(no subject)

The initial decision to hold the Iraq war inquiry in private appeared to many of Gordon Brown’s defenders to be uncharacteristic of him. It seemed evasive, shifty and self-serving… oh, right:

Blair pushed Brown to hold Iraq war inquiry in private

Tony Blair urged Gordon Brown to hold the independent inquiry into the Iraq war in secret because he feared that he would be subjected to a “show trial” if it were opened to the public... The revelation that the former prime minister—who led Britain to war in March 2003—had intervened will fuel the anger of MPs, peers, military leaders and former civil servants, who were appalled by Brown's decision last week to order the investigation to be conducted behind closed doors.

Blair, who resisted pressure for a full public inquiry while he was prime minister, appears to have taken a deliberate decision not to express his view in person to Brown because he feared it might leak out. Instead, messages on the issue were relayed through others to Sir Gus O'Donnell, the cabinet secretary, who conveyed them to the prime minister in the days leading up to the announcement of the inquiry last week. [Observer]

Tony has said recently that he regrets not having been more up-front about his faith while Prime Minister. Because, of course, the problem with his tenure was that it wasn’t sanctimonious enough.

Incidentally, even if some of the inquiry does end up being held in public, you could do worse than nip down to William Hill and punt a sizeable sum on its conclusions being the same I Ching pronouncement as every other British establishment inquiry ever held: “Bad things happen. No blame.”

(no subject)

US tries to stop Geronimo lawsuit

US officials have moved to block a legal bid by descendants of Apache leader Geronimo to have his remains reburied. Geronimo's relatives say some body parts were stolen almost 100 years ago by members of a secret society at Yale University to keep in their clubhouse.

The relatives want to rebury the warrior, who died in 1909, near his birthplace in New Mexico. But the justice department has asked a federal judge to dismiss their lawsuit.

The society, known as Skull and Bones, is alleged to have stolen some of Geronimo's remains from a burial plot in Oklahoma in 1918. [BBC]

You can see the justice department’s point. If they started trying to return the remains of native American tribal leaders stolen for symbolic use in initiation rites by every shady power-elite cabal based in a top university, soon they wouldn’t have time to do a single thing else.

(I know, I know; it's probably not him.)