Top Items:
Associated Press:
Bush unaware of port deal until after approval — White House: President only learned recently of handover to Arab firm … Today show — WASHINGTON - President Bush was unaware of the pending sale of shipping operations at six major U.S. seaports to a state-owned business …
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Opinion Journal:
Ports of Politics — How to sound like a hawk without being one. — Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is the latest Republican to broadcast his "independence" from President Bush on homeland security, yesterday joining Senator Lindsey Graham, Representative Peter King and numerous state politicians …
New York Times:
Bush Would Veto Any Bill Halting Dubai Port Deal — WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 — President Bush, trying to put down a rapidly escalating rebellion among leaders of his own party, said Tuesday that he would veto any legislation blocking a deal for a state-owned company in Dubai to take over the management …
New York Times:
The President and the Ports — If President Bush follows through on his threat, he'll be making a strange choice for his first veto after more than five years in office. After giving a pass to a parade of misbegotten Congressional initiatives and irresponsible budget packages …
Discussion:
firedoglake, The Mahablog, AMERICAN FUTURE, Bring it On!, Alternate Brain and The Democratic Daily Blog
Washington Post:
Bush Threatens Veto Against Bid To Stop Port Deal — State-Run Arab Firm Poses No Threat, President Says Amid Bipartisan Criticism — President Bush yesterday strongly defended an Arab company's attempt to take over the operation of seaports in Baltimore and five other cities …
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Reaction, Daniel W. Drezner, Hullabaloo, The Strata-Sphere, Hugh Hewitt, Eschaton, Michelle Malkin, INDC Journal, The Washington Monthly, Legal Fiction, State of the Day, The Next Hurrah, Expose the Left, Leiter Reports, Ezra Klein, QandO, Gateway Pundit, Democratic Veteran, dailykos.com, Middle Earth Journal and The American Mind
Squiggler:Dubai Port deal - good or bad?
Discussion:
portland.indymedia.org, Daily Pundit, All The News That Fits My Whim, JunkYardBlog, All Things Beautiful, Betsy's Page, Cold Fury, Instapundit.com, Blogs for Bush, The Strata-Sphere, A Blog For All, Big Brass Blog, The Counterterrorism Blog, Confederate Yankee, Hyscience and The Glittering Eye
Edward Wong / New York Times:
Blast Destroys Golden Dome of Sacred Shiite Shrine in Samarra — BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb. 22 - Insurgents dressed as police commandos detonated powerful explosives on Wednesday morning inside one of Shiite Islam's most sacred shrines, destroying most of the building, located in the volatile town of Samarra …
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BBC:
Iraqi blast damages Shia shrine — A bomb attack in Iraq has badly damaged one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam, sparking furious protests. — Thousands of Iraqis have gathered at the al-Askari shrine in Samarra, north of Baghdad, where two men blew up the famous golden dome in a dawn raid.
Discussion:
Mark in Mexico
Omar / IRAQ THE MODEL:
Holy Shia shrine bombed in Samarra. — As if we didn't have enough problems already! — The quality of the target and the timing of the attack were chosen in a way that can possibly bring very serious consequences over the country. — The situation in Baghdad is so tense now …
CNN:
Shiite 'Golden Mosque' heavily damaged — Prime minister calls attack an effort to incite sectarian violence — BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Attackers dressed as Iraqi police commandos bombed the Al-Askariya "Golden Mosque" in Samarra Wednesday morning, heavily damaging the Shiite holy site …
Monica Davey / New York Times:
Vote Due on South Dakota Bill Banning Nearly All Abortions — PIERRE, S.D., Feb. 21 — Lawmakers here are preparing to vote on a bill that would outlaw nearly all abortions in South Dakota, a measure that could become the most sweeping ban approved by any state in more than a decade, those on both sides of the abortion debate say.
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Associated Press:
Poll: Youths Back N. Korea if Attacked — Nearly half of South Korean youths who will be old enough to vote in the country's next elections say Seoul should side with North Korea if the United States attacks the communist nation, according to a poll released Wednesday.
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Fox News:
The Media Fallout Continues Over VP Cheney's Hunting Accident — This is a partial transcript from "Hannity & Colmes," February 20, 2006, that has been edited for clarity. — ALAN COLMES, CO-HOST: The media fallout continues over Vice President Cheney's accidental shooting during a hunting trip over a week ago.
Elana Schor / The Hill:
GOP Senator eyes public financing bill — Sen. George Voinovich, Ethics Committee chairman and a sometime gadfly to Republican leadership, is warming to Democratic-backed proposals for public financing of federal elections. — Voinovich (R-Ohio) told The Hill that he has met …
New York Times:
Furor Over Cartoons Pits Muslim Against Muslim — AMMAN, Jordan, Feb. 21 — In a direct challenge to the international uproar over cartoons lampooning the Prophet Muhammad, the Jordanian journalist Jihad Momani wrote: "What brings more prejudice against Islam, these caricatures or pictures …
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, USS Neverdock, Crescat Sententia, Outside The Beltway, JunkYardBlog and The Big Pharaoh
New York Times:
Force-Feeding at Guantánamo Is Now Acknowledged — WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 — The military commander responsible for the American detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, confirmed Tuesday that officials there last month turned to more aggressive methods to deter prisoners …
Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post:
GOP Achievers Want to Compile $5 Million for Libby Defense — A Who's Who of Republican heavy hitters and Bush administration supporters are lending their names to help raise $5 million for the defense of Vice President Cheney's former top aide in his criminal trial.
