Monday's news

Monday's news is usually a bit slack, with all the workers taking a well earned rest over the weekend, choosing to spend quality time with their families rather than on making up news. So I was agreeably surprised to find three bits worth noticing in yesterday's DT.

First, we had an engaging picture of a wife carrying race in our nearby Dorking. Husbands had to carry their wives, who had to weigh at least 8 stone (or just under, if one is being picky) over a course of more than 400 yards which included some straw hurdles (or hazards). As a young person I was sometimes involved in moving bags of cement weighing in, at that time, at a manly 8 stone rather than today's 25kg, and I considered myself to be reasonably fit, but I don't think I would have been able to run 400 yards with a bag of cement, despite its being nothing like as awkward as a wife. So who were these chaps? Had they been training for the year previous? In the picture they all looked reasonably normal. Was it a spoof? Had there been some tricky work with Photoshop?

Second, we had a rather disturbing picture of a suspect in the Nemtsov murder case being more or less dragged into court by a guard dressed all over in black, complete with black balaclava and some sort of machine pistol. Given that the suspect was handcuffed, whatever sort of court is it that needs guards to be dressed up like special forces on an outing? That said, the story of Chechnyan troublemakers muddies the waters of the murder rather successfully and may even be, or embellish, the truth.

Third, we had the tale of the Mrs. Clinton email account. It seems that she used a private email account for public purposes at a time when that was not against the rules, but it was perhaps ill-advised in a Secretary of State. And now she is being all coy about it. Furthermore, it is alleged that the Clinton Foundation has taken large sums of money from people with dodgy records, possibly including Saudi Princes. Trust the Republicans to get all holy about such a matter.

For the foundation, see reference 1. Perhaps the Blairs and the Clintons should compare notes on the matter, there being interesting parallels between the two ménages. Perhaps we should compare notes as a matter of public interest.

Reference 1: https://www.clintonfoundation.org/.