Clare, Short on Integrity

I have recently heard some ill-informed guff regarding Clare Short's view on the Iraq war, brought back to public attention by her recent evidence to the Chilcot enquiry. What I have found particularly hard to digest is the assertion amongst some friends that she somehow embodies the 'integrity' long lost to the bulk of the political classes.

Sorry to demur, but Short is a busted-flush, lapping up her last few rays of an Indian summer in the limelight. She lacked the courage to resign when she ought to have (like dear Robin Cook), instead weakly voting to GO to war. She has since proved herself so bitter-and-twisted and full of regret that she simply cannot be trusted in her public pronouncements. Simply put: she didn't make proper use of the influence she wielded at that time and her sincerity is therefore in question. I find it hard to forgive her feebleness in the face of Tony Blair's protestations.

Where was her integrity when it mattered?

[Fwiw, I was very much against the incursion into Iraq.]

The new Pelham 1-2-3 hits the buffers

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3.

Oh dear, where do I begin. Perhaps if I'd entered the cinema with low expectations and no knowledge of the original (there was an adequate TV version too) I may have been satisfied (just). However, this was not the case, and comparison to the '70s gem staring Matthau, Balsam and Shaw led to a sinking feeling of let-down. Whereas the original was driven by character actors at the top of their game and an amusingly snappy script, this effort was hampered by being a vehicle for two ageing überstars (Denzel Washington and John Travolta), who frankly have seen better days (and scripts), and the Tony Scott treatment of crash, bang, wallop of chases, shoot-outs and what appeared to be a large budget which just had to be spent to the final penny. The little humour which remained of the original was vestigial and poorly rendered. Even John Turtorro, an actor of talent and class depicts a barely one-dimensional Fed simply idling through the motions via F, B and I.

Perhaps a youngster with no knowledge of this film's excellent forebear would be entertained, but this child-of-the-sixties was not impressed at all. I think I'm about to sneeze…