Ahh well.. had to be done..
However the recordings released of the execution of Saddam, in which he is taunted by a Shi'ite clergyman, and several witnesses, tarnishes what should have been a simple act of justice.
Reactions have been swift.. and it would seem most of the world leaders use the same speechwriter..'that justice has been served, that the trial was in Iraq, the sentence passed by an Iraqi judge..a page has been turned..'
Perhaps..
The Iranians must be feeling some relief, with the spotlight at least temorarily, directed towards the inevidability of an Iraqi civil war..
Another issue which might bear some attention is the state of the American dollar.. the increasing value of the Pound is not in our best interests at the moment..

Just a brief note for the now..
Seems, for the moment, Tony's blockers are doing their jobs.. keeping the media involved with the Suffolk murders, and various fillers, and ignoring any in depth questioning or analysis of last week's blockbuster.. the questioning of Tony, under caution, in the 'cash for Peerage' scandal.. And, Tony's announcement that regardless of country of origin, those who come to Britain will be British first, with their ethnicity to take a definate backseat..
The other two issues have their certain importance, but this last has been expertly buried..
And the dropping of the Serious Fraud Investigation concerning a deal between BAE and the Saudi's, on what Tony claimed was 'in the interests of National Security'..
Saying .. in effect.. bugger the Rule of Law.. any democratic cornerstone is in reality just applicable in most cases.. subject to expediency..
Hypocracy in politics..? Say it ain't so Joe..
Tony's place is dependent on the outcome of this current fracas in the Middle East, and some settlement of the Palistinian problem..
But he's sold his soul to the Saudi's in this deal..
And then begs the question.. can the Saudi's be trusted?
One has one's doubts.. Tony's building on sand..

Religion.. at least Christianity, has appeared to have taken the back seat to Islam these past couple of years..
But there has been trouble brewing within the ranks of the Anglican Church since the ordination of Gene Robinson, a declared homosexual, as Bishop of New Hampshire.. and the British equivalent, Jeffrey John, the gay cleric who last year was forced to step down as Bishop of Reading, who was later installed as Dean of St Albans to the resounding applause of many Anglicans, but the deep disquiet of others.
Following Robinson's appointment as the Bishop of New Hampshire in 2003, traditionalists in Africa and Asia, who make up the majority of Anglicans, called for the Episcopal Church to be expelled from the Anglican communion.
That has not taken place.. but there is an uneasy truce.
The fact that two American congregations are now considering aligning themselves with the Archbishop of Nigeria, Peter Akinola, shows that it remains an issue for some within the Episcopal Church.
Here in Britain, we have the largest percentage of all countries declaring themselves as Anglican.. some 26 million according to the last census.. mind you the Church claims only about 2.3 million actually are active in their faith..
But the Archbishop of Canterbury says the Anglican Church could be split into different sections in a bid to resolve the row over homosexuality.. Dr Rowan Williams favours exploring a system of "associated" Churches which would not have the same constitution as the rest of the Anglican Communion...
A schism, non the less..
Now, this writer could truely care less what sexual preference anyone might enjoy.. barring those which involve children, and it seems, during these trying times there are far more important issues our spiritual leaders could be involving themselves with..
There are only two stances the Church can take on this homosexual issue.. the fundamentalists who take the Bible a the inspired word of God, must confom to Leviticus,Ch.18v22.. and Romans Ch.1v27..
The more liberally incluned congregations can put whatever spin they wish on it..
But the imperative is, that they get on with it, and turn their attentions to the needs of their parishoners, rather than concentrating on exegetical argument..
One of Islam's advantages, is it's unity of faith in the eventual establishment of a worldwide faith under a Caliphate..
It's of little wonder Christians are abandoning organised religious observations, when those in charge of their faith are threatening to destroy their 'unity' over an issue which should be left to the individual, and behind bedroom doors..

It's a difficult matter, guaging the thoughts of the man on the street to the BAE question, for it's diffucult to guage exactly how much information the individual has absorbed..
But the fact remains, that British Rule Of Law has been compromised.. and it has been heavily underscored that we live not in a democracy, but an oligarchy.. That there is one set of rules for small concerns, and an entirely different set for those which are worth £billions..
Campaigners are threatening legal action against the British government after investigators dropped a probe into a series of arms deals with Saudi Arabia.
The Campaign Against the Arms Trade and Corner House labelled BAE Systems, the firm accused of corruption, as bullies.
Typical British understatement..
BAE strongly denies wrongdoing.
Attorney General Lord Goldsmith said he felt the Serious Fraud Office inquiry would not have led to a prosecution.
SFO head Robert Wardle said he had "a different view" to Lord Goldsmith... insisting "There is no guarantee that charges will be brought until you've completed an investigation.."
Liberal Democrat peer Lord Lester said Britain had to move quickly to change the law to stop political interference in corruption investigations.
"British Aerospace are an enormously powerful body, more powerful than many governments..What is so serious here is that the rule of law is threatened and the reputation of the office of attorney general when there is outside political interference of this kind."
Explaining why his group was taking legal action, Nicholas Gilby from Campaign Against the Arms Trade said the SFO should have been allowed to complete its inquiries. It is fact that the Suaudi's were somewhat annoyed at this investigation.. that if it had continued, the contract with BAE might well have been cancelled and given to a French concern.. but to class financial agreements as 'matters of State Security' sets another bell ringing..
That Britain does not want to offend the Saudi's, they being out so called 'allies' in the Middle East..
The fact the Fahd, and Abdullah after him, have been funding terrorists, seems to be an acceptable compromise for our governments, as long as the oil keeps flowing, and the supplying of arms kept within reasonable limits..
This is blatent breach of the government's mandate, the cessation of this investigation.. and Tony has taken a step too far in defining his own, and his government's priorities..
'Peace in the Middle East' is suspiciously like 'peace at all costs'..

An amazing day for the British political scene..
Firstly, Tony has become the first Prime Minister questioned, under caution, by the police..
And secondly, the Attourney General Lord Goldsmith has announced an abrupt end to a Serious Fraud Investigation into arms deals between British Aerospace and Saudi Arabia.. with no conclusions reached, and no report to be prepared, much less presented to Parliament or to the public at large.. The reason given for the ending of this investigation, is National Security.
What transparent tripe.
Seems the fraud investigators working in a department set up by this very government, have been told if they want to investigate any dodgy dealings, let it be dealing with any country other than Saudi Arabia..
Tony, by the way, was questioned about a dash for cash before this last election, when the Labour war chest went from empty, to wallowing in £20 million in a matter of a month, due to donations from 5 Labour supporters, who have since been given seats in the House of Lords.. The allegation was 'cash for Peerages'.. Serious stuff..
This investigation will continue, and is not what Tony wants to cap off his term as Prime Minister..
As for the fraud investigation, it seems the Rule Of Law in this country is flexible.. that while it has been suspected there have been bribes passing between Whitehall and King Abdullah's treasury since the 60's, to ensure a steady market for British arms manufacturers..
Lord Goldsmith also told peers that Tony had agreed that the continuation of the investigation would cause "serious damage" to relations between the UK and Saudi Arabia.
The probe had related to the Al Yamamah arms deal with Saudi Arabia. BAE has denied any wrongdoing.
Not surprising, that..
One can only wonder, what the government can possibly do to top todays events, tomorrow..
We await, with 'bated breath..

It's a scenario one might have expected during the height of the Cold War..
Alexander Litvinyenko, a former Colonel in the FSG, the former KGB, was buried yesterday in a special casket, one designed to shield against radioactivity..
Litvinyenko, a defector to Britain some years ago, blamed the Kremlin for his death, alleging his anti-Putin stance had prompted the Russian government to poison him..
British police have traced Litvinyenko's actions around the first of last month, and have found traces of Polonium 210 scattered throughout most of the places he visited before, and after the 1st of November.. some of those he came in contact with have been tested, and found to be mildly contaminated. His wife and children are among those who are now hospitalised..
Then came the development. that one of the men he met, a Russian businessman named Dmitry Kovtun, is also contaminated, as is his wife, and as is their home in Hamburg, Germany..
There have been several theories concerning who might be behind these poisonings.. the Kremlin denies all association.. but there is a criminal element of no small scale operating in Russia these days, which Litvinyenko was highly critical of, and they seem to be the likely suspects in the eyes of investigators at this point..
They are suggesting that there is now trafficking in radioactive materials, by this criminal element, throughout Europe..and indeed, with Britain, Germany now involved in this investigation.. and the distinct possibility of Dmitry Kovun being fatally exposed.. this takes on exceedingly sinister overtones..
If these materials are being traded by Russian criminal elements, it would be for the express purpose of undermining the Putin government, especially in light of Russia passing a law which allows it's operatives to carry out executions of foreign nationals outside Russia itself..
Russia, under Putin, has begun to revert to conditions that existed before the liberalisation process began, and the movement towards Capitalism..
Any association with these poisonings, could cause irreperable damage to Russia's international standings, and have immediate and catastrophic effects on it's trade agreements and economy..
One tend to lean towards the theory that this trafficking of Polonium 210, which used to be known as Radium F, is being orchestrated by those outside Russian law.. a definative attack on the opening of Russia to Westernisation..
Thus, it falls to the Russian Government itself, to have a massive crackdown on it's own criminal element.. and while that may lead to the downfall of many who are actually in government, a thorough housecleaning would seem to be in order..
Just what we need in these times of political uncertainty, encompassing virtually all Western governments, not to mention the Middle East.. is the appearance of assassination by radioactive exposure..
It appears, that while a trail is left, like radioactive bread crumbs, to the assassin.. it will be a far more difficult task to identify the source..
And for, if nothing else, the continuation of the international stabilisation process, this source must be found, and eliminated.
Quickly.

BarneyCam.. We've got the Queen's Christmas message.. but it's George talking to his dog for the US.
Amazing..
Interesting comments from Tony this afternoon. He's taken a stance against the polarisation of British society.. saying that while immigrants from all cultures are welcome to this island, it must be understood that it's Britain they're coming to, and a British way of life. That while individual cultures have the right to their own peculiarities, British values must superceed ethnicity.. that extremists who would change British traditional values in the name of 'progressive intigration' will not be tolerated..
Good on ya Tony. It's amazing the stands you have the fredom to take, when you know when you'll be stepping away from the job.
It's a good stance, but it's going to cause problems. But then, they'll be someone else's to deal with in a few months..
To quote a BBC article..

"Multi-culturalism in Britain has failed and should be replaced with a policy aiming for integration, researchers have concluded. A study carried out by experts from the University of Leicester found people taken out of the "comfort zones" of their own communities integrated well.
Researchers put on a series of events including an Indian musical in a white working men's club.
A group of Pakistani women also put on an exhibition in a mainly Indian area.
Co-author of the report, Asaf Hussain, said: "We believe multi-culturalism has failed.
"It was a concept and a social re-engineering policy with the best of intentions, but with little debate at the grass roots. Britain's population has to become integrated."
The report also recommended putting citizenship on the National Curriculum and removing the link between country and religion so that British Muslim would become British Indian or British Pakistani.
Race relations expert Professor John Benyon from the University of Leicester said: "Rather than adopting knee-jerk reactions in terms of legislation, I feel the government should be taking a more considered approach."

To change the point .
It has been written many times that if we truely wanted to speed up the process of eliminating terrorism originating from and funded by the Middle East, we would cut economic ties.. stop buying their oil..
Now not wanting to appear naive, it is to be understood that we, by doing this, would be putting ourselves in an economic bind.. that countries the likes of Saudi Arabia put litterally billions back into particularly the British economy.. companies such as BAE alone would lose some 23 billion pounds in one contract.. that for 26 of their new fighter jets..
That in itself is somewhat ironic.. that we should be selling our latest technology to those who are at the top of the list of possible threats..
But never the less, that which we suffer, would only be a drop in the bucket, compared with what the Middle East stands to lose.. and if it means that Western business has to find a new market for the tools of war, let it be elsewhere, and preferably to an ally..
For it remains a fact, that since the Islamic world began expanding, there have been those who wield incredible power, yearn for one thing and one thing only. That being an United Islamic World, under a new Caliphate, and some of those behind those veils, are both influential, and incredibly wealthy..
It's difficult for those in our society, this western world of ours where computers, televisions, instant communication.. where if something stops working, we simply scrap it and buy another.. to imagine the Eastern mind. They think in terms of generations.
Where we have no patience, they rely on their ability to wait until the time is most advantageous. Where we have a brash..open approach.. a lets get on with it attitude.. they obfuscate, and it's an artform to them..
We should never underestimate that which we don't fully understand.