OCCUPIED COUNTRY

Late in the Evening

I should have posted this last evening (Monday), but the vagaries of BT, my PC and my inability to remeber I'd actually typed it (due to alcoholic intake), meant that I didn't. Anyway - here it is:-

God I?m getting pissed off with this PC ?o? mine tonight. Windows Media Player keeps grabbing all the resources, BT Internet doesn?t seem to want to play ball and I can?t get to sleep, again.

So what?s been happening apart from the events at Maine Road ?

Well Clare Short has finally resigned and apparently delivered a speech to the house that was on a par with Geoffrey Howe?s back in 1990. If you remember, most political commentators at that time said it was the death knell for Thatcher. Most of the rest of us didn?t believe it ? I mean she had been in power for ever, and who would have the audacity to stand against her ? Well, maybe Heseltine. But we all knew he had a LOT of enemies in the Tory Party.

History proved the commentators right and the rest of us inadequate in our analyses. None of us expected John Major though. Did we ?

Can?t see Clare being the Brutus to Blair?s Caesar though. Although......I may be wrong again. Let?s face it, Gordon is not only chomping at the bit, but he is still bearing a grudge over Tony?s promise to step down after a while and let him have a bite of the cherry. Watch this Space !!

Over in Iraq, Shi?ites are welcoming an exiled Imam who?s been holed up in Iran for the past umpteen years. He represents a Revolutionary Islamic Party (something like that anyway ? can?t check with no internet access can I ?). He?s obviously an important player and the good ol? US of A are trying to pretend that hey !....that?s fine...that?s democracy..if that?s what the people want then...fair enough....that?s what the people will get. So, that?s OK then, just what the world needs: another fundamentalist religious government. Thanks George, cheers Tony. How long before we?re looking at ?regime changes? again ?? Was there a plan do you think ? I mean did ANYONE sit down before charging in and think ?hmmmm what could be the possible scenarios we may be looking at once we oust Saddam ? Doesn?t look like it does it ?

Mind you it?s the same in Afghanistan. Its that bad that the Taliban are starting to raise their bigoted heads again and, by all accounts, are growing in confidence day by day. As this article relates:-

HIGHTOWER: The Return of the Taliban By Jim Hightower, AlterNetApril 29, 2003

They're back. The Taliban. Remember them ? the repressive and murderous regime of religous fanatics that ruled Afghanistan and shielded Osama bin Laden?

You might remember, too, that George W promised only a couple of years ago that he was going to bomb the Taliban to smithereens, "smoke out" ol' Osama, and "liberate" the people of Afghanistan ? using U.S. military might to usher in a bright new day of democracy for this forlorn land.

But only 18 months after being ousted by Bush's bombs and our troops ? heeeeeerrre comes the Taliban right back in, having revived its command structure and begun to reassert its brutish power over the people. Prior to going to war with the Taliban, the Bushites had loudly proclaimed that they were not just going in with bombs, but afterwards would deliver on a plan for reconstruction of the nation's infrastructure. Notice that this is the same thing the Bushites have now promised to the Iraqi people.

One of the top leaders of the new government that the Bushites set up after the Afghan war now says: "What was promised to the Afghans with the collapse of the Taliban was a new life of hope and change. But what was delivered? Nothing."

Indeed, Bush bolted for Bahgdad. Meanwhile, instead of a flowering democracy in Afghanistan, thieving warlords and a rise of Taliban vigilantism is the rule of the day. The Bushites had promised millions of dolllars to create a local police authority that could stabilize the country, but these police went unpaid for months and have drifted away.

Interestingly, the Taliban launched its comeback from safe havens in neighboring Pakistan. You might recall that Pakistan, itself ruled by a brutal military dictator, is warmly welcomed by the Bushites as an "ally" in their perpetual global crusade against "evildoers." What a sticky web they weave.

Bombs alone can't bring democracy ? whether in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, or whatever other country is next on Bush's list.

So, like I said earlier, thanks George, cheers Tony. well done.

Early Saturday morning my Dearest and I are flying off to Palma to rendezvous with the Cruise Liner Sunbird, whereupon we will be transported, at a leisurely pace, across the Med to such exotic ports of call as Naples, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Malta and finally back to Palma.

Not that we?ve received our tickets yet !!

Airtours/MyTravel we booked it through. Not that we?re worried or anything. I mean its only cost us £1,000s, and I?m sure such a big travel company, with such a good reputation wouldn?t be likely to ? y?know ? go bust or anything. I mean their share price has just rallied (slightly) to something wonderful like 2.5 pence. (I exaggerate for effect). So everything must be tickety-boo.

Surely ???