chickenfeet

According to the BBC charges are expected to be announced in relation to the activities of US Marines in Habitha last November. The US authorities in Iraq and Washington have been putting out 'cover stories' on this incident ever since and so one is forced to wonder how they are going to spin it when and if serious charges are laid. My guess is that the spin will be that this is an isolated incident (like all the others!). In that context, an apparently unrelated story from the BBC becomes very interesting. Here's a quote:

Ben Griffin was a member of the elite SAS. He told his commanding officer, earlier this year, that he was not prepared to return to Iraq because he said he saw American forces carrying out what he thought were illegal acts.

I can scarcely imagine how illegal an act has to be before a member of the SAS is affected in this way but it does raise questions about what is 'normal behaviour' in the view of the US military.

Weirdness the first - I'm used, as I'm sure we all are, to getting Nigerian scam emails and variants from other parts of the world. Today, however, was the first time I got a genuine Mancunian scam email.

( Scam email )

Weirdness the second - I made a quick trip to Loblaw's just after lunch to buy a few unexciting bits and pieces. As I usually do, I used the automated self service checkout. To my surprise, when I got home there was, in addition to my purchases, a kilo of cod fillets in one of my bags.