Top Items:
Michael McAuliff / Mercury News:
Dubai company set to run U.S. ports has ties to administration — WASHINGTON - The Dubai firm that won Bush administration backing to run six U.S. ports has at least two ties to the White House. — One is Treasury Secretary John Snow, whose department heads the federal panel that signed off …
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Judd / Think Progress:
BREAKING: Rumsfeld and Pace Not Consulted On Transfer Of Port Operations To UAE — In a press briefing today, Secretary Rumsfeld revealed that he was not consulted about the decision to transfer operations of six key U.S. ports to the United Arab Emirates, a country with troubling ties to international terrorism.
Ben Feller / Associated Press:Bush: Arab Co. Port Deal Should Proceed
Discussion:
The Strata-Sphere
Christopher Hitchens / Slate:
Stand up for Denmark! — Why are we not defending our ally? — Put the case that we knew of a highly paranoid religious cult organization with a secretive leader. Now put the case that this cult, if criticized in the press, would take immediate revenge by kidnapping a child.
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Associated Press:
Austria Imposes 3-Year Sentence on Notorious Holocaust Denier — VIENNA, Feb. 20 (AP) — The British historian David Irving on Monday pleaded guilty to denying the Holocaust and was sentenced to three years in prison. He conceded that he was wrong when he said there were no Nazi gas chambers at the Auschwitz death camp.
Discussion:
Unclaimed Territory, BBC, BuzzMachine, the talking dog, Say Anything, Althouse, Respectful Insolence and TPRS
Sigmund, Carl and Alfred:David Irving, The Holocaust And The Cartoons
Discussion:
The Belmont Club, Dr. Sanity, The Moderate Voice, small dead animals and The Jawa Report v3.0 Beta
John M. Broder / New York Times:
States Curbing Right to Seize Private Homes — In a rare display of unanimity that cuts across partisan and geographic lines, lawmakers in virtually every statehouse across the country are advancing bills and constitutional amendments to limit use of the government's power of eminent domain …
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John O'Neil / New York Times:
Supreme Court Reopens Abortion Issue on Alito's First Day — The Supreme Court announced today that it will hear a challenge to a federal law outlawing a late-term abortion procedure, reopening the contentious issue on Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.'s first day on the bench.
Charles Lane / Washington Post:With Longevity on Court, Stevens's Center-Left Influence Has Grown
Discussion:
TalkLeft, The Political Pit Bull, Wonkette, Hugh Hewitt, The Heretik and The Corner on National …
Jonathan D. Glater / New York Times:
To: Professor@University.edu Subject: Why It's All About Me — One student skipped class and then sent the professor an e-mail message asking for copies of her teaching notes. Another did not like her grade, and wrote a petulant message to the professor. Another explained that she was late …
Andrew Cochran / The Counterterrorism Blog:
New Arrests in Ohio for Support of Terrorists in Iraq (updated with indictment & press conference highlights) — Here is the full indictment (Acrobat file) courtesy of Steven Emerson's Investigative Project on Terrorism: — Download OhioIraqiSupportCase.pdf.
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New York Times:
Embattled President of Harvard to Step Down at End of Semester — Lawrence H. Summers, the president of Harvard University, said today that he would step down at the end of the academic year. — Dr. Summers will likely take a yearlong sabbatical and then return to Harvard as a distinguished professor …
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Reuters:
Summers to quit as Harvard president: report — BOSTON (Reuters) - Harvard University President Lawrence Summers was expected to resign this week after a turbulent five years of leading the prestigious school, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. — Two people familiar …
Stephen Green / Vodkapundit:
Name Calling — Dan Morgan accuses Glenn Reynolds of being a conservative. — I can't agree with Dan on this one, if only because by his lights I'm one, too. After giving the matter a little thought and a large cocktail, I'd like to propose a new two-part political labeling system.
Dulue Mbachu / Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
Sectarian mobs in Nigeria kill 24 — LAGOS, Nigeria — Christian and Muslim mobs rampaged through two Nigerian cities Tuesday, killing at least 24 people in violence that followed deadly protests against caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad over the weekend.
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Associated Press:
Ex-Malasian Leader Says He Paid Abramoff — Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Monday that disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff was paid $1.2 million to organize his 2002 meeting with President Bush, but denied the money came from the Malaysian government.
Discussion:
The Reality-Based Community, TAPPED, Balloon Juice, Think Progress and Thoughts from Kansas
Will Bunch / Philadelphia Daily News:
Santorum's mortgage raises interest — This article stems from an investigative piece that Daily News staff writer Will Bunch wrote on a freelance assignment for American Prospect, a national political magazine with a liberal bent. The entire 6,000-word story is slated to be available today …
Discussion:
tpmcafe.com, American Prospect, Swing State Project, The Huffington Post, JABBS, The Washington Monthly and WTF Is It Now??
Philip P. Pan / Washington Post:
Bloggers Who Pursue Change Confront Fear And Mistrust — BEIJING — When Zhao Jing moved his blog to Microsoft's popular MSN Spaces site last summer, some users worried the Chinese government would block the entire service. The censors had blacklisted the last site where the young journalist …
Steve Kiggins / thespectrum.com:
Hatch defends Bush's domestic surveillance — CEDAR CITY - Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, boldly defended President Bush's warrantless surveillance program and the war in Iraq on Saturday at an invitation-only luncheon with Iron County political and business leaders.
Matt Singer / progressivestates.org:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — HELENA, MT - The Progressive Legislative Action Network (PLAN) today issued a report that exposes many of the conservative movement's methods of operation in state government and how progressives can deliver results. The organization also rolled out its website …
CNN:
Bush blames mix-up on lab's funding shortfall — Employees rehired before president's visit to tout energy plans — GOLDEN, Colorado (CNN) — President Bush told workers at a renewable energy lab Tuesday that the government had sent "mixed signals" over the future of its federal funding.
