1) The major WTO ruling against the USA about subsidies to its largest capitalist companies, opens the door to a programme of retaliatory measures by the European Union. Interestingly although the EU is by far the smaller economy in turnover, it is larger in population and appears to have the political will to carry this struggle through to some form of compromise. Whatever this compromise is, may rewrite the rules of global capitalism, as giant finance capital does not need this instability. Its interests lie in a more coherent management of its affairs.
2) The non prisoners-of-war held in Guantanamo are attracting a lot of attention in Britain, even if public opinion in the USA thinks they should all be dropped into the sea from helicopters. There is interest because some of the detainees are constitutionally British. But above all us Brits can see that Blair is having to squirm even more lithely than usual to maintain loyalty to the USA and a global vision of a New Empire, run by himself and Gordon Brown.
The transparent administration of justice to these detainees is an important area of uncertainty and creativity of new precedents in the formation of Empire.
Chris Burford
London