I recall that , in an old 'Inspector Morse' drama , the opera loving morse had been to the Bayreuth Wagner festival ; His senior officer said to him " Where is it you went to for your holidays , Morse ? - Beirut - ? "
That would have been around 20 years ago , around the time when the Irishman Brian Keenan , amongst others , were held hostage in Beirut .
He was chained to a wall there for  4 and a half years , and treated brutally by some of his captors .
I just heard him talking to Simon Mayo on 5live . He said that , 20 or so years ago Beirut was a seriously scary place , where no one  dared to go out after dark except stray cats and fools .
He returned there for a documentary that's on bbc2 at 7pm tonight , and says that the city is now transformed into a fascinating , magical , exciting , relaxed , young , lively cosmopolitan city , unpredictable but not in a scary way , and that the cafe's and bars are full of interesting people having lively conversations .
Also I think I once heard that there's a good dance-music club scene there .
From what he said , I want to go there !
He also insists that 'evil does not endure' , once it's gone , it's gone .
Sadly that's probably not everyone's experience , but , an interesting man , and I look forward to seeing tonights programme .
Much nicer , brighter , spring-like weather today .

I heard a recording of newsreader Charlotte Green , on radio 4 the other morning , playing some of the just discovered 1860 , very faint and fuzzy recording of a lady singing the french song 'Clair de Lune'  ;  One of her colleagues whispered to her that it sounded like a bee trapped in a jar . . .
She dissolved into irrepressible giggles , which was particularly unfortunate because the next item she had to read was about the death of the screenwriter Abby Mann .
She's since apologised to that persons family , and , I feel sorry for her , though I do'nt think there's any danger of her being sacked .
That reminded me of  when , early on in my relationship with Julie we went to what I thought was to be a performance of Faure's Requiem at Norwich Cathedral .
It was indeed performed there and very beautifully too  , though in between the different sections of it , not entirely surprisingly since it's a requiem , were read out the names of deceased people .
I kept hearing surnames such as Bacon ,  Fish , and I can't remember what else which somehow sent me into paroxysms of uncomfortably struggling to contain my internal fits of laughter , which was genuinely awkward and embarrassing , I / we just had to quietly leave . . .
Have you been in similar situations , where you've had to struggle to supress inappropiate giggles ?

I've got on the bbc1 wildlife programme filmed by camera's attached to elephants : Wonderful , enchanting footage of tigers and their cubs , lovely vegetarian monkeys and deer , though I'm not sure I like the look of the camera-boxes hanging from the poor elephants trunks .
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I read a 'how to handle rejection' article , which stated that " allowing a fear of 'no' to rule your life is 20% wise and 80% pointless " .
That would seem to make sense , and , that does'nt rule my life but it does seem scary to ask women out , for some reason especially nowadays , and in Bel Mooney's piece in yesterday's 'Mail about why there's so much loneliness in our society  
 - which is on the dailymail.co.uk site , and , sorry I keep mentioning the 'mail : The Times , Telegraph , Independent and Guardian are fine products though I tend to find them a bit 'heavygoing'  -
she attributed that to a lack of meaningful conversational interaction in many people's lives , and  to more of us living in 'anonymous' towns and cities as opposed to smaller communities ,  as well as to  fears of rejection .
I'd add that it's probably also partly attributable to the news media making us all aware of attacks etc. leading to a generalised mistrust of strangers - and I'm sure that our society is less 'safe' than it once was , although it's easy to develop an exaggerated awareness of that ,
and to most people being so much more financially prosperous , and money - image - youth obsessed than used to be the case , encouraging anyone who's blessed with with a bit of money , good looks and confidence to become a bit snooty about who's  'good enough for' them .
And I blame bloody old 'eastenders' for presenting unpleasentness as the normal way to be .
And no not everyone's so shallow , but there are a lot of lonely people in our midst , and your guess is as good as mine as to why , in particular nowadays , that might be .

I watched two excellent bbc programmes this evening : About Vivaldi in Venice , then Oona King's reappraisal of Dr. Martin Luther King , especially regarding his Christian faith , which , she argued , seems to have been sidelined in most present day tributes to him , as if much of our society today seems suspicious of anything pertaining to  religious faith , perhaps attributing all religion to 'lunatic' extremism  .
I've just read in today's 'Mail about the dutch MP Geert Wilders , and his one man crusade against Islam .
I think he's entitled to publicly express and debate his point of view but that , especially as an elected MP he has a duty to do so in reasonable , not deliberately incendiary terms , for example his opining that the prophet Mohammed , if alive today should be 'tarred and feathered  and deported as an extremist' .
I also think that it seems near impossible for almost anyone raised as a devout Muslim to fully acknowledge and wholeheartedly condemn all of the opression and terrorist murder and violence that's been perpetrated in the name of their religion .
If they respond to that by castigating the USA , and Britain for the apocalyptically , despicably horrific and horrendous  murder and maiming of hundreds of thousands of their fellow Muslims in Iraq and elsewhere then I'd have to agree with them .
But we are still left with , as highlighted in Geert Wilder's intentionally provacative 15 minute film , not only the Islamically inspired terrorist plots , some successfully executed , against innocent non-muslims , and anyone else who might be around at the time but also the evil practice of genital mutilation of girls , and , in countries such as Iran , the hanging of gay men , and of women accused of adultery who may actually have been raped .
I recall , in the 1970's , that  strident campaigner  the late Mrs. Mary Whitehouse taking ' gay news ' to court  for it having published a poem which made blasphemous , sexualised references to Jesus Christ .
But , for all her faults , would Mrs . W have  approved of Christians violently attacking , threatening , killing homosexuals on account of that ?
No , of course she would not have .
The late  Irish comedian Dave Allen made a living from satirising   the Catholic Church : Did they , despite all their faults , order a 'fatwah' against him ? - Of course not .
In 2005 around 100 people worldwide were murdered by Islamic fanatics following a Danish newspaper having ill-advisedly and insensitively published cartoon-caricatures of the prophet  Mohammed .
It was considered okay for them to attack not only anyone who they may have thought might have had any connection to Denmark , but also Christian Churches .
And did Muslim leaders worldwide roundly condemn that ? : No , they did not .
If Christians , and people of other religions have sufficient faith , and regard for humanity as a whole to tolerate any criticisms of their religion , then why can't Muslims be the same ?
And I know very well that most Muslims are probably very peacable , hospitable , decent , moral people , but  I  strongly get the impression that most are either 'in denial' about , or unwilling to vehemently publicly denounce the hot-headed , crazed extremist fanatic-fascists who act in the name of Islam : derived from the arabic word for peace .
" Plans are being drawn up to evacuate Dutch embassies around the world , riot police are on standby in Amsterdam and ordinairy citizens are cancelling foreign holidays as they prepare for trouble . . . "
Geert Wilders is now protected by six bodygaurds , and has received 600 death threats . On occasions he and his wife have been moved to prison cells for their safety .
I deplore  some of the seemingly deliberately offensive language that he's used , though I'd support anyones freedom to  intelligently  participate in a surely  urgently   necessary debate on  the ongoing threat of uncontrolled islamic extremist  , bloodthirsty , paranoid lunacy .
Martin Luther King preached non-violent protest against the disgusting institutionalised racism in his country at that time .
Violence provokes more violence and ultimately threatens the security and welfare of all of us on this planet .

To paraphrase an article in today's 'Mail : Ladies in Copenhagen will now be allowed to swim and walk about topless in public places .
The decision is a result of a year long campaign by 'the topless front' , who say women should be treated the same as bare chested men.
Campaign leader Astrid Vang , 20 , said  'we would like to decide ourselves whether our breasts should be sexual and when not' .
The Danish campaign was inspired by a swedish group called 'just breasts' , which was formed after two women were asked to cover up  by a lifeguard at a stockholm public pool .
One of the groups leaders said 'we want our breasts to be as normal and desexualised as mens' .

I'm a little surprised that exposed female breasts are still banned in public in some Scandinavian countries , though I'm sure that the chiily climate would often be prohibitive of that , and I'm not abreast of what  the position is in Germany and Holland .
Obviously bare chests , female or male would not be appropiate in some settings however in parks , at swimming pools and on beaches I do'nt see what the problem is , and I'm sure that some women may find an attractively contoured bare male chest as of interest  as some men may find an attractive topless lady .
And as the Danish young lady said , bare boobs do'nt , and should'nt have to necessarily  equate to anything sexual .
I read of an extraordinairy case last summer of two girls on , I think it may have been Brighton beach having been arrested and charged with indecency for playfully momentarily exposing their breasts .
It was suggested that two 15 year old boys ,walking past at the time , might have been harmed , or had their innocence defiled and their decency outraged by witnessing that . ( ! )
In Britain there's a dichotomy between a  relaxed , sophisticated , easygoing 'continental' culture vs  the remnants of  'nudge nudge wink wink' embarrassed but fascinated working class smuttiness , and censorious , sanctimonious , 'Christian'  , middle-class  ,  'traditional'  , obligatory real or feigned moral outrage at something as innocent and ordinairy as the sight of a womans uncovered breasts . 

It was a shock to see Leo licking an eviscerated dead bird that he'd brought in through his cat flap , in the hall , after supper . It was disposed of , though he's seemed ever so pleased with himself ever since . .
Last night I fell asleep with him on my bed .
I watched another clever but trashy horror-ish movie ; It would be so much more civilised to watch something like 'The Remains of the day' , If I could stay awake .
I do'nt know why 70 year old Jack Nicholson does'nt seem bothered to be photographed with his unpleasant 'male boobs' on display .
Though why young women want to cavort in the caribbean with such a wealthy , famous , wealthy man seems less of a mystery .

I've been again listening to Victoria Darbishire on R5live , a good broadcaster and likeable lady though she always assumes that everyone is the parent of school age children .
Yesterday she spoke on the 'phone to a woman who admitted to having taken amphetamines and drunk a bottle of whisky a day during some of her pregnancy , who said that her daughter's intelligence is above average - A pity that hers is'nt .
Today Victoria spoke with a man whose  nine year old son was taking the family's laptop to his room at night and accessing adult sites , having downloaded a 'dialler' which put the cost of that onto their 'phone bill .
If you do have young children and if you  are not very 'au fait' with computers for goodness sake at least put a windows password on your pc , and , as re. the dialler , every pc used to access the internet needs good , updating firewall software , as well as anti-virus . . ***********************
I'm feeling quite depressed , stuck , continually thwarted by whatever's wrong with me , and , since for whatever reasons I do'nt really feel able to , and/or do'nt want to follow the advice I've been given over and over again by well-meaning , sensible people it's difficult to see whatever a solution could be .

I love to sleep , and , when I'm awake , to be honest I often feel  like a disembodied spirit  ,  just going through the motions of being me .
But , heigh-ho , I've got a lovely purring cat next to me , my life is better than it has been , life goes on . . . And on . . .  and  all's well that ends well . . .
With love to you all ,  ~  martin .

If time-travelling back into the past , then back to where you are now , unless you chose to stay there  , were a reasonably straightforward possibility , when and where in the past would you choose to go  ?
Bearing in mind that , if you go back into your own past you will be as you are now , not as you were then .
You are not allowed to in any way  interact  with your younger self or with your parents , grandparents , etc , and neither are you permitted to profit financially from your journey , i.e through foreknowledge of racing results , stocks and shares , etc .
Though you can if you wish to write a letter to your younger self , warning yourself against whatever mistakes you may have made , though bearing in mind whether your younger self would've been likely to have taken any notice of that !
I think that I'd find the more recent past , i.e the 60's and 70's most fascinating and least frightening .
At least to begin with , and then , victorian london could be fascinating too .
Would you 'play god' , and risk 'changing history' by , for example , warning known murder victims ?
Would you shoot newborn Hitler or Stalin in their cots ?
And if the 'parallell universe' theory is a valid one , if you did that would you not be simply creating a  splintered  version  of  reality , to co-exist with our known history ?
This is probably nothing to do with anything , but ,  I've never been in trouble with the law , though  I've occasionally dreamed of having been , as a teenager , sent to prison for a while for , more than once , riding a motorbike without a licence , tax , etc .
I never had a motorbike , though , in my teens , would have liked to have had one .
So I've on occasions wondered if , somehow , in a 'parallell universe' that somehow did , or could have happened ? 
Time travel backwards is theoretically possible , though whether it'll ever be practically possible is another matter , and , even if it were , the potential dangers and paradoxes would be mind-boggling to say the least .
But you can be sure that  scientific experiments into possibilities of time -travel  are ongoing and will continue .
So , where in the past would you visit , and why ?

As I mentioned in a comment to one of you I once , 2 or 3 years ago heard Chris Ellis playing live at the Marzano Bar , Norwich , and from his album 'first reflection' this is 'rainbow' , (c) plainsong , 2003 .
(click twice on play to listen) .

from my bedroom window this morning ; it did'nt last long though

I tried watching the soporific programme about new tests being applied to the 'turin shroud' , believed by some to be the cloth that covered Christ's body after his crucifixion , which bears an uncanny image of a wounded figure , and the suggestion that the tests 20 years ago which 'proved' it to be a forgery may have yielded unreliable results .
Of course the programme's conclusion was always going to be inconclusive , and , if the shroud is genuine , then what , that we did'nt already know , does that prove , anyway ?
The Holy Grail is generally thought to be the cup that Christ drank from at the 'last supper' , and / or one which some drops of his blood were collected in , while he was dieing on the cross .
Though some say that the Holy Grail is a much more nebulous , mysterious , spiritual thing ; Some  that it simply is Love , and in the fictional 'da vinci code' it's the secret that Jesus fathered a child with Mary Magdalene , and that descendants of that bloodline are alive today ,which some believe , and I've even heard the suggestion that Princess Diana was descended from that bloodline .
So I suppose the Grail myth has become an elusive mystery that continues to fascinate and to foster countless theories , from simple to impenetrably complex , and from plausible to fanciful to surely ludicrous .
I would like to be able to have more of a 'faith' , which assuming I am not destined to be blessed with some amazing , mystical experience I doubt that I will , although I am very inclined to believe that Christ was a special person who lived and was tragically , horrifically murdered , that we  have souls which  survive our physical death ,  that there's more to life than materialism and that it makes sense to try to be a good person .
Two and a half years ago I met on a train an african young lady , and helped her with a luggage and to get her a taxi : She has a very strong Christian faith , and though she'd only just met me , and we did not meet again she was recommending me to watch the gruesome 'passion of the christ' film , which I still do not plan to see , to educate me on how Christ died on the cross for all of our sins , and she said a prayer for me and , though she knew almost nothing about me she lectured me against the sin of fornication !
I actually found that quite sweet , though if it'd been someone else I may not have taken it so kindly !

I recall one 'good friday' , about 15 years ago when I had a small flat in a house , a young lady had recently moved in to the flat below mine : I think that she'd either been married for a very short time , or been about to marry then it all went wrong : She was crying and crying and in such a  state : So far as I know no one else tried to comfort her , and , to my shame , although I wanted to , neither did I . . .  
Just my pathetically pitiful stupid shyness  ,  though since then I  became somewhat more confident , and able to be more caring , spontaneous and tactile , especially since I met my mis-matched ex-partner .
If that happened now I would try to help , and not try to 'take advantage' either .
So what is the true meaning of Easter ? - That  there's always hope , that anyone who needs to be can be 'resurrected' , not from or through death , but from their suffering lives ?
Yeaaaahh , well , hopefully , maybe . .

I so loathe 'eastenders' , which , I gather , not for the first time , tonight featured an elaborately planned revenge : I  watched  it for its first five years , from 1985 , then 'went off' it and now , from what little I see and hear of it , I can't stand it : I find it at best dreary and at worst an unmitigating saga of unpleasant , unlikeable people shouting , sneering , snarling at and plotting against one another , which  I seriously believe gives an appalling impression of acceptable , everyday behaviour  to its young , impressionable viewers .
I've read on the profiles of two different young women  registered with this site that they are very much in favour of revenge .
I've on occasions been treated utterly reprehensibly and inexcusably , and , though I very much have the right to speak my mind  if I choose to , I do'nt believe in premeditated revenge , because (a) maybe I have just enough spiritual or religious faith to belive that's up to God , or Karma(or the criminal justice system) , and (b) because one deliberately nasty  and harmful act can provoke another , then another , ultimately to the detriment of all of us .
A year or two ago I read , in Bel Mooney's daily mail Saturday advice column the quote : " indifference is the best revenge " , and I think there's a lot of truth  in that ; Of course  if I or anyone close to me was seriously , deliberately , badly hurt by someone then I can't know  for sure how I might react , though I instinctively feel that pre-planned revenge is wrong .
So am I against 'capital punishment' in all cases ? - No , I do'nt think so , but that's a difficult issue .

What gives the BBC the right to spend millions of pounds of all of our money on securing the rights to show live F1 motor racing , when itv already show it - So it's not as if they are keeping it  accessible to those of us who do'nt have sky subscriptions - And what about their viewers  who are not F1 enthusiasts ?
The BBC already squander millions on BBC3 rubbish , and silly little digital radio stations that hardly anyone has even heard of .
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I've actually had this 'blog for just over a year - I began it on March 17th last year , and coincidentally St.Patricks day was the the day that I began my first 'blog ( subsequently deleted by me ) , in 2005 , not knowing that I was about to be plunged into misery and despair , two days later .

Listening to the debate about Iraq on Victoria Darbishire's 5live programme this morning I heard someone say that maybe that country needs a 'strong leader' (i.e the psycopathic torturer and murderer Sadam) ; 
Which  reminded me  of the  obscene 'orgy of looting' in Iraq immediately after Sadam was deposed , when  everything that was'nt 'nailed down' was  stolen by wild rampaging hordes , including hospital equipment .
So is there something intrinsic to arab men that necessitates their countries needing  harshly applied laws , to the detriment of human rights ?
Or is  such blatent lawbreaking , if allowed to occur explicable more by economics ? - Certainly poverty can breed roughness of character . . .
It's said that some older Russians still yearn for the 'good old days' under the 'strong leadership' of the mass-murderer Stalin .
We know that some british women travel to turkey for sex with turks who they consider to be 'real men' , who , as one woman once told me ' push you down and rip your knickers off ' , etc . . . ,  though I hasten to add that of course by no means all women want that , and if they do , it's up to them to choose who with  .
Some consider it 'racist' to suggest that there are innate differences between races , and , I do'nt know but there are plenty of 'rough , brash ' indigenous british men - far too many  for my liking , and I'm far too pitifully shy , and afraid to say or do the 'wrong' thing .
Islam dictates that women must cover their hair if not their faces , and that no unrelated man and woman should ever be alone together , so is that a silly supersticious insult to most men who can control themselves perfectly well , unless there's  a mutual  attraction  and the  woman is blatently trying to seduce  , which is completely different to simply being alone together for any other reason ,  and to women , who maybe are seen  as all wanting to be wickedly powerful temptresses with all (unrelated) men all the time ( in which case that's a good excuse to blame female victims of sexual assualts for their ordeal ) - ?
Or is there something different about arab men , which makes that ruling a sensible one ?

George Harrison : (c) EMI , 1970 : great track ( click twice on play to hear) .

According to what I read yesterday it seems that my prediction , a few weeks ago that the again restored  itv  'News At Ten'  would soon again be shunted to a later slot was correct ;
Rather than a regular 10.30 or 11pm slot it'll probably be 'all over the place' timewise again , and eventually shortened to 20 minutes or less  .
I like the presenter's but have'nt been very impressed with its latest incarnation  or with any other of the changes to itv1 since Michael Grade took over .
The original 'News at 10' was a good alternative to the then 9.00 bbc1 news .
Now the bbc1 news is at 10 and most people can get bbc news 24 and sky news , 24/7 .
Before Michael Grade took over there were some good two hour drama's on itv1 , weekdays , 9 - 11 pm .
For some reason the 'champagne socialist intellectual elite'  sneered at all itv crime/mystery/suspense drama's , though I thought that some of them were very good .
And it's so much better to watch a complete drama over one , or two consecutive  nights , rather than for one hour a week , when it's easy to forget to watch the next instalment , and the current 'trial and retribution' is nothing like  as good as it once was .
There's plenty of sports 'news' on Sky News and on bbc radio 5live , although there's also 'sky sports news' , and R5 'sports extra' , so Football is widely considered to be of more importance and general interest than 'real' news .
When there were only one , two , three or four UK tv channels it was easier for broadcasters to get away with a 'patrician' mindset of not only entertaining but also informing us ; not just giving us what we wanted but also what they thought was good for us .
But now , with commercial pressures of competing for advertising  , and of the bbc having to maintain their case for being funded by a mandatory tax on all tv viewers. . . . and how much less popular would the licence fee be if the bills said ' BBC ' as opposed to ' tv licensing' ?  . . .
Like Michael Grade I feel some nostalgia for the old 'news at ten' but , times have changed , there's a bbc tv 'news at ten' every weekday , not to mention radio 4 and R5live , and in the not very distant future all of us in the Uk will have digital television , including free access to bbc and sky news 24/7 , so maybe it is time for broadcasters to rethink their 'obligation' to bring us 'news' whatever is going on , so long as they have provision  to bring us any  news items of critical national importance  .

Sue Bird , ex-wife of Mick Donovan , an Uncle of Shannon Matthew's Stepfather ,  who's suspected of having abducted  her  , speaking exclusively to the 'News of the World' said that her 'ex' fantisised about sex with children , forced her to dress as a schoolgirl , beat her 'black and blue' , put 'sick sex notes' in one of their daughter's school lunch-boxes , and once kidnapped their two young daughters , who he was and is disallowed  custody of .
She described him as a "ticking time bomb" , and told the NOW :  "Something like this was bound to happen " .
So why did'nt she tell that to the police when Shannon first went missing , or indeed  any time until Shannon was - no thanks to her - found , instead of waiting until the NOW offered her god knows how many tens of thousands of pounds  for her lurid story ?
There are various  accusations and denials re. Shannon's current 'Stepfather' , and I'm sorry to say that none of the adults in Shannon's family or 'extended family' emerge with much credit  .
It's been claimed that she was unhappy at home and did'nt want to live there ,  that her  laughter was heard from Mick Donovan's flat , and that  she's currently in good humour whilst getting lots of gentle attention from nice police and social services people .
It seems telling that , unlike Madeleine McCann , there only seem to be two or three recent photographs of Shannon Matthews .
And sad that , there'd have almost certainly been more publicity about her being missing , and sympathy for her parents if they'd been married , living together and articulate 'middle-class' .
Like the parents of Madeleine McCann , who many  of us , including me , found excuses for their having left her  unattended .
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It's terrible that many Tibetan protestors seem to have been shot dead by Chinese troops , and I'm sure that China never had any right to invade Tibet - and yet , and yet , if their idea of political protest is  to  riot and try to break into and steal from shops and banks . . .
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I watched an interesting  programme on the 'five life' channel about a boy , in Glasgow , who from an early age kept talking of his memories of  another life as a child on the Scottish Island of Barra  . .
He , his brother ,  their Mother and an american professor who investigates cases of children who claim to remember 'past lives ' visited Barra and located the house that Cameron claimed to remember , which was a holiday home for a family , the Robertsons - the family name that he'd mentioned - in the seventies , who indeed had a  black and white sheepdog , which Cameron remembered .
But after discovering and meeting a lady who was a member of that family who presumably would be the sister of who Cameron was in his previous life , she said there was no "Shane Robertson" who was run over by a car and killed - who Cameron had said was his Father - and no boy in the family who died young .
It was a fascinating programme nonetheless , and the Professor said that most children who seem to have clear memories of who they were in previous incarnations seem to lose those memories by about the age of six or seven .
I recall seeing a more convincing programme about this apparent phenomenom , several years ago .
The programme , tonight , also featured a U.S family of a young boy who claims to be the reincarnation of his Grandfather : Once , when his Dad was changing his diapers , he  said : " When you were my age I used to change your diapers " .  -  ! ! !  - I'm very open-minded about reincarnation , but that's hilarious !

Andrew Alexander in today's Daily  Mail : -
" We were told that Saddam Hussein was an enemy of mankind because he used torture . Now we witness the gruesome spectacle of President Bush endorsing torture by vetoing the Bill from Congress outlawing 'waterboarding' and other equivalently barbaric forms of interrogation.
This must be the first time in modern history that a head of state has openly endorsed torture . Alongside that , there is reason to believe that the U.S continues with its secret 'extraordinairy rendition' flights to take suspects - remember that is all they are - to countries where they apply even more savage torture .
This is an American President who prides himself on his moral sense , a born again Christian who starts the day with prayers and has forsworn alcohol following a very boozy youth . The humbug makes one gasp .
What does he say in his prayers ? ' Oh Lord , make me a decent human being , but not yet ' ?
So we have the free world , as we call it , the Western Alliance , the proclaimed centre of civilised values , led by a man endorsing methods applied by Hitler and Stalin . What do we do about it ?
The British government insists it is opposed to all torture and refuses the use of our airspace for planes on rendition flights - a rule the CIA has not always obeyed . But our indignation stops there . We continue to heap fulsome praise on the value of the Anglo-American special relationship which must never be upset .
The foreign office will say only that Washington knows our attitude to torture . There has been no protest about Bush's latest move .
Just imagine what our Government would say if Russia , China or India were to officially and openly say they sanctioned torture . Our noisy indignation would know no bounds .
But in the American case , we do nothing . Perhaps that is part of the " Britishness " which even schoolchildren are now invited to celebrate . "

Neither am I , but the Blair/Brown continuing slavish devotion to and infatuation with the corrupt , warmongering U.S President  - and that a Conservative goverment would have almost certainly been no different  -
is a legitimate matter for grave public concern , do'nt you think - ?

I watched the brilliant last programme in  BBC2's  breif  'white working class'  documentary season  ,  about  racial  separation and integration involving various people in Barking , Essex .
At first I though it was edited to portray all  of Barkings 'white working class' population as bigoted caricatures of themselves , and all immigrants as lovely , which to a certain extent it may have been though it also showed a 60-ish indigenous white couple learning to put aside much of their reservations about black people through getting to know and love a nearby black family .
Then there was the touching close friendship between an elderly though quite  fit  jewish man who survived  nazi camps during WW2 for five years , and a  nice Somalian lady .
And then the 60+ish BNP worker , who was perturbed to discover that a pleasant young man he'd met was of 'mixed race' origin .
But , what characters ! - It was like a satirical Mike Leigh directed comedy , except  real !
Is it really most natural and proper for different races to only live amongst and marry their 'own kind' , or for people to want to reach out to , get to know and find common-ground with other humans , so long as there's no obvious  good reason not to ?