"Well, when the president does it that means that it is not illegal."

One of the most infamous political quotes in history, it encapsulated the corruption at the heart of the Watergate scandal in a single sentence. But how was Richard Nixon finally coaxed into making this damning comment, that  would define his Presidency and set the benchmark against which all future abuses of executive power would be compared?

The answer is provided by Frost/Nixon, a new play by Peter Morgan which dramatises the behind-the-scenes events before and during the taping of "one of the most monumental political interviews of all time".

Like many others I've become hooked on the Daily Kos site over the past couple of years, with its mix of serious political discussion, pro-active campaigning and bright, irreverent commentaries on topical news items. From here in the UK it's given me a real insight into the American political system in a way that our own Papers and TV commentators never seemed to able to do. Maybe some of you in the US feel the same way!

So how would you feel if you logged in and found a message saying:

"Sorry but due to ongoing legal action the Daily Kos website has been discontinued"

Set aside thoughts of George Bush, "Black Ops", or Karl Rove machinations. Do you think such a scenario could realistically take place in America. Do you believe it couldn't happen here? Well, I have to tell you that through a combination of bad luck, poor legal advice and an exceptionally vindictive plaintiff, for one well respected niche website it already has.....

Apologies if the title is slightly provocative but I was spurred to write this when I read this diary publicising a rally in California tomorrow (Monday 30th October) in support of John Garamendi's run for office as Lieutenant Governor of California - his opponent Tom McClintock, opposes California's research so much he calls it "snake oil" apparently, and if elected would presumably do everything in his power to block such research from happening.

But while that outcome may be a bad thing from the point of view of Mr Garamendi, his supporters, most Kossacks here and sick people everywhere, for me there would be a huge silver lining if McClintock did achieve his aim.

Why? Because I live in the United Kingdom and we're about to pour billions of dollars of investment into biotechnology, specifically targeting stem cell research as something that could not just alleviate suffering but also reap huge economic benefits for our economy in the future. As Alastair Darling, a senior member of Blair's Government put it this way in a recent speech:

Just a heads-up for an joint interview with Condoleeza Rice and her UK opposite number Foreign Secretary Jack Straw that was just broadcast on BBC1's The Politics Show today. While both are in typically dissembling mode and the interviewer misses a few tricks, there are some very interesting moments where Rice in particular ties herself up in knots and gives answers that to coin a phrase "are little more than gibberish".
Perhaps more importantly she also discusses the current US attitude to Syria, Iran's nuclear ambitions and Russia.

File under "you really can't make this shit up".

The big story in the UK Sunday papers this morning is an attack by British PM Tony Blair on the BBC's coverage of the New Orleans hurricane aftermath - and can you guess who he made these comments to?

That's right Rupert Murdoch!

 Blair attacks BBC for 'anti-US bias'

As you'd expect all the main news programmes over here are still dominated by the London bombings and tonight's edition of Newsnight on BBC2 was no exception with more harrowing tales from survivors and rescuers.

But what was extraordinary was the studio discussion that followed these reports, on the subject of how to prevent further outbreaks of terrorism. First up was George Galloway who gave a typically rumbustious performance in defending himself against aggressive questioning from the presenter.

However it was the opinions of the next guest linked from Washington that I found so surprising....

About this time yesterday evening around 23:30 British Summer Time (19:30 EST?) I was flipping between channels to see if I could get another quick fix of George Galloway chewing up the hapless Norm Coleman when to my surprise I found Sky News showing live coverage of a joint UK-US press conference in Washington with Condoleeza Rice and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.

Unsurprisingly most of the questions were directed to the Iranian nuclear dispute and the crisis in Uzbekistan. But one un-named female journalist (first name Andrea) asked the following question:

In October 2004 BBC television broadcast a three part documentary called The Power of Nightmares by award-winning journalist Adam Curtis who examined the current "War on Terror" with a sceptical eye, comparing it to the worst scare-mongering tactics employed in the Cold War (by many of the same politicians cf. Donald Rumsfield) and demonstrating that the roots of the two ideologies at the heart of this conflict - the neo-cons and the radical Islamists - can, extraordinarily, both be traced back to philisophical disgust at the "decadent values" of post-WWII America.

That description may make it sound a heavy slog but believe me, irrespective of the seriousness of the subject matter, each episode was fascinating to watch, due to Curtis's trademark style which includes heavy use of archive footage and popular  music (and if you thought there was no possible connection between the rise of Muslim extremism and the song "Baby, It's Cold Outside" this is the documentary that will prove you wrong!)

I haven't got much time so this will have to be quick and dirty!

Check out this article in today's Guardian Bloggers will rescue the right
by failed former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith. It's the most appalling hatchet job on left wing bloggers  and Kos in particular (repeating the "screw then" meme about the dead mercenaries last year) while heaping praise on none other than Karl Rove -who probably dictated it!

I think this is known as throwing down a gauntlet!

Among all the legitimate concerns about Ohio there have been relatively few mentions of strange incidents in Pinellas county Florida. Supervisor of elections Deborah Clarke was rightly castigated for her behaviour after incorrectly certifying 17,000 "NO" votes on a gambling initiative as "YES" votes:

Bad enough you might think - but Daniel Hopsicker's madcow morning news site has uncovered something far more interesting about Mrs Clark....

This is a genuine must read news report from the BBC that was broadcast last night. I think this extract is sufficient to get across the key points:

During a nine month investigation, the BBC has uncovered the disturbing truth about the way authorities in New York City are conducting the fight against Aids.

HIV positive children - some only a few months old - are enrolled in toxic experiments without the consent of guardians or relatives.

In some cases where parents have refused to give children their medication, they have been placed in care.

The city's Administration of Children's Services (ACS) does not even require a court order to place HIV kids with foster parents or in children's homes, where they can continue to give them experimental drugs.

With all the speculation regarding the recent stories of Wayne Madsen I thought it would be instructive to point you in the direction of what I believe to be a genuine piece of investigative journalism by Daniel Hopsicker regarding the history of Sequoia Pacific, one of the big three voting companies operating in the USA. This is the second part of a series with more to follow.

More details in the extended entry below:

Lead item on last night's edition of BBC Newsnight was the current controversy over Iran and its nuclear ambitions. The video of this can be accessed for the next couple of days from this BBC web page
The tone of the piece was balanced but sceptical, with the interviewer specifically referencing the false claims about Iraq WMDs as a reason for not lending credence to these new accusations.
However what came across loud and clear is that the US Government is actively engaged in not only promoting these claims but also undermining the efforts of EU diplomats to broker a deal with the Iranian authorities

Given the interest expressed in this landmark BBC documentary I thought I would point out that at least the third episode can now be downloaded from this site.
Be warned though - this provides answers to the questions about the way "Al Quaida" operates and how exactly Bin Laden was able to get away from Tora Bora but those answers will shock you and make you even angier about the events of last Tuesday.
Oh and look out for the Disneyland "terrorists" - has this case been covered in America at all recently?

I think it's time to draw your attention to this report
from Daniel Hopsicker, who has done some of the best investigative reporting into the 9/11 conspiracy particularly in relation to Florida. Note that this draws together information from a host of public sources..
So why is George W so pally with terrorists?

You folks may be interested to know MM will be one of the panellists on the BBC political discussion show Question Time this evening and you can follow the action on the web or via BBc America.

Details here.

QT is a familiar fixture in the schedules here and the sparks often fly - partly due to the heavy audience participation element, and often in the way panellists set about each other. Watch out for Richard Littlejohn, he's an extreme right wing Murdoch journalist so I expect a few low blows. Let's just hope no-one brings up his assault conviction.....

Well the request for British troops to cover US gaps in Iraq is really going down like a cup of cold sick over here, dominating political coverage just at the time Blair was attempting to "move on" from the issue of Iraq - as can be seen from the most recent Government briefings for the press (sadly only summaries are available, not transcripts)

Tuesday afternoon press briefing by the Prime Minister's office

Wednesday morning press briefing by the Prime Minister's office

I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere yet but it is the number ONE news item in Britain at the moment!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3749058.stm

For your side the implications are clear - you haven't got enough resources to conduct operations you want to carry out but on our side one of the big concerns is chain of command.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3748708.stm