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Iraq Militants Claim Marine Beheading AP — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq — An Iraqi militant group claimed on a Web site Saturday it beheaded a captive U.S. Marine, in what would be the fourth decapitation of a foreign hostage in the region since May. | |
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Oliver Willis: Update: The right-wing wackos at NewsMax are in on the scam too. We are BORG! Charles Johnson: Wassef Ali Hassoun: Iraq Militants Claim Marine Beheading. "We would like to inform you that the Marine of Lebanese origin, Hassoun, has been slaughtered. Jeralyn Merritt: Islamic Group Claims Beheading of U.S. Marine — An awful holiday report... [snipped quote] [snipped quote] We won't be watching. |
Ace: Our captured Marine has been beheaded. Horrible, of course. But there is a silver lining: this behavior is not shocking nor terrorizing us anymore. McQ: Terrorists reportedly murder Marine — From AP: [snipped quote] It appears the terrorist scum who held him have beheaded him. Joe Gandelman: Meanwhile, the AP's latest notes that there is no confirmation yet from the U.S. military, which is looking into it. |
| Also: James Joyner | |
Seebach: Researchers surprised by liberal bias of media Rocky Mountain News — Permalink People trying to persuade others to adopt their views are very likely to cite think-tank experts who agree with them. And the liberal lobbying group Americans for Democratic Action (their description of themselves) regularly grades politicians from 0 to 100 based on their votes on selected issues, with the most liberal members of Congress earning 100. | |
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Ginny: Reynolds also links to a Rocky Mountain Editorial . She points out to get a "fair and balanced" day, one would have to read the NYT once and watch Fox special report twice. Sparkey: Fair And Balanced — Liberal bias in the news is not news, but a study (900K pdf) by Tim Groseclose, of UCLA and... Tom Smith: Liberal media bias — Interesting study. Via instapundit. Of course, the why question is more interesting. |
McQ: Bias? What bias? Interesting new study which addresses media bias. Pejman Yousefzadeh: Maybe you shouldn't be: [snipped quote] About the only critique that I can think of regarding the study is that the sample size may be too small. Glenn Reynolds: ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS COLUMNIST LINDA SEEBACH has a column on an interesting Yale study on media bias: [snipped quote] Here's a link to the study she writes about. |
Fireworks Give Chance to Blow Up Bin Laden By / AP — Permalink Some Americans this Fourth of July plan to get a bang out of blowing Osama bin Laden's head off. The bin Laden Noggin, a cone-shaped pyrotechnic device with a cartoon of bin Laden's face, has been a hot seller at some fireworks stores around the country. | |
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James Joyner: Osama Bin Laden Firecracker — AP — Fireworks Give Chance to Blow Up Bin Laden [snipped quote] Umm, terrorists are bad and we should kill them? Glenn Reynolds: Celebrating with one of these, however, would be amusing: "Some Americans this Fourth of July plan to get a bang out of blowing Osama bin Laden's head off. |
Andrew Stuttaford: FIREWORKS — Every now and again there's a story in the press that's a reminder that the heart of this country is still in the right place: "PLATTSMOUTH, Neb. |
Military Draft? Official Denials Leave Skeptics By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, July 1 — The Pentagon says no. The Selective Service System says no. And Congressional leaders say absolutely not. Yet talk of reinstating the military draft persists around the country, driven by the Internet, high-profile moves by the... | |
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James Joyner: Military Draft? Official Denials Leave Skeptics NYT — Military Draft? Official Denials Leave Skeptics [snipped quote] This simply isn't going to happen. Cori Dauber: Yes, that's right, after months of jinning up the suggestion that a non-starter was an actual proposal along the lines... DemFromCT: Does the Media Drive the Internet, or... I had to stop and remind myself I was reading the NY Times. Military Draft? |
Steve Gilliard: Is the draft coming back? Are they coming back to send your kid to war? Military Draft? Tom Maguire: Feed The Fantasy — A slow news day on a moribund news weekend allows the "All The Liberal Talking Points That Are Fit... |
As war and the economy influence election, conservatives turn their sights on the media By / Knight Ridder — Permalink WASHINGTON - With the presidential election likely to turn on developments in Iraq and the U.S. economy, one of the summer's hottest political issues is whether news-media coverage of those topics is fair or biased. | |
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DemFromCT: The Right Attacks the Media - Again — Kevin Drum has this take if you haven't seen the story yet... [snipped quote] ...and definitely worth a look-see. SK Bubba: Liberal media bias — Here's an interesting article about it. |
Kevin Drum: THE CONSERVATIVE WAR ON THE TRUTH...As I was catching up on a few things this morning I ran across this Knight-Ridder... |
Israel's Day of Light By / WaPo — Permalink Imagine that in Egypt, soldiers used the parliament building for a photo exhibit showing Egyptian soldiers abusing civilians. And that as usual in these matters, a great debate erupted in the newspapers and elsewhere, but the government did not move to censor the exhibit. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: ISRAEL'S DAY OF LIGHT" — I don't agree often with Richard Cohen, and I would praise Israel for reasons that Cohen does not mention in this article. |
David Adesnik: NOT JUST BETTER: Richard Cohen does an excellent job of making a classic point: Israeli democracy is not just morally superior to the brutal dictatorships that surround it. |
The Places Beyond A Biographer's Reach By / WaPo — Permalink A skilled biographer, acknowledging the limitations of his craft, once noted that nine-tenths of a human life remains essentially unknowable to an outsider. It is uncharted land, hidden from view, experienced only in the mind of the individual. | |
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Gary Farber: David Adesnik is right; this piece by David Maraniss, Bill Clinton's biographer, on Clinton's My Life, gives exceptional insight into the man. |
David Adesnik: CLINTON RECONSIDERED: This is the best review of Clinton's memoir I've read so far. |
Chemicals Not Found in Iraq Warheads By / WaPo — Permalink Sixteen rocket warheads found last week in south-central Iraq by Polish troops did not contain deadly chemicals, a coalition spokesman said yesterday, but U.S. and Polish officials agreed that insurgents loyal to former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and... | |
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Tom Maguire: Run That By Me Again... The WaPo informs us that chemicals were not found, except where they were found: Chemicals Not... Jason Van Steenwyk: Chemical Rockets Update: How To Blow a Story — Update on the Polish chemical discovery: This Washington Post article,... Steve Soto: Well, so much for this latest "evidence" of Saddam's program. It is false, like some of the other recent discoveries. |
James Joyner: Meanwhile, WaPo has a rather different take on what appears to be the same story: Chemicals Not Found in Iraq Warheads Captain Ed: Under the headline "Chemicals Not Found in Iraq Warheads," readers find out this in the third paragraph that Pincus... Jeff Goldstein: "Until that can be validated and proved, you'll find people in the administration not talking about it." h/t Dailyblitz... |
U.S. General Says Met Israeli Interrogator in Iraq Reuters — Permalink LONDON (Reuters) - The U.S. general who was in charge of Baghdad's notorious Abu Ghraib prison said on Saturday she had met an Israeli interrogator in Iraq, a claim Israel denied but which was likely to irritate many in the Arab world. | |
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Fred Lapides: U.S. General Says Met Israeli Interrogator in Iraq — This article is from Reuters "The U.S. general who was in charge... Charles Johnson: UPDATE: Surprise! Al-Reuters is jumping all over this story: U.S. General Says Met Israeli Interrogator in Iraq. |
Clayton Cramer: I Hope General Karpinski Is Lying — This news account is worrisome: [snipped quote] There's nothing wrong from a moral... |
Where's the Arab Media's Sense of Outrage? By / WaPo — Permalink The apparent execution last week of U.S. soldier Keith Maupin, who had been held hostage in Iraq for more than two months, and the beheadings a week earlier of South Korean Kim Sun Il in Iraq and of American Paul Johnson in Saudi Arabia left the media the world over horrified and uncertain about how much should be shown. | |
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Joe Gandelman: And, in a Washingon Post piece, he issues a warning about what's going on "out there" and "over here." |
Betsy Newmark: It is so depressing to read about what the Arab media says or doesn't say about the brutality of terrorists' beheading prisoners and other acts of terrorism. |
Group Claims It Killed Captured Marine Fox News — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq — An Iraqi terrorist group claimed on Saturday that it had killed captured U.S. Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun (search). The group, calling itself the Ansar al-Sunna Army (search), said in a written statement on an Islamic web site that Lebanese-born Hassoun's throat had been slit. | |
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Sparkey: Captured US Marine Is Murdered — Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, USMC, has been murdered by his captors. |
Susanna Cornett: Time to get tougher — The Islamist terrorists are saying they've killed Wassef Ali Hassoun, the American Marine they apparently kidnapped last week. |
Army Stage-Managed Fall of Hussein Statue By / LAT — Permalink The Army's internal study of the war in Iraq criticizes some efforts by its own psychological operations units, but one spur-of-the-moment effort last year produced the most memorable image of the invasion. | |
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Jeanne D'Arc: Today's LA Times reports on an internal Army study of the war which describes how a Marine colonel decided to topple the... Atrios: Suckers — Everyone knew this was a totally staged event. God I hate our media for playing along. Bastards. |
Captain Ed: LA Times Lacks A Research Department — Or Even Google — The Los Angeles Times breaks the "big" story this morning that... Gary Farber: DON'T LOOK BEHIND THE CURTAIN. It's very very unpatriotic of The Liberal Press to print this story. Are there no schools being painted? |
Iraq Official Heading Oil-For-Food Probe Killed By / Reuters — Permalink BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The Iraqi official heading the investigation into alleged corruption in the United Nations oil-for-food program was killed in a bomb attack earlier this week, officials familiar with the probe said on Saturday. | |
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Joe Gandelman: Pure Coincidence, Of Course.... There couldn't be any connection, could there? |
Betsy Newmark: This sounds very suspicious. |
Al Jazeera: Out-Foxing Fox By / NYT — Permalink If President Bush wants to rescue his Iraqi adventure, here's a suggestion: Spend less time with C.I.A. sycophants like George Tenet and more time watching Al Jazeera television. The Bush administration's central intelligence failure was not that it failed to tap enough telephones. | |
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Kevin Drum: For a final word on conservative animus toward the "liberal" media, though, here's Nick Kristof today: "As U.S. Lt... |
Cori Dauber: If you bracket out his complete (and, of course, undefended) disdain for Fox News (why defend that — it just is, like... |
Reserve System Needs Change, Experts Believe By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, July 3 — The National Guard and Reserves must be fundamentally revamped if they are to carry the growing burden placed on them in support of the administration's military strategy, according to many commanders, Pentagon officials and respected national security experts. | |
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Phillip Carter: Spending our reserves — Thom Shanker has an excellent article in Sunday's New York Times discussing the structural issues now facing America's military reserves. |
Daniel Drezner: Rethinking the Guard and Reserves — Thom Shanker's story in the Sunday New York Times explores how post-9/11... |
A Bright, Burning Star By / WaPo — Permalink In 1954, a babe had a question for Johnny Strabler, who leans next to his gleaming hog, in a pathetic small town in the middle of nowhere. "Johnny, what are you rebelling against?" Johnny doesn't even have to think. | |
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David Adesnik: In the WaPo, Stephen Hunter provides a tribute to Brando's tumultuous life and career. |
Nick Gillespie: Jesse Walker noted his passing yesterday and here's the Washington Post's thorough, if unremarkable, obit. |
Baptists Angry at Bush Campaign Tactics AP — Permalink NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Southern Baptist Convention, a conservative denomination closely aligned with President Bush , said it was offended by the Bush-Cheney campaign's effort to use church rosters for campaign purposes. | |
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Jeanne D'Arc: But you know they've probably gone too far when the plan to turn churches into campaign headquarters even pisses off the... |
Steve Soto: Southern Baptists Tell Rove To Forget Using Their Churches In The Campaign — The Southern Baptists are giving Bush and... |
2,600 Flock to See an Exhibition of 'Real Human Bodies' By / NYT — Permalink LOS ANGELES, July 2 - One usually shies away from the dead, especially when they've been lying around for a while. The grim curiosity with which people slow for accidents or sit through horror films does not normally extend to peeking at the innards of... | |
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Andrew Stuttaford: DEATH COMES TO LOS ANGELES — Or, at least, his souvenirs. Earlier, they were in London. |
Ann Althouse: Plastic cadavers in L.A. The art/science exhibition of plasticized human cadavers, which I wrote about back in February... |
Marlon Brando, Oscar-Winning Actor, Is Dead at 80 By / Reuters — Permalink Marlon Brando, the rebellious prodigy who electrified a generation and forever transformed the art of screen acting, yet whose erratic career, obstinate eccentricities and recurring tragedies prevented him from fully realizing the promise of his early genius, is dead. | |
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David Adesnik: THE GODFATHER PASSES ON: Marlon Brandon, age 80. In the WaPo, Stephen Hunter provides a tribute to Brando's tumultuous life and career. Jeanne D'Arc: Brando — Marlon Brando has passed away at the age of 80. I don't have time to write anything at the moment, but I thought I'd leave a thread open for other people's thoughts. Robert Garcia Tagorda: In the New York Times, Rick Lyman has a long obituary that mainly praises Brando's early work in A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront, and others. |
Ann Althouse: The NYT Brando obit calls attention to "a crushing profile by Truman Capote in The New Yorker in 1957." Brian Linse: The End Of An Era: Brando Is Dead at 80 — The greatest actor of all time, Marlon Brando died yesterday at the age of 80. Gary Farber: HE WAS, MOST CERTAINLY, a contender. Read The Rest Scale: 5 out of 5, and say goodbye. |
| Also: Jeff Jarvis | |
Sadr Tells Iraqis to Sustain Resistance By / WaPo — Permalink BAGHDAD, July 2 — Moqtada Sadr, the rebellious Shiite Muslim cleric, insisted Friday that the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq had not ended with the recent handover of limited political powers to an interim government, and called on his followers to continue resisting the large presence of foreign troops in the country. | |
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Ace: Mookie al-Sadr is again urging violence against the "occupiers" of Iraq. Three strikes and you're out, pal. |
Captain Ed: The Washington Post reports that Sadr and his organization appears less coherent than ever: [snipped quote] The Iraqis... |
Fahrenheit 9/11: The temperature at which Michael Moore's pants burn By / Spinsanity — Permalink Michael Moore's career as a rabble-rousing populist has been marked by a frequent pattern of dissembling and factual inaccuracy. He distorted the chronology of his first movie, "Roger & Me"; repeatedly peddled the myth that the Bush administration gave $43... | |
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Matt Welch: Spinsanity on Fahrenheit: For those of you who care about the factual accuracy of Michael Moore polemics, the Spinsanity... Damian Penny: Fahrenheit pile-on — Spinsanity's Brendan Nyhan deems Fahrenheit 9/11 "the temperature at which Michael Moore's pants burn". Donald Sensing: Fact checking Michael Moore — Spinsanity did it in detail. |
David Adesnik: PANTS ON FIRE: Spinsanity isn't letting Moore get away with a single, solitary lie. Mitch Berg: Burn, Baby, Burn — Brendan Nyhan provides an extensive, exhaustive, point-by-point evisceration of Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. Judith Weiss: Many more links on Moore. Heh. My previous link roundup on F911 is here. UPDATE: Another fact-check, from Spinsanity. |
| Also: Glenn Reynolds, Jeff Goldstein | |
Bush's Winning Strategy By / NYT — Permalink On Sept. 8, 2003, Bush administration officials awoke to find that Paul Bremer III had written an op-ed piece in The Washington Post laying out a seven-step plan for the democratization of Iraq. | |
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DemFromCT: After all, speaking of 'fringe stuff', the Times publishes David Brooks. Ace: Iraq Round-Up — David Brooks has a good piece on how the accelerated transfer-of-sovereignty came to be (key insight:... |
Betsy Newmark: David Brooks is optimistic about our strategy in Iraq. He was one of the ones who just about gave up in the past year. |
Gephardt, the Quiet Candidate for No. 2 By / WaPo — Permalink In the competition to become Sen. John F. Kerry's vice presidential running mate, Rep. Richard A. Gephardt is the tortoise to Sen. John Edwards's hare, the insider player to Edwards's outside game. | |
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Trapper John: According to the WaPo, the top tier is down to Gephardt and Edwards — Vilsack is now relegated to longshot territory... Joe Gandelman: But the Washington Post says it is a distinct possibility). Michele Malkin notes that Kerry may have finally made a SMART political move. |
Betsy Newmark: Here the Washington Post looks at slow and steady Dick Gephardt and how he's not thrusting himself forward compared to... |
Kerry to Announce Running Mate in E-Mail AP — Permalink CLOQUET, Minn. (AP) - Democrat John Kerry plans to announce his vice presidential running mate in an e-mail to the 1 million subscribers to his campaign Web site. But he didn't say when. Kerry is expected to make the announcement before the July 26-29 Democratic National Convention. | |
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Jerome Armstrong: F**king Brilliant — Yea, Fahrenheit 911, which I saw tonight, thought was terrific, and made me really want to make... Moe Lane: It'll be some time in the next three weeks, obviously, and the secret will supposedly be kept until then |
Jeralyn Merritt: John Kerry will announce his vice presidential candidate in an email to the subscribers to his website on his weblog. Captain Ed: That's the only explanation that makes sense for John Kerry's latest folly: [snipped quote] So let me (quit laughing and)... |
Troops 'foil Iraq nerve gas bid' BBC — Permalink Poland's defence ministry claims its troops in Iraq have thwarted an attempt by militants to buy a quantity of warheads containing nerve agents. The country's military intelligence chief said troops had increased efforts to find the weapons when told they were on the market for about $5,000 each. | |
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Tom Maguire: What part of "not found" don't I understand? UPDATE: The credulous BBC version. Ace: Polish troops discover warheads containing cyclosarin and say they've foiled a terrorist effort to buy these very weapons. |
James Joyner: BBC — Troops 'foil Iraq nerve gas bid' "Poland's defence ministry claims its troops in Iraq have thwarted an attempt... Captain Ed: The AP and the BBC report that the head of Polish military intelligence revealed that Polish troops outbid terrorists... |
The British are coming! Salon — Permalink Dear Salon reader: As the country celebrates its independence, Salon is celebrating our own, by joining forces with another great voice of independence, the Guardian. Starting on Wednesday, July 7, look for special Guardian stories each day in Salon. | |
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Jan Haugland: PS: Salon joins forces with the Guardian. Good grief! |
Tim Blair: SALON, GUARDIAN JOIN "FORCES" — Wasn't Salon supposed to be an alternative to mainstream media? |
Kerry Invoking 'Values' Theme to Frame Issues By / NYT — Permalink CHICAGO, July 2 — Forty-eight minutes into a rambling speech about education, health care, jobs and equal opportunity here the other morning, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts went off-script to sum up his White House quest in a simple sentence. | |
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Tom Maguire: NY Times, July 3: Kerry Invoking 'Values' Theme to Frame Issues MORE: Reactions to the Slate piece at Memeorandum;... DemFromCT: Update [2004-7-2 22:19:54 by DemFromCT]: More about Kerry and values tomorrow in the NY Times. |
Ken Masugi: Kerry Tries on "Values" as a Campaign Theme — Kerry's values, as clarified by the NY Times: 'It sounds the same whether... |
Debate Continues as Cosby Again Criticizes Black Youths WaPo — Permalink As Dr. Cliff Huxtable, TV's quintessential sitcom dad, Bill Cosby offered gentle, homespun advice to his young family each week. But in real life, Cosby lately has been delivering a much harsher message: African Americans, particularly the young, have only themselves to blame for a variety of social ills. | |
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Betsy Newmark: Bill Cosby sure shook up things with his speech at Operation PUSH. What I like is Jesse Jackson jumping in and saying that this is what he's been saying for decades. |
Ken Masugi: "'Most of the 1,000 participants who crowded into a conference room for breakfast and a panel discussion seemed to... |
Dean Supporters Vow to Fight for VP Spot By / AP — Permalink MONTPELIER, Vt. — Message from a group of Howard Dean supporters to John Kerry: Pick the one-time presidential candidate as your running mate or face a floor fight at the Democratic National Convention. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: But I root for whatever divisiveness I can get: [snipped quote] Actually, I doubt that any disgust on the part of the Deaniacs will manifest itself that much at the convention. Captain Ed: Deaniacs Threaten Floor Fight — Supporters of Howard Dean have launched a campaign to get their favorite candidate on... |
Mitch Berg: I Don't Dare Hope — I don't think I've been good enough this year for this to pan out. [snipped quote] I can only dream. Oliver Willis: Don't Be Silly — An assortment of Deaniacs are agitating to get Dean on the ticket as vice-president, and are threatening a floor fight at the convention over it. |
It's Fun for Powell at the 'YMCA' By / AP — Permalink JAKARTA, Indonesia - U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell donned a hard hat and tucked a hammer in his belt Friday, performing a version of the Village People's hit "YMCA" at the conclusion of Asia's largest security meeting. | |
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Steve Soto: Yes, The World Takes Us Seriously On Security — At a world security meeting in Jakarta overnight, Colin Powell and... |
Kevin T. Keith: He Likes To Hang Out With All The Boys — Words fail: "U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell donned a hard hat and... |
US evacuates staff from Bahrain BBC — Permalink More than 500 American citizens based in Bahrain are to be evacuated because of the threat of terrorism. The Pentagon approved plans for the "temporary relocation" of family members and non-emergency personnel amongst the US military staff stationed there. | |
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Fred Lapides: Virus spreads — More than 500 American citizens based in Bahrain are to be evacuated because of the threat of terrorism.US evacuates staff from Bahrain |
KJL: AMERICANS LEAVE BAHRAIN UNDER THREAT OF TERRORISM |
Four U.S. Soldiers Charged in Iraq Prisoner Drowning By / Reuters — Permalink WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army has charged four soldiers, three of them with manslaughter, over the drowning of an Iraqi prisoner while a new report criticized U.S. military detention policies, officials said on Friday. | |
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Greyhawk: Must note, however, the linked Reuters piece alternates paragraphs of this story with bits of a report on mistreatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, and elsewhere. Glenn Reynolds: And now we see something is happening: [snipped quote] For a while it looked as if there might be a coverup. |
Jason Van Steenwyk: ...And I Would Have Got Away With Too, If It Wasn't For You Pesky Bloggers! From Reuters: [snipped quote] Link. |
Thousands of eligible voters are on felon list Miami Herald — Permalink More than 2,100 Florida voters — many of them black Democrats — could be wrongly barred from voting in November because Tallahassee elections officials included them on a list of felons potentially ineligible to vote, a Herald investigation has found. | |
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Ted Barlow: The wrong man — A Florida Division of Elections database lists more than 47,000 people the department said may be ineligible to vote because of felony records. Taegan Goddard: Florida's Inelegible Voter List Has Many Mistakes — The Miami Herald says it has found 2,119 names that were wrongfully placed on Florida's list of ineligible voters. |
Jeanne D'Arc: The press comes to life — The court just ruled yesterday that Florida had to release a list of suspected felons who... |
Iran Is in Strong Position to Steer Iraq's Political Future By / NYT — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 2 — With the chaos of the occupation and now the loosening of American control here, Iran has moved into its best position in decades to influence the political shape of Iraq, Western and Iraqi officials say. | |
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Juan Cole: Iranian Influence on Iraqi Shiites — Ed Wong of the New York Times has a fine piece Saturday on Iranian influence on Iraqi Shiites. |
Laura Rozen: Update: The NYT's Ed Wong reports on Iran's influence in Iraq. |
Nader Accuses Democrats of 'Dirty Tricks' By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - Independent candidate Ralph Nader , denied a spot on the Arizona ballot, on Friday accused the Democrats and presidential candidate John Kerry of engaging in political "dirty tricks." | |
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Gary Farber: NADER THREATENS KERRY. Dirty tricks, he cries! [snipped quote] But they're still against electing Bush. Right. Glenn Reynolds: RALPH NADER is charging that he's the victim of "dirty tricks" on the part of the Establishment. |
Clayton Cramer: I hold Ralph Nader in considerable contempt, but I never thought he was this naive or stupid: [snipped quote] "Hello, Ralph? |
Def Cab for Cutie By / Slate — Permalink My excuse for the relative infrequency of "Gearbox": There's a war on, and it seems silly to be reviewing cars. The cease-fire in Najaf could break down at any moment! Even under the happiest political conditions, reviewing cars is time-consuming. | |
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Steve Bainbridge: Car Blogging — Mickey Kaus reports on his new car reviewing strategy:1) [D]rive all the interesting cars at the rental... |
Glenn Reynolds: MICKEY KAUS has a new Gearbox column posted, in which he reviews an "electrogothic cab of death!" I like Electrogoth. |
Flexibility, Quality, and Numbers: The Job Market Is More Than on Track By / Heritage Foundation — Permalink "Labor market conditions have improved." So proclaimed the Federal Reserve this past Wednesday. Today's employment situation report from the Labor Department is more proof that the job market is solidly on track. | |
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Bill Hobbs: UPDATE: Via Pejman, I found this commentary on the jobs data from economist Tim Kane, Ph.D. |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: For those of you who are interested, there is this analysis of the jobs picture to consider as well. |
Party Appeal to Churches for Help Raises Doubts By / NYT — Permalink The Bush-Cheney campaign has laid out a brisk schedule for legions of Christian supporters to help enlist "conservative churches" and their members, including sending church directories to the campaign, according to a Bush campaign document. | |
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Harley: Turns out the Bush team is drawing up some fairly specific marching orders for their more devout supporters, earlier... |
Andrew Sullivan: PARTY OF GOD, CTD: The fusion of the Republican party with evangelical Christian churches is now well-entrenched, as this latest NYT story reveals. |
Stars pay tribute to legend Brando BBC — Permalink Critics and actors have paid tribute to the "extraordinary" influence of Marlon Brando on American film, who has died aged 80. Brando, who starred in more than 40 movies, was perhaps best known for his role as mafia leader Don Corleone in the 1972 classic The Godfather. | |
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The Poor Man: Brando's Dead — Age 80. In the interest of honesty, we should probably note the obvious: that never has an actor cruised by on reputation for so long as he did. |
Brian Linse: Things will never be the same, and I'm feeling just a little bit older today. BBC report on tributes. |
WHO's Dubious Bag of HIV Medicines By / LAT — Permalink The World Health Organization is racing to get medication to millions of people infected with HIV/AIDS. The organization's "3 by 5 plan" — which aims to treat 3 million people, mostly Africans, by the end of 2005 — is an ambitious one. | |
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Jeanne D'Arc: More pills — Just yesterday, the Los Angeles Times published an op-ed by a physician from the American Enterprise... |
Daniel Drezner: AIDS update — Voice of America reports on recent research on a generic three-in-one drug to fight AIDS |
Showing First Scenes of Hussein in the Courtroom By / NYT — Permalink ABC and CNN managed to outhustle their competition yesterday morning and placed the only Western journalists, aside from a news pool reporter, inside the Baghdad courtroom where Saddam Hussein was listening to the charges he will face when he goes to trial as a war criminal. | |
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Jay Rosen: And since there is nothing television does as well as public ceremony with a script, there had to be some disappointment... |
Captain Ed: NBC News: Self-Promotion Tops Historic Events — NBC News still may be wiping the egg off of its face yesterday, when it... |
Jordan, Yemen May Send Iraq Peacekeepers AP — Permalink AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Jordan and Yemen offered troops to Iraq — a major policy shift that could be an attempt to encourage other Arab and Muslim nations to help the country's new U.S.-backed government restore security. | |
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Ace: Multiparty Unilateralism Watch — First Jordan, now Yemen. |
Kathryn Jean Lopez: YEMEN says they could send troops to Iraq, too. |
Who Was 1st With Brando News? Editor and Publisher — Permalink NEW YORK What newspaper was first to report the unexpected death of actor Marlon Brando? The winner, by a wide margin, appears to be the New York Post, if only in an unconfirmed manner. | |
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Edward Driscoll: UPDATE: Editor & Publisher writes: [snipped quote] Given the Internet, the blogosphere and wall-to-wall cable TV, why the... |
James Joyner: UPDATE: Editor and Publisher — Who Was 1st With Brando News? "What newspaper was first to report the unexpected death of actor Marlon Brando? |
PERFORMING ARTS By / WaPo — Permalink Those fans who came to Wolf Trap on Wednesday to hear tunes from when Linda Ronstadt wore satin short shorts and roller skates — and the place teemed with 'em — went away disappointed. True, Ronstadt is touring not with a rock band but with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. | |
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Judith Weiss: How is Michael Moore like a TV preacher? Let us count the ways. Many more links on Moore. Heh. My previous link roundup on F911 is here. |
Tim Blair: In DC, concluding a sad-sounding concert, Linda Ronstadt has provoked another round of Oscars-style Moore-booing: "The... |
Going Left on K Street By / WaPo — Permalink After a long hiring drought, Democrats are coming back into vogue on K Street. The latest sign came yesterday when the Motion Picture Association of America chose a Democrat — former Kansas congressman and agriculture secretary Dan Glickman — to succeed its president of 38 years, Jack Valenti. | |
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Julian Sanchez: But as the senator charged with heading up the GOP's infamous K-Street strategy, he can't be pleased to read this... Kevin Drum: Here's the relevant stat from the Washington Post: "According to a review of job listings in Influence.biz, a lobbying... |
Nathan Newman: Or the K Street lobbyists. But I repeat myself: [snipped quote] Tom Delay is crying in his beer. Matthew Yglesias: Jeffrey Birnbaum reports that lobbying firms are increasingly resisting GOP pressure and looking to hire more Democrats,... |
Thurmond's Biracial Daughter Seeks to Join Confederacy Group Reuters — Permalink Essie Mae Washington-Williams, a biracial woman who stepped forward last year to acknowledge that she was the daughter of the late Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, now wants to join the United Daughters of the Confederacy, an organization of descendants of soldiers who fought for the South in the Civil War. | |
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DeDurkheim: Strom Thurmond's Daughter joines Daughters of the Confederacy — Boy, I would love to be a fly on the wall when the Daughters of the Confederacy reviews this application. James Martin Capozzola: , Grand Knight of the Orders of the Supreme, Republican Party Council of the U.S. of A., goes all genealogical and stuff... |
Jane Galt: Good for her — Strom Thurmond's biracial daughter is attempting to join the Daughters of the Confederacy. Sniffle. Shawn @LiquidList: Today the New York Times reports that Dixiecrat and segregationist Strom Thurmond's biracial daughter Essie Mae... |
Implored to 'Offshore' More By / WaPo — Permalink A report by an influential consulting firm is exhorting U.S. companies to speed up "offshoring" operations to China and India, including high-powered functions such as research and development. | |
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Kevin Drum: The story quotes a Boston Consulting Group report that says American companies should get off their duffs and outsource more: [snipped quote] Now, this may be quite true. Steve M.: Not only are factory workers in low-cost countries much cheaper — well below $1 per hour in China, compared with $15 to... |
Daniel Drezner: More seriously, in the wake of mediocre job numbers for June, Paul Blustein has a Washington Post story that's worth checking out on the topic. |
'Qaeda-Linked' Group Renews Threat to Attack Europe By / Reuters — Permalink DUBAI (Reuters) - Muslim militants claiming links to al Qaeda vowed new attacks on Europe once a "truce" offered by Osama bin Laden expires in two weeks, newspapers said on Friday. | |
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KJL: "WE APOLOGIZE TO YOU IN ADVANCE IF YOU ARE AMONG THOSE KILLED" — Al Qaeda truce with Europe ends in two weeks? Charles Johnson: "We Apologize in Advance for Murdering You" 'Qaeda-Linked' Group Renews Threat to Attack Europe. |
Jeff Goldstein: Now Europe...Europe we can handle..." Reuters: [snipped quote] "...Well, except perhaps ceasing to undermine every move the Americans make in the war against terror. |
US lawmakers request UN observers for November 2 presidential election AFP — Permalink WASHINGTON (AFP) - Several members of the House of Representatives have requested the United Nations to send observers to monitor the November 2 US presidential election to avoid a contentious vote like in 2000, when the outcome was decided by Florida. | |
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Baldilocks: Who Are They? Now this needs some publicity. Whiskey: AFP is reporting that several members of the House of Representatives have asked the UN to send observers to "ensure free and fair elections in America." Steve Dillard: Moron of the day: Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson who spearheaded the effort to request the United Nations to send... |
Cori Dauber: Ha ha ha, very funny, you've made your point. Jeanne D'Arc: UPDATE: Of course, more oversight is needed: Several members of the House of Representatives have requested the United... Emperor Darth Misha I: Try it, F**kwits, Just F**king TRY it! (Via the Imperial Linkmaster General) Well, isn't THIS special? |
| Also: Blackfive, Roger L. Simon, Taegan Goddard, Charles Johnson, Arthur Chrenkoff | |
HOW MEDIA GET IRAQ WRONG By / New York Post — Permalink IRAQ veterans often say they're confused by U.S. news cover age, because their experience differs so greatly from what journalists report. Soldiers and Marines point to the slow, steady progress in almost all areas of Iraqi life and wonder why they don't get much notice — or in many cases, any notice at all. | |
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Glenn Reynolds: OUCH: I linked to Marine Corps reservist Eric Johnson's critique of Washington Post correspondent Rajiv Chandrasekharan earlier, but now it's been reprinted in the New York Post. Matthew Yglesias: The New York Post is running an op-ed by Eric Johnson, a Marine reservist who's seen action in Iraq, condemning The... James Joyner: How The Media Get Iraq Wrong — Eric Johnson, a civil affairs officer in the Marine Reserves, has a withering analysis... |
Cori Dauber: Now, I'm delighted to note, that piece has been picked up by the New York Post, where it will get far greater distribution. Betsy Newmark: One Marine Reservist who served in Iraq takes on the Washington Post's negative coverage of the situation in Iraq and... Jonah Goldberg: POST V POST — My friend Eric Johnson has a good piece in the NY Post about the Washington Post's coverage of Iraq. |
| Also: Will Collier, KJL | |
Moore's Public Service By / NYT — Permalink Since it opened, "Fahrenheit 9/11" has been a hit in both blue and red America, even at theaters close to military bases. Last Saturday, Dale Earnhardt Jr. took his Nascar crew to see it. | |
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McQ: Of course, its the media's fault! Doh! Can Krugman get any more assinine in his rantings? Jon Henke: Unfortunate that he had to become "The Ministry of Truth"—and get quite comfortable with that, too, thankyouverymuch—to get those ads. Hugh Hewitt: Paul Krugman on Michael Moore. A vote for John Kerry is a vote for these people and their friends having control of the national security of the United States. |
Digby: And, as is often the case, Krugman seems to have distilled the blogosphere's CW and written a wonderful column today that everyone is talking about. Brian W. Doss: Well, he's got a point. Krugman on Fahrenheit 9/11 and King George: [snipped quote] (via Crooked Timber) Matthew Yglesias: KRUGMAN ON MOORE. Everyone else is quoting this column so I will too: [snipped quote] That's exactly right. |
| Also: Steve Antler, Chris Bertram, Attaturk, Steve Gilliard, Atrios, Kevin Drum, The Poor Man, KJL, Tom Smith | |
Defiant Hussein Rebukes Iraqi Court for Trying Him By / NYT — Permalink CAMP VICTORY, Iraq, July 1 — A defiant but visibly shrunken Saddam Hussein dominated the opening of court proceedings on Thursday against 12 of the highest-ranking officials of Iraq's ousted dictatorship, declaring himself Iraq's lawful president and questioning the legitimacy of the Iraqi court. | |
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Phillip Carter: This struck me as odd, because most people wouldn't ordinarily think of a corrections letter to USA Today from top... Patterico: (Links via the Ranting Prof.) For example, this account from the New York Times states: "[Saddam] began nervously, like a hunted man in alien terrain. |
Jeanne D'Arc: John Burns' piece in the New York Times is great drama, skillfully written, but it pays inordinate attention to the war criminals' diminished wardrobes. Cori Dauber: While the headline, of course, also plays up his "defiance" the article itself is quite different from his younger colleague at the Post. |
Hussein, in Jail, Reportedly Said Little of Value NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, July 1 — In the nearly seven months that he was held captive by American forces, Saddam Hussein revealed little of what his interrogators most wanted to know, about his weapons programs and the insurgency in postwar Iraq, senior officials involved in his custody said in a series of recent interviews. | |
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Rich Lowry: HUSSEIN COUNTED ON U.N. From the New York Times: "One official said that Mr. Hussein had implied that ambiguity over... Cori Dauber: But then they go and change it for the online edition to "Hussein, in Jail, Reportedly Said Little of Value" which just makes it obvious they don't realize what they're sitting on. Howard Kurtz: The former strongman hasn't exactly been an ideal POW, says the New York Times: "In the nearly seven months that he was... |
Steve M.: Hussein, in Jail, Reportedly Said Little of Value — In the nearly seven months that he was held captive by American... Hindrocket: News reports indicate that Saddam Hussein disclosed little or nothing of significance during his seven months of captivity. |
Secretary Rumsfeld Interview with Roger Hedgecock, Newsradio 600 KOGO DefenseLINK — Permalink Q: [In Progress]... he has been prominent in a number of private-sector firms and in a number of cabinet and congressional positions throughout his lengthy career, which began back in 1957. Secretary Rumsfeld, welcome to KOGO. SEC. RUMSFELD: Well, thank you very much. | |
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Bill Hobbs: More WMD Found in Iraq — The transcript of a radio interview with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld reveals that... Jeff Goldstein: Rumsfeld: "Polish troops find sarin and mustard gas shells in Iraq, which is impossible, considering we lied about WMDs,... |
Clayton Cramer: I Guess This Isn't News — From the Defense Department's website, Roger Hedgecock, a San Diego talk show host,... Charles Johnson: Sarin and Mustard Gas in Iraq — Oh, by the way, not that it really matters, especially not compared to Michael Moore's... |
Bill Cosby to Blacks: Stop Blaming 'The White Man' By / CNSNews — Permalink Chicago (CNSNews.com) - Bill Cosby pleaded with blacks to stop blaming the "white man" for their problems on Thursday, and he reiterated his harsh critique of the current state of African-American culture. | |
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Michelle Malkin: QUOTES OF THE DAY — Bill Cosby addressing Jesse Jackson's PUSH conference in Chicago this week: "It is almost analgesic... James Joyner: UPDATE: A lot more on the speech at CNSNews — Bill Cosby to Blacks: Stop Blaming 'The White Man' "Cosby bristled at... |
Steve Antler: Is elistment really the only way working class youths can escape poverty? Does Krugman really believe this? |
US plans huge show of force in Pacific By / Straits Times — Permalink HONG KONG - The United States is planning a massive show of force in the Pacific Ocean near China to register a point with Beijing. In an exercise codenamed Operation Summer Pulse 04, it is expected to arrange for an unprecedented seven aircraft carrier... | |
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Jason Van Steenwyk: Gunboat Diplomacy, Bush Style Just in case China thinks the US is so preoccupied with Iraq that we can't open up a can... Glenn Reynolds: A MAJOR U.S. SHOW OF FORCE in the Pacific. The Gweilo Diaries thinks that the Chinese will be unhappy, but not unimpressed. |
Brian W. Doss: Now, Bush is sending a massive fleet of seven carrier groups into striking distance of China and allowing the Taiwanese... |