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| A newfangled news tangle |
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U.S.: No evidence of wedding at attack site CNN — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Dozens of people killed in a U.S. attack in the Iraqi desert Wednesday were attending a high-level meeting of foreign fighters, not a wedding, and photos shown to reporters in Baghdad support that belief, according to the senior coalition military spokesman. | |
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H.D. Miller: Pocket Litter — Of course it wasn't a wedding. Since the last time we mistakenly blew up a wedding, the Pentagon has... Betsy Newmark: The information is quite clear, according to the US military that this was a gathering of fighters, not a wedding party. |
Captain Ed: Wedding Bell Blues — The Coalition Provisional Authority released more information on the "wedding" attacked by US forces near the Iraqi-Syrian border. |
JORDAN TIP EXPOSED CHALABI AS IRAN 'SPY' By / New York Post — Permalink WASHINGTON - Jordan's King Abdullah fueled the U.S. move against Iraqi leader Ahmed Chalabi by providing bombshell intelligence that his group was spying for Iran, The Post has learned. | |
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Matt Yglesias: I'd like to know more about the sourcing of this NY Post scoop saying it was Jordanian intelligence services that delivered the intel that did Chalabi in. Josh Marshall: According to an article in the New York Post, of all places, the Bush administration's dramatic turn against Ahmed... Joe Gandelman: The New York Post reports: Jordan's King Abdullah fueled the U.S. move against Iraqi leader Ahmed Chalabi by providing bombshell intelligence that his group was spying for Iran. |
Kos: And if that wasn't bad enough, Bush also invited an Iranian agent (Chalabi) to the State of the Union address and paid him some $30+ million to boot. Wretchard: He has now been openly accused of being an Iranian spy, a matter explosive enough, given that America has also been... |
McGreevey's Millionaires Opinion Journal — Permalink Maybe it's New Jersey's version of the New Math. But Governor Jim McGreevey has made it official: People in the Garden State who earn $500,000 a year are now "millionaires." Alas, this doesn't mean that things are so good that people are about to double their incomes. | |
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Max B. Sawicky: Jarvis links to a WSJ editorial that is equals his performance, albeit on a different tack: [the Governor's] choice is... |
Jeff Jarvis: It's positioned as a "millionaire" surcharge (though it's only halfway to a million) and you may think that everybody else in the state who earns less would say, "F the rich." |
Estonia plans to unveil memorial to SS veterans Jerusalem Post — Permalink The Society of Fighters for Estonia's Freedom, which includes, among others, veterans of the Estonian 20th SS division, has initiated the opening of a monument to Estonian SS fighters who fought for Nazi Germany during WWII, Russia's Interfax quoted the Postimees newspaper as reporting on Saturday. | |
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Captain Ed: Estonian veterans of World War II, which consist of men who fought for Nazi Germany's notorious SS, plan on building a... Charles Johnson: On the side of the Nazis. |
Edward Driscoll: THERE'S A NEW WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL IN ESTONIA: There's just one problem though: It honors the SS. |
Bush falls on bike ride CNN — Permalink CRAWFORD, Texas (CNN) — President Bush fell off his bicycle Saturday while riding on his ranch, according to White House spokesman Trent Duffy. Bush, who was accompanied on his bike ride by his doctor, Richard Tubb, a military agent and a member of the Secret Service, fell about 16 miles into a 17-mile ride. | |
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Brian Linse: What was our commander-in-chief doing today? Falling off his bicycle. |
Smash: Paging Chevy Chase — What is the deal with Presidential candidates Falling off their bikes? |
U.S. Disputed Protected Status of Iraq Inmates NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, May 22 — Presented last fall with a detailed catalog of abuses at Abu Ghraib prison, the American military responded on Dec. 24 with a confidential letter asserting that many Iraqi prisoners were not entitled to the full protections of the Geneva Conventions. | |
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Atrios: Liars — Link: [snipped quote] (via Sadly, No!) |
Sadly @SadlyNo: How many lies can you tell without being impeached? ... still counting: [snipped quote] Appears to undermine? |
Michael Moore and Me By / Weekly Standard — Permalink A FEW YEARS AGO Michael Moore, who's now promoting an anti-President Bush movie entitled Fahrenheit 9/11, announced he'd gotten the goods on me, indeed hung me out to dry on my own words. It was in his first bestselling book, Stupid White Men. | |
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Deacon: Hat tip: Tim Blair, who also has a good link to Fred Barnes concerning Moore. Tim Blair: ONE MOORE LIE — Fred Barnes on Michael Moore: "A few years ago Michael Moore, who's now promoting an anti-President... |
Stefan Sharkansky: In other words fiction is when somebody makes s**t up, kind of like what Michael Moore did when he wrote that book. |
Bush Suffers Cuts, Bruises While Biking AP — Permalink CRAWFORD, Texas — President Bush (search) suffered cuts and bruises early Saturday afternoon when he fell while mountain biking on his ranch, White House spokesman Trent Duffy said. Bush was on the 16th mile of a 17-mile ride when he fell, Duffy said. | |
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Tom Maguire: Our Short Stint As A Kerry Spinner — Bush falls off his mountain-bike; according to Drudge, "Kerry told reporters in front of cameras, 'Did the training wheels fall off? |
Theoria: Is he ever there? Update [2004-5-22 17:56:46 by theoria]:Fox has the story... |
Jack of Smarts By / Washington Monthly — Permalink Before this year, my only experience with poker was at basketball camp when I was 12. We played during rest periods with Skittles for chips and about seven different wild cards per hand. Although fun, the game paled by comparison to other leisure pursuits, such as sleeping, and I never gave it much thought after that. | |
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John Cole: Poker Renaissance — Pejman asks: [snipped quote] He then links to this Justin Peters Washington Monthly feature which... |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: Justin Peters thinks he has the answer: [snipped quote] Peters also goes on to argue that poker has made a comeback... |
Democrats' delay tactic may turn into big TV turnoff By / Boston Herald — Permalink Stalling his presidential nomination might end up costing Sen. John F. Kerry [related, bio] the one thing he really wants at a convention - live prime-time television. At least one major television network yesterday frowned on the idea of Kerry delaying. | |
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Betsy Newmark: The networks are not enthusiastic. Bostonians are not happy. |
Steven Taylor: Betsy also notes that the TV folks ain't none too happy with the idea, either: Democrats' delay tactic may turn into big... |
Agency: Chalabi group was front for Iran By / Newsday — Permalink WASHINGTON — The Defense Intelligence Agency has concluded that a U.S.-funded arm of Ahmed Chalabi's Iraqi National Congress has been used for years by Iranian intelligence to pass disinformation to the United States and to collect highly sensitive American secrets, according to intelligence sources. | |
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The Poor Man: I Can't Stand It — I just can't stand it anymore: [snipped quote] Chumps. Rubes. Clowns. Marks. Fools. I can't stand it anymore. Joe Gandelman: And Newsday has this:"The Defense Intelligence Agency has concluded that a U.S.-funded arm of Ahmed Chalabi's Iraqi... Josh Marshall: Who could miss the duet between Chalabi and Ali Khamenei in which the dark secret is revealed or Richard Perle's... |
Oliver Willis: Agency: Chalabi group was front for Iran The Defense Intelligence Agency has concluded that a U.S.-funded arm of Ahmed... Digby: One Of The Most Sophisticated And Successful Intelligence Operations In History — Well now. This really is treason. Joe Drymala: Here is the story: "Agency: Chalabi group was front for Iran BY KNUT ROYCE WASHINGTON BUREAU May 21, 2004, 7:29 PM EDT... |
| Also: Atrios | |
'Fahrenheit 9/11' Wins Palme D'Or Award at Cannes Reuters — Permalink CANNES, France (Reuters) - U.S. director Michael Moore's controversial anti-Bush documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" won the Palme d'Or best film award at the Cannes film festival on Saturday in an evening otherwise dominated by Asian films. "What have you done? | |
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Pessimist: Democracy Is Coming To The USA 'Fahrenheit 9/11' Wins Palme D'Or Award at Cannes [snipped quote] "Let all of the poisons that lurk in the mud hatch out." |
Atrios: Moore Wins Palme d'Or — Stupid Frogs. |
Massachusetts Governor Wants 1913 Law Invoked By / LAT — Permalink BOSTON — With wedding bells pealing all week in Massachusetts for same-sex couples, Gov. Mitt Romney on Friday stepped up his effort to block out-of-state gays and lesbians from marrying here. | |
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Brian Linse: Mitt Romney, Meet Jim Crow — Kevin Drum cites the latest in offensive behavior on the Gay Marriage issue. |
Kevin Drum: GAY MARRIAGE...Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is stridently opposed to same-sex marriage, and on Friday he asked... |
Agency: Chalabi group was front for Iran By / New York Newsday — Permalink WASHINGTON — The Defense Intelligence Agency has concluded that a U.S.-funded arm of Ahmed Chalabi's Iraqi National Congress has been used for years by Iranian intelligence to pass disinformation to the United States and to collect highly sensitive American secrets, according to intelligence sources. | |
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Harley: Meanwhile, the latter was used by Iranian intelligence to pass disinformation to the US and to collect 'highly sensitive' American secrets in return. Josh Marshall: On the new charges that Ahmed Chalabi's 'intelligence chief' Aras Karim is in fact an Iranian spy, Knut Royce's piece in Newsday Advertisement contains the biggest bombshells. |
Matt Yglesias: A Bit of History — Knut Royce reports here that the Chalabi-Iran connection was a two way street, and the WMD disinformation program was an Iranian disinformation program. |
Soldier Who Refused to Return Is Found Guilty of Desertion By / NYT — Permalink ATLANTA, May 21 — A military jury convicted a member of the Florida National Guard on Friday at a court-martial in Fort Stewart, Ga., on charges of desertion because he refused to return to his unit in Iraq, saying he objected to the war there. | |
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TChris: The price of that decision: conviction of desertion in a court martial, a year in prison, and a bad-conduct discharge at the end of his prison term. |
Smash: Deserter Convicted — For a volunteer Desertion is dishonor He should be ashamed. |
Who let bin Ladens leave U.S.? By / The Hill — Permalink The Bush administration has refused to answer repeated requests from the Sept. 11 commission about who authorized flights of Saudi Arabian citizens, including members of Osama bin Laden's family, from the United States immediately after the attacks of 2001. | |
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Kos: Now we have an administration that coddles the nation that gave us the 9-11 hijackers, Saudi Arabia, and let Bin Laden's... |
Atrios: Stonewall — It appears that Dear Leader was refusing to answer questions: "The Bush administration has refused to... |
Kerry Ponders Delay in Party Nod WaPo — Permalink BOSTON, May 21 — Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) may take the unprecedented step of delaying formal acceptance of his nomination as the Democratic candidate for president this summer in an effort to reduce President Bush's financial advantage for the general election campaign, Kerry advisers said Friday. | |
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Daniel Drezner: John Kerry, man of action — Well, this Washington Post story by Dan Balz and Thomas Edsall ought to shore up John... |
James Joyner: Kerry May Defer Nomination — WaPo: Kerry Ponders Delay in Party Nod [snipped quote] I can see the ads now: "I rejected the nomination before I accepted it." |
Ground Zero Funds Often Drifted Uptown WaPo — Permalink NEW YORK — Six months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Congress approved an $8 billion program to repair this city's damaged office towers, build apartment buildings and finance the rebirth of the financial district. | |
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Jonathan Wilde: From the Washington Post (free registration required): "Local and state officials — over the objections of their own... |
Captain Ed: Unfortunately, state and city officials have spent the money on an ever-widening radius of projects, both in geography... |
Reporters Subpoenaed in CIA Leak By / WaPo — Permalink Journalists at Time magazine and NBC News were subpoenaed yesterday to appear before a federal grand jury investigating whether administration officials illegally leaked the name of an undercover CIA officer last summer. | |
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TChris: Reporters Subpoenaed in Plame Investigation — NBC's Tim Russert and Time magazine's Matthew Cooper were subpoenaed to... |
Tom Maguire: VPW - Subpoenas For Russert, TIME — The WaPo provides an update to the Valerie Plame Wilson investigation. |
Finally, Good News in Mideast By / NYT — Permalink Things are pretty depressing when you find yourself turning to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to cheer yourself up. But despite the killings in Gaza this week, some important good things are happening there. | |
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Joseph Alexander Norland: What does Friedman's colleague consider 'Good News in Mideast'? |
Betsy Newmark: David Brooks points out that the West Bank fence is working. |
Chalabi Aides Suspected of Spying for Iran By / WaPo — Permalink BAGHDAD, May 21 — Members of the political organization headed by Ahmed Chalabi are suspected of providing information to Iran on U.S. troop positions in Iraq and of kidnapping a prominent physician from his home, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials familiar with three investigations into a group the Bush administration once favored to run postwar Iraq. | |
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Steve Soto: First, it now turns out that Chalabi was tipped off to the raid. |
Josh Marshall: The Post meanwhile has a lengthier, though less clear-cut account, which includes important new details and an interview... |
For English, please press 1 By / Washington Times — Permalink Two Maryland politicians now are in trouble for stating the obvious: People who work in customer service should speak English. And out-of-control multiculturalism is to blame for failing to preserve America's common language. | |
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Deacon: Cut the crap, Part III — Michelle Malkin prescribes plainspoken English as the antidote to muddled multiculturalism. |
Betsy Newmark: Michelle Malkin cheers former Maryland governor, William Donald Schaefer, and present governor, Robert Ehrlich, who had... |
Moody's Upgrades California, Citing Recovery By / Reuters — Permalink SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A leading Wall Street ratings agency on Friday raised California's credit rating, citing an improving economy, the first such upgrade in four years and a move that promised to bring down the state's borrowing costs on $44 billion in debt. | |
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Smash: California Recovering — Wall Street firm upgrades California's credit score: Schwarzenegger thrilled! |
Joe Gandelman: California Governor Arnold Schwarzennegar — a politico whose favorite word is "fantastic" — is winning the equivilent... |
Only a Few Spoke Up on Abuse as Many Soldiers Stayed Silent NYT — Permalink Sergeant Wallin later told investigators that when he got to the prison: "I observed blood on the wall near a metal weld, which I believed to be the place where the detainee received his injury. I do not know how he was injured or if it was done by himself or another." | |
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Cori Dauber: TOTAL COLLAPSE — When so many people in a unit know about behavior that they themselves later tell investigators that... |
Digby: In todays edition it comes up again: "Much of the evidence of abuse at the prison came from medical documents. |
Punishment and Amusement WaPo — Permalink Prisoners posed in three of the most infamous photographs of abuse to come out of the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq were not being softened up for interrogation by intelligence officers but instead were being punished for criminal acts or the amusement of their jailers, according to previously secret documents obtained by The Washington Post. | |
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Captain Ed: WaPo: Abuse Not Intended For Interrogations — Scott Highan and Joe Stephens report in today's Washington Post that... Atrios: Jeebus. |
Jeralyn Merritt: New Documents: Guards Abused Prisoners for Amusement and Punishment — The Washington Post is reporting that previously... |
Beheading suspects 'led by Saddam's nephew' Guardian — Permalink The mystery of who killed Nick Berg, the freelance contractor beheaded on video, took a new twist last night when Iraqi police claimed they had arrested four suspects with links to Saddam Hussein's family. | |
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Steve Soto: How else to explain the fact that the Iraqi police now say they took into custody over a week ago four men who are... |
Captain Ed: The London Guardian reports that Iraqi forces have arrested an uncertain number of people in the case, including a... |
AP: Kerry Considers Delaying Nomination AP — Permalink BOSTON - John Kerry is considering delaying his acceptance of the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's July convention so that he can keep spending the millions of dollars that he raised during the primaries, The Associated Press has learned. | |
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Joe Gandelman: Will John Kerry Accept His Party's Nomination In July? Maybe not....and here's why. (We can just hear the radio and cable talk show hosts on Monday now....) Tom Maguire: John Kerry is considering straddling the question of whether he accepts the Democratic nomination? Smash: The Money Game — Kerry may delay Accepting nomination To raise more funds. |
Captain Ed: Unfortunately, Democrats are no longer expected to nominate Kerry in Boston, as the Kerry campaign has decided to play manipulative games with campaign-finance laws instead. Harley: Well. We'll see. Kerry is considering delaying his acceptance of the Dem party nomination at the July convention. Mathew Gross: And the Nominee Is... This is a great idea, and one I support whole-heartedly: [snipped quote] Show your support for the... |
| Also: Steve Soto, Betsy Newmark, Taegan Goddard, Steve Antler | |
Many Iraq Prison Abuses Occurred in Nov. By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - Many of the worst abuses that have come to light from the Abu Ghraib prison happened on a single November day amid a flare of insurgent violence in Iraq , the deaths of many U.S. soldiers and a breakdown of the American guards' command structure. | |
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Tom Smith: Bad day at Abu Ghraib — This report doesn't fit the story line very well. Via LGF. Betsy Newmark: Here's some context for the Iraqi prison story. Almost all the photos were taken on the same day, November 8, 2003. |
Charles Johnson: Stop the Presses! Abu Ghraib Duration: One Day Most of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuses occurred in a single day. That's right. Rich Lowry: Drudge is linking to this story about most of the abuses happening on one day—would seem to indicate that they weren't widespread. |
Column One: The new plan By / Jerusalem Post — Permalink Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is now tentatively set to bring his "new plan" for withdrawing IDF troops from the Gaza Strip and uprooting Israeli settlements there and in Samaria to the cabinet for its approval next Sunday. | |
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Charles Johnson: Media Not Interested in the Truth — In another excellent analysis of the situation in Israel, Caroline Glick... |
Joseph Alexander Norland: The following quotation from Caroline Glick's recent column is probably one of the most potent indictments of the media yet. |
Lying into the Mirror NRO — Permalink Misunderstaning the war on terror. Shortly after moving to Washington from Rome — we're talking late Seventies — I did a long interview with Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan about the Carter administration's foreign policy. | |
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Charles Johnson: Lying into the Mirror — Michael Ledeen has a rather different take on Ahmed Chalabi than the current media pile-on: Lying into the Mirror. |
Joseph Alexander Norland: The last article on the topic to land on my desk comes from the pen of Michael Ledeen, who states, inter alia: "I am... |
NEW JERSEY UP FOR GRABS? By / New York Post — Permalink POLLS, polls, polls. All you've been hearing is that President Bush's poll numbers are dropping. Yes, they have been, although far less precipitously than the hysterical discussion would warrant. | |
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Jeff Jarvis: It's the taxes, stupid : Add this together: John Podhoretz said in yesterday's Post that New Jersey is now a swing state. |
Betsy Newmark: John Podhoretz looks at what that poll result showing New Jersey is within the margin of error means for the campaign. |
Kerry Considers Delaying Nomination AP — Permalink John Kerry is considering delaying his acceptance of the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's July convention so that he can keep spending the millions of dollars that he raised during the primaries, The Associated Press has learned. | |
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Captain Ed: UPDATE II: Another perspective from the myway news portal, via Memeorandum: "When the Democratic Party scheduled its... KJL: KERRY CONSIDERS DELAYING NOMINATION so he can spend his primary money longer. What will John McCain, all-powerful CFR guru, think? |
Joe Drymala: Kerry Might Delay His Acceptance — AP reports that Kerry may postpone his acceptance of the Democratic nomination for... |
THE AMERICAS & ASIA: Republicans line up to finance top Democrat By / Financial Times — Permalink In a campaign seasonwhen President George W. Bush has shattered records for campaign fundraising, John Thune has the dubious distinction of being the rarest of political creatures: a Republican Senate candidate strapped for cash. | |
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Edward Driscoll: STRANGE BEDFELLOWS: Why is Steve Largent donating money to fund Tom Daschle's re-election campaign? (Via The Corner.) |
Ramesh Ponnuru: HILL REPUBLICANS are also talking today about this story on Republican lobbyists' campaign contributions to Tom Daschle. |
'Rock Solid' Evidence Chalabi Spied for Iran AP — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq — U.S. officials believe they have "rock solid" evidence that Iraqi Governing Council member Ahmad Chalabi (search), once a darling of the American government, passed secrets to Iran, Fox News has learned. | |
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Joe Gandelman: Meanwhile, Fox News says U.S. officials have "rock solid" information that Chalabi did indeed pass on info to Iran. Glenn Reynolds: "ROCK SOLID EVIDENCE" that Chalabi spied for Iran? This is likely to embarrass some people. UPDATE: Including some at The New York Times, apparently. Jan Haugland: Update: InstaPundit points out a Fox article saying the US government has "rock solid" evidence that Chalabi passed secrets to Iran. |
Smash: An Iranian Spy — Officials now claim Chalabi spied for Iran: Proof is "rock solid." Jeff Goldstein: Iran so far away (I couldn't get away) My Chalabi has a first name, it's t-r-a-i-t-o-r... My Chalabi has a second name,... |
Raid on Chalabi Puts 'NYT' Even More on the Spot By / Editor and Publisher — Permalink In a front page New York Times article this morning, David E. Sanger quotes a senior U.S. intelligence official's assessment of Ahmad Chalabi's information on weapons of mass destruction, which was distributed so avidly by the Times itself in the run-up to the Iraq war: "useless at best, and misleading at worst." | |
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Atrios: Right After the Whitewater Corrections... Stupid NYT: [snipped quote] Gerth and Miller must have pictures of the publishers with goats. |
Glenn Reynolds: This is likely to embarrass some people. UPDATE: Including some at The New York Times, apparently. |
Ovation for Moore's 'Fahrenheit' lasts longer than Bush dawdled Chicago Sun Times — Permalink CANNES, France — Two questions involving the duration of events: (1) So how long, exactly, was the standing ovation for Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11"? And (2) Did President Bush actually remain in a Florida classroom, reading from My Pet Goat, for seven minutes after he was informed of the second attack on the World Trade Center? | |
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Robert Prather: Michael Moore's Latest "Documentary" Ovation for Moore's 'Fahrenheit' lasts longer than Bush dawdled Moore has a... |
Pessimist: 10 REASONS BUSH WANTS TO BAN MOORE FILM [snipped quote] Ovation for Moore's 'Fahrenheit' lasts longer than Bush dawdled... |
Billion-dollar timebomb puts Chalabi at risk By / Telegraph — Permalink Ahmad Chalabi is in possession of "miles" of documents with the potential to expose politicians, corporations and the United Nations as having connived in a system of kickbacks and false pricing worth billions of pounds. That may have been enough to provoke yesterday's American raid. | |
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Wretchard: But Chalabi's arrest has also been linked to the Oil for Food scandal, which is centered around Kofi Annan, the very man... |
Jan Haugland: The whistle-blower: Chalabi is being set up, the Telegraph argues, because his "miles of documents" threaten to expose... |
Are children of gay parents worse off? By / Townhall.com — Permalink Are children raised by gay parents worse off than other children? As same sex couples line up for marriage licenses in Massachusetts, the question achieves greater urgency. Two researchers answered when they reviewed the available scholarly literature in the American Sociological Review three years ago. | |
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Sadly @SadlyNo: We do, and will gladly fill you in on Mona's meager attempts to turn herself into a serious scholar in yesterday's Are children of gay parents worse off? |
Jesse Taylor: Unhappy As Can Be — As far as I can tell, the point of this Mona Charen column is that a study says same-sex marriage... |
Mutiny by 4 Republicans Over Bush's Tax Cutting Forces Delay on the Budget Vote By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, May 20 - Unable to a squelch a six-week mutiny over President Bush's tax-cutting agenda, Senate Republican leaders on Thursday conceded that they could not muster enough votes to pass a $2.4 trillion budget plan and abruptly postponed a vote until at least next month. | |
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Noam Scheiber: From today's New York Times: [snipped quote] Hastert then added, "If you call me fat one more time, I'm going come over there and pound your face in." |
Pessimist: While he hasn't yet done so, I noted with great satisfaction that he is starting to act toward that result: Mutiny by 4... |
"The Beat Meet the Elite" NRO — Permalink NRO is where people want to be. National Review Online is indispensable. It's the glue that holds together the Washington policy community — think tankers, journalists, activists, anonymous speech writers, celebrity politicos, and those laboring in the bowels of the great bureaucracies as well. | |
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Tbogg: And you can get cool sweatshirts with some guys dog on it.... Clifford May says: Actually, NRO is more than that. |
Jesse Taylor: Mixed Messages — I'm reading this appeal by Cliff May to get donations for NRO, and the only way I can read it is "NRO: 21st Century European Elitists". |
Obama admits he dislikes his most loyal follower Chicago Sun Times — Permalink SPRINGFIELD — For the past 10 days, U.S. Senate candidate Barack Obama hasn't been able to go to the bathroom or talk to his wife on his cell phone without having a camera-toting political gofer from his Republican rival filming a few feet away. | |
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Taegan Goddard: Chasing Obama — "For the past 10 days, U.S. Senate candidate Barack Obama hasn't been able to go to the bathroom or... |
Josh Marshall: For the last ten days, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, Ryan has had a campaign staffer, Justin Warfel, follow Obama with a video camera all day. |
Granny! NRO — Permalink "Is she here?" "Did she bring us anything?" Molly and Paris crash cheerfully into me, book bags, and lunchboxes banging against their legs, hats damply askew. The schoolyard is thronged with uniformed children milling around and desperate mothers in sundresses trying to corral escaping toddlers. | |
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SLZoll: . ." What's new with America's Worst Mother™ (a trademark of Tbogg Light and Magic) this week? |
Tbogg: You don't have to wait for the Sunday papers to get your minimum daily requirement of America's Worst Mother™, we've got it right here. |
The Growing Gap NRO — Permalink Bremer has alienated Iraqis. On May 20, U.S. forces raided the home and office of Iraqi National Congress leader Ahmad Chalabi. At a press conference following the operation, Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) spokesman Dan Senor told assembled journalists that U.S. forces did not participate. | |
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The Big Trunk: The raid on Chalabi — Former Coaliton Provisional Authority adviser Michael Rubin has written a column for NRO... |
Matthew Yglesias: Michael Rubin, by contrast, thinks this was a big mistake, one of many Paul Bremer has made to "alienate" Iraqis. |
Season of Apologies NRO — Permalink It's time for reckless critics to own up. President Bush and Secretary Rumsfeld were both asked to apologize recently for the illegal and amoral behavior of a few miscreant soldiers at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. | |
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Betsy Newmark: Victor Davis Hanson knows who should really be apologizing. Ted Kennedy is number one in line. Dale Franks: Not as bad as it seems — Victor Davis Hanson urges us to keep a sense of perspective in Iraq, and not to forget that... SLZoll: Here's part of last week's inspirational message about how it's not Rumsfeld's fault that American soldiers tortured... |
Tom Smith: Mort is dead right — Mort is dead on in this column. And so is Victor in this one. Charles Johnson: Must Be the Season of Apologies — Ready for some Victor Davis Hanson humor? |
Justice Memos Explained How to Skip Prisoner Rights By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, May 20 — A series of Justice Department memorandums written in late 2001 and the first few months of 2002 were crucial in building a legal framework for United States officials to avoid complying with international laws and treaties on handling prisoners, lawyers and former officials say. | |
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Jeralyn Merritt: The Department of Justice wrote several memos to Pentagon officials advising them how to avoid being charged with war crimes while denying prisoners their rights. Tarek @LiquidList: The New York Times this morning is reporting that a series of Justice Department memos were drafted by UC Berkeley law... |
Jeanne D'Arc: Speaking of war crimes, we have a Justice Department that spends its time figuring out how to commit them with impunity. |
Iraqis Provide New Details of Abuse WaPo — Permalink Previously secret sworn statements by detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq describe in raw detail abuse that goes well beyond what has been made public, adding allegations of prisoners being ridden like animals, sexually fondled by female soldiers and forced to retrieve their food from toilets. | |
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Captain Ed: The Veneer of Civilization — Dale Franks at QandO posted a difficult lesson for Americans and people of Western... Rich Lowry: One thing I noticed in the Washington Post coverage today is that specialist Graner seems to be in at least four of the pictures. Adam Mordecai: It Can't Get Worse Claim #347 - 353 — From the Washington Post: "Previously secret sworn statements by detainees at... |
Jeanne D'Arc: Sworn statements by Abu Ghraib prisoners describe nightmares the photos only hint at. Dale Franks: The long roll-out continues — Scott Higham and Joe Stephens of the Washington Post continue the rollout of allegations from Abu Ghraib. Kevin Drum: ABU GHRAIB....More pictures and testimony about Abu Ghraib. I don't really have the heart to write about this today, though. |
| Also: Dan Gillmor, Noam Scheiber, Kevin Raybould, Matthew Yglesias, Phil Carter, Jan Haugland, John Cole, Mitch Berg, Gregory Djerejian, Cori Dauber, The Big Trunk, Digby, Tbogg, Steve M., KJL | |
Iraq sarin shell is not part of a secret cache By / Christian Science Monitor — Permalink DELMAR, N.Y. - In the mid-1980s I served as the intelligence officer for a Marine artillery battalion. Stationed in Twentynine Palms, Calif., I would often find myself deployed in the field, on exercises where thousands of live artillery rounds were fired downrange. | |
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Donald Sensing: The sarin-gas shell, revisited — Former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter says the nerve-gas shell exploded against US... Smash: UPDATE: Scott Ritter provides an alternative explanation in today's Christian Science Monitor. H.D. Miller: The Lone Shell — Scott Ritter is now saying that discovery of an artillery shell containg nerve agent in Iraq weren't nothing but a thing. |
James Joyner: Joe Carter sent me a link last night to a CSM column by Scott Ritter, in which he argued that, in all likelihood, the... Kevin Drum: Scott Ritter says it's pretty easy to find out: [snipped quote] Note that there's nothing here that depends on whether you consider Ritter a reliable source. The Poor Man: Scott Ritter on the Sarin Gas Shell — Scott Ritter thinks the official story stinks: [snipped quote] Not a ringing endorsement. |
George Bush never looked into Nick's eyes By / WaPo — Permalink My son, Nick, was my teacher and my hero. He was the kindest, gentlest man I know; no, the kindest, gentlest human being I have ever known. He quit the Boy Scouts of America because they wanted to teach him to fire a handgun. | |
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Robert Prather: In fact he's gone so far overboard that he's more sympathetic to the people that murdered his son than he is to President Bush. Jon Henke: The Real Enemy is...(fill in the blank) My deepest sympathies on the loss of your son, Mr. Berg, but... Baldilocks: From Michael Berg, father of Nicholas Berg, infamously slaughtered by Islamists: [snipped quote] "I am sure that the one... |
Charles Johnson: He makes it appallingly clear that his signature on a statement from International ANSWER was no fluke—and that... Mitch Berg: Again, I'm trying to be charitable. But his article in the WaPo today makes charity difficult. It counts, I think, as ex post facto child abuse. Jeff Goldstein: But don't you dare call him unpatriotic... **** More. And etc. |
| Also: Captain Ed, Damian Penny, Cori Dauber, Jeff Jarvis | |
America's 'Best Friend' A Spy? By / CBS News — Permalink Ahmad Chalabi displays a family photo he says was smashed during the raid on his home. (CBS/AP) In the latest setback for a man once seen as the possible leader of a free and democratic Iraq, Iraqi police backed by U.S. troops raided the Baghdad home and offices of Iraqi politician Ahmad Chalabi. | |
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Harley: One took me to a CBS report that asks a fairly pertinent question. Who gave Chalabi the highly sensitive secrets in the first place? Joe Drymala: Chalabi Duped Us All, Especially Cheney — the CBS Version — Here's CBS's take: "Senior U.S. officials told 60 Minutes... Atrios: More Chalabi — Go to CBS News and then click on the video of "U.S. 'Friend' In Iraq A Spy?" ...text story. |
Matt Yglesias: The Dark Side — CBS reports: [snipped quote] What does that mean? Sounds a bit like Hezbollah to me. Josh Marshall: From a trickle to a torrent ... [snipped quote] In truth, and not to defend Chalabi, but I think we need to wait and watch these reports closely. Steve Antler: Who knows... The most serious possible charge (or smear?) delivered in the most effective way. |
| Also: Gary Farber | |
Gates backs blogs for businesses BBC — Permalink Blogs are good for business, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates has said. In a speech to an audience of chief executives, Mr Gates said the regularly updated journals, or blogs, could be a good way for firms to tell customers, staff and partners what they are doing. | |
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Dan Gillmor: Gates Endorses Blogging; Blogging Now Old-Hat — Bill Gates' employees were way ahead of the boss when it came to... Kim du Toit: The End Of Blogging — Steve Den Beste is despondent:That's it! The party's over now. Everyone go home; there's nothing left to see here. |
Jan Haugland: Gates: blog! Bill Gates is saying that blogs are good for business. Steven Den Beste: (On Screen): That's it! The party's over now. Everyone go home; there's nothing left to see here. Blogging is now officially passé. |
Press can't let abuse story go By / Washington Times — Permalink Accounts and graphic photos of Iraqi prisoner abuse persist in the press despite the fact that the story has run its course. The world already knows salient details of the prisoner humiliation and nudity, the causes of the abuse are under official investigation, and the courts-martial have begun. | |
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Donald Sensing: I summarized this phenomenon a week ago, and many other writers have, too, including some traditional media outlets. Gary Farber: UH-OH. They've gotten into the brown acid over at the Moonie paper. The Big Trunk: Coincidental with the new Post stories, Jennifer Harper writes in the Washington Times: "Press can't let abuse scandal go." |
Glenn Reynolds: THIS POLL suggests that the media really are out of touch on Iraq. Note these questions: "20. Betsy Newmark: The Washington TImes looks at the disparity between the media's coverage of bad and good news from Iraq. |
Poll: Little Movement in Bush-Kerry Matchup By / AP — Permalink The latest Fox News poll finds that while President Bush's job rating remains below 50 percent and pessimism about the nation's economy grows, the election matchup shows little movement. | |
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Cori Dauber: That's a pretty good clue this is the real deal.) Oliver Willis: $130 Million spent, and even in the Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll he's tied with John Kerry. |
Josh Chafetz: I was looking at the latest Fox News-Opinion Dynamics Poll (taken May 18-19), and something interesting stood out. Hindrocket: In other polling news, Fox reports the absolutely bizarre finding that 49% of Americans say that for them and their families, it "feels like the economy is getting worse." |
In April, Kerry's Fundraising Nearly Doubled Bush's By / WaPo — Permalink Sen. John F. Kerry's fundraising receipts surged strongly ahead of President Bush's last month, with the presumptive Democratic nominee pulling in almost twice what the president raised. At the same time, Bush's campaign is spending money at an unprecedented rate. | |
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Tom Maguire: Money talks. UPDATE: Reactions at Memeorandum. Oliver Willis: In April, Kerry's Fundraising Nearly Doubled Bush's At the same time, Bush's campaign is spending money at an unprecedented rate. Kos: Post updated accordingly. Update: Kerry's numbers are out. Our guy raised $30 million to Bush's $15 million. |
Jesse Taylor: John Kerry's floundering campaign, which has been rumored by such august resources as the National Review and Dick... Taegan Goddard: Kerry's Fundraising Surges — Sen. John Kerry's fundraising receipts "moved ahead of President Bush's last month, with... The Poor Man: Dem Panic Watch — Foundering Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry raises twice as much money in April as President George W. Bush. |
Videos Amplify Picture of Violence WaPo — Permalink The video begins with three soldiers huddled around a naked detainee, his thin frame backed against a wall. With a snap of his wrist, one of the soldiers slaps the man across his left cheek so hard that the prisoner's knees buckle. | |
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James Joyner: Videos Amplify Picture of Violence "The video begins with three soldiers huddled around a naked detainee, his thin frame backed against a wall. The Big Trunk: The Post also runs a companion story: "Videos amplify picture of violence." Captain Ed: UPDATE: Another Post story details more of the images from the photos and videos coming out of Abu Ghraib, seen by Congress but not yet released to the public. |
Steve M.: There's more — a gallery with six newly obtained photos, some video of abuse, and a description of the video: The video... Gary Farber: Sick. ADDENDUM: The video begins to come out. |
Afghan Policies on Questioning Prisoners Taken to Iraq NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, May 20 — The interrogation center at Abu Ghraib prison was run by a military intelligence unit that had served in Afghanistan and that had taken to Iraq the aggressive rules and procedures it had developed for the Afghan conflict, according to documents and testimony. | |
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Cori Dauber: But lets take a look at how the Times handles this story. It's on the front page, no less. But it's the little things that matter. QD @SouthernAppeal: Iraqi Prisoner Abuse: This New York Times article is deeply frustrating. |
Tarek @LiquidList: It now seems clear that Haynes was assured by Yoo's memos and that complacency permitted — tacitly or otherwise — the... Gregory Djerejian: Not to mention that such abuses and/or tortures almost certainly occurred in locales beyond Abu Ghraib. |
Cutting Off Chalabi By / WaPo — Permalink The warnings to Ahmed Chalabi from U.S. officials who run the increasingly troubled occupation of Iraq have been both subtle and brutal in recent weeks. They have ranged from a small bureaucratic victory for the CIA, which persuaded the Bush... | |
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Matthew Yglesias: Jim Hoagland, meanwhile, returns from yesterday's moment of lucidity to his traditional rhetorical trick of equating efforts to impose the rule of an exile leader with "democracy." James Joyner: WaPo's Jim Hoagland — Cutting Off Chalabi "More recently Chalabi added White House staffers and occupation chief Paul... |
Dale Franks: But the Washington Post's Jim Hoagland seems willing to cut him some slack. Is that because as a WaPo writer, it serves as a good excuse to bash the administration? |
Get Out Your Boards: Extreme Ironing May Soon Be Hot By / NYT — Permalink BOSTON, May 20 - Clawing up ice-crusted, razor-sharp mountain peaks can get a little boring. And dangling upside down from a bungee cord over jagged cliffs is, face it, rather ho-hum. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: This seems to be about as much fun as watching paint dry: [snipped quote] Indeed. If you are a chronic insomniac, that is. Gary Farber: Yes, the Times has, seven years after the fact, discovered extreme ironing. Probably via press release. |
Micah Sifry: I read the news today, oh boy It's tempting to try to come up with some witty remark about the "Extreme Ironing" story... |
Why We Built the Ivory Tower By / NYT — Permalink After nearly five decades in academia, and five and a half years as a dean at a public university, I exit with a three-part piece of wisdom for those who work in higher education: do your job; don't try to do someone else's job, as you are unlikely to be qualified; and don't let anyone else do your job. | |
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Tom Maguire: Fish Gotta Swim, Birds Gotta Fly — Academics gotta interpret the world, not proselytize it, according to Stanley Fish, writing in today's NY Times. Captain Ed: Instead, Fish exhorts his colleagues to focus on the truly academic roles of analysis and scholarship |
Ken Masugi: In his NY Times op-ed "Why We Build the Ivory Tower," this retiring Prospero gives what appears to be a stirring defense... |
'Gooks' to 'Hajis' By / NYT — Permalink The hapless Jeremy Sivits got the headlines yesterday. A mechanic whose job was to service gasoline-powered generators, Specialist Sivits was sentenced to a year in prison and thrown out of the Army for accepting an invitation to take part in the sadistic treatment of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison. | |
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Cori Dauber: Yet this morning, before the verdict was handed down, a famous New York Times columnist, a doyenne, dare I say, of the... Captain Ed: However, today's column covers the story of Sgt. Camilo Mejia, whose story I noted in a post late last night. |
Charles Johnson: Bob Herbert accepts every word as gospel truth, and says it shows once again what a hopelessly racist and corrupt... Chris Bertram: His case is described in Bob Herbert's column in the NYT . His testimony about the morally corrosive circumstances in... |
Kerry Beats Bush, Again and Again… Kerry for President Press Room — Permalink Washington, D.C. Democratic candidate for President John Kerry raised over $30 million in April, $15 million more than the Bush/Cheney campaign. Kerry beat Bush by over $17 million last month as well, when the Kerry campaign raised $43.4 million in March. | |
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Captain Ed: UPDATE: Matt from Blogs For Bush wonders why Democrats need to worry about this if all the recent stories about their fund-raising prowess are true. |
John Cole: Poor, Underfunded Democrats — Can we please stop pretending that the Democrats can not compete financially |
The Chalabi Case Opinion Journal — Permalink Someday we hope U.S. officials will explain to us how in scarcely a year they managed to turn one of our closest allies in ousting Saddam Hussein into an opponent of American purposes. We're referring to Ahmed Chalabi, the member of the Iraqi Governing Council whose home and office were raided by coalition forces yesterday in Baghdad. | |
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Dale Franks: What's the deal with Chalabi? The Wall Street Journal has a jones worse that China White for Ahmed Chalabi. |
Sadly @SadlyNo: If only we could find the right words... Then we'd add some comment on today's Wall Street Journal Editorial: "Someday... |