AND ANOTHER THING…
‘Tis time’s folly when the mad lead the blind.
The major post mortems have yet to be performed, but its publication today reveals that the Butler Report into the condition of the intelligence providing substance for an invasion of Iraq based on the existence of WMD has exonerated Tony Blair’s government. No attempt had been made to mislead the public; the prosecution of the war had proceeded on the evidence supplied; the responsibility for subsequent revelations – or rather non-revelations – is placed firmly at the door of the intelligence services.
I won’t bore either of us with a prolonged burst of spluttering rage at the sheer crassness & cynicism of it all. Like you, maybe, I feel now an enormous lassitude in the wake of these successive cycles of establishment mutual support. On whichever side of the Atlantic they’re being mounted, investigations into government malfeasance by political functionaries past or present operate within & are thus informed by a culture of pragmatism underpinned by that old familiar, the ends & means equation. The fact that Bush & Blair will offer so readily as a justification for the war in Iraq the toppling of Saddam Hussein, knowing that few close to the seat of power will take serious issue beyond initial protest, is indication enough of their contempt for yesterday’s news & the memories of those whom they govern. The almost Orwellian reconstruction by the perpetrators of what got said & done mere months before is now endemic to all political operations. It is both deeply sad & profoundly ominous that both the Hutton & the Butler Reports reflect so tellingly this culture.
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Quid custodiat custodes?
By no means unconnected with the phenomenon characterised above is the story of the paedophile judge. Having since January last year presided over eight cases of child pornography, some of them resulting in custodial sentences, Judge David Selwood has now himself received sentencing. Prosecuted for having on his computer 75 images of naked & semi-naked boys aged between 8 & 14, he has been awarded a 12-month community rehabilitation order. This negligible sentence will be further eased by the fact that, having had to retire somewhat precipitately because of ill-health, he will retain his £33,000-a-year-pension.
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Forever in blue jeans.
Rejoice with me, O brothers & sisters, for I have finally found, 4 years after a bulk purchase at Dave’s Army & Navy at 583 Avenue of The Americas, New York City, an outlet for Carhart double-knee logger pants in the UK. Forget forthwith the spurious claims to denim authenticity made by Levi Strauss. The Carhart double-kneed logger pant (?) is now the real deal. Just like the 501s of old (the ones you had to shrink around you in the bath & then iron with a road roller), your logger pants will feel a tad stiff to start with. In fact, you’ll be walking around like a ‘50s movie zombie for quite some time. But the bruises, abrasions &, if you need to run for a bus, friction burns will be worth the discomfort. Here is a pair of jeans that will be passed down to your grandchildren. £55.00 – over twice the sum paid to Dave – is, as my maiden aunt from Chelsea used to say, a mere bagatelle. Great days…
11:16:11 PM 
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