It is sometimes the case with the international events surrounding us that an occurrence in a distant country can have relevance for us, in completely separate matters, in our homeland. This week, we had a classic, indeed startling, example in the furore raging in the USA over the nomination of a judge for that country’s Supreme Court when accusations of sexual dalliance by the candidate, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, were raised by Dr Christine Ford, which she says occurred when she and Kavanaugh, were both teenagers in school. With the judge stoutly denying the accusation, the matter came before the Senate and, as various Senators spoke on the matter, a vexing issue that arose from various contentious points, was the call from Dr Ford, and others, to have an FBI background check done on the issue. This suggestion was dismissed by the Senate body and also ruled out as “this is not what the FBI does” by President Donald Trump. The matter boiled with various women’s rights’ groups and the American Bar Association calling for the FBI review, and came to a crescendo on Thursday last when two women, who had been subjected to sexual violence, confronted one of the Senators, Jeff Flake, blocking his way as he exited an elevator in Washington, demanding that he join the call for the FBI review.
