memeorandum: Syrian army ‘cracking’ amid crackdown (Aljazeera)

2:00 AM ET, June 13, 2011

Top Items:

Alison Gendar / NY Daily News:

Rep. Anthony Weiner finally considering he may have to resign amid sexting scandal, says source — WASHINGTON - As a cache of embarrassing new photos appeared Sunday, Rep. Anthony Weiner finally began considering the possibility that he may have to resign. — A source close to the congressman told …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, iOwnTheWorld.com, Weasel Zippers, Mediaite, Tom Watson, The Gateway Pundit, Runnin' Scared and JammieWearingFool

TMZ.com:
Rep. Weiner Used Congressional Gym As Backdrop

The Politico:
More Anthony Weiner photos surface online

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Outside the Beltway, CNN, American Power and Ben Smith's Blog

Lucy Madison / CBS News:
Ryan, Hoyer call for Weiner's resignation

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Patterico's Pontifications

Fox News:
Weiner Opts for Treatment as New Self Portraits Emerge

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, Fox Nation, CBS New York, Gothamist, Power Line and The Daily Caller

Melissa Bell / Washington Post:

‘A Gay Girl in Damascus’ comes clean — In recent days, the world has followed closely the saga of Amina Araff, the blogger who presented herself online as “A Gay Girl in Damascus” and who drew attention with her passionate writings about the Syrian government's crackdown on Arab Spring protesters.

Discussion: The Jawa Report, AMERICAblog Gay, msnbc.com, Towleroad News #gay, The Other McCain and Boing Boing, more at Mediagazer »

Amina A. / A Gay Girl in Damascus:

Apology to readers — I never expected this level of attention. While the narrative voce may have been fictional, the facts on ths blog are true and not msleading as to the situation on the ground. I do not believe that I have harmed anyone — I feel that I have created an important voice for issues that I feel strongly about.

Discussion: Gawker, The Raw Story, iOwnTheWorld.com and The Daily Dish

Esther Addley / Guardian:

Syrian lesbian blogger is revealed conclusively to be a married man — Tom MacMaster's wife has confirmed in an email to the Guardian that he is the real identity behind the Gay Girl in Damascus blog — The mysterious identity of a young Arab lesbian blogger who was apparently kidnapped …

Discussion: Harry's Place and New York Magazine

The Atlantic Online:

Open, and Revolting, Anti-Obama Racism at Fox — This is psychologically fascinating: The mind of Fox Business host Eric Bolling, when confronted with images of President Obama meeting with Gabon's president, Ali Bongo, instantly recalls other black people who have met with President Obama …

Discussion: Mediaite, The Reality-Based Community and Runnin' Scared

Aljazeera:

Syrian army ‘cracking’ amid crackdown — Testimonies from defected soldiers give a dramatic insight into the split apparently emerging in the security forces. — The escalating military offensive in northwest Syria began after what corroborating accounts said was a shoot-out between members …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, AMERICAblog News and Guardian

New York Times:
Syrian Troops Retake Control of Rebellious Town in North

Discussion: Pajamas Media, New York Magazine and Harry's Place

BBC: Syrian unrest: Army in control of Jisr al-Shughour

Kenneth Anderson / The Volokh Conspiracy:

Emily's Student Loan Bondage and Discipline, or, ‘Story of Owe’ — A publisher of erotic e-titles for Kindle has sent me the following book blurb for a new offering on Kindle, Emily's Debt. It's addressed to self with a bcc list, so it appears to be a marketing blurb possibly addressed …

Discussion: AMERICAN DIGEST

Brian Clark Howard / Daily Mail:

‘Trig will be a joy’: Sarah Palin plays God in touching email about her unborn son's Down's Syndrome — Sarah Palin ‘played God’ in a deeply touching email she wrote two weeks before her fifth child, Trig, was born with Down's Syndrome, it was revealed today.

Discussion: No Sheeples Here, The Gateway Pundit, UrbanGrounds, iOwnTheWorld.com, JammieWearingFool and Balloon Juice

John Ziegler / The Daily Caller:

‘The Sarah Palin I Know’ — For more on Ziegler's Palin-related experiences and to read his pre-emptive rebuttal of his critics, go to: www.TheSarahPalinIKnow.com — For many reasons, the first week of January 2009 was clearly the longest and most difficult of my life.

Discussion: RedState, Mediaite and The Lonely Conservative

Riverdaughter / The Confluence:

Sunday: Suburban Soccer Mom Values — I'm about to offend a lot of people. Be forewarned. — I hate living in the suburbs. No, really, I hate it with a white hot passion. It's because of the soccer moms. Of course, not all moms in the suburbs are soccer moms. Some of them are into LaCrosse.

Discussion: Eschaton and Suburban Guerrilla

New York Times:

The Economy and D.C.: Renewed Weakness — The recent deluge of weak economic data has led to a guessing game among analysts. Is the weakness temporary? Or is there more bad news to come? — Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, weighed in last week, saying that growth …

Discussion: The Huffington Post and Taylor Marsh

Paul Krugman:

It's the Health Care Costs, Stupid — I've already written about Joe Lieberman's very bad, no good idea of raising the Medicare eligibility age. Austin Frakt and Aaron Carroll show that it's even worse than I thought: Americans near 65 who don't have good health insurance delay needed treatment …

Discussion: PERRspectives, ThinkProgress, Hullabaloo and Firedoglake

Associated Press:

Gabrielle Giffords photographs released — PHOENIX — Two photos of a smiling Rep. Gabrielle Giffords were released early Sunday by her office, her hair shorn short but few other telling signs of her gunshot wound to the head. — The Facebook photos, the first clear snapshots of Giffords since …

Discussion: Scared Monkeys and Balloon Juice