I'd do it all over again

/
I thought I'd pop over to see what Professor Geras had got up to on the anniversary of the war he so staunchly supported until quite recently when, even he had to admit that the numbers dying made it rather difficult to continue justifying the war on the basis that it was saving Iraqis from being killed by Saddam Hussein.  The old prof's bloglight has dimmed somewhat in the last couple of years. I hardly ever even see him linked to anymore and I don't read his blog but I did wonder if he would at least mention the war on his blog. He did.

A rate of death by state violence of 29,000 per year over the life of a regime that has been in power for more than three decades might be considered a powerful reason for favouring its overthrow, in the hope of a less murderous sequel. (It also explains why, in changing my mind about the Iraq war, I continued - and still continue - to think that I could not have opposed it.)

Keep on grinning

/
Bush’s Legacy of Failure
That idiotic “what me worry?” look just never leaves the man’s visage. Once again there was our president, presiding over disasters in part of his making and totally on his watch, grinning with an aplomb that suggested a serious disconnect between his worldview and existing reality....

Failure suits him. It is a stance he learned well while presiding over one failed Texas business deal after another, and it served him splendidly as he claimed the title of president of the United States after losing the popular, and maybe even the electoral, vote. It carried him through the most ignominious chapter of U.S. foreign policy, from the lies about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction to an unprecedented presidential defense of torture.


Express apology. Hey! John Hirst. You next, shithead!

/
Daily Express: The World's Greatest Newspaper (sic)
Kate and Gerry McCann: Sorry

The Daily Express today takes the unprecedented step of making a front-page apology to Kate and Gerry McCann.

We do so because we accept that a number of articles in the newspaper have suggested that the couple caused the death of their missing daughter Madeleine and then covered it up.

We acknowledge that there is no evidence whatsoever to support this theory and that Kate and Gerry are completely innocent of any involvement in their daughter's disappearance.

We trust that the suspicion that has clouded their lives for many months will soon be lifted.

As an expression of its regret, the Daily Express has now paid a very substantial sum into the Madeleine Fund and we promise to do all in our power to help efforts to find her. Kate and Gerry, we are truly sorry to have added to your distress. We assure you that we hope Madeleine will one day be found alive and well and will be restored to her loving family.

* Please note that, for legal reasons, we have disabled reader comments on this article


March 19 Iraq War Blogswarm: Masters of War

/
What is it that’s worth the deaths of half a million children?
Their combined weight in oil that’s what.
William Bowles


Blum on Iraq:
"Despite the fact that it would be difficult to name a single area of Iraqi life which has improved as a result of the American actions, when the subject is Iraq and the person I’m having a discussion with has no other argument left to defend US policy there, at least at the moment, I may be asked: “Just tell me one thing, are you glad that Saddam Hussein is out of power?” And I say: “No”. And the person says: “No?” And I say: “No. Tell me, if you went into surgery to correct a knee problem and the surgeon mistakenly amputated your entire leg, what would you think if someone then asked you: Are you glad that you no longer have a knee problem?"

Mark (‘Gypsy Rose’) Steyn April 2003
“In a year’s time, Iraq will be, at a bare minimum, the least badly-governed state in the Arab World and, at best, pleasant, civilized and thriving.”

Roger Alton, Editor, The Observer, May 2004
"I mean, Fallujah might not yet be Maidstone, but from what I hear of Iraq, it is infinitely better than it was - there’s a plethora of newspapers, very free markets, a lot of education …

Young Iraqi translator, Baghdad, 2003
"I always knew the Americans would bring electricity back to Baghdad. I just never thought they'd be shooting it up my ass"
There are 481 other Iraq related posts on this site, available via search.

Cheaper than crack?

/
Push To Classify Internet Addiction As a Mental Disorder
An editorial to be published in the American Journal of Psychiatry argues that Internet addiction is a common compulsive-impulsive disorder that should be added to psychiatry’s official guidebook of mental disorders.

Report author Dr. Block defines Internet addiction as including “excessive gaming, sexual pre-occupations and e-mail/text messaging.”

Block says that those suffering internet addiction experience cravings, urges, withdrawal and tolerance, requiring more and better equipment and software, or more and more hours online.

Further, internet addicts can lose all track of time or neglect “basic drives,” like eating or sleeping; relapse rates are high, and some people may need psychoactive medications or hospitalization.


Way beyond chutzpah!

/
Israeli courts are allowing Israelis to sue the Palestinian Authority over suicide bombings.

Jews sans frontieres:
Now who is it that undermined the PA's ability to police its areas? Who is it denies the PA the status of statehood? Who actually polices these areas? Who provokes the attacks? Who never negotiates in good faith? A few years ago there was a perceptive article in Yediot Ahranot noting that whoever gave the orders for the killing of Palestinian leaders, knew there was a price to pay in Israeli or maybe Jewish blood. Surely, if anyone should be sued for the consequences of Israel persistent aggression adn bad faith it should be the State of Israel.


Never too late to terminate

/
Nadine Dorries MP
According to a YouGov poll in yesterday's Sunday Times 48 per cent of people support the upper limit for abortion being reduced to 20 weeks. This figure rises to 59 per cent amongst women. Eight per cent want to see abortion banned completely...According to the Sunday Times, Dawn Primarolo MP, the Health Minister, will this week attempt to persuade MPs to retain the 24 week limit. Now, why would a government Minister want to persuade MPs to vote against the will of the people? Isn’t that why we, as MPs, are in Westminster, as representatives of the people? Isn’t that what democracy is about, accountability to the people?
There you have it! No more representative democracy. No more debates and divisions. Just Sunday Times YouGov polls. That'll save a few bob and, of course, would make the fragrant Nadine (full-term) Dorries and her colleagues utterly redundant.

If she remains in parliament can we have her word that in future she will vote on every issue in a way that reflects what the latest opinion polls say and not the way the Tory whips direct her?

I have emailed her and await an answer with eager anticipation.