Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:
Sounds Familiar?
New British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is being accused of rehashing old phrases from American politicians such as Bill Clinton and Al Gore in some of his recent speeches. The London Times reports its analysis shows striking similarities between Brown's words and those of the Americans.
One example: Brown recently said, "Sometimes people say I am too serious and I fight too hard and maybe that's true." And Al Gore said in 2000, "I know my own imperfections. I know that s ometimes people say I'm too serious, that I talk too much substance and policy."
The Times reports many of the U.S. politicians whose words seem to be repeated were at one time associated with American political consultant Bob Shrum, who is now a close adviser to Prime Minister Brown.
One Brown critic calls him a "copycat prime minister." But Brown's Treasury secretary calls the accusations "garbage" fueled by increasingly desperate political opponents. And Brown is said to be livid about the charges.
Heart of the Matter
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas says his controversial confirmation hearings 16 years ago were all about one issue: abortion. Thomas is giving his first TV interviews as he promotes a new book.
In excerpts from an interview with "60 Minutes," Thomas says abortion was, "the elephant in the room" during the hearings. He says the controversy harmed himself, accuser Anita Hill and the country and set the stage for events like the Clinton impeachment trial.
Thomas also for the first time comments on Hill — saying, "She was not the demure, religious, conservative person that they portrayed. That's not the person I knew."
Justice Thomas will be on "Hannity & Colmes" Tuesday, October 2 at 9 p.m. ET.
Fast Times
It is not a good idea to get caught eating or drinking in public in the West Bank during the holy month of Ramadan. A 12-member morality police squad is for the first time enforcing the Islamic tradition of fasting during the daytime. Police say offenders are usually detained for 24 hours.
The hard-line stance has come as something of a shock in Ramallah, the most cosmopolitan of the Palestinian cities. Officials say they are doing this to preserve the feelings of the people who are fasting.
Back to the Future
A blast from the past in Huntsville, Alabama is intended to protect people in the event of a real blast in the future. Huntsville officials are creating an emergency plan that could house all of the area's 300,000 residents in fallout shelters — in case of a nuclear bomb.
The U.S. government abandoned its national plan for such shelters after the end of the Cold War. But terrorism fears have Huntsville folks preparing for the worst. They have designated an abandoned mine as a place where up to 20,000 people could take cover underground. They are also planning to use college dorms, libraries and churches — just in case.
— FOX News Channel's Martin Hill contributed to this report.
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