In today's Telegraph...
Some interesting-ish stuff in today's Telegraph - the links won't work unless you have registered.Kevin Myers takes on those who have objected to Maxine Carr's release and takes on The Sun (somewhat over the top it must be said):
"Maxine Carr has been denied common justice. Instead she has been tried at the bar of Madame Lafarge, and before that spitting jury of dark-rooted blondes, whose expression of motherhood is to gather outside courthouses, their children in buggies beside them, and screech bloodthirsty profanities at prison vans. Such Sun-reading, saliva-flecked detritus will always be with us: but when prison service officials and home secretaries start dancing to the tune of harpies and fishwives, then is the time to worry."
Matthew d'Ancona notes some of the positive steps Michael Howard is taking to try to bring the Tories back into the mainstream of politics and diffuse Labour's attacks, however the better image you get of Howard is slightly ruined by this:
"On Monday, he rejected "the tired mantra of the free market", promised that the Tories would pay greater attention to "work-life balance", and declared that he would vote for the Government's Civil Partnerships Bill which will give a range of new rights to same-sex couples. I am told that the Tory leader instinctively baulked at supporting this Bill, but was persuaded that it was the right thing to do - not least because it undermines the tired Labour charge that all Tories are rampaging "queerbashers". "
which suggests Howard doesn't believe in the policy but is doing it because his advisors believe it is electorally popular -- a route that led his predecessors into all kinds of trouble.
Finally, the paper reports that President Bush is considering snubbing the 60th anniversary of D-Day because he is still annoyed with the French. I guess this comes as no surprise to most of us but his dwindling band of supporters must find this further proof that all his stunts on aircraft carriers this is a president who thinks nothing of war veterans and is prepared to miss the last major anniversary of D-Day with many veterens just out of petty spite. If true, disgraceful.
posted by Matthew @ 2/15/2004 12:09:00 PM
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