Monday, March 22, 2010

Back in the loop

For all yesterday's protestations of disengagement, I did read Green Zone: Imperial Life in the Emerald City while I was away.

I'd also downloaded In The Loop from the BBC IPlayer to watch in Italy, but decided on reflection that a film with a swearing consultant in the credits was probably best not shared with a nine year old; he tended to relax with CBBC's Deadly 60.

I watched the movie last night, and lines like "You know they're all kids in Washington? It's like Bugsy Malone, but with real guns," really resonated after reading about a twenty-four-year-old who had never worked in finance being put in charge of revitalising Baghdad's stock exchange in the Green Zone book.

There's also a lot in the film about the tension between the State Department and the Pentagon that might have eluded me if I hadn't been primed by Imperial Life.

At least I am back on the bridge with a full load of scepticism ready for the Prime Minister's speech about "his vision for a new digital Britain in a major speech" this morning.

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