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CNN:
Palestinian PM says government will quit after Hamas win — Israeli PM: 'Will not negotiate' with those who won't fight terrorism — RAMALLAH, West Bank (CNN) — In a stunning development ahead of official election results, Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei said Thursday he and others …
Discussion:
Reuters, Outside The Beltway, National Review, The Washington Note, Harry's Place, Balloon Juice, Argghhh! and The Dread Pundit Bluto
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Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters:
Welcome To War — Exit polling turned out to be optimistic for the now-defunct Palestinian Authority, dominated by Fatah since its founding by Yasser Arafat. The supposedly reformed terrorist kept the government as a sinecure for his PLO comrades, and made sure that any elections held …
Discussion:
PoliBlog, The Jawa Report v3.0 Beta, Alternate Brain, First Draft, A Blog For All, Cold Fury and Ace of Spades HQ
New York Times:
Anticipating Hamas Victory, Palestinian Cabinet Resigns — RAMALLAH, West Bank - The Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qurei, and his government submitted their resignations Thursday as the radical Islamic faction Hamas appeared to have scored a major upset and defeated the ruling Fatah party in parliamentary elections.
Scott Wilson / Washington Post:
Hamas Claims Victory in Palestinian Elections — Group Says It Has Clear Majority of Seats; Prime Minister and Cabinet Resign — RAMALLAH, West Bank, Jan. 26 — The radical Islamic group Hamas claimed victory Thursday in voting for the first Palestinian parliament in a decade …
Sarah El Deeb / Associated Press:
Abbas to Ask Hamas to Form Next Government — RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will ask Hamas to form the next Palestinian government after the Islamic militants swept parliamentary elections, and the defeated Fatah Party will serve in the opposition, a senior Fatah legislator said Thursday.
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, Abu Aardvark, Booman Tribune, The American Mind, Jihad Watch, The House Of Wheels, GOP Vixen and Running Scared
Patrick Belton / OxBlog:UF, WELL THAT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN! When I wrote …
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Austin Bay Blog
Dan Eggen / Washington Post:
White House Dismissed '02 Surveillance Proposal — The Bush administration rejected a 2002 Senate proposal that would have made it easier for FBI agents to obtain surveillance warrants in terrorism cases, concluding that the system was working well and that it would likely be unconstitutional to lower the legal standard.
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David G. Savage / Los Angeles Times:
Words, Deeds on Spying Differed — Even as warrantless U.S. eavesdropping was being conducted, the White House opposed easing rules on the issue in 2002 to avoid public debate. — WASHINGTON — Four years ago, top Bush administration lawyers told Congress they opposed lowering …
New York Times:
Senators in Need of a Spine — Judge Samuel Alito Jr., whose entire history suggests that he holds extreme views about the expansive powers of the presidency and the limited role of Congress, will almost certainly be a Supreme Court justice soon. His elevation will come courtesy …
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Right Wing Nut House:
OH THOSE PESKY IRAQI WMD'S! — For almost three years, the conventional wisdom regarding Iraq WMD's prior to our invasion was that Saddam never had them, we knew it, Bush lied, and we invaded anyway because we wanted their oil, or to establish military bases, or because George Bush is a meany …
Discussion:
PoliPundit.com, Power Line, Atlas Shrugs, Sister Toldjah, Elephants in Academia and Macsmind
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Milt Freudenheim / New York Times:
Prognosis Is Mixed for Health Savings — President Bush has made "consumer-directed" health savings plans a cornerstone of his policy for addressing runaway medical costs, and he plans to push them again in the State of the Union address next week. But so far there is little evidence …
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Maeve Reston / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Santorum denies ties to 'K Street Project' — WASHINGTON — With Democrats comparing his ties to lobbyists with "organized crime," Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., yesterday swung back, saying the Democratic criticism amounted to libel and unequivocally denying that he helped shape the GOP's controversial "K Street Project."
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Mickey Kaus / Slate:
Worst Beltway Incest Yet? — Tim Russert isn't doing his son any favor. — Earl Ofari Hutchinson contributes a forceful and admirably BS-free post on a dirty little un-PC secret of the Democratic coalition: Anti-illegal immigrant sentiment among blacks. ...
Stephanie Kirchgaessner / Financial Times:
US congressman takes Google to task on China — Google will be called to task in Washington next month following a controversial decision by the internet search engine to launch a China-based version of its website that will censor results to avoid angering the country's Communist government.
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ThreatsWatch.Org:
The Pakistani Frontier — When more is not enough; Counterterror efforts net successes but fall short on The Frontier — The airstrike on al-Qaeda leadership in the town of Damadola has done more than just kill up to five senior al-Qaeda commanders, including Abu Khabab …
Times of London:
Critics attack Google's 'black day' in China — Google today caved in to pressure from the Chinese Government by launching a localised version of its website that self-censors information deemed "subversive" by the Communist authorities. — The company, whose motto is "Don't be evil" …
Discussion:
Atlas Shrugs, Trey Jackson, The Peking Duck, The Moderate Voice, GOP Vixen, James Wolcott and BizzyBlog.com
Washington Post:
President Bush Holds a White House Press Conference — SPEAKER: GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES — BUSH: I thank you all very much. Look forward to answering some of your questions here in a minute. — I'm also looking forward to going up to Capitol Hill next Tuesday to give my State of the Union address.
Elaine Sciolino / New York Times:
France Battles a Problem That Grows and Grows: Fat — ROUBAIX, France - In a cold, stark municipal hall, 8-year-old Hatim sat silently as the pediatrician passed judgment. — At about 4 feet 6 inches and 95 pounds, the boy was declared overweight and in danger of becoming obese.
Chicago Business:
Wal-Mart gets 25,000 applications for Evergreen Park store — Interest for 325 jobs biggest in company's history — (Crain's) — The new Wal-Mart Stores Inc. location opening Friday in suburban Evergreen Park received a record 25,000 applications for 325 positions, the highest …
