US: They don't like journalists in China very much, unless they toe the line. Mistreat- ment of courageous Chinese reporters was often raised in annual US human rights reports. The Bush administration has recently been helping the New York Times press for the release of a research assistant, Zhao Yan, accused of passing on "secrets".
Now life is getting tough for journalists in the US who are being hauled into courts and threatened with stiff sentences for doing their job in unprecedented numbers.
On Thursday a federal judge in Providence, Rhode Island, convicted a veteran television reporter of criminal contempt for refusing to identify the person who gave him an FBI videotape showing a top city official taking a bribe.
Reporter Jim Taricani, who has already been fined $85,000 under a punishment of $1,000 a day for holding out, faces six months in prison when he is sentenced next month. Two other reporters who committed no crime, Judith Miller of the New York Times and Matthew Cooper of Time, are threatened with imprisonment next month because they won't reveal their confidential sources in a federal investigation into the White House leak of the identity of CIA officer Valerie Palme to columnist Robert Novak.
Miller didn't even write a story about it. The only potential wrongdoer is the leaker, but special prosecutor Patrick Fitz- gerald has made no progress on that front. Eight US journalists have been found in contempt this year and several could end up in jail. As Nicholas Kristof of the NY Times suggested, maybe the Chinese government can be prevailed upon to lodge a protest.
Crime and punishment have been an issue on Capitol Hill this week. Ten years ago House Speaker Newt Gingrich led a Republican revolution in Washington, sweeping away the Democratic majority on the promise of restoring ethics to government.
Republicans had impressed voters by demonstrating higher ethical standards for their leaders after some shady deals by top Democrats. They had passed a rule requiring party leaders or committee chairman to stand down if faced with felony charges.
This week the party re-elected Tom DeLay of Texas (known as The Hammer) as their majority leader and within 48 hours had struck down the rule. DeLay, it turns out, is facing indictment by a Texas grand jury on corruption charges relating to his political action committee. Three of his aides have already been charged with illegal money-laundering to help Republican candidates.
The decision to ensure that DeLay will stay in his position of power, even if charges are brought, was taken by voice vote at a private meeting, so no record exists of who voted to change the rule. This could be important when voters are reminded of it in the next election. DeLay said the Texas investigation was politically motivated. Republican Congressman Christopher Shays of Connecticut opposed the move, saying: "I see a constant and steady erosion of what made us different."
Republicans in Congress also came under pressure this week to change another rule that is bugging them. Under this rule, Senator Arlen Specter is to inherit the chairmanship of the Senate judicial committee on the basis of seniority. However, the Pennsylvania Republican said after his re-election this month it was unlikely the Senate would confirm judges who would "change the right of a woman to choose", especially as Democrats could mount a filibuster.
This led to a furious campaign by anti-abortion activists against Specter, as it is his committee which would first examine judicial nominees. James Dobson, founder of the influential Christian lobbying group Focus on the Family led the denunciations which climaxed in a "pray-in" at the Capitol on Tuesday.
The hapless senator was grilled by the Republican leadership on Thursday. He survived the crisis by capitulating. He issued a statement promising not to use any "litmus test" to block nominations and and to support "any individual President Bush finds worthy". The evangelicals were still not happy. Specter "will assume his new position on a very short leash", said Dobson.
The director of the Christian Defence Coalition, Patrick Mahoney, said it was a "slap in the face to millions of pro-life Americans" and those responsible should not run to them for millions of dollars in the next election.
The furore over his remarks also led Specter to promise not to block a move to change yet another rule of the Senate, even if personally opposed. This incon- venient rule allows a minority to block a judicial nominee by a filibuster which can only be stopped by a 60-40 majority.
The Democrats have 44 votes and one from a pro-Democratic independent. In the past four years, they have blocked 10 of Bush's judicial nominees while allowing more than 200 to be confirmed. If the rule were changed to require a simple majority then every nomination could go through - including two or three possible appointments to the nine-member Supreme Court which could severely diminish abortion rights.
Republican Senator John McCain suggested it would be better for Bush to reach across the political aisle and work Democrats than change a long-standing rule.
"He's got to do that," he told the Manchester Union Leader on a visit to New Hampshire. "We have 55 votes in the Senate now, but you still don't do business until you have 60".
So what was McCain doing in New Hampshire, which usually doesn't see prominent politicians until the primaries in election year? While all the talk has been on who would be the next Democratic presidential candidate, McCain was quietly putting down a marker for another run for the White House.
"I'm not ruling it out, but I'm not ruling it in," said McCain who won the Republican primary in New Hampshire in 2000.
At a dinner the Arizona senator said he didn't think the country was as polarised as people thought. "Despite his box office success, I suspect most Americans don't really like Michael Moore very much and are wisely sceptical of his claim to be some kind of national truth- teller," he said.
"And to those who thought it funny or wise to question John Kerry's courage or patriotism, I suggest they volunteer for military service and finish a tour in Iraq and then make a judgment about another man's bravery or love of country."