3:10 to Yuma... and New York

Talking about Red Phone moments... let's consider the efficiency of Barack Obama's answering machine.

The Clinton campaign has been broadcasting an ad across the Lone Star state featuring a phone ringing at 3 in the morning ; a "Terminator I" scene with kids sleeping and a nuclear threat above their heads : "your vote will decide who answers the call". Brrrrr...

Here's Obama's answer : "In fact, we have had a red phone moment: It was the decision to invade Iraq. Senator Clinton gave the wrong answer. George Bush gave the wrong answer. John McCain gave the wrong answer".

1, 2, 3. That's called a strike out, Hillary. And without the help of Roger Clemens. Nor the help of Roger's helps. Nevermind the fact that that guy was born in Ohio and raised in Texas.

Barack is famous for his powerful tone but Hussein does have jug ears too, mind you. You want to be careful about what you say and the critics you use, which may be used against you.

John McCain recently experienced a similar knock-out answer. Obama considered the possibility to return to Iraq if al Qaeda were to come back there some time after the US withdrawal, and Senator McCain replied "I have some news: Al Qaeda is in Iraq (...), it’s called Al Qaeda in Iraq". To which Barack punched this final "I’ve got some news for John McCain, that is there was no such thing as Al Qaeda in Iraq until George Bush and John McCain decided to invade".

Ouch.

Reminds me of a certain Cassius Clay. Beyond the loud mouth and the elegant dance on the ring, this young fella has quite a powerful fist.

And unlike Muhammad Ali, this guy won't even have to convert to Islam nor to change names in order to find peace.

White blogule to the Law Lords - find another al-Libi, Dubya

Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi, the Lybian detainee who confessed in 2002 a link between al Qaeda and Iraq, did it under torture but in an Egyptian jail (back then, the C.I.A. would still outsource this nasty business).
In London, the Law Lords just ruled that evidence obtained under torture (even on a foreign soil) could not be used in British courts.
The US have used the "foreign soil" loophole since the Cold War and torture has been banned since 1640 in England.
Talking about cold wars and smoking guns... Amerika's Real Estate Agent Condi Rice just clinched a deal with Romania where 4 US military bases will be installed. This former Soviet satellite enjoys a view on the European Gulf (the Black Sea ? an epitome of the Bush doctrine : a major oil and gas hub and an environmental nightmare), locates in Europe but not yet in the EU (perfect timing as far as the European agenda is concerned), and happens to be neither too close from the Middle East (the Gaza Tigers can draft Roger Clemens, their stones will never reach the Constanta shores), nor too far (when the boys are withdrawn, their toys will remain nearby). Of course, today's EU members won't budge and The Company Airlines gets all the time slots they need.