" I get accused of hoarding things by Margret. Now, this is entirely unfair - electrical items never die, you see, I am merely unable to revive them with today's technology. In the future new techniques will emerge and, combined with the inevitably approaching shortage of AC adapters and personal cassette players, my foresight will pay off and the grateful peoples of the Earth will make me their God. Anyway, never mind that now, because the real point is that it's Margret who fills our house with crap. And I'm not talking about doing so by the omission of crap-throwing-away here, but by insane design. While sorting out the stuff in the boxes, these are some of the things I've discovered that Margret actually packed away at our last house and brought to our new one:

• A dentist's cast of her teeth circa 1984.
• Empty Pringles tubes.
• Rocks (not 'special ornamental rocks', you understand, just 'rocks' from our previous garden).
• Old telephone directories.
• Two carrier bags full of scraps of material.
• Those little sachets of salt and sugar you get with your meal on planes.
• Some wooden sticks.
• Last year's calendar.

And another gem...

" Arguments. There are many arguments we have over arguments. 'Who started argument x', for example, is a old favourite that has not had its vigour dimmed by age nor its edge blunted through use. Another dependable companion is, 'I'm not arguing, I'm just talking - you're arguing,' along with its more stage-struck (in the sense that it relishes an audience - parties, visiting relatives, Parent's Evenings at school, in shops, etc.) sibling, 'Right, so we're going to get into this argument here are we?' An especially frequent argument argument, however, is the result of Margret NOT STICKING TO THE DAMN ARGUMENT, FOR CHRIST'S SAKE. Margret jack-knifes from argument to argument, jigs direction randomly and erratically like a shoal of Argument Fish being followed by a Truth Shark. It's fearsomely difficult to land a blow because by the time you've let fly with the logic she's not there anymore. A row about vacuuming gets shifted to the cost of a computer upgrade, from there to who got up early with the kids most this week and then to the greater interest rates of German banks via the noisome sexual keenness of some former girlfriend, those-are-hair-scissors-don't-use-them-for-paper and, 'When was the last time you bought me flowers?' all in the space of about seven exchanges. 'Arrrrrrgggh! What are we arguing about? Can you just decide what it is and stick to it?'" Like a shoal of Argument Fish being followed by a Truth Shark." Perfect. And...

" Other times she'll lay mines so we can explode into an argument later with the minimum amount of run-up. She'll go out and, over her shoulder as she closes the door, call, 'You can vacuum the house if you want.' I'll settle down on the computer for a couple of hours. When she returns she'll stomp up the stairs, crash open the door and growl, 'Why didn't you vacuum the house?' I, naturally, will reply, 'You said I could if I wanted to. And, after thinking about it, I decided I didn't. Obviously, it wasn't a decision I took lightly...' and we're already there."

"Tony Blair brushed aside the massive anti-war demonstrations, the Commons revolt and concessions by Saddam Hussein, and insisted yesterday that he would not be deflected from his determination to disarm Iraq."

An awful terrorist attack will happen in the UK. If it is proved that it could have been avoided by taking Saddam out, then how will the peace marchers feel then?

""When people decided not to confront fascism, they were doing the popular thing, they were doing it for good reasons, and they were good people ... but they made the wrong decision," he said."

793 Also posted to: warBlog . At: 7:48:38 PM  . .
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Other title(s) for this story: Guardian: 'History will be my judge'

"Officials at the Homeland Security Department said they expected that all 18,000 border inspectors who are being consolidated into the new department ÷ 9,000 customs agents, 6,000 immigration agents and 3,000 agriculture agents ÷ will be outfitted with one of the radiation devices and trained in their use by the middle of next year. "

I'm a litttle confused by this article, on the one hand they're saying that they have been checking some people since 9/11 and the other that this isn't going to be water tight till summer 2004.

I really would hhave thought they'd have this sorted ages ago... And what the hell's happening at UK ports and airports? Nowt, I'd guess if the US is so far behind - we'll be even further.

By now it may even be too late.

792 Also posted to: warBlog . At: 7:33:48 PM  . .
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Other title(s) for this story: CBS: Border Travelers Checks For Nukes