Lawyers save the day...

Despite the many many jokes about lawyers and their being worthless, judges from both sides of the Atlantic have fulfilled their role as guardians of rights and checks on government. In England, Mr Justice Sullivan quashed a number of 'control orders' issued against some people effectively putting them under house arrest. Reading through the precise mechanics of these control orders, they appear to be very similar to being banned under apartheid South Africa - no phone, no meetings, curfews in-house from 4 pm to 10 am. Remember these are people about whom there is intelligence, not evidence. In some cases the intelligence is from US agencies. We all know the UK and US governments' record in respect of "intelligence".

In the US, the Supreme Court, even though packed with GWB's picks (except that one didn't vote since he had been involved in the matter earlier) decided on a 5-3 majority to block the military tribunals that were intended to try some fo the Guantanamo Bay detainees (never mind that there have only been about 10 of these so far as against about 400 people detained).

In the UK, there is talk about a constitutional crisis and the judgment has increased calls from the government to review the Human Rights Act, which many see as one of Tony Blair's triumphs in office. This morning I listened to a podcast of a radio 4 interview with a member of the government and Mike Mansfield QC, esteemed human rights barrister (btw - podcasts of bbc radio are excellent even if they are a day late in Hong Kong) - I loved Mansfield's answer to the question of what are we supposed to do now that control orders have been quashed where we have intelligence about individuals. "due process" was the answer - what's wrong with the old system of putting people on trial and showing the Court that there is sufficient evidence to convict. As Mansfield states, the idea of terrorists, people wanting to change people's ideas through violence is not a new phenomenon and the body of law in this area has been developed over a number of centuries. Human rights protect everyone, not just 'criminals'.

In the US, I wonder what GWB's reaction is going to be...anyone from stateside care to comment? Is Gitmo going to close? what will they do with all the prisoners?

Anyway, overall an excellent day for the judiciary doing their part to perfection.

Cache

Shadi and I watched the French film, Cache (or "Hidden") yesterday with mixed reviews. I thought that it was an excellent movie up until the end when I was left extremely unsatisfied. Also, I had been quite excited about the movie since reading various reviews that proclaimed it one of the best movies of they year. Add to that the class of Daniel Auteil and Juliette Binoche (who still looks amazing - do French women take a class in elegance?). The acting is outstanding and the issues dealt with by the film are extremely appropriate and I was defending the film against Shadi's complaint that it was too slow until the movie suddenly ended. The director has said that those who leave the movie unfulfilled in the way I was have missed the point of the movie - maybe that's true but maybe you can get the point ( which I think I did with the benefit of all the reviews etc.) but still feel that the story arc had not been satisfactorily completed.

I would be interested to know what people thought of the movie.

Wimbledon is Coming!!

I remember growing up and always knowing when Wimbledon would be starting because the TV would invariably have these documentaries on past Wimbledons, the highlights etc. It doesn't change even in Hong Kong. To finally prove that flicking the channels does work, I came across one of those Wimbledon documentaries this evening on HK telly and it made me think about the debates which Manu and Sandy have been having, in a very dorky sort of way, about tennis and whether the players now are as good as they were. When I think about tennis and Wimbledon I think about Borg and McEnroe sort of automaticallly, but this documentary went through every year from Becker's first win when he was 17 and it reminded me that the matches after Borg and McEnroe were just as exciting if not more. Becker's first win, I remember hearing the end of it on the radio in the car and pretending to be Becker every time I played a game of tennis (even with my weak-ass second serve) - everyone wanted to be Becker then. Then they went on to Sampras and countless titles he won - in particular Sampras v Agassi- I think 1998 but not too sure - where Sampras wiped the floor with Agassi, who was at that time the French and Australian Open championship. Agassi said later: "I remember walking onto the Court and remember walking off but nothing in between". And then Ivanisevic v Rafter which I watched (it must have been played on the Monday afterwards) at the A&O bar ducking down every fifteen minutes from work to keep up. By the end the Australian contingent were very disappointed.

Anyway the point was that sport has always been and always will be most interesting when it involves passion and excitement which will always be there.

Roll on the grass!

Spot the Difference

Read the following two quotes from Henry Kissinger about Iran:

In 1970's - "introduction of nuclear power will both provide for the growing needs of Iran's economy and free remaining oil reserves for export or conversion to petrochemicals"

In 2005 - "For a major oil producer such as Iran, nuclear energy is a wasteful use of resources"

Hmmm...

In the firing line...

Sandy B - you risk putting yourself in the crosshairs by daring to call cricket a minority sport...

Would you care to comment on this article?

An Audience of Two

So, at least I have two devoted commentators - Sandy B and Manu who have been fighting over Federer v Nadal here and here. Since this is my blog, I will comment in any way I like. I suspect that Manu has a bias against the French Open because so many unworthies have won it, like Michael Chang (for Goodness sakes!), Thomas Muster and Andres Gomez (who?). On the other hand, it takes a particular sort of person to win on clay - stamina will not win alone - you need to play a very good tactical match and think about what shot to play next, which is what Federer did in the first set against Nadal but failed to do thereafter. With Manu's argument that you don't need much to win on clay, just stamina, it might be said that you don't need much to win at Wimbledon, just a very good serve (look at Kraijeck and Ivanisevic). Agassi only won Wimbledon because he was, at his peak, the best returner of serve in the game. Anyway, you cannot compare Nadal to Chang, Muster or even Hewitt. Nadal has many more shots and is, generally, a much more tactical player than these. To get the mental edge over the best player currently playing (and some say the best in the world) requires something special, no doubt.

In other sporting news, Tiger Woods is about to start the US Open golf tournament after a couple of months off after his father died. Usually, Tiger is the most bland interviewee with phrases such as "i've just got to grind it out" or "I'm striking the ball really well" about the most controversial thing he says. But apparently yesterday his interview was different. He said:

"I really had no desire to get back to the game of golf because a lot of the memories I have with my dad are at the golf course"

Now, without wishing to compare myself with Tiger when it comes to golf, I related to this completely. I have hardly been on a golf course since dad died and the fact that when I have (I think really only once) I was using his old clubs has made it harder. I started playing golf really just to hang out with my dad a bit more until it turned into a fortnightly obsession. I really really miss playing a round with my dad, seeing his unorthodox stance and the fact that whatever club he used (apart from a putter) he would always hit it no more and no less than 150 yards. More than that it was just the sheer joy he took out of the game, how relaxed it made him (apart from duff balls of course) and the fact that it was usually just me and him shooting the shit. It really kills me knowing that I'll never have a chat about nothing and everything over a beer in the clubhouse bar after a satisfying 18 holes.

Still, if Tiger can get back on the horse, so to speak, so can I...

Once Again, Cricket Rules

Well, the weekend of convergence didn't really set the world alight. England won their opening game but in a very unconvincing fashion - if they continue to play like that they won't go far. Federer limped to a loss against Nadal after ripping through the first set 6-1. The turning point was in (I think) the third game of the second set where Federer was 40-0 up on his serve. Nadal returns the next one and it is called out but Federer in an almost instinctive act of fair play reckons it was in and the point is replayed. I said to Shadi while we were watching that he would really kick himself if Nadal went on to win that game and break serve - which is exactly what he did. Federer lost the next five games in a row and the match with it. He wasn't playing his best and made too many mistakes so you couldn't even say it was a great match to watch (unlike their 5 hour final in Rome a month or so ago).

I know people hate Nadal - the comments from Manu and Sandy in the previous post is proof enough - but I really like him. He hasn't got as many shots in the book as Federer but he moves around the Court soo fast and has a pretty kick ass forehand. As for being arrogant, I would say two things. First, after beating Federer for the fourth time this year (and being the only person to have beaten Federer for some time) he said that Federer was still far and away the best player in the world. Second, he has only just turned 20. I remember what I was like at 20, having completed the major feat of getting into university and passing the first year. God knows what I would have been like had I been the best clay court tennis player in the world...

Anyway, the only satisfying sporting moment this w/e was the opening session of the West Indies v India. Virender Sehwag hit a magnificent 180 runs, going to 84 of something like 47 balls. For a test match that was absolutely unprecedented and a complete joy to watch.

Oh yeah, Mexico beat Iran 3-1 as expected....

Convergence

Convergence is one of those new tech terms which is really hot right now - a phone which plays music, an iPod which plays photos etc. But this weekend is sport convergence - England's first game in the World Cup, India's second test against the West Indies and the Federer - Nadal final at the French Open.

Bring it on!

World Cup

Everyone is talking about the world cup. I'm a bit ambivalent about it all since I'm not really a big football fan. But, I will be watching the England games when I can ( some of the matches will be in the middle of the night here) and also Shadi and I will be following Iran's progress avidly. I still have very fond memories of watching Iran beat the US in 1998 in Prama's living room in Maida Vale.

One topic of conversation is always whether England can win - of course they can, but it is very unlikely, it seems. I think they'll get to the semis but cop out after that. Let's hope that Becks can show that he is a consistently good football player as opposed to just being some pretty boy with loads of money.