I will probably get verbally slaughtered for feeling slightly sorry for the CIA following the report on their ‘harsh interrogation’ techniques post 9/11.  The US intelligence community was severely criticised for unpreparedness immediately after the 9/11 attack, the need for someone to blame paramount. Interestingly, their pre-attack briefings to the White House seem to offer a different picture.  Inevitably it would be ‘gloves off’ after more than 3000 citizens were murdered. I well remember public opinion when we suffered regular bombings by the IRA. Whilst condemning torture, it is important to understand what leads normally moral individuals into the act.  The wholesale slaughter of non-combatants, or the beheadings favoured by ISIS don’t result in balanced reactions from the majority.  Imagine if the failure to act had been laid at your door.  The report further suggests no useful information was obtained.  The US intelligence community must answer their critics on that point, in camera if security is compromised. 

    The extent to which the UK was involved now comes under scrutiny.  “We knew nothing,” I hear the cry from the politicians in power at the time, while reality suggests it more likely that they remained at arms length and looked the other way.  Will we ever know?  It’s unlikely.  After all, the same crowd was in power that took us to war in Iraq; weapons of mass destruction, 45 minutes to kiss your ass goodbye, and all that garbage. RIP Chilcot! 

    In William Shakespeare’s time, the word politician denoted ‘a scheming trickster and unscrupulous rogue’.  A Mori Poll would suggest nothing much has changed in the eyes of voters, with current politicians less trusted than estate agents and bankers.  If we consider today’s politicians in The Bard’s words, All’s Well that Ends Well is more likely to become A Comedy of Errors!

    Highlight of the week for us was the woman from Sierra Leone who gave evidence for an hour at the Inner London Crown Court before someone noticed she didn’t speak English.  We can’t believe it took an hour! Sadly, we’ll never know if her evidence would have swung the case one way or the other.  A sharp barrister could have had a field day, insisting her evidence supported his client’s case, and who could have argued otherwise?

  “My learned friend has to accept that the detailed evidence from this witness clears my client of all charges.”  Game, set and match! 

    We have to assume someone called her as a witness.  Maybe it was one of the cold callers with questionable English who keep ringing us to insist we have a computer problem. At least this court case has given us the perfect way to handle these calls.  Talk gibberish to the caller.  Use the Russell Brand/John Prescott version of 'Stranglish'.  Take ten long words from ten different pages in your dictionary and write them down as a single sentence, in no particular order. Leave it near the phone.  Read it out as your answer to the first question you receive from these scam calls.  If we all do it the scammers will be seeking psychiatric help in the near future. 

    Reading of TU-95 Russian Bear bombers flying into British air space and being escorted out is reminiscent of Cold War days.  Putin seems to be looking backward rather than forward with this posturing.  Continuing down this path will bankrupt his country.  The rouble is in free fall as I write.  Strong leaders judge how close they can go to the cliff edge, knowing when to stop. Only children play chicken. Logic suggests Putin has the territory he needs in Ukraine, so now should be the time to get round the table and negotiate hard.  You never lose face that way.  If saving face replaces judgment, the Russian people will pay the price.

    An interesting crime statistic has appeared this week.  The average age of house burglars has reached the age normally denoted as middle aged. Youngsters, it appears, prefer cyber crime.  That makes sense to us since we spend a fair amount of time just swearing at our PC’s. The fact that burglars are likely to be older sounds like good news to us.  In the near future we’ll be able to chase burglars, maybe even catch them as we both stop to use our inhalers.