Justice or retribution?

I suppose I shouldn’t really let the day go past without mentioning the execution of Saddam Hussein which took place early this morning.
There has been almost endless coverage of it in the news media, each channel having their parade of ‘commentators’ vying to give their opinion.

These opinions fell into two definite categories:
On one side, predominantly from westerners, justice had been served in a fair court run by the Iraqis following the rule of Iraqi law.
On the other side, Saddam was tried by a kangaroo court filled with American puppet figures and should have faced trial by then international court at The Hague.
Personally, I think it more of the second view. Although I can well understand why the west wouldn’t be so keen for that to happen.

If the trial had been at The Hague, the Americans wouldn’t have been able to restrict & edit the televised broadcasts of the hearings. Then the world would hear all the details about who supplied weapons & money to Saddam during the Iran Iraq war. Even though we know already. We would learn where he got the chemical weapons that he used to kill the Kurds. Even though we know already.

Successive American & British governments hold a lot of the responsibility for the past, present & future instability in the middle east but with Saddam dead they can, for the time being at least, heave a sigh of relief.

Friends with nice places

When I heard the news that the plane which overshot the runway at Miami airport was carrying the Prime Minister, Tony Blair , the first thing that came into my head was ‘what a missed opportunity!’ We could have been rid of the lying, two faced, egotistical war monger and his sad freeloading family. Sadly not. Foiled again. Must try harder.

What has softened the blow of the lack of his demise is the revelation of his intended holiday destination. The PMs office had tried to keep quiet where the Blairs were spending their vacation and for good reason it transpires.
Mr Blair & his tribe are holidaying at the villa of Bee Gee, Robin Gibb.
For most, honest people, staying at the villa of a friend (if you happen to have friends with villas, of course) would be a fairly innocuous thing. Not so, the Blairs.
The PM is famed worldwide for his free holidays at the homes of the rich & famous, including Cliff Richard & Silvio Berlusconi.
You may think that TB is just a cheap miser not wanting to fork out for his two weeks in the sun like the rest of us mere mortals, which he probably is. Don’t forget he has a £3.5million mortgage on a house in London.
What should also be noted is that the generosity of the villa owners is not necessarily altruistic.
Both Cliff Richard & Robin Gibb have been lobbying the British government for changes in the British copyright laws to extend the amount of years it covers. The passing of such changes will, no doubt, benefit the ageing popster greatly.

It seems to be that if you lend them money, you can be a Lord and if you have a nice villa to spare, you’ve got a chance of getting a law changed.

It isn’t any wonder that the majority of people in this country can’t wait to see the back of this leech.

Article here