For full text of Chronicle see http://www.wednesday-night.com/Wed1220page2.asprench citizens took the defeat re the 2012 Olympics in a civilized manner, recognizing the superiority of British presentation and lobbying, as well as Tony Blair’s Olympic quality hand-shaking had won the day. On July 7, the next day, France was as shocked as the rest of the world and all shared in extending sympathy to the British on the vicious bombing of the London tube system. London London may very well find itself in debt following the 2012 Olympic Games. An aging infrastructure will require that many major facilities be constructed from scratch and the east end of London transformed. However, with the size of the population, any debt incurred will not have as serious a long-term effect as it did in this city. Editor's note: Once again, the bombers struck on Thursday, therefore there was no discussion of the second wave of bombings, continuing tension in London, nor of the subsequent police error in killing an innocent Brazilian on suspicion of being implicated. Despite the strong 'business as usual' message following the first attacks, there now appears to be some worry that the already-slowing British economy will be further affected http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/24/international/europe/24financial.html Supreme Court to succeed Sandra Day O’Connor. The Supreme Court, being the ultimate arbiter, the tenor of its decisions has a lag effect on the morality and political philosophy of a nation. This is more so in the U.S. than in Canada where compulsory retirement favours a more rapid turnover of judges, thus maintaining a greater synchronization with the evolution of public opinion. The current concern is that with the eventual retirement of Chief Justice Rehnquist, President Bush will push the orientation of the Court firmly to the right leading to possible revisiting and changing of such 'liberal' decisions based on constitutional rights as affirmative action and abortion. Where there is a perception of a conflict between constitutional rights and legislative rights, there is much room to manoeuvre in the judicial process. When John Roberts faces Congress for confirmation of his appointment, he can only be questioned on his past decisions rather than those he might take in a hypothetical situation. He can certainly be asked about his views on interpretation of the Constitution and will probably favor returning power from Congress to the States. Viewed as less conservative than other potential candidates, his confirmation is virtually assured. The right to abortion In the context of the shifting political orientation of the Supreme Court, the most cited decision is that of Roe vs. Wade http://www.answers.com/Roe%20versus%20Wade?gwp=11