The News

There seems to be something of a news overload at the moment. Some sort of mini round-up would appear to be in order.

Harriet Miers, the woman nominated to the Supreme Court by President Bush, has decided she doesn’t want to be a judge after all. She's never been one before so I guess that's understandable. Still, this will be a great loss to the US government as she was undoubtedly uniquely qualified for the role. Well, I say uniquely qualified. In fact, she has very similar qualifications to those of Michael you're doing a heck of a job Brown. Yes, they are both people the President calls friends. Well, in the case of Miers, I feel it's only appropriate to quote the wise words of Nelson Muntz: “Ha Ha”.

The Iranian President has been trying to prove that he's got a bigger sabre with an even greater rattle potential than either the British or US government. I suspect this is bluster and rhetoric, striking a pose for the benefit of Muslim/Arab public opinion. Who knew that the President of Iran knew how to Vouge? It is still a troubling escalation in tension though. It reminds me of warnings which were issued before the invasion of Iraq. I seem to remember that some people said that such an invasion would make the Middle East a more dangerous and unstable place. Were they right, I wonder? And were the US and UK government's right to ignore those warnings? It's something to think about.

The government's latest Terrorism Bill was voted on for the first time in the House of Commons last night. It passed with a majority of 378. WTF? As far as I can tell from reading various blogs from different sides of the political spectrum, this bill is opposed by the majority of people in this country (OK, I know, it's hardly scientific). Who actually supports the Bill, apart from the Blairites? I don't really know. All is not lost though; the Conservatives are planning to oppose the 90 day internment proposal at a later stage. That's better than nothing I suppose. Who is it who actually leads Conservative strategy at the moment anyway? Is it still Michael Howard? Sort it out people, for goodness sake. I have to admit that as a liberal leftie, I find it rather uncomfortable to be relying on the Tories to stop this authoritarian nonsense. What has happened to the Labour Party?

And, to no-one's surprise, more evidence has emerged to further prove that Cherie Blair is a freeloading stranger to dignity (that phrase courtesy of Justin). It concerns those highly paid speeches she gave at charity fundraising events in Australia.

According to The Australian newspaper, the watchdog Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV), acting on a tip-off, found that only 8%, or 15,800 Australian dollars, of the 192,000 Australian dollars raised from the evening made it back to the CCIA for cancer research, with 176,000 Australian dollars absorbed in paying for the dinner and guest speakers.

Is there a medical condition with symptoms including a complete inability to feel even the slightest hint of shame? Perhaps the poor woman is ill. Or should that be sick?

There's lot more going on but that's all for now. I'm off to see if can track down some good news for a change.

Update
It occurs to me that I've made a slight error in this post. The Iranian President appealing to Arab/Muslim public opinion? True enough, but I should really have added Persian to that list, what with a large percentage of Iranians being Persians and all. Humblest apologies.