meme orandum
| A newfangled news tangle |
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A Letter to Our Readers Newsweek — Permalink May 30 issue - In the week since our Periscope item about alleged abuse of the Qur'an at Guantanamo Bay became a heated topic of national conversation, it will come as no surprise to you that we have been engaged in a great deal of soul-searching and reflection. | |
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Michelle Malkin: First Lady Laura Bush feels the heat. - Bloggers take down Newsweek's newest, freshest, non-apology apology. Tom @ScaredMonkeys: Newsweek Responds to her Critics — Richard Smith, Chairman and Editor in Chief of Newsweek has an in-depth article on how Newsweek is going to manage the news process. Kevin Drum: MEA MAXIMA MAXIMA MAXIMA CULPA...Newsweek's editor-in-chief, Richard Smith, engages today in yet another public mea... |
Suzanne Nossel: Newsweek's recantation, its new policy limiting the use of unsubstantiated sources, and its finding that the reporters... Captain Ed: Newsweek: We're Really Sorry Even Though We Did Nothing Wrong — Newsweek again issued a mea culpa for its false report... Rex Hammock: Newsweek water torture (continued): Quote from Newsweek's "letter to our readers": "On the basis of what we know now,... |
| Also: Jay Rosen | |
Leaving the left By / San Francisco Chronicle — Permalink Nightfall, Jan. 30. Eight-million Iraqi voters have finished risking their lives to endorse freedom and defy fascism. Three things happen in rapid succession. The right cheers. The left demurs. I walk away from a long-term intimate relationship. | |
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Cernig: Angels, Aliens and Bloggers — The blogging Right are all over this article today, entitled Leaving the left and written by one Keith Thompson. Roger L. Simon: From the pages of the SF Chronicle... ... of all places... this noteworthy article by writer Keith Thompson. Nightfall, Jan. 30. Michael J. Totten: And yet life-long lefties like Keith Thompson at the San Francisco Chronicle are still abandoning the fold, even after... |
Jan Haugland: The left is no longer progressive — Keith Thompson is leaving the left. Glenn Reynolds: And, while not directly related, this column by Keith Thompson is relevant, and is also a must-read. And doesn't this item say it all? Orrin Judd: COME ON IN, THE WATER'S FINE: Leaving the left: I can no longer abide the simpering voices of self-styled progressives... |
| Also: Pejman Yousefzadeh, Ed Driscoll, Michelle Malkin, H.D. Miller, Scott @PowerLine | |
Transcript for May 22 MSNBC — Permalink PLEASE CREDIT ANY QUOTES OR EXCERPTS FROM THIS NBC TELEVISION PROGRAM TO "NBC NEWS' MEET THE PRESS." This is a rush transcript provided for the information and convenience of the press. Accuracy is not guaranteed. | |
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Trey Jackson: Video: Sunday Insanity - Howard Dean — Jackson's Junction: Video Blogging... Howard Dean on Meet the Press with Tim... Jeralyn Merritt: Via Suburban Guerilla: [snipped quote] The transcript is here. Crooks and Liars has a video clip. [hat tip Avedon at Atrios. Michelle Malkin: HOWARD DEAN RECYCLES AN ABORTION LIE — Howard Dean on Meet the Press this morning claims abortions have gone up "25 percent since George Bush was president." |
Avedon Carol: Notebook — Howard Dean was most excellent on Meet the Press, and didn't let Tim Russert get away with all his RNC talking points. Taegan Goddard: Quote of the Day — [snipped quote] — DNC Chairman Howard Dean, on Meet the Press, on President Bush. Gerry @DalyThoughts: Some quotes need no lead-in — Howard Dean on Meet the Press: [snipped quote] I believe Dean must have been talking about Saddam. |
| Also: Orrin Judd | |
Most Iran Reform Candidates Disqualified By / AP — Permalink TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's hard-line Guardian Council on Sunday rejected all reformists who registered to run in presidential elections, approving only six out of the 1,010 hopefuls. Leaders of the reform movement threatened to boycott the vote. | |
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Dan Darling: As reported by AP via ABC News, Iran's Council of Guardians in their infinite and self-apparent wisdom, have authorized... Praktike: I imagine this is not going to be met with universal enthusiasm in Iran. Here's the AP story. |
Gary Farber: IRAN, STILL AN EXEMPLAR OF DEMOCRACY. Not. Marcus @HarrysPlace: My money is on another victory for the status quo. |
Nelson sunk by PC raiding party By / Times of London — Permalink ADMIRAL NELSON saw off the mighty Franco-Spanish fleet at the battle of Trafalgar but 200 years on, he has been sunk by a wave of political correctness. Organisers of a re-enactment to mark the bicentenary of the battle next month have decided it should be between "a Red Fleet and a Blue Fleet" not British and French/Spanish forces. | |
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Tom @ScaredMonkeys: The Heck with French Sensibilities — They Lost. Like they have lost every major Battle in the last 400 years. Andrew Stuttaford: ENGLAND EXPECTS...AND WILL BE DISAPPOINTED — From the London Sunday Times "ADMIRAL NELSON saw off the mighty... |
Jan Haugland: But political correctness and fear of offending the French has the mighty fleet sunk in parody. Orrin Judd: Nelson sunk by PC raiding party (Andrew Porter, 5/22/05, Times of London) [snipped quote] Don't they have to be used to it by now? |
The Believer By / NYT — Permalink Rick Santorum, the boyish-looking 47-year-old senator from Pennsylvania, could not, in more decorous political times, have risen to a position of much power in Congress. | |
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Tbogg: I read Michael Sokolove's wet sloppy kiss to Rick Santorum (R-Beagle) this morning at about 1AM, but I was too tired to go into it. Tom Maguire: Rick Santorum is profiled in the Times magazine; at the InstaPundit we see that Times coverage of Nascar Nation is being panned. |
Steve M.: IT'S CALLED "A FOLLOW-UP QUESTION," MICHAEL — Excerpts from Michael Sokolove's godawful profile/wet kiss of Rick... Alexander K. McClure: 2006 Pennsylvania Senate Race — Read this wonderful article on Rick "Torquemada" Santorum (Inquisition-PA) |
The Qur'an Question Newsweek — Permalink May 30 issue - What really happened at Guantanamo? Last week, amid the heat of the controversy over NEWSWEEK's retracted story, new details about the issue of alleged mistreatment of the Qur'an emerged. | |
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Michelle Malkin: And a follow-up from Evan Thomas and Michael Isikoff, "The Qu'ran Question," includes some striking details about... Jeralyn Merritt: Newsweek's New One-Sided Reporting — In the upcoming issue of Newsweek, Michael Isikoff and Evan Thomas have a new... |
John Cole: On May 20th, the NY Times releases a report on torture that was just written because the MILITARY FINALLY RELEASED THE DETAILS AFTER CLOSE TO THREE YEARS. |
Cricket star knows how to fire up fanatics By / Chicago Sun Times — Permalink By my reckoning, just five American newspapers mentioned the name of Imran Khan last week. Who? Well, he's a world-famous — wait for it — cricketer. No, hang on: Don't all stampede for the exits, this isn't a column about cricket. | |
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Glenn Reynolds: UPDATE: And it's especially worth reading this Mark Steyn column. Also, don't miss Ernest Miller's take. Jayson @PoliPundit: Mark Steyn on Causes and Effects — Mark Steyn looks at NewsWeak's toilet bowl of a toilet bowl story and the ensuing Muslim riots from the standpoints of causes and effects. |
Ed Driscoll: Mark Steyn introduces us to Imran Khan, the other half of the equation, the man who lit the spark on Pakistani TV: [snipped quote] Read the whole thing. Orrin Judd: Cricket star knows how to fire up fanatics (Mark Steyn, May 22, 2005, Chicago Sun-Times) [snipped quote] Those toilets were stuffed with their credibility. |
The Media in Trouble By / US News — Permalink It's official. conservatives are losing their monopoly on complaints about media bias. In the wake of Newsweek 's bungled report that U.S. military interrogators "flushed a Qur'an down a toilet," here is Terry Moran, ABC's White House reporter, in an interview... | |
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Jay Rosen: Trust-Me Journalism and the Newsweek Retraction — Including why I disagree with almost everyone about it. Orrin Judd: FOURTH ESTATE AND LONG: The Media in Trouble (John Leo, 5/30/05, US News) [snipped quote] How can an institution that... |
Ed Driscoll: "Conservatives Are Losing Their Monopoly On Complaints About Media Bias" — When US News & World Report's John Leo... |
The Senate's Quavering Middle By / NYT — Permalink Here's an example of why moderates never accomplish anything in Washington. Twelve independent and moderate senators - six Democrats and six Republicans - spent much of last week trying to work out a deal to head off a nuclear showdown over judges. | |
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Matthew Yglesias: Nuclear Bargaining — David Brooks' column, begging Senate moderates to strike a bargain to avoid the nuclear ption has really clarified my thinking on this subject. Tom Maguire: Brooks - Frist Has The Votes — David Brooks tells us that majority Leader Bill Frist has the votes to close debate and... Orrin Judd: The Senate's Quavering Middle (DAVID BROOKS, 5/22/05, NY Times) [snipped quote] You can't base an effective politics on your personal feelings—every man becomes a party of one. |
Yuval Rubinstein: The Patented Brooks Confidence Scheme, Part Deux — Bobo Brooks, in today's NY Times, writes one of his typical... Jeff Jarvis: Sunday, David Brooks goes after not the left fringe or the right fringe but the wimpy middle for not bringing sense to... PoliPundit: The Constitutional Option — David Brooks, on the constitutional option: [quote] The ["compromise"] talks stalled.[end quote] |
The woman killed for pop music By / Times of London — Permalink Bright and modern, she hosted a music show in Afghanistan. It drove extremists to murder her SHAIMA REZAYEE was the face of a new generation of young Afghan women: she discarded her shalwar kameez and burkha for Western clothes and a glamorous job as a television presenter on Kabul's answer to MTV. | |
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Andrew Stuttaford: SHAIMA REZAYEE, R.I.P. Here via the London Times is a horrific story that highlights, once again, the nature of the... Hello but men put an end to her freedom: "- the times" but apparently laura bush didn't check in with either reality or with rove and "the boys" when she spoke... |
Charles Paul Freund: Shaima Rezayee is Dead — An Afghan female veejay famous for presenting racy music videos from Turkey to her young Kabul... Greg Piper: And you thought censorship on American television was resurgent: [snipped quote] Full, sad story here. |
Karl Rove's Secret To Success: Eggies US News — Permalink Karl Rove and the U.S. military have something in common: They both agree with that old Napoleon Bonaparte saw that "an army marches on its stomach." That's right: Rove, the president's political and policy guru and White House deputy chief of staff, believes that he'll have a happy camp of senior workers if he keeps them well fed during meetings. | |
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Tom @ScaredMonkeys: Karl Rove's Secret To Success: Eggies "Karl Rove and the U.S. military have something in common: They both agree with... Gerry @DalyThoughts: Rice Wants It-But in Draft Form — USNews.com's Washington Whispers: [snipped quote] She's unlikely to truly be drafted;... |
Taegan Goddard: Rice Wants to be Drafted for White House Bid — Washington Whispers says "political associates" of Secretary of State... |
U.S., Iraq Troops Launch Baghdad Offensive By / AP — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq - Seven Iraqi battalions backed by U.S. forces launched an offensive in the capital on Sunday in an effort to stanch the violence that has killed more than 550 people in less than a month, targeting insurgents who have attacked the dangerous road to Baghdad's airport and Abu Ghraib prison. | |
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Andrew Olmsted: TOP TOPICS U.S. troops are taking the fight to Baghdad. Operation Squeeze Play is supposed to reduce insurgent strongholds in western Baghdad. |
Armando @DailyKos: A Baghdad Offensive? The title of this AP story is startling - "US, Iraq Troops Launch Baghdad Offensive." A Baghdad offensive? |
Once upon a time in America By / Guardian — Permalink In her introduction to Graham Greene's The Quiet American, Zadie Smith says of Alden Pyle, the American of the title: "His worldly innocence is a kind of fundamentalism." She goes on: "Reading the novel again reinforced my fear of all the Pyles around the world. | |
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James Wolcott: The Quiet American Who Won't Shut Up — Reviewer Richard Adams makes the irresistable point in the Guardian that if... |
Atrios: Worth a read, but I was most stunned by this sentence quoted from Friedman's new book in the linked Guardian review: [snipped quote] writes Friedman. |
When a Story Goes Terribly Wrong By / Time — Permalink Journalists strive to be influential. But there can't be many who would hope to affect events the way Newsweek has in Afghanistan. The anti-American street protests that erupted there earlier this month—after the magazine reported that a Pentagon... | |
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Arthur Silber: EATING THEIR OWN, AND LOVING IT — May 22nd, 2005 Completely predictably, Time lunges at the opportunity to pound the... |
Rex Hammock: Also, compare these headlines from the print issues of Time & Newsweeks that hit the stands today: Time: When a Story... |
Laura Bush heckled in Jerusalem shrine visit By / Reuters — Permalink JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Protesters jostled and harangued U.S. first lady Laura Bush on Sunday when she visited a flashpoint Jerusalem shrine holy to both Muslims and Jews and at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. | |
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Avedon Carol: Laura Bush unites Muslims and Jews: JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Protesters jostled and harangued U.S. first lady Laura Bush on... |
Red @ScaredMonkeys: Funny, there does not appear to be as many protesters as the original reports made there out to be. |
Germany 'set for early election' BBC — Permalink German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder says he wants a general election this autumn - a year early - after his party lost a key powerbase in local polls. Mr Schroeder made the announcement after his Social Democrats (SPD) lost the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which they had held for 39 years. | |
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Gerry @DalyThoughts: Germany 'set for early election' — The BBC: "German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder says he wants a general election this... |
Orrin Judd: OUTLASTING ANOTHER ONE: Germany 'set for early election' (BBC, 5/22/05) [snipped quote] Strange, Bush, Blair, and Howard all posted historic victories... |
'Sunday Money' and 'Full Throttle': Nascar Nation By / NYT — Permalink For a certain segment of the population, Nascar's raid on American culture — its logo festoons everything from cellphones to honey jars to post office walls to panties; race coverage, it can seem, has bumped everything else off television; and, most... | |
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Steve M.: After that I dropped the A section and went for the Book Review, where I read about stock-car racing and a NASCAR hero... |
Glenn Reynolds: REVEALING COMMENTS AT THE NEW YORK TIMES: "For a certain segment of the population, Nascar's raid on American culture —... |
Yet Another Wake-Up Call By / WaPo — Permalink For all of us who rely on, and want to trust, our newspapers, television networks and news magazines, this has been a tough couple of years. Some of our best (the New York Times and CBS News), some of our biggest (USA Today) and dozens of others have been caught up in various scandals and serious errors of journalistic procedure and judgment. | |
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John Cole: Go read Newsweek apologizing to the point of absurdity. Go read the Washington Post's coverage of the affairs. Cori Dauber: But he does zero in on the part of the story that still troubles me the most: Newsweek did the right thing in taking the... |
Lambert @Corrente: However, WaPo apparently has an extremely powerful Department of No! |
Dozens Have Alleged Koran's Mishandling LAT — Permalink WASHINGTON — Senior Bush administration officials reacted with outrage to a Newsweek report that U.S. interrogators had desecrated the Koran at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention facility, and the magazine retracted the story last week. | |
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Jeralyn Merritt: Kevin Drum gets it exactly right, calling Newsweek's blunder the equivalent of jaywalking, and concluding:... |
Stirling Newberry: Newsweek should retract their retraction — LA Times corroborates Newsweek's Koran story. This is a clear case of political cleansing of a news report. |
Prewar Findings Worried Analysts By / WaPo — Permalink On Jan. 24, 2003, four days before President Bush delivered his State of the Union address presenting the case for war against Iraq, the National Security Council staff put out a call for new intelligence to bolster claims that Saddam Hussein possessed nuclear, chemical and biological weapons or programs. | |
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Avedon Carol: Steve Soto has a good piece up at The Left Coaster on the Walter Pincus article in the WaPo that finally discusses the... Steve Soto: We all know that the Bush Administration has done whatever it could to distract the media from covering the Downing... |
Lambert @Corrente: They Would Never Do That! that employs all the editors (the same editors who buried Walter Pincus's latest bombshell on—wait for it— page A26. Attaturk: Maybe some of the press is going to pay attention to what the Bush Administration said to the public before the war, versus what they said in private. |
Protesters Mob Laura Bush in Jerusalem By / AP — Permalink JERUSALEM — Protesters besieged Laura Bush during her visit Sunday to two of Jerusalem's most sacred sites, with Israeli police locking arms to restrain the crowd and Secret Service agents packed tightly around America's first lady. | |
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Acidman: sub-human? Maybe not, but they surely enjoy acting that way. I am just about fed up with this s**t. |
Lambert @Corrente: Yeah, like we're so mature — One of the Bush Family characteristics—and it's very WASPy, isn't it? |
Stakes High for Iran Talks LAT — Permalink VIENNA — Amid Iranian threats to break off negotiations and European warnings about "irreversible gestures" on Tehran's part, the stakes are high as the two sides prepare to meet over the Islamic Republic's nuclear ambitions. | |
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Ezra Klein: The Islamic Republic — Now With Nukes — Looks like talks with Iran are rapidly approaching their breaking point and the EU is murmuring about a security council referral. |
Orrin Judd: SEND W: Stakes High for Iran Talks: This week's summit in Geneva will focus on containing the nation's nuclear ambitions. |
Sunnis Step Off Political Sidelines WaPo — Permalink BAGHDAD, May 21 — More than 1,000 Sunni Arab clerics, political leaders and tribal heads ended their two-year boycott of politics in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq on Saturday, uniting in a Sunni bloc that they said would help draft the country's new constitution and compete in elections. | |
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Juan Cole: The LA Time reports that, [snipped quote] The Washington Post says that the convention passed a resolution that... Stephen: Sunnis Step Off Political Sidelines — New Bloc in Iraq Ends Boycott of Government "More than 1,000 Sunni Arab clerics,... |
PoliPundit: Sunnis Join In — Even the hard-line Association of Muslim Scholars, a prominent Sunni group which boycotted the January... |
13 Things I Meant to Write About but Never Did By / NYT — Permalink AND so all good (and tense and terrible and exciting) things must come to an end. When I began in this job in December 2003, I had a list of about 20 topics I knew I wanted to address. | |
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Kevin Aylward: New York Times Public Editor Leaves A Few Parting Gifts — Daniel Okrent, appointed to a newly created Public Editor job... Amanda Marcotte: "Shorters" I Meant To Write But Never Could — Dan Okrent, a bad ombudsman, writes a bad column about his bad tenure as the Times' ombudsman. Cori Dauber: And it strikes me as even more of a shame now that his term is ending, and he offers us this list of things he wishes he'd had the chance to write about. |
Eriposte @LeftCoaster: Dan Okrent joins colleagues in the Society of Flat Earth Wankers (SOFEW) Armando at Daily Kos points out the departing... Avedon Carol: Daniel Okrent, on the other hand, in a column listing "13 Things I Meant to Write About but Never Did," drops an... Gerry @DalyThoughts: His last column, however, has some enjoyable nuggets. Here are a few: [snipped quote] 4. |
| Also: Tom Maguire, Brad DeLong, Jon Henke, Donald Luskin, Armando @DailyKos, Tom @ScaredMonkeys, Orin Kerr, Ed Cone, Jane Galt, Evan Smith | |
Iraq's Sunni Arabs Seek to Unite to Build Political Clout By / LAT — Permalink BAGHDAD — A newly formed alliance of Sunni Muslim leaders held its first meeting here Saturday to forge plans for gaining a greater voice in Iraq's emerging political culture. | |
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Juan Cole: Muqtada Tries to Mediate Between Sunnis and Badr — Three Sunni Arab organizations arranged a meeting of 1,000 Sunni... |
Orrin Judd: BALLOTS, NOT BULLETS — Iraq's Sunni Arabs Seek to Unite to Build Political Clout: Prominent leaders hold a congress, unveiling an alliance to promote the community's interests. |
The Case of Theresa Schiavo By / New York Review of Books — Permalink Theresa Marie Schindler was born on December 3, 1963, to prosperous and devoutly Catholic parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, in a Philadelphia suburb, Huntingdon Valley. Robert Schindler was a dealer in industrial supplies. Mary Schindler was a full-time wife and mother. | |
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Ann Althouse: Didion finds many interesting angles to the story. Her focus is not legal, but personal and psychological. |
Patterico: Joan Didion on Terri Schiavo Joan Didion has a long article about Terri Schiavo in the New York Review of Books. |
Scientists Say Sunshine May Prevent Cancer By / AP — Permalink Scientists are excited about a vitamin again. But unlike fads that sizzled and fizzled, the evidence this time is strong and keeps growing. If it bears out, it will challenge one of medicine's most fundamental beliefs: that people need to coat themselves with sunscreen whenever they're in the sun. | |
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Jan Haugland: Now there is growing evidence that the sun, more precisely those dreaded UV-rays, prevents far more cancer than it causes. David Cohen: I'M THINKING OF TAKING UP SMOKING — Scientists Say Sunshine May Prevent Cancer (Marilynn Marchione, AP, 5/21/05)... |
Glenn Reynolds: COMING SOON, new research on the health benefits of whiskey and cigars: [snipped quote] It's actually no surprise. |
Al-Qaeda gains Palestine foothold By / Scotsman — Permalink AL-QAEDA has established a foothold in Palestine with a new militant group based in Gaza formed by extremists who have become disillusioned with Hamas and Islamic Jihad. | |
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Joe Gandelman: Al Qaeda Gains Recruits In Palestine by Joe Gandelman Al Qaeda is on the move recrutiing new members and, the Scotsman... Dan Darling: The Palestinian Jundallah: Al-Qaeda's Hand in Gaza — Finding Palestinians (particularly the Jordanian variety) among... |
Captain Ed: The Scotsman reports that al-Qaeda has gained a toehold in Gaza by recruiting disenchanted terrorists from Hamas and... |
On a Christian Mission to the Top NYT — Permalink For a while last winter, Tim Havens, a recent graduate of Brown University and now an evangelical missionary there, had to lead his morning prayer group in a stairwell of the campus chapel. | |
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Steve M.: The first thing I read The New York Times this morning was the story about evangelicals at Ivy League schools — people... Echidne: More of a rant on sermons, probably, caused by this article in the New York Times about how the evangelical Christians... Ezra Klein: Poor Choice of Words — From the NY Times article on the efforts of Christian missionaries to bring God back into the... |
Tom Maguire: "Class" At The Times - Now It Is Evangelicals — The Times delivers part four of its series on class in America. Orrin Judd: BUBBAS AREN'T SUPPOSED TO LEAD: On a Christian Mission to the Top (LAURIE GOODSTEIN and DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK, 5/22/05,... |
It's All Newsweek's Fault By / NYT — Permalink IN the immediate aftermath of 9/11, Fareed Zakaria wrote a 6,791-word cover story for Newsweek titled "Why Do They Hate Us?" Think how much effort he could have saved if he'd waited a few years. As we learned last week, the question of why they hate us can now be answered in just one word: Newsweek. | |
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Avedon Carol: It's All Newsweek's Fault: "But if something good can come out of something bad, the administration's overkill of... Richard TPD: Frank Rich on Newsweek — This may be the best piece yet on the right wing's latest, most fiery attack to date on that... |
Al Rodgers: [quote]AAR's Politically Direct: Whoopi Goldberg, American Prospect editor Tom Lowenstein, Rachel Maddow Frank Rich's Sunday Column: "It's All Newsweek's Fault" More below the Fold[end quote] Ed Cone: Rich — Frank Rich is pretty damn good this morning. |
Karzai Seeks More Control After Charges Of U.S. Abuse WaPo — Permalink KABUL, Afghanistan, May 21 — Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Saturday that he was shocked by allegations that U.S. soldiers had abused detainees in Afghanistan. He said his government wanted custody of all Afghan prisoners and greater control over U.S. military operations. | |
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Perry de Havilland: The latest example of appalling behaviour by US interrogators (who appear to have tortured a taxi cab driver to death at... |
Joe Gandelman: Karzai Wants More Control Over Prisoners After Abuse Report — Expressing shock and expressing indignation, Afghanistan... |
Calls for Israel's destruction in London Jerusalem Post — Permalink A central London rally organized by the British Palestine Solidarity Campaign on Saturday heard Respect Party MP George Galloway advocate a general boycott of Israel, as well as other speeches calling for Israel's destruction. | |
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Gary Farber: The Jerusalem Post is not one of my favorite papers, but I see no obvious errors or bias in this article, and it's... Charles Johnson: British Shari'a Watch — Calls for Israel's destruction in London. (Hat tip: SoCalJustice.) |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: "ANTI-SEMITISM SCARCELY EXISTS IN THE WEST" — It is no surprise to see George Galloway working with those who seek by... Joseph Alexander Norland: Give 'em a state, for they only want peace — From JPost, 2005_05_22: "Calls for Israel's destruction in London A... |
Afghan leader heads for Bush showdown Observer — Permalink Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai was last night on his way to the US, promising to confront George Bush over the growing scandal about American abuse of Afghan prisoners. | |
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Joe Gandelman: But the Guardian notes that it's "unlikely" the U.S. will give Afghanistan control over its operations for several... |
Jeralyn Merritt: Armando at Daily Kos has more. Update: Karzai is coming to the U.S. for a showdown. He's demanding control of all Afghan prisoners. |
Abuse Inquiry Bogged Down in Afghanistan By / NYT — Permalink Despite autopsy findings of homicide and statements by soldiers that two prisoners died after being struck by guards at an American military detention center in Bagram, Afghanistan, Army investigators initially recommended closing the case without bringing any criminal charges, documents and interviews show. | |
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Norbizness: Despite military prosecutors' recommendations, the officers involved have yet to be charged. (4a) Despite autopsy... Jim Henley: The New York Times (hat tip: Farber): "While the proposal to close the case was ultimately rejected by senior officials,... |
John Cole: It might have something to do with this: "Despite autopsy findings of homicide and statements by soldiers that two... Gary Farber: ADDENDUM: Follow-up article on the Times Afghanistan abuse story here. |
Unmitigated Galloway By / Weekly Standard — Permalink EVERY JOURNALIST HAS A LIST of regrets: of stories that might have been. Somewhere on my personal list is an invitation I received several years ago, from a then-Labour member of parliament named George Galloway. Would I care, he inquired, to join him on a chartered plane to Baghdad? | |
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Steven L.: Hitchens on Galloway — Pardon the late linkage to Christopher Hitchens at the Weekly Standard from yesterday on the Right Honorable George Galloway. Norm Geras: But there are two pieces, both of them linked to at Harry's today - one by Gerard Baker, and the other by Christopher... Pejman Yousefzadeh: GALLOWAY SMASHED — Christopher Hitchens does the smashing. |
Roger L. Simon: Like Christopher Hitchens, I was appalled by the inept response of the Coleman Committee to the testimony of George Galloway last week. Jan Haugland: Galloway the Stalinist — Christopher Hitchens gives it to George Galloway. Patrick Belton: This week, he takes on sibling rivalries, including his own, in the pages of Vanity Fair, asks and answers in Slate why... |
| Also: Scott @PowerLine, Robert Clayton Dean, FrancoAlemán, Harry @HarrysPlace, Cori Dauber, Glenn Reynolds, Jonah Goldberg | |
Unseen Pictures, Untold Stories By / LAT — Permalink U.S. newspapers and magazines print few photos of American dead and wounded, a Times review finds. The reasons are many — access, logistics, ethics — but the result is an obscured view of the cost o The young soldier died like so many others, ambushed while on patrol in Baghdad. | |
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Norbizness: (5) A review of six prominent U.S. newspapers and the nation's two most popular newsmagazines during a recent six-month... Kevin Drum: COVERING THE WAR....I'm not quite sure what to make of this, but the LA Times published an analysis today of how the press covers the Iraq war, focusing specifically on pictures. Cori Dauber: I want to start with an article in today's LA Times that notes that print coverage of the war in Iraq does not generally include photographs of the (American) war dead. |
Plutonium Page: Today, the LA Times reports their findings regarding photojournalism during the Iraq war. Magpie @PacificViews: Until today, when the LA Times published an analysis of the Iraq war photos that have appeared in some major US newspapers and newsmagazines. Chris Bowers: Just look at this study from the LA Times: [snipped quote] Of course, if papers did publish such photos, they would be accused of bneign crass, shocking, and too violent. |
New Swedish Documents Illuminate CIA Action By / WaPo — Permalink STOCKHOLM — The CIA Gulfstream V jet touched down at a small airport west of here just before 9 p.m. on a subfreezing night in December 2001. A half-dozen agents wearing hoods that covered their faces stepped down from the aircraft and hurried across the tarmac to take custody of two prisoners, suspected Islamic radicals from Egypt. | |
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Norbizness: (3) [Extraordinary rendition] has generated increasing criticism from civil liberties groups; in Sweden a parliamentary... Michael Froomkin: A Voice from Civilization — The headline is far too tame: New Swedish Documents Illuminate CIA Action. Barbara O'Brien: Craig Whitlock writes in today's New York Times: "The practice has generated increasing criticism from civil liberties... |
Gary Farber: SWEDISH MEATBALLS. Some details from the Swedes on CIA rendition. When I'm blogging, I try to track the subject somewhat. Ezra Klein: Sweden's released a report detailing an America rendition done on their territory, which, had it been done by Swedish police, would've been illegal. Lindsay Beyerstein: The Swedes condemned not only the CIA and its tactics, but also the Swedish security officers who cooperated with the... |
| Also: Jeralyn Merritt, Hello the past comes back to haunt | |
Ehrlich Vetoes Bill Extending Rights to Gay Couples By / WaPo — Permalink Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. vetoed a bill yesterday that would have granted rights to gay partners who register with the state, concluding after weeks of intense deliberations that the legislation threatened "the sanctity of traditional marriage." | |
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Zoe Kentucky: Cold-Hearted Bastard — [snipped quote] This is completely senseless. Andrew Stuttaford: PETTY — Look, I understand - even if I do not agree with - the notion that homosexual 'civil unions' represent some... |
K. J. Lopez: And I highlight a part of the Post piece you didn't: "He said, however, that the bill's requirement that couples... |
The Religious Left's Lies By / WaPo — Permalink The religious left's political operatives have mounted a shrill attack on a significant portion of the Christian community. Four out of five evangelical Christians supported President Bush in 2004 — a third of all ballots cast for him, according to the Pew Research Center. | |
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Avedon Carol: Unexplained: James Watt wastes valuable real estate in The Washington Post saying it is a libel to claim that he ever... John @PowerLine: Watt's article is "The Religious Left's Lies." Here are some excerpts: [snipped quote] This would be shocking, if we were not so thoroughly accustomed to the mendacity of the left. Roger Ailes: The Criminal On The Cross — James Watt nails himself to a cross, then TBogg yanks Watt down, slaps him around and makes him do it again, the right way. |
Barbara O'Brien: Today the Washington Post embarrasses itself by publishing an op ed by Mr. Watt. McQ: An example of the sort of warfare we can expect to see was highlighted by a column that James Watt, former Secretary of... |
Guantánamo Comes to Define U.S. to Muslims NYT — Permalink NEW DELHI, May 20 - In one of Pakistan's most exclusive private schools for boys, the annual play this year was "Guantánamo," a docudrama based on testimonies of prisoners in Guantánamo Bay, the United States naval base in Cuba. | |
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Cori Dauber: Here's the headline: "Guanatanamo Comes to Define US To Muslims." Not some Muslims. Not many Muslims. Just Muslims. Charles Johnson: The Media Are the Enemy — The New York Times continues its disgraceful full-court press to delegitimize the War on... |
John Cole: And while we are at it, the fact of the matter is, while aspects of the Newsweek story were unsubstantiated (although... |
Judges hear verdict on themselves By / Houston Chronicle — Permalink Brock Thomas was rated most outstanding among local criminal district judges and Tracy Christopher took the honor among civil district judges in this year's Houston Bar Association Judicial Evaluation Poll. | |
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Charles Kuffner: From the press release: [snipped quote] The Chron story focuses on the Harris County judges who did best and worst. Ted @CrookedTimber: #1! All others are #2 or lower! The Houston Bar Association has just published its judicial evaluation poll. |
Byron LaMasters: The Houston Chronicle reports (via Kuff): "The poll, which is completed every two years, asked HBA members to rate... |
First lady promotes women's rights in Mideast AP — Permalink SOUTHERN SHUNEH, Jordan - Laura Bush on Saturday encouraged Middle Eastern leaders to expand women's participation in their societies as she herself took on a new role as an international goodwill ambassador. | |
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Captain Ed: Instead, when she visited the mosque at the Dome of the Rock, militant-led protestors decried the visit in light of the... |
Tbogg: Laura Bush isn't exactly packing them in: Mrs. Bush spoke at the Hussein Bin Talal Convention Center, a sparkling new structure overlooking the Dead Sea. |
'New Democrat' Bloc Opposes Trade Pact By / WaPo — Permalink Traditionally pro-business and pro-trade House Democrats have announced plans to vote against the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement, a stance putting at risk support from the rapidly growing high-tech community, one of the few major industries that continue to give substantial backing to Democratic candidates. | |
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David Sirota: To them I say, read this Washington Post article. Orrin Judd: THE LAST DOG JUST DIED: 'New Democrat' Bloc Opposes Trade Pact (Thomas B. Edsall, May 21, 2005, Washington Post)... |
Ezra Klein: Your ship has come in: [snipped quote] Notice the first-graf warning that the move would be viewed unfavorably within the high-tech community. |
Dutch No camp takes strong lead BBC — Permalink The Dutch public appears on course to firmly reject the European constitution in a referendum on 1 June, according to latest opinion polls. A poll for RTL television indicated 54% would vote No, with 27% voting Yes. | |
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Jan Haugland: Dutch set to vote no to EU constitution — Even if the French should be able to win a surprise yes for the EU... Arthur Chrenkoff: On June 1, it's Holland's turn to go to the polls, and it looks like the referendum will go down by an even bigger... Pejman Yousefzadeh: A "NO" TO THE EUROPEAN CONSTITUTION — From the Netherlands: [snipped quote] The French "Oui" campaign for the EU... |
Andrew Stuttaford: For example, looking at the increasingly encouraging signs that the Dutch are going to vote no to the wretched and... Tom @ScaredMonkeys: This is outstanding news, the Dutch people are expected to reject the EU Constitution, giving up their soveignty to elite bureaucrats. Orrin Judd: IF ONLY THEIR PUBLICS MATTERED: Dutch No camp takes strong lead (BBC, 5/20/05) "The Dutch public appears on course to... |
Islam Can Vote, if We Let It By / NYT — Permalink IN last month's Saudi Arabian municipal elections, the nation's first experiment in real democracy, many were worried because Islamic activists dominated their secular rivals. Indeed, we have seen a similar trend in Turkey, Morocco and Iraq in the last few years; and we can expect it in the coming Lebanese, Palestinian and Egyptian elections. | |
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Cicero: Ibrahim on Emerging Middle Eastern Democracy — Saad Eddin Ibrahim has an op-ed in today's New York Times regarding the emergence of democratic Muslim parties in the Middle East. Praktike: Saad Edin Ibrahim is making all kinds of sense — Damn, I think this is the best editorial I've read in months. |
Orrin Judd: THE DISCIPLINE OF DEMOCRACY: Islam Can Vote, if We Let It (SAAD EDDIN IBRAHIM, 5/21/05, NY Times) |
Bush's Indian gambit The Australian — Permalink ITS logic is inescapable yet the idea has been inconceivable: a strategic partnership between the two great democracies, the US and India, long divided by distrust and the Cold War. Yet it is happening. | |
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John @PowerLine: Bush Administration Pursuing Strategic Partnership With India — Maybe everyone else knows about this and I just missed... |
Orrin Judd: GRAND EVENT FOR THE GRAND ALLIANCE (via Daniel Merriman): Bush's Indian gambit (The Australian, 21may05) |
Our Uzbek Problem Weekly Standard — Permalink IN THE WEEKS AFTER SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, as Washington prepared for a difficult war to remove the Taliban from Afghanistan, the neighboring former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan became a particularly useful ally. | |
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Norbizness: Click on the numbers for the larger article: (1) Islam Karimov, the hardline president of Uzbekistan, has rejected calls... David Adesnik: SPEAK UP, GEORGE: The Weekly Standard says it's time for the President to tell Islam Karimov, the very un-Islamic... |
Harry @HarrysPlace: Neo-cons on Uzbekistan — Also from the The Weekly Standard, neo-cons Stephen Schwartz and William Kristol on... Matthew Yglesias: On Uzbekistan — Good editorial in the new Weekly Standard on "Our Uzbek Problem". |
Gibbons comes out on top in poll of state voters By / Las Vegas Review-Journal — Permalink Republican Rep. Jim Gibbons has both the highest name recognition and the best chance to be Nevada's next governor, according to a poll of statewide voters. | |
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Jerome Armstrong: Nevada Gov poll for '06 — Gibbons with the lead, but under 50 percent. Orrin Judd: STILL A RED STATE: Gibbons comes out on top in poll of state voters: Congressman beats by double digits any opponents in... |
Alexander K. McClure: A Mason-Dixon poll indicates that he would demolish any of the Democratic candidates. He defeats Dina Titus 46%-34% and Richard Perkins 47%-32%. |
U.S. Memo Faults Afghan Leader on Heroin Fight By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, May 21 - United States officials warned this month in an internal memo that an American-financed poppy eradication program aimed at curtailing Afghanistan's huge heroin trade had been ineffective, in part because President Hamid Karzai "has been unwilling to assert strong leadership." | |
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RJ Eskow: update (from the new york times): united states officials warned this month in an internal memo that an... |
Praktike: Good Farley — Robert Farley writes: The New York Times headline reads U.S. Memo Faults Afghan Leader on Heroin Fight. |
Senate sends gay marriage ban to Texans for November vote By / AP — Permalink AUSTIN — The Senate approved a proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriages in Texas today, sending the issue to voters to decide. If approved in a statewide vote in November, Texas would join 14 states that statutorily and constitutionally ban same-sex marriage. | |
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Jack Cluth: Another DUMB@$$ AWARD wiener — Senate sends gay marriage ban to Texans for November vote DUMB@$$ AWARD wiener #253:... |
Charles Kuffner: Go read this In the Pink post if you want to cheer yourself up a bit. UPDATE: Here's the initial coverage. |
Laser Could Rival Energy From Sun's Center AP — Permalink LIVERMORE, Calif. (AP) — Ed Moses talks of the ''grand challenge'' that has consumed him for the past five years, comparing it to trying to hit the strike zone with a baseball from 350 miles away or tossing a dime into a parking meter from 40 miles. | |
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Tom Maguire: For The Star Wars/Politics Junkies — The Times tells us about laser initiated fusion at the National Ignition Facility, which is interesting to the science and sci-fi buffs. |
Steven L.: Dr. Evil Would Be Envious — A "LASER" with the potential to ignite a fusion reaction. And to top it off, it has cost five billion dollars. |
Bloggers Finger a New Victim By / Business Week — Permalink For a glimpse of the blogosphere's growing power, witness the brouhaha now afflicting PepsiCo (PEP ) over comments earlier this week by President and CFO Indra Nooyi before the graduating class of Columbia University's B-school. | |
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Scott @PowerLine: We yield the floor to our man in Baghdad with the Improvised Explosive Device Task Force who is shortly to be "deployed... Ace: The poor PepsiCo executive millionaire is of course a "victim" in this morality tale. |
Stirling Newberry: Political Cleansing Story of the Day — Most people in the liberal blogsphere won't hear about powerline's latest scalp. |
Karzai Wants More Control of U.S. Forces By / AP — Permalink KABUL, Afghanistan - President Hamid Karzai called on Saturday for control of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and demanded the United States take strong action against soldiers who abuse prisoners, following a report of alleged maltreatment of detainees at the main U.S. base here. | |
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Duckman GR: It's a bad barrel, not a bad apple — We see that Hamid Karzai is shocked by recent allegations of torture at the Bagram Air Force base. |
Armando @DailyKos: Karzai Wants Control Over US Forces — Talk about permission slips, what will the Right say about this: "President... |
The unknown unknowns of the Abu Ghraib scandal Guardian — Permalink It's been over a year since I published a series of articles in the New Yorker outlining the abuses at Abu Ghraib. There have been at least 10 official military investigations since then - none of which has challenged the official Bush administration line that there was no high-level policy condoning or overlooking such abuse. | |
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Norbizness: (2) At the time, according to a memo, in my possession, addressed to Donald Rumsfeld, there were "800-900 Pakistani boys 13-15 years of age in custody". |
Lambert @Corrente: Despite Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo - not to mention Iraq and the failure of intelligence - and the various roles... |
US teacher marries boy she raped BBC — Permalink A former US schoolteacher has married an ex-pupil 10 years after she raped him when he was just 12. Mary Kay Letourneau, 43, and Vili Fualaau married in a secret ceremony on Friday near Seattle. | |
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Orrin Judd: SO JUDGMENTAL...: US teacher marries boy she raped (BBC, 5/21/05) |
Josh Chafetz: THERE ARE A LOT OF MESSED UP THINGS about this story, but my favorite is this: [snipped quote] Umm, Ms. Annino? |
Plan to Let F.B.I. Track Mail in Terrorism Inquiries By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, May 20 - The F.B.I. would gain broad authority to track the mail of people in terror investigations under a Bush administration proposal, officials said Friday, but the Postal Service is already raising privacy concerns about the plan. | |
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Magpie @PacificViews: And if Dubya's administration has its way, the FBI may already have a list of everyone who's mailed you something. |
Blackavar: The Times, They Aren't a Changin' — Here's an example of the NY Times using a fairly predictable quote to blow a bogus non-story out of proportion. |
Saddam's Business Partners By / Weekly Standard — Permalink WHEN UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY GENERAL Kofi Annan quipped several years ago that he could "do business" with Saddam Hussein, he meant it figuratively. In light of the substantive charges coming out of the ever-expanding Oil-for-Food scandal, the throwaway line seems revealing or at least ironic. | |
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Scott @PowerLine: The Standard's featured articles this week are "Unmitigated Galloway" by Christopher Hitchens and "Saddam's business partners" by Stephen Hayes. FrancoAlemán: STEPHEN HAYES: [snipped quote] The rest of the article is a very detailed explanation of the Oil-for-food scam and where the investigation is right now. |
Glenn Reynolds: You may want to read this piece on Saddam's business partners by Stephen F. Hayes, and this piece by Christopher Hitchens on George Galloway: [snipped quote] Read the whole thing. |
Sunnis Close Mosques to Protest Killings By / WaPo — Permalink BAGHDAD, May 20 — Weeping and raising open hands to the sky, a Sunni Arab clerical leader announced an extraordinary closing of Sunni mosques across Baghdad on Friday to protest killings that some have blamed on militias allied with Iraq's new Shiite-led government. | |
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Juan Cole: The Washington Post does not mention the violence at Nasiriyah, does not give a number for the 6,000 Sadrist demonstrators, and makes the Sunni mosque closing the lede. Armando @DailyKos: The Divide in Iraq: Sunni v. Shia — The divide is becoming open and widespread: "Weeping and raising open hands to the... |
Steven L.: Mosques Closed in Protest — Yahoo News reports that Sunni clerics have closed mosques as a protest to killings blamed on Shiite militias. |
UK Quran protests at U.S. Embassy CNN — Permalink LONDON, England (CNN) — About 300 people have taken part in a noisy protest over the alleged desecration of the Quran outside the U.S. Embassy in central London. Their demonstration was held Friday near the steps of the embassy in Grosvenor Square, which was guarded by a small detail of police. | |
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Jan Haugland: Muslim anti-US demonstration in London — Picnic islamofascist style.About 300 young Muslim men demonstrated in front of... |
Andy McCarthy: KORAN FLUSHING EQUALS MASS MURDER — More on the militant arithmetic from CNN: [snipped quote] There's also a picture: Two questions: First, where are the counter-demonstrations? |
President Sends His Very Best WaPo — Permalink AMMAN, Jordan, May 20 — She will tour the pyramids of Egypt and pay respects at Israel's Western Wall, check out the local library and give a high-profile speech here. But as Laura Bush makes her way across the Middle East in the next few days, perhaps her most important mission will be trying to repair America's suffering image abroad. | |
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Tom @ScaredMonkeys: Laura's popularity has skyrocketed, ("scoring approval ratings of 80 percent or higher") and it would probably be the... |
Orrin Judd: President Sends His Very Best: Solo Mission to Mideast Further Raises Laura Bush's Profile (Jim VandeHei and Peter... |
In the belly of the beast By / Guardian — Permalink In the recent parliamentary elections, the British people, given the choice between standing for the rule of law or embracing partisan politics, chose the latter, voting with their pocketbooks, even though it meant re-electing a man who led Britain into an illegal war of aggression, based on lies and misrepresentation of fact. | |
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Scott @PowerLine: Unmitigated Galloway — Hmmmm...Our friend Tom Bevan of RealClearPolitics has kindly alerted us to this mash note to... |
Harry @HarrysPlace: The Hitchens piece mentions something Galloway may have in common with Scott Ritter who by coincidence has a silly pro-Galloway puff piece in the Daily George today. |
Darth Vader's Family Values By / NYT — Permalink Wherever you are, Adam Smith, call your agent. Darth Vader is stealing your best stuff. The new installment of "Star Wars" has set off the usual dreary red-blue squabble, with liberals using the film to attack Republicans, and some conservatives calling for a boycott. | |
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Brad DeLong: Today he comes across John Tierney's claim that the ethics of Darth Vader are those of Adam Smith: Darth Vader's Family... Tbogg: Shorter John Tierney — No argument is so dreary that I can't chime in and make it drearier. |
Matthew Yglesias: Tierney on Smith and the Sith — Today's column is certainly more interesting than your usual rightwing effort. |
Bloggers, Pawlenty hobnob Minneapolis Star Tribune — Permalink Some members of the new media found out this week that they like the old idea of schmoozing with people in power. A group associated with the largely conservative Northern Alliance group of bloggers and radio commentators met earlier this week for cocktails, appetizers and political talk with Gov. Tim Pawlenty at the governor's residence in St. Paul. | |
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Captain Ed: Strib Has Its Eye On The News — Power Line posted late last night that the local broadsheet, the Star-Tribune, finally... Gary Farber: Invite bloggers over to the mansion, particularly if they're largely inclined to support you. |
Scott @PowerLine: Tomorrow's Star Tribune carries an article by political reporter Mark Brunswick trying to make something of it: "Bloggers, Pawlenty hobnob." Mitch Berg: How's this for timely - the Strib, in a piece by Mark Brunswick, covered last Tuesday's reception at the Governor's Mansion. |