Blair, Palin, and Picasso

We now know that Tony Blair is to give evidence in the Iraq inquiry sometime in the fortnight after 25th January. If he has any conscience left, or any respect for the families of those whom he helped send to an untimely death, I would hope that his semi permanent smirk will be missing from his dial. 60 seats are being allocated to the public, but only a third of those are to be given to families who have lost their loved ones. Those folk are understandably upset – as far as I can see, all the seats should have been given to them. Instead of that, a ballot is being held to determine who will be given the remaining seats. Presumably, this will consist of other members of the public who’ve had no direct contact with the conflict, and who just want to go there to gawk, for want of a better word. Shameful!

America seems to be all mixed up at the moment as regards politics. After the euphoria following Barack Obama’s election to The White House, it now appears that Sarah Palin is very much in vogue again. Her debut as a political pundit has been hailed by a lot of the public as a success, and her book of memoirs is on top of the US bestseller lists. I’m not sure how true some of the comments attributed to her by critics were, such as being experienced in foreign relations because she could “see Russia” from Alaska, her home state, or that she was of the opinion that Africa was just the one country. Whatever the truth of the matter, she is either a very smart lady, or she has some very smart individuals advising her. She resigned as Governor of Alaska last July, ostensibly to shield her family from criticism, but in reality was probably a move which allowed her to escape ethics probes which subsequently found her guilty of numerous violations. Going by her popularity at the moment, it seems that a lot of the American people have short memories, and are quite happy to support someone who oozes sex appeal, and looks like a TV star.

Congratulations are in order for Flight Lieutenant Wills Wales, he who is second in line to the throne, for graduating from his RAF helicopter course. His girlfriend, Kate Middleton, will undoubtedly feel that much safer stepping into his chopper the next time that he drops into her garden to collect her.

I received my electricity bill today – not too heavy, I must admit, but it reminded me of Pablo Picasso, who, when he was poor, used to burn his paintings in order to keep warm. Unfortunately, we cannot all be painters!