the year is almost ending...

Saddam Hussein was executed at dawn local time in Iraq. The dictator is dead. He was an evil man but Bush's foreign policy on Iraq was undoubtedly a failure. The President of the USA may try and bask in his execution as something positive and something that his country created by itself. I have a feeling Bush will try and saturate himself in it and that is not the point. It shouldn't be about ego, it should be about the Iraqi people's new beginnings. Prove me wrong George!

Politics hangs as a shadow over our lives and will continue to do so because it is just an elements so important to our survival. I don't know what implications his death will have on us but something tells me the consequences are going to be big whether in a positive way or a bad way. I was watching the BBC this morning and they said that the US embassies worldwide are on high alert. The moment he died is going to be a testing time for the Allied Forces so security needs to be seriously tight because anything could happen as far as I am concerned.

What are your reactions? I think his half-brother was executed too. Iraq has now got a 'new beginning' superficially and I hope that they finally get the chance to live in their country and rule themselves without Bush's colonial eye looking over them.

~A

''don't tell me to shut up''

Every night, the thought of going to work just fills me with dread like every other person in this crazy world! When my mobile phone alarm rings, I just know that I am going to be running to catch 2 buses which are never on time all to go to work. Now, of course the world runs on the thought that product = service.

Mrs X, I will do my best to help you but please do not try and shout down on me on the phone - I am just the lonely middlewoman - the real sharks are at the top ! Go to BBC and get a tv camera and take them down. S'il vous plait, do NOT shout at me like I am your little child who throws flour all over the kitchen floor to spite you because Madame, I did not come from your womb which means you cannot shout at me. Simple. As. That.

Mrs X, telling an operator to hush her/his mouth when they are trying to help you has its' consequences: one would be tough London gangster assigning me to destroy your china collection (which of course I would do better than any little rank and file soldier).

I cannot actually believe that people can be so rude but so are the ways of the world right? I put the phone down on Mrs X and it felt great!

~A

P/S - Have a good weekend everyone! I am going to see Deja Vu tomorrow with my older man husband Denzel Washington. He is too *delicious*

and what about the women?

The murders of 5 prostitutes in Suffolk, England have prompted an outcry from the public and of course the media are spewing out their best epithets (Suffolk Stranger, Ipswich Ripper etc). It is an absolutely crazy situation but it has got me thinking about a woman's safety. It was terrifying watching as the bodies piled up and tragically one of the women was pregnant when she was murdered. The maniac who is killing these women must be stopped - that is obvious. Yet what isn't so obvious to some people is the fact that because they were prostitutes, there is almost a false type of security from some women, believing that he or she is only targeting prostitutes. True, these women were drug addicts and became sex workers to support their addiction but we have to ask ourselves: do we as society let some people fade away because they made the wrong choices? I am in no way judging their families and friends who most likely tried so hard to claim their loved ones back. My question is to the general public -- when will we stop kidding ourselves that it only happens to other people?

These women are fallen angels, robbed of a second chance by some sociopath who will most likely show no remorse. It does raise interesting questions about prostitution and whether it should be legalised in the UK. I am no expert so I can only voice my opinions. Women as creatures are vulnerable anyway let alone walking the dark alleys at night, hoping to see multiple Queen's heads folded on banknotes in the early hours of the morning, after a night of empty sex. These women must be protected, not slammed for making the wrong choice.

The clock is ticking and the culprit is most likely basking the glory of being talked about. I hate that I am adding to it but I felt compelled to write about this which has been claimed as one of the worst serial killings in the UK for decades not to mention that they were all completed in less than a fortnight.

~A

code red!

Dear Racist,

You think you are clever. You think that what you say is like liquid gold. Excuse my sneer as I type: I hardly think making a statement such as ''((music of black origin??? (if it's black why are all your "stars" rapidly becoming white????) more like music of cuntphlap origin. just fuck off and listen to tounami diabate.'' makes you clever, smart or patriotic. In fact, it makes you a complete idiot. I can't be sophisticated with my words on the topic of you because you are absolutely pathetic. Did you know that your beloved genre of rock music had its foundations built on the music of black americans such as Jimi Hendrix who most people agree is the best guitarist who ever lived...oh and by the way, he is black just incase you forgot when you were reading Q, Mojo or Kerrang. Furthermore, your usage of the word ''gwarn'' is from Jamaican Patwa which in this case is an English-based Creole originally spoken by the black slaves of the island so they could all communicate with each other because they were from different African tribes. You may use it in a different context but simply it coming out of your mouth darkens your voicebox significantly or does it because if I am using it in the wrong context please please correct me after you fill out your membership form for the British National Party.

Racist, you have to admit that seeing crazily talented black footballers such as Thierry Henry ruling the English Premiership must hurt you. I know it does. But I suggest you take a gap year to get over yourself because the United Kingdom is ethnically diverse and will remain so. Every ethnic minority in Britain ranging from Asian to Syrian has the right to legally live here if they enter legally. I know I did so you better love it because we are all here to stay and I will love rolling up in your own town owning it as mine because I know in my heart I have more white friends than you would ever dream of having. But that doesn't mean I want to be white as you believe that black music stars do or even as black people in general as I am sure you think but were too scared to write. It just means I respect people who are cool to me regardless of their colour. This isn't intended to change you. I couldn't care less about you or your insignificant life. All that matters is that racism is stamped out. You never know, your ancestors may have been a dark Moor or a mixed race Welsh woman (Shirley Bassey, is she related to you? she is black and you have the same cafe au lait skin as her...but hold on, she is pretty so I take that back!)

Live it and Love it,

~Furious

the end of the road...

I am leaving tomorrow. I can hardly believe it. My short sejour which during the long days drove me nuts yet gave me so much joke during the good ones is at an end. What have I learned from this French West Indian island?

1) Always have Martinique stamped on your clothes in some shape or form! This can be achieved by wearing Martinique shirts which go for 25 euros each. It ensures your integration into an island in which the postal code of Martinique, 972 represents the island better than its actual telephone code, 596.

2) If you are a woman, don't even try and roll with the boys because you will be seen as a 'salope' faster than Marion Jones can run in the Olympic Games. Further advice to women: don't wear high heels on campus unless you want to be stared at as if you are Thierry Henry's girlfriend.

3) The only anthem that can be blasted from your car stereo here is Chamillionaire's 'Rollin' so if you even have a different taste of music to that genre, cancel your ticket to Fort-de-France!

Don't take any of the above too seriously lol. I am feeling very wistful and nervous about leaving my island. It has become ingrained in me already but I know it is time to leave. I am going to Barbados for the weekend then back to Bristol to commence preparations for Paris because non-immigrant aliens like me lol have to suffer for those visas!

The name of this blog will change once I arrive in Paris but as for now, it will change into my own presonal blog with what is going on in the life of a student trying to learn the impossible language that is French. England is sure to have many crazy stories so keep your eyes on this page...

I don't want to reflect on leaving Martinique as I feel so sad but leaving this place means those who want pictures will see them soon...if they are lucky.

World Aids Day -- Keep fighting.

A