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Syria Hands Saddam's Half-Brother to Iraq By / AP — Permalink CAIRO, Egypt - Iraqi officials said Sunday that Syrian authorities had captured Saddam Hussein 's half-brother and 29 other officials of the deposed dictator's Baath Party in Syria and handed them over to Iraq in an apparent goodwill gesture. | |
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Hindrocket: And today, Syria demonstrated that it, too, is feeling the heat, by arresting and handing over to the Iraqi government... Charles Bird: [Update: Did the pressure brought to bear on Syria cause Assad to turn in Saddam's half-brother and 29 other Iraqi Baathists to the Iraqi authorities? K. J. Lopez: NERVES AT WORK? Syria hands Iraq Saddam's half brother. |
Captain Ed: Syria Coughed Up Saddam's Brother — As I earlier predicted, the Iraqis got their hands on Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hasan... Joe Gandelman: Saddam's Half-Brother Captured by Joe Gandelman A new trophy (and possible rich source of info on the insurgency) is now... |
U.S. can sit back and watch Europe implode By / Chicago Sun Times — Permalink A week ago, the conventional wisdom was that George W. Bush had seen the error of his unilateral cowboy ways and was setting off to Europe to mend fences with America's ''allies.'' I think not. | |
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Baldilocks: European Weekend — Mark Steyn thinks Europe as we know it is on its way to ruin. William J. Dyer: Beldar on Bay vs. Steyn — InstaPundit draws our attention to an exceedingly good debate between Mark Steyn and Austin... Ed Driscoll: Mark Steyn writes that when it comes to Europe, while it's not quite time to sing "turn out the lights", the fourth quarter is rapidy approaching: [snipped quote] Read the rest. |
Andrew Stuttaford: Mark Steyn, meanwhile, has his own take on the situation. Charles Johnson: Mark Steyn reveals some of the cards: US can sit back and watch Europe implode. Glenn Reynolds: MARK STEYN HAS REMOVED ANY DOUBT about where he thinks Europe is headed: "Most administration officials subscribe to... |
| Also: Orrin Judd, The Big Trunk | |
Liberalism: Can it survive? By / US News — Permalink QUESTION FOR THE DAY: IF LIBERALISM isn't dead, then why are autopsies performed so regularly? In the latest examination of the much-probed cadaver, the New Republic 's editor-in-chief, Martin Peretz, recalls that John Kenneth Galbraith, in the early 1960s,... | |
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Barbara O'Brien: His newest effort (do not read on a full stomach) dredges up the Martin Peretz article on the "death of liberalism" I took apart a few days ago. Kevin Aylward: Can liberalism survive? From an upcoming editorial in US News And World Report, John Leo asks, "Can liberalism survive?" Orrin Judd: THOSE WHO NEVER LEARNED TO SIGH: Liberalism: Can it survive? |
Matt Welch: More Elitist Anti-Elitism: From John Leo: "Liberals have been slow to grasp the mainstream reaction to the no-values... Betsy Newmark: Not to make this bash the university day in blogging, but here is another column with a similary theme, this time by John Leo. Hugh Hewitt: John Leo poses as a question that answers itself by its asking: "Liberalism: Can It Survive?" |
| Also: Kevin Hayden | |
One-in-Four Americans to Watch Academy Awards Zogby — Permalink When Chris Rock hosts the 77th Annual Academy Awards Sunday night, he will command the attention of one-quarter (25%) of American adults, a new Zogby Interactive survey finds. If Rock fails to rise to the occasion, though, those adults may find themselves longing for the past Oscars host they consider the best-ever: Billy Crystal. | |
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Patrick Ruffini: Hollywood Shoots Itself in the Wallet — This is pretty damning if true, and yes, it's from Zogby, so take it with a few... Taegan Goddard: Oscar Politics — A Zogby poll shows that [snipped quote] Link | Related News |
Ed Driscoll: Found via PoliPundit, John Zogby claims that only one in four Americans will watch the Oscars tonight: "Oscar-viewing... PoliPundit: Oscars — Heard an interesting factoid on Fox News Sunday today: According to a Zogby poll, 39 percent of Democrats will... |
Bush's Next Target: Malpractice Lawyers By / NYT — Permalink TODD A. SMITH is one of the nation's leading medical malpractice lawyers, renowned and feared in the courtroom, having extracted a lengthy string of multimillion-dollar settlements and verdicts from doctors, hospitals and insurers over the years. | |
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Avedon Carol: What's goin' on — Two things in the NYT that bring the horror up close: Bush's Next Target: Malpractice Lawyers. Hugh Hewitt: I think I'll rent that tonight." Also in the New York Times, the Bush plan for the trial lawyers. Orrin Judd: NEXT ON THE HIT LIST: Bush's Next Target: Malpractice Lawyers (STEVE LOHR, 2/27/05, NY Times) [snipped quote] One of the... |
Gary Farber: IF LAWYERS WERE CEOS. Here are the Administration's plans. Summed up: Poor people love trial lawyers. TChris: With so many trial lawyers helping the interests of the wealthy and powerful, why is it true (as today's New York Times... |
Putting the fear of God into Holland By / Times of London — Permalink The Dutch have rejected liberalism in response to Islamic immigration. Some say they are now too hardline. So what can the rest of Europe learn from their crisis? Not long ago, Holland prided itself as being the most tolerant and welcoming country in Europe for immigrants and asylum seekers. | |
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Charles Johnson: Putting the Fear of God into Holland — Another story of culture shock in the Netherlands at the Times Online: Putting the fear of God into Holland. Andrew Stuttaford: THE CANARY IN THE COALMINE — Good - if depressing - piece from the London Sunday Times on the situation in Holland. |
Randall Parker: Polls of Muslims in Holland about the 9/11 attacks helped catalyze the shift of Dutch positions away from tolerance of... |
'How many more women have to die before this society wakes up?' By / Telegraph — Permalink Shortly before nine o'clock one Monday evening earlier this month, Hatin Sürücü left her five-year-old son asleep in their small apartment in the Tempelhof district of Berlin and made her way to a bus stop in the main Oberlandgarten Strasse. | |
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Charles Johnson: Berlin: Six Honor Killings in Four Months 'How many more women have to die before this society wakes up? Captain Ed: When Political Correctness Kills — In a lesson about the danger of political correctness in the age of terrorism, the... |
Betsy Newmark: Captain Ed highlights a story from Germany about how political correctness has become so powerful that Germany is fast... |
Regional election fever catches up with Emirates AFP — Permalink DUBAI (AFP) - Academics and members of the appointed consultative council in the United Arab Emirates came out in favor of elections in the Persian Gulf state, arguing that it could not stay out of the regional trend toward elected bodies. | |
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Jan Haugland: Now many prominent citizens, academics and members of the appointed consultative council, want the country to join the... Jeff Goldstein: Creating new terrorists: Chimpy McHitlerBurton's smirky rodeo ride through history continues, #3 — From the Tehran... |
Ace: UAE Catches "Election Fever" — I'm starting to think that maybe this really is a paradigm shift: [snipped quote] Geeze... what if it works? |
Lawmakers press on though pitches at home often encounter a chilly reception By / Houston Chronicle — Permalink The red paper Valentine's Day cupids still were taped to the walls of the community room at the Copperwood senior housing center in The Woodlands, but it was hardly a lovefest when U.S. Rep Kevin Brady dropped by last week to discuss Social Security reform. | |
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Byron LaMasters: Meanwhile, Tom DeLay notes that only one-third of GOP congressmen tried to sell the GOP Social Security plan during the congressional recess - typically with little success. |
Josh Marshall: Phase-out "hits a wall" in Texas, reports the Houston Chronicle. |
A Plot Thickens By / WaPo — Permalink What a dream. So bizarre. How strange to see himself shrunken, like a pocket-size person. But there he was, Kenneth Maxwell, renowned scholar, rendered a tiny creature trembling at the windswept ramparts of his dream. Gargantuan figures loomed above, gazing down on this mere morsel. | |
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Randy Paul: Speaking of Kissinger, Max Sawicky points me to this article in the Washington Post about the contretemps between Latin... |
Max B. Sawicky: WHY I READ CHOMSKY — The trials of Kissinger continue. |
The Lost Soldiers of Stalag IX-B By / NYT — Permalink Methodical by nature, disciplined in what he eats, William J. Shapiro is a measured man. He keeps his affairs ordered, his body trim. His airy house, built upon retirement from a career as an obstetrician, is set beside a Florida golf course, and every now and again a ball comes through a screen. | |
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Phillip Carter: The New York Times' Sunday magazine features a brilliant piece of history by Roger Cohen regarding a group of Jewish... |
Gary Farber: THE GI JEWISH AMERICAN POWS OF THE NAZIS at Berga; Dr. Shapiro, and Mordecai Hauer, and others, lived to tell the tale of this only-publicized-in-recent -years, special Nazi camp. |
Republicans Are Chastened About Social Security Plan NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 - After a bruising weeklong recess, Congressional Republicans will return to work on Monday chastened by public skepticism over President Bush's plan for private accounts in Social Security. | |
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Matthew Yglesias: Here's "Republicans are Chastened on Social Security" from The New York Times and here's "GOP May Seek a Deal on Accounts" from The Washington Post. Barbara O'Brien: At the New York Times, Sheryl Stolberg and Robin Toner write that congressional Republicans came back from a recess week of trying to sell privatization. Jerome Armstrong: Santorum runs into the blogosphere — Some news from the WaPost and NYT's. First Krugman: [snipped quote] Got Rick on the defensive. |
Avedon Carol: Yes, there are supposed to be "Democrats" who are keen to "compromise" with Republicans over Social Security (by giving... Billmon: William Manchester The Glory and the Dream Josh Marshall: Rep. Capito (R) of West Virginia feels the heat in the district on Social Security, says she'll urge fellow Republicans to "be really cautious about what we do." |
Mubarak proposes a freer Egypt vote By / NYT — Permalink CAIRO On the face of it, a proposal from President Hosni Mubarak to amend the Egyptian Constitution to allow for direct, multiparty presidential elections represents a drastic change in a country with a 50-year history of autocratic governments. | |
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Hindrocket: Municipal elections have taken place in Saudi Arabia; Lebanese citizens march for self-rule; Egypt announces a plan for... |
Roger L. Simon: We're all familiar with that. But speaking of "devil" clichés, we all know it's supposed to be in the details. |
Partisan Social Security Claims Questioned WaPo — Permalink As the two political parties would have it, Social Security is either careening toward catastrophe or is on as solid financial footing as it has ever been. Both sides have marshaled — or twisted — facts and figures to back up those seemingly irreconcilable views. | |
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DeLong: Why Oh Why Can't We Have a Better Press Corps? |
Judd @ThinkProgress: Unfairly Balanced — An article in this morning's Washington Post - headlined "Partisan Social Security Claims... |
Rating the Roadshow By / Newsweek — Permalink March 7 issue - It was meant to be a heart-to-heart: just the two presidents and their translators, sitting alone inside the historic castle that overlooks the Slovak capital of Bratislava. Four years earlier, in another castle in Central Europe, George W. Bush looked Vladimir Putin in the eye and saw his trustworthy soul. | |
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Baldilocks: In private, Russian President Vladimir Putin had this remark for the POTUS: "When Bush confronted his Russian... Steven Taylor: Authoritarians is as Authoritarians Does — Hiatusing Paul of WizBang! e-mails to note the following from MSNBC: Rating... Charles Johnson: Putin Doesn't Read Blogs — Old habits die hard in Russia. |
Roger L. Simon: But it's even safer after reading this report in Newsweek of Bush and the Russian president's meeting in Bratislava:... John Cole: The Firing of Dan Rather — This is alternately amusing/alarming: [snipped quote] Kinda makes you wonder what other... |
2008 Presidential Race Gets Its First Cattle Call By / WaPo — Permalink Visitors in the Metro Center area this weekend might hear some mooing coming from the JW Marriott Hotel, site of the first cattle call of the 2008 presidential campaign. Technically, this first '08 campaign event is the bipartisan meeting of the National Governors Association. | |
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Steven Taylor: Surveying the Farm Teams and Other 08 Speculations — WaPo's Dana Milbank runs down the potential presidential... |
Orrin Judd: THEY OUGHT TO HAVE IT IN ATLANTIC CITY: 2008 Presidential Race Gets Its First Cattle Call (Dana Milbank, February 27,... |
Iran Was Offered Nuclear Parts By / WaPo — Permalink International investigators have uncovered evidence of a secret meeting 18 years ago between Iranian officials and associates of Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan that resulted in a written offer to supply Tehran with the makings of a nuclear weapons program, foreign diplomats and U.S. officials familiar with the new findings said. | |
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Cori Dauber: [Made it home; links etc. now fixed as you can see. ] Amazing article on the front page of the Washington Post. |
Laura Rozen: More on AQ Khan selling Iran a nuclear plan at a meeting in Dubai in 1987, way back during Reagan's presidency, from the... |
How British and American conservatives united to stop Bush endorsing the EU constitution as favour to Blair Telegraph — Permalink President Bush's speech to European leaders last week was toned down at the last moment to avoid giving his support to the proposed EU constitution, after a strenuous lobbying campaign by conservative activists in Washington. | |
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Andrew Stuttaford: BUSH AND THE EU — The Sunday Telegraph is today running a report that "President Bush's speech to European leaders last... |
Glenn Reynolds: INTERESTING BIT of behind-the-scenes maneuvering: [snipped quote] Of course, a strong Bush endorsement might have led Chirac and Schroeder to reconsider their support . |
Deadly Ignorance WaPo — Permalink THE BUSH administration is quietly extending a policy that undermines the global battle against AIDS. It is being pushed in this direction by Congress, notably by Rep. Mark Edward Souder (R-Ind.). But some administration officials zealously defend this policy error, claiming scientific evidence that doesn't exist. | |
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Ezra Klein: An editorial in today's Washington Post reveals another example of their aforementioned disdain for scientific evidence,... |
Barbara O'Brien: Stuff and Nonsense — Following up on yesterday's post — walking the walk vs. talking the talk — this Washington Post... |
Governors Prepare to Fight Medicaid Cuts By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 - Alarmed by soaring Medicaid costs, the nation's governors say they are enchanted with some of President Bush's proposals to restructure the program, but they adamantly oppose budget cuts sought by the White House and Republican leaders of Congress. | |
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DavidNYC @DailyKos: But because words like "defeat" and "humility" don't exist in the surreality-based community's playbook, it's already on... |
Nathan Newman: GOP Medicaid Proposals: Taking Crutches Away — So this is the endpoint of Republican policies on cutting back Medicaid:... |
George Bush, Halle Berry Share Worst Film Honors By / Reuters — Permalink LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - George W. Bush won the "Razzie" worst actor of the year award on Saturday for his performance as president in "Fahrenheit 9/11" but his moment in Hollywood's dubious spotlight was eclipsed by Halle Berry (news), who actually turned up to receive her embarrassing accolade. | |
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Gary Farber: Step 1) First win the Oscar for Best Actor within the last three years. Step 2) Be Halle Berry. Jim Dallas: George W. Bush was awarded the Golden Raspberry for worst.president.ever worst actor last night: [snipped quote] If I'm... |
Arthur Chrenkoff: The setting: the annual Raspberry awards, "Hollywood's least coveted trophies" for cinematic stinkers, given out by 700 members of the nonprofit Golden Raspberry Award Foundation. |
GOP May Seek a Deal on Accounts WaPo — Permalink President Bush is still in the opening phase of a campaign to sell the public and Congress on his ambitious plans for Social Security, but some Republicans on Capitol Hill have decided it is not too early to begin pondering an exit strategy. | |
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Yuval Rubinstein: Having said that, if you want to get your veins pumping, read this WaPo article about a possible Social Security "deal" that's being cooked up in Congress. Orrin Judd: WALK A MILE FOR A CAMEL'S NOSE UNDER THE TENT: GOP May Seek a Deal on Accounts: Anxious Lawmakers Negotiate With... |
Josh Marshall: Now, from the Times move over to the piece in the Post which focuses on Republicans who are desperate for a deal to cut... |
Hollywood Bets on Chris Rock's 'Indecency' By / NYT — Permalink THE total box office for all five best-picture nominees on Sunday's Oscars is so small that their collective niche in the national cultural marketplace falls somewhere between square dancing and non-Grisham fiction. | |
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Daniel Drezner: There is, however, one other factor — which Frank Rich raised in his New York Times column: "The total box office for... Ellen Dana Nagler: While you're breathlessly waiting for Beyoncé to strut her stuff and for Chris Rock to trigger a seven second... |
Jeralyn Merritt: ABC has refused to let him sing a cartoon ditty that made fun of Rev. James Dobson and his SpongeBob SquarePants criticism. |
GOP Seeking a Deal on Accounts WaPo — Permalink President Bush is still in the opening phase of a campaign to sell the public and Congress on his ambitious plans for Social Security, but some Republicans on Capitol Hill have decided it is not too early to begin pondering an exit strategy. | |
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Hugh Hewitt: So when I read the Washington Post's Page 1 breathless speculation about a Bush retreat on Social Security, I am again... Josh Marshall: There are two important and telling articles on the Social Security debate in tomorrow's papers, one in the Times and... Lambert @Corrente: Whiny Joe has non-custodial relationship with balls — What was Al Gore thinking? Anyhow: [snipped quote] "Centrists"... My God. |
Barbara O'Brien: Also in WaPo, John F. Harris and Jim VandeHei write that some Republicans on Capitol Hill are bailing on Bush's Social Security scheme. James Joyner: GOP May Seek a Deal on Accounts — GOP May Seek a Deal on Accounts (WaPo) [snipped quote] Compromise in a system designed with extensive checks and balances? |
More Dutch Plan to Emigrate as Muslim Influx Tips Scales By / NYT — Permalink AMSTERDAM - Paul Hiltemann had already noticed a darkening mood in the Netherlands. He runs an agency for people wanting to emigrate and his client list had surged. But he was still taken aback in November when a Dutch filmmaker was shot and his throat was slit, execution style, on an Amsterdam street. | |
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Tom Maguire: The NY Times has a story on Sunday which fits right in to the Mark Steyn / Austin Bay discussion about the future of... Randall Parker: Europe Divided On Muslim Immigration — The New York Times has an awfully politically incorrect headline on an article... Roger L. Simon: But I am interested to see if anyone mentions the killing of filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, an event which apparently is... |
Charles Johnson: More Dutch Emigrate as Muslim Influx Tips Scales — The New York Times has a piece on the increasing flight of the Dutch... Andrew Stuttaford: What's more, as this report from today's New York Times notes, there are clear signs that discomfort with the effects of... Vox Day: 'Ware the newcomers — [snipped quote] It's no surprise why emigration from Holland has increased 33 percent in the last five years. |
| Also: Ann Althouse, Orrin Judd | |
Palestinians Angry Over Tel Aviv Attack By / AP — Permalink JENIN, West Bank - Palestinians expressed anger Saturday at an overnight suicide bombing in Tel Aviv that killed four Israelis and threatened a fragile truce, a departure from former times when they welcomed attacks on their Israeli foes. | |
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Norm Geras: Relevantly, it seems there has been public anger amongst Palestinians over the latest suicide bombing. Captain Ed: To Find Terrorists Among Them The AP reports tonight that ordinary Palestinians are outraged by the Tel Aviv bombing that killed four Israelis yesterday. Charles Johnson: Have the Palestinians finally had enough of the terror gangs? Palestinians Angry Over Tel Aviv Attack. |
Mary Madigan: There are signs that the Palestinians are getting tired of being cannon fodder. McQ: Palestinians angry about suicide bombing — Tell me the Palestinians (and Israelis) can't smell peace: "Palestinians... Orrin Judd: STATEHOOD SUFFICES: Palestinians Angry Over Tel Aviv Attack (MOHAMMED BALLAS, 2/27/05, Associated Press) |
Lacking Details, U.S. Is Cautious on Egypt's Plan for Open Vote NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 - The Bush administration reacted cautiously on Saturday to the proposal by President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt to amend the Constitution to allow multiparty elections. | |
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Charles Paul Freund: Eissa regards the move as "deception." The U.S. was pretty low-key about Mubarak's move. Jeff Jarvis: Of course, there is much work ahead. American officials are officially cautious, as well they should be. |
Jan Haugland: PS: It is still too early to break out the champagne, though. Gregory Djerejian: Potentially really big. Analysis later. And yes, the devil will be in the details on this one. Still, this is undeniable progress. |
The Tipping Points By / NYT — Permalink The other night on ABC's "Nightline," the host, Ted Koppel, posed an intriguing question to Malcolm Gladwell, the social scientist who wrote the path-breaking book "The Tipping Point," which is about how changes in behavior or perception can reach a critical mass and then suddenly create a whole new reality. | |
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James Joyner: This exchange is also the subject of Tom Friedman's column today. Betsy Newmark: Maybe she could learn by looking at her colleague Thomas Friedman's column on the same page as her rant. Gregory Djerejian: UPDATE: Tom Friedman is, in the main, similarly optimistic and espies varied "tipping-points" in the Middle East (though... |
Ace: Thomas Friedman, realizing he's been beaten to the punch by fellow Timesman Brooks, avoids mention of Kuhnian paradigm... Orrin Judd: AS GOD IS MY WITNESS, IT JUST TIPPED ITSELF...: The Tipping Points (THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN, 2/27/05, NY Times)... |
Minds are changing By / US News — Permalink Nearly two years ago I wrote that the liberation of Iraq was changing minds in the Middle East. Before March 2003, the authoritarian regimes and media elites of the Middle East focused the discontents of their people on the United States and Israel. | |
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James Joyner: Tipping Points — Michael Barone joins the chorus of people, mostly but not entirely on the Right, who note that... Betsy Newmark: As Michael Barone writes in US News, "Ignatius interviewed Walid Jumblatt, the Druze leader long a critic of the United States. |
Ace: Michael Barone also uses the term "tipping point" as a hook (citing, actually, Friedman's appearance on Nightline),... Orrin Judd: BREAKNECK PACE: Minds are changing (Michael Barone, 3/05/07, US News) [snipped quote] We aren't even two years out from... |
Private Health Care in Jails Can Be a Death Sentence By / NYT — Permalink Brian Tetrault was 44 when he was led into a dim county jail cell in upstate New York in 2001, charged with taking some skis and other items from his ex-wife's home. | |
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Avedon Carol: Private Health Care in Jails Can Be a Death Sentence - because the other term for "profit-driven" is often "on the cheap". Andrew Stuttaford: PRISON WOES — Via the New York Times yet another appalling story from the American prison system: [snipped quote] This just isn't acceptable. Gary Farber: ARE WE EVER GOING TO GIVE A GODDAMN about people thrust into the hellhole of American "justice"? |
Susan Madrak: HEALING THE SICK — I tried to post this earlier today, but Blogger ate it and to tell you the truth, it's so... Jeralyn Merritt: In the meantime, here's some news of interest: Private Health Car in Jails Can Be a Death Sentence in the New York Times... |
W.'s Stiletto Democracy By / NYT — Permalink It was remarkable to see President Bush lecture Vladimir Putin on the importance of checks and balances in a democratic society. Remarkably brazen, given that the only checks Mr. Bush seems to believe in are those written to the "journalists" Armstrong Williams, Maggie Gallagher and Karen Ryan, the fake TV anchor, to help promote his policies. | |
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Barbara O'Brien: The game ain't over, but you're ahead. See how good it feels to fight back and win? — Mo Dowd is cookin' today. Betsy Newmark: Maureen Dowd sounds increasingly like a poster at Democratic Underground. Lambert @Corrente: Who are the other 194? (back) [quote] This White House seems [I know not "seems"!] to prefer softball questions from a...[end quote] |
Orrin Judd: W.'s Stiletto Democracy (MAUREEN DOWD, 2/27/05, NY Times) [snipped quote] These folk wonder how the moron keeps... Gregory Djerejian: Meantime, Maureen Dowd is busy writing about Condi's "Matrix-dominatrix black leather stiletto boots." Sigh. |
At 9, He's Out Stumping for President's Social Security Plan By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 - The battle over Social Security has been joined by an unusual lobbyist, a 9-year-old from Texas who has agreed to travel supporting President Bush's proposal. | |
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Joe Gandelman: Social Security Reform's Proponents Recruit Young Blood by Joe Gandelman Depending on where you stand politically, you... Lambert @Corrente: And a little children shall lead them — Honestly. Have they no decency? At long last, have they no decency? Ezra Klein: This Noah's on a Sinking Ship — Namely, the Social Security reform proposed by President Bush, who seems to be taking No Child Left Behind literally. |
DavidNYC @DailyKos: Say Hello to Cousin Oliver — When I read that the Bush Travelling Circus was employing the services of nine-year-old... Tbogg: On the other hand, I'm down with creepy little white boys... Via Atrios, via WWDT, we learn: The battle over Social... |
Egypt's Mubarak Orders Election Reform By / AP — Permalink CAIRO, Egypt - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Saturday ordered a revision of the country's election laws and said multiple candidates could run in the nation's presidential elections, a scenario Mubarak hasn't faced since taking power in 1981. | |
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Charles Bird: Just yesterday: "Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Saturday ordered a revision of the country's election laws and... Captain Ed: One day after Condoleezza Rice snubbed Hosni Mubarak by cancelling a long-planned trip to Cairo in protest of the arrest... Judith Weiss: "Yes." RELATED: Condi gets results. She snubs Mubarak, the next thing you know he's ordering election reforms. |
Jon Henke: A Hint of Democracy... Kevin Drum points to what appears to be good news from Egypt... "In a surprise and dramatic... Gene @HarrysPlace: Mubarak approves multi-candidate elections — In what the Associated Press describes as a "surprise announcement,"... Roger L. Simon: One day afte he was snubbed by Condi Rice, Hosni Mubarak announces a "new package of democratic reforms." |
| Also: Patrick Ruffini | |
Internet Fame Is Cruel Mistress for a Dancer of the Numa Numa NYT — Permalink There was a time when embarrassing talents were a purely private matter. If you could sing "The Star Spangled Banner" in the voice of Daffy Duck, no one but your friends and family would ever have to know. But with the Internet, humiliation - like everything else - has now gone public. | |
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Kieran Healy: Numa Numa New York Times — The NYT has an article about Gary Brolsma, the Numa Numa guy. Gary Farber: STAR WARS KID GOES ROMANIAN: [snipped quote] He really needs to form a club with Star Wars Kid, don't you think? Cori Dauber: Be Careful What You Wish For — I will fix all these links when I get home, but until then, just out of a sense of whimsy I guess, check out this article. |
Joe Gandelman: How To Humiliate Yourself On The Web In One Easy Lesson by Joe Gandelman The New York Times has a great article about an... Judith Weiss: Internet Celebrity Watch. Gary Brolsma - otherwise known as the Numa Numa Dance Guy - is not taking his sudden fame in stride. Betsy Newmark: Good Morning America will do a feature on you. And The New York Times will make fun of you for no particular reason. |
| Also: K. J. Lopez | |
CU weighs buyout for firebrand prof Denver Post — Permalink University of Colorado officials are considering offering Ward Churchill an early retirement package that could end an increasingly uncomfortable standoff with the controversial professor. Two people familiar with internal CU discussions said the still-undetermined offer is in the idea stage. | |
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Charles Johnson: Several readers emailed about the latest development in the saga of Ward "Little Eichmanns" Churchill: CU weighs buyout... Steven Taylor: The Churchill Saga Continues — Via the Denver Post: CU weighs buyout for firebrand prof "CU regents have said they are... Acidman: well, you hired him — The University of Colorado is in a quandry now. Ward Churchill has been exposed as a fraud, a poseur, a plagarist and a liar. |
Wretchard: This, according to the Denver Post, is preferred way to get Professor Churchill off the campus. Jeff Quinton: OL31CHURCHILL.jpg Denver Post [snipped quote] Others blogging: Steven Taylor Hennesy's View Technorati tags: Current Affairs Politics Education |
For Bush, a Long Embrace of Social Security Plan By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 - The conservative economists and public policy experts who trooped in to brief George W. Bush on Social Security not long after he was re-elected governor of Texas in 1998 came with their own ideas about how to overhaul the retirement program. | |
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Nathan Newman: Bush: Wrong in 1978, Wrong Today — As the New York Times details today, Bush's social security plan is about long-held ideology, not analysis of the situation today. Josh Marshall: George W. Bush, 1978: "[Social Security] will be bust in 10 years unless there are some changes ... The ideal solution... |
Orrin Judd: THE REVOLUTION TRAILING IN HIS WAKE: For Bush, a Long Embrace of Social Security Plan (RICHARD W. STEVENSON, 2/27/05, NY... |
Why Not Here? By / NYT — Permalink Thomas Kuhn famously argued that science advances not gradually but in jolts, through a series of raw and jagged paradigm shifts. Somebody sees a problem differently, and suddenly everybody's vantage point changes. | |
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James Joyner: See also Ace's thoughts on these pieces, as well as a related one from David Brooks. Cori Dauber: Be sure to check out David Brooks column in today's Times. Here's the key section: Then in Iraq, there is actual politics going on. Betsy Newmark: David Brooks has a good column on how thoughts of democracy have been ricocheting around the globe since the fall of Saddam Hussein. |
Matthew Yglesias: But yesterday David Brooks did it not to condemn Kuhn, but to praise him. A paradigm shift indeed. Ace: Related: David Brooks catches a bad case of optimism in a must-read column: "This is the most powerful question in the world today: Why not here? Orrin Judd: PARADIGMIN' IN THE ROUGH: Why Not Here? (DAVID BROOKS, 2/26/05, NY Times) "This is the most powerful question in the world today: Why not here? |
| Also: Josh Chafetz | |
Fear and Intimidation at Harvard By / Weekly Standard — Permalink AT LAST WEEK'S HARVARD FACULTY MEETING, President Larry Summers saved his job, but he took a pummeling from his angry critics. Summers is easily the most outstanding of the major university presidents now on the scene—the most intelligent, the most energetic, as well as the most prominent. | |
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Jan Haugland: Harvey Mansfield, himself a Harvard professor, is quite blunt in his attack on the feminist academics: It takes one's breath away to watch feminist women at work. Greg Ransom: HARVEY MANSFIELD weighs in on Larry Summers and the tenured professors — "Fear and Intimidation at Harvard": "[Larry]... |
Betsy Newmark: Harvey Mansfield argues that the real problem with Larry Summers is that he tried to reason about some shibboleth of political correctness. The Big Trunk: What the Harvard women want — The new issue of the Weekly Standard carries an important essay on the Summers affair by... |
Winston Churchill, Neocon? By / NYT — Permalink Douglas J. Feith was becoming excited. After spending an afternoon discussing the war in Iraq with him, I asked what books had most influenced him. Feith, the under secretary of defense for policy and a prominent neoconservative, raced across his large library and began pulling down gilt-edged volumes on the British Empire. | |
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Gregory Djerejian: Churchill (Winston) Worship Rampant ...amidst the neo-cons; writes Jacob Heilbrunn. The Big Trunk: Jacob Heilbrunn's crude essay is "Winston Churchill, neocon?" Should we deduct a point for Heilbrunn's failure to work Israel explicitly into the equation? |
Ken Masugi: The New York Times Tries, Once Again, to Understand Conservatives — I was about to respond to Jacob Heilbrunn's essay... Orrin Judd: YES, BUT IT'S NOT A COMPLIMENT: Winston Churchill, Neocon? |
Observer Blog By / Guardian — Permalink We've just had the first editions of the other Sunday papers. Not too much to follow, although the Mail on Sunday story about Prince Charles is interesting. We'll change our royal coverage to include the claims in Gavin Hewitt's book on his life as a BBC... | |
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Marcus @HarrysPlace: One Two Three Four.... The Observer has started a blog. Says Nick Cohen of the blogosphere: "What's happened reminds me of the punk explosion when I was a teenager." Norm Geras: Thanks, therefore, in the present instance to Nick Cohen. Nick says: "Blogs have raised the bar." Postscript: Ben Hammersley - see here. |
Gary Farber: Here's a helpful hint to welcome the writers. This sort of crap? "And the chips? |
Mubarak Pushes Egypt to Conduct Freer Elelections By / NYT — Permalink CAIRO, Feb. 26 - President Hosni Mubarak asked Egypt's Parliament on Saturday to amend the Constitution to allow for direct, multiparty presidential elections later this year for the first time in the nation's history. | |
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Gregory Djerejian: Egyptian Democratization Watch — As Glenn might quip, this strikes me as big news. Potentially really big. Analysis later. Kevin Drum: Here's the New York Times 12 hours later: [snipped quote] The devil is in the details, of course, and this might turn out to be mostly window dressing in the end. |
Zach Neumann: I don't know how sincere this is, but it seems that Egypt might be considering democratic reform. |
Israel Blames Syria for Suicide Bombing AP — Permalink JERUSALEM - Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz blamed Syria on Saturday for a suicide bombing that killed four Israelis in Tel Aviv, and Israel's Army Radio reported that he also froze plans to hand over security responsibilities in the West Bank to the Palestinians. | |
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Jason Van Steenwyk: Never, ever, ever, ever stop killing terrorists. [snipped quote] Terrorists will never honor an agreement. |
Orrin Judd: DOGPILE ON THE RABID: Israel Blames Syria for Suicide Bombing (AP, Feb 26, 2005) "Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz... |
Rice Calls Off Mideast Visit After Arrest of Egyptian By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday abruptly called off a planned trip to several Middle Eastern countries that had been scheduled for next week, a decision that came apparently because of the arrest of a leading Egyptian opposition politician last month. | |
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Charles Bird: Condi Rice canceled a trip to Egypt because of the arrest of an opposition politician, and Hosni Mubarak is feeling the... Orrin Judd: TIME TO THREATEN THEIR PAYOLA: Rice Calls Off Mideast Visit After Arrest of Egyptian (JOEL BRINKLEY, Feb. 25, 2005, NY... |
Armando @DailyKos: Update [2005-2-26 13:42:31 by Armando]: DavidNYC reminds that not everyone may have seen this: [snipped quote] My post is written having that piece of news in mind. |
Egypt's Mubarak Calls for Democratic Election Reforms AP — Permalink CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Saturday ordered a revision of the country's election laws and said multiple candidates could run in the nation's presidential elections, a scenario Mubarak hasn't faced since taking power in 1981. | |
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Armando @DailyKos: Color me skeptical, but if true, this could be good news: [snipped quote] The Bush Administration will feel, and with some justification, a measure of satisfaction. Josh Chafetz: A GOOD COLUMN from David Brooks and, along the same lines, good news from Egypt. |
Matthew Yglesias: Very Good News — Freedom actually on the march in Egypt after some missteps. |
Terrorist returns: Peter MacKay urges Ottawa to consider revoking citizenship By / National Post — Permalink TORONTO - One of Canada's most notorious terrorist leaders has returned home to Montreal after serving four years in a French prison for his role in an international jihadist network. | |
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Daveed Gartenstein-Ross: The Return of Fateh Kamel — The National Post reports that one of Canada's most notorious terrorists, Fateh Kamel, has... |
Charles Johnson: , Fateh Kamel was allowed to return to Canada to be with his family: Terrorist returns: Peter MacKay urges Ottawa to consider revoking citizenship. |
After 1/30/05 By / Weekly Standard — Permalink HISTORY IS BEST VIEWED IN the rear-view mirror. It's hard to grasp the significance of events as they happen. It's even harder to forecast their meaning when they're only scheduled to happen. | |
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Hugh Hewitt: Ignore them? Make nice by noting the turning point elections of 1/30/05? |
Josh Chafetz: (Bill Kristol writes a somewhat longer version of Brooks' argument in the new Weekly Standard.) |
Palestinians Make Bomb Arrests, Accuse Hizbollah By / Reuters — Permalink RAMALLAH (Reuters) - Scrambling to save a battered truce, Palestinian officials arrested three West Bank suspects on Saturday after a suicide bombing that killed four Israelis, but pointed to Lebanon's Hizbollah as mastermind of the attack. | |
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Captain Ed: Islamic Jihad Claims Credit For Tel Aviv Bombing — Islamic Jihad has claimed credit for the suicide bombing in Tel... |
Charles Johnson: Palestinians Blame Hizballah, "Third Party" — The Palestinian authority has arrested a few of the usual suspects and is... |
Social Security test By / Townhall.com — Permalink WASHINGTON — When Congress returns Monday from its Presidents' Day recess, President Bush's proposed Social Security revision may face its first tests in the Senate Budget Committee. | |
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Alexander K. McClure: According to a column by Robert Novak: "A projection by Polidata, a Republican-oriented political mapping and... |
Ed Driscoll: America Gets Redder — Robert Novak writes that America's red states are continuing to grow in size and power: growing... |
President hails Slovak 'march of freedom' Telegraph — Permalink At last President George W Bush found some European fans yesterday. After three days of muted receptions, Mr Bush received a far cheerier welcome behind the old Iron Curtain as enthusiastic Slovaks applauded him for visiting them on the last stop of his tour across the continent. | |
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Judith Weiss: UPDATE: Democracy marches on: A roundup from Glenn, including more on Bush's reception in "New Europe." |
Glenn Reynolds: NEW EUROPE: [snipped quote] (Via No Pasaran, which observes that this didn't get much coverage in Old Europe.) |
2 Involved in Flawed Report at CBS Resign By / NYT — Permalink Two of the three CBS journalists who had refused for more than a month to resign over a disputed broadcast concerning President Bush's National Guard service have now submitted their resignations. | |
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Brian Stelter: And Then There Was One: Betsy West Submitted Her Resignation This Week — A NYT scoop: "Betsy West, a senior vice... |
Greg Ransom: TWO CBS "Rathergate" producers finally agree to resign be fired. |
Terrorists Shatter Phony Calm in Tel Aviv, Shop for Heavy Weapons DEBKAfile — Permalink Abbas is assembling heavy war arsenal as his top priority. Against whom? The dark days of Palestinian terror returned to Israel Friday night as a savage reminder that the three-and-a- half months of apparent lull were a pleasant fantasy. | |
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Roger L. Simon: Debka is reporting the stockpiling of heavy weapons by the PA, which violates existing accords and seems to me... |
The Big Trunk: Suffice it to say that its post on the Tel Aviv bombing discloses information that is profoundly troubling if true:... |
Police: BTK is arrested; Dennis Rader named as suspect in killings Wichita Eagle — Permalink News of the arrest of Dennis Rader, the man whom police have arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder in connection with the 10 deaths now tied to BTK, has Park City buzzing this afternoon. It has turned the small town north of Wichita into a place where cameras and people are pointing. | |
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Joe Gandelman: According to the Eagle, " Dennis Rader of Park City has been arrested for first-degree murder of the eight victims known to be tied to BTK." |
Michele Catalano: He held a leadership position in his church. Here, he doesn't look as...off. The facial hair gives him a more trusting, mature look. |
Suicide Bombing Kills at Least 4 at Tel Aviv Club NYT — Permalink TEL AVIV, Saturday, Feb. 26 - A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up amid a crowd of young Israelis waiting to enter a nightclub near the Tel Aviv beachfront Friday night, killing at least four, wounding dozens and threatening to shatter a truce that had largely been holding. | |
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Hilzoy @ObsidianWings: Suicide Bombing In Tel Aviv — From the NY Times: [quote] "A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up amid a crowd of young...[end quote] |
Oliver @LiquidList: And the bombing at the Stage club in Tel Aviv last night is to be condemned by all responsible people in the world community. |
NPR failed to correct congressman's misleading claim about Social Security cap Media Matters for America — Permalink On the February 24 edition of National Public Radio's (NPR) All Things Considered, correspondent Brian Naylor, who has covered Congress for NPR for almost ten years, failed to correct a misleading claim made by Representative Chris Chocola (R-IN) about the impact of removing the cap on income subject to Social Security payroll taxes. | |
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Josh Marshall: Late Update: I now see that Duncan Black (aka Atrios) has already been addressing this point — particularly reporters'... |
Atrios: I addressed the same issue at Media Matters here and here (and, no, I don't mean that in a "I was there first!" sense, just adding to the discussion). |
Murky Debate on Abortion Law LAT — Permalink Kansas legislation states precisely its terms for ending pregnancies late in the term. But how doctors interpret those rules may not be clear. In demanding access to the medical records of women who had late-term abortions, Kansas Atty. Gen. Phill Kline suggested this week that doctors might be violating that law by aborting viable fetuses too freely. | |
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Barbara O'Brien: The purpose of this, he says, is to look for signs of lawbreaking. Doctors may be performing abortions too freely. |
Orrin Judd: Murky Debate on Abortion Law: Kansas legislation states precisely its terms for ending pregnancies late in the term. |
Islamic Jihad claims Friday bombing in Tel Aviv Haaretz — Permalink The Damascus-based leadership of the militant Palestinian Islamic Jihad Saturday claimed responsibility for the Friday Tel Aviv suicide bombing that killed four Israelis. | |
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Hilzoy @ObsidianWings: Ha'Aretz reports: [quote] "The Damascus-based leadership of the militant Palestinian Islamic Jihad Saturday claimed...[end quote] |
The Big Trunk: UPDATE: The report in Haaretz belies DEBKA's: "Militants: Hezbollah operative recruited PA bomber." |
Egypt announces democratic reform BBC — Permalink Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak has asked parliament to change the constitution to allow multiple candidates in presidential polls. In a move which surprised observers, Mr Mubarak said this was aimed at bringing the law "in line with this stage of our nation's history". | |
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Jan Haugland: This development will be followed very closely. PS: More from the BBC. |
Jeff Goldstein: Creating new terrorists: Chimpy McHitlerBurton's smirky rodeo ride through history continues, #2 — From the BBC... |
Lesbian's picture in tux cut from yearbook AP — Permalink GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. — County school officials are backing a principal's decision to bar a picture of a lesbian student dressed in a tuxedo from the high school yearbook. Sam Ward, principal of Fleming Island High School, said he pulled the senior class picture because Kelli Davis was wearing boy's clothes. | |
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Joanne Jacobs: Out of the yearbook — The principal of a Florida high school pulled the yearbok photo of a lesbian student because she'd dressed in a tuxedo. |
Kevin Drum: UNIFORM CODES...Via Joanne Jacobs, this lovely story of tolerance and acceptance from Green Cove Springs, Florida:... |