When visiting Parliament Square one time I was surprised when Brian Haw offered me money. "Richard do you want some money?" It does not seem right to take money from someone who is living in impoverished circumstances. After all Brian Haw was living outside on the side of the street, sleeping between two billboards propped up against each other. Even so Brian handed me a crisp twenty, with a twinkle in his eye.
I never did spend that 20 smackers, do not know where it is now though. The very money note is the one a the bottom of the picture. I believe this currency was donated to the Brian Haw peace camp by an artist if I remember correctly.
Saddam Hussein lost the currency war before military defeat. His currency had little more value than the twenty deceptions currency of Tony Blair that at least had the value of making people laugh.
Iraq currency from the time of President Saddam Hussein, Saddam Husayn Al-Tikriti, from a London shop that specialises in selling banknotes to collectors, photographed with an unauthentic satirical none-banknote with the apparent likeness of Tony Blair replacing the images of Queen Elizabeth II, with the words twenty deceptions, replacing the more usual words twenty pounds.
Before the invasion of Iraq the proposed reason for going to war was initially because of September 11th. When it was noted that there was no connection between Iraq and ‘September 11th’, the reason was changed ‘to remove the weapons of mass destruction’. When the invasion was complete and the ‘weapons of mass destruction’ proved to be nonexistent as the evidence had always indicated, the reasons were discreetly altered retrospectively ‘to remove President Saddam Hussein.’ When Saddam Hussein was barbarically executed after a questionable trial, the British public were horrified. The reason then shifted ‘to create a democracy’. When the democratic Iraqi Parliament voted for the British troops to leave by an earlier date than agreed the British Prime minister and Iraq President, the Iraqi Parliamentary decision was disregarded it was reported because of legal niceties. That leaves the search was a reason for the invasion, ongoing.
Date: 03/01/2007
Location: London, UK
Photographer: richard keith wolff
