Friday, April 4, 2008
US Secret Service unprecedented workload - and they're not even protecting McCain
CQ politics has a very interesting article on the Secret Service protection for the US Presidential candidates. The Service has an unprecedented workload just protecting Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. As of now, they aren't even protecting John McCain yet - which seems very surprising.
Cobblers about Cleggover
Steve Richards on the Independent's Open House says Nick Clegg should be worried because three journalists think Nick Clegg was naive to give an interview to Piers Morgan about his private life:
For Nick Clegg there was univeral scathing disdain, largely for his naivety over giving an interview to Piers Morgan in GQ and then answering questions about his sex life. In a short time Clegg has had two nicknames, ‘Calamity Clegg’ and ‘Cleggover’. Neither adds to his gravitas.
I usually have great respect for Steve Richards' output but on this occasion he, and the other three journalists, are talking unmitigated cobblers. Reading the transcript so far released, it is clear that Nick Clegg is disarmingly open and honest in the interview. He is making a name for himself in this respect. When he admitted he didn't believe in God and revealed a liking for Bowie's greatest hits album, Changes, on Radio Five, he was also being unusually frank and open for a politician.
Yes, Nick Clegg is in great danger of being seen as a member of the human race.
Terrible isn't it?
For Nick Clegg there was univeral scathing disdain, largely for his naivety over giving an interview to Piers Morgan in GQ and then answering questions about his sex life. In a short time Clegg has had two nicknames, ‘Calamity Clegg’ and ‘Cleggover’. Neither adds to his gravitas.
I usually have great respect for Steve Richards' output but on this occasion he, and the other three journalists, are talking unmitigated cobblers. Reading the transcript so far released, it is clear that Nick Clegg is disarmingly open and honest in the interview. He is making a name for himself in this respect. When he admitted he didn't believe in God and revealed a liking for Bowie's greatest hits album, Changes, on Radio Five, he was also being unusually frank and open for a politician.
Yes, Nick Clegg is in great danger of being seen as a member of the human race.
Terrible isn't it?
Government to insist that sex offenders give them email addresses - WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rarely is there such an example of crass government stupidity caused by complete incompetence.
This morning, Vernon Coaker, Government minister in the Home Office is boasting on the media of this new government rule. They will insist that sex offenders give the government their email addresses. The government in turn will give these addresses to social web sites so that the sex offenders' use of these sites can be monitored.
Crikey! Those sex offenders must be really quaking in their shoes!
How computer illiterate is Vernon Coaker ? I would suggest - not very.
You only have to Google "free email" to find thousands of sites where you can set up thousands of email addresses for yourself all over the world. All you need is a ZIP code (I recommend looking up the ZIP codes of Starbucks in various US cities - for example, Starbucks in Cincinnatti has a zip code of 45219 in OH) and, sometimes, another email address (which can be another one set up with a false address). (About eight years ago I had a little "farm" of email addresses for making comments on a forum - which is how I am familiar with the routine.)
It is just stupid to boast that this measure would be anything other than completely useless.
This morning, Vernon Coaker, Government minister in the Home Office is boasting on the media of this new government rule. They will insist that sex offenders give the government their email addresses. The government in turn will give these addresses to social web sites so that the sex offenders' use of these sites can be monitored.
Crikey! Those sex offenders must be really quaking in their shoes!
How computer illiterate is Vernon Coaker ? I would suggest - not very.
You only have to Google "free email" to find thousands of sites where you can set up thousands of email addresses for yourself all over the world. All you need is a ZIP code (I recommend looking up the ZIP codes of Starbucks in various US cities - for example, Starbucks in Cincinnatti has a zip code of 45219 in OH) and, sometimes, another email address (which can be another one set up with a false address). (About eight years ago I had a little "farm" of email addresses for making comments on a forum - which is how I am familiar with the routine.)
It is just stupid to boast that this measure would be anything other than completely useless.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Jimmy Carter backs Obama - heavy hint
All eyes have been on Al Gore to do a bit of senior statesmanship with regard to the Democratic presidential nomination. But now that real old Democrat senior statesman, Jimmy Carter, has dropped a very heavy hint that he is supporting Obama. He didn't say as much, but his interview with a Nigerian newspaper leaves no real room for doubt:
Former President of the United States, Jimmy Carter has hinted that he might cast his vote for Senator Barack Obama to aid his emergence as the candidate for the Democrats in America’s bid to elect a new President.Carter, who is a Super Delegate from Georgia State, gave this hint at a media interaction after the Carter Center Awards for Guinea Worm Eradication in Abuja yesterday.Carter, who was accompanied by his wife Rosalynn, did not profess a direct support for Obama but rather choose to make a veiled statement.“We are very interested in the primaries. Don’t forget that Obama won in my state of Georgia. My town which is home to 625 people is for Obama, my children and their spouses are pro- Obama. My grandchildren are also pro- Obama. As a Super Delegate, I would not disclose who I am rooting for but I leave you to make that guess," he said.
Hat-tip to Ben Smith and Political Wire.
Bloomberg via Political Wire also reports that Obama has passed Clinton in terms of support from Democrat elected officials:
Obama, an Illinois senator, has the support of 99 Democratic U.S. lawmakers and governors, compared with Clinton's 96 -- a dramatic turnabout since the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses, when Clinton, a New York senator, had more than double Obama's support within this group, 91 to 43
Former President of the United States, Jimmy Carter has hinted that he might cast his vote for Senator Barack Obama to aid his emergence as the candidate for the Democrats in America’s bid to elect a new President.Carter, who is a Super Delegate from Georgia State, gave this hint at a media interaction after the Carter Center Awards for Guinea Worm Eradication in Abuja yesterday.Carter, who was accompanied by his wife Rosalynn, did not profess a direct support for Obama but rather choose to make a veiled statement.“We are very interested in the primaries. Don’t forget that Obama won in my state of Georgia. My town which is home to 625 people is for Obama, my children and their spouses are pro- Obama. My grandchildren are also pro- Obama. As a Super Delegate, I would not disclose who I am rooting for but I leave you to make that guess," he said.
Hat-tip to Ben Smith and Political Wire.
Bloomberg via Political Wire also reports that Obama has passed Clinton in terms of support from Democrat elected officials:
Obama, an Illinois senator, has the support of 99 Democratic U.S. lawmakers and governors, compared with Clinton's 96 -- a dramatic turnabout since the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses, when Clinton, a New York senator, had more than double Obama's support within this group, 91 to 43
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Has Robert Mugabe suddenly become sane?
It would seem possible. The official Zimbabwean parliamentary election results show the MDC with a majority. The Presidential vote is on a knife edge as to whether a second ballot is needed. One presumes and hopes that Mugabe will be fatally damaged by the need for a run-off.
A senior ZANU (PF) official has told a BBC correspondent in Zimbabwe that he believes Mr Mugabe has been fatally damaged:
The official, who did not want to be identified, said that by not declaring victory on Sunday or Monday, Mr Mugabe had shown weakness.
Now, he told our correspondent, civil servants and police were determined to show even-handedness in their treatment of the Zanu-PF and the opposition.
Another way at looking at that is that perhaps Mugabe has finally woken up and smelt the coffee.
A senior ZANU (PF) official has told a BBC correspondent in Zimbabwe that he believes Mr Mugabe has been fatally damaged:
The official, who did not want to be identified, said that by not declaring victory on Sunday or Monday, Mr Mugabe had shown weakness.
Now, he told our correspondent, civil servants and police were determined to show even-handedness in their treatment of the Zanu-PF and the opposition.
Another way at looking at that is that perhaps Mugabe has finally woken up and smelt the coffee.
Nick Clegg's 30 lovers
Or at least "no more than 30...it's a lot less than that" in answer to the question, in relation to the number of women he slept with before he got married: How many are we talking: 10, 20, 30?"
I thought it was an April Fool prank. Amanda Platell writes:
Oh to have been a fly on the wall at Nick Clegg's family home in South London yesterday morning!
You can just picture the scene as the LibDem leader's inquisitive young sons spotted their father's picture in the papers and asked: "It says here that you slept with 30 women, Daddy. Were you very, very tired? Was it an awfully big bed?"
I'm pretty sure that the response from his lovely and loyal Spanish wife Miriam would have been rather less amusing.
Frankly, who would blame her if, after reading yesterday's headlines, she had made her husband wear his porridge rather than eat it?
For this was the morning after the night before the publication of an interview in GQ magazine in which Mr Clegg had confessed that he'd had "no more than 30" sexual partners.
No more than 30! And the 41-year-old doesn't even blush?
What does "no more than 30" actually mean, anyway? Did he actually sleep with far fewer than 30 but wanted to appear virile?
Kira Cochraine compares the incident to William Hague bragging about how much beer he drank as a youth.
I thought it was an April Fool prank. Amanda Platell writes:
Oh to have been a fly on the wall at Nick Clegg's family home in South London yesterday morning!
You can just picture the scene as the LibDem leader's inquisitive young sons spotted their father's picture in the papers and asked: "It says here that you slept with 30 women, Daddy. Were you very, very tired? Was it an awfully big bed?"
I'm pretty sure that the response from his lovely and loyal Spanish wife Miriam would have been rather less amusing.
Frankly, who would blame her if, after reading yesterday's headlines, she had made her husband wear his porridge rather than eat it?
For this was the morning after the night before the publication of an interview in GQ magazine in which Mr Clegg had confessed that he'd had "no more than 30" sexual partners.
No more than 30! And the 41-year-old doesn't even blush?
What does "no more than 30" actually mean, anyway? Did he actually sleep with far fewer than 30 but wanted to appear virile?
Kira Cochraine compares the incident to William Hague bragging about how much beer he drank as a youth.
Clinton slipping in Pennsylvania
Up until now, Pennsylvania has been held out as the great hope for Hillary Clinton. A last minute surge here would sort everything out for her, we are told.
Well, now there have been two polls in quick succession saying that her previously strong lead in Pennsylvania is slipping away.
Rasmussen has the lead down to just five points:
For Clinton, that five-point edge is down from a ten-point lead a week ago, a thirteen-point lead in mid-March and a fifteen-point advantage in early March.
A SurveyUSA poll shows her lead down from 19 points to 12. Still a big lead, but this far out (the primary is not until April 22nd), there is still plenty of time for Obama to make up the ground. He is currently doing a leisurely bus tour of the State, nurturing the grass roots. The SurveyUSA poll report noted:
...the poll showed Obama gaining ground in the Keystone State, particularly in cities like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, and among older voters, men and conservative Democrats.
Compared to an identical SurveyUSA poll released three weeks ago, Clinton is down two points and Obama is up five...
One interesting thing which seems to have happened recently in the Democratic presidential race is this. We have had a lot of people saying the Democrats are tearing themselves apart. However, since the Bosnia gaffe (which was an example of Hillary tearing herself apart anyway) things appear to have gone quiet. The focus seems to be on "When will Hillary give up (if at all)?"
Having said that, John McCain is still able to tour the country presenting himself as a latter day Mother Theresa...
Well, now there have been two polls in quick succession saying that her previously strong lead in Pennsylvania is slipping away.
Rasmussen has the lead down to just five points:
For Clinton, that five-point edge is down from a ten-point lead a week ago, a thirteen-point lead in mid-March and a fifteen-point advantage in early March.
A SurveyUSA poll shows her lead down from 19 points to 12. Still a big lead, but this far out (the primary is not until April 22nd), there is still plenty of time for Obama to make up the ground. He is currently doing a leisurely bus tour of the State, nurturing the grass roots. The SurveyUSA poll report noted:
...the poll showed Obama gaining ground in the Keystone State, particularly in cities like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, and among older voters, men and conservative Democrats.
Compared to an identical SurveyUSA poll released three weeks ago, Clinton is down two points and Obama is up five...
One interesting thing which seems to have happened recently in the Democratic presidential race is this. We have had a lot of people saying the Democrats are tearing themselves apart. However, since the Bosnia gaffe (which was an example of Hillary tearing herself apart anyway) things appear to have gone quiet. The focus seems to be on "When will Hillary give up (if at all)?"
Having said that, John McCain is still able to tour the country presenting himself as a latter day Mother Theresa...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
