Top Items:
Wretchard / The Belmont Club:
Interesting times — It's possible to regard the cartoon crisis as either a strategic disaster or boon for the War on Terror. The argument for being a disaster is assertion that in the war against extremists it is necessary to win over the moderates. And even if winning them over is impossible …
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Qassim Abdel-Zahra / Associated Press:
Muslims Again Protest Muhammad Caricatures — BAGHDAD, Iraq - Thousands of Iraqis protested after Friday prayers against caricatures of Islam's Prophet Muhammad reprinted in European papers and the country's top Shiite cleric denounced the drawings. — A roadside bomb killed …
Hugh Hewitt:
A Decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind — The furor over the Danish cartoons is sparking an odd reaction among some commentators in the West who see no contradiction in condemning the idiocy of Joel Stein or the repulsiveness of Tom Toles while urging solidarity with the idiot newspapermen …
Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice:Furor Over Cartoons Mocking Muhammad Portends Future Problems
Discussion:
New York Times, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, The Mahablog, Gateway Pundit, The Glittering Eye and Riehl World View
Salah Nasrawi / Associated Press:
Dozens of Bodies, Survivors in Red Sea — An Egyptian ferry carrying about 1,300 people sank in the Red Sea early Friday during bad weather, and rescue ships and helicopters pulled dozens of survivors and bodies from the water. Some 180 escaped on lifeboats, an official said.
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Jerusalem Post:
Egyptian cruise ship sinks in Red Sea — CAIRO, Egypt — Some hundred survivors have been rescued from the wreck of the Egyptian cruise ship Salaam 98, and at least 100 more passengers' bodies have been retrieved, CNN reported reported Friday evening. — Egypt has thus far declined …
Los Angeles Times:
Iraq war is costing $100,000 per minute — WASHINGTON — The White House said Thursday that it plans to ask Congress for an additional $70 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, driving the cost of military operations in the two countries to $120 billion this year, the highest ever.
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Michelle Malkin:
IN THEIR OWN WORDS — ***updated*** — Just in from London... No, you go to hell. — (Hat tip: Allah Pundit) — Previous: — Followers of the religion of peace — The "international day of anger"
Discussion:
The American Princess, The Jawa Report v3.0 Beta, Andrew Sullivan, Ed Driscoll.com and JunkYardBlog
tomdispatch.com:
Tomgram: De la Vega on Why Rove Will Fall — The President passed through his State of the Union address — ill-digested chunks of so many other speeches he's given ("We're writing a new chapter in the story of self-government — with women lining up to vote in Afghanistan …
Discussion:
The Democratic Daily Blog
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WorldNetDaily:
NAACP chairman compares GOP to Nazis — Bond delivers blistering partisan speech in North Carolina — Civil rights activist and NAACP Chairman Julian Bond delivered a blistering partisan speech at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina last night, equating the Republican Party …
Michelle Malkin:
BIN LADEN AS CHRIST — Guess what's passing for "art" at the National Black Fine Art Show in New York City? This: — Morry Alter reports for WCBS2 News (Hat tip: In the Bullpen): … The difference between Us and Them: No one's proclaiming an International Day of Anger and issuing fatwahs over this odious piece of "art."
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Neil A. Lewis / New York Times:
Trial for Ex-Aide to Cheney Is Set for January 2007 — WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 — The trial of I. Lewis Libby Jr., Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, in the C.I.A. leak case will start next January, a federal judge said today. — District Judge Reggie B. Walton said jury selection will begin on Jan. 8, 2007.
Guy Gugliotta / Washington Post:
NASA's Inspector General Probed — Failure to Investigate Safety Violations Is Among the Charges — An FBI-led watchdog agency has opened an investigation into multiple complaints accusing NASA Inspector General Robert W. Cobb of failing to investigate safety violations and retaliating against whistle-blowers.
Editor and Publisher:
Gallup: More Than Half of Americans Feel Bush Deliberately Misled Country on Iraq WMD — A new Gallup Poll, conducted in late January, reveals that just 39% of Americans approve of the way President Bush is handling Iraq, with 58% disapproving. — Over half (53%) now say the administration …
Saul Hudson / Reuters:
US backs Muslims in cartoon dispute — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States backed Muslims on Friday against European newspapers that printed caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad in a move that could help America's battered image in the Islamic world. — Inserting itself into a dispute …
Discussion:
Obsidian Wings, Atlas Shrugs, Andrew Sullivan, The Strata-Sphere and The Volokh Conspiracy
Tony Batt / Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Tribes gave to Reid after hiring Abramoff — WASHINGTON — Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada began receiving campaign contributions from at least four American Indian tribes only after they hired Jack Abramoff, Republicans charged this week in an effort to tie the Senate Democratic leader to the disgraced lobbyist.
Discussion:
California Conservative, The Strata-Sphere, Say Anything, Ace of Spades HQ and Iowa Voice
Associated Press:
'Faust' Opera Video Stirs Angry Parents — BENNETT, Colo. - Some parents in this prairie town are angry with an elementary school music teacher for showing pupils a video about the opera "Faust," whose title character sells his soul to the devil in exchange for being young again.
Gabriel Schoenfeld / Commentary:
Has the New York Times Violated the Espionage Act? — "Bush Lets U.S. Spy on Callers Without Courts." Thus ran the headline of a front-page news story whose repercussions have roiled American politics ever since its publication last December 16 in the New York Times.
Discussion:
Blogs for Bush, Austin Bay Blog, The Jawa Report v3.0 Beta, Dean's World, Power Line and The RCP Blog
John / AMERICAblog:
Time to support a good Democrat who's running against a bad Democrat — Former Democratic congressman Ciro Rodriguez lost his seat when Delay redistricted Texas. He lost to Democrat-in-name-only Henry Cuellar, a man rumored to be getting ready to switch his party affiliation to Republican.
Jim Dwyer / New York Times:
Surveillance Prompts a Suit: Police v. Police — The demonstrators arrived angry, departed furious. The police had herded them into pens. Stopped them from handing out fliers. Threatened them with arrest for standing on public sidewalks. Made notes on which politicians they cheered and which ones they razzed.
