meme orandum
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Military Details Koran Incidents at Base in Cuba By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, June 3 - A military inquiry has found that guards or interrogators at the Guantánamo Bay detention center in Cuba kicked, stepped on and splashed urine on the Koran, in some cases intentionally but in others by accident, the Pentagon said on Friday. | |
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Avedon Carol: Rachel Maddow notes that at least three major news sources took note of the fact that this was Friday dump-news: NYT:... Captain Ed: This has been front-page news for two or three weeks now, ever since Newsweek decided to run a poorly-sourced item about Gitmo guards flushing a Qu'ran down a toilet. |
Zoe Kentucky: Adding insult to injury, our dear government delivers this news wrapped in a nice fat lie for extra flavor. Jonathan H. Adler: Insofar as there have been abuses — and it appears there have — U.S. officials are worthy of criticism, but as many... |
On the Trail of the Latest High Court Contender By / LAW.com — Permalink He's the latest flavor of the week on the rapidly changing menu of potential Supreme Court nominees: Michael McConnell, a mild-mannered yet controversial judge from Utah who skis and hikes and last year taught a course on Plato's "Republic." | |
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Stuart Buck: McConnell — Still trying to stay away from the news, but I couldn't help seeing (and now recommending) this article... Ann Althouse: Justice McConnell? Tony Mauro has a detailed piece in Law.com about Michael McConnell as a Supreme Court appointee. |
Steve Bainbridge: Stuart Taylor says it's: [snipped quote] I've seen him in action, back when he was a law professor, presenting papers on... |
Bolton Said to Orchestrate Unlawful Firing By / AP — Permalink John R. Bolton flew to Europe in 2002 to confront the head of a global arms-control agency and demand he resign, then orchestrated the firing of the unwilling diplomat in a move a U.N. tribunal has since judged unlawful, according to officials involved. | |
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Judd @ThinkProgress: AP reports: [quote] A former Bolton deputy says the U.S. undersecretary of state felt Jose Bustani "had to go," particularly...[end quote] Cookie Jill: yeah...molton bolton's going to really make friends and influence people...not. now...alleged... |
Digby: Shoes Tumbling To The Ground — If any Democratic Senators are looking for a way to shine light on the Downing St Memo(and I'm not holding my breath) this may be the way to do it. |
Police offer theories on teen's disappearance CNN — Permalink ORANJESTAD, Aruba (CNN) — Aruba police have three theories concerning a missing high school student from Alabama, Aruba's deputy police chief said Saturday, six days after the student disappeared on a senior trip to the island. | |
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Orin Kerr: Right now the CNN.com home page is leading with this missing persons story, featuring (of course) a photograph of the... |
Scared Monkeys: UPDATE I *** ArubagrandmapCNN: "Police offer theories on teen's disappearance" "Aruba police have three theories... |
Air Force Academy Leader Admits Religious Intolerance at School AP — Permalink BROOMFIELD, Colo., June 3 (AP) - The superintendent of the Air Force Academy acknowledged to leaders of a national Jewish group on Friday that religious intolerance permeated the military school. | |
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Jason Van Steenwyk: The first step is admitting you have a problem — Air Force Academy Leader Admits Religious Intolerance at School Why is it always the Air Force academy? Jesse Taylor: Leadership In Action — The Air Force is admitting that it has problems with religious discrimination. |
Pessimist @LeftCoaster: Considering that they are ex-officers, the majority either came out of Southern military schools like The Citadel, which... |
Kopel: Hyperbole taints Gitmo coverage Rocky Mountain News — Permalink Suppose that on a Monday morning this fall, you read a story that said "many hundreds of people attended yesterday's Broncos game." If the crowd were 76,000 people, you might suspect the writer's phrasing was an attempt to minimize public perceptions of... | |
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David Kopel: Media Miscoverage of the Guantanamo Gulag, Gay Rights, and Iranian Nukes: Those are topics of my latest media analysis column for the Rocky Mountain News. Glenn Reynolds: YET ANOTHER UPDATE: More on this and other topics in Dave Kopel's latest media analysis column in the Rocky Mountain News. |
Ed Driscoll: The Sporting Life — In his media column in the Rocky Mountain News, Dave Kopel writes: [snipped quote] We've also... |
Pentagon Details Abuse Of Koran WaPo — Permalink The U.S. military released new details yesterday about five confirmed cases of U.S. personnel mishandling the Koran at the prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, acknowledging that soldiers and interrogators kicked the Muslim holy book, got copies wet, stood on a Koran during an interrogation and inadvertently sprayed urine on another copy. | |
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Avedon Carol: And in the WaPo, "The U.S. military released new details yesterday about five confirmed cases of U.S. personnel... |
Cori Dauber: The Post Covers the Koran — Compare the Post's coverage to the wire reports I mentioned earlier. |
U.S. Uncovers Vast Hide-Out of Iraqi Rebels By / NYT — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 4 - American marines have discovered an elaborate series of underground bunkers used recently by insurgents in central Iraq, with heavy weapons, a kitchen and fresh food, furnished living quarters, showers and even a working air-conditioner, the military said Saturday. | |
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Charles Johnson: US Uncovers Vast Hide-Out of Iraqi "Rebels" — As the US uncovers a vast complex of underground bunkers in Iraq used by... Armando @DailyKos: Iraqi Insurgency: The Batcave — From the NYTimes: "American marines have discovered an elaborate series of underground... |
Orrin Judd: U.S. Uncovers Vast Hide-Out of Iraqi Rebels (EDWARD WONG, 6/05/05, NY Times) "American marines have discovered an... |
Journey to the centre of Earth Guardian — Permalink Japanese scientists are to explore the centre of the Earth. Using a giant drill ship launched next month, the researchers aim to be the first to punch a hole through the rocky crust that covers our planet and to reach the mantle below. | |
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Joe Gandelman: But here's some news that should please the dead author (as much as any news would please a dead author). Atrios: Don't Do It! I saw this Doctor Who episode! Japanese scientists are to explore the centre of the Earth. |
Jim Henley: Using a giant drill ship launched next month, the researchers aim to be the first to punch a hole through the rocky... |
Concerns Arise at A.C.L.U. Over Document Shredding By / NYT — Permalink The American Civil Liberties Union has been shredding some documents over the repeated objections of its records manager and in conflict with its longstanding policies on the preservation and disposal of records. | |
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Eriposte @LeftCoaster: First, this article by Stephanie Strom in the Times: "The American Civil Liberties Union has been shredding some... |
Robert Tagorda: Concerns Arise at A.C.L.U. Over Document Shredding (NYT | RSS) "The American Civil Liberties Union has been shredding... |
New confirmation trouble By / Townhall.com — Permalink WASHINGTON — On top of confirmation fights waged by liberal Democrats, President Bush now faces trouble from a potential conservative Republican presidential candidate. | |
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Captain Ed: Harkin: Christian Broadcasters 'Our Taliban' — Robert Novak reports that stupid statements on Air America aren't limited to the liberal network's hosts. Orrin Judd: THE WACKO STANDARD: HARKIN HOLLERING (Robert Novak, 6/04/05, Townhall) [snipped quote] Thanks to the Gang of 14, "wacko" isn't "extraordinary." |
Jonathan H. Adler: HYSTERICAL HARKIN — Robert Novak reports on some outrageous comments by Senator Tom Harkin: "Harkin, appearing on... |
Despite Years of U.S. Pressure, Taliban Fight On in Jagged Hills By / NYT — Permalink GAZEK KULA, Afghanistan - For weeks, sightings of Taliban fighters were being reported all over the rugged mountains here. But when Staff Sgt. Patrick Brannan and his team of scouts drove into a nearby village to investigate a complaint of a beating, they had no idea that they were stumbling into the biggest battle of their lives. | |
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Cori Dauber: You betcha. "Despite Years of US Pressure, Taliban Fight on in Jagged Hills" Sigh. Jason Van Steenwyk: And the Times headline: "Despite Years of U.S. Pressure, Taliban Fight On in Jagged Hills." The invaluable Cori Dauber has much more. |
McQ: The forgotten fight in Afghanistan — Interesting article in the NY Times International about the fight that continues in Afghanistan between US forces and the Taliban. |
Change of Plans By / TNR — Permalink Terrorism experts tend to agree that Al Qaeda—since the leveling of its training camps in Afghanistan—has evolved twice. First, it evolved from a tightly run hierarchy into a loose coalition of splinter groups, all of which drew inspiration from Osama Bin Laden but only some of which fell directly under his chain of command. | |
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Skippy: so hopefully we will be able to add our two cents to this humble site a bit more often in the coming days... meanwhile,... |
FrancoAlemán: JOSEPH BRAUDE argues in his latest article on the New Rpublic that al-Qaeda may have entered a new phase. |
A's for Everyone! By / WaPo — Permalink It was the end of my first semester teaching journalism at American University. The students had left for winter break. As a rookie professor, I sat with trepidation in my office on a December day to electronically post my final grades. | |
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Betsy Newmark: A professor at American University writes of the lengths that students will go to in order to protest their grades. |
Amanda Butler: Bribing College Students — The Washington Post Magazine features one of those stories about grade inflation at universities, told by an adjunct professor at American University. |
Detainees, not soldiers, flushed Quran CNN — Permalink (CNN) — A U.S. military investigation into the mishandling of the Muslim holy book at the Guantanamo Bay prison for suspected terrorists has determined that detainees — not U.S. soldiers — attempted to flush the Quran down the toilet there. | |
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TheAnchoress: (And she's being fair, too - she applauds and links to this story at CNN with its headline: Detainees, not soldiers, flushed Quran. Cori Dauber: Update: Credit where credit's due department: via Michelle Malkin (who has a roundup of blogger response up) comes this CNN headline, "Detainees, not soldiers, flushed Quran." James Joyner: Detainees, Not Soldiers, Flushed Koran — The latest on urine and the Koran: Detainees, not soldiers, flushed Quran... |
Tom @ScaredMonkeys: AP , Reuters, CNN, Click on read more below for the stories. Read the rest of this entry » Michelle Malkin: CNN gets a headline right: Detainees, not soldiers, flushed Quran *** Blogger reax... LGF's Charles Johnson sez: "It's... Charles Johnson: CNN Gets One Right — Amazingly, one of the "Koran apocalypse" stories at CNN actually has a headline that focuses on... |
U.S.: Gitmo Quran Was Splashed With Urine By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - U.S. military officials say no guard at the Guantanamo Bay prison for terror suspects flushed a detainee's Quran down the toilet, but they disclosed that a Muslim holy book was splashed with urine. | |
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Jack Cluth: It's not about Islam, and it never was. It's about power.... U.S. : Gitmo Quran Was Splashed With Urine Interesting, isn't it? |
Steve M.: As you may already know, the gutless wonders of the Bush administration just put this information out at their favorite... |
Harvard's Diversity Grovel City Journal — Permalink Harvard University has just pledged $50 million for faculty "diversity" efforts, penance for President Lawrence Summers's public mention of sex differences in cognition. | |
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QD @SouthernAppeal: Heather MacDonald has a very good article on Harvard's decision to throw $50 million towards "diversity" in faculty hiring and tenuring. |
Paul @PowerLine: Harvard's diversity grovel — We are big fans of Heather MacDonald. Please read her take-down of Harvard's new $50 million faculty diversity effort, and see why. |
Following Terrorists' Money By / WaPo — Permalink Since Sept. 11, 2001, the United States and several other countries have touted their success in identifying terrorist cells and cutting off terrorism financing. The Bush administration regularly asserts that al Qaeda is financially weakened and forced to cut expenditures. | |
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Andrew Cochran: Victor Comras's op-ed in Washington Post: "Following Terrorists' Money" — Contributing Expert Victor Comras's op-ed in... |
Cori Dauber: Here (sadly) is yet another piece reminding us of the importance of closing off terrorist financing and how little other countries are doing to pull their weight. |
Deep Throat Revealed? CNN — Permalink THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. ANNOUNCER: CROSSFIRE. On the left, James Carville. On the right, Joe Watkins. In the CROSSFIRE, has one of the biggest secrets in political history been revealed? | |
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Brad DeLong: Lawrence Eagleburger on Richard Nixon — From what I hope was the very last "Crossfire": CNN.com - Transcripts: And... |
Atrios: Here's Republican Larry Eagleburger on Deep Throat: "EAGLEBURGER: Probably. You know, President Nixon once suspected him. |
Upside-Down Interest Rates By / Slate — Permalink Here's a bad sign: If current trends continue, we could soon be experiencing an inversion of the yield curve. Though it sounds like something out of quantum physics, the yield curve is actually a fairly simple concept. | |
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Stirling Newberry: What was I following? The probability of the yield curve inverting. That worry has hit Daniel Gross of Slate. |
Tyler Cowen: Daniel Gross presents a clear treatment: [snipped quote] Gross is an excellent economic journalist but I must differ on one key point. |
Al Qaeda Clashes Caught on Tape ABCNEWS — Permalink June 3, 2005 — Never-before-seen propaganda videos obtained by ABC News showcase the intensely violent fighting and unique difficulties that surround the hunt for Osama bin Laden in the remote tribal areas of northwest Pakistan. It is a view from al Qaeda's side of the battle. | |
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TheAnchoress: Or, here's an idea, maybe we can start paying attention to stuff like this. |
Oliver Willis: Al Qaeda on the march — I don't know about you, but I for one am so pleased that our "allies" in Pakistan are cool with Al Qaeda training camps popping up all over the place. |
Show Him the Money By / NYT — Permalink I hope Mark Felt and his family get the big payoff they want, but they've already hurt their chances by ignoring his famous advice as Deep Throat. They didn't follow the money. They didn't appreciate how seriously we journalists take our ethical standards. | |
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Jeff Jarvis: Question the money : John Tierney questions one of the sacred tenants of journalism: Thou shalt not pay sources. |
Betsy Newmark: John Tierney points out the hypocrisy of the press sanctimoniously refusing to pay a source for information, yet... |
Why Did the French and Dutch Vote No? By / Weekly Standard — Permalink WHEN THE RUSSIAN ARMY CHASED Napoleon's troops all the way back to Paris in 1814, the occupiers were not just tolerated but welcomed. They were chic. The empress Josephine herself went riding with the young czar. The locals seemed to delight in subjugation, the more undignified, the better. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: Christopher Caldwell writes on the rejection of the EU constitution by both France and the Netherlands: [snipped quote] Quite so. PoliPundit: Blogging in France — French bloggers played an important role in the rejection of the abominable European Constitution:... |
Ace: An interesting column by Chris Caldwell (interesting in a lot of ways, not just this one) shows me to be a moron: "The... Betsy Newmark: Christopher Caldwell has one of the best articles explaining why the Dutch and the French rejected the EU Constitution and what is likely to happen now. |
Is Persuasion Dead? By / NYT — Permalink Speaking just between us - between one who writes columns and those who read them - I've had this nagging question about the whole enterprise we're engaged in. Note: Maureen Dowd is on book leave. | |
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Ezra Klein: Persuading the Unpersuaded — Matt Miller's meditation on persuasion is a good piece, and it's particularly relevant to us in the blogosphere. |
Armando @DailyKos: On Persuasion — Matt Miller, who is subbing for Maureen Dowd, writes an interesting column on political discourse and the ability to persuade with an argument. |
US admits guard soiled Koran at Guantanamo By / Times of London — Permalink AN AMERICAN guard at Guantanamo Bay urinated on a copy of the Koran while others kicked, stepped on and soaked copies with water balloons, the Pentagon admitted last night. A two-word obscenity was written in English on the inside cover of another copy. | |
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Avedon Carol: The Times reported last night that an American guard had urinated on a copy of the Koran at Guantanamo. |
Michelle Malkin: And the new media frenzy is already under way: here, here, here and here. ***Don't trust the MSM reports. |
The European Disease Opinion Journal — Permalink No one knows for sure to what extent economic anxiety influenced the decisive "Non!" by French and Dutch voters against the new European Union Constitution this week. But one thing is certain: The French and much of the rest of the European Union have much to be economically anxious about. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: AND STILL MORE ON EUROPE — In the end, this is the problem, isn't it? Steve Antler: UPDATE: More here. And remember any of the "alternate" measures of labor underutilization would probably make the contrast even more dramatic. |
Tully @Centerfield: Europe, Fading — Today's Opinion Journal (Wall St Journal Online) has an editorial on the problems faced by Europe, the... |
Jailers splashed Koran with urine - Pentagon Reuters — Permalink WASHINGTON (Reuters) - American jailers at the Guantanamo prison for foreign terrorism suspects splashed a Koran with urine, kicked and stepped on the Islamic holy book and soaked it with water, the U.S. military said on Friday. | |
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Avedon Carol: Reuters has, "American jailers at the Guantanamo prison for foreign terrorism suspects splashed a Koran with urine,... Venkat @BeggingToDiffer: It would be nice to see the administration reap what it sowed. Hopefully it will have to do so. Pandagon. Richard TPD: For sure, the US is nowhere close to China in this regard, but with the news today about Gitmo and with new Abu Ghraib... |
Charles Johnson: Media Hysteria Climbs to New Heights — Mainstream media is indulging in a hysterical orgy of bias and incitement over... Cori Dauber: Take a look at Reuters even more salacious headline, then compare it to the somewhat less-than-salacious story in the body of the story. Lambert @Corrente: 5:00 Friday Horror: Gitmo jailers pissed on the Koran — Well, 7:45: [snipped quote] Yeah, and the dog ate my homework. |
Military Tops Public Confidence List in New Gallup Poll By / DefenseLINK — Permalink WASHINGTON, June 3, 2005 - The American public has more confidence in the military than in any other institution, according to a Gallup poll released this week. | |
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Joe Gandelman: Gallup Poll: Public Confidence In Military Is High — There's good news for the military in a Gallup poll that suggests... James Joyner: Military Tops Public Confidence List in New Gallup Poll — Military Tops Public Confidence List in New Gallup Poll... |
Charles Johnson: Gallup Poll: US Trusts Military, Distrusts MSM — Here's some very compelling evidence that the mainstream media is... Betsy Newmark: Hmmm. You think there might be some connection between these statistics? |
Reports of terrorists meeting in Syria were flawed, U.S. officials say Knight Ridder — Permalink WASHINGTON - U.S. intelligence has no evidence that terrorist Abu Musab al Zarqawi visited Syria in recent months to plan bombings in Iraq, and experts don't believe the widely publicized meeting ever happened, according to U.S. officials. | |
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Jan Haugland: PS 2: In obviously related news, US officials are now withdrawing claims that Zarqawi had been in Syria: U.S... Laura Rozen: Knight Ridder's Warren Strobel and Jonathan Landay report: "U.S. intelligence has no evidence that terrorist Abu Musab... Kevin Drum: BULLETIN: U.S. INTEL MISUSED...Knight Ridder, your best source for non-bulls**t coverage of U.S. intelligence... |
Gary Farber: PIMPERNEL ZARQAWI. He's here, he's there, he's not there! Cookie Jill: bless those knight ridder folks... most of the time they just cut through all the w.h. talking points crap and give you the real news. |
U.S. Confirms Gitmo Soldier Kicked Quran By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - The Pentagon on Friday released new details about mishandling of the Quran at the Guantanamo Bay prison for terror suspects, confirming that a soldier deliberately kicked the Muslim holy book and that an interrogator stepped on a Quran and was later fired for "a pattern of unacceptable behavior." | |
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Avedon Carol: Another version of this story says, "a guard's urine came through an air vent and splashed on a detainee and his Quran" - a likely story, eh? Cori Dauber: But what makes the headline and first 6 paragraphs of AP's story? "US Confirms Gitmo Soldier Kicked Quran." Roger L. Simon: Keeping your eye on the ball... The fusty will undoubtedly spend the next few days hashing over every teeny factoid... |
Blackfive: Essentially, the AP headline is "U.S. Confirms Gitmo Soldier Kicked Quran" - and then goes on to list a five abuses by... Michelle Malkin: GITMO DETAINEES DESECRATE QURAN — That's the headline you won't be reading over this AP story filed tonight on investigative findings released by Brig. Charles Johnson: It's Riotin' Time — And the media beat goes on: US Confirms Gitmo Soldier Kicked Quran. |
| Also: La Shawn Barber, ArchPundit | |
Gitmo Grovel: Enough Already By / WaPo — Permalink The self-flagellation over reports of abuse at Guantanamo Bay has turned into a full-scale panic. There are calls for the United States, with all this worldwide publicity, to simply shut the place down. A terrible idea. One does not run and hide simply because allegations have been made. | |
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TheAnchoress: I wasn't going to write about it because I really figured Charles Krauthammer said it all yesterday when he wrote: Does the Koran deserve special respect? Venkat @BeggingToDiffer: KORAN BURNING — Charles Krauthammer writes a meandering and lame column about why we shouldn't close Gitmo, why we... Charles Johnson: Krauthammer: Enough Gitmo Groveling — Charles Krauthammer says it all in his Friday column: Gitmo Grovel: Enough Already. |
Marc @USSNeverdock: I agree with Charles Krauthammer, "enough already". "Even greater hypocrisy is to be found here at home. Michelle Malkin: But as Charles Krauthammer writes powerfully in his column from earlier today, "the self-flagellation has gone far enough." Paul @PowerLine: UPDATE: Please don't miss Charles Krauthammer's column — "Gitmo Grovel" — either. |
| Also: Glenn Reynolds, Jesse Taylor, Betsy Newmark, Mike Rappaport, Attaturk, Tim Graham | |
Pentagon confirms U.S. soldier kicked Koran at prison By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON — The Pentagon on Friday released new details about mishandling of the Koran at the Guantanamo Bay prison for terror suspects, confirming that a soldier deliberately kicked the Muslim holy book and that an interrogator stepped on a Koran and was later fired for "a pattern of unacceptable behavior." | |
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Billmon: The Friday Flush — Talk Left notes the release (in the now standard late Friday document dump) of a Pentagon report... Jeralyn Merritt: USA Today has more. And Eric Alterman has a new column in The Nation on the Newsweek story - and why the Government shouldn't have "declared a jihad" and intervened. |
Michelle Malkin: Buried down in the AP story about Quran abuses at Gitmo, we learn: "[Hood] said his investigation found 15 cases of detainees mishandling their own Qurans. |
Italian Minister Calls for Lira's Return AP — Permalink ROME - Italy's labor minister called for a referendum to see if Italians want to temporarily bring back the lira after widespread popular discontent over high prices that many blame on the introduction of the euro. | |
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McQ: Italy: Bring back the Lira — In another sign that all is not well in EU land, an Italian minister has called for... Pejman Yousefzadeh: MORE TROUBLE STILL FOR THE EUROPEAN SUPERSTATE — To the extent that money really does talk, this seems rather... Jayson @PoliPundit: United — Or not. |
James Joyner: Italian Minister Calls for Lira's Return — Italy's labor minister wants to dump the Euro in favor of the lira to help get the country out of its financial woes. David Carr: A Mark, a Yen, a Buck or a Pound — As soon as the 'unthinkable' becomes thinkable it also, and immediately, becomes sayable as well: [snipped quote] Temporarily? |
A Race to the Top By / NYT — Permalink It was extremely revealing traveling from Europe to India as French voters (and now Dutch ones) were rejecting the E.U. constitution - in one giant snub to President Jacques Chirac, European integration, immigration, Turkish membership in the E.U. and all the forces of globalization eating away at Europe's welfare states. | |
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Avedon Carol: Because according to Friedman, it's just plain backward-looking to want to work a 35-hour week. Riggsveda @Corrente: Is there anything more laughable than a pair of fools like Friedman and Brooks extolling the poverty of the Third World... David Sirota: His newest column should be seen as an absolute insult to ordinary working people everywhere. |
Julian Sanchez: Here's the gist of Tom Friedman's New York Times column yesterday: "The fact that a top German politician has resorted... Dale Franks: Joo Janta 2000 Peril Sensitive Chromatic Sunglasses — Thomas Friedman writes that Old Europe's people, who seem... Stanley Kurtz: WESTERN WELFARE — The Western welfare state is going down. Here's Tom Friedman's take. Naturally, Friedman's emphasis is on globalization. |
| Also: Sam Rosenfeld, Donald Luskin, Orrin Judd, Avedon, FrancoAlemán, The Poorman | |
Dean Defending Comments About Republicans By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - National Democratic Chairman Howard Dean was defending another of his comments Friday after telling liberal activists a lot of Republicans "have never made an honest living in their lives." Republicans called his Thursday comment "mudslinging." | |
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Anastasia @SouthernAppeal: This article originally focused on his statement, "Well, Republicans, ... a lot of them have never made an honest living in their lives." Steve Bainbridge: "(Link)" Somebody really ought to buy Dean a newspaper, so he can keep up on stories like this: "The Democratic Party,... |
McQ: UPDATE: They really ought to get Dean a red rubber nose and a dribble cup: [quote] "The point I was making is clear:...[end quote] Jayson @PoliPundit: Hitting Bottom, Then Digging Faster — Howard Dean. That guy just has to be a GOP mole. Nobody could be that politically dense. |
U.N.: Weapons Equipment Missing in Iraq By / AP — Permalink UNITED NATIONS — U.N. satellite imagery experts have determined that material that could be used to make biological or chemical weapons and banned long-range missiles has been removed from 109 sites in Iraq, U.N. weapons inspectors said in a report obtained Thursday. | |
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Jon Henke: Missing Weapons Equipment — Aha! See, they had the stuff to make WMDs after all! [snipped quote] Let's not get stupid, people. Charles Johnson: How can WMD material be missing from Iraq, when it never really existed? UN: Weapons Equipment Missing in Iraq. LeanLeft: Filed under: Iraq — Kevin If things continue this way, historians may one day look back at the invasion of Iraq and... |
Jan Haugland: UN: WMD equipment 'missing' in Iraq — Now that we have long "established" that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction,... TheAnchoress: Great pictures, in the links. The U.N. is complaining that the WMD Equipment which didn't exist have gone missing. Smash: Missing WMD Materials — DISTURBING NEWS on the Iraq WMD front (via AP): [snipped quote] Unfortunately, this story... |
| Also: Steve Antler, Plutonium Page, James Joyner | |
I Don't Feel for Felt By / American Spectator — Permalink Just a few more thoughts on the events of the day: Now, we read that Mark Felt's family and Mark Felt put out their story solely to make money off it. So, this makes the family's karma even more unnerving. | |
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John Cole: Ben Stein still hates Mark Felt. Morons keep building mansions on top of unstable hills, which is a horrible idea but mnakes for good film at 11. Andrew Sullivan: MALKIN AWARD NOMINEE: [snipped quote] - Ben Stein, completely losing it, American Spectator. |
Oliver Willis: Defending his former boss in - snicker - The American Spectator (the right wing outlet that makes Newsmax seem... K. J. Lopez: DON'T CALL MARK FELT A HERO — Ben Stein does not hold back on Deep Throat. |
Blogs Face Possible FEC Regulation By / Fox News — Permalink WASHINGTON — The Federal Election Commission is considering whether to require political bloggers to disclose whether they are receiving funds from a political campaign, the latest step in a larger debate over whether political activity on the Internet should be regulated by the government. | |
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Jan Haugland: Blogs may face FEC regulations — American bloggers will do well keeping a close watch on these troubling developments:... McQ: Cool. How and when it would show up was anyone's guess. But show up it did - yesterday. [snipped quote] So? Tom Biro: The network asked for some additional comments via email, and his response was published in an article on Friday. |
Red @ScaredMonkeys: Last Chance For Blogger to Voice their Opinion with the FEC — Today, Friday June 3 is the deadline for bloggers to send... Bill Hobbs: Tell the FEC To Stop Trying to Regulate Blogs — Today is the final day to submit comments to the FEC regarding proposed... |
He's Not Walking Like a Lame Duck By / LAT — Permalink WASHINGTON — When President Bush first latched onto mountain biking as his favored form of exercise, he plowed over rough terrain with a distinctive technique: Even when he pedaled uphill, he refused to shift to a lower gear. | |
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Josh Marshall: TPM Reader — G flagged my attention to an article in today's LA Times about whether or not President Bush is a lame duck. Billmon: I mention this because of the latest example of complete institutional memory failure at the Los Angeles Times, as noted by an exasperated Josh Marshall. James Joyner: He's Not Walking Like a Lame Duck [snipped quote] Quite right. Honestly, the idea that a second term president is a lame duck is absurd. |
Chris Nolan: Bush might not be getting anywhere in the U.S. Senate, his Social Security reform ideas appear dead in the water and his... Ezra Klein: So — and yes I'm looking at you Janet — if you really must write an article titled "He's Not Walking Like a Lame... Betsy Newmark: The LA Times says that it is too early to write Bush off as a lame duck. [snipped quote] Duh! We're just a few months into his second term. |
| Also: Orrin Judd | |
Hate messages burned into nine South Bay lawns By / San Francisco Chronicle — Permalink The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department is investigating as a hate crime the defacement of nine suburban San Jose lawns by someone who burned swastikas and other inflammatory messages into the grass, apparently using chemicals. | |
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Avedon Carol: According to The San Francisco Chronicle, both blacks and Jews were hit. TChris: As shocking as they should be, these sad incidents in San Jose come as no surprise: "Eight of the lawns had swastikas... |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: "ANTI-SEMITISM SCARCELY EXISTS IN THE WEST" — Whatever: [snipped quote] Perhaps the other kind of racism being discussed in the story can be ignored as well . |
Man Indicted in Phnom Penh Attacks Active in GOP Causes By / LAT — Permalink Long Beach accountant Yasith Chhun, whose group is labeled a terrorist organization, raised funds to elect Republicans. Yasith Chhun often boasted to newspapers and magazines about masterminding an attack on government buildings in Cambodia and his plans to overthrow the Southeast Asian country's communist regime. | |
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Nico @ThinkProgress: According to yesterday's L.A. Times, Rohrabacher says he's "a supporter of Chhun and his allies." Atrios: Dana's Got A Secret — It would be wrong to let this story about about Dana Rohrabacher's good terrorist freedom fighter... |
Eriposte @LeftCoaster: David Pierson writes in the Los Angeles Times [via Buzzflash]: [snipped quote] [Whoops, hit save instead of edit...more below the fold...] Kevin Drum: NOTES FROM THE FRONT....Shorter Dana Rohrabacher: As long as they target people I don't like, terrorist groups are OK with me. |
Bush Poised to Nominate Dozens For Judgeships, GOP Insiders Say By / WaPo — Permalink The White House is preparing to send a raft of new judicial nominations to the Senate in the next few weeks, according to Republican strategists inside and outside the administration — a move that could challenge the durability of last week's bipartisan filibuster deal and reignite the political warfare it was intended to halt. | |
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Jeffrey Dubner: GREAT NEWS! George W. Bush is about to nominate 20 or so more judges. Boy, this'll be fun! John @PowerLine: Maybe the Dems Will Be Nicer This TIme — The Washington Post reports that the Bush administration is poised to send... Jayson @PoliPundit: The Next Phase of Re-Alignment — The federal judiciary. |
Hugh Hewitt: From the Washington Post this morning: "Last week's agreement was crafted by 14 senators from both parties who bucked... Patterico: That Wonderful Filibuster Compromise Power Line points out a Washington Post article that buries the lede with a... Pejman Yousefzadeh: BLUFF CALLING — This seems like a perfectly good way to test the faith of those behind The Deal on filibusters, as well as testing the vibrancy of The Deal itself. |
| Also: Orrin Judd, Steve Dillard, Taegan Goddard | |
Shamnesty International By / TCS — Permalink The torture and abuse of terrorist suspects is very much in the news these days, so it's interesting to note the advice on the topic found in an Al Qaeda training manual seized some time ago in the U.K. The manual says that when captured or facing trial, "brothers must insist on proving that torture was inflicted on them by State Security." | |
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Blackfive: There was also a great article at Tech Central yesterday about Amnesty International and our treatment of prisoners. Jeff Goldstein: Of lies and men — Melana Zyla Vickers, "Shamnesty International," TCS: "The torture and abuse of terrorist suspects is... |
John Cole: More outrage here. Rendition continues to be American policy. The Poorman: From the Ministry of Truth — Tech Central Station, taking time off from letting Islamist spokesmen attack evolution,... |
Researchers Say Intelligence and Diseases May Be Linked in Ashkenazic Genes By / NYT — Permalink A team of scientists at the University of Utah has proposed that the unusual pattern of genetic diseases seen among Jews of central or northern European origin, or Ashkenazim, is the result of natural selection for enhanced intellectual ability. | |
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Andrew Sullivan: SMART JEWS: Eventually, the empirical links between intelligence and genetics will be unable to be denied. Clayton Cramer: Here's a couple of excerpts, without my coy little ellision: "Researchers Say Intelligence and Diseases May Be Linked... Pejman Yousefzadeh: BAD NEWS/GOOD NEWS — But once again, I ask where is the research on Sephardic Jews? We came up with the Babylonian Talmud! |
Tom Maguire: Dark Matter Impacts Whirling Ventilation System — This NY Times headline ought to carry a "May be hazardous to your... David Cohen: JUST SO SO — Researchers Say Intelligence and Diseases May Be Linked in Ashkenazic Genes (Nicholas Wade, NY Times, 6/3/05) [snipped quote] Smart guy, that evolution. Ann Althouse: So says Steven Pinker. |
Tiananmen Square Anniversary Voice of America — Permalink Today,June 4th, is the sixteenth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing. In April 1989, a massive and peaceful pro-democracy demonstration was begun by Chinese students. They were quickly joined by workers, intellectuals, and civil servants, until over a million people filled Tiananmen square. | |
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Jan Haugland: Lest we forget — An anniversary of an atrocity: Today, June 4th, is the sixteenth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing. Glenn Reynolds: IT'S THE SIXTEENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE TIANANMEN SQUARE MASSACRE. Even Amnesty International is marking the date, with a press release. |
Rebecca MacKinnon: Don't forget June 4th 1989 — June4victim2Don't forget what happened in Beijing 16 years ago. The Chinese government wants you to. |
Journalist held for seeking truth on Tiananmen killings Times of London — Permalink A JOURNALIST considered the doyen of China correspondents has been held in Beijing and could be charged with stealing state secrets after he tried to obtain a copy of interviews with Zhao Ziyang, the Communist leader who was purged after the Tiananmen Square crackdown. | |
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Jan Haugland: PS: And if you think the Tiananmen Square massacre belongs only to the past: A JOURNALIST considered the doyen of China... Glenn Reynolds: The Chinese government, meanwhile, continues to cover up the actual events: [snipped quote] I hope they don't send him to a gulag. |
Michelle Malkin: The UK Times Online reports on journalists being detained for exposing truths about the Bejing butchery. |
Curvier women 'will live longer' BBC — Permalink Curvy women are more likely to live longer than their slimmer counterparts, researchers have found. Institute of Preventative Medicine in Copenhagen researchers found those with wider hips also appeared to be protected against heart conditions. | |
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TheAnchoress: Bring me Dove Bars! According to a new study, my rather broad Irish hips will NOT be the death of me after all! Joe Gandelman: Good News But Not Necessarily For Rosie O'Donnell — It's hip to keep abreast of the latest medical news which suggests Haagen Daz may be good for your (female) health. Baldilocks: Living Long — According to this study, every woman in my family should live to be one hundred years old. |
Ann Althouse: I love the way this BBC article about how fat hips protect women from heart attacks is headlined "Curvier women 'will... Glenn Reynolds: ANOTHER UPDATE: On the other hand, here's a different kind of life-extender: [snipped quote] Will this be FDA approved, though? Kathryn Jean Lopez: FRENCH WOMEN are not all that. |
Interview With Dan Rather CNN — Permalink THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight, exclusive — Dan Rather in his first live, in-depth, prime-time interview since he left the "CBS Evening News" anchor chair that he occupied for 24 years. | |
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Betsy Newmark: But that isn't what has me giggling. It's this quote from Dan the Man. [snipped quote] Eeeuuuw. Brian Stelter: And, tell you the truth, I have done that for maybe about five total minutes. Here's the transcript... Captain Ed: King couldn't resist the urge to compare the Watergate story to that of the disgraced 60 Minutes II report on George... |
John Cole: For sheer pleasure, you can go here to read the Dan Rather transcript from CNN's Larry King last night, where he continued to insist the documents are not fakes. Hugh Hewitt: The transcript is here. Rather emerged from hiding, probably thinking it would be safe to join in the Mark Felt-triggered reunion of the veterans of the Nixon Wars. McQ: Dan Rather: Mein Kampf — In a rather remarkable interview on CNN's Larry King Show, Dan Rather of "Rathergate" fame attempted to spin his side of the story. |
| Also: Avedon Carol, Kathryn Jean Lopez | |
To Fill Ranks, Army Acts To Retain Even Problem Enlistees By / WSJ — Permalink WASHINGTON — Faced with a long, tough war in Iraq, the U.S. Army has struggled mightily with recruiting. Now the service is battling to keep the new soldiers it has brought into the force. | |
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James Joyner: To Fill Ranks, Army Acts To Retain Even Problem Enlistees (WSJ) "Faced with a long, tough war in Iraq, the U.S. Army has struggled mightily with recruiting. Nellie B: Both Slate and The Wall Street Journal, but few others, report on an Army memo making it more difficult for battalion... |
Phillip Carter: Update II: Greg Jaffe reports in Friday's Wall Street Journal (publicly available) on the Army directive, adding some... Steve M.: After you read the New York Times story about parental resistance to having their kids die in an utterly futile war in... |
Suicide Bombing Kills Nine North of Baghdad WaPo — Permalink BAGHDAD, June 3 — Sectarian violence appeared Friday to be embroiling more of Iraq's fractious religious groups, as authorities reported a suicide bombing that killed nine persons Thursday evening at a Sufi place of worship north of Baghdad. | |
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Juan Cole: The Washington Post has some more details on the bombing of the Sufi center near Balad north of Baghdad. |
Smash: Iraq Atrocities — GROSS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS have been uncovered in Iraq by The Washington Post: [snipped quote] Would this be a war crime? |
Adviser says governor faked stance on abortion By / Boston Globe — Permalink Governor Mitt Romney's top political strategist has told a prominent conservative magazine that his client has been ''faking" his support of abortion rights in Massachusetts. | |
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Jesse Taylor: Faking Something About Sex That Doesn't Let You Brag At The Bar — Mitt Romney has apparently been faking it all along. Shawn @LiquidList: "Adviser Says Governor Faked Stance on Abortion" [snipped quote] Either he's going to run again for governor, which would... Taegan Goddard: Adviser Says Romney Faked Abortion Stance — Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's (R) top political strategist has told the... |
Brian Keegan: Romney's "Shift" Should NOT be Surprising — An advisor to Mitt Romney has apparently admitted that Mitt Romney was... Jeffrey Dubner: The latest: [snipped quote] I imagine they're already printing up the "Mitt Romney: Faking It" bumper stickers up in Quincy. Oliver Willis: Mitt Romney: Fake 2008 wannabe Mitt Romney is now peddling the line that his pro-choice position was just "faked" in order to appease those rubes in Massachusetts. |
| Also: Kathryn Jean Lopez | |
Our Strange War NRO — Permalink Looking ahead, our options. The three-year-plus war that began on September 11 is the strangest conflict in our history. It is not just that the first day saw the worst attack on American soil since our creation, or that we are publicly pledged to fighting a method — "terror" — rather than the concrete enemy of Islamic fascism that employs it. | |
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Attaturk: We have found our new Curtis LeMay for the 21st Century — And he is Victor Davis Hanson. Stephen Green: Required Reading VDH. |
Tbogg: Shorter Victor Davis Hanson — Kill them all. Exterminate the brutes. |
A tale of Tiananmen intrigue By / Christian Science Monitor — Permalink BEIJING - When Ching Cheong left his wife, Mary Lau, in Hong Kong to cross the Chinese border 45 minutes away, he thought he was scoring a major publishing coup in Asia. Instead, he wound up in Chinese custody charged with espionage. | |
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Patrick Belton: And a Hong Kong journalist has been arrested and charged with espionage for obtaining a manuscript about Tiananmen Square by purged former premier Zhao Ziyang. |
Rebecca MacKinnon: Those who think the government should apologize are not free to speak. Remember. Remember. See testimonies of victims' relatives. |
Italy minister says should study leaving euro-paper Reuters — Permalink ROME (Reuters) - Italy should consider leaving the single currency and reintroducing the lira, Welfare Minister Roberto Maroni said in a newspaper interview on Friday. | |
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Red @ScaredMonkeys: Italian Minister Wants to Bring Back the Lira — Welfare Minister Roberto Maroni wants to rid Italy of the euro and bring back the lira. Stephen Green: Maybe: [snipped quote] Don't make too much of this story - Maroni's Northern League party is a bit of a crank. Orrin Judd: BUFFETED ABOUT: Italy minister says should study leaving euro-paper (Reuters, 6/03/05) "Italy should consider leaving... |
Damian Penny: Now, an Italian cabinet minister is musing about his country abandoning the Euro, too. Steve Antler: Remember when they then warned Russia would do the same? Remember what we said? Notice what's going on now? UPDATE: More here. |
'Real men moisturize' By / Townhall.com — Permalink "Real Men Moisturize." So begins an article on "Sharp Dressed Men" that appeared in a State Department funded magazine aimed at youth in the Arab world. The magazine, called "Hi" is published in Arabic and English. | |
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Jesse Taylor: Anyway, I'm causing us to lose the war on terror, or something, according to Mona Charen. Scott Sala: Technorati Tags: media+bias Linda+Foley+Samir+Kassir Beirut+journalist+killed — Jun 03 Oh, This Will Make Arabs Like Us... |
Betsy Newmark: Mona Charen wonders why the State Department is publishing a magazine to help the Arab world understand Americans better with this article in it. |
Suicide bomber kills 10 at Sufi Muslim gathering By / Reuters — Permalink BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide bomber blew himself up at a gathering of Sufi Muslims north of Baghdad, killing 10 people in the latest attack by Iraqi insurgents on religious sects they disapprove of, officials said on Friday. | |
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Michael J. Totten: Bigots with Car Bombs — So-called Iraqi "insurgents" continue their campaign of terrorist rampages in Baghdad, this... Roger L. Simon: It used to attract hippies in the old days. Obviously, some people do not see it as flower power. Our sympathies. |
Juan Cole: Sufi Gathering Targeted, 10 Dead — Andrew Marshall of Reuters reports, [snipped quote] We'd need more context to understand what is going on here. |
Wachovia apologizes to black Americans AP — Permalink CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Two predecessor banks of Wachovia Corp. owned slaves before the Civil War, the nation's fourth-largest bank said Wednesday as it made an apology to black Americans. "We are deeply saddened by these findings," Wachovia chairman Ken Thompson said in a statement. | |
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Jeff Goldstein: Race and Responsibility — From MSNBC [snipped quote] And of course, "concrete steps to ease the economic and educational... |
Michelle Malkin: THE WACHOVIA SHAKEDOWN — Yep, it's true: Wachovia banking execs are apologizing to black Americans because two of the... |
Democrats Also Got Tribal Donations WaPo — Permalink Lobbyist Jack Abramoff and an associate famously collected $82 million in lobbying and public relations fees from six Indian tribes and devoted a lot of their time to trying to persuade Republican lawmakers to act on their clients' behalf. | |
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Captain Ed: Abramoff Was Ecumenical In His Lobbying, It Seems — Despite the Democrats' best efforts to paint controversial lobbyist... Ace: Shock: Democrats Took Lots of Money From DeLay Donor, Too — It's nice to see the Washington Post acknoweldge it. |
Matthew Yglesias: It's not clear to me what the point of today's Washington Post article "revealing" that Democrats got money from Indian tribes represented by Jack Abramoff is supposed to be. Pejman Yousefzadeh: MORE ON GLASS HOUSES AND STONES — Because we want to be ecumenical, right? [snipped quote] And why shouldn't it? |
Danny the Red gets it right, &c. NRO — Permalink My favorite comment on the recent rejections of the EU constitution by the French and Dutch? It came from a most unexpected source: Danny the Red, or, as he's known more formally, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, a German member of the European Parliament. | |
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Ed Driscoll: The Continuing Death Of Classical Music — In one of his typically witty "Impromptus", Jay Nordlinger writes that... Damian Penny: Businesses who rushed into "joint ventures" with the Cuban government are - big surprise - getting totally screwed by... |
Patrick Carver: Speaking of the Sheeted One, NRO's Jay Nordlinger in his always-wonderful Impromptus column comments : "You know, I wish Robert Byrd were other than he is. |
Minnesota men abandon Arctic trek Minneapolis Star Tribune — Permalink An attempt by two men from northern Minnesota to cross the Arctic Ocean to call attention to global warming ended this morning because of poor weather conditions. | |
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Atomizer l: Irony On The Rocks — This story from the Minneapolis Star Tribune just made my day: [snipped quote] I'm simply laughing too hard to comment. |
Robert Clayton Dean: Global warming takes a snow day — [snipped quote] Some things just speak for themselves. |
Edwards Says Fighting for Freedom Not New By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - John Edwards told liberal activists Thursday that despite President Bush's frequent speeches about fighting for freedom they should remember that "freedom does not belong to one political party." | |
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Orrin Judd: OR THEY COULD LISTEN TO THE PRESIDENT: Edwards says fighting for freedom not new (WILL LESTER, June 3, 2005, Associated... |
Jayson @PoliPundit: Live-Action Sock Puppet — I'm speaking of John Edwards, of course. |