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The 2011 Golden Globes

So the Golden Globes — they happened! As promised, by none other than Ricky Gervais, Ricky Gervais was a merciless host, a fact that seemed to upset the actors in the audience, but made for pretty good viewing at home. Certainly, Gervais was the most surprising part of the evening, seeing as almost all of the front runners (Portman, Benning, Firth, The Social Network) behaved like front-runners are wont to do, and won. Here are were the five best parts of the evening.

 

OBAMA

US President Barack Obama has held up Indonesia as an example to the Muslim world of how development and democracy can improve the lives of citizens.
He was speaking in the capital Jakarta during a brief visit as part of his Asian tour.
Mr Obama had an Indonesian step-father and spent four years of his childhood in the country.
He said Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, was successfully combining an emerging democracy with economic growth and a toleration of other religions.
'Indonesia is a part of me,' Mr Obama said.
The US President said he had been encouraged by Indonesia's more recent rejection of Suharto-era authoritarianism and embrace of democracy, and said it was now a key force in Asia.
Mr Obama's speech, on the second leg of a four-nation, eight-day tour designed to cement US strategic relations and to drum up export markets in emerging Asia, also reflected on his Cairo address to the Muslim world in 2009.
Then, boosted by a bumper election win, Mr Obama vowed to forge a 'new beginning' with Islam, following years of distrust fuelled by US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
'As I said then, and will repeat now... no single speech can eradicate years of mistrust,' Mr Obama said, and vowed to do the hard work of forming common ground where suspicion and trust reigned.
The president gave his speech on a twice-postponed visit to Indonesia, which was cut short by several hours as Mr Obama sought to avoid a cloud of volcanic ash spewed out by Mount Merapi, which has severely disrupted air travel.

09/11/2010
Opposition parties, employers and trade union leaders will hold separate meetings with EU Economics Commissioner Olli Rehn today on the final leg of a two-day trip to Dublin.

Sinn Fein will hold early morning talks followed by Fine Gael’s economic delegation headed by Michael Noonan and the Labour Party led by Joan Burton.

Mr Rehn met Finance Minister Brian Lenihan last night for discussions centring on next month’s Budget and the Government’s €15bn four-year plan.

After the meeting Mr Rehn called for political consensus on the measures, claiming it would be of great benefit to Ireland.

He also urged all parties, “irrespective of party political differences”, to support structural reforms.

The Finnish-born politician will today give an address to the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) on the economic governance debate in Europe, and discuss its implications for the EU, member states and citizens.

Yesterday, Mr Rehn was accused of insulting Ireland’s poor and vulnerable by refusing to meet the Community and Voluntary Pillar that represents the less well-off in social partnership.

Sean Healy, Social Justice Ireland director, said that by refusing to meet, Mr Rehn was signing up to the Government’s Budgetary strategy.

“It is totally unacceptable that the European Commission supports an approach which will see Ireland’s weakest groups take the major part of the hit for the reckless actions of greedy bankers, incompetent regulators and an inept Government,” Mr Healy said.

George Bush has defended the controversial use of "waterboarding" during his time as US president, saying that the information obtained from terrorist suspects saved lives.

In his memoirs, serialised in The Times newspaper, he said the use of the controversial interrogation technique - which simulates drowning - had helped to break up plots to attack in the both the US and UK.

In an interview with the newspaper, the 43rd US president confirmed he authorised the use of waterboarding to extract information from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the al-Qaida mastermind behind the 9/11 attack, telling the paper: "Damn right!"

Mr Bush said: "Three people were waterboarded and I believe that decision saved lives."

In the book, Decision Points, he writes: "Their interrogations helped break up plots to attack American diplomatic facilities abroad, Heathrow airport and Canary Wharf in London, and multiple targets in the United States."

In the interview, Mr Bush described his close relationship with Tony Blair, but was dismissive of public opinion in Britain about the war in Iraq.

"It doesn't matter how people perceive me in England. It just doesn't matter any more. And frankly, at times, it didn't matter then," he said.

Mr Bush recalled how when Mr Blair faced a possible vote of no confidence in Parliament on the eve of war, he offered him the chance to opt out of sending British troops into Iraq.

He said that "rather than lose the government, I would much rather have Tony and his wisdom and his strategic thinking as the prime minister of a strong and important ally".

However, Mr Blair told him: "I'm in. If it costs the government, fine."

The former governor of Texas also describes how he was appalled to discover that the intelligence about Iraq's supposed weapons of mass destruction had proved to be wrong.

"The reality was that I had sent American troops into combat based in large part on intelligence that proved false," he writes.

"No-one was more shocked or angry than I was when we didn't find the weapons. I had a sickening feeling every time I thought about it. I still do."

Nevertheless he insists that he was right to take military action to remove Saddam Hussein.

"There were things we got wrong in Iraq, but that cause is eternally right," he writes.

He adds: "What would life be like if Saddam Hussein were (still) in power? It's likely you would be seeing a nuclear arms race."

According to The Guardian, which has obtained a copy of the book, Mr Bush discloses that he instructed a plan to be drawn up for a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

"I directed the Pentagon to study what would be necessary for a strike," he writes. "This would be to stop the bomb clock, at least temporarily."

He says that he also considered mounting an air strike or a covert raid on a secret Syrian nuclear facility, but the Pentagon and the CIA concluded it was "too risky".

Mr Bush uses his book to describe his battle to give up alcohol, saying it was "one of the toughest decisions I have ever made".

He adds: "Being the sober guy helped me realise how mindless I must have sounded when I drank."