"The US military command in Iraq has posted an urgent bounty notice offering $10 million for information on the whereabouts of Saddam Hussein’s former senior deputy, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, who is believed to be dying."

1438 Also posted to: Home page . At: 11:46:35 PM  . .
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Other title(s) for this story: DEBKAfile, Political Analysis, Espionage, Terrorism Security

"It's time for a grown up discussion. Big issues need real debate, a big conversation between politicians and the people. Let the conversation begin." Tony Blair PM 2003 More in the Guardian: Blair's neo-puritan appeal to voters to face up to the social irresponsibility which underpins poor parenting, unhealthy diet and anti-social behaviour towards neighbours. Mr Blair cited social ills from drunkenness in city centres to smoking in public places, poor diet and alcoholism as generating huge costs to the NHS and police as well as to society at large. Such problems must be addressed, he suggested. Think about it, it's a bald statement, but has truth. If the geezer down the street from me had a blog, would I go there, fairly regularly? Of course. If there were many locally wouldn't that be a community. Linked up together in their own mind share world, using the power of the network, as smart as the smartest people in there, as angry or visionary as the most maddened or utopian bloggers. [Blogs are all about reputation.] Answers you'd surely get, maybe too many, but it could also be the solution to many of the questions. We build a community, working locally this is how we face and discuss the challenge of the future. We talk and learn about healthy lives, safety, poverty, just as we talk about ourselves. And habituating more PC literate people from the wrong side of the IT gap, would be far easier when there's gossip and arguments to be had. [With the odd bit of wit, intellect, vision and building of knowledge as per your usual assortment of blogs.] Usual caveats: blogging could be via cable TV, mobile phone, library PCs and PDAs if you were a nob. You'd need a high profile local as well as national ad campaign, work within schools and higher ed, offer training courses free to low incomes perhaps even free PCs. But it would work. Connecting people will result in politics. We'd make the UK much stronger in Europe at a stroke. While building bridges across barriers of race, culture and creed. The missus awakes, back to the world. [Later: 01/12/03; 18:04:30] The Register runs a report saying the big conversation isn't well received. The Telegraph: a political fix with party officials "handpicking contributors and editing out their negative comments". Roy Hattersley: "a confidence trick in a good cause." and, a monologue designed to persuade voters that New Labour is taking the country in the correct direction.

1436 Also posted to: Home page . At: 4:11:51 PM  . .
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Other title(s) for this story: Tony Blair's Big conversation

We know very little about the Trotskyite The Islamic Greater Easter Raiders Front (IBDA-C) who bombed Turkey the past few weeks, Bin Laden knows so much more.

1423 Also posted to: Home page . At: 6:47:02 PM  . .
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Other title(s) for this story: Al Qaeda’s Turkish Knife Hangs over Europe

"No sooner was this blanket surveillance in place, when the flow of audiocassettes dried up. Clearly, Saddam’s contacts among the TV personnel and other objects of surveillance had warned him to lie low and observe total electronic hush so as not to give his hideout away." Very clever of him to remain hidden.

1422 Also posted to: Home page . At: 7:34:54 PM  . .
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Other title(s) for this story: Electronic Pursuit of Saddam and Coalition Fortress in Baghdad

Lindsay German, convener of the Stop the War Coalition said that the attacks in Istanbul were an inevitable consequence of the war. "I hate to say we told you so, but we have been saying from the beginning that the war with Iraq would inevitably lead to more terrorist attacks.

War or now war in Iraq, we'd still be under more and more terrorist attacks.

I'm getting more and more angry at the prominence of anti war demonstrators. Whether it's 70,000 or 200,000, that's still a tiny number of nutters. I used to think that it was a good thing, a check on our sanity. But now I see them as ill-conceived. And when London has suffered the first WMD attack, they'll be saying, 'told you so,' still. We could lay down and let these terrorists tickle our tummies and still they'd try to kill millions of non muslims.

1416 Also posted to: Home page . At: 10:30:09 AM  . .
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Other title(s) for this story: And down comes the statue... but this time it's Trafalgar Square

"I was given an official warning that I could not show or distribute *any* more posters under the Public Order Act because of the objectionable nature of *one* of them" One of the protesters yesterday with a poster that caught my eye and a good story. I listened to Bush's speech yesterday, at least the highlights on the news. He said the right things, aggrandising the special relationship, and saying that there's wicked people in the world, that need to be stood up to. "...the violent restraint of violent men. In some cases, the measured use of force is all that protects us from a chaotic world ruled by force." I completely agree with him. I still know that a WMD attack here in the UK (or US) isn't too far away in the future.

1410 Also posted to: Home page . At: 1:02:37 PM  . .
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Other title(s) for this story: My near-arrest experience

And the main site is here, where I just read there'll probably be a mobile phone blackout in the safety bubbles. Why haven't they an RSS feed?

"Gadgets are now being used more proactively to make protests more visible and disrupt any potential stage-managing of the President's visit. " Here's the poster calling for camera phone pix and SMS messages .

1402 Also posted to: Home page . At: 3:16:16 PM  . .
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Other title(s) for this story: BBC: Mobile users told to 'chase Bush'

"I said it was a bit of a personal present to get from a bodyguard. She replied very simply: 'He was my lover'. When Charles had resumed his affair with Camilla, Diana had turned to Barry. She said other members of the Royal Family had had affairs with their bodyguards and Barry had been her friend when she felt friendless. She also said that she loved him and that they took him away. He was moved to other duties so she no longer saw him. Several months passed and one day she and Charles were in an official car on their way to the airport when he said in a matter-of-fact way: 'Oh, I don't know if you've heard, but Sergeant Mannakee is dead'. Diana, now in tears herself, said that she just collapsed and Charles did nothing to comfort her.
"She held on to me. 'They killed him. I'm certain they killed him'.
"I asked her who "they" were but she was too distressed to give a coherent answer. 'MI5, people in the Palace, somebody who wanted him out of the way'.
"I had read about Sergeant Mannakee's death. It was as a passenger in a motorcycle accident - not an easy murder to stage, although not an impossible one".

1391 Also posted to: Home page . At: 1:25:54 PM  . .
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Other title(s) for this story: Extract from James Hewitt book

From The Guardian: "In the past nobody would have dared [to do this]," Mr Clifford said. "But [Diana's former butler, Paul Burrell] has, and is getting away with it. Now if you're earning £9,000 a year and see a chance to set up your family with a large cash sum, then more and more people are going to think about it. "When anybody is surrounded by servants, the likelihood is that there are lots of things those servants will have witnessed which would be embarrassing. I can't find the foreign press stories they talk about, except this one mentioned by The Independent - a Swiss gay newspaper, but from what I've gathered from the TV, Charlie must have been sucking a servant's (probably Michael Fawcett's) dick or something of that ilk or maybe involved in the gay rape. Would that be enough to bring down the royal house - I really hope so. But then as an anti-monarchist I would say that wouldn't I. And on a related note: Charles' spokesman said the person behind the mysterious allegations has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and alcoholism. "He has in the past made other unrelated allegations, which the police have fully investigated and found to be unsubstantiated." Well, they would say that wouldn't they!

From the Sunday Mirror in March this year: Princess Diana made a sensational secret video diary in which she complained that Charles had an "unhealthy relationship" with top aide Michael Fawcett, the Sunday Mirror can reveal.

Diana, looking tearful and drawn, complains on camera: "He is too close to Fawcett - what can one do when your husband is in an unhealthy relationship" with a servant?

She also tells how Charles and his close aide appeared "uncomfortable" and "uneasy" after being disturbed while together in one of the Prince's private rooms.

From Throneout: There are actually 2 allegations. The first is that a senior and close aide to a senior royal is alleged to have male raped George Smith, another palace servant. George Smith later reported the alleged attack to Police and it is suggested that the claims have been recorded on various video tapes possibly by Diana. George Smith later withdrew his complaint when questioned by Police. He was also given a £38,000 pay off by Prince Charles, apparently unconnected with the withdrawl of his complaint. The second allegation is that a senior and close aide to a senior royal [Fawcett] was found in bed with that royal [Charlie] by a servant [Smith?]. Both the royal and the servant are male. This allegation is also said to have been recorded by Diana. As with the Burrell trial, it appears that legal precedent and the rule of law is being discarded to keep the Windsor's dirty secrets secret a little longer. Clearly revelation of such a secret, and the fact that Diana was collating evidence of these secrets that the Palace is so keen to hide, will further speculation that Diana's death was no accident. Some have suggested that this evidence may have formed part of a custody battle, if Diana had have lived long enough.

And while I'm at it, there's a new book out in the US that the National Enquirer is serialising which says that Prince Harry is James Hewitt's son, not Prince Charles'. Looking at him he looks a little unlike other royals... This and some of the above was why they killer her. And this is the reason there's such a storm. Not because of a bit of gay hanky-panky, but of the more serious and illegal goings on. Can I say these things? Definitely not. The royal family (my lower case) are above the law in the UK. So, Charles is gay. Would that explain the lateness of his marriage, and Diana saying he'd never be king? Perhaps also the note to Diana from the duke of Edinburgh - Charlie's dad saying, "how could anybody not fancy her?"

1390 Also posted to: Home page . At: 9:59:38 AM  . .
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Other title(s) for this story: Bugger the servants

The Government plans to establish a database of life records which could be used to create a dossier on everyone in the country, privacy advocates fear...
"We should not be moving towards a system where our very identity is dependent on registration by the Government in a central database."

Sorry, but yes we should. The way terrorists operate, even criminals... We need to know who, where, when, and so should the person being questioned. Even blogs may become compulsory one day, as a way on demonstrating one's identity.

1377 Also posted to: Home page . At: 12:50:36 PM  . .
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Other title(s) for this story: The Register: A dossier on every UK citizen?