Just back from the National Theatre, where I went to see Jerry Springer -- The Opera.

The show got great reviews but I had mixed feelings about it. It certainly didn't lack ambition -- adapting the Jerry Springer show into an all-singing all-dancing stage revue takes some doing. Nevertheless, there was something condescending about the concept of taking tabloid TV and trying to raise it into something approaching high art for the consumption of the theatre-going classes, who can they feel very pleased with themselves because they may read a broadsheet newspaper but they're still prepared to slum it with the trailer trash.

Plus, the novelty of hearing the cast sing words like "crack whore" and "fucking bitch" in an operatic voice wears off after about 30 seconds.

Then again, I paid good money to go and see it so I'm hardly in a position to talk.

I may go quiet for 24 hours or so -- but fear not.

I'm on the judging panel for the Rory Peck Trust Hard News Award all day tomorrow and then I jump on a train up to Leeds for the MAG Landmine Experience Media Day.

The full story when I get back to London...

Regular readers may remember that on August 27th I expressed my admiration for the South Wales Echo headline "City Shirt Blew Up Boat."

Well, it seems not everyone enjoyed the front page as much as I did because the Echo's been forced to issue an apology.

I hear the sound of libel lawyers breathing down necks.

The retraction says that "We are happy to clarify the picture used was not the type of shirt being worn at the time of the accident and indeed that the official explanation for the cause of the accident is yet to be established."

This translates as "We Made It Up."

Shame -- but it's still a great headline.

I fear this man will be popping up in a newspaper near you very soon by journalists looking for a new....er.....angle on the "isn't the traffic in London terrible" story.

Under normal circumstances this self-styled "wheel-clamp and speed camera vigilante cum subversive superhero philanthropist entertainer type personage" would be an obvious choice for the Twat Pack and he is clearly a complete prick. Even so, I kind of like his style -- and the cut of his cod piece.

Angle Grinder Man -- I salute you!

Oh, and the media's going to go nuts over these guys too...but I've already made my opinions about flash mobs very clear. You guys -- you're just crazzeeeee!

LANDMINE NEWS

Reports from the first day of the MSP5 conference in Thailand:
AFP: Landmine campaigners warn Asia is falling behind in landmine eradication
Bangkok Post: Non-members urged to get behind landmine ban treaty
BBC News: Asia pressed on landmine ban

An interesting , if disturbing, story from Canada....that a project to teach students in Angola to avoid landmines actually makes them more likely to enter minefields. It's difficult to draw any conclusions, though, as the report doesn't offer any explanations:
Canadian landmine effort puts children at more risk

....and the horrific allegation that Burma is using prisoners to clear minefields by marching across them:
Making demining an atrocity

BBC News Online reports on Colin Powell's visit to Halabja, which I travelled to in March to report on the 15th anniversary of the chemical attack there. The news report has a link to the survivor's story I wrote at the time.

The visit disgusted me. I'm amazed Powell has the nerve to show his face in Halabja, given America's (in the guise of the Reagan administration) involvement in the atrocity there.

In 1988 Colin Powell was national security adviser. The administration of which he was a part chose to turn a blind eye to Saddam Hussein's gassing of his own people because at the time it was Iran, not Iraq, that was America's Number One Enemy.

Barbara O'Brien dissected the Halabja/America affair in the New York Times in February. The article is reprinted here.

Today's Guardian's Op Ed page has a powerful piece by the former speaker of the Israeli Knesset, Avraham Burg.

It was originally published in Yediot Ahronot and has also appeared in the International Herald Tribune.

It's the most lucid analysis of the current situation in the Middle East I've read in a long time and I'd say it's a must read for anyone interested in the issue. Amid the suicide bombings on the one side and the targetted killings on the other Burg is a voice of sanity.

Burg says that "the 2,000-year struggle for Jewish survival comes down to a state of settlements, run by an amoral clique of corrupt lawbreakers who are deaf both to their citizens and to their enemies....

"A structure built on human callousness will inevitably collapse in on itself....

"Israel, having ceased to care about the children of the Palestinians, should not be surprised when they come washed in hatred and blow themselves up in the centres of Israeli escapism. They consign themselves to Allah in our places of recreation, because their own lives are torture."

There are many pertinent quotes in the article, but you really need to read it in its entirety.

Guardian: The end of Zionism

The Fifth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty opens today in Bangkok:

5MSP Website

Don't yawn -- it's important.

It's a chance for all the countries involved in trying to rid the world of landmines to get together and discuss the progress being made. It also provides a platform where regions that are lagging behind in their obligations can be called to account.

I was commissioned by BBC News Online to write a piece giving a personal perspective on the conference. You can read it here.

Fuck Ikea and its semi-disposable flat-packed monstrosities -- and fuck the people who spend their Sunday afternoons at Ikea's soulless, joyless cathedrals of homogenous middle-class blandness.

I left Ealing at lunchtime and headed for Walthamstow for Sunday lunch with triathlete Phil and his wife Claire, who's due to give birth to their first child in a matter of weeks.

As I hit the North Circular the traffic ground to a halt. It took 40 minutes to get from Hanger Lane to Wembley (a journey of a couple of miles).

I assumed there had been some horrific smash somewhere and expected to see a pile of metal twisted around the central reservation somewhere.

But no.

A section of one of London's major roads had been brought to a near stand still by people trying to get to fucking Ikea to buy sofas that'll fall apart in a fortnight and wardrobes that won't even last that long. Once I passed the store my speed increased to 20...30...40...50 and the traffic thinned out to a trickle.

It would be illegal for me to park my car in the middle of a motorway but for some reason it's perfectly legal for Ikea to clog up the North Circular by peddling their crap from a warehouse at the side of the road.

I don't know which I'm more angry about -- the fact that Ikea are allowed to get away with it or the fact that people are stupid enough to spend their precious days off queueing for hours just so that they can make their houses look exactly the same as every other rented flat between here and Stockholm.

Maybe I'm in touch with my feminine side, maybe I'm camp as a row of tents....whichever is true, I've long been partial to a good Step Aerobics class. It's one of the few exercise classes I don't get bored rigid at, so I've been keen to find out whether it's still physically possible with a prosthetic leg.

This morning I went along to my first post-accident Step class.

It was trickier than it used to be, no doubt about it. The straightforward uppy-downy step movements are simple enough but the quick jumps over and around the box are difficult with no ankle joint to pivot on and propel with.

I skipped some of the more complicated routines and kept it simple but I feel I've found a new challenge for myself -- to step as nimbly as I did before I lost my foot.

By the time the class was over my leg felt like an eel trapped in a condom inside the silicone liner. I just know that my right knee's going to hurt like hell tomorrow.

Robert Earnshaw deserves a knighthood after this afternoon's performance. I wish I'd been in Cardiff to see it.

BBC Sport: Cardiff 5-0 Gillingham

Today's Beyond Northern Iraq Best Friend is Sohayalla from Manchester, who has sent a copy of Propaganda, Inc. from the Wish List.

Thank you so much, Sohayalla!

I've been hooked on The Extreme Sports Channel recently and can happily spend all day watching the skateboarders, wakeboarders, BMXers and white water rafters.

While watching the other day I started wondering whether there was an extreme sports athlete who might be a suitable candidate for Amputee of the Week. It didn't take me long to find one.

Jon Comer from Dallas, Texas is a professional skateboarder. At the age of four he was struck by a car. His right foot was injured in the smash and was amputated three years later.

But a little detail like that didn't stop Jon from reaching his goal. He's the first professional skateboarder with a prosthetic leg and a film has just been made about his life.

Jon Comer is this week's tailsliding, kick-flipping, ollie grabbing Amputee of the Week.



Another noteworthy extreme sporting amputee is below-knee amp snowboarder Thayne Mahler.

Are we, perchance, related?

East Devon District Council

I suspect not because a) He's a Tory, b) I couldn't tell you where Sidmouth was if my life depended on it and c) I don't take a keen interest in Coastal Area Planning.

An excellent report from The Times on the effects of cluster bombs in Basra.

Remember that these weapons were dropped by coalition troops and were freely on sale earlier this week at the DSEi exhibition in London.

Mapped: The lethal legacy of cluster bombs (.doc)
Mapped: The lethal legacy of cluster bombs (.txt)

There's also an NPR audio interview with Jody Williams from the International Campaign to Ban Landmines here.

I guess I shouldn't let the second anniversary of September 11th go by without passing comment, except that I've got nothing much to say about it.

Two years on, the War on Terror that the attack on the Twin Towers prompted is foundering. Yes, two regimes have been toppled, a number of key al-Qaeda figures have been arrested or killed, co-operation between countries has improved and the terrorist networks have been disrupted.

But the attacks are continuing -- perpetrated by a range of splinter groups scattered around the world. Osama's still out there somewhere (tending his sheep by the looks of the latest video) and Iraq is in chaos.

The world seems more dangerous now than it did two years ago.

My latest BBC News Online diary has been published here.

Unusually, I didn't mind having to make the tedious 300 mile round trip from London to Cardiff for a hospital appointment because with some gentle persuasion and a few well-placed phone calls I managed to swing a last minute press ticket for last night's Wales V Finland football match at the Millennium Stadium:

BBC Sport: Wales book play-off place

I was sitting in the perfect spot, in the press box half way up the tiers and just behind the commentary team from Finnish National Radio.

I took some recording equipment with me to make it look like I was doing some work. This is what the Welsh national anthem sounds like sung by 70,000 Wales supporters and this is the response that Simon Davies's goal after 3 minutes generated. (Both are MP3s.)

It's enough to bring tears to a Welshman's eyes.

ITN has dismissed today's Mirror front page story that ITN journalist Terry Lloyd was only slightly injured by the "friendly fire" incident in Iraq that was believed to have killed him:
Media Guardian: ITN rejects new Lloyd claims

BEAVER PATROL



I used to like Paul Beaver.

Paul Beaver used to be a spokesman for Jane's and he was the consummate rent-a-quote. When I worked as a producer on daily news programmes he was an absolute God send. British government put in an order for fighter jets? Paul Beaver would tell you all about it. Security alert at Heathrow? Beaver would tell you the inside track. He was always at the end of the phone -- or on his way to the studio -- itching to go live on air.

But I don't like Paul Beaver any more.

He's become Chief Apologist for the DSEi arms fair in east London and is prepared to take (probably not inconsiderable) amounts of money from the makers of guns and bombs to explain to the press why their industry is as normal as any other. "It's a trade show like the motor show," Beaver says of DSEi.

Except that as far as I'm aware they don't sell cluster bombs at the motor show -- weapons which UNICEF says have injured more than 1,000 children since the official end of the war in Iraq.

Enjoy your wages, Mr Beaver -- but make sure the blood on your hands doesn't soil the banknotes.

I feel like I'm being stalked by suicide bombings today.

Last night's explosion in West Jerusalem took place on Emek Refaim.

It's a very laid back street of cafes and restaurants a few hundred yards from the apartment I stay in when I'm in Jerusalem. On my days off I'd stroll down there and read the papers over a coffee. I'll be steering clear from now on.

That attack was followed by a suicide bombing in Arbil, which as regular readers will know is where I started my Iraqi odyssey.

It's all a little too close.

Advance warning that I'll be on the Jamie Owen show on BBC Radio Wales on Wednesday morning from 1100-1200 BST.

Listeners outside Wales can tune in on digital satellite channel 867, Freeview channel 89 or online by clicking here and then going to the Radio Wales icon.

What I'll be talking about is anyone's guess. They haven't told me. I'll just have to make it up in the morning.

Here are the first news reports on the Landmine Monitor report.

It's interesting that VOA don't mention America's non-participation in the Ottawa Treaty. Funny that.

VOA: Activists Cite Asia as Biggest Producer of Landmines
News 24: Landmines being cleared up
AFP: Landmine watchdog hails progress while urging US to join ban
AP: Chechnya Said Deadliest Area for Mines

For anyone wishing to pay their respects to Kaveh and the other journalists who died while covering the War in Iraq, a special memorial service is being held next month at St Brides, the journalists church on Fleet Street:



I'm not of a religious persuasion, but those of you who are might like to read the Prayer for Journalists on the St Brides website. After all, we need all the help we can get.

BREAKING NEWS



The 2003 Landmine Monitor Report has just been published.

It's a massive and comprehensive document which assesses the implementation of and compliance with the Ottawa Treaty, and looks at the international community’s response to the landmine crisis.

It's the guide to what's happening on the landmine issue. The major finding is a positive one -- that the Mine Ban Treaty and the ban movement more generally are making tremendous strides in eradicating antipersonnel landmines and in saving lives and limbs in every region of the world. The report says, however, that significant challenges remain.

I've only just started ploughing through the report but it's essential reading for anyone interested in the campaign to eradicate landmines.

Many, many thanks to Sarah from Seattle for the copy of Weapons of Mass Deception, one of the books on my Wish List.

It looks like a fascinating read and I'm itching to get stuck into it. Thanks Sarah!

This website has been set up to find the 100 greatest Welsh people of all time:
BBC News: Search for Wales' top 100

It's time for a little ballot rigging, me thinks....get voting for the one-legged Welshman!

The DSEi arms fair has opened in east London:
BBC News: Security tight around arms fair

As well as the mainstream media sources, Indymedia UK is covering the protests against the exhibition from the activists perspective.

WE HAVE WAYS OF MAKING YOU TALK

How do you get an Al Qaeda suspect to spill their guts?

Months of sleep and sensory deprivation? Nope.
Pull their fingernails out with pliers? Try again.
Tickle their feet with a feather duster until they 'fess up? Getting closer.

How 'bout waving a Happy Meal in front of their face? Ker-ching...they're telling you Osama's whereabouts before you can say "do you want fries with that":

SunSpot.net: Camp Delta inmates will talk for burgers

Those jihadis. They'll do anything for a little plastic David Beckham toy.

They may be denied any Geneva Convention rights but who gives a rats arse so long as they're given their basic human right to stuff their faces with Maccy Ds.

Following my comments earlier re: Bush's speech, Mark Ross e-mailed with a spookily related magazine cover:

I nearly forgot about this...Dr Robert e-mailed last week nominating Keegan Reilly for amputee of the week:
Paraplegic scales Mount Fuji
Only one problem...he may be paraplegic but he's got all his limbs and unless you've had one lopped off you ain't going to make it as an AOTW.

Even so, it's a remarkable achievement. "I want to show people what I am able to do," Keegan Reilly says. "Maybe it will inspire them." It certainly will.

I've just been watching Bush's address to the nation.

The speech is more than 2,000 words long. The underlying message, however, can be summarised in two words -- We're Fucked.

Captain Jeff Joyce -- one of the Special Forces team that looked after me in Kurdistan -- e-mails with news of a project to get medical books to doctors there.

A military colleague of his who's still in Iraq came up with the idea of collecting books for Kurdish doctors and as a result thousands of volumes have been shipped to Northern Iraq. Before the books arrived, the doctors often relied on home-made textbooks made up of information downloaded off the internet.

Jeff has sent some photos of Dan delivering the books to Dr. Kalandar who works in the hospitals in Sulaymaniyah.

Picture: Medical Books 1
Picture: Medical Books 2

This is outrageous:
Haaretz: IDF refuses to clear mines from land for Arab school in Jerusalem

A school for Arab children in east Jerusalem can't be built because the area is mined and the Israeli army is refusing to risk its soldiers to do the demining work. No problem, you'd think....simply send in private contractors instead.

Not so easy.

There are two firms capable of doing the work -- but the IDF is refusing to give the companies clearance to work in Israel. Why? The IDF says that even if the companies do the work, the army still has to risk the lives of soldiers sent to examine the work of the private firms.

Except that if the private companies clear the mines the area will be safe -- so how would the soldiers be at risk?

While not condoning their actions, it's heartening to see that some people are treating David Blaine with the antipathy he deserves:
Sunday Mirror: BLAINE PELTED BY YOBS

This article was published soon after the death of Sergio Vieira de Mello, but it's only just been brought to my attention. It's well worth a look:
IHT: Clean up the heaps of deadly debris

and news on the landmine situation in Afghanistan:
Hindustan Times: Ten years needed to clear landmines in Afghanistan
Irish Examiner: Plea for aid to rid Afghanistan of killer mines

The Guardian reports that Heather Mills-McCartney is trademarking her name so that she can market her range of cosmetic limb covers in the US.

I'm thinking of following suit. I reckon the Stuart Hughes Cosmesis (TM) could be bigger than the George Foreman grill or those Jamie Oliver plates that Royal Worcester make. My punchy sales slogan will be "The Stuart Hughes Cosmesis -- so lifelike it'll blow you away."

Any backers?

Blogger was down for most of yesterday and what with that and Friday's tragedy there's a long list of things I've been wanting to mention...although most are now a few days old.

Let's start from last night and work backwards....and Saturday evening was spent in the very agreeable company of the Associated Press's Jamie Tarabay (briefly in London after leaving Baghdad), the BBC's former Gaza and Kabul and soon to be Bangkok correspondent Kylie Morris and Jerusalem bureau producer Keren Pakes.

Picture: Kylie, Jamie, Keren
Picture: With Keren

Needless to say that as well as events in Iraq there was much discussion of Abu Mazen's resignation. The power struggle between him and Yasser Arafat has highlighted Palestinian disunity and killed off any lingering hope of progress on the roadmap to peace. Following the failed assassination attempt on Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and the promised reprisals from Hamas, the only certainty now is that there'll be more bloodshed soon in the Middle East.

Earlier in the day I put the new leg through its paces at a Body Blast class at the gym (on hearing of this Aileen, ever the wit, suggested that my body has taken enough blasts for a while.) I'm pleased to report that it performed extremely well. Lunges are a little tricky because obviously I can't bend the prosthetic ankle but aside from that it works a treat -- very sturdy and responsive.

Friday afternoon and evening, of course, were taken up with giving reaction to Ian Rimmel's horrific murder.

MP3: Extract from Radio 4 1800 News Bulletin (149Kb)

There was some good news, though. Alex Lemon has made it into The Friday thing for a second successive week -- and has received an grovelling apology for the lack of a credit last week. Her article on the new Mel Gibson film "The Passion" is reprinted below:

Article: Christ on a Bike (.doc)
Article: Christ on a Bike (.txt)

Remember those Iraqi weapons of mass destruction? The ones we went to war for? Well inspectors on the ground say they don't exist:
Independent: Britain and US will back down over WMDs

The Guardian has the latest on the loathsome DSEi exhibition:
Guardian: London police braced for violent protests at Europe's biggest arms fair

The arrival this week in the post of this book about the life of an extraordinary camerman left me in no doubt as to who should be the latest Amputee of the Week.

Mohamed "Mo" Amin was born in Kenya in 1943. From the time he acquired his first camera, a box brownie, Mo’s future was set. Quickly, he learned photographic and darkroom skills and before he was 20 his pictures were appearing in all the Fleet Street newspapers.

Captured and tortured covering a coup in Zanzibar in 1966, he was released only after intense international diplomatic pressure, and because of his work in Uganda the world's perception of Idi Amin changed from comic despot to evil dictator. In 1969 he was voted British Cameraman of the year for his coverage of the assassination of Tom Moboya, a Kenyan minister.

His coverage of the 1984 famine in Ethiopia was so compelling that it inspired a collective global conscience and became the catalyst for the greatest ever act of giving. The Band Aid and Live Aid appeals were a direct result of Mo Amin’s images.

Eight years on from the famine report, Mo was covering a revolution in Addis Ababa with journalists Michael Buerk, Colin Blane and John Mathai. An ammunition depot had exploded and the team had gone to film the damage, when a number of rockets exploded, resulting in the death of John Mathai. Amin lost his left arm. However, fitted with a specially designed prosthetic arm, he continued his work, insisting that "The day I cannot get out on a story will be the day that I die."

In 1996, Amin was returning from Addis Ababa to Nairobi after a business trip. The plane was hijacked by three Ethiopians claiming to be armed with explosives. After a struggle with the crew, the plane crashed into the sea just off the Comoros Islands. Mo Amin and reporter Brian Tetley died along with 121 others.

You can read an interview with Mo Amin here. In it, he says of his amputation: "Everybody else had decided that my career as a cameraman was over, and they told me the sooner I got used to the idea, the better. Everybody decided that was it...Since I lost my arm I have been busier at work. At first I was a little slow, now I think I am faster than before. I think you try harder. I don't really think I have a disadvantage."

If he can do it, so can I.



The Mohamed Amin Foundation website

Up way before dawn to drive to Knebworth House in Hertfordshire for a long-planned hot air balloon flight.

Conditions were perfect -- dry, bright and just enough haze to give the countryside an atmospheric glow.

For about an hour we drifted over fields and streets, waving at people standing on their doorsteps in their dressing gowns and craning their necks to get a better view. We eventually came back down to earth in the corner of a field near the village of Puckeridge.

A magical way to spend the morning.

Picture: Balloon Flight 1
Picture: Balloon Flight 2
Picture: Balloon Flight 3
Picture: Balloon Flight 4
Picture: Balloon Flight 5

Spoke to Jamie this evening; she's swinging through London on her way back from Baghdad.

She reminded me that she interviewed the murdered mine clearance expert Ian Rimmel for a story she wrote during her tour of duty in Iraq:

AP story featuring Ian Rimmel (.doc)
AP story featuring Ian Rimmel (.txt)
Photo of Ian Rimmel at work in Iraq

I spoke to MAG's Executive Director Lou McGrath this afternoon in between the deluge of interviews. He said MAG has temporarily suspended its operations in Northern Iraq following the attack on Ian Rimmel. MAG teams in Northern Iraq are regrouping and a review's being carried out of the areas in which they operate.

No decision has yet been taken on whether to move out of the area, although at the moment the deminers are determined to stay. Let's hope they're given the support of the international community to continue their vital work, despite the tragedy.

Lou said it was still too early to know who carried out the attack, although the suspicion is on former elements of Saddam Hussein’s regime rather than foreign fighters.

Ian Rimell's death will only hurt the lives of ordinary Iraqis whose communities are blighted by mines. It's the sickening, cold blooded murder of a man who had devoted his life to humanitarian work.

The phones have been non-stop with interview requests.

More on the Mosul attack:
BBC News: Bomb expert killed in Iraq

BREAKING NEWS

Absolutely terrible news from Mosul. More when I have it.

MAG Mosul Ambush press statement

So, it's out with the old leg and in with the new.

I've taken possession of the new artificial limb and am currently putting it through its paces. It's very different to the old one. For a start, it's a lot slimmer, as you can see, which means it feels a lot less bulky.

Secondly, rather than sliding on like a slipper, it locks in place with a metal pin, which is attached to the bottom of a silicone leg sleeve. Basically it's a bloody great big condom with a spike sticking out of the end. (For the technically minded, the foot is a Vari-Flex attached using an Iceross liner.)

The main benefit I've noticed so far is that the leg feels a lot more secure and "natural," rather than an attachment dangling off the end of my leg. I even attempted a little run up and down the hospital corridors yesterday -- something I couldn't have done with the old prosthesis.

The main drawback is that it's a pain in the arse to take on and off -- or to "don" and "doff" as the rehab team insist on saying. The silicone liner sticks to itself like shit to a blanket, meaning I have to go through a big palaver of covering the outside with talc before I roll it on.

It's still too early to say for sure what the leg can and can't do -- I still feel like I'm test driving it. I'm going to put it through its paces at the gym this evening.

If you're in Leeds on 18th September, come along to the MAG Landmines Experience Media Day, which I'll be giving a talk at.

Landmines Experience Media Day Invitation

I didn't update all day yesterday because I was in Cardiff -- and yet the stats show that Thursday was one of the busiest days in terms of number of hits.

Are you guys trying to tell me something?

No updates today because I've been in Cardiff getting fitted up with the new leg -- apologies.

Back in London now and the story of the new limb (and photos) will follow in full tomorrow...

The albatross that's been hanging around my neck for months has finally been lifted.

Due to other, more pressing concerns (such as learning to walk again), doing my expenses from Iraq wasn't number one on my list of priorities. Over time, the two inch thick folder of scrappy receipts for long-forgotten items has become my biggest fear. I was developing a phobia about it -- I just couldn't face it.

I was forced into action by the stream of increasingly stroppy e-mails from the finance department warning of dire consequences if I didn't submit a claim.

So I finally sat down and worked through the paperwork, which consisted of dozens and dozens of meaningless documents like this one. What it's for and how much it's worth is anyone's guess.

The figures I've come up with are nowhere near the $15,000 advance I took with me to Iraq. I've blamed the discrepancy on the fog of war.

Where in the bookshops will Jessica Lynch's forthcoming tome be stocked -- fiction or non-fiction?

BBC News: Private Lynch signs $1m book deal

Interesting to note that the book will be ghosted by Rick Bragg, the former New York Times hack who was suspended and later resigned after questions were raised about his reporting practices.

Sounds like the two are perfect for each other.

From an article on injuries sustained by US troops in Iraq in today's Washington Post:

"...rocket-propelled grenades and mines can wound multiple troops at a time and cause "the kind of amputating damage that you don't necessarily see with a bullet wound to the arm or leg."

The result has been large numbers of troops coming back to Walter Reed and National Naval Medical with serious blast wounds and arms and legs that have been amputated, either in Iraq or at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where virtually all battlefield casualties are treated and stabilized.

"A few of us started volunteering [at Walter Reed] as amputees in 1991, and this is the most we've seen ever," said Jim Mayer, a double amputee from the Vietnam War who works at the Veterans Administration. "I've never seen anything like this....."

As the occupation of Iraq continues, the number of people coming home with arms and legs missing rises.

I've been speaking to the lawyers about my compensation following the accident. During the course of the conversation the solicitor said I should apply for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, which pays an allowance to people injured as a result of an accident at work.

"You can get it if you're judged to be 20% disabled or more," the solicitor said breezily "and I've got no doubt at all that you'll qualify."

Wonderful, I thought. Even the solicitor's got me marked out as disabled. She reckons a fifth of me is kapput -- no doubt at all in her mind.

And I thought I was doing so well.

Thankfully, Aileen came to rescue with a persuasive argument. "Even if you are 20% disabled, it still doesn't mean you're only able to do 80% of the things you did before," she said.

That placated me.

Landmine news from Burundi:
AllAfrica.com: Landmines Continue to Kill, Maim Every Year

It's been a toughie singling out just three but here they are -- The Twat Pack.

GEOFF HOON: Just what is he for? After his testimony to the Hutton Inquiry it's clear the Defence Secretary doesn't have the slightest idea what's going on in his own department -- so how does he justify that ministerial salary of 125 grand? Not that it matters, seeing as he's going to be sacked as soon as the inquiry's over.


MADONNA: Maybe I'm just jealous, but the sight of Madonna swapping spit with Britney Spears at the MTV Video Music Awards made me want to vomit -- not because it's two women kissing but because it's the desperate act of a clapped out has-been. Madge gets more tedious with every passing day. If she really wanted to be controversial she should have snogged Johnny Cash.


HOWARD BROWN:Howard Brown is Customer Services Manager at the Sheldon branch of the Halifax. Where in God's name is Sheldon? I just googled it -- apparently it's in Birmingham, just off the A41 near Acocks Green. Well wherever it is it's blighted by the presence of speccy twat Howard, whose renditions of pop songs with the lyrics changed so as to sing the praises of the Halifax Bank are so irritating they cause me to break out in stress-related eczema. Those queens that mince around behind him in the Bollywood-themed advert are equally bad. They should all be reported to the Financial Services Authority.

Maybe, just maybe, I'm not quite the out of shape gut bucket I thought I was.

Seeing as I've paid out all that money for the gym membership I thought I should go at least once, so I booked in to a Body Pump class.

I expected to be close to death by the end of the workout but it actually turned out to be easier than I had anticipated. It was interesting to find out what I could and couldn't do with the artificial leg. The only thing I had any difficulty with were the lunges, because I can't bend the prosthetic ankle enough to lunge down comfortably. Aside from that, the chest presses, squats and press ups were pretty much the same as before the accident.

I came away feeling very smug, thinking I could still kick ass even with one leg. Then I found this article, which soon wiped the smile off my face. It says that "suggesting that a Body Pump workout will lead to a significant increase in strength is a little like saying you can extinguish a blazing fire with a cup of water — it simply won't work."

I think this is a polite way of saying that my granny could do a Body Pump class without breaking a sweat -- and she's been dead for over 20 years.

I knew it was too easy.

Many, many thanks to Alison for sending The Tipping Point -- one of the books on my Amazon wish list.

It arrived totally unexpectedly in the post this morning.

I don't know who you are, Alison, so I can't thank you personally but your gesture's heartily appreciated.

When will I ever learn?

I've read the articles in the papers about how 90% of people who join gyms drop out after a few weeks but it still didn't stop me.

Seduced by the sight of rows of toned bodies pummelling themselves to perfection I signed up at the Virgin Active gym in west London. If I'm going to do that triathlon I've got to start somewhere. An African village could survive for a year for the price of the monthly membership but I'm a sucker for the complimentary towels and shower gel, not to mention the promise of a rippling six pack.

Actually, I had to do something. A lack of proper exercise combined with an over-fondness for lager is having a destructive effect on my waistline. It's probably a little late to get in shape for next year's Paralympics but I can at least try to stop myself turning into the Michelin man.

Like a new recruit for some dodgy religious cult I get "inducted" on Tuesday. I already feel like I've made a big mistake.

Good news this morning.

I received a text message from Jamie to say that she's safely exited Iraq. She's currently sunning herself in Amman.

I was going to write about this in a couple of weeks' time, but seeing as it's in the paper today I might as well mention it now.

Over four days in London next month, some of the world's leading arms manufacturers will be peddling their wares at the Defence Systems and Equipment International exhibition in Docklands. It's Europe's largest arms fair, sponsored by the Government -- yes, the Labour government, the one you voted into power because you liked the sound of its ethical foreign policy.

Looking for a fleet of warships? Fancy upgrading your APC for something a bit fancier? Or maybe just thinking of blowing the shit out of your neighbour (you know, the one that plays the Garage tunes at 2 o'clock in the morning.) If so, DSEi's the place to go. It's the Wal-Mart of Weapons.

Because of this, it attracts buyers from around the world, including Angola, Tanzania, Israel, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. But wait -- aren't all these countries accused of human rights violations? Amnesty International certainly thinks so.

Today, the Guardian reports that manufacturers of cluster bombs have been asked not to display their disgusting products because it's considered to be "inappropriate."

That just about sums up the sickening hypocrisy of the whole event. The slick men in suits can happily gather in London with government backing and ply their deadly trade -- but they're politely asked not to to put their goods in the shop window in case it shows them for what they are.

It's not just the cluster bombs that should be kept out -- the whole exhibition should be shut down.

Disarm DSEi 2003
Campaign Against the Arms Trade

While in Cardiff this week I did a half-hour pre-recorded interview with presenter Mal Pope for a forthcoming BBC Radio Wales series called "Beating the Odds," about people who have overcome adversity.

I haven't got a transmission date yet but I've made a little 3 minute-long MP3 as a taster.

"Beating the Odds" Extract (372Kb)
Picture: Recording "Beating the Odds" with Mal Pope

Now I'm back in London it gives me great pleasure in being able to scan and upload that South Wales Echo front page I was banging on about earlier this week, especially for those of you unlucky enough to live outside the Echo's coverage area. Enjoy!

City Shirt Blew Up Boat (.jpg)

The Kennedy dynasty is the source of this week's Amputee of the Week

In 1973, at the age of 12, Edward "Ted" Kennedy, Jr, the son of Senator Edward Kennedy, discovered a lump below his kneecap. A paediatrician told his parents it was just a calcium deposit and to advised them soak it in Epsom salts.

Later, while skateboarding, the young Kennedy fell and hit his leg on a curb. "The pain lasted for an abnormal period of time, and I told my parents we’d better check this thing out," he said. The examination revealed a cancerous tumour, and a biopsy revealed a malignancy. His leg was amputated above the knee the next day.

"I remember my dad coming into my room and telling me that I was going to lose part of my leg," Ted Jr. recalled. "I was petrified and horrified at the thought. I remember thinking that living life with one leg was worse than not living at all."

Kennedy went on to college, graduate school, and law school, and today is an advocate for the civil rights of people with disabilities. He practices in Connecticut, specializing in health and disability law.

You can read an interview with Ted Kennedy Jr here. In it, he says:

"For some, limb salvage is a great option. But people go through Herculean efforts to try to save a leg when, I think in many cases, they would be much better off going for the amputation. It's not the end of the world to lose a leg."

Indeed it's not. Ted Kennedy Jr -- you're Amputee of the Week.

Ace Echo hackette Alex Lemon makes her debut in cult e-zine The Friday Thing this week.

Inspired by the appearance in this week's Twat Pack of Ali Bongo wannabe David Blaine, Alex assesses Blaine's latest pointless stunt. And if you're still in any doubt of Blaine's status as a Premier Division Prick, take a look at this interview in Newsweek. I think I'd rather spend six weeks in a glass box above the Thames than read it again -- especially the bit when he compares his stunt to the Holocaust.

Although the editors of The Friday Thing have robbed Alex of a by-line, we know the words are hers -- and that's all that matters. TFT is only available by subscription, so I've cut and pasted the article into the document below:

IT'S A BIRD... IT'S A BLAINE? (.doc)
IT'S A BIRD... IT'S A BLAINE? (.txt)

Much commotion among my parents' neighbours in Cardiff this morning as they awoke to find a police Scientific Investigation Unit van parked in the street and men in white boiler suits coming and going.

The coppers guarding number 32 were "tight lipped" as we journalists are prone to say but just as I was leaving to head back to London the TV crews had started arriving.

The reason....

BBC News: Man held over vanished OAP

Looking over the stats I see there are a fair number of visitors from quite a few countries that haven't made it onto the Guest Map yet.

So you're especially welcome to make your mark if you're from Belgium, Germany, Holland, Japan, New Zealand and Brazil (or indeed anywhere in South America.) And if you're not from one of those countries -- well, stick a pin in the map anyway!

The latest BBC News Online diary has been published here.

Full marks to the graphics team for the picture of the Volkswagen Beetle alongside the Ferrari!

More proof, as if it were needed, that the we only do white legs story from a few days ago was a load of tosh.

An amputee colleague e-mails to say: "At Roehampton I often see black amputees being given black legs just the same as my NHS one only black. I don't see what the problem is."

So there we are -- the cheaper artificial limb covers are available in black.

The "problem" is that Monday's story was complete nonsense....but then we knew that anyway. It would appear that one person's ill-informed comment suddenly became headline news, regardless of its accuracy.

EARNIE'S SHIRT OF DEATH



Every so often a news story comes up that's so unlikely, so downright bizarre, that it takes your breath away.

The front page of today's South Wales Echo has one such story -- and a headline that's so good it deserves to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Unfortunately it's not published online so I can't link to it but the splash -- in 80 point type -- reads 'CITY SHIRT BLEW UP BOAT...STATIC FROM BLUEBIRDS TOP IS BLAMED FOR EXPLOSION.'

The copy reads: "The family of a man and his son seriously injured in a boat blast believe a Cardiff City shirt could have sparked the explosion....Their family believe static from the football shirt could have triggered a gas blast."

The evidence to back up this preposterous claim? Er...very little, but don't let that stand in the way of a good story. Please continue..."Steve said: 'There's no way they would have done anything stupid, the shirt could have caused the explosion. The thing was incinerated from Sam's body. Only the collar, cuffs and Cardiff badge remained.'"

On reading this story I was somewhat perturbed. I wear my City shirt with pride -- but now I learn it's a potential death-trap.

But on reflection I realise the metal in my artificial leg will act as an earth lead, sending all the dangerous static to the ground and preventing me from going up in a puff of smoke while filling up with petrol on my way to Ninian Park. I'll never know for sure, but my prosthesis could have already saved my life.

The latest news from MAG:

Mine action charity continues life saving work as other agencies leave Iraq

They're staying in Iraq, clearing mines and saving lives, despite the increased security risks after the UN bombing.

If you want to help their work you can do so by clicking here and donating whatever you can afford.

FIRST WITH THE NEWS...AGAIN

On August 11th I wrote about the George W Bush action figure. Now, more than a fortnight later, everyone else is finally picking up on the story.

BBC News: Bush doll has waiting list
Guardian: Bush, Barbie or Bob the Builder - a choice to toy with
SF Chronicle: Action Figures For Imbeciles

'Bout time too, guys (he crowed) -- next time you want to find out what's happening two weeks before the papers report on it, you know where to come.

A friend and fellow radio producer, Bruce Hopkins, e-mails with a photo of him and a certain Middle Eastern leader, taken during his Arabic language course in Ramallah.

I thought it was a wind-up at first, but I promise you it's genuine.

Picture: Little and Large

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED?



"Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed." President Bush on board the USS Abraham Lincoln, 1st May (Source: CNN)



"With the death yesterday of another U.S. soldier in Iraq, the number of U.S. troops who have died there since May 1, when President Bush declared an end to major combat operations, rose to 138 -- the same number as perished during the six weeks of fighting that marked the fall of Baghdad and its immediate aftermath, according to Pentagon records." Washington Post, 26th August.

Israel's Judge Advocate General has instructed the Military Police to open an investigation into the killing of British cameraman James Miller in Rafah in May.

Haaretz reports that "ballistic tests conducted by the British Embassy in Tel Aviv on 10 rifles belonging to Israel Defense Forces soldiers who were in the area of the shooting revealed that the bullet that killed Miller was fired from one of these weapons."

Amputee actor Guillaume Depardieu seems to be kicking up a (one-legged) storm. He's been arrested for allegedly threatening a man with a gun:

BBC News: Depardieu son in gun arrest

Depardieu is also the cover star of this week's Paris Match magazine.

Watched Live Forever tonight, John Dower's documentary about Britpop.

Watching it was a kind of sad experience. It reminded me of just how full of hope and expectation those heady first days of the Blair administration were...and how many people have been let down in the intervening six years.

At about this time I like to vent my petty prejudices by naming the three people who have really got on my nerves over the past week. Introducing this week's Twat Pack.

David Blaine: The magician plans to stand suspended in a small perspex box above the Thames for more than six weeks. I'd much prefer it if he was suspended in a small concrete box in the Thames.


Schools Minister, David Miliband: For no other reason than he has the sort of face I would take untold pleasure in punching. He looks like the kid in school that everyone hated, which might explain his choice of ministerial career.


Alex from Fame Academy: Cheer up love, it may never happen.

The Independent reports on clashes between Kurds and Turkomen in Kirkuk, in which at least 11 people were killed.

When I was in Northern Iraq the main argument the Kurds used for keeping Turkish forces out was that the two ethnic groups lived peacefully side by side -- and the Turkomen minority didn't need "protection" from the Turks.

However, as the two sides jostle for power in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, it seems tensions are beginning to boil over.

IS IT COS I IS BLACK?....ER, NO ACTUALLY

The BBC is reporting today that a black woman due to have a foot amputated was told she would be given a white prosthetic replacement because it is cheaper:

BBC News: Black patient offered white limb

The story was originally reported -- with predictable tabloid sensationalism -- in the Mirror:

The Mirror: BLACK AMPUTEE TOLD: WE ONLY DO FEET IN PINK

Before the NHS is accused of thoughtless racism, here are the facts.

At the moment, only very limited funding is available on the NHS for life-like silicone coverings for artificial limbs, such as those made by Dorset Orthopaedics. (Read a memo on NHS provision of silicone cosmesis here.) The reason is that they're much more expensive than less cosmetically acceptable foam or plastic coverings (although I'm surprised the cheaper covers aren't available in darker skin tones.)

Therefore most people, regardless of race, have to pay for more life-like artificial limbs. It's still too early in my rehab for me to have one yet, but when I do (probably in a year or so) it'll cost me somewhere in the region of £7,000.

Ms Nicholls, then, is only facing the same funding problems that most amputees across the country encounter.

Obviously I'm white but my current prosthesis -- and the one now being made for me -- bears only a passing resemblance to my actual skin colour. It might as well be brown, yellow or cyan, because it sure as hell doesn't look real. I was told very early on by my prosthetist that if I wanted a limb that looked realistic I'd have to pay for it.

By drawing attention to her situation Ms Nicholls has managed to shame her NHS trust into coughing up for a silicone cosmesis. Good for her. However, her story is really about health service funding -- not skin colour.

DISCUSS

DA DA DUM, DUM, DUM....ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST

"Let me talk now about the systems Iraq is developing to deliver weapons of mass destruction, in particular Iraq's...unmanned aerial vehicles, UAVs....

There is ample evidence that Iraq has dedicated much effort to developing and testing spray devices that could be adapted for UAVs....Iraq could use these small UAVs, which have a wingspan of only a few metres, to deliver biological agents to its neighbours or if transported, to other countries, including the United States." Colin Powell, addressing the UN Security Council, 5th February (Source: BBC News Online).


"Huddled over a fleet of abandoned Iraqi drones, U.S. weapons experts in Baghdad came to one conclusion: Despite the Bush administration's public assertions, these unmanned aerial vehicles weren't designed to dispense biological or chemical weapons.

"The evidence gathered this summer matched the dissenting views of Air Force intelligence analysts who argued in a national intelligence assessment of Iraq before the war that the remotely piloted planes were unarmed reconnaissance drones." Associated Press report, 24th August.

Over lunch with friends Julie and Rich at the Orange Tree Restaurant in the Warwickshire village of Chadwick End, Jules explained that she's often barred from accessing this blog at work because the firewall picks up on my use of swear words and blocks the site.

Let's see if these get through: Minge, poop, pork sword, chuff, douche.

Tony Blair on the issue of Trust: "I accept that there is an issue that we have to confront." Prime Minister's Press Conference, 30th July.

"58 per cent of all voters have less trust in the Prime Minister as a direct consequence of the Kelly inquiry: 52 per cent of Labour voters said that they have now lost trust in Mr Blair." Sunday Telegraph, 24th August.

Good news from Kenya, which has begun destroying almost 36 thousand landmines in order to meet its obligations under the Ottawa Treaty:
AllAfrica.com: Anti-Personnel Mines Destroyed
Mail and Guardian: Kenya to destroy 30 000 landmines

The latest stories from Jamie in Baghdad:
Bombing suspicions point to inside job
Years of sanctions harden Iraqis to United Nations

ANOTHER UNWELCOME OCCUPATION...



It's Notting Hill Carnival weekend, when the streets of London's hippest neighbourhood are filled with the sights and sounds of one the world's most famous celebrations of Afro-Caribbean culture.

It's a fantastic event for the tens of thousands of people who cram into Ladbroke Grove and Westbourne Park Road -- but try telling that to the poor sods who actually live in Notting Hill.

This week I had a drink with former ABC News Chief Middle East Correspondent, Charlie Glass, himself a W11 resident. He described Carnival as "ghastly...for a weekend you're a prisoner in your own home."

As for me -- after my V Festival experience last weekend I'll be staying well away...in Birmingham to be precise.

The latest weapon in the war against drugs -- an artificial leg:
MLive.com: Prosthetic leg used in beating, police say

In March, near the mountains which mark the border between Iraq and Iran, I watched as Kurdish Peshmerga fighters supported by US Special Forces "routed" Ansar Al-Islam, the militant group allegedly linked to al-Qaeda. At a press conference I attended in Halabja, a Special Forces spokesman said that "A terrorist organisation that has held grip on this region for the last several years was rooted out and neutralised." (Read more on the operation here).

Yet according to this week's Time magazine, Ansar elements are being linked to the Jordanian embassy bombing in Baghdad. The group was known for using car bombs which could suggest it also had a hand in the UN bombing (which happened after the Time article went to press.)

What's becoming clear is that the claims in March that Ansar had been "neutralised" were overly optimistic to say the least. We heard reports at the time that many Ansar fighters were slipping over the border into Iran and it would seem that they're now popping up again in Iraq.

Another hollow victory in the war against terror.

DISCUSS

We return to Canada yet again for this week's Amputee of the Week.

Emmy Award-winning Dancer and choreographer David Connolly was born with a defect of his feet and lower legs that left them useless.

Doctors told his parents that he would never walk and would spend his life in a wheelchair. As a child, doctors in Montreal amputated his feet and performed bone grafts and reconstructive surgery to reshape his lower legs so that he could wear artificial limbs.

Soon David was off and running. He took up swimming and diving, and joined a marching band, but the lure of the stage beckoned. "Dancing just happened," he said. "Of course, people told me I couldn't do it, but I was more determined than ever to succeed."

David was performing on Broadway at age 19 and subsequently worked as a choreographer for every major television network. You can watch a short film about David here for RealPlayer and here for QuickTime.

A gay Canadian dancing bilateral amputee -- David Connolly is the ultimate politically correct Amputee of the Week.

The Tale of Rancor, the new show associate directed by Carolyn Cohagan -- a guest writer on this blog -- is about to move from New York to Philadelphia. It's running from August 29th to September 13th at Christ Church, Neighborhood House
20 N. American Street as part of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival.

This review describes the show in glowing terms:

"The Tale of Rancor, by the company Blue, Inc., is a triumph of simple imagination, outrageous creativity, and the solid and committed work of an ensemble...It is BRILLIANT!.... I want to clap my hands for the sheer theatrical creativity of it! Hurry and see it if you’re in New York, and if you miss it here, you can catch it in Philadelphia at the end of the month."

Go see!

ONLY IN WALES PART 23592....
The Sun: For sale: My wife's brain

Kurdish reaction to the capture of "Chemical Ali":
Kurd Media: Kurds rejoice at Chemical Ali’s capture, want him tried in Halabja
BBC News: 'First step to justice' say Kurds

YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST...

Baghdad blogger Salam Pax now has a female rival -- Riverbend.

Riverbend, a young woman living in Mosul, started her blog on Sunday. Describing herself, she says "I'm female, Iraqi and 24. I survived the war. That's all you need to know. It's all that matters these days anyway."

I predict she's going to be huge. Expect articles on her to start appearing all over the place within days.

Brace yourself, because it's going to get very ugly again.

A suicide bomber blows himself up in Jerusalem, so the Israelis whack Hamas leader Ismail Abu Shanab, prompting Hamas to call off its "ceasefire" and vow revenge.

And so the depressingly predictable cycle of strike and counter-strike resumes and peace looks as distant as ever.

Jerusalem Post: Hamas and Islamic Jihad pull out of cease-fire

Still, some good news -- for the Kurds in particular -- in the apparent capture of "Chemical Ali." Ali Hassan al-Majid is regarded as one of the architects of the Anfal campaign of repression and atrocities against the Kurds, the results of which I witnessed at first hand when I visited Halabja earlier this year.

DISCUSS

Credit is due to Ealing Council for cancelling the parking ticket one of their thoughtful traffic wardens gave me last week -- even though my blue disabled parking badge was displayed on the windscreen.

It's 1-0 to the cripple.

Worry not over Wales's 1-0 defeat by Serbia and Montenegro because we're going to beat Italy 2-1 again in Milan next month. Honest.

"I think the protection of journalists is at an all-time low...."

Thanks to Lynn for e-mailing me details of this article from Salon about the shooting by US troops of the Reuters cameraman Mazen Dana.

Depressingly, I find myself agreeing with what his colleague Patricia Naylor says, that there's a dreadful irony in the fact that Dana -- a Palestinian who had survived many skirmishes in the West Bank -- should be killed by an American bullet. "Mazen was probably one of the most savvy and experienced war reporters and cameramen in the world," she says.

Also, as I touched on yesterday, Naylor believes that despite the promise of an investigation into Dana's death, almost nothing will happen.

Mazen Dana was buried today in the West Bank city of Hebron. You can read an interview with him conducted in 2001 here.

There's a poignant sentence in his acceptance speech for an International Press Freedom Award:
"Words and images are a public trust and for this reason I will continue with my work regardless of the hardships and even if it costs me my life."
Tragically it did -- at the hands of the very people supposedly ensuring the safety and security of Iraq.

Jamie in Baghdad e-mails with a story she's done about a MAG project to clear UXO in the north of the country.

AP Ammo Story (.doc)
AP Ammo Story (.txt)

AP Ammo Picture 1
AP Ammo Picture 2
AP Ammo Picture 3

Among his other achievements, the senior UN official Sergio Vieira de Mello -- killed in the Baghdad bombing -- played a role in helping to rid Cambodia of landmines:
Reuters AlertNet: Cambodia salutes de Mello for mine clearing, peace

A black, black day.

First the horrendous attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad -- the very people trying to rebuild Iraq -- and then a suicide bombing in Jerusalem, just as Israel was on the verge of handing control of Qalqilya and Jericho.

Despite the pressures, the UN must stand firm in its mission in Iraq and the Quartet in its commitment to the Road Map.

More on those "hilarious" photomontages of Saddam Hussein.

Inayat Bunglawala, a spokesman for the Muslim Council of Great Britain says: "I think this type of activity by U.S. forces will only further anger the Muslim population of Iraq. This clear flaunting of Islamic law by displaying pictures of scantily clad women will only add fuel to sentiments that the U.S. is trying to undermine Muslim culture in Iraq. It risks alienating the actual population." (Source: CNN)

Back to the hospital for more leg-related shenanigans.

This morning Ian turned the cast he took yesterday into a clear fibreglass socket, which will form the basis of the new prosthesis.

He gave it to me to try on and checked it for comfort and fit. The most noticeable thing was how much more secure it feels than the limb I have at the moment. Because it's held in place by a pin it feels like it's attached to my leg much more firmly. It's also much more streamlined than the bulky beast I'm wearing at the moment.

Ian marked the areas on the socket he'll cut away and got me to stand up in a metal frame to make sure there were no pressure points.

All looks good so I eagerly await the finished product....

I'm not sure why the Independent's taken two weeks longer than everyone else to pick up on the mine-clearing rats story, but there you go.
Independent: Rats replace dogs to sniff out buried mines

Speaking about the killing of Reuters cameraman Mazen Dana outside a Baghdad prison, French journalist Stephan Breitner insisted: "We were all there for at least half an hour. They knew we were journalists. After they shot Mazen, they aimed their guns at us. I don't think it was an accident. They are very tense. They are crazy." (Source: The Guardian)

I already fear the conclusions of any military investigation into Dana's death will be laughable.

Commenting on the killing by American troops of Reuters cameraman Mazen Dana, a US army spokesman said "Last night we had a terrible tragedy. I can assure you no one feels worse than the soldier who fired the shots."

Maybe, but I suspect Dana's wife Suzana and four children are probably feeling worse right now.

Reuters: Inquiry call after U.S. troops kill cameraman
Reuters: Killed Reuters Cameraman Grew Up in Conflict

"It's not easy to have a picture -- and a picture maybe will cost you your life."
- Mazen Dana

A senator in Thailand calls for the pace of landmine clearance to be speeded up:
Bangkok Post: Demining too slow, hundreds maimed

Work on leg number two is underway!

Leg v1.0 has provided good service but my injured leg has shrunk considerably since it was made as the swelling has gone down. So, I drove down to Cardiff this morning so that a cast could be made for a new prosthesis.

It's going to be different to the last one, in that it's going to have an Iceross suspension system. Rather than sliding on like a slipper, the new leg will click into a pin at the end of a silicone sleeve. The idea is that it's more secure and feels more natural when walking.

Ian covered my leg in plaster of paris strips again and then moulded them in place using an inflatable rubber bladder. The resulting cast was about a third narrower than the one I've got at the moment.

I'm going back to the hospital tomorrow for more technical work and the leg will be ready for collection in a fortnight.

Picture: Casting 1
Picture: Casting 2

The Guardian reports that members of the US Army's 4th Infantry brigade in Tikrit are planning to put up pictures of Saddam Hussein's face superimposed on the bodies of Hollywood actresses Veronica Lake and Zsa Zsa Gabor, as well as Elvis and punk rocker Billy Idol.

The pics have been downloaded from this site.

One of the soldiers responsible for this act of blatant provocation explained the rationale. "Most of the locals will love 'em and they'll be laughing. But the bad guys are going to be upset, which will just make it easier for us to know who they are," he said.

I'm sure the families of the servicemen who are killed by Iraqis who take offence at the posters will also be laughing their heads off, especially since there have been reports for months about hostility in Tikrit towards coalition forces.

The Reuters cameraman Mazen Dana tragically lost his life on Sunday after being shot by US troops.

How a soldier can possibly confuse a video camera with a rocket propelled grenade launcher is beyond belief, but that's exactly what seems to have happened.

Dana was awarded an International Press Freedom Award in 2001 by the Committee to Protect Journalists for his work in the West Bank city of Hebron. His death brings to 17 the number of media workers who have died in Iraq since the war began on March 20. Two others are still missing.

A couple of snippets of landmine news.

The charity, Handicap International, has begun three projects in Iraq, while in Cambodia, mine clearers say the number of casualties will fall to zero by 2013.

The Kansas City Star comments on that George Dubya action figure:
KC Star: Bush toy was not much fun

Maybe it's my age. Correction it is my age. Well, whatever the reason, I'm not sure I get the whole music festival thing.

I've gone 31 years without darkening the door of Glastonbury, Reading or Creamfields so maybe I shouldn't rush to judgement, but it seems to me that the deal is that you pay the best part of a hundred quid to sit on a piece of cardboard in a field with 60,000 other soap dodgers and watch a band you can't see with the naked eye on a big TV screen.

It's like sitting at home with MTV on, only not as much fun because you can't get up and take a pee when you want because there are mile-long queues for the unspeakable portaloos. That would explain why most people don't bother with such bourgeois inventions as toilets and choose instead to piss up against the fence, thereby infusing the site with an aroma not unlike a tramp's Y-fronts.

Add discarded beer mugs and fast food cartons up to your ankles, thousands of people off their faces at two o'clock in the afternoon and security staff that represent the missing link between homo habilis and modern man and there you have it -- the authentic "festival vibe."

Still, the skateboarding was cool.

Picture: V Festival
Picture: MAG stall at the V Festival

BBC News Online: Crowds flock to V Festival