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Evidence of Niger uranium trade 'years before war' By / Financial Times — Permalink When thieves stole a steel watch and two bottles of perfume from Niger's embassy on Via Antonio Baiamonti in Rome at the end of December 2000, they left behind many questions about their intentions. The identity of the thieves has not been established. | |
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Hindrocket: Now the Financial Times is resurrecting the story, pointing out that that the famous forged documents are more or less... Steven Taylor: Paging Mr. Wilson... The FT has an interesting story on the Niger-Iraq/uranium story in today's edition: [snipped quote] Conclusive? |
Jonah Goldberg: NIGER + URANIUM — British intelligence still stands by the uranium story. Maybe this is why? Gregory Djerejian: Check out this, quite interesting, piece from today's FT. |
Iraq and Al Qaeda By / MSNBC — Permalink July 5 issue - A captured Qaeda commander who was a principal source for Bush administration claims that Osama bin Laden collaborated with Saddam Hussein's regime has changed his story, setting back White House efforts to shore up the credibility of its original case for the invasion of Iraq. | |
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Andrew Olmsted: THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE A captured al Qaeda member who was a principle source for U.S. claims of cooperation between Iraq and al Qaeda has recanted his earlier testimony. Joe Gandelman: A Purported Administration Source On Iraq Changes His Story — Michael Isikoff, writing in Newsweek, says a key Al Qaeda... |
Tim Dunlop: It turns out that Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi is the key source providing information to the Bush administration about links... Atrios: Gee, You Think? What fun. |
Clinton's new literary agent By / PittsburghLIVE.com — Permalink CBS News never will be confused with Caesar's wife. Especially after the Dan Rather "60 Minutes'" interview of former president Bill Clinton last Sunday. The news organization might have violated Federal Communications Commission sponsorship identification rules. | |
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Oliver Willis: Now this idiotic theory is getting legitimacy thanks to a column in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. Glenn Reynolds: CBS MAY BE IN TROUBLE WITH THE FCC for its Amazon Associates linkage with Clinton's book: [snipped quote] It's not the... |
Jeff Jarvis: Red herring run : RatherBiased and now a Pittsburgh columnist and now Instapundit are all nattering that CBS is in some... |
Captors Say Marine, Pakistani Held in Iraq By / AP — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq - Arab television broadcast videotape Sunday of two hostages said to be of Pakistani origin, one of them a blindfolded U.S. Marine militants claimed to have lured from his base and taken captive. Insurgents threatened to behead them both. | |
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Blackfive: Captors Say Marine, Pakistani Held in Iraq By CHRIS TOMLINSON, Associated Press Writer BAGHDAD, Iraq - Arab television... Steven Taylor: Indeed, along those lines, the AP has the following: "The masked gunmen, who held assault rifles across their chests,... |
Cori Dauber: And were any friends or family, in a panic, to then go to their web site, guess what they'd see there — yup, you... |
Biggest Task for U.S. General Is Training Iraqis to Fight Iraqis By / NYT — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 26 — On a recent afternoon in his new office in the heavily fortified Green Zone, Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus, a celebrated American field commander, sketched his vision for how America's forces might one day extract themselves from this country. | |
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Joe Gandelman: Key hightlight: [snipped quote] Tagoda (one of the best analysts on the Internet) also offers this story as an update. Robert Garcia Tagorda: UPDATE: On the other hand, the New York Times identifies the potential downside of Iraqi attitudes: [quote] "I am not ready to...[end quote] |
Daniel Drezner: The big test for David Petraeus — Dexter Filkins has a front-pager in today's New York Times on the challenges facing... |
For Iraqi Girls, Changing Land Narrows Lives By / NYT — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 26 — To catch a glimpse of the future of this country, look for a moment through the eyes of teenage girls who are coming of age here in the capital. In an air-conditioned bedroom with pink everything on the walls, Yosor Ali al-Qatan, 15, stares longingly at a hip-hugging pair of pink pinstriped pants. | |
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Glenn Reynolds: JEWS IN BAGHDAD: H. D. Miller says the Times is burying the lede in this story. |
H.D. Miller: In today's New York Times, reporter Somini Sengupta fails to recognize (or perhaps purposely fails to identify)... |
CIA Puts Harsh Tactics On Hold By / WaPo — Permalink The CIA has suspended the use of extraordinary interrogation techniques approved by the White House pending a review by Justice Department and other administration lawyers, intelligence officials said. | |
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Jeralyn Merritt: And that means this Administration authorized and engaged in torture. Period. Here's the Washington Post report. Jack Balkin: The Washington Post reports that the torture memo that the Bush Administration is falling all over itself to repudiate was no frolic and detour by crazed lunatics. Michael Froomkin: Tortue Memo Enthusiastically Approved at Highest Levels; CIA Getting Cold Feet — Dana Priest has so many scoops in one... |
Kevin Drum: The bigger news, however, might be a few paragraphs down: [snipped quote] It's remarkable how Dick "Go F**k Yourself" Cheney's name keeps coming up in these contexts, isn't it? Phillip Carter: Dana Priest reported in Sunday's Washington Post that the CIA has suspended "aggressive interrogations" of top Al Qaeda... |
1st chemical attack by terrorists in Iraq WorldNetDaily — Permalink A day after the head of the CIA weapons inspection team warned that terrorists in Iraq are trying to get their hands on the Saddam Hussein regime's chemical weapons of mass destruction, Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin reports the first attack with these weapons of mass destruction has been launched inside Baghdad's Green Zone. | |
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Jim Henley: Whatever - On the radar: Worldnet Daily's Joseph Farah reports that Iraqi insurgents used mustard gas in an attack on Baghdad. James Joyner: Report: Mustard Gas Used in Baghdad — WorldNetDaily — 1st chemical attack by terrorists in Iraq: Sources report... Steve Antler: One source is reporting a mustard gas attack in Iraq. |
McQ: We'll have to see ... but WorldNetDaily is reporting the following: "A day after the head of the CIA weapons inspection... Jason Van Steenwyk: ...it's that we've now found nearly a dozen. One was already fired at the Green Zone. It's in the World Net Daily. Donald Sensing: In related news, World Net Daily reports, "Sources report mustard gas inside Baghdad's Green Zone." |
Turkey says no bargaining with terrorists over Turkish hostages AP — Permalink ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) Turkey's defense minister said Sunday that Turkey will not negotiate with Islamic militants in Iraq who are threatening to behead three Turkish hostages, reports said. | |
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Moe Lane: Because it's long since time that we started calling things like this by their true names, don't you think? James Joyner: Al Qaeda Threatens to Behead Three Turkish Hostages — AP — Turkey says no bargaining with terrorists over Turkish hostages [snipped quote] The cycle continues. |
Joe Gandelman: But Turkey's Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul made it clear to reporters in Istanbul that his government and country doesn't... |
Hitler Image Used in Bush Campaign Web Ad AP — Permalink WASHINGTON June 26, 2004 — Adolf Hitler's image has surfaced again in the White House race. President Bush's campaign is featuring online video of the Nazi dictator, taken down months ago from a liberal group's Web site and disavowed, in a spot that intersperses clips of speeches by Democrats John Kerry, Al Gore and Howard Dean. | |
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Greg Ransom: And the unspoken F-word here is Fascist. Gene @HarrysPlace: The looong campaign watch — Is this a sign of early desperation by the Bush reelection campaign? |
Ann Althouse: So reads a misleading headline to an AP article printed in today's NYT. |
U.S. Edicts Curb Power Of Iraq's Leadership WaPo — Permalink BAGHDAD, June 26 — U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer has issued a raft of edicts revising Iraq's legal code and has appointed at least two dozen Iraqis to government jobs with multi-year terms in an attempt to promote his concepts of governance long after the planned handover of political authority on Wednesday. | |
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Andrew Olmsted: IRAQI POLITICS Sovereignty in Iraq will fall short of the Iraqi's hopes, at least initially, as CPA administrator Paul... Phillip Carter: Sovereignty with training wheels — The Washington Post reports this morning on a set of decrees from American proconsul... Tbogg: Leave it to Bremer: U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer has issued a raft of edicts revising Iraq's legal code and has... |
MB Williams: I'm not sure if it's actually a good thing that the current Administration doesn't feel the need to keep it's new leash... Ted Belman: The sovereign behind "full sovereignty" — U.S. Edicts Curb Power Of Iraq's Leadership Washington Post Foreign Service ( This is a good thing. |
Are They Losing It? By / NYT — Permalink One thing you've got to say for Dick Cheney: No one will ever again dismiss the vice presidency as a pitcher of warm spit. Mr. Major League Potty Mouth has shown that, with obsequiousness to the president and obtuseness to the facts, a vice president can run the world. | |
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Nielsen Hayden: Maureen Dowd and Damon Knight! Together again, for the first time. Joe Gandelman: UPDATE: —Maureen Dowd: "This week, it's not just Democrats who are questioning whether Vice is losing it. Steve Gilliard: Are They Losing It? By MAUREEN DOWD Published: June 27, 2004 [snipped quote] This dovetails with the piece that ran in Capitol Hill Blue a week or so ago. |
John Cole: MoDo's Deceit — Ahh, the NY Times: [snipped quote] Discuss. Tbogg: Major Mo Moment — Maureen Dowd: By playing on the insecurities of an inexperienced leader, Mr. Cheney has managed to... |
Arab TV Shows Tape of Marine Held Hostage By / AP — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - An Arab satellite TV network broadcast a videotape Sunday showing a blindfolded man in military fatigues and said he was a U.S. Marine taken hostage in Iraq. | |
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Jeralyn Merritt: Original Post: If true, it was only a matter of time. Al Jazeera reports that an Islamic group is claiming to be holding hostage an American marine. |
Joe Gandelman: The news bulletin : [snipped quote] In an analysis today, Robert Caldwell, the San Diego Union-Tribune's Insight editor,... |
A New Terror Threat By / Time — Permalink As the July 4 holiday approaches, Bush Administration officials are bombarding the nation's police, fire, emergency and corporate-security offices with another round of terrorism warnings. | |
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QD @SouthernAppeal: Watch Out, Bubba: Is nothing safe? |
Atrios: Protect the Beer — If the preznit can't even protect our beer on a holiday weekend, then what good is he? |
Kerry's Campaign Has Soared From Poorhouse to Penthouse By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, June 26 - John Kerry may be only a candidate for president, but he and his entourage travel like kings. A month ago, his campaign began chartering a gleaming 757, packed with first-class seats, fine food, sleeping accommodations - even a stand-up bar. | |
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Taegan Goddard: From Poorhouse to Penthouse — A surge in campaign contributions "has made Senator John Kerry the best-financed... McQ: Kerry - Man of the People — I wonder if Paul Wellstone is turning over in his grave yet: [snipped quote] Why should he care ... its not his money. John Cole: Poor, Underfunded Democrats — At least the Democrats can quit whining about not having enough money (a lie they have... |
Digby: Apparently, the NY Times just got its reporters brand new calculators/vanity mirrors because they seem to be spending an... Emperor Darth Misha I: But the occasional snippet still manages to slip out. "WASHINGTON, June 26 - John Kerry may be only a candidate for president, but he and his entourage travel like kings. |
Unsolicited Advice From the Far Left By / WaPo — Permalink Tempers are hot in the capital over Michael Moore's anti-Bush production, "Fahrenheit 9/11" — and not just in the White House. Now one of the filmmaker's old friends on the far left is accusing Moore of being . . . fat? | |
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Glenn Reynolds: IT'S NOT JUST THE LETTER I MENTIONED YESTERDAY: Ralph Nader is publicly calling for an intervention regarding Michael... |
Nick Gillespie: Whole thing here. It also includes a nice moment of bonding between Dick Armey's Citzens for a Sound Economy and Nader,... |
New Iraqi police fight US troops who trained them By / Telegraph — Permalink With american fighter jets and helicopters buzzing the skies overhead, an officer in Iraq's new police force approaches a group of fighters on Fallujah's front lines with an urgent call to arms. "I need a man who can use an RPG," says Omar, who wears the uniform of a first lieutenant. | |
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Charles Johnson: Iraqis entrusted with police duty throw away their golden opportunity to help build a civil society, and side with the... |
Pessimist: New Iraqi police fight US troops who trained them [snipped quote] Now wait just a pregnant-chad-counting minute! |
Waging War On Wal-Mart By / MSNBC — Permalink July 5 issue - Some progressives, as liberals now prefer to be known, would rather rid the world of Wal-Mart than of Baathists. The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which is not preserving its reputation for seriousness, has listed Vermont—all of it—among America's most endangered historic places. | |
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Betsy Newmark: George Will defends Wal-Mart. [snipped quote] These attacks on Wal-Mart are just elitism. |
James Joyner: Waging War On Wal-Mart — George Will's piece in the current Newsweek, "Waging War On Wal-Mart" argues that [snipped quote] Agreed. |
The Wrong Way to Mount Rushmore By / Opinion Journal — Permalink Is there anything interesting in "My Life" by Bill Clinton? Oh, yes. Page 870. The Clintons are in New Zealand and finally get to meet "Sir Edmund Hillary, who had explored the South Pole in the 1950s, was the first man to reach the top of Mount Everest and, most important, was the man Chelsea's mother had been named for." | |
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Tom Smith: Steyn on Clinton auto-bio — Vintage Steyn. via Southern Appeal. The Big Trunk: Thin air and heavy breathing — On Friday the Wall Street Journal ran Mark Steyn's review of Bill Clinton's memoirs and... |
Michael DeBow: What more needs be said? Mark Steyn on Clinton's autobiography. Greg Ransom: Steyn reviews "My Life". The tale of Sir Edmund Hillary Rodham Clinton and others whoppers. |
Bombs kill dozens near Iraq mosque CNN — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Insurgents are pressing their campaign as the handover of sovereignty to Iraq's interim government draws nearer, spilling fresh blood and snatching new hostages. | |
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Cori Dauber: The images from that video were not used by CNN on its 6 pm broadcast, and are not available as of 6:43 on its web site. |
Sadly @SadlyNo: Well, as long as the man sees something, the need to be concerned is no longer operative: [snipped quote] Meanwhile, today in Iraq another two dozen chips fell where they may. |
The Report, the Review and a Grandstand Play By / NYT — Permalink SPORTS columnists have forever used the phrase "hitting to all fields" to introduce pieces that cover a variety of subjects. Unlike the best of them, who work a different story into every sentence, I can manage only three swings. | |
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Andy McCarthy: Check out Daniel Okrent's "The Report, the Review and a Grandstand Play." |
Cori Dauber: Today the Times Public Editor (otherwise known as an "Ombud" at every other paper) Daniel Okrent weighs in, and while he... |
The Disaster of Failed Policy LAT — Permalink In its scale and intent, President Bush's war against Iraq was something new and radical: a premeditated decision to invade, occupy and topple the government of a country that was no imminent threat to the United States. | |
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Digby: Smackdown — In Today's LA Times, the new editorial page editor outlines (in devastating terms) The Disaster of Failed... |
Matt Yglesias: Kinsley Kicks Ass — And takes names. Please sir, can I have some more? |
Edwards Turns On the Charm to Build Kerry Base By / WaPo — Permalink DES MOINES, June 26 — As Sen. John Edwards campaigns nationwide for John F. Kerry — and for the second spot on his presidential ticket — the North Carolinian's main strength is also his biggest handicap, a paradox at center stage of Kerry's narrowing search for a running mate. | |
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Taegan Goddard: How To Run For Vice President — "Some Democratic insiders wonder if" Sen. John Edwards' "attention-grabbing skills and... Jeralyn Merritt: Kerry and Edwards: Fear Factor — The Washington Post nails it on Kerry's fear factor in choosing John Edwards for Vice... |
Matt Yglesias: And Another Thing — The subtext here is that John Edwards' presidential ambitions should count against him in the Veepstakes. |
Democrats Find Relief Among Allies at 'Fahrenheit 9/11' By / NYT — Permalink CARMEL, Ind., June 26 - Doug and Julie Arnold were among the early arrivals on Friday at the Regal Cinemas here, where Michael Moore's Bush-bashing film, "Fahrenheit 9/11," opened before noon on the first day of its exposure to a national audience. | |
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Harley: The NY Times talked to some Friday night viewers, and found a few who if nothing else, offer a modest challenge to that assumption. Oliver Willis: And this is precisely the sort of reaction that gives the righties nightmares. "Oh my goodness, I cried," Ms. Moody said. |
DemFromCT: At The Movies — From the NY Times, a story of F9/11 in Indiana: "It is unclear whether the film will, as Mr. Moore... |
FBI probes 'sleeper cell' possibility Boston Globe — Permalink The Boston office of the FBI is investigating whether a former local cabdriver indicted Friday on charges of lying about ties to a suspected terrorist may have been part of a "sleeper cell" in the Boston area supporting Al Qaeda terrorist activities and whether he may have connections to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in Washington and New York. | |
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Charles Johnson: A Sleeper Cell in Boston — The Boston cabbie connection: FBI probes 'sleeper cell' possibility. |
The Big Trunk: For the follow-up we go to this morning's Boston Globe: "FBI probes sleeper cell possibility." |
A Correspondent in Iraq: Scenes of Hope and Dread By / NYT — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq — In the swirl of mayhem and change that has made up the 15 months of war and military occupation here, it is an irresistible daily impulse to ask yourself whether this colossal American enterprise will fail or succeed. | |
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Mindles H. Dreck: Damn This Traffic Jam, How I Hate to Be...Authoritarian — I found This NYT article about Iraq to be a neutral and... |
Cori Dauber: His point is that day by day, sometimes minute by minute, he'd see something and think, yup, this is going to work, "the... |
Defining Torture: Russian Roulette, Yes. Mind-Altering Drugs, Maybe. By / NYT — Permalink OF all the memos released by the White House last week in response to the prison abuse scandal in Iraq, none have been more incendiary than the so-called torture memo, dated Aug. 1, 2002, and written by Jay S. Bybee, the assistant attorney general in charge of the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department. | |
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Ann Althouse: The Sunday Times has been read, at least to the extent that I'm going to read it, and not counting the things I've set... |
Phillip Carter: Defining Torture: Russian Roulette, Yes. Mind-Altering Drugs, Maybe. |
Greens Reject Endorsement for Ralph Nader By / AP — Permalink MILWAUKEE - The Green Party nominated Texas attorney David Cobb as its candidate for president Saturday, rejecting Ralph Nader 's efforts to secure the party's formal endorsement and likely access to the ballot in key states like Wisconsin and California. | |
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Taegan Goddard: Greens Reject Nader — The Green Party [snipped quote] the AP reports. |
Michael DeBow: Well, shoot: From the AP, "The Green Party nominated Texas attorney David Cobb as its candidate for president Saturday,... |
Israel Should Talk About Nuclear Arms-ElBaradei By / Reuters — Permalink MOSCOW (Reuters) - Israel should start talking seriously about ridding the Middle East of nuclear weapons, whether it admits to having them or not, the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Sunday. | |
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Charles Johnson: ElBaradei: Everyone Should Have Nukes Unless Israel Disarms — The UN's toothless nuclear watchdog springs into action... |
Fred Lapides: Of Interest — Israel should talk about nuclear arms-ElBaradei International Court To Rule On Legality Of Israel Wall In... |
Interview of the President by Radio and Television Ireland White House — Permalink Q Mr. President, you're going to arrive in Ireland in about 24 hours' time, and no doubt you will be welcomed by our political leaders. Unfortunately, the majority of our public do not welcome your visit because they're angry over Iraq, they're angry over Abu Ghraib. | |
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Norbizness: How To Read a Confrontational Bush Interview — I enjoy reading HFPST with Norbizness (see key) Your key for reading the... Kevin Drum: It starts at the 15:00 mark. UPDATE: Here's a transcript of the interview. |
Matt Yglesias: Interview With the Vampire — Transcript of Bush's interview with RTI — priceless. Administration's reaction to hostile questioning — childish. |
Iraqi insurgents seek Saddam's chemical arms By / Washington Times — Permalink Insurgents in Iraq are seeking chemical arms and expertise left over from the regime of Saddam Hussein for possible use against U.S. and allied troops, an intelligence official in Iraq said yesterday. | |
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James Joyner: UPDATE: Bill Gertz has addition coverage of the weapons find story, although no word of actual use. |
Donald Sensing: The Washinton Times reported yesterday, "CIA inspectors have discovereda dozen chemical-filled bombs." |
My Life, by Bill Clinton By / Slate — Permalink Nine hundred and fifty-seven pages? Nine hundred and fifty-seven pages!? To hell with that. My Life, by Bill Clinton: the PowerPoint version. | |
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James Joyner: Clinton Book PowerPoint — Daniel Radosh has created My Life, by Bill Clinton: The PowerPoint version. [snipped quote] Indeed. |
Judith Weiss: You don't have to slog through all 900 pages of Bill Clinton's memoirs; here's the Powerpoint version. |
The Son Also Rises NYT — Permalink Q Now that the country is awash in Reagan nostalgia, some observers are predicting that you will enter politics. Would you like to be president of the United States? I would be unelectable. I'm an atheist. As we all know, that is something people won't accept. | |
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Daniel Drezner: 3) While this was bad, Ron Reagan describes behavior by Cheney in today's New York Times Magazine that seems far, far... Jeralyn Merritt: Ron Reagan's Anti-Bush Interview — This week's Sunday New York Times Magazine interview is with Ron Reagan. He's an atheist. |
James Martin Capozzola: RON REAGAN ON DICK CHENEY — Not "A Mindful Human Being" Deborah Solomon interviews Ron Reagan in Sunday's New York... |
F.B.I. Sees Delay in New Network to Oversee Cases NYT — Permalink F.B.I. officials said yesterday that they would not be able to fully deploy a long-awaited computer system to manage the bureau's case files before the end of the year as promised, and that they could not predict when the entire system would be in place. | |
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James Joyner: F.B.I. Computer System Delayed — NYT — F.B.I. Sees Delay in New Network to Oversee Cases [RSS] [snipped quote] I don't see why not; companies do that all the time. TChris: FBI's Case Management Problems Continue — The NY Times reports that the FBI is still struggling to implement a long-awaited case management system. |
Phillip Carter: We have diverted billions of dollars of resources to this problem that could have been spent on upgrading Justice... |
Bush supporters back Nader name on ballot Washington Times — Permalink (AP) — Two conservative groups have been phoning people across Oregon this week, urging them to attend Ralph Nader's convention today and sign a petition to place the consumer advocate on Oregon's presidential ballot. | |
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Mary @PacificViews: Hopefully, other later stories will say who attended and provide us some information about how many were there answering the call of the right wing. James Joyner: UPDATE (6/27): Washington Times has more coverage. |
Mary InLosGatos: Nader Can't Get On The Oregon Ballot Without Help From The Right Wing — One would think that if Ralph Nader had any... |
Aides Say Memo Backed Coercion for Qaeda Cases NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, June 26 — An August 2002 memo by the Justice Department that concluded interrogators could use extreme techniques on detainees in the campaign against terror helped provide an after-the-fact legal basis for harsh procedures used by the C.I.A. on high-level leaders of Al Qaeda, according to current and former government officials. | |
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Kevin Drum: His conclusion, based on this New York Times piece: the memo wasn't written to guide future action. Jeralyn Merritt: Update: The New York Times has more on the Bybee memo . Update: More from Professor Froomkin here. |
Phillip Carter: Aides Say Memo Backed Coercion for Qaeda Cases This front-page piece looks at the nexus between the legal advice given... Michael Froomkin: One plausible explanation for these mysteries appears now on the New York Times web site and will presumably be in... |
A New Beginning By / WaPo — Permalink BAGHDAD — On Wednesday the sovereignty of Iraq will be restored, and the Iraqi people will take their first major steps toward a free and prosperous future, after more than three decades of tyrannical rule, repression, wars and sanctions. | |
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Cori Dauber: Interestingly, he does not point out his prior links to the CIA. And, look, neither does the Post in providing his credentials. |
Betsy Newmark: Iraqi Prime Minister thanks the United States and coalition and lays forth his plans for the new Iraqi government. |
Nablus Tanzim head killed Jerusalem Post — Permalink Paratroopers in determined operations against terrorist infrastructure in the Nablus Casbah killed at least nine Palestinian gunmen and terrorist leaders over the weekend, including five senior commanders in one vicious ambush. | |
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Charles Johnson: Cleaning Out the Rats' Nest — Good news from Israel, where the ranks of terrorist gang leaders have been severely thinned: Nablus Tanzim head killed. |
Emperor Darth Misha I: "Nablus Tanzim head Nayef Abu Sharkh was shot dead by IDF forces in Nablus early Saturday night during an ongoing... |
A Stadium Built on Shaky Ground By / WaPo — Permalink MILWAUKEE — The soaring brick ballpark on the outskirts of this city took the lives of three ironworkers. It cost a Republican state senator his job and set back taxpayers a sum equal to the Milwaukee County parks budget projected over the next decade. | |
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Jonathan Wilde: Tax-Funded Circuses — Steve Fainaru has a long article in today's Washington Post about how Major League Baseball... |
Dan Gillmor: Another Cartel's Public Ripoff — Washington Post: A Stadium Built on Shaky Ground. |
Democrat Says He'll Address G.O.P. Meeting By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, June 25 - Senator Zell Miller, a Georgia Democrat who has often been at odds with his party, plans to speak at the Republican National Convention this summer, Congressional aides said Friday. | |
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Ezra Klein: Takin' Down Zell — Go John! : [snipped quote] For what it's worth, this isn't Zell's first experience with Republican Conventions. |
James Martin Capozzola: POLITICAL NOTES — Together With Media Miscellany Walk on the Dark Side [*] According to various media reports,... |
Administration Tries to Rein In Scientists By / LAT — Permalink WASHINGTON — The Bush administration has ordered that government scientists must be approved by a senior political appointee before they can participate in meetings convened by the World Health Organization, the leading international health and science agency. | |
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Dan Gillmor: Politics Deciding Science — LA Times: Administration Tries to Rein In Scientists. |
Kevin Drum: Apparently this has been going on since April: "The Bush administration has ordered that government scientists must be... |
THE IRAQ WE DON'T HEAR ABOUT By / Benador Associates — Permalink Obsessed by bombs and bullets, the West ignores a political renaissance, says Amir Taheri, newly returned from Iraq. In London the other day the Iraqi national football team met a team made up of MPs, mostly opponents of the war, for a friendly match. | |
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Cori Dauber: THOUGHTS ON PROGRESS — Amer Taheri is back from Iraq, and saying that the Iraqis are ready for democracy. (via Instapundit.) |
Glenn Reynolds: AMIR TAHERI: [snipped quote] Read the whole thing. |
From the Left to the Right, France still loves Arafat American Thinker — Permalink Michel Barnier, the new French Foreign Affairs Minister, is going on his first Middle East tour soon. He will make a special point in visiting Arafat. When told by Israeli diplomats that if he did, he would not be permitted to meet with Prime Minister Sharon, Barnier did not blink, sticking to his guns, or rather to Arafat's. | |
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Fred Lapides: "Of course, he has plenty of company in the French government....more>>" |
Joe Gandelman: France Loves Jerry Lewis...(Joe Gandelman) But they love this guy with the matinee idol looks even more... |
All Hail Moore By / NYT — Permalink In years past, American liberals have had to settle for intellectual and moral leadership from the likes of John Dewey, Reinhold Niebuhr and Martin Luther King Jr. But now, a grander beacon has appeared on the mountaintop, and from sea to shining sea, tens of thousands have joined in the adulation. | |
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Sadly @SadlyNo: Shorter David Brooks — All Hail Moore "It's Michael Moore's fault that I said something inaccurate in my last column."... Pejman Yousefzadeh: UPDATE: It is delightful to see that David Brooks has chosen to pile on. Allah: Is it worth a photo op at Ground Zero to patronize this city and its f**king wretched, disgusting leftist majority? |
Michael DeBow: More on Michael Moore: Tom Smith has found a bright side. Charles Johnson: The Gravitas of Michael Moore — David Brooks has a cutting piece on Michael Moore and his shameless pandering to bigoted European stereotypes about Americans: All Hail Moore. James Joyner: Michael Moore's Vision — David Brooks [RSS]: [snipped quote] Heh. |
| Also: Tom Smith, John Cole, Jeff Jarvis, Betsy Newmark, Jack Balkin, Tim Dunlop | |
Foes of U.S. in Iraq Criticize Insurgents By / WaPo — Permalink BAGHDAD, June 25 — Key Iraqi opponents of the U.S. occupation expressed unease Friday over the wave of insurgent attacks that killed more than 100 Iraqis a day earlier, and rejected efforts by foreign guerrillas to take the lead in the insurgency and mate it with the international jihad advocated by Osama bin Laden. | |
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Daniel Drezner: ANOTHER UPDATE: Edward Cody's Washington Post front-pager today encapsulates the battle currently being waged in Iraq... Max B. Sawicky: 100 AND COUNTING — I think this report supports my argument, to wit: 1) Insofar as we are fighting non-terrorist... Cori Dauber: But it means the Iraqi people and their leaders, their real leaders, are starting to wake up and realize where their real future lies. |
Robert Garcia Tagorda: In Baghdad, similar sentiments are coming from unlikely sources: "Key Iraqi opponents of the U.S. occupation expressed... Captain Ed: Now even the more radical native elements within Iraq have come out in support of the new government, decrying the... |
Over 60 Days, Troops Suppressed an Uprising By / WaPo — Permalink NAJAF, Iraq — After a year in Iraq, Lt. Jon Silk and the rest of the Army's 1st Armored Division had tickets home. But before dawn on April 5, he and his platoon rumbled toward this southern city of shrines and cemeteries, headed into war. | |
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Andrew Olmsted: Other Topics Today Include: how we beat al-Sadr; violence continues in Iraq; sovereignty's limitations; a new (Iraqi)... Hugh Hewitt: The Washington Post and the New York Times both review the successful campaign to suppress the April uprisings in Iraq. Cori Dauber: HOW SADR'S BOYS WENT DOWN — An important article in today's WaPo details the battles that ended Sadr's Mahdi Army as a... |
John Cole: We did win this battle: [snipped quote] The uprising was crushed, and while Sadr on the surface appears popular, the poll... Wretchard: The Price of Newsprint — The Washington Post has an account of the victory — yes the victory — that the First Armored Division won over Moqtada Al-Sadr's militia. DemFromCT ERROR no box found for edit_diary_link: 'White Chicks' - $6.8M..." Meanwhile, the WaPo continues its Iraq series: "By the time the uprising was over, silenced... |
Cheney Owns Up to Profanity Incident and Says He 'Felt Better Afterwards' By / NYT — Permalink SIOUX CITY, Iowa, June 25 - Vice President Dick Cheney, long portrayed by his aides as unperturbed by partisan attacks, admitted Friday that he "probably" cursed at a senior Democratic senator this week, said he did not regret it and added that he "felt better afterwards." | |
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Will Baude: Dick Cheney is pleasantly unrepentant about using the F-word to Senator Leahy, although reports are mixed on whether he said "F--- you," or "Go f--- yourself". TChris: Cheney admits he "probably" tossed the F-word at Senator Leahy this week, but says he "felt better afterwards." Good for him. |
Brad DeLong: That Felt Really Good, So I Did It! Hindrocket: Meanwhile, the New York Times has an in-depth analysis of Dick Cheney's swearing at the despicable Pat Leahy. |
Bill Clinton Was Right By / Weekly Standard — Permalink NEARLY TWO YEARS AGO, in the introduction to an hour-long PBS documentary called Saddam's Ultimate Solution, former Clinton State Department spokesman James P. Rubin said: "Tonight, we examine the nature of the threat posed by Saddam Hussein. | |
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McQ: Petard ... as in "hoist upon" — Remember former Clinton State Department spokesman James P. Rubin ? Sorta? Pejman Yousefzadeh: (THE JAMES RUBIN EDITION) Stephen Hayes's article is yet more evidence of the fatuousness of claiming that it was the Bush Administration that conflated the al Qaeda-Iraq threat. |
Betsy Newmark: I hope the Al Gore who is accusing Bush of lying about links between Al Qaeda and Saddam takes a look at Stephen Hayes' column in the Weekly Standard. Glenn Reynolds: STEPHEN HAYES says that Bill Clinton was right, and we forget that at our peril. |
Army Used Speed and Might, Plus Cash, Against Shiite Rebel NYT — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq — In April, as festering resistance exploded into full-fledged rebellion, soldiers of the First Armored Division were given their final mission in Iraq: to wrest control of a string of southern towns from a radical Shiite militia intent on disrupting the scheduled transfer of sovereignty on June 30. | |
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Andrew Sullivan: THE NYT ON THE SADR CAMPAIGN: They follow up on the Washington Times story. Telling, no? CAUGHT IN THE ACT: More flim-flam from the liberal press. Phillip Carter: Army Used Speed and Might, Plus Cash, Against Shiite Rebel (NYT) "The division's operation against the militia of... |
Cori Dauber: There are a few important points. For example: Yet another goal was to discredit Mr. Sadr inside Iraq. Brig. |
For Liars and Loafers, Cellphones Offer an Alibi By / NYT — Permalink SAN FRANCISCO, June 25 — Cellphones are chock-full of features like built-in cameras, personalized ring tones and text messaging. They also gave a real boost to Kenny Hall's effort to cheat on his girlfriend. | |
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Will Baude: And cell phones and the internet have now combined to create a network of folks willing to help each other deceive their employers, friends, and loved ones. Jan Haugland: And if you want to lie to your boss or cheat on your girlfriend, there is even an "alibi and excuse club" out there that can help you. |
Cori Dauber: SLOW NEWS SATURDAY — I guess, because this is on the front page, and so is this. Boy, it's a good thing there's not a war o — oh. |
Area man charged in terror case AP — Permalink A Lebanese national who allegedly told Minneapolis FBI agents he trained with Al-Qaida and knew three of its leaders, including one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq, has been charged in connection with an international terrorism inquiry. | |
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Captain Ed: This dynamic first appeared shortly before the 9/11 attacks with the arrest of Zacarias Moussaoui in the Captain's home... The Big Trunk: Al Qaeda in Minneapolis — This morning's Star Tribune reports that "Area man charged in terror case." |
Michelle Malkin: WELCOME MAT FOR TERRORISTS — Readers of my book will not be surprised by this. |
Iraqi Insurgents Are Surprisingly Cohesive, Armitage Says By / WaPo — Permalink Officials in the State and Defense departments told senators yesterday that they know relatively little about the enemy in Iraq but they believe thousands of hidden fighters are more organized than previously thought and are likely to continue deadly attacks in coming weeks and months. | |
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Robert Garcia Tagorda: Stay Away — In Washington, State and Defense officials are sharing their concerns about an increasingly cohesive Iraqi insurgency. |
Phillip Carter: Iraqi Insurgents Are Surprisingly Cohesive, Armitage Says (WP) This story directly contradicts what DepSecDef Wolfowitz says. |
U.S., EU Offer Strong NATO Aid for Iraq By / AP — Permalink NEWMARKET-ON-FERGUS, Ireland - The United States and the European Union offered strong support for Iraq 's urgent request for NATO military help Saturday. "NATO has the capability and I believe the responsibility to help the Iraqi people defeat the terrorist threat that's facing their country," President Bush said. | |
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Steven Taylor: When Will the Unilateralism End? U.S. |
Captain Ed: More Unilateralism On Display — George Bush demonstrated more of his notorious "go-it-alone" cowboy unilateralism today... |
U.S. jets pound Zarqawi hideout By / AP — Permalink BAGHDAD — U.S. jets again targeted terror mastermind Abu Musab Zarqawi, pounding one of his suspected hideouts in Fallujah yesterday in a strike that U.S. officials said killed up to 25 people. Iraqi leaders warned of more insurgent attacks after a wave of bloodshed blamed on Zarqawi. | |
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Captain Ed: UPDATE: Rocket Man notes this passage from the Washington Times' coverage and is less than impressed: [quote] [quote] "What sort of...[end quote] |
Hindrocket: Screw You, Too — The U.S. pounded another Zarqawi hideout in Fallujah yesterday. |
Cheney Says He 'Felt Better' After Bitter Exchange WaPo — Permalink Vice President Cheney today acknowledged that he had a bitter exchange on the Senate floor with a senior Democratic senator, in which Cheney uttered a big-time obscenity, but said he had no regrets and that he "felt better after I had done it." | |
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Roger Ailes: Dick F**king Cheney says that "F**k yourself" "badly needed to be said." It's something that needs to be said at every Cheney fundraiser between now and November. Billmon: And if you think he's even going to think about apologizing, then you don't know Dick: [quote] Cheney said he "probably" used...[end quote] Taegan Goddard: Quote of the Day — "I think that a lot of my colleagues felt that what I had said badly needed to be said, that it was long overdue." |
James Martin Capozzola: The Washington Post reports ("Cheney Defends Use of Four-Letter Word," by Dana Milbank and Helen Dewar): "Vice... Harley: In fact, the vice president not only refused to take responsibility for his behavior — that's a standard for others, not him — he managed to pat himself on the back, as well. Phillip Carter: Update II: The Washington Post reports in Saturday's paper that VP Cheney has not only taken ownership of his language — but defended it on the grounds of necessity. |
| Also: KJL | |
Dithering as Others Die By / NYT — Permalink ALONG THE SUDAN-CHAD BORDER — The ongoing genocide in Darfur is finally, fortunately, making us uncomfortable. At this rate, with only 250,000 more deaths it will achieve the gravitas of the Laci Peterson case. | |
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Ed Cone: Kristof: "The ongoing genocide in Darfur is finally, fortunately, making us uncomfortable. |
Arthur Chrenkoff: As Nicholas Kristof, who for months now has almost single-handedly been trying to awaken the Western conscience to the... |
Bush pleads for courtesy Washington Times — Permalink Washington, DC, Jun. 25 (UPI) — An Irish reporter threw courtesy aside and repeatedly interrupted President George W. Bush during a television interview at the White House. "Let me finish. Let me finish. May I finish?" | |
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Joe Gandelman: UPDATE: —Watch the interview for yourself, then read this. Is this an accurate description of what you saw? Donald Sensing: In the 11-minute interview, the reporter interrupted five times. [snipped quote] Has the prez never had media training? |
Steve Antler: I'd credit the "...Wild-Eyed" video, or perhaps this, or perhaps this, or maybe some combination of same. |
Post Editor Explains Printing of Obscenity By / WaPo — Permalink The New York Times had Vice President Cheney using "an obscenity" against Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) yesterday. The Los Angeles Times had Cheney saying "Go . . . yourself." CNN said Cheney used "the F word." | |
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Vanderleun: READING THROUGH THE GONE META MOMENT ON THE CHENEY EFFING ERUPTION: Post Editor Explains Decision to Publish Expletive... Phillip Carter: The story was, predictably, followed by another story examining the decision to run the word itself. |
Harley: Having dropped the F-bomb on Sen. Pat Leahy, an event which threw the media euphemism machine into overdrive — the WaPo... |
A Manufactured Scandal NRO — Permalink The Times and memos. The coverage of the internal government memoranda regarding interrogation tactics and the legal parameters of torture continues to provide stark indications of both what is wrong with policymaking in our 24-hour media age and what becomes of the legal profession in an era when facts take a backseat to feelings. | |
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Natasha @PacificViews: Next, Andrew McCarthy argues that the torture memos are a manufactured scandal. Ace: Update: Andrew McCarthy bitch-slaps the New York Times a second time, this time over its dishonest Abu Ghraib reporting. |
Charles Johnson: A Manufactured Scandal — Andrew C. McCarthy, who led the 1995 terrorism prosecution against Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman,... |
Having His Say … ABCNEWS — Permalink Michael Moore's political documentary Fahrenheit 9-11 is facing critics for its accusations about the Bush administration's reasons for invading Iraq. The filmmaker defends his film in an interview with ABC News correspondent Jake Tapper. The following are excerpts: | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: Indeed, all anyone really has to do to expose the lies and the atrocious commentary contained in Fahrenheit 9/11 is to... |
Andrew Sullivan: TAPPER VERSUS MOORE: Some tough questions to which our very own Leni Riefenstahl has no good answers. |
U.S. Army Told Not to Use Israeli Bullets in Iraq Reuters — Permalink WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israeli-made bullets bought by the U.S. Army to plug a shortfall should be used for training only, not to fight Muslim guerrillas in Iraq and Afghanistan , U.S. lawmakers told Army generals on Thursday. | |
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Joe Gandelman: "God forbid... (Joe Gandelman) ...using Iraeli-made bullets in Iraq. "That's what a politico told a military bigwig... |
Charles Johnson: Killing Me Softly — Somehow, while I wasn't looking, old Hawaiian radical "Democrat" Neil Abercrombie managed to weasel... |