NORMAN'S SPECTATOR

THE COLUMN I WISH I’D WRITTEN (TRAVERS)

THE COLUMN I WROTE (YESTERDAY)

Brown: I would give MPs last word on war

IDIOCY OF THE DAY (SIMPSON)

v TOP INTERNATIONAL STORIES

Le «oui» reprend l'avantage

War Is History for Vibrant Vietnam

60 Years Later, China Enemies End Their War

v INTERNATIONAL NEWS

60 Years Later, China Enemies End Their War

Wave of Attacks in Iraq Kill 40 and Wound 100

Safety Concerns Again Postpone Shuttle Mission

President's Big Social Security Gamble

Abduction, Often Violent, a Kyrgyz Wedding Rite

Plea Deal Is Set for G.I. Pictured in Abuses in Iraq

A Currency Afloat (for All of 20 Minutes)

Putin Urges Israel to Let Palestinian Security Forces Use Weapons

Iranians Seek Nuclear Deal in Meeting With Europeans in London

U.S. Weapons Envoy Pessimistic About Talks With North Korea

For Blair, a Mere Victory in the Election May Not Be Enough

A Leading British Politician Climbs Back From Disgrace

Lawyer Who Told of U.S. Abuses at Afghan Bases Loses U.N. Post

Bolton's Nomination Is Questioned by Another Powell Aide

Arctic Refuge Oil Drilling Is Near Fact, Backers Say

Energy Follies (editorial)

Puncturing Another Weapons Myth (editorial)

Democracy in Mexico (editorial)

Swindler on a Gusher (Dowd)

Bush as Robin Hood (Tierney)

Judge in Moussaoui Case Blocks Release of Sept. 11 Report

U.S., Italy Fail to Agree On Agent's Death in Iraq

113 Kurds Are Found In Mass Grave

U.S. Seeks Improved SE Asia Ties

War Is History for Vibrant Vietnam

Polls Push Governor to the Border

Vote for Lib Dems will not let in Tories

Tory dismay at Howard's stance on war

'Non' campaign wins the battle of the blogs

Brown: I would give MPs last word on war

We set too many targets, admits Blair

Hunt lobby in covert bid to oust Labour MPs

Childhood obesity study alarms doctors

EU farm chief plans to drain wine lake

Labour fears for its majority

Send in the clowns . . . no, don’t bother. Blair’s re-election is here (Parris)

Le chomage au coeur des mobilisations

Le «oui» reprend l'avantage

"L'idée d'une renégociation du traité est d'une naïveté criante"

Pauvreté : le défi de M. Wolfowitz (editorial)

FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2005

v AFTERNOON UPDATE

Paul Martin signs child-care agreement with Manitoba government

Bono: 'Paul Martin, I'm calling you!'

Economy grows 0.3% in February

Ottawa et Québec s'entendent pour le financement des infrastructures

v HEADLINE

Poll puts Liberals in front

v WHAT CAUGHT MY EYE TODAY

-- Who says an election is inevitable?

“The Liberals have clawed their way back into the lead in a tight race for public support as Prime Minister Paul Martin's all-out public-relations campaign appears to have caused the Conservatives to slip, a new poll shows….”

--Judging from the code words in this report, expect the word "explosive" to be back in the headlines once the publication ban is lifted on Chuck Guité's testimony,

« L'ex-directeur du programme des commandites, Charles Guité, montré du doigt pour sa gestion abusive des fonds publics par le publicitaire Paul Coffin, témoigne avec éloquence depuis hier à la commission Gomery sous les regards de quelque 80 curieux qui ne se sont pas déplacés pour rien.

Les déclarations spectaculaires de M. Guité sont frappées d'une ordonnance de non-publication qui pourrait être partiellement levée au début de la semaine prochaine, lorsqu'il aura complété son témoignage. »

--Don't ever count the Grits out:

“The federal government has stacked the Commons agenda with a flurry of motions the Conservatives admit may stave off their attempts to defeat the Liberals in a non-confidence vote until the end of May.”

-- Is Paul Martin getting ready to enforce the Canada Health Act in Quebec?

“Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh has written to four of his provincial counterparts urging them to reach a "timely" agreement on how to stop private diagnostic clinics from charging fees to their patients..."

--Here's a thinly-veiled message to Stephen Harper:

One way or another, Harper is moving out of Stornoway, the opposition leader's residence, after the election - either to 24 Sussex or Calgary. The only question on Harper's mind should be who can help him get to Sussex. It's just like choosing the right mover.”

--Paul Martin, you have some 'splainin to do:

“The Canadian dollar is carrying a clear discount due to political risk, analysts said yesterday as it closed below the US80 cents mark."

--Richard Gwyn serves up the column I’m glad I didn’t write, Chantal Hébert the one I wish I'd written and here's the column I did write in today's Vancouver Sun.

--Say what?

"Benoît Corbeil, ancien directeur général du Parti libéral du Canada au Québec, affirme qu'un membre du comité de sélection des juges lui a téléphoné à quelques reprises pour savoir si un avocat avait bien milité pour le parti."

-- And, finally, “Opponents of same-sex marriage claimed a major victory yesterday after a respected constitutional expert issued the legal opinion that Parliament could define marriage as a union between a man and a woman without contravening the Supreme Court's comments on the issue.”

v TOP STORIES

Poll puts Liberals in front

Liberals announce 72 projects in a week

Des avocats dévoués au PLC promus juges

Investors discount loonie over political risk

Martin not avoiding Quebec, aides insist

Tories, Bloc too cosy, Martin warns

Dosanjh seeks help to stop fees at health clinics

Grits stack House agenda to delay defeat

Liberals start 'test-driving' scare tactics

'Victory' for foes of same-sex marriage

Needy families to get help with rent

We have nothing to hide: Parisella

Secret military police unit exposed

Canada bars Serbian 'Madonna'

Frustrated firms halt Mackenzie gas project

Deal puts taxpayers on hook for $100M

Program to benefit thousands of children

v TODAY’S HOTTIES

ELECTION TEMPERATURE

THE COLUMN I WISH I’D WRITTEN (HEBERT)

THE COLUMN I’M GLAD I DIDN’T WRITE (GWYN)

THE COLUMN I WROTE

U.S. Aide Sees Arms Advance by North Korea

SAME-SEX RESURFACES

DEFENSE

LIVING WITH THE ELEPHANT

DIPPERS DEAL

v TOP INTERNATIONAL STORIES

Budget Deal Sets Stage for Arctic Drilling And Tax Cuts

Law lords back designer baby to cure son

Blair's dark day as Iraq row erupts

Blair anoints Brown as the next Premier

v INTERNATIONAL NEWS

U.S. Aide Sees Arms Advance by North Korea

Iraq's Assembly Accepts Cabinet Despite Tension

After 99 Days, Testing Winds (Bush speech analysis)

Economy Hits Energy Prices, and the Brakes

Putin Visits Israel and Tries to Allay Its Security Worries

Blair, on Defensive, Releases a Secret Memo on Iraq War

Annan Won't Discipline Aide in Dispute Over Oil Documents

Iran Hints Talks on Ending Its Nuclear Program Are Near Collapse

Sudan Poses First Big Trial for World Criminal Court

Describes Dispute With Bolton Over Intelligence

Europe Isn't Working, but Investors Are Not as Worried as Politicians

Iraq's New Cabinet (editorial)

A Private Obsession (Krugman)

'What, Me Worry?' (Friedman)

Bush Social Security Plan Would Cut Future Benefits

Budget Deal Sets Stage for Arctic Drilling And Tax Cuts

Mexico Mayor Cleared for Presidential Run

Our Own Cool Hand Luke (Krauthammer)

Day of Deficit Reckoning? (Ignatius)

Bush the Egghead (Dionne)

Official Pariah Sudan Valuable to America's War on Terrorism

A Very Special Kind of Math (Chait)

The 'We're Smart, You're Dumb' Principle (Gelernter)

Blair's spectacular U-turn on legal advice leaves unanswered questions

Did Blair mislead us?

Thousands die early as poverty gap widens

Law lords back couple's plea to create designer baby to cure son

The voters may forgive him: his party never will (editorial)

Blair's dark day as Iraq row erupts

Donor stem cells restore sight

Russian victory festivities open old wounds in Europe

Now there's no chance of moving on (Freedland)

Eurozone bonds hit by poll uncertainty

Brown comes to Blair’s rescue over Iraq

Blair anoints Brown as the next Premier

Try the truth next time, Tony (Jenkins)

Lionel Jospin revient en avocat européen

Renault-Nissan, le sacre de Carlos Ghosn

Les Etats-Unis comptent sur le Brésil pour modérer le Venezuela

The Wall Street Journal

Advise and Consign (editorial)

Rush to Victory (Henninger)

THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2005

TAKING THE DAY OFF, OR SORT OF.

In the meantime, here's a report on yesterday's GOMERY testimony and here's ANOTHER and here's one IN FRENCH.

All lead with a point not included in the report on Don Newman's POLITICS yesterday, perhaps because it involves one of his panelists.

Here's Stephen HARPER on the attack, union leaders beating up on Jack LAYTON, and Paul Martin rehearsing his ELECTION LINES. Here's the TIMING.

Here's the man of the hour, CHUCK CADMAN, of whom Paul Martin says in the Vancouver Sun:

"I think that he is a man of considerable judgment and I know in the the end what he will do is the right thing....And I hope that the right thing is to support the government."

Here's Greg Weston on the PM. Here's Martin on Stephen Harper and federalism, in the Ottawa Citizen:

"Mr. Harper is prepared to "do a deal" with the ADQ and "walk down the same line." The prime minister said while the ADQ is not a separatist party, it calls itself an "autonomous" party that advocates greater provincial powers.

"The ADQ has a view on the role of the central government which would essentially gut the federal government of any involvement in things like health care, of any involvement in the ability to set national programs like child care."

Here's Brigitte Pellerin on how the current situation will play out in Québec:

"But if you add the opposition parties' utterly-predictably-unimpressed reaction, who knows? People tend to root for the underdog, and if the opposition parties look like they're being mean and ganging up on Paul Martin, it could generate sympathy for him. Stephen Harper ought to have made some kind of effort to give at least an itsy-bitsy fleck of credit to Mr. Martin for having sort of apologized. It would have made him sound like a compassionate human being, instead of a heartless partisan willing to hit a man who's already down.

So here's my guess: By agreeing to support the federal Liberals, the NDP has just about ruined its chance of making a breakthrough in la belle province. Quebecers who are disgusted with the Liberals and can't vote for the separatist Bloc now also won't cast their protest vote with Jack Layton. And those willing to give Paul Martin another chance might as well vote for him directly, especially given the NDP's historic inability to do anything in Quebec except sob on election night."

In the Montréal Gazette, Elizabeth Thompson reports:

"Conservative leader Stephen Harper is aiding the Bloc Quebecois and fuelling Quebec's sovereignist movement by pushing for an election this spring, Prime Minister Paul Martin charged yesterday.

In an interview with The Gazette, Martin said that if Canadians go to the polls before the Gomery Commission has produced its report, the only people who stand to benefit in Quebec are the Bloc.

"He is walking hand in hand with the Bloc. This election benefits the Bloc. It doesn't benefit the Conservatives in Quebec and yet he's pushing for it."

"It's why I think it is so irresponsible of Stephen Harper to call an election," he said. "Fundamentally, the question Stephen Harper has got to ask himself is 'Which is more important - my party or my country.' When I was faced with that choice, I said my country and I think that Stephen Harper should do the same thing....

Martin played down the importance of the revelations, saying both sides cheated in 1995.

"There were abuses on both sides," Martin said, adding he didn't know at the time about any rule-breaking by the federal government. "The PQ's violations are quite well known. I was the finance minister and after the referendum, we all found out to our horror what Jacques Parizeau did in terms of capital markets and was prepared to do."

Parizeau disclosed after the referendum that he had planned to use millions of dollars in public funds to prop up the Canadian dollar in the wake of a Yes vote.

Ottawa should have abided by Quebec's referendum law, Martin said.

"I think you play by the rules and if you don't, it eventually comes out. My own belief is that we don't need to violate the rules to beat the separatists."

The Gazbags say the Liberals have lost their right to rule. At the Citizen, they say it's a bad deal.

You can imagine what Terence Corcoran thinks. And here's banker CLEMENT GIGNAC's analysis of the fiscal situation, reported in the National Post:

"The last time federal spending grew as fast as it did this fiscal year, according to a new financial analysis, was during Pierre Trudeau's Liberal-NDP coalition of 1972-74, in which Paul Martin Sr. was a senator and Cabinet minister."

Or how about this, from Bay Street:

"To this point, the Canadian dollar seemed to treat the possibility of a snap election as a negative," Doug Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns said in an early morning note to clients. "If this deal is an indication of the type of fiscal decisions Canada will see, then the currency market should instead react to the prospect of a near-term election as a positive. Right after the budget was tabled, the National Post asked "What letter grade would you give the budget?". We gave it a C. With these revisions, we now give it a D."

William Watson writes:

"In Ireland, the marginal effective tax rate on investment is 11.5%. Ireland, of course, is the big European success story of the last two decades and according to the OECD has passed Canada to enter the top tier of high-income countries.

And even below Ireland was Sweden, at 11.2%. If loony, lefty, socialist Sweden can make its peace with corporations, why can't we?"

Here's some more poop on Earnscliffe (which, one must always remember, was founded by Tories) thanks to Warren Kinsella:

Numerous contracts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars were awarded to a polling company linked to Paul Martin in violation of federal tendering rules, according to a 1995 document obtained by National Post.

The contracts handed to the Earnscliffe Strategy Group included seven for the Finance Department when Mr. Martin was the minister, says the report, which has been submitted to a Commons committee investigating the Earnscliffe situation....

The report even raised questions about the fact that Mr. Herle and Terrie O'Leary, his common-law wife and Mr. Martin's executive assistant, had recently bought some land from CBC-TV personality Peter Mansbridge. They planned to build a cottage on it and the "co-mingling of assets" represented a serious problem if it had not been approved by the ethics commissioner, said the review."

In the same paper, Don Martin writes,

"For journalists probing Martin yesterday, that raises an obvious question: Why would Canadians vote for a tired, stale-dated, corrupted, unprincipled, left-leaning Liberal party when the New Democrats have an untainted guy calling the shots in an acting prime ministerial capacity? The answer is just one election night away.

Here's a CROP poll which sees much less of a boost in support for sovereignty than yesterday's numbers, but is still very bad news for Paul Martin and for Jean Charest. Here's more bad news for Martin, this time in Toronto.

v AFTERNOON UPDATE

Feds accuse Ont. of playing 'dangerous' game by claiming unfair treatment

Harper risks `getting into bed' with Bloc if election forced: Layton

Over on his website, I notice that Andrew Coyne skips over part of Paul Coffin's testimony at Gomery yesterday. Perhaps he's conflicted by his disgust at Adscam and his previous cheerleading for Jean Chrétien's national unity strategy (Mr. Chrétien has “brought to heel the two problems that had consumed this country since I was a child, the deficit and separatism.”)

However, as Christie Blatchford points out in the Globe,

"The federal government sold the Clarity Act, whose goal was effectively to make an honest woman out of la belle province and to do away with misleadingly framed questions about Quebec sovereignty, dishonestly."

I'LL BE ADDING CONTENT THROUGH THE DAY. FULL EDITION TOMORROW. HAVE A GOOD ONE.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 2005

v EVENING UPDATE

Layton accuse Martin de jouer à un petit jeu dangereux

Government procurement rules flouted, Coffin testifies

Communication Coffin a servi de paravent à l'agence BCP

Harper says he'll push party for quick election

Le chef du PLC-Québec travaillait pour une agence

v HEADLINES

54% in Quebec back sovereignty

Chrétien unaware of sponsorship mess, Martin says

Martin buys NDP support

v WHAT ELSE CAUGHT MY EYE TODAY

--"Jack Layton and Paul Martin inked a $4.6-billion deal aimed at salvaging the federal budget yesterday, a move that will force the Conservatives to rely on the separatist Bloc Quebecois if the party wishes to bring down the government in the coming weeks."

“Support for sovereignty in Quebec has broken through the 50-per-cent barrier to its highest level since 1998 amid growing controversy over the sponsorship scandal.”

--"les trois quarts des Québécois estiment que Jean Chrétien et le Parti libéral du Canada les ont trahis après le référendum de 1995….

La commission Gomery, «c'est l'événement qui a le plus perturbé les Québécois et qui a le plus favorisé la souveraineté depuis l'échec de l'accord du Lac-Meech», estime le président de Léger Marketing, Jean-Marc Léger. «Ce n'est pas juste des chiffres, c'est fondamental», a-t-il ajouté…."

--“[Independent MP Chuck] Cadman is doing little to end the frenzied speculation on the outcome of such a vote. Even though he says he is personally against an early election, preferring to wait until the Gomery inquiry reports later this year, he was quoted on Monday as saying his angry constituents have convinced him he should vote down the government. Yesterday, however, he wasn't so sure.”

--It's undisputed: Preston Manning serves up the idiocy of the day; on the other hand, Chantal Hébert and John Ibbitson are in a dead heat for writing the column I wish I’d written.

--The Toronto Sun’s Christina Blizzard speculates that Warren Kinsella is preparing Dalton McGuinty as a replacement for Paul Martin.

--PM Martin met with CAW president Buzz Hargrove and received a “glowing endorsement for his budget and the Prime Minister's bottom line that there is no appetite for an election.

Mr. Hargrove indicated he had a big hand in the negotiations, making it clear to both sides that a compromise must be reached.”

--“Sebastien Theberge, a spokesman for Mr. Pettigrew, said the Minister is ''flattered'' that his name has surfaced as a possible candidate to break the deadlock in voting.

Mr. Theberge insisted the speculation is premature because at the moment only two candidates, from Chile and Mexico, are seeking the job. But he said Mr. Pettigrew has not ruled out moving to the OAS if he is drafted as a ''consensus candidate'' who can bridge divisions in the 34-nation organization.”

-- “Federal Cabinet ministers swarmed Toronto yesterday, announcing a $10.5-million waterfront revitalization project and $25-million toward new headquarters for the city's film festival.”

--“Ottawa residents may like to believe the city leads Canada in French immersion, but bilingual education is growing faster in the West where parents and students jump at the opportunity, says the president of a national French immersion organization.”

--A flurry of recent federal appointments in Ottawa, including a posting given to a Liberal fundraiser who has done business with Prime Minister Paul Martin's shipping empire, have drawn accusations of patronage from opposition parties.

--“Prime Minister Paul Martin says anyone found culpable in the sponsorship scandal should be punished severely but he doesn't believe his predecessor, Jean Chrétien, knew anything about it.

--“A lawyer representing Justice John Gomery suggested yesterday in Federal Court that the Liberal government might have a political interest in allowing former prime minister Jean Chrétien's claim that Judge Gomery is biased to succeed.”

--“The $4.6-billion in corporate tax cuts that were apparently sacrificed last night in a Liberal-NDP budget deal had the potential to boost Canada's economic growth by $5-billion a year and create up to 340,000 jobs at "little cost" to government, a C.D. Howe Institute report concluded.”

v TOP STORIES

54% in Quebec back sovereignty

Martin buys NDP support

Separatists shouldn't be judges, Quebec's Chief Justice

Liberals accused of 'orgy of patronage'

Chrétien unaware of sponsorship mess, Martin says

French immersion makes greatest gains in West

Ex-commando to await trial in Ottawa home

Top 5% of income earners pay 39% of personal taxes

Stop 'taking us for granted,' McKenna tells Americans

Grits keen for Gomery to 'go away' court told

Value of tax cuts to economy: $5-billion

Pettigrew seen as possible OAS head

Liberals announce big-money projects

Top judge stands by Tessier-Couture

Quebec isn't rushing into day-care talks

v TODAY’S HOTTIES

DIPPERS DEAL

THE COLUMN I WISH I’D WRITTEN (IBBITSON/HEBERT)

GRITS: HELL NO, WE WON’T GO

Senate Panel Is Widening Its Review on Nominee to U.N.

IDIOCY OF THE DAY (PRESTON MANNING)

DEFENSE

LIVING WITH THE ELEPHANT

JUDGING JUDGES

v TOP INTERNATIONAL STORIES

Private poll reveals Labour fears

GOP May Be Splintering on Social Security

US wants to sell Israel ‘bunker-buster’ bombs

Records Show Man in LAX Plot Gave Terrorist Details (RESSAM/LAT)

v INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Senate Panel Is Widening Its Review on Nominee to U.N.

Group of Scientists Drafts Rules on Ethics for Stem Cell Research

In Japan Crash, Time Obsession May Be Culprit

Social Issues That Bolster Bush Fail the Hapless British Tories

Italians Angry Over Inquiry on Iraq Death

Muslim Cleric Found Guilty in the 'Virginia Jihad' Case

Iraqi Cabinet May Be Chosen by Wednesday, Leaders Say

State-Run Chinese Paper Lashes Anti-Japan Protests as 'Evil Plot'

Word of Togo Leader's Victory Ignites Clashes

Swiss Oil-for-Food Monitor in Iraq Rejects 'Malicious' Criticism

Laptop in Iraq Militant's Truck Aided Capture of His Aides

U.S. Training Pakistani Units Fighting Qaeda

An Epic Battle Is Shaping Up to Save Bolton, and Bush, Too

Rice Begins Latin America Trip

Fears Mount That Germany Faces Recession

Microsoft Weighs Reversal on Gay Rights, Gates Says

Celera to Quit Selling Genome Information

New Canadian Museum Has a Battlefield Focus

Losing Ground in Iraq (editorial)

The Best Man for the U.N. (Friedman)

U.N. leash Woolly Bully Bolton (Dowd)

GOP May Be Splintering on Social Security

GOP to Reverse Ethics Rule Blocking New DeLay Probe

Adventurers Conquer Arctic, and History

Bush Takes Risk With Show of Support for DeLay

Republicans Refuse Offer On Judges

On Darfur, a Call For the Wrong Action (editorial)

Opting for Truth Over 'Triumph' (Applebaum)

Back to Syria -- And Beyond (Ignatius)

The Global Savings Glut (Samuelson)

Records Show Man in LAX Plot Gave U.S. Key Terrorist Details

Blair warned: More to follow Sedgemore out of the party

Climate change poses threat to food supply, scientists say

Blair 'prepared to lie' to win power again, claims Howard

Battle of Sedgemore a taste of things to come (editorial)

Private poll reveals Labour fears

Syria's long goodbye (editorial)

The Financial Times

US wants to sell Israel ‘bunker-buster’ bombs

Blair lead depends on mobilising supporters

Bush to support expansion of nuclear energy

'A slap in the face' as US clears troops who killed hostage hero

Little girl who cost Becker £20m

Le soutien scolaire à l'ère industrielle

«Si c'était un Français blanc, ça ne serait pas pareil»

La facture énergétique de la France explose

Schröder et Chirac plaident ensemble pour une Europe forte

The Wall Street Journal

Abu Ghraib Accountability

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2005

v AFTERNOON UPDATE

Layton says "agreement-in-principle is coming together."

Bob Rae to advise Deputy PM Anne McLellan on public inquiry into Air India

Pierre Pettigrew à la tête de l'OEA ?

v HEADLINES

61% side with PM: It's too early for a vote

No boost for Liberals, but Tory rise halted: poll

PM offers more cash for NDP priorities

Independent MP to vote against Liberals

v WHAT CAUGHT MY EYE TODAY

--“More than 60 per cent of Canadians support Prime Minister Paul Martin's view that an election should not occur until after the Gomery inquiry into the sponsorship scandal releases its report in December, a new poll has found.

However, the national survey by Ipsos-Reid, provided exclusively to CanWest/Global, also reveals that Mr. Martin's high-stakes televised speech to the nation last Thursday failed to restore much public faith in his leadership.”

--Nevertheless, as the Globe and Mail reports, “Independent MP Chuck Cadman says he is changing his vote and will now support a no-confidence motion to bring down the government, a development likely to give the Conservatives enough support to topple the Liberals.”

--“Speaking to The Globe and Mail's editorial board…Mr. Martin drew the line at the idea of rolling back a series of corporate tax cuts if that would harm job growth for small and medium-sized businesses. Government officials later confirmed that the Prime Minister might consider eliminating the cut for large corporations only. Mr. Layton has not ruled out the possibility.

"I certainly would like to see us reach an understanding with him," Mr. Martin said.”

On Jean Chrétien . . .

"He testified the way that he saw fit. But if you want to know how I think the testimony should've been given, take a look at how I testified. I think that the facts speak for themselves.

There was a round of applause [for Mr. Chrétien in caucus] because the former prime minister testified. That rarely happens. And -- and so be it. I mean, caucus applauds. That's what happens. And there was a round of applause simply because the issue was raised that he had testified the day before.

[Mr. Chrétien is trying to stop the Gomery inquiry through the courts because he is] a witness. And under our process, witnesses or people who are involved in these kinds of things are entitled to take the kinds of actions that they want to take. We're going to oppose it. And again, I stick to the earlier answers: I think that you should judge us by what we do, and we will be opposing that motion."

--“Martin told the Star's editorial board yesterday that the $4.6-billion of corporate tax cuts in this year's budget are aimed primarily at helping small- and medium-sized businesses. …

Martin's advisers went one step further yesterday, speaking off the record. "The government would be willing to look at options related to the corporate tax cuts, provided that measures for small- and medium-sized businesses are protected," said one PMO adviser.

Layton's team also appears to be keeping an open mind. "We wouldn't cry over small businesses getting a bit of a break," said an NDP strategist. "But the $4.6 billion in investment better be there."

At a private dinner in Port Hope last night, Layton told the Star: "We actually proposed that it could be split over two years, $2.3 billion per year."

Layton spent more than 90 minutes on the phone with NDP house leader Libby Davies and chief of staff Dick Proctor, who are heading the NDP negotiating team. Late last night, Layton said he was "cautiously optimistic" a deal would be reached. "No door has been slammed shut yet," he said.”

--Tell us it ain't so, Bernie: "The Gomery Commission heard yesterday that while in power, the Parti Quebecois also played the sponsorship game, something its leaders denounce as tawdry propaganda when practised by the federal government."

--“More than half of Canadians believe they should be allowed to pay for private health care, as long as there is also free care available for all who need it, a new poll finds."

--In the column I wish I'd written, The Globe and Mail's John Ibbitson says Jack Layton and Stephen Harper are sitting in no-lose positions.

--Meanwhile, James Laxer and John Ivison are neck-and-neck for idiocy of the day.

--Is the rat thinking of re-ratting? “Former Chicoutimi-Le Fjord MP Andre Harvey believes he has no chance of winning back the riding he lost to the Bloc Quebecois in last June's federal election under the banner of the Liberals.

Once a Progressive Conservative MP, Harvey said he was beaten by the sponsorship scandal, and he doesn't want to go through the same ordeal if there is a general election this spring. He has already informed the party of his decision."

--Who says there are no gentlemen left in politics?

“The Prime Minister cancelled his participation [in V-E Day celebrations] because the Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois are "threatening to force an election" on the minority Liberal government, said Melanie Gruer, the Prime Minister's assistant director of communications.

Geoff Norquay, the communications director for Tory Leader Stephen Harper, said he thinks Mr. Martin cancelled the trip because "he's discovering that it's a full-time job to keep a leaking ship afloat."

Asked if the Conservatives would take advantage of the Prime Minister's absence to force a no-confidence motion through the House, Mr. Norquay said "of course not."

--Say what? “A Conservative government would endorse the posting of bonds by Canadians requesting visitor permits for family members, a new party policy paper on immigration states.”

--The prospect of a hanging in the morning concentrates the mind wonderfully:

“Paul Martin is preparing to meet Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty after a long, frosty few months of federal-provincial duelling on the so-called "fair share" for Canada's biggest province.

But the Prime Minister, now in a struggle to save his own government, says he won't be going to that meeting with a $5-billion cheque to fill what McGuinty has been calling the gap between what his province pays into Canada and what it receives.

"I don't know where the $5 billion (figure) comes from," Martin said, arguing that to simply hand over that kind of money would weaken the federal government financially and in terms of its responsibilities.

"I do believe in a strong central government. I don't believe in a dominant central government."

--Maneuvering continues in Jean Chrétien's case against John Gomery before the Court that Jean Chrétien packed:

“Mr. Chrétien is continuing legal efforts to remove Judge Gomery despite attempts by his successor, Prime Minister Paul Martin, to point to the creation of the Gomery commission as evidence that the Liberal government is committed to getting to the bottom of the sponsorship scandal.

The Federal Court of Canada will hear arguments today on whether the Gomery commission should have its own lawyer at hearings into his alleged bias.

Normally, it is the federal government that has to defend against the charge, since it instituted the commission. But Judge Gomery has asked for his own lawyer to be present at the hearings.

In submissions filed with the Federal Court last week, Mr. Chrétien's lawyers even quoted Mr. Martin's televised address last week to support that Judge Gomery does not need his own lawyer.”

--Speaking of prominent Liberals who were elevated to the Bench:

“Allegations that almost half the lawyers who helped the federal Liberal Party in Quebec during the 2000 election were rewarded with judicial appointments are patently false, two of the highest ranking judges in the province said yesterday.

Michel Robert, who as chief justice of the Quebec Court of Appeal, is the highest federally-named judge in Quebec, also disputed Corbeil's claims….

Robert defended the selection process, but admitted it could be less secretive.

"If it (the selection process) was better known, maybe people would be less suspicious about the way judges are named," said Robert, who was president of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1986 to 1990, and was named to the Court of Appeal in 1995 after going through the screening process.”

No boost for Liberals, but Tory rise halted: poll

PM offers more cash for NDP priorities

Gagliano says separation of Quebec 'not stoppable'

Gagliano songe à retourner en politique

Nobel activist vows justice will be done for Zahra Kazemi

Ex-commando poses flight risk, prosecutor says

Liberals open chequebook in campaign-style spending blitz

Harper woos immigrants during swing through Ontario

52% back private HEALTH care

Veterans angry as PM cancels V-E Day trip

PM may take axe to tax cuts

PM moves to end cash feud

Chrétien's lawyers challenge Gomery

Independent MP now willing to vote against Liberals

Tory policy paper wants families to post immigration bonds

PQ played sponsorship game

Separatism spooked Shriners

Sitting on bench no political gift, chief justice

Candidate severs ties to Liberals

v TODAY’S HOTTIES

THE COLUMN I WISH I’D WRITTEN (IBBITSON)

Faith 'War' Rages in U.S., Judge Says

IDIOCY OF THE DAY (LAXER/IVISON)

FOREIGN AND DEFENSE

v TOP INTERNATIONAL STORIES

Americans Oppose Senate Rule Changes, Poll Shows

controversy over Iraq forces Blair from Battlefield

Brown claims Thatcher's legacy

Lebanon heads down road to democracy as Syrians go home

v INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Bush and Saudi Prince Discuss High Oil Prices in Ranch Meeting

Protest in a Urals Region Seeks the Ouster of a Putin Ally

Ex-Officials Say Bolton Inflated Syrian Danger

Pope Benedict Reaches Out to Muslims

Mysterious Viruses as Bad as They Get

Arms Move to Syria 'Unlikely,' Report Says

Iraqis Press on in Their Search for a Cabinet

China Tries to Isolate Taiwan's President

U.S. Considers Toughening Stance Toward Venezuela

German Foreign Minister Faces Hearing on Criminal Immigrants

Russia Will Pursue Democracy, but in Its Own Way, Putin Says

The Disappearing Wall (editorial)

N. Korea, 6, and Bush, 0 (Kristof)

The Proof's in the Pension (Tierney)

Americans Oppose Senate Rule Changes, Poll Shows

Foreign Policy Disputes Are Subtext in Battle Over Bolton

Short-Lived Strike Reflects Strength of Japan-China Ties

Faith 'War' Rages in U.S., Judge Says

Clashes Growing Between Bush and GOP Moderates

Nuke the Filibuster (editorial)

Exclusive: Labour MP defects to Lib Dems over Iraq

New controversy over Iraq forces Blair from his chosen battlefields

Brown claims Thatcher's legacy

Big ideas? This feels like a local election (Steyn)

Judges reveal anger over curbs on power

71 die as Japanese train hits block of flats

Brown is firm on five tests for euro entry

British complaint could be last straw for Bush's man

Lebanon heads down road to democracy as Syrians go home

Bachar, tiraillé, sauve les apparences

L'électorat de droite se mobilise et fait remonter le oui

Lionel Jospin revient en patron du PS grâce à la campagne européenne

En souvenir des déportés, Jacques Chirac appelle à être "toujours en veille"

MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2005

v UPDATE

Tory momentum slowed in wake of Martin speech, new poll suggests

Grits hint at willingness to defer tax cuts

Ad woman denies she lobbied Chrétien's office

Paul Martin annule un voyage de crainte d'être renversé pendant son absence

v HEADLINE

Let's make a deal

v HERE’S WHAT CAUGHT MY EYE

--The Toronto Star’s ANDREW MILLS and TONDA MACCHARLES report:

“The Prime Minister and the leader of the fourth party held an extraordinary private meeting in Toronto last night to discuss how to save Paul Martin's job — at least for a while.”

--The Globe and Mail missed the meeting but serves up a menacing Thomas d'Aquino:

"My strongest possible advice to Mr. Martin is: Don't even think of doing it," said Thomas d'Aquino, president of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives. "For any sensible government, it should be unthinkable. It would be a huge mistake."

--On Canada AM this morning, Jack Layton gave him 24 hours, but Martin appears to be balking.

--Earlier in the day yesterday, The Star’s TONDA MACCHARLES and ANDREW MILLS were with Stephen Harper in Toronto:

"Your community has no greater friend for its values and faith in freedom and family than the Conservative party," Harper told the crowd of several thousand gathered at Nathan Phillips Square.

"We know ... that Sikhs believe strongly, and your faith promotes strongly, family and the institution of marriage as the union of one man and one woman. In Canada today, only we Conservatives defend that traditional definition of marriage."

His move disappointed Sikh leaders. Immediately afterward, one Sikh religious leader spoke in Punjabi and reminded the crowd it was to keep the politicized topic of same-sex marriage out of the day's ceremonies.

--The National Post’s John Ivison, venturing off the Hill, saw it differently:

“Martin would have eaten his own weight in the free chickpea curry being offered if it had convinced the crowd of his credentials. Flanked by his Toronto-area Sikh colleagues Ruby Dhalla, Nadeep Bains and Gurbax Mahli, the Prime Minister made a brave fist of it under gloomy skies. Liberal values of human rights, equality, tolerance, honesty and brotherhood are Sikh values, he implored….

After he left the stage, Harper dallied with members of the audience who wanted to meet him and get autographs. Autographs. From Stephen Harper. At an ethnic event.

No wonder he looked like the Cheshire Cat. The Sikh community numbers 400,000 politicized, highly organized Canadians, and from yesterday's evidence a large number of its members look to have swung solidly Conservative. That could be the difference between winning and losing in a number of seats in the Brampton and Mississauga areas around Toronto.”

--The Ottawa Citizen’s David Pugliese serves up a Con who's suffering from premature speculation:

“Canada's top soldier is being optimistic if he thinks his ambitious future plan for the military will survive intact under a Conservative government, says the party's defence critic.

--The National Post's Anne Dawson dishes up some anxious Grits:

“Prime Minister Paul Martin is being pressured by his caucus to scrap $4.6 billion in corporate tax cuts in the budget to get the NDP on side to fend off political manoeuvres by the Conservatives and the Bloc Quebecois to defeat the fragile minority Liberal government. …

The Ottawa Citizen’s Susan Riley weighs in with some advice for Jack Layton:

“party veteran Ed Broadbent says that, despite the instability, he can't remember when New Democrats have been as strong in the polls overall, before an election even begins. That, and increasing disillusionment with the Liberals among centre-left voters, have some wondering if this time, for once, the New Democrats won't be crushed in another polarization between Liberals and Conservatives.

In fact, if the Liberal vote collapses altogether, the way the Progressive Conservatives did in 1993, the NDP could leapfrog the imploding Liberals and emerge as the main centre-left opposition outside Quebec.

-- Chantal Hébert looks at the maneuvering in Ottawa, in the column I wish I'd written:

“One way or another, the developments of the next few days will say much about whether the Liberal government, in its desperate quest for a few more months in power, still has a bottom line.”

--The Hill-Times' F. Abbas Rana and Kate Malloy look at post-election scenarios:

"If Martin wins a minority, his leadership is on a countdown. If Mr. Harper wins a minority government, then Harper's "a dead man," said one Liberal.

If the Tories win a small minority, the Conservatives believe that would be "the worst thing that could happen, that they'd be dead in six months. They don't have the membership to put a substantial Cabinet in place, they couldn't staff 39 departments of government, they don't have enough experience and so on and in a short period of time, they'll kill themselves and the key there is as soon as they become a small minority, the entire opposition is perceived as being on the left wing of society," said the source."

--The Gazette’s HUBERT BAUCH reports that Gomery is the gift that will go on giving:

“The Gomery Commission is scheduled to go after some big game in its hunt for the perpetrators of the federal sponsorship scandal, and once again it will have to go undercover.

--The Toronto Star’s Carol Goar is no longer standing by her man:

“It is hard not to feel sorry for a prime minister who has been dogged by an odious inherited scandal since his 60th day in office.

But Martin's problems go deeper than that. He is not the dynamic leader Canadians believed him to be.

He might have been once. But he picked up too much baggage and shed too many aspirations along the way.”

-- In the Globe, Lysiane Gagnon reflects on Martin’s ham-handedness:

“By calling for a public inquiry, Mr. Martin unleashed a process that would entirely escape his control. As soon as Mr. Justice John Gomery was in command, the Prime Minister could do nothing but turn on the TV to see what was happening. Everything was now in the judge's hands, and his first move was to chose a chief prosecutor with deep personal reasons to hate the Chrétien Liberals.

Nobody ever questioned the integrity of Bernard Roy, but let's face it, not only was Mr. Roy the chief of staff of former Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney from 1984 to 1988, but he is Mr. Mulroney's closest friend (they also work in the same law firm of Ogilvy Renault).

--Last, but not least, the National Post’s Paul Vieira reports on the state of our economy:

“Several disturbing economic trends in Canada need to be reversed -- in particular, five years of declining foreign investment and a shrinking pool of high-technology workers -- if the country hopes to capitalize on trade opportunities abroad, according to a government document released last week.

The warning is contained in the international trade section of the much-ballyhooed foreign policy review -- one of a bevy of policy announcements from the government ahead of an anticipated spring election.”

v TOP STORIES

Let's make a deal: PM (STAR)

PM willing to change budget (GLOBE)

Mandarins rooting for a new majority rule

Business leaders worried planned tax cuts will die

Harper makes political pitch at Sikh event (STAR)

Conservatives confident West will be won (POST)

Gomery goes silent again

Conservative recruiting no problem: ADQ

Canada taking backseat in G7

Tories plot changes to defence blueprint

Avoiding 'the big, bad Americans': Afghanistan mission

RCMP warns of remote-control bombs risk

PM pushed to scrap tax cuts

v TODAY’S HOTTIES

THE COLUMN I WISH I’D WRITTEN (HEBERT)

NDIPPERS NMATTER

Humanity has lost its way, says new Pope

FOREIGN AND DEFENSE

NATIONAL SECURITY

v TOP INTERNATIONAL STORIES

Thumb Wars: RIM Is Squeezed by All Comers (WSJOURNAL)

Rules Restricting Canadians Backfire (WSJOURNAL)

Mother sues NHS after twin survives abortion

A government at bay over Iraq war legality (BIG LEAK;UK)

HOWARD Dean: Republicans 'Evil,' 'Corrupt' and 'Brain-Dead'

Rice and Cheney Push Iraqi Politicians on Stalemate

v INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Rice and Cheney Are Said to Push Iraqi Politicians on Stalemate

Marines From Iraq Sound Off About Want of Armor and Men

A Hundred Cellphones Bloom, and Chinese Take to the Streets

G.O.P. Senator Casts Doubt on U.N. Nominee

White House May Go to U.N. Over North Korean Shipments

Ezer Weizman, Former President of Israel and Hero of 1967 War, Dies at 80

As Saudi Visits, Bush Seeks Help on Lowering Oil Prices

Last Syrian Units Pack to Pull Out of Lebanon

Abbas Puts His Own Stamp on Security Force

Serbia Acts on War Crimes to Strengthen Ties to West

Voters Throng Polling Stations for Togo's Presidential Election

Mexico City Mayor's Supporters Speak With Quiet March

Clinton Makes Campaign Stop (via Satellite) to Back Blair

The Oblivious Right (Krugman)

Unexpectedly, Capitol Hill Democrats Stand Firm

Frist Urges End to Nominee Filibusters

37 Killed, 220 Injured in Train Crash

In Sudan, the Daily Battle to Administer Aid

A Scathing Chairman Dean Finds Republicans 'Evil,' 'Corrupt' and 'Brain-Dead'

Battle for Egypt's Future (Diehl)

The Democracy Trap (Mallaby)

Pope Issues Call for Unity

Illegal Immigration Fears Have Spread

Letting Passions Burn May Backfire on China

DeLay's Banana Republic (editorial)

A government at bay over Iraq war legality

Attorney General's warnings

UN investigator who exposed US army abuse forced out of his job

Humanity has lost its way, says new Pope

Poorest pay for failures of state schools

Opposition goes on Iraq offensive

China may speed up reform of currency regime

Roll-call of business leaders back Labour

EU fears for future as French and Dutch threaten 'no' vote

Mother sues NHS after twin survives abortion

Why this baffling silence? (Rees-Mogg)

Plongée dans la galaxie eclatée des antis

A 380 : l'heure de vérité

The Wall Street Journal

Thumb Wars: With Its BlackBerry a Big Hit, RIM Is Squeezed by All Comers

Mark Heinzl reports:

“Being a pioneer, RIM developed a wireless e-mail system in fits and starts and in a way that makes it largely incompatible with devices made by other companies. RIM makes BlackBerry devices and helps wireless phone companies take care of the e-mail service, for a fee. It's not easy to get BlackBerry service on anything but the company's own hardware, a problem RIM is attempting to remedy.

Rivals, notably Microsoft, are trying to exploit that limitation. The Redmond, Wash., giant has included a free wireless e-mail feature on the latest version of its widely used e-mail server software. That gives phone companies the freedom to offer wireless e-mail services on handsets made by a wide range of companies, not just RIM. …

a host of companies are pushing wireless e-mail networks as BlackBerry alternatives. For example, Good Technology Inc., Santa Clara, Calif., says it has signed up more than 5,000 organizations for its rival system, which runs with gadgets that compete with the BlackBerry.

In this arena, some say Microsoft is the biggest long-term threat. In March, it reached a deal allowing handsets running software made by the United Kingdom's Symbian Ltd. to work on Microsoft's e-mail servers. The pact followed a similar deal with Nokia.

The software giant says it won't charge service providers, such as cellphone companies, a monthly fee to handle e-mail traffic, as BlackBerry does. Scott Horn, senior director of Microsoft's mobile-devices division, argues that will encourage service providers to push Microsoft's system.

RIM's Mr. Balsillie contends that service providers won't actually save money working with Microsoft. He notes they still have to set up customer support and back-up facilities that RIM currently provides for its fee.

For companies already running Microsoft systems, there are cost savings. Dion Baird, senior network architect for the Oregon Department of Education, says his boss was interested in giving BlackBerries to some staffers. He found the department could save about $10,000 by using the Microsoft system that already runs its regular e-mail, obviating the need to buy a BlackBerry server and license its software. "It really wasn't much of a decision after that," says Mr. Baird, who chose hand-helds made by Siemens AG.”

Rules Restricting Canadian Loggers Backfire on Maine

Barry Newman reports:

“Wary of heightened immigration enforcement, employers of all kinds are trying to hire foreign workers legally. Demand for temporary seasonal visas is overwhelming a limited supply. As a result Mr. Pruneau and several hundred fellow Canadians have found themselves being booted out of the country after only six months, for the second year in a row. Yet few Americans have rushed to fill their places. In Maine, that has led to a shortage of loggers, a supply crisis at sawmills and a profit squeeze at pulp mills as printers shop for lower-cost paper on other continents. …

"Canadians can work for less," Mr. Jackson says. "They don't ask for health care. The exchange rate still gives them an extra 20% on the dollar. So landowners in Maine use them to get the wood cut cheaper."

By law, every job a Canadian gets must be first advertised in Maine at the government-certified rate, which on average is $27,000. Few Americans apply. A 1999 study commissioned by the state found that Canadians don't depress pay, except in pockets of the far north. American loggers, it concluded, simply hate camping out in deep woods.

"Certainly, there's some level of wage that would attract American workers," says Lloyd Irland, a forestry consultant who helped write the study. But that would necessitate raising pay not only for a few hundred Americans who would replace the Canadians, but for the American loggers and thousands of others doing related jobs.

"The question is, could our industry survive at that wage level?" Mr. Irland says. "My short answer is, no. We're in a very cruel market. Several of our paper mills have been in and out of bankruptcy. A lot of people are struggling to keep our mills alive."

v IF YOU HAVE TIME

Google to Sell Ads Not Related to Searches

A Jazz Discovery Adds a New Note to the Historical Record

A Boldface Name Invites Others to Blog With Her

To Soothe Dutch-Muslim Nerves, Try a Jewish Mayor

Indians Investing, but Carefully, in Hollywood

A Tax Benefit for Big Donors Often Bypasses Idea of Charity

SUNDAY, APRIL 24, 2005

v HEADLINE

Martin, Layton to hold private talks on tactics

v WHAT CAUGHT MY EYE

--Susan Delacourt

“New Democrats are not even guaranteeing that it will go any way to helping Martin gain the extra time he sought in his televised appeal to Canadians this week. For that reason, on top of the Liberals' reluctance to shed the corporate tax cuts, the NDP will likely plunge into an election soon with all the other parties, portraying Martin as the one who didn't want to make the minority work.”

--Anne Dawson:

"Conservative deputy leader Peter MacKay was quick to chastise Mr. Layton's olive branch to the Liberals, noting that he spend all of last week slagging Mr. Martin and his team as corrupt and now appears ready to join forces with them. ...

Mr. MacKay said it would be unlikely the Tories, who initially said they would support the Liberal budget because they did not want to defeat the government, would continue to support it if the corporate tax measures were removed because that was one of the few items in the document they condoned."

--Doug Fisher

“It's hard to recall a close guide or handler of any prime minister (not even Bill Fox with Brian Mulroney or Warren Kinsella with Jean Chretien) who radiates as much arrogance and partisanship as Martin's David Herle and Scott Reid, as we've come to know them on CBC Newsworld.

Martin without a script is an aimless, tedious talker. He cannot take and hold a briefing for long. He widely overvalues his own enthusiasm for Canada and its future under his leadership. He is literally slow. Think of all the decisions delayed or put off....

Long ago, the Liberal government of Mackenzie King was caught in a bad scandal over dredging contracts for the St. Lawrence River. When pressed on it, King conceded that he and his colleagues were in "The Valley of Humiliation." We await such recognition from both Martin and Chretien.”

--Lorne Gunter:

“It is now the NDP who have to worry that they have seen no up-tick in popularity as a result the Liberal collapse throughout April. The NDP's numbers have remained stagnant at 18 to 20 per cent since the most recent Adscam revelations were made.

It can only help the New Democrats to wait a little longer before forcing an election; give it one or two more months to see whether they can benefit from Liberal slippage on the left, the way the Conservatives have at the centre and right.

There's lots more damage coming the Liberals' way, too. An election any earlier than about a month from now would be premature. Yet one even five or six months from now might be soon enough as Liberal misfortunes continue to dogpile.”

v TOP STORY

Jack Layton's bottom line (DELACOURT)

v RUNNERS-UP

Dryden hints daycare agreement is in offing

Another military watchdog quits

Martin, Layton: MacKay accuses Layton of flip-flopping

Military defends delay in search for commando

Canadian general hopes to avoid Rwanda disaster

Have you heard? He barely wrote a word (POET LAUREATE)

Do-not-call list threatens to overwhelm regulators

Grit senator got $500Gs a month for vacant office (SUN)

v TODAY’S HOTTIES

Goldsmith told Blair 'war could be illegal'

FOREIGN AND DEFENSE

THE COLUMN I WISH I’D WRITTEN (GUNTER/BROOKS)

v TOP INTERNATIONAL STORIES

Acela Bedevils Amtrak at Every Turn (CDN ANGLE)

China and Japan Leaders Pledge to Improve Relations

Pope 'obstructed' sex abuse inquiry

Campbell: We're home and dry (UK ELECTION)

v INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Acela, Built to Be Rail's Savior, Bedevils Amtrak at Every Turn

Released E-Mail Exchanges Reveal More Bolton Battles

China and Japan Leaders Pledge to Improve Relations

Evidence in Vioxx Suits Shows Intervention by Merck Officials

Turbulence on Campus in 60's Hardened Views of Future Pope

Palestinian Leader Walks Mideast Tightrope, Hecklers Make Each Step Difficult

Annan Remark on Oil Sales Draws Nods of Agreement

Berlusconi Fills New Cabinet With Familiar Faces

Egyptian Campaigns in Limbo, Awaiting Election Rules

A High-Tech Lynching in Prime Time (Rich)

Blacks, Whites and Love (Kristof)

Living Longer Is the Best Revenge (Brooks)

The Hottest Button: How The Times Covers Israel and Palestine (Okrent)

DeLay Airfare Was Charged To Lobbyist's Credit Card

Hu Tightens Party's Grip On Power

Insurgent Violence Escalates In Iraq

DNC Is Told Where to Move Into Bush Bloc

Pope Tells Journalists To Search For 'Truth'

U.N. Chief's Record Comes Under Fire

Europe's Minority Politicians in Short Supply

Islamic Activists Sweep Saudi Council Elections

Darfur's Real Death Toll (editorial)

Blunt but Effective (Eagleburger on Bolton)

A Shifting Focus on Terrorism (Hoagland)

Unread and Unsubscribing (Will)

FAIR or Unfair Game? (Getler)

Books vs. Goons (Rushdie)

Sympathy for DeLay (Kinsley)

Objectivity Is Highly Overrated (Navasky)

Goldsmith told Blair 'war could be illegal'

US guards at Guantanamo tortured me, says UK man

Straw seeks to put arms trade at top of G8 agenda

The Sunday Telegraph

Tory fury as BBC sends hecklers to bait Howard

The Observer

Pope 'obstructed' sex abuse inquiry

Olympic bribes row forces London into £15m U-turn

Why Israel will always be vilified (Aaronovitch)

The (London) Sunday Times

Campbell: We're home and dry