Last year, Mr. Saakashvili and Parliament amended the Constitution to extend the Parliament’s term to next fall — officially, to align Parliament with the presidential election cycle — an act that the opposition said will make the legislature illegitimate when the term it was elected to expires in the spring.
Initially welcomed by Democrats and Republicans alike when it was announced in September, Mr. Mukasey’s nomination appeared close to being derailed this week over his repeated refusal to declare to senators that the interrogation technique known as waterboarding was torture. Waterboarding simulates drowning and is reported to have been used by the C.I.A. against a few top leaders of Al Qaeda.
Not the hard prison labor you might expect, but at an average age of 74 — with the oldest at 88 — these were not typical inmates. Work was kept light, and if any felt ill, they could lie down nearby on a tatami mat. Prescription drugs, wheeled walkers and a stretcher were also kept on hand, as well as a box of “discreet, underwearlike” adult diapers.
Not the hard prison labor you might expect, but at an average age of 74 — with the oldest at 88 — these were not typical inmates. Work was kept light, and if any felt ill, they could lie down nearby on a tatami mat. Prescription drugs, wheeled walkers and a stretcher were also kept on hand, as well as a box of “discreet, underwearlike” adult diapers.
Grasping some pink checkered fabric, No. 303 unhurriedly started making a pair of knit slippers. Some seats away, No. 335 gently threaded gray envelopes with white string. Up front, No. 229 was gluing together corrugated cardboard pads, and his stack rose steadily, though slowly.