Following the open thread and poll - just thought I would post a snippet, as there were requests for some :)

I live in Gloucestershire, which is in the part of England that borders Wales: the area is known (in england) as 'The Welsh Marches'. Gloucestershire is a largely rural county and very varied; it also has rich folklore traditions and customs. One of these customs is for Mummers and Morris to perform in front of the cathedral of the county city on Boxing day(pictures after the cut):

   We go to liberate, not to conquer.

    We will not fly our flags in their country

    We are entering Iraq to free a people and the only flag which will be flown in that ancient land is their own.

    Show respect for them.

    There are some who are alive at this moment who will not be alive shortly.

    Those who do not wish to go on that journey, we will not send.

    As for the others, I expect you to rock their world.

    Wipe them out if that is what they choose.

    But if you are ferocious in battle remember to be magnanimous in victory.

    Iraq is steeped in history.

    It is the site of the Garden of Eden, of the Great Flood and the birthplace of Abraham.

    Tread lightly there.

This is one huge decision, and one I wish/hope the US sometime decides to follow - from the diaries (with edits) ~ whataboutbob

There are not many things that Blair's government changes its mind about - but I am delighted that they have on this one. Back in early 2003 the government unveiled plans for online voting, sneering at the paper ballots as an 'anachronism'. They intended that general elections could be fully electronically enabled from 2006.

Many concerns were raised about security at the time, as in this Guardian story:

Now, however, there has been an unusual, and welcome, turn-around from the government:

The constitutional affairs minister, Harriet Harman, used a written parliamentary answer to announce the change of heart, after trials of e-voting in local council elections showed systems were expensive, unreliable and open to abuse.

Forgive a short diary please. My daugher and her boyfriend are in touch with someone who runs a large server in NO: he has stayed in their tower block - on floor 12 - and kept going with a generator.

He has just posted on his LJ that the FEMA/national guard are being replaced by regular military. I don't know what this means, whether it is good or bad, but have a horrid feeling that desperate people who have been left to drown/starve/dehydrate will end up being shot as looters.

The LJ is here: http://www.livejournal.com/users/interdictor/

The letter, dated 18 May 2004, says British foreign policy was a 'recurring theme' in the Muslim community, 'especially in the context of the Middle East peace process and Iraq'.

'Colleagues have flagged up some of the potential underlying causes of extremism that can affect the Muslim community, such as discrimination, disadvantage and exclusion,' the letter says. 'But another recurring theme is the issue of British foreign policy, especially in the context of the Middle East peace process and Iraq.

'Experience of both ministers and officials ... suggests that ... British foreign policy and the perception of its negative effect on Muslims globally plays a significant role in creating a feeling of anger and impotence among especially the younger generation of British Muslims.'

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