2001-09-16 - 5:19 p.m.

"I personally do not believe in burning the flag. It's a personal belief, but I'll tell you something, I think people are overreacting, oh, just a little bit. 'Hey buddy, my daddy died for that flag.' Well, I bought mine.�

What a grim week. I hope you�re managing to find glints of hope, optimism.

Speaking of appropriate responses to acts of terrorism, I find that drinking yourself into next Thursday usually goes some way to easing the anxiety. Of course, everything is re-contextualised (note to self: check meaning of this word) now. You go to the pub in the context of disaster. You drink more White Russians than is good for you in the context of disaster. You read the newspapers with a sumo-sized hangover in the context of disaster. The news is terrorism news. The travel pages are terrorism travel. Terrorism Sports. Terrorism TV listings. Terrorism alcohol low. Horribly drunk. Some guy is trying to tell me that he doesn�t have any feelings of sympathy for anyone involved, including the victims, which kind of sobered the table. Whilst obviously a reprehensible attitude, trying to rationalise this, I think it was a reaction to the way that the media segregates loss of life, apportioning importance as it sees fit. 30,000 people die in an earthquake in India in February. Did I even read about it? Should I care less about these people than the merchant bankers? Where was the memorial service for the peasants? The international outcry? Just because they�re not from Manhattan they�re off the media's fucking love list? I�m not saying that we shouldn�t care about the banker. OF COURSE I'M NOT. What I�m saying is this: If any good can come from Tuesday, it should be that the importance attached to the loss of ANY innocent life should be strengthened, not demeaned, not a new currency to trade in. If one innocent person in Afghanistan dies, we are no better than the hijacker steering a plane into a skyscraper.

�We will not make a distinction between the terrorists and those that fed and housed them.� This is a ridiculous statement, even by Bush�s standards. Why, in that case are you not bombing Germany over the weekend? Most of the people involved were probably housed and fed in the US. Are you going to bomb Miami and Boston? Stop the propaganda, just for a second. By the way, is it true that the CNN footage of Palestinians celebrating is actually from 1991?

The newspapers have a new mantra. This is the worst act of terrorism committed against Britons ever. Nice one, guys.

�Sorry. You know they sell them at K-Mart for three bucks, you're in, you're out, brand new flag, no violence was necessary.�

One thing is pretty clear. Religion is fucking us. We don�t need it any more. I don�t care if you�re Jerry Falwell or Arrafat or the Pope. Religion has fucked everything. Time to evolve new ideas.

Where�s Bill when you need him, eh?

'Hey buddy, my daddy died in the Korean war for that flag.' What a coincidence - my flag was made in Korea."

Today�s special guest