Chanukah Song Update

Marcel Marceau, World-Renowned Mime With A Classic Repertory, Dies At 84 - As Good As News apologizes for the delay in reporting this sad item, but we have just learned of a new development. Adam Sandler announced today that he would add a moment of silence between Parts I and II of the Chanukah song as a tribute to Marceau, born as Marcel Mangel to Jewish parents in Strasbourg, France.

Debate Erupts on Techniques Used by C.I.A. -Kudos again NY Times - not because you ran a great story yesterday, we already gave you credit for that - but because you resisted the temptation to put the following remark from Senator John D. Rockefeller IV in a bold face headline: "I find it unfathomable that the committee tasked with oversight of the C.I.A.’s detention and interrogation program would be provided more information by The New York Times than by the Department of Justice."

CIA withholds torture opinions it received from the Justice Department, Office of Legal Counsel on grounds of "privilege". Executive privilege or attorney-client privilege? If the latter, who is the client, the US government as a whole, or just the CIA/Executive Branch? There are some interesting issues, maybe even Constitutional questions, but the basic absurdity of the CIA position - We can torture because we got a letter from our lawyer, and we don't have to show anyone the letter - dominates the specific questions. Something will have to give here, either in a Congressional inquiry or a court case brought by a torture victim.

Strip Policy on Rikers Costs City - The City has already agreed to a settlement fund of up to $50 Million to cover claims for inappropriate strip searches at the Riker's Island prison and it appears the guards are going for more. What is going on, Riker's guards? $50 Million broken into small bills should be more than adequate to stuff several hundred thousand G-Strings, with plenty left over for the lap dances, we gave you an unlimited budget and you exceeded it.

Jewels- yawn- what's up with Paris?

Headlines on CIA "Family Jewels" were so enticing I spent hours looking for fun in all the wrong places. Not much humor, or much news, in the Jewels, although some of the details are intriguing for people who were around in the 60's and early 70's and there's a nice photo of the young Darth Cheney, still only partially converted to the dark side. This story will erupt only when we learn that Cheney has the leading man role in redacted sections. The moral of the story is ancient history: fund and operate a resourceful agency in a way that immunizes it from scrutiny by both the media and the opposition party and sooner or later even the most law abiding President (Richard Nixon?) will be unable to resist using that agency as a short-cut means to any ends, legal or not, moral or not, that the President (or his deniability enabling staff) can't achieve openly. Media scrutiny possibly not the ideal way to go for a spy agency, Congressional oversight already improved, let's cross our fingers and move on to an alternative form of government.

Pope Benedict XVI switches papal election system to call for run-off between the two leading candidates if no candidate gets 2/3 majority by 13th day of conclave. Run-off definitely the way to go, leading candidates usually at least 70 and sometimes in frail health. Not sure if run- off is a sprint or more of a middle distance, but at least we will get a pope who can lace up his sneakers and go for it without collapsing at starting line. Ripple effect starts now, as leading papal contenders go into training and College of Cardinals looks to capture NCAA cross country crown.