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Omar / IRAQ THE MODEL:
We got our purple fingers! `(Updated) — 10:30 am Baghdad time (Also available on Pajamas Media). — *This post will be updated many times, so keep refreshing and scrolling! — We have noticed on our way to the polling station that the streets are much quieter this time than they were back in January.
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ThreatsWatch.Org:
Voting in Barwana — BARWANA, IRAQ: The polls have been open for six hours in the town of Barwana, one of the three Triad cities which include Haqlaniyah and Haditha. The poll site sits right beneath the now-destroyed Barwana bridge, where Zarqawi terrorists routinely executed residents …
Dexter Filkins / New York Times:
Large Turnout Reported as Iraqis Vote Under Tight Security — BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec. 15 - In a day remarkable for the absence of large-scale violence, millions of Iraqi voters, many of them dressed in their best and traveling with other family members, streamed to the polls today to cast ballots …
Discussion:
Air America Radio
Bassem Mroue / Associated Press:
Heavy Turnout Reported in Iraqi Election — BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Iraqis voted in a historic parliamentary election Thursday, with strong turnout reported in Sunni Arab areas and even a shortage of ballots in some precincts. Several explosions rocked Baghdad throughout the day, but the level of violence was low.
Discussion:
FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog
Gateway Pundit:
Iraqis Turnout, Continue March towards Democracy — 59% in January, 64% in October, 70-80% Turnout Expected Today in Iraq! — A nation awakes from a long and very dark slumber. — AZ AZUBAYR, IRAQ - DECEMBER 15: An extended family walks through a heavy morning fog to vote …
Dexter Filkins / New York Times:Split Between Secular and Islamist Parties Is Seen in Election
Discussion:
Telegraph, Secular Blasphemy, Washington Post, AMERICAN FUTURE, No End But Victory, BAGnewsNotes, Donklephant, Althouse and Kesher Talk
Austin Bay Blog:UPDATED: Pajamas' Direct Reports From Iraq/NY Times institutionalized pessimism
Discussion:
California Conservative
Associated Press:
White House Said to Back McCain on Detainees — WASHINGTON (AP) — After months of resistance, the White House has agreed to accept Sen. John McCain's call for a law specifically banning cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of foreign suspects in the war on terror, several congressional officials said Thursday.
Discussion:
The Carpetbagger Report, TAPPED, www.AndrewSullivan.com, Body and Soul and Balloon Juice
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Eric Schmitt / New York Times:
House Defies Bush and Backs McCain on Detainee Torture — WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 - In an unusual bipartisan rebuke to the Bush administration, the House on Wednesday overwhelmingly endorsed Senator John McCain's measure to bar cruel and inhumane treatment of prisoners in American custody anywhere in the world.
Jim VandeHei / Washington Post:
President Says DeLay Is Not Guilty of Money Laundering — President Bush said yesterday he is confident that former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) is innocent of money-laundering charges, as he offered strong support for several top Republicans who have been battered by investigations …
Discussion:
firedoglake, Donklephant, Middle Earth Journal, The Heretik, Bark Bark Woof Woof, Crooked Timber, AMERICAblog and Demagogue
moxie:
slip sliding away...we be pajammin — Alternate title: how to waste 7 million dollars of investor's money. — Steve H. mentioned that Pajamas Media didn't have their doubleclick ads on Michelle Malkin's site yesterday. Malkin is one of maybe 5 valuable writers attached to the mess.
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Michael J. Totten / LA Weekly:
Guess Who's Coming to Iftar — A meal to remember with Hezbollah — BEIRUT — Syrian occupation troops have withdrawn from Lebanon, but the country has not yet regained its full sovereignty. The radical Shiite Hezbollah militia still controls its own territory in the suburbs south of Beirut and along the border with Israel.
Chuck Lindell / Austin American-Statesman:
Abramoff charity's claims disputed — Groups listed as beneficiaries of more than $330,000 in gifts say they never got them — Capital Athletic Foundation, a charity run by disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff now at the center of an influence-peddling investigation on Capitol Hill …
Discussion:
The Stakeholder
Peter Baker / Washington Post:
In Four Speeches, Two Answers on War's End — As Bush Tries to Recast Debate, Definitions of Victory and Iraqi Security Diverge — As President Bush wrapped up a series of speeches on the war yesterday, he once again gave a clear answer to when U.S. troops would come home from Iraq …
Discussion:
LiberalOasis, Unclaimed Territory, Althouse, The Blogging of the President and Brad DeLong's Semi …
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Miami Herald:
New tests fuel doubts about vote machines — A top election official and computer experts say computer hackers could easily change election results, after they found numerous flaws with a state-approved voting-machine in Tallahassee. — mcaputo@herald.com
Fox News:
Transcript: Bush Talks With Brit — This is a partial transcript of "Special Report With Brit Hume" from Dec. 14, 2005, that has been edited for clarity. — BRIT HUME, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Mr. President, thank you for doing this. — GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, thanks.
W. Thomas Smith Jr / National Review:
It's Electric — As Iraqis queue up at polling stations, some of the scenes look more like a series of regional block parties than what most Westerners would associate with an election day. Children can be seen waving flags or playing soccer. Adults are cheering, clapping hands …
