The Boy and The Coconut Tree

This is my rant about the horrible events in Paris this weekend I love Paris, always have, since my first visit when I was 11 to my multiple visits since. I think I've been to Paris over 15 times including 3 times for work and it never fails to impress me and now my French has improved from the school learnt "Je voudrais un kilo de pommes" I am comfortable going there alone and not needing to speak  English.  Paris is huge but feels less crowded than London, Parisians are reputed to be rude yet I've never experienced the level of rudeness I experience in London on a daily basis.  Stereotypes abound but taken on face value Paris is wonderful and I hope to return to her soon, I've promised that my first weekend abroad in 2016 will be Paris to revisit my favourites and hopefully discover something new. Musee D'Orsay So I turn to the bullying, the terrorists, bullies, hate filled and armed.  That is what they are, yes they are angry but do I r...

I am posting this because I wrote it in 2006 as the Iraq war began to wind-down and the post-war chaos was beginning. I am posting this again to remind people what happens when we intervene in another country and go after a bad man and how we claim to be doing the right thing yet do all the wrong things. Syria beware. Originally published June 2006 The latest on Saddam Hussein is that he is on hunger strike. Is he attempting to commit some form of asymmetrical war against the coalition? He has not yet died of starvation, so this cannot be seen as an act of war just yet. He is on hunger strike because "terrorists" have killed yet another one of his defence lawyers. The killing of Khamis al-Obeidi seems to be yet another delay on the road to trial for Saddam, who has been in coalition custody since December 2003. Saddam has asked for international protection for his defence team at his  trial , which is still in its early stages. One assumes the prosecution team is...