Hello Universe!!!

What was life like BB - before blogging? I've finally joined the ranks of online ranters. Well, I've been running a little blog since April for Jubilee Iraq, a campaign working to ensure the Iraqi people aren't forced to pay debts which were accumulated by Saddam and not spent to their benefit. That blog was just meant be an easy way of updating news, but quickly became an obsession, part of the rhythm of my life. So I've scrapped my ancient website (which was last updated so long ago that it had become very embarrasing, like photos of decade-old hairdos) and set up this blog instead.

Despite being online since 1995, having a website since 1996 and spending far too much time online, I only stubbled across blogging in September 2002. The British Council ran an excellent weblog - The Daily Summit - from the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Joburg - it was amazing getting upto the minute updates from on the ground of the developments and rumours - quite unlike any journalism I'd experienced before.

In the run up to the invasion of Iraq I stumbled across an intriguing webloger Salam Pax posting from Baghdad. His eloguent, humerous and honest commentary on life in Iraq in early 2003 was very powerful. I had hoped to go to Iraq to join the Iraq Peace Team and try and prevent war by reporting the stories of ordinary Iraqis back to Britain. The idea was to help Iraqis be hear in Britain to demonstate that the country was not just inhabited by one evil dictator but by 26 million complex beautiful human beings. Anyhow, for family reasons I didn't go, but my heart was in Iraq. Hence Salam's weblog was particularly important for me. As an aside, a journalist from the Guardian asked me whether Salam was genuine (some people were saying his blog was a fake as propoganda by the CIA or Ba'athists) and I explained that the details he revealed about daily life in Baghdad fitted with my knowledge from a visit in May 2001 and that is character and opinons were too complex, too human, to be propoganda. The Guardian decided he was genuine and published an article. Now, three months later, Salam has his own forthnightly column in the Guardian!

Here is a linksite I've been putting together today on the future of Iraq. Rather dumb of me sitting in my room chasing links and missing all the gorgeous sunshine today... so I'm going to stop now and go rollerblading in Hyde Park before the sun sets. Cheerio.