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Anne Penketh / Independent:
Iran: The nuclear nightmare — Tehran's defiance sparks fears of a regional showdown — The confrontation between Iran and the West deepened yesterday as both sides hardened their positions over the Islamic republic's nuclear programme. — The foreign ministers of Britain …
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Niall Ferguson / Telegraph:
The origins of the Great War of 2007 - and how it could have been prevented — Are we living through the origins of the next world war? Certainly, it is easy to imagine how a future historian might deal with the next phase of events in the Middle East: — With every passing year …
Robert Tait / Observer:
West is in dark ages, says Iran's President — Leader threatens retaliation if the US and EU continue to try to block nuclear programme — Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the hardline President of Iran, launched an angry tirade against the West yesterday, accusing it of a 'dark ages' mentality …
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BrothersJudd Blog
Kristen Mack / Houston Chronicle:
Only half those who voted for him in '04 would do so again, poll finds — A criminal indictment and continuing investigations have severely eroded support for U.S. Rep Tom DeLay in his district, most notably among Republicans who have voted for him before, according to a Houston Chronicle poll.
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Associated Press:
Poll: DeLay Losing Support in Own District — HOUSTON - Barely one of every five of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's constituents would vote for him if the election were held now, according to a newspaper poll released Saturday. — The Republican congressman …
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Observer:
The drone, the CIA and a botched attempt to kill bin Laden's deputy — In the hunt for al-Qaeda, a missile attack on a mountain village killed women and children. The attack was precise, the intelligence was flawed, and the strained relation between Pakistan and the US has been pushed to breaking point
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Washington Post:
U.S. Strike On Al Qaeda Top Deputy Said to Fail — Thousands Protest After Attack In Pakistan Leaves 17 Dead — KABUL, Afghanistan, Jan. 14 — Pakistani officials said Saturday that a U.S. missile strike intended to kill al Qaeda deputy Ayman Zawahiri had missed its target but had killed 17 people …
New York Times:
The Imperial Presidency at Work — You would think that Senators Carl Levin and John McCain would have learned by now that you cannot deal in good faith with a White House that does not act in good faith. Yet both men struck bargains intended to restore the rule of law to American prison camps.
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Mark Steyn / Chicago Sun Times:
Ham-handed Dems didn't lay a glove on Alito — I find it, as grave somber Senate Democrats like to say, "troubling." Indeed, I find it not just "troubling" but sad that a party once so good at "the politics of personal destruction" has got so bad at it. The last time they had a Supreme Court nominee …
Nick Cohen / Observer:
'Galloway can no longer count on the indulgence of polite society' — The first series of Big Brother in 2000 drew a long howl of disgust from the British intelligentsia. Martin Amis said it proved that meritocracy was dead - because 'now you can become famous without having any talent by abasing yourself on a TV nerdothon'.
Francis Elliott / Independent:
MI5 will get new powers to bug MPs — Furious cabinet revolt as Blair gives green light for security services to spy on elected representatives — Tony Blair is preparing to scrap a 40-year ban on tapping MPs' telephones, despite fierce Cabinet opposition, The Independent on Sunday can reveal.
Renwick McLean / New York Times:
U.S. Bars Spain's Sale of Planes to 'Antidemocratic' Venezuela — MADRID, Jan. 13 -The United States will not allow Spain to sell military aircraft with American technology to Venezuela, saying the sale would aid the increasingly "antidemocratic" government of President Hugo Chávez …
BBC:
Saddam judge 'resigns from trial' — Iraqi government officials are considering the resignation submitted by the chief judge at the trial of the former Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein. — Before the judge, Rizgar Amin, can step down, his departure has to be approved by the offices of both the president and the prime minister.
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Bob Fertik / Democrats.com:
Zogby Poll: Americans Support Impeaching Bush for Wiretapping — For Immediate Release: January 16, 2006 — New Zogby Poll Shows Majority of Americans Support Impeaching Bush for Wiretapping — By a margin of 52% to 43%, Americans want Congress to consider impeaching President Bush …
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Nancy Pelosi / Washington Post:
The Gap in Intelligence Oversight — The uproar concerning President Bush's admission that he authorized the National Security Agency (NSA) to conduct certain electronic surveillance affecting people in the United States is a wake-up call for intensive congressional oversight of intelligence activities.
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Decision '08
Jane Hamsher / firedoglake:
This Is How It's Done — Pt. 4 — Murray Waas has more on the GOP/Brent Bozell-financed Murtha smear: … Don't forget the little tidbit about Fox that Cybercast buried in the bottom of the article: … Fox made those comments about Murtha in a 1996 article. And now he can't be questioned about it either.
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