05:27 p.m., Monday, November 26, 2001
Those of you who wanted vengence in this 'war' - does this make you feel better?

"Kandahar may not be the Taliban Stalingrad ­ not yet ­ but tragedy was the word that came to mind. Out of a dust-storm came a woman in a grey shawl. "I lost my daughter two days ago,'' she wailed. "The Americans bombed our home in Kandahar and the roof fell on her.'' Amid the chaos and shouting, I did what reporters do. Out came my notebook and pen. Name? "Muzlifa.'' Age? "She was two.'' I turn away. "Then there was my other daughter.'' She nods when I ask if this girl died too. "At the same moment. Her name was Farigha. She was three.'' I turn away. "There wasn't much left of my son.'' Notebook out for the third time. "When the roof hit him, he was turned to meat and all I could see were bones. His name was Sherif. He was a year and a half old.''

"They came out of a blizzard of sand, these people, each with their story of blood. Shukria Gul told her story more calmly. eneath her burqa, she sounded like a teenager. "My husband Mazjid was a labourer. We have two children, our daughter Rahima and our son Talib. Five days ago, the Americans hit a munitions dump in Kandahar and the bullets came through our house. My husband was killed. He was 25.''"
[by Beth]

05:18 p.m., Monday, November 26, 2001
I've heard many times that courts are far more liable to jail women than men for comparable offences. Now the Prison Service in the UK is converting a third jail for female inmates.

I am strongly of the opinion that we jail people far too readily in this country anyway. Sure, there are some people who I think need to be locked away to protect the general population, but I think large numbers could be far better reeducated, more use, and less of a drain on society in reeducation programmes and suchlike than they are in jail.
[by Beth]