British Foreign Secretary Margaret a Beckett has roled up her sleeves and weighed in on the kidnapped British sailors issue. Mrs Beckett has confirmed that a British diplomatic note had been sent to the Iranians. "I think everyone regrets that this position has arisen. What we want is a way out of it - we want it peacefully and we want it as soon as possible."  Baaaaaaaaaaa.. !

Meanwhile, a group of some 700 peace loving civilised people staged a brief demonstration in the Iranian capital Friday against the U.K. and the 15 U.K. sailors being held by Iran. Leaving Tehran University campus after Friday prayers (What better time?) the protesters "spontaneously" walked a few hundred meters down the road chanting "Death to Britain!" and "We condemn the British invasion!"

Did you see  that a New York art gallery has decided to cancel an exhibit of a chocolate sculpture of Jesus Christ after protests by a US Catholic group? The six-foot (1.8m) sculpture, entitled "My Sweet Lord", depicts a naked Jesus Christ with his arms outspread. The sculpture, by artist Cosimo Cavallaro, was to have been displayed from Monday at Manhattan's Lab Gallery. The timing, over Easter Holy Week - the most important part of the Christian year - provoked an outcry. The Roger Smith Hotel housing the Lab gallery decided to cancel the exhibition after the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights called for a boycott.

Not sure how I feel about it. Clearly it is an outrage, designed to provoke, to insult, and Christ is a popular target. But on the other hand, we aren't intolerant Muslims who go crazy the minute anyone says a word of criticism about our Lord. Jesus Christ is bigger than a poxy chocolate statue and giving publicity to Cavallero is probably the worst thing to do. I'm looking forward to this same "brave" artist producing a Muhammed shaped sweets for kids, Prophet pralines...?

It's a beautiful Spring day here in Northern Ireland. Gardens are being manicured, flowers are beginning to bloom with daffodils and crocuses everywhere, birds are even building a nest in a tree right in my front lawn. Just got back from visiting my dad, who is slowly dying and I couldn't help but reflect upon the contrast of Spring heralding new life whilst other life has to come to an end. It's the way of the world, I guess, but somehow days like this make me feel worse. Odd, isn't it?

More specifically, the EU backs trade with Iran rather than support for Britain. European foreign ministers failed last night to back Britain in a threat to freeze the €14 billion trade in exports to Iran, as the hostage crisis descended into a propaganda circus. 

Click to read more ...

What fate awaits a country that has no effective borders? The next decade will see the UK provide an answer to that question - and the omens are not good. I was reading that migrants from eastern Europe are pushing down British workers' wages and increasing unemployment.

Lord Turner has told Tony Blair that low-paid workers are earning less following the arrival of 600,000 migrants from countries such as Poland. He also believes that unskilled British workers are being left without jobs.

Click to read more ...

I share the sense of disgust Simon Heffer registers with regard to the decison taken in the House of Commons when  MP's voted themselves another £6.5 million a year, or £10,000 each, to promote themselves!

"To their credit, the Tories, almost to a man, voted against this disgusting waste. The extra cash is to be used to enable the mental porridge on the Labour benches to build exciting websites, or do mailshots, telling their constituents (and anyone else who happens to be passing) how wonderful they are.  I do not ask why MPs are so obsessed with their image, because I know the answer: they have little or nothing else to do, they like to boost what they think are their means of being re-elected because they are otherwise unemployable, and some are so crippled with vanity as to be nearly psychiatric cases. But why on earth should we pay for this lunacy? How many junior doctors can we hire for £6.5 million a year? How many new teachers, or police, or how much better care for the elderly?"

Simon is correct, although his admiration for the Conservatives decision NOT to vote in favour of this extra money is ameliorated by the fact that they will still accept it care of Labour largesse. Maybe the Conservatives could donate it to charity, so ensuring their hands remain clean?

I would give a guarded welcome to the decision to cut up to 1,700 jobs from the health service in Northern Ireland - more than double the original estimate drawn up by the Department of Health. It had been anticipated that up to 800 clerical, managerial and executive jobs would go as part of a shake-up after the Review of Public Administration. It was set up to look at how NI public services are organised and how best to fund them. The losses will be phased in over a four-year period. They aim to save £50m per year to be invested directly back into frontline services.

The NHS is a bureaucratic monstrosity and reducing some of this vast administration is a good thing. However I also wonder if the organisational abilities of this organisation will improve as a consequence of this decision, or will it just stagger along, still inherently dysfunctional because of the political masters that control it, but with a few less administrators?

Wonder what you make of Iran's suggestion that a deal be cut to exchange 15 Royal Navy personnel captured in the Gulf for five Iranians seized by American forces in Iraq? Glad to hear that State department spokesman Sean McCormack rejecting suggestions that a swap could be made.

The five, believed to be members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, were seized in January in the Iraqi city of Irbil. If we were so foolish as to enter this game, it would be ensure further tactical kidnappings. The Iranians soldiers were captured inside an Iraqi city, and they were caught out supplying Iraqi terrorists with weapons. In no way is there ANY comparison to British sailors carrying out a UN mandate in Iraq waters. But then again this is Iran we are deaing with and truth and reason have no place in the Mullah's thinking.

It's now a WEEK since the Iranian pirates kidnapped our sailors. Do you think we are any closer to getting them back? Do you think Iran has been put under pressure by the strategy favoured by the wise owls in Whitehall, the diplomatic way? I don't. I feel the failure to indicate any sort of military action is an encouragement to the Mullahs.

Listened with amazed incredulity to the bleatings from some apologist for the Iranian regime as he made attempts, on the Today programme this a.m. to justify the detention of fifteen British Service personnel in Iran.

This pillock was calling for 'softer language' to be used by Tony Blair and others in the British goverment instead of the 'harsh authoritative' words used so far! My question is simple; is this guy in the same universe, never mind the same planet, as the rest of us!

 Here we have Blair stating plainly that the detention was wrong under any form of law, and this clown says that it's being too strong! This Iranian apologist fool, wants us to use 'ammeliorating' phrases, and admit that the British were wrong, and probably at fault for Iran losing at football as well!

I know what sort of language I want to hear from our Government. Those words would include "immediate unconditional release" and 'tomahawk missiles' and other slightly firmer phrases! Let's see a little medical intervention, and witness a spinal transplant into British spokesmen, and see Britain standing up for her Marines and Sailors! 

Wonder what you make of Nancy Pelosi's decision to go ahead and visit Syria, a country President Bush has shunned as a sponsor of terrorism, despite being asked by the administration not to go?

 "In our view, it is not the right time to have these sort of high- profile visitors to Syria," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.  Pelosi is making a direct affront to the administration, which says such diplomatic overtures by lawmakers can do more harm than good.

Once again, the UTTER RECKLESSNESS of the Democrat Party is manifest. Will Nancy be going to ask Syria about its destabilishing interventions in Iraq? Will Nancy ask about Syria's sponsorship of Hezbollah and Palestinian terrorist groups. HAMAS, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PLFP), and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC). Or will she take the chance to further undermine the Bush administration?  

Here's a remarkable story on how greed, corruption and hatred engulfed (literally) a Palestinian village.  In essence, the Palestinian village of Umm Nasser, the site of regular rocket launchings against Israel, earlier this week had an even more ignominious fate: drowning in its own accumulated excrement. The Palestinians were quick to accuse the Israelis for the flood of putrid excrement that engulfed a Gaza village, killing five, including two babies. But even the locals eventually had to admit that the cause of the levee collapse was the theft by locals of sands from the containing embankment. And metal Israel provided for upgrading the sewage system was used instead to create rockets to fire into Israel. Talk about being ungrateful wretches. And Condi wants to give these people a State?????

Did you see that Saint Bono has said this week's groundbreaking meeting between DUP leader Ian Paisley and Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams has inspired him? He was speaking following receivig his honorary knighthood from the Queen. Afterwards, Bono - who infamously stood on stage with John Hume and David Trimble to raise support for the original Good Friday Agreement in Belfast's Waterfront Hall - revealed he had been planning a much quieter affair to mark the recognition of his music and campaigning. But the latest historic developments in Northern Ireland changed his mind.

"I wasn't even going to have a bit of a do, I was going to slip it in, keep it very, very quiet.But when I saw Big Ian sitting down there with Gerry Adams I just thought this is the end of an era, but the beginning of a much better one."

Message to Bono. KEEP YOUR NOSE OUT OF NORTHERN IRELAND POLITICAL AFFAIRS. You're just embarrassing. It might inspire you to see IRA terrorism embraced by a power mad Paisley but it sickens anyone who values democracy.

Given the situation in Iran, I thought this song was kinda appropriate......

So, ANOTHER kidnapped British sailor is made to apologise on-air to Iran.

The crewman, who introduces himself as Nathan Thomas Summers, says: "I would like to apologise for entering your waters without permission." Nathan is seen alongside two colleagues, including Leading Seaman Faye Turney, 26, from Shropshire, who was shown apologising to Iran earlier in the week.

Meanwhile a THIRD letter allegedly from LS Turney was released on Friday in which she said she had been "sacrificed" to the policies of the UK and US governments. It also demanded an end to "oppressive behaviour towards other people", including prisoners at Abu Ghraib jail in Iraq. Ms Turney should start a blog at the rate she is - allegedly - churning out letters of apology.

Look, we all know the score here. These poor sailors are being stripped off their dignity and forced to make ludicrous grovelling statements to keep the Mullahs happy. Meanwhile all I hear is diplomatic hot air from the wise owls in Whitehall, old boy. The British Lion has been neutered and all it does is whelp. I wonder how long before ANOTHER apology, and then perhaps the kindly Iranians will release Ms Turney to assuage "international opinion" before dragging even more apologies from the 14 men they hold.

I think the threat of war is the only language that the Mullah's get - but we're still chasing diplomatic will o' the wisps. Time to consider sending Ahmadinejad an image of a British nuclear missile?