Top Items:
Lolita C. Baldor / Associated Press:
Officials More Hopeful on Iraq Draw Down — WASHINGTON - The Bush administration and military leaders are sounding optimistic notes about scaling back U.S. troops in Iraq next year, as public opposition to the war and congressional demands for withdrawal get louder.
RELATED ITEM:
Craig Whitlock / Washington Post:
How a Town Became a Terror Hub — MAASEIK, Belgium — The phones at city hall began ringing nonstop one morning last year when several masked figures were spotted walking through the cobbled streets of this pastoral town. A small panic erupted when one of the figures …
New York Times:
Shift on Suspect Is Linked to Role of Qaeda Figures — WASHINGTON, Nov. 23 - The Bush administration decided to charge Jose Padilla with less serious crimes because it was unwilling to allow testimony from two senior members of Al Qaeda who had been subjected to harsh questioning, current and former government officials said Wednesday.
Discussion:
Body and Soul, INTEL DUMP, The Heretik, Unclaimed Territory, Balkinization and Donklephant
Howard W. French / New York Times:
A Party Girl Leads China's Online Revolution — SHANGHAI, Nov. 23 - On her fourth day of keeping a Web log, she introduced herself to the world with these striking words: "I am a dance girl, and I am a party member." — "I don't know if I can be counted as a successful Web cam dance girl," that early post continued.
Associated Press:
Senator chosen to serve as jury foreman — BOSTON —Sen. John Kerry's public profile and prosecutorial past didn't spare him from performing that most mundane of civic responsibilities — jury duty. — Kerry was not only chosen this week to sit on a jury in Suffolk Superior Court, but also was elected foreman.
RELATED ITEM:
Robert H. Frank / New York Times:
Sometimes, a Tax Cut for the Wealthy Can Hurt the Wealthy — WHEN market forces cause income inequality to grow, public policy in most countries tends to push in the opposite direction. In the United States, however, we enact tax cuts for the wealthy and cut public services for the needy.
FbL / Valour-IT:
Special Thank Yous — In this season of thanks, I am very thankful for a bunch of wonderful people. — Everybody who participated in the recent Valour-IT fundraising competition deserves the thanks of all involved, and the thanks of those who will benefit from the funds raised.
RELATED ITEM:
Kevin Maguire / mirror.co.uk:
LAW CHIEF GAGS THE MIRROR ON BUSH LEAK — THE Daily Mirror was yesterday told not to publish further details from a top secret memo, which revealed that President Bush wanted to bomb an Arab TV station. — The gag by the Attorney General Lord Goldsmith came nearly 24 hours …
RELATED ITEMS:
Hindrocket / Power Line:
BE THANKFUL FOR DEMOCRACY — The optimistic title of Jennifer Harper's article in the Washington Times this morning is "Public Ignores Iraq War Naysayers." That might be a bit of a stretch, but it certainly is true that the public at large retains a more optimistic view of the Iraq war than the media.
George F. Will / Washington Post:
A Journalist for the Ages — In his 40th anniversary toast to his Yale class of 1950, William F. Buckley said, "Some of us who wondered if we would ever be this old now wonder whether we were ever young." Those who were not young 40 years ago, in 1965, can have no inkling of what fun …
Discussion:
Betsy's Page
Jacques Steinberg / New York Times:
War Zone 'It Girl' Has a Big Future at CBS News — Since joining CBS News as a correspondent in 2002, Lara Logan has been periodically told that her relentless knack for gaining access to dangerous places is reminiscent of a young Dan Rather or Mike Wallace.
Steven Lee Myers / New York Times:
Kremlin Pushes Measure to Curb Private Groups — MOSCOW, Nov. 23 - Russia moved Wednesday to impose greater government control over charities and other private organizations, including some of the world's most prominent, in a move aimed at restricting foreign support for political activity in the country.
Herb Keinon / Jerusalem Post:
US pressures UN to condemn Hizbullah — Following intense US pressure, the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday issued an unprecedented condemnation of Monday's Hizbullah attacks on northern Israel. — This condemnation - slamming Hizbullah by name for "acts of hatred" …
Discussion:
The Corner on National …, Roger L. Simon, AMERICAN FUTURE, Solomonia, Clarity & Resolve and Super Fun Power Hour
RELATED ITEM:
Michelle Caruso / NY Daily News:
Jacko's sicko Jewish rant — Michael Jackson picked a familiar target to blame for his mounting money problems - the Jews. — In phone messages obtained by ABC News, the apparently prejudiced pop star likens them to "leeches" and claims they conspired to leave him "penniless."
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
Laurie Goodstein / New York Times:
Priests Citing New Problem in Gay Policy — A day after the disclosure of a new Vatican directive that deters most gay men from joining the priesthood, some priests say they are shocked by one easily overlooked clause. It says that spiritual directors and confessors in seminaries …
Discussion:
AMERICAblog
John Byrne / rawstory.com:
Freedom of Information logs shed light on media's military curiosity — A listing of all requests made of the Pentagon under the Freedom of Information Act since 2000, acquired by RAW STORY, provides new insight into the aggressiveness of American news agencies.
Discussion:
azerbic
