memeorandum: Iraqi Government to Investigate Saddam Hanging, Leak of Video (Lauren Frayer/Associated Press)

12:30 AM ET, January 3, 2007

Top Items:

AP Again Challenged on Iraqi Source — Continues to Stand By Reporting — NEW YORK A long-running dispute between The Associated Press and critics over one of its Iraqi sources show no signs of abating, despite at least two lengthy rebuttals by the news organization.

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Patterico's Pontifications, Flopping Aces, Don Surber, A Blog For All, BizzyBlog, Wake up America, Ace of Spades HQ, Sister Toldjah and Bill's Bites

Eason Jordan / iraqslogger.com:

The AP's Jamil Hussein Scandal — Controversy Will Haunt the AP Until It Does What is Right — If an Iraqi police captain by the name of Jamil Hussein exists, there is no convincing evidence of it - and that means the Associated Press has a journalistic scandal on its hands that will fester until the AP deals with it properly.

Discussion: Austin Bay Blog, Ace of Spades HQ, Townhall.com Blog's …, Democracy Project, jules crittenden, Daily Pundit, Wizbang, Power Line and Hot Air

Confederate Yankee:
Gone in 60 Stories

Discussion: The Strata-Sphere, Blue Crab Boulevard, PrairiePundit and Lawyers, Guns and Money

Armed Liberal / Winds of Change.NET:
"It's Just A Scratch" — In a display of clueless arrogance …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Justin Rood / TPMmuckraker:

House GOP: Don't Hurt Us — Please — Republicans aren't yet an official minority in the House, but they're already beginning a campaign to portray themselves as victims of a heartless Democratic majority. — In a "Dear Colleague" letter circulated to fellow Republicans …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Obsidian Wings, The Carpetbagger Report, The Moderate Voice, The Reaction, Political Animal, Angry Bear, Shakespeare's Sister and Reason Magazine

E. J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
The New Crowd's First Test

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, DonkeyRising and New York Times

Digby / Hullabaloo:
When Time Stood Still — I've noticed something interesting among …

Discussion: MyDD, Alternate Brain and Shakespeare's Sister

John Amato / Crooks and Liars:

CNN apologizes to Barack Obama — Wolf Blitzer apologized to Barack Obama for misspelling Osama's name on a graphic yesterday during a broadcast on The Situation Room. — Video-WMP Video-QT — A contact at CNN told me they were aware of the gaffe yesterday and this morning emailed me this transcript.

Discussion: Wonkette and SOTUblog

Brian Maloney / The Radio Equalizer:
Senator Barack Hussein Obama (D- Ill), Osama Bin Laden, CNN

Discussion: HACKED

Michael Roston / The Raw Story:
CNN apologizes for Obama gaffe in Bin Laden graphic

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, Taylor Marsh, The Reaction, Shakespeare's Sister and BobGeiger.com

Associated Press:
CNN Apologizes for Mistaken Headline

Discussion: The Irish Trojan's Blog

John Amato / Crooks and Liars:

Olbermann: Special Comment on "Sacrifice" — Keith Olbermann stepped up and slapped Bush's plan to use the word "sacrifice" as an excuse to send more troops to Iraq. Bush needs a new catch phrase to try and deceive the nation with, but Republican talking points won't work on the people anymore.

Discussion: SOTUblog, The Mahablog and State of the Day

Keith Olbermann / MSNBC:

Special comment about 'sacrifice' — BBC reports Bush will reveal troop surge plan in sacrifice-themed speech — SPECIAL COMMENT — If in your presence an individual tried to sacrifice an American serviceman or woman, would you intervene? — Would you at least protest?

Discussion: The Next Hurrah, Daily Kos, Macsmind and Daily Pundit

Digby / Hullabaloo:
Sacrificing For Junior

Discussion: James Wolcott's Blog

Lauren Frayer / Associated Press:

Iraqi Government to Investigate Saddam Hanging, Leak of Video — BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — The prime minister on Tuesday ordered an investigation into the conduct of Saddam Hussein's execution in a bid to learn who among the witnesses taunted the former Iraqi leader in the last minutes of his life, then leaked a cell phone video.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Eschaton, The Reaction and The Moderate Voice

John F. Burns / New York Times:

Iraq Plans Inquiry Into Hussein Execution — With angry demonstrations spreading across Iraq's Sunni Arab heartland, the country's Shiite-led government said today that it had ordered an investigation into the disorderly scenes at the execution of Saddam Hussein, who was mocked and taunted …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

CBC News:

Kenya arrests as many as 2 men with Canadian passports: reports — As many as two Somali Islamic fighters who claim to be Canadian were among 10 fighters arrested by Kenyan police, according to separate reports Tuesday. — The 10 were arrested on Monday at the Liboi border crossing in Kenya …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters

Bill Roggio / The Fourth Rail:
Pursuing the Islamic Courts

Discussion: shabelle.net, Stars & Stripes, PrairiePundit and Counterterrorism Blog

Associated Press:

Iran vows to 'humiliate' U.S. — TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad scorned U.N Security Council sanctions imposed against Iran, telling a crowd Tuesday that Iran had humiliated the United States in the past and would do so again. — Speaking in the southwestern provincial capital …

Discussion: Atlas Shrugs, The American Street and JOSHUAPUNDIT

Ynetnews:
Iran: Hitler was a Jew

Discussion: jules crittenden, Secular Blasphemy, Wake up America, Michael P.F. van der Galiën, The Moderate Voice, AMERICAN FUTURE, Blinq, Clarity & Resolve, Hot Air, PrairiePundit and Ace of Spades HQ

NY Daily News:

Revealed: Rudy's '08 battle plans — It's clearly laid out in 140 pages of printed text, handwriting and spreadsheets: The top-secret plan for Rudy Giuliani's bid for the White House. — The remarkably detailed dossier sets out the budgets, schedules and fund-raising plans that will underpin …

Patrick Healy / New York Times: Leak Reveals '08 Strategy From Giuliani Camp

John Brockman / edge.org:

GOT OPTIMISM? — THE WORLD'S LEADING THINKERS SEE GOOD NEWS AHEAD — While conventional wisdom tells us that things are bad and getting worse, scientists and the science-minded among us see good news in the coming years. That's the bottom line of an outburst of high-powered optimism gathered …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, EconLog and Chicago Boyz

Virgil Goode / USA Today:

Save Judeo-Christian values — Immigration leaves USA vulnerable to Muslim extremists' infiltration. — A letter I sent in early December was written in response to hundreds of e-mails from constituents upset about Rep.-elect Keith Ellison's decision to use the Quran in connection with his congressional swearing-in.

Discussion: Riehl World View, No More Mister Nice Blog, Blogcritics Section, Right Wing Nut House, TPMCafe blogs, Reason Magazine, Liberty Street, Think Progress, The Sundries Shack, The Carpetbagger Report, Political Animal, Shakespeare's Sister, The Heretik, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, The Moderate Voice, Daily Kos and SOTUblog

Ezra Klein:

Libraries vs. Amazon — This is weird: … Since when do bookstores allow you to check out books for no fee, finish them, and bring them back? That's the primary difference between libraries and bookstores — they make reading cheap, if not free. As it happens, John and I work at magazines.

Discussion: Never Yet Melted, The Sundries Shack, CorrenteWire, Outside The Beltway and Althouse

Scott Burgess / The Daily Ablution:

Happy New Year! — It may not be true for most mammals, but the New Year seems a good time for me to emerge from hibernation and revisit regular posting at the Ablution. — It will probably take a bit of time to get back up to speed - to be honest, I've been a bit out of touch with stories …

Discussion: The Corner and Blue Crab Boulevard

Drudge Report:

HILLARY PREDICTS: OBAMA CANDIDACY WILL DIMINISH — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton views Barack Obama as her biggest obstacle to nomination, the NEW YORK TIMES is planning to report, but she believes the threat of his candidacy will diminish — as voters learn how inexperienced he is in government and foreign affairs!

Discussion: Ankle Biting Pundits and Macsmind

Mark Bowden / Opinion Journal:

So, Saddam Is Dead . . . But the way of the world remains Saddam's. — Now that they have hanged Saddam Hussein, perhaps we can begin to appreciate the irony and the lessons of his demise. — Any nation is, at heart, an idea. Once people started organizing themselves in groups larger …