By Dose Is All Swollen Ub

It's true. On Thursday and Friday I just thought it was migraine. Then after my headache cleared the nose hurt to touch. Today it looks visibly bigger. I scared myself online self diagnosing and even though there is a virtual three line whip on us attending the team meeting which begins in about an hour's time, I really need to go to the doctor's. One more day and who knows how bad it can get. Last time I had anything like this the whole side of my face began swelling up within a couple of days.

Just woke up dreaming about open cast coal mines - or rather, on in particular that I paid a visit to. Hundreds were streaming in to help themselves to some coal. I was with a part of people that seemed to made up of former work colleagues. We arrived in some sort of bus or train on a platform above the open cast. When we stopped it took me so long to get my coat on, etc. that I was the only person left onboard.

PC Simon Harwood is due in court today for killing Ian Tomlinson. Let's hope justice previals, for once.

[Follow Up - Tomlinson Faces Trial At Old Bailey ] <- watch this space

When I was staying with my parents in Devon, back in March, I sat watching the news with them, just after being on Twitter. I'd been mainly following Tweets from Egypt and Libya, and other countries in that region which were beginning to experience serious unrest.

I immediately noticed a massive discrepency between what I'd seen on Twitter and what I was seeing on the news. The BBC were still insisting on referring to the ceasefire which it said was in place, hours after it had become clear on Twitter that the ceasefire had in fact broken down. In fact one reporter even tried to say that there was no ceasefire during a live report and was interrupted by the anchor guy who then immediately went back to the same cease-fire in place fiction. I can't pretend to understand what was going on there, but it does seem to be pretty much the usual thing for the BBC to lag behind actual news in such situations, and yet quite happy to speculate in other situations. My guess is that in very delicate international situations like this they tend to lag behind and take the conservative viewpoint until it becomes clear what the line they need to take is. The line they need to take is the one issued by the government. And before anyone shouts me down about this, it's been clear to me that the BBC does take its orders from the UK government during situations like this. I've heard direct accounts from ex BBC reporters that they've been in the office when the government minister called through, etc. You hear a lot of these stories when you're active on the left, though precious few ever get into print.

The other issue was in Egypt. I ranted to the telly, annoying parents who were swallowing the official line, hook and sinker too, that a revolution had taken place. Noone seemed to be under that illusion in Egypt. It was clear that the military, who had taken charge, were carrying out a damage limitation exercise. Again, knowledge of history here tells you all you need to know (It's funny that I constantly had that old saw about not knowing history and being doomed to repeat it ranted at me by middle-class twots who it turns out know absolutely F-all about history themselves. My old saw about history is a fine line between history and propaganda - which then just ends up confusing the stupid). I've read extensively about Latin America, so I could see fairly standard stuff going on here. Activists were being rounded up and imprisoned, or even tortured, and the BBC wasn't reporting any of it. Preparations were being made for an election to ensure that the right candidates stood, and that even more important, the right candidate wins.

anyway - latest on the Egyptian situation from the world socialist Web Site