One of the first things I did when I got to university was join the Amnesty International society (which I went on to chair) and the event I remember best was a vigil held to mark the first anniversary of the chemical attack that wiped out the city of Halabja. Salford had cottoned on early that foreign, full-fee-paying, students were a nice little earner and its science courses attracted many from the Middle East, including Kurds and Palestinians. So while I was naïve enough to be surprised at having my photo taken by police, those with experience of more repressive societies were genuinely fearful.

At that time the dictator alleged to have ordered that attack (which killed 5,000 using chemical weapons – proving a willingness to develop and deploy WMDs – and left maimed many more) was actively supported by Britain and the USA. I would not be surprise if we were to learn that Thatcher feels for Saddam Hussein in much the same way she feels for General Pinochet. Her silence on Iraq has been deafening.

But sadly Saddam Hussein will always be the dictator alleged to have been behind that attack and many others. The death sentence served upon him will save him the indignity of having to answer for his crimes and spend a lifetime behind bars.

At least one prominent commentator is honest enough to express joy. Great crimes tempt great revenge, but are best met with great restraint. Writing as Skipper, Bill Jones presents the pragmatic case for hanging and shows the dangers of pragmatism; it inevitably pulls you away from the principles and values you claim to believe are right.

The manner of Saddam Hussein’s death will support the notion that the values and principles that inform the new Iraq are not so different from those that informed the old. This failure to export and nurture a superior value system for Iraq is the biggest tragedy of the war.

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I remember a time when the Clothes Show was on BBC1 rather than a minor digital channel and black bin bags were a hot fashion tip. Fashion really is cyclical: these Next mannequins revive the bin bag with a hint of green.
This posted via mobile via Flickr. Click the pic to see it large (there’s an ‘all-sizes’ tab for really large).

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‘…if you send one of those relatively green temporary managers to stay in a Travelodge in a strange town for weeks on end, he may spend his spare time doing daft things.’
– North West Evening Mail

The North West Evening Mail is gloating after running blogger Steve Beall out of town. Twenty-year-old Beall was ‘daft’ enough to tell readers of his MySpace blog: ‘Well then what is there to say about Barrow in Furness apart from its a s**t hole!! How the hell people live there i never no. Its very rough give me Newcastle any day and staying in a travel lodge by yourself for over a week is very boring! The 1st day i was there the little s**ts put my shop window through stealing over a grands worth of stock!! I ve had a few shop lifters which i m not used to. I m tired, stressed and need to drink so i m off now!!’

In the words of Catharine Tate’s Derek: ‘How dare he! How very, dare he! How very, very dare he!’

The London media has condemned his, ‘childishly-misspelt “blog”’, but it fell to hardnosed local investigative reporters filled with righteous anger to confront Beall outside his shop and brand him ‘TOFFEE NOSED’. Vagabond, a regular commentator on the paper’s message board who uses the gravatar on the left, spoke for many when he said: ‘Obviously to [sic] thick to be a Manager [sic] of anything… Hope he gets the sack for insulting our town.’

Protestors descended on the shop, only to be met by police and discover that Steve Beall was, ‘lying low at his hotel from where he was retrieved and sent packing’.

Poor old Thornton’s has been forced to hand out free chocolate.

Steve Beall has clearly learnt his lesson telling reporters: ‘I have changed my mind about Barrow now. It’s not as bad as I thought it was… I promise I’ll put a nicer post on MySpace.’

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Okay it’s not January yet, but yesterday was the last day of Christmas shopping at Amazon a date that makes it officially post-Christmas for online commerce and time to unveil sale, after sale, after sale.

Next Directory has already posted a list of bargains to subscribers. They normally open the phone lines at 6am, but this year call centre staff get a lie in, kicking off at 10am on 27 December. And I’m already being bombarded with ‘January’ sale offers by email… the true spirit of Christmas is alive, well and making its contribution to the bottom line.

But let’s not forget the many people for whom January Sales are a little overwhelming �