Category: Politics

It will interesting to see how the Palestinian crisis evolves with the Hamas in control. At present it looks bleak with the US denouncing Hamas for its anti-Israel stance, its terrorist branding etc. My guess is that it won’t be that bad. After all the Fatah party has tried to make peace with the Israelis for so many years and not succeeded. Now there is a newly elected Govt. (chosen by the Palestinians) under Hamas. There has been a 77% turnout in the election, so the US in particular, as the self-appointed torch-bearer of freedom and democracy around the world, can’t ignore the results.

When in power it might actually prove harder for Hamas to pursue violence because of potential UN sanctions etc.

So you never know, this unprecedented change of power might just work.

The situation is vaguely similar to the RSS backed BJP coming to power in India. There was widespread concern that India will no longer be a secular state, Muslims will be attacked etc. Indo-Pak war will break out etc. It wasn’t the case for the most part, barring the incident in Gujarat, and the Pak instigated Kargil war.

Judge Alito’s confirmation is more or less guaranteed. It also means the Democrats have lost one more battle. It might serve them well to save their speeches on the Senate floor and instead focus on developing a coherent strategy for the upcoming elections to the Congress.

The Senate Judiciary committee voted along party lines as expected. I think this process is a joke and a complete waste of time. The candidates reveal very little. The Senators get to make some speeches and gain some TV coverage, there is some drama (candidates wife rushing out etc) introduced and finally They vote along party lines. I think they should scrap this process and just have Judges appointed by the President with term limits (say 5 years). There are enough qualified Judges in this country to justify not giving lifetime appointments to a select few.

Met Congressman Mike Honda today and spent some time with him in a meeting. My first meeting with a US politician! He comes across as a sincere grand-fatherly figure.

Btw, he drives a Honda! 🙂

Iraq has been in a perennial crisis ever since the US set foot there a few years back. The US Govt insists on staying the course (where have I heard this before?) With the UN report on the Hariri killing, Syria is on the verge of sanctions (another crisis).

And now Iran’s Ahmadinejad just confirmed that Iran could go to any lengths. I think he is completely crazy to make an open statement about Israel like he did. This is bound to accelerate tensions. Ahmadinejad and our Neocons in Washington are bound to make this concoction of crises into a global nightmare.

Well, well….finally a wicket falls for the Bush team. Its time for Bush to call in his super-sub. 🙂

He has two options: make peace with his Democratic opposition and pick a moderate candidate (and piss off his conservative base) or pacify his base by picking a right wing activist as the next nominee (and piss of the opposition). Either path is wrought with its own perils.

Meanwhile, the umpire’s decision is due on Rove and Libby. Finally, the boring speeches about spreading freedom will come to a stop at least temporarily as Bush and co. are forced on to the backfoot.

The Supreme Court nomination of Harriet E. Miers suffered another setback on Wednesday when the Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee asked her to resubmit parts of her judicial questionnaire, saying various members had found her responses “inadequate,” “insufficient” and “insulting.”…..rest of the NYTimes report

I thought this story was pretty funny. Its like sending a kid’s homework back with an “I”. The irony is that after all this “hungamma” many of the same Senators will turnaround and confirm her eventually. In any case, it doesn’t look like she is anywhere as savvy as Judge Roberts, who in my opinion was real real smooth.

The number of appointments that a President of the US makes is simply phenomenal. This is one example where this system is flawed. Miers has little to show for besides being the President’s “chela” and she gets nominated for a lifetime appointment to the most powerful body in the US. Thankfully there is at least a confirmation process for whatever it is worth.