I do not breathe your politics

"Comment is free but facts are sacred." (C.P. Scott)
Sunday, January 29, 2006

Best. President. Ever.

By way of contrast to current events, this story makes interesting reading. What happens at Davos is basically unlikely to have any impact on the USA at all, but it seems that even in retirement, this President Clinton might. AP stories often seem to end on a throwaway as if to avoid coming to a conclusion that might limit their market, and this is no different:
Klaus Schwab, the forum's founder and organizer, asked Clinton to advise the next U.S. president, noting that this person might either be married to Clinton or listening in the audience -- an apparent reference to Sen. John McCain, seated in the first row along with Microsoft's Bill Gates and other invitees. "In this world full of culturally charged issues I think we should make it clear that Senator McCain and I are not married," Clinton joked as the audience burst into laughter. The comment earned Clinton a slap on the back from the Arizona Republican, who fought a crowd to get to the former president after the event. "Interesting talk," said the beaming possible 2008 presidential contender. "You got us both in trouble!"
With articles like this, it seems to me that you need to rewind back before the whimsical end to see the real conclusion. In this case you see Clinton playing the ex-president, subtly criticising the line given to Bush by his advisers. It's dangerous for them not to talk to Hamas, and this puts the idea out there in a way that makes it very hard for those advisers to hit back. Right/left schism or not, Clinton is still referred to, like all his living predecessors, as "Mr President", which causes those advisers to pull their punches. You'll not see Scott McClellan railing against Clinton from the podium, unless he has absolutely no other way to distract the press corps from Abramoff-related issues.

posted by Michael at 1/29/2006 02:58:00 AM 0 comments  

Friday, January 27, 2006

Whose defence is it anyway?

According to The Washington Post:
Attorneys for Vice President Cheney's former top aide urged a court yesterday to force prosecutors to turn over all the information they obtained from reporters about their confidential conversations with Bush administration sources in the course of a two-year CIA leak investigation.
This is a clever tactic. A defence lawyer is surely entitled to all the information needed to construct a defence of a prosecutor's claims. The question here is, whose defence? If all the evidence is handed over to Libby's team of constitutional landsharks, it will not just be of value to Libby. Fitzgerald's investigation, particularly of Rove, is not over. The article continues:
Fitzgerald has asserted that Libby is not entitled to information about all the reporters questioned in the investigation if the government does not expect to use their information or call them as witnesses in Libby's trial, the filings said.
Fitzgerald is wise to the possibility that whoever is on Libby's team now will be on Cheney or Rove's team in the future. OK, probably not Rove, since he likely contributed to sinking his colleague, but you never know. And as Mr Waits cautions us, you can't unring a bell.

posted by Michael at 1/27/2006 10:56:00 AM 0 comments  

Thursday, January 05, 2006

Wanted: criminal justice reform

Can we have a law like this? pleeeeease? From (ugh, sorry, but theirs is the best this time) The Times:
Signor Cascioli's one-man campaign came to a head at a court hearing last April when he lodged his accusations of "abuse of popular credulity" and "impersonation", both offences under the Italian penal code. He argued that all claims for the existence of Jesus from sources other than the Bible stem from authors who lived "after the time of the hypothetical Jesus" and were therefore not reliable witnesses.
Abuse of popular credulity. If such a law were to be found in UK statutes, there would be a groove worn in the streets between Downing Street and the High Court.

posted by Michael at 1/05/2006 03:21:00 AM 0 comments