"The Moroccan government has promised to communication and media professionals an open policy, marked by efficiency and heedful to citizens' expectations and concerns. "In light of the guidelines made by King Mohammed VI to give a new impetus to the dynamic of change, the government decided to adopt an efficient and open media and communication policy, a policy heedful to citizens with a view to promoting their enthusiasm to contribute to Morocco's development process," Moroccan Communication Minister, Nabil Benabdallah said in a letter to media professionals. "The Communication department will see to it that the information sector remain open to freedom of speech, respectful to the profession's code of ethics and built on two major principles: freedom and accountability," the official said."

At first blush, it looks as theough the Moroccan government is at least saying the right things, which is perhaps more than one can say for our own.  However, the troubling phrase about accountability and the "code of ethics" -- in the context of ending a government monopoly -- may suggest that there will still be sharp limits on any government tolerance of dissent.

11:05:33 AM    

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Lott Decried For Part Of Salute to Thurmond (washingtonpost.com) 

"Senate Republican leader Trent Lott of Mississippi has provoked criticism by saying the United States would have been better off if then-segregationist candidate Strom Thurmond had won the presidency in 1948.

"Speaking Thursday at a 100th birthday party and retirement celebration for Sen. Thurmond (R-S.C.) in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Lott said, "I want to say this about my state: When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either.""

I am appalled.  Lott should step down as Majority Leader, and probably resign.  At the very least, he needs to make a public apology and explain what exactly he meant by "all these problems."  Perhaps it would have been more convenient for Mississippi's system of racial oppression and the whites who perpetrated it if the Civil Rights movement had never happened, but it is rare even for a Senator from Dixie to suggest it.

9:36:43 AM    

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