PeterBlood goes to Lisbon

Serious scholars still debate whether the Civil War was necessary, never mind the more obvious "wars of choice" such as World War I, the War of 1812, the Spanish-American War, the Korean War, wars in Vietnam and Kosovo, and the Persian Gulf War. To a certain brand of American isolationist, even World War II was unnecessary and counterproductive. So there is nothing remarkable about polls showing Americans wondering whether the recent Iraq war was "worth it." It is a great American myth, voiced by John Kerry last year, that the nation goes to war only when there is no question about the necessity of going to war.

NEW YORK--Oriana Fallaci faces jail. In her mid-70s, stricken with a cancer that, for the moment, permits only the consumption of liquids--so yes, we drank champagne in the course of a three-hour interview--one of the most renowned journalists of the modern era has been indicted by a judge in her native Italy under provisions of the Italian Penal Code which proscribe the "vilipendio," or "vilification," of "any religion admitted by the state."

In her case, the religion deemed vilified is Islam, and the vilification was perpetrated, apparently, in a book she wrote last year--and which has sold many more than a million copies all over Europe--called "The Force of Reason." Its astringent thesis is that the Old Continent is on the verge of becoming a dominion of Islam, and that the people of the West have surrendered themselves fecklessly to the "sons of Allah." So in a nutshell, Oriana Fallaci faces up to two years' imprisonment for her beliefs--which is one reason why she has chosen to stay put in New York. Let us give thanks for the First Amendment.

U.S. marines watching the skyline from their second-story perch in an abandoned house here saw a curious thing: In the distance, mortar rounds and gunfire popped, but the volleys did not seem to be aimed at them.

In the dark, one marine spoke in hushed code words on a radio, and after a minute found the answer. "Red on red," he said late Sunday night, using a military term for enemy-on-enemy fire.

I am saddened by the unhelpful attitude of John Simpson, editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, for declining to take on board the concerns of the British Potato Council, campaigning for the removal of the term "couch potato" from the dictionary - which is deterring people from making more use of this nutritious vegetable (Couch potato label gives veg a bad name, June 20).
As one who has spent much of his life in the fruit and vegetable business, I can vouch for the fact that there are a great many terms in the English language that give needless pain to the sensitive greengrocer. We deplore derogatory descriptions such as "cabbage head", "prune face", "cauliflower ears". These have a negative impact on our business by making all such produce unattractive. Who is going to buy raspberries if people insist on blowing them?
Even seemingly innocuous terms like "fruity" and "nutty" give grave offence to vegans such as myself. People should show more sensitivity and refrain from all such loose talk.
Jeremy Hart
Buckfastleigh, Devon