jan 1st

ok lets see if i can keep this going this year.
it flooped very badly when i first started it.
no doubt it will be the same this year.

-------------------------------
as yet no one has convincingly proved that there is a need for a national id card. i am not sure that they can. recent events in which personal data for large swathes of the population has been lost by government agencies has not helped the already flimsy case.
the belief that it will stop terrorists is a nonsense. in the case of a suicide bomber it hardly matters to them that you know who they were after the event. the only way an id card could flag up a potential terrorist is if it is linked to various other databases so that the user is flagged if they read or buy something suspicious. while i am sure it can be done, it is a tremondous encroachment on the civil liberties of the general population, especially when you consider how much damage has been done by terrorists. not that much really.
the identity theft aspect is much stronger - except that if the cards are created then it is pretty certain that at sometime they will be forgable. additionally if the current trend of losing data continues then it is a sure bet that when this database is set up at some point it will be lost. additionally as much of what we do is done on the phone or via the internet then is an id card going to save someone from a rogue internet purchase?
even worse is the fact that the cost of the thing keeps going upwards (another of those lovely moments when private companies just know they can milk the state for every penny they can and the state will smile at them while they do it...), but it doesn't matter that much for the simple reason is that we have to buy the darned cards. most of us don't want them but we will have to pay for them.
it makes sense to me.
on this the new labour party are wrong. id cards are a nonsense, they should be dropped now but somehow brown (and blair before him) have become wedded to the idea of the cards and they can't seem to shake it off.

for more information about the no to id campaign just follow the link

the nick clegg story is on the bbc website.


Clegg pledging to fight ID cards
The new Lib Dem leader has pledged to campaign "tirelessly" against "expensive, invasive" ID cards in 2008.
Nick Clegg said the recent data loss "scandals" had created a lack of public confidence in the government's ability to look after personal information.

His comments were made in his New Year message to the Lib Dem party.

UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage said he would introduce "positive policies" on issues such as trade and defence and housing in 2008.

Mr Clegg, who succeeded Sir Menzies Campbell earlier this month, attacked Tory policy which, he said, blocked opportunity.

He also urged party members to take the "unparalleled opportunity" to break Britain's "stale" two-party system.

And he called for 2008 to be "the year we bring down the identity cards scheme".


We must reach beyond the stale two-party system to the millions of people who share our liberal values and change Britain for the better
Nick Clegg Lib Dem leader
Mr Clegg, an ex-journalist and former MEP, is the third Lib Dem leader in three years to deliver the party's New Year message.

He said he had the leadership skills that would enable the party to challenge the dominance of Labour and the Conservatives by tapping into Britain's liberal beliefs.

"We have before us an unparalleled opportunity," he said. "We must reach beyond the stale two-party system to the millions of people who share our liberal values and change Britain for the better.

"Let us show what that means in the local elections that face us this spring."

Power to families

He said he wanted to put British families back in control of their everyday lives, especially on issues such as flexible working, ID cards or TV advertising.

"Giving power and responsibility to families - of every shape and size, of every background - is the only way to make sure everyone has a fair chance in life," he said.


In the coming year we will see another challenge which Brown, Cameron and Clegg have all seen fit to ignore - the very strong likelihood of vast increases in consumer prices
Nigel Farage, UKIP
He said he wanted spending on pupils from poor backgrounds equal to that in private schools and he would also cut taxes for low-income families if he came to power.

Attacking Tory leader David Cameron's attempts to attract Lib Dem supporters, Mr Clegg said the Conservatives did not really want equality of opportunity.

"They talk about social justice, but want to return to a Victorian-style voluntary system.

"They talk about families, but only want to help married couples. They talk about tax cuts, but don't say where they'll find the money."

Charles Kennedy quit as Lib Dem leader in January 2006 after a frontbench rebellion having admitted he had a drink problem.

Sir Menzies resigned in October, blaming an age-obsessed media.

In his New Year message, UKIP's Mr Farage said: "We will be bringing forward positive policies on trade, defence, criminal justice, housing, healthcare and the environment and others which if adopted will make our country a happier more secure and more prosperous place.

"In the coming year we will see another challenge which Brown, Cameron and Clegg have all seen fit to ignore - the very strong likelihood of vast increases in consumer prices," he said.

"These increases will hit the most vulnerable in our society the hardest - pensioners, the disabled, the unemployed and those working on minimum wages."

april 22nd

what can i say it is the fault of twix king size, mars king size and macdonalds.
nothing, of course, to do with the individual and their family.......


Third of children are too fat
By Celia Hall, Medical Editor
(Filed: 22/04/2006)

More than a third of all children are either overweight or obese, Government figures showed yesterday.


Caroline Flint: 'we are starting to change attitudes'
A quarter of 11 to 15 year olds are classified as obese - double the proportion 10 years ago. Among boys the proportion rose from 13.5 per cent to 24.2 per cent and among girls from 15.4 per cent to 26.7 per cent.

When overweight and obesity were taken together, the percentage for girls was 46 and for boys 37 per cent.

Even in children aged two to 10, the proportion of boys classed as obese rose from 9.6 per to 15.9 per cent and in girls from 10.3 per cent to 12.8 per cent.

About 2,000 children aged two to 15 took part in the survey. Their Body Mass Index was calculated by dividing their weight - in stones or kilos - by their height -in feet or metres - squared. A BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 is healthy; between 25 and 29.5 is overweight and over 30 is obese.

Figures for adults were no better. Almost one adult in four is now obese; rising from 13 per cent to 24 per cent in men and from 16 per cent to 24 per cent in women. The figures from the Government's Health Survey were released by the Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Prof Colin Waine, the chairman of the National Obesity Forum, said they revealed a "public health timebomb". Children who are obese aged 11 to 15 are twice as likely to die when they are 50.

He said: "This is serious news because obesity in adolescence is associated with the premature onset of Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. It really augurs very badly for the future health of the population as these children move from adolescence to adulthood.

"This will have a significant impact on longevity and we are in danger of raising a generation of people who have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.

"This is a public health timebomb as these children move into adult life."

He said increased inactivity, including not walking or cycling to school, together with more "energy-dense foods" were fuelling the crisis.

"Being obese at adolescence increases the cancer risk by 21 per cent for girls and 14 per cent for boys," he said. "In my youth, playing cricket and tennis was the norm. These have now been replaced by sedentary activities such as watching television and playing video games."

Amanda Eden, a care adviser at Diabetes UK, said: "We know that 80 per cent of people with diabetes are overweight or obese at diagnosis.

"We will soon be seeing our children growing up losing limbs and becoming blind as they develop the serious complications of having the condition.

"A firmer line needs to be taken to force the food industry to adhere to food labelling guidelines so that people know what's in the food they buy."

Barbara Harpham, the director of the charity Heart Research UK, said: "Parents need to wake up to the fact that it is up to them to make sure their children eat properly and lay down a foundation for good health.

"Giving your kids treats may make you feel good now, but imagine how you will feel 20 years down the line?"

Caroline Flint, the public health minister, said: "We have taken huge steps forward already and are starting to change attitudes through the school fruit scheme and more investment in school food and sport."

Andrew Lansley, the shadow health secretary said: "There is no excuse for complacency and delay. We need active and competent, cross-governmental measures and we need them now."

Publishers wishing to reproduce photographs on this page should phone 44 (0) 207 538 7505 or e-mail syndication@telegraph.co.uk

14 April 2006: Obesity is in the genes of one person in 10
9 April 2006: TV adds a stone a year to a child's weight
26 March 2006: Standing-only classrooms 'could prevent child obesity'

'Too thin to be Australian'
health.telegraph

Information appearing on telegraph.co.uk is the copyright of Telegraph Group Limited and must not be reproduced in any medium without licence. For the full copyright statement see Copyright

april 18th

there is one serious problem with this particular approach to criticising the tories is that it means you open yourselves up for ridicule if you ever change a policy.
and while we may all think that having immutable principles are wonderful things we also know that the world changes and we have to change with it.
sometimes it is more important to show you have understood that things are no longer the same, rather than sticking to the same old tried and true methods.

where it is wrong is where you don't actually mean it.
which we all know is the case when the conservative party is involved.


Labour targets Cameron by ridiculing shifts in Tory policies
By Ben Russell, Political Correspondent
Published: 18 April 2006
Labour will today brand David Cameron a political "chameleon" as the party launches its most personal attack yet on the Conservative leader.

He will be depicted as a computer-generated chameleon riding a mountain bike in a new party political broadcast designed to lampoon his policy shifts of recent months.

Mr Cameron will today launch the final phase of the Tories' local election campaign with the slogan "Vote Blue, Go Green", highlighting grassroots environmental initiatives by Conservative local authorities such as recycling and clearing up streets.

But Labour will mock his attempts to demonstrate that the Conservatives have reformed with an aggressive campaign aimed at highlighting Mr Cameron's shift in position since taking the leadership last year.

Labour's broadcast, to be screened tonight, will feature a cartoon "Dave the Chameleon", with helmet and bike, echoing his habit of cycling to work.

The broadcast, to be followed with press and billboard advertising and a campaign website, will show the cycling lizard over the slogan "available in any colour - as long as it is blue". No Labour politicians appear.

John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister who coined the "chameleon" tag, said: "This image shows exactly what David Cameron represents; a political chameleon who says whatever he thinks his audience wants to hear."

Party sources said the campaign was building on their claim that Mr Cameron had "flip-flopped" since he wrote the Conservatives' last general election manifesto. But they denieda negative personal campaign.

Mr Cameron will attempt to win the "green" vote for the Conservatives, using his local election launch to try to capitalise on the local environmental successes of Conservative councils. He will publish a document outlining the "green" policies of local councils and highlight their environmental plans for the future.

He will say that Conservative councils have the highest average recycling rates and claim they provide the cleanest streets.

Mr Cameron will again pledge to lead "a new green revolution in Britain" and invoke the environmental slogan "think globally and act locally".

He will say: "Conservative councils are bringing innovation and imagination to the challenges of tackling climate change at a local level. Conservatives are already the largest party in local government, and I'm encouraging our councillors to do everything they can to advance the green agenda."

Meanwhile, ministers attempted to play down the threat from the far right after a report by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust suggested that support for the BNP was being fuelled by disillusionment with the major parties.

Phil Woolas, the Local Government minister, said the impact of the BNP was being felt only in a few parts of the country. Andy Burnham, a Home Office minister, warned not to give the party "undue prominence".

"They pose a very localised threat and I am worried that if we give them too much coverage, it can back up the notion that they are a potent protest vote."

april 17th

Parties face up to BNP challenge
MPs from the main political parties have accepted that they need to face up to the electoral challenge posed by the British National Party.
Research carried out for the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust has suggested that up to 25% of people have thought about voting for the far-right party.

Both the Tories and the Liberal Democrats say disillusionment with government institutions is to blame.

But ministers say any increase in BNP backing would just be a "protest vote".

Home Office minister Andy Burnham dismissed the likelihood of the BNP becoming a stronger electoral force.

"They pose a very localised threat and I am worried that if we give them too much coverage, it can back up the notion that they are a potent protest vote."

However the Rowntree report echoes comments by Employment Minister Margaret Hodge, who said voters may be tempted by the BNP, in May's local elections in England next month.


BNP COUNCIL SEATS
First council seat gained in Millwall, south-east London, in 1993
Won three seats in Burnley, Lancashire, in 2002
By 2004 had 17 seats
Currently has 15 seats, including six in Burnley


Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith, who is chairing the party's social justice policy group, said he was not surprised to see the BNP's message gaining purchase in disadvantaged areas.

"What we have picked up in these very difficult communities is the collapse in the quality of life for so many people," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Communities were frustrated over "things like poor housing, inability to get work, the collapse of manual labour, no educational training, anti-social behaviour on the streets, the cleanliness of the street", said Mr Duncan Smith.

"The whole sense of the quality of life in these communities has become a rich feeding ground for people who want to stigmatise others as being the cause of this."

He went on: "They now feel - and this is the bit that worries me - that there is a bigger gap between the government and the governed in these areas than there has been in modern times."

Liberal Democrat President Simon Hughes urged voters not to be taken in by the "simplistic promises" of the BNP, and said that the main parties had only themselves to blame if people were turning away from them.

"If voters are unhappy with conventional parties, one of the key reasons is because successive Tory and Labour governments have failed to provide enough affordable housing where families wish to live," he said.

Tensions

The authors of the research asked focus groups about their voting views and looked at a series of opinion polls that asked people which party they might consider voting for.

Professor Peter John of Manchester University, said the report showed "underlying support" for the BNP rather than voting intentions

"It is not what party you will vote for, but who you might vote for," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Prof John also said the far-right party tended to have more support in predominantly white, working class areas.

"They feel their voices have not been heard," he said.

The BNP has courted controversy over its policies, which include a total ban on immigration, and the forced deportation of illegal immigrants from the UK.


What we are trying to do is preserve the traditional culture and identity of Britain
Phil Edwards
BNP

In the 2005 general election, the party raised its total number of votes by 0.5% to gain 0.7% - or 192,850 votes.

BNP spokesman Phil Edwards said the Rowntree report reflected unease among voters about Britain's shift towards a multi-cultural society.

"That does add quite a lot of tensions and stresses," Mr Edwards said.

"What we are trying to do is preserve the traditional culture and identity of Britain," he added.

The BNP has said it is putting up more candidates than ever before - 356 - for May's local elections.

Operation Black Vote, a group which campaigns to make politics more multi-racial, agreed that voters in run-down areas felt the government had let them down.

"In these areas, deprivation and poverty exist," Simon Woolley, national co-ordinator for Operation Black Vote, told BBC Radio Five Live.

"Now that's a genuine debate to be had. ... It's nothing to do with black people."

The report, prepared by the Democratic Audit and funded by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, social policy research group, is due to be published on April 25.


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk_politics/4916614.stm

Published: 2006/04/17 17:00:59 GMT

© BBC MMVI

april 15th

you sort of have to admire donald rumsfeld for just being prepared to get his hands dirty when it comes to fighting terrorism.
personally i think he has been watching too many episodes of 24, but hey it is a show that makes me want to get up and shoot people and strap electrodes to their genitals as well.
the only difference is - that at least in the show the information that jack is getting back from those who he tortures might actually be useful.
any intelligence that the americans might get back now is so far out of date that it will be totally useless.
now the detention of the prisoners just smacks of being done for no reason other than spite.



Army report on al-Qaida accuses Rumsfeld

Julian Borger in Washington
Saturday April 15, 2006

Guardian

Donald Rumsfeld was directly linked to prisoner abuse for the first time yesterday, when it emerged he had been "personally involved" in a Guantánamo Bay interrogation found by military investigators to have been "degrading and abusive".
Human Rights Watch last night called for a special prosecutor to be appointed to investigate whether the defence secretary could be criminally liable for the treatment of Mohamed al-Qahtani, a Saudi al-Qaida suspect forced to wear women's underwear, stand naked in front of a woman interrogator, and to perform "dog tricks" on a leash, in late 2002 and early 2003. The US rights group said it had obtained a copy of the interrogation log, which showed he was also subjected to sleep deprivation and forced to maintain "stress" positions; it concluded that the treatment "amounted to torture".

However, military investigators decided the interrogation did not amount to torture but was "abusive and degrading". Those conclusions were made public last year but this is the first time Mr Rumsfeld's own involvement has emerged.

According to a December report by the army inspector general, obtained by Salon.com online magazine, the investigators did not accuse the defence secretary of specifically prescribing "creative" techniques, but they said he regularly monitored the progress of the al-Kahtani interrogation by telephone, and they argued he had helped create the conditions that allowed abuse to take place.

"Where is the throttle on this stuff?" asked Lt Gen Schmidt, an air force officer who said in sworn testimony to the inspector general that he had concerns about the duration and repetition of harsh interrogation techniques. He said that in his view: "There were no limits."

The revelation comes at a critical time for Mr Rumsfeld. He is under unprecedented scrutiny for his management of the Iraq war, after six former generals in quick succession called for his resignation.

The questions reached such a pitch by the end of the week that George Bush took the unusual step of issuing a personal note from Camp David in Mr Rumsfeld's defence. "I have seen first-hand how Don relies upon our military commanders in the field and at the Pentagon to make decisions about how best to complete these missions," the president wrote. "Secretary Rumsfeld's energetic and steady leadership is exactly what is needed at this critical period. He has my full support and deepest appreciation."

And, responding to the generals, Mr Rumsfeld said in an al-Arabiya TV interview yesterday: "If every time two or three people disagreed we changed the secretary of defence, it would be like a merry-go-round." However, in the wake of the inspector general's report, Human Rights Watch said: "The question at this point is not whether secretary Rumsfeld should resign, it's whether he should be indicted. General Schmidt's sworn statement suggests Rumsfeld may have been perfectly aware of the abuses inflicted on Mr al-Qahtani."

The Pentagon also issued a statement in response to publication of the report. A spokeswoman said: "We've gone over this countless times, and yet some still choose to print fiction versus fact. Twelve reviews, to include one done by an independent panel, all confirm the department of defence did not have a policy that encouraged or condoned abuse. To suggest otherwise is simply false."

So far, only junior US officers have been charged and convicted for a string of prisoner abuse scandals since the Bush administration launched its "global war on terror", but rights activists have accused the administration of opening the way for the use of torture in 2002 by relaxing the constraints of the Geneva conventions.

Gen Bantz Craddock, head of Southern Command, overruled the investigators' recommendation that Maj Gen Geoffrey Miller, who ran the Guantánamo camp in 2002, be admonished for the techniques employed. Gen Miller was transferred to Abu Ghraib prison, and took with him his aggressive approach to interrogations.

The investigators found Mr Rumsfeld was "talking weekly" with Gen Miller about the al-Qahtani interrogation. In December 2002, the defence secretary approved 16 harsh interrogation techniques for use on Mr al-Qahtani, including forced nudity, and "stress positions". However approval was revoked in 2003.

Gen Miller insisted he was unaware of details of the interrogation, but Gen Schmidt said he found that"hard to believe" in view of Mr Rumsfeld's evident interest in its progress. Gen James Hill, former head of Southern Command, recalled Gen Miller recommending continuation of the interrogation, saying "We think we're right on the verge of making a breakthrough." Gen Hill then passed on the request to Mr Rumsfeld. "The secretary said, 'Fine,'" Gen Hill remembered.

Backstory

The US defence secretary has faced many calls to resign over Guantánamo, the invasion of Iraq and abuses at Abu Ghraib prison - but the pressure he faces now comes from a weighty new quarter: six generals recently retired from the military he runs.

Retired general Paul Eaton, who was in charge of training Iraqi security forces, sparked the current round of condemnation in a New York Times article on March 19. On April 2, Anthony Zinni told a TV interviewer the US was "paying the price for the lack of credible planning" in Iraq. Seven days later, Lt Gen Gregory Newbold, a former member of the joint chiefs of staff, tore into the administration's "casualness and swagger... the special province of those who have never had to execute these missions".

On Wednesday, John Batiste, a former infantry commander, added his voice, and on Thursday his colleague John Riggs concurred. Charles Swannack, who commanded the 82nd Airborne Division in Iraq, brought the total to six yesterday, telling the New York Times Mr Rumsfeld had demonstrated "absolute failures in managing the war against Saddam".

Mr Rumsfeld is understood to have offered to resign at least twice while in charge at the Pentagon, but both times President George Bush turned him down.

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006

april 11th

Bush dismisses 'Iran attack plan'
US President George W Bush has dismissed as "wild speculation" a media report suggesting he is considering using nuclear weapons against Iran.
The New Yorker report said the US was stepping up planning for a possible air attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.

But Mr Bush insisted the US was focused on finding a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue.

Earlier, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad refused to back down on demands to freeze uranium enrichment.

A senior Iranian presidential aide said the report was a joke and that any such attack was highly unlikely.

Mr Ahmadinejad also promised "very good nuclear news in the coming days", without giving more details.

Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Authority, is due in Iran on Wednesday.

Retaliation threat

Mr Bush dismissed the report by veteran US journalist Seymour Hersh, in a speech at John Hopkins University in New York.


I got out a little early on the issue by saying 'axis of evil'... But I meant it
George W Bush
US President
"The doctrine of prevention is to work together to prevent the Iranians from having a nuclear weapon," he said.

"I know here in Washington prevention means force. It doesn't mean force necessarily. In this case it means diplomacy.

"What you are reading is just wild speculation which happens quite frequently here in the nation's capital."

In the New Yorker magazine report, Mr Hersh said the US had stepped up plans for a possible air attack and had increased clandestine activities inside Iran.


The White House has not specifically ruled out a military strike on Iran, instead repeating US opposition to any Iranian move to acquire nuclear weapons.
"We do not want the Iranians to have a nuclear weapon, the capacity to make a nuclear weapon, or the knowledge about how to make a nuclear weapon. That's our stated goal," Mr Bush said on Monday.

"I got out a little early on the issue by saying 'axis of evil'. But I meant it."

The BBC's Justin Webb, in Washington, says the White House position is no more bellicose than it has been in the recent past.

But there seems to be little doubt that the Pentagon is being asked to come up with military options, even if those options are not, at the moment, being considered for use, he adds.

Tehran defiant

A string of senior Iranian officials poured scorn on Mr Hersh's report throughout Monday.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, said the report was part of a White House-orchestrated psychological warfare campaign against Iran's nuclear programme.


HAVE YOUR SAY
Some people are afraid the president will want to go - just as he wanted to go on Iraq
Seymour Hersh
He said if Washington was serious about such plans they would keep them secret.

Iranian army chief of staff General Abdolrahim Mousavi vowed that Iran would strike back if attacked.

"We will certainly retaliate against any action by the enemy, and we are vigilant over any military aggression," he told the Isna news agency.

Senior presidential aide Hamid Reza Taraqi said a tactical nuclear strike was highly unlikely and he rejected claims US combat troops might already be inside Iran making contact with ethnic minority groups.

Mr Taraqi said it was clear the Americans had no idea what was going on inside Iran.

But BBC Iranian affairs analyst, Sadeq Saba, says despite the official Iranian reactions, such reports will cause some concern among ordinary Iranians.

Last month, the UN Security Council gave Iran 30 days to halt its nuclear research, or run the risk of action such as sanctions.

Western powers fear Iran is developing a nuclear bomb. Iran says its nuclear programme is for civilian use.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/4897570.stm

Published: 2006/04/10 19:46:23 GMT

© BBC MMVI

*******************************

scary times and we all think bush is more than willing to go to war.
perhaps we won't get to live out the next few years.

april 9th

been a very loooong break in this - but i am back

from the observer - april 9th



Leak reveals official story of London bombings
· Al-Qaeda not linked, says government
· Internet used to plan 7/7 attack

Mark Townsend, crime correspondent
Sunday April 9, 2006
Observer

The official inquiry into the 7 July London bombings will say the attack was planned on a shoestring budget from information on the internet, that there was no 'fifth-bomber' and no direct support from al-Qaeda, although two of the bombers had visited Pakistan.
The first forensic account of the atrocity that claimed the lives of 52 people, which will be published in the next few weeks, will say that attacks were the product of a 'simple and inexpensive' plot hatched by four British suicide bombers bent on martyrdom.

Far from being the work of an international terror network, as originally suspected, the attack was carried out by four men who had scoured terror sites on the internet. Their knapsack bombs cost only a few hundred pounds, according to the first completed draft of the government's definitive report into the blasts.

The Home Office account, compiled by a senior civil servant at the behest of Home Secretary Charles Clarke, also discounts the existence of a fifth bomber. After the bombings, police found an unused rucksack of explosives in the bombers' abandoned car at Luton station, which led to a manhunt for a missing suspect. Similarly, it found nothing to support the theory that an al-Qaeda fixer, presumed to be from Pakistan, was instrumental in planning the attacks.

A Whitehall source said: 'The London attacks were a modest, simple affair by four seemingly normal men using the internet.'

Confirmation of the nature of the attacks will raise fresh concerns over the vulnerability of Britain to an attack by small, unsophisticated groups. A fortnight after 7 July, an unconnected group of four tried to duplicate the attack, but their devices failed to detonate.

However, the findings will draw criticism for failing to address concerns as to why no action was taken against the bombers despite the fact that one of them, Mohammed Siddique Khan, was identified by intelligence officers months before the attack. A report into the attack by the Commons intelligence and security committee, which could be published alongside the official narrative, will question why MI5 called off surveillance of the ringleader of the 7 July bombings.

Patrick Mercer, shadow homeland security spokesman, said the official narrative's findings would only lead to calls for an independent inquiry to answer further questions surrounding 7 July.

He said: 'A series of reports such as this narrative simply does not answer questions such as the reduced terror alert before the attack, the apparent involvement of al-Qaeda and links to earlier or later terrorist plots.'

The official Home Office report into the attacks does, however, decide that the four suicide bombers - Siddique Khan, Hasib Hussain, Shehzad Tanweer and Jermaine Lindsay - were partly inspired by Khan's trips to Pakistan, though the meeting between the four men and known militants in Pakistan is seen as ideological, rather than fact-finding.

A videotape of Mohammed Siddique Khan released after the attacks also featured footage of Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Home Office believes the tape was edited after the suicide attacks and dismisses it as evidence of al-Qaeda's involvement in the attack.

Khan is confirmed as ringleader of the attacks, though the Yorkshire-born bomber's apparent links to other suspected terrorists are not discussed for legal reasons.

The report also investigates the psychological make-up and behaviour of the four bombers during the run-up to the attack. Using intelligence compiled in the nine months since, the account paints a portrait of four British men who in effect led double lives.

It exposes how the quartet adopted an extreme interpretation of Islam, juxtaposed with a willingness to enjoy a 'western' lifestyle - in particular Jermaine Lindsay, the bomber from Berkshire.

According to the report, the attacks were largely motivated by concerns over foreign policy and the perception that it was deliberately anti-Muslim, although the four men were also driven by the promise of immortality.

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006

**********

this is really only telling us what we already knew that it is going to be very hard to defend against such small scale almost improvised attacks.
that in effect this is an aysemmtic war.