IT'S been an interesting two weeks on Sky News. The West has a strange and obsessive preoccupation with polls. There are polls for anything and everything and modern technology has taken the phone in poll to new levels - the 'press the red button' poll is now with us, with somewhat worrying results in recent days.

If Sky News' poll is to be believed, the British electorate wavers between just 37 per cent agreeing with poodle PM Blair's support for American military action against Iraq on one day, and a whopping 98 per cent proffering their allegiance the next day. How can this be? Interestingly the 98 per cent day was that of the Countryside March - dare I suggest that all intelligent thinking souls were on the streets leaving only ignorant bigots with remote controls to hand... surely not... but it does merit a moment's thought.

Whatever the reasons, expatriates throughout the Emirates seem baffled by Britain's apparent indecision. Not to say outraged by the fact that, although we pay for the channel, those of us who watch overseas are unable to vote in its polls. And so the people who actually understand the issue, and will be most affected by it, are those who have no say in the matter whatsoever. Sadly not a new scenario, but a poignant one. If we are to believe that politicians do actually take note of poll results (and the evidence is that they do) this is very worrying indeed. Thanks to technology, the world could well be influenced by those who have so much world experience that they chose to live and comment from their living rooms via 'the box'... excellent. It's enough to make you hurl the wretched thing into the swimming pool.

And so, in the absence of any concrete decisions from politicians, we are left to speculate about what the next few months will bring. Whilst pondering what seems an uncertain future for those of us sitting comfortably in the Emirates, it is time to spare a thought for those who will be in the thick of the action if and when it takes place. Life for the average Iraqi has been intolerable over the past decade. Imagine trying to live with the prospect of 'intolerable' worsening.

As the JCBs rolled into Ramallah last week that is exactly what happened in Palestine... but with the focus on Iraq, that appears to be an issue that, bizarrely, is being put on the proverbial back burner. If there is one thing that proves that those in power have their priorities absolutely wrong it must surely be the issue of Palestine. Bush's comment that Israel's actions were "not helpful" must surely rank as the greatest understatement of all time.

On the subject of Bush's statements here's another thought. Have you ever stopped to wonder just why the White House denizen seems incapable of getting a sentence out in one go? Well I think I've cracked it. Whilst relaying a phone conversation to a third party this week I realised that my bursts of three- or four-word part sentences sounded uncannily like Bush Jr. All I have to do now is spot the earpiece that links him to the puppet controller and I'll have my proof. And while we're on the subject of the banal but frighteningly influential rhetoric that springs forth, I have a project for you. Get a copy of the movie Tombstone and watch it. Then think back to Bush's speech in the immediate aftermath of September 11 - the 'you can run but you cannot hide' call to action that galvanized the world into action a year ago... comments on a postcard please.

Call me cynical if you will. I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that we are being manipulated by rhetoric with about as much substance as romantic fiction. I hope it is not prophetic that the instructions given on Sky News for those who wish to have their vote count is 'press the red button'...