memeorandum: THE CASE OF THE FLYING IMAMS: CAIR SPEAKS (The Big Trunk/Power Line)

10:05 PM ET, March 29, 2007

Top Items:

Blair: Britain Won't Negotiate With Iran — LONDON (AP) - Prime Minister Tony Blair said Thursday that Britain would not negotiate over British sailors and marines held hostage by Iran. In an interview with ITV News, Blair again called for the unconditional return of the 15 Royal Navy personnel …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Sky News, TIME, Ace of Spades HQ, Daily Mail and Roger L. Simon

Edith M. Lederer / Associated Press:

Britain takes case against Iran to U.N. — UNITED NATIONS - Britain took its case to free its 15 sailors and marines held by Iran to the United Nations on Thursday, asking the Security Council to support a statement that would "deplore" Tehran's action and demand their immediate release.

Discussion: NewsHog, theneweditor.com, Counterterrorism Blog, Shakespeare's Sister, Michael P.F. van der Galiën and Jihad Watch

Dominic Kennedy / Times of London:

How Britons were conned by Iranian gunboat trick — The speed and cunning shown by the Revolutionary Guards suggests that their action was premeditated — The British sailors and marines being held by Iran were ambushed at their most vulnerable moment, while climbing down the ladder …

Discussion: Redstate, Austin Bay Blog, Secular Blasphemy, The Jawa Report and Daimnation!

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

Hostage update: Blair threatens to bring out the big gun — a UN resolution; Update: Iran airs footage of sailors' arrests; Update: New hostage letter calls for withdrawal from Iraq — My, things certainly are getting tense now. Yawn. … There was a report of some total awesomeness outside …

Discussion: Times of London, TCS Daily, Right Wing Nut House, Cox & Forkum, Ace of Spades HQ, Riehl World View and Gateway Pundit

Sky News:

'Outrageous And Cruel' — Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett has slammed Iran for releasing a new letter allegedly from a captive British sailor that calls for UK forces to withdraw from Iraq. — She said: "We have not seen this letter but we have grave concerns about the circumstances in which it was prepared and issued.

Discussion: Verum Serum and The Right Angle

New York Times:

Ex-Aide Says Gonzales Was Involved in Firings — The former chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales testified today that contrary to Mr. Gonzales's earlier assertions, the attorney general was involved in discussions to fire United States attorneys.

Discussion: protein wisdom, The Anonymous Liberal, DownWithTyranny!, Confederate Yankee, Ace of Spades HQ, PoliBlog (TM) and Prairie Weather

Nico / Think Progress:
Conservatives shut down Sampson hearing?

Discussion: Crooks and Liars

Michael Roston / The Raw Story:
GOP freezes 'Attorneygate' hearing in the middle of Republican's statement

Discussion: Firedoglake, Democratic Underground and NewsHog

Faiz / Think Progress:
Schumer Forces Sampson To Admit Gonzales Lied

Discussion: Associated Press, The Left Coaster, The Carpetbagger Report and Campaign for America's Future

Associated Press:

Giuliani, wife discuss White House roles — WASHINGTON - Republican presidential contender Rudy Giuliani says if elected, he'd be open to his wife attending Cabinet meetings on issues in which she's interested. — In an interview with Barbara Walters to air Friday on ABC News' "20/20," …

Discussion: Vox Popoli

ABCNEWS:
EXCLUSIVE: Rudy Giuliani 'Couldn't Have A Better Adviser' Than Wife Judith

Discussion: The Caucus and On Politics

Claus Christian Malzahn / Spiegel Online:

Evil Americans, Poor Mullahs — Forty-eight percent of Germans think the United States is more dangerous than Iran, a new survey shows, with only 31 percent believing the opposite. Germans' fundamental hypocrisy about the US suggests that it's high time for a new bout of re-education.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Mark in Mexico, Daimnation! and Neptunus Lex

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
It's Safer To Hate Us

Discussion: EU Referendum and Dr. Sanity

Dana Blanton / Fox News:

FOX NEWS POLL: MOST THINK DEMOCRATS WILL WIN WHITE HOUSE IN 2008 — NEW YORK — The latest FOX News poll finds that Americans think the next person to move into the White House will be a Democrat, and while many voters would be enthusiastic or pleased if any one of the current front-runners were to win …

Discussion: Hot Air

Zogby:
Zogby Poll: "America's Mayor" Top Pick of Iowa Republicans

Discussion: Pollster

Pew Research Center:

Democrats Fail to Impress in First 100 Days — Government Faulted on Vets' Care, Military Ratings Slip Post-Walter Reed — Summary of Findings — Also inside... Reps see McCain, Giuliani and Romney as more moderate than "self" — Hillary and Obama Backers differ little on Iraq

Discussion: MyDD, The Carpetbagger Report, Pollster, On Politics and Gateway Pundit

Anne Flaherty / Associated Press:

Senate OKs war bill with Iraq timeline — WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats ignored a veto threat and pushed through a bill Thursday requiring President Bush to start withdrawing troops from "the civil war in Iraq," dealing a rare, sharp rebuke to a wartime commander in chief.

Discussion: Victory Caucus, Washington Post, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Confederate Yankee, The Democratic Daily, The Carpetbagger Report, Blogs for Bush, The Right Angle and AMERICAblog

Kelly Thornton / San Diego Union-Tribune:

Chastized head of local FBI office anounces retirement — SAN DIEGO - San Diego FBI chief Dan Dzwilewski, who was rebuked by superiors for publicly defending ousted U.S. Attorney Carol Lam, has announced his retirement. — Dzwilewski, who has been at the helm of the San Diego office since July 2003 …

Joseph D. Rich / Los Angeles Times:

Bush's long history of tilting Justice — The administration began skewing federal law enforcement before the current U.S. attorney scandal, says a former Department of Justice lawyer. — THE SCANDAL unfolding around the firing of eight U.S. attorneys compels the conclusion …

Discussion: Boston Globe, Hullabaloo, The Left Coaster, Political Animal, At-Largely, Washington Post, Daily Kos, War and Piece, Real Cities, The Carpetbagger Report, New York Times and Liberal Values

Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:

Sampson Suggested Removing Fitzgerald — Here's Kyle Sampson's testimony about suggesting to White House counsel Harriet Miers and deputy White House counsel Bill Kelley that they remove U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. — Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) asks if Fitzgerald was ever considered for removal?

Discussion: Think Progress and The Carpetbagger Report

Glenn Reynolds / Instapundit.com:

THE JIM WEBB / PHILLIP THOMPSON GUN ARREST STORY has had the salutary effect of bringing more attention to the District of Columbia's silly gun laws. The Washington Post headlines its story this way: You Can Bring Gun to Capitol, But Not Through D.C. and observes: … Jeez.

Discussion: Washington Post, Taylor Marsh, Slate, Austin Bay Blog, Cato-at-liberty and Sister Toldjah

Hassan M. Fattah / New York Times:

U.S. Iraq Role Is Called Illegal by Saudi King — King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia told Arab leaders on Wednesday that the American occupation of Iraq was illegal and warned that unless Arab governments settled their differences, foreign powers like the United States would continue to dictate the region's politics.

Discussion: Wake up America