03/02/06 FOX Poll: Most Oppose Port Deal; Republicans Lose Ground  —  NEW YORK — Most Americans oppose allowing a Dubai company to run some U.S. ports, even as a majority understands the U.S. would continue to control port security, according to a new FOX News poll.

Update 22: In New Video, Blanco Says Levees Are Safe  —  In the hectic, confused hours after Hurricane Katrina lashed the Gulf Coast, Louisiana's governor hesitantly but mistakenly assured the Bush administration that New Orleans' protective levees were intact, according to new video obtained …

Cartoonist's Daughter Hunted by 12 Jihadists  —  Update: I have now posted the transcript of the interview with Jens Rohde at the bottom of this post.  —  Update: See below for comments from the Police Intelligence Service  —  Hmmm.. It seems that all I had to do to get back to blogging was getting my indignation recharged.

Senate Approves Patriot Act Renewal  —  WASHINGTON - The Senate on Thursday gave its blessing to the renewal of the USA Patriot Act after adding new privacy protections designed to strike a better balance between civil liberties and the government's power to root out terrorists.

The President's Indian Fantasy  —  The rash nukes pledge is typical of Bush's strategic shortsightedness.  —  It takes a great strategic mind, something like a chess master's, to think three or four moves ahead in plotting international diplomacy.  It would be nice if the Bush administration, now and then, could think one move ahead.

What Bush Was Told About Iraq  —  Two highly classified intelligence reports delivered directly to President Bush before the Iraq war cast doubt on key public assertions made by the president, Vice President Cheney, and other administration officials as justifications for invading Iraq …

Students protest teacher's suspension  —  Hundreds of students walked out of Overland High School this morning in protest after a controversy involving a geography teacher and his statements about President Bush.  —  Many of the students supported the teacher, Jay Bennish …

The Clintons of Dubai  —  WASHINGTON — While Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was ripping President Bush's handling of American ports management, Bill Clinton was pushing for one of his favorite White House aides to be hired to defend the deal.  The former president proposed to the United Arab Emirates …

We Can't Force Democracy  —  Creating Normality Is the Real Mideast Challenge  —  The whiff of incipient anarchy in Iraq in recent days has provided a prospect so terrifying as to concentrate the minds of Republicans and Democrats, Iraq's sectarian political factions, and even the media.

Times Diversity Report: "A Newspaper at Risk"  —  After a 10-month study, the New York Times Diversity Council issued its confidential internal report yesterday.  The 39-page document, made available to staffers, describes The Times as "a newspaper at risk" on diversity matters and says the paper is …

Soviets 'ordered Pope shooting'  —  An Italian parliamentary commission has concluded that the former Soviet Union was behind the 1981 assassination attempt on the late Pope John Paul II.  —  The head of the commission, Paolo Guzzanti, said it was sure beyond "reasonable doubt" that Soviet leaders ordered the shooting.

Religious broadcasters fear lost viewership under pay-by-channel idea  —  The idea of paying for only the cable channels they want might have strong appeal for consumers, but to religious programmers, the prospect seems just short of apocalyptic.  —  Pay-per-channel pricing …