Hoping some UK people (ie wintermute, there are others, but you're the only one I know for sure is from there) can take a look at this. Something I was reading in "The Nation" (left-wing political mag for those of you that don't know). I was wondering...is any of it really true? Because up to that point in the article, I was agreeing with at least some of what the writer said. But this part got me thinking he was just a nut. Maybe not though....I'm not in a position to say. Anyways, enough talk, here's the part of the article I'm talking about.

jon

"...Blair--with the whole Western world to tell him so, except for a few sour voices back home--is America's eloquent White Knight, the fearless, trusty champion of that ever-delicate child of the mid-Atlantic, the Special Relationship. Whether that will win Blair favor with his electorate is another matter, because he was elected to save the country from decay, and not from Osama bin Laden. The Britain he is leading to war is a monument to sixty years of administrative incompetence. Our health, education and transport systems are on the rocks. The fashionable phrase these days describes them as "Third World," but there are places in the Third World that are far better off than Britain.

The Britain Blair governs is blighted by institutionalized racism, white male dominance, chaotically administered police forces, a constipated judicial system, obscene private wealth and shameful and unnecessary public poverty. At the time of his re-election, which was characterized by a dismal turnout, Blair acknowledged these ills and humbly admitted that he was on notice to put them right. So when you catch the noble throb in his voice as he leads us reluctantly to war, and your heart lifts to his undoubted flourishes of rhetoric, it's worth remembering that he may also be warning you, sotto voce, that his mission to mankind is so important that you will have to wait another year for your urgent medical operation and a lot longer before you can ride in a safe and punctual train..."