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Tom Regan / Christian Science Monitor:
Report: US didn't want Al Qaeda members to testify in Padilla case — Evidence linking Padilla to 'dirty bomb' plot may have been obtained under 'harsh questioning.' — Several reasons have been given for the US government's decision this week not to include charges of ties to Al Qaeda …
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Anne D'Innocenzio / Associated Press:
Early Holiday Shoppers Hunt for Bargains — Bargain shoppers, many facing frigid temperatures, woke up before dawn Friday to snap up specials on items from cashmere sweaters to flat- screen TVs and digital music players as the holiday shopping season officially got under way.
Discussion:
PunditGuy
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Associated Press:
Bomber Kills 30 in Iraq — BAGHDAD, Iraq — A homicide bomber blew up his car outside a hospital south of Baghdad on Thursday while U.S. troops handed out candy and food to children, killing 30 people and wounding about 40, including four Americans. — As U.S. troops spent another Thanksgiving at war …
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Washington Post:
Lawmakers Under Scrutiny in Probe of Lobbyist — Ney and DeLay Among the Members of Congress Said to Be a Focus of Abramoff Investigation — The Justice Department's wide-ranging investigation of former lobbyist Jack Abramoff has entered a highly active phase as prosecutors are beginning …
Associated Press:
Teacher under investigation for alleged liberalism — BENNINGTON, Vt. —The school superintendent whose district includes Mount Anthony Union High School has labeled "inappropriate" and "irresponsible" an English teacher's use of liberal statements in a vocabulary quiz.
Austin Bay Blog:
UPDATED: Will Iraqi realists win? Will American realists win? — Fascinating questions. AINA (an Assyrian Christian website) publishes an essay by Saudi journalist Mshari Al-Zaydi opinion page editor of Asharq Al-Awsat) which discusses the Iraqi context, with an eye on the trend toward realism Al-Zaydi …
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Los Angeles Times:
U.S. Starts Laying Groundwork for Significant Troop Pullout From Iraq — WASHINGTON — Even as debate over the Iraq war continues to rage, signs are emerging of a convergence of opinion on how the Bush administration might begin to exit the conflict. — In a departure from previous statements …
New York Times:
100 Notable Books of the Year — Fiction & Poetry — BEYOND BLACK. By Hilary Mantel. (John Macrae/Holt, $26.) Neurotic, demanding ghosts haunt a British clairvoyant in this darkly comic novel. — A CHANGED MAN. By Francine Prose. (HarperCollins, $24.95.)
Clare Dyer / Guardian:
Call for inquiry after rape case collapses over 'drunken consent' — The lord chancellor and the director of public prosecutions are to be asked to look into a rape case which collapsed yesterday after the alleged victim told the jury she was unconscious from too much drink and could not remember what happened.
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Peter Graff / Reuters:
Jazeera seeks Blair meeting — LONDON (Reuters) - Arabic news channel Al Jazeera's general manager flew to London on Friday to demand the government explain a leaked report that U.S. President George W. Bush wanted to bomb the TV station. — The Daily Mirror reported on Tuesday …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, IntoxiNation-News …, Don't Bomb Us, Boris Johnson MP and Politics in the Zeros
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Will Knight / newscientist.com:
Holographic-memory discs may put DVDs to shame — A computer disc about the size of a DVD that can hold 60 times more data is set to go on sale in 2006. The disc stores information through the interference of light - a technique known as holographic memory.
Real Teen:
The War Begins at the Post Office — I wasn't going to begin my War on Christmas coverage until December actually began, but the war against our nation's most coveted religious holiday has already begun. This has actually extended beyond political correctness, and has moved to an all-out assault …
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ynetnews.com:
Michael Jackson going Muslim? — American pop icon announces intention to convert to Islam, according to sources in Bahrain — Does this explain the anti-Semitic comments? American pop star Michael Jackson has officially announced that he has been following the five tenets of Islam …
Discussion:
USS Neverdock
Dr. Demarche / The Daily Demarche:
Change of Address — Friends: — It is with very mixed emotions that I sit down to write this post. This will be my last posting at The Daily Demarche, as I move into semi-retirement from blogging. Recent life events and work, and a few other factors, have not allowed me to dedicate …
Discussion:
AMERICAN FUTURE
Atlas Shrugs:
BLACK FRIDAY! WAL-MART, THANKSGIVING, THE LEFT, AND THE POOR … The left keeping Wal-mart out of the hands of the poor for the good of the poor is at once laughable and disgusting. From Ted Kennedy no less. What does he know about working, actually paying for things through hard work?
Discussion:
Almost Girl
Jason Szep / Reuters:
Boston "holiday tree" stirs controversy — BOSTON (Reuters) - Boston set off a furor this week when it officially renamed a giant tree erected in a city park a "holiday tree" instead of a "Christmas tree." — The move drew an angry response from Christian conservatives …
Telegraph:
German pride slogan shamed by its Nazi past — A multi-million pound campaign to boost Germans' low self-confidence has backfired after it emerged that its slogan was first coined by the Nazis. — The £20 million Du Bist Deutschland - You Are Germany - campaign was devised …
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters
David Gelernter / Los Angeles Times:
Things the '60s got right — A GENERATION HAS passed since I went to college. Today's college students understand that things have changed in many ways — some good, some not. But one change is glaring and tragic. The change I mean is that nowadays so many students are obsessed with their careers.
Discussion:
Obsidian Wings
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Kevin Drum / The Washington Monthly:DECEMBER 31st CAN'T COME SOON ENOUGH....In an apparent effort …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
Gina Cobb:
2008 Candidates Still Unsure on Iraq? Enough Nuance Already — According to the Associated Press ("Iraq Poses Dilemma for '08 Candidates"), candidates who hope to run for the presidency in 2008 are having a difficult time figuring out what position to take on Iraq.
Discussion:
California Conservative
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