Paul Bremer, U.S. top official in Baghdad, rejected Blair?s weapon claim without realising its source. In a Christmas message Blair claimed there was 'massive evidence of a huge system of clandestine laboratories'. Oops!
Saddam's end is an early Christmas present for Bush and Blair. The looming spectre that the Saddam Hussein somehow might return to power had cast a pall over their administrations. But with the former dictator?s capture the cloud has dissipated and it gives both an opportunity to revive their flagging electoral campaigns. Read this conspiracy theory, which is a good one!
France is to ban the hijab in schools. But forcing girls not to wear is as bad as forcing them to, writes Marjane Satrapi an Iranian living in France.
The first search result in Google for "miserable", "failure" or "miserable failure" is this page!
Since last night protestors have gathered in London to voice their anger over Bush?s policies on war and his refusal to ratify the Kyoto Treaty.
Here you can watch highlights of Bush's visit by BBC.
Bush is staying at Buckingham Palace and I am sure he will get on well with the Queen, as both are head of states because of their dads and neither of them were elected!
Check the interactive guide of the visit here.
This is the picture of a new rifle 'Cornershot' made by an Israeli company that can shoot around corners. The weapon allows a soldier to remain behind cover with only the barrel of the rifle exposed.
And here is the Palestinian answer to it - Slingshot Camera:
Neil Kinnock, William Hague and now Iain Duncan Smith know that in a media-driven world, people vote for a full head of hair for the top job.
Recall all US politicians! But can anyone take the Gropinator seriously as a politician?
Tony Blair - the great illusionist - is my choice to replace David Blaine after he ends his stint isolated in a Perspex box. This time we should suspend Tony Blair over the Houses of Parliament then the great British public could harass him by throwing eggs and assorted missiles and Gordon Brown could cut his water supply!
Photos of David Beckham have been blacked out on billboards in Tehran (view image), in a backlash against Western cultural influence (BBC). I think the advertisers could have got away with the above picture!
On 9/11/1906 Mahatma Ghandi addressed mass meeting of Indians at Johannesburg and began a crusade of non-violence. His campaign shaped a new way of thinking about resolving conflict. The 9/11/2001 followed by calls for revenge and war. It is sad that two years after the terror attacks, the world is less united than it was in the immediate aftermath. There is also 9/11/1973 which we should all remember.
Global Rich List is a new site, where you input your annual wage and it shows where you stand globally. It is an eye-opener for the privileged minority.
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the US led coup d'?tat in Iran which overthrew Dr Mossadegh, Iran's democratically-elected leader. Check the photo essay: Mossadegh.
Reporters Without Borders is an association officially recognised as serving the public interest. It has a news website devoted to press freedom and also a persian site.
Trade unions around the world have launched a boycott of Coca-Cola products, alleging that the company's locally owned bottlers in Colombia used illegal paramilitary groups to threaten and kill its workers.
The Iranian deputy interior minister suggested that a "hard object" caused the death of Zahra Kazemi - an Iranian/Canadian photojournalist - and added, "We still don't know whether it was the object that hit her head or her head hit the object. We suggest further investigations."
To overcome Iraqi forces, US troops fired thousands of shells tipped with depleted uranium. Concern is now mounting over use of depleted uranium and its effects on the health of soldiers and civilians. New Scientist magazine considers the evidence.
I have just read another worrying news. According to Persianblog -an Iranian hosting provider- the Iranian government has just stopped the activity of all Persian blogs on their servers. This could be the start of a new wave of censorship.
George Bush would be very happy to be on Iranian note! He is working on it anyway.
We all should condemn any forms of intervention by the US and its allies in the affairs of Iran or interference with the territorial integrity of Iran. US could support the self-determination of the people of Iran and their quest for democracy but only Iranian people should choose a regime, which will be representative for its values.
"This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or exercise their revolutionary right to overthrow it."
-Abraham Lincoln
These are two direct quotes from Donald H. Rumsfeld, US Secretary of Defense.
A Confession
Once in a while,
I'm standing here, doing something.
And I think,
"What in the world am I doing here?"
It's a big surprise.
—May 16, 2001, interview with the New York Times
The Unknown
As we know,
There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
That is to say
We know there are some things
We do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don’t know
We don’t know.
Department of Defense news briefing, Feb 12, 2002
Latest Chomsky interview
"There is a reason to believe that for a year or two now, efforts have been under way to try dismantle Iran, to break it into internally warring groups. These US dismantling efforts have been based partly in Eastern Turkey, the US bases in Eastern Turkey apparently flying surveillance over Iranian borders."
Click here to see photos of the student protests in Tehran.
Blix lashes out at 'bastards' who have tried to undermine him in the three years he held his high-profile post. Click here to read more.
US is now playing the same dangerous "Weapon of Mass Destruction" and "Al Qaeda" game with Iran. Every newspaper, radio, or television story seems to be about Iran these days. It is very worrying.
The Guardian has now a separate section on Iran.
BBCi reports that Mohammed Saeed Al-Sahhaf Former Iraqi Information Minister is alive in Baghdad, fears for his safety, and "seeks surrender" to US forces. Americans refuse to make arrest, reportedly because he does not appear among the 55 faces on the "Most Wanted" deck of playing cards.
"He's my man, he was great"
Bush on Sahhaf
Pedram Moallemian:
"US economy is in crisis. Unemployment is up. Corporate corruption is rampant. Environment is in serious danger. Widespread violations of basic Human Rights are everywhere... Let's tackle our most urgent challenge: send more troops overseas."
read more
Another journalist is detained by the Iranian government in Tehran. The detainee, Sina Motallebi, is a journalist who has a popular Persian Weblog called Webgard (meaning "Web surfer"). And now the Persian blogging community has linked up with top American bloggers to promote an online petition to ask for his release.