Author: jameswagner

Shirin Ebadi arriving at a news conference in Paris today

In a brilliant decision by the committee in Oslo, the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to an Iranian lawyer and former judge, Shirin Ebadi, who becomes the first Muslim woman to win the award.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised Ebadi — Iran’s first female judge before the 1979 Islamic revolution forced her to step down in favor of men — for battling to defend the rights of women and children.
. . . .
The five-member committee said Ebadi, jailed several times during her career and once branded a threat to the Islamic system, was a “sound professional” and a “courageous person” who had “never heeded threats to her own safety.”
“We hope that the prize will be an inspiration for all those who struggle for human rights and democracy in her country, in the Muslim world, and in all countries where the fight for human rights needs inspiration and support,” the committee said.

Her most serious rival in the competition, Karol Wojtyla, the Catholic monarch, must have been greatly disappointed, and sour grapes were served in Poland and the Vatican today.

Ebadi, 56, won from a record field of 165 candidates including Pope John Paul and ex-Czech President Vaclav Havel. Many hailed the award but former Polish President Lech Walesa, the 1983 Nobel winner, said the Polish pope should have won.
. . . .
A prize to the ailing pope or to Havel could have been too much like a long-service award when Alfred Nobel, the Swedish founder of the awards, said he wanted to inspire “dreamers.”
Many researchers say that the pope’s opposition to birth control, pre-marital sex, homosexuality and female priests seemed intolerant to many Norwegians, especially women, despite a 25-year-reign devoted to peace and religious reconciliation [on his own terms].
Three of the five Nobel committee members are women. One Vatican official sniffed: “I thought this was a peace prize and not a prize in sexual ethics.”
. . . .
Walesa slammed the committee for passing over the pope. “I have nothing against this lady, but if there is anyone alive who deserves this year’s Nobel Peace Prize it is the Holy Father,” he said.

For more on only one enormously important part of Wojtyla’s record, see bloggy.
[image from REUTERS/John Schults]

No, I haven’t posted a thing on that subject today. In fact I’ve never posted anything on that subject. I find it unspeakable and in fact entirely beyond words. Although it’s a luxury in which I will almost certainly regret indulging myself, I’ve decided I can pretend it just didn’t happen.
Good night.

And they’re too stupid to be able to carry it off – unless we’re equally stupid.
Bush says we may never know who did it, but in the meantime the White House lawyers are going over every document before it is handed over to the Justice Department (which is itself under White House authority) pursuant to a federal criminal investigation requested by the CIA.

I have no idea whether we’ll find out who the leaker is,” Bush told reporters after he met with his Cabinet. “I’d like to. I want to know the truth.”

Two weeks?

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 — White House lawyers will spend up to two weeks screening responses turned in by roughly 2,000 staff members asked what they know, if anything, about the unauthorized disclosure of an undercover CIA officer’s identity.

The disclosure of criminal activity was originally made months before any investigation was initiated, and even once the Justice Department finally had to announce its interest it did not immediately order the White House to preserve potentially relevant documents. The Department, in originally notifying the White House of the probe on the night of Monday, September 29, told its counsel he could wait until Tuesday morning to instruct the White House staff to preserve records. Ten or so very useful hours were lost. New York’s Senator Schumer:

“Every seasoned prosecutor will tell you that the first thing that must be done when an investigation begins is the preservation of evidence and documents.”

Oy veh!
But we’ll get the documents, and Bush will fall in the end – unless he makes another war.