Asked by ABC’s Diane Sawyer Monday morning whether the “the situation in Afghanistan in precarious and urgent,” McCain responded:
“I think it’s serious. . . . It’s a serious situation, but there’s a lot of things we need to do. We have a lot of work to do and I’m afraid it’s a very hard struggle, particularly given the situation on the Iraq/Pakistan border,” said McCain, R-Ariz., said on “Good Morning America.”
An Israeli human rights group released video footage last night showing an Israeli soldier firing a rubber-coated bullet at close range at a Palestinian man who had already been detained, blindfolded and cuffed.
The Palestinian, who had been involved in a demonstration in the occupied West Bank village of Nil’in on July 7, was injured in the toe by the shooting. He was treated by army medics and released, according to the rights group, B’Tselem.
The video clip, which is just over a minute long, was filmed by a 14-year-old Palestinian girl from her home in the village and passed on to B’Tselem.
My visit to Australia is impeccably timed. While London is set to bask in temperatures of 21°C this week, it’s cold in Sydney and the forecast looks miserable for the next couple of days. On the upside, unlike Gordon Brown, whose trip to the US was overshadowed by the Pope, his holiness left Sydney this morning, so fingers crossed the crowds will have departed and I won’t have to queue to go up the Sydney Tower.
Over the next ten days I’m in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra speaking on a range of subjects; from the Self-resilient society (a paper I’m currently writing), to the public value of security as well as on the future of Holistic Government. If you’re interested in what I’m doing you can follow me on Twitter.
One thing I have been told to look out for is a new comedy airing on ABC. The Hollowmen focuses on the workings of the Central Policy Unit, an internal Government think tank. Set up by the Prime Minister, the Unit is charged with developing a “long term policy vision”. Their job is to stop worrying about tomorrow’s headlines – and start worrying about next week’s. Sounds like it could become required viewing.
Having blogged about American political TV adverts past and present, I’m now excited by some really alternative media: kerchiefs and light summer dresses. The wonderful New York Historical Society (“New York’s Attic”) currently has a small exhibition of campaign items from presidential races. Examples range from a pro-Lincoln Chinese lantern to a pro-Eisenhower packet of cigarettes. One of the most resilient forms of advertising has been the humble kerchief. Here are two samples for JFK and Dubya fans to wrap round their necks while out on the range:
And for those after a Fifties look, there’s an Eisenhower campaign dress. Why isn’t Gap doing an Obama print to match this I-Like-Ike classic?
