Top Items:
Mark Mazzetti / New York Times:
Some in G.O.P. Say Iran Threat Is Played Down — Some senior Bush administration officials and top Republican lawmakers are voicing anger that American spy agencies have not issued more ominous warnings about the threats that they say Iran presents to the United States.
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Jerusalem Post:
Report: Iran planning nuclear 'surprise' — A senior official in Teheran said Wednesday that in the next few days, a "surprise" was expected regarding Iran's nuclear program, Al-Jazeera reported. — Teheran's apparent refusal to suspend uranium enrichment set the stage for a showdown at the UN Security Council later this month.
Richard Cowan / Reuters:
Congress report faults U.S. intelligence on Iran — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. intelligence community is ill-prepared to assess Iran's nuclear weapons capabilities and its intentions for developing weapons of mass destruction, a congressional report said on Wednesday.
Michael Theodoulou / Scotsman:
Israel buys nuclear subs — WITH Iran confidently defying pressure to curb its nuclear programme, Israel has signed a contract with Germany to buy two more submarines capable of firing nuclear missiles, it emerged yesterday. — Israeli security sources said the submarines are needed …
Discussion:
Jerusalem Post
Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters:
Dueling Nuclear Surprises — The Jerusalem Post hints that Iran will unveil a nuclear "surprise" in the next few weeks, but the Israelis may have beaten them to it. This comes as the fragile consensus at the UN Security Council on Iranian defiance appears to have unraveled:
Discussion:
The Asylum
Jeff Goldstein / protein wisdom:"Report: Iran planning nuclear 'surprise'"
Discussion:
The Political Pit Bull
CNN:
Northwest jet turns back; 12 arrested — Airline: Passengers unlatched seat belts, passed cell phones — AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands (CNN) — Twelve passengers were in custody Wednesday after a Northwest Airlines flight bound for Mumbai, India, returned to Amsterdam with a fighter jet escort, Dutch police said.
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Scott Winship / Strategist:
The Uninformed Bloc — I know what you're thinking. I've failed to keep the faith. I've made a mockery of the "daily" in "Daily Strategist". I've been out lollygagging, making the rounds of the D.C. cocktail circuit. But lemme explain. There was a much needed trip to Boston …
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Digby / Hullabaloo:Remedial Democracy — Scott Winship has an interesting article …
Discussion:
Eschaton
Arianna Huffington / The Huffington Post:
When Hillary Meets Ned — Hillary Clinton is meeting with Ned Lamont in the next few days on her home turf in Chappaqua in what may well be a more important meeting for her future than for Lamont's. Their get-together is coming at a crossroads moment for both Hillary and the Democratic Party.
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Associated Press:
Bush: Katrina recovery will take time — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush on Wednesday cautioned against placing too much importance on the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's Gulf Coast strike, saying it will take a long, sustained effort to rebuild the area.
Discussion:
Attytood, Shakespeare's Sister, DownWithTyranny!, Wonkette, Andrew Sullivan, The Carpetbagger Report and The Rude Pundit
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Greg Mitchell / Editor and Publisher:
In Defense of War Photographers — With most others in the mainstream media silent, I rise here in support of the overwhelming number of press photographers in the Middle East who bravely, under horrid conditions, in recent weeks have sent back graphic and revealing pictures from the war zones …
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Charles Q. Choi / LiveScience:
Study: Polar Bear Genitals are Shrinking — The icecap may not be the only thing shrinking in the Arctic. The genitals of polar bears in east Greenland are apparently dwindling in size due to industrial pollutants. — Scientists report this shrinkage could, in the worst case scenario …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
Rhonda Schwartz Reports / The Blotter:
Is the Next Step a Draft? — Rhonda Schwartz Reports: — An Iraq War veterans group says the call-up of thousands of Marines from the Individual Ready Reserve, announced by the Pentagon today, is "one of the last steps before resorting to a draft." — "This move should serve as a wake …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, The Moderate Voice, The News Blog, TalkLeft, TPMmuckraker, Crooks and Liars, Bitch. Ph.D. and Confederate Yankee
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Simon Caldwell / Daily Mail:
Pope sacks astronomer over evolution debate — Pope Benedict XVI has sacked his chief astronomer after a series of public clashes over the theory of evolution. — He has removed Father George Coyne from his position as director of the Vatican Observatory after the American Jesuit priest …
Gateway Pundit:
An Honest Look at the Security Situation in Iraq — Last week the New York Times wrote that "the insurgency in Iraq has gotten worse by almost all measures": … But, Back Talk took at a look at 7 month trends and found a very different picture of Iraq. — US military fatalities …
Discussion:
Say Anything
Peter Baker / Washington Post:
Bush's New Iraq Argument: It Could Be Worse — Of all the words that President Bush used at his news conference this week to defend his policies in Iraq, the one that did not pass his lips was "progress." — For three years, the president tried to reassure Americans that more progress was being made in Iraq than they realized.
zombietime.com:
+ Introduction — On the night of July 23, 2006, an Israeli aircraft intentionally fired missiles at and struck two Lebanese Red Cross ambulances performing rescue operations, causing huge explosions that injured everyone inside the vehicles. Or so says the global media, including Time magazine …
Discussion:
Say Anything
Hotline On Call:
Exclusive: McCain's Web Team. And Nicco Mele. — Over the past several months, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has quietly recruited for his presidential campaign some of the most influential online strategists in the country, including one of the main architects of Howard Dean's pioneering website.
Echidne / ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES:
The Fertility Gap — According to one Arthur Brooks, we liberals are going extinct because the conservatives are outbreeding us. The same Arthur Brooks has also argued that far lefties are more hateful than far righties, whatever these terms might mean, and that conservative young people …
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