The war that won't go away...

Mr Blair continues to face the consequences of taking us into an illegal and wasteful war. The latest attack has come from the wife of guardsman Anthony Wakefield, who was killed in a roadside bomb attack yesterday. His wife Ann said Mr Blair should not have sent him to war.

Meanwhile, Blair's attempt to justify his decision to go to war by releasing the report of the AG seems to have backfired. For many, it seems patently obvious that there was either pressure on the AG to change his mind and say yes, or that the report was interpreted liberally. Or perhaps it did not matter - See Times Online story 1/5/05

There is also a move afoot by relatives of other British troops killed in Iraq to serve notice to Downing Street on Tuesday (today) of their plans to take the government to court. It also seems likely that the Stop The War Coalition may have plans for a private prosecution against the prime minister. See full BBC story here.

Watch this space.

Update on Thursday, May 12, 2005 at 07:54AM by Inyoka

Sexing up the report - evidence?

Source: CNN report, 12 May 2005. See full report.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Eighty-nine Democratic members of the U.S. Congress last week sent President George W. Bush a letter asking for explanation of a secret British memo that said "intelligence and facts were being fixed" to support the Iraq war in mid-2002.

The timing of the memo was well before the president brought the issue to Congress for approval.

The Times of London newspaper published the memo -- actually minutes of a high-level meeting on Iraq held July 23, 2002 -- on May 1.

British officials did not dispute the document's authenticity, and Michael Boyce, then Britain's Chief of Defense Staff, told the paper that Britain had not then made a decision to follow the United States to war, but it would have been "irresponsible" not to prepare for the possibility.

Nevertheless, the use of the word 'fixed' in the context is interesting, given the way that it could be misinterpreted. Now we all know that whoever sent the memo meant analysed, interpreted, evaluated. But fixed can mean so many things.

To 'fix' a puncture, a car, a tap...  - to repair, make whole.
 I'll 'fix' you - sort you out, get revenge. 
To 'fix' a picture - to ensure that the image does not fade, by using a chemical fixative. 
And of course, to 'fix' a horse or dog race  - to do something dishonest to ensure a  result favourable to the person(s) doing or arranging the fixing.
To' fix' evidence - to invent or manipulate data to make it point in a certain direction, sort of like 'sexing up'. (Now where have we heard that term before? )

 One would think  that top level diplomats / politicians / army bods / whoever  (honourable men, all, no doubt) would be more careful, knowing the nuances of the English language.

For other meanings of the word 'fix, see wikipedia.

Further to:

Military Families against the War have sent a letter to Tony Blair, asking for an independent inquiry into the legality of the move and whether he misled them about the basis on which the country went to war.
See MFAW website

It is alleged that  a soldier's wife had been told by an insurance company that her husband was no longer covered while serving in Iraq because it thought the war could be illegal.
See Independent Online

419 Scam.. still going?

I received this today. Probably the 1000th version of a common (sometimes called the Nigerian) scam, dressed in a host of guises. However, this one looks more convincing than the others given the fact that it is written in more or less proper English and does not have the usual host of  typos... although the style is possibly not quite what one would expect.  Lucas Damian? Damien Lucas would be more convincing. Very respectfully? Nah...

It must be that these things actually work, seeing that they have been around for so long.

As an essentially suspicious person, I think along these lines:
 
What makes me so lucky to be offered 10% of what is obviously likely to be a very lucrative business.. for doing blow all?  The answer is that  no one is that lucky. There is no free meal. Besides, as my granny said,  beware of Greeks / Nigerians / Englishmen / whoever bearing gifts. (Wise men excluded).

What makes these scams successful? In a word, greed.

The most frustrating thing about them is that my normal reply (not possible to show here) always comes back with a failed to deliver notice. Mmmm. Tempting to put some high profile politician's details in, and send it.  Perhaps not. We already pay African politicians and their dubious business links  enough out of our taxes.

Wonder if CB would be tempted?

Dear Sir/Madam,

 I represent ALPHA Import and Export Company based in the UK. My company exports cocoa and other goods/services for world trade. We are searching for representatives who can help us establish a medium of getting to our customers in Europe and America as well as making payments through you as our payment officer.

Most of our customer pay out in cheques and we do not have an account in your country that will clear this money. It is upon this note that we seek your assistance to stand as our representative in your country.

 Note that, as our representative, you will receive 10% of whatever amount you clear for the company and the balance will be paid into an account we will avail to you.

Please, if you are interested in this business transaction, forward to us at my personal email address (lucasdamian20022002@yahoo.co.in) the information below:

 (1) Your full names,
(2) Contact address and,
(3) Phone/fax numbers.

Thank you for your time.
Very Respectfully,
Mr. Lucas Damian,
President, ALPHA Import/Export co. Goods for Import/Export Freight Fwdg. Svcs.
 Email: lucasdamian20022002@yahoo.co.in

Yeah, right. Up yours, Lucas my boy. With fish hooks on it. 
More info on 419 scam. 
Nigerian fraudster jailed - BBC News (17/7/05)  Nigeria wages war on 419 scams (18/7/05)

Update on Saturday, November 19, 2005 at 04:03PM by Inyoka

Can you believe that even a bank (Brazillian in this case) can be taken by a 419?

BBC News |:| 

Update on Monday, August 7, 2006 at 10:02AM by Inyoka

The biters bit...

See this article from Wired. 

Politics and Education

The following were gleaned from AOL's election 2005 page  today.

Lib Dems:

• A revitalised schools curriculum – based on the Tomlinson proposals delivering opportunity to all pupils based on their individual talents.
• Smaller class sizes for primary school pupils – with 21,000 new teachers to give our children more individual time with their teachers.
• A proper assessment structure – with fewer tests and giving teachers time to teach.
• And quality teaching – with every class in the core subjects taught by specialised teachers trained for the subject.
• Many teachers are inspirational.  Most of us can remember a particular teacher at school who made a strong impression.
• Because it is not testing and targets that will make the difference in our schools – it is these dedicated enthusiastic and specialist teachers who will make the biggest difference.

Conservatives:

Schools will return to traditional teaching methods if the Conservatives win the May 5 General Election, Michael Howard has signalled. And in a shake-up of the existing national literacy strategy, the emphasis will be switched to phonics as the best way to teach children how to read and write.

Seizing on the recommendations of the Commons Education Committee and the positive results of using phonics-based teaching methods in classroom trials in Scotland, Mr Howard declared: "There is overwhelming evidence to demonstrate that traditional teaching methods - phonics, arithmetic, times tables - are the most effective means of teaching children to read, write and add up. So a Conservative Government will ensure that teachers are trained in traditional, proven teaching methods like phonics."

Labour:

What we are committed to


• Doubling funding per pupil (since 1997) - reaching at least £5,500 by 2007-08.
• Labour will create an education service that is truly personalised around the needs and aspirations of every pupil and student.
• Rebuilding or refurbishing every secondary school over the next ten to fifteen years.
• From 14 to 19, every young person will have a pathway to suit them for work, further learning, and for life as an adult.
• Labour has pledged to increase the number of apprenticeships to 300,000.
• New sixth forms and sixth form colleges where they are needed.
• Enabling half of all young people to attend university.

Comment: Wouldn't it be nice if governments would let educationists make decisions about what is to be taught and how?  A bureaucratically driven education system does not work. Bureaucrats are fixated by targets,  reports,  forms and control,  rather than learning. Give teachers the responsibility to do what they are trained to do, rather than interfering every step of the way.

Wales

There are areas of  Wales which are breathtakingly beautiful. The three main national parks - the Brecon Beacons in the South,  Pembrokeshire in the middle and Snowdonia in the north,  attract a good number of visitors each year. The people are charming and friendly.  Except for the police who have an unhealthy relationship with their radar guns.

The Welsh rugby side has come back strongly this year, beating Ireland in the final to take the Grand Slam. England, on the other hand, lost three out of five and did not look all that convincing against weak teams from Italy and Scotland. In view of this, it is strange to see the British Lions side loaded with English players.  It will be interesting to see what the O'Driscoll and Henson pairing will produce against the slick New Zealand backs.

Jonny Wilkinson will be playing  for Newcastle on Saturday. There seems to be  a chance that he could be included in the Lions squad should he prove to be fit. Rob Andrew claims that he is fully fit, so here is hoping.Should he break down again, his career as an international could well be over.

Watch this space.

Great South Africans

Archbishop Tutu and Nelson Mandela are two of my favourite  South Africans.  Here are the reasons for my choice.

Bishop Tutu stood up for the poor and downtrodden by opposing apartheid and discrimination during the latter years of nationalist rule, often at great personal risk. He was an unstinting leader in the church, and of the disenfranchised. However, once majority rule came, he faded into the background. Recently, however, he has spoken out against the ineptitude of the ANC government who, on the whole, have delivered very little of what they promised ten years ago. Except to their own doors, of course. Many black South Africans are cynical of the wealth and power that Mbeki and his clique have amassed, and of Mbeki's highly personal outbursts at those who criticise him. Interestingly, Mbeki has called for an investigation into South Africa's popular and successful Scorpions crime squad.  This organisation has done much to fight corruption and has not been afraid to target high profile government figures and their friends.  The move is viewed with suspicion by many. More detail here

In May 2004  Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe called Archbishop Tutu "an angry, evil and embittered little bishop" after the Nobel Peace prize winner likened him to an archetypal African dictator.  Tutu has also criticised Mbeki's handling of the Zimbabwe situation. More detail here

Nelson Mandela's greatness is demonstrated by his willingness to forgive those who mistreated him, and for his constant appeal to all South Africans to put the past behind and to strive for the future. Stepping down from a position as president in Africa is quite rare. One wonders whether he will be the last to do so?  Mandela has also called on the government to focus on delivery of their  promises, something that has resulted in bitter rebuttals from Mbeki.

Update on Thursday, May 5, 2005 at 03:03PM by Inyoka

Helen Suzman is another great South African. Helen laboured tirelessly as a Progressive to include disenfranchised blacks into the political system. She gave the  Nats a torrid time, but was probably respected nevertheless. I am not sure that the ANC have given her the respect and kudos she deserves. I am glad that she lived to see the fruits of her labours and that she is still at it as a defender of the liberal faith and the downtrodden.  See more here,  here and  here.

The Helen Suzman Foundation does valuable work. Great South Africans get an Inyoka smiley.