I hope the people who read the news for Bush don't mention this.

[weldon_berger]

Britain is getting jiggy with the terrorists. Hate us for our freedoms? No probs ...

The Civil Contingencies Bill, which covers every kind of disaster from terrorism to the weather, will be the biggest shake-up of emergency laws since the early part of the last century, replacing legislation which saw the UK through a world war and the IRA bombing campaign.

Some of the proposals in the draft version of the Bill, drawn up in the summer, have alarmed civil rights activists, notably a clause that gives the Government the power to suspend parts or all of the Human Rights Act without a vote by MPs.

Once an emergency has been proclaimed by the Queen, the Government can order the destruction of property, order people to evacuate an area or ban them from travelling, and "prohibit assemblies of specified kinds" and "other specified activities".

If these rules had been in force during the Iraq war, critics say, they could have been used to to ban street demonstrations, making anyone who travelled to protest guilty of a criminal offence. After a major terrorist attack, forums made up of local councils, the emergency services and utility companies would be put in charge of trying to get shattered communities back together.

The good news is that Bush might never hear about this, since it seems that his briefers often forget to mention a few details here and there, such as that Ahmed Chalabi is a convicted swindler.

“Nobody knows how the president will finally come down on Chalabi. Right now Bush reportedly remains unconvinced that Chalabi is the one to lead Iraq into a democratic future. Jordan's King Abdullah didn't help matters: When he met with Bush recently, he is said to have delivered a broadside against his old nemesis, who was convicted of embezzling millions from a Jordanian bank. According to a friend of Abdullah's, the president reacted to the information with outrage at Chalabi.”

D'oh!

Chalabi anecdote courtesy of Jerome Doolittle at Bad Attitudes.

[Occulus]

1. Bush? Outraged at.... Chalabi?

Is the man finally growing a conscience? Or does he just not want Chalabi's activities to come down on him as well?

Never mind. I think I just answered my own question.