Entry for November 17, 2006
Here we are again - another 'CHILDREN IN NEED' day; a day of care and charitable giving on a massive scale in Britain. The cause is of course magnificent in its nation-wide appeal and the selfless work of thousands of entertainers. What a pity it is then to introduce a sour note into such innocent proceedings. What a pity that charitable help is needed in a land that boasts of its Welfare State, free for all at the point of need; a land that wastes millions of pounds a day in military incursions that are a disgrace to our name. It is hard to resist the thought that on this day of concern for our own children in need most newspapers and, notably, BBC news have nothing to say about the 14 year-old Iraqi girl who was raped and killed, along with the rest of her family, by a gang of American thugs whose crime has sidestepped the death penalty (which would never have been imposed in any case) because of the time honoured use of a plea-bargain agreement with the court. Well Mr Blair and all the pro-American Lilliputians around you, there is a child in need, or more accurately, there was a child in need. Oh, and just in case you wonder, like the rest of us, how your allies from across the water could do such a thing, the 23 year-old hooligan responsible told the judge 'I hate Iraqis your honour' and smiled as he confessed to charges. We await your condemnation without any very sanguine expectation. After all, you haven't apologised for the Brits who have done very similar things. You do keep strange friends and allies, Mr Blair.
