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10. oktober 2005
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The Christian-Democrat Angela Merkel will very probably become the first woman Chancellor of Germany, after her rival Gerhard Schröder was forced to give up his aspirations to keep the top post. Apparently bitter that his SPD party bartered away his top post for many key ministerial posts, he is resigning, and the two biggest parties will form a grand coalition without him.
Merkel will also have to face the reality that her planned reforms will be seriously watered down in the negotiations, and many fear Germany's economy, badly in need for painful reforms, will become as much a victim of the process as Schröder.
Of the 16 Cabinet portfolios, the SPD has taken the powerful finance, foreign affairs, employment, health, justice, labour, environment and transport posts. Frau Merkel has retained the ministry of the interior, defence, home security and the new economy and technology brief. The talks to formalise the new government are expected to be completed on November 12.
Now we'll find out if Merkel has what it takes to lead a reluctant coalition and a Germany in crisis.
Update: It is semi-official. A deal between SPD and CDU has confirmed Merkel will become Chancellor.
10:39:34 PM 
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 Pakistan's worst earthquake may have killed between 20,000 and 30,000 people, and there is an urgent need to reach the survivors who are desperate as they run out of water and food, and cold as they have nowhere to live.
Shopkeepers clashed with looters Monday, and hungry families huddled under tents while waiting for relief supplies after Pakistan's worst earthquake razed entire villages and buried roads in rubble.
While the tragedy is almost overwhelming, there are also positive experiences.
British rescuers unearthed a man trapped in rubble for 54 hours, residents using their bare hands and crowbars freed two girls buried in a school for more than two days, and a woman and child were pulled to safety from a wrecked apartment building after 62 hours.
If we are looking for more possible positives from this disaster, it is that it may help solve the conflict over Kashmir. Pakistan has accepted donations of aid from India, and a top rebel commander of Hezb-ul-Mujahedeen has ordered the suspension of violence in the hit areas.
At the same time, aid is arriving from all over the world.
Blogger California Yankee has posted a list of links and phone numbers for you to visit or call to contribute to the emergency relief work. It has been some tough months with lots of disaster victims to help around the world, but that would be no comfort for the South-Asian victims if aid didn't arrive this time.
10:18:33 PM
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John Hawkins emailed four questions about the Harriet Miers nomination to 200 right-of-center bloggers (in the US, presumably), and 79 representatives responded.
1) Do you think George Bush made:
A) A good or excellent decision in selecting Harriet Miers as a nominee for the Supreme Court? (9% --7)
B) A bad or terrible decision in selecting Harriet Miers as a nominee for the Supreme Court? (49% -- 39 responses)
C) A so-so decision? (20% -- 16)
D) I'm not sure yet. (22% -- 17)
Also, 53% now sees Bush in a less favourable light against only 4% more favourably. However, on the question of whether Republican senators should vote against Miers, the vote was split quite equally in three: for, against and not sure.
The confirmation hearings will be very, very closely watched indeed.
8:40:49 PM
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Mark Steyn isn't too worried about the nomination of Harriet Miers, and points out that Bush has never pretended to be a right-winger.
In the meantime, what's left is the base's distress and the perception of weakness on the president's part. The first is real and may cause problems in 2006, though I can't see it costing the GOP its congressional majorities. As for Bush personally, he was the better of the alternatives in both 2000 and 2004, but come on, the "compassionate conservative" thing was, in its implications, far more insulting to the base than the steel tariffs or the proposed illegal immigrant amnesty or the judicial nominees. Bush, it seems ever more obvious, is the Third Wayer Clinton only pretended to be.
The Slicker reckoned that, to be electable, a Democrat had to genuflect rhetorically to some kind of sensible soccer-mom-ish center, and he was right, at least insofar as without him the Dems have been el stinko floppo three elections in a row. But Bush, for good or ill, believes in himself as the real Third Way deal: It's a remarkable achievement to get damned day in and day out as the new Hitler when 90 percent of the time you're Tony Blair with a ranch.
Another brilliant sound-bite.
7:51:27 AM
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An old, anti-Bush story was recycled by the BBC, and media across the world ate the propaganda hook, line and sinker. Tim Blair summarises the facts:
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and White House spokesman Scott McClellan have since both issued denials; Nabil Shaath now says he didn’t take Bush’s alleged words literally; and even the BBC is backing down
As Tim points out, the plastic turkey crowd were just too eager to play this ridiculous story.
12:00:14 AM
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© Copyright 2005 Jan Haugland.
Last update: 01.11.2005; 21:06:41.
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