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Political Web, page A1 … for 3:05 PM ET, February 26, 2006
Current Politics Page     Also:   Tech

Top Items:

Mark Steyn / Chicago Sun Times:
Needing to wake up, West just closes its eyes  —  In five years' time, how many Jews will be living in France?  Two years ago, a 23-year-old Paris disc jockey called Sebastien Selam was heading off to work from his parents' apartment when he was jumped in the parking garage by his Muslim neighbor Adel.
RELATED ITEMS:
Adloyada:
The Ilan Halimi case: issues of institutional racism?  —  Now that the Ilan Halimi case has gone mainstream, almost two weeks after the young Parisian Jew was found dying of the horrific injuries his kidnappers inflicted on him, the French state has gone into the level of gesture solidarity politics it does so well.
The Big Trunk / Power Line:
I'M ONLY SLEEPING  —  Mark Steyn begins his weekly Chicago Sun …
Independent:
Iraq's death squads: On the brink of civil war  —  Most of the corpses in Baghdad's mortuary show signs of torture and execution.  And the Interior Ministry is being blamed.  By Andrew Buncombe and Patrick Cockburn  —  Hundreds of Iraqis are being tortured to death or summarily executed every month …
RELATED ITEMS:
Ted Bridis / ABCNEWS:
Homeland Security Objected to Ports Deal  —  Homeland Security Objected at First to Ports Deal, Then Went Along With Others  —  WASHINGTON Feb 25, 2006 (AP)— The Homeland Security Department objected at first to a United Arab Emirates company's taking over significant operations at six U.S. ports.
Discussion: MyDD and JunkYardBlog
RELATED ITEMS:
Reuters:
Republican leaders seek port compromise
Time:
A Face-saving Dubai Deal in the Works?
Scotsman:
US leader crashed by trying to 'pedal, wave and speak at same time'  —  MURDO MACLEOD  —  HE MAY be the most powerful man in the world, but proof has emerged that President George Bush cannot ride a bike, wave and speak at the same time.  —  Scotland on Sunday has obtained remarkable details …
Judd / Think Progress:
Kristol: "We Have Not Had A Serious Three-Year Effort To Fight A War In Iraq"  —  This morning on Fox News Sunday, Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol, one the staunches defenders of the administration's policy in Iraq, said the war in Iraq was not a "serious effort."  —  Transcript:
RELATED ITEM:
Crooks and Liars:   Bill Kristol: US not seriously fighting war in Iraq
Jeremiah Marquez / Associated Press:
Don Knotts, TV's Barney Fife, Dies at 81  —  LOS ANGELES — Don Knotts, who kept generations of TV audiences laughing as bumbling Deputy Barney Fife on "The Andy Griffith Show" and would-be swinger landlord Ralph Furley on "Three's Company," has died.  He was 81.
Discussion: Los Angeles Times
RELATED ITEM:
TalkLeft:
NSA Goes Shopping at Silicon Valley for Data Mining Tools  —  Whatever the outcome of Bush's warrantless NSA surveillance program, it seems clear that government surveillance of our communications and even our social networks is only going to increase.  The New York Times reports on recent …
RELATED ITEM:
Kevin Drum / The Washington Monthly:
HEROISM....Over at The Corner, Warren Bell calls for Hollywood to make more movies about "the heroism of American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq."  In particular, he'd like to see someone make a movie about the death of football star Pat Tillman, who left his lucrative civilian career to join …
RELATED ITEM:
Warren Bell / The Corner on National Review Online:
THE PAT TILLMAN STORY
Discussion: alicublog
New York Times:
A Judicial Green Light for Torture  —  The administration's tendency to dodge accountability for lawless actions by resorting to secrecy and claims of national security is on sharp display in the case of a Syrian-born Canadian, Maher Arar, who spent months under torture because of United States action.
Charles Babington / Washington Post:
Specter Proposes NSA Surveillance Rules  —  Measure Would Make Administration Seek FISA Court's Permission to Eavesdrop  —  The federal government would have to obtain permission from a secret court to continue a controversial form of surveillance, which the National Security Agency …
CBS News:
Montana's Coal Cowboy  —  (CBS) The governor of Montana says he can turn the billions of tons of coal under his state into enough diesel fuel to greatly reduce America's dependence on foreign oil.  —  And there's an added benefit, says Gov. Brian Schweitzer: the United States will be sticking it to the …
Discussion: Daily Kos, BlueOregon and Sirotablog
Sydney Morning Herald:
Power to the people: now everyone can make a difference  —  Democracy, the internet and NGOs are fuelling a global empowerment of ordinary citizens, writes Bill Clinton.  —  THREE things have happened since the end of the Cold War to give private citizens an unprecedented capacity to do public good.
Discussion: BrothersJudd Blog
Thomas E. Ricks / Washington Post:
In the Battle for Baghdad, U.S. Turns War on Insurgents  —  PATROL BASE SWAMP, Iraq — Here, in a half-ruined house bristling with dull black machine guns and surrounded by green sandbags, shin-deep mudholes, and shadowy palm groves, lies the leading edge of the U.S. war in Iraq.
Discussion: Outside The Beltway and Power Line
Paul Burkhardt / Associated Press:
Bolton Blasts 'Sex and Corruption' at U.N.  —  NEW YORK - The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Saturday that the world body is hobbled "by bad management, by sex and corruption" and a lack of confidence in its ability to carry out missions.  —  John Bolton also criticized the U.N.'s budget …
Discussion: Daily Kos and In the Bullpen
Justin Webb / BBC:
Democrats fail to find a message  —  President Bush's popularity ratings have plummeted, but why, asks Justin Webb, is it that the opposition, the Democrats, are not surfing the opinion polls, capitalising on the Republicans' misfortunes and preparing to take over Congress when the election comes in the autumn?
Peter Baker / Washington Post:
Russian Relations Under Scrutiny  —  U.S. Concerned About G-8 Talks With Putin as Host  —  The Bush administration is quietly exploring ways of recalibrating U.S. policy toward Russia in the face of growing concerns about the Kremlin's crackdown on internal dissent and pressure tactics toward its neighbors …

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More Items:

Ramesh Ponnuru / The Corner on National Review Online:
BUCKLEY ON IRAQ  —  William F. Buckley Jr. has been skeptical …
Tom Ford / Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Midwest Oil fined for selling gas too cheaply
Estes Thompson / Associated Press:
Army Charges 7 With Having Sex on Video
Discussion: The Left Coaster
Glenn Reynolds / Instapundit.com:
The Glenn and Helen Show: Interviews with John Scalzi and Tim Minear
Discussion: Gay Orbit™ and Dr. Helen
Hindrocket / Power Line:
WHY MOMMY SQUIRREL IS A DEMOCRAT
Discussion: Dr. Helen
Stephen Labaton / New York Times:
U.S. Subpoenas 2 Dow Writers, Then Backs Off
Hugh Muir / Guardian:
Livingstone suspended and landed with £80,000 costs
Discussion: normblog

Earlier Picks:

Michelle Malkin:
LIFE IMITATES ART IMITATING LIFE
Weldon Berger / BTC News:
Tom Friedman: the left's "guru on foreign policy?"
Discussion: Rising Hegemon
Washington Post:
The Talk Shows  —  Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows:
Discussion: firedoglake
Nancy De Wolf Smith / Opinion Journal:
Daughter of Islam  —  An eloquent (and elegant) foe of Muslim fundamentalists.
Discussion: Jihad Watch
Julia Cass / Washington Post:
Notable Mardi Gras Absences Reflect Loss of Black Middle Class
MSNBC:
'Hardball with Chris Matthews' for February 23
Discussion: firedoglake and Hullabaloo
Andrew Davies / Telegraph:
Judge rules that doctors must let ill baby die
 
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