Insta-Hoglets

I really don't have an opinion as yet on the death of an Italian agent accompanying the journalist Giuliana Sgrena after her release by her Iraqi captors. The car they were travelling in was shot at by US troops, killing the agent. The Italians are definitely upset, which was the last thing Bush needed as Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is the closest thing to a true right-wing conservative Europe has to offer at the moment and was thus Bush staunchest admirer. The US Army says the car was speeding towards a checkpoint and refused to halt when hailed. The reporter in the car suggests that isn't true. However, it does serve as a reminder that the Iraq elections have not been an instant panacea. It's now been five weeks, insurgent attacks are still mounted daily and the new Iraqi parliament hasn't even managed to meet yet because it is paralysed by power struggles over who gets to be President. That isn't good for the common Iraqi citizen who could be forgiven for wondering what all the hype will amount to.

Also not a good sign is a report that the 7th Marine Regiment have set up a "Salvador option" mercenary force known as the "Iraqi Freedom Guard, a unit of 61 men, each paid $400 monthly to fight, capture and interrogate suspected rebels in Iraq’s sprawling Al-Anbar province, which includes the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi."

Talking of the war on terror, whatever happened to Osama? Bush made a rare mention of binLaden when swearing in the Gremlin as head of Fatherland Security and told staff at CIA Headquarters that "We're not resting on our laurels - we've had great successes and that doesn't mean we should stop". Of course, only the eight people (yes, only eight) who staff the unit searching for Osama know if Bush is telling the truth or not although a lot of ex-spooks have negative opinions. Maybe if they could find him, they could ask the man himself.

You know what I would like to see worldwide? A "war on terror" against the animals who exploit and sexually abuse children for their own kicks and, increasingly, for money via internet porn. Arrests of paedophiles in the UK have more than quadrupled in two years which is great, and the UK tends to give harder sentences for a wider range of internet-related paedophilia than the US. For instance, in Texas, many of these monsters are getting away without charges because Texas law demands that the victim be able to be identified. A quick bit of photoshop, swap one kid's head onto anothers body and - bingo - no possible prosecution because it's so hard to identify a body from a photo. That sucks, folks. The UK takes the pragmatic approach that some kid suffered to create the photo and anyone who downloads it deserves jail time with the big, ugly real criminal hardcases who will make sure the child-abuser slips in the showers. I am all for the solution used by those "wimpy" French, who now chemically castrate their paedophiles.