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Dr. Rusty Shackleford / The Jawa Report v3.0 Beta:
(Updated) Hostage Video Released, Hostages Identified (Images/Video) — **Jawa Report Exclusive** — ***The Jawa Report releases names of four Western hostages. A hostage video has been released of the four Western peace activists taken hostage in Iraq. The Jawa Report has obtained a copy of the video.
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Robert H. Reid / Associated Press:
Video Shows Activists Kidnapped in Iraq — Al-Jazeera broadcast an insurgent video Tuesday showing four peace activists taken hostage in Iraq, with a previously unknown group claiming responsibility for the kidnappings. — The Swords of Righteousness Brigade said the four were spies working undercover …
Golnaz Esfandiari / Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty:
Iran: President Says Light Surrounded Him During UN Speech — Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad says that when he delivered his speech at the UN General Assembly in September, he felt there was a light around him and that the attention of the world leaders in the audience was unblinkingly focused upon him.
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Anne Gearan / Associated Press:
Ex-Powell Aide Criticizes Detainee Effort — WASHINGTON - A top aide to former Secretary of State Colin Powell said Monday that wrongheaded ideas for the handling of foreign detainees arose from White House and Pentagon officials who argued that "the president of the United States is all-powerful" and the Geneva Conventions irrelevant.
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Richard W. Stevenson / New York Times:
Bush Renews Push to Overhaul Immigration — TUCSON, Nov. 28 - President Bush kicked off a new effort on Monday to unite Republicans behind an overhaul of immigration laws. He emphasized the need to choke off the flow of illegal immigrants while trying to address conservatives' concerns …
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Washington Post:
Congressman Admits Taking Bribes, Resigns — Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.) resigned from Congress yesterday after tearfully confessing to evading taxes and conspiring to pocket $2.4 million in bribes, including a Rolls-Royce, a yacht and a 19th-century Louis-Philippe commode.
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Fred Kaplan / Slate:
Bush's Can't-Lose Reversal — Wednesday's speech will set the agenda for withdrawal from Iraq. — Brace yourself for a mind-bog of sheer cynicism. The discombobulation begins Wednesday, when President George W. Bush is expected to proclaim, in a major speech at the U.S. Naval Academy …
Christopher Lee / Washington Post:
Vice President's Office Keeps Travel Expenses Under Wraps — Open-government advocates say that Vice President Cheney is to executive branch secrecy what darkness is to the night. — In 2001, Cheney famously refused to disclose the names of oil company executives and others who attended meetings …
Kevin Drum / The Washington Monthly:
CONGRESSIONAL CORRUPTION....Jeffrey Birnbaum has a story in today's Washington Post about the growing wave of corruption in Congress. Over at Josh's place, reader TC cries foul. — TC's complaint is that Birnbaum makes the recent corruption scandals sound like a bipartisan affair …
Ainsley Thomson / New Zealand Herald:
Ban on men sitting next to children — Air New Zealand and Qantas have banned men from sitting next to unaccompanied children on flights, sparking accusations of discrimination. — The airlines have come under fire for the policy that critics say is political correctness gone mad …
Michael J. Totten:
The Lebanese/Israeli Border — As promised yesterday, here are my photos of the Lebanese-Israeli border — a renewed hot zone in the Arab-Isareli conflict. If you want more complete descriptions of what's going on in this region and what some of these pictures are all about, read yesterday's article No Peace Without Syria.
Discussion:
Tech Central Station
Associated Press:
Tribe: Abramoff Arranged Dorgan Donation — Tribe Says Abramoff Arranged for Dorgan Donation After Lawmaker's Letter — WASHINGTON Nov 29, 2005 — New evidence is emerging that the top Democrat on the Senate committee currently investigating Jack Abramoff got political money arranged …
Allison Dunfield / Globe and Mail:
Liberal government falls — The short-lived 38th Parliament met its demise on Monday night, setting the stage for the longest election campaigns in two decades, as the Liberal government was defeated in a no-confidence vote at the hands of all three opposition parties and the country was launched into official election mode.
Discussion:
The Carpetbagger Report, The Reaction, PrawfsBlawg, azerbic, Lawyers, Guns and Money and PunditGuy
Solomon Moore / Los Angeles Times:
Killings Linked to Shiite Squads in Iraqi Police Force — With loyalties to banned paramilitary groups, the fighters have kidnapped, tortured and slain Sunnis, officials and witnesses say. — BAGHDAD — Shiite Muslim militia members have infiltrated Iraq's police force and are carrying …
Stephanie Simon / Los Angeles Times:
Offering Abortion, Rebirth — Yes, an Arkansas doctor says, he destroys life. But he believes the thousands of women who have relied on him have been 'born again.' — FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Dr. William F. Harrison has forgotten how many children the woman had.
NewsMax.com:
John McCain: Torture Worked on Me — Sen. John McCain is leading the charge against so-called "torture" techniques allegedly used by U.S. interrogators, insisting that practices like sleep deprivation and withholding medical attention are not only brutal - they simply don't work …
Associated Press:
Gifts Rep. Cunningham Admitted Receiving — Some of the payments accepted by Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham as detailed in his plea agreement: — • $200,000 toward the purchase of his Arlington, Va., condominium. — • $140,000 to a third party for the "Duke-Stir" yacht, which was moved to his boat slip for his use.
