
In theory this could be seen as a great opportunity for Blair. In theory, this weekend is the moment when Blair can say to Bush that our national interest is at odds with America's war. In theory, that refusal could matter. In theory, it is even the moment when Blair could start to make the great overdue turn towards Europe to which Bush has finally forced him.
In practice, none of these things is going to happen. Tragically, when Blair says he positively wants America to act this way, he seems to be saying what he believes. Tragically, he cannot contemplate saying no to the US, even when Bush has pushed him to it. That is why we are again at a "speak for England" moment. Yet even AJP Taylor would have been hard put to explain how the man who currently speaks for England is, of all unlikely people, Jacques Chirac. martin.kettle@guardian.co.uk

Jan 28 ~ How others see us?

Gary B in Kansas writes this morning, "...Well, what it all boils down to is this, from an outsider's point of view.....either you comply with your government's wishes...or they will put you out of business That's your U.K government at work....not mine. ....
The U.K is a sinking ship, in its present state.   You are regarded as wooses by the general world public.   And I will not retract that because I have heard too many comments from others all over the world that regard you Brits the same way I do.....from a psychological standpoint....there are lots of people that think you Brits have no back-bone....no ability to stand up for yourselves...and no ability to be heard and LISTENED TO BY YOUR OWN GOVERNMENTAL OFFICIALS
So, you have two problems:
  • 1.  A general un-willingness to challenge and confront your own government
  • 2.  Governmental officials that are DEAF......to your requests.
    YOU'RE DOOMED..."

    Jan 28 ~ "Germany's current resistance to President George W. Bush's war coincides with the re-emergence in Germany of articulated memories of exterminatory bombardment, pillage, population expulsions and mass rape, suffered in the final months of World War II.

    That devastating experience has for years been deliberately repressed in the German consciousness, in acknowledgment of Germany's responsibility for the war and the crimes committed by German forces.
    In recent months a series of books and articles have at last recalled what the Germans themselves call taboo subjects, at a time when the youngest generations of those who experienced these events are mostly still alive.
    This has not been to argue the merits, justification and (minor) actual effect on the German war effort of allied saturation and firestorm bombing of German cities, but in order to establish a moral and aesthetic coming-to-terms with events that, together with the firebombing of Japan's wooden cities, rank among the worst things ever done in or by Western civilization.
    Next to this, the intellectually claptrap war rhetoric of the Bush administration seems unbearably unimportant, evidence only of how remote the political class in the United States remains today from all the rest of the world." International Herald Tribune Europe and America: Some Know More About War by William Pfaff

    Jan 28 ~ "More and more Americans - aware that their President declined to serve his country in Vietnam - realize that their newspapers are lying to them

    and acting as a conduit for the US government alone. More and more Britons are tired of being told to go to war by their newspapers and television stations and politicians. Indeed, I'd guess that far more Britons are represented today by the policies of President Chirac of France than Prime Minister Blair of Britain..." Robert Fisk's article in the Independent yesterday "The Wartime Deceptions: Saddam is Hitler and It's Not About Oil" (external link)

    Jan 27 ~ New York Times speaks out

    "...We urge the administration to brake the momentum toward war....Forty years ago, the United States entered into a conflict in Southeast Asia with good intentions. When it emerged, it was torn at home and humbled abroad. The men and women now preparing to take the country into war in Iraq are, in the main, products of the Vietnam generation. They should be the first to remember how easy it is for things that begin well to end badly. " See article

    Jan 27 ~ Bugs, cameras and Human Rights

    Three articles today to show that Big Brother is on the march in England.

    Jan 27 ~ Cloned transgenic cows used to make cheese production "easier"

    Both the Times and the Telegraph report this New Zealand exercise today (external links). The reports are brief and neutral in tone. However we read that "The cows were created by combining GM techniques with the cloning method used to produce Dolly the sheep. Out of 126 attempts, they produced just 11 calf clones, each one carrying the extra milk protein genes. When the cows produced milk, nine had higher than normal levels of milk proteins." What happens to the 115 failures? We have never been reassured about Dolly the sheep's premature aging and the possibility of genetic defects caused by the cloning process. We note that GeneWatch UK has called for a ban on all GM and cloning of animals for use in agriculture.

    Jan 27 ~ The BBC is to appoint its first countryside correspondent after criticism of an urban bias in its reporting.

    Telegraph (external link) "The post, which will entail reporting on the rural, social and political issues related to the countryside, will be advertised in a month. It will be based outside London, probably in Birmingham where the BBC programmes Country File and Farming Today are produced. It will be the first time that the BBC has had a specialist dedicated to the countryside. Previously the "rural affairs" brief has covered all environmental stories. The news was greeted by the Countryside Alliance as a significant step forward."

    Jan 27 ~ " It is now commonplace knowledge that our (US) government and its foreign policy are controlled by multinational corporations"

    "...Of course no sensible person could possibly believe that the aim of war in Iraq is the welfare of the people of that country." Today, Franklin continued, "our government's motives are blatantly clear. Hence the apt slogan, 'No blood for oil.' "
    In Timing and In Size, Last Weekend's Antiwar Protests Made History (external link) by Scott Laderman extract: "Something remarkable happened last weekend. From Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Portland to Montreal, Damascus, and Tokyo, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets Jan. 18 to protest a potential escalation of the American war against Iraq. There are many issues on which these demonstrators would likely disagree. All were emphatic on one point: Not in their name would an American war be waged.
    At Davos Forum, A Slide Toward Alienation .......Much of what has alienated the world from Bush policy could have been avoided if the White House had lived up to its own compassionate, pro-democracy rhetoric. Even the Iraq issue needn't have generated such global vitriol. This administration has unnecessarily shot itself in the foot. It can't offset its mistakes by glitzy State Department public-relations campaigns or beaming hours of pop music and political commercials at Arab youth...."

    Jan 27 ~" The things we see - the filth and obscenity of corpses - cannot be shown.

    First because it is not "appropriate" to depict such reality on breakfast-time TV. Second because, if what we saw was shown on television, no one would ever again agree to support a war...." Robert Fisk's article "Does Tony Have Any Idea What the Flies are Like That Feed Off the Dead?" in yesterday's Independent on Sunday, makes bleak reading.

    Jan 27 ~ Suspect GM corn -" they aren't waiting for the testing to be done"

    Reuters report: "...Iowa farmers and an environmental group on Thursday charged the U.S. government with selling a problem supply of genetically engineered corn to a feed company despite complaints that the corn had caused hormonal problems in pigs. The Iowa Farmers Union (IFU) and Friends of the Earth sent a letter on Thursday to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, asking the USDA to bar use of the corn in human or animal food "as long as the cause of reproductive failure in swine is unresolved....."

    Jan 26 ~ "Military tension increased yesterday with reports that Washington is preparing an unprecedented barrage of up to 800 cruise missiles in the first two days of any war.

    Fewer than 200 were fired in the first two days of the 1991 Gulf war.
    The plan for mass opening strikes, known at the Pentagon as "shock and awe", is intended as a psychological thunderclap to destroy Iraq's will to fight. A US defence analyst also reported that the Pentagon was ready to use nuclear "bunker-busters" against underground targets if Saddam deploys chemical or biological weapons.
    Washington has begun planning for an interim military administration to take over from Saddam. A US general is likely to assume command once Baghdad has fallen. But for diplomatic and military reasons, Washington wants British troops to run the post-combat security operation...." Sunday Times (external link)

    Jan 26 ~ "the British have spoken out against war. Mr Blair must heed them "

    writes Mary Riddell in today's Observer "..... . Outright opposition to war has risen to 47 per cent, according to the latest ICM poll, but unease remains anchored to the sofa. Had such inertia afflicted previous generations, the Magna Carta would have been unsigned, the poll tax unabolished and women might still be pleading for the vote.
    Smollett thought 'the immediate danger of public commotion' was the only real check on arbitrary government. If so, then Bush and Blair can carry on milking an anti-protest mood they helped engender. .....why aren't more people out marching? Through fatalism, some say, but that is too bleak an analysis. Assuming that the weapons inspectors report no smoking gun tomorrow, it sounds as if they will be allowed to carry on. War looks probable but not inevitable. Such modulation is due, in part, to the quiet voices of citizens who can say, as politicians dare not, how hard the choices are and how imperfect.
    Containment, smart sanctions and ongoing UN inspections are simply the least worst option. They don't fit on a placard or inspire the masses. They don't invoke the spirit of Vietnam, and they never will. If you want a street demo, march to save the opera or for the right to abortion, the rally that last week brought Washington to a halt.
    Modern conflict may be too complex for arcane forms of protest. That does not alter the power of dissent. It does not matter whether the forum of public opinion is net-surfing in Basingstoke, grumbling at the Tesco check-out, or on the march in Parliament Square. British voters have stood up against an unjustified or unmandated strike. Tony Blair would defy them at his peril. "

    Jan 26 ~ Oil is the key

    Today's Sunday Herald says "Oil is key as Bush agrees month delay" and "France demands Iraqi oil rights to drop veto" "......Tony Blair and George Bush have privately agreed a joint strategy that will delay any possible war against Iraq for four weeks during which time they will work tirelessly to achieve three key objectives:

    Jan 25 ~ "Traffic on the many parts of the Internet slowed dramatically for hours early Saturday"

    an emailer writes, "..it has been acknowledged that the speed at which the Peace Movement was able to spread around the world and organize demonstrations globally is down to the increased communications via the internet. Any Government wanting to disrupt that communication simply has to bring down the Net. Meanwhile, check your anti-virus is up to date." from Internet traffic broadly affected by electronic attack (Associated Press external link) Traffic on the many parts of the Internet slowed dramatically for hours early Saturday, the apparent effects of a fast-spreading, virus-like infection that overwhelmed the world's digital pipelines and interfered with Web browsing and delivery of e-mail. The latest attack was likely to revive debate within the technology industry about the need for an Internet-wide monitoring center, which the Bush administration has proposed. Some Internet industry executives and lawyers said they would raise serious civil liberties concerns if the U.S. government, not an industry consortium, operated such a powerful monitoring center. http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url/techne /s ecurity/ On the Net: Microsoft fix: bulletin/MS02-039.asp

    Jan 25 ~ "Only the future is certain. The past is always changing."

    The incomparable Matthew Parris in the Times today : ".... I remember arguing then that in an imperfect world where international law was incomplete, the forces of civilisation were well served by the provision of refuge for toppled tyrants. I argue the same in the case of Slobodan Milosevic. I thought I heard Tony Blair answer these arguments with a ringing declaration that in the New World Order there should be no escape for the wicked. Funny, then, that earlier this week I seemed to hear the Prime Minister, quizzed by senior MPs and asked if he agreed with the US Administration that an escape route might be offered to Saddam, reply that it would be "great" (his word) if this could happen.
    Ah, but that was now and this was then, and as Paul Flynn, MP, reminds us: "Only the future is certain. The past is always changing."

    Jan 25 ~" Mr Blair's attempts to focus attention on domestic policies have been blown off course by the prospect of war in Iraq.

    His speech on Thursday night on reform of the public services was overshadowed by an anti-war demonstrator, who gained widespread publicity by gaining access to a hand-picked audience of Labour activists. The incident, at Camden, north London, was a serious blow. Mr Blair had hoped that his speech would impress on the party and the public "where our energies are". Instead, it only served to highlight divisions over Iraq. Anti-war campaigners claimed yesterday that a crowd of 20,000 would confront Mr Blair over Iraq at Labour's spring conference in Scotland next month." Telegraph external link

    Jan 25 ~ "Do we risk changing the fabric of our society so that the highest level of identification becomes the norm for the most mundane of services?

    Will the benefits outweigh the risks to privacy, human rights and social values?".. asked (Jonathan Bamford, the assistant information commissioner)
    Lord Falconer's remarks ("We may not proceed with the scheme and if we do it will take several years.) contained frequent references to "if" the ID card scheme went ahead. "If we proceed we will need a clearly defined set of purposes," he said. "We would have to design the legislation so that future governments could not make changes without coming back to Parliament first.".
    Some good news at last. See Falconer hints at ID card rethink (external link) by George Jones in today's Telegraph.

    Jan 25 ~ Julian Little, of Bayer CropScience "It is possible that we could pull out of Europe."

    GM companies battle to salvage reputation (external link) Fordyce Maxwell in today's Scotsman: "Representatives of the big-six companies involved with genetically modified crops were on a charm offensive in Scotland this week, meeting MSPs, scientists and journalists.
    Paul Rylott, of Bayer CropScience and the chairman of the recently-formed Agricultural Biotechnology Council (ABC), did not put it quite like that.
    He told journalists that the industry - as in his company, BASF, Dow, DuPont, Monsanto and Syngenta - had recognised 18 months ago that the battle for GM was being lost.
    Actual battlefields in Scotland include the Black Isle, Daviot in Aberdeenshire and Newport on Tay, where the controversial GM crop trials are taking place.
    There was also the wider battle of public opinion and a mainly-hostile media. ..."

    Jan 25 ~ Straw in the wind

    "- The White House on Thursday expressed resolve on Iraq in the face of pointed French and German criticism, saying that while it was perfectly possible that France might not join in if there is military action, several other countries from Europe and elsewhere would do so - and would prevail. .....the U.S. position received a boost Thursday when Jack Straw, the British foreign secretary, said at the State Department that the British and U.S. position were exactly the same. The two countries reserved the right to act if there is no clear resolution within the UN, he said, standing alongside Secretary of State Colin Powell...." extract from International Herald Tribune - the on the Tocqueville Connection
    The head of the French parliament's foreign affairs committee, Edouard Balladur, tried to turn Donald Rumsfeld's slight on its head, saying: "Old Europe, that is very flattering, a sign of experience and wisdom. I only wish we had thought of it ourselves."

    Jan 24 ~ The refuseniks of Kingsland - revolt against the Government's "snooper's code" has gathered force

    A free country (Telegraph opinion external link) By Stephen Robinson
    "The great parish council revolt against the Government's "snooper's code" has gathered force in the week since Chris Garner of Kings Langley became the first councillor to be struck off for failing to list all his financial interests. Mr Garner was disqualified for one year after the first sitting of the Adjudication Panel for England, New Labour's ethical enforcers.
    However, when the formal notification of the verdict arrived at his home, the sentence had mysteriously doubled to two years. This error was blamed yesterday on computer problems, and Mr Garner is promised a full explanation as to why the accident-prone panel managed to make such a howler on its first adjudication.
    Meanwhile, Rodney Smallwood has fielded well over 100 phone calls and e-mails from fellow parish councillors since we highlighted the case of the refuseniks of Kingsland, Herefordshire, where the entire council has declined to sign the code. Mr Smallwood, a solicitor, hopes to take a class action suit to judicial review, and beyond that to Europe if necessary. Further assistance has been offered by Leolin Price QC, who was so enraged by the bossiness of the Government's meddling that he sat down one evening this week and wrote an opinion for Mr Garner to assist his appeal against disqualification.
    Serious legal minds are now applying themselves as to how to proceed, and Mr Smallwood is considering asking councillors to chip in £50 or so to fund a court challenge. "The best outcome, of course, would be for a single benefactor to come forward and help us fight this all the way, because that is what we will do," he said yesterday. Mr Smallwood is happy to hear from any backers, moral or otherwise, and can be reached at rcsmallwood@fsmail.net."

    Jan 24 ~ " in Russia... more than 20,000 nuclear warheads sit in 120 separate storage sites. A single artillery shell of nerve agents is small enough to fit into a briefcase and contains enough lethal doses to kill 100,000 people.

    "The US is blocking funds to secure Russian stores while it spends billions sending tens of thousands of troops to the Gulf, with British support, to topple a dictator who presents no existing threat to American or British security.
    Sir Michael Quinlan, former permanent secretary at the MoD and high priest of traditional deterrence theory, has described a war against Iraq as "an unnecessary and precarious gamble". General Sir Michael Rose, former head of the UN peacekeeping force in Bosnia, raises the question: "How will a war against Iraq impact on the global war currently being waged against terrorism?" Douglas Hogg, lawyer and former Conservative foreign minister, says there is no moral case for war since there is no evidence that Saddam Hussein presents a grave and imminent threat to Britain or the US.
    They are speaking for many in the highest reaches of Whitehall and the military, as well as in the wider world, concerned about the dangerous adventure Blair and Bush are embarking on." (article in yesterday's Guardian (external link) by Richard Norton-Taylor )

    Jan 24 ~ The tragedy is that ancient British liberties are caught in the crossfire.

    Boris Johnson in yesterday's Telegraph (external link). " Under the EU arrest warrant, you can be summarily extradited to another European country, without any examination of the evidence against you, for conduct that is not even a crime in this country. For the first time, British citizens, in Britain, will be subject to the criminal law of other countries - even if the law here says they have no case to answer. And if we protest against this infamy, we are told it is part of the war on terror; and that, of course, makes it politically hard to oppose.
    This law, like others, is part of the eternal but escalating conflict between lawyers and populist Home Office politicians. The more assiduous are the lawyers in protecting human rights, the more ruthlessly the politicians retaliate with new law. The tragedy is that ancient British liberties are caught in the crossfire."

    Jan 23 ~ 41 Labour MPs in anti-war vote

    Labour MPs voiced their opposition to military action last night when they forced through a Commons vote denouncing the government's policy on Iraq. See today's Scotsman (external link)

    Jan 23 ~ Bush faces growing opposition at home

    By Tim Reid in today's Times (external link) : "President Bush faces growing domestic opposition to a war against Iraq even as he struggles to convince European allies at the United Nations that an invasion is now justified. Seven out of ten Americans would give UN weapons inspectors months more to search for arms inside Iraq, according to yesterday's Washington Post. It is the latest in a rash of recent polls that consistently paint a picture of an American public deeply concerned that the case for war has not been made convincingly. ..."

    Jan 23 ~" If ever there was a practitioner for ruthlessness, it's Bush and crew...."

    See the excellent and thought-provoking website Counter Punch " Ruining people's lives seems to be something in which this regime prides itself. Eliminating billions of dollars for birth control programs, food disbursements, benefits for the unemployed (10 percent out-of-work in the US), environmental protections, and promoting what amounts to $2 trillion in tax cuts primarily for the rich is hardly the way to maintain a somewhat egalitarian society. Standing idly by while knowing California's energy crisis was caused primarily by Enron, and while many states-of-the-union approach bankruptcy is to court further disaster. Giving the wacky Pentagon and the Homeland Security Department budget which approaches close to $500 billion while holding spending on infrastructure, education and health care to a ludicrous $350 billion is close to criminal. Inserting church into state through untidy faith-based programs, inserting state into the home through the efforts of convicted criminals like Admiral John Poindexter seems the work of madmen. ..." Yes - we thought so on warmwell at the time.

    Jan 22/23 ~ ITV's film, of course, couldn't be shown - lest it persuade the entire world that no one should go to war, ever, again.

    A moving article by Robert Fisk today in the Independent : (more) Jan 22/23 ~ "Few (we heard none) discussed Israeli policy and the increasingly close partnership between the Bush and Sharon governments as a factor at least as important as oil in pushing the U.S. toward war. " See Counter Punch org. "those of us who oppose war on Iraq should be facing this issue of Middle East transformation head-on, not ignoring it for tactical reasons or out of fear of charges of anti-Semitism."

    Jan 22/23 ~ France served notice yesterday that it would press other European governments to oppose American plans for war against Iraq,

    setting itself on a collision course with the United States and risking a damaging clash inside the European Union with Britain. France's Foreign Minister, Dominique de Villepin, said in Brussels that he would use a summit of EU foreign ministers next week to rally opposition to an early war with Iraq. He said: "It is important Europe speaks on this issue with a single voice. We are mobilised; we believe war can be avoided." See today's Independent

    Jan 22/23 ~ "Congratulations to Devon County Council for sticking up for the public...."

    See Foe press release: " Friends of the Earth's GM campaigner Pete Riley said: "This is fantastic news. Congratulations to Devon County Council for sticking up for the public who have made it perfectly clear that they don't want GM food and crops. We hope that more local authorities will follow their lead. Devon County Council should now ask the Government to ensure that GM crops are not grown anywhere in the county in future - something it is able to do under a new European law."

    Jan 22 ~ Hundreds of phials of anthrax vaccine washed up on Dorset beach on Monday morning

    See Western Morning News (external link) "... the Ministry of Defence (MoD) last night admitted the supplies had been issued to the armed forces. It is not clear how the phials ended up on the beach - but it is suspected that they came off a Royal Navy warship involved in the recent deployment to the Gulf headed by HMS Ark Royal. This would be a major embarrassment to the Government, particularly as many troops have refused to be inoculated against anthrax because of serious fears about the vaccine's side-effects...." Seventy-two per cent of Royal Navy personnel have not been immunised against the disease, according to an article in the Scotland on Sunday newspaper.
    " Exeter-based GP Dr Adrian Midgley, who served with the British Army during Operation Desert Storm 12 years ago, said the find would pose no risk to human health or the environment. "The antidote to anthrax is a dead vaccine. It is brewed over months and is unlikely to pose any threat to health or the environment," he said. "It's sad though that it ended up as flotsam and jetsam."
    ......Asked which chemical or biological weapon would jeopardise the security and welfare of a country, he added: "Probably foot and mouth. "It has the potential to cause great damage to a country's economy. ........"Terrorists may target animals and crops as well as human beings. There is no evidence that the foot and mouth outbreak in the country was caused by terrorist activity, but it is always wise to be on the alert and identify any weapons which can produce damage."

    Jan 22 ~ Mrs Sigmund said the discovery of the antidote washed ashore in Dorset could "raise many questions which should be answered by those responsible in the Government."

    See CAMPAIGNER SHOCKED AT LACK OF CARE "I shall talk to my colleagues at the University of Leeds and Sussex about the implications of this discovery. I cannot believe that this has happened. It will certainly cause outrage with the general public. I shall also speak with my MP and ask him to take this matter to the House of Commons. It is a very serious incident." The campaigner is mostly known for her stalwart attitude against chemical poisoning from organophosphates which she believes can cause severe brain damage."

    Jan 22 ~" English Nature, who are no longer an advisory body but now a political enforcer"

    " It is not true to say that farmers have learned nothing," writes a very angry farmer today "We have learned a lot about political control, including of the media, of ignorance and prejudice, of the non- accountability of some groups of people and that the BBC is no better than Pravda.
    We have learned to be so cynical we can not choose between Tony Blair and Saddam Hussein as far as the truth is concerned. [We already know about Bush]
    I look forward to the day when someone will publish a book on just how much we have learned from the handling of the foot and mouth epidemic.
    My husband has recently sent a letter to our local paper re the activities of English Nature, who are no longer an advisory body but now a political enforcer. We are waiting to see if it will be printed."

    Jan 21/22 ~ "Allegations of racism have been dropped against Robin Page...

    ... a Telegraph columnist who was questioned by police after saying country dwellers should enjoy the same rights as blacks, Muslims and homosexuals." See Telegraph (external link)
    "Mr Page, 61, was arrested on suspicion of stirring up racial hatred after making a speech at a pro-hunting rally in November which began: "If there is a black, vegetarian, Muslim, asylum-seeking, one-legged, lesbian lorry driver present...I want the same rights as you."
    He denied his comments could be construed as racist. He said he was simply calling for freedom of expression as he exhorted the audience to attend the Liberty and Livelihood March in London later that month.
    Mr Page, who lives in Barton, Glos, was released on police bail and ordered to report to Stroud police station. The Crown Prosecution Service has since decided there is insufficient evidence to take the case further.
    Mr Page believes the accusation has been "immensely damaging". He is now planning legal action against Gloucestershire police for unlawful detention and is considering action for defamation. Gloucestershire Constabulary, which investigated complaints from members of the public about Mr Page, confirmed that bail had been dropped."

    Jan 21 ~ "..a blatant example of how the BBC fails its legal obligations under its charter"

    The Shadow Attorney General, the MP Bill Cash, wrote to the Telgraph yesterday: "..Sir Jeremy Isaacs (report, Jan 17) refers to impartiality on matters of public policy under the BBC charter and the pledge of the director general, Greg Dyke, on this issue. Impartiality goes to the heart of whether the public, which pays the licence fee, is properly informed, as it is entitled to be. Given the vast influence the BBC has on public opinion, it also affects the question of whether the Opposition is seen to be effective. I give a graphic example, arising out of the recent interview on the influential Today programme with the Lord Chancellor about the controversial and vital issue of the unsatisfactory guidelines issued by the Lord Chief Justice on the sentencing of burglars, which the Lord Chancellor endorsed. .." (read letter)

    Jan 21 ~ more than 7,000 MoveOn members will be visiting their senators and members of congress in more than 400 local offices across the nation, asking them to "Let the Inspections Work."

    Opposition to war in Iraq is broad and deep in the U.S. and worldwide. See http://www.moveon.org/pressroom.html

    Jan 20 ~ "In an exclusive phone poll, 96 per cent of those who voted said they were against conflict with Iraq.

    Peace protest organiser Clare Marsh said: "The poll just goes to show how ordinary people are overwhelmingly against war and it's about time they were listened to." Western Morning News (external link)

    Jan 20 ~ "The argument for deregulation is always that it will reduce prices.

    But the reality is that it polarises business into the hands of multi-national companies.
    The profits are not recycled into the local community. The superstores do not use the local infrastructure and are not locally sourced, and the regional economy will be the poorer..." This is an article in the Western Morning News (external link) about the threat to local chemists. It has a horribly familiar ring.

    Jan 20 ~ ".. the environmentally beneficial effects of using sustainable fuels made from rape and sunflower seeds rather than fossil fuels."

    ".....it is no coincidence that Mercedes and Volkswagen engines are the most cooking-oil tolerant on the market. Indeed Mercedes motors are so accommodating that they will, apparently, run on lard. ..." See Guardian story Fry and drive While the US is preparing to slaughter thousands of innocents in Iraq in its quest to secure yet more supplies of oil to run its SUVs, the resourceful people of Wales run their cars on cooking oil.

    Jan 18 ~ ".... inept and cunning government scientists and officials, and ill educated, inarticulate and plain stupid ministers that have more than just a little difficulty with the truth...."

    Pat Rickett writes, "Just to support your correspondent who questioned the tone of Radio 4 reporting about the alleged illegal movements of livestock and the expressed opinion that that such movements had caused the spread of foot and mouth. On The Farming programme earlier Miriam O'Reilly, who by the questions she engenders clearly knows nothing about farming, said "Farmers have clearly learnt nothing from the foot and mouth epidemic". She was of course merely repeating our intellectual Minister Idiot Morley who said exactly this on Radio 4 some months ago. We have exactly the same situation with BSE - how many times do you hear the BBC quote that nvCJD is the disease contracted from eating contaminated beef! This statement has yet to be proved and well they know it.
    It would be interesting if some air time could be given to Farmers so that they could enlighten the general public on the full extent of what they have learned about inept and cunning government scientists and officials, and ill educated, inarticulate and plain stupid ministers that have more than just a little difficulty with the truth. "

    Jan 18 ~ Nationally, around 1,500 reservists will receive their call-up papers this week

    The WMN reports (external link) "...Defence sources yesterday said the call-up was merely the "first tranche" of what could well become a larger mobilisation of reservists if Britain is involved in an attack on Iraq. "The thinking on the total number is still developing," one source said. "Obviously it depends on the role that the UK may play and no decision has been taken on that yet." Those receiving their call-up will be given further training, including training in dealing with nuclear, biological and chemical warfare, before being deployed. They could be called up for up to a year. Although some will serve in the UK, the vast majority are likely to be posted to the Gulf in the event of war. An MoD spokesman yesterday insisted that the call-up was not a result of "overstretch" in the armed forces. "They are relied upon to provide certain specialisms and support services," he said. "It is better to think of them as part-time members of the armed forces rather than as civilians......"

    Jan 18 ~ From the current issue of the Ecologist... FOR RICHER READ POORER

    It9s not wealth that makes people happy, says Jeremy Seabrook, but sufficiency. Yet a system based on constant growth always relys on us wanting more. We are perpetually dissatisfied with plenty. Where does gobalisation go now? http://www.theecologist.org/archive_article.html?article=353&category=57

    Jan 17 ~ The Times Wednesday 15th Jan asks for feedback

    "A heavy price to pay for gobbling up cheap food" and The Times Leader on the same subject: "Sell them cheap - Shopping around for a new supermarket chain" http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,172-543398,00.html Please contribute to Debate via comment@thetimes.co.uk

    Jan 17 ~ Would identity cards help police in Bradford, who are having difficulty finding a one-armed, hunchbacked dwarf with a limp and an Irish accent, in connection with a £10,000 jewellery raid?

    Harry Mount in the Telegraph's Free Country (Filed: 17/01/2003) ".....If this useful combination of aural and visual clues is not enough to track him down, you might have thought a card would help. The history of ID cards shows the opposite - that police start to depend on them, as they have on security cameras, and give up on more traditional sleuthing tools such as, say, eyes and ears......what Mr Blunkett envisages for the future hardly matters. He will probably not be Home Secretary in five years' time, when he expects that the cards will be introduced. The record of ID cards in other countries suggests that the cards become subject to so-called "function creep" and that much more information than originally intended is steadily squeezed on to them. Police end up turning a blind eye to criminals, who develop an expertise for card fraud, and come down hard on absent-minded old ladies who leave them on the Tube. ...."

    Jan 17 ~ Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of parish councillors have opted to walk away from their responsibilities rather than submit to the Parish Councils (Model Code of Conduct) Order 2001

    See today's Telegraph (external link) "...In the unlikely surroundings of a hotel conference room just off Junction 9 of the M1, Chris Garner, yesterday secured for himself a short footnote in English legal history when he became the first parish councillor to be disqualified for failing to submit to the Government's new "snooper's code". ........the sentence of disqualification for one year, though an irksome outcome for a man who had cheerfully volunteered his time to his village, was not unexpected."

    Jan 17 ~ EU "whistleblower" accountant denounces gagging order

    See http://www.eubusiness.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=98269&d=101&h=0&f=0&dateformat=%o%20%B%20%Y BRUSSELS, Dec 4 (AFP) - The European Commission's former top accountant denounced on Wednesday a gagging order forbidding her speak out after she was suspended for attacking EU bookkeeping. Marta Andreasen, who was suspended in May as chief accountant for the EU executive, said she was frustrated but would continue to fight to clear her good name.
    "I am frustrated," she said, flanked by her lawyer at a hearing in the European parliament. "They have prevented me from giving this assistance which I think is important for the parliament." Andreasen, who had been hired in January, refused to sign off on the Commission's accounts for 2001 after finding "serious and glaring" shortcomings with accounting and computer systems. She had been due to recount the circumstances surrounding her suspension at the hearing in the Brussels parliament. But at the last minute Wednesday morning she received a letter from her Commission bosses, warning that speaking out could have consequences for her "personal status." "She received this morning a letter ... saying she is not allowed to say something ...."

    Jan 17 ~ Western Morning News readers have voted overwhelmingly AGAINST British forces going to war with Iraq.

    "In our exclusive telephone poll, 2,115 said "no" to war with just 86 voting in favour. The scale of the "no" vote suggests a hardening of public opposition towards war with Iraq. Richard Younger-Ross, Lib-Dem MP for Teignbridge, said he was not surprised that the public opposed war. Mr Younger-Ross, who has lived in Iraq, said: "The overwhelming majority of people are opposed to war when they cannot see a purpose...." article (external link)
    See also Times - (external link) "Internet fuels the anti-war campaign" From Chris Ayres in Los Angeles "Protestors provided with vital propaganda tool online
    ANTI-WAR protesters have never had such a powerful communications and propaganda tool at their disposal. Via the internet, conscientious objectors can discreetly use websites to vent their anger at US foreign policy and organise demonstrations with like-minded citizens....."

    Jan 16 ~ So we can have a "communications" independent inquiry - but not one for FMD.

    Alastair Campbell could be given powers over the Government's entire "spin" operation under a review of the Whitehall press machine. Independent (external link) "Whether Downing Street's director of communications should overhaul public relations within every government department is one idea to be discussed by the independent inquiry.
    Other possibilities are abolishing the Government Information and Communications Service, the arm of the Civil Service that runs Whitehall press offices, and integrating departmental press offices into ministers' private offices. ....... Ministers are determined to overcome Labour's reputation for "spin" and "control freakery", which was revived by the controversy over Cherie Blair's dealings with the convicted fraudster Peter Foster.
    The inquiry, which comes five years after the last important review of government communications, will consider whether Downing Street should lead an ongoing review of departmental communication strategies, something that would extend still further the power of Number 10.
    The inquiry will determine whether the fallout from Jo Moore's infamous e-mail urging press officers to "bury bad news" on 11 September 2001 was an isolated problem or symptomatic of a wider malaise within the Government Information Service. It will investigate claims that government press offices have been politicised and examine the status of ministerial special advisers, raising the question of whether it is appropriate for advisers to brief the media when they are paid from public funds. "

    Jan 16 ~ "People have nothing to fear" says Mr Blunkett of identity cards.

    From Philip Johnston's article in today's Telegraph (external link) "....Mr Blunkett said he understood the misgivings of those who were concerned that identity cards would be of benefit only to the state and would restrict individual freedoms. "The most fundamental fear is 'What is Big Brother up to? What is behind all this? Can we trust the Government?'," he said....."
    See also its sister article which suggests that Gordon Brown does not want to fund the ID cards. So we'd be paying for them too.

    Jan 16 ~The BBC has a habit of suppressing controversy.

    "The notion that an acutely intolerant version of liberalism is the end of history and that it has emerged fully-formed as a God-given truth, not one perspective among many, risks subverting the proper relationship between government and journalism. If the state broadcaster is motivated by the same ideals as the state it ought to scrutinise, alternative thinking is stigmatised and forced to the margins of the national conversation." Read the article in this week's Spectator by Tim Luckhurst, who says that the BBC is exercising thought-control over the extent of legitimate debate
    "... The BBC has a habit of suppressing controversy. In the early 1990s, when its criminally undervalued Central European correspondent Misha Glenny filed a series of incisive predictions of ethnic conflict in the Balkans, the corporate instinct was to order him to calm down. Glenny was uniquely well informed and subsequently proved horribly right. .

    Jan 16 ~ Saturday Feb 15th. Anti-War March "No War on Iraq"

    An emailer writes,"In yesterday's Western Morning News there is an article by a leading anti-war campaigner, Glasgow MP George Galloway. He is asking for support for an anti-war march to be held in London, starting at the Embankment at noon and marching to Hyde Park, on Saturday Feb 15th. It will be under the slogan "No War on Iraq". He says it will have to be the biggest demonstration against War. Coaches are being organised from all corners of the UK and anyone interested should e mail him at GallowayG@parliament.uk. It may be the last chance to avert a catastrophe for which we, our children and even their children will pay a high price for if it happens."

    Jan 15 ~ "Not only airplanes, but trains, buses, cruise ships, and major hotel chains are now enforcing ID requirements..." (and will this be happening in the UK soon?)

    See this important message on an internet forum about ID cards
    "I'm asking for a declaration from the court that would overturn the unconstitutional requirement that US persons must show ID to travel throughout the US. Not only airplanes, but trains, buses, cruise ships, and major hotel chains are now enforcing ID requirements, largely at the behest of the Federal Government. ....
    We citizens also have a right to know what the laws are that affect the general public. There is no such law requiring IDs of travelers, and TSA won't publish their secret regulation that purports to require ID. So nobody actually knows whether ID is required, in what circumstances, what kinds of ID are OK or not, what options people without ID have, etc. (By nobody, I really mean nobody -- not even the people "enforcing" this "rule" know what the "rules" are. Try refusing to show ID on your next flight, and when they tell you that you can't board, ask them what regulation requires you to show ID to board a plane. I did this on July 4, 2002. The resulting confusion of different answers from each person in authority would be very amusing if it wasn't an unconstitutionally vague infringement of our right to travel.)" (See message)

    Jan 15 ~ "The United States of America has gone mad"

    John le Carré's article in today's Times is essential reading. "...I cringe when I hear my Prime Minister lend his head prefect's sophistries to this colonialist adventure. His very real anxieties about terror are shared by all sane men. What he can't explain is how he reconciles a global assault on al-Qaeda with a territorial assault on Iraq. We are in this war, if it takes place, to secure the fig leaf of our special relationship, to grab our share of the oil pot, and because, after all the public hand-holding in Washington and Camp David, Blair has to show up at the altar...."

    Jan 15 ~ "A series of placards with rather well drawn caricatures: "Haskins, Whitty, Margaret Beckett, The more they try, the more they wreck it!"

    Anthony Gibson writing in the Western Morning News (external link): "...At the Oxford Farming Conference last week, it occurred to me that British agriculture is indeed controlled by a Gang of Three, albeit not quite the same three. Haskins and Beckett yes, but the third member of our Governing troika is, I would suggest, Sir Donald Curry, rather than Lord Whitty. They were certainly the trio who spoke on the conference's first day (with Whitty hovering in the background), and if none of them had anything terribly startling to offer, at least their respective roles did seem to emerge more clearly from the political fog, and they do, to an extent, complement each other...
    ...If this were a film it would be billed as "From an original concept of Chris Haskins, produced by Margaret Beckett and directed by Sir Donald Curry." And while I appreciate that bracketing those three names together may not fill every farmer with confidence, they do at least represent each of the key interests - farming, the food industry and Government - which simply must be engaged if the strategy is to have any chance of success. So the scope for joined-up policy and implementation exists, even if the delivery is still awaited.
    All of that apart, I found Oxford this year curiously low key and lacking in inspiration. . " Read article

    Jan 15 ~ Concerns about trials in Scotland of genetically modified crops have been raised by MSPs.

    From the Times (external link) "The Scottish Parliament's health committee said in a report yesterday that existing safeguards were inadequate and that the Scottish Executive should do more to examine the effects on human health in trial areas. Trials are under way in three sites in Scotland and are designed to test the effectiveness of a herbicide on GM and non-GM oilseed rape.
    The MSPs said that the Executive's approach had not been sufficiently robust and that the risk assessment procedures in relation to public health were flawed. They said that the procedures did not appear to follow a standard format, that they sought to prove the safety of GM organisms rather than to assess potential hazards, and that they did not identify areas of uncertainty.
    The MSPs said that pharmaceutical-style testing should be applied to GM crops, with more research into the effect of GM pollen, and for all GM crops considered for trials to be tested as if they were to enter the food chain.
    They also called for more information to be made public. "

    Jan 15 ~ One of the consequences of FMD was that livestock markets, particularly for "exotic" breeds, were pretty grim last year.

    This was especially so for alpacas, where good quality animals which previously were selling for 7 thousand pounds or more were selling for about a third of that price. Many owners now have more animals than they can cope with or really want. An emailer writes, "The owners in our area have got together and are organising an auction in St Albans on 15th March. We have developed a website at www.alpacas.org.uk. If there is anything you can do to get us any publicity for the auction we would be very grateful. We feel at a disadvantage vis a vis the big breeders and need all the help we can get."

    Jan 14 ~ Are you in favour of the ID card? The Home Secretary is about to say that you are.

    With only a few days left in the "silent consultation" on the Entitlement Card, the government is still publicly claiming that there is majority support for ID cards, so Privacy International and STAND have joined forces with the Libertarian Alliance to open the consultation fully to the public.
    You can prepare and send a response to the Home Office through STAND's online service at http://www.stand.org.uk/. This is particularly urgent, as the Home Secretary will be giving a speech on Wednesday in which he is likely to claim majority support for the initiative.
    Alternatively, you can leave a phone message stating your views. Privacy International has set up two local rate numbers: in favour of the ID Card: 0845 330 7245, against the ID Card: 0845 330 7246.

    Jan 13 ~ "Jane Fanner-Hoskin has had a brilliant idea: The Village Farm"

    writes Hilary Peters in the latest part of her ediary. "People living in the same village (eg Kirtlington, which has become a commuter village) would keep a few animals and work an allotment jointly. This would mean tasks and produce could be shared. Villagers would produce their own milk, butter, cheese, eggs, vegetables, meat. They would have contact with the animals at all stages of their lives. They would buy shares in the farm, which they could sell if they left the village.
    I can hear, and invent, the objections, based on a realistic assessment of human nature, but starting a city farm seemed much more outrageous at the time. The time just happened to be right." See the ediary for January

    Jan 13 ~ Margaret Beckett has ordered a ruthless clear-out of senior officials in her department who lack the right skills or attitude.

    This would appear to be Polly Pot saying " Kettle, you're black." See article in the FT (external link) "The scheme - thought to be unprecedented within Whitehall in its scale and ferocity - is part of a broader government drive to convert civil servants from pen-pushers to hands-on managers. Defra's "bonfire of the mandarins" will see virtually all 500 officials of civil service grade seven and above - including permanent secretary Brian Bender - graded on their leadership ability and willingness to change. The only senior civil servants who may escape are Defra's 200 specialists, such as vets and lawyers." ....!!....

    Jan 12 ~people do not feel free. They feel fearful...."

    "....New Labour never liked the John Stuart Mill notion of individual freedom, preferring the enabling power of communitarian loyalty. Plural good is admirable, as long as it offers enough plurality and goodness. When transport is appalling, prisons are full, crime policy is in flux, the tension between the judiciary and the executive is palpable, and we are heading for a war lacking popular mandate, people do not feel free. They feel fearful."
    "Britain is growing more coercive by the day. Targets must be met, citizens kept under official scrutiny, pupils tested and slotted into league tables. ..."
    Read Mary Riddell in the Observer.

    Jan 12 ~ "Mr Bush explained that aliens hurtling towards the Earth, possessing massive "war of the worlds" style energy weapons and vastly superior intelligence was clearly a "worrying development that warranted careful monitoring"

    However, several CIA reports indicating that Saddam Hussein could immediately launch a barrage of nuclear weapons "if only he had any" required immediate, urgent action.
    The broadcast follows on from Mr Bush's recent dismissal of the growing belligerence of North Korea. The North Korean premier, Kim Jong-Il, had originally claimed that he was restarting the Korean's illegal nuclear power programme and would begin reprocessing uranium. This was met by mild diplomatic protests from the US. . ...." Don't miss this article from the brainstrust.co.uk

    Jan 12 ~ "....this raises considerable ethical issues with a permanent genetic change. His own work - "zapping" brains with electro-magnetic energy - does no harm, he insists...."

    Stories such as this from the Moscow Times and from today's Telegraph make us hope for a quick end to the world...at least for our species.
    ".... The DARPA "war fighter enhancement" programs -- an acceleration of bipartisan biotinkering that's been going on for years -- will involve injecting young men and women with hormonal, neurological and genetic concoctions; implanting microchips and electrodes in their bodies to control their internal organs and brain functions; and plying them with drugs that deaden some of their normal human tendencies: the need for sleep, the fear of death, the reluctance to kill their fellow human beings..."

    Jan 11 ~ Some good news for pets during Guy Fawkes week and a half

    We hear that the British Fireworks Association has banned noisy fireworks from 1st Jan 2003. This includes "air bombs" and the cheap pocket money bangers thrown by youngsters.

    Jan 11 ~ Oil to become the spoils of war

    See link to New York's Newsday "Bush administration officials are seriously considering proposals that the United States tap Iraq's oil to help pay the cost of a military occupation, a move that likely would prove highly inflammatory in an Arab world already suspicious of U.S. motives in Iraq.
    Officially, the White House agrees that oil revenue would play an important role during an occupation period, but only for the benefit of Iraqis, according to a National Security Council spokesman.
    Yet there are strong advocates inside the administration, including in the White House, for appropriating the oil funds as "spoils of war," according to a source who has been briefed by participants in the dialogue."

    Jan 11 ~ the growing frustration of people who are tired of being able to voice their dissent only to pollsters.

    " But there is also another objective: to remind politicians that there will certainly come a point when more and more people will start to turn from apathy to action. As war gets closer, there will be far more activity on the streets that will reflect the growing frustration of people who are tired of being able to voice their dissent only to pollsters. This may be, in more ways than one, the lull before the storm." Protests against war with Iraq are just beginning (external link) There will certainly come a point when people start to turn from apathy to action on the streets writes Natasha Walter in today's Independent

    Jan 11 ~ Newsnight last night.

    "Why should lower standards be imposed just because they are US ones?" Pascal Lamy. Did anyone tape this important item on AMerica's attempt to impose their GM on Europe? Andrew Osborn in the Guardian writes: "Insulting and threatening someone is no way to go about winning over their heart let alone their mind, especially when they suspect that their own health and the environment may be at risk and that you, the supplicant, are motivated purely by commercial considerations. Yet, bizarrely, America seems to think that just such behaviour is exactly what is needed to persuade a sceptical Europe that genetically modified (GM) food is 100% safe and that Europe should rescind a four-year ban on new GM products. This week Robert Zoellick, the US administration's top trade official, lashed out at a "luddite" and "immoral" Europe. European "antiscientific" policies were, he claimed, spreading to the developing world and convincing famine-hit countries to refuse GM food aid. ..." (more)

    Jan 10 ~ Newsnight tonight

    "The United States might be about to go to war with Iraq, but last night its trade representative launched an all out (verbal) war on the European Union. The Americans want us to import their genetically modified crops. We've refused and now they're threatening to take the matter to court. We talk to the EU trade man, Pascal Lamy....."

    Jan 10 ~ Fatal Harvest Myth 4: Industrial Food Offers More Choices

    The Ecologist "The truth: What consumers actually get in the supermarket is an illusion of choice. food labelling does not even tell us what pesticides are on our food or what products have been genetically engineered. Most importantly, the myth of choice masks the tragic loss of tens of thousands of crop varieties through industrial agriculture." http://www.theecologist.org/archive_article.html?article=355&category=53

    Jan 10 ~ urgent request to write to MPs

    See this page for contacting all MPs - even if you're not sure who yours is. Tam Dalyell has been denied a debate on Iraq. It seems he too has a real battle on his hands. Apparently the best course of action is to write/fax MPs, particularly Labour, as soon as possible, to try to get voices heard and listened to. You might try ringing Labour HQ 08705 900 200 (email: info@new.labour.org.uk ) to voice your concerns. The voice at the other end may (as has happened a few hours ago) immediately interrupt and say "Excuse me, why do you think he (TD) has a right to demand a debate - he only represents the constituents of Linlithgow." Breathtaking? Bully boy tactics may be employed and you may be accused of being personally against the PM. ..even if you say to the voice at the end of the telephone that you want merely him to pass your concerns: the Tam Dalyell issue, and so on. You may be continually interrupted and challenged. Remind such a person that you are not on the phone to debate, only to ask him to let the Party know of real concerns of the electorate. Yet again it illustrates the unpleasant tactics behind the scenes - all too familiar from FMD. But this is too serious to leave to others. If you possibly can...up and at em.

    Jan 10 ~ "With the convenient discovery of a deadly poison in Wood Green, London, Tony Blair has again made explicit reference to the "related" threats of international terrorism and Iraq.-

    - threats that will sooner or later, Blair insists, unite against us.
    As anyone who has glanced even briefly at the subject knows, there is no evidence whatever that Iraq has any links with international terrorism - Saddam's sworn enemy, al-Qaeda, included - despite probably the most intensive and sophisticated monitoring, investigation and surveillance programme in all history........ "

    Jan 10 ~ "Presumably, when every last inch of Iraq has been declared free of WMD, more troops will be required to convince Saddam of the need to cooperate."

    "....Liberal journalists often forget that they are privy to information that is available to a fraction of a percentage of the population as a whole -because they know the truth, they assume everyone else does too. In reality,much of the population is denied even the most basic information: that Iraq was disarmed of 90-95% of its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) by 1998, that Western monitoring agencies would know full-well if they had tried to reconstitute that capacity since, and so on.
    Instead people are terrorised by the Sun, the Daily Mail, the BBC, ITN, the Express, the Times and the Telegraph into believing that Saddam Hussein is a dread threat imminently about to deliver WMD into the hands of Osama binLaden.
    Guardian, Observer and Independent readers are trained more subtly to view the actions of our leaders as responsibly 'pragmatic', 'cautious' and 'measured' in response to the 'world's most brutal regime', which clearly is a 'real threat'.
    They train us to lament the many 'gloomy' and 'related "threats" that afflict our fundamentally benign leaders in a world where sometimes even the good have to do bad to avert a greater evil. They soberly report that tens of thousands of troops are being sent to the Gulf to leave Saddam "in no doubt that he must cooperate" - the best way to avoid war, is to prepare for war, after all... With arms inspectors running all over Iraq, literally free to go wherever they please - and yet finding "zilch", as they put it - the 'serious' press fail to notice that still more tens of thousands of troops are nevertheless being sent to leave Saddam in "no doubt that he must cooperate". Presumably, when every last inch of Iraq has been declared free of WMD, more troops will be required to convince Saddam of the need to cooperate." Visit the Media Lens website: http://www.medialens.org

    Jan 9 ~ Some freedoms may be lost, but at least we'll be alive

    is the glib headline in the Guardian (external link) . "The civil contingencies bill is an essential response to possible attack " writes Giles Foden.
    Hmmm. Do human beings learn nothing from history and nothing from the insidious loss of freedoms put up with elsewhere by people who have put their precious and hard won liberties into the hands of the powerful? The trusting animals of Animal Farm did the same.

    Jan 9 ~ Anti-War Train Drivers Refuse to Move Arms Freight

    by Kevin Maguire in the Guardian Train drivers yesterday refused to move a freight train carrying ammunition believed to be destined for British forces being deployed in the Gulf. Railway managers cancelled the Ministry of Defense service after the crewmen, described as "conscientious objectors" by a supporter, said they opposed Tony Blair's threat to attack Iraq. The anti-war revolt is the first such industrial action by workers for decades. ..........MoD later said it had been informed by EWS that mechanical problems, caused by the cold winter weather, had resulted in the train's cancellation. ....
    Dockers went on strike rather than load British-made arms on to ships destined for Chile after the assassination of leftwing leader Salvador Allende in 1973.
    In 1920 stevedores on London's East India Docks refused to move guns on to the Jolly George, a ship chartered to take weapons to anti-Bolsheviks after the Russian revolution.
    Trade unions supporting workers who refuse to handle weapons could risk legal action and possible fines for contempt of court.
    Lindsey German, convener of the Stop the War Coalition , said: "We fully support the action that has been taken to impede an unjust and aggressive war. We hope that other people around the country will be able to do likewise."
    So do we.

    Jan 9 ~ Iraq insists 12,000-page report detailing weapons stockpiles is complete

    "BAGHDAD (AP) - President Saddam Hussein's chief science adviser insisted Thursday that Iraq's arms report was complete, and Iraq's official press challenged the United States and Britain to prove allegations that Baghdad is hiding biological, chemical and possibly nuclear weapons. ..In London, however, the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported Thursday that Britain is pressing the United States for any war to be delayed for several months to give weapons inspectors more time to gather evidence against Saddam. The newspaper said senior British officials believe there is no clear legal case for military action against Baghdad. Prime Minister Tony Blair's office refused to comment on the report. Washington has repeatedly warned that it is prepared to go it alone to disarm Iraq. ..." Report in Canadian press

    Jan 9 ~ Matt says it all

    Our apologies to the Daily Telegraph if this is breaking copyright - but the cartoon is unmissable

    Jan 9 ~ when the plucky bird ceases to sing, something noxious and foul is in the air...

    In Norway .... "The looming attack on Iraq is almost universally opposed." See San Francisco Chronicle ".......When, after arduous diplomacy, the United Nations returned inspectors to Iraq, Norwegians hoped that war might be averted. But Washington's subsequent scorn of the inspection process, its dismissal of every conciliatory gesture from Baghdad, and its incessant bombing of Iraqi air-defense sites, is seen as aggressive warmongering. Then the Bush administration, citing fears of nuclear proliferation, refused to let Norway, and other temporary members of the U.N. Security Council, receive Baghdad's complete weapons report. Norway, long an advocate of nuclear-free zones and disarmament, was deeply insulted. Does this small, northern European country matter? In the world of realpolitik, probably not. But the sudden plummet in Norway's regard for America should set off alarm bells in Washington. Like the canary in the mine shaft, Norway is small and inconsequential. But when the plucky bird ceases to sing, something noxious and foul is in the air....."

    Jan 9 ~ Study says that protesting is good for you

    A new British study suggests that taking part in campaigns, demonstrations, strikes, or protests helps improve psychological and physical health. According to researcher Dr. John Drury, "The take-home message from this research therefore might be that people should get more involved in campaigns, struggles and social movements, not only in the wider interest of social change but also for their own personal good." http://thunderbay.indymedia.org/news/2002/12/2599.php

    Jan 9 ~ "Stupid White Men" by Michael Moores (pub. Penguin) - an antidote to Bush, Blair etc.

    Stupid White Men ... and Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation! Anne recommends this book very highly. She latched on to it from something Andrew Marr said on the radio; its eventual publication in the US being a fine example of the power of the internet, when HarperCollins were persuaded to ignore the establishment and publish it even though Bush and friends didn't want it! "The book is something to be recommended to all Warmwell followers," says Anne.
    Bowling for Columbine the Michael Moore film about guns in America that has swept Europe, is also one not to be missed.

    Jan 8 ~ "It was, as one might have expected, a skilful political performance -

    praising Washington while keeping options open as to what might happen in Iraq, massaging potentially bolshie backbenchers with references to the defunct Middle East peace process, tackling poverty and reaching out to the Muslim world.
    The problem for the Prime Minister is that his familiar, all-embracing message is beginning to sound stale and overtaken by events. ..."
    and
    "Jack Straw's insistence that the chance of war with Iraq is "60:40 against" made little impact in Washington as it was seen as being aimed at a domestic audience. If political betting were legal in America, very few people would part with their money at such odds. The political and military momentum towards a pre-spring conflict with Iraq is already seen as virtually unstoppable." The Telegraph today on Blair's speech and on Donald Rumsfeld's "stinging attack on the "inexcusable" twisting of his words by the British media ...."

    Jan 8 ~ GM protest charges dropped

    From the BBC "Protesters who damaged a genetically modified crop claim the case against them was dropped because prosecutors knew a jury would be sympathetic."
    For yesterday's Western Morning News series of articles on GM, please click here.

    Jan 7 ~ The gravest global crisis since the end of the cold war is three weeks away, and most of us seem to be asking why someone else doesn't do something about it.

    There is a Peace March in London on the 15th February and a mass lobby of Parliament on 21st January. See http://www.stopwar.org.uk/ .
    Please read George Monbiot in today's Guardian. "There are several reasons why most British people do not seem prepared to act. New military technology has removed the need for a draft, so the otherwise unengaged young men who might have become the core of the resistance movement are left to blast imaginary enemies on their Gameboys. The economy is still growing, so underlying resentment towards the government is muted; yet we perceive our jobs and prospects to be insecure, so we are reluctant to expose ourselves to trouble.
    It also seems that many people who might have contested this war simply can't believe it's happening. If, paradoxically, we were facing a real threat from a real enemy, the debate would have seemed more urgent. But if Blair had told us that we had to go to war to stop Saruman of Isengard from sending his orcs against the good people of Rohan, it would scarcely seem less plausible than the threat of Saddam of Iraq dropping bombs on America.
    These factors may explain our feebleness. They don't excuse it. ..."
    "....there comes a point at which political commitment is meaningless unless you are prepared to act on it. According to the latest opinion poll, some 42% of British people - as against the 38% who support it - want to stop this war. But if our action is confined to shaking our heads at the television set, Blair might as well have a universal mandate. Are you out there? Or are you waiting for someone else to act on your behalf? Details of the actions already planned can be found at www.stopwar.org.uk"

    Jan 7 ~ "Today's groundswell is "more political from the beginning, based on the conclusion that the war with Iraq is unjust,"

    says Richard Becker, national coordinator of the Answer coalition, which sponsored the October protests. By contrast, the 1960s upsurge was fueled mainly by the fear that more Americans were dying because of the draft. "It took thousands of body bags, with the Vietnam War already going on for a while, before the movement got going," Becker says.
    Scandals in the decades following Vietnam - from Watergate to U.S. support of military dictatorships and its subterfuges in Chile and Central America - have diminished the U.S. public's innocence. "With the Cold War and the red scare gone, people are less susceptible to government spins..." See report from Pacific News Service about peace demonstrations in America.
    See also Straw admits oil is key priority (external link) Ewen MacAskill, diplomatic editor of The Guardian: "The foreign secretary, Jack Straw, yesterday pinpointed for the first time security of energy sources as a key priority of British foreign policy. Mr Straw listed energy as one of seven foreign policy priorities when he addressed a meeting of 150 British ambassadors in London. .... Iraq has the second biggest known oil reserves in the world."

    Jan 7 ~ Quite an interesting parallel with FMD.......the Civil Contingencies Bill.

    http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/legal/story.jsp?story=367120 (external link) Extract:
    ".......The relative dearth of legal provisions to control the movements of human "vectors" contrasts with the draconian powers available during the foot-and-mouth crisis in 2000, when livestock transport here was grounded. A Cabinet Office spokesperson confirms that there are "legal issues around the setting up of health cordons". These will form part of the overall debate. They would like to reassure people, however, that "use of force will not be considered" in the bill."

    Jan 1 - 6 ~ If only he would listen, this could be Blair's finest hour

    was the headline in the Guardian's comment column today. (external link) As an emailer says, "It really sums up this Government when MPs and ministers are frightened to ask questions for fear of upsetting Washington. WHO is in charge of this country? "

    Jan 1 - 6 ~ Daily Mirror says that US government's plans for war are motivated by oil more than anything else.

    From "The Insider" - Information Bulletin In today's front-page news, the UK's Daily Mirror newspaper today highlighted the overwhelming evidence that the US government's plans for war are motivated by oil more than anything else. However, the government has not yet informed the public that oil is a motive for the "war on terrorism".
    The newspaper also warned that America and her allies could face over 10 years of war. According to a Captain currently training US soldiers: "We must reckon with 30 per cent casualties in such combat". A General who served in the Gulf War has predicted that the invasion of Iraq that: "It will be a bloodbath.".....

    Jan 1 - 6 ~ War is not inevitable, says Straw

    Guardian today (external link) " The chances of war with Iraq have tipped to roughly 60-40 against, the foreign secretary, Jack Straw, confirmed today. Mr Straw did not deny being the source of the assessment, attributed to an unnamed cabinet minister over the weekend. He said: "That is a reasonably accurate description - but the situation changes from day to day." The foreign secretary was speaking amid reports that the US has been won round to Britain's preference for a fresh UN resolution ahead of any strike against Iraq. "We have always made it clear explicitly our preference is for a second resolution," he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. "I believe that is also the position of the United States." .....

    Jan 1- 6 ~ "the most important vote of my 41 years in Parliament"

    In the name of democracy, Mr Blair, read this before you send a single Briton to die Tam Dalyell, Father of the House of Commons and tank crew National Serviceman (1950-52) , has written to Mr Blair in today's Times (Jan 6). ".........what would you think if you were serving in the Forces, if you knew that the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Field Marshals Lord Bramall and Sir John Stanier, General Patrick Cordingley, and a host of others, right across the spectrum of British life, were vehemently opposed to what you as Prime Minister were asking them to do? What is the precise military objective? Is this a basis for risking life? Before going along any further with the Cheney-Rumsfeld-Wolfowitz agenda, and before you dispatch any more British forces to the Gulf, you owe the Services one thing: a vote in the House of Commons on an unambiguous motion as to whether Britain should go to war without a clear, updated decision by the United Nations.
    Prime Minister, we are supposedly a parliamentary democracy. Each one of us in the House of Commons should be made to feel personally responsible for the grave step of sending our constituents, their fathers, mothers or children into the perilous situation of a pre-emptive strike. Iraqis will surely fight to defend their homeland as they did not in 1991 to keep a debatable conquest.
    I would regard this as the most important vote of my 41 years in Parliament......"
    Please read the whole letter

    Jan 1 - 6 ~ "....individual liberties will be curtailed in 2003; all of these proposed measures would make us less free, and no more secure."

    Opinion today in the Telegraph

    Jan 1 - 6 ~ Terror alerts manufactured?

    "FBI agents say White House scripting 'hysterics' for political effect" writes Jon Dougherty for WorldNetDaily.com "Intelligence pros say the White House is manufacturing terrorist alerts to keep the issue alive in the minds of voters and to keep President Bush's approval ratings high, Capitol Hill Blue reports. The Thursday report said that the administration is engaging in "hysterics" in issuing numerous terror alerts that have little to no basis in fact. "Unfortunately, we haven't made a lot of progress against al-Qaida or the war on terrorism," one FBI agent familiar with terrorism operations told CHB. "We've been spinning our wheels for several weeks now." Other sources within the bureau and the Central Intelligence Agency said the administration is pressuring intelligence agencies to develop "something, anything" to support an array of non-specific terrorism alerts issued by the White House and the Department of Homeland Security. ..
    ....You, in these circumstances, Prime Minister, have the unique power to stop the war because American opinion itself would not support a war, without the backing of the Security Council and the United Kingdom. If you choose to do so, many of us believe that your actions at this stage could restrain President Bush. ."

    Jan 1 - 6 ~ "Many experienced political journalists have lost all trust in the Campbell propaganda machine.

    So has Michael Martin, the tough-minded Speaker of the House, who made an extraordinarily frank attack on Radio Five Live last week. He said spin doctors were "an absolute nuisance" who should be "done away with". The point has been reached when Campbell is an embarrassment to the government. He destroys public trust." William Rees-Mogg: The scariest link in No 10's chain of fibs

    Jan 1 - 6 ~ Open government must be just that

    Observer (external link): Leader Sunday January 5, 2003 ".... all too often - as with recent revelations of details of the Heath government's role in the north of Ireland - an overpowering and distasteful impression is given that the protection of eminent people from embarrassment is more significant a function of our state secrecy than protection of the realm.
    New Labour came to office nearly six years ago promising to end the British establishment's fetish for secrecy. When this government's much diluted Freedom of Information Act finally comes into force in 2005, its many opt-outs and loopholes will still enable Ministers to suppress material which is merely inconvenient or embarrassing. Ludicrously, much correspondence with foreign governments which is made freely available in Stockholm, Brussels or Washington will still be withheld in Britain. The Government could at least reclaim some of its desired reputation for openness if, when the new Act comes into force, it released the great mass of material which has been classified during the last 30 years, instead of continuing to let it trickle out annually, as at present. It might end a diverting new year tradition - but an end to secrecy for secrecy's sake is long overdue. "

    Jan 1 - 6 ~ Meanwhile "open government" in America goes into reverse

    Two days before the article above appeared in The Observer, The New York Times had a long article on the demise of openness in the George W Bush administration "....The Ashcroft directive encouraged federal agencies to reject requests for documents if there was any legal basis to do so, promising that the Justice Department would defend them in court. It was a stark reversal of the policy set eight years earlier, when the Clinton administration told agencies to make records available whenever they could, even if the law provided a reason not to, so long as there was no "foreseeable harm" from the release.
    Generally speaking, said Alan Brinkley, a Columbia University historian, while secrecy has been increasingly attractive to recent administrations, "this administration has taken it to a new level.".......since Sept. 11, three new agencies were given the power to stamp documents as "Secret" - the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services.....Former Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Democrat of New York, argues that secrecy does more harm than good. The Central Intelligence Agency's exaggerated estimates of Soviet economic strength, for example, would have stopped influencing United States policy, Mr. Moynihan said, if they had been published and any correspondent in Moscow could have laughed at them.
    "Secrecy is a formula for inefficient decision-making," Mr. Moynihan said, and plays to the instincts of self-importance of the bureaucracy.
    ......Since the first few days after the Sept. 11 attacks, the federal government has insisted on a rare degree of secrecy about the individuals it has arrested and detained. The immigration hearings held for hundreds of people caught in sweeps after the bombings have been closed to relatives, the news media and the public.......
    ....."Officials quickly dismantled user-friendly disclosure systems on government Web sites," she wrote. "They censored information designed to tell community residents about risks from nearby chemical factories; maps that identified the location of pipelines carrying oil, gas and hazardous substances; and reports about risks associated with nuclear power plants." Many of those withdrawals mirrored efforts industry had been making for quite a few years, arguing that the public did not really need the information. ...." Read article

    Jan 1 - 6 ~ Saddam..must be overthrown - by the people who helped to create his arsenal

    John Humphrys in the Sunday Times "... As a result of the meeting American companies were to sell Saddam components for chemical and biological weapons, including anthrax and bubonic plague cultures. The envoy was Donald Rumsfeld. He was then a high-powered executive in the pharmaceutical industry. Today he is the United States defence secretary.......... It is always right to make a fuss about the suffering of the world's most vulnerable people and the hypocrisy of the world's most powerful. And somebody may be listening. "

    Jan 1 - 6 ~ God Bless America - but not her foreign policy nor her rhetoric

    Three articles of importance from common dreams. Extract 1 William Pfaff : "....A senior White House official was quoted last week in The Washington Post as saying that the United States has assumed "an almost imperial role" today because its responsibilities are the same as when America was "standing between Nazi Germany and a takeover of all Europe." Britain, not the United States, stood between the Nazis and the takeover of all Europe. The United States did nothing substantial to oppose the Nazis until 1942. Churchill pleaded for help, but an isolationist Congress denied it."
    2. Robert Fisk "The Double Standards, Dubious Morality and Duplicity of This Fight Against Terror....Meanwhile, we are ploughing on to war in Iraq, which has oil, but avoiding war in Korea, which does not have oil..."
    3. ( Jonathan Watts in Tokyo) "....It is felt that the ability of the North Koreans to make a bomb has been exaggerated so that Bush can keep tensions on the boil until the next presidential election, just in case an attack on Iraq is not possible for some time." "The CIA reported several years ago that North Korea probably had two nuclear weapons made with plutonium from the Yongbyon plant before it closed down in 1994.
    So questions are now being asked about the fuss surrounding a possible uranium program. that is technically more difficult and will take several years to reach fruition, if ever. "Officials in Seoul are asking why the state department revealed North Korea's supposed nuclear admission when it did," said Michael Yoo, an analyst with the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry in Tokyo. "It is felt that the ability of the North Koreans to make a bomb has been exaggerated so that Bush can keep tensions on the boil until the next presidential election, just in case an attack on Iraq is not possible for some time."

    Jan 1 - 6 ~ The Government will order more than 20,000 troops to the Gulf - and we watch in something close to despair

    We remember General Sir David Fraser deploring the insanity of the war in a letter to the Telegraph: "....The impression produced and increased every day is of a medium-sized Arab state being threatened with invasion by a superpower, perhaps supported by a few somewhat unwilling adherents such as ourselves and using unequivocally menacing language. I reiterate: this is unwise, to the point of insanity. By any reckoning - and there are many - it is likely to lead to a worsened situation in the Middle East generally. It is likely to be costly, including in terms of lives: and it is immoral. ..."
    Telegraph report today (Saturday): "The Government will order more than 20,000 troops to the Gulf and the mobilisation of around 7,000 reservists next week in preparation for a war in Iraq..."

    Jan 1 - 6 ~ US tore out 8000 pages of Iraq weapons dossier

    Sunday Herald; Glasgow (UK); Dec 22, 2002; Exclusive By James Cusickand Felicity Arbuthnot; Abstract: "THE United States edited out more than 8000 crucial pages of Iraq's 11,800-page dossier on weapons, before passing on a sanitised version to the 10 non-permanent members of the United Nations security council. The full extent of Washington's complete control over who sees what in the crucial Iraqi dossier calls into question the allegations made by US Secretary of State Colin Powell ..." Current and former UN diplomats are said to be livid at what some have called the "theft" of the Iraqi document by the United States, the Sunday Herald reported.
    A former UN official is also displeased with the American cover-up, which will prevent Congress from learning the truth even as the president rushes to activate and deploy troops to the Gulf before Congress is able to commence and investigation in January.
    Hans von Sponeck, former UN assistant general secretary and UN humanitarian coordinator in Iraq until 2000, called the deletion of eight thousand pages from Iraq's report "an outrageous attempt by the U.S. to mislead," also according to the Herald(external link).

    Jan 1 - 6 ~ Who really knew about the damning GM Report - and WHEN did they know?

    This is a story that will not go away. Campaigners in Wales, who led successful protests against GM crop trials in the country, want to know whether the Welsh Assembly Government knew about the report's findings before AMs debated the issue just a week before the report was published. (From icwales.network) "Although it is in favour of a GM-free Wales in principle, the Assembly voted to accept new regulations relating to the deliberate release of genetically modified organisms in Wales on December 18. Nineteen AMs voted against.
    Anti-GM campaigners are now writing to Rural Affairs Minister Mike German to find out what he knew on December 18. Plaid Cymru AMs will also question Mr German when the Assembly reconvenes after the holiday...."

    Jan 1 - 6 ~ World Globalisation is accelerating

    Extracts from "The Insider"
    The International Monetary Fund has approved plans that will achieve monetary union for Middle Eastern countries by 2005 and the launch of a single currency by 2010
    During 2002, an extreme acceleration of the globalisation process has unified more nations than ever before. Ten new countries agreed to become member states of the European Union, and when Turkey joins the EU it will become the second largest member state, and the boundaries of European Union jurisdiction will include a substantial part of Asia as well as most of the European continent. The EU is no longer just a United States of Europe.
    The early years of the new millennium will be dominated by the great institutions of world unity, United Nations, the United States of America, the United States of Europe, and the United States of the Gulf. When the unification process is complete, how many separate groups of unified nations will exist? Does this latest round of international unification bring mankind closer toward the United States of the World?

    Jan 1 - 6 ~ The BBC replies to Medialens

    Dear Medialens The rest of the reply is equally polite and well worth reading but it contains the giveaway sentence ".... I credit our audience with more intelligence than that..." Medialens' response is equally polite and equally worth reading. As they say: Read the correspondence

    Jan 1 - 6 ~ So where are these "intelligence reports"? Why have they not been shared?

    The US government claimed last year they possessed intelligence against Iraq and promised to share this with the UN weapons inspectors in Iraq. However, the UN weapons inspectors have not yet seen any of the intelligence that the US and the UK governments claim to have. "We need intelligence reports if they exist" - UN weapons inspector. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2596147.stm

    Jan 1- 6 ~"There is growing concern over mounting evidence that the "War on Terror" military campaign against Iraq and Afghanistan is motivated by a hidden agenda of oil, profit and financial factors, rather than national security."

    The Debate website (external link)
    "AFGHANISTAN OIL PIPELINE: CONSTRUCTION STARTS
    The construction a massive oil pipeline through Afghanistan will now begin, after the final agreement was signed today. The U.S. government gas been planning the pipeline since the 1980s, but a regime change was needed before construction could begin.
    None of the declared objectives of the American-led conquest of Afghanistan were achieved. The military campaign in Afghanistan did not capture or defeat Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda was not found or destroyed, and no peace has been established to date. The one success of the American-led Afghan war was to clear the route for the American-led oil and gas pipe-line through the country. Despite the failures of the previous war, the U.S. government is now planning a new crusade against Iraq, the world's second greatest source of oil....."

    Jan 1 - 6 ~ "It's a bit like the emperor's clothes. Someone is going to come along one day and say: 'This is a fantasy. We don't need these people. We should do away with them'."

    The Speaker calls spin doctors a 'nuisance' Guardian: ".... As Labour MP for Glasgow Springburn since 1979, and a former lieutenant of Denis Healey, Mr Martin does not come from the left of the party. But he shares with Ms Short a distaste for modern media management - and, even more vehemently, for most of the modern media, which they regard as trivial and hostile.
    Spin doctors, advisers who seek to shape the political agenda as well as to inform it, are a symptom of the current impasse. Mr Martin called them "a nuisance [who] only clog up the system". Though his relations with the press were prickly for some years, he seems now to be more confident. "There's no harm in speaking to journalists directly and that's what [ministers] should do.
    As for spin doctors: "It's a bit like the emperor's clothes. Someone is going to come along one day and say: 'This is a fantasy. We don't need these people. We should do away with them'."

    Jan 1 - 6 ~ Prepare for a dangerous and gloomy New Year, says Bla