“A US judge has ruled that the first war crimes trial at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre, involving Osama Bin Laden’s former driver, can go ahead. Judge James Robertson dismissed a claim from lawyers for Salim Hamdan, a Yemeni, that it should be stopped while he challenged the process’s legality.

The ruling came after a military judge at Guantanamo denied a postponement. Last month, the US Supreme Court ruled detainees had to be able to challenge their detention in civilian courts. It said the 270 men currently being detained at Guantanamo had “the constitutional privilege of habeas corpus” - the right for suspects to be heard by an independent judge on the legality of their detention.”

The situation is far from perfect, but at least some of the inmates are actually having trials, rather than being stuck in limbo. Hopefully whoever wins the Presidency will speed things up.

Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas were contesting for a US Senate seat for Illinois, 150 years ago; they debated on issues that mattered. Lincoln, was a relative unknown at the beginning of the debates, and lost the Senate race in 1858, but later beat Douglas in the 1860 race for the US Presidency and went on to become one of the greatest leaders America ever had. The Lincoln-Douglas debates were about issues that mattered to Americans then and were very eloquent and dignified; had Obama accepted Clinton's invitation, would Hillary have allowed her proposed debate to have the same dignity and effect that the Lincoln-Douglas one had?

There's no doubt that Mrs. Clinton is a very smart woman; probably smarter than her husband or Obama. There's no doubt too, that she is very determined to become the first woman president of the US. But, unfortunately, unlike Obama and her husband, with her arrogant and at times deceptive demeanor and behavior, it's very hard to like her; very hard indeed. By Mrs. Clinton being as recklessly too ambitious and divisive as she is, she seems too, to lack the kind of wisdom and foresight that Lincon had and Obama apparently has.

Both Mrs. Clinton and Sen. Obama are politicians; and as politicians, both say and try to portray what they think would attract American voters. The difference is that: Mrs. Clinton has used all kinds of tactics and tricks, no holds barred, to attract voters to her and distract them from the senator from Illinois. She has done whatever it takes, and used some of the ugliest methods, to achieve her goal. She selfishly believes that she is the best and much superior not only to Obama, but to any other American contender for the presidency in America today. To her, losing is simply not acceptable. So far, she is willing to sink as low in her tactics that at times she even sounds as if she is on John McCain's side.

Mrs. Clinton, strangely, very much reminds me of Mike Tyson. ‘Iron' Mike Tyson was so intoxicated by his arrogance, belief of his superiority and at winning at all costs, that during his rematch with Evander Holyfield in June 1997, he used some of the ugliest tactics and tricks to try and win the fight. He went as far as biting Evander's right ear and shouting obscenities at spectators, because to him - losing was simply not acceptable. At all. In the process, Mike Tyson managed to degrade the once very admirable sport of boxing. Tyson had his license revoked and was heavily fined; and though he was once looked at and revered the same way as other boxing greats like Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali were - since that fight, Tyson's career rapidly deteriorated. Mrs. Clinton won't have her ‘license revoked', but most likely - should she lose this race - she would have badly tarnished her political career and her legacy and terribly shaken the Democratic party.

Politics is uglier than boxing, but the sly Mrs. Clinton has made it look and be even much more uglier. Unlike ever before, news now travels much faster and is watched by many more people and more vividly all around the world. For us non-Americans watching the drama that is now daily being played out for the race for the White House, the on going match between Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama is becoming pathetic; and is showing a very ugly side of America. American politics, in particular. Some might say that the way the Demoratic Party is proceeding to get its presidential candidate, is healthy and shows the strength of American democracy. For us outside America, it doesn't. It doesn't at all. And it makes us like Mr. Obama even more.

Few countries, if any, have created the conditions and environment that allows any one, with a talent or skills or ambition, irrespective of race or gender - to achieve as much as America has. It's only in America, where not only a woman but a descendant of former slaves: Oprah, could have attained as much as she has; or made another woman from the same back ground: Condoleezza Rice - as powerful as she is. It's only the US that has made it possible for: Muhammad Ali, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Carl Lewis, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby, Reginald F. Lewis, Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, Ralph Nader, Lewis Howard Latimer, George Washington Carver, the Williams Sisters, Tiger Woods and very many others like them and from their kind of back ground - to be what they have been or what they are.

It's in America most, where not only its history, but its society and culture - have been driven and formed by the issue of race. And Americans have much to be proud of and they should consider themselves lucky, to have achieved what they have and to have created the kind of country and society that they have. It's that achievement that has made America presently, lead in: science and technology, military might, sporting activities, the entertainment industry; and overall agricultural and industrial production. And it's that achievement that has made it possible for some one, who could never have in any other country or state out of America, to dream of doing what he is doing now: race for the Highest Office.

“Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring—when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children—black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics—will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!” Martin Luther King jr.

No other country would have given or can give Barack Obama the kind of freedom and opportunity, that he now has. An opportunity that Martin Luther King would have been proud of. No matter what some might say, America, since the days of MLK has indeed been transformed. Very admirably and enviably transformed.

Yemen:

Yemeni Omar Barsawad is outraged at the indignity suffered by Spitzer's wife and family. He writes:

For a man who espoused high morals and a man who seemed to have a solid and impeccable integrity; for a politician who rose on a sword of righteousness and who went after official corruption and malfeasance with a vengeance, Eliot Spitzer has not only fallen, but made a big fool of himself. And enormously betrayed his wife and children. I fail to understand how American politicians have no consideration at all for their spouses; Spitzer could at least have spared his wife the public humiliation of dragging her to stand by him when he announced his resignation.

For a married man to fall in love with another woman or be swayed by the charms of another woman - I can understand. But for a married man - especially in Spitzer's position - to seek the services of a prostitute, and several times, I utterly fail to comprehend. I never knew there were such grotesquely expensive prostitutes! America is truly a land of extremes and excesses.

Barsawad further explains:

Of hypocrites, few can match Spitzer. He went along fooling every one that he was special and is no common American politician. In the end, he has made a big fool and a buffoon of himself. Very unfortunately, he is married. And that's what I find most sad: his hurting his family so deeply and as terribly as he has done.

Palestine:

Al Falasteenyia too cannot hide her disgust with the way Mrs Spitzer was paraded by the side of her fallen husband. She also draws a parallel of how the situation would have been described had Spitzer been “someone” else. She writes:

“I don't know why she stood up with him on that platform.”
” i would not have done it.”
“Oh yea, I would be up there with him, alright, chocking him!”

…the conversation continued among these three women as I stood in the elevator with them. And then occur ed to me, had this happened at another time, in another place- if Spitzer's name was ‘different', if his wife ‘looked different', then the conversation would sound different.

I imagine it would sound something like this

“those poor women over there.”
“it's such an oppressive culture- the way they stand in the shadow of their husbands like that. “
“seriously. if only they could come here and see the way we live- how liberated we are.”

Though many do not agree with Silda Spitzer and criticize her for standing with her husband, no one has said that she is oppressed. I'm not saying she is- I am simply questioning the use of the word here. It's funny how easily people label other people in other places as oppressed; as if oppression (of any form) does not exist in the US.

Israel:

From Israel, Sharvul too can't understand why Mrs Spitzer was seen besides her husband.

I watched a few seconds of the press conference at which Eliot Spitzer resigned. There's something I don't understand: why was his wife there, besides him? Given the circumstances, wouldn't she have preferred to stay home? What is it with politicians insisting that their wives be there in this moment of public humiliation? After all, it's not like there are any doubts and she's standing there to show support for some baseless accusations, right? I can't figure it out.

Saudi Arabia:

And last but not least, Dotsson, who lives in Saudi Arabia, turns his attention to the 22-year-old prostitute Eliot Spitzer was caught with. He adds:

Ashley has a MySpace profile and several pictures that I've already uploaded to a safe place in case she decides to make her profile private…Not bad. Not bad at all. Ashley beats Bill Clinton's Monica Lewinsky but I'm not convinced she is worth $4,300 an hour. I see a book deal in Ashley's future and hopefully a couple of poses for Playboy.

* This article has been cross-posted at Global Voices Online.

For a man who espoused high morals and a man who seemed to have a solid and impeccable integrity; for a politician who rose on a sword of righteousness and who went after official corruption and malfeasance with a vengeance, Eliot Spitzer has not only fallen, but made a big fool of himself. And enormously betrayed his wife and children. I fail to understand how American politicians have no consideration at all for their spouses; Spitzer could at least have spared his wife the public humiliation of dragging her to stand by him when he announced his resignation.

For a married man to fall in love with another woman or be swayed by the charms of another woman - I can understand. But for a married man - especially in Spitzer's position - to seek the services of a prostitute, and several times, I utterly fail to comprehend. I never knew there were such grotesquely expensive prostitutes! America is truly a land of extremes and excesses.

It's one of the old listed Deadly Sins: Lust, that seems to have gotten Spitzer. The Vatican recently updated its list of Deadly Sins; they missed including Hypocrisy as one of the worse sins. Of hypocrites, few can match Spitzer. He went along fooling every one that he was special and is no common American politician. In the end, he has made a big fool and a buffoon of himself. Very unfortunately, he is married. And that's what I find most sad: his hurting his family so deeply and as terribly as he has done.