'Common Ground' Caucus
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/07/AR200703070=
2042.html
Four Leaders Seek Ideas -- and Civility
By David S. Broder
Thursday, March 8, 2007; Page A23
It was not nostalgia or a desire for companionship that brought four
former Senate leaders together in a meeting room on Capitol Hill on
Tuesday morning, but rather a sense of alarm at the breakdown in
civility and at the fierce partisanship that has infected Congress and
blocked action on national priorities.
Politely but firmly, not wanting to criticize their successors in what
styles itself a great deliberative body, the two Republicans and two
Democrats who once tried to run the place warned that something has
gone awry.
Three Good Options for The Right
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/07/AR200703070=
2043.html
By George F. Will
Thursday, March 8, 2007; Page A23
The axiom is as old as human striving: The perfect is the enemy of the
good. In politics this means that insisting on perfection in a
candidate interferes with selecting a satisfactory one.
Which is why the mood of many of the 6,300 people, lots of them
college age, who registered at last week's Conservative Political
Action Conference here, was unreasonably morose. Sponsored annually by
the American Conservative Union, CPAC is the conservative movement's
moveable feast. Many at CPAC seemed depressed by the fact, as they see
it, that the top three Republican candidates -- John McCain, Mitt
Romney and Rudy Giuliani-- are flawed. Such conservatives should
conduct a thought experiment.
A Verdict on the Wilson Affair
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/07/AR200703070=
2045.html
By Robert D. Novak
Thursday, March 8, 2007; Page A23
Denis Collins, a Washington journalist on the Scooter Libby jury,
described sentiments in the jury room reflecting those in the Senate
Democratic cloakroom: "It was said a number of times. . . . Where's
Rove? Where are these other guys?" Besides presidential adviser Karl
Rove, he surely meant Vice President Cheney and maybe President Bush.
Oddly, the jurors appeared uninterested in hearing from Richard
Armitage, the source of the CIA leak.
"It's about time," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, rejoicing
in the guilty verdicts against Libby, that "someone in the Bush
administration has been held accountable for the campaign to
manipulate intelligence and discredit war critics." But Libby was
found guilty only of lying about how he learned of Valerie Plame's
identity. Reid and Democratic colleagues were after much bigger game
than Cheney's chief of staff.
'What Has Happened to ***** Cheney?'
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/07/AR200703070=
2044.html
By Jim Hoagland
Thursday, March 8, 2007; Page A23
Is the vice president losing his influence, or perhaps his mind? That
question, even if it is phrased more delicately, is creeping through
foreign ministries and presidential offices abroad and has become a
factor in the Bush administration's relations with the world.
"What has happened to ***** Cheney?" That solicitous but direct
question came from a European statesman who has known the vice
president for many years. He put it to me a few days ago -- even
before the discovery of a blood clot in Cheney's leg and the perjury
conviction of Scooter Libby, his former chief of staff, brought
headline attention to the volatile state of the vice president's
physical, emotional and political health.
Building a Biofuels Alliance
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/07/AR200703070=
2046.html
How Brazil Can Be a Part of American 'Energy Independence'
By Paulo Sotero and Edward Alden
Thursday, March 8, 2007; Page A23
President Bush and Congress have promoted the increased use of
biofuels such as ethanol as key to achieving American "energy
independence." But breaking free of the U.S. reliance on imported oil
will require diplomatic skill as well as homegrown solutions. The
agreement that Bush will ink with Brazil this week is an excellent
place to start.
Together, Brazil and the United States produce more than 70 percent of
the world's ethanol. Cooperation in developing and spreading
technologies for ethanol production, setting common international
standards and opening new markets for alternative fuels could pay big
dividends for both economies while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The initiative could also help shore up the United States'
deteriorating standing in the region by acknowledging that Brazil is
the largest and most stable democracy in Latin America.
Let the Trucks Roll
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/07/AR200703070=
2152.html
Is Congress going to apply the brakes to the benefits of U.S.-Mexico
trade?
Thursday, March 8, 2007; Page A22
ANOTHER ANTI-NAFTA pile-on is brewing in Washington this week. Even
though the United States has gained jobs, wealth and goodwill from the
regional trade pact, for years opponents of free trade have tried to
persuade American leaders to ditch one of the agreement's most benign
provisions -- allowing Mexican freight trucks onto American roads.
When the United States signed the treaty in 1993, it promised to allow
such trucks in, scheduling implementation for 2000. But lobbying from
the Teamsters and others with economic turf to protect have held that
up -- until now.
Finally, after years of lawsuits, congressional meddling and cross-
border negotiation, the Transportation Department and its Mexican
counterpart have announced that they will pursue a "demonstration
project" allowing trucks from 100 screened Mexican carriers to use
American roadways freely. Under the program, U.S. inspectors working
in Mexico will thoroughly vet the carriers, including every truck and
every driver they send over the border, checking for such things as
safety features, U.S.-licensed insurance coverage and knowledge of
U=2ES. traffic signs. After the year-long demonstration phase, the
Mexican undersecretary for transportation says, the two governments
plan to allow all carriers from both countries access to each other's
highways, and U.S. officials say that the inspection regime will be
comparably extensive then.
Mr. Bush at Bay
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/07/AR200703070=
2145.html
But in this accountability moment, there is a way back.
Thursday, March 8, 2007; Page A22
THE WHITE House must have the feel of an overworked emergency room
these days. From the Walter Reed story to the U.S. attorney firings to
I=2E Lewis Libby's conviction, one mishandled crisis follows the next
piece of bad news. With the grinding wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
overshadowing all and the lethargic response to Hurricane Katrina
rarely forgotten, President Bush in his second term has appeared
battered, bruised and often bewildered -- and never more so than this
past week. With each blow, it seems less likely that he might
accomplish anything in his remaining time in office.
Bush Deflects Pressure To Give Libby a Pardon
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/07/AR200703070=
0184_pf.html
Clemency Before 2008 Election Could Be Politically Risky
By Peter Baker and Carol D. Leonnig
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, March 8, 2007; A01
President Bush said yesterday that he is "pretty much going to stay
out of" the case of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby until the legal process
has run its course, deflecting pressure from supporters of the former
White House aide to pardon him for perjury and obstruction of justice.
Libby's allies said Bush should not wait for Libby to be sentenced,
and should use his executive power to spare Vice President Cheney's
former chief of staff the risk of prison time for lying to a grand
jury and FBI agents about his role in leaking the name of an
undercover CIA officer. But the prospect of a pardon triggered
condemnation from Democrats and caution from some Republicans wary of
another furor.
As Iraq Exit Plan Arrives, Democrats' Rift Remains
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/07/AR200703070=
2605_pf.html
By Jonathan Weisman and Shailagh Murray
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, March 8, 2007; A01
Even in her conservative Kansas district, calls and letters to
freshman House Democrat Nancy Boyda show a constituency overwhelmingly
ready for U.S. troops to come home from Iraq.
Yet as the House nears a legislative showdown on the war, Boyda finds
herself wracked with doubts. She is convinced that Congress must
intervene to stop the war, but is fearful of the chaos that a quick
U=2ES. pullout could prompt. "Congress has an obligation to do
something," Boyda said. But she is unsure what to do, worried about
anything that "affects commanders on the ground."
Tribe's Canyon Skywalk May Bring Riches, but Also Deepens Divide
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/07/AR200703070=
2557.html
By Sylvia Moreno
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 8, 2007; Page A03
GRAND CANYON WEST, Ariz., March 7 -- Shortly after noon on Wednesday,
the last few feet of a steel and glass skywalk was rolled out over the
southwest rim of the Grand Canyon, a 2-million-pound engineering
marvel that the Hualapai Indians hope will boost tourism to their
remote ancestral land and provide the impoverished tribe with a
desperately needed economic boost.
With sage burning and tribal members playing gourds, spiritual leader
Emmett Bender blessed the cantilevered horseshoe-shaped skywalk, which
will jut out 70 feet from the canyon rim and dangle 4,000 feet above
the canyon floor. He called the structure "the white man's idea."
Prison May Be Long Way Off for Libby
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/07/AR200703070=
2425.html
Appeals Could Keep Former Cheney Aide Free Until After 2008 Election
By Carol D. Leonnig and Michael D. Shear
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, March 8, 2007; Page A04
As I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's attorneys began mapping his appeals
yesterday, legal experts predicted that Vice President Cheney's former
top aide has an excellent chance of avoiding prison time for his
perjury convictions until late 2008, perhaps until after the
presidential election.
Libby was convicted Tuesday of four felony counts of perjury, making
false statements and obstruction of justice. He faces a likely prison
term of 1 1/2 to three years when he is sentenced June 5 for
concealing his role in the leak of undercover CIA officer Valerie
Plame's identity to the news media.
Libby Trial Offered Glimpses of Way White House Worked
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/07/AR200703070=
2424_pf.html
Testimony Depicted Lack of Openness, Rivalries Among Aides of Bush,
Cheney
By Amy Goldstein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 8, 2007; A04
When he took the stand as the fifth prosecution witness in the perjury
trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former White House press secretary
Ari Fleischer testified that the vice president's then-chief of staff
"was not somebody who would typically provide information to me."
Whenever he asked Vice President Cheney's most trusted adviser for
help, he usually received the same answer. "You should check with Dr.
Rice," Fleischer said Libby would tell him, referring to Condoleezza
Rice, President Bush's national security adviser before she became
secretary of state.
Former Iranian Defense Official Talks to Western Intelligence
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/07/AR200703070=
2241.html
By Dafna Linzer
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 8, 2007; Page A16
A former Iranian deputy defense minister who once commanded the
Revolutionary Guard has left his country and is cooperating with
Western intelligence agencies, providing information on Hezbollah and
Iran's ties to the organization, according to a senior U.S. official.
Ali Rez Asgari disappeared last month during a visit to Turkey.
Iranian officials suggested yesterday that he may have been kidnapped
by Israel or the United States. The U.S. official said Asgari is
willingly cooperating. He did not divulge Asgari's whereabouts or
specify who is questioning him, but made clear that the information
Asgari is offering is fully available to U.S. intelligence.
The Gonzales Eight
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/08/opinion/08thu1.html
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's claim that eight United States
prosecutors were fired for poor performance was always difficult to
believe. Now it's impossible.
Denying Rights in Nigeria
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/08/opinion/08thu2.html
Billed as an anti-gay-marriage act, a poisonous piece of legislation
making its way through the Nigerian National Assembly is a far-
reaching assault on basic human rights.
Super-Sized Tuesday
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/08/opinion/08thu3.html
As many as 19 states - including New York, New Jersey and Illinois -
are considering moving their primary elections up to Feb. 5.
An Unjust Expulsion
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/08/opinion/08thu4.html
The Cherokee Nation's decision to revoke the tribal citizenship of
about 2,800 descendants of slaves once owned by the tribe is a moral
low point in modern Cherokee history.
The Bare Minimum
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/08/opinion/08hamersma.html
By SARAH HAMERSMA
Instead of requiring employers to pay a higher minimum wage, and then
allowing them to apply for reimbursement through tax subsidies, why
not skip the middleman and subsidize the worker directly?
The Price of Progress: Transforming Islam's Holiest Site
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/08/world/middleeast/08mecca.html?ref=3Dworld=
&pagewanted=3Dall
By HASSAN M. FATTAH
Mecca has long been a commercial as well as a religious center, but
increasingly global brands dominate the city.
Denial Reopens Wounds of Japan's Ex-Sex Slaves
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/08/world/asia/08japan.html?ref=3Dworld&pagew=
anted=3Dall
By NORIMITSU ONISHI
Furor over the issue of war-era sex slaves has highlighted yet again
Japan's unresolved history in the region.
A 'Neither/Nor' Candidate for President in France
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/08/world/europe/08france.html?ref=3Dworld
By ELAINE SCIOLINO
Fran=E7ois Bayrou is gaining ground in a presidential campaign dominated
by a nurturing Socialist and a crime-busting conservative.
3 Guatemalan Security Officials Resign in Wake of Killings
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/08/world/americas/08guatemala.html?ref=3Dame=
ricas
By MARC LACEY
The resignations confirmed for many in Guatemala suspicions of
corruption in the security apparatus.
Kazakhstan and China Deadlock Over Depletion of a Major Lake
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/08/world/asia/08kazakhstan.html?ref=3Dasia
By ILAN GREENBERG
China spurned Kazakhstan's proposal to send China free or heavily
subsidized food in exchange for an unimpeded flow of river water.
Paulson Urges China to Open Its Markets More Quickly
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/08/business/worldbusiness/08trades.html?ref=
=3Dasia
By DAVID BARBOZA and STEVEN R. WEISMAN
U=2ES. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. said that China needed to
quicken the pace of its economic reforms.
Jordan's King Seeks Greater U.S. Role in Peace Effort
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/08/world/middleeast/08diplo.html?ref=3Dmiddl=
eeast
By HELENE COOPER
King Abdullah II told Congress that U.S. leadership was essential for
an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.
Obama Says His Investments Presented No Conflicts of Interest
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/08/us/politics/08obama.html?ref=3Dpolitics
By JEFF ZELENY and CHRISTOPHER DREW
The senator said he was not aware that his broker had invested in
companies backed by some of his top donors.
After Libby Trial, New Era for Government and Press
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/08/washington/08fitzgerald.html?ref=3Dwashin=
gton&pagewanted=3Dall
By ADAM LIPTAK
Journalists were forced to play a major role in the trial of I. Lewis
Libby Jr., which has transformed the press as an institution.
Next for the C.I.A.'s Least Secret Officer: A Quieter Life
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/08/washington/08valerie.html?ref=3Dwashington
By MICHAEL POWELL
Valerie Wilson, whose identity as an intelligence officer was
disclosed in 2003, resulting in a case against Vice President *****
Cheney's former chief of staff, is moving to New Mexico.
Memos Tell Officials How to Discuss Climate
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/08/washington/08polar.html?ref=3Dwashington
By ANDREW C. REVKIN
Internal memorandums appear to prohibit some government biologists
from discussing global warming issues while traveling in countries
around the Arctic.
Neanderthal thinking
Hugh Muir
March 8, 2007 6:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/hugh_muir/2007/03/by_the_time_i_met.html
By the time I met Geoffrey McKay he had already aged vastly beyond his
years. He was 22, stick-thin, eyes bulging.
The son of a Sri Lankan and a West Indian, he joined the army in 1991.
Senior officers thought so much of him that they seconded him to the
careers office for a fortnight and deployed him to the recruitment
desk at the Royal Tournament. But by 1993 he had gone AWOL after
suffering terrible abuse within the Queen's Royal Irish Hussars.
Churchill, Libby and Rove
Sidney Blumenthal
March 8, 2007 5:30 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/sidney_blumenthal/2007/03/god_churchill=
_and_the_white_ho.html
As witnesses were trooping to the stand in the federal courthouse in
Washington to testify in the case of United States v I Lewis Libby,
and the Washington Post was publishing its series on the squalid
conditions that wounded Iraq war veterans suffer at the Walter Reed
Army Medical Center while thousands more soldiers were surging into
Baghdad, President Bush held one of his private book club sessions
that Karl Rove organizes for him at the White House. Rove picks the
book, invites the author and a few neoconservative intellectual
luminaries, and conducts the discussions. For this Bush book club
meeting, the guest was Andrew Roberts, the conservative historian and
columnist and the author of "The Churchillians" and, most recently, "A
History of the English-Speaking People Since 1900".
The subject of Winston Churchill inspired Bush's self-reflection. The
president confided to Roberts that he believes he has an advantage
over Churchill, a reliable source with access to the conversation told
me. He has faith in God, Bush explained, but Churchill, an agnostic,
did not. Because he believes in God, it is easier for him to make
decisions and stick to them than it was for Churchill. Bush said he
doesn't worry, or feel alone, or care if he is unpopular. He has God.
Who'd be un'italiana?
John Hooper
March 8, 2007 4:33 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/john_hooper/2007/03/on_a_pedestal_and_i=
n_a_fix.html
I was offered some at the station.
"Top quality", the Sri Lankan dealer assured me.
High time for change
Danny Kushlick
March 8, 2007 4:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/danny_kushlick/2007/03/weve_been_here_b=
efore.html
So, another enquiry into UK drug policy suggests that our criminal
justice approach to drugs has failed, that we need to overhaul the
Misuse of Drugs Act and operate a harm reduction approach to all
drugs. This isn't news. In 2002, the home affairs select committee
inquiry into UK drug policy called on the UK government to initiate a
discussion at the UN about "alternative ways - including the
possibility of legalisation and regulation - to tackle the global
drugs dilemma". Interestingly, David Cameron sat on the committee at
the time.
In November 2004, John Reid (when he was health secretary) appeared on
the Jeremy Vine programme to talk about banning smoking in public
places. Asked whether we should ban tobacco outright he replied,
"Prohibition doesn't work, as the US found out many years ago." Note,
he didn't say that prohibition wouldn't work, he said it doesn't work.
Not a phrase he's used in his current post.
Mission impossible
Simon Tisdall
March 8, 2007 2:27 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/simon_tisdall/2007/03/senior_advisers_t=
o_us_commande.html
Senior advisers to US commander General David Petraeus say Bush's last-
chance, fingers-crossed "surge" to secure Baghdad has hardly begun and
is evolving every day. That's in the nature of military plans in
combat zones, they say. Stuff happens, things change.
But the decision to send an extra 2,200 military police to Iraq,
coming on top of Pentagon suggestions that up to 7,000 more regular
soldiers may be required, coming on top of the 21,500 troops already
sent or on their way, coming on top of the 135,000 or so already there
smacks, at best, of a lack of up-front planning - and at worst, of
king-sized muddle.
Women at work
Glenda Stone
March 8, 2007 3:10 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/glenda_stone/2007/03/women_at_work.html
Today, International Women's Day (IWD), will see over 400 events, from
Chile to China, staged to celebrate the momentous changes in women's
lives almost a century since the early suffragettes took action to win
the vote for women. My role is to provide a platform for the day's
events through www.internationalwomensday.com, and on this IWD my
concern lies in whether the girls who will be women by 2020 know how
to exercise their power and influence with the same verve and tenacity
as their mothers. Recent research conducted by Girlguiding UK revealed
that two thirds of 16- to 25-year-olds polled say equality has not
been achieved for UK women, and half of them worry that their careers
will suffer if they have children.
At a time when more young women vote in Big Brother than in elections,
what should we collectively be doing to regain the attention of these
girls? Will the women of 2020 be free to choose when, how and where
they work, or will they have accepted the status quo? I hope not the
latter!
Forever friends
Open Thread
March 8, 2007 1:01 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/open_thread/2007/03/more_than_just_good=
_friends.html
Today is International Women's Day, a day to celebrate the achievement
of women who have fought for gender equality and a day to recognise
that this struggle continues.
Land of the 72 Virgins?
Brian Whitaker
March 8, 2007 12:18 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/brian_whitaker/2007/03/land_of_the_72_v=
irgins.html
A couple of years ago, during an extended stay in Beirut reporting on
the so-called Cedar Revolution, I became quite fond of the Virgin
Megastore, despite its appalling architecture.
Conveniently located on Martyrs' Square - the scene of most of the
demonstrations - it offered an occasional respite from the hubbub
outside, and from the windows of its top-floor coffee bar you could
also get a bird's eye view of events in the square. Some of the more
image-conscious young protesters, sleeping out in Tent City just
across the road, used to sneak in too and use its toilet facilities to
wash, shave and gel their hair.
Getting IT right on the web
George Osborne
March 8, 2007 11:42 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/george_osborne/2007/03/the_internet_is_=
changing_the.html
The internet is changing the world. But we all know that, right?
What it is less clear though, is how politics and government needs to
change to keep pace.
Unhealthy complaints
Richard Smith
March 8, 2007 10:48 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/richard_smith/2007/03/fear_in_the_nhs.h=
tml
I find that one of the many pleasures of getting older (I'm 55 on
Sunday, no cards please) is seeing issues come round again and again.
In 1987 I wrote a piece in the BMJ called Stalinism in the NHS. I
collected some 20 examples of where information had been suppressed or
distorted and staff harassed for speaking out and wrote of a "climate
of fear." I was interviewed on the Today programme, where Virginia
Bottomley (remember her?) said it was all nonsense and John Humphrys
said off air that it was "just like the BBC."
In 1994 we repeated the exercise, and then in 2000 I wrote a piece
entitled New Labour, new Stalinism. It began: "New Labour came to
power promising to sweep away the 'culture of fear in the NHS'
engendered by the Tory government. Instead, 'all staff should be
allowed to speak their minds'." Four articles in that issue of the BMJ
suggested that things were as bad as ever. In fact, we thought that
they were worse - because of the rise of "spin", a word that wasn't
nearly as familiar in 2000 as it is now.
Hidden struggles
Juliet Lyon
March 8, 2007 10:08 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/juliet_lyon/2007/03/no_one_knows.html
"Perhaps the courts think them to be insolent when they did not reply:
In fact, when we had one of these prisoners assessed we discovered
that they had a mental age of between seven and eight."
It was this note from a prison governor that first alerted the Prison
Reform Trust to the hidden problem of people with learning
disabilities and learning difficulties lost, bullied and trapped in
our overcrowded jails. While it is common knowledge that prisons are
crammed full of people who are mentally ill, many of whom should be
diverted into mental healthcare, almost nothing is known about those
who, due to a disability, find it difficult or impossible, to
understand the prison regime or to progress their sentence.
.
|
