Max's Politburo

Obama and McCain give -- and take -- a good roasting

If like me you thought that McCain looked on the verge of imploding under the pressure of the last presidential debate, you'll be relieved to see a glimpse of the old relaxed, funny McCain a day later at the Al Smith dinner.  It makes for nice comic relief in this nasty election to watch both McCain's and Obama's speeches.  Enjoy.  

Thanks, Marcos, for the heads-up.

Gurkhas win right to settle in UK

It's nice to report a small piece of good news for a change... more detail on Al-Jazeera here and The Times here.