Iraq - the inquiry...

The British government's claim that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) is being discussed by the official inquiry into the war. So fat it's been reported that the UK had intelligence days before the Iraq war that Saddam might not be able to use chemical weapons, according to a senior adviser.

Furthermore, Sir William Ehrman, the Foreign Office's director general for defence and intelligence between 2002 and 2004, said the UK investigated claims of links between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda but decided they were not "natural allies",

The inquiry is not expected to report its full findings until 2011.
The key points of the Iraq war inquiry explained
Inquiry told Iraq could not 'use' chemical weapons

The British public's trust in politics is at its lowest ebb - the whole, unadulterated truth has to come out, regardless of its impact on Tony Blair and the government...

2012

Saw the movie over the weekend. My rating:

• 8 out of 10 for the CGI


• 3 out of 10 for the plot


• overall, 5.5 out of 10 for the movie

*** Warning! This comment may contain spoilers ***

Yep, leave those brain cells at home and be amazed by the special effects, as Roland Emmerich goes for the mother and father of all apocalypses in one movie!
Forget Earthquake, The Poseidon Adventure and Volcano - now you can watch all these disasters in 2012 instead!
It's predictable tosh, but what did you expect from the man who gave us Independence Day & The Day After Tomorrow? Treat 2012 for what it is - a guilty pleasure to pass the time away.
The film fails with its characters - too cliche, spouting cliches. And even in a movie like this, I couldn't believe how many last-minute escapes our heroic cast (John Cusack, Amanda Peet) were able to pull off. Also don't look to this movie for any in-depth examination of the Mayan calendar.
Finally in case you're wondering, the London Olympics gets cancelled (it IS the end of the world, after all). Thanks, Mr. Emmerich - that's our £10 billion gone up in smoke...literally!
2012 (Internet Movie Database)

Football, football, football (continued)...

Obviously I don't usually comment when Tottenham win a football match, but in the midst of the media hoopla surrounding the Spuds 9-1 demolition of Wigan Athletic, one should pay a closer look at the sole Wigan goal.
This came courtesy of Wigan midfielder Paul Scharner, who controlled the ball with his arm before scoring.
Surely Scharner's goal was as dodgy as his haircut. OK - it didn't decide the outcome of the game, but shouldn't Scharner be condemned for dragging football into the gutter?
No doubt Wigan Athletic would graciously offer to replay the fixture....

More Samantha Fox...

Former glamour model Samantha Fox has revealed on reality TV show "I'm A Celebrity" that she is worried her boobs are shrinking.
Sounds like a good reason to post more pics of her...
I'M A CELEBRITY: SAM FOX'S BOOBS HAVE SHRUNK

The damnation of Thierry Daniel Henry......

"I will be honest, it was a handball. But I'm not the ref. I played it, the ref allowed it. That's a question you should ask him."
Thierry Henry

Both Fifa and the French Football Federation have rejected the Football Association of Ireland's request for a replay of the controversial World Cup play-off between France and the Republic of Ireland,
The Republic of Ireland were beaten 2-1 on aggregate after France triumphed with a goal scored when captain Thierry Henry handled the ball in the build-up.
Fifa turns down Irish replay plea

OK: Wednesday night Thierry Henry used his hand to control the ball, and France's equalising goal shouldn't have stood. But Fifa has spoken - the match will NOT be replayed. Furthermore, the French Football Federation has no intention of proposing a replay.
As Fifa has stated: "during matches, decisions are taken by the referee and these decisions are final."
End of story.

But the usual (over) reaction by the British press has been deplorable. In their myopic eyes, Thierry Henry has now been permanently tainted as a cheating, dirty footballer, who has no right to participate in "the beautiful game" - despite Henry's admission that he handled the ball, and despite his (somewhat belated) plea that replaying the World Cup play-off would be "the fairest solution."

Earlier this year, Robbie Keane helped the Republic of Ireland come from behind to beat Georgia 2-1 in a World Cup qualifier, by scoring a penalty in the 73rd minute, after an amazingly harsh handball decision against defender Ucha Lobjanidze.
However I don't recall any clamor in the press over the injustice to Georgia. Luck of the Irish, I guess...
Republic of Ireland 2-1 Georgia

Don't get me wong - as I stated in previous posts (during the Eduardo media witch-hunt), if a footballer is guilty of cheating, then he should be judged accordingly.
But in a year when we've seen fake blood in rugby matches, choreographed Formula One crashes, and an eight-time Grand Slam winner revealing he misled the tennis authorities about his use of crystal methamphetamine, watching the moral outrage over Henry's handball makes me want to reach for the sick-bucket...

President Tony Blair? Non!

Belgian PM Herman van Rompuy is the EU president and the UK's Labour peer Baroness Catherine Ashton is the surprise choice as foreign policy chief.

Mr van Rompuy, 62, backed by France and Germany, was the unanimous choice after the UK dropped its support for Tony Blair.
EU foreign head dismisses critics

In my opinion anyone would have been better than Tony Blair, I've had my fill of charismatic, media-savvy leaders.
However a more transparent decision making process could have been used to elect the President of the European Council.

Doctor Who (continued)...

Just a few words on the latest Doctor Who special, " The Waters Of Mars."

At long last - a special episode that lives up to its description!
The countdown to the Doctor's demise has begun, and doesn't he knows it, as he lands on Mars, and meets the ill-fated first human outpost on the red planet, Bowie Base One (cute touch by the writers). The date is 21st November 2059, the day everyone on Bowie Base One dies, and the Doctor knows this. But can he change history? More importantly, should he?
This is David Tennant's Doctor at his darkest, as the "Time Lord Victorious" - his absolute power corrupts him absolutely, and the Doctor is shown to be as megalomaniacal as the Master (which sets up nicely for Tennant's finale as the tenth Doctor),
I'm not going to quibble about the flaws. Overall, this episode was brilliant - now roll on the Christmas special, The End Of Time!
Doctor Who homepage

Get well soon, RvP...

Robin van Persie has moved to allay fears on the seriousness of his ankle injury, by insisting he will be back in action within four to six weeks. Initial reports had implied Van Persie could miss the rest of the season.
Van Persie faces six-week lay-off

OK, Van Persie's injury is still a setback, but I'm hopeful Arsenal will cope without him - and it could have been a lot worse.
But I really hate these international breaks. A key Arsenal player is now sidelined, just when he was in really great form - for a meaningless friendly.
Get well soon RvP...here's hoping there are no problems in the recovery process.

Samantha Fox

I was going to comment further on Katie Price's return to the jungle on this year's "I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!"

But, meh...enough of Jordzilla.
Instead here's a few pics of page 3 legend - Samantha Fox, who's also appearing on the reality television game show...
Sam Fox - I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

PS: I still think reality TV shows are a load of doggy-doo, and any show with Katie Price among the cast should be avoided like Swine Flu.
But in Sam Fox's case, I'm making an exception...

Catch a Wave?

While surfing the Internet on the current bad weather impacting the British Isles, I noticed a report that a windsurfer had to be rescued from "treacherous" conditions after getting into difficulty at Bigbury, near Kingsbridge in south Devon. The surfer was uninjured after being winched to safety by a coastguard rescue helicopter in storm force winds.
Coastguard Watch Manager Dave Scullion said: "Windsurfing in storm force 10 to violent storm 11 can be fatal."
UK facing 'worst storm of year'

So while we batten down the hatches and get our central heating on, can I ask what rational person would go windsurfing in the middle of a storm anyway?