Dick Cheney has shot a 78-year-old lawyer whilst out on a hunting trip in Texas. Sky, probably in common with some other organisations of similar reputation, are playing this up by referring to it as “Vice President: Shooting”. No surprises there. But I guess you can’t blame them - Sunday is a pretty slow news day, after all, and they’re probably all quite bored.

In the middle of all of this, though, you really have to feel sorry for Harry Whittington, the man on the receiving end of Mr Cheney’s fire: As the property owner put it,

Harry was in the line of fire and got peppered pretty good.

Of course, a half-decent Press Office should really have caught the owner before she was able to say anything on the subject, but that clearly didn’t happen.

Harry’s doing fine now, though, you’ll be glad to know. Which is more than can be said for Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi, who’s learned nothing from The Beatles and declared himself to be bigger than Jesus. Or something to that effect.

I am the Jesus Christ of politics. I am a patient victim, I put up with everyone, I sacrifice myself for everyone.

Not that he thinks highly of himself at all. Of course, just yesterday, he was comparing himself to Napoleon.

Only Napoleon did more than I have done. But I am definitely taller.

If you lived in Italy, would you really want this guy’s finger on the button?

And back home, Charles Clarke, courtesy of The Observer, has delighted in informing us that the consitutional history of our country has been thown out of the nearest window, as we now have joint Prime Ministers, Messrs Brown and Blair. Don’t they make a lovely couple?

Talk about a weird news day…

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This post has been referenced by another on this site:
sjhoward.co.uk » Blair’s plane and engine trouble

[...] Perhaps I’m just too cynical, but it seems rather suspicious to me that in the week that Mr Brown apparently steps up his campaign to take over as leader, and with relations between the PM and the Chancellor apparently smoothed over, he should get this golden opportunity. Just the other day, Charles Clarke came out with a carefully co-ordinated and calculated statement that the two neighbours were now sharing the Prime Ministerial role, then Mr Brown gets to make a hugely important speech on security which is, in reality, way outside his remit as Chancellor, and now he gets to head up one of the most important (though very clearly winnable) votes of the year so far.  And anyway, in the event of the PM’s absence, surely it should be his deputy that steps into the limelight.  That’s kinda what he’s there for.  Not that tradition and the constitution normally count for much in the Blair world. It even makes me somewhat suspicious about Mr Blair’s big loss of a few weeks ago. Labour doesn’t lose votes like this. Could it have been a choreographed attempt to show Mr Blair as losing control, in contrast to yesterday’s vote supposed to show that Mr Brown is well in control of the party? Stunts like this would certainly make the transition of power easier, and isn’t a smooth transition what they both want? [...]

» This pingback was received at 11:59 on 14 February 06

This post has been referenced by another on this site:
sjhoward.co.uk » Cheney’s victim has MI

[...] Cheney’s victim has MI Filed at 19:33 on 14th February 2006. Brand new post published within the last few minutes. Filed under News and Comment by sjhoward. The person US Vice President Dick Cheney shot the other day has now had a heart attack.   Which tends to suggest that ‘peppered’ shouldn’t have been the adjective of choice.  Perhaps a word with a bit more force behind it - may ‘gunned down’ - might have been more appropriate.  Who’s to say? [...]

» This pingback was received at 19:33 on 14 February 06

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