Black Watch: Today’s Top Stories

-Oh look, this isn’t an argument.-Yes it is.-No it isn’t. It’s just contradiction.-No it isn’t.-Yes, it is!-It is not.-It is. You just contradicted me.-No, I didn’t.-Oh, you did!-No, no, no, no.-You did just then.-No, no, nonsense!-Oh, this is futile!-No it isn’t.

And just when you thought things couldn’t get any more absurd, there was Edward Genson asking the judge for a mistrial because, he argued, reading out Conrad Black’s orotund prose to the jury constituted an appeal to “class prejudice.” What a working class jury in Chicago made of that spectacularly patronizing remark one can only guess. Along similar lines, Richard Siklos made the day’s most arch and, I thought, telling observation when he reported that:

“Mr. Greenspan also tried to show Mr. Black’s accomplishments in business and world affairs. For instance, he noted that an article Mr. Black wrote as a young man in The Sherbrooke Record in Quebec was read into the Congressional Record in the United States. He noted that in the mid-1980s, Mr. Black’s contacts through the invitation-only Bilderberg Group led to his acquisition of The Daily Telegraph. It was unclear from their expressions whether the jury understood the reference to Bilderberg, an annual conference of influential people in business, media and politics.”

Defense Attacks Credibility of Black’s Former Associate [NY Times]Black ‘viewed papers as laying golden eggs’ [Telegraph]Lawyer rips into Radler [Toronto Star]Under fire, Radler says he lied [Toronto Star]Black letter displays annoyance with Radler [Globe and Mail]Lord Black used ‘Mammoth Times’ for $5.5m tax dodge, claims former partner [Independent]Radler testimony ‘scripted,’ defence accuses [National Post]Judge rejects call for Black mistrial [Times of London]Black trial hears of ‘non-compete’ ruse [Guardian]