On March 3rd I vented my spleen about the peace activists who travelled to Baghdad to volunteer as human shields -- then swiftly high-tailed it when they realised that Baghdad at that time was actually quite a dangerous place to be. I came in for a fair bit of flak over my comments.

Nearly two months on, Kim Sengupta catches up with the muesli munchers in today's Independent. Their protest seems just as futile to me now as it did then.

I don't normally read the Indy that closely but also of interest in today's paper is a piece about the war of words between the BBC and the right-wing press over the Corporation's coverage of the War.

What I really can't work up any excitement about, though, is the Guardian's front page story about the chocolate firm Cadbury's launching a promotion whereby tokens can be exchanged for sporting goods. I felt the opening paragraph: "The chocolate manufacturer Cadbury is launching a £9m campaign to persuade children to buy 160m chocolate bars, containing nearly 2m kg of fat, in exchange for "free" sports equipment for their schools. It says the initiative will help to tackle obesity." was really stretching it. Pass the Dairy Milk, will you.

Discuss "Beyond Northern Iraq"