The far-sighted Mr Blair

Thank God Tony Blair has cleared up any uncertainty about why we went to war with Iraq over the non-existent WMD. Saddam didn’t have them ready at that time, no, but he had the scientists and therefore the capability to build them as soon as the UN turned its collective back. This pretty much covers all bases till the end of time. I must remember that next time I tell the children off for anything they claim not to have done.

"You've got the rubber bands and there are stones outside in the garden so you could break a window at any time in the future."

You see? If only we all had that kind of vision, we wouldn't have run the risk of avoiding a costly, illegal war. Phew!

Internet is not Utopia Shock

The wave of horrified amazement which greeted the news that the Chinese, Iranian and other regimes allergic to debate use the internet to spy on their citizens is in itself rather shocking. It's surely tailor-made for the job, leaving as it does a permanent trail of one's communications and contacts like an indelible stain on the carpet. The real tragedy is not that dissidents and free thinkers are being spied upon - as they have been since the 16th Century at least - but that anyone was naive enough to be surprised.

Meanwhile, those campaigning against the seemingly unstoppable spread of online pornography involving children may be intrigued by the ease with which the Indian government apparently manages to block all material featuring sex of any kind. And they told us it couldn't be done.