A TOUGH CHOICE...

It must be a sign of grumpy old age setting in, but these days I find there is so much to be grumpy about. Today I have been faced with the tough choice of being most grumpy about Alistair Campbell and the Chilcot Inquiry or about the Islamic protestors who have been found guilty `of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.`

Alistair Campbell`s visitation to the Chilcot Inquiry today was entirely predictable in that he resolutely defended his involvement in the Iraq affair, the dodgy dossier et al, declaring that he `stood by every word` of that now discredited document. All it needed was Edith Piaf singing, `Je ne regret rien` as an accompaniment and the scene would have been complete. Now, I suspect that neither I nor anyone else expected Campbell to turn up, roll over, confess and plea for mercy and I suspect too that it was little more than a dress rehearsal for the appearance of Geoff Hoon, Jack Straw, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, all of whom are due to appear before the Inquiry. Words like squib and damp come to mind, so I won`t go on about it but instead turn my attention to the business of the Islamic protesters.

I`m sure you recall that angry scenes broke out during a parade in Luton for the 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment on March 10 last year, shown in the picture above courtesy of the South Beds News Agency. Those found guilty have been fined £500 each but it seems they view their conviction and fines as something of a badge of honour as they seem determined to carry on demanding the introduction of Sharia law in Britain and heaping abuse on anyone who disagrees with them. I`m not sure the punishments fit the crimes, especially as those concerned are all on benefits and so their fines are more than likely to be paid by the long suffering taxpayer. Now that makes me more grumpy than Alistair Campbell did.

There`s something very wrong somewhere and events like this remind me once again of the wisdom of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd who made it perfectly clear to `immigrants` to his country that if they could not bring themselves to respect and abide by the laws, the culture and the customs of their adopted country, then they were free to leave. He`s not grumpy, just honest.